“Sometimes, destiny needs

  a little push.”

  - Mitamin Light

  Chapter 21: Blinding Light

  Deathlock Prison, Atop the Ziggurat ...

  Tulius looked on as the scarred prince slowly died. It was a revelation most unexpected, but one that Tulius found to be an exhilarating surprise. The last of Kane’s lineage would soon be no more. He smiled in approval, recalling the nuisance Erik Kane had been in the Triumvirate’s early years.

  Koga Kane, one of three sons to the esteemed King, Erik Kane, was presumed dead. His regime was one that only delayed the inevitable decay of Kenzanite society. The problem with Kenza, like every other nation in the galaxy, was that it was weak. Far from the utopia the universe could be. The Triumvirate would bring about the perfect utopia, and this fallen prince would not, and could not, stand in their way.

  Overlord Thanator tightened his grip, as the last of the young man’s air seeped out of his lungs. The process looked excruciating, but Tulius felt no pity for him. Those that opposed the Triumvirate needed to be cast aside… permanently.

  In the blink of an eye, an unexpected occurrence rocked Tulius’ senses. A blinding light like the suns themselves took his sight, as he instinctively covered his face. As it continued to intensify, he cupped his hands tighter over his eyes, only to find the light too much for even his hands to block. He feared he would never see again.

  As quickly as it came, the light left. Taking a moment to recover his senses, Tulius staggered forward. He was blinded at first, but slowly, he began to see blurred images and colors again. As his vision fully returned to him, he nearly gasped at what had occured.

  “Wh-where is he? Where is Koga Kane?” Tulius asked, not seeing a sign of the man anywhere.

  “Gone,” Thanator replied, unshaken by the occurrence.

  “Gone? But my Overlord-” Tulius retorted, still disoriented.

  Thanator stood silent, caught in a moment of repose. Then he turned around, pushing by Tulius and Martzia. Tulius followed behind him, waiting with baited breath for some sort of explanation. What happened surpassed what Thanator was able to handle, and such a thing was quite concerning to say the least.

  “We need to accelerate our plans. Have project J?rmungandr completed by the end of the month,” Thanator ordered.

  “The Krieger boy has been helpful, but Pane still hasn’t given us any new information,” Tulius retorted, concerned his new timetable was too restrictive.

  “If he doesn’t comply this time… dispose of him.”

  Tulius detected a tinge of regret in his command. Like Thanator, Corvid Pane was a mystery. The relationship between the two even more so.

  “Yes, my Overlord…” Tulius complied, bowing as Thanator entered the elevator.

  *

  Koga awoke in a fright. One moment, he was being crumpled like the witch had been. The next, he was here, alive and well. Raising himself out of bed, he felt his face and body as a measure to ensure he was still in the land of the living. Seemingly, he was.

  He was no longer in his armor. It resided in the corner, save his helmet. He was dressed in his biosuit only. His weapons sat in the other corner.

  The room around him was older, mostly wooden, and smelled of rich mahogany. Above him, unseemly orbs of light illuminated the space around him. Their source of power was unknown to him, but he could only assume they were some sort of magic or advanced technology. To his right, a singular wooden door appeared to be the only way out. Curious as to where he was, he twisted the latch and exited.

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  He had come out onto a wooden, twisted staircase. It went down to a first floor which he could sense, and all the way up to another which he could not sense, as it was too far away. Along the way, hundreds of doors branched off of it. The doors all had different colors, shapes, and materials from which it was made. One of them even looked to be made of snakeskin. Koga wondered if this was the strangest place he had ever seen.

  Still curious, but also cautious, Koga went downstairs searching for answers. Given he had not been injured or imprisoned, he deduced he was with friendly individuals. For a second, he wondered if he had died. He quickly dismissed the thought, as his senses were no different than before.

  As he descended the staircase, he sensed a life form. A young woman, who could not have been older than nineteen. She had his helmet on, and was play acting in a living room area.

  “I am the Blight, and you will pay for your sins, evil doer! Muhahaha!” she cried, deepening her voice as she threw a punch into the air. Throwing more punches and some kicks, she then turned around. Startled by Koga’s presence, she fell back onto the floor. Lightly chuckling, she removed his helmet.

  She was a beautiful, golden haired girl, with a fair complexion. She wore white and gold robes, and hunter green pants tucked into comfortable looking leather boots. Draped over her shoulders was a hood and cape, and around her shoulders were leather belts with compartments attached. She gave him an awkward smile. Reading her morgath, he saw she was embarrassed.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she began, her voice timid and weak.

