Chapter IV

A Chapter by lostgirl14

POV: Seth

I had to act quickly. The cloak may not do much against Vren. Better than nothing. Me and James ran towards the doors. My shadows protected us from teh guards that were trying to stop us. Tonight was supposed to be easy. Check out what Vren found and get out. Also, Vren wasn't supposed to be here. Stupid intelligence from our department, they said he was in the northern part of the world. And now we are risking our lives!

James tried pounding on the door, looking for levers to open it. "Seth! Use your shadows!"

"I can't!" I sounded exasperated. Protecting ourselves from Vren's powers was taking a toll on me. His powers were just too much.

He was moving closer. He seemed stronger than the last time I saw him. I can't die here.

James continued to search from some opening then his left arm glowed bright red. From the back of the ship, a black stone giant stood up, the giant that I was looking at earlier. When it stood up, it broke the ship's upper floors, people were scrambling, supplies and crates were flying all over. Vren turned away from us briefly and calmly walked toward the stone giant.

"Kneel before me," He commanded. "I am the true Affinity, your true owner." The stone giant just ignored him. It looked like Vren was shocked. His red flames grew outwards from him. His menacing voice ringing throughout the place. "Blasphemy! I am the true owner, your owner! Obey me!"

James was starting to lose it. He couldn't control the light from his arm. He slumped to the ground, writhing in pain. I don't know what's happening anymore. Everything was chaotic. Wished I had a back up plan but no, I didn't plan it since I thought it was just a "simple mission". The stone giant took a step forward, slowly moving towards us. But the ship couldn't control the weight of the chaos, the upper layers of the ship were destroyed, could not keep its balance anymore. The floor cracked open upon the weight of the giant for some reason, its steps were too heavy? I can't tell for sure. As soon as the floor cracked, the waters rushed in, filling the ship with dark, murky water.

I shook James' shoulders. "I think I can get us up to the ceiling with my shadows." I saw his eyes turn black, entirely black. He was still in pain. This won't do at all. I could leave him and save myself. But, I decided against it. Selfishness...no...my brain wasn't working, I was out of ideas. Feeling weak from producing the shadows, I fell to the ground. One by one, the shadows disappeared. My eyes starts to close. I can only think that this is the end for us. I could feel myself slipping then saw a light only it was red with a tinge of black. The effort was too much; I still tried to produce shadows but it was barely a manifest of the original. I looked over to where James was but he wasn't there. I didn't notice that in front me, he was walking to meet the giant, from where the light originated. It was impossible, I've never seen anything like it, James was almost dead then now he was walking to the giant. It can't be that he was resonating with it, could it?

There was a sort of red and black energy, the same one as the giant, radiating from James as he floated up to face the giant. There was a flash of white light then the ship split part. The giant grabbed me as the ship sank together with I presume must be the other white giant, as it was the same size as this one that was also in the back of the ship. James was gone; I looked up and down but nothing, gone.

"Mine! That was mine!" Vren shouted from below. He tried to stop us by blasting more red-flame like powers but the giant protected us with its black wings, covering us. The giant put me in the right palm of its hand while the other hand covered me. I felt we were rushing up the skies, the whirring of the wings, the fresh air above.

We were flying for quite some time. We landed somewhere outside of the city. It was still dark, in the middle of some forest, only the sound of crickets and small animals. The giant laid his hand on the ground for me to step off. I still felt wobbly but I could still manage. The giant was about as high as three or five floors. Its wings were retracted to its back, still had its silvery glow. The chest opened but I couldn't see who was controlling it. The person jumped down to the ground, it was familiar...oh s**t...I was just...

"James?! What the hell?!"

"I know right..." He was just so smug about it. That grin on his face.

I grabbed his shirt and said. "Explain. Now."

"Chill, just chill." James fixed his shirt and could not wipe that smile on his face.

"You..." James faced the giant. "Stand down." The giant knelt down on its left knee and the door panel on its chest flipped up to close what I assume is the control center.

"Seth.."James started. "You knew what the ship brought in, you should not act so surprised." He said calmly, clearly getting down from the adrenaline rush.

I wanted to lie but could not come to myself to think of one. I was surprised not because of what happened.

"James, the reason I brought you was to confirm my suspicion that you were.."

"I was what?" He cut me off.

"That you were one of the true owners of either the Black Wings or the White Sky." I explained.

"You mean that thing!" James pointed to the giant. "So please explain to me what am I after all, what the hell happened back there, what do we even do, and what we-"

"Fine, fine, but please one at a time." I was beginning to feel weaker, my head started to hurt. How do I even explain all of this to him. Like All of it. I was surprised that he could even control the Black Wings on its first try. Just how?

In the middle of the forest, dark, creepy but nothing could creep me out from getting killed back at the ship. I thank the night's skies that it was clear, the moon and the starts lighting tonight. James was still looking at me, his eyes burrowing into me, his hands in his pockets. A while ago I wanted to beat him up for being so cocky but now he was just intimidating me. Everything was happening too fast. I walked past him and stood close to the giant's right leg. If I remember it correctly, there's a panel that should open. I search for a familiar symbol and pressed it. A small panel on the outside of its right leg opens. A complicated set of buttons with ancient symbols appears on what resembles a keyboard or a circuit board. James stood beside me, he didn't recognize any of it. Before I do anything else, I face him.

"Do you recognize the symbols?" I asked.

"No." He answered.

"How did you know how to control the Black Wings?"

"You mean this giant?"

"Uhmmm...no...well of course the giant!" I exclaimed.

"I just knew..I just knew that's all." He looked at the ground, clearly puzzled on just how he managed to fly this thing.

"How did you get your powers?" This time I was being antsy...I had to know.

"I've always had them." James looked at his hands. I grab his left arm and pointed at the large red star.

"Do you know what this is?"

"No. What the hell , man.." He takes his arm from my hand.

I sounded forceful this time. "What do you remember?"

He doesn't answer. The silence was deafening. The moment seemed like forever. Now I needed the answer. Under the night sky, I could see James' eyes turn black again. I can't tell if he was looking at me or if he's in the some kind of trance.

He started to speak only it wasn't his voice, it was unreal. "I remember now...everything...her..."

I was genuinely scared. He looked like a different person, standing very still, his eyes on me. I was weak to even defend myself, then he fainted. I was so relieved. I took a long deep breath to relax myself. Pity that I didn't catch him fall. Anyway, my suspicion was right. James' was the true owner of one of the giants, I didn't expect it would be the Black Wings. He couldn't handle what he had. I knew he was a strong Affinity but the giant only made him stronger. And a good thing since we escaped Vren. True that I made James go through his missions I sent him. I thought that it would be a good training ground to further develop his dormant powers. Timing was wrong, I didn't prepare him for this. The Black Wings amplified his powers and now James is either going to lose it of just lay here like this. It's a beautiful night, moonlight over us, the sounds of the forest...and stuck here with him unconscious and Black Wings, the strongest of the giants that the Elders created.

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