Chapter 15 Episode 14: The Boy That Was Plunged Into Darkness

Back at the arena as Van was walking towards Onak with an expressionless demeanor, Van halts and points his right finger at Onak, causing a flash in the reverse order of the entire environment colour. Blood suddenly spewed out of Onak's chest which made him step back a bit and left Trengal and many of the audience in shock.

"What was that strike just now?" Trengal asked within himself.

"What the heck just happened?" Cloud asked within himself.

Van points his finger at Onak again and blood quickly spewed out of Onak's chest and side, causing him to step back a bit and leaving the audience to murmur among themselves.

"Unbelievable...!"

"Do you think the big guy can win?"

"I'm not sure if that's possible."

"I-i couldn't see a thing!" Rish said within himself with widened eyes, "I'm an A ranked candidate like Van but if we should fight with the way he is now, he would mop the floor with my face!"

"Those attacks were fast!... So fast that i subconsciously activated my Panora eyes in the process." Pit said within herself with her Panora eyes.

"Van can harm Onak?" Killer bee asked within herself in shock, "Can Onak win this fight?"

"UNBELIEVABLE!!" Trengal said, "VAN'S ATTACKS ARE MOVING SO FAST THAT NO ONE CAN SEE THEM AND THEY ARE HARMING ONAK!!"

"Chief Tenya, you saw it, didn't you?" Chief Akuro asked while facing the arena.

"Of course, i did." Chief Tenya replied while facing the arena, "I'm sure we as the Chiefs, all did. Each of those attacks were so fast and powerful that they distorted the order of color in the environment for a moment; Turning the lightest areas to the darkest and the darkest areas to the lightest."

"Yeah, that Onak is quite strong." Chief Ezgord said, "If it were anyone below him that took those blows then the attacks would have either severely wounded the person, ripped out a limb or worse."

"Something is not right." Chief Tenya said within herself, "His power seems to be getting stronger but yet, the balance of it, seems unstable. It would seem that the instability grows as his power gets stronger-"

Chief Tenya halts as she felt a pressure from the arena.

"Wait a minute..." Chief Tenya said within herself, This feeling... Why is it coming from...?"

"Leorona..." Zotek called as his eyes rolls towards her.

"This is bad..." Leorona said in horror, "Onak... The medicine... It is wearing off!"

Back at the arena, Onak was facing the ground as Van points his finger at him and began to charge a purple beam.

"Burn in hell..." Van said with an echoing voice while maintaining a stoic expression.

In a flash, the colors of the environment became distorted again, but the audience became shocked as Van's was head buried deep into the ground with Onak's right hand clamped round his face.

"BUT ONAK... WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Trengal asked in shock

Onak stared down at Van while growling as his blazing irises glowed brighter and screams at Van, shaking the entire arena and causing many to cover their ears.

Van tries to blast Onak with purple beams from his eyes but Onak easily evades and slams Van's face on the opposite direction, creating large craters on the ground. In a flash, Van found himself pasted on the far ends of the walls in the arena and Onak began to savagely pummel him with his fists, shaking the arena and causing blood to spilling on the ground during the savagery.

"WHAT A BEAT DOWN, FOLKS!!" Trengal said as Onak was still savagely pummeling Van, "LOOKS LIKE ONAK IS NO LONGER PLAYING WITH KID GLOVES!!"

At the audience center, some of the audience began to murmur among themselves as Onak was still beating down Van.

"I don't know, should we be okay with this?"

"This is becoming way too brutal."

"Well, the Tenplar boy asked for it."

During the beat down, an image of a redhead male smiling with his eyes closed, flashed into Van's head.

"Good morning, little bro." The redhead male said.

"Egara!" Little Van said while smiling.

Another flashback occurs as Egara was holding little Van (who happened to be unconscious and severely bleeding) in his arms.

"He was not ready!" Egara said as he turns to look at his father, "He is just five...! He's only five!!"

"HE'S ALREADY FIVE!!" The father replied, "And we will not tolerate the breed of failures in this house!!"

After recalling that moment, Van screams in rage, creating a purple explosion that pushed Onak back.

"Screw you!!" Van said as he releases a large and powerful purple beam towards Onak.

Van gets interrupted as Onak punched him in the face, sending him back to the wall again and resumes savagely pummeling him.

"WHAT THE...!! " Trengal said, "VAN'S ATTACK HAD NO EFFECT ON ONAK!! THIS GUY IS LIKE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE!!!"

Van tries to attack Onak with a blast from his right hand but Onak evades the attack, grabs hold of Van's right arm and snaps it with his knee, leaving Van to scream out in agony.

"Holy..!!" Cloud and Sting said in horror.

Onak quickly jumps and kicks Van on the face which sent him violently tumbling back and sliding on his neck for a moment.

"This is getting too violent, we need to stop this match." Chief Tenya said.

"Wait. Not yet." Chief Miza said, causing Chief Tenya to look at her in shock.

"Don't you think this match is getting out of hand?" Schroeder asked, "Maybe we should-"

"Don't." Zotek said,"Let us see how this match will end."

