Rain covered the whole battlefield. Every dwarf and Nyctona was soaked, rain and blood alike running down their bodies.

  Corpses lay all around them as they stood in the distance, watching Tarin and Arix argue with Halden.

  "Are they going to fight?" one of the dwarves muttered.

  “I don’t thi—” a Nyctona beside him was about to answer when Halden raised his sword and swung.

  The blade of Halden’s sword was white, and as he swung, a white burst of energy erupted from the blade.

  Arix and Tarin both jumped back and were safe.

  "You betrayed us, father!" Tarin rushed forward with his greatsword and swung it at Halden.

  Halden swiftly dodged the attack, then saw Arix already in position in the distance with his arm raised.

  Halden had no time to dodge another attack in such quick succession. His eyes widened as Arix swung his sword in the air.

  But nothing happened. Halden kept looking at Arix, trying to understand what had happened – then Tarin launched another attack.

  Halden raised his sword just in time and blocked Tarin’s greatsword, then swung at Tarin too, barely missing his stomach.

  Tarin looked down at the missed attack and raised his weapon again. “I didn’t expect you to miss, father,” he said, swinging again.

  Halden dodged it and backed off.

  "Why didn't this work?" Arix thought, watching Tarin press forward while Halden kept dodging.

  “It worked perfectly when I attacked that Nyctona general. What did I change that time?” he thought.

  Upon seeing Tarin fight alone, Arix charged too with his sword. "Doesn't matter. I will figure it out eventually," he thought.

  He came up behind Halden and stopped, pointing his sword at him.

  Halden noticed and tried dodging to the left, but Arix had already attacked.

  Halden blocked Arix’s attack with his sword and Tarin’s greatsword by leaning backward toward the ground.

  When Arix and Halden's swords clashed, a sharp crack rang out with a shower of sparks. Halden squinted when he saw Arix’s sword and jumped back.

  Tarin was gasping for breath, and Arix stood by his side. Opposite them, Halden straightened up.

  Halden’s gaze fell to the ground, and his face seemed pale. Arix noticed it and thought, “He looks sad.”

  "That sword," Halden said, eyes still on the ground. "Is it the sword of Nexur?"

  Arix's eyes widened. "How did you know?" Before he could say more, a voice came from his sword. “Arix. That sword he is holding is no ordinary sword. It is my brother Varys’s sword.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Arix squinted and looked at the sword.

  “Like that sword said, mine is also the same kind of sword as yours. Your sword is of darkness, mine is of wind,” Halden replied.

  “Doesn’t matter if you have any special weapon. You will lose today,” Tarin said.

  Halden raised his sword with his gaze still on the ground. “Then dodge this,” he said as he swung the sword.

  Tarin dodged to the left and Arix to the right, but something happened.

  Halden had stopped the swing in the middle and stood there without moving.

  “That is our chance,” Tarin shouted and rushed toward Halden.

  “He doesn’t seem to attack us. Maybe because Tarin is his son? But why is he fighting us then?” Arix thought as he rushed with Tarin.

  Upon reaching him, Tarin swung his sword from the left and Arix from the right. But Halden disappeared. Neither Tarin nor Arix noticed Halden slip behind them and grabbed Arix from behind, pressing his own sword to Arix's neck.

  “Run, my child,” Halden said with a broken voice. He was trying his hardest not to cry in front of his son but was failing badly.

  Tarin stood there. Arix kept quiet.

  “Run with us. We will find the Lord and kill him,” Tarin said.

  Halden ground his teeth with Arix in his grip. “I can’t do that, son. Try to understand. If I run, the whole island will die. I cannot break the law. No one can,” he replied.

  “How do you know that the Lord will not betray you and attack our island?” Arix asked, glancing back at Halden over his shoulder, his sword still in hand.

  “Even gods can’t escape the laws. If one is made, then it’s absolute,” Halden replied.

  "Is that so?" Arix said – then bit down hard on Halden's hand, trying to wrench free.

  "Agh—" Halden shouted, releasing Arix. But in the process, he also let go of his sword.

  His eyes widened as he saw the sword falling. If it fell to the ground, then Halden would die. He knew that.

  He instinctively lowered his hand and stretched it out to grab his sword. And he did. Just before the sword reached the ground, Halden grabbed it.

  He took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

  Arix got free and stepped back from Halden, pointing his sword at him.

  “You have to run right now, son, or it will be too late,” Halden said.

  "Why will it be too late?" Tarin shot back, pointing his greatsword at Halden again.

  “I am not the only one who is looking for you. Salamander is also after you,” Halden said.

  “Who is Salamander?” Arix asked.

  “Half horse and half human. He is Eryndor’s creation, one of Eryndor’s strongest soldiers,” Halden answered.

  “And why is he after us? We don’t even know Eryndor,” Tarin said.

  Halden squinted his eyes. “You don’t know many things about this land, son. Eryndor is the lord of this land. He commands who can live here. And he absolutely hates the human race.”

  Arix and Tarin paused for a moment and looked at each other. “Hate the human race? Why though?” Arix asked.

  “Even I don’t know that.” Halden paused. “So I am begging you, please run.”

  “I am not going to run away, father,” Tarin shouted and charged toward Halden.

  “Fine then. Be it your way,” Halden replied and raised his sword again. This time he didn’t stop and swung it.

  A grey beam shot in a straight path from his sword. Tarin was in its way, but he dodged just in time. Tarin thought it was over and kept charging.

  But soon after, an explosion occurred on the path the beam had crossed. Tarin was running just beside the beam, and before he could react, the blast had already happened.

  “Tarin!” Arix shouted. He was standing to the left of the beam’s path. As soon as the explosion ended, he ran toward Tarin.

  Upon reaching him, he found Tarin lying on the ground and coughing. He was safe, but his face had turned completely black from the smoke.

  Arix knelt beside him. "Thank God you are safe." He gave his hand to Tarin and helped him stand up.

  After the smoke cleared, they stood once again against Halden. The rain helped the smoke clear quickly.

  Arix looked at Tarin. "We can't win against him."