Although Caim could not see or move, he could feel. A great cold lay beneath him, yet he was surrounded by warmth. Hazily, he opened his eyes. A few feet before him was something black and crumpled on the ice. Fire flickered around the figure, and Caim realized it was Storm on the ground. Ronin’s caneblade was stuck straight into his stomach.
Caim inched toward his brother. The world around him was howling as meteors struck the ice, crushing the stability of all things, including his spirit.
“Storm . . .” Caim tried to speak but could only manage a whisper. Crawling closer to him, he found that Storm’s eyes were wide open, staring up into the sky, and for a moment, he thought his brother had died. Caim felt a sudden liquid warmth under his palms, and realized that Storm was lying in a thick puddle of blood.
“Sorry . . . Caim . . . I messed up our shot.” Storm’s breathing was heavy and worn.
“We have to go, Storm . . . you’ll die if we stay here any longer.”
Storm lifted himself up, painfully slow. Blood coated the blade still notched into his ribs, and his muscles spasmed as he tried to stand. Yet he did not falter. One hand at a time, followed by a knee, and then another, Storm stood to his feet, his entire body trembling. Caim gazed at his brother, beaten and bloodied, with a long silver blade protruding out of his stomach. A harsh reminder of their grandfather’s victory.
“No, Caim . . .” said Storm. “I don’t care if it looks hopeless. We aren’t giving up.” Deep down, Storm could not decide if he really believed they could win. His body was wrecked. His arms were beaten to the point of exhaustion, his hands were blistered and calloused, but worst of all, he had lost peace of mind.
A strident voice broke their concentration as a figure descended towards them from above. “A shame to have come so far, only to grow impatient in the final moment.” The long black cloak of Ronin whipped fiercely in the wind as Caim’s eyes fell on the blade in his hand. It was his own fallblade. Caim quickly searched the ground around him. Sure enough, he had lost his sword. Everything seemed to be getting worse and worse.
“Hey!” Caim screamed at their old man. “Give that back, you thief!”
“It would seem that I have underestimated you two,” Ronin said. “Although I should have been keener to the signs. No matter. Storm can no longer fight, and I think we both understand what happens when one of you attempts to fight someone alone whose strength lies in a different realm than your own. It would seem you have reached the brink of your strength as swordsmen, and fallen.”
“Curse you, old man!” Storm shouted, feeling an immediate jab of pain in his gut. Forcing himself on pure anger to continue standing, Storm glared at Ronin. He was sick of feeling weak in front of him.
Ronin sighed. “Curse me as much as you like, though we are all cursed equally. Caim, Storm, you will never find the Soul of the Swordsman. Now is the time for you to retreat. That is, if you value your lives, for if you stay and attempt to fight me as you are now, Death is the only creature you will find.”
“So, what!?” Storm cried, wincing and falling to a knee. “Maybe death is better than losing to you!” A blast of fire and ice erupted behind him, bringing forth strong winds. Painstakingly, he forced himself back to both feet. “I will never give up, old man!! I will never give you that pleasure!”
“Oh?” Ronin answered, raising an eyebrow. “It seems you aren’t as broken as I thought.”
Caim’s eyes fell on his bloodied brother. “Storm, we have to go. You won’t survive another attack. And I don’t know what will happen to us if the world is destroyed while we’re still in it.” He looked around. “If that’s even possible. Who knows when it comes to this technique?”
“I know,” said Storm through a hideous grin. He looked at Caim. “But I’m not backing down from this, no matter what. Everything we’ve fought for is riding on this fight, so how can we turn back now?”
Caim took a deep breath and smiled. “You sure about this?”
Storm nodded. “We’re finishing it. I’m a damn swordsman, and so are you!”
“Screw it then,” said Caim, punching his fist into his palm. “Let’s take him down then! Together!”
“That’s the spirit,” Storm said, placing his hand on Ronin’s hilt. It was a truly unsettling feeling, having a sword pierced so deeply into his gut. He took a few quick breaths, tightened his grip on the hilt, and ripped the caneblade free. He cried out as blood spilt down his side.
