“How could I not? In this dead-end town, the only way to move upwards is to join those upstream,” Tyler’s face was soaked with tears, his eyes were bloodshot. “This was my last test. You are my last test, Zeke. Once I kill you, I will have killed all the ties I have left to this place.”
I’m not a test — don’t kill me. I’m your little brother dammit! Can’t you see I’m in pain?
“Let me tell you, with each kill, it gets easier.”
Shouldn’t you be reaching out your arms to comfort me and tell me everything’s going to be ok?
Tyler wiped the tears from his eyes, then set his gaze on Zeke. At that moment, his imminent death suddenly became that much more real for him. It was those eyes, black with determination. Tyler didn’t see him as a person anymore — just a task to tick off.
I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Somebody help me!
He placed his hand on the dropped kitchen knife. It was a futile gesture, and they both knew it.
Somebody stop him!
Booted feet began to approach him. The bloodied sword dragged on the ground with a horrible grating noise.
Zeke’s fear turned into rage. A surge of power swelled through him, building up from deep within him.
I’ll kill him!
The kitchen knife became longer, heavier in his hands. It felt like it was becoming a part of him as power flowed through his body, linking him and the sword forever.
Tyler stopped in shock.
Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.
Zeke stared at his enemy, only feeling an overwhelming bloodlust. A knowledge that no one was coming to save him and avenge the fallen. It was kill or be killed.
“I’ll kill you!” Zeke yelled.
The clang of metal filled the air at Tyler countered the telegraphed attack, and then swept Zeke’s legs off his feet in a moment. He was airborne for a moment, unable to prevent Tyler’s rough hand from grabbing his sword arm, preventing him from moving it. The other arm reared backward and thrust forward. Zeke’s world went red with pain. It hadn’t been enough.
Tyler was saying something now, and Zeke was yelling at him. He had questions. So many questions. But the one that was most important was left unasked.
“Who are you?” Zeke wanted to ask, “Really.”
Now he knew.
* * *
It wasn’t just rage at Tyler’s words. Pent up frustration, hatred, the feelings of powerlessness and betrayal from years ago. All of them tossed and turned together in Zeke’s mind.
Kill him.
“That’s a scary face you have on,” Tyler said, “But you’ll have to try a lot harder if you want that to affect me.“
“When you put it that way, you almost sound reasonable. Then I think about the Purge you’ve instituted. That’s the short of pointless cruelty that the Nephilim glorify.“
“You don’t understand them. True, I don’t either, but that’s just how the world is. Karn County was something they wanted, and so they took it. If we had resisted, we would have been ground into dust. At very least, I’m still at the helms -- driving its direction. That’s the only choice — either go with the flow or be crushed by the waves.”
“Maybe,” Zeke said. “Or maybe you’re just a coward.”
“Like I said, it’s how the world is. If it were a hurricane or a thunderstorm, you would not wonder why people try to work around those disasters. Trying to fight them is insane, not brave. Trying to work around them is brilliance, not cowardice. Jason, like all the Nephilim, is a monstrous natural disaster. A fact of life.”
“That’s enough out of you,” Zeke drew his sword out of the scabbard, “I did come to kill you, remember?” His scar ached where Tyler had impaled him all those years ago.
Amadioha: SwiftSword.
“A scabbard?” Tyler raised his eyebrow, “How pathetic?” Stretching his hand out, his sword materialized in his hand.
Zeke leapt towards him, his sword hilt now tapering towards his palm and connecting around his wrist.
SwiftSword: Lightning flash!
Zeke appeared to disappear for a second and re-materialize behind Tyler. Lightning arced around his sword, flashing through the air for a second, and then disappearing.
His brother’s coat was shredded, but his body didn’t bear a scratch. He had deflected it all with his own sword.
“This sword is called Bia,” Tyler explained, “I named my Godspark blade after the ancient goddess of force and violence. Its vibrations can cut through anything, and the protection it offers me is stronger than any armour.”
As he stood, Zeke could see the air shuddering around Tyler where it vibrated. It was really an invisible armour.
