The temple guardian screeched one last time as Yuki’s katana impaled the beast’s chest. He stood back to watch the gigantic body come crashing down on the soggy floor, where it lay motionless. Silence followed. Yuki stroked the closed eyelid of the beast.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered, “Sorry it had to be this way.”

Yuki drew his sword from the creature’s body, and cleaned the crimson blood off in a nearby puddle. He turned to the door the beast was guarding. It just about fell open due to the crumbling structure. With his katana raised in defence, Yuki entered the final chamber.

The entire temple was thousands of miles underwater, a long abandoned aquatic ruin. Despite this, the rooms were packed with air, making it possible for Yuki to investigate. Like other rooms he had searched, the walls and floor were damp with moss emerging between the gaps in the stones. Before him lay a long walkway, no more than 5 feet wide. On either side was a pool of water, so deep you could not see the bed. The walkway acted like a bridge to a shimmering shrine. This however, was not what Yuki was searching for. He was searching for something far greater.

Yuki walked to the centre of the walkway and looked into the water. He carefully placed his katana back into its scabbard he had fixed firmly on his back. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the depths. The sheer cold of the water stung at his face as he swam deeper. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but fought the pain as he searched for his target. Reaching out for a fallen pillar, he found it. A small blue chest sealed with an old padlock.

Just as he was about to thrust himself forwards towards it, two enormous fish, both half the size of Yuki, emerged from the shadows. Their scales were a threatening emerald green, and their mouths were overflowing with shark-like teeth. Their glowing amber eyes stared at Yuki.

‘More guardians...’ Yuki thought.

The fish lunged at him, opening their mouths wide ready to bite. They weren’t fast enough, as Yuki wielded his katana. With one full sweep, both fish remained still. Dead.

‘Why can’t they realise that I’m the good guy here?’ he wondered, as he watched the fresh blood swirling in the water, ‘There would be no need for these unnecessary deaths.’

Yuki swam to the surface, gasping for air as his head broke the water’s surface. Replacing his sword in its case, he dove in once more.

Now knowing where he was going, Yuki swam straight to his target, the chest. He took a silver key from his belt and began fiddling with the padlock. He tried to work quickly as he could before he had to surface for precious air once more, but with the lock weakened from age, it proved difficult. A loud click echoed through the water as the key finally shifted in the lock. Yuki opened the lid to reveal a metal box within the chest. Dropping the lock and key, he heaved the heavy box to the surface. He crawled out onto the stone walkway, feeling weakened. His long black hair clung to his face as he coughed and spluttered, trying to get his breath back. After a few minutes of recovery, Yuki knelt down and opened the box.

A bright light shone from within. The source was a purple orb, glowing mysteriously. The stuff of legend, this orb was said to have colossal power, power you couldn’t imagine. Whoever absorbs it would have full control over everything, the power to move continents and bend the laws of physics.

The power to become God.

Yuki carefully lifted the orb from the box with both hands. He stared into its core. He had no intention whatsoever of absorbing the power. He merely wished to take it away from its current location to keep it safe.

A gang of people with evil intentions had learnt of the orb’s power and were already tracking it down to use it for their own selfish ways. Their leader, Aion, wanted its power to re-create the world in his own image, enslaving the human race and reign God of his new world. Now that he was drawing ever closer to the orb, Yuki was determined to keep the orb safe at all costs.

Just a while longer, he wanted to stare at its mesmerising glow.

Just then, parts of the ceiling suddenly burst and water from above began to pour into the room. Clutching the orb tightly, Yuki jumped to his feet and turned to look at the doorway he had entered through. There in the doorway stood a figure. He began to slowly and calmly walk along the flooding walkway, stopping a few feet before where Yuki stood. He was a tall man with white hair trailing down to his waist. He smiled an unsettling smile at Yuki and his jade eyes looked into his, striking fear into his core. He had found the location a lot sooner than Yuki had anticipated. Aion had found him.

“Yuki...” Aion said in a patronising tone, “How lovely it is to see you again.”

“How did you get here?” Yuki demanded.

“Same way you did, teleportation. Don’t forget my magic is at a much higher level than the measly level you’re at.”

Water swirled around Yuki’s ankles and continued to rise.

“Maybe my magic wouldn’t be at such a ‘measly level’ if my father were still around to teach me.”

“With your skill, it would have made no difference.”

Yuki filled with rage, “Well we’ll never know because you killed him!”

“He was pathetic. He didn’t deserve to live. The skills he had going to such waste.”

With each word Aion spoke, Yuki’s anger grew.

“So I tell him to join me...the fool. ‘Do what you want with me, but please, don’t hurt Yuki. He’s done nothing!’ It was a pitiful performance-”

“Don’t talk about my father that way!” Yuki screamed.

Aion pulled a gun from his side and pointed it at him.

“Care to join him?”

The water had already reached Yuki’s knees. His eyes widened in fear as he stared down the barrel of the gun that was pointed at him.

“Now,” Aion continued in the same patronising tone as before, “Are you going to be a good little boy and hand that orb over nicely?”

Yuki looked down at the orb in his hands once more. The power to become God... There was no way he could just hand it over to Aion. He looked back to the gun still pointed at him. He had no choice. He had hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

Yuki pressed the orb firmly against his chest and closed his eyes. He began to push it. The orb began to move through his shirt to his flesh. He continued to push, as the orb became slowly absorbed into his chest. It felt warm, almost inviting. For a while, Yuki forgot the dangers around him.

Aion emptied the barrel of his gun in an attempt to stop Yuki gaining the power, but the orb had provided an invisible shield around Yuki, protecting him from Aion’s bullets. He threw his now harmless gun at the barrier in terror, as the last of the orb dissolved into Yuki’s chest.

Yuki opened his eyes to look at Aion’s panic-stricken face. They had transformed from the muddy brown they were before to the same purple as the orb, glowing mysteriously.

“You made me do this.” Yuki said, slowly raising his arms beside him.

The water began to flood in more violently than before, filling the chamber quicker than before. It circled around the walls, creating a whirlpool, centred round Yuki.

Cold tears streamed down Yuki’s cheeks. He slowly scanned the room, staring in horror at the destruction he was causing. He looked at Aion, who smiled deviously at him.

“You can’t control it can you?” He said smugly, “Well, I’ll just be back to collect the orb once you’ve destroyed yourself.”

Aion’s hands glowed with white light. It slowly travelled up his arms towards his shoulders, his hands vanishing behind it. The light continued to travel until his whole body had disappeared and teleported to safety, leaving Yuki alone in the flooding shrine.

He clutched his head and closed his eyes tight as he was fully submerged in water.

‘This isn’t what I wanted! I never asked for this power! Please, don’t let me die here!’

The water around him suddenly dissolved into nothing. Still maintaining a tight grip on his skull, Yuki dared to open his eyes. He was no longer in the underwater temple. He was surrounded by flourishing green trees and soft grass. Somehow, he’d managed to teleport himself to safety without even realising.

“I...am a...alive?” He muttered in disbelief.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Yuki collapsed to the floor, unconscious, breathing in the sweet scent of the grass beneath him.

He dreamed peacefully, reminiscing in times lost.