《In Between Worlds》 Prologue : Recurring Dreams [.....] I try to speak but no words came out of my mouth. The gods must have muted me, I joke to myself. I try to gather my thoughts and try to sense what was happening around me. I tried moving my body but to no avail I couldn¡¯t feel anything. As I try to get it together, I open my eyes, I try to look around fearing I was either blind or just in a white room. My eyes notice a different shade of color which was the gentle warm light enveloping me. Knowing that I¡¯m not blind this eases me quite a bit¡­wait I¡¯m still in a white room and God knows how I got here. Okay mental deep breaths pheeew. How did I get here? I''m having a hard time remembering what I was doing before I entered this state. I think I was preparing my bed, and then went to sleep? No that¡¯s not it, I was eating my meal? I was uhmmm. Noticing myself become panicked I try to remember my mother who always had something wise to say, who was she again? Argh this put me into a more panicked state. As I try to remember more and more I start hearing something, gradually it started becoming more audible. I think those are footsteps? The pacing of each step, the weight behind their steps, I can¡¯t mistake it, it¡¯s got to be a person! I felt relief that I was no longer alone in this endless white room. I try calling out to the person and the sudden realization hit me again. Dammit I curse the gods inwardly. As the footsteps came closer more of its features we¡¯re visible. I became pale, and knew that I had become delirious as the person who was approaching me had a beak! It had white feathers covering its head with black tear stripes on its cheeks its beak was hooked and its gaze was stern. It had a muscular upper body covered by gray feathers and long slender but muscular legs. It had arms covered with feathers that are a lighter shade from its body and massive wings are folded behind its back. Holy mother of god that was not the kind of bird I was expecting to see. As it reached a near distance, it started walking slowly with a dignified look on its face as it stared me in the eye. My body breaks into sweat and starts trembling. I watch it with vigilance and it starts to approach me slowly. A royal aura exuded from this Raptor, a grin started to appear on his face it unfurls its wings in full glory. His aura started to become more intense and violent but his demeanor remained calm. He stood there, I¡¯m guessing five feet away from me. He puffs his feathers on top of his head and the feathers stood up resembling a crown of plumage. If I had to guess the look on my face right now it would be pure awe and terror. He raises his beak and puffs his chest out and puts his hands behind his back. He started walking again slowly, his talons tapped with intensity in each step. Seconds have passed but it seemed like hours to me, the pressure this raptor bird man is releasing is extremely heavy. Step by step my heart started to thump faster and faster, its steps getting louder and louder due to the sheer anxiety of his overwhelming presence. Three steps later he suddenly disappeared. My eyes start to look around nervously, I look at both sides and see no signs of the raptor bird man, due to his wings my eyes gaze upwards and there was nothing. I mentally sigh in relief and as I look down, the raptor bird man seems to have tripped on its own feet and fell forward and I was too scared to notice it happen. It stood up as fast as it can and rubs its beak with its hand. He looks at me again and tries to hide his embarrassment but his body language betrays his facade. I burst in to laughter and the sudden realization hit me again for the third time. Dammit. [Ehem... Welcome ------------ ] The raptor coughs and says with a deep voice resembling a middle aged man coming home from the office after working 12 hours straight. I couldn¡¯t interpret what he said after welcome. -Welcome who now?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. [------------, you] -You can read my mind? and "You?", your voice sounds beautiful by the way. [------------. Yes that is your name. Thanks.] -I couldn¡¯t quite catch that can you slowly repeat it, what was my name again? [-- ---- --- ---] -Ummmm I, Uhhh seem to have trouble understanding the name. Anyways, where are we? And why can¡¯t I understand you when you say "my" name. I remember clearly that my name is¡­ hmm could you repeat that one last time? It sits on a chair and rubs its head in frustration [------------, that will be the last time I utter your name] -Hold on a second was that chair there before? Never mind that question. Who are you? And how do I make a chair appear behind me suddenly too. [I am Aderyn, and you are in¡­] Aderyn kept speaking for a long time and I got lost after he said ¡®you are in¡¯, whatever he said after that phrase was gibberish to my ears. I couldn¡¯t understand any