I feel my sweat run down my face as the sun blaze up high. The weight of my armor doesn't make me feel protected and the feel of the steel in my hands doesn't make me feel powerful, because for the third time in my life I am going to face a monster that which the world has never faced before. My own brother.
Today in our last hidden fortress at the edge of the border of the Krishna and Elven kingdom, we are going to have our final stand. Our final chance to take the head of the enemy. This is the fight that we must win for if we fail, no one will be left to stand against the tyrant. All hope will be lost.
I strode to the center of the courtyard towards the mages who tend to the magic circle and checked on their preparations. After they assured me that the magic circle is secured I faced the men and the sight filled my heart with pride. The sight of my countrymen, nobles and peasants alike stands in ready in face of death itself in order to free our lands. Even though they know that they may die, their face shows determination in which I haven't seen before my entire life. I felt a hand placed on my shoulder, when I turned around I saw Eleazar, the court high wizard. A man who in spite of his humble origins faced the impossible in order to reach the height in which he is now today.
"Now is the time my Prince. Our mages are ready as well as the men. The fated hour is coming. May I advise you to give us a rousing speech to raise our spirits?" Eleazar whispered.
"You're right." I replied as Eleazar goes back to the mages tending to the circle. I faced my men and with my voice infused with mana, I shouted "Brave men and women, children of Krishna. We have faced hardship ever since the death of my father, King Reuben the Just, from the blade of my traitorous brother who now calls himself Kaizer. Our lands razed to the ground. Countless of our love ones fell to their blades in defense of our motherland." I stated, I can feel the pain of the people around me as they remember their comrades who fell when we first fought against Reginald. But I continued "Even when we were beaten down and trampled upon by our hated enemy, we still stand proud and undefeated! As long as we draw breathe, as long as we stand together, like a phoenix rising Krishna will rise once more!" roars erupted from the soldiers.
Their determination fills me with strength as I shouted once more. "Today we will face our enemy! He thinks that we are broken, not worth of a second thought. But we will prove him wrong! Together we will bring down the one who took away the peace of our country! Together we will bring down justice to the ones who took away our love ones! Together we will drag the usurper down from his throne! It is time my brothers and sisters, with the might of our arms and the strength of our hearts, we will take what is ours back! We will take back our country!"
The shouts are almost deafening as the morale is sky high. The knights in front makes up our first line of defense while the peasants turned warriors makes up our second line in case Reginald breaks through. The archers and mages are in the far back to provide artillery and magic support. But the most important part are the paladins who are surrounding the magic circle. They will activate the magic circle on cue and then cast anti-magic aura once Reginald comes out. If that isn't enough, Eleazar will cast silence and counter-spells in case he is immune to anti-magic spells.
"Paladins ready!" I shouted. Time slowly ticks as we are only seconds away to the fated moment. "Now!"
The magic circle glows as the paladins infused their mana. In that moment I felt that something went wrong. After a few seconds the glow of the circle died down but nothing happened.
What the hell happened? Where's Reginald? I look around and saw the same dumbfounded look at the face of my soldiers. My eyes turn towards Eleazar looking for a clue on this curious situation.
My thoughts were disturbed as something peculiar occurred. It started as a tiny spark but soon the magic circle started to glow once more even though the paladins stopped infusing their mana. It begin to produce violent torrent of energy with the force enough to throw every paladins in every direction and threatens to rip reality itself. I plunge my sword to the ground in an effort to keep myself on my feet as the ones far away from the circle fell down and braced themselves in a futile effort of not getting blow away. Shit, this is not what is supposed to happen. The elves said that the effect should be instantaneous. Reginald should be here for us to ambush. Instead this freaking mana vortex is about to swallow the fortress. Did they betray us? No, even they should know Reginald will turn towards them if we fall here.
A large rift opens in the middle of the circle, so dark that it seem to swallow the very light around it. We braced ourselves as the force reversed and started to suck everything in its vicinity. Various objects flew into the rift, never to be seen again cementing the idea that getting caught inside the rift means death.
Seconds feel like hours until the rift concentrated into a large ball. The sucking force stopped and we started to stand up and get our bearings. That is when with a booming sound, the dark ball exploded and even I myself was flew at least ten meter away from the explosion. What the hell just happened? I couldn't see anything as clouds of dust are fly everywhere. I hear clanking of armor all around as the men get on their feet.
I tried to find Eleazar in midst of the chaos when I saw a silhouette slowly rise up from the middle of the magic circle. Rage suddenly filled my mind as there is no one else should be in the circle after an explosion of that magnitude. Except for one. Reginald!
None of the paladins were there to use anti-magic aura to stop Reginald that is why I must strike first before he can unleash his magic.
