Family Matters!

Have you ever been in an official competition of some sort where your opponent is that annoying sibling of yours? If yes, then you will have a glimpse of the state I was in.

I was fighting the King who was supposed to be my real father. But I had no guilt in being the one to kill him. The tension had risen though. After watching him take on everyone at once, I had become a little tensed. But this was no time for such feelings. I got off Sounge because I knew the hermit would get hurt in such a heated fight. I rushed towards the King, holding the battle-axe tightly. He got ready with the trident, Zhorkaria. We finally clashed.

I jumped high and clashed with him. He blocked my attack with Zhorkaria and tried to kick me just like he did with others. But my reflexes had grown since the last time and I dodged. I summoned Magnum to my left hand which was free and kept it near the King's gut. I slashed his belly but he managed to dodge the main damage. He started to bleed. Although his armor was better than mine, the new Magnum could tear open anything!

He backed up, getting ready for another clash. I backed away too and got my muscles set for another round of intense fighting. We went in for another clash. This time it was for a longer duration. For five whole minutes we kept attacking and blocking. Neither of us appeared to win but I lost strength first. He took advantage and thrust Zhorkaria into the right hand, near the elbow. My hand had already been damaged in the morning but I was still going. But now I was injured badly and Jalaar grabbed my head and kicked me. I fell down a few meters away on a rock. He threw the trident and I used Magnum as a shield and blocked the attack. Before he could retrieve Zhorkaria, I went in for the attack. I climbed up from his back and as he was quite tall, it took me sometime to reach the shoulders. He tried to catch hold of me but I held his head and smacked him with the battle-axe. I was about to thrust Magnum into him when he grabbed me and smashed me on the ground. He punched me and I vomited blood.

The DELTAs who had been healing all this while now came back in to fight. But none of them lasted for even a minute. Everyone was defeated within a few seconds. I saw the great Adonis, one of the best of his times, lying on the ground with bruises everywhere. Wade also was down, his head turned towards me, watching the fight with a tilted angle. Master Polwern, after all his great hidden powers, was sitting against a rock, his body totally bleeding and the stick he used was broken in half. Amanda, though tired and in no shape to take another hit was going around trying to heal and help everyone; Oliver especially. Speaking of Oliver, he was lying on the ground, his leg profusely bleeding; I knew that the worst had already happened. Xavier, taking the support of a boulder on a small hill nearby was trying to stand; he looked as if on the verge of crying. All other soldiers, allies and enemies, were killed. There were only five or six soldiers who were still fighting each other, their hands aching while wielding the weapons. Both the Darknorian (including the Red One's army) and Xorain army had completely wiped out. Even the two dragons had fallen on the ground, ending the battle in a draw. It was a horrifying sight to watch only ten-fifteen warriors surviving.

I got up and faced the King. "I had told you." He said, raising his hands and showing the dead bodies all over the place. I didn't reply. I couldn't reply. I had to keep fighting, even if it was for people left. I rushed towards him and jumped high up. Once again, he blocked and jumped back to avoid any attacks. Both of us were using the Zantai power. But Jalaar was a real master at it. Amanda also could sense the Zantai power of his which he was using skillfully. Every once in a while, I would just freeze because of him overpowering me and he would attack right at that time. My armor, as I had said even during the beginning of the war, was not very durable and strong. Jalaar tore it apart with his bare hands and I had to run away to a distance to avoid taking damage. I didn't know how to fight him.

Only he and I were left. All others had given up. Not one was in the shape to fight. King Jalaar thrust the trident into the ground and literally a large crack appeared. He was an artificial earthquake generator. He did this often and the battle-field around us was now even more dangerous. I had to make sure not to fall into one of the narrow pits. The sun had half-way set and we had been engaged in fight for about an hour. He had the upper hand but I didn't let him win.

I called for Magnum inside me. "Fool! You should have finished him earlier!" He exclaimed. I complained, "Well, where were you when all this was happening?" Everyone around me thought I was going crazy talking to myself. Magnum said, "Alright! He is tough. Tougher than anyone we have fought. But there still is hope. Unleash the Zantai power." I replied to him inside my mind, "I haven't completely mastered it. And Jalaar is way better in using Zantai!"

When the battle-axe went silent, I understood that if I had to win, I had to conquer and harness that power. All this was happening while I was clashing with the King. I used my Zantai power. I focused and my closed eyes were straining. I could see the outline of King Jalaar which was the only way I could figure where he was with my closed eyes. At the same time, I tried to close all my senses instead of letting everything out. My ears stopped working and I could hardly hear sounds anymore. My hands were no more attacking but just defending the body against attacks. I was trying to take least amount of stress. Magnum's voice was now clearer. He was encouraging me to continue this process. I obliged.

