(Cyrus POV)
"Behind YOU!" I yelled, hoping my voice would travel across the range. But my words were not needed. The avatar that was emitting from my father turned, grabbed the blade, and threw it over the horizon. My father didn't even look like himself anymore as he controlled his avatar to slam my uncle into the nearby rubble.
From the rubble of rocks, several small constructs of serpents were sent on a path towards my father, accompanied by larger constructs that resembled a cobra, mirroring the height of my father's avatar. Still unbothered in his state, he slightly turned, and solar energy condensed into the palm of his avatar. The constructs were gone just as fast as they came.
With one sudden, smooth step, my father was a mere few steps away from my uncle. My uncle tried to Solar Step away, but he was caught out of the air by my father's avatar. Brutally, the colossal emission threw him back into the ground and proceeded to land devastating strikes without rest. The atmosphere carried the loud, bone-chattering screams of my uncle as the cool breeze of the sea washed over us.
Each strike made the crater deeper than the last. The battle seemed to be nearing its end. I quickly ran from my hiding spot toward my father. I needed to see the life leave my uncle's eyes. As I was running to the crater, the avatar started to flicker. I could feel my father's cosmic energy depleting rapidly. I could only imagine how much of his reserves were required to summon and maintain that form. All I knew was my father gave his all—and he won.
"Dad, that was amazing. You did it," I yelled out to him as I watched his avatar dissolve away. He was exhausted, barely able to stand.
"I think it's done, Cy. It's finally done. We can start over now. You can have a normal life again. How does that sound?"
"It sounds good to me," I responded as I looked over to the bottomless crater. I couldn't sense an ounce of cosmic energy coming from the chasm. There was something deep in my spirit telling me something was off about it, but looking up to my father, he reassured me it was over.
"Well done, Lord Ezra," Solmane said as the mote of light escaped my father's core and the majestic lion manifested before us. "Get on. You are in no condition to travel down the rest of the mountain. I've stopped the decay in your body, but it will take quite a while for you to heal without using your domain."
"Thank you, Solmane. I think I'll take you up on that offer," my father said as he climbed up on the lion. We took our descent down the mountain in silence. There was a lot we had to process. My father had just ended the life of his brother, whom he loved and looked up to. Meanwhile, I had to come to the conclusion that even my loved ones could betray me. It was a brutal lesson for me—one that came at the cost of another member of my family. I was tired of this all. Tired of the loss, tired of the deceit, tired of the running.
It didn't take us long to reach the end of the mountain. Luckily, there wasn't too much collateral damage to the port city. Most of the debris fell into the sea, but there was a noticeable difference in the topography. The mountain range was half the size it used to be. The jagged peaks were replaced by smooth plains as if cement or asphalt had been laid.
As we made our way from the outskirts back into the city, I noticed that the docks were bustling with energy.
"What's with all the fuss? The sun is starting to set—shouldn't these people be getting ready to head home now?" I asked my father. He propped himself up to see what I was talking about.
"A life in a port city is much different than others, Cyrus. Ships come and go at all times of the day. This city never sleeps. If it did, it would be hard for the Zarathia continent to get its needed imports." But as my father was giving his lecture, a radiant beam of light shot through the sky and pierced the clouds above.
"Does that normally happen in port cities too?" I asked as I traced the light to its origin. That's when I saw it—a large cargo ship breaking through from the horizon.
"No, it doesn't. But that's just Grandpa being a little dramatic."
"Wait, really? It is?"
"Yeah, it's his thing. He did it all the time to signal when he had made it back from traveling. He must have sensed my signature. How about we make our way to the beach and wait for him? Also, I don't want Solmane to scare anyone before we enter the city."
Soon after, my father slowly unstraddled the majestic lion, allowing Solmane to transform into a mote of light once again. Shortly after, we made our way to the beachfront. My father shot a small beam of light into the sky as well, to signify where we were to Grandpa. Instantly afterward, there was a bright object darting through the sky.
"It looks like Grandpa is on his way here," I said as I turned to see my father's expression.
When I did, my heart sank. There was a singular crimson arrow embedded into the sand. Blood started to pool in the sand as it spilled out of my father's fingers.
"Run, Cyrus! Now!" my father yelled out as he was trying to hold his intestines from spilling out.
Paralyzed, there was nothing I could do as I saw the next crimson arrow speeding toward us. Dread took over as I was now reliving the same moment from several years ago. I was losing yet another person I loved—by the hand of another person I once held dear.
"Solmane, take him now!" my father yelled with the last of his breath.
The mote of light quickly transformed and evacuated me from the beach area.
"No! Take me back! We can't leave him to die! I can't lose him too!"
"I'm sorry, young lord. I'm following orders," he said as the arrow was just about to make contact. Then, almost as if a flashbang was thrown, everything went white, and I was no longer able to see.