Phantasm Souls Compendium Chapter 1
By Chu Chuan Wai
The raining continued as heavy as ever. The field was drenched and the soil became mud. All around him there was the patter of rain; the cacophony waxed and waned in depth. The heavy droplets pierced his bare body like needles with stinging cold. His tears became insignificant as the never-ending flow of water washed down his slick, dark hair and pale, little face. He was alone, cold, wet, crying and shivering, sitting solemnly on the soaked grass, this child that had nothing, this little boy that was lost.
“Nanashi!” the girl strained in urgency.
The young man swiftly awoke from his trance and focused back onto the task at hand, “I see them,” he whispered to the girl who was crouched on the ground beside him.
The Youths were hiding behind the rocks and boulders, they laid flat on the cold stone, their backs warmed by the sun and like this they waited patiently for the signal.
Only Nanashi stood up on top of the valley cliff, strong and rigid, a prime example of a leader. His black hair flowed in the warm breeze, strands streamed in front of his piercing and mystical, jade green eyes. His right hand clutched tightly the long hilt of his sheathed sword that was strapped on his left side. His boyish face was emotionless and stern, but his sparkling green eyes were full of purpose and intensity, fixed onto the ominous mass of dark shapes in the distance, on the slithering, rocky path that was the valley. Amidst the noise of the wind blowing into his ear and the flapping of his scarlet jacket, he could pick out the faint moaning and wailing of the approaching host of malevolence. The orchestra of disgusting, shrill cries and deep grunting grew louder and louder, the noises echoed off of the cliff sides. It sounded like the cries were everywhere, surrounding them in an ever-tightening, asphyxiating circle.
They were extremely close now. Nanashi could pick out individual beasts; he could see their ferocious, large, round, red eyes that shone out like they were ablaze with the demonic flames of hell. Their enormous mouths gave a wicked, wide grin, baring their huge, yellowed fangs. The tiger-like fiends leapt up and down madly as they stampeded along the valley, kicking dirt off the ground, creating a thick cloud of dust that rose into the air. As the monsters below passed him, he felt as if his body would be shaken apart by the almighty tremors and deafening noise. Then the first wave crossed the marking stones. It was perfect.
“Now!” he roared, his commanding voice cut through the chaos.
The valley sides were alight with fire. The cliff side exploded with such power that it felt as if the world was collapsing. Shock waves reverberated and everything was shaking. The sides collapsed and gigantic rocks were flung down the valley at tremendous speed, crashing violently into the bottom. Many of the monsters were crushed and maimed with ease. Boulders rolled into the valley, pounding the pathetic, hideous mass.
The ground settled. Smoke and debris filled the air. The valley was blocked. The horde of Jagganath turned around.
“Gunners rise!” ordered Nanashi. From the ground, Youths with sphera cannons bolted up and knelt down to form a single row in front of him. They rapidly gave the cannons a final check. The weapons whirred and droned with intense excitement.
“Aim!” the gunners held the butt of the cannon under their arm and raised the barrel with their free hand that gripped firmly. They tensed themselves, preparing for the recoil.
“Fire!” shouted Nanashi. All in a split second, the cartridges glowed, the cables pulsed, the acceleration modules vented steam and light flared through the vents along the barrels. With an enormous thundering, the cannons fired. Blinding pulses of light and pure energy shot out. They sped to the dark mass of corruption below. The Jagganath met the blasts head on. Their devilish bodies were blast apart, shredded and disintegrated, purged by the mass of searing, magical energy. The valley lit up with bursts upon bursts of sphera rounds. The spectral beams darted across the valley, renting the monsters in a plethora of colour and light that seemed to dance to the morbid tune of their demonic suffering. It was a stunning spectacle of macabre beauty.
“Cease fire!” bellowed Nanashi. It would have been a waste of sphera if they shot the entire horde to pieces. The whirring of the sphera cannons died down. The gunners lowered their cannons and steam flowed from the barrels. Only a few dozen of Jagganath are left, an excellent opportunity for one to hone his skill.
Nanashi looked down at the girl who was still knelt beside him.
“I’ll be back,” he said, with soft eyes. She stared up at him, lost in the intense gaze of his unnaturally jade eyes and nodded.
Nanashi turned around, “Blood Youths division,” he shouted to the rows of armed young men and women dressed in passionate red behind him, who quickly stepped out in front and assembled in an orderly fashion. Nanashi unsheathed his sword; its long, slender and arched blade gleamed brilliantly in the clear, bright, blue sky. The ranks of Youths drew their weapons as well, forming a tight mass of lethal, shimmering blades in a sea of red. Impressed by his soldiers, he gave a brief, little smile, which nobody saw.
