Final Battle 1

Luschus and Liberty entered the mountainous cavern abruptly where Gitera stood at an altar reading over texts in a long dark cloak; his long grey hair billowing from the draft that the passages beyond the cavern provided. The dark room was lit up by a flame lantern burning on the wall that flickered causing shadows to dance on the stone walls. The altar was across a narrow stony bridge and below was a gaping hole that led into darkness beneath the mountain down into the molten lava below. Gitera heard their entrance and turned to face the pair without surprise or angst. “With all the armies and mages they have at their command, and they sent you two?” “I am not here to fight you,” Liberty replied, “I am here to stop you.” “And how exactly do you plan on doing that, if you’re not going to fight me,” he said confused. Luschus stood behind her his sword raised panting heavily. He looked tired, but also ready to fight. “Luschus please leave us,” she requested warmly. “No way… I’m going to cut this man’s head off.” Gitera smiled wryly and raised his hand pointing it at Luschus ripping the sword his fingers causing it to fly across the cavern landing feet from Gitera with a metallic clatter that echoed in the rock chamber. Luschus stood resolute and angry, “fine I’ll beat you to a pulp then,” and he tried to run forward over the bridge with a roar. Gitera once again pointed his fingers at Luschus and lifted him up off of his feet and floated him with ease against a wall at the back of the cavern. Luschus was incensed as he tried to wriggle away from the magical forces upon him. “I….. Will…. Kill…. You….” Is all he could say as he struggled to breathe coughing and spluttering by the forces being exerted on him. Liberty jumped in between the two of them blocking the path, closed her eyes and concentrated on blocking Gitera’s attack. A flash of white light like electricity amassed in front of her as she created a ward spell to block his attack. Gitera desisted and stood confidently. Luschus slipped down the wall into a heap coughing as he regained his breath.

“Luschus, please leave here. It isn’t safe.” Regaining his breath he stood again.  His face screwed up in rage and he stood confidently again ready to attack. “No way, I’m going to kill him with my fists. You hear me, you monster?” He tried to run again at Gitera fists clenched, but this time Liberty stopped him with her powers and lifted him gently from the ground. “Luschus. I promise to return to you after all this, but you must go now. This is between me and him, and this will end now.” “Liberty. Stop,” he exclaimed. But knowing the danger he was in, she lifted him back to the passage. Gitera used the gap in time and launched another attack on Liberty which caused her to bow in pain and lose the magical grip on Luschus. Gitera then tried to attack Luschus again and he was flung down the passage back out from the main chamber hitting a wall in the cave beyond the cavern which knocked all the breath out of him and he fell unconscious. Liberty knew she could protect him now and shook the ground violently to allow rock to fall and block the escape, plunging Luschus into darkness in the passage away from the chamber. She covered her head as rock rained down from the ceiling falling down into the dark hole below.

Now Liberty stood one side of the bridge facing Gitera who stood at the other. “Some fire this one,” Gitera said arrogantly, “just like the others. All bark and no bite.” He folded his hands in front of him. Liberty stood breathing heavily facing Gitera with her hands raised ready for combat. Her dark hair blew over her face from the breezes that flowed from the dark hole below. She addressed him, “when you kill, it makes me stronger. When you take life, or ruin people, or cause suffering; I gain power. I have felt the pain you have caused go right through me. I am the response, and I am here to make things right again.” Gitera unfolded his hands and rubbed them together seemingly to shake the dust off looking down at the floor. “Why do you protect these fools and weaklings?” he asked with his head still down but his eyes no Liberty, probing, questioning. “You could be by my side as we take power from this whole empire and make it ours. You have the potential to be as powerful as me.” He paced now rubbing his hands together again as if in preparation. “You have become somewhat of an irritation in your feeble attempts to scupper my plans.”

