Chaos raged across the night. The shouts of battle, the cries of misery and the smell of iron wafts through the air as Lucy relentlessly swung her blade, aiming to kill her horrified brother. Blow after blow, the two champions traded strikes that would kill lesser men. A single mistake was all it needed.

  “Emma please!” Elias shouted in desperation and plea as he narrowly deflected a strike that was aimed at the artery on his neck. “Stop this madness! I-“ An animalistic scream was all the young lady could reply, forcing Elias to duck mere seconds from a violent swing.

  Elias breathed hard, trying to stabilize his breathing as his heart still beats with the regret coursing through in his veins. He didn’t mean to impale that nun, only to disarm her. But tragedy struck then. She was moving too fast and could not control his blade midswing. Within a heartbeat, Elias found his blade impaling the nun.

  He was a soldier. Not a murderer, and yet guilt gnawed his bones at the utter dismay of the children and the others. Elias did not even have a minute to mourn the loss of life when he finally saw her. His sister was wearing the clothes nuns have.

  He barely even had a second to register why she wore one before she killed one of his men. It was a sentence that should have never been put together. Elias hadn’t known his sister well. Fighting on the frontlines tends to make such endeavors impossible. But the time that he did spent with her was different.

  Proactive, perhaps even a little desperate to connect with someone else, but never like… like this. No matter how much he tried to reason, Elias could simply not see that persistent, yet timid girl. Only a grieving vengeful lady remained.

  And as if that was not enough, her eyes burned like molten gold, just like his. A champion. Elias lamented what trauma she had to go through to attain those accursed eyes. He could still remember their father’s eyes glistening with tears as he was pushed to the brink of death.

  To be a champion, one must endure pain that would break a man, be it physical or mental. Elias could still remember the hesitance their father showed when he begged to become one. All things considered; he was lucky. He had the support and care of his father who nursed him back to health after beating him thoroughly, unlike some of his peers.

  The process made him a champion, but it came at a heavy price. It made him feel cold, almost detached. Yet it was a price he was more than willing to pay if it meant the protection of his family, should the time ever come. Standing before Emma now, it felt as if all of his sacrifice amounted to nothing. Her golden eyes stared back in blind madness as tears escaped them.

  “It’s me, damn you!” Elias shouted, unease and dismay clawed through his chest as he blocked a narrow strike, aiming directly at the artery near his throat. “Stop this, I-“ Lucy threw a hard kick on his shin, breaking his balance.

  Elias felt his heart dropped as Lucy roared, slamming her dagger down, aiming to kill. The young heir felt his power coursing through his veins, yet even with its aid, it was still to slow to stop the blow. Too-

  “My lady please!” A young soldier intervened, a blade weaver to be exact as she blocked the blow mere inches away. “It is us! It’s-“

  “Move!“ Elias shouted as he dragged the young blade weaver to the ground with him just in time as Lucy swiftly redirected the blow, aiming where the blade weaver’s right eye mere seconds ago. The maneuver had left her open and Elias did not hesitate. He kicked Lucy in the hip, buying them time as she stumbled to the ground.

  The blade weaver quivered slightly, still processing how close death had been. “Can you move?” Elias asked as he quickly got back up to his feet. It took a second for the blade weaver to respond as she quickly, yet shakily got back on her feet.

  “I can, s-sir.” She replied.

  “Name.” Elias barked quickly, their eyes glued to Lucy as she struggled back up, the intensity of her eyes never wavered for a second.

  “I-Iniey. M-my name is Iniey, young lord.” Iniey stuttered as she rose back to her feet.

  “Iniey tell the others to stay back. I cannot risk all of you dying with me.” Shouts of protest filled the air but was quickly smothered when Lucy lunges for another strike. Elias blocked just in time as their dance of resumed once more.

  “Send word for Sir Dal and the others!” Elias shouted at the bewildered blade weaver. “Kalva damn you. I can’t do this alone. Please, I don’t want to kill my sister!” Their eyes widened as a cut graze through Elias’s cheek.

  “I-I’ll be back sir!” Iniey shouted before running back towards the barracks. With the men finally relenting to his orders, Elias let out a sigh of relief as he pours all of his focus in deflecting and parrying most of Lucy’s strikes.

  The young man struggles keeping his reflexes down, lest he accidentally stab his own sister as well. Her vicious and unrelenting strikes were a sight to behold, especially for a newly awakened champion. Were it not for his prior experiences, he would have died minutes ago.

  Fortunately for him, Lucy was out of her mind, swinging wildly with no control or discipline. He can use that at the very least. This was not how he wanted to meet her again, but what choice does he have?

  ?

  Madness. If there was one word that could capture even a fraction of the turmoil that is raging within Lucy, it would be that. She could not hear the cries of the children nor the desperation within the nuns pleas. Nor could she see the alarms and horror within the soldiers. Not even the arid burning smoke made her pause as the entire world centered only to one man. Elias.

