(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 11

Dre could barely sleep once he got home that night. Whenever he'd try to sleep, he saw the silver-haired Hiro holding a handful of fira at him, his red eyes glaring threateningly at him. His mind was wrapped with confusion and fear. What does this mean?

His eyes shot open, glaring at the beams of the streetlight cutting through the darkness of his room. It's already twelve. He sighed as he sat up. Think, Dre. Think. Hiro was a Nature elemental, yet when you fought him in the tournament, he used fira. Was it a bug in the systems? He shook his head. If Ichi prided himself with his brilliance, he would've already had the bug fixed. What was it that he was missing? He closed his eyes, trying to focus on everything that Hiro had told him.

"It's about time you got here," he heard Hiro's voice call to him through the darkness of the void.

Dre flashed open his eyes; he found himself in a strange place. It seemed as if he were in a land surrounded by an endless sky. The floor seemed to reflect the partly cloudy sky, making him feel as though he were standing in midair. Hiro stood in front of him with his arms folded across his chest. "Come, young King. We have much to talk about." Dre cautiously took a step. The floor under him began to ripple, as if he was walking on a silver, reflective ocean.

"What is this place?" Dre asked as he looked around.

"Amian folklore call this place 'The World Where Titans Sleep.' According to legend, this is the place where the King has their final battle with Aggaron the Dark, in order to spare the world of their battle. I see that you have enjoyed the sample of your right as the King."

"You saw?"

"Of course." He gave a small smile, making the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth more profound. "As I've said before, it's my duty to look after you until the final battle. Speaking of which, I'm sure that you have questions about me using fire in Ichi's program."

"That wasn't a glitch?"

"Glitch?" Hiro repeated. He closed his eyes, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. As he exhaled, his hair changed to the same silver that Dre'd seen in the program. His eyes flashed red as he cupped his hands in front of Dre; fire began engulfing his hands before morphing into fira. "Does this look like a glitch?"

Dre stammered. "How are you doing that?"

"It's another right of mine as a King. And it's not just fire that I have control of. With each King that you defeat in battle, you'll be able to use our element through you. There's a catch, however. You have a limit number of times you can call for our help, depending on who you call. If you call an older King, other than Reiax himself, you'd be lucky to be able to get their help more than once a day."

Dre's eyes widened. "That sounds awesome. If that's the case, I have to fight you."

Hiro chuckled. "If you want to fight, you'll need your sword." Dre reached behind his back, only catching the air. He looked around the ground, believing that he'd dropped it while he was there. "You bond isn't strong enough to fight against me yet."

Dre winced. "How can I get my bond stronger?"

"That's where the discussions come from." He began to walk towards the mirrored void. "In order to create bonds, you'll need to know the person. The best way to do that is to speak to them, as well as listen. We'll save that for next time." Hiro's body vanished.

"Wait! When will that be?" Dre called through the void.

"When you're ready to learn. Oh, I almost forgot. That puppy of yours; they are extremely dependable, both on and off the battlefield. Teach Blitz some tricks, it may come in handy later."

~~~~~

"Rise and shine, little chump," Ian said as Dre stumbled into the kitchen, looking rough. His hair was unkempt, jutting out around his head and over his face.

A stack of pancakes was placed in the center of the table, along with a bowl filled with scrambled eggs, and a plate filled with sausage and toast.

"Morning, Dre," Raheem said, raising a glass of milk. Dre figured that his mother must have already left for work.

"Morning guys," Dre mumbled as he took a seat and began loading his plate. "Did mom already leave?"

"Yep. She left about fifteen minutes ago, since she didn't have to cook. You can thank Ian for that."

Dre paused, squinting from the brightness of the morning sun. "I think I'll pass on breakfast."

"Aw, come on man," Ian said. "My cooking ain't that bad. Your dog like it."

"Blitz?" He looked towards the back door, where Blitz's water and food bowls sat, filled with half eaten strips of bacon. "Thanks. Thanks for poisoning my dog."

"You're a hater, man. I swear," he mumbled as he stuffed the eggs in his mouth.

Straining to open his eyes wider, Dre began sliding scrambled eggs and a pancake on his plate. He was surprised to see that neither was burnt. He was even more surprised to see that Ian was in his training gear. It consisted of a thin, cyan sleeveless shirt with "10 Kg" stitched on the front and a matching pair of slacks, also with "10Kg" stitched on each pant leg. "You're wearing the clothes?"

"Yeah. These things are heavy as hell, though." He quickly caught Raheem's hand with the back of his head. Frowning at his father, he corrected himself. "These things are heavy as heck, though," she said, eyeing his father.

"Hm. What got you in such a good mood, anyway?"

"Me? Well, let's see. Rose actually said 'hey' to me yesterday when I ran into her at the store and it's Friday today. I need a break from school."

In other words, it's going to be another unofficial senior skip day. "Today is Friday, huh." Dre instantly sobered up, almost choking on his eggs. "Oh, crap, today is Friday!" Sinking in his seat, he moaned, "I'm supposed to duel with Katherine today. That woman is evil." He sunk even further in his seat, looking bleaker as he cut a section of his pancake.

"What are you talking about, man? You're the King of Elements, ain't you?" Ian asked.

"An unprepared, untrained, suck-more-than-a-noddle-buffet King, yeah." He took a bite from his pancake. "I'm going to die. I am totally going to get it handed to me."

"Hm? Scared?" Raheem asked.

Dre nodded animatedly. "Petrified."

"Scared of what? Losing?" He took a sip of coffee. "We all have to lose sometime, whether it's by a physical being, life, or even our own emotions. I probably lost more fights than I've won. But what you get from losing, what you learn from the bruises, is what makes you a great warrior. Or something like that," he said before eating a spoonful of eggs. Through chewing, he shrugged as he said, "I'm not a motivational speaker."

Ian grinned as he shook his head. "Sleepiness makes you think you're a wise old man."

Raheem grunted, slowly nodded as he chewed. "Hold up. Did you just stealth-insult your old man?"

The three laughed.