Janos, God of light. Please hear my prayer. Grant my mind your wisdom and my body with strength to strike down the man who threatens to plunge the world in darkness. With holy light Evil be purged! My blade thrummed with power as it glowed with a blinding light. I focused my mana to the edge of my sword and with my body infused with all mana I can muster, I rocketed towards my fated enemy.
FLASH STRIKE! The wind shrieks as my slash travels at a speed which is impossible to dodge but as my sword is only few centimeters away from my target's neck, chains sprung out of my body, wrapping around me and halt my body in place, unable to move a muscle.
This magic chains that feeds off the targets mana. The stronger the target, the stronger the chains become. It is a spell that in impossible to be casted unless the target agreed with the caster beforehand and let him implant his mana inside as a catalyst. There is only one man I trusted to cast this skill on me in case I get controlled by an enemy. "Eleazar!" Fury overcome my grief over my friend's betrayal. Try as I might I am still unable to move an inch.
"My prince. Please calm down and open your eyes. Don't let your hatred blind you. Lest your hate lead you to a path strained with blood of the innocent." With a wave of his hand he summoned a gust of wind that blew the clouds of dust away. Revealing the mysterious figure. "The man in front of you is not the one you think he is."
"Owww… my head…" The stranger said as he clutched his head. "Where am I?" the moment our eyes meet he quickly jumped back and stood in defensive position. "Kaizer! How could this be? I saw your remains. You should be dead."
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What? My brother is dead? How? This stranger who I don't even sense an ounce of mana from killed him? "Eleazar, release me. I am calm now." I told Eleazar. I almost fell on my face after a sudden release from my binding. I strode forward toward the stranger who is looking to escape but my men took action and restrained him.
"Stranger what is your name and how did you got here. I advise you tell the truth for we will know." I signaled Eleazar to cast mind magic, since I don't sense an ounce of mana he should not have a way to defend against mind reading magic.
The effect of the spell is evident as I saw the stranger's face winced in pain, but instead of being afraid stranger chuckled beneath my breath and it only incensed my fury anew. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. I don't mean any offense good sir." The man explained. "It is just I heard those same exact question before from a man who looks just like you. To answer your answer sir, my name is Cloud, for how I got here I don't really know. I was walking in the void for god know how long until I found a rift. I stick my hand on in and I was sucked inside it. Now we're here."
I gazed towards I stood in front of him and inspected him. The man has short black hair and was about 180 cm, a head shorter than me. Eyes are sharp, even when he is restrained and surrounded by armed men he tries to look calm but I still sense a hint of fear within him. The robe he wears hides his frame but he doesn't look like a very muscular man. Wait his robe… it looks like the one Reginald likes to wear.
I grabbed him by the arm and yank him towards me. "Where did you get this robe? Tell me or I swear to all the gods I will make you suffer till you do."
"No need for all the threats good sir. I met a person in the void. He told me his name is Kaizer and he looks a lot like you. Like me he was stuck inside the void. He asked me who if I have a hand in his ordeal. I answered him truthfully that I have no idea of what he speaks." He said as he looks around. "By the looks of it you were the ones responsible. Not that I blame you. He was a colossal jerk."
Hearing my brother get disrespected by a stranger send me at my limit and I punch him in the face. Drawing blood. "You bastard, you don't get to disrespect my brother!" I ready myself to deliver another blow when a hand stops me. I turned around and saw Eleazar. His face look disappointed.
"Prince Arthur. It is best to remain calm. Especially with the men around. Although I understand how you feel, you must not be seen sympathizing with the enemy." He whispered.
I reigned in my anger trying hard as I can to remain calm. "It seems I struck a nerve. I do apologize. I heard your name before from Kaizer himself." He said, spatting a globule of blood.
My brother told him about me? What did he say? "Tell me, what did he say about me?" I told him. "I will not warn you again what happens if you lie."
"I haven't said any lies from the start. The mage should know if I speak false for we know he is reading my mind as we speak." The man said. "He told me you are a weakling. Not worth his time and attention. He is more concerned with the Elves and Dwarves. He is not impressed with your so called resistance." The man declared. "His word not mine."
An understandable answer. What did I expect? That my brother who I once idolized view me as a threat enough to be worth causing him distress? No… Just like the arrogant man he is, he views himself superior to everyone. The worst part is, I agree with him. He faced a hundred thousand strong army of elite warriors and mages, and destroyed it with no difficulty. So what is a group of couple hundreds of us to him? Nothing. Not even worth his time. But would it hurt him to think more of his brother? Am I nothing more than a person who came from the same parents? Is the man I remember to be protective brother and friend, who taught me almost everything I know with the way of the sword, he who was known to be loving and caring of his family nothing but a façade?
