Ch 6: Serius the Unbound

Grey aware of the situation now, Serius hurries to unlock his powers and prepare him to face the empowered Alastor through real combat training. Can Grey stand against a being revered as a God?

            Leaping high into the air, Serius came down with a powerful strike from one of his stone fists, and Grey quickly rushed out of harm’s way. Striking the ground powerfully, Serius’ attack created a small crater in the earthen soil of the field, dust and debris flying into the air. Bursting out of the dust clouds and chasing after Grey, Serius said, “Running away already?” Gritting his teeth, Grey turned and crossed his swords before him to block as Serius threw him a powerful thrust of his right fist, yet the force behind it was so great it sent Grey flying. Bouncing across the ground, Grey somehow managed flip back onto his feet, and charging back at Serius, he shouted, “Accelerate!” Becoming a blur of speed, Grey closed in to strike. Yet with great speed Serius blocked with his left arm and said, “Speed is a powerful asset, but you cannot rely on it alone. Anyone who can sense EDE can track your movements and predict your attacks. Special abilities like my ability to sense the vibrations of movement will make such a move even less effective.” Grabbing Grey’s arm, Serius swung him over his head and hard into the ground, extracting a stifled gasp of agony from him. The power of the impact made Grey lose hold of his swords, and Serius did not relent as he grimaced in pain, quickly swinging him around and tossing him across the field. Rolling to a halt, as Grey struggled to his hands and knees, Serius slowly headed towards him as he said, “Is this all you can muster after all the time I’ve been away Grey? If so, this is a waste of my time…” Grey looked up and glared at him, thinking, “What does he expect?! This is Serius the Unbound we’re talking about here! He’s already got me on the ground and he hasn’t even gotten serious here! I may be strong, but if this is the power of an original member of Angelorum Lux, I don’t know if I can cut it as He of the Infinite…” Seeing through his thoughts, Serius said, “This is nothing like the Grey I know. Bursting with confidence, rushing ahead no matter what stands in his way.” Struggling to his feet, Grey said, “Confidence…” Nodding, Serius said, “Never worrying about whether he can win, the Grey I know would face a strong opponent without concern for the outcome.” As Grey took this in, after a moment Serius saw a grin cross his face.

            Without a word, Grey rushed at Serius, and raising his hand he gathered EDE. From Grey’s hand, a sphere of light energy shot out at Serius, who quickly blocked with his stone covered arms. Jumping up onto Serius’ stone arms, Grey leaped again, and flipping upside down in the air, he fired a point blank energy sphere. Barely raising his stone arms to block again, Serius lost sight of Grey in the explosion. Sweeping aside the smoke and dust stirred up by the blast with a powerful swing of a stone covered arm, Serius caught sight of Grey scooping up his lost blades. Raising an arm at Grey, holes formed in his Basilisk Armor as it began to vibrate, and as a sonic shockwave erupted from the holes, Serius directed it at Grey using telekinesis. Ducking aside, as the shockwave roared past him, Grey chanted, “Rutilus Astrum Contego!” Finishing just as Serius closed in and fired a powerful punch, Grey held his sword pointing at Serius and a white shield of light energy shaped like a six pointed star blocked Serius’ attack. Cracks ran through the shield, but it held long enough for Grey to chant, “Additio Ignis!” A red rune glowed at the center of the star shield, and a powerful explosion burst out at Serius from the shield, sending him flying. Quickly chasing after him, Grey exclaimed, “Accelerate!” Rushing after Serius, Grey got behind him as he sailed backwards and spun with a spinning EDE charged kick to Serius’ back, stopping him in the air and sending him bouncing across the ground in the other direction. Serius flipped back to his feet just in time to deflect the waves of light energy Grey had fired after him with his stone arms, and then block as Grey himself closed the distance and swung both swords with all his strength. Suddenly Serius’ arms vibrated and a sonic shockwave blew Grey away from him. As Grey landed sprawled on his back with a groan, Serius called out, “We’re not here to test your ingenuity Grey.” As Grey sat up, he watched as Serius gathered more EDE, forming his full body Basilisk Armor. Staring out the eyeholes of his stone helmet at Grey, Serius said, “We can waste no time getting you prepared. I’m beginning to think if we’re to get anywhere, I must push you beyond your limits…”

