Birth of Light Read online

  “You know what that means, don’t you?”

  Xero drops Konner. Turning, the intruder bends down, picks up his own weapon in his free hand, and re-sheaths it. Slowly, Xero turns back around. Konner’s weapon is shifting from a sword to a spear.

  “I may not be able to kill you with my weapon, but tell me, KonnerLorian, will you crack for yours?”

  A wicked grin falls upon Xero’s face. He moves to stab the spear through Konner’s chest. Quickly, Konner throws up his hand to create a shield but is not fast enough to fully generate it. The spear glances off of the energy shield. Konner feels a white hot heat pierce his side. The soldier stops, and his arms fall to his sides, limp. Looking down, Konner sees the spear has skewered him almost clean through. The King reaches forward, grabs the spear, and in a raging defiance, he overpowers Xero’s thrust and wrenches the spear from his gut. His vision begins to blur as Konner starts to lose consciousness. The room slowly fills with the shadow monsters that are at Xero’s bidding. “Don’t let him win, Konner, not like this!” Konner thinks to himself. As fast as his body will allow him, Konner reaches for his bracer. He presses a number of glowing glyphs. The Lorian family crest begins to glow and before Xero can stop Konner, the glyph is pressed.

  “NO!”

  Xero roars. He leaps toward Konner, who feels a massive amount of energy drain from his body before violently erupting from within with such force, he feels as if his body is being ripped apart. Having been harmed by his own weapon, Konner is unable to activate the full power of a “Crack,” but with his bracer’s aid, maybe, just maybe, he can draw up enough of one to kill Xero. Konner lets out a primal roar in agonizing pain as a fraction of the radiation he has been absorbing his entire life is violently ripped from his body and concentrated into a single white-hot explosion. The blast incinerates the shadow creatures and everything else in the immediate vicinity, Konner sees Xero being blasted away from him with such force that no one could survive it. The explosion encompasses the entirety of the palace, effectively destroying it. As the light fades, Konner looks around at the rubble near him, his bracer blinking a warning at two percent power. The gravely injured soldier tries to get up but falls over. Slowly, he stumbles forward to where Na’era has fallen. The intensity of the blast has removed all traces of her. Within the pile of ash, Konner sees something gleaming. Reaching down, the rapidly weakening High King grabs a white piece of metal that is formed into a small circle, waves of tiny diamonds swirling around the small ring until they reach the main, soft yellow stone at the top. His mother’s wedding ring. It had been given to Na’era as a one-year anniversary gift, and although he never loved her in the way of a husband, he still loved Na’era as a friend and mother of his son. A sharp pain radiates up Konner’s side like lightning. He winces and Konner tries to climb to his feet but collapses. Breathing heavily, a soft rumble catches the gravely injured man’s ears.

  Konner peers over a tiny portion of destroyed wall. In a cliff face is a large hole made from Xero’s impact. The rocks move slightly. Konner’s heart drops. The stone face falls away to reveal Xero standing within the crater, breathing heavily, uninjured from Konner’s most powerful attack. Xero lets out a roar that shakes the ground, and he leaps into the air toward the fading Konner. Without a moment’s hesitation, Konner slams his hand into his bracer and activates the teleporting sequence. Focusing his blurring vision on Xero rather than his thoughts on a location, Konner is pulled into a portal along with a majority of what remains of the palace. Everything goes dark.

  Heat is the first thing Konner feels, an all-encompassing heat that surrounds his body like nothing he has ever felt before. Soft beeps echo past the roaring blaze that accompanies the rapidly increasing temperature. The beeping is familiar; it’s the sound of his bracer being charged at an accelerated rate. Still weary from the battle and his grievous wounds, Konner’s eyes wearily flutter open as the heat is rapidly replaced by the frigid cold. Something new grasps Konner, a familiar sensation. It takes a few moments for his mind to process the sensation: weightlessness. The fallen King forces his eyes open as the roar of wind fills his ears. It is dark, but mist sprays Konner’s face as he passes through a floating white tuft of cotton. Konner begins to struggle slightly as he emerges from the far side of the cloud, but the wound on his side sends jolts of paralyzing pain surging throughout his body as he drifts in and out of consciousness, heading toward fully awake.

  Konner looks down, weary and broken, both physically and mentally, bites his lower lip, and gives out a loud whistle. After a few seconds, he hears nothing. The darkened ground comes into view below him and he sees a structure made from wood and metal, unlike anything on Boron. Quickly, Konner realizes Drakesjäl is not coming. He attempts to form a shield around himself. The azure light sputters briefly for a moment around him, but the pain in his side prevents him from concentrating enough to generate the protective barrier. Konner, unable to create a layer of protection, leans to his right as hard as he can in an attempt to control his unyielding descent. Below, the seemingly unending plains of dust stretch out in all directions; the road, consisting of strange materials, as well as the building, illuminated by antiquated lights in the strangely pitch black darkness, rapidly approaches the falling King.