of it, his mouth was moving but nothing was registering in my brain. As I stare at Aderyn with confusion he seems to not have noticed that I couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying. Aderyn was flexing his muscles and doing some weird hand symbols and his feathers we¡¯re flying around like it had minds of their own forming what appears to be a floating island. His face looked like he was enjoying his explanation himself. [Uriel] -Huh? Wazzat? Aderyn was that you? You can even change your voice into a girl?! Amazing! I asked him a question and it seems like he was too busy flexing his muscles and doing feather tricks. To be honest it was kind of an amazing sight to see. [Uriel!] The voice that spoke seems to be agitated. Whoever this Uriel guy must have pissed someone off cause that voice sounds really really angry, I give him my condolences. [¡­¡­All will be revealed at the age of 16, ------------] Aderyn¡¯s voice suddenly became comprehensible. He finished his excessive muscle flexing and his feathers returned to his wings and some just started falling slowly on the spot. -Reveal what? Are there secrets you¡¯ve been hiding from me Aderyn? [This is no time to joke around. I already told you everything you need to know, weren¡¯t you listening boy?] -Hmm how do I say this without offending you. I couldn¡¯t under¡ª [Uriel! Wake up already the king has been calling you for an hour now!!] SMACK! . I wake up in shock as there was a stinging sensation that attacked my left cheek. My hands hold my cheeks reflexively and start rubbing it. Looks like I can move my body again the sensations are back. I turn my head to the left and see another person looking at me with angry eyes. Her eyes we¡¯re huge reminding me of an¡­owl? -OH MY GOD IT¡¯S A 6 FOOT OWL SMACK! [Prince, stop acting like a child! We¡¯ve known each other since we we¡¯re young and what¡¯s wrong with being an owl?! The prince himself is a sparrow!] -Prince? Sparrow?! [*sigh*, we¡¯re you having those dreams again? Every time you wake up from dreams like those you seem like you¡¯ve forgotten who you are. We even had you checked up and the doctor said there was nothing wrong with you. Remember?] I gather my thoughts and I confirm that everything she just said was true. I am Uriel. Uriel Plume, a prince. Those weird dreams I keep having really confuses me. Do I have an identity crisis? I joke inwardly. -*sigh* to think that I was giving my condolences to this Uriel guy. He turned out to be me all along. I slouch my shoulders and cover my eyes, I was too embarrassed to look at Chlea. [Looks like you remember. Get ready prince the king called you today, fortunately it wasn¡¯t urgent. The royal guards themselves would¡¯ve woken you up instead of me.] -Chlea, didn¡¯t I tell you before to call me by my name. When we¡¯re alone formalities aren¡¯t needed, besides we¡¯re childhood friends aren¡¯t we? Chlea flinched and nodded in agreement. She hesitated as she started to speak. [O-okay, Uriel¡­] Chlea was always strict and followed the rules, she was the daughter of the aide of the king. She was raised like royalty and was taught proper etiquette and received lessons from sages themselves, even in her family they were supposed to speak to each other in a formal manner for it to become a habit. I notice her just standing there staring at the floor, she¡¯s probably lost in her own thoughts, she¡¯s not used to calling me by the name. I whistled at Chlea, -Sky to Chlea, are you done staring? I need to change clothes to be presentable in front of father. Could you leave the room please? She snaps out of her thoughts and proceeds to leave the room. Chapter 1 : The King and his Present. I change into formal attire and hop in front of the mirror. Damn, who¡¯s that hot piece of sparrow meat looking at me? I admire my beautiful beige colored feathers that I inherited from my mother, yellow eyes and curved beak I inherited from my father. Seeing that I¡¯m ready I head out of my room and enter the palace corridors. As I walk along the corridors different birds of prey greet me as I pass by. Most of the birds tend to avoid me and only a few approach to greet me. I¡¯d nod at them and give them a soft smile as I greet back. Those who avoided me were staring daggers at me and sneered at me when I look at them. *Sigh* what kind of royal treatment is this? I continue walking forward and suddenly I felt a tug pulling on my tail feathers. A cute baby eagle holding one of my feathers was behind me, and it was looking at me with fierce eyes. It was my little sister, Isabel. She seems to have inherited most of her traits from father, she looks just like him except for the size of course, now that I think about it she¡¯s a tad small for a baby eagle huh? She raises her arms and starts playfully shouting. ¡°Big brother! Lift! Lift! ¡± I crouch down and put her on my shoulders. She starts flapping her wings vigorously and she succeeds to float above my head and after a few seconds she slowly descends back to my shoulders. She looked tired and was panting heavily, for a fledgling that was an amazing feat to do. Not all fledglings can maintain a few seconds flying in the air, this proves that she really has father¡¯s blood flowing through her. "Uhm Isabel, when are you going to go down?" I ask her while she was holding and pulling onto the feathers on my head acting like she was driving a sparrow around the palace. "Big brother, no speak! Isabel do what she want to do! ¡± ¡°*Sigh* Yes mam.