Chapter One-Hundred-Fifty-One: Talon-Ben Nul Huduk - Part Two

  Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

  Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation

  Solar System: D-447

  ***

  A week before the Second Official Challenge of the Grant Hunt

  ***

  Solara stands across from me. The air hums with a reverent tone of Maka as her runes dance with light, tracing her exposed flesh like a soft whisper of intention. In the air around her feet I see more runes hovering just above the flesh, ones that I have not seen before. I understand their meaning though, runes made to increase agility. She showed me them weeks ago, among other things.

  “Are you ready?” she asks me.

  I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as I absorb as much of the Maka in the air around me. I have not tried to fight with runes before. In truth, I had not planned on showing her how much I gleaned from her teachings. She promised answers if I beat her. The prize for winning is too great to risk, she has answers I have sought for too long.

  “I am sorry,” I say, steadying my breath and focusing my resolve.

  “For what?”

  “For the deception.”

  “What de…”

  The air quivers as a pulse runs through it, a pulse of my will vibrating through the Maka. Runic lines begin to etch slowly across the surface of my skin. Runes that I have spent a lifetime being envious of, runes shaped to improve the body, runes that change the flow of Maka and hold it for better usage. The feeling is similar to when I channeled Netherium… intoxicating.

  My eyes open slowly to look up at Solara, her mouth is agape in confusion.

  “But… you said you didn’t know how to shape them.”

  “I didn’t, not truly.”

  “One cannot learn to be this proficient in mere weeks, you lied to me, you…” her face twitches, “You lied to me… after everything I have done for you… after you spoke of a foundation of trust…”

  There is a feeling rising up in me… guilt. There is hurt in her eyes as she clenches her jaw, looking at me with disdain that I have earned.

  “I spent a lifetime studying the runes of others. Once you showed me the path, the rest followed. I did not know how to do it fully before I came here.”

  “Why did you pretend?”

  I ready my stance, “Being underestimated has advantages.”

  “Then why tell me now instead of using it during the fight?” she scowls at me, frustration written across her brow.

  “It would be dishonorable to cheat you after you have helped me.”

  Her eyes close her tone is sharp, “You are such a fucking contradiction,” her eyes open with a piercing glare, “Sometimes I think you’re different from any man I’ve known, honest to a fault, caring without meaning to be,” she shifts to be ready to strike, “Other times, I think you have the emotional intelligence of a grape.”

  “I am ready when you are.”

  She throws her blades into the mats, “We will fight with our hands.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sure I can hold back on you right now.”

  Her temper betrays her. She told me that most of her instruction was with Ionic blades, knives and spears.

  I am hesitant to say this, but the guilt inspires it, “It will not be fair for you.”

  Her temper flares, “Shut the fuck up and fight me.”

  “I want to fight you fairly, it’s not…”

  The air rushes as she lunges, an overwhelming swell of Maka shakes the air around her. Her pace is faster than it was before, dangerously so. She strikes seven times in a single breath, each one I defend. If I was not past the fourth, my throbbing arms would surely have shattered. She is perhaps as strong as Luna.

  “I lied too,” she says, kicking my leg in quick succession, “And I’ve almost broken the fifth boundary.”

  “Lied about what?”

  She does not answer. I press for distance trying to change the dynamic, but she closes the gap… she is a monster of sheer strength. Every time I am about to strike her, she pivots, as though her mind is operating faster than mine.

  My skill is sharper than hers, but the difference in her mastery of Etheric Maka is clear. That and I do not fight as well with Etheric Maka. A strike to my sternum takes the wind from my chest, I roll backward to reduce the impact. She leaps forward, tackling me as I rise, slamming her head against mine three times, dazing me.

  “I was going to go easy on you,” she seethes, “I was going to let you win.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  I shift my weight under her, grappling my arm under hers and lifting up, knocking her off me. I scramble to my feet, but she rises slowly, deliberately, her eyes slanting at me.

  Red lines trace between the runes, she’s pressing out too much power too quickly.

