“ Having To Choose Between Living or Dying. ”

The moon led their way, and each Carnelian who got in their way died in silence.

But it wasn't until someone sounded the horn, signifying an incursion. To think that they were the reason why it was ringing was surreal. The knights and soldiers marched from different directions. Malue enclosed the entirety of the castle inside a range of mountains. No one will enter or escape, this was their Prison Ring and they weren't going to leave until it was over.

They ran up the hill, and soon, the men were surrounded by the Carnelians soldiers. Jodeus raised his dagger and ordered an attack.

-

Jodeus was exhausted. The fights had been going on for hours and there seemed to be no end in sight. Whenever he took down one soldier, another attacked him. It was endless. His skin was covered in cuts and bruises, his chest piece scarred and dirtied by both his and the blood of his enemies.

He blocked a Carnelian's sword, hitting his hand and flinging the sword away from him. With an enchantment, he threw the soldier to the ground and plunged his dagger into his stomach. He glanced around. Blood coated the castle's marbled floors, the scent thick in the atmosphere. Sounds of metal clanging, fire crackling, and the ground rumbling filled his ears.

A sight of crimson hair briskly caught his attention in the sea of soldiers and knights, writing it off as a mirage when he blinked and it disappeared.

He only had one goal, figure out the way to the dungeon and free his father.

His eyes snap back when he heard another soldier barreling toward him, he immediately blocked the sword's overhead swing. The blades hit with a clang. Jodeus inhaled sharply, the soldier in front of him was stronger. Using the whistling stone would be an optimal strategy but unfortunately, the life of the stone was felt too drained to even consider it using it again.

It was fine, he had faced stronger people.

Jodeus kicked the soldier back, unable to hold off the sword's unbearable weight any longer. The soldier was quick to lunge at him again, not giving him enough time to regain his composure. Blocking another blow, Jodeus switched his dagger to his other hand and sliced off the soldier's arm.

The soldier screamed in pain, clutching his bleeding arm.

"Where are they keeping the Tanzanite King?" he asked the bleeding man but received no coherent response. "I can save your life, just so long as you tell me where."

"I don't know!"

Jodeus frowned and tore a piece of cloth from a dead body, wrapping it around the man's shoulder before knocking him out. That was the fifth soldier he had asked. No one seemed to know where it was.

There wasn't a dungeon back then so he wasn't sure where he was heading but one thing he knew was that he didn't recognize this part of the castle. He turned the wrong way or walked down a different corridor. Walking away, he heard a loud crash from behind the wall and a muffled scream.

He stopped in the middle of a corridor where an unfamiliar painting hung on the corridor. He put his ear against the wall and heard a scream from beyond, so he removed the large frame before feeling for a door or a lever but after a few minutes of searching for it, there was nothing.

Walking to a painting of what seemed to be a Carnelian scenery, he sighed and with his dagger, slashed it open. He blinked and to his disappointment, there was nothing but a golden engraving of the Tanzanite Emblem behind. There was nothing until he traced the emblem.

That was when he remembered the hidden rooms.

"Of course," he muttered to himself. "I was never allowed to explore any of these,"

Suddenly, he was on a dark staircase.

'Where am I?' He stood up and dusted himself, trying to see anything in the pitch-black staircase.

He walked back through the wall again, feeling a bit nauseous as he stepped through. When he recovered from quick nausea, he found himself back in the same corridor where he was. Amazed, he wondered how the entrance was made before he heard another thump in the walls. Again, he palmed the Tanzanite emblem, pushing down nausea before running down the stairs, tripping and almost falling because of the lack of light.

When he reached the end of the stairway, he saw a warm, dim light emanating. Another thud echoed and after a few moments, he heard screams and voices.

Step by step, he slowly walked toward where the voices were coming from, quietly advancing so as not to alert anyone who was with him. He held his dagger tightly, readying himself and his whistling in case a guard was to ambush him.

"Stop!" he heard someone scream. His breath caught in his throat, eyes widening as he the people chained to the wall.

He ran to one of the unconscious bodies and pulled away when a horrible stench clogged his nose. This man had been dead for a while. He checked all the others beside him, all of them were corpses. He swallowed his vomit down, covering his mouth and nose.