"You said that he died. Who or what killed him? Don't tell me it's you." I said.
"I won't tell you then." His answer irked me so he earned another hit in the gut.
"Cough… cough… Could you just read my memories? I tell no lies yet I earn a beating for telling the truth. You have my life in your hand. Kill me if you must if you think I lie. Strike me down but know that your hands will be stain with the blood of the innocent."
I turn towards Eleazar. Almost pleading for him to say that this is a lie. Eleazar just shook his head. So everything he said is true?
"I know Kaizer… I trained with him a countless times. We faced him in the field of battle. His sword arm can overpower any knight. His magic eclipses the power of any mage I know." I walk towards Eleazar. "Tell me it's a lie. How can a person who can destroy an army single handed fall from a person without a smidgen of mana? This must be a ruse for us to lower our guards. He know fighting near the borders of the Elven kingdom will risk war against them."
"My prince I am afraid that he speaks true. I have seen his memories. It took a while for I have to parse through countless years of his memories in order to see the event unfold." He stated. "Only a few moments here has passed yet it is equivalent to thousands of years in the void. How curious. We don't know much about the void beside most people die if they travel there. With the exception of your brother, and also him." He added. His curiosity evident as he is a mage who studied all kinds of magic and the void is a topic which not much mages touch for most scholars and mages alike dies before they can uncover more of its mysteries.
Eleazar was seemingly lost in his thoughts and it irks me. My brother's pride is on the line and he can't even focus on the subject. "This is not the time for your curiosity Eleazar. Show me his memories. I must see it myself."
He quickly snaps back to reality and bowed towards me. "Apologies my prince. By your command. I will now cast Memory share. Please take down your mental barrier so I can show you this man's memory."
I put down my mental barrier and signaled Eleazar to cast the spell. In an instant memories of the stranger flooded my mind. Kaizer was stuck in the void for thousands of years? But the magic only lasted for couple of seconds. How can this be? This man can't sense any magic so I can't grasp my brother's strength but from the looks of it he was weakened a lot. It looks like mana leaks out of a person when he is in the void and when you run out of mana you die. If that is the case, then how can this man survive being trapped there for thousands of years when he doesn't have a drop of mana in his body? But the most shocking thing I saw in his memory is my brother's death.
Who could have predicted that the great Kaiser, the one who crushed our resistance singlehandedly would fall against a mana less man? But there it is. His figure falling from high. A stone struck his head. His last spell must've use up all of his remaining mana that he wasn't even using shell.
"So, all of it is true." My brother is dead. The betrayer finally got what he deserve, but why do I feel so empty? I walk towards the paladins and the nobles gathered and shared with them what we saw in his memories. "This may still be a ruse. Until we retake our country we must not put our guards down. He could be a spy planted with false memories that even Eleazar couldn't detect. To be in the safe side we will put him in jail with the rest for observation."
"My prince what should we tell the men? They are getting quite restless since our plan didn't work out as intended. Should we tell them that the hated Kaizer has died?" Romulus, the old noble and one of the high ranking paladins asked.
"Yes, we will tell them the news. Even so we must not let our guard down." I reassured the man. Even though I don't believe him to have died even when I saw the evidence with my eyes, the men deserves good news if just to raise our morale.
I faced towards my men and used Lion's Aura to raise the courage of the men. "Men, we bare good news. Our courage, our resilience and our sacrifice has finally borne fruit. The head of the snake that poisoned our beloved lands has finally died. Our efforts of hijacking Kaizer's teleportation, although produced some complication, was a success. Even though the plan didn't go as intended, the traitor was instead trapped inside the void and died. We will use memory projection to show this man's memory of witnessing his death."
Eleazar cast his magic and show the memory of Cloud's fight with Kaizer and his fall. I observed the men's reaction to the reveal and just like I expected most of them were elated that Kaizer is dead but some, most of them the mages and the knights, were still skeptical. I don't blame them. I saw the memory first hand myself and can't believe it.
Shouts of jubilation rise as they see Kaizer struck down by a rock and fell to his death. The sight still stings my heart by I don't show it. I wait for some time till I signal them to quiet down. "As you can see brave men and women of Krishna. Our enemy has fallen. But don't let your guard down yet. Today we took our first step in liberating our beloved country. Today we have won a battle and soon the war! For Krishna!"
The crowd cheered at our first major victory. But in the midst of the cheers my heart felt heavy. Reginald is now gone and I am now all alone. My father, mother and brothers, all of them dead. But even so I must stay strong for my countrymen needs me.
I just hope that my best will be enough.