Chương 23: Episode 20: The Scorchings

The young Pre-Heroes were surrounded—Illegals on all sides, their shadows stretching across the broken forest floor. Vironos growled as steam curled from his nostrils, while Ironz roared from somewhere above the canopy. Prince glanced around, sparks skittering across his feathers.

"Okay, yeah, this is cute. Big baddies cornering us. Anybody got a plan before we die ugly?" Before anyone could answer, the air warped. Green light spiraled down like a falling meteor, and Eli dropped from the sky. His boots hit the ground with a heavy thoom, sending a shockwave through the mud. He rose from the crater, shoulders squared and eyes locked on Vironos. Energy snaked across his body—bright green currents wrapping around his legs, threading up his spine, and pooling into his right arm.

Olsen, barely standing, choked out, "I thought… you left at the ridge…?" Eli didn't blink. Chronos energy flared around him, humming as he glanced back at the squad and gestured toward the treeline with a sharp wave of his hand. William blinked.

"Uh… Javier? Was that English?" Javier shrugged.

"That was 'run or die.' Move!" Sophia turned toward the treeline. The forest behind them was swallowed in fog—no Power, no backup, no leader. Just them. She clenched her fists.

"I can see through the fog—follow me!" She sprinted into the mist, leading half the group away while Olsen, Prince, Demaurion, Archie, and Ella held their ground alongside Eli. Ella looked at Olsen, panicked.

"Olsen, you're not okay. You can't—""I'm fine," he growled, forcing rock armor to coil around his legs.

"Rock fixes everything." The Illegals morphed into their beast forms, and the heroes shifted to match them as the ground trembled underfoot. Eli's body erupted in pale green radiance as he transformed into his Time Wyvern form—scales dark green and hexagonal, wings etched with shifting runes that pulsed like living clocks. He advanced toward Vironos, his wings snapping open as a ripple of distorted reality flashed across the clearing. Vironos lunged, but Eli flickered out of existence, reappearing behind him.

A single slash landed three times in a fraction of a second, the temporal echoes striking before the first blow even registered. Below them, the battlefield exploded. Ella clawed across Rusty's back, Olsen crushed Ironz's armor with primal force, and Prince and King tore through the sky in a hurricane of lightning. Through the chaos, Eli fought like the battlefield was a board he'd already solved. When Vironos snapped his jaws, Eli rewound his position a foot to the left.

When Vironos clawed forward, Eli slowed the attack to a crawl. Green energy spiked off his claws, leaving heavy shockwaves in the dirt with every strike. The Illegals began to hesitate. Eli wasn't just fighting to win—he was stalling for the exact seconds the squad needed to escape, executing the precise timeline he'd come back to secure. Power's Search for Incarceration Rain hammered down from the sky, soaking Power's skin and blinding him with cold as he tore through the forest at lightspeed.

Branches whipped past his face and mud splashed against his boots while thunder shook the ground. Every inhale tasted of ozone and wet earth. A stick snapped underfoot, and Power skidded to a dead stop. He turned into the storm, rain slapping his face, and saw him. Standing between the jagged trees—drenched, still, and completely alone—was Incarceration.

"INCARCERATION!" Power yelled, his voice cutting through the downpour. Incarceration turned his head slowly. His red eyes glowed faintly through the rain, looking tired more than anything else.

"You had something to do with this… didn't you?" Power's fists shook, his muscles locked tight. Incarceration crossed his arms, his shoulders slightly hunched.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. But everything's in check."

"IN CHECK?" Power's voice cracked.

"You broke him! Don! You twisted him until he didn't even know himself!" Power stepped forward, his boots slipping in the mud.

"We want the real Don back! Not whatever you forced out of him!" Incarceration exhaled slowly, letting the rain hit his face.

"You know… you were the golden Zenith. The one everyone talked about. The one everyone looked up to. And the rest of us?" He let out a small, empty laugh.

"Actually—no. Not 'us.' Just me." He stepped closer, his fingers twitching at his sides.

