Legacy Of Altherion

Logan sat on a step outside his aunt and uncle's home, immersed in deep thought. He wondered why he wakes up drenched in sweat, screaming into his pillow.

The nightmares occurred more frequently, ending in a similar manner every time.

He stared at his hands, opening and closing them as disturbing images and emotions flashed before him. He felt the rage slowly creeping into his body.

Desperately trying to fight it off, he placed his hands on his head squeezing and pushing inwards, his fingers close to penetrating his skull.

"Logan, is something wrong?" aunt Chloe said, standing behind him.

"Huh? No, I’m fine. I just have a migraine." he said, looking down, preventing her from seeing his face.

"I have some pain killers in the kitchen, I’ll go and get some for you." she said and went inside.

"Thanks." he said, then paused.

He felt something warm and wet dripping from his nose onto his lips and chin. He placed two fingers below his nose then slowly brought them forward. His eyes widened.

‘Blood?’

The blood was extremely thick and dark, a lot darker than normal, one would be forgiven for mistaking it for black. Logan promptly wiped the blood off his lips and nose, then rushed off fearing that his aunt might see him.

After leaving Sam's home, Nathan headed for the woods to acquire suitable wood for their assignment. Ominous dark clouds covered the sky, thankfully however, it did not appear that they would burst anytime soon.

After walking for a few minutes, a loud thud in the distance caught his attention. His first thought was of someone on the same mission as him, intrigued, he decided to inspect the noise and walked farther into the woods.

Nathan arrived at a large open space with a few trees scattered sporadically. He noticed pieces of a demolished tree laying on the ground, and walked towards the centre of the space for a closer inspection. With all his attention focused on the tree, he barely managed to look up in time to dodge a large piece of lumber flying towards him, it whooshed by his head.

"What the hell?"

A familiar figure appeared behind the tree line, Nathan's eyes widened as the figure approached then disappeared instantly.

He shifted his gaze in every direction, however, he could not determine where the figure vanished to. He blinked, and the figure appeared right in front of him. His reaction time was too sluggish, he received a powerful punch to his chest that sent him hurtling across the open space, impacting a large tree.

Nathan used the stump of the tree as leverage to help himself get to his feet.

The figure tilted his head at Nathan, surprised at his uninjured state. He took a step forward then charged towards him. He disappeared then reappeard in front of Nathan again, only this time he paused.

Nathan stared at the figure, his eyes were glazed and rolled back, thick black veins protruded from his forehead and temples into the corners of his eyes.

‘Barely looks human.’

Nathan attempted to speak, but only managed to let out half a syllable before the figure attacked him again.

The figure punched ferociously, his attacks lacked precision, however, they were rapid and innumerable. Nathan dodged each punch with swift yet simple movement, none of them even came close to reaching him.

Nathan observed him closely, looking for a gap in his defense. He lowered his head avoiding an incoming punch, then returned a mighty blow of his own and struck the figure in the abdomen.

The force of Nathan's blow generated enormous wind pressure, sending the figure tumbling and skipping along the ground, before pulverising two large trees on the opposite end.

The figure got back to his feet and charged Nathan once again, bursting through the falling trees.

Nathan stared in disbelief at his swift recovery.

‘He's quite strong, and fast...very fast. I have to finish this quickly!’ Nathan clenched his fists and prepared for another assault.

Nathan rushed towards the centre of the opening the moment he noticed the figure disappearing from view.

Due to the figure being in the middle of his high speed dash, he failed to notice that Nathan too disappeared. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Nathan punched him in the diaphragm before he could blink, the thunderous strike lifted his feet off the ground while expelling all the air out of his lungs.

With a swift motion, Nathan raised his right leg in the air, then hammered his heel onto the back of his head with explosive force. The figure impacted the ground violently, creating deep cracks in the shape of a spiderweb.

Nathan stood over the figure looking troubled and confused. The figure got up onto his knees slowly, enraged, he punched a hole in the ground while looking up at Nathan in disgust.

"Logan stop!"

