Origins

Chapter 8. Apart but Together

Aura

I have been here for so long. My sanity is melting away. I have just heard them talk and talk over and over. I don't feel right. I have the sensation to kill anyone and everyone. Aurora walks in and just looks at me. I missed being able to move around more. That is the unit I remember. I can just use light powers on the cage door. I did so but it just bounced back and hit me. A shadow blast hit me out of nowhere and I passed out. I woke up and noticed that I was tied up. I saw Bradley walk in and he started to taunt me. I was enraged and blew up half of the villain's base. But I was still tied up to a pole. The King comes in, and orders Bradley to leave. Bradley bows and leaves the room. The King locks the door. "I wanted to have a discussion with you, young light-bringer," he says. "What the hell do you want?!" I say. "I want to talk," he says. "You see, Aurora and I both want to help fix you," Let me show you. He holds out his hand, and a little purple spirit, with an evil-looking face. He throws it at me, and before I can do anything to block it, it hits me. I scream as I can feel it poison and corrupt every bit of light in me. I almost black out, but I use MAXIMUM ENERGY and push it out of me. What I don't know is that my soul had been corrupted, and my powers were severely weakened. The King looks surprised, as his little soul thingy runs back to him. His eyes glow, and purple veins appear on his outstretched hand. I try and fight it but it's useless. My soul comes out of my body as a little ball of light energy. My yellow eyes fade to gray, and my hair becomes brown. My chains loosen and drop to the ground. I stagger back, break the window, and run out. As I run, I think of everything that's happened in the last 24 hours, I get captured, I get tortured, and I lose my soul. What is this? I run 'till I can't no more. I fall to my knees and breathe heavily. I've run at least 35 miles, maybe more. Disorienting thirst immediately parches my tongue. Water. I need water. I reach for my water bottle but realize they must've taken it when I got captured. Frick. This isn't good. I'm stranded who knows where, and I don't have any water. I'll have to search as I walk. I pick myself off the ground, and just barely manage to not fall. I start walking.

2 hours later

I've been walking for two hours. I can barely walk anymore. My feet are asleep but are still walking. The motions are etched into my brain. "Finally!" I say. The base. I can see it from here. I take one more step. Just a few more minutes of walking. I fall backward and find myself back in the villain base. "What?" I just barely managed to get out. "How? I was right next to the hero base. I was just a few steps away from getting there. "Looks like you fell for our trap. We were worried you would make it." Bradley says. "You can't be trusted in a cell, so we'll leave you in solitary confinement. You're not getting out of here, and well, there are no windows, so no drawing your power from the sun." He says. "And don't try to make a hole through the wall. It's made of radioactive chromium," he says. I think about that for a bit. Chromium is the strongest metal on earth, it's the metal my sword is made of, but making it radioactive? Who knows the limits of its power now? I started questioning reality again. Why did The King call me "young light-bringer"? Why am I still in here? Why haven't they rescued me yet? Who is my father? Where is my sanity? I slap myself and try to get back to reality, but the pile of questions continues to crush me. I sink to the ground, trying to suppress the thoughts by grabbing and clenching my skull, but it doesn't work. Suddenly all of my other questions disappear, and one last one remains. "What is reality?" I whisper. The beast inside me roars, and I try to keep it quiet, but I fail. I give in to its power, and let it take control of my body.

Shaun

I can hear all of these terrible noises at once. The creaking of metal, the implosion of half of the base, and Aura's screams. He's going insane, and we all know it. Who knows, maybe he'll submit to the King, and help us win. I pour a cup of coffee, trying to keep myself awake so I don't die. I chug the whole mug in one sip. I walk out of the room and go to the training simulation area. I step inside the white cylinder and start the sequence. "What training level would you like to commence, Shaun," An AI voice asks me. "Commence training level 4," I say. "Ok," the voice says. "Commencing training level 4," it repeats. The white walls fade into a battleground, and soldiers are fighting to the death. I walk forward, pull out my bow and quiver of arrows, and let three fly at the same time. Six soldiers dead shot through the heart. I hear a battle cry behind me, reload and fire, as fast as only professional hunters can. I miss home. Me and Dad used to go out hunting and bring back home food for weeks. Mom would be in the kitchen all day, cooking the meat and vegetables we brought home. Those times are gone, and the only thing I can do to bring them back is serve The King and complete my mission. I continue with the simulation, till the battle is won, and the walls go back to white. "Simulation completed," The voice goes. The door opens, and I exit.