The Dawn of Destruction, Chapter Twelve

                         The Dawn of Destruction

Interitus 1 – Book One

            Chapter Twelve

 

            The mountains looked like foothills from the sheer altitude of Seth’s location. The atmosphere was silent at this height; the only sound came from the wind howling in the sky. Seth could not remember why he was here; he did not even recall climbing to the sky-piercing summit of this snowy mountain. As he tried to figure out how he got to this terribly cold place, he realized that he had no idea where Phil or the guardian went. The only thing that he remembered was the excruciating terror of watching Naomi’s sister die. And though that memory tormented him, the adrenaline rush was the only thing giving him warmth to fight the frigidity.

            Far down the mountainside, the snowy bristles of evergreen trees danced in the chilling zephyr. The mountainside shimmered so beautifully that it distracted Seth from his pain, but this was dangerous because he needed it for warmth. The cold pierced through Seth’s clothes as he carefully crept across the frozen rocks, silently preparing to climb down the mountain. But even as he clenched his arms for warmth, he realized that it could take days to reach the warmer valleys.

Even after minutes of huddled walking through the icy wind and down the perilous slopes, the lower mountains did not look any closer. He pushed on in silence, and as he walked, he saw an indentation in the snow on his left. It was a clue that an object once lay there. Seth rubbed his hands against his pockets to see if he had taken the object, but he felt nothing. However, he soon realized that he felt nothing because he had completely lost sensation in his fingers.

            Seth pulled his hands in front of his cold face so that he could inspect them. Large black welts and frozen blood-blisters covered his dark purple fingers and palms. Frostbite had him fastened between its icy jaws. Seth decided to rush his climb back to the ground, but then he saw similar lacerations on his arms and legs. He feared that this meant it was already too late.

            As Seth jogged and jumped down the craggy slopes and icy ledges, a big rock caused him to trip and fall against the mountainside. He slid on a patch of ice for a short distance before slowing to a stop. He slowly lifted his back so that he would not try to catch himself with his hands; he feared that the fall might snap his frozen fingers. But when Seth landed, he saw two detached scraps of flesh. His heart skipped a beat as he felt pure terror; two fingers on his right hand had broken off. Wondering if they could even be reattached, he placed them into his pocket. As he pushed off the ground and climbed to his feet, two more fingers snapped off. After pocketing these too, Seth decided that he had to hurry, so he resumed a gradual descent. However, his slow speed meant that he could not escape the frigid air quickly enough.

            After an hour, Seth reached a vast plateau which was not far from the mountaintop. He tried to jog across it, but the slippery ice caused him to fall from his feet and slam on the cold ground. He was determined not to let this defeat him; he pulled his right leg up to a crouching position and pushed down with all his force, but he did not rise. He felt a brittle snap. Seth pushed some of his weight backward and pulled forward so he could topple out of that position, but his right leg remained on the ground behind him. It was motionless, detached, frozen.

            The one leg Seth had left was covered in enormous buboes and lesions. They pushed through the fabric of his pants. Seth looked back at his detached leg with a grimace, slowly realizing that he would never stand normally again. He would never be able to fight, run, or jump as he once had; this damage was irreversible. Never again would he be the person he had been, just a matter of minutes ago.

            The last of Seth’s hope faded like his breath in the subzero winds. In the last few minutes, Seth had gone from fearing an incomplete life to realizing that he would never make it across this plateau. He would never make it back down to the surface. Naomi could no longer be stopped; not a single force in the universe could stop her now. Destruction couldn’t protect anyone from her; it couldn’t even save its holder. Destruction could not reattach limbs; energy depletion could not defrost or heat solid flesh. With no Destruction to oppose her, Naomi was free to torment the world as a tyrant god.

Seth looked behind himself and saw that the weak sunlight shone on the surface of the mountain that had killed him. The reflections in the snow had the same golden glow as Iris’ hair in the middle of the summer. And this, of all things, was the last thing he would ever see. Fate sure had a cruel sense of humor.

