INSIGNIAS: THE ABECEDARIANS

CHAPTER XXV: SKHY

Mist. This was the reason why they didn't sense the intruders' location. The mist concealed the intruders' energy. He wasn't surprised that Mortemians used it. The mist was powerful enough to disguise one's original power and insignia, suppress their enemies' skills and manipulate their thoughts, and make the user transparent among the eyes of elemental and anti-elemental users. However, Skhy was sure that the only ones who can use it were high-ranking Mortemians. The three who obstructed their path, while emitting powerful aura, were usual Sentries. The insignias on their necks showed that they were not of high status. This meant that what he saw behind them wasn't his imagination. Someone higher and stronger is leading them.

However, what haunted his mind was the fact that he wasn't strong enough to detect them. I let Lei and Tessa down.

When the man in the middle stepped towards him, he felt the unmistakable enchant of the mist. It covered his whole body and mind, peering into his deepest thoughts and memories. In a heartbeat, he found himself alone in front of one intruder.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he glanced around them, trying to locate Lei and Tessa's energies. But there were none. His gaze returned to the man, who just stared at Skhy without expression. The man's dark eyes seemed to be looking through Skhy. He shuddered at the thought.

"Whatever you are planning, it won't happen," Skhy exclaimed. This brought a slow disturbing smile on the man's face. He suddenly swung his sword. Skhy held his ground and moved his sword, but the man's weapon disappeared. There was an angry voice inside his mind telling him that the man didn't see him as an enemy worth fighting with.

"Of course," the man said. Confused, Skhy frowned at him.

"You are weak so I won't fight you," he added. Skhy gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowed dangerously at his enemy. What do you know?

"I know enough," he stated as if he was reading his mind.

"And I know what you truly are," he added. Skhy's thoughts were jumbled. Memories of his dead parents, her mother's long lost sister, and house guards came flooding in.

"What are you talking about?" Skhy shouted despite his growing sorrow. The man laughed without humor. His stare never left Skhy's face.

"Murderer." His cold voice made the hairs on Skhy's neck stand up. He felt fear, sadness, anger, and hatred at the same time that he thought he forgot to breathe. His parents' dead bodies inside their car flashed in his eyes, followed by their burning house and dead bodies on their yard, then eight pale faces. Lei was one of them. He let go of his breath that he didn't know he was holding. He lowered his head and stared at his feet. His legs lost their strength and his right hand felt so heavy, so he unconsciously smashed his sword on the ground to regain his balance.

"Did you think you can control me?" Skhy came back. The crash his sword made when it hit the pavement woke him from the enchantment. He gripped his sword and raised his face to glare at the man. His breathing was ragged but his mind was clearer.

Surprise was evident in the man's face. He clearly didn't expect this. The man clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at Skhy.

"I am not the one who is controlling you. I just made you remember what you have forgotten," he said in his cold voice. Skhy chucked without humour. He had regained his footing and normal breathing. When he felt rushing energy from his crystal sword, he pulled it out of the cracked pavement.

"There was nothing to remember," Skhy muttered. "Because there was nothing to forget." How could he forget his parents and everyone who helped him get this far?