Titans - March of Progress

Sain slinked through the streets, his eyes darting between the many people walking around him, his fists clenching and unclenching almost unconsciously despite his best efforts to keep calm. He was on his way to the factory, and in the late morning the main streets were packed with people going to and from their workplaces. Looking around him again, Sain noticed a few youths eyeing him from street corners and alleyways. He was sure there were even one or two casually walking a short distance behind him.

Sain shook his head and tried to ignore them, and instead he pulled magic from his once more depleted core, creating a thin barrier around himself. Enough to stop a wayward knife from finding his ribs. He continued walking through the street, rather jumpy and nervous as he came to the factory. When he reached the T intersection, he looked both ways quickly and waited for a cart to move past. As soon as it did, he bolted, straight across the road to the factory gate. He swore he heard a scuffle and turned to walk backwards as he passed through the gate and saw two young men standing on the curb where he had been just moments ago, just staring at him silently.

Sain felt his heart jump a beat and he just turned away from them and headed further into the factory complex. He had not slept much, and his eyes were red rimmed and puffy, and he was sure he looked haggard and exhausted to any onlookers. Thankfully Regas had gone to work by the time Sain crawled out of bed, so there had been no awkward conversation as he got breakfast. Instead, he had gotten dressed and then left the house, his steps slow and lacking any real motivation. Practically every step he took betrayed the worry that was heavy upon his heart.

As Sain passed a few of the factory workers, they shot concerned looking glances at Sain and each one caused his heart to leap into his mouth. He was still worried about what may happen later, what the consequences would be for his actions, but trusting Niall, he was following his brother’s advice to act as if nothing had happened. At least for now.

Sain made a beeline for the storehouse he and Clyde were working out of, his anxiety lessening somewhat as he entered the building and found Clyde waiting for him patiently. Clyde was gently sweeping the floor with a somewhat tattered broom, and Sain couldn’t help but smile weakly. Clyde cleaning, what an unusual sight.

With the old man there, Sain settled into his normal calm and collected self. His eyes even seemed to recover quite a bit and were no longer puffy if still a bit red rimmed. Sucking in a gentle breath, Sain raised his hand in greeting to his master.

“Good morning sir. How are you today?” Sain asked, his voice slightly shaky as he tried to stay composed.

Clyde turned around whip fast with eyes narrowed beyond what Sain thought possible. It almost looked like the old man’s eyes were closed. Clyde stared at Sain a bit, his gaze lingering on Sain’s face for a few moments. If the old man noticed anything, he didn’t say anything about it, instead just turning away and shuffling over to the wall of the storehouse where he propped up the broom.

“I am well enough boy. I just want to get started” Clyde grumbled before waving his hand at the bench that ran along the wall. Sitting just where it had been left the day before was the object of their combined dissatisfaction and irritation. The sword filled with electrical energy.

“We will pick up where we left off yesterday. Same process” Clyde added before he shuffled over to the blade and beckoned for Sain to do the same. Sain frowned and nodded, choosing not to speak as he got the feeling Clyde was still in a foul mood.

As Sain picked up an empty crystal next to the blade, he reached out and placed his free hand on the crystal in the sword's hilt as it remained laid out on the bench. Clyde then stepped forward and placed both his hands on Sain’s shoulders.

Sain sucked in a breath and closed his eyes, focusing his inner eye on the energy rippling in the blade. He slowly began to draw out energy from the lightning vessel, and just like always, the energy resisted his touch, slipping away from him and causing him to scowl briefly.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, Sain doubled his efforts as he tried to grab hold of the energy. After a few moments, he felt a hold on the power, but it was for barely a second before the energy seemed to slip away from him again. Sain felt a rising frustration right before a shock ran up his arm. Yelping, Sain let go of the sword and Clyde took control of the small amount of energy Sain was holding. Clyde turned away from Sain and chanted as he released the electrical power in a series of bright flashes of light into the empty storeroom.

“This is not working Sain. It is not working at all” Clyde declared and let his hands drop to his side. He stared at the youth as if it was all his fault, a deep scowl on his face.

