Spiritual blade

Gavin Kenjo had just turned 21 and walked through the park at night. Looking up at the sky he noticed a fast moving object that looked like a meteorite. That’s when the boy suddenly realized it was coming straight for him. Managing to evade the fast-moving projectile, Kenjo realized it was a sword.

(Strange, how can a sword just randomly fall from the sky?) He thought to himself. Slowly the young boy made his way over to it. He noticed it was still blazing hot from its impact from the orange glow across it. After waiting about 15 minutes, Gavin carefully grip the sword pulling it out of the ground.

Gavin felt a sudden jolt of pain in his head, that’s when a black aura surrounded the sword. He could hear a faint voice speaking to him telepathically: “Hello youth, I can feel the faint potential within you” Kenjo was silent at first, unable to react before finally asking: “Who are you and how are you speaking to me?”

“I am Shimigon, the spirit of will. Let us test your body's will against a mock battle with a fake opponent” Looking just a few feet ahead of him, a being with pale skin and red eyes. It didn’t have hair or even a mouth. “He will be your foe. Let’s see how well you can handle a sword” The figure dashed toward him swing his sword full speed. Just before he was struck, Kenjo stopped it with his own sword. They traded slashes with the boy keeping up with the attacker’s speed.

(Impressive, you seem to at least keep up with the practice enemy. That just proves you have potential for even more growth. Now for one last duel, this will judge your swordsmanship against mine. I’ll even give you some of my power” That’s when a man formed a few feet away. He had pale skin with long black hair wearing a white cloak. Aiming his free hand toward the young boy, he transferred some of his power t him.

An outline of blue energy surrounded the blade as they pretended to fight. Kenjo could feel power surging through him. Once he got used to the flow throughout his body, he dashed forward slashing with his katana-shaped sword. But each time he swung his blade Shimigon deflected the attack with one hand using a replica of the same sword.

“Come now, I’m sure you can do better than this since I gave you some of my own power” Just then Gavin had an idea, he could feel his body slightly being pulled on it’s own as if something was controlling his movements. He gave into and let his body move on it’s own. With even greater velocity, the human slashed just fast enough to pass the spirit’s guard and slash through his chest area. However, since Shimigon was a spirit the blade went right through him like smoke.

“Well done, I know that was a short duel but you understood what I wanted and focused the energy throughout your body. In due time you’ll grow stronger than even me one day” Without another word the entity flowed back inside the blade. Since all he had was the sword, Gavin decided to go to a weapon shop to find a scabbard or anything else that could hold his blade by his waist.

“Welcome to your local weapons shop, how may I help you?” The man was bald wearing a red shirt and tan pants. “I’m looking for a holder for my blade” He placed his sword on the counter letting the employee look over it. “This sword has something unique about. How do you feel about selling this blade to me? I’ll give you 20K for it”

“No sorry, I just need a holder and that’s it” The man slowly reached under the counter attempting to switch Shimigon with an average sword, but at that moment a sudden pain rushed through his body, causing him to drop the weapon. He watched as the sword levitated over the counter back in it’s user’s grip. Gavin’s irises turned blue as Shimigon talked through him: “How dare you attempt to steal me from my owner! For that you will be punished!”

The overshadowed boy pointed his left index finger toward the greedy shop owner, a sudden bolt of electricity shot out from his finger, electrocuting them. The man shook in pain before passing out. Once the entity went back inside the sword, Kenjo hesitated for a moment before realizing what happened. He felt sorry for the owner but decided to go with it since he didn’t see Shimigon as a villain. After equipping a holder to his side, he made his way home.

Half-way home a man dressed in black with gray hair and green eyes came out of the darkness into the street light holding a gun. “Give me all your valuables or I’ll shoot you right here!” Instead of handing them over, the hero pulled his katana out waiting for his assailant to shoot. With an annoyed expression the man fired several shots aimed for his target’s face. But Gavin deflected five of the six bullets with the last one scratching his cheek as it brushed past him.

“Looks like you’re out of ammo” The swordsmen responded. Before his assailant could run away, Kenjo swung his blade at great speed before stopping inches from the stranger’s face. After a slight hesitation, his target ran away in fear. Gavin laughed sliding his sword back to his side and made it home…

As time went on, the human trained a few hours a day to get stronger and more precise with each swing. One day Shimigon began alerting him about a dark energy nearby. His owner wasn’t sure what he meant but decided to check it out. Focusing his power synced with Shimigon, he took-off running at the speed of a car. After just minutes of dashing through the city, he found multiple cars split in half with citizens running around in fear.

Concentrating on the mana, his eyes began to see a flow of purple mist brushing past him going north. Following the trail he soon found a young man dressed in a black karategi, the clothing people wear when practicing karate. The man quickly spotted him, he had light brown skin with long black hair. “What do you want?” The stranger questioned gripping his blade at his side.

“Well the fact you’re destroying property and causing the citizens to freak out might have something to do with it” Kenjo snapped back as he pulled his sword out holding it in his left palm. “Very well…my name is Sam Tormen and will end you with my mezara” Gavin was unsure what that was but remained focused on his target. That’s when Tormen moved so fast, the hero felt a rush of wind brush past him just before clashing with his attacker.

