Robert ran through the dense forest, shooting fireballs rapidly and it would always miss its target, hitting the trees nearby, burning them slowly.
It was hard to see through the thick canopy of leaves that were so close to each other, like they were embracing each other. But he used his fire as a shield around him with a few meters radius to burn any branch and leaf that got in his way. Still, his target had remained distant from him. He could barely make out the dark silhouette of the person through the gap between the leaves.
His breath came in heavy pants, throwing off his aim, but he managed to hit his target on his shoulder when he fired the last small fire spear. It didn’t have much power packed behind it. He only fired it to stall his target, and it worked wonderfully. The impact knocked his target off balance, causing him to trip over a root and fall.
His target groaned as he fell down, the ground removing the hood of his dark cloak. The impact of his fall against the ground intensified the pain of the burning fire spear in his shoulder. Robert used an explosion beneath his feet to propel himself so that he could close the distance rapidly. Fire gushed out of his hand continuously as he flew through the trees. He burned the branches and sometimes made a hole through the trunk of the trees, not to slow down his speed.
“You are not escaping me again! Coward! Not again! You will pay for everything!” Robert roared, as he went through another tree truck by melting a hole in it.
Robert, then, quickly caught up to him when he was trying to stand up. He kneed him on his jaw, breaking a few teeth that his opponent spit out as his neck twisted, blood and saliva mix with them fell and splattered on the ground.
Just as his opponent was about to fall again, a pristine white arm bone reached out and grabbed his upper arm, preventing him from falling.
Robert had flown ahead a bit, unable to control his speed. When he turned, he saw as the white bone arm stabilized his opponent. The hand had no origin, it just materialized out of thin air, but he saw a small black portal from where the arm had reached out from. After his opponent stabilized, the white bone arm started to retreat back to the very small black portal. The portal gave Robert the feeling of coldness like winter snow, but he felt it deep inside his soul. He shivered as the portal closed, distracting him from the fight, enough for his opponent to make his move.
The same kind of arms stretched out of the ground beneath Robert, grasping his calves, rooting him to the ground. He felt the same coldness he felt from that small black portal, chilling his soul instead of his body. There was no visible ice on his calves or anywhere on his body, but he was shivering, feeling cold, his every breath releasing a white mist.
The arms started sinking slowly into the ground, dragging him with them. Fortunately, the progress was slow, in fact, too slow, that it gave him time to think of a way out. He just have to free his mind from the pain of his soul or maybe it was his spirit freezing, turning into an ice sculpture.
He raised his head to his opponent, who was wearing a black cloak, his brown hair fluttering with the chilly breeze of the morning wind. His black eyes fixated on his eyes, unnerving him. Those were not the eyes he remembered. They weren’t even the same color as they were kids.
The man approached at a slow, leisurely pace, like he was strolling through a park, and he saw as the ground split and a short sword made of bone rose from the cracks. He grasped it with his right hand as he continued to walk toward him. Although he struggled and used brute force, he could not break free; the bones were as hard and strong as a giant’s arm. He tried to use his flames, but his mind processing capability was diminishing, making it so that his astral essence move along his body at a turtle’s pace, making small sparks here and there.
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His mouth started to move as he approached him close enough for Robert to hear him say, “it’s been a long time, brother?”
The word ‘brother’ made his blood boil, his face contorted, the veins in his temple throbbed and bulged.
His voice quivered as he said, “Don’t call me that. You were never my brother, bastard.” His voice raising with each word. “You are nothing but a parasite, an imposter using his face, his body, for your own twisted game.” His spat, as his spit punctuated his every word, glistening in the morning sunlight that had pierced through the leaves of the forest. His lips curled back, baring his teeth like a cornered animal, saliva glistening in the corner of his mouth.
His opponent’s burn-wound on his shoulder started to heal as the surrounding plants, trees, undergrowth, everything around him withered and turned to ash slowly. His broken teeth grow back one by one. When he took his seventh step, he was fully healed and his stamina was fully restored.
“It’s good to see you too, brother? How are Ignasi and Lucia?” he said with a slight smile. Robert didn’t know if he genuinely cared or if he was mocking him. That smile was the same smile he had when they were kids. But now he couldn’t be absolutely sure that it had the same meaning as before. It must have changed, otherwise it would mean that the person…the thing in front of him was truly his brother. That means everything he did was because he wanted to. That would mean his brother truly did betray them. And this was a fact he couldn’t…he wouldn’t accept.
Robert lost his focus because of his anger and the confusion he had with the recent behavior he saw. If he wasn’t, he would have noticed that the skeleton arms that were wrapped around his calves have stopped to sink to the ground.
“Are you really there, Darius? Are you still alive?” asked Robert, unsure whether he wanted it to be true or not. He wanted his brother back, but if his action were his own, then… the betrayal would hurt that much more. It was easier to believe the one in front of him was not his brother…it was not Darius.
“It’s been a long time since I heard that name.” Said Darius, as he continued to walk toward him.
“Why, Darius? Why did you betray us? Betray him? Why…why did you kill him? Why?” Robert’s voice cracked with emotion.
Darius paused a few feet away. “I never wanted to hurt you, Robert, nor did I want him to die. But the choices I made…they were necessary.”
“Necessary? Necessary? you destroyed everything!” Robert’s voice rose, fury rekindling. “Your necessity destroyed more lives and families than the fucking war.” His voice echoed through the forest. “We were family! You were our brother! He raised you like his own son and you killed him in cold blood because of what… a fucking necessity? Tell me then what was so fucking important than family? What was so important, so necessary, you had to betray everyone and everything?”
Darius looked down, guilt flickering in his eyes, but Robert was too furies to notice. “I did what I had to, for reasons you may never understand.”
Robert struggled harder. Fire flaring weakly around him. “I can’t FORGIVE YOU.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Darius said softly, stepping closer. In one swift motion, he plunged the bone sword into Robert’s chest, just below his shoulder. Robert gasped, expecting a killing blow, but the pain, though sharp, wasn’t fatal. The rot spread slowly, darkening his skin, but Darius’s eyes betrayed no intention of ending his life. As Robert’s vision blurred, Darius gently laid him down. “I never wanted to kill you, or him,” he murmured. “I still care for all of you, even if you can’t see it.”
Darius leaned in, his voice a whisper. “I do love you all, Robert. But love isn’t always enough.”
As Robert’s consciousness faded. He heard whispers in a language he couldn’t understand. Yet, he felt its intent—a fervent call to worship a god of flames. Confusion twisted in his mind; in this world, there was no god of flames. The entity’s words seemed deceptive, but some part of him knew he needed the help of whoever or whatever this entity was, if he was to come out of his alive, and maybe just maybe, he might complete his vengeance against his so-called brother. The last thing he saw was Darius’s sorrowful gaze, and the surrounding forest lighting up in flames. Everything was red and orange before everything went black.