¡± ¡°Yay! Yay! Yay! ¡± As I walk toward father¡¯s throne room. Isabel was shouting with glee as I let her stay and play on my shoulders. The guards guarding the room can¡¯t help but smile as they saw Isabel atop my shoulders pulling on my feathers. They open the door to the room and father is seen with a surprised expression on his face as he lay his eyes on me and Isabel. I walk forward to the center of the throne room. Did this room always have that hole in the ceiling? As the sunlight hit Isabel¡¯s eyes she snaps out of her playful trance and notices that I stopped and kneeled towards father. She starts looking around and notices father in front of us, she hops down my shoulders and ran towards father. ¡°Father! Look!¡± Isabel shouts as she holds a beige colored feather in her hand. I instinctively reach for the top of my head and start counting the feathers. Please not my crown, any feather but not the crown, I pray inwardly. ¡°Uriel raise your head and puff up your crown¡± ¡°Yes father.¡± Eight Large feathers stood up on my head resembling a crown. I sigh in relief that Isabel didn¡¯t take one of the crown feathers. As I raise my head I notice Isabel trying to climb on to my father¡¯s lap. It was a cute sight, she was so small compared to father. Me and father share warm gazes and greet each other with a faint smile, he looks away to assist his daughter trying to climb up on to his lap before speaking.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve called you here Uriel?¡± ¡°Unfortunately. I do not know father. I was only informed that you have called for me.¡± ¡°Stand up. I¡¯d like to give you a present.¡± ¡°What have I done to deserve a present, father?¡± I say as I stand up. ¡°No, no I¡¯m not giving this present to you as a reward for your merits, but as a father.¡± He says with a warm familiar tone. He then proceeds to carry Isabel and puts her on his shoulders as he stands up from his throne. Father¡¯s shoulders were broad so Isabel was only sitting on his left side, surprisingly she was well behaved as she sat there with wandering eyes. Her eyes stop at the hole in the ceiling, she raises her hand and points at the opening. I instinctively looked where she pointed and I noticed a small dot in the opening above my head, the dot was gradually growing bigger and a whistling sound was heard in the distance. My body reflexively moved on its own and moved away from the opening above me. As I moved away a sudden gale of wind attacked the throne room, it was strong enough to produce a howling sound and knock the furnitures over. Due to this disturbance the guards outside hurriedly entered the room. The black dot fell on the ground without a sound. As the confusion cleared a bird with pitch black feathers stood in the middle of the throne room and looked at father. The guards assumed positions and surrounded the unknown trespasser. father raised his hand and told the guards to stop. ¡°Guards you¡¯re being rude to my visitor¡± The guards looked at father with confused expressions. They sheathed their weapons and their commander stood in front of the king and kneeled. ¡°We are sorry for the misunderstanding, Sire. The amount of power we felt and the sudden rumbling inside the throne room caused us to take action instantly. We thought the king was in danger.¡± The commander, Morris, expressed his apologies genuinely. Father sighed and said. ¡°Stand up Morris, I forgive you. This was also partly my fault for wanting to impress my son¡± He looks at the pitch black bird standing in the middle and said. ¡°That was over the top for a grand entrance you know?¡± He says jokingly, father then continues and calls my name. ¡°Uriel. I have appointed you an aide as a present. The tensions between the kingdoms of Ryvus are rising, and I can¡¯t help but worry that a war might break out soon. The aide I have appointed for you will introduce himself.¡± Father stopped speaking and glanced at the pitch black bird. The unknown bird stepped forward and knelt in front of me. ¡°I am Cole Acri, from the Shrike Family. It¡¯s an honor serving the prince.¡± As Cole introduced himself, the guards flinched when they heard that he came from the shrike family. One of them murmured ¡°A family of butchers, tsk.¡± ¡°Please take care of me.¡± I reply to him.