"I wasn't like them. I didn't shine. I didn't inspire. I didn't fit. My Element? Nightmare. Something people avoided looking at for too long. And the Zeniths? They didn't hate me. That would've meant they noticed me. They just… didn't care." Lightning flashed across the canopy.

"Meetings would end without me being spoken to. Missions would happen without me being called. I stood in the same room as you all… and still felt like I wasn't even there." Power's chest tightened.

"You—""Even you," Incarceration cut in, his voice sharpening.

"You saw me. And still did nothing. I thought you were different. I thought if anyone would notice… it'd be you. But you didn't. No one did." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. He clenched his fists, his voice dropping.

"I wasn't a Zenith. Not really. I was just… something standing next to them. I made Don suffer because I needed someone to feel it. To feel what it's like to exist… and still not matter." Power took a shaking step forward.

"You don't have to stay like this. You don't have to be alone. We can fix this—together." For a second, the dull glow in Incarceration's eyes flickered, the dark mask cracking to reveal the kid underneath who had just been ignored his entire life. Then he slammed his fist straight into Power's jaw. The blow launched Power into the air, shredding through branches as rain stung like needles. He crashed hard into the mud, coughing and trying to scramble up, but Incarceration teleported on top of him.

A brutal combination of a gut punch and an uppercut sent a black shockwave tearing through the treeline, splintering trunks like twigs. Power spiraled through the air again. Mid-fall, Incarceration dropkicked him straight through a stone outcropping. Rocks shattered as Power hit the dirt, his lungs burning. He dragged himself back to his feet, but Incarceration met him instantly. They traded brutal, bone-cracking strikes, fist against fist, every dodge and hit fueled by pure survival and fury.

Power collapsed to his knees in the mud, trembling and gasping for air. Incarceration slammed his boot onto Power's chest, pinning him down.

"Why would I need your help," Incarceration hissed, "when you never cared?"

"I DO care!" Power choked out through the mud and rain.

"You could've done better… brother," Incarceration said quietly. He lifted his foot and turned, walking away into the dark trees.

"And Don's not coming back to you. Never." Something inside Power snapped. Blue energy erupted from his body in a wild, blinding wave. His eyes flared with light as lightning tore through the clouds overhead, hissing against the rain and turning it to steam. Power stood up, wind thrashing around him, every muscle coiled with raw power. He sprinted—faster than the storm, faster than the rain. Incarceration turned, realizing too late that he'd pushed him too far.

Power lunged with everything he had, energy rolling off his body as he raised his fist.

"OVERPOWERED… OVERHAND… PUNCH!!!" The strike hit like an explosion. Incarceration flew skyward like a missile, leaving a massive shockwave in his wake that cleared the rain for miles. Power stood in the crater, chest heaving and lungs burning, and roared up at the fractured sky:"I'LL COME BACK, BROTHER!!!" King Dreadixz's Castle King Dreadixz lounged on his throne like he owned the moon itself, talons tapping a lazy rhythm against the stone armrest.

His right eye still bore a scorched red ring—flesh permanently burned from Archie's explosion back at Eclitsic, a scar he detested. He was whistling a quiet tune when heavy knocks rattled the iron portcullis. Dreadixz didn't flinch. He just sighed.

"Come in." The heavy gate groaned open, and two Lunaranite guards marched through, dragging two bound prisoners. Dreadixz's jaw twitched.

"Tell me, guards… who are these?" The first was a young Celestianite dragon—white scales shimmering like frost under the moonlight, a glowing purple spine, dark curling horns, and gold eyes sharp enough to cut glass. Her tail ended in a single yellow feather that swayed defiantly despite the chains. The second was a Flamenite, black-scaled and carved with jagged battle scars. His fiery orange eyes held a void-black ring at their center, and he snarled at the guards, fighting his restraints with every step.

"Caught them sneaking into Foreshade, sir," the first guard reported. Dreadixz snorted.

"What are these little wyrmlings doing in my kingdom?"

"They were searching for these," the second guard added, holding up three glowing Power Gems—red, blue, and green.

"A gift," Dreadixz chuckled.

"How thoughtful."

"Okay, you got what you want!" the Celestianite barked.

"Can we go now? It's late!" Dreadixz snapped his fingers.

