Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two

Father, help me see. Lui watched with narrow, green eyes as Shard approached. While Lui would much rather help DJ with his fight with Iul, he knew he wouldn’t get very far with Hanna in the state she was in. If this menacing presence in front of him was even her. 

“You’re really Hanna?” Lui asked skeptically. 

“Yes,” Shard replied, calmly circling him with wide, confident strides. 

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Lui asked, matching her speed and leading away from DJ’s battle.

Shard laughed in amusement. “Heh, there are many things I would lie about. In this instance, my identity is not one of them.” Shard grinned nefariously. “I want to watch you suffer, knowing exactly who it is who destroys you.” 

“That’s not very nice,” Lui said with a frown. 

“Interesting,” Shard muttered, tilting her head. “You still don’t believe me. Why not?”

Lui tightened the grip on his sword, though he did not raise it from its lowered position at his side. “I could still see the light in Hanna,” Lui answered. “You… you’re something else entirely…” Lui shook his blonde head. “There is no light in you. None at all. That shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Intriguing,” Shard commented, ignoring the sound of battle from the two DJs behind her. “And why not?” she asked. 

“Because there is always good in a person, no matter how small.” Lui stopped circling as he faced her, intently watching. Searching. “There is always a chance that good will prevail. Always some light. Even if it’s faint, I can usually still see it.” Shard continued circling, seemingly content to talk instead of fight for the time being. “All I can see in you is hatred and fear,” Lui finished. 

Shard burst into a shrill cackle. Her laugh turned to a maniacal giggle as she wrinkled her nose and spoke in a condescending tone. “You adorable, naive, little dreamer.” Shard smiled at Lui, but it was the furthest thing from friendly. “So much hope... What I wouldn’t give to see the look on your face when life finally crushes those dreams of yours.”

“What a horrible thing to wish for someone,” Lui said, recoiling with disgust. 

Shard offered a light shrug. “Well, too bad you won’t live long enough for that to happen,” she said pleasantly before launching into an attack. The sudden move caught Lui off guard. He barely lifted his blade in time to block and the force knocked him back. “Pathetic,” Shard said calmly as she stepped back and continued circling. “You don’t even have the courage to stand on your own two feet.” 

“Pfft, I’m standing, aren’t I?” Lui shot back, adjusting his stance. That was close. I dropped my guard. I can’t let that happen again. But if it really is Hanna, I don’t want to attack either... He held his sword in a low guard, ready this time to fend off the next move. 

Shard’s annoying smirk did not leave her face. “Do you even possess the strength to lift that blade, weakling?” 

“You’d be surprised at how well I wield a sword,” Lui answered. “A sword has no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.” Shard snickered. She launched into another attack without warning, aiming high. Lui ducked and parried. As before, Shard disengaged immediately and resumed orbiting him. This wasn’t so much a fight as it was a test and Lui didn’t like tests. 

“You should have left when you had the chance,” Shard chided. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Lui said in a determined voice. “If Hanna’s still in there, I’ve got to help her.” 

Shard laughed again. “Ha! As if you could possibly help her.” Shard flew up into the air and dove at Lui in an aerial attack. Lui rolled out of the way, quickly getting back on his feet and keeping the blade up enough to guard against a follow up. Shard’s sword hit the ground when she landed in a crouch. She stood up slowly and continued observing Lui. 

“I already told you,” Shard started, her tone almost starting to sound annoyed. “It’s a useless effort! All the good you knew has been consumed by darkness. Such is the nature of evil.” Shard’s red eyes narrowed at him. “Nothing you can do will save her.” 

“Maybe not,” Lui solemnly agreed. “But I still have to try. I refuse to give up on my friend. Deep down, there’s a light that never goes out. As long as I breathe, I will not give up on that light.” 

Shard raised her head and let out another loud cackle. Her evil grin widened as she looked back at Lui. “How profoundly optimistic of you! I really can’t even take you seriously right now.” Shard let the point of her sword rest against the ground as she leaned forward on the pommel. Shard shook her head with a scornful stare. “I almost want to let you live, if only to watch the world chew you up and spit you out with its most valuable lesson.” 

Lui frowned, but kept his guard up. “And what lesson would that be?” he asked warily.

“Hope is a lie.” Shard’s smile disappeared. “Nothing you do matters. Life is chaos, pain, and suffering. Cruelty and treachery are the only ways to get ahead. At its best, humanity is an inconvenience.” Shard straightened, grasping the sword again. “And there is nothing redeemable about humanity at its worst.” All humor in Shard’s voice was gone and there was a cold emptiness in her red eyes. 

Lui’s concern deepened. “What happened to you?” Lui asked softly, desperately trying to understand. 

Shard attacked without warning again. Lui blocked, but this time Shard did not pull away. She went for a high attack, feinting at the last moment and swinging the blade to the side. Lui was so focused on redirecting his block, he didn’t see the leg sweep Shard followed up with. Lui landed on his back, still gripping his sword. Wincing, Lui started to get up only to find the point of Shard’s blade at his throat. Shard kicked the weapon out of Lui’s hand, ignoring the sound of metal scraping stone as it slid out of reach.

“You have failed,” Shard commented without emotion. “You will never bring your friend back to the light. Even if you could, she will never give up the darkness in her heart.” 

“She doesn’t have to,” Lui said cautiously, hands open. “Everyone has some darkness in them. She only needs someone to surround her with light.”

“And you think that someone’s you?” Shard taunted. 

For a split second, Shard’s eyes turned violet. The darkness gave way, if only a little. Hanna’s light was still there. It wavered and flickered, but it was still there. “I can see the conflict in you, Hanna,” Lui said, his hope returning. “I can see the good.”

Shard sneered. “There is no conflict and you will die.” She raised the sword and moved to land the final blow, but halted halfway into her swing. Shard ground her teeth, violet eyes fiercely glaring at nothing. Lui used the opportunity to knock Shard’s feet out from under her and make a move for his discarded sword. Just as Lui was about to reach the fallen weapon, an icicle hit the ground beside him. Lui jumped to the side and turned to face Shard. Shard was in the air, flying at him with incredible speed. Lui dodged as she flew by him, narrowly evading the cryomancer’s sharp blade. 

“Don’t do this, Hanna! Snap out of it!” Lui shouted, sidestepping another attack. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

Shard pulled up and turned to him, blade ready. “If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.” Shard raised her free hand and sent a wave of icicles at Lui, completely ignoring the two DJs still in combat behind him.

Lui dove out of the way again. Catching a glimpse of the fallen sword within reach, Lui huffed as he grabbed it and stood up. “Well then, if it’s a fight you want,” Lui began, raising the sword up close to his head. “I’ll fight. En garde!”