"Mom, he's gone stronger. No matter how hard I hurt him he doesn't seemed to mind. I think the ritual is successful." Says Threin through telepathy.
"Yes, I can see that." I answered. "We can't tell him what happened to Tony. If he knew he might not cooperate."
"Damn! I hate him being this cocky! He's getting unreasonably angry."
"You will be invulnerable too Threin. Let's do this thing fast and we will leave to Lorien with great success."
We have the Blight, we have the knowledge of invulnerability, I could say that's a very great success. An innovation for all the Loric people. All Lorien will hail us when they hear our successes.
I wish I could just control Johann from being a bastard that he is.
And then my hopes of calming him down vanishes.
I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. Nothing in Lorien is as effective as this is.
"Enough!" I said to Threin cutting his attacks. Then it's my turn to beat him. I beat him with my bare hands. I beat him with a tree branch. I beat him with my covered sword. I beat him with anything I grab.
He maybe as strong as superman but his tolerance of pain is not as enduring. He's a man of strength not a man of steel.
Mom had enough of our fight. Probably because she got affected seeing his favorite son lose. "Johann! Stop! I told you already, we don't know where he is. He just dropped by our house once and left his messa..."
"LIAR!" My patience hit it's peak with all the lies they're telling me, so I grabbed the Blight from my pocket and sliced it into many pieces.
"No!" Shouts Mom.
"No!" Shouts Threin.
"Stop lying to me!" I shout.
I had enough. "Stop lying to me!"
He destroyed the Blight! An offense punishable by death!
This is not happening! This can't be happening!
Once again Threin plunges to me and aimed for my head. But this time, he does not intend to hurt me (maybe because he knew he can't hurt me anymore), "I'm gonna kill you!" He says grabbing up a dagger from his bag using his TK.
I've never seen him this angry before. And perhaps he's never seen me like this too. He'd never seen me angry before. But he's not letting go of his own anger. He sprints towards my direction without any hesitation.
I also did the same thing. Sprint towards him to show him I'm not afraid of him. If he intends to really kill me, I'm not going down without a fight.
"If you're not gonna stop being a jerk, I'm gonna teach you a lesson!" He swung his dagger to my face, but I was able to duct on time and smashed the tip of my sword handle to his stomach.
"Being a jerk is not synonymous to being a bastard! And what exactly do you intend to educate me?" He recovered quickly ang kick me hard on my chest.
As I feel no pain, I quickly responded with an upper cut. Although, it missed. When he uses his TK to smash a log to my body I let my instinct act by chopping it to pieces before it touches my body. As soon I've chopped the remaining piece he appeared in front of me and aimed his dagger to my head, but it clinked with my weapon instead.
Using TK, I collect the pieces of golden metal that once form the Blight amidst my sons' fighting. I try to put it together with ice but I couldn't.
The damage is permanent. It cannot be restored if not in Lorien. It can no longer be of any use.
But on the brighter side, it can cripple the insurgency's plan.
Still, this act of insolence is punishable by death. And for what I can see on their fight, Threin's been doing the execution already.
I don't want to stop them. Cause If I do, we'll never know the limitations or weaknesses of the curse, if there's any. If I do, like what happened a while ago, if out of anger, Threin would lose easily. And if I do, the sole purpose of this program will be left void.
Okay then...I'll just enjoy the show.
Our weapons meet multiple of times, although none of our skins had touched them...yet. While I don't intend to hurt him with mine, he seemed like he will not stop until he sees me wounded. Or dead maybe. My body had already experienced the worst wound during the ritual, I know that he knows he can't hurt me with just that.
"You will kill me because of a broken pen?!"
"Yes! Destroying an ancient relic like that is a primary offense and is punishable by death! And right now, I will bring you over to your fate!" He races down to me from floating twenty five feet above me. "You're gonna die anyway! So why not now?!"
I became furious about what he had just said. "Since when did I become a subject under your law?! They..." I turned to Mom and pointed a finger at her,"...YOU.." Then back to Threin, "...the devil...all of you.. have no rights to claim of my life!"
Threin descended on me to stab my but I managed give him an arm lock and kick him at his back.
"Your family has all the rights! Mom has all the right to claim of your life! She's the one who gave it to you!"
"She only gave birth to me but she never intended to preserve me!" I saw her suppress a cry like she cared. Like she's hurt to hear those words.
That's right, truth hurts.
"She only gave birth to me but she never intended to preserve me!" I took a deep breath and swallowed hard to prevent a tear from falling down. That statement is the most painful thing a mother like me could ever hear from her child.
I wish I could tell him I abandoned my post when I gave birth, where Meelek escaped his isolation and began forming the insurgency here on earth. I abandoned my people so I could breast feed him and take care of him. I wish I could tell him I abandoned Threin for five long years so I could stay with him here on Earth.
But does it matter now? All that matters to me is protecting the Loric secrets. I'm not making the same mistake as before. I have to put this great task prior to everything.
Or can I really go on in life, everyday forsaking all my feelings? Is that delusional? Is that even possible?
"The only family I know was taken away from me. Taken away from me by my own kin!" Johann shouts.
Then I know it's not.
As I was talking to Mom, Threin runs towards me in great speed that I didn't have time to defend myself. I know that even if I try to dodge his attack he will still be able to stab my heart.
So I extend my hand for the hope that he would stop. Although I know he wouldn't. In three seconds I get ready for my demise.
Three...
If I won't feel any pain, does that mean I'll just drift into darkness like turning off a radio?
Two...
If I die, am I going to hell? Do I owe the devil a debt because he gave me an immunity?
One...
If I die, does that mean Threin never valued my life as much as mom does? Is he really into killing me because of a stupid relic? Is he that desperate?
