007: Asol II

"IF YOU CHOOSE TO GIVE UP THIS FOOLISH CHARADE NOW, THEN I WILL SPARE YOU!"

Asol screamed.

My hair was still standing on end.

My legs were still shaking.

My hands were quivering.

I was scared, yet I pushed forward.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THERE'S NO REASON TO LIE! I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL! YOU ARE SCARED OF ME BECAUSE YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT EXACTLY IT IS I CAN DO!"

"Whatever you do, I will stop you."

"WELL THEN, LET'S PUT THAT THEORY TO THE TEST!"

A bright red light shone in front of me.

I clenched my eyes as the light blinded me.

When I opened them, I saw a familiar face.

Zephyros.

Standing right in front of me.

His very flesh and blood.

It was so real.

"What the…?"

"CONFUSED?! GOOD!"

With those two words, Zephyros pounced.

I know my brother's capabilities better than anyone.

Throughout my life I have always been jealous of my brother's physique.

He's fast.

So fast that my mind could barely comprehend his movements.

He's strong.

So strong that he could knock someone to the ground with just one punch.

If he and I were to fight, he'd have the upper hand in every aspect, and that's just what Asol wants to exploit.

It didn't take long for Zephyros's fist to bury itself in my right side.

I recoiled but managed to hold my ground.

Before I knew it, he was behind me.

His elbow slammed into my back.

His foot kicked my left thigh.

His knee nailed me in the back of my right leg.

"YOU'VE ALWAYS WISHED TO BE AS PHYSICALLY CAPABLE AS YOUR BROTHER, YET YOU NEVER TRIED TO BE MORE THAN HIM, WHY?! IF YOU TRIED I AM VERY CERTAIN YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN SIMILAR IN STRENGTH, BUT INSTEAD HERE WE ARE! YOU ARE LOSING, AND THE SECOND YOU GIVE IN IS THE SECOND I TAKE OVER YOUR BODY!"

He's right.

There's nothing I could do against my brother.

His onslaught continued, and I was helpless to stop it.

Asol isn't wrong.

I never was as capable as my brother, but it's not that I didn't try, it's that my own physical achievements were of minuscule importance in comparison to his.

He was better than me, and my only option was to accept it.

"You're right."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"You're right."

I was barely able to manage the words with the amount of pain I was feeling from Zephyros's attacks.

"I'm not as strong or as fast as Zephyros, I never will be…but"

"BUT WHAT?!"

"No person is perfect in every aspect."

Zephyros aimed straight for the gut, and for the first time throughout the fight, I reacted, but I didn't dodge.

I took the attack head on.

You see, I'm smarter than Zephyros, but having a good strategy couldn't possibly make up for the bottomless gap between our levels of speed and strength.

I couldn't win with just a strategy, so I needed something else to give me an edge.

"Zephyros is prone to injuries."

I grabbed the arm that was thrusted into my gut.

This was the beginning of my counter strike.

You see, I am much more durable than Zephyros, but even more than that, my willpower will propel me beyond him.

I used his arm to pull him in close, and jammed a fist right into the middle of his face.

He recoiled backwards, but I didn't let go of his arm.

I pulled him back in for more.

My elbow broke his nose.

I swept him off his feet.

I threw him over my shoulder and slammed his back into the ground.

I utterly demolished him.

In that very moment, the only thing on my mind was bloodshed.

I would eventually look back on that moment in fear…

For that was when I realized that the "ancient evil" was rubbing off on me.

TRULY REMARKABLE!

Asol thought.

HE FACED AN OPPONENT THAT WAS SIMPLY BETTER THAN HE WAS, YET HE FOUND A WAY TO FIGHT BACK!

HUMANS SURE ARE INTERESTING!

I WOULDN'T MIND WATCHING THROUGH THIS HUMAN'S EYES FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER!

I MEAN, MY REHABILITATION IS NOT FULLY COMPLETE YET!

STILL, I SHOULD PLAY WITH HIM A BIT MORE, JUST FOR FUN!

TAKING OVER HIS BODY NOW WOULD BE FOOLISH, BUT PRESSURING HIM INTO IMPROVING HIS BODY AND SPIRIT COULD PROVE USEFUL TO ME WHEN I EVENTUALLY DO TAKE OVER HIS BODY!

MEANING THAT THIS MEETING IS MERELY A MANIPULATIVE TACTIC!

HE WILL IMPROVE HIMSELF TO FACE ME, AND I WILL RESPOND BY USING THOSE IMPROVEMENTS FOR MYSELF!

FITTINGLY, MY POWER IS THE ABILITY TO ABSORB THE POWERS OF OTHERS AND STRIP THEM OF THEIR OWN ACCESS TO SAID POWER!

