Chapter X
A Traitor Created

The sun was rising when Silver awakened. He rose quickly, using his sword in the earth as a support to pull himself up. But after he forced his sword from the ground, he raised it as if for battle. “Where are you Tailz…”

Without ever seeing his Master, Silver heard metal clash, and felt his sword being struck from his hand. He watched it fly through the air, but as it landed, Silver watched a blur take it from the land in front of the rising sun.

”What do you propose to do now?” Tailz said. Silver saw him out of the corner of his eye, wielding both swords. “I have my methods.” Silver ignited his right hand in flame, and sent a fireball quickly towards his Master. The fireball went through the air, for its target was no longer within its path of destruction, nor could he be seen.

”At least you do not stand around and wait for my attacks.” Silver could not place Tailz’s voice: it was coming from around him. Igniting both his fists in flame and adopting a wide stance, the apprentice waited for the master.

”Taking a wide stance. He does listen.”

Tailz appeared directly in front of Silver, his sword already going through the air. Silver jumped back, dodging the first swing, but Tailz was charging him once more. Silver saw him attempt a swing at his neck, but he was ready for such an attack. Launching a fireball as the sword was coming down, he knocked it back towards his master, avoiding his own death in the process.

”How clever.” Tailz said, using his speed to appear to the side of his apprentice. Silver ducked to avoid losing his head, then launched a fireball right at Tailz. His master took it straight on, and was pushed back several feet before the fireball exploded at point blank range.

Knowing that his master was hidden behind the smoke, Silver waited for the counterattack he knew was coming. But as Silver waited for the attack, he saw a sword fly from the smoke towards him. Completely unsuspecting such a tactic, Silver saw his reflexes go into action, raising his hand in the path of the weapon. Silver cringed and soon dropped to his knees as the sword went through his hand, all the way to the hilt. He stifled back the urge to scream in pain, and found himself clenching his teeth..

”Apologies.” Tailz said, emerging from the cloud of smoke.

”You apologize for attacking me?” Silver said, obviously in anger.

”No.” Tailz replied. “I threw the wrong sword.” Silver looked at Tailz standing in front of him, then at the sword within his hand. It was Tailz’s short sword, as his master was holding Silver’s weapon.

Tailz kneeled next to his apprentice, and without any warning, pulled the sword from his hand. Silver yelled out in pain as Tailz sheathed his sword, and threw down Silver’s beside him.

”Prepare your hand, then we depart.” He left Silver sitting on the ground, blood dripping from his hand onto the ground below.

Silver watched as his Master walked away, leaving him to deal with his wound himself. At first, all Silver could do was concentrate on ignoring the pain, but after that was accomplished, he concentrated on how to stop the blood loss. Focusing on his powers, he encased his hand in ice, sealing off the wound.

After a moment, he quickly followed his Master.

”This is definitely the road less travelled.” Amarant said. White Magic smiled beside him as they trekked along the mountain path. They had walked for about an hour to leave the forest surrounding the temple after daybreak, and then White pointed them to the mountain trail. For the past two hours, they have been walking among rubble and dust through the mountains of the southern island, and from what Amarant could tell, they were making no head way. Amarant looked up the side of the mountain constantly, as he saw no destination they could be heading to.

White saw Amarant scan the mountain for a place to go. “We are actually heading towards a place.” White said. Amarant looked at her, somewhat confused. “I can tell you are looking for where we are heading, so I thought you should know.” She pointed a little ways up the trail that was snaking towards the mountains peak, towards a ridge in the distance.

”So that is our destination.” Amarant said as he continued walking. It didn’t take long for them to reach that ridge, and it took only a second longer for Amarant to equip his claws when he saw a cloaked figure on that ridge. They were standing guard, and Amarant could see a rifle in plain view.

”Do not worry Amarant.” White said immediately. She walked towards the figure, who bowed when she drew near.

When the figure stood straight once more, it’s hood was pushed back, allowing her long yellow hair to flow out. “Amarant, come here.” Amarant put his claws away and approached the woman. “This is Yimi. She’s the finest sharpshooter I know, and as such, is a perfect person to guard our encampment.”