  Cries and shouts overwhelmed one another as she swung violently once more, crushing the stone beneath their feet. Tears of loss and grief collided with rage and hatred as Elias narrowly avoided another blow.

  She did not know what to think. She did not know what to feel. Only, that she would kill him. ‘You fool! Get a hold of yourself!’ And so, comes to Emma’s frustration. ‘You are burning too much! We would run dry at this rate!’ She shouted in exasperation, but Lucy could not hear any of it. Her sight remained only to Elias, leaving her mental defenses down. To which Emma used.

  The change was instant as Lucy was thrown back from the fore front. Emma quickly stabilizes the output of power, but it did not last long. ‘What are you doing?!’ Lucy demanded as Emma grinded her teeth down in concentration.

  “You are wasting too much of our reserves.” She chided at the younger lady as Emma grounded to a halt, gathering control of her power once more.

  ‘Waste? Waste?? There is not an ounce of power wasted from me killing that bastard! I-‘

  “Get a hold of yourself, you fool! We are going to die at this rate!” Emma could not hold her boiling frustration any longer as she shouted, prompting surprise and confusion from those around her. Yet it only emboldens the younger lady as she snaps back from within.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  ‘I thought you wanted to kill him? Don’t tell me, you are getting cold feet now?’ Lucy hissed.

  “Are you blind, flowerhead?” Emma snaps back. “Our reserves are dwindling, and you are wasting it like a fool.” Lucy seethes but did not answered back. “Listen to me, and we will kill this bastard.” Emma refocuses her attention back to Elias who could only stare back in shock.

  The young lord could not understand why his sister was shouting at the air, nor could he understand the sudden change. But he did understood one thing, and so did everyone else who heard her. Elias soon gathers his composure first than the rest. “E-Emma? It’s me, Elias!” The young man said, hoping that sanity returned to his sister.

  In a way, he was right. Although it did little to stop her bloodlust. “I know, brother.” Emma drawled, each syllable dripping with acid as she slowly lowered into a stance. “Lady luck had spared you once. Unfortunately for you, she is not here to stop me.” Emma growled as she pounced once more.

  “W-wait, I do not wish to fight you!” Elias shouted as he blocked just in- no, it was a fake. Elias recoiled as the dagger bit through his thigh. Although the leather held for a while, it was just regular leather.

  Elias quickly stepped back as shouts of alarm rang out from the soldiers. They could not bear to watch any longer as they began to move. “No, stay back!” Elias, however, shouted quickly as one of the soldiers tried to hold Emma in place. Fortunately for the young woman, Emma did not deemed her life worth the cost as she ignored her.

  “Stop it damn you! What has gotten in your head? I’m your brother for Kalva sake!” Elias shouted, searching desperately for the cause of this madness. And to his surprise, Emma pauses. For a moment, he thought he had reached her, but the hatred in her eyes remained.

  “Brother? Y-you? Y-you think you are… ha… hahaha! HAHAHA!” Emma cackled wildly, holding her stomach as if she was trying her best to stop. Once more, the sudden change caught everyone off guard when Emma’s mocking smile suddenly turned into stone.

  “Nothing will bring me peace more than your death, brother.” Emma said with a smile as she tapped into her reserves once more, aiming to weaken Elias more as she aimed at his thigh. The young lord, for all of his confusion and distraught, was quick to recover as he defended his body once more.

  “W-what? What are you saying?? Why do you-“

  “Once I cut off that head, I will be free.” Her smile was deranged, salivating at the prospect his death would bring. “I won’t have to sleep with one eye open. I can run to the end of the world and no one would be there. Can you imagine that Lucy?? We can sleep with our eyes closed!” Emma laughed as she stopped chasing for a moment, too intoxicated by the mere thought of freedom.

  ‘I don’t care for that! I want him dead! Dead!’ Lucy cursed wildly as Emma frowned.

  “I’m working on it.” Emma snorted back in reply.

  What is wrong with you?? The young man thought in disbelief as he watched her talking to the air once more. She was growling, cursing at the air as if a person was standing there, even glaring at it as if she was insulted.

  No, no this isn’t her. It can’t be her. “Emma-“ The young girl went cold once more, glaring shifting back in his direction as her frown returns.

  “I am going to. Now be quiet! I can’t kill him with you screaming in my ears.” Elias felt his jaw went slack. He and several other soldiers who heard the tirade just now could no longer deny what they were trying so hard to dismiss. This was not Emma. At least, not the one they knew of.

  Oh, Kalva be damn. Elias found himself confronting and swallowing the truth, no matter how much his body screams in protest, in complete denial. “You are mad!” Elias shouted in disbelief. He wanted to deny it, but the light in her eyes says it all. Emma went for his throat once again as he blocked the blow mere inches away from his veins.