"Someone help me!" screamed a woman.

Jodeus immediately went to find her, she was locked inside one of the cells. He burst it open and helped her up. She screamed, unable to recognize him.

"It's okay. It's me…" he trailed. "We need to get you out of here,"

The woman looked up and looked as though she saw a ghost. "Young King!" she cried, her knees weakening in disbelief, and as soon as she said that, there were murmurs within the other cells. Jodeus whistled and let his stone light the place.

There were many of them, some of the staff he recognized. He felt his blood boil. He opened every cell and carried those who were too weak to walk. They went up the stairs and through the wall. Every single one of them looked horrible in the light.

He grabbed his water container. "Pass this along please,"

"Which tower have they locked my father in?" he asked the poor crying woman, who hesitated. "Please,"

"It is dangerous. Ki Avi—" she swallowed her throat in fear, before shaking her head. "He had taken your King Nerune out of his cell, Please, Young King, be careful."

"Where is it?" he insisted.

The woman sobbed and shook her head. He didn't press her any longer. But then she screamed as one of the Carnelian soldiers caught sight of them. The soldier took notice of his exhaustion and decided to take him on, smirking in confidence as he threw blow after blow, albeit slower because of his heavier sword and build.

Jodeus barely blocked and dodged every blow, slowed by his tiredness and the aches in his body. Too focused on the soldier's sword, he failed to see the soldier's fist before it made contact with his face. He staggered, falling back and losing balance, moaning as he hit the red-stained marble. Feeling the ickiness of the floor sticking on him, he tried to get back up, but to no avail.

A sound of squelching flesh could be heard as a sword went through his chest. A sharp inhale, then a shaky sigh.

Jodeus looked up to the man who had helped him, seeing Malue pulling his sword out of the soldier's chest. He accepted the hand he offered before slowly getting pulled up back to his feet.

"We are in a war, son, you can't just tend the half and kill the other half, I'm convinced that something is wrong with your head," said Malue, who then turned to see freed prisoners. "What is this? Who are they?"

"They need water and food!" said Jodeus.

Malue nodded. "Of course, leave them to me, I shall have them get treated by the Azurite volunteers. I was told that your father was moved somewhere at the towers. He should be at one of them,"

Jodeus beamed and thanked him before moving on, he told the prisoners that they were safe under his care before moving on. There were only a few towers in this castle, and it shouldn't be that difficult.

He took off until the whole ruckus was out of his sight. He ran up the marbled stairs, heaving as the wings were empty. He pushed a door open and stopped. This was his parent's room, it was completely changed into a hideous velvet wall. He grimaced before shutting it close.

There was a scream as he met one of the staff who stopped in their tracks as they recognized him,

Jodeus ordered the maid to tell the other staff to provide water and food for the prisoners. She nodded in a panic, unable to believe that the Young King was alive.

Looking around as he ran, he felt an odd sensation of nostalgia and fondness pooling in his stomach despite all that had happened and all that was happening. Seeing a large, singed frame hanging on the wall, his feet involuntarily halted at the end of the corridor. His eyes were glued to the hanged painting of the royal family, the image barely visible because of the scorch marks.

King Nerune stood at his left side, a hand on Jodeus' shoulder as he proudly smiled forward. The portrait was made when Jodeus was merely eighteen years old, he stood between both his parents, a relaxed smile on his lips. And finally, standing at his right side was Queen Caera.

His mother. A wide smile was painted across her face, an arm around Jodeus as she leaned on him. She looked so happy. As he stared at the family portrait, he felt his eyes well up, hastily wiping the tears away before turning back.

He climbed the stairs and burst the familiar door open.

-

Nerune sat still on the floor, he was untied and by the looks of it, abandoned to die.

Jodeus ran and embraced him, he lifted his head and gasped in fear. Half his face was scarred that he could barely recognize him. His arm was gone. But he was alive.

"Father…" he choked and sobbed into his neck. He felt a hand on his head, it trembled badly but Jodeus knew that it was trying to pat his head. He embraced him closer, feeling the bones through his ragged clothes.

"Don't cry," muttered Nerune, his throat was dried that he could barely talk but... "Everything is going to be fine."

