Chương 71: Episode 16: Don Black aka. Rai Kai

The moon was unveiled and majestic, its silver light spilling across Avangard. It was 2013, and peace had returned to the Celestianite kingdom. The battle against the Lunaranites had ended hours ago, and the victors were resting beneath the night sky. Below, the Enchanted City glowed in gold. Streetlights lit up polished cobblestone roads while cybernetic hovercars glided between crystalline towers. Celestianites with radiant wings flew lazily through the air as laughter and music echoed between the spires.

The sky was a deep blue, scattered with softly pulsing stars. Moonlight washed over the rooftops, balconies, and children looking out their windows. Among those children was Starla. Barely three months old, she was already curious and drawn to the night sky. Her golden cradle sat inside a luxurious bedroom, walls of sculpted gold, a gem-studded wardrobe, and a vanity gleaming beneath a crystal chandelier.

She lay on her parents' massive bed, tiny claws clutching the sheets while her parents slept soundly beside her. Her father, wrapped in a golden robe with a red sleeping mask over his eyes, snored softly with his wings folded. Her mother, Queen Stellar, wore pink earmuffs and an identical robe, her golden hair sprawled across the pillows and her wings spread wide in exhaustion. A small voice broke the quiet.

"M… moon!" Stellar's eyes snapped open. She sat up, blinking groggily at the baby crawling toward the edge of the bed.

"Darling," she sighed, rubbing her temple, "why are you staring at the sky? Mommy's got a huge day tomorrow, and Daddy needs his sleep too." Starla giggled and wobbled toward her. Stellar scooped her up with a tired smile, pulling her close. Outside, through the open window, the city's soft hum blended with the quiet night.

"The moon looks gorgeous tonight…" Stellar murmured.

"Is that why you're still awake, my little moonbeam?" She tapped Starla's nose, getting a tiny squeal in response. Then the phone rang. It buzzed relentlessly against the golden nightstand. Stellar groaned, reaching past a jeweled alarm clock reading 2: 34 AM to grab her glowing Zokia 360. She set Starla down safely, stretched, and picked up the call. The bright screen made her squint, then freeze. MASTER INGRIT CALLING… She exhaled sharply and put the phone to her ear.

"What is it, Ingrit? I'm sleeping with my husband, a newborn, and a teenager who'll blind himself again if I make too much noise!" Ingrit's voice crackled through the receiver.

"Apologies, but something needs your attention immediately. Meet me near the Heavenly Region." Her expression hardened. She lowered the phone, her eyes shifting back to the moonlight on the floor. The insignia on her arm shimmered faintly.

"…I'm on my way." In seconds, radiant gold energy filled the room. Her body expanded as light burst outward, unleashing her full dragon form. Golden and white scales gleamed against the dark, accented by glowing violet streaks beneath her eyes. Two jagged horns crowned her head with a golden circlet resting between them. She beat her massive wings once, sending a rush of wind through the streets below. Citizens in the Enchanted City looked up from balconies and plazas as their queen took flight.

"ALL HAIL QUEEN STELLAR!"

"ALL HAIL QUEEN STELLAR!" Stellar smiled mid-flight, shouting down over the wind, "Thank you, my beloved Celestianites! I must answer the call of duty, rest well and shine bright!" Cheers echoed after her as she cut through the upper clouds, leaving golden streaks behind. From high above, the city looked like a glowing ember. She folded her wings and dived like a falling comet. Below lay the Heavenly Region, a sea of golden rice fields shimmering in the starlight.

Driven by celestial energy, the crops swayed without a single farmer in sight. A voice cut through the fog.

"I'm right here, ya chump!" Stellar flared her wings, stopping in midair. A figure stepped out of the mist, eyes glowing cyan. It was Master Ingrit. He stood tall in a brown cloak, a metallic longsword strapped to his back and a cyan gem pulsing on his chest. His wide-brimmed hat, shaped like a loaf of bread, shadowed his face. Stellar shook her head with a smirk.

"You never change." She dived down, the force of her descent sending a shockwave through the grass. Her talons struck the dirt, light flared, and in a burst of gold mist, she shifted back into her humanoid form. Queen Stellar stood before him in gleaming golden armor, her hair catching the moonlight and a white feathery tail curling behind her.

"I spent exactly thirty minutes and five seconds getting here," she said, crossing her arms.

"Speak of your troubles." Ingrit's expression turned stern.

"The kind of troubles even Celestianites can't stand. In twelve years… the second Hero of the Prophecy will arrive in Zeriath. His mission will begin." Stellar frowned.

"The second? The first hasn't even finished his quest."

"There's more going on," Ingrit said.

"I heard it from a boy named Duke. He's seen the future, Stellar. Avangard will fall—not just to war, but to something beyond reality. This isn't a planetary conflict anymore… it's multiversal." She went still.

"And what's the mission?" Ingrit hesitated, his voice tightening.

