Vagha Is Calling Me...

Blackheart's lips curled into a wild grin, and his laughter cut through the howling sandstorm:

"Ahaha! What an honorable battle! I never imagined that one day I'd fight to the death against a descendant of the Zagwell Clan."

His gaze settled on the battleaxe in Kas's hand, forged by the Baize Shaman. "Is her name Luna?"

"Yes. She's my daughter..."

"Good. Then we have the same reason to fight. There's no deed more honorable than dying for your kin."

Blackheart lowered his battleaxe and shield, then raised his index finger, both palms turned toward the sky. He gazed up at the unreachable gods:

"Vagha! Bear witness! I will enter your halls without fear."

Unlike Kas, Blackheart wore no solemn expression after making his declaration. Instead, he looked completely at ease. He picked up his battleaxe and struck it hard against his shield.

Over the metallic clang of the beat, he began to chant the ancient war song passed down through the Sorrow Mountains for a thousand years, his voice long and impassioned:

"Boom, boom, boom~"

"Comets streak, tearing through eternal night.

Barren peaks, lush plains."

He took a step forward. The battleaxe's clear, ringing blow against his shield seemed to lend the fight a solemn air.

Blackheart's toes abruptly left the rugged mountain ridge as he lunged at Kas. His heavy armor and shield did nothing to hinder the brutal warrior. His first swing sent his battleaxe slashing straight at his opponent's neck.

Blackheart was fast, but Kas reacted with equal decisiveness. He swung his battleaxe sideways, deflecting the weapon aimed at his shoulder. His marble-like body tensed and twisted as he used close-combat technique to drive his elbow into Blackheart's cheek.

The sharp-edged tower shield guarded Blackheart's face. Axe met axe, shield met bone, and almost simultaneously, two different sounds rang out—

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

The first exchange ended, and both men were surprised by the other's strength.

Kas slid a step to the side, closing the distance. His torrential strike tore through the iron sand and crashed into the sturdy tower shield.

Screee—

The razor-sharp battleaxe sliced through one corner of the shield with ease. The crisp sound of metal being cut rang through the air, and beneath the broken edge gleamed Blackheart's feverish eye.

Xipei bent low, lifting the tower shield from below.

Like an iron wall, he confined Kas in a narrow space. He gripped the single-handed battleaxe, its dark red glow shimmering, and drove it forward like a python—reckless and deadly.

Without hesitation, he slammed the shield into Kas's chest. The blow, backed by immense force, landed with the sound of cracking bones and tearing sinew. Then the battleaxe he'd readied swept through the air with a fierce whoosh and struck Kas in the waist.

The crack of ribs piercing soft organs came with a roar of merciless fury.

Though not yet a seasoned fighter, Kas chose an extremely dangerous follow-up attack.

He released his axe and spun with the force of the blow, sweeping out one arm.

A one-handed weapon actually gave its wielder a wider reach in combat than a two-handed one, granting an extra body-length of space. That extra space was often the key to victory or defeat.

Bang!

Like a fierce whirlwind, the follow-up to his furious strike used the section of shield already sheared away. The tip of the axe blade swept across Blackheart's forehead, eye, and lips.

Dark red blood streamed down, obscuring his vision. Seasoned Xipei endured the pain, released the battleaxe from his right hand, and grabbed the tower shield instead. He shifted his stance and brought it down in a fierce two-handed blow against Kas, who was still spinning.

His sturdy arm snapped. The sharp radius pierced his skin and protruded from his elbow. The heavy blow sent Kas flying backward, his left arm utterly mangled.

Without changing expression, he pushed the broken radius back into his forearm, then raised Luna level and continued this meaningless slaughter.

But then he saw Blackheart bend to pick up his battleaxe, laughing with delight.

Blackheart struck his battleaxe hard against the tower shield, now missing a corner. His rugged face, with one eye gone, was full of joy. His passionate, exuberant expression looked nothing like that of a man locked in a fight to the death.

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

"Dawn on the horizon, heralding opportunity.

When I rise, I'll rule the mortal world."

At the sound of the song, countless warriors hidden in the dense iron sand came into view.

Some struck their battleaxes against their shields; others beat the ground. In voices just as impassioned and hoarse, they answered the warrior who had embraced certain death.

