Chapter 25

I don't know when I fell asleep, but what I do know is that my whole body felt hot and it wasn't from the fire. The Ice Crystal burned my chest around midnight. When I wake up, I see the curse that Nefal had put on me disappearing from my hand. The Ice Crystal hums furiously against my chest.

"You are now ready to unlock the full powers of Artenagon, the Sword of Heroes." the Goddess says, "The sword that you and your friends found a while back is the Sword of Heroes that the Chosen Ones used to defeat the chaos. You have already found that it heals you, but you weren't ready to use that power. You can use the healing powers of the sword and your energy won't be drained. I will give you permission to use the rest of its power."

Artenagon shines on my side as the Goddess goes silent. I don't know what abilities it has or what it can really do. All I know is that it never needs sharpened and only recently that it can heal me. What mysteries does it hold?

"There," She says after some time, "the powers are completely unlocked. I will also give you the second power of mine. The ability to distort space. Use the power wisely as it is extremely powerful."

Stones falling outside cut Her off and She goes silent. I look outside and watch as the stones fall into the already deep snow. Myriani isn't back from her exploration and Thoron is asleep. There's someone out there I just know it.

"Show yourself!" I yell out, "Stop hiding like a coward!"

"Oh I'm not hiding." A familiar voice rings out through the cave, "I've been here the whole time."

A figure then appears out of thin air and my old teacher Clia steps out of the shadows, "I've been using sword magic to be invisible. I've been following you ever since you stepped foot in the mountains. I've been waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Master won't be able to see this battle as he has lifted the curse from me and it seems you have turned sixteen. Before I kill you I may as well wish you a happy birthday, but it won't be a happy one!"

She draws her twin swords. She bears two swords that are as ancient as Artenagon. Her battle suit can't be pierced by any weapon. I draw Artenagon and let its energy flow through me. Their is something different about the sword; how it feels, how it looks, and how much energy is going through it is staggering. Thoron still hasn't woken up yet! Damn it Thoron! You could sleep through a whole war if you wanted to! The wind howls through the cave blowing our hair around. Clia has never been exactly pretty or anything. She's got a scar running through both of her eyes and her black hair is short, but it suits a warrior like her.

She gives out a battle scream and runs towards me. I block her blow easily, but she doesn't give me a second to breathe or anything. Her blows come fast and strong, but I match her every strike. The training from the elves has made me keener, faster, and stronger. There's no way she can defeat me with just brute strength. I parry her blows until I'm backed into the stonewall.

"I got you cornered now!" She smirks.

"I'll just fight harder then." I say, "There isn't any way you can defeat me!"

I thrust the sword at her slicing the side of her armor tearing it open. The look on her face is priceless. "Artenagon can pierce anything." I tell her, "Even that armor."

"There's no way!" She yells out, "How did you find that sword?"

I don't answer her and charge at her with our blows becoming faster and stronger. Artenagon is giving me limitless energy. Clia on the other hand is becoming tired. I duck underneath her swords and slam Artenagon into her stomach. She stopped swinging her blades and look down at me with pain and hatred.

"You think that... will stop me?" She says in pain, "I've been through worst!"

She grabs my hair and throws me down into the ground. I feel blood on my face as my face hits the stone ground. I get up quickly and wipe the blood off my mouth. The wound heals up quicker than it had cut.

"HOW?" Clia screams out, "Impossible!"

I hold the sword high into the air. It begins to glow brightly in the darkness and I send a wheel of energy at Clia. She screams as the energy hits her. She's sent flying out of the cave and over the side of the mountain. I walk over to her blades and slam Artenagon into them. They shatter into a million pieces. I walk over to the mouth of the cave and see so much blood. Clia is dead I know it. There's no way she could survive losing that much blood.

"You think... you can get rid of me that easily?" I hear her voice in the night, "I saw that one coming!"

A knife buries itself into my shoulder. She's got more tricks up her sleeve than I thought. I painfully take the knife out and throw it aside. The wound closes up and the pain ebbs away.

"If I can't defeat you in one hit," her battered body appears in the firelight, "then I'll have to hit you before you can heal."

She dives forwards with knives in both hands. I slam my fist into her face and send her down into the snow. It stains red with blood as she struggles to her feet.

"I can't lose." She says looking down into the snow, "Master will be angry at me! Master will hate me! I won't allow it!"

"Shut up!" I yell driving my sword through her chest, "You just don't know when to shut up! You've lost. Nefal will be angry. And you just allowed it. Look at me. Look at me!"

She raises her head up to me, "I'm sorry that you were pulled into my father's plan. I'm sorry that you have to die here in this unforgiving place, but your sacrifice won't go unpunished."

"What do you mean?" She asks falling over as I sheathe Artenagon, "I'm not your friend. I'm your enemy!"

"You were once my friend." I look into her grey eyes, "You were my teacher. I never wanted to fight you. You were the powerful swordswomen I've ever met."

"I'm not." She closes her eyes as she begins to cry, "You are now. I didn't want to fight you either. You were like my daughter. I loved you; a prized student and little girl. If I could've run away from Nefal I would've, but fate... seems to have thought... differently."

Her last words came out a whisper as she collapses onto the ground. This is just another obstacle for me to get past.