Rage… tunnelling all the rage. It's important really. In a life where you live as a man who is so calm, everyone respects him for that. But deep down there are things which fill you with rage. The past… the thought of the possible bad future… the present too, which is just as shitty. This rage ought to be controlled and tunnelled onto inanimate bodies like a punching bag.
This had been my life, for the past fourteen years. Past fourteen years… after losing two friends.
I sure might've always been the quite one. Just tagging along with the seven. But Agusth… she respected me. Maybe because of my knowledge as a Shankan. But she never looked down on me.
Or maybe she had always had seen a helpless kid in me…
She wasn't around. But I couldn't let her down. That was my motto.
For Agusth.
For Stree.
For the King.
For the Queen.
Rage.
I indeed had run from my own home… if I ever could've called it that. But surely the lives back there… were endangered, while I saved my own.
Then again… the sky hadn't turned red. The forest hadn't turned black. The eyes hadn't gone into the eternal white.
People knew the Queen Elena's absence… but I think they also knew that she was dead, and had just accepted it. Like all of us… most of us.
And as for the King… even Queen Elena could barely differentiate between the twins. The imposter… Lithin… The Empire was unaware. And we were out of sight, to inform.
But I do wonder… was Queen Elena really dead? And was Agusth… none of us were sure.
Even the great General Tyle is suspected. When even he is seen as a missing case. But the Queen and the Princes… a mere General wouldn't be given priority, or viewed as an innocent missing.
And so we had to live a secret life around this training house… built by Agusth. In the middle of a forest which the dragons wouldn't come towards. Or if they did… it'd already be chaos here.
Even with thoughts running continuously through my head, spiralling about, I change to get another packed punching bag. About two-hundred kilograms. The heaviest I have done until now. And so I start punching on it, with light taps.
Fourteen years… even light taps used to hurt me. But now, every time I punch… I grow in size, and strength. It can't hurt me anymore. Not for a certain threshold.
Rahambose was a lot more than my threshold, surely. But he was my enemy, so I had to push my limits more than I already could. Lithin, Hate… Gust, Razor, Trapzedrun, Rainbow… and Trinity.
But as I look towards the punching bag… I see Lithin's face. Filling me with rage… yet, with a kind of incertitude… was I ready? Yet, I only could easily punch the lifeless bag.
#A kid who couldn't hurt a dried leaf on the ground, without feeling sad. He was in a forest where many trees knew the dent of his punch, his rage. He could rip those trees apart, and even his enemies – whoever he deems to be. That might be a large extent for a Shankan like him to take… but deep down he knew what had to be done.#
"Sorry," I frown to the ground, "and thank you."
The ragged bag just lays still… unmoving to my apology. I see the traces of many such bags on the ground, and take a bow to all of them at once.
Clapping from a distance leaves me unfazed. Slow and improper clapping, almost predictable. Predictable to be mockery.
"You have grown," Tyle says.
Of course he was physically unable to clap. He just hits the shoulder of his faded right hand.
Mockery or compliment, whatever it was… I didn't have a use for it. I only had a use for a towel right this moment. So reaching out to it, I press it my neck and then my face.
"You are… really strong. I would say the strongest of us all," Tyle says.
"I do not know why you are showering me with compliments," I say, and stare into his… eyes. Hmm, that wasn't him. "But thank you, sir Tyle. And however strong I may be, I could never be as fast as Spythun, as skilful as Skyto, as magical as Leo, a great healer as Hailo…" I say and look at her anticipation. "Or as stealthy as Drego."
"You seem to want to add more."
Of how I wasn't even partly as brave as Agusth or Stree… but it'd be rude to simplify the two into one word. Because none of us wanted to accept the sacrifice… they didn't have to die. Bravery would just be a title to give them for our own cowardice.
"Anyways, you must really consider to stop calling me as 'Sir Tyle', now it just sounds like mockery to me. And besides, it is true that the others have their own powers."
I just silently wait.
"You know… I know of how powerful the others are. But you… you just look intimidatingly buffed and strong, but how strong you really are is the question."
"I do not know. And I do not need to know."
"All you ever do is fight off inanimate objects and break them to the ground. Oh and after that comes the puny apologies."
"Why are you trying to get on my nerve?"
"Like, how would you even defeat a moving object? You can't fly even. And all you ever use is your fists, maybe you must wear knuckles or some other fist extension."
"What are you getting at? Get at it."
"I just want know…" the cloak around Tyle's body is pushed off… and I can't seem to remain unfazed anymore. "How would you do in front of a weapon bearer? I mean… how'd you deal with a surprise?"
