95. Chaos
Mode
Still floating thanks to the jets that pointed out from the soles of
his boots, Averyl ran a hand through his inky black hair and stared down to the
battle-scarred surface of Pandemonium. Below him, splayed on the ground like an
intricate crop circle were the mutilated bodies of every last Zodiac assassin who
had been sent out to stop him.
"Not bad for a warm-up..." he mused, then turned his eyes toward
the gaping mouth of the volcano and prepared to dive in.
Before he could do so, a disturbance in the sky caught his attention. Although
it seemed too strange to be true, it looked as if the murky clouds that covered
the bleak sky were parting. Then, from the widening gap, a shining golden spire
of light shot down and pierced the stone.
Averyl floated closer just in time to see a cloaked being explode out from
the shimmering portal and zoom down toward the caverns. Averyl marveled at the
sensation, then a single thought crossed his mind.
Zeigfried?
He turned his sharp eyes into the depths below and watched
*************
as Roto formed another light green psynergy orb in his hand.
Tao said he wasn’t a fighter... Edward thought frantically, so that makes two of us. Unless either of
us tries to dodge this, we could be seriously hurt.
Roto tossed the psynergy orb, and Tao crossed his arms over his face.
The orb slammed into his arms, breaking through his meager barrier and scalding
his skin. He grunted in pain, but he stood strong.
Sasuke's servant merely shrugged and began charging up another. Tao took
a deep breath and prepared to take another strike head-on.
Edward's eyes frantically scanned the room. I can't let this go on. There
has to be some rule we can use against him!
Then, his eyes fell upon the limp body of Frank beside him, and an idea
dawned on Edward's mind. It was similar to what he'd felt back on that fateful
night in the Zexaron building when he saved Frank: a mad inspiration, followed
by pulse-pounding adrenalin.
You're always there when I need you, Frank, Edward thought, as he bent down and lifted up
his friend's body. I'm going to get us through this.
With a desperate stomp forward, Edward thought up a single rule in his mind
and tossed Frank's body straight at Roto.
"The robotic voice instantly echoed out. "Rule: ‘No one is
allowed to move to a new spot’ has been broken. Edward is disqualified."
Edward’s body was encased in wintergreen psynergy as Frank’s body
continued to soar through the air. The demonkin grinned, outstretched his hands,
then pulled them back at the last second and let Frank’s body crash into him. Roto
kept his body as still as possible, and neither of his legs moved.
The robotic voice echoed out. "Rule: ‘Frank’s body must always be
caught’ has been broken. Roto has lost, so the game will end."
Roto’s psynergy dissipated into the atmosphere, and Nathan's body was freed.
The demonkin looked across to Edward with incredulous eyes.
"How did you know I wouldn’t catch him?"
"We all knew about the movement rule," Edward said, "so
I figured you’d prioritize staying still above all else. Aside from that, my rule
could have been anything – Frank’s body cannot be touched, no one can stand next
to Frank, and so on and so forth. I just tried to pick the thing I thought you
were least likely to do. I may not be smart, but I'm used to people underestimating
me."
Tao heaved a deep sigh of relief and looked to Edward in admiration.
"It looks like you and your son share more in common than I thought."
"Perhaps I've become too accustomed to my own game." The sinewy
skin on Roto's face contorted as the shame from his failure set in. "I lost,
fair and square."
"I'm just glad it's over with," Nathan said, as he rose to his
feet. "Are you alright, Seneschal?"
"I'll make sure Sasuke tends to my wounds," he answered solemnly.
"Now, Roto, please don't make us wait any longer. Guide us to your master."
Roto bowed and led the men up the stairs. As they climbed Sasuke's spire,
the newcomers were exposed to floor after floor of detailed artwork. From
massive landscapes spanning an entire hallway to small portraits of cosmic shapes
and colors, Sasuke had amassed quite a collection. The hand of a woman appeared
to extend out from one, and Edward couldn’t help but keep a wide berth. Another
painting of a beach at sunset had moving waves that continuously washed onto
shore, with white birds flying across the sky on painted wings.
"Wow," Nathan said. "It’s all so beautiful."
