Dragon's violet sword, crushing into the hilt of Hero's Fang with mighty force, bring Chase down onto his knee.
"More power into your legs, not the arms."
Chase nodded, and they reset for the fifteenth time.
"Will you tell me why Orion sealed himself?"
"If you can land a blow..."
The sun had already began to rise over the horizon of the vast plains that Rider's Kingdom stood on top of.
The next exchange began, and Chase side stepped the first attack, and then threw out a faint toward the legs, of course Dragon did not fall for it.
Chase ducked underneath a horizontal slash, and twisted around the arm of Dragon, reeling back with a slash to the man's breastplate.
Dragon shook his head with a grin, and kicked the boy in the shin.
Chase growled in pain, but sent his arm out grabbing the handle of Dragon's blade before it could meet his shoulder.
Then he pushed forward with a mighty jab at the man's stomach.
Onyx laughed, as he sidestepped into quite an awkward position, with his upper body bent into what could have been mistaken as a pretzel.
"How are you..."
Chase axis stepped backward, and away from a downward slash, narrowly avoiding the removal of his own arm.
"Strength, vitality, Primis, Axis... Bah! It is all nothing when compared to both literal and metaphorical flexibility..."
"What does that mean?"
"When faced with an opponent far stronger then yourself, you are left with either mental flexibility or true adaptation, or at least that is what Leander had taught me."
He took a deep breath, and stretched his arm outward.
"But that is incorrect, there is no "Or", because without flexibility there is no adaptation."
Dragon came forward once more, and launched several attacks far to fast for the naked eye to adjust to.
As the two danced between attacks, and attempted at hitting their target... Somehow Onyx found himself still letting words escape his lips even in the midst of battle.
"You cannot adjust if your mind is not willing to adjust, if that makes sense."
Chase barely blocked the sword from shattering his skull with its dull side, by throwing his own blade up frantically.
While holding back a powerful clash, he growled.
"How am I supposed to adjust?!"
Dragon shrugged while still holding the boy back.
"Hm, I'd say just go with the flow of battle... And enjoy it... You cannot let yourself die if you enjoy the game that could kill you."
Dragon stepped on Chase's shoe causing him to lose balance, and with a powerful shove of some unseen energy Chase shot back and landed skidding through the dirt of the training grounds.
"Tell me Chase of The House of Phoenix, have you ever taken a life before?"
Chase looked up at Dragon, with a deranged look on his face.
"No..."
Dragon laughed, and set his blade on the ground.
"That makes this even easier."
He paused, and as if pondering on whether or not he should say it, he shrugged and decided that it would not matter eventually.
"You have not faced the demons of death yet, let alone had the blood of another on your hands, but I can sense it. I sense thousands, if not more, ready to haunt you in the future... And eat you alive like a plague."
"Why in the hell would you tell me that!"
"So that it becomes easier, knowing that you will take countless lives in the future, and one will not mean anything in the face of hundreds."
Then he shot forward without his weapon, dancing through the attacks of Chase like some perfect melody of chaos, he ducked and swerved, jumped, and twisted. No matter what Chase threw at him, The Black Dragon could simply not be hit.
But what angered Chase most of all, what the smile that never ceased to leave the lips of the man mocking him.
"Do you think that Sazir will fight fairly with you? Do you think that knowing your father nearly ended his life will make it any easier for you?"
"On the day that you meet your father's murderer, I will not help you, and I will make sure that no one else does either... Do you know why?"
Onyx asked, as his hand gripped Chase's throat, halting the entire fight in one movement.
"Because he is mine to kill..."
"Wrong..."
Dragon threw Chase into the ground below him, and got off of him, resetting the fight once more.
"The universe owes this match to the both of you... If he wins, he resets the shame brought to him from the scars that had been created by your very father. And if you win, you bring both honor and vengeance to the long lost clan, cementing yourself in history as the the rightful heir to the throne of Vallmora..."
"There is no fair way for this fight to happen, but I hear the calls of the afterlife, and this battle is inevitable, and must happen in the face of the public eye... And want to know something else?"
Dragon growled, as he grabbed the swing of Chase's sword with his bare hand, immediately stopping the force of Hero's Fang.
"This fight... Will be the most legendary in history... And if you win, it will take you years to find another of such caliber..."
Then just before Dragon's fist met the boy's face, Chase grabbed it and pushed both the fist and the man back about three or four feet and growled.
"Why did Orion seal himself away...?"
Dragon grinned.
"Now you're getting it..."
Dragon summoned his sword once more, and the two began to become a beautiful sight of errorless battle, none of Chase's attacks landed, but nor did Onyx's as the two battled for the longest of the night without a reset.