  “I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you have gone mad!” Elias’s eyes soon twisted into a glare as he blocked another strike. “I never once thought to harm you! Not once have I ever wished harm upon you! So how could say that?!” His anger grew ever darker as his power redoubles. Though it did not last long when he saw her eyes, her fa?ade, fractured.

  “Mad? Mad?? I have been mad for a lifetime!” Emma screamed as she kicked Elias in the stomach, throwing him against the wall. He narrowly rolls just in time as Emma smashed the stone wall behind him mere seconds later.

  “It took this for you to realize it? This?!” Emma screamed as she lunged once more. “You heartless bastard, if you had only looked. If you had only listened just for once, I would have been content!” Elias’s eyes widened as he took another step back from a deadly strike.

  “You- no, not just you. All of you.” Golden eyes glared with ever-growing animosity. What once was a calm blue ocean was nowhere to be seen, but only hate and malice. Nothing better than a monster. “You did this.” So much resentment, so much… regret. The young lord met her gaze head on once more.

  Elias felt his heart grow heavier at the burning hatred, yet longing hidden beneath those eyes. “If I could ask Kalva for one wish, just one, I would love nothing more than to be born a slave.” Elias’ eyes paled as Emma smiled madly as she whispered so softly, as if it was a secret.

  “I wouldn’t need to hope then. Live nothing more than mindless meat.” Emma said.

  “You… you don’t mean that.” Elias began, but Emma remained smiling madly. “M-mother wouldn’t-“

  “Ah, her?” The smile was gone in an instant. “I don’t recall anything from her. Thankfully, she died before I did. Wouldn’t want another one like father does.” Emma blankly replied before she went running once more, aiming for Elias’s head.

  Ah, right… I didn’t even tell her what mother was like, did I?... Just what have I been doing all this time? Regret filled the young man, but he was determined to fix it. He would tell. She deserves it. “She is nothing like father.” Elias firmly replied. Emma simply scoffed as she went back to fighting, but the young heir was not done.

  Elias refuses to back down as he blocks blow after blow as he continues to shout beneath the clash of steel. “She loved you, Emma.” Her frown deepens. “The day she learned she had you, she cried in joy, Emma.” The young lady remained silent this time, but her strikes became more violent as Elias continued to speak, hoping to connect what little they have on each other.

  Unbeknownst to Elias, the shock ran deeper than he could have possibly predicted. ‘What?’ Lucy thought as Emma remained silent.

  “I don’t remember as much. It had been so long ago, but mother always sewed dresses for you personally,” Elias said as he avoided a violent backhand stab.

  ‘…S-she did?’ Lucy did not know what to do with this information and neither does Emma as the two girls know next to nothing of the woman.

  “She kept pestering me to choose which one was better. Always asking for names to give you. She-“ A blow finally landed as it cut Elias on his right shoulder.

  Elias grunted, but did not pull away as he looked into his sister’s eyes, pleading for her to come back to her senses. “She loves you, sister. When everyone t-told her to abandon you so she might live, she… she refused to talk to everyone for a month.” Emma, as hard as she tried, could not hide the slight shock in her eyes. Elias saw it and continued.

  “She died, so you may live. She loves you, sister.” Confusion and loss welled in her eyes.

  ‘S-she did? T-then…’ Her burning amber glare reverted back to hesitant cobalt hues, just as he remembered. For a moment, his little sister was back.

  ‘Then why didn’t she leave us anything?’ Once more, the two felt betrayed. Of all their lives, there was nothing they craved more than the warmth they were denied off. To think someone did love them, but never left anything for them to hold on to only intensify the bitterness. Even a letter would have do. But there was nothing. Nothing, save for their brother’s memory.

  Alas, the hope died without mercy as tears trailed down from Emma’s cheek. Her eyes reddened with tears and rage as it twisted back to burning gold. Emma pulled him closer, driving the blade further as she whispered the words only they could hear.

  “She should have just let us die then.” Elias’s eyes widened in shock and pain as Emma/Lucy continued. “I-If she had, w-we wouldn’t be so miserable right now.” It felt as if nails were being forced down on their throats as Emma/Lucy’s quivering voice echoed coldly in the air.

  “If she did, we wouldn’t have to watch e-everyone die.” Her eyes hardened to steel once more. “So yes, brother, thank Kalva she died. Because we would have to kill her ourselves.” Emma/Lucy never meant to say those words. A small shard of regret bloomed within her the moment she said it.

  But the loss and pain she had been forced through had made her dismiss the fact. Elias, for all of his attempts to bring her back, sadly could not see past this mistake as well as his heart burned.

  For all the insults in the world, an attack against his parents was an attack a child would never take. Especially if it was their mother. Elias met Emma’s glare with his own as he let out a low growl. “Take that back.”

  “No.” It was all they needed to hear from each other as their duel renewed. Full of hate and bitterness, the cold night continues on as brother and sister fought with the intention to kill.