“Stubborn to the very end,” Ronin mused. “Though it seems you have found what little remains of your courage. So be it then. I’ll show you boys something new.” Storm’s eyes sharpened as he saw Ronin whispering something. Lifting Caim’s fallblade out before him, the two brothers watched as an ardent glow wrapped around the sword, engulfing it in a bright light before fading suddenly.
“What the—” Storm started. “What the hell is that thing?”
When the light faded, Ronin was holding a completely different sword. The sleek silver edges glowed ravenously in the dark, and the whisper of a veiled voice seemed to cry out silently. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The blade he now held had changed in shape and was now nearly the entire length of a full-size claymore. A bizarre new power flowed forth from its edges, as if an ancestral force had been awakened, an energy that sought only ruin. Storm felt his hands clench tighter and tighter as their grandfather seemed to grow more and more invincible by the second.
“That is freaking awesome!” Caim shouted, stars filling his eyes. “Is that mine!? It is!!!”
“Caim, I really need you to focus,” muttered Storm. “This is serious. We could die here.”
“But, but, but, but, but—Just look Storm, just look at it! So beautiful. Like the most beautiful—”
Ronin’s voice cut him off. “Perhaps, one day, Caim, you will learn to transform your blade to its second form. But judging by your look of surprise, it would seem you didn’t realize the fallblade even had one.”
“How the hell would he even know that!?” Storm cried out, grimacing from the pain of screaming.
“My blade . . . has a super form!?” Caim was lost in his own dreams. “Amazing!!!”
“Seriously,” Storm said, rolling his eyes. “You need to pull it together, Caim. We’re literally about to die here!”
The stars in Caim’s eyes vanished. “Wouldn’t be the first time we were about to die . . .” he said, his tone changing. “Na, Storm, remember that time with the flares? It felt a lot like this, didn’t it?” Storm reminisced and laughed softly. “What, you mean hopeless?”
“Yeah, hopeless. But we survived,” said Caim. “And we’ll survive this too. I know it!”
Caim clenched his fists and roared at the top of his lungs. “I don’t care how strong you are, grandpa! No matter what, we will take those bells from you! And then I’m going to change my sword into its third even more super ultimate form, and beat you with it!!!”
“What he said!!!” Storm cried. “We’re never going to give up, no matter what!!”
Ronin’s eyes grew bright, and his smile took to light. “Now, this is what I’ve been waiting for.” His aura suddenly began to change, rousing the natural energy of everything around them. And soon, everything was changing.
Storm and Caim braced themselves as Ronin’s power began shaking the entire world. They struggled to hold their balance on the wavering ice as Ronin lifted the transformed fallblade above his head. Falling meteors faded away into crystalline particles as the remnant wakes of energy and flame seeped through the sky like fiery streams, moving towards and twisting around the sky-pointed fallblade in Ronin’s hand.
“It’s almost as if the whole world is giving him power,” Caim said in wonder. “I’ve never felt anything like it before. And look!” Caim pointed up. “Look at all the stars in the sky, they’re all fading, one by one . . . all of them, as if he’s absorbing all of their light. He truly is the most powerful swordsman I’ve ever seen.”
“We should consider ourselves lucky then,” said Storm. “To be his students. And to get the chance to kick his ass. Brace yourself, Caim . . . I have a bad feeling about what is coming next!”
Storm spun Ronin’s caneblade around until it felt right in his hand. A sudden feeling of lightheadedness overcame him, and he knew that he was at the tail end of everything he had. Storm’s eyes closed. He felt unconsciousness pulling at him, but resisted. He took a deep breath, forcing himself back to the present. His eyes opened.
“Now, where is my sword?” Storm asked, looking around. “It can’t be too far.”
High above, the energy gathering around the awakened fallblade was causing hurricanes of wind to split the clouds, while cracks of jagged lightning illuminated the dark skies. Every falling meteor had been absorbed into a torrential swirl of energy and flame that was whirling around Ronin.
“There it is!” said Caim, flashing over to where the blade was lying on the ice. Rolling the hilt onto his foot, he kicked it up into the air. Catching the blade swiftly, Caim looked back at Storm, but was surprised to find him only staring up into the sky.
“I got it, Storm!”
