Chapter 18 The canyon of death

My life is full of shit and fucked. I was once a young boy with the hope of becoming someone great in life, but now, take a look at me. My emotions have now led me to my downfall. I am now left alone to face my problems, and it is a must to unravel them.
If I had known, I would have listened to all the instructions given to me by my dad, about all his warnings that emotion would surely lead to my downfall.
Nonetheless, I knew I would survive. I would conquer Esther and all her evil villains. Then I will find a way to return to my reality and begin my investigation.
As you all know, my name is Rey Reed. A fresh, scrawny, and gorgeous boy who was abducted at the age of 16 and was forced to fight In the arena where I was bred, nurtured, and developed with a harsh workout. I can't even guess where the arena ground is located, but I am sure that it is somewhere in Africa.
I understand what you are all thinking, and I know you might be calling me a clown. But don't blame me. Put yourself in my shoes and then you will understand what I am going through.
Anyway, I will gladly disappoint you now. I am sure you are all thinking that Esther and her beings will veto, swat, and wholly me hell like they have been doing before, but that was in the past. As you are all aware, I am not a quitter. No matter the circumstances and odds against me, I am always ready to fight until death.
And let me remind you that I have slain many soldiers, knights, monsters, and beasts. Don't forget how I single-handedly killed ten vicious players. I might not know the power of the Smith or anything about the so-called nectar that General Zod and the familiar voice are requesting from me. However, I am sure of one thing. I am sure that I won't die because "Tomorrow Never Dies."
I stood on top of the narrow, drench wall and deep valley without a perennial stream at the bottom. The canyon is a gigantism one, more substantial than the ravine. It was made of glass, which I guess was an illusion. The mere sight of the hole alerted me to the fact that it was shallower and deeper than it appeared to the naked eye.
The illusion canyon looks like an imperial canyon from the cartoon I always watch when I am young. It is one of the finest examples of arid-land attrition in the world. I took a peek at the edge of the canyon, and if my calculations were right, the canyon was about 4,000 feet deep for our gross 277 miles. It is 6,000 feet deep at its deepest point and 18 miles at its widest.
"How much can you last, Rey Reed?" I heard the same familiar voice behind me.
Slowly, I turned back and our gazes met. He was now sitting at the other end of the canyon while General Zod and Esther stood beside him.
I tried to look closer at the man, trying to identify the owner, but it was impossible. He did a good job of concealing his face with a veil that appears to reflect like a diamond.
"Defeat Esther, cross the bridge, and make it back here alive. Then I will surely free you." He said, and I could see the evil smile that formed on Esther's lips. I shake my head in pity for her. Perhaps she thinks her trick will work on me again.
"Oh, at least I forgot." The familiar voice said it again. "You are not the only one here," he said, and I watched in amazement as some teens, probably the same age as me, emerged out of nowhere. "You are now forty in number. Only the last being alive will be granted the permission." The familiar voice clarified.
"Before you begin," General Zod quickly added. "I must warn you, Rey Reed, that they had dark magic, and they wouldn't hesitate to kill you."
"Keep the advice for yourself in the future," I spat back with venom in my voice. "Because you won't get the chance to use it when I return back for revenge."
"We will be waiting for you." The familiar voice retorted instead. "Now, begin." He yells, his voice booming throughout the canyon.
I tighten my hilt on the grip of the scarlet sword, go down on my knees, and let my mind relax. Then I recited one thing that struck my mind. "Our dear heavenly Father," I prayed. I don't know what pushed me, but I just felt this sudden urge to pray. Even though I could hear the loud roaring of the lads as they came descending on me like an insect, I didn't let that disturb my mind or the prayer I was reciting. "Hallow be unto your holy name," I continue again. "Let your kingdom come, and let it reign here on earth. Please, grant me the power and ability to defeat this being. Lift me high above them and send me an unexpected miracle so I can leave here alive, hale and healthy. My lord, please don't allow my soul to perish in this unknown foreign land, a place where my body wouldn't even get a proper funeral." I prayed for help from the depths of my heart. I could feel tears slipping down my face, and my heart was aching badly.
"Just as you helped Jonah and answered his prayer from the mouth of a shark after three days," I said in my heart. I could remember that Bible verse very well. I can even remember that Jonah was running away from the sight of God like a coward, but I am not like him. I waited for what seemed like forever, hoping for God to send me unexpected help, but I don't feel any changes in my body. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see the kids charging at me, their loud footsteps echoing throughout my ears and sounding all over the canyon. I closed my eyes again and decided to give it one last chance.
"My Lord, save my soul and I shall glorify your name forever," I begged the Lord for the last time.
Then, in the chaos, I closed my eyes for the last time and found harmony. As I felt the footsteps of the kids moving closer to me, I allowed it to draw me deeper into my inner power, instead of distracting me. Then a realization suddenly flashed in my head: I am bigger than death, General Zod, and any of their illusion techniques.
