Chapter 44: Battle of Siblings
"Huo'er," she ran towards him. She hugged him that he almost lost he balance, crashing on him. She then let him go and took a look at his cut in his arms. It had already stopped bleeding. Aqua only then noticed the lady standing behind him. She bowed quickly and greeted her.
She couldn't say anything since his mother was staying behind them, so she just stood there. She couldn't scold him as she wanted to for how he walked into the pit himself. She took his hands again and checked the wound on his arms and looked at his face, concerned.
"I am fine," he said, smiling kissing her nose tip. He all of a sudden felt peaceful in her presence. She let him go and then it struck her. She quickly bowed at the Empress and paid her respects. Empress laughed at her for her wit.
Empress liked how he mattered more to her than the respect that should be given to her. "You must be Aqua," she asked her.
"Yes your highness, " she said humbly.
"I have seen you several times but I never got to spend time with you," she said. "Sorry for what Aaron said to you,"
"I would have ripped his head away and cut him into pieces if not for you," Huo'er made a very rude comment. Aqua held his hand trying to stop him.
"Huo'er, " she whispered. "Relax," Empress laughed at her eldest son. It hurt her to think how her sons don't get along well.
"You better take care of him, this man of yours is," but before she completed, they were surrounded by the troops led by Aaron. It was expected but not this soon. Huo looked at Aqua.
"Go back, now," he ordered at her. But she did not listen him.
"There you are mother," he said. "I was ordered to take you back for now and deal with them later," he said smiling putting his sword away holding his mother's hands.
"Aaron, leave," she said. "Both of you are my sons, do not fight like this, we are a family," she reminded Aaron.
"No, mother, don't be silly, we don't even know if he is real, how can we be family, you are the Empress of the heaven, come back home,"
"Aaron, son calm down, think, why should we harm each other?" Empress tried to brain wash Aaron.
"Mother, will you stop this? you're embarrassing me, do you want to boast that your First son is powerful than I am so I shouldn't fight him?" Aaron got offended. Huo'er clenched his fist. "I know as your son I have all your favours, but never your powers, why am I a weak Phoenix? So please." he shut the Empress.
"Becuase your father is not a real Phoenix, " she said all of a sudden. It took everyone by surprise.
"What? Aaron was shocked. So was Huo and Aqua.
"What?" Huo asked too.
"Emperor Tai usurped the throne form the Phoenixes and transferred the primordial dan of the then Phoenix king into his body, you father always had power clashes in body and hence, it caused troubles in your meridian," Empress explained to her little son. But Aaron lost him temper.
"Ridiculous," he said and smirked. "You think I will buy your story, mother ?" he asked. "Enough with the bullshits. Let's return. " he took his mother's hands forcefully.
Aqua kept Huo'er from saying anything. Suddenly more people came around them. "There you are," Aaron said. "What's the report?".
"King Dritan is down," Volca reported. Aqua was shocked. Everything went silent around them.
"What?" Empress was shocked. Volca looked at Huo and Aqua. She couldn't understand why Aqua looked pale and weird. "No, it can't be," Empress stammered.
"What did you say?" Huo said. "Say it again," he walked towards Volca. Then Huo'er lost his control and took his sword out. Volca tried her best fighting him and was protected by Aaron soon. Everybody started fighting. Aqua sent a signal to her realm for help and within half an hour her father, Aiden, Milan and troop came to fight.
As the fight progressed, Volca duelled with Aqua without giving her a break. Since she knew her friend is weak, she at all cost tried to tire Aqua. Aqua began using the blood magic though she was not supposed to do it. She wanted to protect the fetus growing inside her, kept defending herself. The maternal instincts were too strong. Huo'er used his full potential to defeat the guards with the help of Aiden and walked towards Aaron who hiding around avoiding the fight after duelling with him for sometime. It indeed was true that Aaron do not have the capability like Huo did.
Milan and Aiden then tried to help Aenon and fought along with him. Volca was not giving Aqua a second to even breath. Aqua in the end stabbed right at Volca's shoulders. Volca screamed loud with pain.
"I told you, am telling you again, stop right he.." And suddenly blood oozed out if her body, right through her abdomen. Someone stabbed her from the back. She looked down at her body and covered her womb. "No," she gasped. Pain grew as each second passed. Aqua knelt down supporting herself with the sword. She then saw who dud this to her. Fiona stood smiling wide. While Volca tried it approach her. She heard Volca shouting her name.