Gitera launched another bolt of energy at Liberty, which she warded in response. He then tried to shake loose rock from above to hit her, and she had to protect herself in two directions. She felt her energy draining fast and knew he would break through if she didn’t react. In the first time in her life, she began to attack somebody but it seemed self-defence was imperative now. Jumping back shouting she fired a bolt of hot plasma towards Gitera that lit up the cavern and almost burned their skin. She looked upon her hands with regret.  He shielded it easily and bounced the energy at a nearby wall causing hot rock to blast throughout the cavernous room that stayed molten on the ground creating a orange incandescent glow that faded away in seconds. “Power? You think you have power? When a mother spends years bringing up her child; that’s power. When an apprentice studies and practises his craft for years, and masters it; that’s power. When a man loves his family so much that he wakes up every day in the dark, works all day to feed and clothe them; that’s power. When a man puts a warm coat on a child and tells them things are okay… That is more power than you can imagine. More than you can comprehend, and that is how I will stop you.”. She began to slowly advance over the narrow confines of the bridge towards him. Gitera fired again at Liberty, and she was forced to protect herself again from the attack. “This is nonsense. I am power. It is my duty to control these people and make them my slaves. You are so blinded by your infantile sentiments for them that you make yourself vulnerable to me. If you won’t see reason, then there is no alternative, but your annihilation.” She strained under the immense energies coming her way but her wards managed to repel the attacks with wild flashes of sparks and light illuminating the cavern due to the prolonged attack.

“You think you have power because you can kill people physically weaker than you? Yes, I can squash a insect I choose, to but that doesn’t make me more powerful. Power is allowing others to live happily and freely. Power is not something I command, or you command, it’s something earned through trust, kindness, compassion, and love. Fear does not make you powerful. It makes you weak. It is your weakness, and I will use it to stop you” Liberty tried now to get closer to the altar where Gitera stood. He picked up rocks with his mind from nearby and launched them at her where she batted them away. However, one penetrated her defences and hit her in the abdomen, where she bent over in pain and staggered for a moment. Gitera then blasted the ceiling as rocks rained down on her crushing her to the ground under rubble. “Love? Love is a sickness of the mind. It has infected human beings. It makes them weak, and it is clouding your mind and making you weak. I know who you are. I have studied the prophecies. You waste your powers because you are infected with ‘love’ for these feckless fools. I could have ripped your friend to pieces had I wanted to. He is another one of the idiots. Just look how volatile he is. He needs to be controlled by people like me.” She stood again slowly and shook the dust off her and tried to walk forwards along the bridge again, but Gitera smashed rocks at the base causing it to weaken, and Liberty to stumble. The bridge then strained under the weight, and collapsed with Liberty standing upon it.

She managed to hover slowly over to a piece of lone rock that stood still amongst the other, albeit precariously. “You think that is weakness? Knowing exactly who you are he was willing to fight you unarmed, in a second, to protect me. His courage is power. His courage, along with the others who fight will destroy you through me. I come as their representative.” She walked closer to the altar now and stood metres from Gitera. She was bruised and battered, and was bleeding from her mouth from the hits from the rock. She struggled on, and knelt down breathing heavily. Gitera knew she had very little power left. She was not used to fighting, and Gitera knew he could simply exhaust her with a constant barrage of fire and lightning.

“This is the end” He said to her. “Are you ready?”. Gitera picked up Luschus’s sword from the ground and raised it high in the air above her. “Your arrogance is your downfall Gitera” she said calmly as he stabbed her through the abdomen and holding the sword by the hilt as he got closer to her weakening body pushing the sword through her as it protruded out of her back. “It’s over. Accept it. ” He stood now inches from her his eyes peering into hers. Her eyes glazed for a moment. “This… is… just… the… beginning” she said between laboured breaths.

Gitera paused for a second almost hesitating looking around expectant for something. He knew this had been too easy, but he also knew her mind was clouded with human feelings like pathetic “love” and her potential of power was diminished and the thought left him. He pulled the sword from her body and stabbed again. Gasping with the final strike she fell to the ground and lay on her back looking upwards. She held her abdomen as blood flowed from her body down into the dark hole below as her heart slowed and her eyes began to fade. She felt her own life force diminish slowly and blood trickled from her mouth from the injuries. There was no pain and she began to feel detached from her physical body as it began to die. Seconds past by and she could feel her heart begin to weaken and the pressures within her subside. The life giving flow of nutrients that served her entire body ceased. Her heart gave one last beat, and stopped and she let out a sigh and lay lifeless on the ground.