The Crimson Prince： Awakening 69 Chapter 7: A Shift In Reality

"d.a.m.n!" William exclaimed as he was once again thrown to the ground, his sword returning to the form of a cross pendant which rested on the ground a foot away from where his hand rested.

"Again!" Ragnos roared as his obsidian black boot kicked Will's side.

The young prince groaned as he got to his feet and picked up the pendant. Infusing wind and fire into the cross, he imagined gold embroidered silver double swords within his minds eye. He then thought of an obsidian black suit of armor much like the one Ragnos wore.

Bringing the weapons and armor into reality was at first taxing, but after fourteen months of training it was almost muscle memory.

Sparing the theatrics, Will brought forth the armor and weapons in a flash of energy. In mere seconds he was shrouded in the black steel of his armor. A black sheath on each hip held a sword with a silver pommel, wrapped in gold lining up the hilt. One sword held a clear opal gem on top, while the other held a ruby. Both gems were large and set at the pommel.

The armor that adorned his body had no shine from the sun above. It instead seemed to suck the light inward, giving no glare.

"I see you still find one aura per item to be more beneficial." Ragnos said as he prepared his cyclone knives.

Will gulped reflexively. He knew full well what those knives could do after being at their mercy for more than a year. He knew well enough what was coming. He knew what would happen should he fail to fend them off.

"Let us see what you are capable of, my young prince!" Ragnos roared as he released the two black knives.

The moment they released, mini tornados appeared at their backs, propelling them forward at an astonishing speed.

Relying on reflex after having had the knives thrown at him so many times, Will dodged to the left and right, avoiding the knives at the last moment. He then put up his swords as a guard in front of him just in time for a blade as dark as night to lunge at a downward arch towards his face.

"Very nice William!" Ragnos bellowed as he jumped back from Will's guard, ready for another blow.

Will glanced at the G.o.d's belt just as he grabbed his long and short sword, just as he thought would happen.

Within half a second, Ragnos charged Will's defences with his long sword. Slashing in a downward arch, he brought his short sword across diagonally, aiming for Will's mid section which Will parried by bringing the lower blade within his guard down.

For seconds, it was a contest of strength. Will dug in his heels as he pushed back the black blades.

Ragnos dropped his guard and retracted his blades, expecting Will to fall forward from the extra weight he was placing on his guard. Just as he expected, Will fell forward slightly. He brought his sword behind the young man to slash at his back.

Will used his wind aura at his feet to propel himself forward with tremendous speed, narrowly missing the powerful slash.

Will ran a good distance forward before he stopped and turned, just in time to meet two more cyclone daggers. He dodged the first, yet the second slashed his side.

The pain was excruciating as the cut was blown open by the twister behind the hilt of the blade. He bit down hard on his lip to keep himself from focusing on the stinging sensation of his skin being torn apart.

Knowing that there was nothing he could do to avoid the attack, he met it head on then used his aura to knit the cut back together and ducked just as a blade came down once more above his head.

Raising one of his swords, he once again parried his opponents sword. "Very good." The G.o.d said in a low voice.

Will could feel Ragnos's killing intent as if it were an attack of it's own. His sword dug into his defense. "I hope you can keep up." The G.o.d said in a deathly tone.

Will saw the aura of the wind surround Ragnos's swords and realized what was about to happen just in time.

Will stepped back and activated his own wind aura, bracing himself for Ragnos's next a.s.sault.

He had only a second to react before a barrage of blows rained down upon him. The G.o.d's swords were a black blur of motion before the naked eye.

Will dodged and parried to the best of his ability. He guarded against forward thrusts and back slashes, yet he couldn't keep up with the moves Ragnos used against him, even when using his wind aura to its max. The G.o.d's moves seemed to be on fast forward within Will's vision. No matter how he tried to dodge, he couldn't avoid the full force of the attack.

Small chips and tears appeared on his armor as some of the attacks made it through his defense.

The small chips eventually gave way to chunks of his armor falling away, gashes seeping blood formed as Ragnos cut away at the young prince.

"This armor may as well be paper mâché without your aura supporting it!" Ragnos exclaimed as he tore through to Will's chest.

Seeing such a difference in power, Will hesitated. For a split second, he let his guard down, which was more than enough time for Ragnos to knock him off his feet.

Will landed on his backside. A black sword thrust down, stopping only an inch away from his face.

"This will not do, William." Ragnos said calmly, looking down at his student. Will could see the disappointment and confusion within his features. "You should have more power than this, you always have."

"It's not my fault! I can't keep up with your strikes." The young prince complained. "Your power is on a much higher level, I can't imagine anyone going toe to toe with you."