“You need to try harder boy. I know exactly what the problem is here. It’s the fact we are dealing with energy many times larger than the fire crystals. The sheer amount is mind boggling” he stated and scowled deeply yet again. He looked Sain over, inspecting seemingly every inch of him.

“I told you to get rest, yet it looks like you have been awake all night. Just what do you youngsters do with yourselves these days” he muttered and moved over to the bench where he had left a handful of scrawled notes.

Sain just remained downcast, a hand being lifted to rub the bicep of his opposite arm, like he was ashamed of his performance. Last night really fucked me up. My mind is not in the right place today. No matter how I try to focus. I wish I could just turn off my thoughts. He looked up to apologize when Clyde turned around to face him again.

“Look boy. Remember what I said about imagining that the energy would be trapped, stuck in a cage of sorts. Forget that. What you need now is focus and precision. Just try to take a tiny piece of the energy. I am not asking for much. All we need is one success. Then I can take it to my supporters, and we can get more people on board to help. I imagine for us to move any significant amount of energy, we would need at least a dozen mages assisting” he stated as he shuffled closer to Sain, his arms held out, the sword held in them.

Sain nodded grimly, and tried to relax, letting his shoulders slump as he loosened up. He rolled his arms in the air and picking up an empty crystal once more he stepped forward, his free hand being laid on top of the weapons shining blue crystal. Clyde nodded as he saw Sain was ready and shifted his hand on the weapons hilt so that a weathered old knuckle touched Sain’s bare fingers. That was all the contact they needed.

Sain sucked in a breath and then exhaled again as he closed his eyes. Bringing his consciousness down, he once again saw the energy within the crystal. It was like a star, huge, burning and bright. His mind’s eye glided towards it and he dug deep, but instead of grabbing the whole chunk of energy, he merely reached for a small slither, peeling off an edge of the star. The energy slipped away from his first few attempts, almost as though it was evading him. Focusing his attention on the edge even more, Sain reached out and finally, firmly grasped it. Almost gleefully, Sain felt the energy obeying his mind, and he began to gently pull it away from the star of energy in time with his breath. Each time he breathed in he pulled, and when he breathed out, he let the energy slip away slightly. It was a two steps forward, one step back scenario.

Eventually Sain pulled the energy far enough away and guided it to the empty crystal in his other hand, as he heard Clyde start up his incantations, the sound rhythmic and alien. The words he used were unknown to Sain. Getting distracted, he felt the energy slip and he grabbed at it again, refocusing even as he felt a tingle through his arms.

However, as Sain had expected, when he tried to trap the energy into the empty crystal, it became unstable and began to rapidly disintegrate. He fought with it for a time, feeling it roil and buck within his grasp, almost like he was holding a slippery fish. After a short time, Sain gained control back over the power and forced it into the empty crystal, trying to make it condense like all the times done previously with the fire crystals. Pulling on his own magical core, he tried to wrap his own energy around the roiling electricity, but it felt like wrapping a wet piece of paper around a raging fire.

He heard Clyde’s chanting stop and become a mere hum as the old man joined his effort with Sain. They both battled with the energy, forcing it to take form and after what seemed like minutes, the energy began to roil and buck even more, causing Clyde to break out in a sweat. It was not easy on the old man trying to control the wild power. With a final effort they both pushed at once, and the energy finally condensed, Sains magical energy wrapping around it, and trapping it within the crystal held in Sain’s outstretched palm.

With a loud gasp, Clyde broke his contact with Sain and staggered backwards onto his stool, flopping down unceremoniously. He wheezed, trying to catch his breath, leaving Sain standing with a brightly burning blue crystal in his hand. Sain stared at it hard, his gaze fixated on the bright allure of the object. He tore his gaze away from it and gently placed it on the shelf before he too took a seat on a stool opposite Clyde who was now holding the sword, the weapon resting gently on the old man’s knees.

