Further Beyond: Ascension

Lunesday, 2nd of Julius, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Partogi took in a deep breath as he entered into the courtyard in front of Goria's King's Hall. To his front his elder brother stood, staring him down. The stage had been set for the match that was to determine who would be named as the next Hulubalang Nabolon. Either the blood king of whom he was the proxy of or his elder brother.

Partogi had long prepared the determination within him to face his brother. He had to make his brother see the truth of the old ways, to steer Goria back to the path of resistance against the foreign influences that would seek to tear their family apart. Partogi himself felt like the choice he made was a painful one, filled with sorrow. Yet despite that, he still had to take it nonetheless.

It was the only path to give his brother and his clan the wake up call they needed. The world was continuously changing, yes, but that didn't mean they had to give everything up and be swept along the alien currents. The Halak people had the strength and the courage to do so!

Even though it hurt, Partogi still had to press on. Even when his choices had caused his brother to once more wrest his children away from him. But it wasn't the end. Far from it. This would be the beginning. The start of a resurgence of the old values and once he won he'd be able to take his children back with him.

Partogi was still hopeful. Though he was sure that he would still be exiled even if he won, he could make a case to take with him his two younger children. His eldest prodigal son was a lost cause and his daughter now belonged to another man and was living her own life. All that was left for him to think about was how he would go about duelling his brother.

It was a large mountain of an obstacle. His older brother was considered almost unanimously as 'The strongest of his generation'. He was even at the cusp of becoming a blademaster. On the other hand, he himself had only just reached the level of a fifth star not long ago. There was still much to his powers that he had yet to fully get a handle on.

But at the same time, this was also his last chance to gain a victory over his brother. The goal of this duel wasn't to do any significant damage or harm, it was only to draw blood from one's opponent. Perhaps if the duel was a more traditional duel to the death, he would stand no chance. Luckily, that wasn't at all on anyone's mind today. What mattered the most here was skill and perseverance. Just a good initial strike was all he needed.

Partogi knew his brothers move very well. They had grown up and trained together under the same master. Their father put his all into training them. Their father…

Partogi quickly shook his head to rid himself of any useless thoughts. There was no point in thinking about his father like that. He had to focus. That was the only advantage he had at the moment over his brother. The fact that he wasn't in the right state of mind ever since their father's death was something he had to take advantage of.

It still felt wrong though. A small, muffled voice inside of him was shouting saying something. Doubt. A small doubt that what he was doing wasn't quite the right thing… That voice had to be silenced. There was to be no progress without risk-taking. If he were to be seen as a villain then so be it. No longer was he going to let other people's opinions or expectations define him. He was his own actor and what he was doing was his own choice.

Even if he were to fail today, he did it of his own accord and all he had to do was to pick up the pieces. He had the determination to see it through to the end. And he was sure at the end, there was something truly beautiful waiting for everyone involved.

Partogi drew his sabre as he looked his brother dead in the eyes. May the gods and ancestors strengthen him to do their will and uphold their justice. May they also shine their light upon all their other lost descendants… It was time for the Halak to regain their identity in full.

***

All the other Halak kings had been seated around the courtyard of the Gorian King's Hall. Them along with all their courtiers and the elders of the Halak clans. They were to lay witness to something truly historic. A battle between brothers.

Parulian stood there as he held the hilt of his sabre, his hand feeling the ornamental carving of an elephant upon the grip. He had a frown on his face as he stared down his younger brother who had just drawn his sabre, seeming ready to face him. His younger brother's eyes were filled with fiery determination.

There was no longer any point to avoiding this. Parulian had to do what had to be done. He must defeat his brother in this match. It was the only way he could maintain a strong arm in the negotiations of the next session of the tonggoraja.

Their mother must be crying now. Parulian wasn't sure whether those who are in heaven could still cry in sadness, but it was a damn shameful display. For two brothers to not be fighting united as one, but to have sabres drawn against one another. Was it perhaps his own failure as an older brother? Did he not guide his younger siblings enough?

That no longer mattered, though. The only thing that mattered now was to win the fight as quickly and cleanly as possible. He had to put Partogi in his place. There was no other choice. Perhaps by the end of it, God-willing, He'd even be able to change Partogi's heart. Maybe, just maybe, everything would go back to how the Lord had intended. With peace for his family. That was all he wanted.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As Parulian received his brother's stare, he too unsheathed his sabre from its scabbard. Despite Partogi's insistence on this act of rebellion, Parulian still wanted to honour him as a warrior. He was still his brother despite everything he said. He was deserving of at least that much respect.

As they each stood with their sabres drawn, the Raja Malim came unto the courtyard to officiate the match. The Raja Malim stood between the two men as he exchanged glances with them. He then cleared his throat as he raised both his hands.

"Let me make it clear one last time, O warriors of the Halak. This fight will be one to the drawing of first blood that is clearly visible. Any nicks or other such small wounds that could be healed with aura quickly will not count to the victory. Any and all moves are validated for this match, and hits everywhere will be counted. Are there any objections?"

Neither Parulian nor his brother objected as they shook their heads.

"Then may the gods and the ancestors smile upon our match this day and may their will shine through the blood that is spilt!"