“Advance!” Nanashi shouted. He ran down the valley hill, as did his division. Scores of young men and women rapidly flew down the steep hill of rock with phenomenal ease. The fast flowing sea of red crashed violently into the unsuspecting, dark mass of Jagganath, it quickly overwhelmed the dark horde and engulfed it in a scarlet maelstrom.
Nanashi lead the fight, spearheading the way, he cut up the demons as they came within the reach of his long, bloodied sword. A Jagganath leapt up at him, teeth and talons bared, he ducked and plunged his sword deep into the beast’s torso. As it flew past him, his sword cut through the entire length of the monstrosity. As the corpse landed, it split apart in a bloody mess of sliced flesh, bone and sinew with entrails and organs spurting out. Already Nanashi carved through another Jagganath, although twice the size of the young man, its head and arms came off easy in one sweep as it tried to pounce on him.
The rest of the division had no trouble fighting the beasts, although not as strong as Nanashi, they have perfected the art of killing through unison. A Jagganath swiped out at a Youth, who quickly blocked the attack, his blade locked the beast’s sharp claws. The monster swung its other arm, but a sphera pistol shot cleanly blasted it off. More soldiers swarmed the monster; one of them slammed his sword hard into its chest, whilst another hacked off its remaining arm. As the arm fell down, the Youth who locked its claws jumped up to cut the beast’s throat. Blood poured out as the monster cried out in anger and pain, it fell forwards, slumped on the rocky ground.
The fighting continued, and it was not long before there was only a dozen of the Jagganath remaining. Nanashi looked at the last mass of monsters. Their eyes glowed as violently as ever, angered by the threat of the Youths, but not afraid. They snarled and growled at Nanashi. Nanashi ran towards them, leaping over the ugly, corrupt and disfigured corpses. The mob of surviving beasts charged towards Nanashi together. Nanashi raised his left arm and with it, he slashed the air in front of him and as he did so, the air transformed into a wave of fire that grew into a thick cloud of intense, white flames that roared into the Jagganath. The giants were forcefully swept back from the impact and frantically slashed at themselves in an attempt to rid the flames that swallowed them up and burnt them alive. Nanashi approached the second row of monsters and swung his sword at them, spinning his entire body in the air. His chi infused move tore up the surrounding demons. Using his chi that extended from his sword, his blade didn’t even need to touch the beasts for them to be ripped apart by it. He landed, chunks of Jagganath fell from the air in a thick rain of blood. There was only a few more to kill, before the mission became yet another success for the Romantic Youths Faction.
He pushed on. The next horde he met, he dealt with a series of fast and powerful slashes. He jumped from the corpse of a beast he slew moments before and sunk his sword into the head of the oncoming Jagganath. Nanashi was exhausted now, his arms ached from all of the swinging. His heart beated rapidly against his chest and his legs burned with pain. As the Jagganath’s body fell, Nanashi pulled to retrieve his sword that was embedded into its head. It was stuck. Nanashi let go of the sword and jumped aside as the gigantic carcass fell forwards.
“Damn it,” he thought to himself.
Then from the corner of his eye something dark came at him. He instinctively dived forwards and the Jagganath that attacked him collided into a pile of carcasses. Nanashi stood up as the debased, feline brute got up on all fours again. It roared at him and immediately pounced. Nanashi was surprised. His legs were spent. It was too late to dodge. Nanashi stared, transfixed at the monster’s gaping mouth as it flew at him, it was filthy and salivating. He saw the endless array of disgusting, yellow teeth and fangs in front of the dark hollow of its mouth that welcomed Nanashi with evil glee. In an instant, it was all over. The Jagganath loomed over Nanashi’s body. Nanashi’s frame was still and lifeless. The tiger-like ogre grinned impishly. Then, its mouth tore, its head was blown apart, the force passed down its body and its entire, muscular bulk was blasted into bloody pieces. The last of the monstrosities was killed. Nanashi breathed heavily, his right arm was outstretched, the hand in an unyielding fist. He had summoned the entire available chi he had into his arm, creating a shield and cataclysmic cutting edge. Nanashi’s legs were too exhausted to let him stand up straight and he started to walk back to his unit, his arms flailing, the strength, sapped out of them. He struggled to walk and he could only manage small steps that barely lifted off the ground. He eventually saw his division, and was surprised by how far ahead he had fought alone. He mustered all his physical strength to stand up straight as the concerned yet relieved Youths hurried towards him.
He gave a tiny smile, “The mission is a success,” he said softly.
Troops in the valley and hilltop cheered as loud as they could. Joyous faces surrounded Nanashi as ardent Youths came to help and greet him. Nanashi finally relaxed and looked up into the cloudless, azure sky with tired eyes and a smile upon his stained face.
To be continued.