***

            “Yo, Seth, why you got them killer eyes right now? You look like that time we was running after school, and then you found out some dude stole yo backpack! You alright?” Phil asked, shaking his friend out of the nightmarish daydream.

            “Sorry, I guess I just zoned out or something, I don’t know. Are we almost to the temple?” Seth asked.

            “So you tellin’ me you was hallucinatin’ while we walking through the Himalayas? Now I heard people get mirages and shit in the desert, but this is like the opposite of a desert! It’s cold as hell out here, man. Every hour we climb, I get another inch colder, ya know?” Phil said with a laugh, holding his hands far apart but shortening the distance as he spoke.

            Seth shook his head and continued walking. After several minutes of this, Seth, Phil, and the guardian with the shield arrived at the top of a large hill. Seth looked over the hill and saw the outlines of small buildings nestled in a snowy valley. The group of three pushed on, and before long, they arrived at the outer edge of the village. There were several buildings, but the tallest was a beautiful temple.

            “Let me be the first to welcome you two to the Temple of the Skies! Though our village may be small and humble, it is independent from the governments of China and Nepal. As I’m sure you can see, our village consists of only four buildings. We have a small diner, living quarters, the good doctor’s home, and a temple. The temple is our spiritual center, and our people use it for both worship and training. The men of our village serve as guardians, ensuring our protection and sovereignty,” the mountain guardian explained.

            The guardian led Seth and Phil toward the temple. The two friends exchanged uneasy glances, but the village seemed too pacifistic to be dangerous. When the guardian opened the temple doors for them, Seth and Phil entered a small room at the entrance. A beautiful woman greeted the guardian in an unfamiliar language.

            “Yasil here will send out another escort in a few minutes, but I am needed elsewhere. Our Master will visit you tonight. It has been an honor to meet you,” the guardian said.

            “Thank you, I think. You too.”

            “This may sound weird, but that girl real cute, man,” Phil whispered to Seth.

            “Phil! So far, these people are being friendly; don’t mess that up!” Seth scolded him.

            “I’m just sayin’, she been all cooped up in some mountain village for her whole life, she needa get out and see what the world got to offer, man! I don’t mind bein’ her tour guide neither,” Phil muttered.

            The doorknob vibrated and rotated slowly. It then opened to reveal a young Asian man who stood to a height slightly above Seth’s shoulder. His eyes betrayed a dull boredom, but this transformed into bewilderment when he first saw Seth and Phil. When he started to approach them, his gait was fast but unusual; his eyes glanced in all directions. The well-defined muscles in his arms and chest trembled as he walked. He stopped in front of Phil and Seth, reached his hands over, and held one of each of their hands. He moved his face in and pressed his dry lips against Phil’s palm.

            “Man, you betta step yo punk-ass ‘cross the room from me unless you want me to tear you apart!” Phil shouted, leaping away from the perplexed man. As he crept toward the exit, Phil shook his head and continued, “I already knew! That why I said we shoulda never brought our freezin’ asses out here in the firs’ place, Seth! It’s just a chance for some gay-ass snowman with them weird-ass scarfs and top-hats and shit to try to get us to suck on they carrot nose! It’s some real sick shit, man.”

            “Phil, shut up!” Seth groaned.

            Turning to face their bewildered greeter, Seth said, “I apologize for him; he’s always kinda had trouble with… other cultures. Anyways, we’re pleased to meet you. I’m Seth.”

            The young man nodded courteously and said, “I should have already know. Other wanderers have reacted same way. Come, let us go and eat. I shall introduce myself to you in small time.”

            “See that? Now he talkin’ my language,” Phil said with a grin.

            Just a matter of minutes later, the group of three sat around a triangle-shaped table, patiently awaiting the arrival of food. Even though the faint sunlight weakly illuminated the diner, there were flickering candles at every table.

            “My name is Zheng Lee; I was born twenty-eight years ago when this clan was nomads. We were searching for home of the gods. When we learn that these gods dance through our skies, we also learn that the gods we were seeking live also within us. They are spiritual connection that we form with ourselves, our bodies, and world all around us. We realize we never going to find appropriate place of worship, so we settle for home in valley beneath their watchful eye. A wanderer who claim linkage to these gods taught our Master Liu of the Equilibrium Trigger, which is now our people’s most potent weapon. You may have encounter this symbol already,” Zheng said.

