Scene 5 - Divine duty (2)

Edano, troubled by the presence of this young boy, asked him in an almost incredulous voice. "What... What are you doing here, at the top of this virtual war tower?"

The young boy, a mischievous smile on his lips, replied with a hint of amusement: "Aren't you glad to see me back, big brother?"

This answer only increased Edano's confusion. "Why... Why are you the one here?" he stammered, searching for answers in the familiar features of his brother's face.

"You have to carry out the mission you've been given, don't you?" the young boy replied enigmatically.

Edano, unable to contain his frustration, turned to the virtual sky and began to complain to Athena. "You knew very well what was going to happen, didn't you? You orchestrated all this!"

But the goddess remained silent, leaving Edano with only his own thoughts swirling in this unexpected virtual reality.

"Damn it! I know it's a virtual simulation, but he could have chosen someone else."

Edano, confronted with his brother's presence, felt an avalanche of emotions wash over him. The weight of their tumultuous past weighed heavily on his shoulders. Memories of a childhood marked by sibling rivalry and the insatiable desire for parental approval resurfaced with force.

"I didn't come here to fight you," Edano replied in a voice calm but laden with tension. "I simply want to put an end to this madness and find a way to reconcile our differences."

But his brother, blinded by anger and resentment, seemed unwilling to listen to reason. He rose from his throne with regal grace, his eyes shining with a dangerous gleam. "You're weak, brother," he spat. "Always seeking peace and compromise, even at the expense of your own honor."

With a sudden movement, he drew his sword, the point glinting in the subdued glow of the throne room. "If you refuse to fight, then I'll force you to face the truth of your impotence."

Edano instinctively stepped back, his mind reeling as he desperately sought a solution to this impasse. He knew he couldn't fight his own brother, no matter how hard he was pushed.

His brother, however, gave him no respite. He lunged forward, his sword gleaming in the air as he attacked with uncontrollable fury. Edano deftly dodged each blow, his movements fluid and graceful as he desperately tried to find a way to calm his brother's ardor.

"Stop it!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the throne room. "We mustn't fight like this. There's another way."

But his brother was deaf to his words, blinded by corruption. Battle seemed inevitable, and Edano knew he'd have to find a way to resolve this conflict before it was too late.

As the fight raged between them, Edano continued to deftly dodge his little brother's attacks, desperately seeking a way to end this fratricidal violence. Every movement was imbued with pain and sadness as memories of their tumultuous past flooded into his mind.

"Stop it!" he cried again, his voice laced with palpable emotion. "You don't have to do this, brother. We can find a way to solve this problem another way."

But his little brother didn't seem inclined to listen to reason. He continued to attack with disconcerting ferocity, his movements imbued with fierce determination.

"You don't have to complete this mission," Edano insisted, his voice trembling with grief. "You can choose another path, one not marked by blood and destruction."

Edano's words, however, fell on deaf ears. His little brother, who looked totally altered, didn't seem willing to give up his quest.

"You have no right to tell me what to do!" he roared, his eyes shining with a cold gleam. "You abandoned me, big brother. You chose to withdraw and leave me alone in this unforgiving world. On top of that you've found new friends now. You're nothing to me anymore."

His little brother's words echoed in Edano's mind, inflicting a throbbing pain. He knew he'd made mistakes in the past, that he'd been selfish and impulsive. But he never thought it would have led to such a rift between them.

As the battle continued, Edano found himself torn between loyalty to his brother and duty to his people. He knew he had to find a way to resolve this conflict before it was too late, before the ties that bound them together were broken for good.

The confrontation between Edano and his brother was reaching its climax.

There was no turning back. Edano had to face up to the past he had built himself, with its mistakes and consequences.

Edano, in a moment of fury mixed with confusion, reacted violently to this intrusion into his thoughts. His eyes glared into the void, as if trying to identify the origin of this unwelcome voice.

"Shut up voice, this isn't the time! Who are you to tell me what to do? I don't need your sanctimonious lessons. Get out of my head!"

