Chapter 13: Rise of the Unseen Warrior

As the clock neared six in the evening, the quiet junkyard vibrated with a disturbance. Luke's ragged breaths shattered the silence. He stood observing Loopy, who was crouched beside Ruster, seemingly oblivious to the world around them. Despair settled heavily on Luke; he felt utterly helpless.

With a predatory gaze, Loopy studied Ruster's face before giving it a series of light slaps. Stirring from unconsciousness, Ruster's eyes fluttered open, revealing a depth of suffering. "Your deathis my goal, but your survival is necessary for now," Loopy said ominously.

Pain was Ruster's entire universe; the weight of his injuries made any movement impossible. His voice had abandoned him, leaving him powerless to articulate his agony.

Loopy summoned a medical syringe from thin air. It was filled with a clear, water-like solution. He tapped it to remove any trapped air, then plunged it into Ruster's remaining arm. "A blend of morphine and painkillers to ease your suffering," Loopy declared. Disposing of the syringe, he called forth his sword. "Try nothing rash," he cautioned, pressing the blade lightly against Ruster's neck.

The morphine soon took effect. Ruster found himself able to move his limbs, albeit weakly. His attempted movement, however, was thwarted by Loopy's foot pressing down hard on his stomach. "Hand over the stone, Ruster," Loopy demanded.

"Why haven't you killed me?" Ruster managed to croak out.

"I know your ability, Arsenal," Loopy replied, his tone dripping with venom. "Retrieving items from the deceased is feasible, but not from you. Your deceiving antics won't fool me."

The wardoks possessed a unique ability to convert inanimate objects into energy, storing them inside their bodies for later use. Their arsenal could materialize at will, a convenient facet of their Ki techniques. But it came at a price - limited storage and the exertion needed to maintain balance.

Ruster was an exception. His capacity for storage was limitless, and maintaining his internal arsenal required no effort. He was a veritable armory of unique swords, each with its own distinct properties, ready to be wielded as per the situation's demand. This was his special ability - Arsenal!

While extracting the stone from a deceased Ruster is still possible, it would become a painstaking and time-consuming endeavor. The stone would become lost within the endless expanse of his inventory.

"Hand over the stone!" Loopy commanded, his voice echoing through the silent junkyard.

"No matter what I do, I can't give it to you!" Ruster retaliated, an angry glint in his eyes. Loopy paused, studying him, waiting for an explanation. "Without my armor, I can't choose what to spawn - it's all random," Ruster confessed.

Loopy initially dismissed this as a desperate attempt to buy time, but upon reflection, he saw the truth in it. He knew well enough that wardoks needed their armor to manipulate their Ki effectively.

Spotting Ghost, Ruster's abandoned armor, Loopy called to Luke. "Human! Bring me the armor!"

Inwardly cursing the young man's lack of action, Ruster watched as Luke complied.

As he approached Ghost, a voice resonated in Luke's mind. "Luke...Luke..." It was familiar, but there was no one around. Neither Loopy nor Ruster seemed to hear it. Confused, he continued towards Ghost, but as soon as he picked up the armor, the voice ceased.

"He's not responding!" Luke announced as he approached Ruster, tightly holding Ghost in front of him.

Ruster attempted to activate Ghost multiple times, but to no avail. An uneasy dread washed over him. "Ghost is non-responsive," he confirmed to Loopy. He had a plan to wear his armor, teleport himself and Loopy to the wardoks' world, but that required Ghost's responsiveness. If he couldn't use the stone, they were in serious trouble.

Loopy's patience started to run thin. "What's wrong with it?!" He yelled out, frustration etched onto his face.

"I don't know..." was all Ruster could reply, his worry palpable.

Loopy's anger ignited. In a swift, fluid motion, he delivered a powerful punch towards Luke. By a stroke of luck, the blow landed first on Ghost, who absorbed the bulk of the impact, sparing Luke from more severe injuries. The force, however, still sent Luke tumbling backwards, minor injuries sustained from his fall.

"No! Luke!" Ruster cried out, straining against Loopy's sword.

Luke remained prone on the ground for a moment, his grip on Ghost unyielding. Then, with a sudden calmness washing over him, he pushed himself to sit up. There was an intangible spark in his eyes, a silent shift in his demeanor as he looked at Ghost and uttered, "Ghost?"

Seeing Luke was okay, Ruster breathed a sigh of relief, his mind racing to figure out a way to protect Luke from Loopy's wrath.

"I'm just going to take you home... and torture you until you empty all your inventory. Then, I'll both get the stone and kill you!" Loopy's face contorted with malice, his intent clear. Fear lanced through Ruster at the words, but he swallowed it down, attempting to remain calm.

After a pause, Ruster shouted back, "Let's make a deal!"

"No deals. You're a traitor. You're going to die. That's just it," Loopy replied coldly.

Ruster, not dissuaded, revealed the Cluster stone, his fingers clenched tightly around it.

Loopy was taken aback. "You lied about your ability." He accused.

"I didn't lie entirely," Ruster replied, "The stone emits a strong energy that allows me to spawn it without my armor."

"I don't care! Give me the stone now!" Loopy commanded.

Ruster tightened his grip on the stone, "Only if you spare the kid."

This condition angered Loopy, he couldn't comprehend the bond between the human and the wardok.

"Impossible! That kid is going to die!" Loopy retorted.

"Then, you'll never get the stone!" Ruster was quick to reply.

As Ruster prepared to absorb the stone back into his body, a sudden jolt of electricity paralyzed him. The shock, originating from Loopy's leg, made Ruster drop the stone. He wasn't aware Loopy could stun from his foot as well.

With Ruster frozen, stone dropping from his grasp, the scene seemed to morph into a tableau of dread. Loopy, acting with swift brutality, launched the stone away from Ruster and lifted his sword high, ready to deliver the killing blow. "Die!" he snarled, sword descending in a blinding arc, only inches from piercing Ruster's chest.

Ruster could only watch, a feeling of regret for his past actions mingling with fear for Luke's future. "I've lost!" he thought, steeling himself for the fatal strike. Yet, against all expectations, the lethal blow never came.

There was a horrifying scream, a scream that seemed to ricochet through the junkyard, piercing the silence like shattering glass. Ruster opened his eyes, taken aback by the scene unfolding before him. Loopy, who a moment before held the power of life and death in his hands, now stood, screaming in agony, his sword-arm severed at the elbow.

Behind the reeling Loopy, a figure in sleek, black, leather-like armor had materialized. It was Ghost! But it was not Ruster within the armor; it was different, more agile, more human.

A sudden revelation struck Ruster, his heart pounding with intense anticipation. The figure, garbed in the his armor, was gripping Loopy's arm tightly, its fingers biting into the flesh with an almost savage force.

"Luke!" Ruster shouted, his voice echoing around them. A newfound glimmer of hope cut through the heavy atmosphere. Luke had ascended, tilting the scales in their favor and altering the dynamics of the battlefield. Luke just created an opening, sowing the seeds of a fighting chance.