"Master Sasuke is a collector of fine art," Roto explained,
motioning to the wall with sinewy, black-nailed fingers. "He's commissioned
many artists, and has performed amazing miracles for them in return."
"How nice of him," Edward said sarcastically. "Is that
all he does with his ability? Use it to get people to paint him pictures?"
Roto glared at Edward. "Master Sasuke is a very benevolent man. You
have no idea about the sacrifices he's made."
"He isn’t the only one who’s made sacrifices," Edward replied
sternly.
A few floors later, they came to a long straightaway lined with a massive
scroll depicting a war in an exotic world. The art featured heavily armored soldiers
fighting hulking, grotesque beasts.
"What's that?" Edward asked.
"A scroll from Yamato," Tao answered. "A scroll of legend,
to be precise – fiction, depicting a battle with otherworldly monsters. Sasuke
must have taken it from our father's treasury."
"It looks like medieval Japan." Edward noted.
"It may have its similarities," Tao said. "Yamato is a dimension
torn in two by technologically-obsessed zealots and misguided conservatives clinging
to ancient tradition. The chaos in that dimension is partly the reason why they’ve
never joined the Church’s alliance. Not only are they all heretics, they also
refuse to agree on a single governing party for their world."
"Well, that's easier said than done, if you ask me," Edward
said with a shrug. "I mean, look at Earth. We've got over a hundred independent
countries, and we don't do too shabby."
"Earth is an exception," Tao replied. "Instead of
psynergy, you have the ever-present threat of a nuclear apocalypse looming on
the horizon. In Yamato, no one hesitates to crush their opponents without leaving
any trace. On this side of the universe, that seems to be the only sure way to
promise peace."
Nathan helped Edward carry Frank up the final flight of stairs, and soon,
the four stood before an onyx door shut tight with a starchy, chiffon psynergy seal.
Roto lightly rapped on the door. The atmosphere had grown thick again, and everyone
was on their toes, anxious and apprehensive about the man who hid within.
"Why can’t you just let me have my peace?" a muffled old voice
called from behind the door. "Nothing good will come of this meeting."
"You’ve stalled us long enough," Tao called from outside. "Now
let us in."
The psynergy aura evaporated, and Roto opened the gate. Inside, Edward
found no majestic hall or towering platform on which the master of the towering
pagoda awaited. Sasuke simply sat behind a plain wooden desk in a tiny room in front
of two windows that overlooked the beautiful ocean and afternoon sunshine. To his
right was another sealed door.
Sasuke listlessly moved his eyes up from his desk and faced his visitors.
As Edward saw the face of his old boss, who looked like a short, chubbier version
of Tao, warm memories returned to his mind.
"Hey, Sasuke, thanks for the warm welcome," Edward said.
"What gives, huh?"
"Edward," Sasuke heaved out. "It saddens me to see you here."
"Cut the theatrics, Sasuke," Tao cut in. "We're only here
to beg for your help in healing this poor man – one of your own former employees."
"I see that." Sasuke stood up. "And I would be happy to
help Frank. It tears at my heartstrings to know these two men have been caught
up in such horrors, and I'm sure I don't even know the slightest of what has befallen
them."
Edward was surprised at what he was hearing. "Then..."
Sasuke's eyes pierced Tao as he pointed a wrinkled finger at his younger
brother. "But that is no excuse for you to be traveling together with this
murderer."
"What?!" Nathan and Edward both shouted.
"I already did all you asked of me," Sasuke spoke through gritted
teeth. "Now what more do you want? My only wish was to be kept out of your
plans, yet you've come to call upon me again, barging into my only safe haven, all
for what? Just to further your insane agenda!"
"Hold on a second here!" Edward shouted. "Sasuke! Tao saved
our lives. What are you taking about?"
"If he did, it was for his own convenience," Sasuke said, shaking
his head. "Just like how he's no doubt brought this young boy along for his
own protection."
Nathan's eyes flitted from Sasuke's rage to Tao's cold silence. "I..."
"He's a dog of the Church," Sasuke spat. "He sold his soul
to become a tool for those maniacal fanatics in exchange for safety and power.
