1 Struggle to Strength

Every being that is known to have "Life" is able to benefit from the Earth, be it nutrients to grow, air to breathe, or Psych to achieve power.

Acura a young boy currently on a journey through the Grove Forest, a dangerous path that leads to his destination the Dolphina Kingdom. He is struggling as he sees no end in sight. Every step he takes reminds him of his fatigue. Every tree he lays eyes on reinsures his predicament of being lost. His parched tongue screams for water, and the thundering sound from his stomach begs for food.

It is currently night time, this is the nocturnal nightmare that beckons monsters that hunt not for food, but the pure hate for any living creature brave enough to wonder the night. Acura's priority right now is shelter not food, but if you asked his stomach it would say otherwise.

The reason for this journey is to make it to Dolphina, where he will take the test to finally become a Mercenary. Ever since Acura was a young lad his adopted Father told him stories of the past war where Mercs shined through the battlefield. Invading enemy strongholds, defeating strong opponents, and most importantly to him protecting the weak. The young boy always saw himself as weak, despite his well in shape body his mind didn't reflect it. He wanted to become strong, strong enough to protect those who were like him. Unfortunately he was born under an unlucky star that granted him zero psych power; despite that fact he still pursued his goal with nothing but pure determination.

Known as the bipolar kid in his village he didn't have many friends either. Thich gave him more motivation to join a band of Mercs where he could finally be a part of something. But will any band of Mercs recruit him being psych less even though he passed the exam?

Psych is a natural phenomenon that nearly every living creature can harness. It is natural energy produced from the Central Nervous system that can be used to achieve many different supernatural feats. Acura was unable to display this skill, leaving him a liability on the battlefield. Despite this he still took a step forward knowing that he may be risking his life for a fleeting dream.

*Arghhhhhhhh* an evil ominous sound shears through the forest, a language that can only be called death. Acura reconstitutes himself and hunts for shelter. After a period of walking Acura couldn't shake the feeling of being followed. Times like this he wished he was able to utilize Sensate techniques, skills that allowed one to enhance their natural senses using Psych, but again he was psych less.

The forest was pitch black so his visibility was hindered; instead of seeing he attempted to sniff out a presence. Monsters were known for disgusting smells since they ate any and everything. They had no care for flossing; therefore putrid rotten scents decorated their teeth and tongue. Again a fail, all he could smell was rich musty soil, a waft of woodsy air, with a hint of rotten eggs.

Rotten eggs! His Master once told him that the scent of rotten eggs can lead you to a lake or pond. The bad smell is the result of oxygen breaking down organic material which produces hydrogen sulfide; vile but safe to drink, and right now he was thirsty.

Acura places his hand on his waist, gripping the hilt of a dagger sheathed in a worn out leather case. There was dry blood indicating that it had seen battles already. Acura knew that the chances of an encounter were high if he decided to go towards the water source.

It took him some time, but he finally stumbled upon the pond. Occasionally he would stop in his tracks to verify if the presence was still following him. He didn't know for sure, but he couldn't afford to drop his guard. Before approaching he surveyed the area to the best of his poor abilities. He even threw a rock in the lake to see if anything got startled.

When he deemed the area safe he walked towards the lake. Beating like a drum, his heart rapidly pulsed in anticipation of an attack. With his Mouth salivating like a waterfall desperate to quench his thirst, he sniffed the water. Immediately his face turned from disgust. Mentally he told himself it's just the smell that's bad not the water.

He reached for his water sack and filled up enough for a taste. As it touched his tongue the smell rushed to his nose, but it was ignored by the refreshing coldness and liquid rejuvenating his rusted throat. He then poured more water down his throat as if he was filling a barrel. Now with a wet tongue, full stomach, and sack he decided to remove his black gloves and wash the day away from his face. In the reflection of the water was a beautiful moon, the only light he had to guide his wary steps. He could also see his face.

Spiky black hair laying down passed his eyes. His pupils that he was always teased about were disfigured; they resembled the ying and yang symbol. He hated his eyes and preferred to keep them covered, just another hindrance in his pitiful life.

He wore a long sleeve red button shirt, with black fur along the collar. Straight black pants and black boots as if he wanted to be the night itself. Around his neck dangled two chains, one was a dog tag made of a unique material. He was told he had it from the time his adoptive father got him. The other chain bore a gold locket attached to it engraved with the initials "V&T".

On his left arm was a raggedy white cloth that had writing in dark red. One would have to unwrap it in order to fully read what it said, but it was more than likely a name. After staring at himself almost in a daze, he couldn't help but notice a black spot in the moon, it wasn't there before. After further investigation it seemed as if the black spot was getting bigger, and closer, and then he saw shimmers of light immediately he drew his blade and dashed away from the pond.

