Until death – chapter 24

Until death, chapter 24

 

Theme: Tomorrow is infinite.

 

“He doesn’t have the right to your time,” the professor said to me. She was the one that blocked the dead blow meant for General Zod. “You have to leave now, and don’t forget what I told you.” She whispered it again.

 

“Why can’t you let me finish him once and for all?” I said with resentment in my voice. “He has caused me more trouble than you can ever imagine, and I promised to send his head back to the veiled man as a gift.” I snarled in rage.

 

“It doesn’t work like that,” the processor corrected me. “Your enemy today might end up being your saviour tomorrow, so you must learn how to forgive. Moreover, he was following his duty. ” She explained.

 

“He is following the wrong duty and fighting the wrong side of the war,” I yelled. “He doesn’t deserve any mercy.”

 

“Meet me in the prancing hall,” the processor said instead. Before I could say anything, she grabbed General Zod by the collar of his suit and disappeared out of sight.

 

The jungle is now as silent as a graveyard. No sounds were heard except for some soldiers that were groaning in pain. I examine the place once again, and the dead bodies are littered all around the jungle floor. The processor did a lot of damage to them. Without wasting another second, I sauntered towards the multi-colored door-looking portal and different thoughts were clouding my mind.

 

I knew the processor said I was the last of the smiths, but my power is silver instead of a rainbow or golden colour. That makes me wonder how much power the previous Smith was welding with. I was still learning how to control my power, and I could leverage such magic. That meant the last Smith would be invisible. Nonetheless, it only leads to the emergence of a new question in my mind. How can the reaper, priests, and black riders, accompanied by their Nazgul, slaughter the Smith with all their might? That probably means these villains were tougher than I thought. Taking a deep breath, I jump inside the door, looking at the portal, and everything becomes black.

 

I was awakened by the loud roaring of crowds. I feel like my throat is bitter and dry. My stomach is grumbling, and I can feel all my intestines screaming in hunger. That is when I remember that I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since I was killed by the venomous woman on the arena ground, which also serves as my last fight. An awful smell fills my nostrils, which makes me feel nauseous at the same time. The atmosphere smells of rotten things, which makes me think that my body was thrown into the ground that Ryan dug for those that were killed in the arena ground.

 

Blinking my eyes twice, I managed to make them adjust to my background, and my guess was right. I was on deep ground. The dead bodies of soldiers and other people filled the whole place, which was producing a foul smell. Gathering all my strength, I managed to drag my body up, and the desire to taste water increased in my body, as my throat felt drier. That is when I remember that I can control all the elements, and a smirk crept into my lips at the thought of that.

 

I kneel, place my left palm on the spot where I was lying earlier and gather my power into the palm. I can feel all the energy of the soil, the power of the earth, and that of nature. Then I waited for the water to emerge from the dry ground. Surprisingly, the ground accepted my offer and brought forth water, which was gushing out like tap water. Not wasting another second, I put my palms together and started drinking the water. 

 

I felt all my lost strength return as the water touched my throat and went down to the pit of my stomach. I felt my body getting rejuvenated, and my body returning to its normal position. Not only that, I felt all the wounds in my body healing up, and the venom that the snake woman injected into my body was now disappearing. Taking a deep breath, I leap high and jump out of the corpse pit.

 

I examined the surroundings with my eyes as soon as my feet touched the dry ground. My ears wandered around trying to find where the loud noise of the crowds was coming from. Without anybody telling me, I knew there was a fight going on. Slowly, I began to trace my steps in the right direction, and various thoughts lingered in my heart. I was wondering about my friend. Are they still alive? Did they survive the fight with the venom woman and her dog squads? Did they manage to ki*ll the short, one-eyed woman with long hair?

 

The sky was dark, and the star was shining brightly under the dark knight. The moon was glimmering brightly in its glory, and it did provide light for my path. Cold, directionless winds breathed upon me like the draught from a primordial abyss of darkness that had never seen light. At the touch of it, my heart seems to lurch, then hammer chokingly. My intelligence screams at my instincts to run, telling me that even if I returned to the arena ground, what was the possibility that I would make it back alive?

 

But I am not a coward. Even before I acquired my power, I didn’t shy away from the fighting, even now that I feel invisible against humans. The night was still. The wind that had been beaten with such violence down the desert hard floor to the north had fallen, followed by a murmuring of the air in the night. Even though the whistles of the wind were enough to send fear down an ordinary human’s spine, I am different. I am not the former Red Reed, but I am now a new version. I am Rey Reed Smith, the last of the reaper’s hunters and the wielder of the soul nectar.

 

Taking another deep breath, I quickened my pace as the noise of those stupid crowds grew more intense. It was the same sound I’d grown accustomed to; it meant one of their most vicious and important players was about to slay his victims. My plan is simple. I will just brag into the arena ground, slaughter their players, rescue my team, ki*ll the bas***d, Ryan, and find my way out. I knew that with my newfound power, I was invisible to any weapons they were welding and that none of their players, not even Ryan, were a match for my abilities now.

 

After I rescue my team, I will just head straight to my mom in Ibadan, find out the truth from her, then steer straight for the prancing hall where I will meet the processor, and I am sure we will find out the next things from there. The thought of the prancing hall alone sends fear down my spine. I have heard of how dangerous that place could be, either in daylight or at midnight. I have heard of how it was haunted and of the life that the house itself has devoured.

