Chapter Forty-Six

Chapter Forty-Six

EDJ threw three fireballs at his Original. With a wave of wind magic, DJ redirected the fireballs into the ceiling. A jet of flames from the Evil Other forced DJ to roll out of the way. When DJ got up again, he threw another light javelin with his free hand toward his opponent. 

EDJ easily twisted out of the way of the projectile. “You must really think you’re something if you think you can pick a fight with me!” EDJ taunted from the air, laying down another barrage of fireballs toward his opponent. 

“I was trying to leave,” DJ reminded him, spinning the spear above him to deflect the attack. “You’re the one who wanted a fight.” 

“I didn’t hear you surrendering when we started,” EDJ shot back, carving through the air with his sword and sending a large wave of fire toward the Original.

“I will never surrender,” DJ countered, slicing through and pushing the flames away from him on either side with a cut of wind magic. “Unlike you, I don’t pick fights I can’t win.” 

EDJ scowled, launching into another aerial assault. Iul attacked in a blur. Using his artificial wings, he attacked from every angle and direction he could manage without getting thrown by DJ’s wind attacks. EDJ had lost one sword when DJ caught him off guard earlier, but that was fine. EDJ used his empty hand to cast fire magic instead. He threw out fireballs, jets of flame, and fiery darts. He didn’t care if the flames hit anyone other than his target. He didn’t care if the whole castle caught on fire, even though the room was built specifically to withstand it. All EDJ cared about was bringing the Original down. Iul was a raging wildfire, set on consuming everything around him and turning it all to ash so long as DJ went down with him. A bombarding, unstoppable force of pure chaos and destruction. 

DJ resumed a defensive position while keeping a wide distance between himself and the enemy. While Iul was trying to knock DJ off his feet, every stance DJ took was secure. Though DJ moved positions, guards, and sides frequently, he himself could not be uprooted. His use of wind magic kept the flames at bay while his use of light magic kept Iul busy. DJ was a living tree, bending and twisting in the storm, but unable to be broken or burned down. He maintained his controlled disposition, despite his anger. Iul would not win this fight. DJ would not let him. Too many lives were at stake, including his own. A persevering, immovable object of self-control and steadfast determination.

Both forces stubbornly attacked and defended against each other with the same amount of ferocity. As hard as the two sides fought, neither could gain the upper hand on the other. EDJ’s sword still glowed with red light and DJ’s lance still shone with blue. Blue and red clashed over and over and over again. Their fight alone was worthy of spectators. 

Throwing his hand out and twisting forward, DJ created a funnel of wind magic, pulling the air in the room into a tornado. EDJ instantly deactivated his wings, landing on the ground and countering with a wall of fire magic to push the funnel away. Fire and wind crashed into each other, creating a cyclone of fire in the center of the room. DJ and Iul stood their respective ground, each forcing more elemental energy into their attack. The fire tornado started out tall and slender as it whipped around. As it gained fuel from each side, the tornado suddenly shrunk into a short and wide cyclone. The orange and red flames turned blue and the whirling vortex seemed to slow down, looking more like a spinning top with a blue glow around it than the fire tornado it was a moment before. Without warning, a mighty bolt of lightning hit the cyclone in the center of the room. The fire tornado exploded and both DJ and Iul were thrown in opposite directions. 

DJ landed on his side and slid across the ground. He coughed as he sat up, trying to reorient himself as quickly as possible. Seeing his lance on the floor not too far away, DJ reached out for it only to find Iul’s blade in front of him. DJ looked up to see the Evil Other smirking down on him, wings out. Iul had activated his flying device to avoid getting knocked down and then to get to DJ before the Original could even retrieve his weapon. EDJ laughed at the predicament DJ now found himself in. 

“It’s the same old story with you,” EDJ mocked, glaring down and shaking his head. “Always gotta be the hero.” 

DJ glowered back. “And you’re always determined to be a problem.” 

“Keeps life interesting,” EDJ said with a smile. The smile faded and he took a more serious tone. “If you’re already on your knees, you might as well beg for your life.”

