"We're going to fight." The angel said. He then teleported to the opposite side of the arena.
I looked at Director Skye, but she just shrugged.
What the fuck did I get myself into? I thought, but then I remembered that I never asked for this; it was forced upon me by "fate," if fate is even real. I can't deny the facts, though. I talked to the six figures in that courtroom, and now an angel stands before me. I didn't know any of this existed beforehand.
"Ah, shit, what the hell is happening," I yelled.
The angel looked at me in disgust, but then a knowing smile tugged at his lips. he whispered something to himself that I couldn't hear.
"Shall we begin?" He said flatly.
"I guess." I was not amused by fate. Again, the same question that always popped up in my mind when something happened popped up: Why me?
"Why me?" I asked in an unamused voice. "Why did fate pick me?"
"Because of your heritage." The angel responded simply.
"My heritage?" I asked, but just as soon as the last syllable left my mouth, the angel was in front of me.
He cocked his fist back and swung it in a wide arc.
I don't know how, but I dodged it. It was like my body moved on its own.
"I see your reflexes have not dulled, even with your memories sealed, and no action on the battlefield. It's truly amazing." The angel said with a hint of amazement and wonder in his voice.
Before I could ask one of the many questions stirring in my head, he took yet another swing at me.
I ducked under it, placed my hand on the ground, and did a sweeping kick, trying to sweep his legs out from underneath him, but he saw it.
He simply stepped over my kick, and his leg swung down.
My instincts, or seal memories, or whatever it was, kick in. With my hand still placed on the ground, I propped myself up on it and spun, my kick parrying his kick.
"Impressive, let's see if you can go faster."
He picked up speed, circling me, kicking up dust that was blocking my view. I had no idea which direction he was going to attack from, so I closed my eyes and let my body do whatever it wanted.
I heard a whoosh sound in my left ear, but my body didn't move. I hurriedly opened my eyes and jumped backwards. Nothing was coming at me, though.
"You can't just rely on your instincts, Kai, or you would've been dead if this were a real fight." The angel said, stepping out of the dust.
"It's all I could do in that moment, you were moving so fast you were kicking up dust, I couldn't see you," I said angrily.
"Now, now, no need to be angry, but you are correct. That was the only thing you could do at that moment. Even without battle experience, you still know exactly what to do. It amazes me." He said, walking up to me, and putting his hand on my forehead.
When his hand made contact with my head, memories shot into my mind. My knees buckled from the pain, and I fell face-first into the dirt of the training arena. I didn't have time to make sense of the memories because the pain was too unbearable.
"I've given you some of your memories back. Look at those and get stronger. When I come back, you'd better be stronger. Until we meet again, Kai, fate's chosen one." The angel said as he ascended into the sky.
"Wait!" I said, shakily, barely able to project my voice. This caused me a lot of pain. I held my head and rolled around in the dirt for about a minute.
After about thirty minutes of lying in the dirt, thirty agonizing minutes, my headache finally subsided.
Damn, I thought. I just want my freedom back, I don't give a damn about what fate wants from me. I'll shatter fate if I have to. I just want my old peaceful life back. I flipped off the sky as if fate was up there, lurking around, watching me.
Fuck this war, I'm just gonna open a coffee shop when the demons and angels destroy each other. I don't care what fate has in store for me. This is just too much for me to bear.
I sat up and wiped the sweat from my eyebrow. I pushed myself up to my feet and walked off. Director Skye followed me.
"Kai." Her voice was dripping with concern, but I ignored her and continued to walk off.
Fate wasn't going to make me do anything I didn't want to, but despite that, I still wanted to look at these memories, not to get stronger, but to see what my life was actually like. If I got stronger from looking at the memories, then that's just a positive side effect. But how would looking at memories make me stronger?
As I was lost in thought, I realized I had made my way back to my room. I put the key in the door and opened it up.
A familiar sight graced my eyes. Lyra was yet again in a towel.
"That's actually not a bad idea," I said as I went into the bathroom and washed myself. I was too tired yesterday to even think about it, but now that I am, my sheets on my bed are probably dirty as hell.
I finished my shower, but I realized I forgot my clothes.
"Lyra?" I waited for a response, but none came. I wrapped a towel around my lower half and walked out of the bathroom towards the dresser. Then I heard a voice.
"Payback." Lyra simply said in a teasing voice.
"So, you were out here, but I can't complain, that's fair," I said nonchalantly.
I made my way back into the bathroom and changed. I then lay down in the bottom bunk and focused inward. The pain in my head came back as I started viewing the memory.
My eyes opened, and I was somewhere unfamiliar. The first thing I saw was an angel's face, the same angel I had fought in the training arena. We were fighting again, but I was a lot shorter. I guess I was a child.
I took in my surroundings. We were in a small opening of grass behind a big white building. People were crowded around us in a circle. I saw a familiar face, but I couldn't quite put my finger on where I had seen it. I heard the buzzing of bees, birds were chirping, and a bullfrog was croaking.
The angel and I both had sweat dripping down our foreheads. He had toppled me over. I was looking at the sky when the angel's face came into view. He reached his hand down to me. I took it, and he pulled me up.
"Child, you will be the cause of a big change in the future. I'm not sure whether that change will be good or bad, but to make sure it's a good change, follow the path of righteousness, not the one of treachery." He paused, collecting his thoughts, "There is another one like you." He pointed over to the girl that had the familiar face.
She made her way over to us and bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kai." She then stood up straight and looked at me with an expectant look, as if I knew her name.
That's where the dream ended. I opened my eyes and swung my legs over the bed. There was still sunlight creeping into the room through the curtains. I wasn't sure if I had slept or what had happened.
I held my head in my hands, the pain slowly receding from it. After about two minutes, I got up and took the dirty sheets off the lower bunk and threw them in the washing machine.
Lyra was nowhere to be found, so I sat on the couch, turned the television on, and started to flip through the channels. It was the same way it was before. Every channel was about what was happening with the war.
I didn't want to hear anything about the war, so I turned the TV off and just sat in the sunbathed room, contemplating what that memory could've meant and how it would make me stronger.
I don't know why, my body did feel lighter after watching the memory, but that wasn't what I was worried about. Who was that girl, and why did she look so familiar? If only the dream had gone on for a little while longer, I probably could have learned her name.
Just then, I heard the door to the room click. I turned around and saw a familiar face, and then I realized that last thought was not needed, because I already knew her name.
"Lyra?"