Determination

by Angela B. Macala-Guajardo

  Nexus stood before the tree, flung an arm out, and the chunk of rock Roxie was about to alight on the edge but part of it broke away from the plateau and sailed towards her. She punched it with the serrated edge of her shield, shattering it, and continued flying.

  Using both arms, he redirected the shards towards her. She spun midair and blocked all projectiles with her shield and the flat of her glowing blade. She inched closer as she blocked, and Nexus kept pelting her with them. He wanted her and her sword to stay very far away. Why did he care about her sword?

  That’s no sword...

  Nexus’s words and the confident smile after he’d been stabbed with Aerigo’s dagger flashed across her mind.

  The dagger was a sword now, thanks to her Frava power, and she agreed with Nero that her lack of swordsmanship was moot. Now she just had to test and see if he was right about the sword being a tool for intimidation.

  Nexus kept pelting her, breaking off more rock from the ground and hurling it at her. Splitting her concentration between her sword and the debris, Roxie held her blade overhead and willed the rocks to collect above the tip. Nexus’s will flinched away from every piece Roxie stole control over.

  That was a first. She’d had to wrestle for every inch of control over her previous opponents. And here she’d been so terrified of Nexus from the day she’d learned of his existence. No wonder he’d sent one assassin after another to kill her and Aerigo. No wonder he’d commanded Daio to kill every last Aigis. Nexus was a selfish coward.

  Roxie collected enough rocks to crush a truck and sent them flying at Nexus. He shielded his face and a mental barrier blocked the rocks. Roxie dived and slashed at him. He tried to jump out of the way but she scored a line across his chest before he sent her somersaulting backwards through the air with a kick to her chin.

  Spreading her wings, Roxie righted herself and swallowed the coppery taste in her mouth. She wiped a corner of her mouth and blood stained her gauntlet, but she didn’t care. Her healing powers had already eased the pain in her jaw.

  She was probably going to sustain many injuries before this fight was over, but so would Nexus, if he escaped one fatal blow after another. She wanted to end this fight quickly in hopes of saving as many lives as possible, but she couldn’t rush victory. Nexus’s terror of her would only make him fight wildly and savagely, instead of wisely. Roxie had no delusion that this’d be an easy victory.

  Nexus touched the diagonal cut and stared in confusion at the blood on his hands. More fear crept into his dark eyes. He couldn’t believe he was looking at his own blood, his own mortality. And unlike Roxie, he wasn’t healing. He looked at Roxie with a mix of rage and terror. He did not want to fight her head-on. However, he didn’t want to look like a coward in front of his peers or parents, despite how terrified of Roxie all of them were.

  Roxie held her sword out at her side, purposely opening herself for an attack, but Nexus’s eyes followed the blade. She brought it close to her shield and pointed it at him like she was aiming to run him through. His eyes followed the blade again and Roxie had to suppress a smile. It really was an intimidation tool. She rolled her wrist, twirling the blade, and dived at Nexus again.

  Nexus threw a mental barrier between them and Roxie crashed into it, then began hacking at it with her sword.

  “Come to die like Aerigo did?” Nexus said with a fake smile.

  Roxie paused in her assault to glare at him. The biggest mistake he’d made was killing Aerigo. Roxie would do everything in her power to make him pay for that. She raised her shield arm, sucked in a deep breath, and punched with everything she had. “Break!” The ground shook and Nexus’s barrier shattered like glass. Her shield edge connected with his face and she laid him flat on the plateau, then followed with a downward swing of her sword, but Nexus rolled and rock spikes shout out of the ground from where he’d landed. Clenching her stomach, she took one in the belly and it shattered against her cuirass, barely lifting her feet off the ground as she grunted. She raised her shield and formed a mental barrier as Nexus threw more boulders at her.

  They cracked and broke on impact, creating a wreath of rubble at her feet. She stepped closer to Nexus between blows, pausing to brace for every hit, and once they stood ten feet apart, Nexus gave up on his assault.

  He stood there, fists raised and gasping for breath. “Tell me, how are you still alive?”

