93 City Talk

Aiden flew through the skies of New York, not believing his eyes. He had never seen so many buildings which seemed to pierce the sky above him. If he tried to fly to the top, he would start to get light headed until he dropped again. The lights of the city seemed more numerous than the stars in the sky. It didn't seem possible to have so much life in one place.

"Pretty intense, isn't it?" A voice spoke from behind him, causing Aiden to jump back in the air, if such a thing was possible. "I had much the same reaction the first time I flew through through the skies around here. There's just so much life, isn't there?" Turning to face the one intruding on his sight seeing, Aiden's face went slightly pail. In front of him stood Will Ragnos. His hair may have been cut slightly short, and he was dressed in a black T-Shirt and jeans with a black leather jacket, a crown insignia above his heart. Aiden would recognize the lineage cross around his neck from anywhere, yet it was black, with slight veins protruding from it, as well as a ruby, opal and onyx gemstones which were set in the metal.

"I was wondering when I would be meeting you, Prince William Ragnos the Second." Aiden made a mock formal bow in the air before he readied himself for a fight. Yet something unexpected happened instead. Will seemed to choke up a little, before bursting out laughing. "I don't see what's funny, friend." Aiden raised an eyebrow and somewhat faltered.

"Not many people would mistake me for my brother." The man raised his hand and lit a flame within, yet the flame was just an illumination of an eerie blackness surrounding his hand, yet it was enough to see that the man's hair was black. "My name is Jake, the biological brother of one William Ragnos the Second. You can call me Jake Aremesis."

"Aremesis?" Aiden's expression didn't change as it only became more confusing to him. "I thought you just said you were a Ragnos heir."

"It's a long story, but lets just say I'm not the ruling type." Jake gave a friendly smile. "But enough of this, Aiden Ragnos." Jake let the flame in his hand dissipate. "We have a lot to talk about."

"I have nothing to say to the royal line!" Aiden raised his hands and shot three fire balls towards Jake. Instead of reacting, a gust of wind blew out in front of Jake, extinguishing the flames before they could singe one hair.

"You have nothing to say to the royal line of the timeline you came from. You are not in Crystallia, and even if you were, it's not the Crystallia that bastard of a prince turned into a slaughtering ring." Jake said sharply. "If you would just listen to me, I can explain things to you."

"How do you know of where I'm from?"

"I know more than you think." Jake said with a grim look to his face. "I saw the halo used to reign you all in. I saw that bastard Prince take the energy from all of his people in order to increase in strength, only letting husks fall after he was done."

"Then you know why I must defeat your brother." Aiden challenged. "He will become that man. He will become someone that only believes in power, and will destroy worlds just to satiate his appetite."

"I don't think he could become that man." Jake said with a smile. "Just last year, he sacrificed himself for the good of Crystallia. He freed slaves and built up the entirety of the continent and then just this year cast off the mantle of the Prince of Ebonhart. He will not rule a kingdom when his time comes."

"He cast away his right to rule in Ebonhart?" Aiden looked skeptically at Jake.

"He wasn't even raised a prince. He was instead raised here." Jake raised his hands to indicate the world beneath. "He knows nothing of ruling, which allows him to act in the fairness of everyone."

"If that's true, why doesn't everyone have the aura?"

"Can you imagine such a world?" Jake challenged. "This world is one ruled by science. They have weapons that can shoot holes through you before you can blink. They have explosives that can level whole continents and they are used to fighting amongst each other. Could you imagine handing them magic which could let them fly without machines? They could just raise their strength high enough to level a city without using explosives and this world might even get a ruler much the same as your prince, who hordes power."

"Then who defends against your Will?"

"There's no need for the defense."

"Not now, but what about years from now, who will keep Will in check? What if he has a change of heart in the many years of life he has left?" Jake could tell that he was seeing the mass grave that lined the halo from below in his own world. He had only seen a glimpse of that world. He could never imagine living in it.

"He already has come up with a countermeasure." Jake said softly. "We have crystals that can store energy within, others who don't have the aura can use them as simply as a tool. They can activate their own weapons with them, and can defend themselves at least until the crystals run out of power."

"But Will can also drain the crystals just by willing it, can't he?" Aiden read Jake's mind as easily as reading a book. "No one can have these abilities without the prince's say so. That's about to change."

"And you are going to change everything I suppose?" Jake raised an eyebrow. "I'm betting you just gained these abilities not too soon before you came to this world."

"Give me time," Aiden said seriously. "As soon as I get a handle on how to bestow the aura on others, you will know."

"I don't think I want to give you the time." Jake said as he took out his cross. A dark flame burst into life and engulfed him. When it dissipated, he stood within the air with a black suit of armor and two onyx blades in hand. One with an onyx stone in the pommel, and the other an opal. "That is, if you want it, you'll have to take it." He smiled grimly as he readied himself.