  “You’re lucky I don’t have a mana ring,” she says, walking slowly.

  Mana ring? Focus. I can feel the ebb of the Netheric Maka flowing out from her as the Etheric leaves. Like a whisper, I feel it drawing towards me. Every moment that she pushes harder, I feel myself growing stronger as I leech it from her. Soon it will be my moment. I just need to last long enough.

  She leaps, a high kick follows, I duck to the side and strike her ribs, she winces and turns, grabbing my arm and pulling me into her knee. The pain is sharp, but I roll my wrist dislocating it in the process and slipping her grasp. She gives me a strange look at the move.

  The wrist slides back into place as the Netheric Maka pulses into it. Her eyes blink at this, but she does not stop the momentum of her rhythm. She swings with her right hand, a second strike comes from her left leg as she pivots. My body screams in pain, but I do not. I do not show that it feels fractured, within a few breaths it will be healed again. If I had more Netheric Maka, I think I could have beaten her from the start. Her moves are unrefined and wild like her temper. A stark contrast to…

  My eyes bulge as she strikes between my thighs, nearly getting my groin. She headbutts me again, scratching and clawing my arms, my blood matching the color of her hair.

  Almost time, the Netheric lines are growing deeper, her pace is becoming sluggish, her breath is no longer even. Sweat beads from her brow.

  “Your fucking Netheric body is bullshit,” she breathes out, shaking her head, “You’ll need to learn to hide it, else they’ll kill you.”

  “Who?”

  She lunges, punching at the air where I was.

  “The Imperium,” she says between breaths.

  Her swings are becoming slower, the Netheric lines are running up her neck.

  “Fuck…” she snips, “I usually fight with Etherium.”

  “Do you yield?” I ask, tracing around her.

  “No.”

  The moment arrives as I shift my stance, my runes shift from blue to red instantly and the power increases. It only takes three strikes to send her to her knees.

  “Do you yield?”

  “Fuck… you.”

  “I have won.”

  “No, I’m not done yet.”

  The lines travel up to her eyes. The air stirs as she presses for all of her reserves, rising to her feet. Her resolve is carving respect into my memories of her. She knows she will not win, yet she still tries.

  Her next blows are firm, but I am much faster now with Netheric Maka in my body, I strike four times, twice to her sternum, once to her stomach, and then swiftly across her jaw with my foot. She crumples in a heap on the ground, unconscious. I grab her up delicately, brushing the hair from her face and carrying her in my arms from the room.

  The hallways of the ship stretch like endless corridors, none of the servants that I pass say anything, they simply stare onwards as though they are statues. When I reach the Etherium laden room, I set her down gently and watch the red runic lines fade quickly and be replaced with blue ones.

  It is strange though, the Etheric Maka does not pull from me the Netheric. Almost like the pull of my body is now more than the natural attraction they share. Why is my body like this? Is this normal for spark bearers? It didn’t seem like it, Solara said I will have to hide it. The sage told me the same as a boy. Why though? What is so wrong about channeling Netheric Maka? Why is there so much prejudice against it?

  “Did I lose?” she asks softly.

  “You fought well.”

  She groans, putting an arm over her eyes, “I’m sorry, I lost my temper.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “I just… I’m not used to feeling like this,” she glances over at me with one eye, “Most people I keep at arm’s length.”

  “Why is it that you are infatuated with me? You do not know me well enough for such feelings, and I have given you no indication that I am interested.”

  “Fuck’s sake,” she chuckles, her face still flushed from fighting, “You really don’t have a filter.” She sits up, leaning against the wall, “It’s complicated.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I guess you did win.”

  I nod.

  “You’ll need to understand something else first before you’ll understand why. It’s childish, an idle fantasy that I grew up with. In truth, I don’t really want to like you like that.”

  “Why?”

  She laughs lightly, leaning her head back to look at me, “You’re kind of an asshole to be honest.”

  My gaze falls, Luna has said similar things before. Perhaps introspection would do me well. Their society seems more… polite.

