Chapter 7: Awakening
Jacob felt like hell to say the least. After the plane crashed Yuuku’s hold on his mind had been broken, however that gave him little reason to celebrate. Yuki and Jess were nowhere in sight and Yuuku’s unconscious body laid beside him. He would have killed her there and then, however he lacked the energy to lift his arm let alone kill someone. Unable to muster the energy to stay conscious his eyelids began to droop; his last sight was a winged figure flying away.
His dream began on a pleasant note, but that quickly turned unpleasant. The images he saw were horrific to say the least. One second he saw Jess with her eyes gouged out, the next he saw himself lying on the ground with his stomach ripped open and his body so disfigured that for a second he didn’t recognise himself.
“This is what awaits you should Connor give in to his demon bloodline.” A voice that eerily resembled his spoke to him, however Jacob couldn’t locate the source of the voice.
“Who are you? What do you mean by Connor’s demon bloodline? And how the hell can you hide from me in my own dream?” He questioned the voice quickly; it answered the questions calmly as though it didn’t have a care in the world.
“I am a demon who chose the humans over my kind. Connor was born three quarters demon and one quarter vampire, in other words he wasn’t in the slightest bit human, and I’m not hiding from you just look down.” The demon instructed. Jacob followed the instruction and saw that the demon was speaking via his dreamt up corpse. Controlling his disgust Jacob continued,
“Why do you think Connor will give into his demonic urges? He’s done nothing but repress them.” He wanted to speak these words, but his mouth wouldn’t obey his orders, instead what came out was, “He has already given into the demonic blood, and I fear that he’s going to bring the demons to this world.” What the hell? Seriously why can’t I control what I say? He thought and realised why, he was observing something that had happened already. But I don’t remember any of this. How can this have happened without my remembering it?
“Yes I sense that now. You are nowhere near as strong as he is presently, however there is a way to increase your strength to rival his.” The demon didn’t look pleased by the thought of doing whatever it was thinking of doing.
“How, tell me now.” He ordered quivering with controlled excitement.
“You would have to cross to a different universe through the power of sorcery.” it paused to allow him to absorb this then continued, “This universe is very similar to yours, however the beings in this world are far superior to you. You see there isn’t just the demon’s universe and yours; there is a third that helps maintain order in the other universes. They will look deep into your soul and if they deem you worthy they will allow you to drink from the source of their extreme power, however if they deem you unworthy then they will not hesitate to kill you” Jacob’s past self took this in silently, a contemplating look on his face.
“I’ll do it, besides my friend’s’ lives are on the line here. If I must then I will fight for the right to their power.” He said resolve thick in his voice. Wait; don’t tell me I’m already in this other universe. He awoke at that moment.
Jacob was lying on a solid yet soft surface that seemed to manoeuvre itself to make him comfortable; as he opened his eyes he heard running footsteps nearby, coming towards him. Are they enemies? No these must be the inhabitants of this universe. He thought and opened one eye. They looked human, same shape, same structures, except the males were obviously very powerful and the women were extremely attractive, the two genders were almost completely different the only two things they all had in common were their elf like ears and silver hair. They were speaking to one another in a language that could’ve been Chinese, Japanese and Arabic in one.
“Hi.” Was all he said and began to sit up; the crowd backed away from him. The only one who didn’t go with the others was a teenage female who walked toward him, clearly curious about him.
“I never would have imagined that there really were other forms of life other than ours, yet here you are. What is your name?” She asked in fluent English.
“Jacob Varg. What about yours?” He asked her, thankful that she was relaxed unlike the rest of her people.
“Erufu Otome. To you I think it translates to Elf Girl. Oh where are my manners? I haven’t even greeted you properly yet.” She said, Jacob expected a handshake or a kiss on the cheek, and was extremely surprised when she pressed her lips to his. He held his lips firmly closed until she tickled him slightly causing him to lose the tight control he had, her mouth moulded against his and her tongue explored his mouth whilst his explored hers. The spectators didn’t interrupt them as they kissed and tasted each other.
“Erufu I think that he feels welcome enough now.” A male voice spoke from the front of the crowd. Jacob pulled away from her and stared in shock at her, she smiled and whispered,
“We’ll continue this later. Don’t think I don’t know about male anatomy, you were enjoying that almost as much as I was.” She pecked him on the cheek with her lips and walked to the side of a similar aged boy who wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, he didn’t seem annoyed or even surprised by his girlfriend’s behaviour. The elf like people stared at him for a second longer until a tall, muscular male walked forward.
“We do not know why you are here stranger, but we would like to hear your tale if you have one.” The male had a deep voice that suited him perfectly. Jacob informed them that he had come here to try and gain their power in order to save his friend, who had been corrupted by his demon heritage. The people watched him intently; their eyes seemed to look into his soul.
“Now I require your assistance to save him and my world.” He finished. Erufu looked at him with a mixture of admiration and lust.
After an hour of non-stop questions, mainly about his species among other things, finally an elf with shoulder length silver hair and an expression that gave the impression that he despised the sight of Jacob.