”Encampment?”

Amarant looked upon the ridge they were standing on. “I didn’t expect this.”

Many people could be seen on the ridge, which was much larger than Amarant expected it to be. Various tents and cabin- like buildings were erected on the platform, with people going in and out of them constantly. Amarant noticed many people were situated around yet another ridge above this one, but it was much smaller, with only a few people standing on it.

”This is one of our remote research stations.” White said. “We have a few around the world, situated at certain sites where we believe we need to research the area.”

”But what is here that you must keep an eye on?”

”I’ll show you. Just follow me.” White led the way through the encampment, towards the smaller ridge just beyond it. Amarant followed behind her, noticing the many looks and whispers that were directed at him. It didn’t take long from them to reach the ridge, and everyone who was there just looked at the White Mage and her follower.

”Wait here a moment.” She said, approaching the group of people. Amarant heard her say a few words to them before they dispersed. Some of them walked past Amarant and gave him looks of disapproval.

”Don’t mind them.” White said to Amarant. “They have been here for weeks now, and they don’t understand how a person not even in the Temples can have a look at what we are researching.”

”Understood.” He walked up to White Magic. “Now what is here?”

White pointed to the cliff face. Amarant looked at the mountain-side in front of him in complete awe.

”Now you see why we are here.” White said, and Amarant nodded. On the stone in front of them were four glowing pictures: designs that had been there for years. Amarant could tell that just by looking. The first design was that of a circle, with spikes going all around it. He could tell right away that was meant to represent the sun. The next one was in the shape of a circle as well, but with smaller circles within it. Knowing the first one was the Sun, Amarant assumed this design was that of the Moon, with its many craters shown upon it. The third design was, again, of a circle, however it had waves drawn within it. Amarant did not have to think hard to believe that this represented water, or perhaps the ocean of the world. The last symbol followed the patterns of the others, with a circle being the prominent figure. Within it was something of a more intricate nature: shapes were in the circle, but they were not circular or straight in away way. Each small shape had its own unique view to them, and Amarant guessed them to be islands, making the last symbol that of the Earth. ”But who left these here?"  He asked himself.

”This is of Cetra origin, if you have not guessed that already.” White Magic stated. “The four symbols are fairly regular in Cetra lore: the Sun, the Moon, the Ocean and the Earth. According to the Cetra, these entities, as they called them, were impervious to Time itself.”

”And what do they mean?”

”If you drawn a line from one symbol to the next most outer-most symbol, to the next outer-most symbol, and so forth, you will draw the shape of a Diamond. What we have found from ancient scripts is that the Cetra used different sizes of diamonds to invent a way of telling Time.” She looked at Amarant. “What that means is that this is a Time Lock; a door to a chamber only meant to be open at one certain time.”

”And when is that?”

”If we are correct in deciphering it, the door will open sometime tomorrow morning.” White Magic stated.

”And what is behind this door?”

White shook her head. “In all the Cetra information he was ever collected, they say nothing of this chamber. We only discovered it after we investigated why the Temple of the Ancients collapsed last year. What lies behind this stone is anybody’s guess. And that is why all of these fellow White Mages and Monks are here.” She pointed back to the encampment.

”To find out?”

”Not overly.” She said, walking back towards the camp. “They were sent out only to figure out when the door will open. After we determined that, the rest of them were sent to prepare for the opening itself.”

”You believe that whatever is inside will take that many people to move?”

”That is a possibility, I suppose.” She said. “But more to the truth, most of these people are trained extensively in the art of combat, not in lore or anything of the sort. For, like I have stated, we don’t know what is behind that wall. If it happens to be a killer monster, then we must be prepared to destroy it upon encounter.”

Amarant nodded his head. “Be prepared, right?”

”That’s right. Which is where I am taking you.” Amarant raised an eyebrow at the Head White Mage. “You are not exactly an expert in the field of combat, correct?”

” True enough.” He responded.

”Our resident Training Monk will train you while he can today, so that you have some knowledge when tomorrow comes.”

”Do you think one day will be enough to prepare me?”

