Quarry Dig Site
Thursday, 7:30 PM
The quarry was about half a mile from the practice field through a section of forest dividing the two. The quarry was wide and hundreds of feet deep but there was a service bridge that crossed at the crater’ center. The site was still active. Equipment still present but no workers had gone to the site in years. Strange events began to occur on the site so it was left as is and nobody would agree to work there. Rivell, however; uses the rusty old bridge from time to time as a shortcut.
Rivell and Duane peeked through the trees and begin to walk towards the service bridge. Duane had his handheld game out while they walked. After a small struggle with whatever game he was playing he turned toward Rivell.
“You know? You really saved my bacon earlier. I don’t think I could take another wedgie.”
Rivell smiled slightly. “Don’t worry about it. Duane, does that happen a lot?”
“Unfortunatly, yes. But they’ve never put me on a flag pole before. Usually they wait for me out front and I just quietly slip out of a side door. I guess they finally caught on.”
By now the pair had reached the old rusty bridge. Without hesitation Rivell stepped up and began walking across. Duane stepped up after Rivell, more cautiously than his friend did.
“Luckily you came along and used that crazy judo on them.”
Rivell didn’t respond but he visualized himself in his childhood. Here a young Rivell stood in defensive stance. Directly in front of the boy was an older man in his mid-thirties standing in the same defensive stance as the boy. After receiving the signal from the older man Rivell sprung into action with a flurry of small punches, which were easily evaded or deflected by the older more experienced fighter. After a misplaced punch was blocked, the old man thres a weak low kick which toppled Rivell. Rivell landed on his back. He quickly rolled back and as soon as he can get his foot flat on the ground he leapt into the air, rotated his body one-hundred and eighty degree and sent a foot into the aw struck old man. The blow connected to his chest but because of the size difference the kick only managed to unbalance him. Rivell standed wide eyed in attention and after the old man began to laugh Rivell can’t help but show his excitement.
”Sure, you still haven’t played the bonus quests.” Duane returns as he looked over the edge into the quarry. “Hey Rivell, do you see that?”
Duane pointed into the pit. At the very bottom near the furthest edge, two figures stood across from each other. Both appeared to be transparent with an odd glow about them however one glow was dark and the other, light.
“I’m not sure. But I’m gonna find out.” Rivell turned and ran back across the bridge and headed towards the farthest side of the quarry.
“Rivell, wait! Are you crazy?!” Duane plead but refused to follow. He continued to look on from the service bridge. He watched in the last rays of light as the site’s lighing systems weakly fought off the shadow of night from equipment areas and pathways. Rivell disappeared into the darkness in moments. “Damn. I don’t know why, but something doesn’t feel right about this.”
Rivell followed a trail for a few hundred feet but had to divert from the trail to reach an access point leading into the pit. After struggling through some thick brush he emerged to a rusty staircase descending along the quarry wall. From the top of the stairwell Rivell had a much better view of the warrior with the dark aura but remained out of ear shot. He was tall with long wild black hair. His face was covered with a strange skull with short spikes rolling off the hardened cheek bones. The distinction of his face was the small orbs of fire glowing from the skull’s eye sockets. He was wrapped from the neck to his feet in cloth wrappings much like a mummified corpse. Over this were steel shoulder guards, a leather cuirass, and leg and shin guards. He also has leather boots with what appear to be actual skeletal hands and carved skull tops covering the toe of the boots.
Only this ominous warrior was visible through a small break in the thick branches of tall oaks. The dark fighter raised his left hand and out stretched his arm. Soon his hand began to glow red and then became completely engulfed in low blue flames. As soon as the flame ignited the warrior threw his head back. He couldn't hear anything, but Rivell took this gesture as some sort of sinister laugh.
After a moment the warrior lifted his right hand and slowly put it in the fire his other hand created until it also was engulfed in blue flame. Then he began to pull his hand apart slowly until the gap between was about three foot long. In the gap the blue fire had been pulled across and had flared up in size. The color had changed to red-orange and the flame seemed to pull toward the right hand. When completely outstretched the warrior pulls his right hand back to his side quickly and a few seconds later the strand of flame exploded in a bright red flash of light. When the flare subsided and a cloud dust cleared the warrior stood confidently with his left arm still stretched. In his hand where the strand of fire had began the warrior held an enormous sword close to three feet long and a foot wide at the hilt. The sizzling blade had three evenly spaced scallops on both sides running the length of the blade. The hilt was too detailed for Rivell to see from his vantage point but he could see the silhouette of some winged creature dominating its shape. This blade was evil. Its very presence seemed to drain all good from the world. Rivell fell to his knees only for a moment. He looked up just in time to see the warrior crouch and leap out of view. Rivell jumped up in amazement and tried to peer though the branches for a better view but to no avail. After a moment Rivell saw a figure fly into view and slam hard on the ground. This time it was the light fighter who struggled to get back to his feet. Rivell caught a quick glance of the fighter’s face and instantly jumps back in shock.
“It can’t be!” Rivell said in shock and then begins to descend the stairs. “I’ve got to get closer.”
Meanwhile, by now the light warrior had made it to his feet. The dark warrior was walking toward the other.
While walking he pointed his blade and said, “Know and fear the name Yoshimiru. I will damn the human race to hell and you will not stop me.”
