Ethan and I sauntered down the High Street, the two of us enjoying this day as we had every day for the past year. The warm sunlight fell down upon us, coating us in a strange, comfortable feeling. The Street was positively bustling with people, and despite the few glances that were tossed my way, the moment did not feel anything short of joyous.

I took a deep breath, smiling to myself. Despite everything that had happened last year, life had finally begun to look up again. All the death, all the destruction…all of it seemed distant in that one moment. It was peaceful, which was not a term that I had used in all my thirteen years of life.

A small, almost nagging feeling persisted in the back of my mind. A feeling that something was going to go wrong. But I told myself that today would not be the day.

Glancing at Ethan, I was almost shocked at how happy he seemed. His close-cropped dark brown hair glistened in the afternoon sun, and his brown eyes seemed to sparkle as he beamed at me. His square-framed glasses sat slightly askew on his face, giving him an almost roguish look, which certainly suited him. He wore a red T-Shirt with black shorts, complimenting his ‘I’m-a-normal-kid’ look.

‘Where to next?’ Ethan asked, evidently referring to the numerous activities that we had taken part in that morning.

‘I dunno,’ I replied, smirking slightly. ‘I guess we go back home and rest for the rest of the day.’

This was a lie. I had not yet visited Grandad’s grave. I had made a point of visiting it once a week since his passing, and it was now Saturday and I had not yet been.

His death had certainly been the hardest to recover from, what with him being one of the only two family members that I had left, and the fact that his death had led to me becoming Prime Minister of RoCity. It was a tough job, as I had expected, but it would only get tougher. Once I turned fourteen, the Aid that was assisting me would be, in a sense, disbanded. Fourteen was the Age of Passing, in the eyes of the RoCitian Government. At fourteen, I was responsible enough to lead the entire city all on my own. Of course, I would forever have advisors and a Government to help, but all decisions, and all other important businesses, would be handled by none other than myself. It would be another eight months before this happened, however, so I still had some time to try and relax.

‘I do have one question, though,’ Ethan said, interrupting my thought train. ‘Why do you carry your toolbelt with you everywhere?’

‘Who knows when I’m gonna be attacked?’ I replied. ‘It’s got everything I need, as well. The last two smoke balls, my swords, and I can store anything else in here, as well.’

Ethan smirked. ‘You’ve changed the way you hold your swords, have you noticed?’

‘What do you mean?’ I said, staring at him. I had, in fact, not noticed.

‘You hold it backwards,’ he explained, still smirking somewhat. ‘Like with the blade pointing behind you.’

I unsheathed The Santrrer Sword from the right side of my belt, in the way that I thought I always had. Sure enough, I was holding it backwards, with the tip of the blade sticking out behind me.

‘Didn’t I always hold it like this?’ I asked.

‘No!’ Ethan said quickly, sounding almost as though he were trying not to laugh. ‘You always used to hold it the normal way.’

‘Guess I’m afraid of being backstabbed again,’ I murmured, cursing myself.

Ethan remained silent for a moment. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t you apologise,’ I growled. ‘It’s nobody’s fault. Except maybe his. Or hers.’

‘At least you killed her,’ Ethan tried enthusiastically.

‘We. And how many lives did we lose in the process? Henry, Grandad, Maltor…we can’t get them back.’

The two of us took our next few steps in cold silence.

‘Anyway,’ I said brightly. ‘If you’re really desperate to do something, there’s a café opposite The Tower that Charlotte and I went to before. Nice place. We can grab something from there if you want.’

Ethan’s smile returned. ‘Yeah. That should be fun.’

‘Do you know what’s up with Quinn?’ I asked after a few more steps. ‘He’s been acting weird around me ever since…ever since Maltor betrayed us.’

‘He’s been acting weird around all of us since then,’ Ethan corrected. ‘I don’t know what it is. Nobody can get a word out of him.’

‘If he’d betrayed us too, he would’ve come forward along with Maltor, right?’ I said, mostly to myself.

‘I dunno,’ Ethan said cautiously. ‘Maybe he was gonna but got cold feet when you killed Maltor.’

‘Don’t remind me,’ I said quickly. ‘I wasn’t myself in that moment. It was like somebody else had taken over.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise. Just cuz I don’t wanna remember it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen or you can’t mention it.’

There wasn’t even a moment’s silence before another member joined our group.

Natasha’s voice called our names, and upon glancing behind us, I saw her running over. Her flowing brown hair shone in the afternoon sun, and her brown eyes did the same. She wore a white T-Shirt and ripped jeans. I hated jeans. At least, I hated wearing them.