”Not a chance.” White bluntly said. “But while we have the time, you will learn what you can.”

”Sounds like a plan. Where is this Training Monk?”

”I’ll have to ask around for the answer to that.” White said, stopping in front of the largest tent within the camp. “This is the White Mage Tent.”

”Ok.” Amarant said, waiting for White to lead the way.

White smiled. “Ok, I’ll try it one more time: this is the Female White Mage Tent.”

Amarant smiled nervously and turned a light shade of red. “Sorry.”

White chuckled softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll see if any of them know where the Training Monk is hiding. You just stay here a moment while I ask.” White turned her back to Amarant, and entered the tent.

”Now I have to wait while people whisper more comments about me.”

Silver walked beside Tailz, taking in the scenery of the area that Meteor destroyed. They were getting closer to Midgar now, and until they would hit the outskirts, they would only walk among dirt. The Ruins of the once great city were not in their path anymore, and that comforted Silver somewhat. Whenever he was among the rubble, he found himself thinking of the great death of the many people among the city.

”Silver.” Tailz said. He looked at him. “Has your hand repaired itself yet?”

”Not overly.” The apprentice said. His hand was still encased in ice, which melted away in the few seconds when he concentrated upon it. He flexed that hand a few times, then rolled it up into a fist. “It hasn’t really healed at all, but if I have to, I could still wield my sword.”

”Show me.” Tailz said. Silver nodded, unsheathing his sword with his left hand and slowly placing it in his right. The second he grasped it and released his left hand from its hilt, Silver clenched his teeth in pain, nearly dropping his weapon to the ground. After a moment, Silver tightened his grip and raised his sword in the air. Immediately, Tailz swung his sword at Silver, who angled his sword to block the blow. As the two swords held fast, Silver felt his hand lose strength, allowing Tailz’s blade to push him down. He tried to force a stalemate, but with his injury, that was not possible. Only by bringing his left hand to the sword’s grip could he stop Tailz’s blade from forcing him to his knees.

Tailz saw this, and raised his sword from Silver’s. “I see you handled that pain well enough.” He sheathed his sword. “You will manage.”

”What will I manage?” Silver said with some difficulty, being still in pain.

”An attack.” Tailz said. He started walking towards Midgar once more, and after Silver sheathed his sword, he followed.

The last few hours of walking were silent, with the sound of their footsteps being the only sounds within the area. Silver was losing his focus among the foreboding silence that surrounded them. Looking to the sky for a reprieve from the stillness, he noticed a clear blue sky with a bright sun in the center of it all.

”Nice day, is it not?”

”We shall see what happens.” Tailz replied.

”Weather-wise, I mean.”

Tailz didn’t reply, going back to the silence he’d been in for hours.

But Silver could not abide the silence again. “The sky is nearly clear.” He said. “Just a single cloud in sight.”

Tailz stopped walking, allowing Silver to take the lead. However, even after Silver was many steps in front of him, he did not move.

Silver looked behind him and saw Tailz standing in the distance. “You coming Master?” Tailz did not reply with words, but with an action: he drew his short sword.

”Master?” Silver called out a bit louder, waiting for a different response this time. Tailz started to walk at Silver, his short sword still drawn. “Do you sense an enemy nearby?”

”I do.” Tailz said, but it didn’t seem to be his voice. It was darker, and filled with malice. When he got within 20 feet of his apprentice, Tailz went into a fast run, his sword raised and ready to strike.

”What the hell…”  Silver thought, not understanding Tailz’s actions. He looked behind him quickly to see no lifeforms of any kind, therefore there was no enemy. He turned his gaze back to his master, who was right in front of him. Tailz swung his sword right at Silver.

Silver rolled to the side and grabbed his sword with his right hand, ignoring the massive shot of pain he just received, for Tailz was already in front of him again. He swung, but Silver didn’t even have move to avoid the blow. Tailz’s sword sailed to the right of Silver, who rolled to his left and got to his feet. He readied his sword for Tailz’s next strike, which was aimed at his neck. Parrying the blow threw Tailz off balance somewhat, allowing Silver a small window of time for a counterattack. He punched Tailz in the stomach, and followed through with a strike to the head with his hilt. Tailz took a step back, then charged again, his teeth clenched in anger.

