Chapter 28

Chapter 28 - LOT

Thousands of years ago, the Sundering Sword Monarch was a renowned warrior praised for being at the peak of strength. His techniques were flawless, and he led the Golden Flame Clan to great success.

Years before he became powerful, however, the legendary Monarch was a simple fisherman named Dobraine Forsworn . His talent as a member of the Golden Flame Clan was mediocre at best, and thus he tried his luck at
fishing alongside the Jecekel Fishing Company as a Hunter.

They hunted rare beasts of the sea. Many odd creatures existed in the deep, where Spirit Beasts thrived. Of the massive variety of ocean creatures that existed, there were many creatures whose physical body’s were considered extremely valuable treasures, by alchemists and blacksmiths alike.

After the collapse of the Space and Time Clans, the world became a far more chaotic place. In this void of strength, three staunch powers rose, powers that continued onward throughout the years.

The Super Clans, the Nine Great Clans that ruled over enormous swathes of territory, remained, albeit with some new members. The Natural Ability that dominated each clan was extraordinary, setting them apart from others.

The Hunter Association, a widespread and open ended force that could be found nearly everywhere, was dedicated to hunting down fearsome beasts that plagued and slaughtered humanity. As an open group, they didn’t discriminate, and allowed almost anyone in, based on strength.

And the last major force, the Pirate Kings that ruled the Six Seas.

With each era, new Kings came and new Kings fell, but one constant was that no major Clan or force was able to seize control of the vast ocean. Apart from the three large and one small continent, there existed tens of thousands of islands of varying sizes, some large enough to hold entire nations.

No one force could regulate each of these areas, despite how each Clan would try.

The Pirate Kings filled this void of authority.

In Dobraine’s time, there were three Pirate Kings, each one strong enough to rival the absolute strongest master in any single Great Clan. A deadly force to be reckoned with.

When Dobraine turned 19, his fishing adventures turned to an unfortunate end.

The Jecekel Fishing Company had unknowingly run afoul of one of the three Pirate Kings of that era, the Dragon Queen Guyara. This fearsome warrior was a powerful queen with the bloodline of an ancient dragon running in her veins. Her Natural Ability was one that allowed her to transform into an exceedingly strong dragon, and granted her fierce control over draconic creatures.

Of the three Pirate Kings of this era, Guyara was feared the most. Her dragon armies terrorized the Southern Sea. They singlehandedly battled with two of the Great Clans, fighting them to a standstill.

Guyara was offended when a leader of the Jecekel Fishing Company refused to pay tribute for safe passage. As a result, she had a branch of her armies attack several of their large scale fishing ships, massive wooden edifices that brought in the lion’s share of profit.

Dobraine was stationed on one of these ships, along with his wife. Both of them were Sea Hunters, and had met by chance, a beautiful tale in its own right.

Guyara’s forces arrived, and obliterated the ship Dobraine was on. His wife was killed, as was the entirety of the crew, save for Dobraine who survived by hiding in a broken barrel, set adrift at sea. Dobraine was badly injured, dying of thirst and starvation when he washed ashore on a distant island.

Gradually, Dobraine recovered. Alone, thought dead by his clan, his only love murdered, Dobraine vowed revenge. Every day he would wake up at the crack of dawn, and practice. With only the most rudimentary knowledge about swordmanship, and only a mediocre talent when it came to his Natural Ability, his cause seemed lost.

Yet, miraculously, through sheer force of will and effort, Dobraine became a Swordmaster, creating his own unique style.

When he grew strong enough to return to the continent, he shook the world, becoming a legendary master at the peak of strength.

And, at this peak of strength, he obliterated Guyara and her dragon armies, and became renowned for his hatred of dragons. He personally sent several dragon species into extinction, killing thousands of dragons over his lifetime.

His blade, Wyrmblight, was personally forged to aid him in his quest for slaying dragons, and was stained with the lifeblood of thousands of the fallen leviathans.

The Gem Beast Jack had run afoul of was an unbelievably rare beast known as a Magmiric Wolf.

In this world, Spiritual Beasts that were part wolf were widespread. Wolves were powerful and wise even for regular predators, and when combined with Spiritual Energy, creatures of this type grew common.

A Magmiric Wolf stood at the peak of the food chain. A mix of an Ancient Magma Dragon and a legendary King Wolf, Magmiric Wolves were immensely powerful, with the unique ability to condense energy into mighty and devastating attacks, in addition to absolute fire resistance and control over magma.

Magmiric Wolves also had the ability to transform, covering themselves with a layer of dragon scales and spikes, increasing their physical defense and abilities.

While Magmiric Wolves were known as wolves in nature, at their very core, they were still part dragon. When the wolf activated its transformed state, it drew upon this draconic nature, and emanated the aura of a dragon.

