The Mekai: Endgame

Chapter 10

The Story of Oren Darro

"The man known as Oren Darro died within me many years ago," Ren explained. "I always knew I was greater than any other Mekai, from a young age, yet I decided to play my part for in lieu of my thirst for knowledge.

"The Temple Elders knew of the power I possessed and they saw my potential; they let me in and allowed me to teach the Arts. But it wasn't enough teaching new students for 40 years- I needed more."

"Of course you did," said Ray. "Nothing's ever good enough for monsters like you."

Ray and Ren resumed their sword brawl as Ren continued to share:

"During my years in the Grand Temple, I fell into lust with the Darkside. I saw its power and it called to me; once I got a taste of it, I knew I needed to know more. So I soon discovered the Secret Archive Chamber- a chamber which held the account of all of Nomekia's secrets- deep within the untouched, underground parts of the temple and I read from the scrolls.

"Those scrolls were hundreds of years old and all had been sealed away, as though they were hidden. In fact, even the temple staff was unaware of its existence. It was there that I learned what we could really do, what we could accomplish if we only stepped outside of our personal confines."

"So, you were twisted even back then," Ray retorted, parting from Ren.

"The Elders lacked vision," Ren continued, ignoring the jab. "They feared the Darkside and sought to destroy it. But Darkness is not meant to be extinguished- it's alive and should be embraced!"

Ray attempted another Angel Fist. Ren vanished in teleporting flames and reappeared behind Ray. Ray went for a Typhoonis, but Ren redirected it right back at him and blew him away.

"You tried to poison the minds of those students and turn them to the Darkside," Ray said, picking himself up. "The Elders found out about it and threw you out. That should have told you something."

"I did learn something that day," Ren said. "It reminded me about the reason I despise you all- you are cowards, the whole lot of you. Even the Darkai would rather settle with petty squabbles, conquering kingdoms, and mass murders. The Darkside breeds so much more! Why settle for just power when the goal can be total sovereign over the world?

"The Darkai couldn't see my vision either. Instead, they saw me as a threat and even joined forces with the Light Mekai against me. So I needed to prove my might, I needed to show them all true power through fear!"

Ren's left forearm turned into Death Branches and he slammed them through the floor. A forest of destructive branches erupted from the floor and headed for Ray. He jumped and flipped about, while slashing through them, to navigate toward Ren. Ray launched a horizontal sword blast to cut them down and he ran over the top of them. Ren blocked the blast with his Drezdin and, when it faded, Ray landed before him and dealt him another blow.

"Not so unstoppable now, are you?" asked Ray. Ren recovered from the sword blast, damaged now.

"Don't get cocky, boy," Ren said, unfazed. "I'm not finished yet. Besides, I am immortal, I have limitless power, and you are beginning to wear down."

Ren was right- the only thing keeping Ray going had been pure will. His body ached, yet he couldn't stop there- too much rode on the wings of this fight.

"You've killed so many Mekai for the sake of your ambition," he told Ren. "You killed the Elders, destroyed the temple- you're just so proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"My journey has brought along many achievements," Ren confessed. "But my greatest accomplishment has always been immortality and an unlimited reservoir of power."