"Orion found himself in a war against the gods themselves... Eternity, Azzorath, Luna, Calamity, Wrath, Dezzereth, Nero, Dexus, all of them..."
Chase flipped around the oncoming blade of Dragon's sword, and found himself a clear opening, using it to his advantage, he sent a flying kick toward the chest of Dragon with as much force as he could muster up.
The bottom of his shoes met the chest of Dragon and threw him back about four meters, leaving him with a grin, as Chase had reset the fight on his own terms.
"How can you say those names...?"
Chase growled.
"Tis my lineage, I carry the divine lineage of Dragoth, so I am technically part god... As do you do with your mother, but you must wield it as your own before you can truly carry the power that has been shackled within you, but it took me my entire life since birth of training my body to wield such energy, and if I'm being honest, I am still no where near mastery..."
Chase looked at the ground, realizing what that meant. He may never even learn how to use his mother's lineage... Meaning he would never reach his true potential.
"But the funny thing about us children of gods... We carry the flame of immortality as all gods do... So we are not bound by time nor the laws of humans..."
Chase set his blade in the ground, and sat down realizing that they were being watched by more then one pair of eyes now...
"I am no god..."
He whispered under his breath.
"Nor am I..."
Dragon grinned.
"Have either of you even slept?"
Summer asked, as her and Vivian stepped out onto the porch of the stone fortress.
"Of course, just figured we would get some early training in before our departure."
Onyx said with a shrug.
Then he turned toward Chase, and spoke quietly.
"Orion sealed himself because the men and women of this world were not strong enough to wage war on the creators... He is still waiting to this day, for humanity to surpass even him..."
As the twelve members of Task Force Unity met one last time in the meeting room, everyone was geared up.
Gemini wore a large backpack full of forging materials, and food on his back. His face looked strong, but his eyes showed that it was a lie. He was clearly nervous for the coming battles.
Gabriel was twiddling his thumbs, as his trident was set beside the map table, a small backpack that his sister must have packed for him was slung over his shoulder.
Michael had a wonderful scythe made of raw ice resting on his back, strange faces engraved into the crescent blade. He could have sworn that he seen himself on the very tip of the blade, but shook it off.
Summer and Dragon stood on opposite sides of the room, a strange history must have happened between them, as they continued on taking glances at each other.
Talon sat alone on top of one of the tables in the far back of the room, as he gazed at a small golden dagger resting in his right hand. Chase couldn't help but feel a strange sense of untrust within the man he had chosen.
Ricky and Danny were chatting up a storm, about how both of them wanted to return home after winning the war and fixing up the outskirts of The Rider Kingdom.
Vivian and Equan were at Chase's side, both eerily quiet, and refusing to speak. But he could almost there minds, they wanted to show usefulness, and prove themselves, that much, he knew.
As for Chase, he felt the distant growls of his canine companion within his soul... He felt the air around them grow more dreadful as the coming nights continued to draw near on the task force of Unity...
He wondered why Leander had chosen that name, but figured that it was of no use trying to make sense of the old headmaster.
But he had to trust in his wisdom, knowing that the future of Vallmora was awaiting the eleven of them (Twelve if you counted Sparky, which Chase usually did.)
"Today, marks the first of many where unity will outshine the kingdoms of Vallmora, and we will burn the snow from the face of the Frostfang mountain tops."
He struck the table with his sword, holding it with both hands, as Hero's Fang began to glow in the dim lantern lighting of the meeting room.
Then he turned back toward Equan now that he had everyone's attention.
"What's something cool I could say?"
"Huh?"
"Oh wait, I got it."
Chase, as flames began to burn within his eyes, as his sword resting vertically in the map, perfectly pierced into the heart of Frostfang, he spoke somberly.
"United we stand, and together we shall never fall..."
Then as if perfectly coordinated, Dragon was the first, who set his sword on the table.
"United."
Michael was the next, who set his war scythe on the table and nodded.
"United."
Then came Gemini with his war hammer, and then Gabriel with his trident.
Following after was Danny and Equan who set their spear and bow in their respected spots.
"Eh what the hell."
Ricky set both his short sword and shield on his spot.
Talon without saying anything, muttered something under his breath, and set the dagger on the far corner.
Summer put her staff on the table with a vibrant smile.
last was Vivian who raised an eyebrow, who was being stared at by everyone.
"Well?"
Gabriel asked.
"I don't have a weapon..."
She said with a deadpanned expression on her face.
Chase leaned back, and whispered.
"Just improvise."
Then she shrugged, and set her hand on the table.
"United..."
The End of the Prelude of UNITY, as now the real story begins from here...