  “My will to live is stronger than your will for me to die, simple as that.”

  “I don’t believe you. Thanatos must’ve interfered.”

  She twirled her blade. “Go ask him yourself.” She sensed his next attack, seeing what he had in mind but not understanding it. She charged in.

  Nexus pressed his hands together and they morphed into something long and tubular. “Let’s try a weapon the mortals on your home world are so fond of.” Nexus aimed an oversized gun barrel at her.

  Skidding to a halt, Roxie brought her shield between them as gunfire filled the air. She read his will and blocked every bullet. He darted around the plateau while staying out of sword’s reach, peppering her with bullets, but she blocked every last one with her shield and will. He ran at her, Roxie stabbed at his chest, and he flipped overhead. Roxie twirled, keeping her shield in the line of fire, then executed an overhead swing. Nexus jumped back, split his gun into two smaller barrels, and continued firing.

  Roxie held her ground as her shield vibrated with every impact. She didn’t care he was shooting at her. This was a battle of wills, not a battle between sword and gun. However, she was beginning to wonder how she was supposed to land a fatal blow to someone that could change his shape at will.

  Nero had explained that he and gods had no set form. He’d taken on a shape Roxie could comprehend, as did the gods in the reenactment. Nexus looked like an Earth’s human and bled like one, and even reacted to his injuries with genuine shock and worry.

  “You got in that shot because I underestimated you,” Nexus said. “I assure you it won’t happen again.”

  “Nero taught me how to harness Frava to its full potential.” She swung at a choice bullet with the flat of her sword and sent it careening back at Nexus, burying itself in his shoulder.

  His gunfire arced into the sky and he staggered back, crying out in pain. The gun barrels morphed back into his hands and arms, and he clutched his bleeding shoulder.

  At the same time as Roxie charged in and yelled, “Stay!”, Nexus raised a bloody hand and yelled, “Stay back!” Roxie found herself stuck mid-stride, but Nexus found himself unable to flee. She willed herself to keep moving as Nexus willed her to stay back. It felt like she was trying to move in enhanced gravity that was beyond her ability to muscle through, but she didn’t let it intimidate her. Nexus had to be taken down. Release me. You need to die.

  Never. Now die, Aigis.

  No. Roxie felt Nexus willing her to die, feeling like a dagger was slowly trying to stab her heart. She accepted the pain and focused solely on getting her body to move while holding him captive.

  Her limbs moved with painstaking slowness as she gripped her sword in both hands, and held it like a batter about to swing. Sweat beaded on Nexus’s face. He tried to back away but Roxie held him rooted in place as she forced out a step closer. The pain in her chest intensified but she grit her teeth and slowly took another step.

  Nexus had a choice: either give up willing her to die and strengthen his will holding her back, or give up trying to flee. Him splitting his concentration three ways had given Roxie the upper-hand, since she was concentrating on only two things. He didn’t want to give up fleeing because she was steadily drawing closer, and if he stopped fighting her hold, she’d have to focus on only moving. On top of that, he didn’t want to give up on willing her to die because he was desperate to see her dead.

  Roxie pressed forward, squeezing out another step, and clutched her hilt. Just a few more steps and she’d be in swinging range, but the closer she got, the more Nexus wanted to focus solely on running. He w
as staring mortality in the face and didn’t like it one bit. He didn’t want to die.

  Give up on seeing your prophecy through and I’ll let you live. Her chest stung like it had a bad case of heartburn but she didn’t care. Just one more step and she could swing.

  What reason would you have to let me live? He spoke telepathically with disdain, yet with underlying hope that she was telling the truth.

  All live is precious.

  That’s a load of sentimental garbage. I can sense your determination to kill me.

  Only because I have to if you don’t change your mind. She took the last step. You are a son to two people. They have unwillingly accepted that they may lose their only child.

  You’re not fooling me with that sentiment. Now die already!

  Wow. He was paranoid. The pain in Roxie’s chest intensified enough to make her want to double over, but she blocked it out as best she could, focusing on Nexus’s neck. You know I can’t hide my true intentions from you any more than you can hide yours from me, right?