Meanwhile at the arena, as Van struggled to stand, he recalled his younger self and his older brother, sitting outside their house and discussing with each other.

"Mother and father seem to think of me as a failure... A defect in the family..." Van said with a sad expression while facing the ground, "Today, out of so many of my classmates, i came out 12th in position; I know it's not good enough but i want to try harder to improve and become just like you.

Mother and father talks a lot about you, how you are so strong and part of the ten S ranked candidates in the Pilgrim academy. I need them to talk about me like that, too. I need to be like you... I have to be like you."

"I'm gonna have to stop you, right there." Egara said while facing the ground, "Stop trying to imitate me. I'm not saying this out of any hard feelings or anything else but out of love for you. If you keep trying to imitate me then you'll never learn who you are."

Van stares at his brother in confusion with a raised eyebrow and Egara sighed.

"There was something a friend of mine, once said... "Keep trying to copy the strength of others, then you'll never discover your own." Despite Gureh of the Dreygar tribe, being a fool, he can say some pretty wise things... Sometimes.

People come differently, Van. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Work on your own and become better, focus on becoming your own man and not becoming an Egara 2.0 and maybe..."

"You might become stronger than me in the future." Egara said as he smiles at Van.

After recalling that moment, tears began to flow out of Van's eyes as he was growling while emitting a purple aura. Van suddenly screams in rage as he flew up in the sky with purple hornet wings and began to release countless purple beams to the ground, maniacly.

"OH SH*T! OH SH*T! OH SH*T! OH SH*T! OH SH*T!" Trengal said while screaming as he was dodging the beams.

"I've had enough of this crap!" Van said as he raised his index finger in the air and creates a purple energy sphere which quickly grew into an enormous sphere.

"Die along with everyone here in this Court." Van said with an echoing voice.

"WHAT!" Cloud said in shock.

"HOLD UP! VAN, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!!" Trengal asked, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!!"

"They have to stop him before he-!"

"Please, give me a break, would you?" Karma cuts in on Cloud.

Cloud looks at Karma in shock while she was still facing the arena.

"Karma, what are you... We can't just-!"

"How do you think Keigra tribe were able to stay alive until the Pilgrims came to their aid?" Karma cuts in on Cloud while still facing the arena "The Keigras had a barrier that was able to hold off the Orcs long enough for help to arrive, when they discovered that their weapons couldn't do squats against them."

"You mean the Ritzku barrier?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The barrier is said to absorb physical and non physical attacks." Karma said, "The stronger the attacks, the stronger it absorbs.

The Keigras aren't stupid. They would have expected something like this, so they built an invisible barrier to prevent attacks or any other thing from leaving the arena and entering the audience center. Looking at it, the only people that seem to be worried, are those who feel the match is getting out of control and you."

"I should be worried!" Cloud said, "What about Onak and Trengal?!"

"If Onak is strong enough, then he'll survive it but as for Trengal, he is completely irrelevant to the living." Karma said.

"Karma..." Cloud said as he stares at her in horror and disgust.

"Hornet light: Darkest Nova!" Van said as he threw down the sphere.

"This sh*t is getting too much for me to handle!" Trengal said within himself in fear, "I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!!"

"HEY, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" Trengal said as he tapped his belt.

"Access denied." The belt said in a feminine voice.

"I SAID GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" Trengal said as he tapped his belt, again.

"Access denied." The belt said.

"I CANNOT AFFORD TO DIE HERE!!!" Trengal said as tears were falling out of his eyes.

"You are already dead." The belt said as a smiling face appeared on it

Just as Chief Tenya stood, her hand was held by Chief Miza which made Chief Tenya snarl at her.

"What do you think you're-!"

Chief Tenya gets interrupted as an angry scream echoed in the arena which made Tenya and the other Chiefs turn and discovered it to be Onak.

"COME ON!!" Onak said as he spreads his arms apart while emitting a flaming aura as enormous sphere was falling towards him.

"This guy...!" Trengal said within himself in shock, "Don't tell me, he intends to-!"

Onak screams and punched the sphere back at Van which moved at an incredible speed and exploded.

After the explosion, the Chiefs (except Miza) and many of the audience, including the teachers, Cloud, Sting, Pit, Killer bee and Rish, stared with a WTF face as Onak stared down at the ground and Van falls from the sky to the ground, creating craters in the process.

"THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!" Trengal said in astonishment, "ONAK OF THE GRAUNDAR TRIBE JUST SHOWED AN UNBELIEVABLE DISPLAY OF POWER!! WHO CAN STOP THIS GUY RIGHT HERE?!"

The crowd began to cheer for Onak while discussing among themselves.

"Incredible!"

"Unbelievable!"

"This guy is unstoppable!"

"That's it! He's winning this tournament!"

"You've got to be kidding me...." Cloud said in disbelief, "This guy might be the strongest among us."

"Hm?" Karma said as her eyes rolls towards Cloud.

"He punched it back..." Rish said with a wide-eyed expression, "He really is an unstoppable force..."

