“The Yyvubia is a lie!” Suruj let out, running towards the wall. “Enough of your stupid laws, you mga letseng mananampalataya!”

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Saya yanked his arm backwards, but he stood back up. He shouted towards the people. Suruj turned around.

“This is it, Saya. I’m getting the people to vote for me,” He reached his hand into the air, “Karam won’t be ready. So I want you to be ready to get out as soon as I destroy the barrier.”

There might not be a happy ending for everyone. That was the risk Suruj was willing to take. Even if they were cornered from all sides, then he must do this part, just like L, just like Kwazhak, like everyone else. The dark clouds began to cover the sun, as the guards subdued the violence breaking out on the spectator’s stage. Suruj kept on yelling.

“What? Not like this,” She stormed to him, her feet stomping. “You aren’t going to die, right?”

“I won’t. I simply need you to climb out once I destroy it. I’ve already told you the route,” Suruj reassured her again. He continued to wave his arms, hollering blasphemous phrases and deprecating the name of the Yyvubia. In order to gain the title of the loser, he needed to be one. Slurring and slandering, his throat throbbed in the dryness of his mouth.

Something like this reminded him of a time in where, the Khoitan people were called terrorists in Dyak-ar-salaam. The endless cycle of hatred went both ways. Now that he thought about it,

Why did the three nations despise each other, and the Khoitan tribes?

Khoyor 11th. In the dimness of his room, only Suruj was awake to put pencil to paper. Lit by a sahar-powered lamp, he studied. Dyak-ar-salaam already slept, with little to no lights in Juancito Ward. Even if the bags under his eyes got darker and his pencil snapped, Suruj didn’t stop.

“Kuya Suruj...“ Koi peeked his little head while turning the door ajar. Suruj snapped back awake.

He turned his chair around, “Totoy… you should be asleep already.”

“Are you okay? Lately you’ve been studying day and night,” The boy wagged from side to side. Suruj’s tired face warped into a gentle smile.

“I’m already a third-year student in high school. Next month I’ll be taking the entrance exam to Dunong University at the Luzokapital.”

“Oh… I thought that you hate us,” Koi began to sob and groan. Quickly Suruj got out of his seat and took a knee.

“Totoy, your name is Koi Zundui. ‘Koi’ means ‘love’ in Azu. You’re Koi because me and mom love you very much,” He set his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “So don’t cry. Your older brother is just working so we can finally go see dad.”

“Okay… If you say that, then can you tutor me too? I really wanna make mom happy.”

Suruj’s eyes noticed the letter in the trash bin. The letter had the certain emblem of a Kazaàd company. It had been more than five days. He shook his mind off of it.

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“Of course. After I pass my exam, though!”

“Pramis?” Koi pouted. Suruj held up a fist, and Koi bumped it with his own.

“Pramis. Now go to sleep or mom will be mad at you,” He ruffled his hair. His little brother giggled as he went downstairs.

That day didn’t come. If Suruj just accepted the invitation to Al-Wa, then would things have turned out differently? If he didn’t resist, he could’ve gone straight to working with L in Wakoku. But he couldn’t turn back time, as it was a constant.

The votes were in, and the two bars sprawled up in tally. The votes for Saya and Suruj were going up similarly at the same height. For a moment he stopped breathing, waiting for the final results.

“The fighter who wins the Major and gets to face the champion…”

The whole crowd went silent at the loudspeakers. The wind became solemn. Suruj wanted to know. It was as if he was dying to hear his name, yet knowing who must become the real winner.

“Izdaha Saya!”

She stood there quietly, her head facing downwards. Saya did not rejoice at her name. Suruj approached her slowly, and gave her a pat on the back. He couldn’t see her eyes, since they were covered by silver hair.

“I’ve done it, Saya,” Suruj consoled her, while holding back his shaky voice. “You’re going to live through this no matter what. Live. L loved you as if you were his sister, so you’re like an older sister to me. You can still end this the way you want.”

Suruj let go of her before walking towards the center of the arena. The dark tranquil clouds up above signaled the storm. His arms and fingers trembled, waiting for it to come.

He was struck with a power surge. Sahar traveled throughout his body. His blood boiled. Limbs spasmed. Suruj did nothing but scream. Blood spurt everywhere. From the stubs of his fingers, the sockets of his eyes, his heart was as if it was set on fire. A ringing sensation blinded both his vision and hearing. Suruj fell to the ground. Even through it, he covered the fall with his arm, feeling his veins pop. He couldn’t handle it much longer. This was it, he thought. It was the same execution that…

“Heheh, till we meet again, Suruj Zundui.”

It wasn’t over. Suruj worked his body to overdrive. There was only one thing to do. He raised his fist over the ground. For a better future, a future where nobody would have to go through something like this. For a better future, where people’s innocence wouldn’t be exploited. For the generations of people that have died in this stadium through and through again.

“Don’t die, Suruj. Even your father would be sad…”

“Kuya, you’re leaving us?...”

“Don’t die on me bro.”

“You still have a life, kumpadre.”

“Don’t go… You’re a part of my ‘ala-ala’.”

“Remember what your meaning in this world is.”

“One knows what to do. I trust thee in that.”

“Buhang boy, just live eh.”

A moment flashed before. He saw the silhouette of a girl he had never seen before. A Kalyk girl with braided hair, silver hair, and green eyes.

“Alam Daigdig!”

His fist infused with an enormous amount of particles, glowing rainbow colors everywhere. He drove it into the ground. The building’s core shook violently, the magnitude rocking everything back and forth. Glass windows shattered, and people ran for cover.

A mega beam of white emerged from the ground, illuminating everything around it. It crashed against the barrier, cracking it before destroying it in seconds. It reached up into the sky, where the clouds were forced to part in its raw power.

Suruj looked at himself. His hand was beginning to fade away. As if turning to dust. He had reached the limit. Soon his arm, his legs, his body, began to dissipate into particles. His torso and head dropped to the ground. He couldn’t feel anything. Before he knew it, Suruj closed his eyes.

Utter peace.