            “Yeah, I felt that shit. It touch me, I’m gone and then I’m back, ain’t nothin’ to it,” Phil said.

            “No… it was so much more than that. It was like a spiritual ocean, or something that let me pass through the barriers of reality. It was incredible! Although, uh, what exactly is it?” asked Seth.

            After pondering for a moment, Zheng asked, “Have you ever hear of astral projection? It is ancient belief where spirit can separate from body. Not interact with this world but still move through it. The Equilibrium Trigger take you to the astral plane; sometimes people call it Equilibrium because it is balance force to this material world.”

            Seth nodded slowly as he admitted, “Well whatever it was, uh, I witnessed something awful when I was in there. I think I saw too much in this astral plane.”

            “What you saw was far from too much. My spirit once live in astral plane for eight years, and in that time, my body age zero days. My body took no food, no sustenance. When I return to my body, something great carry over. Since the energy of the Trigger was active for eight years, it store inside of me as inexhaustible engine of energy. Means I can never get tired,” Zheng explained.

            “So you tellin’ me you can run for like two days straight at full speed and shit, and you won’t even be a little tired? Hell no. That’s some bullshit,” Phil challenged, still unconvinced.

            “Seth, may I ask why your friend speaks like the baboon?” Zheng asked.

            Phil slammed his fists on the table and retorted, “You tryin’ to roast my ass? I’m game, I’m game. You criticizin’ my grammar and shit, but over there you all like, ‘Herro? Are you here? I no see you with my blind-ass eyes! Why you hiding? My big-ass head feering moooost uncomfortable today! Hold on, my terephone is ringing… yes, herro? You want spicy chicken fu yung? That is a moooost excerrent choice, sir!’ That’s what you sound like with that shit, man, and you sayin’ I sound like a baboon?!”

            “You don’t know who you’re messing with,” Zheng said, quickly standing up from the table.

            “Oh, I don’t know who I’m messin’ with? I’m messin’ with some lyin’ punk-ass who tryin’ to tell everyone he don’t never get tired!” Phil said.

            “I believe him,” Seth shyly interrupted, putting his head down in embarrassment as the other villagers watched the arguing men.

            Phil gave Seth a surprised look, but before any conversation could continue, the waitress dropped off three steaming bowls of soup. Without a single word, she swiftly retreated to the kitchen.

            “Go to Temple after eating. Master Liu wish to see you,” Zheng said, snatching his bowl and leaving right away.

            “Man, I can’t believe I didn’t mention rice at any point while I was roastin’ his ass,” Phil laughed.

            “You should really try to be more understanding, Phil. Besides, I don’t think he’s even that kind of Asian… not that you should have said that anyway. He’s shy and probably hasn’t seen many outsiders before. Cut him a little slack,” Seth said in between bites.

            “Man, I ain’t apologizin’ for shit; he insulted my diction! If that quiet-ass, lying-ass, bitch-ass try talking shit with me, I’m gonna get his ass. He jus’ mad ‘cause he manufactured my shoe,” Phil said with a laugh in between spoonsful of soup.

            “Phil! You can’t say things like that; you gotta be more politically correct. Ya know, being a little more polite never hurt anyone,” Seth said.

            “You right, you right, but I won’t go easy on his ass if he say I’m a baboon again. Tired of people always comin’ after me just ‘cause I’m different,” Phil muttered.

            Seth nodded. For possibly the first time in his life, he had somewhat convinced Phil to censor himself. However, even though he had just asked Phil to act more politely, Seth himself did not adhere to any social codes as he feasted upon the large bowl before him; he simply gave in to his intense hunger. Several drops splashed upon his face as he gorged on the soup and licked the bowl clean. Most villagers in the diner stared at Seth with awe.