When Jodeus looked up, he noticed that he still had his eyes closed. His father was simply dreaming. He had no idea that he was actually there. He grabbed for his water container but grimaced. He had given it to the prisoner. He sniffed and lifted his father's arm over his shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm going to save you," he sobbed.

Just as he was about the reach the door, there was a blinding light behind him and it wasn't the morning sun. He turned his head and it was like everything came falling. For a moment he had forgotten how to breathe. Those eyes, the same eyes that remained as a flicker of a dying memory from a lifetime ago, how could he forget when he was seeing it once again?

"This is impossible," He managed to stutter out.

Jodeus looked at the man, almost nothing has changed; his crimson red hair, his confused face, nor his ruby eyes. His eyes were stuck in a trance and he could not find his voice. Brytos looked at him with his brows knitted together. He stepped off the window ledged and slowly approached him.

But Jodeus found himself backing away. His lips quivered in confusion. "You're alive?"

Brytos mouth twitched upwards. "My exact words,"

No. This couldn't have been Brytos. He watched him die that day, watched as the last piece of the gem dimmed completely.

"I'm guessing that it's your army out there?" he tipped his head out the window.

He had this calm demeanor in him that irked Jodeus. He didn't respond. Everything about this felt wrong. He gripped his father's arm as he felt him stir awake on his back.

"It's okay if you tell me," his eyes then darted toward Nerune's limp body. "Came to get your father then? I won't stop you, I have nothing against him."

"Who are you really?" asked Jodeus. There was no way this was him.

"Avis Alkyone," he said with a polite bow. "Or Brytos, for those who don't hate my guts."

Jodeus felt a tear run down his cheek, he wiped it off his face. Brytos raised a brow at this reaction, it was odd and unexpected. Before he could ask, his ears twitched, hearing someone from afar.

"I'd go now if I were you," he advised. "He's coming back and he's not too happy."

"Don't you know me?" pressed Jodeus.

"Of course I do," said Brytos, in all sincerity. A tiny flicker of hope swelled in his chest, but then that candle immediately ran out as he continued, "I've spent a lot of my time staring at your likeness around the castle. To see you alive and moving. It's a bit surreal,"

His heart panged, Brytos didn't know who he was. Jodeus knew that the man that stood in front of him had ceased to be Brytos for years. Or at least, ceased to be the Brytos he knew, who always stood by him. He felt movement on his back, Nerune stirred awake, silently groaning.

"I'm not here for you," whispered Jodeus.

Brytos raised a brow. "Okay?"

Just as he was about to leave through the door, someone else came in the window. Someone he did not recognize but it seemed that this was not the first time they had met. It was a young boy, with one eye that was in deep blood red. He came in, and walked off the ledge of the window with a bounce on his feet, as though he was excited.

"You actually came back?" said Baco, genuinely surprised. Both Brytos and Jodeus were confused by this. "A shame that none of you remember. What a tragedy,"

Jodeus grabbed the hilt of his dagger, which did not go unnoticed by Brytos, who gave him a look of warning.

"Zemus Alkyone?" he questioned, quite unsure but ready to defend himself, his measly whistling stone glowing. He had heard of the name many times, spoken in fear and hatred by those around him. "You're only a child."

Baco gave a wicked smile. "Hmm. Just like your parents. They had said that before deciding to fight me. A horrible mistake."

Jodeus froze. "It was—"

"Yes, it was me. Up to speed with everything now, aren't we?"

Jodeus felt his insides darken. This was him. The bane of his existence. The one who killed Brytos and ruined his family. Ruined thousands of families. He had never felt this much anger before. His hand quivered but it wasn't from fear, he slightly unsheathed the blade from its cover, but was stopped.

"Don't fight him," whispered Nerune from his back, his voice dried and pained. "Jodeus, if that's really you… don't fight him. I can't bear to lose you again."

That's right, he had no time to fight. He needed to help his father, he wasn't here for revenge in the first place. His grip, however, remained on the handle. But that feeling of hatred did not go away. The broken pieces in his chest pulsed without him noticing.

