"Nngh"
Taiji squinted as a dim ray of light shone into his eye.
"Nnghh. Fuuuckk"
He strained to get up. Every piece of his body hurt.
He looked up and down his body, checking for cut marks. "I thought a fall like this would hurt more," he said. There were no cut marks anywhere, just a dull pain in his head.
He quickly checked to see if all of his equipment was there. "Crap where did these damn knives fly off to again".
"Ah, there they are." He said after looking around for a second.
"Whoah." His focus quickly shifted to the cave. His eyes adapted to the darkness quickly and he could see fairly clearly in the dark.
The cave was full of long stalactites and small stalagmites. Small ponds of water formed on the ground over time, from the water dripping from the well. In a distance, near the far end of the cave, was the temple.
"Why is a temple here?" He muttered to himself, curiosity audible in his voice.
He slowly walked towards the temple, watching his step, careful as not to fall off of any potentially hidden cliffs.
"Almost there" he said, his breathing getting heavier.
The temple was enormous, made out of quartz. The ceramic doors were held in place by white wooden hinges. The pillars surrounding the temple were made out of a white crystal while the windows were covered with quartz bricks.
"How the..." A loud creak of doors opening covered his words, echoing through the cave.
Taiji quickly drew out his sword, his attention drawn towards the now open doors of the temple.
"WHO'S THERE!" He shouted
Nothing
"WHO'S THERE!" He repeated once again. When there was no reply, he started slowly walking towards the doors.
He slowly walked towards the doors, sword in front. Darkness encompassed the entire corridor. He looked behind and then back into the darkness.
"Ah damn it."
He took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. He walked forward, touching the left wall with his one hand to not accidentally straying off the straight path.
His legs started to hurt from walking, the pain from the fall still echoed in his head, just less intensely. "Ah damn it". A bright light shone into his eyes. He covered his eyes with his hand just to see it disappear a second later. "Now I know where to go," he thought to himself.
The corridor in front of him stopped. His eyes widened. "How the". The words never left his mouth. With wide eyes, he looked around in a dimly lit room. It looked like an arena, big, circular, sandy ground, and iron cages below stone bleachers. In the middle was a campfire, emitting a dim light. Next to it sat someone. Taiji squinted his eyes to see but it was too far.
He cautiously stepped out of the corridor into the arena. His sword held in front with his hands, his ears listening for any movements. He quickly looked around, scanning for a possible ambush. He let out a deep breath while slowly walking towards the campfire. His ears were listening for movement all the time, and so were his eyes.
Is he sleeping?
The sand and gravel beneath his feet made it impossible to walk silently. Does he hear me? He slowly approached the man, one hand held a firm grip on the sword. The other reached out towards the man, gently tapping him on the shoulder. He tapped him once, then twice. The third time he pushed him gently. The man's body fell to the ground with a soft thud. Brr, it's cold this deep in the cave. He sat next to the fire, reaching his hands near the flame. How is the fire burning here without anything to fuel it? And why is there a man sitting here? His body wasn't cold... Oh cra-
The man slowly rose from the ground, dusting off his oversized shirt. He was now sitting upright, his long, pure white hair glimmering from the campfire. Instinctively, Taiji slashed towards the man's head. But it wasn't there. It missed. The man stood in front of him, a dozen meters away, his eyes looking straight at Taiji.
How is he alive? He didn't react when I touched him. No, that's not important now. Is he going to attack? He is quick enough to land a few strikes. But why isn't he moving?
The tip of Taiji's sword pointed towards the man. "Are you alone?". It was a desperate distraction tactic. Come on, start talking. Give me an opening.
"Nobody is ever alone down here," he spoke in a calm and stoic voice.
"And what does that mean?" Does that mean he has friends waiting to kill me? No. They would have done it sooner. I'll attack with caution. If he has friends, maybe I'll escape. It's a gamble, but it might work.
"Hmph. Look around yourself, don't you feel it? The power?"
***
Anides, Military Special Forces HQ
"Sir, we have located Taiji's MC signature. It's on Tornell in the Tria sector."
"Prepare the troops for an invasion. And patch me through to Captain Evenus." said a tall man in full battle armor. His face was covered in a full-face mask, which made his voice sound quieter. His purple and black armor stood out in a dark room lit up only by the light from computer screens.
The hologram buzzed. The face of a bald, middle-aged man appeared on the screen. His face was covered with scars and burns.
"Captain, you have a new assignment coming from the top. Capture a man called Taiji. Newest records indicate he is on Tornell in the Tria sector. As the highest-ranking officer in that sector, you are to initiate a wide-scale blockade around the planet and invade it. Our scans can't find him on the surface, so assume he is underground. Use any means necessary and capture him. He is ranked as a Tier 2 threat. All info we have on him will be declassified and sent to your console."
"Understood, Commander. Requesting permission to use orbital bombing if necessary."
"Granted. Any Military equipment is at your disposal. Don't fail or there will be consequences."
"Yes sir, thank you sir." He said while bowing his head.
The transmission buzzed once again and stopped. The Commander turned around. "Tell General Neo to follow from a distance and be ready with the Stealth Corps first division. It's better not to take chances when it comes to that kid."
"But sir, why not send General Neo first if you want to complete the mission without risks?" he froze, realizing who he had just spoken to in that way. Oh crap, oh crap. I just sounded disrespectful to a Commander. I'm done for.
"Because Evenus is ruthless and will do anything to complete his mission. If Taiji is anything like his dad was, he will try to protect the planet and its inhabitants. That's when we will strike and capture him. Now, back to your station, soldier."
***
"All officers are to arrive at the meeting room in 5 minutes, " Captain Evenus's voice sounded loudly over the speakers.
The meeting room was a big circular-shaped room with just an oval-shaped table in the middle. There were no decorations on the walls except a big screen behind the captain's chair.
As all the officers entered the room and quickly sat down, Evenus started speaking.
"I'll be quick. We have an urgent mission from the top to capture a man called Taiji. Some of the declassified data is on your tablets and the rest is in the folders with your direct orders. Brief your troops, we leave tonight at 2100 hours. Dismissed"