Another flash of light almost blinded Ankaa before he turned his head. Ankaa hated fighting against Hyperdaemons. If he wasn't careful, he would be blinded or deafened. Ankaa finally sighed and pulled out his two knives from his belt.


--Finishing this, huh?-- Haze, his Astrodaemon asked.


--I'm sick of this. She won't let me do anything without trying to discombobulate me.--


--That's what a Hyperdaemon does. But good luck.--


Ankaa turned back towards his opponent. Yauni, another Host, one of a Hyperdaemon, grinned at him. Yauni was a good friend of Ankaa's, Ankaa just hated fighting certain types of Incumancers.


Such as Hyperdaemons.


Yauni made the first move. She stepped forward, and pulled back with her hand. Suddenly, Ankaa's feet were pulled off of ground. He collided with the ground, and let out a long moan.


Of course. She'd used his own shadow to attack him. Sick of the quarrel, Ankaa jumped up and teleported. He sucked himself into a Rift, and then instantly came out of it right behind Yauni. He moved quickly, preventing Yauni a chance to counter his attack.


Ankaa swung his feet, kicking Yauni's feet out from under her. Yauni landed hard on the ground, getting the wind knocked out of her. Then, using telekinesis, Ankaa launched Yauni miles up into the air. He watched as she grew smaller and smaller into the sky.


Then she fell back down.


Ankaa scoffed as his screaming friend plummeted to her doom.


Right before she collided with the ground, Ankaa stopped her descent. Yauni gasped for breath, clearly in shock and deathly afraid. She got on her feet, shaking, and Ankaa released his telekinetic grip on her. Yauni walked up to him, and swung her hand, colliding her palm with his cheek. Ankaa turned his head back, stinging with pain.


“Ow?”


“Don't ever do that again.” Yauni warned, pointing her finger in his face. She then turned and stormed away out of the arena, cursing.


--I assume that concludes today's training.-- Haze said.


--I guess so. You can unmerge.-- Ankaa replied. He then felt his power leave him, and his Daemon appeared next to him.


“You did well.” Haze said.


“Thanks. You too.”


“All I do is sit around in your head and let you use my power. It requires no skill.”


“Where would you be without me?” Ankaa grinned.


“Probably destroyed. I bonded with you in the first place so I could use my powers. I need a Host to use my abilities. You happened to be most ideal.”


“Why?”


“Because you have a strong mind. And The Overlord told me you were the one. And you're very flexible and dextrous. If you weren't, you might have already gotten torn up in the Rifts.”


“Good to know. Who's The Overlord, again?”


“He's the leader of the Daemons. He died centuries ago, but his spirit remains, giving us guidance. He's the one who told us to come to Terrania in the first place.”


“Terrania? The Human world?”


“You are correct.”


“Why'd he tell you to come here? Didn't he know about the Sanctity? It was organized as soon as the Abyss was discovered. They hate you guys.”


“A lot of things hate us.”


“True, but still.”


“The Overlord is very wise. We don't question his guidance. The Elders told us what guidance he gave us, and we obeyed.”


“How can you know that the Elders are telling the truth?”


“We don't. We just trust them. Wouldn't you do the same if you had a guide like The Overlord?”


Ankaa quieted and thought. “Perhaps.”


Haze simply sighed, then turned his head towards the ground. “Humans will never understand our ways.”


Ankaa shrugged and started to walk to the edge of the arena until he was stopped by Eraj, his instructor, supervisor, provider, and man-handler.


“Where do you think you're going, scum?” Eraj said. Being a Host of a Fortadaemon, Eraj believed himself to be invincible and superior to all other Incumancers.


“I'm going to my room.” Ankaa glared up at the man, sick of having him around. If he could have left that place, he would have.


But he couldn't leave.


He had nowhere else to go.


“Not until you do some chores, you're not. Everyone's got to do their share.”


“Everyone that is, except you.”


Eraj laughed than slapped Ankaa hard on the shoulder. “You're learning well, kid. Now get to work.”