Silver did not expect such a quick reaction to his attacks, especially when he seen the small amount of blood flowing from Tailz’s fresh head wound. But his Master did not slow down at all. Swinging his sword with the speed of the wind, Tailz attempted to cut down Silver many times. But he was off target every time: every strike that would have connected would not have injured the apprentice much. And the strikes that did land did little to no damage at all. Silver felt several small cuts appear on his face, and saw some hair fall down from the wide blows Tailz was swinging, but nothing he suffered could even be called a battle injury. At least, thus far.

But Tailz was unrelentless in his attacks upon the young man, and Silver could not hold up forever. The pain in his right hand was becoming unbearable, and if he did not at least break away from the combat for a short moment, we knew he would simply lose his resolve to keep his grip on his sword; in the end, he would drop it, and Tailz would have no problems striking the last blow. Silver decided to dodge more of the blows other than trying to deflect them, but even with that tactic taking some pressure from his hand, the damage was done. His hand would not get enough time to heal in-between Tailz’s attacks, so Silver came up with another strategy.

When Tailz went for another swipe to remove Silver’s head, he simply ducked and waited for Tailz’s sword to finish the arc. He then quickly raised himself to his feet, uppercutting his Master in the process. Tailz was knocked back a few steps, and Silver knew this was the moment. Using his Wind powers, Silver leaped into the air and pushed himself back, landing nearly 15 feet away from his attacker.

”Tailz, this training is too ruthless!” Silver said out loud. Tailz just looked at his apprentice…and that was when Silver saw it. Tailz’s eyes were not the electric green they usually were: they were as black as the starless night.

”Traitor…” Tailz said. “You will die.” Silver widened his eyes in fear.

Amarant looked up in the sky, noticing the bright sun among the clear blue yonder. “Gonna be a warm one today.” He said softly inside White’s tent. She had found out that the Training Monk was out of the encampment with a few students, so she sent a few Monks to retrieve him for Amarant’s sake. After that, White showed him her tent, and left to continue her ‘leadership duties’ as she called them. That was about two hours ago, and other than read a few articles on some of the White Temple’s policies and goals, Amarant sat still and waited.

Being bored out of his mind, Amarant decided to browse around the camp, to see what he could see. White had said that was something he could do, for all of the White Mages had been informed of his presence and would not attack him. That didn’t comfort Amarant a whole lot, though: he was still a stranger among the camp.

He went for the door, and after opening it, he promptly walked right into White Magic’s presence. “Hi.” She said with a smile.

”Hi?” He said back. “It’s about time you got back, I’m deathly bored.”

”Well, this will keep you occupied.” She stepped aside and let a man walk in before her. He looked at Amarant and bowed. Amarant did the same, out of a reaction to the man bowing to him. “This is our Training Monk, Cerberus.” The man smiled, his white teeth greatly shown off from his darker skin and short black hair. “Amarant, is it not?” He said.

Amarant took some time to respond to the man, whose outfit selection caught him greatly off-guard. It was apparent he was wearing traditional Monk garb dyed to red, but with yellow armor plates on his shins, stomach, arms and neck, he was the most battle-ready Monk he had ever seen. ”It is.” Amarant finally replied.

”Glad to meet you.” He said, offering a handshake. Amarant accepted it, and immediately felt the man’s iron-like grip. “White told me you need some training before tomorrow rolls around.” Amarant nodded, releasing the handshake. “Then we better start right away. White has a curfew on for anybody that will be at the door’s opening, and that is in just 10 hours time.”

”You saying we will train for 10 straight hours?” Amarant said flabbergasted.

”Not 10 straight hours.” Cerberus stated. “If you lived through that, you would not have enough energy to fight tomorrow. We will train 2 hours at a time, with 15 minute intermissions between that for resting and fluid replenishment.”

Amarant looked at White, who looked back with no smile or expression. “To survive, you will need this knowledge as well.” She said. Amarant nodded. “I suppose so.”

