"What do we do, master?" Linden asked carefully, not wanting to risk accidentally offending the old man again. "How do we stop him?"
The master glared at him. "We? I have already done what I came here to do," he said. "This is your test. You'll have to find a way to deal with him on your own. Besides, I'm needed elsewhere. I don't have time to clean up your mess."
As he spoke, the master faded from sight, and then Linden was alone at the edge of the cliff. Desperately trying to form a plan, he saw a faint golden light in the darkness. It grew bigger and brighter as it sped toward him, and he could see a figure seated in the heart of the rising light. He swallowed hard when he realized it was Alex.
Zaxx gasped when he recognized Alex. He could not comprehend how Alex had managed to survive the fall from the cliff's edge. He didn't even appear to be injured. If anything, he looked stronger than when he had fallen.
Alex could see the people gathered at the cliff's edge, but he was not close enough to see the fear in their eyes. He could sense their disbelief, though. They were shocked that he was safe and sound after plunging to what should have been his death. That he was riding a giant bird was probably unexpected, too. But then he looked down and saw that there was no longer a bird beneath him. He was just sitting in a bubble of light.
That's weird, he thought, looking around. Was that bird just an illusion? Or a hallucination? Maybe something is happening to me.
He was certain he had not imagined the experience in the dark realm. After all, he had completely healed, and he felt stronger than ever. Besides, even if the bird had never really been a bird, he was still flying through the air in a ball of golden energy.
He put aside his musing when he noticed Linden at the edge of the crowd. Linden's injuries had also been healed somehow, and Alex suspected that the venerable master had probably had something to do with that. Experts like the master were all capable of some fairly extraordinary things.
The bubble of energy brought him to the edge of the cliff, and the moment his feet touched the ground, it burst with a flare of light, releasing its energy. He opened himself up to it and drank in some of the light. He closed his eyes and felt it running through his body like an electrical current.
The kind of energy he was taking in was rare on this plane. It was almost pure spiritual essence. To ascend to the next level in his development, he needed more than just power—he needed insight and focus. But it would be silly to let the energy simply dissipate into the world around him.
The people clustered on the edge of the cliff watched with hungry, jealous eyes as Alex absorbed the last of the flowing golden light. Under normal circumstances, they would have fought each other to the death to taste that kind of essence, but they were terrified of Alex's strength. They could only watch helplessly as he grew even stronger.
The light around Alex faded, and he opened his eyes, which were glowing the same shade of gold as the energy that had carried him up from the dark realm. He smiled, filled with joy, and he felt more connected to the world around him than ever before. With a laugh, he swept his gaze over the crowd. But no one would meet his eyes; they all looked away.
His smile faded when his gaze fell on Linden again, and he felt conflicted. It was Linden's fault that he had been tossed over the edge of a cliff. But if he hadn't fallen, then he would never have encountered the golden eagle and found this new level of power. Was the thrill of the energy flowing through him enough of a reason to let Linden live?
While the others could not meet Alex's gaze, Linden couldn't look away. He was pinned in place by those golden eyes, and he swallowed, trembling. He didn't feel like he was looking into the eyes of a man; it was more like looking into the eyes of a lion. A predator with very sharp fangs.
Inwardly, Linden cursed the venerable master. If that old fool hadn't interfered, then Alex would be the one in fear for his life instead of me, he thought bitterly.
Alex's smile turned mocking. "Hi, Linden," he said. "As you can see, I'm not dead. But you look a little nervous. Not the outcome you were expecting, I bet."
"I never wanted you dead," Linden said. His voice shook, and he had started to sweat. He was afraid, but he was also filled with hatred. You should have died down there, he thought. He fought to keep his feelings from showing on his face, treating Alex like a dangerous animal. One misstep, and he was dead.
Alex's affable smile disappeared. "Your eyes tell a different story," he said. His voice was cold, and he seemed to loom over Linden.
"I—I don't know what you're talking about," Linden stammered in a panic.
Alex watched him carefully and realized that he didn't really want to kill him. He seems so pathetic, he thought. Linden had already been beaten, and Alex could feel the fear and doubt eating away at Linden like a kind of demon. That demon would follow him for the rest of his life, keeping him from attaining any real power or skill. He was irreparably broken.
"You're a coward," Alex said. "You were all talk before, but now you can barely squeak out a few words." He leaned in close, ready to feed the demon. "You're a parasite. You've been hiding behind power greater than yours for years, feeding off it like a tick. You're trash."
Killing Linden might have been a simpler solution. It would certainly have been a final one, but breaking his spirit—and keeping it broken—was going to be much more satisfying.
Alex decided that winning sometimes meant making sure the loser got to live with being a loser. Now I get to poke the demon inside you, he mused. It would be like feeding a pet. He would get to watch shame and fear gnaw away at Linden.