Yohan walked into the bathroom an hour later, loosening his hair and allowing his long dreadlocks to flow. His eyes were tired and his body was tense for the long fight ahead. Still, a memory flashing into his mind.
Yohan sat atop his favorite rock in deep meditation. For the past few days he had not moved from that spot. He wasn't able to. Days ago he went into meditation, he found that he was unable to wake up. He found himself trapped in a labyrinth, the 6 days he had been trapped there felt like 6 years. He had been fighting on end, seemingly forever. His opponents were beasts of all shapes and sizes in their millions. He beat them all easily of course. The young man had become a god in all aspects of the word. He rested his body against a large stone door, about 20 feet high and 12 feet wide. In this desolate scape filled with the bodies of monsters, it was the only object for miles around. He let out a deep sigh before getting up, he figured that whatever was keeping him here must be behind the door.
"Whatever or whoever you are keeping me here, I'm gonna kick your ass." He sighed though he meant it.
He punched the door and was surprised the door didn't break. As he contemplated punching it again with more power, a laughing voice rang in his ears.
"Oh no little king, you won't be able to pass with brute force. Try again but a little gentler." The voice coaxed.
It sounded like many voices speaking at the same time.
Yohan listened and tried to open the door by pushing gently. The door opened at that, revealing a room filled with mirrors. As he walked past the mirrors, he saw glimpses of the past in each one. His and Solaria's pasts; from happy moments to visions of him being killed in front of a chained Solaria.
He looked confused. He more or less guessed that these mirrors would show him his past but why is he seeing Solaria's?
"It's no mistake, that is your past, the day you died and every death after, all by Ventris' own hands. Aggravating isn't it? Dying in front of your wife over 700 times, each time too weak to do anything. Half the time, you didn't even have your memories." The voice scoffed.
"I know all of this already, why are you showing me this?" Yohan asked calmly, though his anger was building up.
"Because no matter how much I look at you, you don't seem angry enough."
The voice snarled.
"SHE KILLED MILLIONS OF YOUR PEOPLE! REDUCED YOUR FAMILY TO ASHES IN FRONT OF YOUR VERY EYES! MADE YOUR BEST FRIEND BETRAY YOU! IMPRISONED YOUR WIFE AND RIPPED THE CHILD FROM HER WOMB! TORTURED HER FOR EONS AND KILLED YOU IN FRONT OF HER EVERY TIME YOU REINCARNATED, EACH DEATH MORE AGONISING FOR HER THAN THE LAST AND LEFT HER TO ROT. YET HERE YOU ARE CALM AS EVER, DOES IT NOT ANGER YOU!? DOES IT NOT MAKE YOUR BLOOD BOIL!? Pathetic."
The voice had gone from a tone of anger to one of sadness. The words resonated with Yohan and he was no longer able to keep himself calm.
"IT DOES! I THINK OF HER PAIN EVERY DAY! REMINDED OF IT EVERY TIME I LOOK INTO HER EYES! THE PAIN THEY CARRY, THE PAIN HER SMILE CARRIES, ONLY WANTING TO LOVE AND PROTECT BUT GOT A KNIFE IN HER SIDE INSTEAD! I LONG MADE A PROMISE TO FREE HER AND I HAVE A PLAN FOR REVENGE! BURN THEM AS THEY HAVE BURNT US! BLEED THEM AS THEY HAVE BLED US! DEATH ALONE WILL NEVER MAKE UP FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, NEITHER WILL ANY MERE TORTURE."
Yohan's eyes were aflame, his muscles tensed as his energy spiraled around him. The force of it shattered all the mirrors, leaving the fragmented memories to swirl around him.
"Pathetic you say? I don't wanna hear that from the one who lost. So just sit back and watch me… Aurelius." He spoke factually.
The voice had made itself visible. Aurelius, not as a man but as a child, he stared at Yohan with tears in his eyes. The gold and blue of his pupils shone like diamonds thanks to the tears as he looked him over. The boy fell to his knees in front of Yohan.
"Please, don't fail her. She doesn't deserve any of this torment." He begged in a broken, raw whisper.
Yohan knelt down and rested his hand on Aurelius' head.
"She doesn't blame you, you know. She never has. All this is the result of twisted jealousy. You gave love to your sister but she returned it with blood." He took a pause, his body tense, heat radiating off him with his anger. "Now I'm gonna make her pay. For the people she killed, for the families we couldn't save. I promise, in blood."
Aurelius looked up at his new self with pride and tears, finally feeling the weight lift from his chest, his sadness and anger fading knowing that his love was in good hands. He pulled himself to his feet.
"Alright." He nodded, a smile gracing his young features. "I'll leave it to you, give Solaria her freedom and give Ventris hell!"
Yohan chuckled and gave him a nod.
Just then Aurelius transformed into a dragon.
"This is your last test Yohan, with this I shall be at rest and you will gain my legacy." He spoke, his voice loud and echoing though the space around them
"Let's have a proper-"
WHACK
An explosion rang out as Yohan had struck the great beast with a mighty punch sending the dragon flying and crashing into the ground some distance away. Aurelius got up his knees wobbly and his throat sore, as it was the exact area where he got punched.