The boy saw a dark-purple aura emanating from Sam and his sword. (Looks like he’s going all-out at the start) He told himself. Since his opponent wasn’t pulling any punches he decided to test his abilities to see if his training had paid-off. His body lit up with an outline of blue light.

“Hmph, seems you have the same ability I do. However, surely you’re skills are far from my own!” Taking a deep breath, Kenjo lunged toward his foe clutching his sword tightly. However, as the boy slashed in his enemy’s direction he found it pointless, Sam deflected each attack that came his way while only holding his blade with one hand. “Damn it, how strong are you!?” The young boy cried out. Sam just smirked and made a sudden slash of his sword, sending a wave of power toward him.

Kenjo put his blade up to block but was sent flying backwards, smashing into a brick wall. Slowly getting the warrior got his breath back and tried to think of a plan to take down his foe. That’s when his spirit spoke to him: “You need to awaken you hidden power if you want to beat him” Gavin complained that awakening a new power is easier said than done. “I’ll just have to think of something else”

As the duel raged on, the hero had multiple slashes across his body and was almost too weak to stand properly at that point. At that moment, a young kid ran over concerned about Kenjo’s injuries. “Are you ok!?” He said as tears filled his eyes, wrapping his arms around the youth’s arm.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet? Looks like I’ll have two wins tonight” Once Gavin heard this, something snapped within him. As Sam threw his arm down to kill them, he felt something stop him. Focusing his sight he saw the boy’s mana surrounding them in the shape of a dragon. “W-what is this!?” Tormen commented in surprise.

“I-I don’t know what this is, but I won’t let you harm this child!” Using his sword as a cane, the dragon made from his awakened power let out a roar that created a shockwave, sending the tyrant crashing through an apartment window. “Wait here” The pure hero told the light-brown haired boy as he walked toward the impact point with the mana dragon still surrounding his body with every step.

Seeing through his dragon’s eye, it reached out and grabbed the foe with it’s claws and slammed him into the street pinning him down. “You’re done same, you’ve caused enough havic” Leaving his creature in it’s position, Kenjo aimed his sword inches from the tyrant’s forehead.

“Go ahead, kill me”

“I’m not going to kill you” He replied in a calm voice. Tapping the boy’s forehead with the tip of his blade, a mist of light flowed from the target into his sword. After a few moments he released Sam and his dragon vanished. The unnamed boy walked over but stopped when Sam sat up. “What’s going, who are you, where am I!?”

“Don’t worry you’re ok, you were possessed by that blade but I saved you and drew the evil from the spirit within it. You’re my friend Sam Tormen” In his head Gavin thought: (I don’t know if he was just an ass, but seems I’ve wiped his memory and warped his spirit’s personality) Sam stood there looking around before taking a deep breath. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but glad you saved me from my blade’s spirit. What do we do now?

“Might as well find somewhere to stay and train until we locate either a spiritual blade user, or a spirit itself causing trouble. With enough practice we’ll be able to sense them from far away. Until then we’ll have to just watch the news or search the city” Sam was unsure but decided to go along with it since there wasn’t an alternative he could think of…

1 Week Later…

Kenjo found an abanded home just outside the city, it was white with two floors, the inside had gray walls with some decent furniture aside from the dinning table and couch that were covered in dust. After a few days of cleaning it up the house was actually in well kept condition.

“Alright Tormen, let’s see what you can do!” Gavin announced pulling his sword out. His ally was unsure by slowly pulled his blade out as well. The warrior brushed his long hair out of his hazel eyes. (I have no memories of who I was or how to fight, but maybe fighting with my spirit will activate my fighting instincts) Kenjo commented: “I’ll let you have the first strike. Since you might’ve lost your combat sense as well, I won’t use my enhanced abilities”

Sam sighed with a smile, charging his opponent with his blade gripped tightly in his right hand. Right as Tormen swung his blade toward his target, Gavin stopped the coming blow with his own blade with one hand. “Damn, seems you really did lose your spiritual power. I can’t really sense anything from you”

The long-haired warrior jumped back and looked at his blade holding it sideways up to him. (Where are you spirit? Why can’t I hear you?) Sam closed his eyes taking a deep breath to clear his mind…Finally a blue aura began to swarm around his blade. It was taking a lot of concentration, but a voice finally spoke to him telepathically: “Look like you’ve reconnected with me Sam, I can feel that you’ve forgotten a lot. My name is Mezara and I am the entity of this blade. I am the spirit of focus. The more you focus and understand my power, the stronger you can become”

The warrior opened his eyes, his hazel eyes now had a glow of blue around his irises. “I can do this” Sam moved much fast toward his foe, his body glowing blue as well. Kenjo managed to stop the attack once more, but could feel his sword being forced back by the boy’s increased strength. “Well done, you’ve tapped into your power again. However, it’s not as strong as you were before”

Finding an opening, the defender forced his target’s blade out of his grasp, causing it to spiral up into the air. Swinging his blade at great speed, Gavin stopped just inches from the boy’s face. Sam felt his hair blow back from the sheer force of the attack. “Looks like I win, but you synced back with your entity which is mainly what I wanted. With more practice you’ll be on par with me in terms of power” Kenjo caught his friend’s sword and handed it to him.

