Ascension Read Free Page B

no mistaking it; these were definitely men in service to this organization he’d come to learn so much about. Their uniforms were military attire of navy blue, riddled with belts and buckles across combat vests. Upon each sleeve’s shoulder was a familiar distinctive logo of two rifles running perpendicular, and overtop were two letters printed in bold yellow ink. Without doubt they were those described as worn in Namtar’s famous battle.
    â€œProject Indigo…, I suppose it was only a matter of time before we ran into your regiment,” Rabisu sighed.
    The operatives opened fire on the winged Corrupted, but Rabisu, not the least bit intimidated, merely scoffed and shed his cloak before he retaliated. He manoeuvred about the Indigo operatives, dodging bullets without exerting any real effort, and thrashed at them until they could no longer fight back.
    For Rabisu, this was ecstasy. It had been so long since he’d felt such joy, and a wide grin had become cemented upon his marble face. But his fun was soon interrupted. A lone dagger of ice crashed at his feet. He looked down at the dagger, and at a cloaked figure that had emerged before him. The figure shed her cloak, revealing a most beautiful and womanly physique beneath.
    â€œSo you must be the water guardian that has Asag shaking in his boots. I must confess, you are indeed a breath-taking sight,” said Rabisu, admiring the Corrupted’s beautiful, slender, and dark blue complexion. “To think when we passed through those inter-dimensional tears and sought a host, that you would find one so alluring to make your own. Tell me, why would you waste such beauty upon those of lesser value?”
    The water guardian brushed back a fringe of long black hair from out her face, and extended her webbed hands into the air. He licked his lips in response, and stood before her with his wings in full extension and his black marble body fully exposed.
    â€œWhat a day. First to enjoy such a feast, and now to find myself challenged by a guardian,” he smiled, baring his blood covered fangs before her. “I also applaud your ability to anticipate my arrival. Now remains the question of whether you can stop me?”
    In that instant, and with a whoosh of the water guardian’s palm, liquid water writhed and solidified. She grasped at a newly formed javelin of ice, and prepared herself to impale Rabisu with one timely strike. Rabisu simply jeered back at her gleefully and heavily beat his wings. Fierce winds then thrashed up and about the rooftops, knocking many an armed operative off his or her feet.
    â€œYou only waste my time with such inept toys,” he roared.
    But he soon learned that his attentions should not have wavered from the water guardian; for he felt a splinter of ice in his side had left him with a nasty gash. He cupped the wound; dark, oily blood trickled like a stream down his clawed fingertips. For Rabisu, such pain was negligible, but his pride had been tarnished. I am one of Namtar’s Reapers, one of his very finest , he thought to himself. And yet a mere water guardian has challenged me, even drawing of my blood .
    Enraged, Rabisu charged toward the water guardian and pierced her cold and fragile body. At least, that’s what he thought had happened. But as he gazed down at his drenched marble exterior, he realised that the water guardian had at the very last moment stepped out of the way and left a mirage in her wake.
    Such a useful skill , he thought to himself. At least, this was the only notion that could make sense, for he was sure he’d dealt the water spirit what otherwise would’ve been a fatal blow.
    He pivoted around on the balls of his feet; the guardian stepped out from behind another copy forged from water, holding yet another javelin crafted of ice.
    Only now did Rabisu question that perhaps he’d underestimated this water guardian’s strength. Is this the true power of a Corrupted