"Identify yourselves."

"We're not wyrmlings!" she shot back.

"Just let us go! Keep the stupid Gems!"

"Not until I know who you are," he growled. She huffed, giving in.

"Starla." Dreadixz's grin widened.

"Ah. The King's daughter. Half-expected, half didn't. So where's your mother?"

"In Zeriath," Starla said flatly.

"Keeping a promise." Dreadixz clapped once, mockingly.

"So you're a stray. Daddy dead. Mommy gone. No one left for you." Starla's jaw clenched tight.

"And the Flamenite?" Dreadixz asked.

"His name is Scorch," Starla glares.

"He doesn't talk. He's stuck in his beast form." Scorch let out a low growl, his muscles coiling tight against the iron chains. Dreadixz chuckled, his gaze cold.

"He doesn't look very civilized. Release the Flamenite… but kill the Celestianite." Starla snapped instantly.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! LET ME GO, YOU PSYCHO!" The guards hesitated for a split second, and that was all Scorch needed. Heat built rapidly beneath his black scales. The chains creaked under the sudden pressure, metal warping as his rage spiked.

"Hey—HEY—!" Scorch ripped one arm free, tearing iron out of the masonry. A second later, he shattered the remaining cuffs. The guards lunged, drawing on the energy of the stolen Power Gems. One launched forward with a charged strike, but Scorch ducked low, slamming into his ribs like a battering ram. The breath exploded from the guard's lungs as the impact sent the green Gem skidding across the floor. The second guard fired a blast of raw energy.

It struck Scorch's side, scorching his hide and drawing a harsh snarl, but the pain only fed his fire. He lunged. The guard tried to push him off with the Gem's power, but Scorch forced his way through the energy, clamping his jaws down until the guard collapsed. Seeing his partner fall, the first guard panicked, turned, and bolted out of the throne room. Scorch didn't chase him. He turned straight toward Starla and unleashed a tight, controlled stream of fire over her restraints.

The metal softened, glowing bright orange before snapping apart. Starla dropped free and immediately scooped up one of the fallen Power Gems. Then the temperature in the room plummeted. Dreadixz stood up from his throne, stepping down the stone dais.

"You've made a mess," he muttered. His body twisted and expanded, bone cracking and scales shifting as he morphed into his full Lunaranite Dragon form. Massive and towering, his presence filled the chamber. He didn't waste time talking. Dreadixz lunged, his claws smashing into the floor where Scorch had stood a fraction of a second earlier. Stone shattered outward. Scorch barely dodged, but Dreadixz's tail whipped around, clipping his flank and launching him hard into a pillar.

Scorch hit the floor with a heavy crack. Dreadixz advanced with lethal intent. Scorch forced himself up, limping, but as the tail whipped toward him a second time, he didn't try to evade. He lunged forward and bit down hard into the meat of the tail. Dreadixz roared as Scorch's flames flared hotter than ever, driven by pain and pure instinct. The heat burned deep into the scales, forcing Dreadixz to yank his tail back violently.

In the recoil, Dreadixz tackled Scorch to the ground, sinking his fangs deep into Scorch's shoulder. Scorch thrashed, but Dreadixz held him pinned under his sheer weight. Starla moved. She sprinted forward, the Power Gem flaring in her palm, and drove her fangs straight into the side of Dreadixz's neck—targeting the weak point between his scales with precise force. Dreadixz recoiled with a growl, staggering back as blood dripped onto the stone. His eyes narrowed on her.

"…You two are more trouble than expected," he muttered. Starla didn't wait around to hear more. She grabbed the remaining Power Gems and shoved Scorch toward the exit.

"We're leaving. Now!" Scorch pushed himself up, bleeding but moving. Dreadixz watched them sprint into the shadows of the corridor, his tail twitching as his breath heavy in the quiet hall. By the time he took a step forward, they were already gone. Silence settled over the throne room, broken only by the slow drip of blood onto the floorboards. Dreadixz exhaled sharply, his glare fixed on the ruined entrance. Foreshade would remember this night. Something dangerous had just slipped through his claws.