            Balling his stone gauntlets into fists, Serius slammed them together and generated a massive shockwave, directing it all at Grey through telekinesis. Ducking out of the shockwave’s path, as Grey narrowly evaded the destructive force that carved a trail across the ground he had been standing on, he thought, “Damn, what is it that I’m supposed to remember?! I know I used it against the Professor, but I didn’t really do anything! I just thought about all my friends out of the blue and it happened!” Closing in on Grey with great speed, Serius fired a powerful punch. Jumping up on his stone fist, Grey leaped behind Serius. Quickly he ducked as Serius spun around with a sweeping horizontal strike from a stone arm, ducking aside afterwards to narrowly evade again as Serius slammed his other fist down into the ground where he’d been. Thinking hard, Grey struggled to remember what special event, what trigger it was that had given him the power of Void Energy. Raising his fist at Grey, Serius began firing shockwaves at him. Running evasion, Grey struggled to dodge the bombardment of destructive power as he chanted, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Lux!” White runes formed on his blade, and he turned and took aim as arrows of light energy shot from the tip of his weapon. Rushing into their path quite unconcerned, Serius was unfazed as the arrows struck and exploded on him harmlessly. Closing in, Serius fired a barrage of punches, and as he at last struck his mark with a punch enhanced by a sonic blast, Grey once again went bouncing across the ground. Gathering EDE into his blades as he flipped back onto his feet, Grey unleashed waves of light energy at Serius, yet as they exploded against his body harmlessly, Grey could see the futility of his efforts. Stepping through the dust clouds from the explosion, Serius said, “Can you really afford to lose here Grey? Your friends, the comrades that have fought at your side, they have confidence in you. I have confidence in you…”

            The pieces falling into place in his mind, Grey thought to himself, “That’s right… They have confidence in me! Even Serius! Everyone has confidence in me!” The words that needed to be said rang through Grey’s mind, and hearing them loud and clear, he repeated, “Void Energy, Level 2!” As Serius looked on, a massive aura erupted around Grey. Staring in slight disbelief, Serius thought, “Incredible. This level of control without having invoked it willingly until now? It’s unthinkable.” Then Serius snapped to his senses as Grey called out, “I understand now! Many people, many paths, they all lead back to me. We’re all connected! Everyone who believes in me… Even if I don’t believe in myself, I believe in them! My bond with my friends is my power! No matter how far apart, the confidence they have in me is right here in my heart, giving me all the strength that I need! I WON’T LOSE!” Raising his swords before him, Grey rushed at Serius and chanted, “Ego Voco Vos, Lux Acies!” Serius raised his armored fist at Grey, and as it vibrated, he said, “That’s the Grey I know!” His sword blades becoming shining blades of light, Grey leaped into the air as a shockwave fired out from Serius’ fist at him. Aiming up at Grey in the air, Serius fired again, but channeling EDE into his blade, Grey fired a wave of light energy into its path. The wave broke through the shockwave, wiping it away, and Serius raised a stone arm and deflected the wave as Grey came down at him. Serius then blocked as Grey struck with powerful force, and as he pushed Grey away, Serius looked at his arm to see the long scars carved into its armor by Grey’s blades. Landing on his feet, Grey closed in and unleashed a flurry of strikes, Serius raising his arms in defense as Grey chipped away at his armor. Then Serius began to vibrate his arms as he continued to defend, and quickly Grey leaped back as a sonic blast erupted from Serius’ arms. Quickly Serius gathered up two masses of EDE, and as they crystallized into his Glaives of the Fang, he charged at Grey and they both began to clash again and again.