"You must!" Ragnos withdrew his sword and turned from Will.

"Why?" Will couldn't imagine why it would be so important to Ragnos for him to match his strength. "You said that the only challenge I have left to face is of the people. I don't see how I would need to be as strong as you."

"I said that to give you a reason to get stronger." Ragnos sighed. "It's much more complicated than that."

Suddenly, the air around the training ground in front of Ebonhart shifted. Will could feel the ground beneath him shift. Suddenly they were surrounded by darkness. Will knew by instinct that they were traveling to a different realm.

In a moment, Will was no longer on a gra.s.sy plain. Instead he found himself on the familiar pavement of a road.

Looking around, he could have sworn he was in New York City, yet something was off. He looked the sides of the street, yet no vehicles were parked there. The last time he was in the city, there were no spots along the roads where Leo could park his beater of a Buick.

"Why is it so dead here?" Will asked as he looked at the G.o.d.

Ragnos said nothing, instead he lifted a finger to the sky. As Will followed the man's direction, his eyes grew wide with shock.

Above them, millions of people flew in and out of buildings from rooftops. If he squinted hard enough, he could see the familiar lining of the aura surrounding them.

"What the h.e.l.l?" Will muttered in shock.

"Did you really believe we were the only realm which had aura wielders?"

Will said nothing as he looked up. 'How?' He thought to himself.

Though he was in shock, Will didn't have much time before he snapped out of it. Something was happening in the distance. He heard the cries of thousands, screaming out in agony.

With a finger, Ragnos motioned for Will to follow him as he took to the sky. Together, they traveled closer to the disturbance.

The large sky sc.r.a.pers which had obscured his vision before gave way to open skies.

A large pillar like sky sc.r.a.per hung in the distance with a platform above. It was from there Will heard the screams.

As they got closer, Will noticed a halo of energy which seemed to surround the platform.

"What is this?" Will asked Ragnos in a hushed tone. The G.o.d only shook his head as he approached closer to the platform.

It was much larger than Will had originally thought. What seemed like a small pillar was actually as wide as a small lake. The platform on top was wide enough to blanket the sky.

As they rose high enough, Will could see that the halo of energy was much thicker than he originally thought. What was in the center absolutely disturbed him.

From how high up they were, Will could see people as little ants within the halo, yet there seemed to be thousands upon thousands of them.

Will could see their aura as clear as sunlight. It seemed like it had taken on a physical form.

The many colored auras funneled together as it swirled up in the air, close to where Will and Ragnos looked on. Before it reached them, a sucking force brought the power given form down to one particular location.

As the aura got smaller, Will could see a throne as black as night consolidated from the men and women that screamed in agony. A lone figure sat upon the throne, bathing in the aura light.

Will looked on in horror as he looked at the thousands of people more closely. He could hear the rough jingle of chains slightly from the screams of agony.

He looked back at the lone figure, who had begun a small sucking force, bringing the aura into him.

The screams had begun to rise in pitch, turning into a shriek. One by one, Will saw aura wielders drop from their feet. He could hear the screams dying. He could hear them dying. The aura funnel was getting lighter, more like the aura he was used to seeing, invisible to the naked eye.

Soon, the aura was completely gone. Along with it, the screams also subsided. The platform was as quiet as a cemetery.

"Bring me the next batch!" A voice rang out, which forced Will's attention back to the throne.

The man glowed a light violet. His eyes also glowed with the power he had attained. Something about this man felt familiar to Will. He felt as if he should know him from somewhere.

A coughing noise grabbed Will's attention and he looked down upon what the man was using for a foot rest.

A frail old man knelt on all fours as this man had his feet atop him. An obsidian black collar was fitted to his neck, and a sleek black chain had connected him to the arm rest of the throne.

"Come now, Ragnos." The man cooed as he looked down at the frail man. "Surely you have enough juice for one more batch today." He gave a bone chilling smile as he moved one leg to kick the old man.

Will looked on in horror. 'Did I hear that right?' He thought as he looked from Ragnos who was floating in the air alongside him to the one chained to the throne. "Is this real?" He said only partially to himself.

"This is another realm." The G.o.d said softly. "One in which you were brought up in Crystallia, one in which you killed your father and enslaved me."

"No." Will shook his head. "I would never do this." He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I know." Ragnos shook his head mournfully. "That is why you must get stronger." He looked up from the corrupted Will to the pure of heart. "You must restore the foundation of the elements."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Will was in shock. He couldn't believe that even another version of himself could ever get that evil. "What could I do against that?" He pointed desperately at his evil doppelganger.

"I am trying to tell you." Will could tell that the G.o.d was trying to find the right words. "You must restore the seven pillars."