The Training Ground

The shadows were inching closer.

“Find them” a voice hissed.

The voice sounds…..familiar?

Feelings of terror. Feelings of dread.

Save me.

Save him.

Someone. Anyone.

Help.

HELP.

Helphelphelphelphelphelphelphelp.

The shadows descended, snuffing out the light. A blood-curdling scream, his own.

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Awaking in a cold sweat, Kallin shot upright, clutching at his chest. His breathing was labored. His heart felt like it may leap out of his chest.

A nightmare?

Without thinking, he ran his right hand through his hair, the rough skin scratching his scalp. The unexpected shock caused him to fall out of the bed. He sat on the cold marble floor of a heavily decorated bedroom and felt nothing but rage and anxiety.

No answers. Strange visions. An unfamiliar world.

He smacked the floor hard – thankfully not activating the Abyss Hand’s power. Which, by the way, he had no clue how to even do.

He peered across the room at an identical bed, his brother Reign its occupant. Seeing his sleeping figure in such peace, Kallin took a deep breath and steeled his resolve.

I will find answers.

To do so, at least for now, the boys would have to cooperate with the kingdom’s request to search for the remaining Armed Heroes. He could gather information as they carried on with this quest.

Climbing back into bed, Kallin’s thoughts raced. Find who? Who did the voice belong to, and why did it sound familiar?

What are we doing here?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The dawn brought about the first full day for Kallin and Reign in this new world.

They had breakfast in a lavish dining hall, accompanied by all who were present at the prior day’s meeting, except for the king, who seemed to have tasked the young Adonis with training of some sort for the two.

“His majesty wants me to teach you some basic combat skills – and hopefully we can uncover some stuff about your arms as well! It doesn’t sound that fun to me, but if it’ll help Titus out, I guess I got no choice.”

He brought them to a small portion of the courtyard, located inside the back right wall of the castle grounds. A rather basic looking training ground lay before them – some human-shaped targets, a few trees, and racks full of weapons were sprawled across the gravel and grass that made up the field. It was currently devoid of occupants, but the ground appeared to be heavily treaded upon.

“Maven told me that you were able to use that hand of yours in combat already – any clue how ya did that?”

“It kind of just happened…almost like it was instinct,” Reign replied, looking at his white palm.

Kallin thought back to the previous day’s battle – what he had felt, what he had thought. Nothing stuck out in his mind.

Crossing his arms and furrowing his brow, Adonis appeared miffed by their cluelessness.

“I see…not that I really understand because it’s always been so easy for me, but a big part of success with magic comes from visualization.”

He snapped his fingers, and three symmetrical rods appeared above his head. They shimmered brilliantly, the light of the mid-morning sun dancing off of each surface. They almost appeared to be made of –

“Diamond?!” Reign exclaimed, recognizing the material almost instantly.

“Precisely! My magic harnesses the world’s minerals – almost any mineral imaginable is at my command. I’m pretty cool, right?’

Adonis snapped again, firing the rods at incomprehensible speed toward one of the mannequin targets. The target was vaporized upon the first rod making contact, rendering the other two moot. Almost as if Adonis was keen on showing off his power.

“Since diamond is one of the hardest minerals there is, its optimal for both offense and defense. It’s a definite favorite of mine, but it uses a ton of essence. A sorcerer is completely useless when they run out of essence – but I happen to be blessed by the gods and have a shit ton of it!”

Adonis brushed his own shoulder and smiled proudly. As self-centered as he was, it seemed he had the talent to back up his massive ego. Useful in virtually all combat situations, Kallin surmised, but probably not the one to go to for answers. He was probably too young and battle crazed to know of the greater situation at hand.

“So sick! I want to try!” Reign was filled with enthusiasm at the sight of Adonis’s display.

“Oh, please! Let me see what an Armed Weapon can do!” Adonis returned Reign’s excitement.

Kallin let out an exasperated sigh at his brother’s apparent disregard for the unknowns surrounding them.

If Reign was stressed at all about their predicament, he was not the type to ever show it. Alloof, care-free, and sometimes reckless to a fault. That was the younger twin brother he had.

He watched as Reign struggled to draw on the Genesis Hand’s power for amost fifteen minutes. There was barely any response from the Armed Weapon at all, much to the disappointment of Adonis.

“Dammit, I wanted to see something cool!” Adonis pouted.

“It seems we have a long way to go when it comes to using these” Kallin remarked.

“Oh well, I guess we should stick to basic combat and movement for now. His majesty wants you to hit the road as soon as you can – hopefully within three months’ time.

Kallin gawked at this revelation, “That’s a lot of time!”

Adonis shook his head. “You both come from a world with different combat, with very little experience to show for it. You have strange abilities that no one here understands – three months might be too little time, ya know? But we gotta do what we can!”

Kallin was taken aback by Adonis’s mature assessment of the situation. Perhaps he was far more thoughtful than Kallin gave him credit for.

“What do we have to lose, right Kal? Let’s get to training and we’ll figure it out along the way!”

Reign beamed and held out his right Arm. Kallin wryly smiled back and clasped it with his own Arm.

“Right, let’s give it our all.”

As the palms of their Armored Weapons touched, an incredible pressure enveloped the three men and their surroundings. The pressure seemed to emanate from the joining of the Genesis and Abyss hand.

“Both of you, let go!”

A voice bellowed from behind them. Leon had arrived and was rushing toward them. The world was shaking. The castle walls were crumbling. It was as if all essence in the surrounding atmosphere was being drawn toward their union.

Kallin tried to pull away, but he could not forcibly remove himself.

“It’s not working!” Reign shouted, clearly unable to remove his grip either.

Great Leol – War Beast’s Claw!

The charging Leon was enveloped in a golden aura, swiftly swinging his right arm down in a swiping motion.

Suddenly, an apparition of an enormous paw appeared above the twins and swung toward them at ferocious speed. Dangerously sharp claws adorned the outer rim, as imposing as a live lion striking at its timid prey.

The brothers braced for impact, each lifting their Arm above their head, still clasped together at the palms. The claws struck the joined hands with a loud BANG, an inconceivable clash of forces that generated a destructive shockwave in its wake.

The claw’s descent was halted for a moment before, with a thunderous roar, Leon was able to separate the palms of the Arms. In an instant, the pressure subsided, and the atmosphere returned to a calm state. Kallin and Reign were flat on their backs, bloodied from the intense clash. Extensive damage to the castle walls and the training ground spanned for several hundred yards. Had a stranger to the events that transpired just arrived, it would be no surprise if they thought a fierce battle had just taken place.

Leon, his right arm still hanging by his side, assessed the damage to the surrounding area.

“So this is the potential of the strongest Armed Weapons,” he said in awe.

Turning to his right, he noticed a tensely standing Adonis, his fists clenched by his sides. It was then that Leon saw an all too familiar look on his face. One of bewilderment. One of excitement. One of genuinely terrifying love for violence.

“Incredible,” said the young prodigy, gazing upon a brand new power he had yet to conquer, had yet to decipher, had yet to fully understand. “I’m looking forward to working with you!”