Children of a Lesser God

Chapter 289: Eyes Of Rak'sha

:Ha ha ah ha ha ah... You just became my disciple and you already have turned against me?: Rather than mad by Laz's rejection, the Asura seemed amused.

Laz didn't find it amusing though.

:Hey look. I'm not sure what sort of blind techniques you want to teach me, but I'm going to have to say no. I like my eyes just the way they are... functional.: Laz was still backing away when he felt a strong pressure descend upon him, holding him in place. At the same time, Laz noticed that above the body of the Asura, there was a strange being made of light that looked like an exact replica of the body when it was whole.

:What are you doing... master?: Laz asked, knowing where the pressure was coming from.

:Ah, my dear disciple. Do you honestly think I want to blind you? Although there is quite a selection of high level techniques that we Asura have for fighting blind and in fact, there is an entire race of women warriors who are actually born blind who are fear through the galaxy. Despite that, there are many innate techniques that we Asura use our eyes for.:

:Then why would you want me to gouge out my own eyes?:

:Tell me... when your blood starts injecting energy into your body and you take on the half form of an Asura, have you noticed the red glow in your eyes?:

:Yes. I have.:

:That's not normal. Not at all actually. In fact, that is a sign that your eyes are under an immense amount of strain. Your human body has limits that can't be overcome no matter how much you strengthen it. Well, that's half right. Your human body is amazing in that it can adapt to the strain of the Asura blood and grow stronger while also changing to support your Asura bloodline. But there are some parts of the body that can't grow stronger. As I'm sure you know, most mortals from the time they are born until the time they die experience their eyes getting progressively weaker, or at least they don't get stronger. They are one of the few organs that can't grow, change, or evolve into something better. Our people have a way to make their eyes stronger, one of our most secret techniques. I wish to share that with you since it will be a great help to your future. But you have human eyes and therefore are unable to practice these techniques.:

:Then what is the point of removing my eyes?: Laz had always had a thing for his blue eyes. He really didn't want to see them go.

:Because... I am going to move the eyes from my corpse to your body.:

:That's... you can do that?: That seemed pretty outrageous from Laz's point of view.

:No idea. But it's worth a shot. Now hold still...:

Without waiting for Laz's approval, his master caused Laz to lay down while he heard a rather strange noise coming from the corpse on the wall. Like a plunger being pulled, the eyelids of the corpse opened up and it's eyes were removed. Laz didn't want to watch, but he couldn't close his eyes either.

Before he could even argue, Laz felt an intense pain in his eyes before everything went dark.

:Oh... Interesting... That's unexpected...:

Listening on while his master made comment after comment, Laz started to sweat. Imagine a situation where you doctor dragged you in for a surgery against your will on your major organs, kept you awake the whole time and then said 'well... I've never seen that before... now what do I do?' and that would describe Laz's feeling right at this moment.

:Why the hell does he have so many nerve endings...?:

:I'm fucked... I'm soooo fuuuuuucccckkeeedddd.:

:I'm not even sure what that means, but just give me a minute.:

Although Laz wanted to respond, he also decided it was best to keep quiet. There was no guarantee that if he somehow distracted the Asura, he might end up seeing upside down from now on..

:Ah. Right. There we go.:

Just as Laz started giving up hope, light suddenly penetrated his eyes as the pressure holding him down was released. Laz took a moment to blink several times while using his hands to make sure there was still balls in his eye sockets.

:Disciple. Your lack of trust in me is hurtful...: The Asura never stopped seeming to be amused by everything that was happening. Perhaps after his own death, he had come to pay more attention to the little things that he had missed while he was alive.

:They work... WOW... WHAT THE HELL...:

Laz was amazed and the change was difficult to describe. The best way to do it was that if the way Laz's vision worked before, it was like watching an old tube based tv. Now, he was seeing the world like he was watching an OLED. The difference was like night and day.

:This...: Laz stood up and actually got dizzy from the change in view.

:Calm yourself and take it slow. Your mind isn't used to the way your eyes perceive things yet so that will take some time. Honestly though, I was slightly wrong before,: his master said with a bit of shame.

:Wrong about what master?: Laz had no problem calling this creature his master now that he had received such a gift. Laz finally understood that there was no way he could fathom the means of such a creature. After all, he had never heard about something like using someone else's eyes on earth to let someone else see.