  As Konner grows closer, a melody cuts through the noise of the wind, accompanied with a woman’s voice; the structure is not empty. Ignoring the pain in his side, Konner struggles to change his course through the air as he has already met terminal velocity and would be upon the ground in a matter of seconds. Konner turns his back to the ground and closes his eyes with the expectation that when he hits, everything will go blank forever. So long as the one below him is not harmed, the defeated King is okay with that. As he gets closer, the woman’s voice becomes audible and cuts through the noise of the wind; the voice of an angel, singing, oblivious to the impending disaster.

  “Plain ol’ Jane told a story ‘bout a man who was too afraid to fly, so he never did land…”

  A shock rips through Konner’s body with a thunderous violence; the sweet care-free voice of the woman is replaced by the loud, violent explosion of wood, glass, and metal as Konner slams through the roof of the building. Another, more definitive shock rips through Konner’s body, his eyes still shut as his descent has been stopped by the planet beneath him. Konner feels a surge of energy leave him and enter his bracer, which emanates from him in a single, powerful pulse upon contact. As he comes to a halt, the wind is forced from his lungs as the Earth gives way under the force of his landing. Chest burning as Konner gasps for air, his side spasms with the pain of being run through and his head pounding from the impact. Konner slowly allows his eyes to flutter open. Miraculously, somehow, he has survived. Konner looks down at his blood-soaked hand. Ever so slowly, he wiggles each one of the five fingers, counting off as each individual one moves. He looks at his second hand and gradually repeats the process. “All ten fingers are moving, good.” Looking down at his boots, Konner tells his feet to move. If he weren’t gasping helplessly for air, Konner would be holding his breath. Both feet move. A smile would form on Konner’s face at this point in time, but the pain that echoes throughout his body prevents that from happening.

  Konner slowly twists himself over in the crater he has made. Sparks fly from above him from the shattered building, which mostly stands erect, thanks to Konner’s attempt to miss it. Konner plants his hand at the top of the crater. His muscles sore, his bones aching, his chest burning, Konner’s eyes flare azure blue with energy as every atom of his body languishes in pain. The pain is so all-encompassing, so complete, Konner does not realize that Na’era’s wedding gift is not with him but rather remained in the dirt. The fallen King attempts to orient himself. Searching for the source of the melodious voice, he turns and faces the inside of the building. In an instant, Konner’s pain melts away as he sees a beautiful strawberry-red-haired woman with smooth radiantly white skin cowering under a table. A gash is on her forehead, a face frau
ght with fear, and a piece of wood covered in blood is lying next to her bleeding stomach. Konner’s family crest flickers out. The vision of the injured woman distracts him so much he does not notice his cape fall from his shoulders.

  Guilt racks Konner. While he is a soldier and has witnessed truly horrid events, never before has he been responsible for the injury of an innocent. Konner shakes his head in remorse as a weak, nearly broken voice echoes from his lips.

  “I am so sorry.”

  Konner hardly notices a soft white light begin to emanate from his hands and radiate up his arms before evaporating into the air like a white flame. Konner’s eyes notice that the gash on the woman’s forehead slowly begins to heal until there is no mark of the injury, only soft, flawless skin back where it should be. For a brief moment, Konner forgets about his own injuries, until a sharp pain sticks him in the side. The light dissipates almost instantly as the shock sends Konner to one knee.

  “Gahhaha, Bracer, I need medical attention.”

  The bracer responds instantly.

  “The science on this planet is too primitive to heal your wounds. Sol 3’s white sun can increase metabolic rate and heal your wounds. Recommend proceeding to a well-lit area.”

  “Sol 3?”

  When Konner hears the name, he smiles. His entire life, he has wanted to visit this planet and now he is here, where he can grow stronger before returning home to free his people.

  “Then take me to sunlight,”

  Konner commands. The bracer automatically triggers a portal to open in a flash of fiery blue light, which swallows Konner into the darkness between locations. Within moments, a pinprick of white light catches Konner’s attention; rapidly, it grows as it gets closer. A pleasantly warm heat arises from the now blinding light as it begins to embrace Konner in a blissful intensity.

  As the light surrounds the prince, he feels its warm radiation kiss his beaten body. The light overtakes him as he exits the wormhole with a splash; he feels his body drop a few feet as he lands in a body of cold water. The initial sensation sends a shock through his spine as he takes in a deep breath at the rapid change in temperature and the water seeps into the few non-sealed parts of his armor. Konner squints as the sudden change from dark to light blinds him. He puts his hand up between him and the sun, and as the rays of Sol 3’s closest star bathes him in its warm light, Konner exhales slowly, causing a small, barely visible puff of vapor to form off his lips. As his vision compensates for the bright light, Konner sees something that takes his breath away, a lake with water so still that, aside from the ripples caused by his entry into the water, it resembles glass.

  The air is fresh—it reminds him of Maleon 4—but unlike that world, there is a scent to it, one he never smelled before. The prince takes a few more deep breaths as the cold fresh air fills his lungs as his eyes survey a small beach to his left and a wooden platform floating in the water before him. To his right, about a hundred meters away, is a small island covered in tall pointed trees on one side that climbs up to a rock face on the other, which drops straight into the lake. It is only then that the white-hot pain in his side makes itself apparent. Konner looks down as the blood pours from his wound, past his hands caked in red, and into the brown water, changing its color to an auburn red. His legs give way a little as he collapses into the water further, the cold sensation moving up to his chest, which causes his breath to catch in his throat. He notices that he is missing a few things: the cape signifying his position, but most importantly, the ring Na’era had given him before their wedding; it is gone. In desperation, he looks to his bracer and his heart sinks. The power within the bracer blinks at zero.