"Let us go," he said slowly, to which Baco snorted. Jodeus narrowed his eyes and gave him a look that dared him to laugh. "And I will spare your life,"

"Oh, do you expect to kill me with that dagger? With mommy's gift?" he taunted him.

Brytos then decided to intervene. "Take a step back. I don't want to hurt you," he told him, unsure if this was a warning or a plea.

Jodeus glared up at him. "I'm not here for you," he said as though it was a fact.

He brushed past Brytos, not wanting to fight him. But as he felt a hand on his shoulder that pulled him back, it took all of his self-restraint to not take a swing at him, he quickly recovered and looked up at Brytos who was now blocking his way.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt my brother," He held his sword in front of him, ready to fight Jodeus, who took a look at the blade.

"Since when did you use a weapon?" he asked him.

Brytos was taken aback by this, his eyes darting to Nerune's body before shaking his head. Not responding. He pointed the tip of his blade at his neck as a warning, blood dribbled off down to his neck. But Jodeus did not move aside.

Jodeus knew he should be angry, and he was. Anger boiled up inside of him. Brytos sided with the man who killed so many people, of his people. He sided with the man who killed his mother. Although staring at the man in front of him, he knew that his anger wasn't towards him, but Baco.

"Get out of my way." "If you want to get to Baco, you'll have to go through me," A sigh escaped Jodeus as he swung his dagger at his sword, creating a spark as they collided. That single spark soon turned to a lot more as Jodeus's shorter blade clashed with Brytos's great one.

Even when they could feel each other breaths, Jodeus was relentlessly pouncing and deflecting his blade. There was no hesitation in every single one of Brytos's strikes and even he could not understand why. Brytos's blow was heavy against his own that he could feel the tremble of his hand from every hit.

Baco sat on the window's ledge, amused at this ordeal. "You were a lot better than you were, I'll give you that."

Jodeus dodged his left, the slice aimed at his side, and took this chance to aim at his stomach. He felt the blade in contact with the flesh. Brytos flew back to take a look at the large cut.

"An enchanted dagger," he simply stated.

Jodeus rid the blood off his blade to the ground with one fast swift. His breath heaved as he finally got a chance to breathe properly. The broken pieces in his chest pulsed once more but he paid it no mind, nor did he notice his father standing up, leaning against the wall.

"This is getting boring. I'm going down there. Looks like we're about to lose," said Baco before jumping off.

…

Every attack was simply a defense, Brytos could easily get this over with but did not, and he wasn't even thinking properly about how to defeat this 'Young King', who seemed so desperate to kill his brother, just like everyone else, not that anyone could.

Brytos could see the pain in his azure eyes and it wasn't from their fight. He knew him. Well, he didn't remember a thing but they seem to know each other. And it seemed like they knew each other enough that it greatly pained him.

But. neither of them hesitated. He never did. But this felt different. The twinge of pain that pinched his heart was different from the guilt he felt whenever he had to hurt someone to protect his brother, which went on for two years. He stopped the bleeding by burning his skin closed and faced his once more.

'Since when did I use a weapon?' he thought back at the question.

As he stared at the man's aquamarine eyes, it felt like his lungs had stopped working. It felt like something was stuck in his throat. He wanted it to end, he doesn't want to fight. He just wanted this to stop, but he had to protect his brother at all costs.

Baco was just a child, and if he were to let this man get through to him, then he would have failed as his brother who swore that he will sacrifice everything if it meant keeping him safe, even if it meant giving his own life. That was the choice he made a long time ago.

But he stood his ground, refusing to use his fire.

He pointed the tip of his blade directly at him, silently challenging him to come forward, and like a wild uncontrolled current flow, Jodeus charged his dagger with a speed that he did not expect. While each of his blows was light, they were quick to change direction and aim. This man was fast and fluid in his movement, every move was mostly unpredictable.

However, this does not mean that Brytos was lacking in his own skill. He took a deep breath and decided that he was going to put an end to this once and for all. He cursed his blade and its silver form glowed into blistering hot crimson.

…

Nerune peered through his pained vision, watching his son, the real one, who wasn't just a figment of his imagination, fighting against a person he used to care about. It burdened him to see his son like this, maybe if he hadn't been so stubborn in letting him go, there wouldn't have been a strain between them.