            Having finished their meals, Phil and Seth staggered toward the door with newfound energy. A large portion of their crushing fatigue had disappeared over the course of a fifteen-minute meal. Now that they were ready to meet with the temple’s leader, they effortlessly braved the painful temperature in the valley. The sun was setting and the breeze had grown stronger, but the frigidity meant nothing now that they were nourished.

            When Seth and Phil finally entered the temple, an elderly man stood across the room with a solemn but friendly gaze. He said to them, “Good evening! I am Master Liu. I lead our people through our daily rituals of meditation and training. I am the one whom the winds of fate have selected to be the emissary of emissaries. I am an acquaintance of the legendary man who has roamed these mountains for a hundred years. Long ago, he warned me that two great powers would fall to Earth in September of this very year. He told me that the Fragments of Omnipotence, that being Destruction and Creation, would bond into two ordinary humans. He explained that Destruction is necessary to protect nature’s precarious balance, so I believe it is my duty to help its wielder do this with whatever it takes. Before we continue, is it true that you are the man who wields Destruction?”

            Seth nodded and answered, “That I am, but… that doesn’t mean I really get what we’re doing here, or what I’m even supposed to be searching for.”

            “I take it that you are not here to learn the spiritual beliefs of our people, but in truth, that is not necessary for your journey. I must admit that even though I have spent my whole life searching, I still don’t understand exactly what an Astrodeus is or how it comes to be, even though we see them as the highest order of being. But before I can help you, you must understand this: I do not possess any knowledge except for the hypotheses of the giant man who wanders these mountains. I don’t want to bore you with details, but we believe that that giant is an extraterrestrial; he knows too much about the true gods to be an ordinary human. He is the one who gave us the knowledge and substance for the Equilibrium Trigger, and now I am prepared to do the same for both of you,” Master Liu explained.

            The old man handed both Seth and Phil a pen which resembled the one used by the mountain guardian. An unearthly illumination emanated from the two pens; it was basically indescribable by the color spectrum.

            “These are called the Cosmic Pens, although the substance that flows from them is unlike anything else on Earth. This liquid is an alien element that does not harm anything within our world, but the Equilibrium Trigger cannot activate without its ink. That drawing you saw earlier, the symbol for the Equilibrium Trigger—any physical contact with it will temporarily disconnect a body and a soul.

“Needless to say, we have various uses for this technique. It gives an opportunity for meditation, but it also serves as a weapon which can render an enemy motionless. A valorous spirit can return to its body in as quickly as four seconds, but most people will leave their bodies for somewhat longer—especially if it is their first journey into the astral plane. But at the same time, the Equilibrium Trigger can also be used defensively. If you ever need to abruptly leave your body, this is preferable to death because this is less uncertain. With this symbol, we believe that it is possible for a soul to live on in the astral plane without a living body. Furthermore, a member of our village once spent eight years in an Equilibrium trance, and now his body has an ability that others would kill for.”

            “Wait, so that dude wasn’t lyin’ about never gettin’ tired?” Phil asked, slightly embarrassed at his previous actions.

            Liu nodded and replied, “It is getting late. I have probably given you a lot to think about, not to mention that you are surely weary from your travels. You should go to sleep, and we shall see you off tomorrow. But beware, for the guardian you encountered was there for a reason; lately there are gangs of scavenging bandits in these mountains. They’ve routinely attacked villages or groups of travelers. It is our duty to defeat them and show them the error of their ways, so that they can reform.”

            Seth and Phil nodded and thanked him, and then they departed into the frigid darkness of the snowy village. Because there were only four buildings in the village, they selected the living quarters as their place to stay the night. When they walked over and entered the building, they saw that it was a simple hostel where the villagers and travelers rested for the night. There wasn’t even a place to pay. To Seth’s delight, he only had to speak to a sleepy woman who guided them to the visitors’ quarters. Seth and Phil then said their brief goodbyes and retreated to their respective rooms. Seth fell asleep almost immediately.

