Ratom walked side-by-side with Lucas, heading towards the warriors assigned to retrieve the cores with him.
"Out of pure curiosity, I'd like to ask you something," Lucas said, his tone gentle as he tried to suppress his negative emotions.
"Oh, we're buddies now, are we?" Ratom retorted.
"Just answer the damn question, will you?" Lucas's voice grew slightly more aggressive, though not offensively so. "Why do you want to fight with us?"
"I just want the Divergent Key, and I don't care about the cost," Ratom stated flatly. "At least I'm not the one holding thousands of human souls captive to live in some infinite energy utopia."
"Why do you want the Divergent key ?"Your trial has expired," Ratom said, cutting the conversation short. Lucas then hesitated before asking, "Can I ask one more question?"
Ratom reluctantly agreed.
"Are you Humanoid or human?" Lucas asked, his gaze serious.
"I am Ratom," he replied, doing his best to avoid more questions. The training grounds were now in sight, and from a distance, Ratom could see people sparring.
They finally reached the group, and Lucas called for their attention. Everyone ceased their activities. "Today, we welcome our temporary comrade, Ratom. He will be fighting alongside us in the upcoming campaign to retrieve the cores that will sustain us for the next decade."
Murmurs rippled through the assembled fighters as different words and opinions clashed.
"Regardless of what he is," Lucas declared, his voice cutting through the noise, "he is the only one who can help us achieve our goal." He handed the microphone to Ratom. "Just don't die," he added with a hint of annoyance.
Another man took the stand and assigned them to a sparring match. Stepping down, he fixed his one good, blood-red eye on Ratom. Ratom found himself momentarily distracted by the man's luscious, long white hair. How could anyone fight with hair like that? he wondered.
The man adjusted his eyepatch. "I am Eraclius, and I hate Humanoids. Come at me with everything you have, young man."
Ratom felt a strange unease at being called a "man" and decided to hold back his unnatural powers. He lunged forward, leading with his fist. Eraclius stood firm, one hand behind his back, and effortlessly blocked Ratom's punches with divine precision. Amazed, Ratom feinted with a punch and twisted his body into a powerful kick, but Eraclius's block was like striking ancient, unmovable stone. He followed with a flurry of kicks, all of which were easily intercepted.
"Why are you holding back?" Eraclius asked calmly.
"No one else is using a weapon," Ratom replied.
"This isn't the strength needed to defeat the Shades," Eraclius stated, his voice laced with disappointment.
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Ratom said, genuinely puzzled.
Eraclius released Ratom and gestured for the others to create space. He shifted his stance, his demeanor changing entirely as he tied back his long hair. With a single, explosive step, he propelled himself forward, the force of his movement cracking the marble floor beneath him. In an instant, he was in front of Ratom, a blur of motion.
Shocked by the blinding speed, Ratom couldn't evade in time. A devastating punch connected with his gut, sending him flying across the training room. His eyes snapped open just in time to see Eraclius hurtling towards him at a breakneck pace. Ratom dodged just as a fist whistled past where his head had been. Before he could even process what had happened, an unseen force slammed into him. He struggled to comprehend how a kick could land with such speed and power.
Realizing that escape was futile, Ratom decided to block. Eraclius shattered his guard with a vicious strike to his solar plexus. The onlooking warriors were stunned, beginning to whisper that Ratom was weak. As his consciousness started to fade, Ratom instinctively shifted into a different fighting stance.
A grin spread across Eraclius's face as he launched into a high-speed assault that was invisible to the other warriors. On the brink of collapse, Ratom's hand shot out, catching Eraclius's punch with pinpoint accuracy. Excited, Eraclius delivered a kick with enough force to kill a normal man, but Ratom blocked it. Seizing the arm that was still trapped in a block, Eraclius brutally twisted it. The onlookers were dumbfounded; by now, the exchange of blows was too fast for their eyes to follow.
Ratom's consciousness finally gave way, and he collapsed. Eraclius called off the spar, his hand having been snapped out of place during the final exchange.
Later that night, Ratom awoke in an unfamiliar bed, his body feeling surprisingly rejuvenated. He knew he couldn't have regenerated that quickly on his own. He rose and took a walk through Yomi, the stars just beginning to pepper the night sky. There, sitting on the porch of a nearby building, he saw Lyra. The dim moonlight softened the vibrant red of her hair.
"Eraclius is a beast," Lyra said, her voice breaking the silence. "He's by far the strongest person in Yomi. They call him the 'Burning Angel of the Battlefield' because he leaves nothing but dust in his wake. Like you, he is a wanted man, but he can't be caught by mere mortals."
"If you have someone like him, why do you need me for this mission?" Ratom questioned.
"I'm being completely honest with you," she paused, her gaze intent. "Mr. Eraclius said you were more than ten times stronger than him."
"That makes no sense," Ratom said, puzzled.
"Mr. Eraclius is a man filled with pride. He would never say such a thing if it weren't true," Lyra insisted.
Ratom remained silent. Lyra then brought out two boxes and led him inside the building.