Lmao, all valid points. Loki FTW! <3 And expect fluff soon.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Within a fragment of the fleeting second, Orexein prepared himself for Sora’s oncoming attack, bending his knees slightly, as if to brace for impact. Placing one foot further back, just as Sora was about to strike, Orexein threw his weight back into the bent leg, pushing himself from the ground in an awe-inspiring somersault, effortlessly landing further back after a mid-air turn.
Sora’s jaw dropped as he recovered from his failed attack, regaining his balance after the shaky, unexpected landing.
“How did he…” he murmured to himself, blue eyes wide in a bewildered stare. After the momentary waver in concentration, he focused his energy once more. “I’m not gonna give up that easily…”
Powering forward in a raging pace, Sora ran towards the man, flinging the Keyblade from one side to another. Orexein noticed from the resonant sound of his hammering footsteps, rapidly changing his stance to prepare himself. Dodging Sora’s advance again, he leapt from the man’s path, landing in a shoulder roll across the cold, tiled ground. A slight tremor of pain shot through his arm after the impact, but he made no attempt to reveal such weakness, simply launching back to his feet, ready for battle once more.
Giving a smirk, he narrowed his eyes as he sensed Sora nearby. Time for attack.
Without any hesitation, Orexein closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth as he amassed his power together into his curled hands, holding them forward with outstretched arms.
“It’s time you knew how powerful we really are,” he grunted, words terse as he struggled to speak; clearly, he was preoccupied with the attack, and the taunting was the second priority.
Beams of dark light shot from the gaps between Orexein’s bony fingers. Before Sora had time to react to this new threat, Orexein hurled the energy towards Sora with incredible force, manifesting itself in a blazing ball of dark matter. Mind turning to auto-pilot, Sora threw himself from its path, landing with a hideous thud on the cold floor. The ball hit the back wall, exploding with a echoing boom, leaving a giant, black blot on the white expanse.
Breathing heavily, Sora looked back at the man with widened, fearful eyes.
~*~
Sable leapt from her spot, heart palpitating as the boom rung through the dark room, the furniture shuddering with the sudden release of force. A rumble ensued, making her edgy. Back arched, arms spread, her mind raced as she tried to comprehend what was going on around her.
“What was that?!” she asked in a shrill whisper, obviously taken by surprise. She whirled around to face a calm-looking Loki, sat with a satisfied smirk upon his cold face. Feet up on the table, arms folded in a comfortable position, he beckoned to her with a simple nod of the head.
Raising his lips in a curled smile, he looked towards her as she moved closer, his eyes alight with joy.
“That’s them,” he purred gently as her fingers met with his knee. “They have found Orexein.” He clasped his fingers together in anticipation, eyes forward with no real focus. “They’ll be here soon.”
~*~
Feeling Sora’s fear rush through his body, Orexein gave a callous laugh.
“What’s the matter?” he cackled, hands meeting his hips. “Can’t handle it?” He narrowed his unseeing glare. “Tell Kairi that.”
Sora growled, but felt a pang of urgency as he heard Kairi’s name rang through his guilty mind, his heart racing at the mention of the woman. His wife.
“But he’s so strong,” he thought despondently, eyes narrowed. “Kairi needs me, but how am I ever gonna beat this guy?.”
Suddenly, an idea began to take root, and the more he thought of it, the more he wanted to go with it. Eyes darting to Koma - looking physically exhausted, as well as his usual languid appearance - then Orexein’s lurking form, Sora made a firm decision.
“It won’t make a sound…” he reassured himself. “He won’t know what’s coming… right?”
He had to try. Being silent with each movement- a feasible, yet difficult task - he hurled the Keyblade towards Orexein, watching as it hurtled towards the seemingly oblivious man.
“What?!” Sora shouted, stood in absolute disbelief at the sight his eyes were showing him. “How did you know it was coming?”
Stood there, holding the Keyblade in an outstretched arm, Orexein smiled wildly. He’d caught the Keyblade in one hand.
