Thorne’s back collided with the pebble-ridden dirt surface of the forest floor with a bang!
His bones shattered, and unrelenting tortuous agony assaulted his being!
Blink. Blink. Blink. Involuntary tears rushed down Thorne’s face as he blinked repeatedly to keep himself conscious.
‘Control…need…control.’
With his entire body assaulted with misery, Thorne delved back into his energy.
Before, he had controlled sixty percent in a relaxed, controlled environment. Now, it was different.
He pushed and pushed. The energy traveled with a lurch.
Forty. Fifty. Sixty percent.
The bones began to meld slowly but surely. But it was not enough.
Thorne’s eyes dilated, and the world began to spin.
‘More! More!’
Closing his eyes was all he could do to not submit to shock.
He only saw his energy and what it was combating.
His bones were a torn mess. His back was fractured, and he knew that the injuries would be fatal if he was back on Earth.
His minimal energy tried to heal his wounds, but it was not enough.
Seventy. Eighty. Ninety. He controlled one hundred percent of his amber energy all at once. It all traveled to his tapestry of injuries. His blood rushed to the source of pain as well, and his heartbeat began to speed up.
‘More…How?’ In Thorne’s delirium, he only had one question.
‘More…energy…how?’
He tried to open his eyes, but it was futile. Darkness engulfed him, just as it did the forests.
Soon, this changed. An amber glow lit up Thorne's surroundings. The source? His spectrum crystal, of course!
‘Yessss…. more…good!’
One hundred fifty percent. Two hundred. Three hundred. Four hundred. Five hundred percent!
His crystal pumped and pumped. The new energy entered his body, and through Thorne’s desperate control, it all traveled to his wounds.
The bones began to mend with newfound vigor, and soon, they were almost completely healed. The pain was traumatizing. The awakening was a walk in the park compared to this. His energy tore through his body, creating its own paths to travel to his wounds faster. His bones shifted and lurched. Thorne’s entire body and spirit contorted and changed forcefully.
Furthermore, the competitive spirit of the red energy was not to be outdone by its amber counterpart. Thus, oceans of unneeded destruction energy flooded his body. This forced Thorne’s mental strain to increase, as he had to forcefully avoid controlling the red energy.
It did work, though. Through all the torment and struggle, it worked. Thorne lay in a heap of his own blood and sweat.
His eyes shot open, adrenaline and fear coursing through them.
He stood up shakily and just took in the sensation of his new body.
‘I can control the energy now!’ Thorne gasped but then shuddered as he had just experienced the cost of this power.
He toyed with his energy for a few moments. The destructive energy, when controlled, caused a feeling of overwhelming domination and greed for power. The amber instilled a protective, stoic sense in Thorne.
These feelings and personality shifts were milder than earlier, though.
‘It seems that activating the energy and having them balanced helps with that.’ Thorne sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow.
KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM
Thorne’s head swiveled to the source of the noise as the trees around him broke and collapsed!
His eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step back.
“Oh shit!”
The towering T-Rex did not acknowledge his vehement cursing and charged!
Withdrawing both his sabers as quickly as possible, Thorne rolled to the right. The gaping maw of the red T-rex narrowly missed Thorne’s body!
‘I NEED TO FUCKING RUN!’ Thorne looked back at the beast in panic. It was… deadly. No other word could describe it.
It was at least fifteen feet in height and looked nearly identical to an earthling T-rex, except for one thing. Its arms. The arms were long and skinny, and a meter-long pure alabaster hook-like claw was at the end of each.
Thorne scrambled away from the beast.
‘Cover. I need cover!’
Thorne quickly swiveled his head in dismay. There was nothing. Nothing but trees, and the beast had displayed a particular talent for destroying trees earlier.
‘Whatever, as long as it gives me time!’
Thorne ran as fast as he could towards the nearest tree. He pumped red energy into his legs and sprinted!
WHOOSH!
The air shifted as something fast and heavy tore through it.
Thorne snapped his head back, and his eyes filled with dread.
One of the claws was right above him! It was too fast; there was no time to dodge.
‘THIS HAS TO WORK!’
Circulating all the amber energy in his body, Thorne controlled it to evenly disperse through both his sword-wielding arms.
Holding up his sabers in a cross above his head, Thorne closed his eyes and braced!