Ankaa glared in fury at Eraj as he walked away, and it took every essence of self control Ankaa had to not kill the man. Just a merge... and a large toss into the air...


Eraj would be dead for sure as soon as he collided with the ground. Unless he was currently Incumancing, of course. Then he would only be fatally wounded. In that case, Ankaa could just throw him again.


“Do not kill him, Ankaa.” Haze warned, “No good comes from killing with anger.”


“Maybe.” Ankaa was in too much rage to take his Daemon's advice to heart at the moment, but he still turned and stormed into the Haven, not inflicting an ounce of pain on the man.




Ankaa finished scrubbing the floor a little after noon. Sighing with relief, he put his cleaning supplements away and finally went to his quarters. As soon as he sat down, a knock came on his door.

Frustrated and annoyed, Ankaa shouted, “What do you want?”


“Eraj wishes to see you.”


“What for?”


“He has a task he wants you to do.”


Of course. Eraj always wanted Ankaa to do tasks for him. Whether it was hatred, or respect, Ankaa didn't know. It was unsure whether Eraj considered Ankaa a talented Incumancer or not. Despite his reluctance to work for the man, Ankaa had to do it for prevention from being thrown out.


Ankaa stepped up from his bed, stretching, and leaving walking out of his room. Rartu, a Psiodaemon Host, stood down the hallway, smirking down at Ankaa.


“And what do you want?” Ankaa demanded.


“I want to ask you something.” Rartu smiled cruelly.


Rolling his eyes, Ankaa waited for the question.


“You've been great friends with Yauni for years, right?”


The question caught Ankaa off guard, stabbing him with fear. He was expecting a question that would try to tear him apart, coming from Rartu.


“Yes... I have... why do you ask?” Ankaa started to become extremely afraid. He had started having feelings for Yauni pretty much as soon as he laid his eyes on her. If Rartu had feelings for her as well... Ankaa would most likely lose.


“Well... what does she think of me?” Rartu was nervous. He must've known asking Ankaa this question would be risky. They had never gotten along well.


Ankaa thought for a moment, debating whether to be honest, or whether to try to tear Rartu apart.


He decided to go with the latter.


“She doesn't like you all that much. She often gossips about you. One thing she particularly makes fun of is your nose.”


Rartu's hand shot up to his face, grabbing his nose. His eyes narrowed, glaring at Ankaa.


“You lying weasel.”


Suddenly, Ankaa received a severe headache. It felt as if every time his brain processed something, a searing pain would erupt through his entire body.


Of course. Rartu was the Host of a Psiodaemon. Psiodaemons could control the mind, and Rartu was the best Incumancer of a Psiodaemon Ankaa had ever seen.


Ignoring his pain, Ankaa drew his knife, and lunged at Rartu's face. As soon as the knife collided with Rartu's head, Rartu shimmered and disappeared. Collapsing to the floor, Ankaa chuckled at what Rartu had managed to do; fooling Ankaa's brain into thinking Rartu was standing right before him. However, Rartu was nowhere to be found. Exhausted by the quarrel with Rartu, Ankaa struggled to stand with extreme pain and make his way to Eraj's quarters.


He finally stumbled into the room, where Eraj and Yauni were both standing. Ankaa tried to remain standing, but he eventually toppled over onto the ground.


“Ankaa!” Yauni shouted, rushing over with a worried look on her face. “What happened? Are you okay? Was it Rartu again?”


“Nothing happened, Yauni. I'm fine.” Ankaa groaned.


“Says the guy lying on the floor in pain. You expect me to believe you?” Yauni scowled.


“No.” Ankaa smiled grimly, and closed his eyes.


“Get up, scum, you have work to do.” Eraj's piercing voice interrupted Ankaa's rest.


“Eraj! Ankaa is severely hurt because of one of your men!” Yauni shouted, “Maybe you should do something about it! Now Ankaa can't even stand. Go find Rartu.”


