21 Courage (1/2)
Again, Darius experienced the fleeting sensation of molecules being transferred from one place to the other. Lara appearing immediately beside him.
”Clearly these next trials are just for us.” She said as she looked around their surroundings. Since the ranking for their tests were equal, Lara and Darius would be taking the exact same ones.
For some reason the fact that they had been plunged straight into the next trial didn't phase Darius for a moment. If anything, he couldn't wait to find out what it was. This feeling was highly uncharacteristic of him. He wasn't sure what was happening but in the moment, the rush of adrenaline was like drugs. The feeling of imminent danger was ecstasy.
They were standing on one island in a small chain of desert islands. She knew a few things about Spirit Knights and their powers. So to her the feeling she had wasn't much. Her short navy blue hair blew softly in the wind as she tried out out her new power. The spirit she'd slain was the two headed jaguar that for some reason had six legs and two tails. It was one of the twin spirits, among the hardest to find and kill. Although she hadn't been able to land the killing blow thanks to Darius the creature must've still died from the brutal wounds she had inflicted.
Like Darius, she could feel some of the Dantians more passive effects taking hold inside her. She was more aware of her surroundings. It was as if she had to seperate brains inside her head. As she unsheathed her sword she noticed the most subtle of changes. Her left hand was no longer dominant. She was now ambidextrous. With her two brains in one it didn't take long to come to terms with what was happening. But Darius on the other hand was a different case.
Lara had studied spirits and their energy before and realized what was happening to Darius. His demeanor had completely changed. He wasn't oblivious to the danger but for some reason it didn't seem to phase him at all. Then it began to make sense to her.
The spirit he had defeated in the cave was far more viscious and blood thirsty than others. Particularly its willingness to do anythng for a kill and how eager it was to dive into battle. Before Lara had simply attributed this to it simply being a possessed creature and its own general stupidity but now she realized exactly what class it had been.
”Indomitable.” she muttered under her breath.
Darius had been scanning the water, waiting for anything to reveal itself.
Usually he would have been terrified but for the second time in the same week he had changed. Not sure if it was for better or worse but what he was sure of was that whatever was in those waters was soon about to have the battle of its life.
Darius felt stronger, faster, tougher. His senses were hightened as his hazel brown eyes could see farther, he could smell the sea, the air and everything it wass made of, he could even taste the salt. He could hear the sound of Lara breathing a few meters away from him and the ripples the spirits made as they glided through the water. Although this wasn't exactly new to him he felt as if one of the spirit energy's side effects was that it unlocked his full potential.