And on top of that, he wants to kill her."
"Kill who?" Edward whispered.
"He wants to destroy the Daughter!" Sasuke finished. "After
all our hard work, after Victoria's sacrifice...he just wants to kill
*************
Eden sent a supercharged fist straight through Van Kaen's chest and pummeled
him to the ground. This marked the third time Eden had countered one of his wild
assaults, and she was now confident about her ability to anticipate the monster's
moves.
When Van Kaen returned to his feet, scraps of flesh hung down from his upper
chest to reveal a bloody mess of sparking wires and churning machinery. He placed
a claw on his wound and ripped away the rest of his right breast. Poking out from
within was a black nozzle.
The body of the Dragon pulsated and sparked, and a thick red beam erupted
from the creature's center. Rotating his body, he cut the beam across the wall,
vaporizing rocks and closing in on his target.
The laser was hot on Eden's heels as she dashed down the corridor. Van Kaen
followed her with precision, pumping energy through his body as the cybernetic
body crafted by Nord Phileas converted the Dragon's psynergy into a beam capable
of cleaving an entire mountain in two.
As Eden did her best to avoid the destructive onslaught, the face of
Armond P. Morrison flashed in her mind, and she remembered that fateful night
in Pittsburgh when her world had been so much simpler. Now, everything was clear.
Her worries about identity and heritage were no more.
I am the heir to the universe...the only one who can single-handedly rip
everything down. I can
accept that now. What I can’t accept is God, and how he sent me here to suffer
and die.
A vermilion glow invaded Eden’s mind, wrenching her out of her reverie.
Seemingly out of energy, Van Kaen had ended his laser assault and was in the
process of reaching a clawed hand down his throat, as if searching for something
inside. After a few moments, his arm slid back out grasping a brilliant crimson
orb.
Eden could feel the density of the pulsating bomb. Psynergy had been packed
tightly within, making it a catastrophic weapon.
Van Kaen let it fly. In response, Eden released her own power in the
form of a shining orb. The two bombs collided, blowing the cavern apart and dispersing
more energy into the atmosphere that spontaneously combusted into fireworks of
death. The psynergy that erupted from Van Kaen's bomb vaporized the entire room,
burrowing a spherical hole through the rock. A deafening tremor erupted through
the caverns
*************
of Pandemonium, stirring lava up deep below Vance, Bruce, and Winslow.
"What was that?" Vance stopped abruptly. "Eden?!"
One of Bruce's blazing fists whizzed by his face just as another loud
rumble
*************
echoed through the walls of the Boar's meditation chamber. Saffron sliced
off the last neck of the hydra effortlessly and watched as the monster's remains
slumped to the floor, joining the rest of the bloody creatures on the ground.
Saffron moved back to join Rose and Madeleine, who were both bleeding
from their scuffles with Zhang Guo's spirit beasts.
"That was some tremor," Rose said. "We need to get down
there."
"Thou art certainly informed of our haste, art thou not, dearest
Boar?" Saffron called up. "If these playthings are the limit of thy entertainment,
then we shall be on our merry way."
"You..." Zhang Guo growled. "You have seen nothing yet."
The chamber trembled as the last four orbs that remained on Zhang Guo's
necklace began to glow in unison.
"The Four Godly Beasts?" Rose stumbled backwards. "He's
going to summon them all at once?!"
Saffron grinned, inching his hands up the hilt of his sword as the white
halls rocked with psynergy
*************
exploded outwards from Eden as she fought Van Kaen's massive blast with
her own. She was in a sea of shining light, and her body was now a white silhouette,
a manifestation of pure metapsynergy negating the matter released by Van Kaen.
Eden sped through the neon destruction and closed in on the Dragon. He protected
himself from any flying debris and explosive psynergy by a force field powered
by two æsotech antennae extending from the sides of his trunk-like neck.
Eden crossed her glowing arms and loomed over Van Kaen like a fluorescent
angel of death. Then, in a doubled voice that somehow sounded both gentle and terrifying,
she spoke: "You lose."
Next: Generations of Doom