Eraj almost objected, before he received a death glare from Yauni. He finally grumbled and stormed out of the room.


As soon as he left, Yauni helped Ankaa up into a chair. Ankaa grimaced, but eventually managed to sit up straight.


“Sorry for slapping you this morning...” Yauni apologized, looking at the floor.


“It's okay, I deserved it.” Ankaa replied.


Yauni laughed, then nodded in agreement, smiling up at Ankaa. “That is true.”


Ankaa managed to smile back. Ankaa rarely smiled these days. After the loss of his family and everything he cared about, Ankaa rarely found a reason to put an effort into a smile. But something about Yauni managed to make Ankaa forget his sorrows and anger, and just think about her.


Ankaa gazed into Yauni's blue eyes, and for a moment they just sat there, looking at each other. Ankaa wondered if he would actually have a normal life.


But another piercing through his body broke his train of thought. Ankaa gasped in pain. The pulses were getting worse. Was Rartu trying to kill him?


“Ankaa, hold on. Rartu's coming. He'll fix what he did to you.” Yauni placed her hand on Ankaa's shoulder, and they locked eye contact again. Ankaa recalled his thought of a normal life, but it seemed too good to be true now.


Rartu suddenly stumbled into the room with Eraj behind him, having shoved him into the room.


“Fix him.” Eraj commanded, but Rartu hesitated to act. They sat there in silence for a few moments, Ankaa squirming in the corner. Finally, Ankaa felt the pain leave his body.


Ankaa relaxed, slumping in his chair and letting out a huge sigh of relief. Yauni stood up and stepped close to Rartu with an angry look on her face. The two of them glared into each others' eyes for a moment, until Yauni slapped Rartu.


Hard.


An echo of the slap erupted throughout the room, and Rartu stumbled back into the wall. Yauni, in a fury, stepped up to him and jabbed her finger into the ridge of his nose.


“Don't ever do something like that again.”


Rartu nodded, and Yauni slapped him again before returning to her seat.


Eraj stood by while it all happened. After everything had cooled down a tiny bit, he cleared his throat and began to speak.


“Now, you're all probably wondering why I called you here.”


The three teenagers stared at him in silence while he spoke.


Eraj coughed uncomfortably, and then continued speaking. “I need the three of you to travel over to Dirkal's Haven, and knock some sense into him and his goons.”


“What for?” Ankaa said, confused. He knew Eraj and other Havenmasters didn't get along very well, and Eraj, owning the strongest Haven, had the strongest influence out in the Wastelands. The only reason Eraj would send out a small elite force of Hosts to ruffle up another Haven would be if the Haven did something Eraj didn't approve of.


“Dirkal's been messing with Rifts, using Astrodaemons to try to get Purgers to do his will. I consider that dangerous, and I want him to stop.”


Ankaa nodded. He didn't like Eraj very much, in fact he hated him, but agreed that trying to concur with Purgers was a bad idea.


Yauni spoke next. “What exactly do you want us to do? Kill them?”


“No,” Eraj gave a concerned look towards Yauni, as did Ankaa. Yauni hated violence. Why was she talking about killing all of a sudden? “I need you to just rough 'em up a little bit. What makes you think I would have you kill them? We have enough problems on our hands.”


“Nothing.” Yauni muttered, shooting a death glare over at Rartu.


The four of them sat uncomfortably for awhile before Rartu broke the silence. “Shall we get started? I don't want to sit around awkwardly waiting for something to happen.”


Yauni stood, sighing. “Isn't there another way besides beating them up? Couldn't we just talk to them?”


Eraj cracked a smile and chuckled a little. “Things are a little different out here in the Wastelands, little girl. The world has changed. There isn't any way besides violence.”




Ankaa sat in the Aetran for an hour before Yauni and Rartu showed up. Ankaa's eyes narrowed at the sight of Rartu, but he quickly ignored his feelings and swirled around in his Pilot's chair to face the controls.