            Locking blades, Grey and Serius both panted. Continuing to push against Grey’s swords, Serius said, “You never fail to impress Grey. Even with the earthen strength boost I gain from using my glaives, you’ve matched every attack.” With a weak laugh, Grey replied, “You’re not so bad yourself!” Then Serius leaped away from Grey and hurled his glaives at him. Grey quickly deflected the glaives and began firing energy spheres after him, but kneeling and raising his arms before him, Serius took the barrage of energy like a champ. Creating holes across his arms, Serius’ Basilisk Armor vibrated violently. Seeing this, Grey broke off his attack and ran for cover behind a nearby rock, pointing his sword out from behind it and continuing to fire. Then Serius slammed both fists into the ground and channeled all the vibrations gathered in his fists into the ground itself, and as the ground beneath Grey shook, he quickly exclaimed, “Accelerate!” With his enhanced speed, he moved from the cover of the rock just as a shockwave burst from the ground where he had been. Shockwaves erupting from the ground one after the other, Grey bobbed and weaved across the battlefield avoiding them, still continuing to fire energy attacks at Serius all the while. Finally he made a break for Serius, who remained with his arms in the ground channeling sonic vibrations, but as he closed in stone spikes formed along Serius’ arms, and Grey quickly shouted again, “Accelerate!” Grey swerved aside as Serius unleashed a rain of stone spikes at him, skidding across the ground to come out behind him. Rushing Serius from behind, Grey brought his swords to bear and swung powerfully, but pulling his arms from the ground, Serius turned and blocked with one arm. Pushing his blades aside, Serius then followed with a powerful sonic punch that sent Grey flying. 

The shockwaves had stopped bursting out of the ground, and as Grey quickly recovered and got to his feet, Serius called out, “Running short on clever tricks?” Grey responded with, “Susicivus Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Lux Quod Ventus!” Light green runes and white runes ran across his blade, and as they merged, arrows of light rained out from Grey’s sword at Serius. Unconcerned, Serius raised his arms to deflect them, but as they struck, they began drilling into his armor. At last Serius used a sonic blast to deflect them, yet it was clear the damage was done, as cracks began to run through his Basilisk Armor. Serius quickly realized that all this time Grey had been intentionally putting a huge amount of strain on his armor by constantly bombarding him with energy attacks, and for a moment he tried to mend it by channeling more of his EDE into it. Giving him no time, Grey rained energy spheres at Serius yet again as he rushed at him. Blocking the spheres with his less damaged arm, Serius quickly summoned his glaives back to him with telekinesis just as Grey closed in and slashed at him, and their blades clashed again and again. Then as he parried an attack from Serius, Grey unleashed an EDE charged kick to his gut and shattered the weakened stone armor around it. Staggering back for a second, Serius spun and knocked Grey away with a spinning kick, the stone armor on his leg shattering in the process. Swiftly Serius dropped a glaive and raised a fist to fire a shockwave, but the vibration alone shattered the cracked armor on his arm. His Basilisk Armor quickly falling apart, his power drained from trying to repair it, Serius panted as he returned his glaives to a mass of EDE and said, “It’s not over yet! I still have Aer Dominus!”

            The mass of EDE formed into a sword. The blade about four feet long, there was a curve in the blade near the tip, and the hilt was black and white with a yellow gem in at the bottom of the handle. The guard looked like a pair of spreading wings. An otherworldly glow seemed to radiate from its blade. Holding Aer Dominus tightly, Serius raised his free hand in a beckoning gesture and shouted, “Roar of the Earth!” Feeling the ground trembling beneath him, Grey ran for his life, barely leaping to safety as a massive explosion erupted from the ground. Just as he was getting up, he quickly ducked as the blade of Aer Dominus swiped at him, having extended to a ridiculous length. Parrying with his sword as the long blade struck out at him again, Grey charged his swords with EDE and sped at Serius as he shouted, “Accelerate!” Retracting the blade of Aer Dominus, Serius leaped back as Grey brought his blades down, but Grey unleashed the charged energies from his blades and waves of light energy raced across the ground after Serius. Raising his blade in defense, Serius vanished in a blast of light. Grey leaped back a safe distance, and as the dust cleared Serius still stood, battered and bruised but still clearly intent on fighting. Gathering EDE into Aer Dominus, Serius smacked the blade on the ground and it began to vibrate. Pointing it at Grey, Serius shouted, “Scream of Heaven!” A destructive stream of sonic waves shot out at Grey, who dived aside as it tore across the field. As he came out of a roll on one knee, Grey leaped away again as Serius came down with the vibrating blade and cleaved a scar into the ground. Giving him no time, Serius shouted, “Roar of the Earth!” 