STILL, THIS FIGHT IS OVER!

After my attacks had broken Zephyros's bones, and his body was merely a pile of flesh and blood, he disappeared.

"GOOD JOB! I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT!"

"It wasn't all that great. If Zephyros and I ever got into an actual fight, I could use this strategy to win, but at the same time, I wouldn't be able to hurt him like that. I was only able to go all out because of the fact that this is merely a dream."

"A DREAM?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Why is he laughing?

Is this not just a dream?

"THIS IS NOT QUITE A DREAM, ALTHOUGH IT IS QUITE SIMILAR! THIS IS THE COGNITIVE REALM!"

"Cognitive realm?"

"BASICALLY, WE ARE IN YOUR OWN MIND!"

"Wait, so this place is my own mind?"

"YES, AND WHAT I SAY GOES IN THIS PLACE! FOR EXAMPLE, I COULD CREATE ANYTHING I WISH IN HERE!"

Anything he wants?

Isn't that a little too broken?

"FOR EXAMPLE…!"

The blinding red light appeared again, only this time after it departed, I was standing in front of myself.

"I CAN MAKE YOU, OR ZEPHYROS, OR ANYONE ELSE!"

In a matter of a second, everyone else I knew appeared before me.

Zephyros.

Medusa.

Mom.

Dad.

Okori.

Anton.

Anita.

Luke.

Oscar.

Even the old lady with the red string.

They all stood in front of me.

"AND IT'S NOT ONLY PEOPLE, I CAN MAKE ANYTHING I WANT!"

Swords fell out of the sky.

Guns grew out of the ground.

Weapons of all shapes and sizes appeared all over the place.

Hell, there was even a random couch.

"NOW LET'S SEE HOW YOU FAIR AGAINST THIS!"

All of the people standing before me charged.

They scooped up whatever weapon they could on the way here.

Swords.

Bows.

Shields.

Guns.

Even a slingshot.

They all came at me at the same time.

*BANG*

A gunshot pierced through the left side of my chest.

*SLING*

An arrow stuck through my forehead.

*SLASH*

A sword cut off my leg.

Blood flowed everywhere.

*SLAM*

A shield nailed me right in the head.

*knock*

A small rock bounced off my foot.

I collapsed filled with excruciating pain and a lack of strength.

Am I…

Dying?

Again?

"OH, DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS REALM DOES NOT OCCUR TO YOUR ACTUAL BODY…"

Oh thank god.

"BUT IT CAN CAUSE YOUR BRAIN TO BELIEVE YOU ARE DEAD AND THUS YOUR BODY WILL STOP FUNCTIONING!"

Oh shit.

Pain flared all over my body.

It hurt, but I could barely feel the pain.

In fact, I could hardly feel anything.

My senses were dulling.

It felt just like I was falling off the cliff all over again, only this time everyone I know is causing my death.

What the hell is Asol anyway?

How could he have so much power?

Isn't it unfair for such an evil being to hold such power?

Is that why he's been sealed away inside of me?

Or is there something out there in this wacky universe that can combat him?

Better yet, if this being does exist, do they even know of Asol's existence?

Too many questions, not enough time.

Is this it?

I had a second chance, and I blew it.

I doubt I'll have a third chance.

So what do I do?

There's no way I can just accept this.

Think.

DAMN IT!

THINK!

WHAT CAN I POSSIBLY DO?!

Nothing.

It's hopeless.

…

Hold on a minute.

If this is my mind, then am I not imagining everything that is happening right now?

Doesn't that mean that I can use my own imagination to change the reality around me?

Is that what Asol has been doing?

Is he not all that powerful after all?

I put my theory to the test, and imagined myself being fully healed.

The holes in my chest and forehead patched themselves together.

My leg reconnected.

Any minor bruises I suffered earlier in the battle were erased.

I then imagined every weapon fading away into nothingness.

Success.

I was on a roll.

Finally, I imagined myself in a rusted green suit of armor with a flaming sword, almost like a battle-ready version of the Statue of Liberty.

The armor felt heavy on my frail build, and the heat of the sword was enough to melt titanium.

With one mere swing of the flaming sword that now rested upon my hands, everything else was destroyed, and the area returned to its darkness.

"SO YOU FIGURED OUT THAT YOU CAN MANIPULATE THIS REALM WITH YOUR IMAGINATION?! VERY PERCEPTIVE! YOU REALLY ARE MAKING THIS ENTERTAINING!"

"Shut up and give me your best shot, you promised you would after all."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU IMPERTINENT FOOL! I OUGHT TO KICK IT UP A NOTCH AND TEACH YOU SOME RESPECT!"