Pointing his sword at his former brother, he spoke. “Bia, right? My Godspark is Amadioha. I think it’s a bit higher in the hierarchy than yours. Don’t worry about pronouncing it or remembering it — just stand there and let Amadioha punish you.”
Tyler smiled.
“Come on then.”
SwiftSword: Omnislash!
Once again, Zeke vanished from sight. He was moving through the air, fast as lightning and slashing at Tyler from every conceivable angle. Tyler raised Bia, and Zeke reappeared, sword outstretched.
Once more, deep gashes and cuts graced the walls and ceilings. Tyler was once more, unaffected. He had deflected every single strike aimed at him. Zeke swore.
“What’s wrong, brother?” Tyler mocked, “Weren’t you going to – what was it – ‘cut my armour of pomposity?’ You seem to be having trouble controlling which way you move with that blade. Despite having one of the stronger sword based godsparks and Rune knight training, your combat skill still seems to be below mine.”
“How did you know I was in the Rune Knights?” Zeke asked, ignoring his mockery.
“I kept track of particularly strong godsparks for my boss. Yours was registered once you went into the Rune Knights, and your photo,” Tyler said. “I thought you had died, at last, such a shame. It’s Runes you’re using to augment your sword strikes with speed now isn’t it?”
He turned towards Zeke. “What a pity.”
SwiftSword: Pentagram!
This time, Tyler countered, interrupting the flow of the slashes. Zeke evaded his first strike, but he pressed the attack.
One strike with Bia and his hands were bleeding. The vibrations of the sword were causing the clashes to damage his own swords as well.
Tyler looked him in the eye over their blades, “Having second thoughts?”
“Sorry,” Zeke leapt back. “Not in my nature.”
ShatterSword! His sword hilt changed again as Runes snaked around his hand. He then ran towards Tyler, this time running his sword through the ground as he went.
“Explosions this time, right?” Tyler observed. Leaping out of the way, he slashed Zeke in the back, then jumped out of the resulting explosion.
Zeke recoiled from the shockwave but continued to press his attack. This time, he began to bat the rubble generated from the explosion towards his opponent. The ShatterSword would cause whatever it cut to explode, all Zeke could control was the time delay.
Raising Bia at the last second, the other man realized what was happening, and then attempted to deflect the rubble. Zeke had sent several pieces of exploding rubble towards him.
As fast as he could deflect them, he couldn’t stop the ones he had already cast aside from exploding and raining him with shrapnel. His defence bypassed, the resulting explosions engulfed him.
Zeke shielded his eyes. Is it finally over?
“That is a really useful ability. I thought it was Runes, but you’re really just using them to channel the explosive power of Amadioha. Explosive speed, explosive power, actual explosions and who knows what else. Quite impressive.”
Tyler emerged from the smoke. His coat dropped, shredded by the explosion. His body was partially burned, but if he felt any pain, he didn’t betray it.
“I will
admit, I underestimated you slightly,” Tyler said, his eyes cold. “It’s not too late, you’ve seen how the world is. Alliances are made and dropped on a whim. Join me, let’s stop this rebellion together. Let the past be the past.”
Zeke gritted his teeth and gripped his sword, his gaze unmoved.
Tyler tried again.
“Look, brother, even if you succeed, you will all be killed eventually. You have to understand that you aren’t just going against us, you’re pointing your sword at one of the most powerful groups in existence, and it’ll take more than a few party tricks to impress them.”
“You always were a self-serving bastard, who stood for nothing. If It’s me, or a few innocent children being sold into slavery or killed, or god knows what, it’s me every time! I’m ashamed to ever have called you my brother, Tyler!”
“I tried,” Bia re-manifested. Tyler moved at near supersonic speeds, slashing at Zeke’s hand.
Zeke realized that Tyler wasn’t going to strike his blade lest his sword be shattered, so he was aiming for his hilt instead.
SwiftSword!