“We have sensed the disturbances in your world and we have seen what you truly are lycanthrope.” The elf paused for a dramatic effect, “We also know why you have come to our land.” Jacob stared confounded by their knowledge of his greatest secret.
“Then you know that I need more power in order to save the human race.” Jacob said. He expected them to agree, but only if he could pass a test of strength or something, his expectation was not met by the elves though, the entire crowd nodded in unison.
“We have seen the light resonating from your soul. Our power is given to us by a sword of immense power, we call it the Blade of Sonshitsu, or the Blade of Loss in English.” The male elf explained.
“Why would you call it that?” Jacob enquired confused by the name. Surely if it gives them power then they wouldn’t call it the Blade of Loss.
“The reason for its name is obvious, when we wield it for a fraction of a second, it gives us power, however when we hold it for too long then the blade’s power begins to literally burn us from the inside.” The elf explained and Jacob felt a sudden tremor pass thought the ground beneath him.
“What was that?” He asked. Before the elf could reply a young male elf in armour similar to a Greek’s armour, came running towards them waving his arms and shouting something. Once he was within their hearing range they could make out the words clearly.
“Demons have broken through! They’ve killed everyone else!” The young elf was about to continue when a curved blade appeared in the centre of his chest. He stared at it for a second before his heart ceased forever and he slumped to the ground.
“I guess we better get to that blade then huh?”
Once they had evacuated everyone to a safe underground location, the elf leader began leading Jacob through a large forest.
“Where are we going?” Jacob asked for the fifth time. He was getting fed up with the numerous dangers they had had to face in the forest, first they had to kill an enormous three hea
ded snake, then they had to run like hell from an army of poisonous arachnids, and, to add insult to injury, they had to kill a wolf with five, fire breathing heads, a dozen tails tipped with steel and fur that began to constrict anything that touched it.
“Not that much farther, the temple, it is guarded in is no more than half a mile away.” The elf said barely winded from the ordeals they had been through. **** This I’m changing. He thought and transformed from a semi normal teenager into a deadly hound of hell. When he was beside the elf he growled for it to get on his back.
Moments later they stood in front of the enormous structure. Even though most people would be awed by the sight he could think one thing, Egyptians weren’t very original after all. The structure that stood before them was an extra large pyramid, easily double the height and width of one in his world.
“Do not spend too much time staring young lycanthrope, we came here to see if you are worthy of the Blade of Sonshitsu.” The elf reminded him.
“How do we get in?” Jacob enquired, “I don’t see an entrance.” He said looking around for a door of some kind. The elf chuckled and walked to the base of the pyramid, he whispered something that Jacob couldn’t hear and then the ground beneath began to rumble. Jacob turned around, his eyes taking on a wolfish glow, expecting to see hundreds of demons sprinting towards them. However the sight before him was unexpected to say the least. There was no forest surrounding them now, instead there was four slanted plain walls.
“How the hell did we get inside so quickly?” He asked obviously surprised by the sudden change of scenery.
“It is an illusion. You see even here we get the odd elf that becomes corrupted by evil; they always come looking for the Blade of Sonshitsu. To make sure they never found it we made it so that an illusion would be projected when someone enters the room. Only certain people can see through this and you’re one of them.” The elf explained.
“What do you mean? All I saw before was a hell of a lot of trees and an enormous pyramid.” Jacob informed the elf.
“No you didn’t. You’re split in two young one. One half is human; the other is more or less a demon. It is this half that saw through the illusion. Now that we’ve gotten the explanations out of the way I believe that we came to find the Blade of Son-” The elf’s sentence was cut off by the sudden intense shudder of the building.
“I know that you’re in there Jacob!” Connor’s muffled voice echoed through the hollow inside, “Hurry up and get out here, I need to test my full strength on someone worthy!” He called and the building shuddered slightly again then stopped.
“I’m guessing we should hurry?” Jacob thought aloud.
“I agree. The Blade should be in front of you.” The elf said and Jacob heard him begin to walk away.
“Wait, where are you going?” He asked, but he already knew the answer.
“To give your friend that challenge he wants so badly.”
Connor had never felt more powerful than he did at that moment. After flying away from that plane wreckage he had found Yuuku’s portal to Ritsuzen, from there he had entered the world of demons. At first he had been attacked at every chance they got, however he dispatched the attackers quickly. The attacks ceased after he had entered the fortress of an unbelievably powerful demon and left with the demon’s head under his arm. Afterward the demons told him everything about the elves’ world known as Yasuragi and how they were stronger than every other living being. He had proceeded to help them open a portal to Yasuragi. Now he stood in front of a huge pyramid tapping his foot to the music emitting from his mp3, along with his new personality he had decided on a different set of clothes too. He now wore a long crimson trench coat, a pair of oil black tattered jeans with a sheath tied to his belt, and an inverted cross necklace. This was not the only change to his appearance; his eyes were now permanently two pools of blue and black flames. Come on Jacob, if you don’t hurry and get that weapon this won’t be any fun. He thought and, as if on cue, a large brick at the base of the pyramid slid from its place, from this hole a tall, pointed eared, silver haired man arose.
“Well at least someone’s going to fight me.” Connor said and began to move towards the elf.
