Chapter 12

Complete

Pain watched with annoyance from a study that bordered a large and state of the art gym. Klaus was inside and Pain could not help but let out a sigh while remembering what it took to get the boy there. Building the gym on the opposite side of the keep form where the awakening took place was a terrible oversight.

Klaus had tried and failed to move there on his own, but after nearly braining himself twice against the reinforced ceiling the boy finally admitted that he needed to be carried. Klaus had gained too much strength too quickly. It left them in an awkward situation as only a year was left before the next introduction to the Secret Worlds took place. Pain wanted to spend this time teaching Klaus how to fight and survive now they had to teach him how to walk without launching himself into the air.

Another form of annoyance was the reason for him being in the study instead of helping his young master. Letters and massages were piled in a heap on the desk. The other families that were based in this world had found out about the Argents and they wanted a piece of the pie that was Klaus.

Letters promising marriages to riches and everything in between was quickly read and then discarded by Pain. In his eyes none of them would be good enough. If Klaus could reign in his strength within the next six months and receive some training from him, the boy would be a monster. A ghastly smile spread on the demon’s face as he thought about it. Inflicting Pain was his passion even if he knew it would happen through proxy.

Most of the letters were discarded by the time the sun was starting to set. Only two were left and they were placed neatly next to each other. Despite what Pain thought, he knew that humans or whatever creature a family was made up off put great stock in tradition. The politics was as much a part of the Secret Wolrds as anything else.

If Pain were to reject all of them it would cause unrest and even more suspicion. The families would lie, cheat, steal and murder each other, however, if a greater threat presented itself they would no doubt band together in order to destroy it.

On this planet they were no threat, but during the introduction if they all banded together they may be able to succeed in killing Pain’s young master. Because of this Pain kept two letters. One was unsurprisingly from the Roth. They did not request a partnership, but had rather given an invite for Klaus to join their team from the local branch of the family. Klaus would have to go through an interview of sorts before being accepted.

The other was from a far smaller, but underrated family; Prodigium. They were oddities even in the Secret Worlds. Their ancestor had somehow managed to link their bloodline awakenings to that of monsters. Not just one but countless monsters. When they awakened, their abilities could range from that of a simple slime to greater elementals. It left them a little… unhinged if not flat out crazy, but Pain wasn’t one to judge.

The ultimate decision would be up to Klaus.

Klaus for his part was not concerned nor did he know of the letters. Instead he was trying to walk under the supervision of Silence who seemed to be his designated trainer. There was also Pride who remained nearby in case he shot himself into the ceiling or felt hungry. She was his maid and doctor all in one.

Off to the side was Lilith who seemed to be training as well.

Klaus took a deep breath and almost painfully slow lifted his foot off of the ground. He had been doing this for hours and if one did not observe earlier they would think he was just starting, but in reality he was moving faster than at first.

‘I feel like I am going brain dead.’ Thought Klaus when his foot touched the ground again.

Turning his head to look at the high ceiling he sighed. A part of him wanted to jump and see if he could reach it. Another part the- the sane part. Said to practice diligently and then try.

A tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. Silence was the personification of diligence.

“Why don’t you talk, Silence.” The demon tilted his head at Klaus.

“I mean yeah your name or alias is Silence, but I don’t get it.” Klaus was tapped again and he sighed before lifting his foot.

“You know you can use a tablet or a notebook to communicate?” Klaus watched as Silence just shook his head as an answer.

Pain’s voice whispered in Klaus’ ear. It nearly made him jump out of his skin. “Silence was cursed a few years ago. He cannot communicate using sound or words. The only reason gestures work is because it relies on whoever sees it to interpret for themselves. There are no solid meanings or message, people and cultures differ so a gesture can mean different things to different people and things.”

Klaus wanted to argue the fact, but Pain saw it coming and lifted his hand. “It is what it is and if you still don’t understand just remember- its magic.”

With no answer to “magic” Klaus just frowned. “Who cursed him?”

Pain’s smile broadened. “The master did.”

“My mother, but why?” Klaus remembered the little girl in the dream he had. His mother was starting to take on a strange image in his head.

“Well, Silence burped in her presence.”

Klaus looked from one demon to the other. Silence looked embarrassed if nothing else while Pain kept the same creepy smile on his face.

“He burped?” Klaus was incredulous to say the least.

Pain sighed. “I told you that Master could be difficult sometimes. Young Master felt the… strange disposition as a young dragon, now imagine that and add thousands of years being an apex predator and times it by having enough power to literally destroy worlds.”

Klaus was incredulous before, but after hearing that he was downright appalled. ‘Would I become like this?’

“How powerful is mother?” Klaus found himself asking, not entirely sure he wanted to hear the answer.

Pain put a hand on Klaus’ shoulder and leaned closer towards him, before answering in barely a whisper. “Some say the Master is a new born god. The god of chaos they call her.”

Klaus could not wrap his head around it. “What do you think?”

Pain turned around and started to walk away while answering. “I have never seen the Master in her true form, but a thousand years ago she swallowed a planet whole. To the corrupted and demons that were on that planet. Do you not think she seemed godlike?”

