The Next Destination

Kuhn Lau and Nina sat down. They put on their runners for a long, emotional run that they were about to take.

"You see, Nina, we have come here to this beloved city with one goal..."

Her legs shook violently at the inclination of his words. It would seem that one of her fears would come to fruition.

"And what...what is your goal?" She stuttered anxiously.

"Indistructo..." He continued.

Without a word, she froze as her blood moved away from her skin and muscle tissues. Her heart rate increased, and so did her breathing.

Kuhn Lau delved his hand into his pocket and took out his talisman. When he opened his hands, the amulet emitted golden rays. The aurous, yellowish-orange light shimmered so brightly that she could've mistaken it for the sun's rays.

"I believe that you're familiar with this."

She nodded as he continued, "Whoever wields this talisman has been anointed to be a Divine Guardian. Which means that Nicholas is one of the six Divine Guardians."

She failed to process the message encrypted in his words. She lowered her head and sighed.

"Nina, I know this is hard for you to digest. Please bear with me; this is necessary to ensure the earth's survival and yours."

She glanced at him, averting her puppy eyes toward his. They were big and moist. They reflected a constellation of specks that mirrored her foul spirit.

"But, sir, what can I do without him? I'm sorry, but he cannot leave! I need him. I refuse to allow another situation to separate us once more!"

Kuhn Lau took time to respond to her; he considered various ways to make her understand their situation. Fortunately, his words took root in her mind. He glanced at her smooth, delicate hands. After that, he held her left hand and tightened his grip to assure her.

"I understand your fears; I truly do. However, a looming threat is on the horizon. If Nicolas does reject this calling, then the both of you won't be alive much longer."

Once again, she glanced at the talisman as he continued.

"Slicer, our common foe, wants this talisman. He would kill you and him just to get it. There's nothing that Nicholas can do. However, if all the Guardians unite against him, we have a better chance of winning this battle."

A tear drizzled from her left eye, and she broke down. It's as if she had been burdened on the shoulders by an object of great weight.

"I thought that everything would go well for us after the Black incident. It seems fate has decided to take him away from me again."

He enveloped her with a warm, passionate embrace. She clung her fingers through his garments.

"My deepest condolences. Unfortunately, this is how things have to unfold. After curdling into a ball, Nina grabbed a tissue and expunged her tears.

"I had to tell this in person to prepare you for what was yet to come."

She looked up and glanced at him. "I understand. I will wait until he returns. Once he does, nothing will get in the way of our relationship."

Nicholas descended towards the ground of the balcony. As soon as his feet kissed the floor, the aura that emanated from his body dissipated, thus stripping him of his suit.

The aura left him in his casual clothes. He walked inside his bedroom and pottered towards his living room after that.

He found Kuhn Lau talking with Nina. He sensed sorrow in her soul.

"Nina, are you alright? It seems like something is bothering you."

She sighed with sorrow when she saw him. She got up to her feet and approached him.

"Yes, there is. I want to speak to you in person."

He led her to the balcony. When they arrived, she choked on her words, finding it difficult to utter the first words in her sentence.

"It's...its time for you to go," she stuttered.

He imploded with laughter, "Ha ha ha, ah babe, you crack me up. You nearly got me there."

He locked eyes with her; her facial expression told a different tale, "wait, are you serious? Go where? I mean, I just got here. Also, need I remind you that I live here?" He asked with his shoulders raised.

"With the rest of your friends," she said. He then raised his voice at her, "To do what exactly!?"

She held his hand and continued, "To fulfill your calling, the universe needs you."

He pushed her hands away and turned his back against her. He then plunged a hole through a wall with his fist.

"Babe, calm down!" He turned his focus away from her and inquired, "For what reason exactly? I should've known that that old geezer would send his minions to recruit me!"

She, in turn, raised her voice at him, "I said calm down!"

Astonishingly, her voice was able to tame him.

"Nicholas, this is serious."

She held onto his hands firmly and said, "Unfortunately, I cannot stand in the way of your destiny. If I were to do so, fate would remove me from your life."

Her words stung his heart with sheer force. Unable to repress his emotions, his knees kissed the ground as he pleaded.

"Nina, please do not do this."

Once more, a stream of tears flowed down her cheeks. It was a hard decision for her to make, considering that this was the opportunity that she had to reunite with her loved one after being separated for a year. She had to put her selfish desire aside, even when Nicholas wanted to continue their relationship.

"If you refuse to let me go. Then I'll be forced to pull the plug. I'm sorry, but it's over."

At that moment, his heart shattered into a million pieces.

It took him a while to process what happened. In the end, however, he respected Nina's decision, despite his frustration. He slowly ascended to his feet and held her hand. He kissed it and locked eyes with her sparkling brown eyes.

"Have it your way then. There is nothing that I can do to change your mind but know this. I will return, and nothing will stand in my way once I do."

"I'll be waiting for you then," she smiled. Nicolas placed his forefinger under her left eyelid and swept a tear.

**************

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

King Khunta's private jet

King Khunta sat down on his cushion. It was a cushion molded from the finest leather. It was also white in pigment. He read a blog online and smoked a cigar with his eyes fixed on the iPad. He pulled the substance away from his lips and meshed the top end against an ashtray. Steve Joe sat across the lounge with his legs crossed, reading a newspaper. He yawned like a lion, with his mouth stretching wide.

After that, he stretched his limbs and fell back against the cushion.

"Boss, how much longer will it take to reach Paris?"