The Shrike, Cole Acri has pledged his allegiance to you. Synergy skill has risen!
¡°Shrike is cool!¡± Isabel shouts with glee on top of father¡¯s shoulders. She glides down father¡¯s shoulder and approached Cole. All the guards paid attention to the movement of Cole as he crouched down to pat Isabel¡¯s head. ¡°Strong wind again! Again!¡± Cole looks at father and me with eyes asking if it¡¯s fine to follow Isabel¡¯s request. Father nods to give consent and I also nod in agreement. The shrike stood up from his crouched position and unfurled his wings. With one strong flap from his wings he disappeared from where he was and a whistling sound was heard again in the distance. I looked up at the opening in the ceiling and noticed that there was no black dot in the sky. He must have flown too high for a black dot to appear. Even with my keen eye sight I couldn''t find any trace of him above. ¡°Wow¡± I exhaled. I flew up to the opening to look further and a black dot was yet to be seen. Damn how far up did he fly? I flew out of the opening and saw Cole sitting by the opening whistling with his eyes closed. Chapter 2 : Chris Ozul ¡°Really, Cole?¡± He looks at me with amused eyes and his whistling gradually became louder and louder seemingly enticing the request of Isabel who was looking at the sky. ¡°Prince, Its time for my entrance.¡± He says with a faint smile. He positions his wings for his second grand entrance and as he takes a step he disappears in front of me. I feel a strong gust of wind coming from the hole which was near me and I hear Isabel¡¯s awe filled voice praising Cole. ¡°Shrike is amazing!¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Uriel, I have a mission for you.¡± The atmosphere inside the throne room suddenly became serious with father¡¯s words. He glances at everyone in the room and continues to speak. ¡°I cannot tell the details here, head to the Merits Department and talk to Blaire. She¡¯ll brief you about your mission.¡± He says with a wary expression. I nod in agreement and head out of the throne room with Cole following behind me. The Merits department is a separate building fairly far from the palace. It¡¯s located up north almost at the very edge of the kingdom, it has its reasons for being placed there. ¡°Let¡¯s head to my room first, so I could change into proper gear.¡± "Understood." We walk through the corridors and greet the passing maids with a warm smile. "They seem to be more cheery today, have you noticed it Cole?" "Prince, I apologize. This is my first time in the palace." "Oh, right" I chuckle awkwardly. As we turn left the door to my living quarters comes into view. As I was about to open the door to my room a sudden shout assaulted my ears. ¡°LET¡¯S SPAR URIEL! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL.¡± He shouted with vigor. A tall owl with black feathers wearing a white cape and leather armor appeared behind me. He unsheathes a training sword and points it at me. Wait a minute isn¡¯t that mine?! ¡°Chris isn¡¯t that my armor and cape you¡¯re wearing? How the hell did you get that?¡± Chris flinched when I noticed that he was wearing my gear. Unlike his sister, Chlea, Chris was her polar opposite. Chris is boisterous unlike Chlea who was always contained. ¡°FIGHT ME FOR IT URIEL! ILL ANSWER YOU IF YOU WIN.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of losing to me Chris? I can even fight you without a sword, think of it as a handicap¡± I wink at him and crack my knuckles to taunt him. ¡°FOOLISH! A MAN MUST FIGHT ON EQUAL TERMS.¡± He removed my leather armour and cape and threw his training sword away and raises his fists. ¡°What¡¯s our current score in our duels?¡± ¡°I HAVE WON A TOTAL OF 83 TIMES AND LOST 84 TIMES I¡¯M PLANNING TO MAKE IT EVEN HERE URIEL!¡± He shouts with pride. He was grinning ear to ear, this guy really loves fighting doesn¡¯t he? ¡°Looks like you came here to give me another win huh? Declare a proper duel and let¡¯s start.¡± I go into a fighting stance and fix my breathing. I look at Chris with anticipation. ¡°URIEL PLUME, I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL¡± A soft glow emanates from Chris as he sets up the conditions of the fight. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
You have been challenged to a duel by Chris Ozul
[Accept] [Decline]
Duel Conditions
Participant that drops below 60% Health loses. The match lasts for 3 minutes, If no participant reaches the health threshold by then the duel will be considered a tie.