Logan charged at lightning speed and punched him below his jaw before he could block, launching him into the air like a rocket.

Logan took off into the air creating a violent gust of wind, displacing the pieces of lumber on the ground.

The pair exchanged blows at an incredible speed, high up in the air.

Logan landed a rib crushing blow to the chest with his knee that left Nathan hunched over and stunned. He clubbed the back of his head using both arms, sending him plummeting to the ground at blistering speed.

Logan did not relent, he accelerated in pursuit of Nathan. A thunderous boom echoed, creating a visible shockwave as he broke the sound barrier.

As Logan reached for his face, Nathan’s body rotated swiftly, striking Logan in the abdomen with a fierce kick. Logan plummeted to the ground creating a small depression.

Nathan flipped in the air and landed with a heavy thud. He dashed towards Logan the moment his feet touched the ground.

Logan got to his feet and flew out of the crater, however, before he cleared two meters, Nathan grabbed his leg and slammed him deep into the ground.

Nathan drove his knee into his chest, then sat on him, pinning his arms to his side.

The pitch black veins covering Logan’s forehead and temples lightened and faded away, returning the colour to his eyes. He shook his head coming to, like waking up from a hazy nightmare.

His eyes trembled as he stared at Nathan’s expressionless face.

‘This is just like...’

He tried to speak, however, the black veins covered his forehead once again, filling him with rage.

Before the feeling consumed him, he heard Nathan’s apologetic voice followed by a devastating punch that rendered him unconscious.

Heavy rain poured onto a wooden roof, dripping down into a barn filled with large bundles of hay.

Logan woke up confused as to where he was and how he got there. He attempted to get to his feet, but stopped abruptly due to a sharp pain coming from his ribs.

"You shouldn't move.” a low voice said.

Logan looked up and noticed Nathan sitting by the door staring at the rain hitting the muddy ground.

Logan sat up against a bundle of hay with his hand placed firmly on his side.

The two sat quietly for a few moments, neither one knowing what to say.

"Nathan, I'm sorry, I..." Logan said.

"Hey, that wasn't you."

"But it was, I almost killed you."

Nathan grinned. “I'm not that easy to kill."

Logan sighed and stared at the rain.

"Where are we anyway, whose place is this?"

Nathan shrugged. “I don't know, it's west of the woods. I noticed it as I carried you, so I brought us here for shelter."

Logan nodded. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped, he sighed and shook his head.

"Logan, what’s happened to you? What were you doing in the woods?"

"Honestly I...I don't know. The last thing I remember, I was sitting in front of my aunt and uncle's home, then my nose started bleeding. I went for a walk, and the next thing I saw was you sitting on my chest.” he said. "I thought it was a dream, like the last time."

"Like last time? What do you mean?"

Logan looked to the ground.

"You can talk to me, this is a safe space."

Logan sighed. "I've been having these vivid dreams, about the explosion at Bracken High School." he said, turning to Nathan.

"What kind of dreams?"

"They're more like nightmares. I dreamt that I caused the explosion, and I end up hurting someone really badly.”

Nathan raised his brow. "Who do you hurt?"

"You, I brutally…murder you.” Logan said, avoiding eye contact.

Although taken a back by Logan’s words, he tried to keep his expression neutral for the sake of his friend.

"A follow up question. You don't have to answer me, but if you don't, I'll have the answer regardless."

Logan nodded.

"Were you responsible for the explosion at Bracken High School?"

Logan sighed. "Yes...and no. It was me, but it wasn't at the same time. Much like what happened earlier during our fight.”

Nathan nodded. "I understand, it's like I told you earlier, that wasn't you."

"How are you so calm about all of this, who…what are you?" Logan said. "I know I said that it felt like a dream, and that I wasn't in control, but I remember everything that happened.”

Nathan smiled. "This is going to sound very hypocritical, but I can't tell you. Not yet anyway, I need permission."

"Permission? From whom?"

"Let's go to my parent's place, I'll explain everything once we get there.” Nathan said getting to his feet.

He approached Logan, placed his arm around his neck and supported him as they walked towards the door.