“You guys ready to take off yet?” He asked, careful to over-exaggerate his impatience.


“Of course.” Rartu grinned.


Ankaa rolled his eyes, and not turning around, started to get the Aetran ready for flight. He quickly slipped on a headset, radioing the Control Center. “This is Aetran 009, requesting permission for take-off.”


“Permission granted, 009. Be careful out there. I've heard there's been quite a number of Ragers out there today.” A woman replied over the headset.


“Acknowledged. Currently launching systems.” Ankaa placed his hands on the touchscreen controls, entering access codes, and sliding the engine power forward. He heard it ignite, and felt as the Aetran slowly lifted off the ground.


Turning around, Ankaa viewed Rartu still standing.


“Please sit.” Ankaa stated sarcastically. “In case you didn't know, these things are kind of fast.”


Rartu rolled his eyes and continued standing.


After exchanging glances with Haze, Ankaa rolled his eyes as well and returned to his work.


“Your funeral.” He muttered, grabbing the joystick and thruster clutch, throwing it forward.


The Aetran shot forward, launching through the hangar opening at incredible speeds. He smiled as he heard a clatter and yell in the back, knowing it was Rartu toppling over. Ankaa pulled the joystick back, causing the Aetran to rise until it reached a reasonable height. He lowered the thrust, no longer needing it as much to gain altitude over the massive desert.


The Wastelands. No one knew how they came to be. All they knew was that it was an extremely large desert, consisting of many Ragers, Incumancers who had lost their mind in the Abyss. Many Hosts made their home here, hoping to avoid contact with the Sanctity.


“Did you have to take off so fast?” Rartu shouted from the back.


“No, he did not!” Haze called back, cackling. Yauni laughed as well.


Rartu obviously didn't appreciate the Daemon's comment and glared at the creature. Ankaa usually allowed people to see his Daemon, he saw no point in doing otherwise. He always wondered what a Psiodaemon would look like. Rartu never revealed his.


Ankaa continued to fly the Aetran, having much experience. The speedometer on his dashboard marked their speed at around 1500 mph, and Ankaa gazed out the cockpit to see the desert zip past underneath them. Occasionally he detected a group of Ragers in an abandoned ruin city on the scanner, but nothing more dangerous than that.


As the Aetran approached Dirkal's Haven, Ankaa decreased their speed. They didn't want to miss their destination. Eventually a mass of intact buildings came into view, and Ankaa stopped their speed entirely, coming to a complete stop. The Aetran hovered in the air for a moment before Ankaa lowered the altitude bar on the touchscreen, and the craft started to descend.




The ship landed, and Ankaa shut it down. He stood from his seat, and made his way towards the exit. He pressed a button on a panel located to the side of the boarding ramp, and the door began to open.


“Remember to be careful. This could be a trap.” Yauni, who was always cautious, warned.


Rartu scoffed, “As if Dirkal would have the decency to design a trap for us.”


Ankaa raised one eyebrow in doubt, but grabbed a gun from a closet just in case. The gun he held was called a Fazer, because it severely tortured and rendered its targets unconscious after striking them, but did not kill them. He also had his knives at ready, but made the Fazer his priority weapon.


The trio stepped down the ramp into the dirt, looking around. Not a being was in sight. Confused, Ankaa lowered his weapon.


“Where is everyone?” Rartu asked.


“I assume that's a rhetorical question…” Yauni muttered, holding a pistol at ready, and stepping forward.


Still, no sound or movement could be detected. This caused Ankaa to be a little concerned. He finally started to look around the Haven, hoping not to find any Purgers. The only solution Ankaa could think of for the lack of animation in the camp was that Purgers had killed every Host in the Haven.


He looked around the settlement of buildings, still coming up empty. He passed the cafeteria, the dormitories, the armory, the hangar, but still no sign of any humans. A knot started to twist in Ankaa's stomach as he thought of the possible fate of these people.