The pounding beat descended like a curtain. Blood-red fervor tinged the iron filings in the wind with a crimson glow, while smoke billowed all around.

"Eternal night's cold wind, left behind.

Black crows spread their wings, surveying the land.

War songs, legends, and death—our place among the honored dead!"

The desolate, lingering war song filled Kas's ears. He looked around at the ridge, crowded with black and crimson figures.

A surge of blood ran through the heart of a wandering soul who should have felt nothing.

Every one of them was different: some lacked an arm, some an eye, some half their body. They shifted endlessly in Iron Peak Mountain's dim, gloomy landscape, screaming with all their might the warrior's creed they lived by.

"Swear our alliance, raid with fervor.

Clan brothers, bound by blood.

Thunder falls, the storm draws near—honor alone shall remain."

Blackheart struck his shield hard, silently inviting the Zagwell Clan's descendant to join this sacred rite of farewell for a warrior.

Even though they fought for their kin, either outcome would bring great honor.

But the battle itself was the greatest honor of all.

Kas began to sing a familiar song under his breath. His boiling blood, flowing like a fine silk thread, became a searing river amid the rising fervor.

They roared and sang, raising their weapons as they charged at each other. The thunderous clash of battleaxes was a hymn of praise to Vagha, and their refusal to yield amid the slaughter was the will of Pierce.

"Ah~ oh~ Vagha is calling me!

Crimson earth, we march beneath our banner.

Blood and glory spilled across the battlefield.

Sturdy shields shatter and scatter—sword and axe clash."

The long battle sent their axes crashing together countless times. Shields and wills alike were the most unyielding steel. Before the gods, warriors fought with the most steadfast conviction, proving their honor in the struggle.

Kas's fist struck Xipei's cheek, and several bloodied teeth bounced across the ridge.

Xipei landed an elbow squarely on Kas's chin. His jaw shattered, and his face was left almost rigid.

Together, the warriors sang the ancient war song at the top of their lungs:

"Flames rise high, war smoke fills the sky.

Glory guides us to Vagha Hall.

Ah~ oh~ Vagha is calling me!"

Kas rubbed his almost useless arm. His face, shoulder, and torso had nearly gone numb.

He should have defended against Blackheart's final lunge, but instead chose the most aggressive course: swinging his fist and charging forward once more.

"Cold winds and death lead me onward; cold winds and death set me free.

Ah~ oh~ Vagha is calling me!"

Xipei felt the same. His vision was stained red with blood, and Kas's unreasonable, terrifying strength had nearly crushed both his arms. Still, feverish with fervor, he raised his hands.

"Fate has shown the way—the day to die!

Ah~ oh~ Vagha is calling me!"

Their fists collided, weaving together blood and fire, death and cold wind.

Using his advantage in body weight, Kas's final lunge knocked Blackheart to the ground. He pinned Xipei by the throat, abandoning his earlier intention to spare Blackheart.

To show any kind of mercy to a warrior ready to die was an insult!

Kas and Xipei roared out the final verse of the ancient war song together. Bathed in blood, they brought the gods' witnessed battle of honor to its close.

"Ah~ oh~ Vagha is calling me!

Golden light, wine, and song.

We will all die, but glory will never fade!

Vagha is calling—take your place among the ancestors!"

Blackheart's wandering spirit was about to fade. His gaze, unfocused, fixed on the indistinct shapes in the clouds. Slowly, he raised his index finger, palm turned toward the sky.

His lips moved, but no sound came out. He laughed silently and closed his eyes.

The singing, howling, and blowing sand gradually died away. Iron Peak Mountain grew as gloomy as Xipei Blackheart's eyes. His face held the satisfaction of a brave death... just like his daughter Tina, whom he had never seen with his own eyes.

He had feared that what he'd seen in his dreams would come to pass. He followed the divine revelation hidden in the unseen, accepted the madness born of a fleeting glimpse of the future, and came from a dream in the past to this moment to fight for two daughters he had never met.

The wind carried away the wandering spirit as it turned to dust. The dreams he'd held in his heart would, in the end, drift in the moonlight sweeping over the mountain peaks.

He and his daughters died without purpose, and yet with honor.