  Forcing himself to his feet, he begins to struggle against the waist-deep water as he begins to make his way to the beach on his left. A sensation of warmth begins to fill him, replacing the icy chill of the lake. The white-hot pain in his side begins to pulsate throughout his body as he begins to tremble, going into shock from his injury. Konner’s vision blurs; he tries to focus on his hands while he attempts to put pressure on the wound, not like it would do any good since it is straight through his body and he knows that. The water cleaned the caked on blood from his hands, only to have fresh bright red gore hemorrhaging from him. The prince stumbles to the shallower waters, collapsing on his knees. He knew what kind of injury this was and he was on Earth. A sinking feeling nags at the back of his mind as he realizes he is never going home again.

  “At least I got to see Earth once,”

  Konner mutters to himself. A strange sensation washes over him; the warmth that overtook him cascades and concentrates itself around and towards his wound. Like waves crashing on beach, the heat that builds within him numbs the pain of his grievous wound. Gradually, the red plasma stops pouring from his side. A rush of adrenaline hits him in the chest like a hammer as he feels the sensation of an explosion of heat and energy within him. His wound glows with a blinding white light from both his front and back. The light gives off so much heat that the water around him boils and evaporates. Every cell in his body feels as if it is on fire, but it does not hurt. It should, but it causes the prince no pain.

  The light subsides, causing Konner to immediately look down at where his wound was, which is now nothing but a small circular scar. His armor begins to reassert itself over his wound as his vision returns to normal. Catching his breath, Konner pulls himself to his feet. He feels as good as new. He glances down at his bracer as the power levels rise to five percent gradually before stopping. The computerized voice echoes into the serene environment around him.

  “Bracer five percent. Self-inflicted wound healed. Recommend getting into local clothing.”

  Konner takes a few steps out of the water before glancing down at the bracer.

  “I never harmed myself!”

  “Negative, Energynium weapon you forged was used to damage you. You and Energynium are one resulting in immediate cellular regeneration being possible.”

  “Well then, it is a good thing Xero did not use his sword,”

  Konner adds as he lets his eyes wander to a small shack on a slab of concrete to his left and steps that lead up to a slightly larger building with a patio on his right. A rushing sound echoes from behind the trees, and in a small break, Konner sees something move rapidly out of view. Konner ignites his shield, ready for anything as he slowly makes his way up to the steps. Another rush of wind fills the air. Konner ducks but continues to climb until he is able to see a strange path of black flattened stone before him. Nothing he has ever seen before and certainly not something that he has come across in his readings. A third rushing sound, which is accompanied by a blur of yellow; Konner quickly sprints up to the stone path before him and looks to the right, only to see a large vehicle, painted yellow, moving away from him.

  Konner relaxes a bit; it was just an ancient mode of transportation. He chuckles to himself, feeling ridiculous that he got so worked up over something so small. As his senses return to equilibrium, the prince hears the faint chirping of bugs and birds, the rustling of small animals around him. This place is peaceful, quiet; it reminds him of home before the nightmare that has just befell him. As he allows himself to let his guard down, that is when he hears it: a powerful heartbeat, the rustling through the brush and behind trees. It is something much larger and moving much faster than the indigenous life around him. As Konner takes a deep breath, he feels a buzzing sensation in the back of his head, and something he has never felt before.

  His body has just been healed from something that would have been fatal had any other weapon been used. He is not about to let another attack threaten his life. The buzzing in his skull causes his ears to ring as the street lamp above him flickers. Konner’s eyes flare as he falls to his knees, holding his head. He catches a glance at his bracer and sees that the power levels rise almost immediately to one hundred percent. Once the bracer is fully charged, the ringing in his ears and the buzzing in his skull stops. Without a moment’s hesitation, he picks up a
small rock that is in the dirt near his feet. Igniting his shield, it crackles and sparks with a loud hum. Konner throws the rock as hard as he can at the tree next to the source of the heartbeat. The rock finds its mark and punches a hole straight through the tree before bouncing off of a few more, splintering them as it ricochets off and into the ground.

  “WHO IS THERE!”

  Konner roars, prepared for anything.

  “SHOW YOURSELF!”

  “WHOA!”

  A woman’s voice rings out as two hands shoot into Konner’s field of view. Gradually, the being begins to exit her cover.

  “Va fan, calm down there big guns. I come in peace!”

  Konner thought he was prepared for anything. Anything but this; the woman completely exits her cover and looks Konner dead in the eyes. She is not touching the ground; she hovers a few inches above it. This takes Konner by surprise, but the fallen prince’s heart nearly stops when he sees that the woman who stands before him looks exactly like an old friend with the exception of having blond hair. His shield shuts off as he curiously takes a few steps towards her; she takes just as many steps back, keeping her ice-blue eyes on him.