Zeke made a strategic retreat, but Tyler was fast on his heels. To a trained combatant, Zeke’s trajectory was obvious after seeing his fighting style once or twice.
Bia sliced through his back, cutting his scabbard in half and throwing him off course.
Zeke rolled to the ground, wincing at the pain. The vibrating sword had cut deep, and he had started losing blood. Tyler didn’t stop, his eyes once again showing no trace of mercy, he barraged his younger brother with vicious strikes from his sword. Zeke’s SwiftSword was able to parry his strikes, but just barely.
Rolling away from the impact, Zeke prepared another attack.
SwiftSword: Omnisl—
Tyler broke his reverie, a strong horizontal slash meant to bisect him. He blocked it, but the force of the attack sent him off his feet, knocking him through the doors of the building and into the main offices.
Tyler walked in, eyes slowly searching the rubble for any sign of life. From the corner of his eye, he saw movement, turning to meet the challenge, his vision was obscured by a thrown coat.
A distraction!
Zeke’s next attack connected. This time, Tyler didn’t have the time to react as he carved a pentagram into his back. He turned again and launched the same attack. Bia countered it, but just barely. This time, the force of the attack cracked the blade, forcing Tyler backwards. Before he could recover from the barrage, Zeke’s next sword stroke sliced him. Cutting his side.
Zeke turned around, to survey the damage. Tyler had taken two hits, not quite substantial. He would still be able to fight. Zeke frowned, he would need something solid to put him down.
Tyler stopped and touched his wounds lightly. Blood spilt from the gash in his side, pooling near his feet. Reaching into his belt, he splashed a congealing agent on it.
Then he looked up.
“You cut me. Not once, but twice.” Tyler muttered, eyes red with rage, voice unsettlingly calm, “No one does that to me, brother. You are dead.”
He lunged quickly, Zeke engaged his SwiftSword once more, but Tyler was just that bit faster. Bia flew past his guard, stabbing him in the torso.
Zeke grunted in pain, as he leapt backwards. The longer the vibrating blade was inside him, the more damage it would do. But Tyler was enraged, and he was going for the kill. Zeke’s SwiftSword was fast, so much so that even he himself was unable to control it while moving. His attacks were all pre-trained manoeuvres and using it to escape meant that a skilled observer could gauge his trajectory and intercept it. Tyler met and exceeded those requirements.
Bia: Force God’s vengeance!
Bia swung down, Zeke raised his sword, barely defending himself. It was too little, too late. Tyler’s attack shattered Amadioha in half, and continued downward, cutting Zeke vertically from shoulder to torso.
Zeke fell to the ground on his knees, bleeding profusely.
“It didn’t have to end this way. I gave you my hand, we could have been partners, now you’re just going to become another enemy I kill on my way to the top. As you bleed out and die, reflect on your wasted life.” Tyler’s scornful tone was matched only by the hate in his eyes, Zeke noted. Hate that scorched his soul when he remembered what Tyler used to be like. Hate that bubbled up sorrow for his dead parents. Hate that he was thankful for because it had blinded his opponent from seeing the obvious.
Pulling the tatters of his shirt, Zeke began to tie it around his stab wound. The gash was nothing he hadn’t experienced before, but the stab was the most immediate problem. He picked up the hilt of his broken blade and struggled to his feet.
“So, you still want to fight?” Tyler mocked, “Perhaps next time, I should cut off a limb or two. Fighting as a cripple shouldn’t be a challenge for someone who likes to do the impossible.”
“No.” Zeke finally stood, his wound bound, and sword in hand. “There is no need, I have finished this fight. It’s my victory.”
Tyler raised an eyebrow, then he saw it. Zeke’s hilt, his self-named ShatterSword. He looked down at his own sword, a telltale glow had surrounded it, now leaking onto his own hand.
“Your sword and your hand will explode as soon as I will it to. At this point it’ll kill you, in a few seconds, it’ll obliterate you. Ironically, it can only work on you because we share the same blood.” Zeke said, coldly. “Even if you kill me now, you’ll be dying shortly afterwards.”
