Isaac sat cross-legged in front of the campfire, but his mind was elsewhere.

  His spirit sat on a small, barren island floating in nothingness. Around him, a vast expanse of space that reminded him of the creation of the universe stretched around him. Star constellations, black holes, and asteroids trailing stardust offered him a view as he sat cross-legged in the space he called his Spiritual Space.

  Although his body was back on The Other Side, his mind and spirit were projected inside his spiritual space.

  Destroyer of Gods rested across his lap in both worlds.

  The tsuka or handle wrapped in thin black rope that cross-hatched into diamond shapes, was worn smooth by the previous owner. The diamond patterns were a colour of purple mixed with indigo. It was the same colour as the saya or scabbard, that kept the blade secure.

  Isaac allowed a breath to escape his lungs as he slid the blade free.

  No metal clang. Just the smooth sound of wood pressing on wood.

  Darkness.

  Darkness so complete that it sucked all life into it.

  He poured his Aura slowly into the blade, and he didn’t need his eyes opened to know that the darkness pulsed and grew stronger. Hunger! The blade yearned for more Aura. He poured more into it, but no matter how much he gave the blade, it was still hungry for more.

  “Careful, young master. The blade is a temptress that will whisper great things in your ear, but those great things come at a price,” said Femi Jr, his spirit guide.

  “It feels different. Before...” he tried to put into words the feeling of the insatiable hunger of the blade. “Before, the blade felt like a sleeping dragon. Dangerous, but manageable. Now, the beast is awake and fighting against the chains of my willpower.” The blade trembled in his hand. “Dangerous.”

  “That it is,” said Femi Jr, amusement thick in his voice. “As I have mentioned before, your Ink as well as Miss Felicity’s, are once-in-a-generation type Inks. With that comes extreme danger, young master. The Ink will be constantly testing if you are worthy of all it can give you.”

  “But why is the blade fighting me?”

  “The Ink and the blade are one and the same.”

  “Will the tests ever stop?”

  “Only once it has deemed you worthy. Think of it like a romantic relationship. Until trust is gained, your partner will never completely hand over the reins to you. So until you can show your Ink, you are who you say you are—who you believe you are, then all the power it holds will never be completely yours.”

  “I do not understand,” said Isaac. “I thought if you got stronger, climbed the mountain and became a King, then your Ink would grow with you.”

  Femi Jr chuckled. “There are many King and Queens, who will never reach their true potential because they are not one with their Ink. There are Kings and Queens with no Ink whatsoever. The Ink does not make the person; the person makes the Ink. Think of it this way, a person can become a great champion with many flaws and bad habits, but someone looking to stand apart from the pack, to be an uncommon person amongst uncommon people, that person needs to align their will—soul—and very being to become truly great. Is that not the person you are looking to become, young master?”

  Isaac opened his eyes in response and stood up.

  In the distance, he took in the scenery but instead of nothing but barren rocky islands; he envisioned what Femi Jr had once shown him.

  Vast towers and buildings pulsing in a purple hue as they radiated power. Islands with nothing but lush forests containing creatures running through glades and fish swimming through mountain streams. Smaller islands with manicured gardens that held wells of shimmering concentrated energy. The power output from the wells distorted the space around them as small pebbles floated in the air above them. Islands with visible air current streams cut through the centre of the islands, with creatures swimming in the current like shoals of fish in the ocean. He remembered the feel of some islands where gravity was so light he could jump thirty feet in the air and others where it felt like he was in the Mariana Trench as the gravity crushed his bones to dust.

  But the one thing he remembered. The one image that seared itself into his very being was an island at the epicentre of it all that whispered of power. It did not even need to shout; such was the force of its voice.

  An open palace designed in a simple style of Mediterranean elegance with Caribbean vibrancy.

  The palace stood on a cliff overlooking a body of water that ran over the edge of the island into the depths of nothingness below it. Sun-washed stone forming arches gave way to panoramic views. The palace formed a U-shape around an immense central courtyard, which was open to the body of water and the elements. Multi-level terraces built into the stone of the island offered viewing and sitting areas, as well as meditation spots for thinking. Open breezeways lined with palm trees connected the wings of the palace, as hammocks swung lazily in shaded gardens with fire pits.

  At its centre, a power source of such complete power that it dwarfed everything that he had felt up until this point. No Aura emitted from anyone he had met came even close.

  “I want that,” he whispered to no one in particular. “That vision you showed me, I want that. I want it all.”

  A floating figure wearing a hooded robe made of stars and galaxies came to a rest at his elbow. “Well, young master, we best get to work.”

  *********

  Felicity sat cross-legged opposite Isaac in camp, while her spirit ran through an inky black shadowy jungle. Her breathing, deep and silent, allowed her to pinpoint the sounds behind her. They were faint. The crushing of jungle undergrowth under boot—the impact from pushing off a trunk to gain height—the rustle of clothing as those who chased her moved with speed.