Grey was caught in the attack this time, blown into the air as the ground beneath him erupted. Shaking it off and quickly reacting while still in midair, as the extending blade of Aer Dominus shot towards him, Grey deflected it with one of his own. Then he cast aside a sword and actually grabbed hold of the blade as Serius retracted it, blood running from his cut palm. Releasing the blade as he drew near Serius, Grey flew at Serius with the momentum of the blade’s retraction and attacked with a powerful slash. Sparks flew as Serius blocked it and pushed him away, and as Grey closed the distance and struck again, they began to exchange blows once more. Then as Serius swung at Grey again, his Aer Dominus vibrated as he shouted, “Scream of Heaven!” A powerful sonic shockwave erupted from Aer Dominus and Grey’s light blade shattered as he blocked with it. Blown away by the shockwave, Grey landed hard on his back, panting. Struggling over to Grey, Serius stabbed his blade into the ground and leaned on it like a cane as he said, “Incredible Grey…” Managing a tired laugh, Grey said, “I still lost didn’t I?” Actually laughing weakly as well, Serius said, “I don’t even have the strength to hold Aer Dominus any longer. I’d say we’re both unable to fight. That’s more like a draw.” Grinning, Grey weakly said, “I guess I’ll take that…” Having been watching from the shade of a tree the entire time, Saria thought to herself in terror, “That was a training session?”

            After sitting in the shade resting for a while, Serius got up and said, “Tomorrow we can start searching for a way back to Teramis. We’ll work on our skills more as we go. Work on your psychic abilities, try and incorporate them into your fighting style more. Anyways, I need to head back to Vitaeris to speak with Elder Kel Mathos more. Let’s go.” Getting up as well, Grey turned to Saria and asked, “How’s that leg doing?” Having gotten used to the slight pain they still gave her, Saria had forgotten all about her injuries. Unable to keep herself from acting extremely nervous around Grey now that she’d learned the truth of his identity as the new He of the Infinite, Saria averted her eyes quickly and said, “I’m f-fine, please don’t mind me.” With a sigh, Grey said, “You know, the fact that I’m this ‘He of the Infinite’ doesn’t mean everything’s different. I’m still Grey, alright?” Surprised, Saria’s ears drooped as she said, “B-but, I mean… Someone like me…” Showing a stern look, Grey said, “Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to put yourself down like this?!” Standing there listening to their conversation, Serius said, “It may take a while Grey. The mautauians pronounced Angelorum Lux to be gods in order to take credit for how we saved the world. The Church of Light itself directly rules over the halman government. Thanks to their influence, halmans still worship the mautauians, and Angelorum Lux, as gods to this day. Even the rest of the races, who have kept their lore and traditions quite well throughout the many ages, hold high respect for the members of Angelorum Lux. We are known far and wide as heroes in this world.” With a frustrated look, Grey said, “Yeah, but having people kissing your feet over it all… It’s just wrong! Seems to me like the mautauians are just milking it for all it’s worth too. No offense, but you’d think your people would be more… I dunno. Noble I guess is what I’m thinking here…” Serius simply nodded and said, “Indeed.” Walking over to where Saria still sat in the shade, Serius knelt before her and said, “I forgot about your injuries. I shall heal them.” He raised a hand at her, and as it glowed, Saria felt the pain disappearing. As she looked at him with gratitude and amazement, Serius said, “Whether we are gods or not, Grey and I are your friends.” As Serius rose and walked away, Saria stood, the pain completely gone. She stared after him for a moment, and then Grey patted her on the shoulder with a grin and said, “See? It’s like Serius said. We’re all friends here!” With that, Grey and Saria followed after Serius, a smile on Sara’s face as she thought, “So this is… what it means to have friends…”