CHAPTER 1 A Coming Threat

Both spirit swordsmen trained as hard as they could, every now and then resting for a few hours and getting food from the store that was also abanded. Even though not all of the city was abanded, no one seemed to go or steal from the store. It was as if they were scared to be in that part of town.

As the pair walked through the streets about to leave for a new city to search for any threats or humans in need, a figure could be seen standing above them on top of a tall building. “Seems we’ve found our target” Kenjo commented. They watched as they descended down in front of them, it was a women with dark-red hair and golden eyes. She wore a black dress covered in glitter looking like stars.

“I could sense both of your spirit energy and decided to watch both of you. Too bad you both just walked around, it was so boring. Now it’s time for me to see how strong the both of you are. I doubt I’ll get to show off my true power” They watched as she held onto her weapon but didn’t pull it out from it’s holder. She began to glow pink with wisps of white light floating around her. “Shall I strike first? Or will one of you attack?”

Gavin was unsure but knew he had to do something. “Very well, let me show you what I can do!” The dark-haired warrior charged toward her jumping into the air, pulling his blade out moments before attacking. But as he swung his blade, he felt something clash with his sword. Kenjo landed on his feet. (W-what!? I couldn’t even see her move)

“Is that all, I though this was a fight”

“Fine! I was going to save this for latter, but I guess it’s now or never” Both watched as a green transparent dragon formed around him. “Bring it, this is my ultimate technique!” She slowly clapped with a smirk on her face responding: “Very good. I didn’t think anyone else had reached the 2nd stage of spirit awakening. Behold my entity: leabel! The soul of might!”

Both heroes watched as an ape made of light pink energy formed around it’s user like Gavin. “This creature is called a zamaru, the awakened form of your power. There’s more stages with these powers, but for now, you and I are at stage two”

(This is only stage two? What could be stronger than this?) While the hero was lost in thought, Leabel in her ape form threw a strong blow toward Shimigon in his dragon state. The green entity threw it’s tail up, blocking the coming attack. The sheer force of their contact shook the city. Both combatants were unphased within their zamaru, but Sam fell backwards from the immense power. Mezara suggested he get further away since the boy couldn’t summon a zamaru.

Their battle began to get more epic as the dragon and ape exchanged blows at super-sonic speed. Tormen was amazed at how much power the two fighters had. They looked as though they were equal with one another, but then he remembered when his ally tried to fight her head-on she deflected his attack with ease. (So how much is she holding back?) he thought.

Suddenly the woman’s creature struck the dragon so hard, Shimgon’s transparent body formed cracks around it’s chest. Light could be seen from the cracks forming. “I won’t let you win!” Kenjo had his dragon release shards of sharp ice from it’s mouth at point-blank range. While his target put her transparent arms up to block, The warrior focused his power to keep his dragon shooting fragments while he left the zamaru to attack the ape-shaped soul head-on.

Leabel kept her right arm up to block while attempting to throw a punch toward the small human below her. Right before she could crush him, the spirit user focused all his power back into his sword, causing the dragon to vanish. The woman watched as her opponent pierced the ape, making his way through the spirit’s form. “This can’t be! You’re not strong enough to even crack my entity’s form! This is a trick!”

“Sometimes…the truth is harder to believe even when it’s witnessed” As she attempted to attack and recall her spirit from it’s awakened state, Gavin rushed past her at incredible speed. She could hear him slide his katana back to his side. “I-I can’t move!?”

“Why not tell me your name, you only have mere moments before my soul slash attack takes effect”

“My name is Hannah Sowell happy!?” Seconds after she said that, she felt her entire body riving in pain. That’s when she noticed her body cracking apart like her zamaru. “Y-you bastard!” Sam watched as the girl burst into a flash of light, but without a trace of blood or guts.

“She was strong, if I hadn’t thought of that strategy, I probably would’ve been defeated by her superior capabilities. Luckily skill can overcome power if done correctly” As the victorious soul user sat on an old bench to rest, he saw Tormen walking over to him. “That was a well though-out tactic you used to defeat her. I was worried she would shatter your entity’s form and kill you”

“Let’s go, I’m sure there’s more selfish monsters around the world that will hurt or even kill innocent humans”

From then on they spent their time helping others, they never ran into another soul user for months. Only thugs and criminals trying to steal or hurt someone.

1 Year Later…

Gavin and Sam had greatly mastered their souls and were confident they could deal with any soul killer, which is what they called the evil soul users. They had finished scouting a city and made their way into a forest outside of Kimion, a city in Chicago. As they made their way deep into the forest, they spotted a skeleton laying in the grass as light snow fell from the sky.

Kenjo walked over examining the lifeless body. “Hmm, seems his ribs were fractured by something. But considering he’s here in the forest, I assume he was killed by someone. Because if he were killed by an animal, his ribs probably won’t be fractured that badly. Also, a bigger creature would’ve taken a limb for meat yet his body is basically intact”

“How very observant of you. I wouldn’t expect a mere teen to figure it out so quickly. As you’re probably wondering, my name is Hidoken, I belong to a legion of soul users in hopes of siphoning the life energy of humans or power of a fellow soul user to reach a near omnipotent level of power” The pair looked at him as if he were crazy. The man wore a dark-purple cloak. He had golden eyes with gray hair that was brushed to the right.