Truly, his only regret in life.

The Stone had once again called out to him, offering him to be his vessel, but for the hundredth time, he refused. As each second passed, he felt himself weakening. But he fought to stay awake, he leaned against the wall. Every breath was sharp against his lungs.

He reached out his remaining hand for Jodeus and as the last of his will left the tip of his fingers. He sat back down, the light from the window shining so bright that he closed his eyes.

"Use it well," whispered Nerune.

A loud deep rumble could be heard outside. The entire castle was shaken, forcing them to almost roll to the side just as their blades were about to cross. They both backed away, avoiding a part of the ceiling that gave out. Jodeus ran over to his father's hunched body on the floor, covering his head but then the shaking had almost weakened and they were safe once more.

The window had collapsed into a large opening and light shone through the whole chamber, Jodeus could see the dangerously sharp mountains out the window. The plan that they had made completely crossed his mind, it was Plan Z, in case Zemus would come back.

…

The sun had finally replaced the moon in the sky, however, the outside commotion did not stop. There was no doubt that the Tanzanites and Uvitians would rise victorious from this battle. The ground was piled with reds more than greens and blues but it did not mean it was over.

Beer, Bard, and a few others helped pull the corpses out of the ring of mountains through a small opening. For every corpse they find, they'd pile them up and throw them out.

Malue had left the indoors of the castle, protecting the freed prisoners from the onslaught, placing them under the care of the Azurites, who had guided them to safety outside.

He bashed someone's head with a rock, instantly killing them off. There were more Carnelian than he could count, but he wasn't as exhausted as he thought he'd be. He looked around but neither Jodeus nor his father was yet to be seen.

Then high up above, someone flew over them all, casting a small shadow.

"And here I thought you weren't going to miss your birthday party," said Malue.

"Sadly, it was canceled. So, I've decided that I will be having it here," exclaimed Baco. "And all of you are invited."

The knights and soldiers looked up before dispersing in every direction, but with the commotion, this went unnoticed unless you look very closely. Malue stepped off the ground, shaking it to its core, and from the ground protruded a large spike, which he rode until he was high up in the sky, meeting Baco eye to eye.

"Every King in one place but only one vessel of the Stone. But I would like to know why didn't you accept the Uvite's offer?" asked Baco, his arms crossed.

"Because I'm not a moron. You are much too young to have understood why you should've refused, much too naive, just like your father. I believe he accepted the offer to be a vessel at your age, thinking it would make him stronger, and it did. But you need to know that you'll die soon, while you're not fully a vessel, once the desire of the Stone completely overtakes your mind, there won't be any of you left, only your skin, meat, and bones."

After that long monologue, he wasted no time to try and crush him between two boulders, and when that did not work, he pulled everything out of the ground, pointed and sharp, all aimed at Baco, who struggled to dodge every gigantic spear that was sharp as a blade.

"Making your men leave so you'd have the playground all by yourself," observed Baco, who tried to remain composed, "Hard to find corpses in this landscape too. But is this okay? Fighting me all by yourself—"

"Don't be too full of yourself. All I need is me," grinned Malue.

He rode his mountain higher as he chased Baco around, not giving him single chance to use his magma. Every turn and direction he made was barred with spikes until finally there was almost no open space left to escape within the enclosed ring of mountains.

Baco got caught a few times. He was now bleeding everywhere. His head fumed with anger.

Malue had destroyed the terrain, keeping an eye out for Tanzanites and his men, simultaneously throwing them out of the enclosed ring for safety. He sent another spike that pierced through one of the castle's towers. Oops. Baco was dodging everything like a mosquito, barely.

Baco exploded with magma, each drip directed towards Malue, who simply blocked it. He tried again, making hundreds of rounded magma. Malue stomped his feet, creating a wall of spikes that blocked every single one.

He wasn't giving him a chance to breathe but this meant he wasn't giving himself a chance to breathe either. Relentless and ruthless, with barely any outcome. Too much of his blessing was starting to drain and he was starting to notice that ache in his hips, reminding him of his aging self.

But it was fine.

If he couldn't manage to kill Zemus, it was fine. Their alliance will still stand.