  In a literal flash of light, she zoomed quicker than Koga’s senses could perceive towards him. Instinctively, he raised his guard to defend himself. The action, however, was unnecessary. She meant him no harm.

  “Here you go,” she said, handing him his helmet. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Your armor is so cool. I’m Luminous, by the way. Luminous Light. You’re Koga Kane, right?”

  “Yes,” he replied, using sign speak.

  “Grandpa said you couldn’t speak,” Luminous replied, using the silent tongue in return. “It’s such an honor to meet you in person! I’m a big fan of your work. I actually run your fan page on Reazzit.”

  “A Koga Kane fan page?” Koga asked, clarifying.

  “No, silly! A Blight fan page. You’ve saved a lot of lives, and because of that, you’ve got a lot of fans! Of course, no one on the page knows your real identity. Well, except me! Pretty cool, huh? I’d show you the page, but our interweb is down right now. Grandpa didn’t want you to try to contact the outside world,” she responded.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he has a special mission for you, and you can’t expose the location of the tower by trying to contact anyone. Speaking of Grandpa, he told me I should take you to him once you woke up.”

  Grabbing his hand, Luminous did the same thing she did moments ago. Only this time, she brought Koga with her. In under three seconds time, the two had made it all the way up the stairs to the top floor. Not being used to the effect of traveling at such speeds, Koga immediately kneeled down and threw up on the floor.

  “Oh, gross. Sorry. Forgot most people aren’t used to my light speed travel. I’m a light wielder, by the way. In case you hadn’t noticed.”

  After recovering, Koga stood up, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief Luminous was kind enough to provide.

  “A what?”

  “A light wielder. I can bend and control light. You’re a lightning wielder, you just don’t know it yet.”

  Koga was not sure what all this meant, but he supposed he would find out soon enough. The girl had a morgath that was lighthearted and kind. Perhaps, the kindest he had ever seen. He felt he could trust her, although they had only just met.

  Luminous led the way as they walked along. He followed her through a normal wooden door. Then down to a door that looked stranger than any door Koga had ever seen.

  The door was nothing but eyes. Moving, sentient eyes. They looked to be eyes from all manner of intelligent life from the galaxy. In its center was a large, yellow eye. It looked like what Koga imagined a dragon’s eye might look like.

  “This is the Door of Judgment,” Luminous explained. “If you’re worthy, you’ll pass through it unharmed. If not, it will consume your soul, and you’ll be in this house forever.”

  “Well that’s not terrifying. And why should I pass through this door?” Koga asked.

  Luminous smiled.

  “Because you are worthy, Koga Kane.”

  Luminous passed through the door to the other side, leaving Koga on his own.

  Luminous’ words stung him in a way he did not expect they would. It was a statement he could not readily accept. His pause gave way to doubt. A minute or two passed, as fear seized him. He did not want to walk through.

  “You coming?” Luminous asked, sticking her head through the ethereal-like door. This, too, startled Koga. Luminous then brought her head back through to her side.

  He could not let fear rule him. Putting it to the side, he closed his eyes instinctively, and took a step forward through the door. He could not feel or sense anything, only a warm sensation passing over him. It washed over and through him like a rushing wind. The cause could only be the door, testing him as Luminous said it would.

  Suddenly, he was able to sense the area around him once again. He was standing in a large, ancient library, surrounded by millions of books. Wooden bookshelves, made from an unfamiliar, archaic looking wood housed the many texts and tomes. Luminous stood patiently to his right, and an older man stood off in the shadows. Again, Luminous startled him.

  “Koga! Koga! Are you there? Koga!” she cried, reaching around to feel him. His heart raced, imagining the door had not found him worthy. Had it consumed his soul? Had his fears come to pass?

  “Ha! Just kidding. It’s easy to mess with you, I see,” she teased, pushing him on the shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  The older man in the corner stepped forward into the light. He had a dark complexion, a bald head, and snow white beard. His body was bulky and muscular, and his apparel was identical to Luminous’. In his left hand he held a glowing, multicolored staff, which shined various colors on the spectrum. He greeted Koga with a smile. His voice was deep and smooth.

  “Hello, Koga. My name is Mitamin Light. I am the Keeper of the Tower of Treasures. Our meeting has long been destined, and we have much to discuss.”