“I am sorry about that my boy. I discovered last night why we were having such trouble. As I said earlier, even if we are attempting to move only a small amount of electrical energy, it is still a vast amount of raw power, many times larger than that of the fire energy we were moving beforehand, and in turn it would require a much larger amount of effort on our part” Clyde stammered as he patted down his vest. Searching a pocket, he produced a small metal flask and unscrewing the cap, he took a draught from whatever liquid was inside. The old man gulped down a good amount and then sighed contentedly as he slumped on his seat and looked to Sain.

Accepting the visibly exhausted researcher’s apology, Sain smiled softly and looked down before he quietly asked a question.

“If it requires such effort, the electrical energy won’t be able to be mass produced. If it needs so many mages to do it, I suppose it might. But the method of transferring the energy itself is a new discovery and couldn’t it be used to benefit the world?” he asked, looking up to stare at Clyde with wide eyes. The old man frowned somewhat and then sighed, his glee at their success marred by the look he was receiving from Sain.

“That is true my boy, but unfortunately, that’s not what my backers are interested in. All they want is access to a vast amount of electrical energy. That’s something that can change the world” he declared and made to stand up on wobbly legs, a hand being placed on Sain’s shoulder as he was used as a physical support.

It was probably true then, that Clyde’s associates were underworld figures intent on expanding their own criminal empire, and because of last night’s events, Sain no longer wanted anything to do with such people.

As Sain opened his mouth to ask Clyde what his backers intended to use the electrical energy for, he was cut off as a resounding crack echoed in the room and a brilliant blue light engulfed them.

Both the old and the young threw themselves away from the bench on pure instinct, recognizing the sound and feel of a crystal fracture. They both crashed to the ground, Clyde yelping in pain as the sword flew from his grasp, as the new lightning crystal burst, sending stray bolts of energy crackling around the room, narrowly missing them both.

As they both stood, visibly shaken, Sain noticed that they were not alone. He turned to face the entity occupying the space where the crystal had been, his mouth dropping open, and a hand being raised to point and jab at the thing in pure astonishment.

Clyde noticed the figure as well and his mouth began flapping open and closed as he tried to speak but failed. Before them stood an entity in the form of a man, shrouded in blue energy and resonating with a fearsome power.

The being was pulsing with anger and hate, arcing with electricity that left black scorch marks on everything the energy touched. Bursts of energy seemed to continuously ripple outwards from the being, washing over them both and setting the room alight with a lurid blue glow. Clyde seemed to be immobilized by a mixture of fear and astonishment, yet all Sain could feel was a deep curiosity. He reached out to the being, his hand quivering, and extended his consciousness as he normally did when seeking energy from a crystal, somewhat enthralled. He saw the being with his mind’s eye and saw its rapidly depleting energy as it tried to maintain its form. It was after all only a sliver of the entire star.

The being’s head snapped to look at Sain as it realized what Sain was doing, and his mind instantly exploded into a white mass of pain. Blinded by the agony, Sain cried out and sank to his knees. Quite suddenly though, the pain was gone, only to be replaced by a gentle throbbing as the being spoke directly into the young man’s mind.

“You have taken what is not yours mortal. My power is not able to be forced from me as you seek to do. It has been an eternity since others as foolish as yourselves attempted what you do now, and I will do to you what I did to them. I will punish you with the complete destruction befitting your kind, the species who drove away the makers with their arrogance”.

Sain just looked confused, not quite understanding the being, but beside him, Clyde had regained his composure and had stepped forward, both hands being raised, while one went into his coat pocket to pull out what looked like an intricately carved stick. As Clyde advanced, he pointed the stick at the being, and chanted in the sorcerer’s language. Flashes of light enveloped the storehouse as Clyde attacked the spirit with his own magic power, flashes of magic erupting from the tip of the carved stick.