“I’m hoping to get a taste of your powers, show me what two heroes can do with soul power” Both nodded at one another, dashing toward their new foe at great speed. They unleashed super-sonic slashing motions toward their foe as they rushed by. But when they turned around, Hidoken stood there calm, just a few inches to the left from his original spot.

“We missed? But how can that be!? With our mastered abilities, we should’ve sliced him to bits!” Kenjo commented. The assailant turned toward them with a smirk on his face.

“Poor boys, seems you’ve mastered your entities, but only your 2nd stages. Surely someone with a soul told you about the stages even greater than just zamaru. If that’s the only stage you’ve both learned, then I’m afraid I’m far above your level of power. If you don’t believe me I encourage you both to attack me with your 2nd stage simultaneously”

Clinching their fists, both fighters unleashed their zamaru against the overconfident foe. While Gavin’s was a green dragon, Sam’s 2nd stage was a blue transparent demon form. They stepped closer towards their enemy and both threw a barrage of blows toward their enemy. Even with their mastery of the zamaru they couldn’t wound him at all. Hidoken either evaded or somehow stop their attack without even lifting a finger.

“Is this truly the best you can do? Even when I was only at stage two I was stronger than this” Kenjo frowned, his dragon opened it’s grip as a blade made of pure energy formed. Tormen did the same, preparing to attack with energy blades.

“Take This!” With all his strength the dragon spirit sent it’s arm down holding the energy blade. Just as it seemed like they were going to do some immense damage, Hidoken held his middle and index finger close together holding them in front of the coming attack. The heroes watched as Shimigon’s energy blade shattered into pieces before disappearing. Kenjo stood motionless, frozen in fear.

“You see, both of you are far from your unlocked potential. Once you become much stronger, maybe you’ll be a decent challenge for me” Sam watched Hidoken lift his left hand up and strike the dragon with only about half his full strength. The zamaru instantly shattered apart sending the teen crashing into an old antique store. “Will you step up to the plate? Or will you just stand there watching the fight?”

The young warrior knew he should do something but was too afraid to even move. With a smirk the tyrant turned towards the direction Kenjo had went soaring through the sky. After just a few moments of walking he reached the small store with the shattered window. The soul user stepped out of the dark store, his body covered in cuts and bruises.

“Are you finished yet? It’s not my intention to kill you just yet, I want to see just how strong you can get before I beat you at your best”

“You may be much stronger than me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up and let you do as you please!” Once more, focusing every ounce of soul power into his blade he swung his sword full force toward the powerful enemy. Seconds before his blade struck Hidoken, the man stop the blade with his bare hand. Even though blood flowed from his palm from stopping the blade, he looked as though he was unaffected with the same expression as before.

“I’ll let the both of you live for now, but I will return to see your progress” With just a flicking motion he sent the teen smashing back into the antique store with the rest of it crashing down onto him into a pile of rubble. Without another word he vanished in a flash of pink light. Once it was clear, the tan-skinned warrior rushed over to check on his comrade.

Sam used mezara’s 2nd state to clear most of the debris away from it’s pile. He noticed his ally laying on his back under some bricks. “Are you alright!?” He called out, pulling the boy out from the mess throwing him over his shoulder. After about 10 minutes of carrying Kenjo, the teen finally regained consciousness, finding himself being carried by Tormen.

“H-how long have I been out?”

“About 12 minutes or so” Shaking his head to better wake up, Gavin stepped down onto the paved path they were walking on. Looking around he only saw the straight road with a rock terrain on both sides. Sam told him that there was a city a few miles north and would take about two hours to reach…

After walking for awhile, they saw a city in front of them. “Good we’re almost there” One of them commented. They made their way into the city to find it more active than the few others they’ve gone through already. Plenty of people and cars rushing through the sidewalks and streets with lights on in houses and stores. “Strange, why is this city way more active while one of the others were basically dead? I understand one of them was abandoned because they were scared of an entity’s power, but that was only one city”

They shrugged and walked through the streets over to a small hotel. It was tan with the word: “HOTEL” on the roof in red lights. Both knew they didn’t have any money, but Kenjo had an idea. They walked into the small lobby, it had red carpet floors with white walls. A few chairs over in the comer by a large flat screen TV. “Welcome to the Aircon hotel, may I help you?” A gray-haired man behind the desk asked. Without a 2nd thought Gavin drew his blade tapping the man’s forehead with the tip like he had before.

A flash of green light lit up around the area he had touched, the employee’s eyes glowed green as shimigon took over their body. A moment passed with the human standing there staring into space before the spirit returned to his blade. They watched as the man’s eyes reverted back to blue. And he shook his head feeling a bit dizzy. “Enjoy your stay” He randomly say holding his hand on his head walking into the break room.

“What happened?” His friend asked confused. The soul user told him how his spirit changed the man’s memories to let them stay for free. “You’re capable of changing the memories of humans!?” Kenjo nodded walking through the hallway of doors until choosing a random one to stay at that had two twin beds. The dragon soul user laid on the bed near the window soon fa

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lling asleep.