With a final look, the Raja Malim unleashed his aura signalling the start of the match.

Immediately the two fighters rushed in and clashed against one another.

Both Parulian and Partogi exemplified the Gorian doctrine of aura conservation. As much as they could, they conserved their powers making the match look quite conventional. The only outflow of aura visible from their exchange of blows were the energy trails left visible in the air. Parulian's flames blazed in the air while Partogi's winds gusted about around the courtyard causing lots of dust and sand particles to emerge.

Parulian grit his teeth as he swiped at his brother's position but his brother was quick. A quick spinning dodge helped cover Partogi to counter with an aerial cartwheel kick. Parulian dodged in time as he felt the wind energy brush against his face. Had the kick hit him, he would've been spitting blood right about now.

Parulian backed away to fix his stance as Partogi did the same. The two continued to stare at each other with Parulian analyzing for his brother's weaknesses as best he could. He had to give it to him, Partogi hadn't been skipping on his training. His stance was solid and no obvious opening could be determined.

While he was still analyzing, Partogi had disappeared in a blur. Instinctively, Parulian had sensed his brother's presence near him and he swerved to the right. As if appearing out of nowhere, Partogi had reappeared with his sabre slashing down the place where Parulian's body had been just a split second ago.

Parulian immediately launched a counter attack as he slashed horizontally with his sword flames towards his younger brother. Once more, Partogi had been quicker as he managed to crouch while again turning into a blur. Parulian didn't care to wait around as he continued to charge forwards with his flaming sabre towards a certain direction.

It was where Partogi had reappeared and there Parulian had managed to land a blow. Unfortunately, the blow had been successfully blocked as Partogi had quickly manifested his wind aura in front of him. The two warriors had both been knocked back due to the clash of their abilities. Cracks had appeared on the ground of the courtyard as they fought due to the sheer force of their attacks.

Parulian didn't expect such harsh resistance from his brother. Though his brother had only been a fifth star warrior for a little while, his basic foundation was solid. But it was still clear from Partogi's ragged breathing that he was growing tired. If Parulian could just keep things as they were, he might be able to outlast his brother and seize that moment for victory.

Either that, or Parulian could just decide to end the fanfare right then and there. Becoming too relaxed wasn't ideal as Partogi could pull out a move that would catch him by surprise thus stealing a victory. He had to think smart here. And it was apparent to him that his brother was also making the same analysis.

His brother had unleashed a torrential amount of aura, the winds around him dancing wildly as the gusts even started blowing the clothes of the people watching them. In a blink, Partogi was gone. Parulian knew he had to react. It was now or never and conserving any more energy would be meaningless.

Parulian's eyes glowed red as he shouted, unleashing all of his own energy. Bright red flames had appeared and were turning golden. In that moment, Partogi had appeared near him, looking to forgo the pain of the flames to land a strike upon him. Parulian unleashed all of his aura to ward away his brother as the flames started turning blue.

Partogi didn't seem to care as he came in with a powerful slash aimed towards his chest. It didn't matter. Parulian could see the trajectory of his attacks. It was only a matter of parrying. With that in mind, Parulian moved to swing his sabre to counter the incoming attack.

But something felt wrong. All of a sudden his aura reserves had depleted and he felt like his heart was stopping as a numbness appeared. His own flaming aura started to feel hot to him. As his mind became drowsy, he fell forward as he felt blood running from his nose. In the next instant, a searing pain as his world spun.

Why was his brother upside down? Why was everything spinning? Why was his son Josias looking at him with horror on his face?

And then everything went dark.

***

Parulian's intense flames were greatly damaging. Their scorching heat was starting to burn Partogi even when he had coated himself with his own greenish wind aura. But despite that, he was resolute, whatever the pain maybe, he would land a strike to his brother's torso.

Did the rules account for burn wounds as a loss towards him? Or did drawing blood mean he had to actually draw blood? That wasn't important. It no longer mattered to Partogi whether he won or lost. All that mattered to him was to prove to his brother that he was also a warrior to be reckoned with. No longer will he just stand idly by.

Even when he knew his brother had read his attack's trajectory and was about to parry it, he continued to push on. This was his last strike towards his brother. Victory or loss, it was to be his magnum opus of the match. With that determination he screamed as he gave that one last slash.

But the parry never came. No clang of a sabre clash was heard. Instead what he felt was something fleshier.

Partogi's eyes widened as his mouth fell agape. For whatever reason his brother had started bleeding from his nose and in the last seconds before his slash fell forward. The trajectory of his own slash changed. It was no longer the torso but something else… And it was too late for him to stop his attack.

In that moment his sabre had run through his elder brother's neck, severing it from his body with large force. His head was sent flying but Partogi caught a final glimpse at his brother's confused expression.

With a bony plop, his brother's head landed upon the ground close to him as blood splattered from the base of his neck. Not long after the body itself had dropped with an even louder thud. The blood sprouting from it didn't look to end soon with some even landing on Partogi.

Partogi lost all his strength in his legs as even his arms gave in, dropping his sabre while he fell backwards. His eyes shook at what he saw.

He had killed his brother…