The Emerging Part I: Dream
CHAPTER LXX

Uxxok stalks through the dark cavern, his head firm, but his eyes shifting back and forth, gazing through the darkness, looking for anything that could possibly be a slot for the key that weighs heavily on his chest.

He occasionally pats the key, a nervous habit. He forces his hand to be still at his side, but feels darkness on the edge of his aura. He walks with confident steps, attempting to appear he is another guard making his rounds.

He walks down his path, the cavern wall on his left, empty shacks on his right. He constantly looks for slaves to free. His eyes graze upward as a rock path shoots over his head. He sees a guard walking across, patrolling haphazardly.

Uxxok holds his breath as he walks under the path above him, hoping the guard does not see him. He continues to walk a straight line. He throws his aura above him, sensing for the guard, but replaces nothing.

He feels a sharp point in his back. He hears hollow breathing behind him. He swears to himself. He knows he must act quickly. He quickly elbows the figure behind him in the midsection, spins quickly, bringing a fist to the hooded figure’s temple.

The figure gasps at the sudden speed and attack. The figure collapses, its hood falling away. Uxxok quickly grabs the hood and throws it back over the figure’s face. Uxxok drags the figure out of the light of a torch and leaves the figure in darkness.

Uxxok looks up to see the guard that was walking above him has disappeared. Uxxok curses, turning on his heels, and begins walking again.

He connects to Firose, Oukton, and Jtoon’s auras. He asks them all, ‘Have you found anything?’ through their connected auras.

Uxxok receives three negatives and severs the connections. His mind is numb. He has not noticed a deviation from empty shacks, darkness, and torches since he arrived in the cavern.

He looks around him, his eyes shifting to his upper left when he notices a light beaming high above the cavern’s floor. He looks to he highest torch he can see and flashes atop the building the torch reaches out from.

He sees he has ascended from the cavern’s floor greatly. He sees he has cut the height to the beaming light in half. He looks up, drawing his eyes to the source of the beam and smiles seeing a gate allowing light to stream in at the beam’s source.

He is about to flash to the door when he feels Jtoon’s aura begging for connection. Uxxok permits Jtoon’s desperate and is flooded with agony as if Jtoon is dying. Uxxok blinks as he flashes to Jtoon.

Uxxok’s mouth gapes and curls into a grimace as he sees the woman he has come to execute holding a blade inside Jtoon’s stomach. Jtoon coughs up blood. The woman smiling the entire while.

Uxxok feels sick but draws his blade. The woman conjures a fire wall between her and Uxxok, preventing him from reaching Jtoon.

The woman speaks through the dimness. “Oh, Uxxok, I am afraid you are too late. Jtoon here will be dead shortly. But, Jtoon, thank you for summoning Uxxok here,” the woman says as she then drives her wicked blade up from Jtoon’s stomach to his throat and finally retracts her blade.

The woman disappears along with the fire wall. Uxxok sprints to Jtoon’s mangled body, sensing no life whatsoever from the young Rniti. Uxxok feels a pang of guilt. He connects to Firose and Oukton’s aura, warning them of the woman.

Firose nods even though Uxxok cannot see her. She draws both her blades, quickening her pace, leading a group of people she has freed.

Oukton nods though Uxxok cannot see him either. He brings his sword down onto the lock and frees another dozen people. He ushers them out of the shack quickly, pointing to his right.

Uxxok covers Jtoon’s eyes. When he removes his blood soaked hand, he smiles at Jtoon’s surprisingly restful looking face. Uxxok rises to his feet, marking Jtoon’s body to be retrieved later with his aura.

Uxxok’s eyes graze over numerous bodies of people Jtoon tried to free before the woman pounced and stole the lights from their eyes. He scratches his head. ‘If she killed everyone, were they planning on killing them anyway?’ A thought occurs to him, ‘Oh no. Maybe she already found what she was looking for. I have to hurry.’

He moves to flash to the gate high above him when Oukton’s aura presses hard onto his. Uxxok flashes without another thought to witness Oukton engaged in battle with the woman.

