The downfall of the government had begun. Last month when I sent Asher to cause some trouble he went to the empty football stadium and started a fire. Not what I expected him to do, but he used it as a distraction to capture a few hostages for ransoms. He brought back the ramsom money and an idea, along with some new additions to our army. We got two other astras to join us and about thirty new members; he did well. At first, when our new members got back with Asher, they were disobedient and one even challenged me. A big muscular thug standing at probably over six feet tall with a not so dark skin tone and short straight hair approached me. In a sarcastic tone, he asked," I hear from Asher over there," then pointed behind him using his thumb," that your'e supposed to be our boss." A grin creeped up his lips. I was about to wipe that smirk right off of his face. Using the atmospheric mana in front of me as an amp, I released a bit of killing intent. He was brought to his knees but he wasnt yet bowing, so I helped him out by pressing my heel down upon the back of his head. I also brought out one of my amethyst blades and with my telekinesis I held it against the back of his neck, pressing down until it was just barely able to draw blood. I then distorted and amplified my voice with mana so all could hear. I spoke "I didnt give you permission to talk to me" and with that they all fell in line and were now obedient. 

So that our non-superhuman members could fight with us and be of use, we drew up a plan to raid a small military site and steal their weapons. During the week, I enrolled at Syrus Academy; a prestige school run by Mr.Silver. Mr.Silver was an ex-lieutenant who worked as a supervisor within the "Facility." When we met, he extended sincere condolences for all of my peers who didnt make it through the escape. Ironically he had silver hair as well as yellow eyes. He dressed in a white shirt and pants, a yellow tie and his shoulder was adorned with his several military badges all glimering brightly. His fasion sense only extenuated his muscular build. He was the only care giver that actually cared about our well-being but he was fired for going against protocol. During the conversation, I got the sense that Akira wasn't enrolled here, or else he would've told me. Atleast that bastard wasn't here.

I attended classes as a normal student and in the evenings I would check on my sister in the hospital. Alice had cancer, and was becoming terminally ill.She was almost four inches shorter than me, with a head full of black and hazel brown tinted hair that met her shoulders and yellow eyes she was truly a cutie as some would say. The doctors deduced that she wouldnt have many more years left. I however, saw through the fact that they had no cure yet. During my time in the facility, there was an abiity that all astras displayed. We all had regenerative attributes; of course some could regenerate faster than others. I planned to make her an astra, but only an astra with very high regenerative abilities was suitable. So far Akira had the most regenerative abilities so I would have to go after him soon enough. Depending on how strong he's become, I'll need all the help I can get. My thoughts were however fixated on the upcoming raid that we had planned. Even though I trusted Asher, he had never fought against other astras before, and his abilities were better suited towards assasinations taking all this into consideration I decided  that I would go with  them instead.

           Time flew  faster than  a jet and before  I knew it, the day of the raid was upon us. I gathered the men and teleported us all a half a block away from the base. As soon as we arrived however I felt a surge of mana from above. Then a loud crash as if a missile landed right in front of me. When I opened my eyes, about ten of the fifty men I'd brought lay sprawled out on the floor unconscious. A hazy figure surging with red and orange mana now standing up from the center of crater they had created.When the smoke cleared and I got a good look at him, He leaked of such a terrifying almost palpable bloodlust that my body felt like it was on fire, but even then I couldn't move. I was frozen in place for atleast a second. I decided to observe this astra more as his power and style of fighting bore a striking resemblance to Akira's. He quickly dealt with over thirty of my men in a matter of minutes with a movement technique where he used flame to propel himself. With all this and his uncannily blonde hair, it was safe to assume that this was indeed Akira . I continued observing as he skillfully handled the rest the men poised and ready for attacks from every side. After roughly ten minutes of nonstop continuous fighting he had defeated every last on of them. I inspected his appearance; he now looked disheveled with gashes and wounds all over his body. He brushed his hand through his hair as it  fell to the sides and became even more disheveled. 