  So I’ve been told.

  Read my thoughts. Do you detect any lies in my sentiment?

  Nexus’s concentration on willing her to die faltered as he looked searchingly at her. Roxie almost stopped trying to break free of his hold and let him go, but he frowned and resumed willing her to die. You must’ve found a way to mask lies. I don’t believe you.

  At least she’d tried to spare him. Even though Nexus deserved to die, he also deserved a chance to change his ways and become a better person. She’d never expected a change of character in Daio but he’d surprised her in a good way. She’d hoped that maybe Nexus would be capable of the same thing, but some people were determined to be who they wanted to be, regardless of what anyone said or did. She found herself pitying Nexus. His death would cause his parents pain, but they and Roxie accepted that it’d be for the greater good.

  Roxie renewed her efforts on attacking as she willed him to let her go. Her sword inched closer with slow-motion speed and Nexus’s eyes locked on the glowing blade. Roxie didn’t have to swing fast; just hard enough to break skin and sever an artery. He’d bleed to death. Despite gods having no set form, Roxie perceiving a severed neck artery as a fatal blow would make it so, unless Nexus could will himself to survive the injury. That was it: a battle of wills.

  Nexus came to the same conclusion and stopped willing her to die, focusing solely on keeping her sword at bay.

  Finding herself unable to move, Roxie stopped trying to hold him in place since her sword was poised mere inches from his neck. She poured her will into her sword, imagining the glow had a deadly cutting edge, and willed the light to lance into his neck.

  Nexus dived out of the way before Roxie could reassert her hold over him. The light sliced a wedge off the plateau and rock crumbled away. He flew towards the temple and his voice filled the entire realm. “Protect the prophet! If I die, my prophecy dies with me! You far outnumber her. One Aigis can’t possible stand up to so many gods at once.”

  Roxie stopped the moment she started giving chase. Dozens of gods manifested in the sky and on the plateau. At the same time, she thought she sensed Nexus standing by the tree, but the leafless thing stood alone and she could sense him far off as well. She used her mind’s eye and sure enough the tree showed up in a white outline, and Nexus’s minuscule frame in grey.

  A wave of fear washed over her as she counted thirty gods staring her down. They were scared, too, but their sheer numbers gave them courage. If Aerigo was faced with such daunting numbers, how would he handle this? She was clearly able to overpower Nexus, one god at a time, but that took monumental effort. Could they combine their will to hold her in place, and destroy her like a target practice dummy? Maybe. Only one way to find out. If Aerigo were in her place, he’d probably accept that was near and make a point to take down as many gods as he could in the process.

  That gave her an idea.

  Gripping her sword in both hands, she held it in front of her face, closed her eyes, and focused on the blade’s glow. She could attack all of them at once with it. They could will her to hold still all they wanted.

  Die, said a chorus of voices.

  Or that. Gasping, Roxie went down, clutching her chest. Her heart felt like it was trying to tear up like a piece of paper. Tears blurred her vision as she writhed and willed herself to stay alive. It felt like she had an elephant sitting on her chest. She couldn’t get enough air in. Stars that didn’t belong to outer space filled her vision.

  This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be how it all ended. The fight had only begun. Even if Aerigo was here with her right now, alive, both of them would be getting crushed by thirty wills against two. But it couldn’t end like this. She had to find a way to get up and fight, or at least fight back.

  Clutching her sword in one hand and chest in the other, Roxie lay on her back and focused on her sword’s glow again, splitting it into thirty parts and aiming for every god willing her to die. Her head spun but her need to get through this kept her conscious. Once the light was divided, she focused on growing. She hadn’t expected to have to resort to this so quickly, but she had to do everything in her power to catch up with Nexus and bring him down.

  Her body filled with the sensational upwards rush as she willed herself to grow as fast as possible and stay alive. Her legs stretched over the side, hanging down, and Roxie rolled over the edge, landed on her feet, and grew until she reached her limit. The plateau stood no taller than her waist and she still sensed Nexus in two places at once, but she was in too much agony to care why. She needed to make the pain stop.

