Phobos and Aibek

Everyone stood their ground as Phobos and Aikbek began to walk closer to me. Velladon and Ikaru are also on their guard.

"You have something in you, young one..." The voice said. I gazed at them, trying to recognize who talked through my head.

"Tell me about it. Something in this young Paragon convinced me to come back to this realm once again." Another voice said.

"Come on, show us! show us that you are worthy of our time!"

There is no doubt about it now; fear is starting to take over me. I need to concentrate and not give in to their taunts.

I remember when my father used to tell stories about the mighty King Eri, who bonded with Phobos. He is one of the few Alpha back in the early days of the Tribe who had earned the mark of the moon with such ease. Being a king is not an easy task, and I know I will also traverse the same path one day to earn my mark. Phobos is known for his illusions that could capture even the strongest minds.

While the most famous Queen Lia, who bonded with Aibek, was also a force to be reckoned with. Her ability to provide support has earned her not just Queen's title but also as the Iota head.

This is no joke. I am in danger, and I can feel their ferocious presence. Fear and Panic are slowly taking over. I can feel every vein and muscle in my body are getting overloaded with adrenaline. I have to stay calm if I want to survive this.

As they are inching towards me, Velladon, Ikaru, and Arya jumped to my defense. I know that this will not end peacefully. I wanted to move my body doesn't want to cooperate; I stayed frozen in fear. I cant feel my lower torso now, and my vision is slowly fading until I remember how Hilal once told me about his own fear and how he controlled them.

"Listen, my you prince. I, too, have fears, and it is normal to as we are only mortals."

"You? Hilal the brave have fear?" I asked

"Yes! I am afraid of losing my life in battle, but above all that, I am afraid of losing my King." He continued to tell me

"How do you stay, brave?" I asked once again

"There is no single answer for that, my prince, but for me... the only way is to stay focused on my goal and never lose sight of it, and that is to protect everyone."

I started to concentrate and focus on my goal. This is not the time for me to scour in fear. I need to show everyone that I am worthy as a Paragon. I let out a long deep breath and assumed my stance. I need to prove both of them my worth. This is a battle between two former Alpha and me.

I commanded Velladon, Ikaru, and Arya to stand down.

I know that they can hold them off, but they will acquire fatal injuries if I do not interfere.

I started to walk towards them, ready to fight and show them that I am an ALPHA. Phobos and Aibek started to hesitate and walk in circle. This could be my chance. Carefully observing their minute movements, none of us dared to move first. This is a game of life and death, and whoever lands the first attack wins.

"You have some guts, young one! I like it!" I looked back, and I can see Phobos grinning as if almost smiling. I am just not that sure if what I saw is correct. Phobos and his illusions are a force to be reckoned with, so I need to carefully plan my next move.

"I am still not yet convinced that this is young Paragon gave off that same aura I felt!" said Aibek.

"Look closer, Aibek, and you will see." Arya, who is still watching us from close proximity.

Aibek suddenly switched from offensive to defensive stance when she heard Arya. I do not know what she meant by that, but that really gave me some more space.

Phobos, on the other hand, started to conjure his illusions. This is not going well for me, but at least now, I can sense that both of them are in a defensive stance.

I took one more deep breath and concentrated on pinpointing the location of the real Phobos. I know that he is just testing me, and I need to pass this. I clenched my fists and assumed the defensive fighting style Hilal has taught me.

I can sense a strange aura not far behind me, slowly inching closer until I reached out my hand and kicked with all my might.

"eik!!!" Phobos flinched and flew a bit further, but he is still standing while his illusions had already vanished.

"HOWL!!!" A deafening cry. I know this kind of howl. It is the same howl as Velladon, the healing roar of the moon. This is not good. I looked at Phobos, and he is back as if nothing happened. I need to take Aibek first before I take on Phobos if I want this to end. I need to plan my next move, and this will be tricky.

I switched my focus to Aibek, who is a bit further, claws and fangs ready to attack. I need to land this attack in one blow, or else Phobos will finish me.

All my strength is focused on my legs as I made one giant step to Aibek. I can feel every muscle fiber in my legs surging with power as I turned 360° mid-air and attacked him from above.

"aeik..." I struck her on the top of her skull. I whacked my ankle on her with all my might, but she is still resilient, so I started a flurry of kicks and punches. Her claws do scathe me, but I could not feel any pain. All I know right now is that I need her out of the picture as fast as possible.