       

        He shot me a wide grin and stated wryly that he was giving me a chance to run away and warn my 'boss' that he'd be coming after him. This foul arrogance fit this fool's character so well, I thought that after a year or two he would piece things together or atleast sort out his demeanor. Realizing that I shouldn't have had any expectations for a traitorous fool I simply laughed out loud. He gazed at me with a dumbfounded expressionless face which provided me with even more entertainment and reason to laugh.  'Coming for me' I thought; a phrase that now only ever brought me pain, but at one point in time it had brought me happiness whether or not it felt like a lifetime ago. While these contradictions swirled around like comets inside me the despair caught in my throat began tearing away at my resolve as it threatened to release itself from me. I was reminded of times in the facility when we tried to do whatever we could to enjoy the spring of our youth rather than just give up and rot away in there; of better times, when Akira would chase me around while emersed in our games of tag yelling " I'm coming for you!" With a wide innocent grin on his face.  Rather than dwell on the constant influx of fleeting memories that felt stuck in my throat, I strengthened my resolve and swallowed.  All of a sudden, the despair and melancholy dissipated just as fast as they had appeared from deep in my subconscious. In its place however came a rush of pure unfiltered rage from the darkest part of my heart.  I clenched both jaw and fist as the rage in me became almost visible as if it unconsciously interacted with the particles of mana around me. Around me now a swirling condensed typhoon of mana and rage. The mana rushed at Akira without need for my command and it solidified into amethyst blades at a speed that I thought much too fast for him to dodge.

        He used the same movement technique as before, but exerted more mana at the soles of his shoes as he quickly and skillfully evaded a dozen or so amethyst projectiles that were heading toward him at super sonic speed. There was no wasted effort in any of his movements  and he was already flying towards me in a flash, as if my body reacted on its own, I instinctively released my killing intent with a portion of the ocean of mana twirling around me as amp. He could no longer fly, but it wouldn't matter anyways as I'd already figured out his plan of attack. He was trying to close the distance between us in hopes that he could match me in a close range fight. He was smart, but I was prepared. My weapon already materializing in my hand; I lunged at him ready and aiming at his weak point. Any astra's weak Point would be their mana system. Similar to the human nervous system, it allows us to feel mana, interact with it and even produce amounts of it at will. It was the thing that empowered us and at it's center was a solid chunk of pure mana in the form of a mana crystal, this crystal was responsiblefor storing and producing mana. The size of that mana crystal determined an astra's strenght; the larger it was  the more powerful the person would be. The mana crystal was located at the solar plexus. With my amethyst dagger gleaming brilliantly in hand and poised to strike, I lunged forward and stepped into a thrusting motion. Akira had already seen  me materializing my weapon so he had begun materializing his. I used this opportunity to check his casting speed and from what I could tell, it was definitely faster than my own. His long sword shinning bright red and the mana coalesced at its point, making it seem longer than it already was. 

      As our blades met the earth crumbled beneath our feet; the winds howling like a misshapen choir. Sparks flew away like sparrows in the wind as his light clashes against my darkness and as a swirling whirlwind of mana encompassed both of us I could feel just how much more powerful I was compared to him. But he fought on, lacing his blade thickly in as much highly-condensed mana as possible. I looked throught the windows to his soul and what I saw I couldn't believe. I saw guilt, regret, sorrow and even pity. My rage consumed me as mana raced through the countless mana channels throughout my body, ran up through my fingertips and seeped into my blade. The more condensed his mana became mines did as well. A glowing nimbus of pure white light erupted from the point of contact between our weapons and I felt as if my body was pushed back by an enormous wave. 

       My ears rang and my body ached in protest  but I pushed back up to my feet, now several meters away from a giant crater the size of a house. As the smoke cleared I saw a beam of red light in tye distance so I poised myself, ready for an attack. As my eyes focused and the smoke cleared, I saw Akira flying away. I used shadow-teleport and got away together with my incapacitated men. As we sunk into our shadows I couldn't help but stare at my foe flying off into the distance, knowing we'd face each other once again.