  She raised her sword and sent thirty beams of sharp light at her attackers. They all either dodged or blocked but she didn’t care. The attack was just a distraction. She trudged towards the temple, clutching her chest and breathing hard, and she was about to send another volley out when she saw more figures join the other gods--no, not join; attack.

  She had allies. There were gods brave enough to help her after all.

  The pain in her chest vanished and Roxie took several revitalizing gulps of air, thoroughly relieved to be free of the pain. She recognized Baku, Din, and Nexus’s mother among the new arrivals. Roxie wanted to be furious at them for not having helped sooner, even as far back as when Aerigo had been alive, but such anger had to wait. It’d only distract her from her goal.

  A feathery weight settled on one of her shoulders. Nexus’s mother stood there, eye-level with Roxie and wearing a green and black formfitting battle suit, with lengths of cloth hanging from all around her waist. Each piece ended in a triangular metal blade.

  “I couldn’t bring myself to stand back and watch you die, Roxie,” the lady said in a beautiful, heartbreaking voice. “I’m Kara, Nexus’s mother. I’ll do everything I can to keep the others off you so you can handle my son. I hope you can understand when I say I won’t help you with him.”

  Roxie nodded. “He’s left me no choice but to kill him. I’m sorry.”

  Kara frowned. “I know. I’m sorry, too. For both you and him. Do what you need to, Roxie.”

  “Thank you. I’m doing everything in my power to end this mess.”

  “You can do it. I have faith in you. I had faith in Aerigo, too. I hadn’t expected him to die so quickly, or else I would’ve jumped in sooner. I’m not taking any chances with you, now that other gods have jumped in.”

  Roxie hadn’t believed Aerigo would die so quickly either. Kara’s words eased her anger a little.

  Kara flew off and joined the fray. Avoid killing the other gods if you can, Roxie. They’re Creators. Their mortals will become lost to and alienated from the divine realm for wrongs they haven’t committed.

  I understand. However, if they leave me with no choice, I have to do what’s necessary to stop the prophecy from being fulfilled.

  Godless worlds can be recovered. It’s difficult, but not impossible.

  Good. Roxie searched the realm with her mind for Nexus, but it got pulled tow
ards every other good, ally and enemy. The ones helping her tried to shake her off and the enemies tried to hide, but it was like trying to pull strong magnets apart, until she stopped scanning.

  Nexus’s allies wanted at her but Kara and the others were fighting to keep them away so she could go straight to Nexus. She could stop to help overpower enough of them until they got the picture to let her and Nexus settle this themselves, but she should probably save the time and energy--and hopefully lives--by bringing the prophet down. She started flying towards the temple, tensed to defend herself at any moment, and stopped when yet another god appeared in the sky.

  A huge, serpentine dragon covered in tattoos glared down at everyone and cast a huge shadow over the realm. He or she looked familiar, even though she’d never seen it before. Kara, please tell me that one’ss on our side.

  Roxie felt and heard Kara’s amusement. He is. That’s Leviathan. You helped protect his icon.

  Roxie recalled the dragon statue lining the wall jutting over the cliff’s edge in Phailon. It’d looked just like Leviathan, but the real dragon had no legs or arms.

  Icons!

  Kara, do you happen to know where Nexus’s icon is?

  I’m sorry, no. Gods don’t share such information. Baku doesn’t know where mine is, nor I his.

  Would you be able to sense it if you were close? Roxie looked over a wing at the gnarled tree. It gave off an aura that Nexus was standing right there, but he wasn’t. Was that his icon she was sensing? She wanted to say yes, but she had a hard time believing Nexus would be stupid enough to hide his icon so out in the open. Then again, he was arrogant enough to do such a thing. On top of that, hiding in plain sight was a good way to discourage drawing attention to something. If she’d sensed the tree buried in the middle of the realm, that would’ve given her pause. Maybe she should just go over and stab it with her sword, and remove that niggling possibility.