"Listen to me Kaito," said Lucas putting his hands on his son's shoulder. "This isn't a regular realm gate."
"What do you mean?" asked Kaito.
"I've been looking for this specific Realm Gate for so long. It doesn't take you to the Under-Earth, but to a Pocket Realm instead." answered Lucas.
"What's that?" questioned Kaito.
"You know how a regular realm is either above or under Earth? Between them is the ground right? Well, Pocket Realms are the tiny pockets of air trapped in the ground between them. This gate leads to one of them." replied Lucas.
"I've been looking for this because legends say that this Pocket Realm holds a very special sword, the Ember. It can control, make and potentially become fire! It binds to the soul of the first person who touches it. There is one problem though. Its guarded by a huge monstrous demon by the name of Draqueth" continued Lucas.
Suddenly, they both heard footsteps of two men approaching their way.
"Quick Kaito, get down here!" said Lucas jumping off the ship and hanging on by the bottom of the handrail.
Kaito followed.
The two men came and leaned back at the handrail.
One of them lit a cigarette.
"So... You ready for this?" he asked the other man.
"Ready you say? I'm more ready than ever," he replied.
"So you're not scared? At all?" asked the first man.
"I'm not not scared of anything. After all, I was one of the people who contained the Crackle Project!" he answered.
Lucas's hands were sweating.
His grip loosened.
"How're you holding up son?" asked Lucas.
"Just fine," answered Kaito, unfazed.
Kaito's strong. Stronger than I thought, thought Lucas.
"Listen. I have a plan, follow along. Ok?" he said.
The captain of the ship called all his men.
"Its time to go men. Dismount the ship and follow me!" he said.
The two men cocked their rifles.
"Man, you go ahead. I'm gonna finish this smoke and come, alright?" said one of them.
The other one went ahead.
"Now's our chance," said Lucas from the bottom of handrail.
He climbed back up the handrail and jumped on the man smoking.
He got him in a head lock.
"W-What? Who the hell are you?!" exclaimed the man in a in a low voice, coughing.
He tried to push back but failed.
His eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.
"Brutal much?" asked Kaito, who had also climbed up the handrail.
"Brutal but necessary," replied Lucas, taking off the man's equipment and armor and putting it on himself.
I can blend in with them now, he thought to himself.
"Now listen Kaito, I'm gonna go in there with the rest of them. Stay on the ship. I'll come back with the Ember," he said.
"But-" said Kaito who was abruptly cut off by his father.
"No buts. This isn't a game. Stay here," replied his father, hiding his own swords inside the armor.
Kaito nodded.
All the men, including Lucas, had now dismounted.
They were all making their way towards the Realm Gate in a line.
They had now reached the Realm Gate.
It was one and a half stories tall.
It was a huge frame made up of brown rocks and boulders stacked on top of each other in a seemingly impossible circle formation.
It looked like an unopened portal.
The captain went ahead and placed a huge metal device in the empty frame.
It looked like a huge and black, metal container with a button on top.
It also had the Helix Foundation logo printed on it.
"Stand back men!" shouted the Captain as he pushed the button.
A loud noise pierced everyone's ears.
A huge explosion happened.
Silence erupted.
Birds stopped chirping.
The wind stopped moving.
Everybody stared in awe as they looked through the Realm Gate into a different world. A world made of magma, fire and rocks.
They were now standing at the gate between two worlds.
Breathtaking, thought Lucas.
Suddenly, all of them stopped.
Huh? What's happening? Shouldn't we move in? he thought.
He tapped the shoulder of the man in front of him.
"Hey man, why'd we stop?" he asked him.
"Are you new? Its a mandatory ID check. They'll just scan your handprints and then let you through," the man replied.
"Oh," answered Lucas.
The captain sent a man who was scanning everyone's hands one by one.
A drop of sweat rolled down Lucas's forehead.
I need to move, now! he thought.
He pushed the man in front of him and ran straight for the Realm Gate.
"A traitor! Shoot him dead!" commanded the captain, pointing at Lucas.
They started firing at him, but the armor was too strong.
I'm almost there, he thought.
He was now within an arm's reach of the Realm Gate.
He could feel its heat on his face.
A man grabbed his shoulders, and threw him on the ground.
"How dare you touch me?" said Lucas, pulling out the swords from his armor.
"Say hi to Rose and Blossom. After all, they are two out of the five Death Petals. Special Grade swords," boasted Lucas, pointing Rose at the man.
He tried to snatch it from Lucas.
He felt a sudden kick to the stomach.
Lucas grabbed him and threw him far.
"Get his armor off!" barked the captain.
A man tried to pull off the armor.
Lucas turned swiftly.
His sword slashed.
The man's arm fell.
He screamed in pain as Lucas kicked him back.
"You all will die," he said.
For just a second, his eyes flashed red.
So many men started coming at him.
He swung Blossom right and cut off another arm.
Slid down under a man and slashed his feet.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
He kept slicing through them.
Arms and legs hit the ground.
Blood splattered all over.
Screams filled the air.
Out of the initial 80 men, 31 were rendered useless.
"Enough!" the captain yelled. "Come and fight me if you dare."
"Yeah! Kill this guy Captain Clawmark!" the men cheered.
The captain's bones started to crack and deform.
His skin slowly turned red and hardened.
His body elongated and he grew two more pairs of legs.
His torso sprouted a pair of arms above his own, with razor sharp claws.
He had morphed into a humanoid lobster.
What the hell? Seems like he isn't a human, thought Lucas.
Captain Clawmark charged towards him at full speed.
He was so startled by the transformation that he didn't see it coming.
Snip.
The captain cut his hand but he pulled away at the last second.
It was still intact but badly damaged.
Ah... My hand, he thought.
Slash.
The captain slashed through Lucas's spine and threw him on the ground.
"You piece of-" exclaimed Lucas trying to get back up. "My-My legs.. I can't get up. What the hell did you do to me!"
I can't move! I'm-I'm paralyzed... My spine's damaged, he thought.
Tears came into his eyes.
"That's right. Die," said the captain, transforming back into a human.
"Alright men, march into that gate!" he continued.
All the men marched into the Realm Gate one by one.
The only person left on the island now was Lucas, or so he thought.
"Dad?" he heard a voice from behind. "Are you alright?"
"Kaito? I-I told you to stay on the ship," he said.
"Dad I'm here to help. I'll take you back to the ship and-" said Kaito as his father cut him off.
"No. No you won't. Listen to me Kaito. This has been a lifelong dream of mine. It was supposed to be my legacy. I failed. My life is over. I deserve to die!" replied his father.
"No Dad. No one deserves to die. I'll fulfill your legacy. You'll see," replied Kaito taking the two petals.
"Kaito you can't. You're too young, I can't just let you-" said his father as Kaito took off.
I always knew he had courage. He has been exceptional since a very young age. Maybe this was always his destiny, not mine, he thought.
Kaito had now entered the Realm Gate.