Up above, the stormy skies had all but converged upon Ronin. The energy of all things was swirling around him in a fiery inferno laced with his own aura, and the wild sounds of the world’s end made their worst nightmares seem like nothing at all. The strength of their grandfather was something to be truly marveled.
“Now, let’s test that resolve of yours, shall we?” Ronin bellowed. “Survive this, if you can!!!”
“Shit, run!!!” Storm screamed, but he could barely move. “We can’t survive a direct hit!!” Caim dashed over to Storm, but upon throwing his brother’s arm over his shoulder, they both clearly heard Ronin’s last words.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Starless Night!”
An arc of black and crimson energy engulfed the sky and raced towards Caim and Storm. The aura wave howled as it descended upon them, and true fear ran straight through their hearts.
“That’s his ultimate technique!” said Caim, running in terror.
“No . . .” said Storm, his eyes locked on the sky above. “We’re . . . we can’t . . .”
Realizing that Storm could not dodge in his current state, Caim looked around for somewhere to escape. He grasped Storm’s arm and with all of his strength, flashed away from the massive arc of energy. The air surged frantically all around them as the crescent wave of aura screamed towards the melting ice. Yet it seemed that no matter how fast he moved, the world-encompassing arc of energy could not be evaded.
With one final flash, Caim shot towards the furthest chunk of ice he could see. There was no time to think. He could feel the surging heat from the immense attack. His senses were failing. His ears deafened. Fear and drive became all that existed. It was then that Ronin’s attack struck the world, and a tidal wave of wind and destruction exploded past Caim and Storm until they were lost in the world’s end.
Darkness was all that remained. And pain.
What . . . happened . . .
Why can’t I move my body . . .
Caim wearily opened his eyes, barely able to recall where he was. Pure agony ran through him, and he couldn’t tell how many bones he had broken, or from where he was bleeding. Blood smeared his eyes, and a thick cloud of ash was choking him. With immense struggle, he stood and limped forward, looking all around for his brother.
In his hand he held Storm’s blade, but his brother was nowhere to be found.
Looking around with blurred vision, Caim found Storm in the distance. Limping across the shattered chunks of ice, he found his way to him. Storm was struggling to stand, but was only able to cough up more blood into a little puddle.
“What . . . did he do . . ?” Storm choked, looking around. “The world . . . its—”
Turning his eyes away from his brother for the first time, Caim’s heart froze as a new world rose before them. Icy black glaciers rose up from the devastation as swimming streams of lava engulfed their surroundings. In the center of it all was a great cleft in the ice left from the energy wave. It ran towards the horizon itself, and Caim could only guess how deep it truly was.
He pierced Storm’s sword into the ice and let his weight fall on it, unable to fathom the existence of such an attack. Ronin’s assault had shattered the surface of the planet, bringing a chaotic swirl of energy, lava, and madness. Caim could hear what sounded like the cries of the world as it writhed in pain.
“It’s . . . destroyed,” whispered Caim. “There’s nothing but destruction left . . .”
Caim soon realized that the chunk of ice they were standing on was the only one left, and that they were surrounded entirely by an ocean of fire and flame. Looking behind him, everything he had walked upon to get to Storm had already been swallowed. The heat made him feel as if he were a part of the fire itself, and his body felt like it was turning to ash. Feeling a sudden spear of pain from his left arm, Caim looked down to see that it was hanging completely limp, by his side. The bones had been shattered, and it was only a testament to their dire situation that he was just now feeling it for the first time.
“Caim, I—I can’t . . .” Storm fell back to the ground.
The world trembled and shook before its end, and huge waves of dust and ash clung to the ground like a vast fog. High in the sky, Ronin’s silhouette was still as he floated above. His voice seemed to echo across the entire realm as he spoke.
“I see you two have survived. But to what end? I have destroyed the core of this world, and there are only a few precious minutes before everything goes with it. Death has come and accepted your challenge! Now, rise! Or will you finally give in to fear and doubt? The moment is upon you boys! Make your choice!!”
A cold sweat came over Storm. How could Ronin be so powerful? And how, after all they had gone through, was everything so meaningless in the face of the old man’s true strength? He could feel the pain of his wounds intensifying, trying with all their might to coax him to sleep.
