They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

It was too late before I realize what's exactly going on. The goblins are weaker. They slurred on their feet. Their limbs are too weak and skinny compared to their bellies. Me and Sam take advantage of it and hit the round soft spot to tackle them done. 

For thirty minutes, we spar and pierced flesh. Thirty full minutes of fights and guttural screams. From the goblins. They easily disintegrate to ashes. I've killed my own tantamount of share. Sam too. 

Seven has twice the numbers of us combined. I struck my wood into the mouth of the last goblin and slammed him to the ground. Choking him, watching his eyes rolled back into his eyelids, the life slowly escaping from his bones. And then he's gone. Bursting into dust on my feet.

"Wooh, that was intense." I said. Wiping the sweat from my forehead. Seven appeared beside me. She seems calmer after going berserk. 

I honestly know that feeling. I got out of control once. Driven by pure rage and the thirst to do same things to my enemies what they've done to me… I recklessly killed them all. 

Wait… at the rooftop I could have sworn the buildings nearby looks abandoned and unoccupied. As if the world has finally reached the apocalypse… There wasn't a single person nearby. The cars smashing each other on the road, no sounds except the howling of the wind…

What exactly happened back then?

Why did I forget to ask Seven and Magnus about it?

The nearby wall collapsed with a nasty crunch. We all jumped. Magnus was groaning over the pile of debris collapsing on him. His face is bleeding. There are various cuts on his clothes. And his sword, on the upper blade part has chipped.

I quickly ran to his side. Seven and Sam followed me. Together we help him to his knees. He's wobbling. 

"Damn, you faeries and your mana. That's cheating."  He coughed up blood. 

"What happened?" Seven asked. Magnus lowered his voice.

"It's crazy. Her mana just shot up three times the last time I fought her. I keep thrusting my sword in fatal areas but she keeps dissolving and melting in the background, like water. My sword would deflect back at me and I got sliced." He lift his upper shirt to show the different red lines dirtying his creamy colored skin.

Seven frowned. "That's impossible for a Twylyth." She lowered her head, expression occupied. "They don't exactly have powers that can alter their appearance or the space surrounding them. Blending to the background… there's only one person I know who could do that." She turned her eyes to Sam. 

"You." 

"Huh?" Sam looks totally lost. 

"You're blessing. It was space. The reason why you can turn invisible. Why you're able to make things afloat and let it do things as you want. Telekinesis as you call it. That's part of space, your blessing." 

Sam let go of Magnus. I didn't know he supported him at the waist and without him, we almost collapsed on Magnus elephant – like weight. 

Sam murmured apologies too low to hear. I turn my attention back to Seven.

"I don't understand. How is that even possible? Telekinesis and invisibility are not exactly the same aren't they?" 

"Me too. I don't understand. The Rank Elders back in my realm are more on swishing rods and blabbering words without vowels they call enchantments rather than controlling flying objects. Oww, careful with the rib." 

"Sorry," Sam adjusted his hold and focus on lifting him up on the hip. 

Seven blinks at Magnus before she sigh. She's looking straight at the glass Twylyth lady whose standing like a green statue at the door. Her eyes a pure blast of white. She's muttering something under her breath. I can't catch any word. Not an expert on lip reading but I can tell she's calling other ugly armies to swoon us over. 

"That's because what Rank Elders have in their bodies is a portion of everything. Just imagine taking a finger to each one of Eklektos' hands and stick it in your palm to add your finger counts." 

"Gross." 

"Yeah, but it's the same scenario. Which is why they need a catalyst to channel the blessing from the deities realm – their rods – and mold it to take form in the physical world."

"That explains the orb lights and enchantments." Magnus mused. 

"Yes, but ours is different. Instead of a portion we have everything. The limit we have is the attributes. Take Five's blessing for example, he can produce aura that kills nearby organisms that has life force, he can drain someone's life by a touch, produce black waves killing anyone who got hit. Even bring back the dead back to life. Because it revolves in the concept of death. But at what limit?"

"He can't do anything against non-living objects?" Sam offered. 

"Exactly."

"Is that what happened in rooftop Chicago? When we face the horde of skully warriors? Everybody disappeared in the buildings, on the road because I killed them all?"

Magnus shakes his head. "If you killed them all, there should be bodies littering around like plastic trash. The fact there wasn't only means someone took them away."

"But what's limit got to do with me being able to turn invisible and perform telekinesis? Can I control it? I get the telekinesis under control now but turning invisible is hell." 

I look at Sam's distress face. I wonder how many awful experiences did he went through when he was invisible? He seems so scared to do it again. As if the mere thought of it brings back painful traumas. 

"You can actually, if you learn to accept your blessing as part of you and not a curse you're forced to bear. That would work." Seven attest. 

"I agree. Sam, just…umm look deep down. Feel it dwelling inside your gut. Treat it like a friend, not a parasite. I come to learn that blessings within want something from us too. It's your job to learn what it is. Then you can channel it just fine." I said.

"Channel blessings… " Sam repeated. Letting these words ran through his head. Like a smashed up recorder.

"In other words blessings are more like giving you control over things that align to your attributes? No end road? Only un – attributes off limits?" Magnus asked.

Seven nods. 

I let the information process in my head. Blessings of death. No end roads. That means I can have control over anything that is associated with death. A creepy thought crept into my head. 

So eerie I'm hit with goosebumps in every part of my body. 

"Great that blessing is this kind of cool. But I still don't see how Sam's blessing of manipulating space is related to how my sword never hit that b*tches face." 

Seven pondered. "I actually have a bad feeling about this. Did any of you see Alpha Beast around?" 

I whip my head around. She's right. That parrot bastard, where'd he go?

"Did you see him fight the flying black foxes earlier?" 

Black… I take she meant those winged ugly black bats. " We were just talking to him. When you lash out to those creatures earlier. But I didn't see him when glasses lady came in with the goblins."

"I was thinking he's hiding. Since he's in his parrot form and can't fight." Magnus added. 

Seven take this information in. For a few seconds she's silent. Then her red blazing eyes came back again. She's sending daggers to the twylyth standing stiffly. 

"Five can you throw something at her?" 

I glance at my right. My batting wood, worn out from the goblins blood and battering circle heads. 

"Thanks for everything." I whispered and tossed it right straight to glasses twylyth. It didn't graze her. It hits something like an invisible barrier and come hurling back to us. 

We ducked. Magnus muscles stiffen. He groan at the sudden movement. 

"This is not good. Hurry, we need to get out of here." 

We three handled Magnus out of the room. I initially thought glasses will stop us. She didn't. Her eyes are blast white again. Standing so stiffly her arms are stretched upwards, as if waiting for someone above to drop cement to make her a real statue.

We made it as far as crossing the corridor. We are just on the stairs when it came. The first was a faint distant roar. Halfway down, it came again, more deadly, cutting through the dead of the night. Passing walls like they're made of sheets. 

Another came. Much guttural and ear piercing it makes my blood turn cold. The floor begins to rumble. The tables and chairs began shaking violently. We half dragged half carried Magnus into the door.

I know every part of his cuts is painful for him. Especially when I see blood dripping in the floor. Seven take a quick look and confirm.

Magnus wounds are not ordinary. It's like they have a life of their own and eat away his skin, his flesh, making the cuts run deep. 

"For Magnus sake, we need to get out. Fast.. The more he's near here, the faster his wounds will torture him."