Klaus watched as Pain disappeared back into the office. A tap on his shoulder reminded him that his legs should be moving.

A week later found Klaus in the same gym. He was managing to walk albeit it was more of a shuffle. Still the progress boded well. Pain had introduced him to a set of body movements not soon after his shuffle walk became proficient. Klaus found the movements strange, but soothing in a way. His dragon self had also begun to act up. So his mood often fluctuated and the movements helped to curb his strange… thoughts.

Pain called the movements Tai Chi or Taiji. It originated from another normal world called Earth and was practiced not only for the defence training, but health benefits and meditation as well. The term taiji refers to the forces of yin and yang which could be applied to all things. Klaus did not really get it, but the slow movements calmed and taught him better control over his new strength.

Apparently the moves did not only help Klaus, but a lot of others who were mentally unstable like the demons who tried not to eat other people. According to Pain hundreds of them would get up early and come together to practice the movements in order to find balance. A part of him found it funny, imaging all manner of strange creatures standing in rows and doing a slow dance. Another part could not help but respect them for it.

Klaus had snorted at the name of the world. If you can call a planet Earth you might as well call it dirt or soil. Despite its origins being mundane the form of martial arts was received well in the Secret Worlds for its benefits in meditation.

Pain for his part was pleasantly surprised at Klaus’ fast progress. The boy’s learning ability was amazing and he soaked everything up like a sponge. Every day that went by was a day closer to the Secret Worlds introduction, so every bit of progress was of great value.

A month after his awakening Klaus was managing to walk normally although he had to keep his focus on every part of his body movements. This caused him to walk into quite a few things at first, but it was steadily growing better the more time went on. This also marked the start of something Klaus would never forget… training with Pain.

The demon’s name fit him better than a glove. When they “sparred” Klaus would know pain before, during and after. His human side started to have a grudging respect towards the demon, but his dragon self only grew to hate the creature.

The others could see Klaus’ hold over his over-self, slip every day the two sparred. Lilith had stopped coming after a week, because she could not take the sound of Klaus’ screams anymore.

Three months after they started Klaus finally delt some damage to the other party, but it signified a big change in him as well.

Klaus was on the padded floor which was used as a fighting ring in the middle of the gym and breathing hard while trying to fight against the stabbing pain in his abdomen. Pain had this way of hitting Klaus that would cause his nerves to feel like they were on fire. Klaus did not know if it was a technique or just some ability that Pain had.

Screaming less was the only progress Klaus felt like he was making. The others noticed more. He was walking normally, able to eat without breaking the plates or cutlery. He could control his jumps and movements more. Klaus was blinded by his hate for Pain and his dragon self was obsessed with killing the demon so it drove him to learn even quicker. The most marked progress was in Klaus psyche. The more Klaus and the dragon inside him wanted to hurt Pain the more the two psyches started to fuse together. They were becoming one person. The most obvious aspect of this was that he no longer blanched from aiming for what could be killing blows on normal humans or lesser creatures. That mental block of not hurting someone to the point where they could die was slowly melting away.

Pain was standing over him with that same smile Klaus had come to hate. “Get up young Master we are not done yet. You can’t be this weak. You are a shame upon the master, nothing but a stain on the great names of all dragon kind. You are no dragon, but a maggot at the bottom of the food chain.”

With growl Klaus rolled over and onto his hands. With determination he started to lift himself up off of the ground. Pain did not stand around to let him get up but instead started to kick Klaus as if he was some mangy dog. All of Pain’s actions were pointed towards the taboo of offending a dragon’s pride while at the same time hurting Klaus.

The divide in Klaus’ psyche finally broke and suddenly he felt more focused more determined. Most of all he wanted to hurt Pain so, so much.

Pain aimed another kick at him but his leg was seized and gripped tightly. Klaus’ eyes changed to that of his dragon self and he let out a grunt while yanking on the offending leg. Pain was strong, but he was far lighter than Klaus. He had no traction on the mats so when he got yanked he went flying only to stop because his leg was still held tightly. It deformed under Klaus’ grip.

Unlike what the boy expected there was no satisfying snap to Pain’s bones when he smashed the demon into the ground. Still not releasing the leg a manic grin spread on Klaus’ face. “Now you pay.”

Pain was once again lifted into the air and smashed to the ground again and again. The others watched with a mixture of surprise and apathy as their leader was slung around in the gym.

Laughter filled the air and it angered Klaus even more. Pain was the source.

Seeing his current tactic not working. Klaus pulled the demon towards himself and shoved his elbow into Pain’s face. His hat fell off revealing the grotesque eyes underneath. Pain’s head actually deformed under the blow, yet he still lived. So Klaus pinned the demon under him and started wailing on him. Each blow reverberating through the room and caused the different kinds of gym equipment and weights to rattle when the ground shook.

Pain’s head just wouldn’t break. Klaus morbidly compared it to a stress ball that would simply bounce back no matter how much effort he put into squishing it.

Desperate for anything that could help in the situation, his thoughts grappled for a solution. His thoughts automatically drifted towards the fight where the odds were so stacked against the Roth. He remembered the axe and how easily it seemed to cut through things.