“Not yet young one. There is one condition I must make with you first.” The elf said stopping Connor in his tracks.
“What is this ‘condition’ then?” He asked impatient for the battle to begin.
“Once you’re defeated you will seal away the vast majority of your demonic power.” It said with such certainty that Connor felt like it was an insult.
“Whatever. Can we fight now please?” He said the elf nodded. Instantly Connor launched himself forward, his fist ready to crush the elf’s face. His opponent dodged without the slightest effort. As Connor was about to launch a kick into the elf’s abdomen, suddenly he had the air knocked out of him. His body flew into the air, higher, higher, until he broke through the clouds.
“Okay that hurt.” He said to himself as he began to fall rapidly to the ground.
“I thought you were strong Connor Tenshi Yami. Yet you are a complete disappointment.” The elf insulted him.
“Now you’ve pissed me off.” Connor replied his voice taking on a demonic growl. The elf watched as his coat changed into two oil black angel wings, a small bit of flesh began to harden and bulge out from his forehead until it formed a small horn, and his skin became riddled with burn like runes.
“And now we see if you’re as strong as you claim-” The rest of the elf’s sentence was cut off by Connor’s hand, which protruded from its chest, drenched in blood and holding the elf’s heart.
Meanwhile inside the pyramid Jacob had found the Blade of Sonshitsu. In the darkness of the building he could easily see its golden blade.
“Okay guess I’ve got to go all King Arthur and pull it from the stone.” He thought aloud and chuckled. Then he took hold of the handle with both of his hands and pulled, the weapon refused to emerge from the ground though.
“I’m afraid that it’s not that easy lycanthrope.” The weapon glowed slightly as it spoke into his mind.
“What do I have to do then?” He asked, seemingly completely unsurprised by the fact that the weapon could talk.
“The only way for you to be able to wield me, is to accept your vampire blood.” The blade instructed.
“Okay no problem. Um how do I accept it?” He enquired and instantly regretted it. The darkness gradually began to brighten, in order to reveal a holographic projection.
“Watch this and if you accept what you see then my power is yours.” Jacob did as he was instructed. It didn’t take him very long to guess what he was being shown. A pale man stood with his arm around a beautiful, tanned woman, who held in her arms a young baby boy, who looked extremely similar to Jacob. Even he saw it he couldn’t believe it, then the scene changed. The man and woman were in bed locked in an embrace while the man drank from her bleeding neck; Jacob saw their bodies begin to move.
“Okay,” He said quickly, “I’ve seen more than enough.” The hologram disappeared.
“Do you accept what you saw?” The weapon enquired, Jacob nodded in reply. The blade flew from the stone floor into his open hand. When he grasped it the power he had felt emitting from the blade surged through him.
“Look out Connor; I’m coming to get you.” And with that he went to face his friend in a fight to the death.
The sight of Jacob finally emerging from the pyramid made one of the demons, who now served Connor; shout for its master to awaken from his slumber. Although this had been his order the demon was still slaughtered by the sleepy vampire.
“Finally Jacob, I was beginning to die of boredom.” He called to the lycanthrope that was slowly making his way toward him.
“So Connor… I hope you’re ready to lose.” He replied and raised his sword.
“Not yet my friend,” Connor chuckled, “I believe that we should both give a small display of our power.” He waved to roughly two hundred dem
ons behind him.
“What do you mean?” Jacob asked lowering his sword slightly.
“I mean you and I will each kill one hundred of my servants, the one who does so in the quickest time will be allowed one free swing at their opponent. Sound good?” Connor proposed the idea and Jacob had to admit that he was a little eager to test his weapon and see how powerful Connor was.
“Very well then, shall we start in, 3… 2… 1, GO!” He shouted immediately the demons split in half and charged the two sword wielding hybrids. Minutes later Jacob had finished with his hundred and turned to see that Connor had finished before him and was sitting on top of an elephant sized demon corpse drinking a cup of blood.
“About time you finished. I was about to kill them for you.” He said and grinned.
“Hurry up and take your free swing then.” Jacob said he was shocked by how quickly Connor had finished the demons off, I wasn’t trying very hard, but, from the way Connor was acting, neither had he.
“No I think you’ll need every bit of strength you have left.” Connor replied mockingly and jumped down from his make shift throne. The two raised their swords. Jacob’s began to glow with a bright flame while Connor’s remained normal as though there wasn’t the slightest bit of demonic power within it. They flew at one another, their swords clashing in mid swing. The battle was nothing like the movies or books, there was no slow motion action sequence, no insults were spoken and it certainly didn’t last very long at all. After Jacob had intercepted Connor’s six hundred and sixty sixth strike, within a minute, he saw a window of opportunity and seized it. The Blade of Sonshitsu emerged from Connor’s chest half a centimetre away from his heart.
The pain was intolerable; however Connor took it in silence. The blade was sapping the strength from him just like how his blood was pouring from his wound. Jacob withdrew his sword. Perfect now all I need to do is survive this life threatening wound and seal some of my power. He waited expecting his wound to heal and his demonic power to dissipate, however they never did.