Abandoning the sword, I got up on shaky feet as I forced myself to run the remaining distance to the deck. With a push off the ground, my hand managed to grab the ledge of the rail, and with all my strength, I pulled myself up and over the wooden wall to fall onto the ground.
I fell next to Finnick and swiftly was on my hands and knees, only to take in the scene.
Brianne and Jax were on their backs, their hands in each other's grasps as the last bit of their raging auras seemed to go off like a flame being snuffed.
My eyes drifted to Finnick as I noticed his chest was still while his eyes remained closed. I concentrated long and hard to try and hear their heartbeats, but I could only grasp two rapidly beating drums.
"Finnick," I whispered. "B-Brianne. Jax!" I called to them like it would help, and I struggled to rise up. The move made me hiss as I clenched my wounds temporarily as Connor's devastated gaze looked up to me when I pulled my hands back to see them cloaked with my own blood.
I knew without a doubt my end was nearing, and yet I couldn't worry about myself. My eyes lifted to meet Connor's, which were overflowing with tears, and I fought the urge to vomit as metallic liquid began to pool in my mouth until it began to seep down the sides of my mouth.
"D-Don't." I coughed as more blood escaped me. "Don't...blame...yourself."
I knew Connor. We all knew Connor. As much as anyone would try to put the blame on his inabilities in this prime moment, I couldn't. We had bad days...all of us.
Even if those bad days lead to the consequence of death.
I pulled the last remaining sword that was at my back, leaving him confused as I held it in my grasp. There was one thing left I had to do, and it would happen at any moment.
That flicker of energy made me turn right there and then as I summoned another blade into my free hand. My magic surged into both hands as I conducted the final move that would at least ensure Connor survived and Finnick's, Brianne's, and Jax's bodies were spared.
The move with my right hand aided in summoning a swift whirlwind that sent my team to the side, and as I completed the rapid spin movement, I paused, facing the forest as I watched the approaching blast heading our way.
I raised my sword like it was a javelin, and with the last bit of magic, the blade multiplied into twenty-four that I sent out with a battle cry.
"DIE!" I screamed as I shot the weapons - my eyes locking onto the final executioner.
Elijah.
"KAITO!" Connor screamed, but it was far too late as I slowly looked back to the man in question, who watched in horror as the world slowed. He knew my time was up, but I gave him a tiny smile as tears streamed down my face while blood began to drip down my nose.
"See ya, bro," I whispered before my body was pushed back entirely.
There was no voice left in me as I went flying backward - my body soaring through the air as stabbing ripples of heat crashed through my body. It shattered my bones and broke the flow of my magic as I crashed into the glass doors.
The impact shattered them, but I couldn't even feel the sharp fragments of glass get stuck in my body. It felt like I was already floating as my body crashed to the ground.
"KAITO!!!" The scream that hit the chilled air was already far away. My head fell to the side and my opened eyes twitched as pain consumed me.
My consciousness would fade in mere seconds, yet it felt like an eternity as I saw the hints of moonlight that began to wash over the destroyed area. My eyes inched further to the side, catching onto the bodies of my friends.
The move had pushed them to one side of the balcony that was protected from the blast, and that image somehow brought me the peace I needed.
Out of all the damn failures in my life, I'd done something right. Even at the brink of hopelessness, I didn't cower but fought my hardest till the very end.
I wasn't a hero. That was obvious. Out of the Notorious Five, all that would be left was one, but at least there would be someone to live our legacy. Someone to tell everyone what great people we were and who knew each of our hopes and dreams.
Who knows if this would shatter Connor entirely, but I prayed it wouldn't. That he'd find the path of light in this current realm of darkness and grief.
My eyes began to struggle to remain open, but a flicker of light caught my attention. It was like a door had opened up, or maybe a portal itself, but a person stood in my line of vision - their silver boots with teal designs catching my attention.
They moved from my sight then, and I wondered if I'd imagined it, but my focus was now on the moon.
Something touched me, or it felt that way, but all sensation was leaving me as my vision finally took the plunge. As the darkness began to take me, a soft voice whispered from afar. "A blade can be used to move mountains if the swordsman has every intention of moving them. I guess you took my words seriously." There was a brief pause as I fought to remain in this body that felt as though it was slipping from my grasp.
"Rest, swordsmen. Unite with the ones that love you the most. Time will determine your fate."
Her words ignited a tiny light in the distance, and it grew and grew as the silhouettes of three others stood in waiting. I recognized each of them, their auras seeming to burn with colors that reminded me of my important ones.
Brianne. Finnick. Jax.
The teal green silhouette reached outward, and even though their hand was of darkness, I wasn't afraid. I'd be okay. I knew it in the depths of my soul, and I even hoped Connor would know I was in good hands.
I left my body then as I soared closer and closer until my hand landed in his. There was no facial expression or anything, but it didn't matter, for we were all the same, bodies of energy in the world of black oasis.
I was pulled into a hug, and I could feel the burning warmth. This wasn't the end I wanted for them, but it was an ending I'd be forced to accept.
I wasn't a hero...but I saved our only hope of salvation.
11
Hopelessness To The Key Of Protection: Part Two
~CONNOR~
* * *
A sense of numbness fell upon the world – the silence lingering as the last flicker of hope faded into the darkness.
I'd gone from struggling to focus because of all the bouncing emotions that assaulted my senses to nothing but my own wasteland of devastation.
It seemed unreal - all of this had to be a mistake - but here I stood as flakes of embers and wooden ashes fell from the sky with the flakes of snow. The ground beneath me was flooded with debris: woodchips, glass shards, and blood.
My head slowly turned to my left to the three bodies that lay there. Even with my blurry vision thanks to my brewing tears, I still couldn't process that my friends...my lovers...my everything had just slipped from my grasp because of one mistake.
I took a step forward, but then I crumbled onto my hands and knees. The shards and wood piercing my flesh like prickling needles, but the pain was nothing like what was consuming my heart.
My eyes drifted to my right, towards my friends’ bodies. The mere sight made my lips tremble and it felt like bile was coming up my throat. Before I knew it, I was vomiting and fighting the weight of dread on my shoulders.
I knew I had to do something - anything - to change this. No way could we have made it this far for us to fail. It couldn't even be true that the Universe would allow us to reach this point and, due to my unexpected mistake, lead us to a drastic end.