Draken's Gambit/Two more pieces to the Board

The Guild’s Infirmary

The smell of antiseptic stung Keiji’s nose as he sat stiffly on the edge of the cot.

Eliorynna was laid behind a glass partition, her skin pale and slick with sweat. Strapped with reed-thin tubes sprouting from her neck, arms, even her temples pulsing faintly.

“She’s alive,” one of the blue-robed healer said. “The damage is severe but we’re balancing out her flows. If it works it will reverse the burnout.”

Keiji barely heard them digging his fingers into his knees.

“AAARGH!” he yelled startling the healers and slammed a fist into the cot frame. “I don’t get it. Why was Rynna fighting with Ash?!”

“She was trying to protect you,” Draken spoke behind him.

Keiji didn’t turn. “You said the Guild could save her.”

“And they will,” Draken said, stepping in, his shadow stretching long across the pale garden tiles. “But you need to stop thinking like a child and realize what is happening. The ones who did that to her are still out there. They won’t stop unless we stop them.”

Keiji’s jaw tightened. “Ash isn’t like that. There has to be some other explanation.”

“Is there?” Draken arched a burnt brow. “What explanation do you see? That Eliorynna dragged them from Bronze and forced them to fight?”

“What do you want from me? Keiji stood, half-turning.

“Well, first I want to tell you the truth. After that you can choose what to do…..I won’t hold it against you.”

Before Keiji could respond, Draken snapped his fingers. A rush of purple light swallowed them both, tearing the garden away.

When the light faded, they stood beside the Aemari Spring. Its surface shimmered like quicksilver, rippling though no wind touched it.

Keiji’s stomach when he looked at Draken’s appearance shifting in real time.

He still had the same white hair with streaks of purple but his face that was half-ruined by burns was suddenly smooth, as though the scars had been rewritten out of existence. His eyes remained the same burning pale orange but now both of them were open.

“My real name…” Draken’s voice dropped, almost reverent. “…is Arisu. This is who I really am.”

The hair on Keiji’s neck hairs rose suddenly. What an overwhelming aura, he thought.

“Why bring me here?” he asked.

“Because you deserve to hear the truth before the world burns.”

Arisu’s smile was almost sorrowful, gesturing to the spring. “Everyone believes this is the origin of the Magna. That is mostly true. But there is a deeper source….the Elemental Plane. An endless well where every flow, every spark of power converges before spilling into worlds. Chakra, chi, mana, bending…call it what you will. In this world, it takes the form of runes.”

Keiji stayed silent, wary but listening.

“Forgive me if it sounds like a lecture,” Arisu chuckled softly. “I prefer clarity. So please, ask what you wish to know.”

Keiji’s mouth was dry but the words poured out. “Tell me about this game and why we can’t leave?”

Arisu’s eyes softened. “About twenty-five years ago, the First Six…CIX Zaroneuxx, Jax Ryder, Shekha Izzah, Siddarth, Hareeth Kassim, and myself.....were trapped in a game called Godhood. This world is that game. In trying to break free, we accidentally created the Summoning Gate. As such, summonings became routine, each new hero pulled through broke the code further apart. Dungeons and beasts are the mutations…evolved from the broken base.”

“Then why not close it?” Keiji demanded.

“I’ve tried,” Arisu’s eyes glowed faintly. “The Gate feeds directly from the Elemental plane. To destroy it, we need hosts…heroes chosen by the plane itself as physical embodiments of the six elements. Without them, it cannot be touched.”

Keiji hesitated. “….Where are these hosts?”

“I have collected five of them. Only one remains…you.”

Keiji’s chest tightened. “Me?”

“I have tested and proven it. You are the host of fire and I need your help to save this world.”

Keiji’s throat felt dry. “If that’s true… why tell me now?”

“Because you were not ready….,” Arisu said simply. “…both physically and emotionally. You needed to grow stronger both physically and emotionally so you could defeat our enemies.”

Keiji’s hand flexed. “Ash isn’t my enemy.”

Arisu sighed. “Perhaps not. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the gravedigger but he is a pawn in Hareeth’s ill-advised plans for the Gate that would see this world destroyed rather than save it. We must not let that happen.”

Keiji said nothing, his clutched fingers digging into his palm, until his nails tore skin.

Arisu smiled then moved in front of him. “You are the last piece on the board. The only question is…will you stand with us or against the world.”

The Aemari spring rippled violently, its surface blooming with purple light as Arisu extended his hand.

Keiji hesitated, his rune searing across his arm. For an instant, he felt every flame in the world seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat, cloaking him in unbearable warmth. Visions burned in his head —Eliorynna’s bloodshot eyes, Ash’s grim face and Arisu’s glinting eye. He dropped to one knee, gasping sweat pouring down his back.

When the visions cleared, Arisu was still patiently outstretching his hand.

“Fine,” Keji said gripping it, pulling himself to his feet. “What do you want me to do?”

“Simple.” Arisu’s smile returned. “You and I are going to rip open the Gate.”

“And Hareeth”

“Do not worry. I’ve already sent Velma and Kryxx to handle that.”

Arisu snapped his fingers, another portal opening before them and they disappeared.

***

Boom. Boom

The sounds of their strikes echoed across the staircase chamber.

Rhennmar’s lightning hissed as it struck Thomlin’s spinning staff, sparks crackling against the cascading walls of water he summoned. Each clash sent ripples racing across the golden stairs until Thomlin was surrounded by them, shaped into sharp spears.

“You’re dragging this out!” Rhennmar shouted, her silver braid whipping behind her as she hurled them at once.

“Good,” Thomlin grunted, rolling with terrifying speed a wave of flames, melting them with the end of his staff. “Means I’m doing my job.”

The two blurred around the chamber — Rhennmar striking like a thunderclap, Thomlin flowing like am ocean, never still, never breaking. Water twisted into spirals under his command, shielding him, striking back, turning her momentum against her. Smiling all the time.

Then the air changed, shifting into a heavy dense, humming with a low pitch.

A purple light filled the chamber.

Thomlin’s smile faded. “…..Oh, you have to be kidding me.”