*fwoosh doosh spash* Spheres of fluorescent light smacked into the water where Acura just standing. This was an ambush by aerial monsters called Occubirds, human sized black monstrous crow-like creatures with four eyes going down their necks on both sides for a total of eight. They use psych to fire psy blasts from their mouths, and also utilize their razor sharp beaks and claws to mutilate their victims.

Acura dashed towards the forest where he knew he could at least use the trees as cover. Heart racing the last thing he wanted was to fight monsters at night where he was severely disadvantaged. Normally to him who was trained in combat defeating a few monsters was nothing, but a swarm in the dark for him was a death sentence. He heard a screech and immediately duck, a psy blast flew past him and impacted a tree ahead. He shifted his path, and started to zig zag, slide, jump, and utilize as much of the terrain as possible.

These monsters were definitely fast as one caught up and tried to slash him. He deflected it with his dagger and countered with a stab in its neck, a known weak spot. Before he could catch himself, more blasts of psych hurled his way. After running and dodging, he finally saw a ray of hope, it was a dark cave covered by moss. Usually he would hesitate before entering due to the chances of monsters dwelling inside, but at this moment he had to chance it.

It was narrow, but big enough for him to pass through, but the swarm of occubirds would have to trickle in. When he got inside he quickly looked around and saw no immediate threats. He then decided to stand his ground, killing each enemy one by one. The first came in screeching with its monstrous eyes with pupils panning around its eye sockets like flies trapped in jars. It flew straight towards him, he dodged and heel kicked it to the ground, followed by a stab to its head.

Next one came in with the same tactic of mindlessly charging him. He figured that if they kept up this pattern he could survive the wave. This was true for seven others that came in, but suddenly then they stopped.

Acura felt uneasy, he knew that there were definitely more than seven in the beginning, and he could also hear the fluttering of wings. Why did they suddenly stop pouring in? He got his answer when he heard an eerie screech much different than the others. This sent shivers down his spine.

A big black feathered wing pierced inside the entrance of the cave, followed by a foot, then the rest of the body forced itself in. This was an occubird, but not a regular one, more than likely this was the leader of the swarm. He was huge standing at least eight feet tall, with a wing span almost the same in length. This monster looked at Acura with all eyes, two were damaged, so he had obvious experience in battle. Suddenly, an intense wave crashed into Acura momentarily sending all his senses haywire.

He was familiar with this, the monster was using Neuro, a mental psych attack that affects the nervous system. Acura's Master did this to him on a daily basis so that he could build resistance to it. The level of Neuro from this monster was nowhere near what he had experienced in training. The fact that he knew that the monster's intent was to claim his life added an extra effect of fear. Acura managed to get a hold of himself, and assumed a battle stance. The monster on the other hand stopped it's offense, and turned around.

Acura again was bewildered by this strange action by the monster. What he saw afterwards completely blew his mind. The Occubird began to break apart the entrance making the hole bigger, allowing the others to enter in droves. When the last one came in, the shine of the moon snuck into the cave. He saw at-least thirty Occubirds standing, staring, breathing, every action they made was with an ominous tone.

Acura looked back quickly and saw that the cave went further in. If he attempted to turn his back now he would be slaughtered for sure. Instead he slowly backed away, dagger in front to keep a sense of readiness, until he stepped on a dried bone. The crack was like a signal of the start of war on a battlefield. The monsters charged him immediately.

First one attacked from the front, Acura managed to kick it away, while swinging his blade fending off another. From above claws came down throwing him off balance, another claw grazed his right arm, he also blocked the follow up attack and gained distance. Acura, overwhelmed and pressured had to dig deep within himself and his memories of past training. He looked to the future of what he wanted to achieve, he lastly grabbed his gold locket and refined his determination.

With a roaring yell from the depths of his heart, no the inner being of his soul he welcomed the rest of the attack. If he died he would die with dagger in hand. Like he was dancing a duet with his dagger, his body and blade moved in unison. *Swing* one *Stab* two *Slash* three, with every move the death of an occubird could be heard as if Acura was conducting an Orchestra. This occurred up to number fifteen when finally the Leader joined the fray, it charged towards with two smaller occubirds in front.

"This is it" he thought to himself. knowing that the fatigue, and pain from fighting the smaller occubirds were troublesome enough, the leader would probably kill him in one blow. Before that lets kill one more, *swoosh* a head is sliced off clean, at the same time huge claws approach Acura seemingly in slow motion, so slow it seemed like it stopped….it did stop.

There were no more noises, or movement, nothing seemed to give off the notion of life. Acura himself felt like he existed and didn't exist at the same time, when suddenly he fell into a dark space and reemerged into a bright room with five pillars to the left and right. In the center there was an empty chair, with white linings with a red cushion. A two way hallway with red floor carpet that both lead to two intriguing big doors. He looked around and saw no one, he then checked himself wondering if he was dead. He could no longer feel the pain or fatigue which made him really consider being in the afterlife.

Then suddenly a light shined on him, followed by a loud but subtle voice that asked him one question.

"Would you like to become stronger?"