I thought of Albert Hunt, my father. I imagined myself, him and my grandma sitting together on the dining table and laughing while we had our meal. All of a sudden, the house was on fire and my father and grandmother both burnt off. My figure was still alive and the scene changed. I was now in the DELTA Headquarters with Rock Flames and Wade. We were devising some kind of plan with a large map on a table. Once again, the scene changed and then I was with Oliver, Xavier and Lily; fighting Raptor who had just woken up. Then I saw the Temple of Past and the Ancient Prophecy inside the main room. Then I was teleported to Colloseus's kingdom where the dragon was sitting royally. I also watched the battle of Mount Hysuptris on the Night of Xorains. Then I found myself along with Mark inside the Palace of Mirage, trying to meet the Red One. After that I was in the Realm of Glacidon where I had met Druk. And then I saw every major scene of this war projecting in my mind. But the ending was different. Everything was going in a chronological order up until now. In the end, I saw my father in the Garden Of Death. Rock Flames and he were giving me their spirits to fight King Jalaar and I once again heard my dad's last words, "Promise to fight till the end!"

I unlocked the Zantai power to my fullest capacity. The aura around the battle-axe had engulfed my whole body and it stretched to a few meters of distance from me. Once again, I could hear the clashing of weapons. King Jalaar was trying all this while to attack and I had been barely defending with Magnum. I came back to my senses and opened my eyes. The DELTAs knew that I was now charged up. "Finish him!" Xavier yelled. Wade also raised and pointed his finger towards the King, telling me to fight. I backed away a bit and so did the King. He understood that I was now back to my senses and ready for battle. He had been taken aback by how I had defended myself while focusing on Zantai.

I gave a loud war cry and charged. He also ran towards me, holding Zhorkaria. My concentration had strengthened to such an extent that I could almost predict his next move. He launched the trident at me when there was only a distance of about fifteen meters between us. With no pressure at all, I struck the battle-axe hard at the weapon and the trident went flying away. Everyone was shocked to see this power in me. A few weeks ago – in fact, a few days ago, that kind of a strong weapon would have chopped my head off. But now the power inside me was boiling and I could sense that I was just strong enough to defeat the King; if not as strong as him.

Jalaar had no weapon to defend with but he could rely on his strong muscles. I dived down just in time to make him vulnerable and hammered his left thigh. He bent down to hold his leg and I kicked him. Surprisingly, my kick actually managed to push him a little away. Nobody expected that after seeing King Jalaar's weight and strength. He tried to grab Zhorkaria on the ground but I struck his hand with all my force. He was bleeding profusely from his thigh and now also from his hand. He got enraged at this sudden power in me. He roared – the loudest roar I had ever heard – and punched my face. I didn't stop even to fall on the ground. I got my balance and went on hammering him. He defended a lot of attacks with his bare hands which by itself showed his might but I couldn't let him live.

He finally got hold of Zhorkaria and stopped me on my tracks. Before I could even react to the trident's attack, the King caught hold of my neck and lifted me up. I struggled to breathe. He smashed me on the ground hard. The floor had literally been smashed down with me; so much so that my fallen figure had been printed on the ground. He was about to strike the trident into me but I rolled and dodged the attack. I got up and backed away a little. "Accept it! You are weak like anyone else – like Rock Flames, that idiot who was jealous of my victory. Like the legendary warriors who fought with me two thousand years ago! Like your real mother, who dared to stop me in my tracks!" He shouted.

I heard the last line and remembered the past. My mother, when I was a small baby, had tried to save me from the King's hatred. The moment he knew that I would be the end of him, he just wanted to slaughter me. My mother, who pleaded with him for mercy over the small child, was ignored. But she couldn't let her baby get such a harsh treatment. She fought King Jalaar, the ruler of the universe, to save me. Rock Flames had managed to flee with me but my mother stood no chance in front of the rage of Jalaar. She died. I was too small to even remember her face.

"Don't you ever say that about mother, you coward! You were frightened by me even when I was a small baby! You stand no chance now. You were ready to do anything to kill me and yet, here I stand. Mother was braver than you because she didn't hesitate in fighting you who are supposed to be the strongest. She was the rightful ruler of the universe – not a fool like you! I have given you enough time to flee but no more!" I yelled and charged. King Jalaar roared and rushed towards me for the final clash. Everyone was watching with eyes wide open to avoid missing even a second.

I used the Zantai power to the fullest capacity. He too was trying really hard to control me. The aura around my body was now reaching ten to fifteen meters of distance! I jumped so high that everybody had to stretch their head. But I did not fall back on ground. I was flying. This phenomenon happened very rarely when I was charged up. Everyone watched in awe. King Jalaar ran towards me with Zhokaria held tight. Magnum inside me said, "His time is up. Finish him!" I yelled at the top of my voice and flew down towards the King. I grabbed the battle-axe with both hands and held it above my head. And then it happened. Jalaar and I clashed. His trident struck my battle-axe and the whole battle-field was filled with smoke in just a few seconds. The noise would have reached hundreds of miles away. A large fire started due to the battle-axe when it clashed. Everyone flew hundreds of meters away. Some hit the rocks while some others were sent back to where the field begins. The ground had completely cracked and seemed like a drought had taken place years ago in this land.

It took about ten minutes for the fog to go away. The DELTAs rushed towards where we had clashed . They say that I was found unconscious and they had to heal me immediately. They also found; the King's body chopped off in two halves. King Jalaar died. I saved Darknor.