The score between Eternal Wings and The Rising Heroes stood at 2-2.
Everything now depended on the final bout.
Drakar versus Solreth.
A battle between two Dragonkinds.
The deciding fight.
The anticipation throughout the arena was overwhelming. The crowd had been waiting for this moment ever since the matchup was announced. Excitement filled every corner of the stadium as thousands of spectators eagerly waited for the final battle to begin.
Ifa's voice echoed throughout the arena. "And for the deciding battle of this matchup, introducing you, from The Rising Heroes, 'The Winged Inferno' Drakar! And his opponent, the leader of Eternal Wings, 'The Radiant Wing' Solreth!"
The crowd exploded into cheers.
The noise became deafening.
Shai smiled as she looked at the battlefield. "For this matchup, there is nothing I want to say. The crowd already knows enough. So without wasting any more time... let's get started."
As Drakar began walking toward the battlefield, he could hear the crowd roaring around him.
The noise.
The energy.
The pressure.
His own emotions.
Everything was beginning to overwhelm him.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Then he took a deep breath.
Gradually, the noise around him faded away.
And memories began flooding his mind.
The bitter memories.
The sweet memories.
The painful memories.
The memories he had carried for years.
He saw it all once again.
His village burning.
Flames consuming everything.
Screams echoing through the air.
Destruction everywhere.
He saw his parents being slain by one of his own kind.
Tears filled his eyes.
He remembered grabbing his little twin brother's hand and running.
Running as fast as he could.
Raedon's wings were still too weak to fly properly.
So Drakar ran while pulling him along.
He just wanted to escape.
He just wanted his brother to survive.
Then suddenly... An explosion.
The blast threw both brothers across the ground.
When Drakar opened his eyes, everything hurt.
His body was bruised.
His skin was bleeding.
Beside him lay Raedon.
Unconscious.
Drakar desperately shook him.
Again. And again. And again.
Raedon was breathing.
He was alive.
But he would not wake up.
Then someone appeared.
A figure walked toward them.
Blood stained his hands.
His face showed no emotion.
No anger.
No joy.
Nothing.
Fear consumed Drakar.
Instinctively, he moved in front of his brother and shielded him with his own body.
The figure stopped.
Then spoke.
"Go away while you have time. Get as strong as you can. For your time will come."
Drakar froze.
Every part of his body was trembling.
The figure turned around and flew back toward the center of the village.
Even then, Drakar remained frozen.
But his body knew what to do.
He picked up his unconscious brother.
Despite his injuries.
Despite his exhaustion.
Despite his fear.
He flew as far away as he could.
Eventually they reached a nearby settlement.
Drakar begged for help.
He told everyone what had happened.
But nobody believed him.
The story sounded impossible.
Even so, the people treated their injuries.
Days later, Raedon finally woke up.
But something had changed.
He remembered nothing.
Everything about that day had disappeared from his memory.
Meanwhile, Drakar remembered every single detail.
The pain.
The fear.
The destruction.
The man responsible.
His heart slowly became colder. Harder.
His determination became absolute.
One day he would take revenge on the person who destroyed his village and killed his parents.
Since Raedon remembered nothing, Drakar chose not to tell him the truth.
Instead, he created a fake story about an accident.
He convinced himself that perhaps there was a reason his brother had forgotten.
So he decided to carry everything alone.
The burden. The pain. The memories. All of it.
The brothers stayed in the city for some time.
Raedon often felt confused.
He knew Drakar was hiding something.
As time passed, that feeling grew.
Eventually he began believing something else.
That his brother simply did not trust him.
That his brother did not see him as capable.
Weeks later, Drakar returned to the village alone.
What he found there haunted him forever.
Ashes.
Burned buildings.
Silence.
Darkness.
No bodies.
No answers.
Nothing.
From that day onward, he never returned.
Instead, he took Raedon somewhere more secluded.
Somewhere safer.
Every day he trained him.
Every day he pushed him.
Every day he tried to make him stronger.
But without realizing it, he became too strict.
Too demanding.
Too focused on the future.
Little by little, the distance between them grew.
Raedon never understood why.
To him, it felt as if Drakar wanted to control every part of his life.
As if he wanted to take away every bit of freedom and happiness.
Meanwhile, Drakar believed he was protecting him.
Preparing him.
Making sure his brother would never experience the same tragedy again.
Neither of them understood the other.
Years passed.
The gap between them continued growing.
Eventually it reached a breaking point.
One day, after a heated argument, Raedon finally snapped.
"I don't want to call you my brother."
The words struck Drakar like a blade.
Raedon continued.
"I don't think you even see me as your equal."
His voice shook with anger.
"And honestly... I hate you."
Silence followed.
Drakar stood there frozen.
Raedon turned around.
Then flew away.
Drakar never stopped him.
Because deep down, he knew.
He had made mistakes.
He had chosen to carry the burden alone.
Yet without realizing it, he had forced that burden onto his brother as well.
For the first time, Drakar truly understood.
Raedon deserved the truth too.
He deserved to know what happened.
He deserved to share the burden.
But every time Drakar thought about telling him, the moment never felt right.
So he remained silent.
Waiting.
Hoping that one day the right time would come.
Years passed.
Drakar rarely saw his brother smile anymore.
And each time he thought about it, guilt filled his heart.
While trying to protect Raedon's future...
He felt he had stolen his present.
That thought never left him.
After that, Drakar lived and trained alone.
Day after day.
Year after year.
Growing stronger.
Waiting.
Preparing.
For this moment.
The opportunity he had waited for his entire life.
The chance to finally stand before the man responsible.
The man who had ruined everything.
The man who had made his life a nightmare.
Slowly, Drakar opened his eyes.
The memories faded.
The noise of the arena returned.
And standing in front of him was Solreth.
For the first time in years, Drakar felt completely ready.
More ready than ever before.