He faced Cerberus. “Teach me what you will.”

”That will be done.” He said, walking out of the tent. Amarant followed him, ready for the hardships of training.

Silver’s mind was bent on one thought as he kept his distance from his unmoving Master: ”Traitor?”

However, even with only one word running through his mind, he very occupied. The way Tailz had said the word made Silver think his Master had extreme hatred for him, and that even the very sight of him causes anger beyond measure.

Silver’s focus shifted from battle to thought constantly, and Tailz saw this. Without pause, he threw his sword straight at his apprentice at a speed few could hope to match. Silver saw it come towards him like a shuriken, but he did not get out of the way. Summoning a powerful Wind, Silver was able to slow down the short sword’s trajectory to nearly a halt, then slam it to the ground when it got within his sword’s reach. He reached down and picked up Tailz’s sword, and threw it far behind him. “It’s over Tailz!” He yelled out. “You have no weapon now! You’re defeated!!”

Tailz looked at Silver. “I will never be.”

Silver saw his Master create fists and cross his arms in front of him, as if preparing a great attack. Silence was thick in the air, as Tailz did not move nor did he attack. But that silence was cut asunder with a cry of torment. Silver watched as his Master yelled towards the sky, and saw his Master stop the yell to simply stand there once more. But what Silver saw next, he couldn’t expect or believe.

A thin lightning bolt shot out from Tailz’s body, travelling diagonally towards the sky over Silver as it crackled along its path. The apprentice watched it go over his head, then saw it instantly redirect to the ground and strike it, leaving a black scorch at the impact point. But that was nearly 10 feet behind Silver, and he didn’t understand it. He heard the crackling once more, and saw another bolt had shot from his Master in the same way, then slam to the ground about 6 feet in front of him. The next bolt was around 12 feet to the left of the apprentice, but the following bolt came down right beside Silver, causing him to jump to the right to avoid it.

”No control?”  Silver thought as a few more bolts emulated from Tailz and hit around him, and no where near him. He looked at his Master, and seen that he was not even looking at Silver at all: his eyes were to the sky. Silver was confused by this, and was nearly struck by one of those few bolts that were close enough to hit him. ”There is a second or two between each bolt. I can dodge this.”

But that time between the strikes did not last. A few more bolts struck the ground before Silver realized they were becoming far more rapid in succession, and more than one was coming from Tailz at a time. And although most of them were at a safe distance from him, the few that were close warranted his undivided attention. When the bolts were fewer and farther between, Silver could at least predict were they were going to hit. But with the sky lighting with these yellow lines of electricity, Silver had to rely solely on his reflexes to dodge the close calls. And every time he moved to avoid one bolt, he knew he could unintentionally move into another’s path.

A bolt suddenly came down quickly near Silver, who jumped to his left to avoid it, but instead landed in the path of another one travelling towards the ground. Unable to react, it struck Silver on his right shoulder, sending his body into violent uncontrollable movements. It took a few seconds for Silver to regain control, and he realized he could not take another hit like that again. He stood still among the storm of attacks, and closed his eyes. His left arm glowed a light blue, which grew brighter and brighter as the seconds went by, until Silver opened his eyes and looked upon the light. He focused his energy on that arm, and it instantly lost its glow, replaced by a thin coating of ice from his elbow to his wrist. As the apprentice continued to concentrate, the ice grew to several centimetres in thickness, and began to expand upwards and downwards. When it was appearing much like a small shield though, Silver felt a lightning bolt strike his right leg, sending him to the ground with the violent spasms he felt before.

When he gained control again, he noticed his arm was back to the thin coat of ice it was before. Refocusing among the new-found silence, it soon expanded in thickness and size, and when Silver stood up straight, it was no smaller than a large kite shield that covered his body when used for protection. With a bout of heavy breathing, Silver looked into the sky to see why he had found silence as he created his shield: the lightning was no longer above him. But that did not make him feel any easier when he looked upon Tailz.