“You thought it wouldn’t make a sound?” Orexein guessed. He lowered his arm as Sora reclaimed the Keyblade for himself, summoning it to his ready and willing hand. “It doesn’t make a sound at all, you were right.” His smile deepened. “But it does create a disturbance in the air. If we were outside, or in a place filled with noise, then that silly idea of yours might have worked. But here? In a wide open, quiet hall, with no wind, or disturbance in the air?” His brow furrowed. “I doubt it.”
“This guy is tough,” Riku breathed, stood back with his arms folded. “I mean, you’d think Sora would be at an advantage here, but…” King Mickey nodded in agreement.
“Seems like this fella is compensating for his weakness,” he whispered, “in an amazing way. He’s astoundin’!”
Riku nodded, tense as he awaited Sora’s reaction.
Sora did not speak a word, hanging his head as he tried to keep calm.
“Attacks don’t work,” he thought, frustrated, “being quiet won’t work… what is there left to try?!” He thought for a few moments, looking up every now and then to watch Orexein’s predatory movements. “Magic?”
Maybe that could help. Looking up, a new fire of determination blazing in his bold eyes, he ran at Orexein, before skidding to a stop, holding the Keyblade forward.
“Fire!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, focusing all that he had into the Keyblade, watching with an optimistic look as the flames burst forth; even once he‘d been thrown back with the recoiling force. The flames licked and contorted forward in a blazing beam, growing closer and closer to Orexein with each fleeting second.
Orexein held his hands forward, placing them up as a barrier - and, incredibly, the flames dispersed as they hit his hands - being sent in every other possible direction. He then effortlessly swept the last of the flames away, like blowing out a candle on a birthday cake.
Ready to tear the hair from his head, Sora growled, furrowing his brow. Riku looked on despondently, turquoise eyes narrowed as he tried to think of something he could do to help. There was no way Sora could win against Orexein if he was worrying about Kairi. If there was only some way he could help, allowing Koma to be defeated as soon as possible…
Suddenly bursting from his standing position, sword in hand, he tore towards Orexein, thundering across the vast room. Catching Sora’s eye, the man looked back with an urgent stare, signalling towards Koma with a frantic nod.
“Get him!” Riku urged with gritted teeth, hoping that Sora would understand. A wave of relief washed over him as Sora readied his position, ready to move towards Koma when Riku was closer.
The moment came, and Sora began to run, racing towards Orexein and Koma with blistering speed.
Startled and confused by the sudden second set of footsteps, Orexein was not sure of which set to follow - and, was too slow in his judgement. Riku boldly lunged forward, knocking the man to the ground, pinning him there with two strong arms.
Sora had similar luck, reaching Koma within seconds. Koma looked back at Sora’s blue eyes in horror, knowing his fate. The electric spell earlier had zapped the strength from his frail body, and now, a simple strike from the Keyblade would be enough to send him into oblivion. He closed his eyes as Sora closed in on him, each sound a resonant echo in his mind; Sora’s footsteps, Orexein’s frantic shouts, and Riku’s triumphant laughing all swirled into one dull, constant sound, lit every now and then by the shouts.
Feeling a sudden force against his chest, Koma was sent to the ground, collapsing down onto the cold tile. He heard nothing, saw nothing, felt only the slow, dull swelling enveloping his limbs as his body faded into nothingness, his consciousness slipping into an everlasting sleep.
“An eternal sleep…”
Orexein gave a shout of frustration as he threw Riku from his chest, blazing with anger at what Sora had done. Of course, Sora saw none of this, already sat down at Kairi’s side.
“Kairi?!” he shouted hopefully, his free hand grasping hers. “Kairi, are you alright?”
Her face seemed to change as she lay there, the blotchiness of her skin fading slightly. All of a sudden, she jolted, took a long gasp of air, before resuming her position, lying on the ground. Yet, now, it seemed more obvious that she was merely sleeping. Looking down upon her with a desperate, tender gaze, Sora gave a nod, knowing now that she was alright.