“We’re going to die here . . .” Storm whispered, terrified of his own words. Fear had finally risen upon the throne of his mind and poisoned his heart. He could barely crawl on his knees. A tear slid down his cheek and onto the ice.
“Everything has been in vain. He is . . . beyond us,” Storm whispered, his hands numb to the feeling of everything. He tried to make a fist, but the fear in his mind only weakened his strength even further.
“If you want to die here, Storm,” said Caim. “Then you can go ahead and leave him to me. I’m not giving up. Fenrir wouldn’t have given up. He had to go all the way to the darkness to face himself! Aren’t you going to be the greatest swordsman to ever live? Stand, Storm! For this is nothing before that dream!”
Storm’s heart froze at his brother’s words. This is nothing? The warm coaxing of sleep that had been seducing him suddenly lost its strength, and a small flame came alive in his heart.
“What are you saying?” Storm asked, feeling all the more broken.
“I’m saying that if you want to just give up, right at the end, then you never had what it took to master swordsmanship in the first place! I won’t die here. No . . . Not before I’ve even figured out what my own dream is. And for the record, kneeling before death doesn’t suit you. So, stand, Storm! I don’t care if this world is about to explode! I’m going to live! And so are you! And together we’re going to beat grandpa once and for all!”
Storm’s heartbeat raced as newfound fury grew within. How could Caim have no fear? A second tear slid down his cheek and landed on the top of his hand. He was losing to Ronin and his brother. He dragged and forced himself to his feet, feeling the anger numb his pain and strengthen his body. His fear began to melt away as his courage sparked into greater flame.
“This has got to be the stupidest idea you’ve ever had,” said Storm. “And that’s saying something.”
Caim held out Storm’s katana. “Here, take it. I’ll use grandpa’s. The thief stole mine already.”
Just as Caim held up the sword, a flash of silver caught their eyes. Looking to his side, Caim saw his fallblade pierced into the ice. It was still in its awakened state. It was beautiful to look at, and for a long moment, it awed him.
“Take it,” said Ronin from above. “If you are to sacrifice everything, then you should do it with your true weapons in hand. I will give you that honor, at least.”
“Well, isn’t that noble of you,” growled Storm. At that, Storm hurled the old man’s cane blade up into the air. Ronin seized the spinning blade by the hilt before Storm looked back at his brother and took his katana from him.
“Thanks, Caim, for not giving up on me. Even though this whole thing is my fault.”
“Thank me by living,” Caim said as he walked forward and grasped the hilt of his fallblade, pulling it free from the ice. The moment he touched the blade, he heard a whisper within his mind, in a language he had never heard before. It was followed by a quick flash of light, and when it faded Caim found that the blade had returned to its normal form.
Caim groaned. “I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.”
Storm laughed in pain. “It never is, right?”
“Never. But I guess that’s what makes it worth doing.”
Storm held out his fist. “As one?”
Caim touched his fist to his brother’s. “As one.”
“You’re gonna have to fly for this to work,” said Caim, motioning upwards.
Storm took a breath. “It’s always a bit easier in Inner Depths. Don’t worry. I’ll manage.”
They both gazed up at the full yet broken moon, with the daunting silhouette of their grandfather floating before it. The gleam of its light was crystal blue, perfectly framing Ronin’s poised form before it. It was a sight they would never forget until the end of their days. The time of their reckoning had come.
“Less than two minutes remain before the end,” Ronin’s voice filled the world. “And it seems that they have finally awakened. They have come to destroy those who threaten the wellbeing of this realm. They will not relent, not until the bitter end. I did warn you about the dangers that lay beneath. We shall see if you two truly have what it takes to surpass me, and yourselves.”
The world began to shake even more than it had been already, and Storm gave Caim an uneasy look.
“Do you feel that?”
The raging inferno of fire behind Storm and Caim crackled as an enormous creature rose out of the lava. Up and up it rose, until its size would have dwarfed even the tallest tree of Neverend.
“Whoa!” Caim cried. “A monster!!”
A pale skull with vicious, gleaming eyes fixed itself upon the boys. Its thick, golem-like body was built of hardened magma and impenetrable stone. It roared to the skies, and the two frantically covered their ears. The two brothers looked up at the monstrous creature, realizing how small they truly were.
