Age of Ancients (Shattered Kingdoms Book 1), page 33
“That is odd,” she replied. “Though if what that god you met said was true, then you will only have the two abilities become one upon exiting.”
“How is it that you can believe in our gods, when you say there is only one?” Dabu asked as he helped her to her feet.
“My God is a true deity,” Uhane said with a shrug. “We believe that the gods of the mainlanders, while having the ability to influence the world on a certain level, are only a pale imitation.”
“There are those who would call that blasphemy,” Dabu said as the two of them headed toward the gate.
“Do you?” Uhane asked.
It was an uncomfortable question, one that Dabu didn’t think he could answer. She smiled at him, nudging him lightly with her elbow.
“It’s not important that you give me your answer now,” she said. “There are ties that bind us all, regardless of our beliefs.”
“And what makes you say that?” Dabu asked.
“We found each other, didn’t we?” she replied, her smile growing warmer.
Dabu felt a fluttering in his chest at that and had to fight down the urge to do or say something stupid.
“I suppose we did,” he said, stopping before the portal. “Will we be separated when we go through?” he asked.
“Not if you state which portal you wish to exit before you go through,” she said with a smile. “And don’t worry, I’ll gladly come with you and help drive those Purus from your village.”
Dabu returned the smile, then, feeling it appropriate, held out his hand to her.
“Shall we?”
Uhane looked down at the proffered hand for a moment, then hesitantly reached out and took it. She looked up to meet his eyes, then quickly looked away, seeming embarrassed.
Dabu wasn’t too sure what to make of that but quickly turned to face the portal himself, feeling Uhane’s hand, softer than he might have guessed, squeeze his own. He was about to take a step forward, the one that would see him out of these Trials for good, when a shout from behind made him stop.
“Where do you think you’re going, boy? We have unfinished business, you and I!”
Dabu turned, his heart skipping a beat as Kau, bloodied and practically frothing at the mouth, pulled himself through the opening in the crystal pillar.
It seemed that the Trials weren’t finished with him quite yet.
Dabu knew he had a choice. He could simply ignore the man and walk through the portal right now. There was no way Kau would be able to stop them in time. But he also knew that so long as this man remained among the living, Toka’s soul would never rest in peace. He released Uhane’s hand and stepped forward, his hands balling into fists and preparing to take this man on again.
Hopefully, this would truly be the last time he ever saw his father.
52: For Those Who Have Gone
“Dabu, your skills…” Uhane began, reaching out to stop him.
“I know,” Dabu replied. “But it doesn’t matter. Look at him. He’s half-dead already. If I had my skills, it would hardly be a satisfying fight.”
Uhane hesitated for a moment more, then retracted her hand. Though she still looked worried, she gave him an understanding nod.
“I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Dabu nodded, though he didn’t turn back to look again, striding forward to meet the man who’d killed his brother.
“Finally decided to stop running, I see!” Kau yelled.
His eyes were alight with madness. They were red, bloodshot, and crusted with blood around the lids. His dark skin was far too pale, and Dabu could see that his right arm, the one he and Uhane had so badly damaged, hung uselessly at his side. The wound had festered, and infection was rampant.
The man would have been wise to amputate it, but Dabu could already see it was too late for him. Kau would die no matter what happened here today, but for the sake of all those he’d hurt, the ones who were gone, he would make sure the deed was done. No matter his aversion to killing and death, Dabu would end this man before he stepped through that portal.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere,” Dabu said coldly, stopping just a few feet from the insane man and raising his hands defensively as Uhane had shown him.
“You are planning on fighting like a man,” Kau roared. “Not like a coward who strikes from a distance!”
Dabu felt a small twinge of anger at that but shoved it down. The man was only trying to goad him into a reckless charge, but Dabu was smarter than that.
This man had full use of his ability, had a good eighty pounds on him, and a good deal more height and reach, but he was tired, injured, and on the verge of death. Plus, Dabu was no longer the weaker of the two. He was at rank 9, while Kau was only at 8.
Let’s see what I can really do, Dabu thought, then took a quick step forward and drove a punch directly at the man’s weakened left shoulder.
The blow struck solidly, and Kau screamed as he staggered back, his left arm dropping momentarily due to the pain inflicted. Dabu stared for a moment, shocked that he’d managed to hit the man so easily. He’d been expecting Kau to dodge or use his stone armor to block, but instead, he’d just taken it.
Kau snarled, his teeth bared and eyes wide.
He howled, raising his left arm and charging in to strike, leaving Dabu baffled.
Why was he moving so slowly? Was it the injuries?
Dabu stepped to the side, easily avoiding the attack and sending Kau stumbling past. The man whirled, clearly surprised that Dabu had managed to dodge but assuming it must have been some kind of fluke.
Kau howled again, stomping down as he whirled, and pulled pieces of stone up over his body. They cracked and stuck to him, the man howling in pain as the stone aggravated his injuries, but he ignored them, lumbering forward and striking again.
Dabu was easily able to avoid the clumsy attacks, but when he struck back, he found that the stone was still able to repel him. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as it should have, leaving his hand relatively unscathed.
“Fight me!” Kau howled, lunging in and swinging again.