‘Where are you two going?’ she asked upon catching up.

‘The café opposite The Tower,’ Ethan explained.

‘Ooh, that’s a nice place,’ Natasha said excitedly. ‘Mind if I join you?’

‘Nah, that’s fine,’ Ethan continued. ‘What are you doing anyway?’

‘I just finished up helping Asbel in his workshop,’ she said, and then, upon seeing the look on Ethan’s face, continued. ‘No, you can’t know what he’s making.’

I smirked at the two of them. It was so nice to be having a good day for once. A year ago, my life had been riddled with nothing but constant stress and pain, which were the direct results of the war against Amy Wright, the woman that had killed my family.

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The problems had only worsened with the reveal that Maltor had betrayed us. They worsened with the death of Henry. They worsened with the death of Grandad. My first few months at RoCity had been nothing short of a living hell. Now, however, things were finally looking up.

Until he appeared.

We had only taken a few more steps before it happened. I saw it begin to form before anybody else had even noticed a slight change. I slowly placed my hand on the grip of my sword, ready to go.

‘Albert?’ Ethan said, sounding almost scared. ‘What are you-’

Roughly three metres in the air in front of us, the air had begun to distort and ripple, as though somebody had ripped through it. The surrounding area around this ripple was a menacing dark grey, and the sight of it began to send a shiver down my spine.

Not even half a second later, the ripple seemed to explode. Not quite literally, but a shockwave spread through the air instantly, and it was centred at that…thing. I planted my feet firmly into the ground, determined not to move. Ethan and Natasha were forced a few steps back, but they merely grunted and pushed forward until they were back next to me.

Squinting through the invisible pushing force, I saw that somebody was now hovering in the spot where the ripple was a moment before. I instantly knew who it was, I just didn’t want to believe it.

Once the force had died down, Ethan, Natasha, and I stared up at the figure along with everyone else on the street.

I heard Ethan let out a shaky breath. Natasha tried to conceal a gasp.

‘H-How?’ Ethan breathed. Glancing at him, I saw that his eyes were wide with horror. ‘H-He’s dead.’

The air around him was dark. His cold blue eyes stared down at me, with such a mixed expression that I am unsure how to even begin describing it. He seemed bored, loathing, amused, annoyed, and everything in between. His bright eyes seemed to sparkle with these emotions as he glared down at me. The two of us did not separate our glares. A smirk slowly grew on his face, finishing the amused look he wore. His black T-Shirt rippled in the breeze, and his black cargo trousers complimented his menacing aura. His short blond hair flew wildly in the wind, and I noticed that he was holding a completely jet-black sword. All of this put together made me feel almost afraid. Almost.

I glared up at him, and he returned the favour. Neither of us moved for a moment, but it was clear that the two of us were itching to slit the other’s throat.

‘Albert! Don’t you dare!’ Ethan shouted desperately, sensing what I was about to do.

Natasha paused for a moment. ‘Albert! Stay down!’

Ignoring them, I continued to glare up at him. The boy I had killed.

‘You don’t know what he’s done!’ Ethan tried again, frantically trying to calm me down.

But it was too late. The flames had been ignited.

I put all of my strength into my legs for a brief moment before leaping into the air, seemingly gliding effortlessly up to him. The two of us hovered in front of each other momentarily, still glaring at each other. Then we raised our swords.

‘Albert! Don’t!’ Ethan yelled again.

There was another half-second of peace. Another half-second where the two of us just stared. Another half-second before I made the greatest mistake of my life. I swung my sword at him.

I swung my sword at Maltor Confussée.

My first blow came around, directed towards the left side of his neck. He brought his sword up and blocked. My blade glided along his, causing a toe-curling nose to reverberate throughout the High Street. Thinking quickly, I brought my sword back towards him, the blade perfectly poised to stab him in the right cheek. Again, he blocked, sending my arm backwards slightly.

I swung my arm again, and this time it hit. It was only a small cut, and it only hit his left cheek. It was comparable to a paper cut, but it ignited something in him. His eyes lit up with newfound anger, and he brought his sword along my stomach, creating a deep gash. I did not cry out. Then he brought his leg up and kicked my stomach, sending me flying backwards through the air and into the hard ground below. Pain flew through my body like a jet.

I could not give up. I jumped up to my feet, readying my sword. A cold sweat had broken out on my forehead, and I was trying desperately to steady my breathing. I had to keep my breathing steady.