"That's for keeping me here this long." Yohan huffed as he clenched and relaxed his fist he used to hit him.
Aurelius gave a guttural laugh. "Asshole." He huffed but smiled as his form faded into black smoke, the dark particles flowing into Yohan as he laughed at him, the smoke making its way into his opened mouth – which caused him to choke.
After that, he was able to wake up and complete his training.
Yohan laughed to himself a bit, remembering that last punch he gave Aurelius. He fixed his hair and ran some water over his face. Before leaving the bathroom, he took one last look in the mirror; reaffirming himself that he was ready.
"Three thousand years man, you got this." He told himself resolutely before he left the room.
Yohan came down the stairs and headed towards the grand ballroom where Solaria was getting ready. She was sharpening a greatsword, made by smelting together every sword in the castle armoury. The end result was a large blade that was more correctly a large slab of sharpened metal rather than a sword measuring 6 feet in length 1&½ feet in width and 6 inches thick. A monster of a sword inspired by another anime from Yohan's past life. He smiled as he took in the two beauties.
"Hey babe, you ready?" He asked as he hugged her from behind.
"Ready as I'll ever be love, but this plan of yours…Will it really work?" She asked as she turned to face him.
Yohan gave a sly smile.
"Trust the process love, I bet you 50 bowls of beef I'll have her and her whole army here in minutes." Yohan promised.
"What do you plan on doing exactly?" Solaria shivered at the sight of his mischievous smile, a sense of excitement and a little bit of fear washed over her.
"I'm gonna deliver a message, not just to her but to her armies and anyone that can see or hear. These devices use Ventris' Prya as a signal so I'm going to override it with my power and send out a broadcast, one she and all that work under her will see." He smirked and Solaria was impressed with his plan but couldn't help but feel like he was about to do something very, very petty.
"By the way beloved, you never came up with a name for your power." Solaria pointed out once the thought crossed her mind. "We know it's a new form of Prya, but you have yet to give it an actual name."
Yohan pondered for a moment and looked at his wife, her face that held a new scar shaped like a slanted "y" shape that cut across her left eye and spanned from the right side of her forehead to her left cheek. That was the result of Solaria coming into contact with his energy; an injury that was never able to be fully healed. It saddened him that he hurt her like this but Solaria wore all her scars like a badge of pride; including that one.
"Mordax, since my energy is so corrosive it could be considered a poison and it translates to that on earth. That's what I plan to be towards Ventris. Pure poison." He decided with a malicious smile.
Solaria was shocked to say the least, but the title "Poison King" sounded pretty cool to her.
"Alright my love, ready when you are." He told her and Yohan nodded in agreement.
With that, he took up the communicator and flooded it with his Prya, causing the device cracked and sparked as if it was about to catch fire. Just as it seemed he had broken the communicator however, the device let out a sharp ping, followed by a voice.
"Prya battery is now updated and full. You are now able to broadcast your signal across multiple star systems or send your signal to one specific channel." The device spoke.
He selected the mass broadcast option with an unsettling smile on his face.
"Current viewer count seventy trillion." The device spoke again and the smile on his face grew even darker.
"Per-fucking-fect."
Yohan manifested two long black cloaks with large hoods for him and Solaria to hide their faces. He then started his broadcast that appeared on every accessible star channel. The broadcast that lasted all of 10 minutes, was a mix of slurs, cusswords and derogatory remarks along with more than 6 iterations of calling Ventris a, quote "raggedy old bitch". Solaria and most of the surrounding galaxies had seen the broadcast, hearing words they had never heard before or words too horrible to repeat. Yohan had chosen to end the broadcast by showing he and Solaria's faces leaving the message. "You already know where to find us." A dark smile etched across his face as he took off his hood, Solaria doing the same, her rueful eyes peering into the souls of all who watched.
Yohan sat atop the dinner table next to his wife sharing a bottle of kings nectar they had found in the castle winery, the only bottle that wasn't destroyed during the fall of the castle.
20 minutes had passed like that and now, Solaria sat in the lounge, still gripping her sword. Anticipation was burning within her and she only let it go once she noticed Yohan with a steaming mug before her. She never noticed him come into the room. He smiled at her gently and knelt down in front of her. Noticing her cold expression he handed her the mug, her favorite hot chocolate. She was finally able to calm her nerves after a few sips and with that Yohan went to look out the window as he drank some coffee. Solaria watched him for a moment before she decided to break the silence.
"So hey. How long do you think it'll take before she-"
She never got to finish her sentence as a sudden pressure fell on them. They both knew right away. It was her. Finally, Ventris had come and they could tell she was not alone.
Across the universe, the people were in a frenzy. Gods in neighboring galaxies, the people governed by those gods, human or any other race, they had all seen it. Ventris had created a name for herself that matched no other and was both respected and feared throughout the universe. People wondered if the perpetrator was brave or insane. Perhaps both even, but one thing was clear: she had to respond and the whole universe was watching. Her enemies who had also witnessed the broadcast smiled to themselves and laughed.
"Well, it's about time someone finally grew the balls to do it." They said. Others chose to watch the chaos, knowing very well that she could not ignore this insult, knowing that this would cause a shift. Those still loyal to Solaria in hiding smiled knowing that the time had come to set things right.
The time for war was finally here…