“I told you once already,” DJ started. “I will never surrender.” DJ blasted Iul with a gust of wind, catching Iul’s open wings and throwing the Evil Other back. “And I refuse to be another one of your casualties,” DJ finished. DJ grabbed his lance and twisted, sending a large stream of air to the side. The attack hit Iul and flung him into the wall with such force it broke the wing device attached to EDJ’s back. Iul’s body slid down the wall as his sword clattered on the ground nearby. DJ ran up to the fallen enemy and grabbed the discarded sword. DJ pointed the lance at Iul as the Evil Other sat slumped against the wall. “You’re done, EO. Give up,” DJ said, keeping the weapon trained on his opponent.

EDJ tried to laugh, his chortles broken between coughs. I don’t think so, EDJ responded to DJ through mindspeak, head still lowered.

Aren’t you listening to me?! Face it! It’s over! DJ narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice. “You should know when you’re beat.”

Iul slowly looked up at DJ with a tired smirk. “Would you?” Iul asked. 

DJ glared back at Iul’s smug, defiant face. There was no doubt in DJ’s mind that the Evil Other was the full embodiment of all the evil, darkness, and negative energy DJ himself possessed. DJ had lost count of all the atrocities Iul had committed and all the people he hurt along the way. And yet, not for the first time, DJ wondered if he wouldn’t have made some of the same decisions if their places had been swapped. Everything Iul had done was everything DJ was capable of doing, but chose not to. DJ wasn’t staring back at an Evil Other, a rogue clone, a corrupt doppelganger, or a broken enemy. He was staring at his own reflection. How had their lives ended up looking so different from each other? DJ was still angry, but the anger was tempered with disappointment and pity. This ends here. DJ pulled back the weapon to strike. He shoved the lance forward. Iul flinched at the sound the weapon made when it struck. EDJ blinked and turned slightly to see the spearhead stuck in the wall, inches away from his face. Iul turned back to stare at DJ with wide eyes. Compassion stayed DJ’s hand, but his face still held frustration as he glared at Iul. I can’t do it… no... I will not. 

Iul’s face lit up with a huge grin. EDJ immediately rushed forward, slicing into DJ’s side with a hidden dagger. DJ dropped the lance, barely lifting the sword in time to block another dagger attack. DJ kicked Iul and backed away, clutching his injured side. 

“What was that?! Mercy?!” EDJ stared at the Original with a wide, chaotic grin as he started to circle him. “You think I want your forgiveness?” 

“No,” DJ answered with a wince and labored breath. “But I was going to give it to you anyway.”

“BWAHAHAHAHA!” EDJ let out a long, maniacal laugh. EDJ’s smile vanished as soon as it appeared. “You think you’re so special, just cause you’re the Original?!”

“No. I don’t,” DJ answered sincerely, still gripping his side. “I have never looked down on you for being my Other, Iul. Not once.” 

“That name means nothing to me,” EDJ said in a low voice. “You mean nothing to me.” EDJ’s empty hand clenched around a ball of fire. The fire grew until it enveloped Iul’s whole body. Being in control of the flames, EDJ had no concern of being consumed by them. “You’re just a mercenary!” Iul blasted a surge of fire toward DJ. The Original gasped and dove out of the way, tucking and rolling to gain distance. “Another soul for sale!” Iul shouted, marching toward DJ while hurling a series of fireballs. “I have a castle!” DJ struggled to redirect the fiery projectiles with sideswipes of wind magic. “I have an army!” EDJ continued, fury and chaotic energy blazing. “I can rule the world! WHAT DO YOU HAVE?!” EDJ rushed in with his dagger. DJ parried the dagger with his sword, but Iul pulled a second hidden blade. DJ grabbed Iul’s wrist with his free hand, the dagger aiming for his throat. In the struggle, Iul noticed DJ’s eyes start to glow. EDJ panicked and tried to pull away, but it was too late. DJ’s entire form shone with blindingly bright light, flooding and illuminating the entire arena. The fire and light both died when Iul dropped his weapons. DJ let go and stepped back while Iul fell to the floor. Iul writhed, shoving the heels of his now empty hands into his temporarily blinded eyes. 

“Hope,” DJ answered quietly, hand returning to his injured side.