…

"Surrender," said Brytos. His voice was low and hoarse as he spoke, his sword drawn and prepared to fight him

Jodeus only frowned and stood. "Tell me, what happened that you couldn't remember a thing?"

"Is that smart?" Brytos questioned, remaining placid. Putting your only weapon away? "

"I did. Better than anyone else," Jodeus stepped forward and lowered his dagger to his side, sheathing it back into his belt. "Do you even want to remember?"

Brytos remained calm and asked, "Is that smart? Putting away your only weapon?"

"No," Jodeus responded. And then there was another tremor from underneath them, to which he remained unfazed, and Brytos prepared himself for another earthquake, but... "It's not my only weapon."

Waves crashed from behind Brytos, engulfing him whole. Jodeus grabbed his father and jumped off the window and onto the waves, he planned to bring him down but the whole terrain was sharp and jagged. And he wasn't strong enough to bring his wave higher than the mountains.

"MALUE!" he called out, "I have him!"

Malue looked over with an annoyed grunt, and soon every mountain spike went back down, flattened. Baco noticed them but couldn't divert his attention from the oncoming spikes. Jodeus gently descend them to the ground, looking for an escape route.

Fortunately, there was Natiya, emerging from the distance, they immediately gasped as they saw the state of King Nerune. "What have they done to him?"

Jodeus heaved as assisted his father to Natiya's arms. "You got to get him to safety. I'll go and help Malue,"

"You will?" Natiya asked, concerned. " I thought you had only wanted to save your father?"

"I did, but something changed. Now GO!"

Jodeus noticed them fleeing within the mountain walls, back to the knights and soldiers, he assumed. When he looked up, he noticed Malue panting almost breathlessly. He watched his mountain uprisings and noted that they were slowing down. He soared towards them with an enchantment, unafraid of exhausting his whistling stone, seeing as the gem's fragments reassembled within him.

Before flying over to Malue, he mentally thanked his father and then immediately summoned out a wave blast to strike Baco from behind. But he was quick and turned his water into steam. He created another that resembled an arrow, aimed directly at Baco which successfully stabbed him through the shoulder.

"This is annoying!" Baco shouted, his eye glowing into a scorching burgundy that seemed unsteady inside his sockets. In the air, a chain of curses emerged. Engraving themselves everywhere around him. "You'll all be sorry you came here,"

Curses surged their way to Jodeus, who immediately flew away, struggling to outpace it. But it chased him relentlessly in the air until, it had split into two, chasing him in every direction. He conjured up a wall of water but it had simply pierced through.

"You'll need a lot more than water balloons," laughed Baco.

Malue sent a golden string of enchantments that destroyed a part of the chain. "Don't let it touch you!" he shouted,

Jodeus swiftly turned and burst inside the castle's balcony. He maneuvered himself between the corners and wreckage to avoid getting caught. He could hear the chains rattling from behind him, slamming and destroying everything in their path. He flooded the hallway with water, enchanting it but it was ineffective.

He descended the stairs going back and forth to avoid it, he was flying all over so aimlessly that he didn't realize where he was going. He flung his body through a huge open doorway and lost his control and sprawled on the carpet.

He looked up and closed his eyes as the flaming chains went for his face.

However, nothing happened to him. When he opened his eyes, the shackles disintegrated into sparks that vanished into thin air. Then the room rumbled.

You cannot defeat the Carnelian vessel

Even with your father's syneisfora

Jodeus looked up and noticed where he was. He stood on his feet.

You have saved your father,

But now you want to save another, don't you?

Answer my call and you will get that power

He shook his head, pretending not to hear the Tanzanite's voice.

I'll be waiting

The fight between Baco and Malue was ruthless, he could feel the tension from below them. Every impact and aftershock of their blessings affected the whole terrain, either to transform or destroy. There was no difference in their power; he'd even go so far as to claim they were on equal footing.

He screamed when Malue was finally struck by a spear of melted earth. Jodeus ran and flew to save him from falling with his head. He used the water to catch him and time, softly bringing him down on a flat open space.

"That stings," said Malue, Jodeus draped the melted area of his skin with cool water, and he started to heal it to ease the pain. He felt dreadful as he could see the bone poking through. "That kid is a monster, I think you have a better chance of surviving if you run now."