  She moved in and out of the shadows as they did the same.

  Tricky bastards. She forgot how infuriating it was to fight herself.

  A body appeared out of the shadows to her left, and instead of attacking her, it created a beam of light that temporarily blinded her. White light struck her senses, and she tried to disappear back into the shadow she came from, but found out she could no longer. The light blasted the shadows away, making escape impossible, just as another opponent attacked from above.

  Throwing knives flew from its hands causing her to dodge and deflect.

  She went on the attack, bow coming up to target her enemy when another foe from her right burst from the jungle foliage and swung a short sword her way.

  “Shit.”

  Rolling into a dive, the breeze from the short sword ruffled her hair as it skimmed the top of her head. Tucking herself into a ball, she unfurled herself while upside down and fired an arrow before she completed the spin. Landing on her feet, four more arrows followed the first only allowing her to hit two of her opponents.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She looked to flee back into the shadow of an oak-like tree when another grenade of light exploded above her, casting her area in light.

  Grunting in frustration she took off again, but they were always on her heels. No matter what she did to shake them off, they appeared right when she was about to escape and ruined her plans. “Leave me alone!”

  She fired an arrow skyward that split into three—then five—ten—twenty—thirty. Reaching her limit, the arrows created a webbing entangling everything that it touched. Not only that, but the more arrows that formed, the more shadows that accompanied their birth.

  Flic smiled as she entangled two more foes in her wrapping. The shadows the arrows created wrapped around them like vines and crushed them into dust.

  Four.

  That was it right? She asked herself. Were there more?

  She tried to rack her brains for the information as she span on her heels, taking in her surroundings. Silence. Apart from the shadowy leaves rustling in the wind, she heard nothing that gave her pause. She was safe. Safe and—two hands emerged from her own shadow and grabbed her feet, pulling her down.

  Uttering a yelp of surprise, it was short-lived as a shadow attacker baseball-slid along the ground and slammed its boot into her face, knocking her head back and knocking her unconscious.

  She came too seconds after, on her back, while a condescending chuckle filled the air.

  Flic did not need to face the sound to know who it was. “You know, speaking with Isaac, he’s told me that his spirit guide actually helps him. Gives him guidance. Shocking. I know. But maybe for once, instead of you just laughing at my demise, you can…I don’t know, actually help me. Give me some guidance on what I am doing wrong.”

  “I am not a spirit guide. I am a familiar.”

  Felicity threw up her hands while still on her back. “Even more fucking reason to help me. Don’t familiars fly into battle with their masters and fight side by side with them?”

  “You’re thinking of dragons and dragon riders. Two insufferable assholes, if I do say so myself. They are like the annoying people at the bar no one wants to date, so they develop a relationship based on the fact that they are not the problem; it is everyone else. Not to mention the weird sexual connotations that are always left unsaid between them.”

  Felicity’s eyebrows raised as she turned onto her stomach.“Sexual connotations?”

  “Please, do not tell me you can not see it. Riding a powerful beast? Taming it? Bah! It is enough to make one sick. Dragons are arrogant assholes who think themselves superior to all other animal species, but cats are not the ones being driven like my little pony to their deaths.”

  “I didn’t know dragons and cats had such beef?”

  “We do not. Cats just have a healthy disdain for any creature that willingly bows down to masters.”

  “To be fair, I think it’s more of a partnership--”

  “That is what the dragon drivers would like you to think. But you don’t see dragons riding people into battle. It is the same reason cats hate dogs, stupid, subservient, drooling animals. Can’t think for themselves without being in a pack or having a human give them treats—they can’t even get rid of their own faeces for heaven’s sake. Filthy creatures.”

  Felicity looked as Shalim, AKA Night Sun, the spirit guide come familiar the Ink had come with stared at her with eyes made of darkness. His black panther blockhead, the size of a polar bear’s, gave her a stare that she could not decipher whether he wanted to eat her or simply keep on insulting her.

  “You know,” said Felicity, “I know now why I was always a dog person and—”

  “Not surprising.”

  “And why some people think cats are assholes.”

  Night Sun gave her what amounted to a shrug before licking the back of a paw.

  “So…any help… any help at all? Any help on what I need to do to win?”

  “That is your problem, Felicity Cooper.” He said between paw licks. “You are trying to win. Training is about improving. Working on your weaknesses. As soon as you view it as trying to win, you have already lost.”

  “That makes no—” she stopped as she got to her feet. “Actually, that makes perfect sense. But how do I know what I need to improve on?”

  “What keeps defeating you?”

  She stroked her face, deep in thought, as Night Sun slowly faded. “Oh, and another thing. Isaac’s spiritual space has the potential to develop a city, by the way he talks about it. Can I do that here? Develop a city? Cities?”

  “Why would you want to?”

  “Because it’s cool!”

  “You are a rogue—a shadow walker—the eyes that see everything in the darkness. The jungle is the best place to hone those skills. Crave your domain out of what you see around you; you shall find that challenging enough.”