Sword in hand, is what was the act here. But Tyle usually had only one arm, and wore a cloak to cover the absence of the other. But here… the other one had a sword held in it.
Was that even how his now gone hand was like?
As I get jumped at, I simply back away. But the slashing doesn't rest, the sword restlessly tries to find my skin, as I carefully calculate my evasion.
"This is all you'd do? Back off from a fight? What do you see in those punching bags, which fills you with so much rage? Don't you see that in me?"
As another slash reaches me, yet again, I hold the sword in between my closed palm, and look straight into the eyes glaring at me. The eyes move, along with the sword in my grip… leaving a deep cut on my palm.
I shiver with pain, but just breath heavily: to control myself, as I see blood oozing out.
"You think all your enemies might be intimidated and would just stop? What'd you do when they don't?" I hear a clear-cut familiar voice from in-between gritting teeth. Voice which wasn't of Tyle.
The sword-bearer mercilessly fling their sword again at me. I clench my first as hard as I can, and punch towards the sword. The eyes filled with anger, turn to shock and maybe a little fear – as veins form out of my fist, and grasp the sword: flinging it far with a swoop.
Before any movements could occur, I turn around and punch with my bare fist, making this person fly around and crash into a tree.
Footsteps make me look behind me, and I find the real Tyle, and Hailo hurry towards me.
Well, of course, the real Tyle didn't have two hands. This wasn't surprising at all.
"You alright?" Hailo asks with concern.
"I guess so," I say, glaring at her dad.
"Come on… can't be blaming him. Drego was the one who wanted to test everyone's… reflexes," Hailo sighs.
"Besides, I was the scapegoat here, don't you think?"
"Maybe… but part of your feelings, right? And even so, I'm glad to know them, we don't really need to further talk about it," I say and look towards Drego, crashed in the distance. "However, how is she even alive after Leo?"
"She is not that dumb, too lucky for us. Skyto didn't fall for the prank, and Spythun simply got defeated by her."
"Piquing."
I walk towards the tree and find Drego struggling a little to move, so I hold out my hand to her. "I'm sorry."
"You must be less sorry to the ones who hurt you," Hailo says, grabbing my shoulder.
Drego groans and borrows my hand.
"How does that make me any different from them?"
"You are supposed to save people from chaos, not become a role model. At times like these; the world needs a warrior as strong as you, a saviour. Not an idol," Drego grumbles.
"You may be right, Drego. But I'm no warrior," I say and turn behind, backing away.
"That ring…" Drego says, halting me. "It is Rahambose's. You must not put trust into it. It could be a trap, you know."
I sigh and look at the ring. The one thing which made me a little more than just a guy with a bulk body. Drego was right, I couldn't fly… nor was my magic as good as any dragon's, it was primitive at the best.
But this gift from Lithin, Rahambose… it was also a little hope in myself and that person who gave me this.
"If it's a trap…" I say and look into the forest. "So be it."
As I walk forward, I stop at the sight of something, a certain someone. The little kid of fourteen years ago… nothing too remarkable of a change. But he could have ripped me apart, just like he did to Trinity's hand, even back then.
Leo. Staring blankly at me.
I could feel myself sweat and want to gulp, right at the sight of him. Because unlike me, he didn't have to bulk up: to be strong.
"Leo, he-" Drego tries to say.
"-let him be, Drego… please. We can't and mustn't try control him…" Leo speaks.
That was a go sign. So I walk forward, and right as I pass him, he puts his hand on my shoulder. Goosebumps shoot down my spine. I feel myself getting numb.
As I look at Leo, he still looks back with a blank stare. With zero words, he let's me go.
But I nod, even then. I understood him.
I feared him but… he never bullied me for being stronger than me.
Why did I still fear him? Cause I regretted that I couldn't ever fathom to understand, or stop his pain.
As I walk back to the training house, Skto and Spythun welcome me with all their attention.
"Are you alright?" Skyto asks.
"You won right?" Spythun asks.
"You might want to check on Drego. I made her crash into a tree. I'm fine."
"Glad," Skyto shakes his head and rushes behind me.
Spythun leaves too… only after I give him a fist-bump. Why ever he needed one, I don't ask.
Going into the shower, I remove my clothes. With the working out and a fight… I had sweated a lot. Placing my hand on the wall by the shower, I let the water pour down from above my head. Hot water cooling my head.
I look at my other hand, the one where I had the cut from the sword… obviously it wasn't healed. But right as I think about it, veins form from the ring: and cover the wound. I feel the pain vanish instantly.
This is what made me strong… and if this were to just be a trap… what would I be without it? Just powerless?
Just… useless?