Tyler looked at his hand, then looked at his brother. He had done everything right. Why was he the one about to die?
Images flashed through his head.
Simon’s blood as it pooled on the ground.
His mother’s shocked face.
Zeke’s tearful face.
“I love you son.”
“Arghhhhh!” Tyler let out a blood-curdling scream, and ran at his brother, hoping to run him through. Zeke saw it coming, easily evading his careless swing. He rolled under the attack and slid towards the windows.
Tyler turned and slammed his sword into the ground, cracking it.
He would see Zeke dead before the day was through. Despite his brother’s boasts, he knew that most Godspark abilities tended to vanish once the users were killed. The chances were on his side.
He had done everything right. Everything….to ensure his survival. There was nothing that could have ruined it….and yet…. this was happening. All the sacrifices he had gone through, to ensure that he would not die a nobody, that his life would mean something. There’s no way it could have been wrong!
He swung Bia, but Zeke countered. Even with his sword cut in half, he was still a formidable fighter. Runes reinforced the shattered blade, ensuring it wouldn’t break further.
I’m not sorry.
Tyler and Zeke continued their macabre dance. Swords singing through the air. Parrying each other. Clashing with each other. There was no strategy here, no technique, just a desperate struggle for life and death. Tyler had gotten sloppy out of desperation, and Zeke was gaining the upper hand.
No, that’s a lie. I’m sorry.
Tyler slashed at him.
Bia: Force Gods Rage!
Bia sang, the vibratory shockwave carrying from the sword blade and through the air slicing through to the outer wall of the building. Evading that attack, Zeke slammed the hilt of his sword into Tyler’s sword-arm.
All this time, I hoped that you would be someone I could turn with reason.
He dropped his sword, but quickly caught it in the air, swinging it once more at Zeke. Each swipe increasingly desperate. Each one carrying the awareness that this fight would end the minute Zeke decided.
I thought that there was someone inside this insane monster you’ve become. Someone who could be saved.
Vaulting over Bia’s swing, Zeke grabbed onto Tyler with his right hand and slammed him into the ground. His Rune Knight martial arts skill and brute strength coming into use once more.
But there is no insane monst
er. I know that now. No, I’ve always known that.
He stopped and looked back at the man on the ground.
There’s only the person, the ugly person I never knew. The one who would sacrifice his family to save his skin.
He stared as Tyler stood up once more, face contorted with pain and rage.
To preserve the image of the brother I once had, at least let me protect him.
He pointed his sword at Tyler.
Our childhood will remain sacred, and the Tyler of back then will stay safe in my head. No one can take those memories away from me.
Tyler realized too late, what he was doing, and ran towards him, hoping to delay the inevitable.
While I’ll slay this one, with my own hands.
“Wait—stop!” Tyler yelled. “Stop! Don’t do it!”
“It’s too late for apologies, you cowardly, self-serving bastard.” Zeke replied.
“I’ll let you and your friends live—”
“Let Amadioha strike you down.”
He swung the hilt of his sword downwards as if cutting an imaginary enemy.
ShatterSword: Song of Sorrows!
The explosion ripped through Tyler’s body, starting from his arm. As his body was blown apart, all Zeke saw were his eyes at that last moment. Not pleading, not contrite, but filled with burning hatred as he was consumed.
Goodbye, Tyler.
* * *
The Tower shuddered once more. Tyler’s death had sent shockwaves through the building, but it was not that that caused the current trembling.
Derek lay at the foot of the building, unconscious. Rubble was scattered all around him.
Timothy stood over him. Certainly bruised, and surely battered. Derek had given him a good battle, but ultimately, fallen. Against a lieutenant of the Nephilim. No — a Principality, who could stand for too long?
“I gave you every chance to back away kid, whatever happens next is on you.”
Chapter 29 - The Voice from the Past
All his lieutenants were down. Even as Timothy delivered a final blow to Derek, he knew this without a doubt. The silence from their headsets and the chaos around him as Karn citizens scuttled around him, looking for all the world like restless cockroaches.
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