  ********

  Francisco sat idle, back resting against a tree while he kept watch of the other two. Both sat cross-legged in deep meditation while sweat poured off their faces. Around the pair were runestones that kept their Aura hidden, as the training they were doing in their spirit realm would cause their Aura to flash and flare like a beacon signal, earning unwanted attention. One of the runes at Isaac’s feet flared and shook as Isaac’s purple Aura crashed against the invisible barrier of the runes.

  “This is going to become a problem as they get stronger,” said Francisco to Redd, who lay on his back in a three-piece suit with a fedora covering his face and a silk scarf covering his neck.

  “As 1we get stronger,” said Redd through the hat.

  Francisco rolled his eyes. “I have not even got an Ink yet.”

  “Why do you need one?”

  “To become stronger.”

  “Mate, ain’t you been listening to a word I’ve been saying? There are forces of nature on this planet without an Ink that can wipe out domains with a swing of their sword.”

  “Like who?”

  “Marcel Stormwake. Although he plays the part of the drunkard fool most of the time, there is a reason that man can travel anywhere he wants without an army. Listen mate, you are a berserker. Embrace that. Make it work for you. Enough of this whining like a little bitch. Embrace it. Own it. If you can truly control that berserker rage of yours, you’ll have power to rival and surpass the Beast King.”

  “If you say so,” said Francisco sullenly, as he plucked a wildflower by his side and blew on its petals. He knew what Redd said was true. Hell, even Svarog had told him the same thing time and time again, but as much as he wanted to believe it, he could not dismiss the evidence in front of his eyes.

  Isaac and Flic were sprinting ahead of him at an alarming rate.

  There was a point when all three were on equal footing. Well...him and Flic, Isaac was a different beast completely. That man chased improvement like a crackhead looking for his next hit.

  No, Francisco knew Isaac was different. Ruthless when he needed to be, but also caring about those around him...to a point. Isaac did not suffer fools gladly, nor would he allow dead weight to clutter his team. Deadweight that Francisco was slowly becoming.

  He picked another flower at random. Where had it all gone wrong? One minute he was a vital part of the team...the next, they were slowing down for him as they sprinted like horses on speed through the mountain passes.

  A distant roar echoed through the mountains ahead of him, causing him to look up.

  The mountain peaks were bathed in red, some jagged and wicked-looking, others snow capped looking like art pieces out of a Disney movie. The roar came again, but this time it sounded further away and deeper. It was a challenge to the first roar.

  “What. The actual. Fuck. Was that?”

  Redd did not bother looking up. “Could be a number of things mate. Trolls—Yetis—Thunderbirds—Uktenas—Divs—Yamaubas—Tokoloshes, just to name a few. But by the sound of how deep and loud that roar was and the distance, I’d say...most likely a dragon.”

  Francisco stood up, panic sweeping through him. “A WHAT?”

  Redd waved away his fear. “Sit down, dickhead. There is nowhere to run and nothing to do if a dragon wants you dead. Right now, we are nothing but insects to a creature like that. When we get to Archduke, then maybe, maybe, we’ll be a challenge. But right now, we are nothing but flies to be ignored. Unless the dragon we ran across is a right dickhead and just wants to kill us because he’s in a bad mood. It does happen.”

  “Even more reason to--“

  “Mate!” said Redd, finally lifting the fedora off his face. “A dragon can spew fire so hot that it turns rock to glass. The area it can cover with said flame is well over three hundred metres, or a thousand feet, every four seconds. You’d have to be an Archduke to even outrun it. So, with all that being said, stop being a little bitch—sit down, get some rest, and enjoy the sunset. Because trust me, where we are going, we are not going to get much rest or peace.”

  Francisco sat down with the wind cut from his sails and looked at the other two again as the runestones around them flared. “You said that their meditating is going to be a problem. Why?”

  “Because the stronger you become, the more your Aura flares out and signals to everyone that a new threat has arrived. The truly powerful combat that by going into caves of solitude, where the bedrock in the caves acts as runestones and Aura dampers. Only there can one truly go from, say, Duke to Archduke or Archduke to King. You’ll find that most powerful domains—families—groups have one or more for that exact purpose. It is why being part of a wanky group is so alluring to people. It offers them a safe path up the mountain; in there lies the trap,” said Redd, now leaning forward. “Because no one great—truly great — ever comes up the easy way, mate. Remember that. Remember that when they start offering you more coin than you can count. Remember that when they throw beauty your way. Remember that--” A roar sounding closer than ever vibrated Francisco’s chest, “when the fear creeps up your spine and being part of the crowd looks like the only way to the top.”

  Redd gave him a wink and a sly smile as he went to lie back down. “It is why I’m with you crazy fucks. I can see the path you are heading to. You take the hardest of hard routes. It is almost sadistic. But it is what will get our names in the history books. And I, for one, am tired of being ignored.”