But Jodeus smiled and gently laid his head on the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere."

He flew up in the sky and unsheathed his dagger, pointing at Baco, who only scoffed but was intrigued so he didn't attack him yet.

"Most of you never learn your lesson," he said.

Jodeus fixed his gaze on him. "Yes, I suppose so," he said. He understood he couldn't win. He did know, however, that he had a choice. Either give up or keep going. And, to be honest, he was weary of continually having to decide when, at the end of the day, every decision was the same one forcing him to make another.

The first was when he chose to keep Brytos a secret even when the border had welcomed him. The second was having to choose between leaving home to save his lover. The third was willfully forsaking his blessings in an attempt to save a life he knew he couldn't save. The fourth was his leaving his comforts behind to mend what he had left with his family,

All of which were failures of a decision.

Which would lead to the fifth— having to choose between living or dying. He thought about all the people he admired. All of them wore a burden on their shoulders that he was not willing to take. But now,

"Zemus. I think I understand your brother now, and why he's taking your side," said Jodeus.

Baco narrowed his eyes. "Mad that he chose me instead of you?"

"A bit. But then again, I am not here for him," he stated. With a whisper that he could barely hear himself, he said. "As Prince of Tanzanite, it is my responsibility,"

"Responsibility? You fought your father and refused to come back when you had failed to save Brytos. You ran away and abandoned those who needed you," Baco said, as a matter of fact.

Jodeus hummed, feeling his mother's syneisfora tattooed on his chest before sighing. "I am making an offer," he whispered, his breath turned into vapor. His dagger no longer felt cold in his touch, then with a calm peace of mind, he restored it to its magnificent crystalline saber.

…

The color of his eyes changed, from azure blue to a light crystal gem. The effect was instantaneous, he swung his sword and sliced the mountain in half.

"You?" asked Baco, incredulously. "There's no way you're able to handle it,"

Jodeus felt almighty and that everything was under his control.

'Is this what he was feeling right now?'

The power he felt was terrifying and how could anyone desire such a thing? But he knew what he wanted, and that was to kill the boy in front of him.

Their blessings clashed with each other, hurling Baco from afar, sending him to crash into the castle. Baco gritted his teeth as he stood up, summoning everything in his blessing, coughing up blood in the process. That made Jodeus hesitate. This was insane.

Baco released the cursed chains, stronger and more destructive than the previous one but this time he was able to counter it. It was difficult. His saber collided with the chains, severing them but not before they scorched his hand, he was unable to heal it.

Zemus Alkyone was truly a talented enchanter. But vomited blood as he pushed himself farther.

A hail of searing chains was hurled at him, and he severed each one thoroughly. Being a vessel was not something you can master overnight, and neither was control over it in a hundred lifetimes. He was fighting to keep it in, to keep it from exploding out of him.

It was a terrible feeling. For a second he stood there, pitying the boy in front of him, who was merely sixteen. He understood now. But he froze him in place on the mountain, Zemus struggled and his only eye cried in red.

Jodeus plunged his saber into his stomach, it was merely flesh and blood that felt easy to tear.

As he braced himself to end Baco's life, he heard something behind him, followed by his father's voice screaming in the distance.

"JODEUS NO!"

He felt a sharp, hot pain in his chest.

"I'm… sorry," Brytos whispered to his neck from behind him, his familiar warmth almost embracing Jodeus.

He sees Brytos's solemn face as blood pooled in his mouth, the metallic taste filling his dimming senses.

"I'm very sorry, Jodeus," he said, which sounded so far away. He felt tears drop down his neck.

As he lay limp in Brytos' arms, Jodeus' life drained.

Brytos painstakingly drew his blade from his body as it rested lifelessly on him. He then guided him to the edge and let his body fall motionlessly from the high ground. The first snowflake fell out of the sky, followed by the second.

The gemstone in Jodeus' chest pulsed and frost crept from Jodeus' chest and covered his entire body. Suddenly, a white flash of light ignited from his chest, forcing everyone who had been watching to close their eyes.

Not even a second after, cold engulfed the entirety of the world, the waters froze as snow began to fall.