2 hours later, fighting or rather just surviving the horrible…
I couldn't hear much anymore.
Only thunder rumbling in my ears, I put my fingers to check and when I looked at them, they were covered in blood.
Aegon was having fun like crazy, his waves of blood crawling like impatient snakes. His dead eyes were locked onto mine. With… amusement, to him I was his toy.
Simon wasn't coming to save us, no one would come to help us and the idea that we were alone facing this horror made my heart tighten, but was it really that bad…
I felt like I had already given a lot, not everyone could have made it this far. To be honest, I always wanted to say that I was exhausted…
Who am I to hope for more? I already had so much in so little time.
And I felt that anger, that acceptance tearing me apart from the inside.
I wasn't a child anymore, not just a pawn, not a victim, not anymore, never again.
So with conviction I screamed with everything I had, only rage and despair could help me in this situation.
My cracks burst around me, around ten, my blades came out in a blinding arc. The wind rose, fire burned and lightning roared. I jumped, my feet leaving the ground, carried by this gift no one should ever have. Flight. I had to go beyond my limits, give everything I have, even more.
No matter the consequences…
The whole area exploded in a storm of released energy.
My blades were striking everywhere to surprise Aegon, tearing the concrete, cutting buildings. Every punch, every impulse sent waves that destroyed the ground, crushed the walls, the buildings. I was nothing more than a cyclone.
Asha shouted my name to warn me of something terrible, Dorian burst into crazy laughter seeing how far my power went.
And Aegon?
He was laughing too, mocking my abilities, the fact that I could fly, my strength earned with effort.
His laugh echoed under the storm, a deep, satisfied laugh.
— You fly like that guy, tell me… incredible kid! You are magnificent!!! Show me everything you have!! Or I will kill all of you until the last !!!!
I brought down my blades on that monster like a rain of comets. The wind screamed, fire burned, lightning hit him instantly. I struck, again, again, my hands bleeding from my own hits.
The empty district was turning into a field of ruins.
Buildings were collapsing.
The screams of the people mixed with the chaos. Like a natural disaster.
But Aegon was still standing.
Every blade he stopped dissolved in red blood. Every punch he took was absorbed by that blood moving like a living armor.
He stepped back sometimes, yes. But only to mock me, I was risking my life and my friends' lives and he was enjoying it.
I rushed straight at him, my three blades wrapping around my fist, focusing all the strength I had, a blade of burning wind with lightning around my arm but I was going too far, my arm couldn't hold all that energy and started burning, then I felt something breaking in my heart, in my soul.
Apoptosis…
I saw his smile grow even wider, monstrous.
— You've got something there KID!!
He tightened his arm, simply. And the blood condensed to create a shield, a shining red mass.
The impact was an explosion of light.
Part of the district lifted, the shockwave broke windows across Arcadia, destroying the roads. I felt my bones break, my muscles tear. Then I was thrown back, crushed into the ruins of a collapsed building.
The taste of dust and iron filled my mouth.
I had no breath left… no strength.
Aegon slowly walked closer, passing his hand over his chest where my last hit had managed to land. A bloody crack was shining there and he smiled with pleasure.
— You are… delicious kid !!!!
He put one knee down, crouched to my level. His horrible eyes looked into mine.
— You're not ready yet… not yet kid… But for the fun you gave me I won't kill you today, be happy!! Because… you, I want to see you when you become an adult who has seen more of this world than this lost place, you deserve to be killed at the top of your power HAHAHA.
His hand raised, for a moment, like to tear my head off but he stopped. Just placing his bloody fingers on my cheek, leaving a red mark.
— Survive, little heir. Survive and come back to me when you go beyond your condition of being a simple Thorne bearer… but before I leave you I will have to teach you and your friends a little lesson, I'm tired of being bothered, you understand I hope.
Then he stood up, turning to my allies.
And I understood with horror, the sentence was coming.
The rain had calmed but it wasn't relief, it was like the sky itself wanted to watch.
Aegon walked between them. He took his time. Each step left a thick red pool behind him.
He stopped in the center, raised his arms like an actor on stage.
— So… who will it be?
His voice echoed, soft, almost charming.
— Who wants to be the example?
Lyra was crying, curled up, her hands full of wounds.
Asha was growling on one knee.
Elias, half conscious, whispered a "no…" barely audible.
Aegon leaned toward them, his cruel smile stretching.
— Maybe I should let you choose. Yes… that would be fun. Which one of you will be the offering? Any volunteers? Still not? Of course not, you young people always think the future belongs to you…
He passed a bloody hand on Lyra's cheek. She froze, her eyes pouring tears.
— Too fragile, he whispered. Your death wouldn't even be fun to watch.
He turned to Elias, crushing his foot on his chest, pressing until he struggled to breathe.
— You… you have the eyes of a real soldier, but soldiers are just empty shells without a soul, your parents must be proud of the loyal dog they raised. Too boring.
Finally, he stopped in front of Asha, his gaze darkened, grabbing her fragile neck with his horrible hands, lifting her off the ground.
— Ah… you still have fire in your eyes. I would like to turn it off… slowly…
She spat at his feet.
— Die, damn monster…
Aegon laughed and the sound of his horrible laugh echoed through the ruins.
— Oh… I like when there is spirit, it's important to stay true to yourself, that's how a real warrior should act. Maybe that…
And that's when Dorian spoke.
His voice sounded bad, tired but clear.
— That's enough, you are just a DOG!!!!!
Aegon froze.
Dorian raised his eyes, his broken smile on his bloody lips.
— A dog… of Izac. That's what you are. A poor clown thrown away like trash. You want to scare us but deep down you're just a dog without a master who likes to scare weaker people, you are so… pathetic that I almost feel sorry for you.
Silence fell and the rain started again.
Aegon stiffened, his smile disappeared, replaced by cold tension. His veins glowed red.
Then he lost control in a burst of anger.
He jumped on Dorian at a speed I couldn't even follow, and grabbed his head. The ground broke under the impact, the echo sounding like an earthquake.
— SAY THAT AGAIN KID, he shouted.
Elias, Asha and I threw ourselves forward crawling like corpses, begging him to stop what he was about to do.
— LET HIM GO!
— Please!
— Stop I beg you!!
— AEGON!!!!!
— Do…DORIAN !!!
But his arms were like a sentence, his fingers like clamps. Dorian was choking on his own blood, his eyes almost coming out, filled with blood, but his smile stayed. A crazy smile, challenging death itself.
Aegon roared and threw him to the ground with brutal force and then his fist came down. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times…
Each hit made a horrible sound like a wall breaking.
The ground opened, broke, and Dorian's head… His body…
I screamed until my voice broke, Asha almost tore her throat shouting his name. Elias tried to crawl but he simply couldn't stand up.
We were completely powerless against this man.
The blows continued, until there was no face left, no friend, my friend… only crushed flesh and blood mixed with his organs.
Aegon finally stood up.
His breathing slowed, still heavy but calm again.
He looked so satisfied, so peaceful.
He looked at our destroyed faces, full of tears and snot, our weak, broken, injured bodies and he giggled.
An annoying, grotesque sound echoing in the night of Arcadia.
Then he turned around.
And disappeared into the rain.
— Lesson over see you next time brats HAHAHA!!
His laughter faded as he moved away, only our cries and sobs remained. I had never cried so much in my miserable life.
My friend was dead…