His Master was engulfed in a yellow light that flowed around him, and never left him. Tailz was standing sideways and looking at the ground when Silver looked upon him, but as the apprentice stared, Tailz slowly lifted his head and directed his dark gaze upon the young man. The yellow light all suddenly stopped flowing around Tailz, and started to channel into Tailz’s left arm; the one closest to Silver. And as the golden light disappeared from around Tailz, it reappeared on his arm. By the time the light no longer surrounded him, his left arm was a fierce yellow, but it did not surround his arm. It seemed to flow within it, like blood within the veins of a human. Silver was stunned by the transformation he just saw, and found himself just staring in amazement. But Tailz was not so still in his movements. Raising his arm at Silver, Tailz did one more thing that broke his apprentice’s stunned mind: he smiled. Not a smile of happiness at the attack, but a smile full of malice and longing for the death of the teenager in front of him. Tailz clenched his left hand into a fist, and when he shot his hand open, a massive lightning bolt went straight for Silver.

With the large bolt travelling towards Silver at an incredible speed, Silver could not hope to dodge it. With no options left to him, Silver stuck his sword in the ground and raised his shield, hoping it could withstand the awesome power of the bolt of lightning. The next second, the bolt struck the ice, and Silver knew instantly it could not.

His shield shattered upon impact, sending many fragmented pieces of sharp ice in the air as Silver went flying backwards. He hit the ground hard, and lay there a very brief moment in pain before he rose to his feet. He felt a liquid flowing from his cheek, and when he touched it with his finger and brought it into sight, his thoughts were confirmed. Blood was smeared on his fingers, and as Silver regained his composure, he noticed that there were many such blood trails on his face. Trying to find a reason, he grasped a small object and pulled it from his jaw. He felt the cold around it, and knew it was sharp fragments from his shattered shield that had pierced his face, and as he soon found out, his neck and chest as well. Looking on his arm where the shield was, he seen a great cut running from his elbow to his wrist, where his ice defence once was. But he had to ignore the pain, for upon looking up, Silver saw his Master start walking towards him.

Rushing forward to where his sword stayed in the ground, Silver drew it out and waited for Tailz to approach. Even without the injuries he had, though, Silver would have doubted his chances against this violent-side of his Master. But he held his sword up nevertheless, and waited. But as Tailz got within a few metres of his apprentice, he stopped moving. Silver did not understand this tactic, but remembering the storm of lightning, he was ready to create his shield once more. But Tailz did no such thing, as Silver soon saw. Tailz looked straight into his eyes, but Silver did not return the gaze, for he saw a red glow form on Tailz’s arms. The glow soon subsided, but instead of relief on Silver’s face, he showed only fear. A ring of fire appeared around Tailz’s elbows, and within a second, the fire travelled down to his fists, encompassing his whole lower arms with a raging fire no water could put out. Silver’s eyes widened in absolute fear, knowing it would take all his knowledge and power to keep him alive.

But Tailz saw the fear in his apprentice’s eyes, and he charged at full speed, his face showing nothing but anger. Silver didn’t have enough time to react to the first blow which Tailz landed to his jaw, sending the kid sliding along the ground several feet. Silver saw smoke rise from his jaw, and the smell of burnt flesh reached his nose. He had always hated that smell, and with that running through his mind, he prepared himself as Tailz rushed his position to strike once more. The next blow was a very quick jab that Silver was able to lean to the side to avoid, as was the next jab that Silver leaned to the opposite side to dodge. Over and over again, Silver dodged the many punches and jabs of Tailz, but even without direct hits, Silver was being affected.

Silver jumped back to avoid a quick uppercut attempt, and while he had a second to spare, the apprentice wiped the sweat from his eyes. He had not taken another direct hit from Tailz’s fists of inferno, but the heat itself was not helping Silver’s situation in any way. Silver also caught the scent of burning hair during the fight, meaning that the few attacks Tailz’s attempted that he had managed to dodge still made a connection. With that smell, Silver knew he wasn’t missing the punches by much, and he knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer.