  “I was raised with three aspirations that I inherited from my mother.”

  I look back up at her, there is a mixing of emotions on her face.

  “One, to become Primus of House Draconis,” she shakes her head, “An impossible task, the current Primus is more than a thousand years old. I may be heir apparent, but it’s a place holder, the real person they would choose would never be made public. Those they feel are expendable are made to occupy my position. That’s why that moron Dallus was the heir before me.”

  “Is that how Luna’s house works?” I ask, now worried.

  Her face grimaces, that was insensitive of me I think, to ask after Luna when she speaks of her own plight.

  “No, the Republic of Hekate is different from the Gallec Empire, their heirs are the true heirs. The empire is a cesspool of betrayal and subterfuge. People constantly die and kill to gain the favor of the Emperor. We all know it’s so he can keep us weak enough to stay in power, but any that don’t play the game…”

  “Become the next target.”

  She nods.

  “What is the second?”

  “To pass the mortal bounds. Which for someone like you, might not seem impressive, but for most it takes a lifetime of rigorous training to even touch the first bound. By then they’re too old to make it to the next. It’s much easier if you have a master to teach you, most do not, most never will.”

  “Why not?” I remember Luna and Kotina spoke of the first three, but they didn’t say much as to the rest of the galaxy.

  “Imagine if all the peoples in the galaxy suddenly started breaking bounds, they’d be harder to control. The Imperium likes control, thrives on it even. Without them, the pacts would crumble and the galaxy would be swallowed by war and rot.”

  “That is why it is forbidden to speak of the upper bounds.”

  She nods, “It’s all about control. The gods need it.”

  I tilt my head at her, “Why?”

  “Belief becomes power,” she says, “At least that’s what my master said.”

  I have heard that before. From my mother and...

  “What does Child of the Dawn mean?” I ask.

  She tilts her head slowly, the flush from exercise in her face starting to recede, “Who said that to you?”

  “Leora, and Tavjac.”

  She scrunches her nose, folding her arms, “I don’t know who Tavjac is, though I did hear Inquisitor Victoria mention him once. As for why Leora called you that, it must be relating to your spark. Though it’s just a guess, I don’t actually know.”

  “My spark,” I say, thinking on the golden eyes.

  “Kuwathi was known as the Dawn mother, perhaps your spark is related to her. It would make sense given that you were born to a Kuwathi woman. I think she’s the only deity in that pantheon that’s related to the dawn.”

  “How many spark bearers are there?”

  She shrugs, “Enough that they aren’t unknown by major houses, but few enough that you rarely see mention of them throughout the history of the Imperium. It could be more than they say, as it’s not advisable to advertise you’re a god’s reincarnation. Some people would seek to exploit it.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re not that dense.”

  “I can guess, but your perspective is valuable too.”

  “Flattering,” she says lazily, “Well, for one, reincarnations are almost guaranteed to make it to the higher bounds, their souls have already passed them once after all. Having strong minions would be worth fighting over.”

  “People would want to fight over me?”

  She smirks, shaking her head, “Luna really didn’t tell you shit.”

  “I don’t think she knew I was a spark bearer or whatever I am,” I say defensively.

  Solara shakes her head, “She is na?ve, but she is not stupid. Though maybe she didn’t know. I know her house keeps her in the dark, for whatever reason, that much was clear when she came to Knight commander selection process. They didn’t even tell her about the first challenge. Pretty fucked up in my opinion.”

  “What happened?”

  She sighs, “I don’t really want to talk about Luna. Not that I don’t like her, it’s just… complicated.”

  “Fine,” I shift, leaning against the wall as well, letting some Etheric Maka spill into runes that I am shaping beneath the surface, something I have been experimenting with the last week.

  “Well, I suppose I should tell you the third aspiration my mother gave me.”

  She swallows, letting out a breath.

  “But first, there’s something I want.”

  free month of Patreon ??

  ^^^FREE MONTH^^^