Uxxok charges to join Oukton. The woman does not even flinch as she sees Uxxok from her right, draws her second blade, and duels both Rniti without even slowing her strikes against Oukton.

The woman blocks and parries each strike from both of the Rniti’s blades. The woman smirks at Oukton, his inexperience showing through his hacking slashes. But her smirk disappears as she sees Uxxok’s maturity showing through his well honed skills.

The woman grits her teeth, she slashes with fire at Uxxok, effectively surprising him, and sends him reeling back a few yards. The woman then blocks Oukton’s next strike, holding his blade above their heads, and brings her right blade into Oukton’s stomach, cleaving the armor and driving her blade deep into the soft flesh.

Oukton immediately goes limp, the lights fading from his eyes. Uxxok yells blood-lust and charges at the woman. The woman retracts her blade from Oukton’s midsection, strikes with both her blades at Uxxok’s side, lands a blow, and disappears all within a few milliseconds.

Uxxok stumbles to the side, his hands vibrating from his block, his ribs oozing blood from the prick he received. He rises slowly, walking towards Oukton. He holds Oukton’s head in his lap, watching Oukton’s breaths come slower and slower and the lights of his eyes fading quicker and quicker.

Uxxok curses the woman as he watches Oukton take his final breath and his eyes lose their glistening sheen. He waves his hand over Oukton’s eyes. His pang of guilt growing, he looks up to see a group of people around him.

He is suspicious until he realizes they wear tattered clothing. He nods to them when they reach for Oukton’s body. The group of people quietly disappear into the shadows, Oukton’s body in tow.

Uxxok rises from his kneeling position, throwing his sadness away from him. He connects to Firose’s aura and flashes to her instantly. Firose looks at the sudden appearance of Uxxok. She almost feels Uxxok’s sadness.

“Oukton and Jtoon are-” Firose cannot even finish the question, the look in Uxxok’s eyes say it all. Firose nods, holding back her tears. Her vision appears blurry for a moment before she blinks.

“Well, we need to hurry,” Firose says. “I have a crowd of people behind me trusting me to get them out of here alive.”

“How unfortunate for them to place their trust in such a weak Rniti,” a voice as smooth as caramel floats through the air.

Uxxok and Firose instantly raise their blades, ready for the woman to attack. They feel heat to their left. They turn and their eyes widen in fear as a dragon of fire rampages through the crowd of freed slaves Firose was leading.

The fire singes, sears, and kills instantly every person the fire touches. The fire tears through the crowd not allowing for anyone to scream. The fire approaches the last of the crowd and ejects at Uxxok and Firose. Firose catches the powerful flame and holds it away from them.

The flames are extinguished, revealing the woman before them. Firose jumps at the woman, but the woman sidesteps, brings her blade down onto Firose’s back and shoves the Rniti away.

Uxxok readies himself for the woman’s inevitable charge. The woman merely smiles at Uxxok however, biding her time. Uxxok glares at the woman suspiciously. Suddenly, the woman slashes at Uxxok, throwing the sigo energy she was storing behind her left blade at him in a crescent slash. Uxxok blocks most of the fire but is sent tumbling into a nearby shack, destroying the ramshackle of a building.

The woman smirks watching the wooden beams and walls fall upon the Rniti. The woman senses Firose charging at her again. The woman turns, block Firose’s strike, and forces the momentum behind Firose to easily trip the Rniti. Firose lands on the ground hard, almost losing her grip on her blades. Firose rises just as quick as she fell, ready for the woman’s attack. The woman’s blades slam hard against Firose’s block, vibrations ringing throughout Firose’s entire body. Firose tries to throw the woman away, but replaces the woman is too strong. The woman tosses Firose to the side, planting a leg into Firose’s already wounded back. Firose loses her footing, falling to the ground. The woman shoots another kick into Firose’s temple. Firose sees black for a moment. She regains her vision and sees the woman is sideways. Firose connects to her Qigid to regain strength and rallies to her feet. The woman expresses surprise for a moment before her smug grimace returns. Firose swings swiftly, putting all her effort into her charge. She sees the woman has the tiniest opening on her right arm. Firose quickly seizes the opportunity and drives her left blade at the woman’s arm. The woman feels a sharp pain in her arm and retreats a few feet. She swears to herself as Firose wears a smug smirk. She observes Firose carefully, sidestepping to her right. Firose matches the woman, sidestepping to her left. The woman takes a step forward, Firose takes a step back. Firose springs at the woman, her right blade aimed for the woman’s head, her left blade aimed at the woman’s right side. The woman blocks both blades, knocking the strikes away from her, leaving Firose wholly exposed. The woman smacks Firose in the face with the flat of her left blade and then stabs Firose with her right blade in the stomach. The woman’s blade tears cleanly through the armor and sinks deep into the soft skin of Firose’s belly. Firose’s eyes widen in shock, she drops her blades as her fingers turn numb, and coughs as she tries to breathe.

