The world twisted violently around Ruben, a nauseating blur of colours and sensations as whatever force had snatched them from Dario's estate hurled them through space. His stomach lurched, his vision flickering between darkness and blinding light. For a terrifying moment he was weightless, untethered, his body nothing more than a ragdoll in the grip of an unseen hand.
And then came the impact.
Ruben hit the ground hard, his knees buckling as he skidded across rough pavement. Beside him, Corbin let out a sharp hiss of pain while clutching his broken arm. The ropes binding them had tightened during the teleportation, biting into Ruben's wrists, but his mind was already racing, scanning their surroundings.
They were in a residential area. The architecture was sleek, modern and the streets were clean.
And standing in front of them, like a trio of executioners, were Elijah Neri, Elise Vogel and Felix Hartmann.
Elijah's dark eyes gleamed with a look that was just unsettling, there was more curiosity than malice, which just seemed worse. His voice was smooth and he sounded almost bored. "Sending you to your cell is our job… and then you would wait for your trial… well that would be easier."
Ruben didn't buy that. The way Elijah's fingers twitched at his sides, the slight tilt of his head, the way he stood ready for anything that may come. Not just that but ready to take the first strike. He wanted this outcome. He wanted another fight.
Felix stood motionless, his navy hair was a stark contrast to the pale sky. He still had on those gloves that seemed to enhance his punches. Ruben thought they may have been weighted?
Elise stood with a smirk, she was already flexing. From their first meeting two years ago, Ruben always felt that she was the stronger one. And maybe even the smarter one too, she had never used her Ego back then so there was nothing for him to remember.
Maybe she had Felix do all the work in that department because she expected something like this outcome. Expected for them to escape or at least for Dario to show up when he figures out his two adopted grandchildren are out missing and in trouble.
But the other one who was an immediate danger stood behind them, and Ruben was the first to glance at her. It was Rosette, a crimson spear formed in her hand, the top in the shape of a heart. It flickered to life with a small burst of energy.
If he could describe it, he would say she smelled tangy, like a grapefruit.
Without warning, she stepped forward and slashed the ropes binding them.
She then spoke. "We were dumped here by Joanne, she must have received the order to do so to test us as well as them." She tilted her head. "And I admit, I want to see it too. Testing the edges of my spear against my first battle as a Paladin. It's a good way to start."
Elise scoffed. "Don't get overconfident."
Ruben didn't wait.
He struck.
Twisting his hips, he launched a fast shot toward her jaw. She dodged with a dancer's grace, her spear whipping around to split the air where his hand had been. The blade of blood bit at his knuckles.
Corbin yanked him back, his grip iron-tight, and before Ruben could protest, he was thrown, hurled upward toward a nearby building with a force that sent him spinning through the air.
Split up.That was the unspoken command, it was a two v four, so splitting it to a two v one would be better. But either way they were outnumbered so to Ruben it just didn't matter.
But he went along with it for now.
Ruben flew, flipping midair, he grabbed the edge of the building and pulled himself over just as the world exploded behind him. The sound of Corbin's sprint cracked the street open like thunder.
Damn.
Elise was floating up the side of the building, her boots barely skimming the surface as if gravity itself had released her. And Elijah, he had melted into the shadows along the wall of the building, his form melting into the shadows before appearing on the rooftop in a silent motion.
Ruben turned to where he heard him appear and his muscles tightened.
Elijah's sword lashed out, nearly severing his arm. He ducked and flipped, only to twist into the silver flash of Elise's spear.
He didn't see where it came from but he noted that the weapon wasn't a typical spear, but more akin to a Qiang.
It gleamed in the sunlight, its silver shaft was etched with golden lines. The scent of metal filled Ruben's nostrils, sharp and cold. She lunged again, the blade a silver flash, and Ruben barely twisted away, feeling the whisper of air as it sliced past his ribs.
Elijah struck again, his sword jumping out of his shadows, a blackened blade that seemed to drink in the light. Ruben flipped backward, but Elijah adjusted mid-swing, the edge arcing upward.
A dragon erupted from Ruben, intercepting the blow with a snarl, its golden fur shimmering as it locked its jaws around the blade.
Ruben landed beside it and threw a kick, but Elise's spear was already coming. Ruben spun, redirected the force and skidded back.
The dragon was gone.
Damn it.
He was on the defensive. Last time it was Elijah facing him and Corbin in a two v one, he wondered if this was what he felt like.