BANG!
The claw came crashing down with divine fury. The blades made a massive sound due to the impact, but they held.
Thorne sunk inches deep into the ground as the beast sustained the claw’s pressure on him.
With a quick dispersal, Thorne withdrew his blades from the claw’s all-powerful grip!
The claw came crashing down right where Thorne was! Or once was. He had planned this.
Thorne had shifted all his red energy into his legs, and with a mighty push, he leaped away from the beast’s attack!
Now, dozens of feet away, Thorne took a deep breath, finally able to collect himself. Dust swirled around the area of the brief clash. The dinosaur’s small head turned with fury, and its intelligent eyes landed on Thorne’s figure, displaying nothing but malice!
‘If I can avoid being hit, I can kill it.’ Thorne thought calmly. With the stoic acceptance of his situation, Thorne faced his most dangerous enemy yet.
This time, it decided to not charge. It slowly walked on its two stubby legs toward Thorne.
Thorne scowled, ‘it’s either cautious or planning something, and neither of those is good.’
It walked forward until it was only ten feet away from Thorne. Its claws were just out of range, and Thorne was vigilant for any movement.
The promise of attack by the beast was delivered. With a swift movement of the legs, the dinosaur swept forward and swung its claws in a pincer attack aimed at Thorne’s head!
‘Perfect.’ Thorne grinned.
He waited and waited and waited. The claws edged forward, about to take his life! Then, with a swift movement, Thorne swung both his blades out and cut cleanly through both the claws.
The red runes of his blades glow with chaotic glee.
The beast reared back in pain and roared loudly!
Thorne, feeling the surge of adrenaline, swiftly realigned the flow of crimson energy within him, infusing his legs with newfound vigor, propelling himself forward with a daring leap. At last, he transitioned from defense to offense, his dual swords gleaming in the dim light as he initiated a devastating downward diagonal slash.
As Thorne ascended into the air, his agile maneuver carrying him at least twenty feet aloft, he locked eyes with the colossal dinosaur. In that harrowing moment, the creature's gaze betrayed a profound mixture of dismayed panic, an essence of pure and unadulterated desperation.
But it was too late for the beast. The legends of old once warned: “Beware, mortal soul, for he who dares to clash with the wielder of the Destructor's Blades shall witness their fate entwined in a dance of dread.”
CHOP!
The head of the once ferocious beast fell pathetically to the floor.
“Take notice, witness of the umbral chaos, as the resplendent blades unleash their symphony of destiny-obliterating anguish, their sanguinary resonance an exquisite tapestry, both enchantingly beguiling and perilously lethal, ensnaring the very essence of existence with its haunting allure, until your very own witness, fades into eternal silence.”
Thorne collapsed. Vision funneling and world darkening, Thorne barely noticed the sad collapse of the mighty beast.
“Come on…heal me energy.” He croaked out. His energy did respond to his call, and through his command, it did move. Well, instead, it depressingly crawled through his body. Trying in vain to stop the fatigue from overtaking him.
‘It seemed I used too much of my energy.’ He thought grimly.
The healing aspect of his amber energy, while not able to help considerably, did allow Thorne some rejuvenation in his physical state. His fatigue and pain lessened very slightly. This allowed Thorne to achingly climb up the nearest tree, secure himself to it, and promptly fall dead asleep.
Thorne dreamed of everything and nothing. He dreamed of the past, the future, and the present. It was a dream many have experienced, but no one remembered.
Battles occurred in his mind. Towering swords the size of divine mountains clashed for eternities. Worlds were formed, energy flowing throughout them. Trillions of amber and red warriors clashed against each other, personifications of the energies battling each other for eternity.
Worlds were created and destroyed. Galaxies were created and destroyed. Universes were created and destroyed.
The red and amber remained, constantly warring for domination. Until they weren’t. After countless bombardments, countless new worlds created, and old worlds destroyed, they stopped.
A complicated peace was had. For there were no more new worlds. No more new galaxies. No more new universes.
Only one remains: one universe, and the tale of destruction and durability, while forever constant, must finally find peace. Some reprise from the cycle of life.
“For The balance between amber and red is an intensely fraught one, oh the divine energies have never been so entwined in their bond, yet so distant in their ethereal love."