He was doing all of this left-handed, his right dangling at his side. His swings were wide, wild, and left huge holes in his defense. Dabu didn’t take the man’s bait, dancing lightly around him and throwing punches into unarmored spots when they presented themselves. It only took a couple of minutes before Kau was breathing hard, panting and drooping in place.
He still seethed but was unable to do much more than swipe at Dabu halfheartedly as he approached.
“You’re done,” Dabu said as the stones began clattering to the ground. “Give up.”
Kau remained where he stood, breathing hard and glaring daggers at him. Blood dripped from his reopened wounds, and his shoulders were slumped.
This was a mere shadow of the man he’d once been. There was a time where he was strong, proud, and willing to do anything, even brave the Trials, so long as his family would be safe. Kau was now a broken man, and as he fell to his knees, Dabu could see that.
Kau wouldn’t live to see the sun rise, not in his condition. Now, Dabu had a choice. He could kill this man, right here and now, and put him out of his misery, or he could leave him to die a slow, agonizing death. If Dabu had wished to be merciful, he could have chosen the former.
“There was a time when I admired you,” he said, looking down at the man and feeling his disgust. “You were everything to me—someone I wanted to be like. Now look at you. You’re not even worth killing.”
Kau glared at him, but Dabu met his gaze levelly.
“This is the last time we’ll see each other. I hope your death is slow and painful.”
He turned his back on the man then and began walking away, heading back to the portal. Dabu felt something strike him hard behind the knee as he did, driving him to the ground and making him wince in pain. He spun, seeing one of the stones that had still been attached to Kau’s body retracting back into its usual shape. This was the same skill he’d used on him last time so that he could get away. But this time, Kau wasn’t running.
With a howl of glee, Kau pounced, his fingers outstretched and aiming for his son’s neck. Dabu tried to twist out of the way, but Kau had taken him off guard, and with a grunt of pain, he was driven to his back.
“Think you can beat me, boy?” Kau yelled, his fingers clamping around Dabu’s throat and slamming his head into the ground.
“I made you! You can’t defeat me! None of you can!”
Dabu gasped as Kau squeezed harder, raising his head and slamming it into the ground again. Stars burst before his eyes as Kau’s weight bore down on him, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Uhane starting to move to intervene.
“No!” Dabu yelled, his voice sounding choked. “Stay back!”
Uhane hesitated, looking like she wanted to do nothing less.
“That’s right, girl, stay out of this!” Kau snarled, bearing down on Dabu’s throat even further. “And when I’m done with him, I’ll be coming for y-aaahhh!”
Kau howled in pain as Dabu twisted, throwing a punch into his damaged shoulder. His grip broke in an instant, and Dabu bucked his hips, throwing the man forward. Unable to catch himself due to his injured arms, he fell flat on top of Dabu, who hooked his leg over the man’s back, then rolled.
Kau tried to struggle, but it was the work of just a few seconds for Dabu to get into position, straddling his chest. The man tried to buck, but Dabu just rode the violent motion, then brought his hand down on the man’s nose.
It shattered with a sickening squelch, blood spraying all over the man’s face. Kau howled, choking on his own blood as Dabu struck again, his fingers becoming coated in the man’s blood.
“You can’t—!” Kau tried to yell, only for Dabu to drive a fist into his mouth, knocking several of his teeth into the back of the man’s throat and causing him to gag.
Dabu was screaming now as well, pounding the man’s face into the ground. He could feel dull pain radiating up his arm from each heavy blow, but he ignored it, continuing to punch the man’s face until his body grew still.
Dabu’s eyes were wide as he pulled himself to his feet, breathing hard, his hands trailing blood. It covered the front of his shirt and droplets stuck to his face. Kau remained as he was, his face resembling little more than a ruined mess. And yet, he still breathed – barely. Dabu’s entire body was trembling, and he felt sick to his stomach as he turned to Uhane, expecting to see a look of disgust on her face.
Instead, all he saw was understanding. Her face was grim, but she knew how he was feeling right now. Kau had killed his brother. He’d betrayed him in the worst way possible and then had forced Dabu to beat him bloody.
He swayed on his feet for a moment, taking a step toward Uhane, only to see her eyes go wide. He cursed silently to himself as he turned, facing the man who’d once been his father as he staggered to his feet.
“You can’t kill me,” Kau said, his voice sounding ragged and nasally due to his messed up face. “I am your father!”
As he said this, he lunged, stone pulling up from the ground to stick to his body.
Dabu growled, twisting quickly out of the way and throwing out a leg, causing Kau to fall. The man scrambled back to his feet, lunging at Dabu again, and this time, when he ducked, Dabu came up inside his guard, hooking his one good arm. His other arm came up near the man’s elbow, and, with a violent twist, he snapped it at the joint.
Kau howled as Dabu released him, shoving him back. His arm was now crooked at an odd angle.
“Give up!” Dabu yelled, feeling his entire body trembling.
He felt sick to his stomach as the man continued to come after him. Dabu had wanted to leave this man here to die so that he could convince himself that he was not responsible for the death.
Despite what he’d done, this man was still his father, and he was going to force his hand.