            Even when Seth was asleep, his eyes felt heavy. As he slept, several thoughts still raged like a storm through his mind. Even in his dreams, he could feel the faint glow from the Cosmic Pen in his jacket on the chair beside his bed. Something about the Equilibrium Trigger felt empowering, even though Seth had yet to harness its powers for himself. His mind raced with ways that it could turn the tide in a fight. But as his sleeping mind continued to process the previous day, he remembered the nightmare of frostbite devouring his body. No matter how obvious it was that that had not happened, it still haunted him; that malicious fantasy felt so real that he could remember the texture of each snowflake on his dying body.

            However, as Seth’s mind tried to process his trip into the astral plane, a nefarious scene resurfaced again. The memory of Naomi’s past haunted him no matter how much he tried to reason it away. Even in his sleep, he wondered if it explained why Naomi had embraced malevolence in the way that she did. And as much as it conflicted with his ideals, Seth knew that if he had seen what she had seen, he might not have ended up all that different. But as all these thoughts darted across his brain, he entered the next stage of sleep and lost connection.

            Several hours passed as rest slowly repaired Seth’s body. Mental anguish and physical fatigue faded; his frigidity melted into warmth because the covers had trapped in his body heat. Almost six hours passed without disturbance.

            But while the sun was still fast asleep, the sound of shattered glass erupted from outside Seth’s window. There was only silence afterward, and as Seth stared at the darkness, he began to doubt the legitimacy of that sound. But though he wondered if he had heard anything at all, he equipped himself with his jacket and exited the room. He ran through the dark hallway and emerged through the door into a world of black and white. The moonlight reflected on the snow to show a luminous beauty, igniting the landscape with a white flame that faded with altitude. But between the shimmering earth and the luminous sky, there was nothing but blackness; Seth could not even see the silhouettes of mountains in the distance. He stumbled carefully through the snow, soaking in the luminous night.

            But when he heard scurrying in the background, Seth stopped altogether. He immediately knew that this noise betrayed something foul. Whatever caused it was not supposed to be here, and they were aware of this fact. Each scurrying sound seemed to fade slightly behind objects, as if they were trying to hide.

            Seth ran around the back of the living quarters where he believed the noises first came from, but he found nothing. He glanced around until he saw the movement of a dark shape against the moon. A glistening longsword emerged from this silhouette, casting a reflection of the moonlight on the nearby wall. Milliseconds later, Seth realized that this person dove toward him from the sky.

Since the swordsman had jumped from the rooftop of the building, Seth knew he had less than a second to save himself. Thinking quickly, he caught his enemy’s sword with his left hand and Destroyed its energy; both the sword and the attacker immediately stopped falling. Next, Seth swung his right arm through the air and punched the assailant; he flew back and crashed into the snow. Without hesitation, Seth ran up and pressed his foot on the man’s neck. He suspected that this attacker was part of a band of thieves, though he was surprised that one of their members was this easy to subdue. However, a faint whisper in the wind proved to Seth that his enemy had allies.

As soon as Seth turned around, a sword slashed through the air at a startled speed; the sword was centimeters away from striking him. He knew he did not have time for his typical left-then-right combo. Instead, he used his right hand to block and Destroy the sword, leaving his attacker just as perplexed as the one whom Seth had knocked to the ground.

Since he had balanced his weight on his right foot with his left arm outstretched, Seth twisted on his right foot and dealt a powerful spinning kick to this new attacker. The impact threw the man backward, though he landed on his feet with a look of surprise. This second attacker was mystified by Seth’s power, but he tried to rush Seth and overpower him simply by striking first. Since Seth had predicted this attack ahead of time, he executed a quick backward jump. In mid-air, he spun backward and dealt a double-kick to the chest of his charging enemy. When Seth landed on his feet, both of his attackers were kneeling in the snow.

            However, Seth lost the upper hand as soon as a gunshot rang through the sky. Another shadowed figure stood upon the roof of the living quarters, and Seth could see the shape of a moonlit handgun pointing toward him. Seth dove into the snow and pulled the second attacker in the way as a human shield, hoping that one member of this group would not hurt another.

