Chereads / The Elemental Sword / Chapter 3 - The Sword

Chapter 3 - The Sword

My gaze is fixated on the darkness. Even if I can't see anything, I know.

"Its still alive..."

The energy aura is as lively as when we started, not only that but the bubble of air where we fought is still here, or else I would have drowned by now. I can only assume The Knight is responsible for sustaining it somehow. Now that I take a look at it, there is in fact a flow of energy on the edges, which I assume It's what is making the water flow upwards.

Soon the walls start sifting, from what I can tell it's as if the whole area is moving towards... It. I'm unable to move as my body is in sock due to the pain as well as exhaustion.

As the walls keep moving I also notice my severed arm. Strangely enough I'm not mad or anything. I mean, at this point there are two possible outcomes, either I get out of here alive... and if that is the case I don't really care about losing an arm. Or I end up dead, which then I don't really need it.

The walls then pass trough the Knight and come to a halt slightly after.

The Knight is standing as if nothing had happened as water flows out of its armor, the armor itself is now slightly bent inwards on certain parts. I can only assume due to the pressure.

It starts moving my way, sword in hand. I close my eyes and listen to its footsteps, as he comes closer and closer. It then stops near me.

"I am sorry..." I say to someone that is not there as a faint smiles forms on my face.

*Thump*

I hear something hit the floor, as I slowly open my eyes I see the Knight... kneeling?

As I widen my eyes It extends its hand towards me. When he touches my shoulder I feel a warm sensation flow trough my body as the pain fades away. Moments latter I feel my wounds slowly closing and I start to be able to move my broken arm again as its bones seem to heal. "Light Magic?"

My biggest surprise however is my missing arm. At a steady pace bone and flesh start to grow out of the wound, followed by skin. Before I can close my mouth from the surprise my arm had already fully grown back.

"It just... he just healed me."

The Knight then raises himself. I try to follow but even thought my body and energy have been fully restored, my mind is still exhausted so It takes me a while before I manage to stand up.

When I do I look at the knight who then bows ever so slightly. I became dumbfound as this entity has enough power to kill me in a fraction of a second, and yet, here he is showing his respect at me.

His aura still just as overwhelming, has no longer any hints of hostility.

Soon after huge amounts of energy start to converge in this hand, If I wasn't already mostly used to such a high density of energy from this aura I probably would have collapsed right here, instead I fall to my knees once again as my weakened mind barely holds.

Slowly but at a steady pace something starts to form in the Knight's hand. Minutes later the object starts to resemble some sort of blade has the handle becomes fully formed and the blade starts to appear.

A few more minutes later he stops has the blade becomes fully formed. A beautiful sword with a white blade. A glow to it as if the sword itself is emanating energy, the handle makes it almost look like an artifact has it is filled with inscriptions but It also looks very practical to hold.

The Knight stretches his arm with the newly sword in hand vertically to the ground, a feeling comes over me as the sword itself seems to be calling me towards it.

I stop my hand as it suddenly started moving towards it without me realizing. I then start asking myself... "Why? He was trying to kill me just a few moments ago then why is it that he is now doing this?" As I hold my arms, I remember the inscriptions in the circle before I crossed the portal.

"I'm the one who challenged him wasn't I? So all that was but a challenge." I look at the Knight.

"That Sword, Is it the Power I earned?"

The Knight nods.

Perhaps because my mind was already at its limit, I didn't realize the implications of the Knight answering me. He did not only understand what I said, he was also aware of what was happening. Instead, all I do is simply reach my hand towards the blade and hold it by its handle.

"Then, I will take It!"

Afterwards, a surge of pain runs through me. Not through my body, nor by my mind, thought I can't really think much about it since I pass out as I reach my limit.

"..."

"..."

The Knight then lodges his sword on the ground as wind slowly rises the challenger. Water then flows from the walls and surrounds him forming a sort of bubble, as the wind holds him up. Then the Knights flings his arm and the challenger is launched at incredible speed at the ocean.

The Knight grabs his sword and puts his free hand forward. A portal forms in front of him as the lights at the edges of the arena fade out.

The Knight looks at the direction the challenger was launched for a couple seconds before stepping into the portal. As the portal closes the walls of water soon stop moving as the water floods the area.

...

...

...

The ocean was calm. It was noon and the weather was sunny with strong wind.

A trading ship was sailing on its course as usual and the crew was relaxing has most of them just had lunch. The captain was a veteran near his fifty's with a decent physic.

"Good weather today. Wouldn't you say?" The captain asked his first officer.

"Yes! Indeed, Captain! We should reach the Port tomorrow noon at this rate!" He replied as he saluted.

"Tomorrow at dusk, its unlikely that the wind will remain this helpful once we get closer to the continent. Also, you should relax a bit, that whole stiff attitude of yours is making me uneasy."

"Yes Captain! I'm sorry Captain!" he said has he kept saluting.

The Captain sighed, as he scratched his gray beard. "Ha for crying out loud."

The Captain himself was indeed having an uneasy feeling, and as much as he would like he couldn't blame it entirely on the poor social skills of this first officer.

"Do me a favor and go ask the lookout if there is anything weird around us."

"Yes sir!" He then swiftly made his way to the mast and start climbing at record pace.

"That brat... he is the same as me if I was thirty years younger. He chuckled to himself. His expression became serious as he glared at the ocean. Almost forty years of experience gave him a kind of seventh sense while he was on the sea. A sense that was rarely wrong.

"..."

"..."

"He said there is nothing worth mentioning Captain!"

Instead of calming him the declaration only made him more uneasy, but that feeling was quickly replaced by panic as he felt something coming from the ocean.

The first officer quickly noticed it as well. Both glared at the sea and soon after a burst of water was suddenly launched from the ocean. The crew members jumped from their seats as they looked at it.

"An elemental beast?" The captain asked himself.

"Everyone! Assume emergency positions!" He quickly glanced at his first officer who soon jumped to the middle of the deck and started unleashing this energy aura.

A water bubble at the end of the burst then abruptly started moving towards the ship.

The officer closed this eyes and relaxed his body the flow of aura started to calm itself as he put a hand at the sword still sheathed at his waist.

Moments later the bubble comes crashing at the deck.

*Slam*

The officer remains unmoved and the other crew members start to better position themselves.

The officer's face relaxes as he opens his eyes.

"Captain! It's a person! He seems to be unconscious."

"An elementalist? Well then check him."

The officer then gets closer to the unconscious individual, as he first takes a look at him and then proceeds to check his belongings.

"He doesn't seem to be wounded but his clothes are a mess. Cuts everywhere. He doesn't have anything on him."

"Nothing? What on Earth happened to him?" He said as he kept scratching his beard.

"Well what are you bunch of lazy arses waiting for get him to the infirmary!"