“Never,” Kau said, his maddened gaze fixed on him. “You will die, just like your weakling brother. And then, I’ll go back to the village and kill your mother and sister as well! They don’t deserve to live. None of them d-!”
Kau cut off as the air whooshed from his lungs, Dabu’s powerful punch dropping him to his knees. Rationally, Dabu knew that this man couldn’t follow through with his threat and that he would never make it out of here alive. But after hearing him speak that way about his mother and Kahi, rational thought no longer applied.
Kau lunged, trying to bite him, and Dabu stepped neatly around his back. Kau swayed there for a moment, trying to regain his balance, but with his arms no longer working, he fell flat on his already ruined face.
Though he’d hesitated many times before, this time, Dabu did not. Just as the man had once done to a defenseless and pleading Ooma, Dabu took two steps forward, then stomped down on the back of his head.
It was a horrible way to die, and unlike Kau, Dabu could feel the collapsing skull beneath his feet.
Dabu staggered back, staring in wide-eyed horror at the flattened skull of the man he’d once called Father. Kau was dead, and he had been the one who’d delivered the final blow.
He had killed someone — a living, breathing human being. Someone with hopes, dreams, and fears. This man would never rise again.
Dabu felt sick, though there was little to throw up. He stared at the corpse, wondering what the point of all of this was. Toka had been avenged, but in the end, it didn’t matter. He was still dead. The only ones who would know would be those who still yet lived.
How would his mother and little sister react to this news? Would they hate him for what he’d done? Kau had threatened to kill them, but still…
He felt a hand on his shoulder then and turned to see Uhane. In her eyes, he could see a depth of understanding, one that until now, he had never seen before.
“Do not think about it too much,” she said, gently steering him away from the man’s corpse. “You will get over it in time. Just know that justice has been served for all those you have lost because of this man. He killed your brother, and then your father. That man does not deserve to be mourned, so don’t.”
Dabu nodded dumbly, following his friend as she pulled him along across the open platform and to the exit of the Trials.
“We’ve both worked hard to make it to this point,” Uhane continued. “And for those who have gone, we must persevere.”
Dabu wanted to dismiss all thoughts of his dead father from his mind, but unlike Uhane, he had never killed a person before. Still, there was a way to deal with this — by shoving it to the back of his mind and patching the wound as best he could. He would have to deal with the ramifications of what he’d done at a later date and Kau’s face would haunt his dreams, but for now, he didn’t have to worry.
Dabu sucked in a breath, then squared his shoulders and nodded. Kau had more than earned his fate, and he couldn’t allow his actions to affect him for the rest of his life.
“Thank you,” he said, squeezing her hand back then turning to face the swirling portal once more.
This time, when he stepped forward, no one called out to stop him. All he felt was the sensation of Uhane’s hand in his, followed by an odd rushing, as though he were traveling at a great speed. Then, he was on the other side, back in the old Sandstone Kingdom.
He had a chance to stare up at the night sky for just a second before collapsing to his knees. His chest felt like it was on fire.
Uhane cried out and dropped to the ground next to him, clutching at her chest as well. Dabu only had a moment to panic, to wonder what in the world could have happened.
Then the pain intensified, and his vision went black.
53: Supermage
The world slowly stitched itself back together, one piece at a time. Dabu’s eyes slowly flickered open and he found himself lying with his face pressed to the hard, sandy ground. He groaned and tried to move but felt something weigh him down. Craning his neck to the side, he saw Uhane, draped across his back and still unconscious.
What happened? he wondered, carefully shifting her off himself and slowly sitting up.
The sun was rising in the east, meaning that they’d been out for several hours, and when he turned, he saw the gate of the Trials behind them, now permanently dark, at least where he was concerned. He had cleared the Trials and left. There would be no going back.
He looked down at himself, still trying to figure out what had caused him to pass out, when he felt it — a light sort of thrumming coming from his chest. Concentrating inward, Dabu finally knew what was different. In his mind’s eye, he could see a glowing sphere of purple pulsing lightly inside his chest where his heart should be.
Dabu had a moment of panic when he saw this until he realized that he felt perfectly fine. Better than fine, actually. He felt great.
Was this what the Trials had meant when they said he’d be able to carry the power out with him? It certainly seemed that way.
Dabu shook Uhane by the shoulder, but the girl didn’t so much as budge. He placed a hand before her mouth and felt her breathing. It was slow and shallow, but she was alive. Perhaps her process was just taking a bit longer.
He tried to inspect her as he would have inside the Trials, but he got nothing. His brows furrowed as he tried again, but once again, nothing happened.
Sighing, he decided that Uhane would probably have the answers and that he’d need to wait until she woke up. He understood why there had been so much pain and why they’d passed out. The process of having one’s heart replaced could not be a pleasant one.
He wondered if he’d be able to see his status out here, or if there was some trick to it that he didn’t yet know. As soon as he thought the word status, he felt a tugging from the core of power in his chest, and a moment later, a box, colored a deep purple, appeared before his eyes. Dabu stared at the transformed status, and, for the first time, understood just how different he was from the other Supers and Mages that would emerge from these Trials.