"Tell the second one… that TK the Mythical has awakened, and is ready… to claim him." Stellar's blood ran cold.

"TK… the Mythical? Then, does that mean KX… Kai Xii the Celestianite—""Yes," Ingrit interrupted.

"Kai Xii was a Mythical in disguise. When the forest was attacked, not by Lunaranites or tribes, but by a spiritual force, he realized the truth. To return to his Mythical form, he ended his Celestianite life to deliver the warning. That's why Don the Celestianite possessed his power from birth. Something is coming for all of us near the end of the prophecy, and none of us know what it is." Quiet settled over the fields. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Ingrit looked up at the moon, his cloak snapping in the breeze.

"You must journey into outer space. Find the Mythicals. Ask for the Lost Key's location. And if they don't know…" He exhaled.

"Then let the children do what they must." He turned to her, showing a tan-skinned face with brown curls and glowing orange eyes beneath his hood.

"I'll wait in Ickeris. When the Chosen One arrives… he'll kill me. That's how it has to go. So promise me, Stellar, promise me you'll finish what I start. Give my soul to him. And guard it from anyone who opposes us." The wind blew through the golden crops as their eyes locked. Stellar took a steadying breath and nodded.

"Quest accepted."

"Okay, this is my introduction. Hello, man, name's Don," the alternate version of me said. The yellow light around me continued pulsing, the room was still covered in the dim black and yellow hue. I managed to pick myself up and glare at him.

"Look, 'Don', or whatever, I've already dealt with an alternate version of me before," I said, rolling my eyes."Dealing with another would just ruin my day." He began taring straight into my soul with those cold yellow eyes.

"It's really just Don Black," he said, voice bone-chilling.

"Or you can call me… Rai." It sounded like mine—but more experienced. Like he'd been through hell and came back with love for it. I lifted off the ground and floated back, wings spreading wide as celestial energy crackled to life.

"Okay, Rai," I said.

"My name is Don, the real Don." I rolled my shoulders, floating forward, heat radiating off me. Leaned in, close enough to whisper: "And do you know what Don can do?" He smirked, yellow and black aura crackling around him like a storm in human form.

"He can kick ass, can't he?" I grinned, both fists now glowing like twin suns.

"Damn right he can." I burst into motion, wrapping my arms around him before blasting out of the doors and into the sky in a violet streak of light. A left hook slammed into my jaw. I seized his head, twisted hard, and dragged him down with me as we plunged toward the depths of the hive. Down. Faster. We traded blows mid-fall—fists cracking against faces as wind roared past us. He grunted, shouting over the rush.

"COULD YOU BE A POWERFUL VARIANT?!"

"GUESS SO!" We hit. The ground erupted beneath us in the center of the Hive City plaza. Dust and shattered honeycombs blasted outward, crushing storefronts and sending Waspinites scattering into the streets while Shadow Knights cut them down. I pushed myself up from the crater, scanning the haze—too late. He was already behind me. Left hook. Right hook. He spun on his heel and drove a back kick straight into my face. My body launched across the lower city grid, tearing through a towering honey structure.

I bounced hard across the tilted floor, claws scraping for traction before the foundation gave way. I flipped back, bursting out of the collapsing frame and falling into open air above the lower alleyways. Jagged streaks of yellow energy carved through the buildings behind me in zigzagging lines. I snapped into a mid-air backflip, flared my energy, and surged back up toward the skyline. Below me in the plaza, he rocketed upward, spiraling after me like a drill.

I glanced down, celestial energy flaring in my hands, and fired a barrage of blasts. He weaved through them, darting between high-rise structures as explosions lit up the surrounding towers. He charged, launching a massive yellow beam. I flipped over it as it blew through a roof below, using the updraft to dive back down at him. I mid-air twisted, slipped behind his guard, and we both slammed onto a mid-level residential ring. I hit the deck first. He came down screaming, fists blazing with raw yellow light.

I shot upward in a streak of celestial energy to meet him. Our collision shook the entire ring, snapping support pillars. I tumbled across the metal plating, but he was already on me—a kick to my gut, an uppercut to my chin. As his fist rocketed toward my chest, I caught it, twisted his wrist, and blasted a point-blank celestial wave into his stomach. The blast carried him straight through an adjoining building, detonating on the far side.

I raised an arm against the backpressure as dust settled over the ruined floor. He stood in the wreckage thirty yards away. Unshaken."' Kay… seems like you aren't bad at fighting."

"I know," I said, resetting my stance on the ledge. My wings flared wide, celestial energy whipping around me.

"So are you gonna give up? Fly back to your own universe, other me?"

"Sending you back to prison is my only job, kid."

"Okay, oldie," I said, eyeing his worn armor.

