Eclipse

A Worthy Opponent

It was as though time was still. The wind felt solid as Rain tore through it. Leaving Krustov’s sword, Rain reached for the summoned sword before Misty at a speed that was previously unfathomable to him. Moving Misty out of the way, Rain redirected Krustov’s sword; Renild towards him. Krustov evaded it and caught it at the hilt as it passed by him. The crowd was silent at what they had just witnessed.

“Rain?” Misty beckoned in bewilderment. Rain held her in his arms. She was safe from his lightning. She always was. That was the only reason she believed that it was still him. Everything else felt different. His aura was as cold as ice, his face grimmer than the coldest winter.

“What exactly are you?” Krustov asked as he retrieved Renild.

“Tell me, what happens when a Darken clad in armour is struck by the heavens?” Rain asked. But before Krustov could respond, lightning struck from the skies hitting all the Darken soldiers.

Krustov defended the lightning strike by shielding himself with Renild. “It’s heavy,” he thought.

Krustov leapt towards Rain amidst the storm and swung wide with Renild. However, Rain kicks the sword away, and follows up with a spinning kick on Krustov.

“I told you to leave,” Rain said as he gazed at Misty. “Leave now.”

“Rain…”

“I said leave!” Rain cried. He could feel his body giving way. He had tapped into more power than he ever thought he was capable of. All to save Misty. He had to save her. And it was only a matter of time before he ran out of energy. If he couldn’t defeat Krustov within that time, at least she would be out of harm’s way by then.

Misty took the child with them and made a run through the forest. Rain stared as they ran, with a feeling of gladness that they were leaving. A feeling that was replaced with an aching emptiness and a realisation that he may never see Misty again.

“I guess we can take this seriously now then,” Krustov said. “Increase output to 60%.”

Krustov charged at Rain at an even greater speed leaving Rain with the only option of blocking his tackle. Krustov followed with a barrage of punches to which Rain grabbed both his arms and aimed for a head butt. Krustov replied, sending Rain a few steps back instead.

“Fighting you with Renild at this point would kill you immediately, so I won’t. I want to savour this,” Krustov said.

Rain fired lightning bolts at Krustov which he parried with little difficulty, closing the gap between them with every passing second. Rain released a desperate charge of electricity that illuminated the entire forest as though it was daytime. Krustov took the impact and slowly pushed his way towards Rain. But Rain did not relent and Krustov’s armour began to c***k. It was a race against time on who would fall first. The trees reverberated in testament to their battle. Every trickle of sweat that fell from Rain’s face met its end before it touched the ground as Rain’s lightning vaporised it on contact. Even with the immense pressure, Krustov did not look like he was slowing down. It would only be a few seconds before they would know their fates.

***

Misty ran desperately through the forest with the child’s hand firmly in hers. She wasn’t strong enough to run with him on her back, otherwise she would have. She turned desperately as the lights that illuminated the forest were proof that Rain was still fighting. Fighting for them. Fighting for her. And yet, all she could do was run. She cursed under her breath at her powerlessness. Until a thought hit her. Why was she running? To save who?

Rain had been right the entire time. They should have focused on themselves. If they had done just that, they might have avoided all this in the first place. “Miss?” the child’s tiny voice snapped Misty back to reality. His innocence triggered a feeling of sadness that she didn’t know was possible. His face screamed that he knew what next was to come.

“I’m sorry. But you have to keep running. I can’t leave without him,” Misty said, as he placed her hand on his shoulder. “Just keep running straight in this direction. Don’t turn, and just keep…” Misty said until a sharp sting in her stomach cut her short. A mixture of pain and surprise followed as Misty coughed out blood. Her eyes followed the trail of the pain she felt, only to see the child’s hand had run through her stomach.

“What? Why?”

“You’ve ruined all the fun. That’s why,” the child said, his voice much coarse than anything she had ever heard. “I like to see people turn on each other when they are faced with death. Run away, not play the hero. And the both of you have ruined my fun over and over. So this is as much as I can take.”

“Who are you?” Misty asked. But as her eyes slowly closed, the child vanished before her eyes. Water began to hit the ground. First a drop, then more began to follow. “Who are you?! Misty cried as the rain began to pour heavily. A representation of her final thoughts.

***

The rain intensified as Krustov pushed closer to Rain. Every drop of rain that touched Rain felt like a different emotion of longing, anger and sadness. But somewhere within all that, there was hope. Hope that he will come out victorious!

Rain let go of his lightning energy blast as Krustov immediately closed the distance between them. In a quick manoeuvre, Rain moved behind Krustov, evading his swing. A flawless counter-attack it was. Except that it wasn’t. For the child that they had risked everything to save was somehow holding his hand, standing between him and Krustov. Protecting him?

“What are you… where is Misty?” Rain asked, unable to comprehend the entire situation.

“This is what incompetence gets you,” the child sighed. In a quick movement, he placed his hand on Rain’s chest and blasted a hole through it.

Rain fell to the ground without any resistance, rapidly losing consciousness. His thoughts were fixed on nothing and everything. His everything – Misty. He tried to stand up, but his body would not respond.

You have died.

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