CHAPTER 31: AWAKENING

Chapter 30

"I...I don’t know what you’re talking about, you...have the wrong person." Kaizen choked out, his voice trembling from pain, anger and dispair.

"Don’t gimme that bullshit." She threw him back down, then walked toward Elen again.

"Stop, leave her alone, please just stop!" Kaizen screamed, dragging himself toward her, clawing at the floor.

Velmaria didn’t speak this time. She grabbed Elen by the hair and yanked her upright. Elen screamed in pain, her voice hoarse. Then the first punch landed, a fist straight into her gut, loud and brutal. Her body bent forward instantly. She coughed and gasped again, spitting blood onto the floor.

"Mom!!" Kaizen’s voice cracked as he tried to crawl closer, arms giving out. He couldn’t even lift himself off the ground anymore. "Please... please stop..."

But Velmaria just kept going. Another punch. A kick to her back. Another to her side. Elen cried out, begging now, calling Kaizen’s name, pleading for him to help.

"Kaizen... help me... please..." her voice was already fading.

Kaizen stared helplessly, unable to move, unable to do anything. His nails scraped the floor as he tried to crawl forward, but his body had given up. His vision was blurring and his heart was pounding.

Why... Why can’t I move... Why can’t I stop her...?

Velmaria finally let Elen fall. She was coughing blood and barely conscious. Then she turned back to Kaizen, and the smile on her face vanished.

"You were supposed to be something more," she said, walking toward him. "I gave you time, i pushed you, I let you watch, I even made you bleed, but still nothing."

She stood over him now, her face twisting in an angry frown.

"You’re just a waste of my time. "

With that, she landed a heavy foot onto Elen’s head, squashing it instantly. Her body went still, blood pooling around her.

Kaizen froze, No sound came from him, just a sudden, terrifying silence... and then her body hit the floor.

He didn’t scream, he just stared in disbelief.

He couldn’t breathe, his heart stopped. His mind went completely blank. He watched her body fall like a rag doll, eyes wide open, mouth slightly parted like she was about to say something but never did.

Velmaria grabbed him by the hair, yanked him up, and a moment later, they were no longer in his home.

They were back in the realm where they had left from before.

Kaizen dropped to his knees, completely still, blood dripping from his chin, his eyes empty. His mother’s last expression was burned into his brain, her voice still echoing in his ears.

"I really thought you were what I thought you were," Velmaria said, her voice no longer mocking, it was now cold and filled with disappointment.

Kaizen stared at the ground, his body shaking now. His fist clenched tight, his teeth clenched so hard blood poured from his gums.

"Someone... anyone... anything... please..." he muttered, eyes wide, teary, hollow, broken. "I don’t care who... just give me power... give me something... I’ll do anything...please"

The feeling of powerlessness was something else, this was the very first time he’d ever craved power this badly, this was the first time he’d ever wished for power, not caring where it came from.

Velmaria turned around, wiping her hands. "Goodbye little boy," she said. "What a disappointment you are."

Then, without even looking, she flicked her fingers, and in an instant, an invisible force snapped off kaizen’s head, separating his head from his body, killing him instantly.

Velmaria began to walk away, no hint of satisfaction on her face, just a cold indifference.

"I’m sorry Iroh, he isn’t the one."

She had tricked them here, specifically because of Kaizen, but now finding out that her years of searching was fruitless, she was extremely disappointed.

But right at that moment, she heard a soft crackling sound, and she felt a cold chill run down her spine.

She froze, her breath hitching.

Behind her, from Kaizen’s severed head... a thick black shadow began pouring out like smoke, crawling back toward the body. It slithered into the chest, wrapped around the limbs, then pulled the head in like it was being sucked into place.

The neck snapped back together, then the veins lit up, black first, then white. His eyes snapped opened.

Velmaria turned around slowly with wide eyes. She was sure she killed him, she was sure she did, his head had swore from his body, so how in the world did he just... resurrect back to life?

Kaizen stood up slowly, like a puppet being lifted by invisible strings. His eyes completely black. His white hair floating. His body radiating something dark, violent and ominous. The aura that came from him was incredible. This was something even she hadn’t seen before.

Crackles of raw, chaotic energy pulsed from his hands and shoulders, burning into the ground.

Velmaria’s eyes narrowed.

For the first time... she didn’t smile.

Even with the raw power coming from him, she still didn’t sense him as a threat, he was no match for her.

But still, she wanted to fight him, to see what exactly that power was.

Kaizen looked up, and his eyes, completely pitch black met hers. No shine, no emotion. No trace of the broken boy from seconds ago.

"You wanted me to fight, right?" His cold voice echoed.

"Here I come."

Without warning, the ground exploded beneath his feet. He vanished from sight, then appeared directly in front of Velmaria, fist cocked back. She tilted her head slightly and blocked, but the force still sent her skidding several feet back, her boots grinding into the earth. She blinked, staring at her shaking arm.

What the hell was that?

Before she could recover, Kaizen appeared again, this time above her, foot crashing down like a meteor. She dodged, but barely. The impact from the stomp cracked the terrain, split it open like glass.

His speed was unreal, he wasn’t even giving her time to say spells to defend herself.

This power, it wasn’t magic, it wasn’t martial arts. This was something else.

He came at her again, and this time, she blocked his punch with both hands, but the force blasted the air around them. It was like getting hit by a collapsing mountain. The pressure alone forced her to grit her teeth, but it was still not enough to bring her down. She pushed him back with a burst of her own power, sending him tumbling.

Kaizen slid back, dust rolling behind him. But he didn’t stumble. He just stood straight again and walked forward slowly. His energy grew heavier with each step, warping the air, turning everything colder.

Velmaria felt it now. That strange, sickening feeling crawling up her spine.

Fear.

"I don’t know what you are," she muttered, eyes locked on him. "But this isn’t you. Something else is inside."