With a loud roar that should not be able to come from a human’s a spike of energy flowed from his heart and into his hand, an almost invisible glowing green axe condensed a split second after.

The others showed concern for the first time, Silence moved closer and Pride prepared medical equipment.

Klaus sliced downwards, his intent to split Pain’s squishy head in two.

A fist smashed into Klaus’ jaw shoving him off of Pain. His blow missed and the axe disappeared into the floor leaving a long black groove that dug deep into the foundations of the gym.

The young dragon felt a strange feeling on his neck as the maw stigmata snapped closed. Exhaustion nearly overwhelmed him instantly, but he held on.

Klaus’ head was ringing and he saw stars. Another fist impacted his ribs and he could have sworn he heard one crack; the same burning feeling followed each blow so Klaus knew it could only be Pain. He hunkered down and brought his fists up, eyes settling wearily on the smiling demon.

“None of that young Master, you know magic can kill me.”

‘That’s the point.’ Thought Klaus, but he did not reply. Instead he just watched Pain warily.

Pain shook his hand in front of his face. “Seeing as you have finally used your first ability we will end the sparring here for today. Tomorrow I will have you gain more control over your stigmata by meditating on what you saw during your awakening. I must insist that you do not use magic while on this world. We also need to do another round of tests on your body. My blows pushed you back."

Klaus wanted to argue, but as if to remind him another spike of pain lanced through his ribs so he just watched as Pain moved away and through a door that lead to the main keep. He was angy and hateful, yes. But it was tempered with his human rationale and he knew he stood no chance against Pain. Besides, Pain was right.

Klaus absentnly rubbed the back of his neck where the strenge feeling had come from. His body felt weak. To Klaus it nearly felt human again.

He finally lowered his hand wincing as he did. Looking at his hand, he flexed it and to his dismay nothing happened.

A tap on his arm reminded Klaus that he was not alone. Silence gestured at the mark the axe had made and then shook his head while crossing his arms. Silence pointed towards Pride who already had a drip ready with one of the potion fruits. They had been going through a lot of the things during the past few months. Klaus nodded and assumed that they meant he was not to use magic during spars.

Lilith stormed into the gym and looked Klaus over with a frown while he hobbled over to Pride.

The first thing she noticed was his hair. It was no longer just black, but had a feint glow to it, dark highlights of violet and green if seen in the correct light.

When Klaus turned around to sit on the chair and receive Pride’s ministrations. Lilith saw those striking and familiar eyes of the little dragon.

Lilith walked over to where he was sitting and asked in almost a whisper.

“What happened?”

Klaus smiled faintly at who he thought of was his only friend, before replying.

“I feel complete. Very… angry at Pain, but complete.”

Lilith shuddered when she heard Klaus’ voice, it sounded rougher, deeper almost feral even. The slight pause before he said angry it even sounded like he was growling.

Morgose sat silently in a limousine while she waited for Boeithia to get off of their private jet. They had waited for months without any word and when she suddenly received news that the plane was going to land that afternoon. She felt giddy and a little annoyed that she only received news after months of anxious waiting and wondering.

Boeithia soon appeared on the steps leading out of the plane, but to Morgose’s surprise she was not alone. Two men closely followed. One looked younger than the other, but both had bronzed dark skin and were dressed in khakis. Morgose quickly made contact with Boethia’s thoughts and skimmed through it at the fastest speed possible. What she saw filled her with fury and fascination at the same time.

These Jambavana were far stronger than she would have ever wished, but their demands were atrocious.

The door opened and Boethia climbed in with the two men on her heels. Both men wore an almost identical knowing smirk.

After looking her over they gave a curt bow of their heads. The older one spoke first. “I am Sandur Baldur and this is my nephew Rohit Maharaja, we are pleased to meet you.”

Morgose, smiled and tried to skim over their thoughts with no success. Her eyes quickly flitted to the necklaces that both of them wore and she sighed on the inside.

“Charmed, I am sure.” She said and picked up the phone. “Driver please take us to the hotel.”

The car started and moved towards the exit of the airport.

Morgose looked down at Boeithia’s hand that was held by the older man.

Seeing where she was looking, the man smiled. “Is it not fortuitous? Our families will not have one marriage, but two.” He looked over Morgose and the woman felt like she was being appraised. Not in a lustfilled way, but rather, the way one would look at lifestock. “Maybe we will even have three?” Sandur finally said.

The Jambavana needed this. The poppy operation they had taken over would never be able to support the family. They needed to try and take as many assets as they could from the Dalmora without starting a war. They were weak combatants, but the mind tricks made them dangerous. What if they brainwashed some army official into bombing them or something similar.

Rohit had even been given instruction to get his new partner pregnant as fast as he could from the head of their family.

Morgose could not help but ball her fist. If all three of them were to marry into the Jambavana their branch will be taken over in but one generation. All their assets and what they had worked so hard for to accomplish would be for naught.

She eyed the two necklaces. People did not fear the Dalmora for no reason. “Perhaps there will be three.” Then she laughed at them, not with them.