Meanwhile Sam went to the lobby to eat dinner before they closed the kitchen for the night. He sat down enjoying a sub they had in a fridge. It was a six inch sub with ham, pickles, lettice and mayonnaise. After finishing the sandwich he made his way back to their room, passing out just moments after laying down…

Both awoke with sunlight shining in their eyes. It took a few minutes for Kenjo to focus his vision, the soul user had a strange feeling in his gut but brushed it off as his imagination. As they made their way down stairs, Tormen thought he saw an elderly women without a face, but when he turned toward her, she was fine. (Hmm, something a little off around here)

As they left the city in search of anyone in need or a new foe, both couldn’t rid themselves of that strange feeling they had earlier. That’s when they hit something. “What the” One of them reached out to feel an invisible barrier. “Damn, are we trapped in the city by some kind of barrier!?” Gavin cried out.

“Not exactly” A voice called out from behind them. They spun around to see a thin man dressed in a white cloak wielding a black great sword with dark-red energy flowing through the center of it. He had long blood-red hair with silver eyes. “Hello Gavin Kenjo, Sam Tormen. I’ve heard about you from lord Hidoken. Seems he’s taken a liking to the both of you. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Zegura Ultama. I’ve sent by my lord to capture you and bring you to his realm for study”

“Forget it! Your so called: “Lord” is a fool if they think I’ll just let you kidnap us!”

“My dear Kenjo, I’m afraid you haven’t a choice in the matter. Allow me to show you”

Meanwhile back in the hotel, Zegura stood by the pair as they were still asleep in their beds. The assailant slit a part of the boy’s arm in the real world, while the version of him in the dream world could feel the same pain. He rolled his black sleeve up to see the same exact wound.

“Do you understand your situation? Anything I do to your in the real world, in any pain, will be sent back to you in this world” Gavin frowned, he could feel his right arm a little numb but knew he only needed one arm to attack, especially since he was left-handed. The duo charged their new enemy, but he looked uninterested by their team-attack. Both swung their swords with great force. instead of stopping them with his large sword, Zegura stopped them by catching them just like his master.

“So…you really are this weak, my master wasn’t kidding when he told me you both were only at stage two of soul users. Suddenly their foe kicked Gavin and elbowed Sam in opposite directions. Kenjo smashed into a concreate structure, feeling as if his back was about to break. Meanwhile Tormen had crashed through the roof of a black shed by a dock. When they felt pain, their bodies twitched.

“Tisk, tisk, I hope you both awaken stage three soon or you’re going to die from my master’s hand” The dragon soul user opened his eyes to see the attacker flying right for him at great speed. Just before he was struck by the strong foe, soul user moved his head to the left just enough for his opponent to miss and strike the building behind him. Gavin fell to the street, rolling a few feet then getting back up.

“Mmm, seems you’ve evaded my attack just in time. I guess you really do have promise. But does your friend have potential as well?” Zegura flew off toward the docks. Kenjo tried sending Shimigon out of the dream to his real body in hopes to fight back or wake him up, but nothing happened. He could use his soul’s power but not send it to the real world.

“Damn, plan B!” The hero took off after their target…

Back inside the shed, Sam hid behind a wall of large crates in hopes he could catch his enemy by surprise. The demon soul user heard Ultama land inside the shed through the hole the teen had made when he crashed through the roof. “Come out Sammy, hiding wouldn’t help you. It will only stall your capture” Tormen waited as the footsteps came closer with each step.

The moment he heard the villain just behind the crates, Sam came out, slashing his sword in his direction. A wave of blue energy rushed through the shed toward the entrance, splitting everything in it’s path in half. Though when the soul user looked again, Zegura’s body was nowhere to be seen. That’s when the assailant grabbed him from behind, putting him in a chokehold.

“You honestly thought that trick would work on a high-class warrior like me? So predictable” As the man prepared to continue his attack Gavin came descending from the roof, At the last second, he manifested his dragon form around him. Zegura smirked, pushing his victim out of the way. Shimigon threw his large fist down, sending enough force into the wooden floor, causing their surroundings to go flying in different directions.

As his Zamaru pulled it’s arm back, they saw a giant hole, revealing the water below the dock. Without warning, Ultama came up behind Kenjo, throwing his hand down in a chopping motion. Sam watched his comrade’s soul dragon shattered apart, causing Kenjo to pass out, laying stiff on his face.

“About time that one went down, though it would never end. Looks like you’re finally all alone without someone to save you” His foe dashed forward, throwing a punch toward Sam who was still on his back from getting pushed moments ago. Luckily he rolled out of the way, causing Zegura to strike the floor just like Shimigon. The sheer force of his attack caused the entire shed to brake into pieces as if it exploded.

“You both really like prolonging our fight, but I’ve had enough of this game of tag” Moving at nearly his full speed, Ultama struck Tormen in the back of his head. As his eyes widened from the pain, the soul user hit the ground motionless…

2 Hours Later…

Both soul heroes awoke inside a transparent chamber. Looking around they found themselves inside some kind of metal tunnel. It reminded them as either a lab or dungeon. Kenjo took a deep breath, gathering up his strength and manifested just the fist of his dragon soul. The green transparent arm struck the wall of the chamber, shaking everything around them.