            The man on the roof shouted to his friends in an unfamiliar language. Seth felt his human shield struggle for escape, but then a second bullet shot down and struck the writhing body. Seth watched in horror as warm blood spilled onto his jacket; the rooftop gunman had just shot through his own ally. Without thinking, Seth threw the body into the air, somersaulted to his feet, and ran from the building. As he sprinted away, a large foot suddenly tripped him before he had a chance to slow down; a gunshot then rang out from overhead. Seth dropped into the snow and watched the bullet hit the snow in front of him. If he had still been running, it would have been a lethal shot.

            Phil, who now crouched beside Seth, threw a knife at the gunman without taking any time to aim. As a result, the knife stabbed in through the gunman’s stomach. The man shook from agony and fell from the roof. As the gunman hit the ground with a bone-shattering crash, Phil worriedly said, “Whoa, man, that’s some crazy shit! I ain’t mean to kill the dude!

            “I don’t think he’s dead, but even if you killed him, it’s not your fault! You had to act fast. I coulda done the same. Besides, he just shot his own ally! There’s no telling what he’d do to the people here,” Seth said, quickly climbing back to his feet.

            “I saw about three more of them cloaked dudes over by the diner area; let’s get our asses over there,” Phil suggested.

            Seth nodded, and then he sprinted through the village with Phil one step behind. By the time they arrived at the diner, they saw Zheng sparring in hand-to-hand combat with two of the attackers. Shocked by his skill, Seth and Phil nearly stopped in their tracks.

            Each assailant coordinated attacks from opposite sides, but Zheng carefully blocked each punch with his two forearms, and occasionally he used his right leg to score jump kicks on one attacker at a time. Even in the air, his rhythmic attacks showed no fatigue or trepidation; he slammed one attacker with enough force to knock him away. After blocking several hits, Zheng pumped the hard ground with all of his power. This let him jump high in the air, and as all eyes watched, he dealt a full-force flying kick to one of his attackers. Seth heard a bone break on impact; the victim of this attack flew backward and crashed into the second attacker. They both stayed down.

            “Damn, Zheng, you real good!” Phil said.

            Thank you. I witness both of you fight back by quarters. You both are most powerful as well,” Zheng praised.

            “Man, I’m sorry ‘bout all that shit from earlier. We cool?” Phil asked while Seth glanced around with apprehension.

            “Combat is not best time to discuss alliance; that is to be known ahead of time! But I assure you that in this battle, you and I are friend!” Zheng said.

            Phil chuckled to himself slightly, but then all three of them dropped to the ground when another gunshot rang out through the darkness.

            “Man, how come everyone but me got a piece these days?” Phil muttered to himself.

            “You are the only one of us who attack from distance; please stop him!” Zheng said, motioning toward the source of the shots in the shadowy distance.

            Since the gunman was almost twenty meters away in the darkness, Phil suspected that he had fired blindly, unaware of the enemies’ location. Zheng began bundling the snow into a small bump in front of them, hoping that it could help them hide even better.

            “What if I don’t kill him? He might know where it was thrown from and then we screwed,” Phil whispered.

            “You are skill enough to get knife near him almost one hundred percent of time, yes?” Zheng asked.

            “Yeah man, but since he so far away, I don’t know if I can hit his punk-ass. You see, the blade don’t always go in. sometimes the handle hits instead, so I gotta calculate where to throw from each time, know what I’m sayin’? But from this far it’s really just a guess,” Phil whispered.

            But then, a stroke of genius descended upon Phil. He reached into his shoe, removed the oddly-placed Cosmic Pen, and drew an Equilibrium Trigger on each of his four remaining knives.

            “If I so much as hit that son of a bitch now, he gon’ dart through some weird-ass spirit world like I was,” Phil whispered, preparing to aim.

            With a rapid spin and throw, Phil launched the knife through the air with perfect precision. Because of the angle with which he threw it, the knife twirled through the air in a parabolic arc, casting shimmers of moonlight across the snow. Metal struck flesh, and although he merely hit his target’s arm, the otherworldly glow emanated from the blade; the Equilibrium Trigger activated.

            The gunman dropped into the snow, temporarily trapped in a surreal trance. Zheng and Seth sprinted forward during this window of safety, and when they reached their enemy, they ripped away his gun.