"Sister," Milan screamed. Milan ran towards her sister. Aiden stopped fighting and turned to Huo'er who was on killing streak. Then Huo'er looked back at Milan who was screaming her lungs out and watched Aqua kneeling down, dropping her weapons. Huo'er put the sword right through Aaron's stomach without wasting time and ran towards Aqua.
Fiona stood with her toxic dagger drenched in blood. Volca moved towards Aqua, "No, no Aqua no, sorry, are you okay? stand up," she said to her best friend, she was crying badly. Regrets gushed inside her head. She never wished for her friend to end up like this. But soon forcefully Fiona took her daughter and moved away.
The cold toxic dagger has a poison in it that will kill one instantly. And is a forbidden weapon for anyone to use except the demon royals. But none knew that Fiona had it in her pocession, thinking the demon treasure has been lost for centuries.
"Aqua," Huo knelt down and took her in his arms. Aqua smiled and rested her head on his chest. Aenon killed the rest and walked towards her daughter. Milan was crying loud. Rivera rushed towards her daughter failing to catch Fiona.
"Honey, " Rivera knelt down. Tears streamed down everyone's face. Aaron was in pain and more than that in shock. She couldn't bare ti watch Aqua like that. And he realised too late that whatever he felt for her looked serious. He got up somehow from the ground and walked towards them holding on to his Phoenix sword that wasn't serving him properly.
"Save her, save her, she is pregnant with your child, save her," Milan screamed out. "Please,"
Huo was shocked, he couldn't believe what he just heard. He looked at everyone. He touched her womb and looked at her. He cried uncontrollably. His hair stroked by the wind. Aqua touched his face smiling, trembling with pain. Her hands shivered as she looked at everyone.
"Aqua, don't die, hold in okay I will find a way," he said. He then screamed loudly that shook the whole forest and it split the sky with thunder and lightening.
Aenon knelt down and took his daughter's hands. Milan was right. Aqua had tears running down her cheeks, body, all bloody and sweaty. Huo covered her wound with his hands.
She was stabbed with the core crushing toxic dagger, Dritan's dagger that has been missing for too long. Her spirit was destroyed just like that. Aqua struggled to breathe while Huo'er begged her to stay alive.
She suddenly performed something and used the rest of her powers to transfer the crystals into his blood to heal his wounds. When nobody expected anything to happen and put their guards down, Aaron walked over unnoticed, and plunged in Phoenix sword through Huo'er's heart. Empress screamed as she saw it.
"Aaron, No,"
Huo'er spit blood and looked up. Aiden spun up, defended the family and slashed Aaron, and cut his head off in front of his mother. Empress stood still, having no idea what to do, shocked seeing both her sons dying, killed by each other, she collapsed at scene realising how she failed her, failed Dritan, failed the universe and failed herself.
"Huo'er, Live for me, live," Aqua mumbled out in pain. He kissed her forehead as she kept pleading. "Please," but Huo'er instead took his soul sword instead and stabbed at Aqua's dan. Everybody tried to stop him while Aqua spit the blood out before she closed her eyes taking her final breath. The Crystals rose from her body and vanished into his.
"Huo'er no. that's your soul don't lose it, don't do it, she will die anyway," Aenon shouted out asking to stop him. But he did not listen to anyone and decided it on his own. Aqua let out her breath and Huo'er lost his heartbeat, at the same time. The bright light flashed that almost destroyed everyone's eyes. Everyone covered their eyes until the light faded. They both laid there in the pool of blood and slowly evaporated into thin air. The swords remaining without their rightful owners. And they locked themselves in the sheath, to be never used by others.
They died in each other's arms just like that. The nature shared their sorrow. The day turned into night and the summer turned to monsoon. The howling of the wind sad and disturbing. The death of four heavenly star including an unborn Tianlong. Sagittarius, Aquarius, and Cancer dimmed in the sky. The messages spread everywhere. The Heavenly Prince Aaron, Demon King Huo and Water Princess Aqua was no more. Nobody knew what to do except watching them. Nobody was expecting such an ending. It all ended. It ended just like that.