:Your eyes. They were somewhat weak, but not as weak as I thought. Although they weren't on par with my eyes, they would have been about the same as a normal Asura's. I'm not entirely sure, but I think that there is more than one bloodline within you. And this other bloodline is on par with the Asura race, something I didn't think was possible. Either way, your eyes seemed to have retained their color although they now have a tint of gold to them, compliments of my eyes. I'm actually somewhat saddened that I won't be able to see the final result of your training with them.: Strangely, there was no hidden smile within these words. These were the Asura's real feelings when it considered that it's time of moving on was coming closer.

Laz, noticing the change in it's mood, also saw that the spiritual clone that had been hovering above the body seemed quite a bit dimmer than before.

:Ah well. I still have no regrets now. As for the final present before I disappear completely...: The spiritual body pointed downwards towards the half corpse. With a simple flick of it's finger, a single drop of purple blood immerged from the body. Then, right before Laz's eyes, the still somewhat fleshy body dried up completely and fell apart like dust in a strong breeze.

:Master...?:

:It's fine. It was just an empty shell anyway as my soul will soon follow. But with this, I can ensure that my bloodline continues... in a sense.: The spirit wrapped the strange drop of blood in several layers of energy which caused it to further dim down to almost nothing. Laz could barely see it's outline anymore, even with his new eyes.

:Within this drop of blood is my legacy. Many of the skills that I learned and some that I only read about but never used myself. With this, you will find that you will never be lacking in techniques, at least until you reach my level. And not all of these are techniques meant to harm or kill. This is my final gift and my final wish. I never had time to have a family, but at least now you can be considered of my bloodline. This will sit inside of you until the time is ready for the power to be absorbed by you. The you currently is far to weak for it and this amount of energy would cause you to pop in a gory fountain of blood. But still, if you direct your spiritual sense into it, it will allow you to access to some extent, some of the weaker skills that could serve you well for now.:

:Master... I don't know how to thank you. You have done more for me in the past few hours than my own father has done in his entire life. For that, I will always remember you. Please master, what is your name so that in the future, I may tell people who it was who made me who I am today?:

Laz realized at some point that he never heard the name of his master. How was he suppose to properly thank him without even knowing his name?

:Ah. HA. A good point. It has been so long, I had almost forgotten it myself. I was once know throughout the galaxy as 'Rak'sha, The Harbinger of Death,' they called me. I remember I used to hate that title and yet was proud of it at the same time.:

:Why would you hate it?: Laz was confused by this admission. It seemed like a good title, all be it a bit flamboyant.

:Because although I lead armies through the fields of battle and stood toe to toe against the darkness before my final fall... I was once a medicine man, one who was skilled with treating and curing my brothers and sisters.:

'A doctor being called the Harbinger of Death? Yeah, that didn't seem to go together,' Laz thought to himself before remembering that his master could hear him.

Strangely though, he didn't respond.

Laz saw the specter of light staring at him with a smile as it's body became dimmer and dimmer. Laz knew the the time of parting was at hand.

:Is there anything else I can do for you master?: Laz asked, not wanting to let it go just like that.

:Perhaps...:

:Master?:

:If you become strong enough. Go out into the universe. Go and find my family. If any of them still live. Go. Tell them. Tell them how I fell. Tell them...:

:Master?:

:Use... what I gave you... fight... protect... save...:

The final words of the once great Rak'Sha were lost as he faded away.

He never lost the smile on his face as he stared at Laz in his final moments. To Laz though, he couldn't help but shed tears, something he hadn't done in a long time. This creature who Laz had just met, interacted with, became the disciple of, and finally received his greatest legacy had passed away, all within the course of a couple hours.

Laz would never forget him, for he had given Laz a view of the world far beyond his own. And while the Laz of right now was far to small and insignificant in the great universe, he knew that wouldn't be the case forever.

He would never forget the debt he owed his master. And to return that debt, he would have to leave his planet one day.

It was a mind boggling and scary thought, but after experiencing the galaxy through someone else's eyes, it was far less scary than it would have been a few days ago.

And what's more than that, inside Laz's head, he felt knowledge appear that he didn't know before. The way to train his eyes to one day be like his master's.

"Heaven's Gaze."

'What an intense name,' Laz thought to himself.