“She’s just sleeping,” he whispered, overjoyed, his blurry eyes dribbling onto his cheeks. His quivering hands cupped her face. “She’s okay, she’s fine…”
Kairi lay there as if merely taking a nap, her skin back to a normal colour, her expression less focused and uncertain. She looked this way while sleeping; blissful, and happy. Sora let a finger caress her face, before his eyes darted to a figure charging forward.
It was Orexein, running towards them with thundering footsteps. Not wanting to risk the others, Sora leapt up, before taking off himself, racing towards Orexein with a blistering pace. They faced each other head on, each one firmly unwilling to back down at all.
Sora ran with a shoulder first - throwing it into Orexein’s chest, knocking him backwards, down onto the ground. A rasping cry escaped him, along with a hideous screech as he was dragged back by the sheer rush of force from Sora’s strike.
Skidding to a stop over the ancient man, Sora’s brow furrowed, accompanied by a smirk. Heartened by the knowledge of Kairi’s safety, he was ready to give this battle everything that he had. Riku signalled to him as he ran back to the group, nursing an injured arm. Sora did not worry too much, seeing the encouraging smile upon his face. His gaze then met Orexein’s frustrated expression, almost growling at the man.
“I’m getting bored of this playing around,” Orexein growled, his foul temper beginning to get the better of him. He pressed his hands to the ground, shaking with rage as he prepared his comeback. “It’s time we ended this.”
Suddenly, Sora felt his body hurtle backwards in a blast of overwhelming energy, coming to a painful stop as he struck the cold, solid marble of a white column. A shivered cry escaped from his lips, unable to take the shattering agony that rung through him, throbbing mercilessly as he collapsed to the ground.
Breathing deeply, his unseeing eyes closed tightly as he cleared his mind, trying to regain his energy, Orexein slowly rose back up to his feet, a faint aura glowing about his body. Standing still, in a brief moment, he was familiar with the surroundings. A pained cry, not to mention surges of rage and light were being emitted from one side of the room - no, the left side of the room. Orexein deepened his concentration, the exhaustion slowly seeping from his system, clearing his senses. At the head of the room, he felt pulses of anxious energy, trembling through the air to hit his sensitive skin. From the same direction, his ears picked up mixed words, and gasps of concern. Turning to the left, the surges of rage growing stronger with each footstep, Orexein purred a laugh, closing in on the target.
Seeing Orexein move closer, Sora placed one aching arm forwards, trying to wrench himself from the cold ground. His fingers met the tile, gripping it, trying desperately to pull himself from his agonising sprawl. Even taking a breath pained him greatly. He wasn’t sure what Orexein had done, but whatever it was, it had left him in a hideous state.
Losing the struggle to get to his feet, Sora cried out as he felt the crushing blow of Orexein’s foot stamp down on his spine.
“Some Keyblade master you are,” Orexein mocked, spitting each word out in disgust. “I thought you’d withstand a spell like that.” Almost playfully, he cruelly kicked Sora’s side, flipping him so that he lay on his back. Sora’s pained shout was music to his aging ears, and his cackle added a sinister tone to the cacophony of sound that rung around him. “Now, then. I believe you have lost.”
He turned to the group behind him, feeling the presence of two others closing in on him.
“Don’t follow,” he hissed sourly, narrowing his eyes. “You’ll only die.” He smirked, looking down into Sora’s fearful blue eyes. “Just like your friend here. My only advice? Go home, and await the inevitable. Once Loki finishes Sora off, it is only a matter of time before your worlds are torn apart. Enjoy life while you still can.”
Orexein leaned down, scooping Sora’s body into his arms. So pained that he could not put up a fight, Sora ached with fear as he felt himself being carried away. Orexein’s footsteps faded into nothingness as he slipped away into unconsciousness.
I really, really, really like this chapter. Particularly the paragraph describing what Orexein can feel in the air, and how he knows where everyone is. But cliffies? Oooh. Not to mention, almost teh final showdown. D= *waves Loki flag* Wait… *waves Sora flag*
Okays, I love them both. And, to be honest, I haven’t decided who’s gonna win yet.
<3