“Any other ideas?” Sam commented sitting in the corner of the small square chamber just big enough to fit them. Dragon soul thought for a moment then had a plan. He reached for his blade but saw it was gone. “Did you really expect them not to take our swords from us?” Tormen responded rolling his eyes.

“If I don’t have my sword…then how did I manifest my zamaru? We should only be able to use our soul abilities if our blades are in our hand or at least close to our body. Maybe I can locate my sword from here” He squatted down, placing his hand on the cold black metal floor of their prison. Closing his eyes he felt Shimigon’s link to his consciousness. Using that, the warrior physically went through the halls of the underground maze like clairvoyance.

He could see the halls the vision went through at great speed until reaching a large room where a buff man dressed in armor was guarding Shimigon and Mezara in a glass case. “Alright, I’ve located our soul blades, they’re several halls down but no one seems to be around aside from one man in armor who’s guarding our weapons”

“So how do we get to them? You just tried breaking it but wasn’t effective”

“If we attack it in sync, it should break. Nothing’s unbreakable” Sam saw the confidence in his partner’s eyes as he stood back up facing the thick see-through wall. Both nodded before summoning the fists of demon and dragon. With all their power both struck the wall simultaneously. They could see the glass-like material beginning to crack. Both were beginning to sweat from the strain of using their soul abilities without having their blades nearby.

“Almost there” Kenjo announced breathing heavily but not planning on stopping until they were free. With an abrupt shatter, the wall broke apart. They fell to their knees, drained… “O-ok, let’s go, the closer we are to our links, the easier it’ll be to use our powers” The pair walked cautiously through the halls toward their objective.

“Strange they wouldn’t have more guards, I wonder where they are” (Could they possibly have more hostages?) Gavin thought as they reached a large gray metal door. Clinching their fists, they made a punching motion, just as their fists were about to strike the door, their zamaru once more came out, breaking it down. The large door hit the metal surface with a loud boom. They saw the tall buff man in black armor. Standing before them.

“Halt! You must return to your cells unless you wish death upon yourselves!” A grin appeared on Kenjo’s face as he aimed his hand toward the man. That’s when an abrupt shatter echoed through the room. Their target looked back toward the glass case where the swords were kept to see a sword fly past him, slitting the side of his armor.

“You trash!” The knight threw a punch right for Kenjo, but was stopped by the tip of his blade. “How strange, never have I seen a knight straight punch instead of using their sword or shield. Allow me to show you how much stronger a soul user is once he’s holding his blade…Molecular shatter” Placing his index finger in the center of the knight’s armor, a wave of green light rushed past him.

Sam watched as their target’s large armor broke apart until he was standing there in just a white shirt and blue shorts. Witnessing such power first hand, the man ran off in fear. While Demon soul retrieved his blade, Kenjo threw his arm up, his sword aiming toward the ceiling. “Haaaaagh!” With a loud cry a green ray of light shut up from the warrior’s blade, drilling a large hole to the surface.

“Be careful! If you damage it too much or in the wrong place this tunnel could collapse on top of us and bury us alive!”

“Quit complaining. Even if that does happen our zamaru is more than capable of withstanding some rocks” Without a word, Gavin gabbed his partner using his dragon zamaru and threw him up out of the tunnel through the hole he had just made. That’s when Hidoken appeared. “Heh, surprised you’re showing yourself so soon Hidoken, was our recent battle not enough practice for you?”

“Don’t worry, this is just a mere duplication, but even as a clone I still have half my power”

“I have nothing to fear, with each duel I’m faced with I grow stronger and closer to awakening stage 3”

“Very well, let’s see how clos to death I have to bring you before you reach the third phase of a soul user” The man dressed in white brushed his hair out of his face, moving right up to his opponent. Just as the assailant threw a blow right for him, Dragon soul used his Zamaru to throw a punch right back. The underground tunnel shook from their power.

That’s when the hero had an idea, he clashed with the powerful foe, their barrage of strikes on par with one another. Once an opening was visible, he struck him in the torso, sending some of his energy into Hidoken’s torso. After getting the hit, Kenjo struck the rock-covered ceiling with all his strength. The shockwave caused the entire tunnel to shake while the rocks above started to fall and burry it. Moving his index and middle fingers close together in random directions, Hidoken’s clone was trapped with bonds made from the hero’s soul energy.

The teen managed to ascend up through the hole just before the clone was utterly buried under all the rubble. Sam watched as his comrade landed in front of him in the large cornfield. “Hmph, didn’t think they’d build a secret tunnel underneath a cornfield” Gavin joked. Sam looked at him with a serious expression asking: “What happened down there? I could feel the ground shaking then heard it collapse”

“A copy of Hidoken appeared, he said he was half as strong as the original but he seemed off, maybe he was holding back even more than just only having half his power. Now that we’re free, let’s find somewhere to rest until we’re ready to move to the next city”

A Few Hours Later…

They found themselves in a large city called: Unokodis. They saw a building the height of a skyscraper. There was a word half-way up the tower that read: “Fighter’s tower” This interested Kenjo who proceeded through the streets toward the tower. Just when they got to the entrance, Sam told him they shouldn’t just be going into random places, especially suspicious places like this. Gavin laughed replying: “Don’t be so paranoid. Besides, I’m the stronger one so I’d say that puts me in charge for the time being”