And the blade, Wyrmblight, was made for killing dragons.

Golden light blazed off of Jack like a beacon as he stared with shining eyes at the scaled Gem Beast before him. A ferocious, deadly air emanated from Jack, an aura that the seemed to set the world afire. A faint enraged visage of the Sundering Sword Monarch was just barely visible, superimposed upon Jack.

“DRAGON! TODAY SHALL BE YOUR LAST!” Jack roared out, his voice much deeper than usual. His body twitched as he took a step forward, a menacing and deadly aura shaking the air. Time distorted around him as he drew completely upon the Time Essence in his Soul, the impact of his aura spreading out faster.

All around this location, creatures began to flee. Part of this was due to the presence of the Magmiric Wolf, and the attack it had just unleashed. The other part, however, was due to the condensed and murderous aura Jack was unleashing, one that was inhumanly dense and deadly. Crimson Golems, various volcanic or fire attributed beasts, anything within a few miles of this valley turned tail and fled, trying to escape.

The fearsome aura Jack gave off shook the Magmiric Wolf to its core. The powerful animal stood frozen for a brief instant before blurring out of existence as it turned tail and fled, blasting away from the scene.

The words Jack yelled faded in the valley as silence returned. The golden light around Jack began to fade, the transparent image of the Sundering Sword Monarch vanishing with the absence of the wolf. Awareness slowly seeped into Jack’s eyes as he sheathed his blade. He looked down at his hands in awe, the overbearing aura still ringing strongly in his mind.

A second later, however, and he collapsed. The injuries he had already sustained, as well as the strain of bearing the force of the Sundering Sword Monarch’s aura, even if just for an instant, crashed into Jack, overwhelming his mind.

He quickly joined the other unconscious figures at the scene, and the valley returned to peace.

..

..

Colors and strange symbols filled Jack’s head, a meandering, mysterious image that twisted and turned. A long string appeared, stretching out seemingly to infinity before snapping, sending vast vibrations through his soul. Strange golden angels, mysterious red giants with flames dripping off their shoulders, enormous silver dragons, a variety of creatures appeared in his mind, the same ones he’d seen when he travelled through the Space Gate. These beings all gave off a heavenly, godly aura, overwhelming in strength.

Slowly, he saw one of the golden angels turn to face him, a majestic, kindly looking elderly man, with a warm smile on his face. Comforting golden light flashed out from this angel as he beckoned to Jack, waving him forward welcomingly.

As his mind processed these visions, voices faded in and out of Jack’s mind.

“…cannot let outsiders into the Conclave! We simply cann-…”

“…disagree… a hero that… according to… prophecy… Time Clan…”

“… ludicrous! I say again, this is to be…”

The voices were discordant, some filled with anger, others with malice. Jack angrily shut them out, trying to let his mind return to the wonders of the darkness, to the friendly angels and other creatures.

However, after he shut out the voices, only a distant, empty darkness remained as Jack’s mind returned to slumber, his body slowly healing.

..

..

An ache in his side was the first thing Jack noticed as he came awake, his mind groggy.

Pain covered the entire right side of his chest, a deepest ache of bruised and perhaps injured bone. He groaned aloud as felt as his chest, noting the bandaged and wrapped injury.

As he felt his mind clear, Jack shot up, going on high alert.

He immediately regretted sitting up as a wave of pain threatened to send him back into unconsciousness. Jack’s vision wavered for an instant.

Hastily, Jack drew upon his Spirit, enhancing the durability of his entire body. With this, he managed to stave off the pain, his vision clearing.

He found himself in a small bedroom. Light brown wooden planks covered the floor and walls, spotted with age. A small beige rug sat at the center of the small room, giving the place a comforting feel. Apart from the faded straw bed he rested on, and a small dresser off to the side, the room was empty, devoid of anything of note. A black wooden door rested opposite of him, leading to somewhere unknown.

“Falling unconscious and waking up somewhere else… This is a habit I’d like to drop…” Jack muttered as he finished scanning the area, his mind gaining focus.

Instinctively Jack reached for his Space Sealed Pouch, remembering the medicine he had in it. However, Jack quickly found that the pouch wasn’t on him.

In a panic, Jack calmed himself, entering a meditative state to check his soul. He found that he still had a connection to the pouch. As long as he had this connection, no one else could withdraw anything from the pouch unless he willed it, or they destroyed the pouch, letting all of the contents fall free. His heart calmed slightly upon seeing this.

As he found the pouch in his soul, Jack also became aware of two other things.

First, there was a glowing golden sword floating in his soul, where there hadn’t been before. As he looked at this, Jack instinctively felt that this was a connection with Wyrmblight. It was more than that, however, he realized as he focused on the shimmering blade.

