We got news about who we would be partnered up with about half an hour after the meeting with Cedric. I would be mentored by Cage’s master, Raarqui while Amir would be looked after by Urie. Cassy will be partnered with Miyokura once again and Cage would be mentoring Lisa.
“Before we enter, I think you should understand that both you and Amir have the greatest potential in activating Rage.” Raarqui said to Amir and I while we waited outside the training room hatch. “It is not us you should be worried about though,” Amir said, “Are you sure Cage is the best choice to put against Lisa?”
“Positive,” Urie explained, “We have already looked into Lisa’s background beforehand and we understand her situation. We believe and fully trust that Cage would be the best candidate to look after her.”
A loud buzzer sounded just as a light above the hatch signaled to us that we could enter. “We’ll be using this room. Yours and Amir’s will be the room next to ours.” Raarqui said to Urie.
“Vengoth, are you ready?” Raarqui said to me. I was surprised at first; no one had called me by my surname since I met Mr. Bundabald for the first time. I nodded my head, but honestly I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to say to my future self.
However when I walked in I saw someone just a little taller than me, with broader shoulders and looking very familiar. “I didn’t expect to be back so quickly but I guess this is where I am needed most.” The figure turned around and said to me.
“This is gonna be awkward, so let’s just finish this quickly alright? I’ve got a battle I need to win…” He said to me. I smiled and willingly obliged. “Good. Show me what you’ve got.”
I set my right arm ablaze with antimatter and concentrated all of it into the palm of my hand. It was my most powerful attack I had but when I looked over to my future self – he didn’t even get into a defensive stance. When the beam was fully charged in the palm of my hand I launched it directly at him.
I was proud at the fact that the beam has grown so much larger since I learnt how to use it the first time. It was more stable and more powerful than the first time Mr. Bundabald taught me to use it. However my future self was so powerful that he simply flicked the beam away with his barehand.
“You seem much weaker than when I was at your age.” He told me.
He set his right arm ablaze as well but his flames were darker and gentler than mine. It did not have the same bright turquoise shade, proving that his control over antimatter was much more refine than mine.
He suddenly launched a bolt of antimatter toward me, though my immediate reaction was to jump away from the direction of the incoming beam, rather than traveling in a straight line, the flame danced around and followed my movement.
As I continued dodging the antimatter, it crashed into the ground, causing me to lose sight of him with a spray of dust and debris. I knew that he was analyzing my abilities since he wasn’t attacking me head on. “Shit, he’s much better than me.” I told myself as devised another plan. I lit up my arms on fire again, using it to negate some of the dust that surrounded me, causing the turquoise flames to glow brightly.
Once loaded, I charged forward out of the cloud while sending the bulk of my energy into the palms of my hand. My original plan was to get out of the smoke quickly before he could attack me but he had outsmarted me and was waiting for me in the direction I was running to.
I wanted to escape in another direction but two bolts of antimatter matter which I hadn’t noticed knocked me to the ground. Losing concentration, the antimatter gathered in my hand went off causing a huge explosion around me.
“You thought I might attack you through the smoke,” He said to me, “That’s a smart move, if I was at your age that is.”
He then walked towards me and reached his hand out to help me up. “I could easily read your movement with that flame of yours burning so brightly. You have to learn how to cover your movement James, deceiving your enemy is one of the fundamental things about war.”
“Come at me again.” He said before he disappeared and reappeared a few feet away.
I took a deep breath and set my hands ablaze again, however I made sure the flames burn so bright that he would catch my movement. I reached my arms behind me and released a flash of antimatter which was so bright that my future self had to shield his eyes. I immediately disappeared from sight using the burst of antimatter to propel me up towards the ceiling. I did a few flips in mid air before releasing a small beam of antimatter towards him which he mistook for me charging towards him. I landed just inches behind him and elbowed him in the back.
However instead of pushing him down, my body slipped right through him and I fell to the ground again. “What the hell?” I exclaimed.
He then laughed at me and said, “You’re good, I take back what I said about you being weak. However you need to be stronger than that if you want to defeat me.”
“How in heaven’s name can I defeat you if I can’t even hit you physically? Besides, we’re years apart in age and skill.” I said without really thinking about the situation.
“You think complaining is going to help you defeat Lucifer?” He said in a serious tone, “Maybe now you might understand a little, how Mr. Bundabald felt when all of his attacks didn’t lay a scratch on him. And even so – do you seriously believe you can defeat Lucifer at your level? You and I may be a few years apart but Lucifer has been around for more than two thousand years.”
Suddenly the hair on my back and arms stood up. “With this kind of attitude do you think you can save John, avenge Mr. Bundabald and save the world from destruction.”
“I – I’m sorry,” I replied, “I will fight seriously now.” At that moment I honestly felt like shit. What he said was completely true, if I had continued like that there was no chance of me ever defeating Lucifer or Satan.
“You are here to learn how to activate your Rage right?” He asked and I nodded my head in reply. “Alright, get ready – it’s my turn to attack.”