Khunta crossed his legs and tilted his head slightly upward.

"Just a few more hours."

He placed the device aside and reached for his right pocket. He pulled out Ace's talisman and flipped it in the air repeatedly.

"Do ya smell dat man?"

Unwisely, Steve Joe leaned forth and heavily inhaled the toxic chemical components of the cigar.

The components triggered his senses in response, prompting him to hurl a loud sneeze.

"But Boss, I only smell the dreadful scent of your cigar!" Replied Steve Joe with a Russian accent.

His brows furrowed, and at the same time, he also twitched his left eye.

"You bom head, I didn't mean literally. I meant figu...fig..."

He was unable to pronounce the word figuratively. Therefore, he sorted to Suri for assistance.

"Suri... What is this word when you say something but don't mean it."

On the other end, Suri could not decipher the intention behind his words. With a melodic voice, she inquired from him.

"Please repeat your question, sir. This time around, please be more specific."

His head lit up with fumes like a ticking time bomb. He raised his voice at the device.

"What is da opposite of literally!"

With delight, she replied to him.

"I believe that would be figurative, sir."

Alas, with a smirk, he said, "Ah, yes, I meant to say that."

Suddenly the atmosphere amidst them changed drastically as Khunta's facial features morphed into a scowl. His vocal projection deepened.

"When I asked you about that question earlier on...I was referring to the scent of victory."

Steve Joe placed his fingers under his chin.

"How so, boss?"

He flipped the talisman once more

as his eyeballs gazed at it.

With haste, he stretched his hand forth, with his palm facing upward. When it landed against his palm, he laced his fingers and clenched his hand.

"All in good times, Steve Joe. All in good times. I promise you. Victory is ours. And once it has fallen on our lap, we will send anyone who crosses paths with us to an early grave!"

****************

After pressing different keys on the control panels, the Guardians departed from Egypt and resumed their quest. Kuhn Lau averted the spaceship to autopilot. On the other hand, Pete found himself in an awkward situation with Nicholas.

He was fuming with rage. Pete grinned at him and leaned forward, rubbing his palms against each other.

"So, how are you doing?" He shone an ominous glare at him; this then caused him to face downward and shag his shoulders with humiliation.

"How do you think I feel when you and Kuhn Lau absurdly interfered with my relationship?!"

Pete repelled slightly backward, with his hands raised, wavering in surrender at him.

"Hey hey hey, easy! I never asked for any of this to happen, all right. Besides, you are not the only one who lost something valuable."

"Really, what did you lose? Wait, let me guess, all-you-can-eat buffet?"

His words shattered his heart into a million pieces. In response to his remark, he clenched his fist and slammed his lap.

"A friend!"

"You better watch your mouth blob, or I'll beat you so bad that you won't recognize yourself when you look at your reflection. You lost a friend, and it's not like somebody killed him."

"It's not him... it's her. She sacrificed her life for me!"

Indistructo's eyeballs widened by a significant proportion. He related to his affliction. Then, he instantly broke down.

"It was supposed to be me. Why did she sacrifice herself for me? She had a bright future ahead of her!"

He then ascended to his feet and racked his face with his hands. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he faced the vehicle's wall. Once he calmed down, he returned to his seat.

"The same way that Nina cares about you, that's how she cared about me. SHE TOOK ME UNDER HER WING when I had no one by my side. When things were falling into place..."

He paused momentarily before continuing, "Slicer came into my life and took everything from me!"

He directed his finger toward his chest.

"She was my hope, and that bastard took her from me. So if you think that for a second that you lost someone special, then you have no idea!"

He looked down with shame and locked his fingers. He then lowered his brows and said, "My deepest condolences. I apologize for mocking you. I guess there is more to you than what meets the eye."

He looked up and firmly placed his hand on his shoulder, "Look, I promise you this when I get my hands on Slicer, I will tear him from limb to limb."

Pete scoffed, "No need...I'll kill him myself."

Nicholas was gobsmacked; right before he was about to respond, a voice from behind intervened.

"Unfortunately, it's not going to be that easy."

It was Kuhn Lau when he arrived in the cabin of the aircraft. He took a seat aside from them.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, my dear friend, Slicer is one of DeathWrath's most formidable forces. When we locked horns, he proved to be a challenge. He was a step ahead of me with offense. Not only that, but he didn't flinch when I landed my attacks. It's as if he was made of metal."

"Pshh, is that supposed to intimidate me? Don't make me laugh!" Nicholas taunted.

"It's not a joke. Nevertheless, something was off about Slicer, specifically when I fought him. It was as if he used six percent of his power while I only used seventy percent. I could sense that he was holding back."

Indistructo imploded with laughter, "Kuhn Lau, Kuhn Lau, Kuhn Lau. It would be best if you tried doing stand-up comedy. No, seriously, you are funny."

Kuhn Lau narrowed his eyes with astonishment.

"Have you forgotten that there are six of us and one of him? How can that fool possibly hope to defeat all six of us?"

"I hope what you're saying is true," stated Kuhn Lau.

"Of course, it's true. Slicer doesn't stand a chance, especially when you have me on your side."

Fun Fact

A tiger symbolizes strength and fearlessness in spiritual depth. As such, the tiger carved on Nicholas's talisman represents strength, as seen by his powers. He is also fearless, which can be his downfall if he doesn't differentiate between fearlessness and arrogance. To top it all, tigers are aggressive creatures, hence his aggressive nature.