“The lingering souls of the dead will find their peace and the souls of the living will feel your terror no longer.” the light fighter asserted before lunging toward Yoshimiru and yelling, “ I will be the one who sends you to hell where you belong, Chaos!” While lunging the light fighter held his right hand forward. The arm started to glow slightly while a random bursts of electricity crawl and whip the arm. Almost instantly a spear erupted from his glowing palm which he grabbed at the end as it finished its odd arrival. The fighter, spear in hand, reached the target but was deflected by Yoshimiru’s sword inches from his face. The light fighter parried and spun around before unleashing a relentless combo of thrusts and spins. Yoshimiru was able block all the strongest blows but was on the defensive, slowly retreating from his target. This tactic was clearly a front as Yoshimiru threw his arms out and yelled, unleashing an enormous fireball in all directions. The blast knocked the light fighter back. Back on the service bridge Dwayne continued to look on and saw the explosion himself.
“I don’t believe what I’m seeing.” Dwayne saed. He then looks down at the video game he has in his hands. “This in straight out of Universe of Battle. I wonder what I should do.”
Back in the quarry the two warriors were still fighting each other with each blow stronger than the last but Yoshimiru made a bold attack that failed. The light fighter thrusted his lance with one hand deep into Yoshimiru’s abdomen.
“Your power it great Chaos but you have no chance.” The light fighter then sent a surge of electricity through the spear and then Yoshimiru himself.
After a paralyzing jolt Yoshimiru dropped back and fell to the ground.
“Now I will send you to your abyss.”
“Dad!?”
The light warrior whirled around wide eyed as he looked at his son standing at the base of the stairwell leading into the quarry.
“Rivell, what are you doing here?!” Rivell’s father yelled.
The reunion was quickly interrupted by a blast of laughter coming from the injured Yoshimiru.
“A son? And our affinities are aligned this is perfect! What delicious irony!” the injured Yoshimiru struggled to his feet. “I now see what binds you to this place, Astros. Now witness the full extent of my ability.”
Yoshimiru then dispeled his sword in a flash of blue flame. After he covered himself in the same blue flame, his body disappeared and only the fire remained. The fire then flew towards Rivell as if swept by a powerful wind and in no time at all Rivell was engulfed in the blue flame. Rivell reacted but quickly realized that he wasn’t in pain. In fact his clothes weren’t even burning. Rivell’s father made a futile attempt the approach his son but the flames repelled his approach. After a moment the flames begin to swirl around Rivell and eventually were pulled into a small flame shaped scar burned into the right side of his neck. Rivell checked himself and shrugged.
“Are you alright Rivell?” His father asked.
“Yeah I think so. I don’t know what he did to me?” Rivell returned. “Who or what was that guy? Oh! Why are you still alive?”
“To be honest, I am a little surprised that you could see us.” Rivell's dad explained. “Its hard to explain but. . .”
Rivell’s father was interrupted by a shriek of pain coming from his son. Rivell fell to his knees with forehead on the ground cupped by his hands. The scar on his neck glowed violently as if the scar were actual flame. Rivell’s father looked in horror as his son writhed in pain.
“Son, this is Yoshimiru’s doing. He put a curse on you. You have to hang in there.”
Rivell fough to lift his head and looked at his father. Rivell’s face had changed. Skin was turning red like a bad sunburn. His features stressed and feverish but most notable was his right eye which had turned black, and cracked like char-coal.
“What’s happening to me?” Rivell fought to get these words out. As soon as he did he suddenly jerked up yelling in agony. He revealed a fire burning from his deformed right eye. Despite desperate attempts by Rivell to extinguish the flame it begins to spread, searing and burning his flesh until only exposed and charred bone remained. The spread continued until most of the right side of his forehead and the side of his jaw was exposed to the bone. Once this was completed the flame turned blue and quickly dissipated. All that remained of the fire was an ominous fire orb resting just inside the right eye socket. Rivell then relaxed and remained on his knees. His head was hanging weakly. Rivells father approached slowly.
“Rivell, can you hear me?”
Rivell began to laugh, which slowly became twisted. He then looked up with a twisted smile and said, “It’s your boy. Daddies baby boy!” He then burst into a sinister cackle and stood up, holding himself up weakly. “You have lost, A s t r o s.”
“Yoshimiru!” Rivells father yelled just as Rivell unleashed an huge wave of flame expanding in all directions. Trees near the stairwell were engulfed flame and all vegetation that had fought for life in the abandoned quarry was incinerated. Rivell’s father was tossed fifteen feet from Rivell and was badly burned from head to toe. Rivells father rolled on his back to see Rivell in the air above him holding the same sword Yoshimiru used before.
Rivell was no longer himself. He could no longer control his body and he no longer had any external senses at all. All was dark but he could hear Yoshimiru’s voice taunting him as his soul suffered in agony.
Your soul will soon be devoured and I will own this body.
Suddenly Rivell could feel a draining feeling that was painless but also excruciating. All Rivell could do was think of struggling and think of escaping this madness but he was trapped in this dark void. His thoughts then started to wander to his mother, and his sister, and his friends, and finally to his father. These thoughts eased his mind and slowly the agony of the void began to subside.
What is this!? Why aren’t you gone yet!? I am l o sing c o n t r o l!?
Suddenly the veil crashed and Rivell’s senses came back to him. He realized instantly that he was only feet from his father. He noticed the sword in his hand but only his eyes had time to react. He looks wide eyed as he approached. Just inches from his father everything stopped. Rivell was suspended in the air trapped in his attack. The world around Rivell is frozen the same way. Suddenly a female, voice powerful and confident, filled Rivell’s mind.
I am many things but today I am the oracle and I will tell your future.