"Don't ignore me!" Phobos began his own attack. I am starting to lose my strength. I do not know if I can still evade him.

'slash!!!' his claws ran through my chest.

"Argh!!!" It is deep if I hadn't taken that minute step, he might have finished me.

"Aerglo!" mother shouted, I know she wanted to help, but it is against the law to assist a paragon when the binding battle has already started.

"Nice try, but it looks like this will be the end..." He said. I am ready to die here and now when I felt a warm wind. My wounds started to heal, or should I say evaporate, and I immediately regained my strength.

"No... Arya no!!!" I shouted, but she was still there, keeping an eye on me, not moving an inch, so I looked around, and there I saw Aibek.

She was the one who healed me and used all her remaining strength, then immediately lost consciousness. Now it is time to face Phobos once again.

"What have you done, you incompetent fool!" Phobos shouted in anger. He is now five times bigger than any other lupus. 'This is just an illusion,' I told myself as I glanced up at him. His fangs are all out, ready to maul any moment. Just like before, I need to find real Phobos. I tried to scatter my aura around the entire field to look for him. All of my senses are now heightened. I thought the giant Phobos was just an ordinary illusion, but I was wrong.

"Hahaha, what is the matter, Bratt? Scared?" He said. I will be branded as a broken hollow if I back out now. I need to finish what I started. I am not the son of King Atlas for nothing.

"ahh!!" I concentrated all my strength and screamed. I was about to land the final blow when suddenly his illusion was undone. All the other lupus are surrounding him. King Atlas, Queen Amaris, Elder Oberon, Triton are all in front of me now. They have somehow subdued Phobos.

"Stand down, Phobos!" Velladon commanded.

"I am not yet done! you have all violated the sacred pact!" He shouted, but every other lupus including, Vigor, Argon, Enshir, Fao Kai, and Tigrese, has already subdued him.

"Didn't you had enough already?" Arya asked

"Never! I am Phobos! I never back down!" He replied

"Stand down, or we will force you to go back!" The usually quiet Ikaru responded

"hahahahahaha... We are not yet done, young Paragon." He said. "I will form a bond with you, but know this, you will never be able to control me."

His words are so threatening. I looked over behind me, and I saw Aibek. She has already regained consciousness. I am not sure if she will do the same as Phobos, but my instinct tells me otherwise, and my foot just automatically walks towards her.

I slowly inched towards her when she bowed down to me, "It is my honor to serve you, my new Paragon." I need to give her a name to seal the bond. Carefully I placed my hands on the top of her head, and as I was about to give her a new name, a blinding light shined.

--

"Where am I?" When I opened my eyes. I looked around. I am inside my chamber. Did I lose consciousness? I scanned around and found Aibek sleeping on the corner. Her fur changed from what I remember, yellowish hue with orange shade on her nape all the way to the tip of her tail.

"Ah, so you are awake now." My father spoke as he entered. "Are you ok?" He asked

"Yes, father, I am ok," I responded in a hazy voice.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked me.

I squinted my eyes looked back at him again, trying to focus my vision. "No, aside from the blinding light, I don't remember anything else," I said while rubbing my left eye.

"Are you sure you are ok?" He asked again

I gave father a questioning look. I don't understand what he meant by that.

"Aerglo... what do you mean by blinding light?"

Still confused, I looked at him again and don't know what to say. "I am pretty sure about what I saw. Light like blinding light," I told him again.

"Son... there was no light. You collapsed the moment you touched Aibek."

"So how did she bond with me?"

"The moment you touched her sealed the bond since she already posses a name," Father told me.

"What about Phobos?" I asked

"Phobos, bonded with you but will still test your skill. I suggest you don't summon him unless it's actually needed." He placed his hands on my shoulder, and he continued to talk. "I have to go. The elders need to know what happened. Also, I need to tell them about the light." He patted me on my legs, just like the old times. He then stood up and left.

I am still confused, but I grabbed my chest and began to concentrate, communicating with Phobos.

"Thank you..." I said, "I will do my best to earn you respect, mighty Phobos."

"Tsss... Don't spout such nonsense! Don't just tell me, SHOW ME!" He said, "I will wait here until the day you want to die or until the day of your death."

I need to train harder now. I need to earn his respect.