Tormen just rolled his eyes as they met a tall buff man dressed in black with shades on. “I’m sorry, you shrimps can’t enter here. You’d be destroyed by all the fit men and women that work out 24\7” Sam started walking away when Kenjo answered back: “If you think so, bring someone out here and I’ll knock them out in mere moments”

The guard was about to punch the teen when a voice called out: “Enough Tabeon, I won’t have unnecessary fights on my property unless it’s in a ring” The crowd of people moved into two groups revealing a light-brown skinned man standing there with a black Cain in his grip. The man had long hazel hair that went down his back in a ponytail at the end. He also wore black shades as well hiding his eyes. Lastly the man was wearing a gold glittery tux with black pants and dress shoes.

“If someone wishes to enter Fighter’s Tower and they have the confidant drive to back it up, I say let them in. But they must realize that if they sustain any injuries while in the tower, we aren’t responsible and can’t be suited for such a case”

“Yes sir Mr. Kosuke Nakamura” The guard stepped aside as his boss walked past him into the tower with Kenjo and Tormen right behind him. Watching how the man walked, Gavin soon realized Kosuke may be blind. However, he seemed to be capable of walking through the lobby like anyone else. The soul user looked around, the lobby was big with a blue carpeted floor with two rings on the left and right side of it.

Both roped arenas had two people going head to head with one another. Though they didn’t have boxing gloves like you would traditionally see in a place like this. They continued to follow Kosuke as he walked a straight path from the entrance to the elevator at the end of the lobby between the two fighting rings.

Once they walked inside, Nakamura closed the steel door with red letters in the center: “F.T” Which probably stood for: “Fighter’s Tower” He pushed the top floor which was floor 60. With a loud ding the doors opened leading to an empty hall with a single door at the end. The man sat at his large wooden desk with a window behind him, taking up most of the wall so he can see over the city. The floor was white tiled with two small blue plastic chairs on the other side of his desk.

“So tell me, how did both of you achieve them?” The boys looked at each other confused then looked back at him responding: “What are you talking about?” Kosuke laughed slightly, telling them: “I may be blind, but I can still sense soul energy. You can play dumb if you want, but I know you both have super-natural abilities”

“I gained my powers from finding a sword that fell from the sky”

“I don’t know how I originally acquired my soul user power, my memories are blank up until Gavin here saved me from being possessed by my own blade’s soul”

“Ah, have either of you awakened the 2nd or third phase of your powers”

“Sam and I have reached stage two, but no matter how many fights we’ve been through we’re stuck at stage two” Nakamura walked over to the pair, placing his hand on their forehead… “Yes, you’ve reached a barrier point. This means you’re in between stage two and three. However, it seems you haven’t reached the point where you’ve awakened the next stage in your evolution”

“How do we break this barrier and reach the next stage?”

“Hard to say, the realization to awaken each stage is different for all soul users. Allow me to tell you how I reached stage three…

[Flash Back]

Kosuke had spent years perfecting his soul powers, he heard news of a man and woman destroying a city miles away. The warrior knew he couldn’t stand for this, quickly Nakamura used his energy to ascend into the sky and fly towards the destroyed city. The man found it in flames with dozens of buildings in ruins.

(Those monsters, you won’t continue your path of chaos much longer) It didn’t take long for him to find the pair as they were firing energy blasts in random directions. The hero descended down in front of them. Kosuke wore a black cloak with a cape-like back to it. “Your reign of terror is over. I won’t let you both do as you please, killing and ruin the lives of innocent people that don’t deserve such a fate”

The girl had light-brown hair with green eyes while the man had short-blonde hair and green eyes. They both wore black leather clothing. “Mmm, this peasant may be fun to kill” The girl commented with a smirk. Both pointed their index fingers in his direction, firing beams of energy. The girl’s was pink while her partner’s was blue Even with both of them spamming energy projectiles, Nakamura used his sword to absorb their attack.

Each attack that made contact with his sword was siphoned into it increasing his power, but only for a limited time depending on how much power he absorbed each time. “You’ll have to think of a better trick than spamming blasts at me” The man clinched his fist before firing a massive blast. The blast filled the entire streets making it impossible for the hero to dodge. However, Koskue had no intentions of moving. He gripped his long samurai sword with both hands, keeping it straight as the blast came towards him.

The moment the attack came into contact, it split in two with Nakamura absorbing the middle part of their attack while the rest rushed past him on both sides of him. His attacker stood there dumbfounded “How could such trash absorb such an attack with ease!? Fine! I, Alako will take you down with my full power!”

Kosuke noticed the girl just watched from a few meters away while her partner raced toward him. However, the warrior had siphoned a great deal of power from their last attack to the point energy was surging through his body. Alako attempted a head on assault, but even with all his fast moving blows Nakamura evaded them with ease.

