Cier Journeys: Path Of Corruption

Chap 14: When The Night Ends.

Jasper and Helios spent about a week in a village somewhere on the Magdurus Mountains.
It was quite early in the morning, only around 6:30AM, Jasper makes his way into the medical center and walked straight into Helios' room. He still hasnt woke up yet, and has been out for quite a while. Jasper walked outside as he met the doctor there, as he met him the first thing he asked is about Helios' condition.

"How is he doing, doctor?" 

"You will not have to worry, he's not in danger anymore but.. his wound for some reason is healing very, very slowly and bleed regularly, it affects him alot and gives him lots of pain before he could recover."
The doctor spoke with a low tone of voice, trying to calm him down.

"I see. Please take care of him." 

Jasper turned around and made his way out, all he feel is anger and all he needs is vengeance. 

"That bastard.."

Jasper kicked a tree nonstop to unleash his anger. Jasper rarely ever finds something he actually appreciates, he barely ever likes anybody. However there's always a bit of goodness in every person and Jasper is no exception despite being on the effects of the corrupted rice and his regular attitude towards Flif and Helios, he do care for them and want to protect them and would get truly irritated if they get hurt, Jasper considered himself not that strong for that he couldn't protect Flif. 

Jasper walked down the village, not caring about a single thing and he was probably frozen deep in his thoughts when a boy came by and giving him a newspaper, unfreezing him. 

"What's this?" Jasper grunted and opened the newspaper. He was bored, and had nothing to do so he decided to sit down and relax his mind by reading the newspaper when suddenly he clenched his fist, tearing the newspaper apart and immediately packs up his things, agreesively walking fast away from the village. 

"I'M COMING FOR YOU." 

What Jasper read on the news was related to the reason why Helios was stabbed to near death, Highgate Landing was attacked last night, around 7 people died during the attack, it is reported that the attacker was a black figure with red push daggers. Jasper had recognized who this is, its nobody else other than Alternate Jasper, The Fifth.

Around midnight, Jasper arrived at Highgate Landing, right on time when a scream is heard, he rushed to the sound of a woman screaming, there he found his foe.

"HEY, YOU!" Jasper shouted, his voice echoes in the dark alley in Highgate Landing, Jasper makes his way towards his Alternate self, Alternate Jasper chuckled and puts down the woman he was about to murder. 

"Ah, you found me! Must've been the news then.." 

The two closed distance, Alternate Jasper looked down on Jasper as he thinks that he was weak just like his friend Helios. 

"Angry, arent you? I usually go around here to murder some weaklings as the people here are weak and Highgate Landing only focuses on trading and selling products so there arent many guards here. Even if there are, they're weak. Haha, ideal place to murder isnt it?"

"Shut up, faker. You're not worth to be called 'Jasper', The only Jasper here.."
Jasper cuts him off and slams his fists together, his aura enhancer automatically activates, giving him a more menacing vibe and continues with his line. 

"Is me." 

"We'll see about that." Without wasting a second, Alternate Jasper rushed in with his push daggers and goes for a stab, followed by flurries of straight punches. "YOU'RE NO MATCH!"

"Gah!? Wha.. you're going down!" Jasper parried the stab and swayed back, avoiding the barrage of punches. He bends his body backwards and headbutts Alternate Jasper when he got closer. 

"DIE!" The impact made both take a few steps back. Alternate rubs his forehead a bit, wiping off the blood there from the headbutt. 

"That kinda hurted, but it was nothing." He pointed at Jasper, red spiked chains rise up from the ground targetting him immobilizing and stabbing him. Alternate Jasper confidently closes the distance again. 

"How about we compare our only ranged attacks? My chains and your daggers. How does that sound?" Alternate Jasper said, Jasper struggled a bit and broke the chains, throwing multiple daggers at his alternate self, of course it wasn't very effective and Alternate Jasper would just do a backflip, dodging the daggers flamboyantly. 