Uxxok fights his way out of the rubble left of the shack to witness the gruesome sight of the woman impaling Firose deeply. He can see the shiny point of the woman’s blade dripping with blood out of Firose’s back. Uxxok tries to move but feels his left leg pinned under a heavy beam of wooden timber.

Uxxok watches in horror as the woman twists the blade inside Firose. Firose’s face grimaces in agony, but she does not cry out. Firose looks into the villainous eyes of the woman robbing her of her life. Firose tries to look away, but then the woman begins to speak and her voice intoxicates Firose.

“You know you are actually quite the fighter. I am very impressed by you Firose,” the woman speaks. Firose appears surprised the woman knows her name. “And your aura, it is magnificent, but you should have thought to protect it better. Allowing one’s own happiness to be her biggest weakness is rather unwise.”

Firose stares the woman down, trying her best to appear unperturbed. The woman laughs, an intoxicating sound that drowns out all other sound. Firose’s already agape mouth drops even further in awe.

The woman speaks again, “You actually gave me hope that you would provide a challenge. Imagine my disappointment when you proved otherwise. Nonetheless, I have to kill you for that lucky scratch you happened to put on my arm.”

The woman then places her lips on Firose’s lips in the ultimate insult. The woman breaks away from Firose. She smiles, “Hmm, you taste like blood, fitting.” The woman retracts her blade only after first slicing up to Firose’s throat.

She watches Firose collapse in stages. First, Firose falls to her knees. Then, Firose begins to teeter forward and backward. Lastly, Firose falls to the ground on her face, the lights long having left her eyes.

The woman smiles. She sheathes her blades and turns to look at the heap of rubble that once was a shack. She sees Uxxok has climbed his way out of the heap, but sees his eyes are closed. She walks over to him. She kicks him in the head, hard. Uxxok does not respond to the brutal kick.

The woman smiles, pleased she has prevented an attack to her mines. The woman disappears in a fog of dark smoke. Uxxok watches the woman through the tiniest slit in his eyes.

When he is certain the woman will not return, he tries moving the wooden beam draped across his leg. He pushes the beam with his right leg. Using all his might, he is able to shift the beam enough to move his left leg. He shimmies his leg out from under the beam and climbs out of the heap of rubble.

He lies on the ground a few minutes catching his breath. He rolls to his stomach and pushes himself up. He walks weakly to Firose’s body, limping lightly on his left leg.

He reaches Firose and the pang of guilt in his chest explodes throughout his body. He turns her over on her back. He lifts her head into his lap. He looks into Firose’s dead eyes. His eyes fill with tears, blurring his vision. He puts a hand over Firose’s eyes.

He removes his hand and sees Firose’s face in a dead calm. He brings himself to smile at the young Rniti’s beauty, wishing she could have lived longer.

The mission at hand forces itself into Uxxok’s mind. He looks up at the gate allowing light to stream in. He flashes to the gate and brings out the golden inlaid key. He sticks the key into the slot and turns the key. He hears a click. He pushes the gate open. He walks through the gate’s threshold to behold a room filled with papers. A giant candle resides to his left, emitting light brilliantly. He walks to the opening opposite the candle and looks down. He sees groups of people with pick-hammers slaving away at the mountain rock. He feels sick to his stomach. He swears to himself, ‘Where did she go?’ he says to himself.