Maltor floated effortlessly down to the ground, his feet not even making a sound as he landed. The two of us maintained eye contact as we slowly began to walk toward each other. Each step felt tremendous. This was my best friend. And here I was, trying to kill him because I had clearly failed the first time.

Each step was slow, and both of us knew that we could take our time. Knew that, no matter what speed it played at, our fight would shake the city.

‘Albert! Actually, don’t!’ Ethan called again. ‘Just come over here, let professionals deal with him!’

Maltor’s smirk, which had disappeared a moment before, reappeared. He continued to stare at me, the two of us unblinking.

Once the two of us were in range again, we stood still for a moment, our silence speaking more than a thousand words. Then I thought of Henry.

Everything became a blur. I was not even thinking. I just moved my arm wildly in front of me, and it was working. Our blades clashed. Not a single strike got through. By this time, both the wound in my stomach and the cut on his cheek had fully healed over. He had not lost his Power.

Then I got through. A single jab. It somehow glanced through his guard, striking him in the left shoulder. He did not even wince. I let out a flurry of jabs, each of them striking somewhere between his shoulder and navel. Thick crimson blood poured violently from his wounds, but he remained silent. Neither of us had said a word since his arrival.

I saw Maltor grit his teeth. A wave of pain washed over me; I was hurting my best friend. My jabbing slowed, giving Maltor the opening he needed to hit my blade with the flat of his, sending it flying across the road. It hit the ground nearly ten feet away from me with a clang.

I glanced up at him in disbelief. He had disarmed me. The only other person that had disarmed me when I had my sword was Amy. And the Combots.

I jumped backwards, barely out of his reach. His next slash cut a thin hole through the front of my shirt. I pulled my fist back briefly before hurling it forward. To others, it looked as though I was just punching thin air, but in reality, I was using my powers as a descendant of Titan.

It's a strange thing to describe, but the wind seemed to follow my fist. It was as though a ball of condensed air had formed around my hand and had flown forward along with it. It soared through the air, smashing into Maltor’s chest. He flew backwards a few feet before catching himself.

The two of us stared at each other. Our cold blue eyes met and the tension was palpable. It was a victim fighting his murderer. A corpse fighting its burier. It wasn’t right.

Once again, the two of us charged toward one another. This time, however, just before we clashed, he disappeared. The air around him seemed to warp inward, and he disappeared into a small black space.

I had drawn my fist back, and it was coated in flames. I let it fly forward a second too late. I had let somebody else escape by the skin of their teeth. I gritted my teeth and stared at the ground angrily. I was still as useless as I always had been.

‘Albert! Are you okay?’ Ethan shouted, running over to me.

He grasped my shoulders and shook me vigorously. Looking up, I saw that a look of wild fear coated his face.

‘Why did you-’

‘He’s back…’ I heard Natasha whisper from my left.

‘He’s back,’ I repeated quietly.

‘You shouldn’t have fought him!’ Ethan said, shaking me once more.

‘What?’ Natasha said, appalled. ‘Do you expect him to just stand there and let a dead man kill him?’

Ethan stared at her.

‘I hit him first,’ I murmured, feeling sick. ‘He blocked my first two swings but my third got through. I dealt the first blow.’

‘So what?’ Ethan said, tightening his grip on my shoulders.

‘Everything past this point is his retaliation.’

‘‘Everything past’- What?’ Natasha said, her eyes wide.

‘You didn’t think this would be the end of it, did you?’ I said faintly. ‘I knew this would happen. Ever since I killed Amy…I knew the cycle wasn’t over.’

The three of us stood in silence for a moment.

‘Well…’ Ethan tried. ‘How do we tell the others?’

Natasha tried not to smirk. ‘Now’s not the time, Ethan.’

I gritted my teeth. He was alive. I knew he was. I had known since it had happened.

I slowly walked over to the spot that my sword had flown to, before picking it up and sheathing it aggressively. Nobody else realised how monumental the previous few minutes were.

‘I’m going to the grave,’ I mumbled to Ethan and Natasha, before extending my wings through the holes in my T-Shirt and soaring away.

I slowly began to glide over to the Western Suburbs, which was the cluster of houses on the…well, western side of the Valley. That’s where the graveyard was.

As I flew, I cursed myself. Not only for letting him get away but for bringing about this situation in the first place. If I hadn’t killed him that day last year then he wouldn’t be so angry at me now. This was all my fault.

I killed him.