"... Pit, can you-"

Killer bee halts as she spots Pit staring at the arena in disbelief as well.

Back at the arena, as Van struggled stand on his feet, he touched his forehead and groaned in pain due to the immense headache he was feeling.

"Shut up." Van said with a menacing glare, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!!!"

Trengal, the Chiefs and many of the audience began to stare at Van with the look of concern as he began to scream.

Van blasts a large purple beam from his eyes towards Onak while screaming; Onak growls as he quickly advances towards Van and hurls his fist at him.

A flashback occurs as little Van was walking and discussing with Egara in the fields.

"Don't worry!" Van said with a smile, "When i grow up to be as big and strong as you, I'll be a pilgrim and become one of the greatest warriors that has ever lived!"

Egara chuckled and rubbed Van's head.

"I'm sure you will." Egara said while smiling as his blue irises glowed brighter, "And when that time comes, I'll be there to watch you."

Another flashback occurs in a burning forest as Van was kneeling close to Egara's lifeless body.

"Big bro..." Van said as tears were flowing from his eye while staring at Egara's lifeless body, "Big bro, wake up... Please wake up. Please... Please.."

As Van began to sob, his mother stood in front of him, glaring at him and Egara's lifeless body as the shade of her hair covered her eyes.

"Egara is dead... Because of you..." The mother said while glaring at Van with a wide-eyed expression, "He died because of you... If you weren't born, then he wouldn't have died protecting you... He wouldn't have..."

"Mother, i... " Van said as he lifts his head to look at her.

Van's mother growls and quickly kicks Van on the belly while he was still kneeling, sending him crashing through trees. His mother easily catches up to him and choke slams him on the ground.

"YOU DARE!!!" Van's mother said as she ignites her fist with blue aura and hurls it towards Van.

A hand quickly grabs hold of her wrist before it could connect to Van's face.

"Enough, Erith..." A masculine voice said which appeared Van's father.

"Let go of me, Garth!" Erith said as tears were falling from her eyes, "Because of him, because of this bastard, Egara is dead!! The pride of our lives is dead!!! I curse you! I curse you, Van!! May you never know happiness for the rest of your life! May pain and darkness be your companion, everywhere you go!!"

"Erith!" Garth called, "That's enough!"

"Why... Why do you hate me so much?" Van asked tearfully while facing the ground, "Is it because I'm not as strong as my big brother is? Even my big brother had so much faith in me..."

"This made me wanting to become a Pilgrim like him! Why can't you just love me like you loved him? I'm your son, aren't i?" Van asked as his blue irises glowed.

"Son? Yes, you are our son but that love is a lot to ask, coming from a boy who shamed us and lost terribly to 'mere 12 opponents' in a fight." Garth said, "Something that has never happened to me, your mother or your older brother! Since your brother is not around, let me tell you the truth about your birth; You were never a wanted a child. The only reason why you exist is because your brother wouldn't stop asking for a little brother and when it became too much, i decided to put you in your mother's belly. If i had known that bringing you into this world, was going to be the death of our Egara, then i would have protection, daily on your mother.

Your brother is right about one thing concerning you; You can never be like him; Your brother was a butterfly that moved in the light but you... You can never be a butterfly... Only a dog that barks in the dark. That's what you are and that's what you'll always be, no matter what path you take."

Garth turns his back and walks away with Erith, leaving Van to sob alone. As Van was sobbing, Van stares at his palms which were covered in blood and recalls Egara's corpse which made Van to laugh softly while rubbing Egara's blood on his hair.

Van's laughter increased in volume as he began to pull out strands of his hair and his glowing blue irises, quickly turned purple.

"VAN IS DOWN! ONAK WINS!!!" Trengal said as current Van laid on the ground, unconscious with smoke coming out of his eyes.

The crowd gave a massive roar while some of them began to murmur among themselves.

"Holy crap! That guy is freaking brutal!"

"Yeah, i know! He punched the attack back into his eyes!"

"Is he dead?"

"It would be a miracle if he isn't."

Meanwhile, Van's parents stared down at the arena with a smug look as the medics placed Van on a medical bed and quickly carried him away from arena.

"Humph, what did i tell you, Erith?" Garth asked, "A loser will always be a loser."

"Yeah. This makes me wonder what Egara even saw in him." Erith said, "The boy really is pathetic."

Among the audience , Garl, Juni and Rico sadly watched as Van was carried away.

"Van, what made you act like this?" Garl asked within himself.

"Yo! That was one hell of a match!" Sting said while smiling, "It actually got my blood pumping!"

"With all his efforts, he still couldn't win." Karma said, "Weak... Too weak."

"Say, i wonder how you'd have performed against him.... Onak, that is." Pit said while facing the arena.

"He would lose." Karma replied.

"I could feel it." Cloud said while facing the arena, "His pain, his rage... All his emotions, the moment he started screaming..."

Sting and the others stared at Cloud with the look of concern while Cloud clenched his fists.

"Van, what the hell happened to you?" Cloud asked within himself.