“This is it, Caim,” Storm avowed. “I’m going all out. It’s strange though, like I’ve always been a bit scared of just completely letting loose. I don’t know, I think I always hold back when I hit ninety percent. It almost feels odd to say it, like if I saw my own limit, I might be disappointed by what I found. But I just realized that doesn’t matter. I’ve been foolish. It’s only by rising and meeting my own greatest potential that I will be able to finally glimpse what’s beyond it, and become something greater than what I am right now.”
“I guess we’ll finally get to see who’s stronger then,” said Caim, gazing at their grandfather.
All around them, more and more monstrous golems appeared. Waves of lava shook the quickly melting block of ice upon which Storm and Caim stood, and hot wisps of steam burned their faces as it rose to the clouds above.
“One minute is all that remains!” Ronin roared. “Stay and fall, or rise and fight!”
Caim and Storm watched as the titan raised its enormous molten hand out of the lava. Fire swirled around its fingers as it paused for a single moment, hovering over the two boys who stood completely still. A strange calm had wrapped around their spirits. No longer did they feel doubt, fear, or regret. A tranquil focus was all that remained, along with a tiny fraction of their glacier. It was now or never.
The titan bellowed, and with tremendous speed and power, its colossal hand came crashing down, engulfing the entire floating island they stood upon. But just before it struck them, time seemed to slow. The two brothers felt everything, from the light of the moon to the seemingly endless power of Ronin. Even the individual life forces of the nineteen approaching titans could be felt, alongside the air, the clouds, the fire, the storm, and the stars.
Seas of tidal fire rushed out in all directions as the titan’s hand struck the ice. Yet the boys did not dodge. They did not move. They merely faced their end. A solemn look came over Ronin’s face as the titan’s hand engulfed them both.
Yet just then, at the end of it all, an ardent light lit up from beneath the creature’s hand, and a newfound power could be felt swelling up from within it. With a powerful surge of energy, the two entwining auras forced the titan’s hand back, causing the creature to stumble over and fall backwards into the lava, revealing the shining sight of Caim and Storm floating just above the surface of the fire.
Their bodies gleamed against the raging torrent that faced them from all sides. The world around them began to fade away into particles of energy that were summoned towards the two as if they had become the center of all. As Ronin’s eyes met theirs, he felt their true strength, the power of their will, and smiled. He raised his blade, prepared for the final moment.
“Come, young swordsmen! I won’t hold back!”
With a sudden burst of godly speed, the two shot up towards him. Blazing with courage, the two brothers twirled around one another, both illuminated like flame by their own energy. A split second passed before they first clashed into Ronin’s blade. One after another, their thunderous blows struck Ronin’s sword as the world below them caved in and fell. Beneath them, one final explosion began screaming upward.
With each blow, Ronin was forced higher and higher into the sky, until the three had passed through the highest clouds of the storm. The blood-red skies vanished and only darkness remained. Coming up quickly, the exploding energy of the world rose hot on their tails. Their blades struck Ronin’s faster and faster, each time growing closer and closer to synchrony, but the bells jingled just out of reach every time.
It was in these last moments that Caim and Storm finally harmonized to one another. One could no longer hear two separate blades striking Ronin’s, but pure clashes that struck like lightning. Their hearts and minds becoming one, the two brothers roared with all their might, releasing all of their energy as the world’s end accelerated their final strike, and in that last moment, their speed was so great that even Ronin lost sight of them.
The ringing of bells was all that could be heard.
Ronin felt himself falling into flame, feeling only for the moment at hand. He had lost, but everything about it was serene. The soft touch of cold from above, the warm embrace of fire from below. Opening his eyes, he found the glow of the moon bright and luminous.
Floating before it were two silhouettes . . . And in each of their hands was a single bell.
In the blink of an eye, they were gone.
As Ronin took his last breath, his eyes were focused only on the sky above, and the fullness of the moon shining down upon him. He fell away from it toward a burning world. But as he watched the moon get further and further away, he finally realized the wonder before him, and his eyes widened. The two broken halves of the moon had been rejoined, becoming full once again, and his eyes closed to a world reborn.