Ankaa finally made his way into the arena, where both Yauni and Rartu were standing. This arena was a little different from theirs. A large wall and gate extended around it, one that would be impossible to climb. There were also no seats, it was just a large stone circle circumscribed by a large wall.


“Any luck?” Ankaa asked, and both Yauni and Rartu shook their heads.


“This whole place is just empty. Something happened here. We need to escape. Now.”


Yauni looked extremely worried, and Ankaa was just about to agree with her, when a loud noise suddenly erupted from the gate behind him. He whirled around, just in time to see the gate close.


Fear filled Ankaa to the brim. It was a trap.


He watched as a type of forcefield rose around the arena. A Suppressant. The Sanctity used them to keep Daemons and Abyssians out of their sanctuaries. Ankaa knew there was no escape now.


Suddenly, a fat man climbed onto the wall the arena, along with numerous other Incumancers. The fat man started to laugh, a laugh that made Ankaa wince.


“You people really are dumb, aren't you?” He taunted, raising a gun above his head. “You know, I knew you Eraj goons were coming. We detected your Aetran about half an hour ago. That gave us plenty of time to set up our little trap.”


“Who are you?” Yauni demanded, glaring up at the chubby being.


“I am Dirkal, the Havenmaster of this lovely place. And you are about to die.” He showed a horrible grin, and Ankaa began to suspect he was a Rager. “Hit it, Riisa!”


A little girl, also on wall, who must have been Riisa, performed an intricate move. Ankaa recognized this move and clenched his teeth in fear. It was the way to open a Rift, to let Purgers through.


They were going to have to fight. Ankaa suddenly whirled around, flipping a switch on his Fazer, increasing the power of the bullets. If he shot anyone with it now, they'd die an extremely painful death.


A loud tearing sound came, and a Rift started to open in the center of the arena. The Hosts around him started to cheer as a creature started to emerge from the portal.


It was a Deceit. A Deceit was a Purger who could mimic another being, and also steal his or her abilities and skills. They could become an exact copy of their victim. The Deceit was long and tall, with a horrified look on its face. It cocked its demented head at Rartu, and then started to move forward.


Ankaa suddenly yelled and pulled the trigger. A bolt of blue light shot from the barrel of his gun and collided with the Deceit's chest. It let out a horrifying scream, and then started to rush at Ankaa. Ankaa teleported out of the way just in time, and the Deceit collided with the wall, causing it to shake.


An Incumancer standing on the wall above the Deceit slipped and fell into the arena. The Deceit took the easy target and consumed the man. As the death of their comrade began to happen, the other Incumancers cheered even louder. This confirmed Ankaa's suspicion of them being Ragers. The screams of the Host were soon muffled and Ankaa watched as the Deceit transformed, wondering if Yauni or Rartu had any plans.


They were suddenly faced by another Host, who had a large grin on his face. They had no idea what type of Daemon he was bonded with. There was nothing they could do besides wait for the man to attack.


They didn't have to wait long. The man soon thrusted his hand forward, causing a bolt of flame to shoot towards Yauni. Yauni easily stepped to the side.


“Pyrodaemon.” Yauni confirmed, even though it was obvious to everyone.


The Incumancer quickly got frustrated from not hitting anyone, and eventually decided to just change Ankaa. As he was doing so, Ankaa aimed his Fazer and fired. The blue light collided with the man, and the Host fell to the ground, lifeless. The Deceit had weakened its form by becoming human, so it was therefore easier to kill. The crowd suddenly grew quiet as the man died, wondering what to do next.


Riisa opened another Rift in the arena, and Ankaa groaned. How many monsters would they have to fight?


The next creature that emerged, Ankaa immediately recognized as a Possessor, and knew he had to move fast.


But he didn't move fast enough.


The Possessor quickly moved its short, stump body, latching itself onto the back of Yauni's head.


Ankaa watched in horror as Yauni's eyes rolled into the back of her head, letting out a terrible scream. Then, using her Daemon, Yauni was causing the volume of her scream to increase. The Possessor could kill them all. Panicking, Ankaa clasped his hands over his ears, hoping not to get them damaged. He dropped his Fazer to the ground, and rushed over to the wall, getting as far away from the source of the sound as possible.