"You can't beat me, you're just a weaker version of me that shouldn't exist!" He ran to Jasper with blinding speed, but got knocked back by a backfist right on his nose, Jasper then grabs on his shirt and punching him nonstop. 

"You'll be dead before me though!" Jasper said, continuing to beat up Alternate Jasper with just his right hand. Alternate Jasper had enough and activated Anathema, blasting Jasper away. In his Anathema form, Alternate Jasper is way stronger and quicker, he makes his push daggers longer as the color of the push daggers changed from red to dark purple. 

"ANATHEMA, THIRD STAGE! WITNESS THE TRUE POWER OF CORRUPTION!" Alternate Jasper attacked agreesively, he was much faster and stronger than before. All Jasper could do was block and dodge. 

"This aint good, time to bail!"

Jasper backed up as he knew that this wasn't going well once his alternate self activates his Anathema form, he needs to think of something. But Alternate Jasper wasnt going to leave him be, he rushed forward and landed a quick punch on Jasper's face followed by a kick that blasted him to the wall. 

"Don't even try to think of beating me like that!" 

"BWAGH!" 

Jasper was flung to a wall, forget about it.. On second thought, Jasper didnt think he will try any tricks to beat his other self, when he thinks about his friends who have fallen under the hands of Jamezu's minions, everything they went through just to beat a few minions. He was furious, not wasting a second Jasper upgraded his bloodsucker gauntlets to crimson scratchers and ran at Alternate Jasper.

"Forget about it, if i have to beat you with my own strength, THEN LETS DO IT!" Jasper wipes off the blood on his face, running straight to Alternate Jasper. 

"Oh, dont make me laugh!" As Jasper approached, Alternate Jasper slammed his fist on the ground, spiked chains rise up in large numbers targetting him all at once. Jasper wasn't going to attack recklessly, he swayed back out of the spiked chains as well as throws a few daggers straight at his Alternate self's chest, it wasnt much damage but it was something..

"Eat that! Want more? I got plenty." 

"That hurted a bit, idiot." Alternate Jasper pulls out the daggers roughly, swinging his arms a few times then charges foward landing a dropkick on Jasper and stood up immediately gaining lots of force into a right hook. Jasper took a step back to regain balance after being pushed back the the dropkick, he swayed his body just a bit to the left as the punch only gazes on his cheek Jasper uses that chance to land a harder punch on Alternate Jasper's face when he was wide open. Alternate Jasper was flung a few meters away from that punch. 

"Not bad! Let's try again.." Alternate Jasper said, getting back on his feet once again. 

Jasper ran to him with all his might, as he got close he threw daggers nonstop and threw a punch at Alternate Jasper's face, Jasper was furious and wasn't going to stop. He continuously throw attacks at his Alternate self, beating him mercilessly. 

"Thats.. ENNOUUGHH!" Alternate Jasper roared, making a shockwave out of anti-magic and blasting Jasper back, he rushed in for an attack while Jasper was still on the ground unaware of what happened. 

"THIS, IS YOUR EN-" He suddenly stopped when he got closed, Jasper dropped his guard and noticed something strange happening to him. 

"W-what..?" Alternate Jasper could feel his Anathema powers getting weaker, he drops to the ground. Turns out someone had fired an arrow straight into his head, the person who did it was a short black figure wearing a red armor with a few men behind him, they approached Jasper carefully. 

"You little scum, you gave your life to Jamezu and you're rotten to the core. You deserve this.. death!" 

The man in red armor then pulls out a katana, chopping Alternate Jasper's head of in front of his men. He just smiled and walked over to Jasper, Jasper was cautious and took a step back still not trusting these men. 

"Who are you? And why did you kill him?" He asked, his Crimson Scratches still covering his hand. 

"Have no fear! My name is Mukuri Karton, and we are an army called Children Of Eirene, we were all harmed by Jamezu, most of us survived his attack but many of the people we love didnt. Thats why we gather to seek vengeance, and to stop his reign of terror!"  

Mukuri raised his fist in pride. Jasper just facepalmed in confusion. 

"Ugh.. what a day. 


END OF CHAP 14.