On an uninhabited island, hundreds of kilometres off the coast of the Eastern Continent...
Galaico spat out bits of sand while screaming from the pain. Only his head remained, as he had severed and kicked it as far as he could, to avoid the suicidal attack. "That damn prince! I swear if it's the last thing I do, I'm wiping out the entire clan!"
Birds squawked off in the distance as he was met with silence. He cursed at the wind some more before a low chill settled over him. He knew the danger all too well. This feeling in the air could only mean one thing. The Dark Kings were here.
Frantically, he accessed his comms calling his siblings and just noticing, that one of them was killed. "Zelha, Calypso! The Dark Kings are here, you must stop them from reaching Father!"
Zelha chirped back. "What did you think, we were doing, while you were asleep, Galaico?"
Calypso tapped in. "We are already en-route, sit tight, and we'll send help, to your location. You're injured, aren't you? Your iko is barely visible, like a bug's."
Galaico was embarrassed, he hated asking his sisters or any of his siblings for help. However, Father was the priority, and if the Kirosian army was here. That meant chaos was about to unfold.
Near the outskirts of Senae...
The feeling he had, watching his brother fall that way, was unlike anything he had ever felt. A revolting mixture of regret, sadness, and fear choked him of his air.
"OSEI!!" Tobi yelled darting to his side, as dust kicked up into the air. He grabbed hold of him, raised his head close, and began to heal him as fast as he could. However, the organs he needed to repair, were far beyond, his capabilities. The amount of blood Osei was losing by the second was unrecoverable. He looked at his brother's eyes as he started to come to, slightly alleviated from the pain. "Osei, hang on please!"
Osei recognized his brother, as his vision cleared up. "Tobi... You're okay..."
Atlas watched as Tobi attempted a futile act of saving him. He chuckled, shaking his head, and began walking towards them. Only to be cut off by a large wall of black fire, slicing across the land. He glanced above him, cursing himself for letting his guard down. "Mado, to what do I owe this visit?"
The king floated with his sword on his shoulder and his brother by his side, wearing an ecstatic expression on his face. "Simple really, I've come to take your head. Besides... you should allow one to mourn their kin."
Tension rose between them, as the very planet seemed to shake. Atlas was beyond furious. Nothing was going his way.
Suddenly, cracking the sky with cloud rings trailing them, Calypso and Zelha, crashed into the kings, taking them far away from the site. The emperor laughed out loud, seeing his children come to his aid.
"My daughters, I owe you my gratitude." He grinned, turning back towards the brothers, as the walls of fire crumbled down.
Moments before with Tobi and Osei...
Tobi shifted back into third gear, causing more strain on himself as his side effects began to show up. This operation was far too complex for him and needed the assistance of a cryomed. Tobi couldn't hold back his tears, as he felt powerless. Which Osei noticed, reaching up to pat his head.
"It's ok Tobi, it's my time." He rasped.
Tobi shook his head, refusing to give up, as Osei continued to speak, spurting blood, out from his mouth. "You've become strong, I know you will make a fine leader. One that will lead all of mankind one day, to new heights... I just know it."
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He too was trying his best, to hold back his tears, but without success. "I'm so sorry, for being away, for so long. I'm sorry for being the worst brother, one that pulled you into a war you did not sign up for, but I know one day you will be able to get back that peaceful life, you've always wanted."
He laughed, as each movement, he made caused him even more excruciating pain. "One where you can read all of the manga and comics you've always wanted to catch up on." He looked at Tobi, one last time, as the light began to fade from his eyes. "Tobi, I treasured every moment, I got to spend with you... Tell Amaara, that I love her ... And thank you for being my brother..."
His head dropped to the side, as the last breath faded away from his lips.
Tobi shuddered and seized, unable to comprehend what had just happened. What he had just witnessed. He started heaving, short of breath and about to scream his anguish out to the world, just as a tranquilizer dart, lodged itself into the side of his neck.
"I don't want to hear all of that," Atlas spoke up, as he closed in on them, relieved to finally achieve one of his goals. He smiled as Tobi hunched unconscious, over his brother, then started to reach for him.
However, suddenly, dropping out of the sky in an 'A' like formation, the Hashin with Akio in front, landed all around them, protecting Tobi, as the Elder held onto the emperor's arm from reaching any closer. Atlas chuckled, whipping his hand out of Akio's grip and settled into a loud laugh, then calmed himself down, sighing. "What is the meaning of this Akio? Do we not have an agreement?"
Akio stroked his beard. "Hmm, as far as I could recall, only you followed that agreement, but not any of your children. I've come here, to formally let you know, that the Rahmanaka Clan has chosen to ally with the Beyond Space Federation..." He glanced back at the brothers, unable to feel any life, coming from one, but the other was sound asleep. "As such, we are here to protect our allies." He declared as he glanced back at Atlas.
Atlas dropped his smile. "That's unfortunate." He replied, then swung around aiming to slice their heads off, with a flaming kick. However, at that moment, the Hashins stepped forward and threw their fists into the air pointing toward Atlas. The ground below him, sliced out in a perfect circular platform, restraining him as it ejected and took him hundreds of meters away.
Akio turned to his comrades.
"Begin the subjugation and evacuations, immediately!"
The Hashin nodded, as one of them, helped another to separate the brothers, since Tobi was not letting go, even though he was sedated. They then proceeded to enshroud them, in two hollow ice domes, reinforced with titanium, gold, and other tough elements in their vicinity.
The other Hashins dispersed, eight going after Atlas, and another eight following Roku. Of the last six, a couple were tasked with helping the Beyond soldiers and allies in Senae evacuate, as the city had become a hotspot, with Cerian forces having majority control of the airspace. Two more took Osei and Tobi, to the extraction point, while the last two had already been on their way to pick up the injured Novas.
Before Roku left with his squad, he turned around once more to his old friend. "Don't overdo it, you old fool."
The Elder chuckled. "In all these years, you still don't know me? When have I ever practiced restraint?"
The General, scoffed, shaking his head with a smile. "I know, I just wanted to try one last time."
Akio sighed. "Besides, they killed my son. Roku, show them no mercy."
Roku nodded. "With no doubt." He said, then turned around and joined the other Hashin, launching into the sky and darting in the direction the kings were taken.
The Elder, sighed once more, as he was left alone. "Well, I guess I better get started then."
He assumed a stance and began to gather energy, clasping his hands together, in deep focus. His iko dove deep into the planet, shrouding the core with his energy. Then, he asked the planet for help. "Oh Rennaya, I ask your aid to help your children once more. Please grant me the strength to protect them."
He took a deep breath, as blood began to drop down his nose. "Forbidden Art, World Damnation!"
First, the tremors began, then earthquakes, as tectonic plates started snapping hundred-kilometer lines all over the planet. Winds picked up, with the sky darkening, as every volcano on the planet, began to erupt.
The planet's orbit slowed down, as its core slowly came to a halt. Redirecting all of the planet's energy back to him.
He yelled out as unimaginable power, began to flow through his body, reversing his age, as his body was reinforced with more iko than he could currently handle.
White, lava-like lines, calmly, settled over the veins on his body and branched out over his spotless head. His eyebrows and beard began to glow silver, with his eyes going completely white for a moment, then settling back to a glimmering green.
He resolved himself, shouting to the sky, as he struggled to keep his mind, from being washed away by the planet. "I am Akio Rahmanaka! Not even this can strike me down!"