”I have to find a way to counterattack.”  Silver thought as he used his sword to knock Tailz’s fist away, and to stop his next punch. He was sure he would be able to use his sword for a swipe here and there, but Tailz was so quick with his attacks that Silver could find no time to attempt such a tactic. He noticed that Tailz’s accuracy was still not as great as Silver has seen, but when fire was involved directly in the attacks, they did not have to be of pinpoint precision. Every blow Tailz did, whether they hit their human target or not, was slowly overheating Silver, draining what little energy he had left. He had to break this up, or he would die.

That was when his chance came. Tailz went for a straight-arm punch to Silver’s face, but by the time it was near, Silver could already tell it was starting to angle upwards. Silver ducked the blow, and noticed that Tailz had put so much power into the attack that he started to lose his balance and lean forward. Silver was surprised by this for a moment, but soon regained himself and simply sweep-kicked Tailz from the ground. His Master hit the ground hard, and within a second, Silver was on his feet and swinging his sword down upon the white-haired man. But with speed that seemed to teleport his Master, Silver saw Tailz was already on his feet in front of him. Tailz saw the sword coming down, and greeted steel with the fire and his fist.

Silver leaned his head to the side, and when he looked behind him, he saw the top half of his blade stuck in the ground. With that last attack, Tailz had broken his sword into halves, and Silver was now wide open to attack as he stared behind him, too astonished to move. Tailz clasped his two hands together and brought them above his head. The next second, all the fire on his arms travelled to his two hands, and formed a fireball, burning fiercely within his grasp. And as Silver looked at his Master, Tailz brought his arms down, opened his hands up, and let fly the fireball into his apprentice. The Geo- Knight could not possibly avoid the attack, and found himself travelling through the air for what seemed like a minute…even though he knew it was only a few seconds. Hitting the ground, Silver immediately sat up and grabbed his chest. It was riddled in pain, with blood showing through his gray shirt. Silver knew that the end was coming now: with his injuries, he could not hope to put up an offensive to the vastly faster and stronger opponent he was facing. With his pain slowing him down, he would not be able to find the time to use any of his Geomancer powers to attack or defend. And with only half of a sword to wield, he would not be able to defend himself in any way.

Tailz had not been idle while Silver dwelled on what was coming. He was walking slowly towards his apprentice, and Silver noticed that there was a thin coat of ice on both of his arms. But unlike the shield he created earlier, Tailz was not interested in any defence. The ice soon thickened on his arms, and extended beyond his hands. Silver stopped breathing from what he saw: his death. Tailz was walking towards him, both of his arms extended with blades of ice that were razor sharp. Silver would not be able to defend against even one of those blades, and with two on the horizon, he knew this was the end. But he would not go down without a last stand.

Silver quickly raised himself to his feet, and as if almost from instinct, threw his shattered blade straight at Tailz. It flew through the air with incredible speed at his Master, and it flew perfectly straight. But as it would have pierced Tailz in the throat, the dark-eyed man used his speed to appear to the side, allowing the sword to continue travelling behind him. “It is you who are unarmed now.” He said with the voice of malice and evil Silver had heard before. “It is you who is defeated now, traitor.”

He continued to walk towards his apprentice, who had his eyes closed and his head bowed, as if waiting for the inevitable. But only a second later, Silver looked up to find his Master on his knees, blooding flowing down his shoulder from his neck. Silver saw his broken sword as it went up in the air and fell to the ground, blood on its hilt.

”It cannot happen…” Tailz said, then fell forward as he lost consciousness.

Silver fell to his knees next, exhausted beyond any point he had ever felt. After many minutes of pain, Silver started to scan the area for suitable shelter. He saw some rubble closer to Midgar, only about half a kilometre in the direction of the ruined city. But Silver did not immediately head towards it. He took a few deep breaths, and slowly raised himself to his feet. He picked up his broken sword, and sheathed the short blade it now had. Slowly walking to his Master and kneeling down, he swung his arms over his shoulders, and raised him on his back. After a moment, Silver raised himself to his feet, and took a deep breath. He started to walk towards the ruins he had spotted earlier.

”He is lighter than I would thought.” Silver said after a few more steps.

He continued on, getting ever more closer to the Ruins of Midgar.