Rooted to the spot and unable to move, Sain remained linked to the entity’s consciousness. As the being retaliated against Clyde’s attacks, Sain saw that it had become amused and was toying with Clyde, easily deflecting the blasts aimed at it. As the storeroom disintegrated around him, Sain gathered all his energy from his repository and on instinct, sent it streaming straight at the being’s head. The being instantly shifted its attention to Sain, but too late, the energy blasted into its face and obliterated its head, causing its form to waver. Taking the opportunity, Clyde stepped forward and scooped up the sword that held the spirit’s crystal in his free hand. Still not hesitating, Clyde moved forward still chanting in that alien language.

Recovering from its initial surprise, the beings form shifted, and a new head appeared. Sain surmised being a creature of energy, it couldn’t be hurt the same way mortals were. Shrieking in anger, the being lifted an arm, a streak of lighting erupting from its form. The blast raced towards Clyde and battered into the old man’s barrier. The old man let out a cry and flew backwards as his shield buckled and warped, being flung against a crumbling wall behind him. He crashed into the wall, the thing toppling down on top of him in a cascade of brick and dust. The sword flew from Clyde’s grip and landed between Sain and the spirit. Sain just stared at it dumbly even as he realized that Clyde’s chanting had not ceased. Sain watched the old man rise from the rubble and cast his gaze about for the sword, locating it at Sain’s feet.

The old man gestured with a hand at the sword then pointed at the being. Instantly understanding what Clyde wanted him to do, Sain stepped forward and picked up the blade. Sucking in a breath Sain steeled himself, feeling his entire body shaking from charged emotions. His knee's buckled for a moment as a new wave of fear rushed over him, mingled with an odd sense of excitement. The magical energy around him seemed to be warping the very area's existence, with what looked like colorful tears in the air starting to form. It was amazing. As a new wave of energy washed over him, Sain's attention snapped back to the spirit and he locked eyes on it before he charged with a high pitched, and almost unhinged scream. When he was a meter from the lightning spirit, he just jumped at it, slashing the blade in a downwards arc straight through its shaky ethereal form, even as his scream kept sounding out.

With an almighty shriek drowning out Sain's own, the spirit flung out the last of its energy. As it scattered into the surrounding environment, the rest of the storeroom was blown outwards and upwards, burning timber and rubble flying into the sky. The blast hit Sain and threw him backwards until he crashed into an object directly behind him, his head smacking back into the wall behind him. He blacked out and slumped forward, a streak of blood appearing on the wall behind his head. He mumbled unconsciously before coming to moments later, the whole world blurry and out of focus. He could hear muffled shouts and screams nearby but couldn’t understand what was being said. He just stared at where the spirit had been, the only remains of it being a black scorch mark on the ground.

Unable to feel his limbs, Sain slowly turned his head, watching fragments of the storeroom streak down from the sky into the nearby buildings and factory. He likened the scene to some of the volcanic eruptions he had heard described in stories and couldn’t help but smile weakly.

Looking back to his immediate position, he saw Clyde kneeling in front of him, saying something that Sain could not hear.

“What are you saying?” Sain began before being cut off as a surge of blood came out of his mouth. Coughing and spluttering in a hacking manner, he identified a serious pain in his chest. Looking down he saw a gaping hole that was bleeding freely and surrounded by burnt and blackened flesh.

Trying not to cry as the pain registered in a solo hit and ran through him, Sain looked his pale master in the face, who was working the spirit crystal out of the sword's pommel. Feeling the darkness claiming him, Sain regretted his life. He had never done anything worthwhile. Instead, he just constantly relied on others to look after him. Trying to speak again he was overcome with another fit of coughing, spraying blood down Clyde’s vest who did not even seem to notice.

“Don’t speak son” the old man spoke quietly.

“Please forgive me, I didn’t want this to happen, please understand that”.

The old man finally removed the crystal from the swords hilt and grasping it, he plunged his fist into Sain’s gaping chest and chanted words Sain had never heard uttered before, alien and powerful. Unable to scream with the pain, Sain was overcome with a white hot and excruciating feeling as something spread throughout his body, entering his very being. When it was over, after what seemed like minutes, his vision finally turned black, the last image he saw being the cold, almost indifferent face of his master and Sain simply let the despair wash over him as he sank into the darkness.