Elise smirked and twirled her spear.
"Follow my lead." She told Elijah.
Elijah nodded, but Ruben could see a flicker of irritation in his eyes.
Ruben exhaled, steadying himself. He hated how this was all going. Hated being dragged from his home, hated being separated from Corbin, and Corbin was the one injured. But most of all, he hated this feeling of being unmatched.
But he didn't plan on losing.
He closed his eyes and took it all in. He wasn't going to lose. A promise.
That was what he needed. A deal with his Ego.
As Elise and Elijah advanced, Ruben crouched low, his fingers brushing the rooftop's rough surface. For that fraction of a second, he reached inward, toward the core of his power.
"I give up manual control of my dragons in exchange for automated, self-acting behaviour tied to a spoken directive."|
The Promise was simple and the effect was immediate.
It felt as though something new in his veins went alight. The dragons were no longer extensions of his will he had to manually control at his detriment. They were bound to his command.
He didn't hesitate.
"Protect me."
It was a silent whisper. And from that, two dragons materialized, their forms shimmering into existence with a sound like tearing fabric. One coiled around Ruben, its golden fur bristling, while the other lunged at Elise, catching her Qiang mid-air and twisted.
And Ruben moved.
He sprinted past them, using their bodies as cover. Flipped, pivoted and spun and kicked Elise in the ribs, hard enough to send her flying. She skidded across the rooftop, smashed through a vent, her weapon spinning from her grip.
Perfect.
He turned, and Elijah was already gone.
A shadow flickered at Ruben's feet. He was too late to notice what was coming.
The voice entered his mind. "Don't move!"
Elijah's voice slithered into his mind, a command laced with power. Ruben's muscles locked, for a fraction of a second, he was paralyzed.
Then his dragons reacted.
One slammed into Elijah as he emerged from the shadows, its claws raking across his arm. The other wrapped around Ruben, breaking the mental grip of Elijah's command.
Ruben grinned.
Elijah's sword clattered to the ground, vanishing into the shadows the moment it touched the rooftop. Before he could summon it again, Ruben was on him, jumped into the air and hit him square at his jaw.
Elijah dodged, but Ruben followed through, his next strike was a blur of motion. Elijah blocked, and then countered. Their movements were a deadly dance of fists and evasion. For a few seconds, they were evenly matched, until Ruben's dragons intervened.
One slashed at Elijah's arm, drawing blood. The other lunged.
But then Ruben began to feel a pull.
Invisible and irresistible, yanking him backward. He was being dragged in the direction of Elise, like a telekinetic pull.
He couldn't fight it. So, he didn't.
Instead, he used it.
As he was dragged toward Elise, he reached into his pocket as he ripped the zipper apart and picked out his phone and hurled it at her hard. The device shot forward like a bullet, forcing her to duck. The distraction was enough.
Ruben twisted midair, driving his fist into the wall beside her head. The impact cratered the brick, sending debris flying. Elise barely dodged, but Ruben was already moving.
He jumped off the building.
The wind screamed in his ears as he fell, the ground rushing up to meet him. His dragons followed, their forms streaking through the air beside him.
"Protect me."
The command still held.
Two dragons flew at his side ready to catch him. But then he started to feel the same pull. Behind him Elise was falling too, but she stopped as she held her hand out to pull Ruben toward her.
Ruben again, let it happen, but this time one of his dragons behind him breathed in and then blew, propelling him upward toward her at a quick pace. He noticed the shadows moving oddly behind Elise but focused on Elise who held a surprised look on her face.
He twisted and kicked Elise in her chest, sending her through a glass window. She vanished into the building.
Elijah appeared but he didn't attack, he just looked at Ruben with strange and cold eyes and stuck to the building.
As Ruben fell, he landed on one of his dragons, solid at his feet and soft and warm. Debri fell around him.
The dragon he was on cut through the air with terrifying speeds. Ruben looked below looking for where Corbin could be, he looked forward to wreckage and then saw an ash cloud forming in the distance and started going that way.
On his way he noticed that there were other people. Civilians, by the look of them. They were rushing across the streets looking to stay far away from the fighting and stay safe in their homes.
Because of the lack of sound or other smells as soon as they got to the area, Ruben believed that there weren't any people here. He thought it was just a ghost city since Ostara has many of them that are supposedly set up in case of a catastrophe that forces urban transition.
Destroying buildings like that was bad anyway, but now he had to make sure that no innocents were being harmed by his abilities too.