 

According to some of the tales I heard, it was said that a woman named Becky and her husband George forged a weapon from dark magic, and with the help of dark power, the weapon became well known around the world. After that, riots and crises arise from different nations, most of them risking their lives for the unknown weapon so they could become the ruler of the whole earth. However, Becky betrayed her husband by selling the weapon to a foreign land, and her husband became infuriated at that. It was out of resentment that she threw her out of the window. Since then, the house has become deserted and haunted in Libya.

 

There was even a rumour that the house always came to life at night and always called people in their dreams. It was said that the spirit of the woman still exists in the house, and it always craved blood and human organs. Nonetheless, I don’t believe any of this sh*t. I believe that after death, there is judgement, just like our pastor always said. But that also raised another question in my heart. If the bible says it is judgement after death, then how was it possible for me to find my spirit in another realm? Perhaps all the rumours about the house are true after all I have seen and gone through.

 

“ki*ll them.” The loud cheering of those stupid crowds disrupted my thoughts. That is when I discovered that I was now a few gauges away from the arena ground. Then I felt happy. I felt eager to use my power and unleash havoc on Ryan and his military soldiers. I felt my power surfacing and getting ready to cause destruction. It was like my body was on fire. The memory of everything that had happened on the arena ground flashed through my mind, prompting me to yell. My eyes have now turned silver, and I can feel my hair, which has now changed to silver, growing longer with each passing moment.

 

“Spare no one,” Ryan’s voice boomed throughout the speaker that was placed on the arena ground. “Shed their blood to the dogs.” He yelled out again, and I could feel the happiness in his voice. His words made me remember something, and I hoped with all my heart that it wasn’t what I was thinking. However, my assumption was confirmed when I finally got the chance to see them very well.

 

The sight in front of me made my anger towards Ryan triple, and I felt the urge to tear him apart. My friends all look like bush pigs. Their bodies look messy and unkempt. Even from afar, I could still see the scars that were inflicted on their bodies, blood dripping from different parts of the wounds, and their eyes held grief. They were lying down at the bottom of a high red ridge. Kira, Manuel, Favour, and the new guy, Nasar, were lying at the bottom of the red ridge. Their breathing was heavy and I could see the looks of terror on their faces. 

 

On the other side of the ridge stood Michael and Vee. They had also lost hope, and about a dozen mutant dogs surrounded them. Their sharp teeth are gritting badly, and I can feel their urge to tear the team apart. At the top of the ridge stood the venom woman herself, her long black hair curling around her neck like a snake, and all her black mamba snakes were hissing angrily around her. The sight of her alone fuelled my anger more, and I couldn’t wait to tear her apart. I was angry and happy at the same time. I was angry that she was the woman that made me feel useless in front of my team and happy that she was the one that made me acquire my superpower and made me discover my identity. Something I have been dying to know since I was a young kid.

 

The mutant dogs snarled, howled out in the night as if an Alpha wolf was calling for help, then gritted their teeth again in hunger, and they leaped at my friends at once. Then I know it is my time to step in. I know any moment delayed would mean the death of my friends, and the guilt will forever be in my heart, while their spirit will never forgive me.

 

“The ninth stage of the soul nectar,” I yelled, and a silver light started emitting from my body. “Allow the great Smith in their killer form’s, admit blood to flow from the bottom to the top.” With that, a silver bow and arrow appeared in my hand. Then I felt a quiver appear behind me, and its belt attached to my waist. Not wasting another second, I drew out two arrows, took aim, and shot them. Even though I hadn’t shot an arrow before, the nectar guided me and it was a perfect aim. The arrows sailed in the air and hit two dogs at once; their painful shrieks filled the dark atmosphere, and the crowds screamed in delight. I guess they thought the dogs were now feeding on my friends, but only if they knew what had just appeared in their midst.

 

Not wasting another second, I conjured the ice and rock circle ball, jumped on it, and let it take me towards my team. My silver light filled the whole atmosphere, and it gradually became the centre of attention. Out of nowhere, two dogs jumped at me, their sharp fangs aiming for my throat. However, my survival instinct kicked in. I removed an arrow from my quiver, stabbed the two dogs at once, then shot the arrow in the same motion, and it pierced another two dogs that were aimed for Kira.

 

I whirled the ball and made it start rotating around the small ridge. I didn’t give the mutant dogs a chance to escape, as I started stabbing them with an arrow and shooting them at the same time. I wish I could have used my power, but I decided not to be in a rush. I wanted to make it a surprise for Ryan, then grant him a lethal death. 

 

In the blink of an eye, all the mutant dogs lay down dead on the floor, their corpses littered all over the cliff bottom, and I could feel the angry stares of the venom woman herself. Not only that, the crowds stood in curiosity waiting for the strange sliver of a being that appeared out of nowhere and slaughtered all their players.

 

Slowly, I let the light diminish, and my face became visible under the reflection of the dark sky and the glowing moon. A loud gasp escaped from everyone’s mouth, followed by a scream of “impossible.”

 

“Nothing is impossible,” I said with a deep, calm voice, trying my best to avoid Kira’s gaze and to be calm altogether. “I am the same Rey Reed that was killed by your best player,” I said, pointing at the venom woman.

 

“How did you come back to life after two months of being at the burial site?” Ryan asked in shock.

 

I replied with a smirk, “Like I always say, I am a cat with twenty lives.” “Besides, tomorrow never dies and the angel won’t even accept my soul.”