When he had first found the blade and received the inheritance of the Sundering Sword Monarch, the blade had become his own. Now, however, Jack felt as if the sword had truly accepted him.

Instinctively, Jack willed the sword in his soul to appear in his hand.

Instantly a slim, golden sword appeared in Jack’s right hand. Jack opened his eyes wide as he saw this, grinning. He focused and willed the blade away, watching it vanish from sight, returning back to the misty space of his soul.

“Well, now that is convenient.” He muttered, happy. Being able to hide a sword in his soul, and always have his sword when he needed it, gave Jack a huge advantage. He’d just gained a useful and powerful ability.

The second thing he noticed was the ball of Time Essence in his soul. From its original size, Jack noticed that it had now expanded to be about the size of his head.

Excited, Jack activated his Slowed State, feeling the world around him twist.

1/3rd speed… 1/4th speed… 1/5th speed… The world reached 1/5th speed and stopped increasing. Jack frowned slightly as he saw this but shrugged. It seemed the fastest he could move remained the same.

The amount of Time Essence he could draw on, however, had roughly tripled.

He instinctively felt that he could move at 1/5th speed for a full 15 seconds before running out of Time Essence.

Somehow, during his unconsciousness, the amount of Time Essence he was able to store had increased tremendously.

“But how?” He muttered, frowning. His mother’s last transmission to him had been interrupted, and he wasn’t sure how Time Clan members trained their Natural Ability. He looked at the ball of Time Essence in his soul in confusion, not sure how or why exactly it had grown larger. The only thing he’d manage to figure out so far was that if he used the Time Essence, it would expand slightly when it reformed back in his soul.

This sudden increase left him with many questions, and few answers.

“Where am I?” He stood up, wobbling, letting go of his Slowed State. He looked down at his body, taking a full accounting.

His arms and shoulders were wrapped in white bandages. He was covered in bruises from what he could tell, and a couple of his ribs felt broken. His right hand, in particular, felt tender. He looked down at it, seeing a faint burn in the shape of his sword’s hilt. He frowned, stretching his hand and wincing. His injuries seemed to be pretty widespread.

The last memory he had was of the overpowering aura of the Sundering Sword Monarch flowing through his body. A remnant of the Monarch’s hatred for dragons seemed to have clung to the sword, and manifested itself when Jack came into contact with a draconic creature.

In particular, Jack recalled that when the golden light filled his body, while part of it was from the remnant of the Sundering Sword Monarch, part of it was from the blade itself. The light had enhanced his body, making it stronger. If he faced any dragon-like being in the future, the knowledge that this light would appear again entered Jack’s mind. It seemed to be one of the special abilities of Wwyrmblight, the sword he had picked up.

The remnant of the Sundering Sword Monarch’s hatred, however, was well and truly gone. He would not be able to make use of the previous owner’s aura again, though the aura of the blade itself would remain. It might be enough to drive off weaker draconic beasts Jack figured, rubbing his forehead. He would need to test it.

A few minutes passed as Jack thought about what had occurred, and laid back down to rest, feeling the aches in his body. A full thirty minutes went by. He reviewed the events of the past weeks, shaking his head in wonder. So many things had happened so quickly, it felt almost like a fairytale, like those fantastic books of adventurers rescuing damsels in distress.

Jack’s musings were interrupted, however, by a loud knocking on his door. Jack turned to look at it, sitting up in his bed.

“Come i-“ Before he could finish speaking, a pair of burly men walked in, clad in red leather armor with a pair of blades attached to their belts. A reedy man wearing a set of long crimson robes walked in after them, examining Jack like a doctor looks at a patient. He had a long pair of spectacles on his head, and a lined, leathery face. He gave Jack a warm smile.

“Ah, you are awake this time, excellent. Your wounds have been treated to a stable point. I hope you won’t mind if I double check.”

Jack nodded his assent.

The man walked forward and pulled at Jack’s arm, looking it over. He then poked and prodded a few places on his chest, nodding.

“Thank you for the uh-, the treatment I guess. Would you mind, though, telling me where I am?” Jack kept his voice polite and respectful as the doctor finished inspecting his body.

“Don’t thank me yet, young warrior.” The doctor said. He then nodded at the two guards off to the side.

“You are fit enough to be interviewed. The Council has requested to speak with you. You can ask them your questions.”

The doctor gave Jack an apologetic look as one of the two warriors brought out a pair of metal cuffs, staring at Jack intently. A sort of tension filled the air as the fighters stepped forward.

“I hope you don’t mind the precautions. It has been a long time since the Conclave entertained a member of the Time Clan, and some Council members have insisted.”