Zero.
Zero...
What the?!
I dropped the pieces of the Blight in shock. Am I seeing this right?!
Threin...Johann...
He stopped in the mid air.
At first I thought that after all he'd had compassion on me but...when I looked at his face I see him frozen in shock...
Why'd he stop?
Why'd he..?
No. He didn't stop.
I stopped him.
How did I...?! What did I...?!
I-I stopped him with TK!!
What in the world..?!
I cut the thread of force connected from my hand and Threin and gazed at my hands as if I'd picked a precious jewel. As I do so, Threin fell on his knees. His eyes and mouth opened wide.
So this is how it feels...to have TK...to have power...
It...
Feels...
Good...
I never felt better.
Oh. My. God. The Garde in Johann's veins have awaken.
I didn't know what to do. I wanna shout. I want the whole world to know I have powers too. I want to tell it to Mang...
As soon as I thought of Mang Tony, Threin races to me in rage.
He knows it'll be harder for him to defeat me now that I have invincibility and TK.
He clutched his dagger and pointed it to my heart. There's no time for me to dodge it fully. I'm gonna get hit.
"Threin, STOP!" I shout, but it's too late.
The dagger penetrated into my skin and between the bones of my left shoulder as I let my instincts take over my mobility.
The good thing about instincts is that when trained, they can save your life in times of sure danger. They can be very handy in times of battle.
But not in a battle between brothers.
I'm submerged inside the knowledge of my body. The knowledge of my subconscious. The knowledge of muscle memory. My reflexes. What could happen? What could go wrong?
And YES...everything went WRONG.
Sometimes knowledge is not equivalent to wisdom. Sometimes knowledge is not parallel to logic. Sometimes knowledge kills.
Instincts told me to draw my katana.
Instincts told me to push it against his belly.
Instincts told me to pull him close so that the sword will make it's way on his back.
And with a flip of my wrist I did what I'm told.
I didn't resist the temptation to retaliate.
The sword protrudes one meter from his back.
Instant death.
Instant screams.
I tried to pull Threin towards me, but Johann's TK is too powerful than mine. As soon as realize it Threin's body stumbled on the ground. Breathless. Lifeless.
No. No. No. "Nooooooo!!!"
I pulled back, dropped my katana and saw my bloody hand.
"Nooooooo!!!" Mom shouts from afar. She pulled Threin towards herself.
My heart beats faster than normal. I felt butterflies in my belly. Everything in my system functions wrongly. I cupped my mouth with my hands as vomit crept upward to my throat.
What have I done?
I looked over to where Mom caresses Threin's corpse. She was crying. Crying real hard. I suppressed my own tears. Some stayed. Some escaped.
"STAY THERE, Johann. STAY. THERE!" Before I could even make a step forward, "Don't even think about coming over!"
"N-n-no. M-m-mom...I..I-I didn't mean it. Believe me...I didn't..." My voice shakes together with my whole body. In shock. In fear. In guilt.
"NO! How could you?! HOW COULD YOU?!" She tried to cover the hole that took away his life as if it will bring back the life on Threin's eyes. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN BROTHER?!" She glares at me in full anger.
"I-uh-I...he..he..." I was about to immerse myself in guilt. But the question she casts at me awakened my sense of reality. He. Tried. To. Kill. Me. I grit my teeth in anger against my brother and my mom. "He tried to kill me! Didn't you see?! He tried to kill me!!"
"You could you kill your brother?!" She shouts as if she didn't hear me.
"He conceived the same thought intently before I accidentally did it to him!!" I reasoned out. Trying to justify my murder. "I just protected myself from being killed! You know that! You know that!"
"He was not supposed to die, Johann." She lighten's up her voice. "He was not...he's supposed to do great things..." The sobbing continues.
He's not supposed to die because I'm the one who is supposed to die, "Because I'm the one who is supposed to die, is that it?!"
"You don't know how hard it is for him after the incident. You don't know how hard Jethro had treated him ever since! You don't know how hard he's trying to make his father proud!"
Who cares about her husband, "I don't care about your husband!" and how hard Threin's been trying to please him, "And how hard Threin tries to please him!"
I can't help it. I don't think what I'm going to say. I say what I am thinking.
"You were supposed to help him! You said you wanted to help! You said you can do anything to help, didn't you? Didn't you?" I try to contain the most painful thing I've ever felt in my entire existence. My entire motherhood. Seeing my own son die in front of me. I feel like I too am dying. Wasting away.
"And I'm helping him by letting myself die in his hands? Do I have no value? Do I have no rights to live?"
"Don't you dare say that again! I protected you! They wanted to get rid of you but I protected you!" I lay Threin's body to the grassy part of the ground, "They wanted me to kill you."
I see him tighten his jaw as his feet leave the ground. At first I thought he inherited my Flight Legacy but when I see some dirt, branches and leaves float with him I knew he didn't. What is it then? Anti-gravity? A new legacy? Was it even a legacy?
"Threin and I were cast down when we went back to Lorien, the night after the incident. And I was told to get rid of you. Because everything that happened boils down to your birth.
"They blamed everything to me, Johann. Everything. Meelek escaped because I wasn't there to escort him to his exile. Do you understand that? I wasn't there because of you. You still feed on my breast milk, and I can't leave you even for a minute." I say as I see him rise slowly. His muscles flexed, his brows risen, his teeth gritted.
"Because I love you so much despite of the circumstances. But if I should've known this would happen..." Then I realize he was using his TK to lift himself above me. As if telling me he's stronger now. As if he's inviting me to fight him. "If I should've known that you're a demon," I've never seen someone use TK like that, " I should've killed you when I had the time!"
"Try me now." He says defiantly.