Edano's expression was one of fierce determination mixed with obvious vulnerability. He was battling his own inner demons, the painful memories and regrets that had haunted him for too long. He knew the voice had struck a chord. He had to face the truth of his past, his mistakes, if he was ever to find redemption and peace.

"A chord of what? I'm not the character in your story!"

The battle continued around him, but in Edano's tormented mind, an inner battle was also taking place. Ghosts from the past haunted him, but he was determined not to be overwhelmed by them. He had to find the strength to face them, to overcome them, if he was to have any chance of forging a better future for himself.

As the fight between the two brothers reached a crescendo of intensity, Edano's little brother, in a moment of relative calm, chose to break the silence with words laden with bitter emotion and deep resentment.

"Do you remember, Edano?" he began in a voice imbued with palpable melancholy. "Do you remember those nights when I lay awake, immersed in my studies, while you escaped with your friends? Remember all those hours spent working tirelessly, sacrificing sleep to chase my dreams?"

Edano, confronted with the brutal truth of his own past actions, felt an overwhelming weight weigh on his shoulders. Memories of his own privileges, of his privileged position within the family, came to burn at his heart with painful clarity.

Her little brother continued, his voice tinged with a hint of bitterness. "You got everything you wanted, Edano. Because you were better than me to begin with. I had to fight every day to earn our parents' respect, to prove my worth in a world that seemed to reject me at every turn."

His little brother's words echoed in the air, filled with heartbreaking truth. Edano was overwhelmed by an avalanche of conflicting emotions, guilt for his own past actions, sorrow for the pain he had inflicted on his brother, and sadness for the years lost to their sibling rivalry.

In that instant, Edano understood that the real battle at hand was not only between the two of them on that battlefield, but also within himself, in the labyrinth of his own regrets and remorse. And he knew he had to find a way through this field of emotional ruin if he ever hoped to find peace and redemption.

His little brother's sharp words, laden with resentment and blame, continued to strike Edano like dagger blades through the heart. The pain of his words pierced the armor of his being, leaving invisible but deep scars.

"Look at yourself, Edano," his little brother continued in a voice heavy with contempt. "You've fallen so low you can't even stand up in front of me. You're nothing, just a shadow of what you could have been. And I've become better than you, despite everything you've taken from me."

The words echoed through the air like a thunderclap, and Edano felt the ground give way beneath his feet. His whole being trembled with pain and emotion, unable to bear the crushing weight of the revealed truth.

In a desperate gesture, Edano collapsed to his knees, his face twisted by pain and desolation. He held his head in his hands, feeling a wave of despair wash over him as he cried out in the agony of his tormented soul.

All around him, the world seemed to be spinning in slow motion, as if caught in a vortex of darkness and grief. The voices of his past echoed in his ears, recalling the mistakes he had made, the wounds he had inflicted.

In that moment of total vulnerability, Edano realized that his greatest battle was not against his brother, but against himself - against the inner demons that had tormented him for too long. And he knew that if he ever hoped to find peace and redemption, he would first have to find a way to heal the wounds of his broken soul.

You've fallen so low Edano, you're pitiful to see...

As darkness seemed to engulf Edano and the echo of his little brother's words continued to reverberate in his tormented mind, a glimmer of hope emerged in the chaos of his consciousness.

The insistent voice he heard seemed this time to be addressing him directly.

Edano felt a chill run down his spine as the words penetrated his being with comforting clarity. He realized that he was not alone, that even in the darkest moments of his life, there was always a light to guide him.

Gathering his last reserves of willpower, Edano rose slowly to his feet, his legs trembling under the weight of his emotional burden. He wiped the tears of pain and despair from his face, standing up with renewed determination.

[Continuation of the Secondary Puzzle: -The Heavenly Feast-

~Mission~

Explanation: Defeat the King of the Tower!

Time: None

Rule: If one of the soldiers dies, your mission will be considered a failure.

Failure: Refusal to participate in the celestial feast].