"Yeah… I can definitely see you leaning into the emo style." I vanished, curving through the air and driving my fist straight into his gut. The impact sent a shockwave across the rooftop. Left hook. Right hook. Uppercut. I pressed him hard toward the edge—until he caught my fist cold. I swung with the other—caught. He locked both my arms in his grip. My muscles strained, shaking, while his didn't budge. Slowly, he lifted his head, a smirk breaking across his face.

"Time to show you what universe I actually come from." He cracked his skull against mine. My vision snapped. I went flying off the rooftop—through one building, two, three—before smashing into a reinforced wall on the castle's outer perimeter. I slumped forward in the crater, barely holding myself up. Blood dripped from my nose onto the stone. Through the shattered holes in the buildings, Rai Kai walked forward slowly along the high bridge, framed by the burning city behind him.

A razor-sharp grin stretched across his face.

"Don't make me cry…" He blasted across the bridge. I surged out of the wall to meet him, but he caught me with a brutal side-strike, launching me onto the castle's upper balcony. I tore through the outer railing, flipping over the stone as debris exploded outward. He flashed in front of me, backhanding me off the balcony and down into the inner courtyard. I hit the stone floor hard, tumbling toward the main entrance as celestial energy crackled weakly over my skin.

I forced myself up, charged my fists, and leaped straight over the castle's grand entrance. I dove back down like a meteor, both fists aimed at his head. Rai Kai fired his fist up from the courtyard floor. Our clash detonated in a massive dome of black and violet celestial energy, shattering the courtyard walls and blasting nearby combatants off their feet. Our fists locked. He held mine in place—effortless. Blood dripped from my nose as I gritted my teeth.

"I've defeated others stronger than you."

"How do you know they were stronger than me?" he asked, raising a dark eyebrow. I froze. His headbutt sent me flying… He isn't bleeding at all… He's stronger than I thought. I need an out.

"What, no answer?" Rai Kai chuckled.

"Guess I'll finish this." He yanked my arm, hurling me across the courtyard. I rolled through the dirt, flipped into a stance, but was too slow. His fist hit my gut like a battering ram. I was launched at insane speed—tearing through five separate castle towers, snapping a courtyard banner pole, and tangling into the hanging power lines above the grand staircase. Before I could cut myself loose, he shot upward in a streak of yellow light and smashed me out of the wires.

An elbow caught my side, knocking the air from my lungs. He appeared above me, driving a fist down into my head, sending me crashing into the staircase below. Pain flared through my spine as he dropped onto me, grabbed my throat, and dragged my body up the stone stairs toward the royal halls at the top. The castle doors swung open at the top of the landing. Inside the hall stood Velvetia, while Starla held an unconscious Kai near the back wall. I managed to snap my arm up, backhanding his grip off my throat.

An instant later, his uppercut caught me, sending me tumbling through the open threshold into the hall. I smashed through the grand windows, rolling across the marble floor until I slammed into the base of the stairs leading to the throne. Starla turned in horror as Rai Kai stepped through the shattered doorway. He didn't hesitate. He closed the distance in a flash, slamming his heel into my chest and pinning me to the floor. Blood burst from my mouth.

"How could my own variant be so weak?" Rai muttered, pressing his foot harder into my neck.

"You were confident until I showed you what a real warrior looks like." His hands began to glow yellow as he reached down.

"You're gonna die here." Starla's fist slammed into his jaw from the side, launching him into the stone pillars lining the hall. She stepped over me, Astral energy spiraling around her fists. Rai pushed himself out of the rubble, wiping his lip.

"What a mistake."

"Back then, I was proud of my mistakes," Starla said.

"I still am." She lunged forward, throwing a powered punch. He caught it instantly. A single counter-punch drove deep into her stomach. Starla gasped, her eyes glazing over as he released her. She collapsed to her knees, blood spilling onto the marble, before he backhanded her flat onto the floor. She went still. Rai turned back to me, unbothered. He grabbed Starla by the neck and dragged her across the hall toward the exit, leaving a streak of blood behind her.

"No…" I choked out.

"NO!" Celestial energy sparked weakly around my body. My tail darkened into a deep, endless blue. I staggered to my feet, vision flickering as I watched him drag her toward the ruined doors. Velvetia stepped aside as he reached the entrance.

"YOU KILLED HER!" I screamed, tears cutting through the blood on my face.

"YOU FUCKING KILLED HER!"

"Everyone has a job, Don," Rai Kai said softly, scooping up Starla with one arm and grabbing Kai off the floor with the other.

"Everyone has a reason to kill. You just don't see it yet." He stepped outside and launched into the sky, his voice echoing over the ruined city.

"SHADOW KNIGHTS! WE'RE DONE HERE!" I staggered out of the doors, staring up into the empty clouds. He was gone. Anger, grief, and rage hit all at once. I slammed my fist into the stone railing, crushing it to powder. I wiped the blood and tears from my face, my voice dropping low and cold.

"If I ever see him again… there will be no second chances."