Rartu was moving with his hands over his ears as well, getting away. He drew a small pistol from his belt and turned around, aiming at the back of Yauni's head. Hopefully, he would be able to shoot the Possessor off the back of her head without killing Yauni, but Ankaa couldn't allow Rartu to take that risk. He got up from the ground, rushing over to tackle the boy.


Just before Rartu pulled the trigger, Ankaa collided with him, causing them both to topple to the ground. The Ragers standing atop the wall surrounding the arena were cheering, but Ankaa couldn't hear them over Yauni's scream.


“What do you suggest we do?” Rartu shouted as Ankaa struggled to understand him.


Ankaa looked around, hoping to find something he could use before he was damaged. Ankaa groaned, finding nothing, and drew a knife from his belt.


“What are you doing? You just stopped me from killing her!” Rartu stopping Ankaa in confusion.


“I'm not going to kill her!” Ankaa rolled his eyes.


He seemed to do that a lot with Rartu. He struggled to reach Yauni, keeping his hands on his ears the whole way. She remained screaming, preventing Ankaa from hearing anything. Finally, Ankaa reached Yauni, smacking her over the head with the hilt of his knife. The screaming stopped, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.


“I guess that works.” Rartu said, walking up.


Ankaa leaned down, flipped Yauni over, and sliced the Possessor on the back her head. The Possessor unlatched and fell to the stone ground, writhing.


“Let's hope we don't have to fight any more of these things.” Ankaa said, looking up at Riisa.


Riisa was already starting to open another Rift. Ankaa knew they had to do something, but before he could act, Rartu had already pulled out a pistol and shot Riisa in the head.


Riisa suddenly, stopped, staggered, and fell off the wall. The entire group of Ragers grew quiet as this happened, and just stared as their Astrodaemon fell, dead.

The Ragers then screamed out in extreme anger, jumping down from the wall into the Arena.


“We have to go!” Rartu yelled, and Ankaa hesitated, gazing down at Yauni on the ground and drawing a knife.


“Now, weasel!” Rartu shouted again, and Ankaa nodded.


Ankaa hoisted Yauni on his shoulder. She being so small, it wasn't that hard. The Ragers started the rush them, and Ankaa wished he could teleport away, but he couldn't do that without risking injury on Yauni.


“Haze!” Ankaa shouted, and he felt Haze merge with him, and power enter his body. He then turned the three of them invisible, concealing them from the Ragers. That was a useful power that Haze granted him.


Confused, the Ragers stopped and grew quiet, listening intently. Ankaa walked slowly and held his breath, trying to prevent any chance of being heard.


--Be careful. They're trying to hear you.-- Haze warned.


--I know.-- Ankaa replied.


Ankaa then decided looked over to see the Arena gates closed and locked.


--How the heck am I getting out of here?-- Ankaa asked, exasperated.


--You do know you have telekinesis, right?--


--Oh.-- Ankaa started to feel dumb, having forgotten one of his powers.


He then, using telekinesis, launched himself, along with Yauni and Rartu, into the air. He made himself visible in the process, seeing where Rartu was. Rartu was flailing through the air,



The Ragers started to yell, seeing them fly into the air, following as best as they could, but none of them could fly, as far as Ankaa was concerned.


Ankaa guided the three of them through the air, and landed them next to the Aetran.


“That freaked me out, but it works.” Rartu said, lying on the ground.


“Get up. We need to go.” Ankaa ordered, and Rartu nodded, standing. Ankaa picked up Yauni again, and ran up the ramp to the Aetran. Rartu followed, and Ankaa closed the door behind him. Ankaa lay Yauni down on a bed, strapped her in, and launched the Aetran into the air.


“It seems the Ragers are getting worse.” Ankaa muttered, and went back to concentrating on the Aetran.


What was happening?