Chapter 11: Short peek into Ray's past

We were flying towards the never ending horizon and then Ray said: [Relax for a bit. The travel will take a few days.] I sat down and started getting bored. I took out my cell phone and listened to music. Then I felt a tapping on my shoulder so I turned around to see Mercedes. I took out one of my earphones and asked: “What?” “I asked if you wished to make Ray talk about his past,” she replied. I thought about it and then I turned off my cell phone. So Ray, Let’s hear about it, of the time you received your powers. Ray sighed and then said: [Alright fine. I’ll tell you, but you need to be quiet. So, I don’t know who my genuine parents are…

I grew up in a city with many rich people but also poor people, a typical big city. I survived through pick pocketing and theft. When I was 15, I started doing all kinds of things just to earn money for food. My life was that of a normal kid who grew up on the streets until I turned 16. At 16 I was accused for a crime which I hadn’t committed and so had to run away from that city. I then ran from town to town, village to village and always avoided the guards. I then met a person who helped me a lot. A pirate with a name I would rather not mention. We became best friends and travelled together. My friend was an experienced fighter and I had picked up some sword skills when I was thirteen. I travelled with him and learnt how to fight. When I was 17, I was picked up by a light and my friend and I were sitting by a table and there were fourteen chairs. I looked around and saw my friend sitting on one chair and twelve people whom I didn’t know, sitting on the other chairs. One person was incredibly well dressed and that person stood opposite of me. That person was as you might have guessed Fate. The others in the room were the other Kings. Fate stood up and said: “Welcome to my Kingdom. Well, I say Kingdom but it is just a room in my castle. I am Fate and you are warriors I have chosen to become my champions. I want you to fight against someone for me.” “If you are truly Fate, then why do you need us to fight for you?” A person next to me asked. “Ah, excellent question Evan Light, well, you should know that you all, are my game pieces. My brother Destiny and I are having a game. If I win, he will stop pestering me until I have chosen new champions. If he wins, the game will end and he will have the powers of Fate.” Kaizer was also there and he snorted with laughter: “That doesn’t seem like a good deal to me, but why us?” “You thirteen are the best fighters, inventors, researchers and hunters of all the races.” I doubted his words at first but looking at all of the great people around me, I felt like I didn’t fit in. Then Fate turned to me and then said: “You, Raztrafero Walker, are the strongest of them all. Although you have not made a name like the others have, you have the potential of becoming far greater than all of them together. I wish to give you powers which you need to unlock yourself but which are much more powerful than the ones I will give the people who are here.” We were all surprised by the things Fate had said and most of all, another researcher named Libra. He was very skilled in the arts of magic and he had reached the perfect balance between Light and Dark magic. He was the only mage to have ever reached Equilibrium without immortality and so one of the greatest men of all times. He was arrogant at times but a nice friend to be with so we liked him, we as in the first generation Kings and I. I looked at my friend and he just shrugged. Mercedes was also there and she looked at me with curiosity and I was still shocked. I stared at Fate and then asked: “So, will you explain to me in simple words why you chose me?” Fate chuckled at my question and said: “I am Fate, I can do whatever I want but I want you to be able to surpass my expectations on the humans. I wish to call you like rulers because you are rulers, rulers of power.” I heard some of the other first generation Kings chuckling at that statement. I was… pissed at the way Fate had decided the things but before I could say anything he said: “Alright, I will throw you back to the place you were at. I will not tell you where you all are but you will know who the Kings are. I will give you your powers and so good bye.” And we were all back.