I felt sudden burning coursing through my palm, between my eyes, and it went down my spine. With an enormous amount of energy, I leapt twenty feet into the air while a plasma blaze narrowly missed my body.
I landed on my feet, the rune sword in my hand, which is now glowing brightly. I examined the sword, and I could feel the immersive power radiating from it. Without wasting time, I tightened my grips on the sword, my hand wrapping around the smooth ivory hilt, and I raised it with all my might, striking it on the canyon bridge. I watch in awe as pale lights flash out of the sword, striking all the kids at once, and their bodies become scorched chickens.
My eyes couldn't believe what had just happened. With a single strike, I had slaughtered about forty kids, and I was still feeling the need to take more life.
"Who is next?" I yell at General Zod and his members. I can see the look of surprise and shock in their eyes, but they were quick to replace it with a dangerous look.
I stepped aside in instinct and a spike ball whooshed past my head. Without being told, I knew it was no one but Esther. It was exactly the kind of battle I had been waiting for. I wanted to fight her one-on-one, blow for blow, and prove to her that no matter the amount of dark power she possessed, she couldn't beat me.
I wheeled around and faced her with a deadly look on my face. I wanted her to know that all her illusion tricks wouldn't work on me this time around.
She charged at me, spinning her sword in one hand and striking with the spigot on the other hand. However, I wasn't relenting either. I blocked a blow as she slashed at me from the right angle. She twirled her sword and slashed at me again, attacking me from different angles with the aim of confusing me. Unfortunately for her, I was blocking every blow expertly. She would tap into her dark power, then channel it into high speed and use it to attack me. But the rune sword did a lot of help in parrying the blow. I also wish I was able to use the strange power that is swelling in the pit of my stomach, but I don't know how to channel it. The only thing that is helping me is the rune sword and all the hard training I have been through.
She launched an attack on me with the aim of chopping me in two, but I saw the blow in slow motion. I gave ground to the lunge and quickly rolled out of the way as she directed her spike ball at me again. I jump on my feet in the same motion, then perform bar hop skills, raise my sword high with all my strength and bring it down on her head. Seeing that the spike in her hand wouldn't help her block the blow very well, she dropped it and parried the blow with her sword. I didn't give her the chance to make any move when I quickly stepped behind her and hit her in the neck. She turned back, her eyes holding resentment, and rushed at me.
Unfortunately, that was her mistake. I evade the attack and use the hilt of my sword to strike her on the neck with her jaw. It caught her unawares and she split her blood in the process. However, I wasn't done. I rushed at her and kicked her in the abdomen. I grabbed her neck, raised her off the ground with a strange strength I didn't know I possessed and slammed her back onto the bridge of the canyon.
A painful groan escaped her lips, and she spilt more blood. Not waiting for her to stand up, I rushed at her again, channelling all the strength in me for her belle, and crushed her. The memory of how she tortured me when I just arrived here flashes in my head, and it made my body burn twice in anger. I raised my leg again, brought it down for her belle, and I watched in satisfaction as blood oozed out of her mouth and noise altogether.
With unimaginable strength, I grabbed her leg and flung it towards the end of the canyon bridge. Then I leaped high into the sky, going higher than I had ever been while the strange power also did a good job of propelling me up. When I was satisfied with my height, I deflected the law of sobriety with my head coming first. I twisted my body in mid-air and performed screwdriver skills. My body was swivelling fastly with unimaginable speed, with the rune sword's sharp mouth pointing straight at her chest.
Just a few metres from my sword to boycott home, I felt a strange force knock me out. The force was so strong that it slammed my back hard against the sharp edge of the canyon bridge. I felt a sharp pain surge through my body, and it was as if my rib cage had broken. However, the pain was quick to diminish as fast as it came. I jump on my feet, using Chinese get up and survey my surroundings, looking for the being that hit me with such force. Just like I suspected, it was General Zod.
He was standing beside Esther's weak body, while the strange man, whose identity I still don't know, stood behind them.
"You just angered the gods, Rey Reed." General Zod snarled at me.
"The god must be insane," I retorted.
"Let's see how you will survive a battle between thousands of demons." The strange being, who I guess is their leader, said
Slowly, the three of them moved back. I stood still, waiting for whatever they were going to do. Even though I was sure it wasn't going to be a good thing, I wasn't scared anymore. Thank goodness, the strange power is still coursing through my veins while the rune sword is still glowing brightly in my hand.
However, a loud screeching sound jolted me out of my thoughts. Then, out of the depths of the canyon, I watch as creatures of different species crawl out. They started by ten. Slowly, they multiplied to a hundred, then thousands.
I knew I should be afraid of these creatures, but it was different. I found myself getting ready to fight them and to finish this battle once and for all. I also believe in one thing: "With God, the creator of all beings, all things are possible."