As the duel¡¯s countdown ring in our heads, the bell is struck and this signals the start of the duel. Ding! Chris dashed instantly towards me. His fists tries to reach my face but my reaction is faster. As his fists collide with the air I counterattack and kick him from below, he blocks it by crossing his arms to cover his torso. The blow from my kick broke his guard and I connect it with another kick, this time he tries to grab my leg as it travels to his flank and succeeds. He smiles at me as he successfully grabs my leg. ¡°Gotcha!¡± Chris then proceeds to spin around while holding my leg and slams me into a wall. [You have lost 12% of your health] I cough as the hard wall collides with my back. Chris was still holding onto my leg attempting to do the same maneuver, but I don¡¯t let him. As he tries to spin again I jump and lift my other leg high up into the air. Chris notices the counterattack and desperately tries to gain spin momentum, but it was too late. The heel of my foot crashes down into his head stunning him for a second and loosening his grip from my leg. I escape his grip and distance myself to fix my stance as he snaps out of a stunned state. [You have dealt massive damage] ¡°Did that hurt?¡± I taunt him as I rush back into melee range. I lift my right fist and aim it at his cheeks. He raises his right fist to intercept me as I rush to him, I duck to avoid the blow and his left fist came from below. His right was used as a feint. As his fist lands on my cheek, so does my fist land on his. Both of our heads shook with the amount of force in our punches. [You have lost 8% of your health] [You have dealt damage] Both of us at the same time jumped back to distance ourselves at each other, and we exchanged glances. We both rushed to towards one another and exchanged fierce blows. [You have lost 2% of your health] [You have dealt damage] [You have lost 5% of your health] [You have dealt damage] ¡­ Punches were hit left and right, our bodies were moving constantly to soften the blows. Chris and I had done considerable damage to each other and it¡¯s about time one of us loses. We rushed at each other again, but this time we were more cautious. Fierce blows were sent but none connected. Chris tried to do another feint but it didn¡¯t work this time, I dodged his fists coming from the flank and counterattack with a kick. The kick barely missed as he moved back to dodge it. I spun and ready another kick and Chris does the same. Our kicks collide midair and both sides didn¡¯t want to falter. As we both release our legs from the collision Chris ran towards me trying to grapple me down. This was a desperate move from him, both of us were on the verge of losing. As his grapple connected, it wasn¡¯t enough to push me down. The force of the collision dealt damage to me but it wasn¡¯t enough to drop me below 60%. I push him off of me and grapple him too. I grabbed him by the waist, he tried to struggle but it was only in vain. I lifted him up and I fell backwards slamming Chris to the cold hard floor. [You have dealt massive damage.]
You have won the duel against Chris Orzul!
Unarmed Combat has levelled up! Proficiency increased!
As the duel announcement was heard in our minds. I stood up fixing my clothing and extend a hand to help Chris stand up. Chris was lying on the floor with an expression of disbelief staring at the ceiling. He was muttering something I couldn¡¯t understand. He took my hand and I pulled him up. He returned my belongings back to me, and said. ¡°A 2 win lead, this is the first time this ever happened¡± Chris said with a dejected tone, his face suddenly looked like he realized something and his smile returned. He shouted ¡°I¡¯LL DO BETTER AND GET A THREE WIN LEAD, WATCH ME URIEL!¡± He picked up his training sword on the ground and started running towards, what I believe to be his training spot. ¡°That grapple should¡¯ve put you below the threshold right?¡± Cole looks at me with a curious gaze. ¡°The grapple from Chris almost made me lose it was a close call but I still managed to win¡± I chuckle. ¡°So how much health did you have left?¡± ¡°60%¡±