Noticing the point to attack, he struck the assailant with all his power, even using all the siphoned energy in his one blow. Alako spat out blood getting sent out of view. (That should’ve done a good amount of damage. In his wounded state it might take about a minute or so to get back here)

“Looks like you’re up”

“Don’t worry kid, my foolish boyfriend can’t give you a challenge unless I’m helping…and I’m several times stronger than him” Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she moved at an incredible speed even Kosuke was having trouble pinpointing her location each time she moved. Realizing he couldn’t go any longer without using it, the soul user summoned his zamaru.

His form was a basilisk a massive snake several meters long. It was transparent like the other but made of silver energy with red eyes. His foe smirked responding: “Well, seems you have been holding something back. I’m not surprised, normally if they don’t have a trump card they begin to panic at this point. But you, you seem to keep calm under such pressure. Let’s see what this hidden ability of yours can do! I, Marsa will be the one to kill you!”

The moment she moved, Kosuke had his zamaru unleash a bolt of electricity from it’s mouth. His attack was fast, but she managed to dodge it at the last second. He decided to be tactical, shooting a bolt towards her, it followed her the moment she moved. Even at her full speed she could feel the projectile just inches behind her.

After going miles away to the point Nakamura couldn’t see what was happening, the electricity still proceeded to follow her ever motion. “Damn it! Fine let’s go!” She crossed her arms to block as she was struck. She could feel severe pain rush through her from her target’s attack. Her clothes were burnt and she fell to one knee. “That brat! I’ll show you my strongest attack!” She cried out, soaring through the sky right back. “This attack will take you and this city off the planet! Ah seems you finally made it back Alako”

Kosuke turned around to have the man blast him in the eyes. “Gaaaagh!!” The hero fell to his knees, his eyes severely damaged to the point he was blind. “Good work Alako, now that fool won’t see what’s coming next” Marsa held her arm up toward the darkening sky as a sphere of flames formed, growing bigger every second until it was the size of a blimp.

Instead of giving in to his disadvantage, he stood up facing the fireball. “Hmph, seems you can at least feel where the heat is coming from, but that won’t be enough to stop such an attack! Alako floated beside her as she sent the flaming orb down toward the city. The hero clinched his fist tightly as sweat ran down his face from his enemy’s fireball.

They watched as he sealed his right armor in a protective barrier using zamaru. “Focus your power, let it awaken you full power” His soul announced telepathically. His entity rarely talked but was more focused on the coming sphere. “It’s not over!” Kosuke yelled throwing a full force punch. His fist struck the projectile, managing to slow it down However, he could feel his arm weakening from the great strain it was putting on him.

“Impressive, you managed to stall my attack, but it’s time you met your fate!” Both of them put their hands out, adding twice as much force to their attack. The soul user was utterly taken over by the colossal force, causing the orb of flames to touch down, blowing up in a vast ray of light, taking out the entire city. All that was left was a scorched flat ground for miles…

Nakamura awoke in a white void. The only other thing there was a man dressed in light-black armor. His eyes were black with gold irises. He had long black hair with facial hair. “You’re not done yet Kosuke…you have a bit of life left in you”

“Who are you?”

“Have you forgotten my voice so soon? I’m the soul that resides within your blade. I’m Okulus the serpent spirit, I represent a cunning mind with the power to back it up. Can you say the same? You’re here because a part of you knows you can’t let it end so soon. Let the power flow through you. Not as zamaru but something much greater!”

He awoke in the scorched gutter. His body hurt, but not as much as it should’ve. He rose to his feet as the villains spotted him. “No-that’s impossible, you could’ve survived my attack!” Marsa cried out losing her cool. They descended down firing a barrage of endless blasts with all their power. Meanwhile Kosuke walked towards them unaffected by their spamming atacks. Just then he vanished. The awakened soul user moved right up to Marsa. He moved so fast, Alako didn’t even realize their foe was right next to him.

“I have no sympathy for those that kill for fun” With a serious expression across his face, the warrior punched straight through her torso with unimaginable power. A blast of wind shot through her body, traveling through the scorched land. She looked at him, her body shaking from the sheer pain of his attack.

“Now you’ll know how all these people felt when you took their lives” He pulled his blood covered fist out when Alako trew a strike toward him. The blind man still caught it even without turning his head in his direction.

“H-how are you able to stop our attacks and fight back without the use of your eyes!?”

“I can sense your body’s Ki, with that I can see you and any attack you throw at me” After crushing the assailant’s fist in his grip, Nakamura placed his blade on them, stealing the rest of their power and life energy. “You both never deserved such gifts. If you’re not going to help at least some people with your powers, than you don’t deserve to have them…”

[End Of Flash Back]

“Wow, so even after that you’re able to see everyone and their KI?”

“Yes, I may not be able to see objects, but anything with power I can see similar to thermal vision. It took a near-death experience to awaken phase 3 of my soul user power. So you should realize how hard it is to reach that level. I’m sure they’ll be a small few that never reach it. Either because their fear holds them back, or just can’t enlighten their mind and unlock the potential that’s within all soul users”

“Does this mean you can’t fight anymore?” Kenjo asked. A smirk crossed the man’s face as he stood in front of them. “I may be in my 40’s but a little age won’t stop me. Don’t look at me like an old geezer. I might be rusty, but I can still fight those soul killers that ruin our heroic titles as soul users. Let us show them what three warriors can do!”

(TO BE CONTINUED…)