Story Fragment : Unlocking Edward's Potential

The sky had turned so dark it seemed almost black, as it rained over the muddy battlefield;
Katrina faced off against a large knight. Gritting her teeth, she held her stance as strongly as she could. Blocking swings from the broadsword with the flat edge of her axe, ducking and swinging.
Her war cries had died down since the recent battles, there were just too many to keep it up.
Edward stood in the distance worriedly, with his hand over his heart;

Wishing he could do something to help her.
But in the darkness of the night, he'd lost all hope.
They were in silence, in darkness... nothing but the sound of rain and steel.
The battle didn't look good.. and even before then they had struggled to make it through.
How many more nights could they possibly last? Getting through seemed impossible.

He stood anxiously, unable to move or speak.
Afraid to throw off her concentration;
Afraid to become the next target;
Suddenly a final clash was made..
With a clang of steel, Katrina dropped to the ground.
A mixture of blood and mud splashed against the knight's armor;
Edward's eyes widened as he stepped towards her.

"No..", he uttered breathlessly.

The knight's eyes could not be seen under his helmet, but he was clearly stomping in Edward's direction... Suddenly the knight, the battlefield, the rain, blood... it all became invisible. Memories of Katrina flooded his mind.

Gone...

All of the time we spent together.

All of the things we accomplished.

He tried to step forward again, but fell to his knees.
His eyes never left Katrina for a moment.
His open mouth trembled.

He couldn't hear the knight's distant grunt, "Heh.. what an easy kill. Stupid woman, didn't know what she was up against."

"...."

The pounding of the knight's greaves echoed closer, but Edward failed to notice..
The pounding of his own heartbeat and heavy breathing blocked out every other sound.


She's not...

She meant..

Everything...

She meant everything to me...

Tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"Hey, boy! Can't you do anything for yourself, now that your partner's gone?", laughed the knight's voice.

Edward hadn't heard him, but somehow the thoughts and feelings fluctuated through his mind...

I... I can't..

I can't do anything without her..

I can't be without her!

His mouth shut, but his eyes stayed the same.
Unable to break the gaze, tears streamed down his face.

"Hey!! I'm talking to YOU! Can't you speak up, boy?!", the knight stomped angrily, insulted by the silence.

"....", Edward shuddered, closing his eyes.

"Hah! Speechless. Did I scare the voice right out of ya?! Huh?!", the knight tried to intimidate him with an upward jousting of his spear.

Clang clang, clang clang...

The knight now stood right in front of Edward. It would have been pointless to kill him, if he hadn't had immense power from the symbol on his throat; A danger to their army. The knights had been warned of these people, those who bore mana in their blood. The symbols on their bodies glowed when they tapped into these magical powers used for battle and destruction; Yet that wasn't even the deadliest of their abilities.

"Well! At least you won't make a wretched scream like that dumb girl, when I tear you apart! In fact, I'm surprised you're one of them mana bearers..! You don't seem tough at all!"

"Y-you... you killed her. H..", Edward trembled. He raised a hand slowly.

Even though he was shaking, he raised his palms; His fingers bent upwards like claws in outrage.

"YOU KILLED HER! HOW COULD YOU?!", as his gaze pierced the knight, a bolt of lightening struck near them.

The lightning's flash glared off of Katrina's body, which still lay collapsed in the distance.

Suddenly a power had come over Edward's voice, something no one had ever heard before. A light emanated from his throat. The symbol, Lumos.

"What the!?", the knight stood back in shock, surprised by the sudden outburst.

Edward stood up, gripping his palms into fists, then lowering them to his sides.
Energy swirled around him, creating a strong wind; Bred from his anger and hate.
It pushed the knight even further back as he attempted to flee.
The knight looked around in panic, lightening was striking everywhere... escape was impossible.

"Guaah!! You freak!! I'll KILL YOU!!!", the knight attempted to rush him at this point.

Edward gritted his teeth slightly, sweat falling down his cheek.
The light coming from his throat increased in brightness.
As the knight came closer, the light grew brighter and brighter...

"YOU KILLED THE WOMAN I LOVE! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!!"

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!", the knight cried out as he disintegrated into pure light.

Shards of darkness and steel flew from where he stood...
The ray of piercing light shined straight across the continent.
It lit up the skies and disintegrated the dark clouds.

When the beam of light had faded, no trace of a knight, nor scrap of armor could be found..
Edward's eyes closed and he collapsed a few feet away from Katrina.

Hours later the sun shined brightly.. over Katrina's bloody face.

"Err... ah...", her eyes batted slowly, then opened. The clear blue sky came into her focus.

"....What? But how? The sky... it's..", her eyes opened widely all of a sudden, when she remembered the battles. The dark sky, the rain... it'd vanished.

"Edward?!", she sat up quickly in a panic. Not noticing the blood all across her body.

"Gah...!", she grabbed her stomach in pain, where the wound was.

Through blurry, squinted eyes she stared across the battlefield.. and saw him lying there.
Holding her wounds, she stood up without too much of a struggle;
She didn't seem to feel pain, but her expression was sheer fear.
The only time she would ever give a look like that was when he was in danger.

Gasping, she rushed to him, and then shook him roughly as she fell down to her knees.
When that didn't work, she looked him over and examined him as quickly as possible.
But there were no sign of injuries.. no wounds.... he was completely unharmed.
She smiled, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight. She clasped his hand to her heart, closing her eyes with relief. Katrina lowered her head and raised him up against her with her other arm, holding him close.

"I think it's finally over... and even if it wasn't, I'd still be sitting here, holding onto you..", she laughed softly, almost crying with joy.
"I must be getting soft.", she thought, staring at him lovingly.
"What if a soldier were to come right at this moment? My back completely exposed.."
"But those things... they don't matter. Not now.. and.. I have a feeling. That.. something wonderful happened."