… That was my story of how I received my powers.] I looked at the sky and then thought: Well, I would now like to hear the story of how you met your first Queen. [Don’t think that I’ll tell you everything about my past. I will never describe Fate to you and I will never tell you who my Queens were and how I met them.] Ok, chill. But, who are Destiny’s `players´? [Well, until now the Kings have always won and the Fallen, that’s how Destiny’s chosen warriors are called, have closely won every time. Each and every time, we were outnumbered and at least one of the Kings has died. The Fallen always change though like the Kings.] I looked at the sky and listened to some music again. I thought of all the things he told me and then I noticed something in the sky. I looked in Blood Vision and saw a black object flying at us. Ray, what is that? [What is what? Oh that, that’s a Pegasus. It must be a rare black Pegasus; you need to ask Mercedes about Pegasus she’s the expert on them.] I watched Mercedes look at the Pegasus and then she shouted: “Onyx, turn around, quickly!” Onyx obliged to the sudden order and turned around. “What’s wrong?” I asked Mercedes. “The Pegasus is flying away from a big creature! I don’t know what it is, but it scares a black Pegasus which means it’s powerful!” she shouted back. I looked at the Pegasus again and then looked with Blood Vision behind it. I saw a huge shadow trailing the Pegasus and felt my heart stopping for three seconds. I quickly looked away and asked Ray: What was that? [That my dear friend and descendant was a Fallen, a powerful one at that.] Wait, why are the Fallen here in this layer? [The Fallen are just like the Kings, they are thirteen as well and some, well usually only one, can phase walk.] Ok, that answers that question, but why is the aura so intimidating and huge? [Well, it’s intimidating because you know that it’s your enemy in some ways but are also scared of it. The size is because the creature itself is big. Humans and other creatures which are about their size, have an aura which is condensed and so fit onto their bodies. That creature is big and so the aura is spread out.] So, that creature’s aura is bigger? [Well yes, but it isn’t stronger. It can also be an incredibly weak aura and be that big. It depends on the creature.] I looked at the aura again and saw something which I had recognized. Why does the aura look like Jack’s? [That must be the Fallen who is supposed to fight Jack. Each Fallen, as I said, are just like the Kings and each Fallen is supposed to fight one King. They have the same powers as the King they are supposed to fight.] I looked at Mercedes and she said: “I had to fight a lot of Fallen and I survived most of the fights. Only one of them was really challenging at that one was the first time I fought against a Fallen, a first generation Fallen. He was incredibly skilled and could’ve killed me, had your ancestor, Kaizer, not been there. Kaizer cut his throat and left the Fallen lying around. The Fallen are all powerful and only experience is the difference between us. Never underestimate a Fallen.” I then turned around and opened Blood Vision. The creature wasn’t there anymore. “Onyx, you can turn back around, the coast is clear.” Onyx turned around and flew back on course. I then nodded off and slept.

“Hello Kaizer.” I turned around and saw Ray. He had blue hair and red eyes. “It’s been a while since we met in your mind hasn’t it? Well, I want to play a game with you.” I looked at Ray and then asked: “What game?” “It’s simple, I will shuffle these cards and you will pick one of them. Once you have picked one, show it to me and I will tell you, what the position is Fate has given to you,” he said shuffling the cards. I looked at him dumbfounded but he just smiled and kept on shuffling. He then gave me the deck of cards and I looked at it. I pulled a card from the stack and revealed it to Ray. Ray smiled widely when he saw it and then said: “As I expected. You are the one card that I hadn’t put in the deck.” I looked at the card and saw that it was different from the normal cards. It had a mask on it with one eye closed and one open. The iris of the mask was made up of four symbols: A crown, a wing, a key and a dragon. I looked at the card and then at Ray. “What does this mean?” “Simple, Fate has chosen you to become the heir of me, the strongest, and Kaizer, one of the second strongest. In other words, you have absolute control over the Kings. You have received Kaizer’s powers, but mine are still locked. You will find the Key to them at the end of the test.”

I woke up and Onyx swayed in the wind. Mercedes was looking at the sky and I looked at her. She was really a beauty, smooth skin, hair which seemed to change its color, pointed ears and eyes which seemed to be able to see into your soul, the green irises looked like emeralds. “You know, I get uncomfortable if people stare at me like you do, it feels like you soak in every detail.” I blushed and quickly muttered an apology. Mercedes giggled and I was redder than a tomato. [Ah yes, Mercedes has that effect to most people. She had that effect on me too until I was stronger than her.] Mercedes giggled and I just stared at the sky. I felt a rumbling coming from Onyx and knew that he was trying to fight the urge of laughing. I just sighed and looked forward. I saw something in the horizon; it was a range of mountains and trees. It looked beautiful from afar. I saw a huge lake glittering close to it and I just thought: That would be a place to live close too. Ray chuckled and said: [Oh yes, it is worth living there and very peaceful. Once you know that the feud between Destiny and Fate is over, you might be able to live here. But until then, I welcome you to the city of Dragons: Cleadrosa.]