NaNoWriMo Novel Teaser: Blades
[WP]There were eight swords, and each sword could control an element: earth, water, air, fire, light, darkness, life, and death. You somehow managed to find the Life and Death sword.
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For me, it was an unforgettable experience. The very first time I understood what it was to live in a world without gravity. I'd swum before, yes, but I'd never dived, so zero gravity was a totally new experience for me.
As soon as I was reaching the ceiling, I tried to turn so I could stand on it, but ut repelled me as well. It seemed that both ends of the room were not allowing me to touch them.
I was meant to float midair.
"You're not here to float, Vince. This training is to help you get used to taking the fight airborne. Gymnastics, acrobatics; they all become useful fighting strategies to confuse the enemy and create a blindspot. Keeping the fight on the ground alone puts you at an equal level with your opponent, but being able to switch vectors in the blink of an eye tips the battle in your favor," Frost said.
"Easy for you to say, you've already mastered it."
"I came here just three weeks ago. It took me three weeks, and I wasn't a physically fit persona t the time. You lived on the outskirts, meaning you were accustomed to strenuous physical exertions. This shouldn't take as much time."
I sighed and then tried to bring myself to the ground. Hovering in the air was not easy at all.
"Can you increase the force of gravity? This is virtually impossible. It isn't possible to fight where there is no gravity, because it's like trying to swim against the tide of an ocean. I need a force of attraction to balance my movements against."
She smirked.
"I thought you wouldn't notice. Karin, increase the gravitational force to 50%"
In a short while, I felt myself begin to sink. I still couldn't hit the bottom, but it was easier now. I jumped off the lowest point I could reach and I almost hit the ceiling, running a bit before rolling into a ball and floating down. I ran around a bit and I felt like I was traveling at the speed of sound.
Obviously, when there is a reduced gravitational force, the resistance I became accustomed to when gravity was normal vanished, and I could run at increased speeds.
"You seem to be getting a hang of this..." Frost said, casually walking on air.
"Still working out the mechanics."
"Well, this should help, she said, throwing the guitar case towards me.
"Get your swords out, we will start simulating battles now."
"Uh...dodon't you think we're getting ahead of ourselves? I mean, we should take things easy."
"I know, but now that I've established you can move, we need to make sure you and the swords can become one. This is a crash course, so we'll have to be moving quickly. We'll build up the man and the swordsman at once."
I was left-handed, so I held the Death Sword in my left hand and the Life Sword in my right.
Energy pulsed through me, and I could feel the power of these swords coursing through my veins. It was just now I had a chance to look at them.
The death sword had a black metal handle. The blade looked - deathly. Whispers were coming from the sword, whispers of people who were begging to be set free. The blade was emitting some black vapor, and it seemed to be constantly eating away, just to be regenerated again.
"That's the power of the death sword. It slices and traps the soul of the people it kills inside it. It is from these people that it gets its power - the power of death, decay, and destruction. That's why even the blade seems to be withering away. But it can't because the soul is immortal. They'll continue to rot away and be regenerated simultaneously. "
I was rigid.
"That sounds terrible,. I don't want to hear the whispers."
The whispers stopped instantly.
"The sword heeds your command. It only made the sound for first-times' sake."
I looked at the Life Sword, and it looked... lovely. A vine blossomed and wrapped itself around the handle, and there was a flower crest at the base of the sword. It was sharp to the point that the blade was just a single ray of light, and it looked like it had never been used in battle."
"The Life Sword and the death sword were made from the same material which was different from the others. Whoever you kill with any of these swords, the soul goes to death while the life force goes to the life sword. Apart from absorbing natural energy around you, it can also absorb the life of those you cut with it, and that's why your sword looks so perfectly clean."
The two swords were fascinating in their own respects.
"What about your sword? Doesn't it need sharpening?"
"All the others can never wear away either. The element that they are made of is what sharpens and maintains them. Mine is a constant stream of water and ice, so it remains as is. It isn't for cutting really, but for delivering puncture wounds and lacerations. That's why it can morph into a whip and all that, to increase the area of skin it can affect and damage."
I was marveled. Whatever I knew about any of them before now was just the tip of the iceberg. Now I was seeing the real deal.
"All the swords do not affect each other. Your sword can affect me, but not my sword. They are infinite - they can only be destroyed by the one who created them in the first place." Frost said.
"Ah..."
"Now come. Let me give you a little taste of why they call me 'Frostbite'."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself," I said, as I bounced off the wall and lunged at her.
******
Lance was running... running for his life. These men who came after the family's heirloom - that sword, were desperate to get it. Why? This lousy artifact was probably not even up to a thousand quid in a pawn shop. So why were they after it?
He stopped and turned, already tired of running. Defenseless, he unsheathed the sword, accepting that he'd die, but not after killing at least one of them. Their bikes came to a halt, the scene being an abandoned junkyard.
"If you didn't run, we wouldn't need to be doing this..."
They were eight in number, all armed with SMGs. He didn't need to know that this was over for him.
With the last battle cry, he rushed towards the closest man and swung the sword.
The whoosh was louder than anything he'd ever heard, and it threw him to the ground. When he finally looked up, the sight was gory.
The bikes were still standing, and legs were es till on them, but that was all. The men had all been severed in two from the waist, and their upper bodies laid on the ground. There was blood everywhere.
As he tried to come to grips with the situation, the mountains of metal junk began to crumble and fall over, so he ran back quickly.
Was that him? Was that the sword?
Looking at the blade, there was just one word inscribed on it.
Wind.
"What...the hell...was that?"
******
@Leo_kitti, @Hanzell the plot...
Feels like I'm watching an anime here. Even thought the only anime I know was Inuyasha, One piece, and Flame of recca 😂 The animes I used to watched when I was a child, those animes that was dubbed in our local language 😂😂