Glancing back at his mission, Edano felt a wave of determination sweep over him. Despite the pain, despite the regrets that gnawed at him, he knew he had to go on, that he had to fight to the end to find redemption.

Closing his hand around the hilt of his sword, he held it firmly, feeling the reassuring weight of steel in his hand. He met his little brother's gaze, his eyes shining with fierce determination.

In that moment of clarity and resolution, Edano knew he was ready to face destiny with all the strength and bravery he was capable of. Whatever happened, he was ready to fight for what he believed in, to find redemption and peace.

"Well, are you finally ready to fight?"

Edano's determined gaze met his brother's as he replied in a voice serene but tinged with infinite sadness, "Yes, I am."

A flicker of incomprehension crossed his brother's gaze, but before he had time to react, Edano charged towards him, sword brandished. The seconds seemed to stretch on forever, the electric air of tension and destiny filling the room.

As his brother prepared for the confrontation, convinced that Edano would kill him, Edano suddenly dropped his sword, startling his opponent. A look of shock came over his brother's face, but before he could utter a word, Edano collapsed to the floor, clutching his chest from which blood was pouring.

His brother froze in place, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Edano lay there, his breath wheezing in his punctured lungs, his face pale and serene despite the obvious pain. With a last breath, he murmured: "I'm sorry..."

As the oppressive silence enveloped the throne room, Edano's brother knelt beside him, his face marked by confusion and disbelief. "Why?" he whispered, his voice broken with emotion. "Why did you do it, big brother?"

Edano weakly turned his head toward him, his eyes filled with a deep but resigned sadness. "The mission... The mission didn't say it was the King of the opposing Tower who had to die," he replied in a barely audible voice. "I myself was the King of my own Tower, therefore killing myself works too. As long as I didn't get killed by a soldier, the mission could be accomplished."

His brother shook his head, unable to understand the motivations behind this desperate act. "But why not kill me? Why choose such a tragic end?" he asked, his words tinged with palpable distress.

Edano sighed weakly, his chest heaving with difficulty under the weight of his wounds. "Because... Because I can't kill you, little brother," he murmured, his voice faltering. "I... I've already killed you once before. I can't... I can't do it again."

Edano's words echoed in the air, filled with brutal truth. His brother looked at him, his eyes wide with incomprehension, unable to grasp the depth of his words.

In the last moments of his life, Edano gazed at his younger brother, Yajima, with eyes filled with sorrow and regret. It was the first time he'd spoken his first name, a gesture laden with meaning and emotion that crossed the space between them.

"Yajima..." he murmured weakly, his voice tinged with sadness. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for acting the way I did... for letting our past dictate our choices."

Yajima knelt beside him, her trembling hand resting gently on Edano's. His gaze was one of compassion and understanding as he listened to his dying brother's words.

"It wasn't your fault, Edano," he replied softly, his voice filled with unexpected tenderness. "It was our parents, they always fostered this competition between us."

Yajima's words struck Edano right in the heart, wringing from him a sad, grateful smile. "I... I'm glad to hear you say that, Yajima," he breathed, his strength waning. "Today... I didn't want to make the same mistake I did yesterday."

As the life slowly drained out of him, Edano felt an indescribable emotion wash over him. In a last act of courage, he gathered his last strength to take Yajima's hand, the expression of gratitude shining in his tired eyes.

"I love you, big brother!" declared Yajima suddenly, his voice booming through the emotionally charged room. "I apologize for never saying this to you before, but please know that despite everything that may have happened to us, I mean it sincerely."

These simple words, spoken with heartbreaking sincerity, pierced Edano's heart. A solitary tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled weakly at his beloved brother.

With a final sigh, Edano gently closed his eyes, leaving behind a world of regrets and painful memories. His life faded into obscurity, but his sacrifice would leave an indelible mark on those who remained to bear witness to his bravery and unshakeable determination.

[Continuation of the Secondary Puzzle: -The Heavenly Feast-

~Mission~

Congratulations, your mission conditions have been met].