The Dragon Children

4 | Father-Son Bonding

CHAPTER 4 - FATHER-SON BONDING.

Naphtali slashed with his newfound claws at Eros and Faolan. Eros summoned a shield and a spear and fought back with attacks from a distance. "Hmph, ha, hyah!" He grunted and exclaimed while fighting his son, who was lost, now being a Holy Stone. Faolan watched from far away. He couldn't bring himself to fight Naphtali. Naphtali grew even bigger, reaching around 12 feet. He lifted his foot, which was now more of a claw itself, and stomped on Eros. Eros managed to lift his foot with his bare hands.

Eros jumped back to consider this situation. He took deep breaths, to manage his tiredness. "Alright.. looks like he's running out of steam now." He cut one of the pillars holding up the grand hall in half and lifted it. He swung at Naphtali. Naphtali, now with Viola's powers, dodged it without even moving. It was as if his bare atoms moved on their own to survive. Naphtali moved his eyes to Faolan. He rushed at Faolan, which was just another sign of him losing all self-control. "GRRAAH!" He swung, and Faolan dodged backwards, which only left a small scratch on his chest. "Ngh.." Faolan kneeled and thought to himself. What if he was there for Naphtali earlier? One and a half years ago, he could've taken Naphtali back. He wouldn't be in this situation now. He wasn't able to do it. He ran out of the castle, leaving Eros to fight on his own. Eros looked back. He understood how Faolan felt. He looked up "Son.. you're holding back aren't you?" "Gr.. Y-.. YES." Rage mode Naphtali barely got a word out. Eros stood up. "Bring me your full strength. No holding back. Let us battle and die as men." He smirked. 

Eros sprinted straight at Naphtali, spear in hand. Naphtali threw his whole arm at Eros. Eros jumped on top of his arm, and sprinted up it. He took his spear and stabbed it in his eye, only to find out Viola's powers also have a protective forcefield around him. "Son.. don't be evil. Don't be a Holy Stone." He jumped down, onto the ground. "I-I AM.. NOT EVIL! I'VE.." He growled, struggling to get words out. ".. I'V- I'VE SEEN THE PA-PAST.. WE.. AR-ARE INNOCENT! WE.. ARE GOOD!" He screamed. Eros resorted to covering his ears so his eardrums wouldn't burst from the noise.

"No. That's impossible." Eros spread his arms wide open and spoke proudly. "Naphtali, come back and save the kingdom with me. You can love Eden. Marry her. You just need to find yourself in there." He sighed. "I know.. I haven't been the best father. I beat you. Gave you no attention, and got drunk every day since my wife - your mother, died. But I'm sorry. And I'm sure you can forgive me." He smiled, nervously. "Come on. Become human, hug your old man, eh? Together, we can save Kraghon! All of our families." He teleported up to his eye. "I.. love you, son."

".. GR.. GRAAH!" Naphtali's sole scream pushed Eros 30 feet away from him. "Not going down easily, huh? Fine.." He swapped his spear for an axe. "I'll finish you myself. This hurts me more than it does you. Believe me." He rushed at his son, once more. Only to notice he couldn't get within a 10-foot vicinity, as there was an aura that pushed him away whenever he got close. ".. I guess I should stop holding back too. You're a monster now." Eros activated his final ability. An ability every king of kraghon will have as soon as they're coronated. "LIGHT.. OF.. KRAGHON!" He grew to about the size of Naphtali, his axe and shield growing with him. "I know.. you're hurting. Don't make this any harder than it has to be." He swung his axe at Naphtali's monster neck. He cut it off.

He sighed, with tears in his eyes. "I loved you.. it didn't have to end this way.." Eros shrunk down to his normal size. He walked toward the monster. His eyes widened, as he shuddered a breath. The blood pounded in his ears. His heart thudded in his chest. His hands shook. His vision was disfigured, as if he was looking through a fish-eye lens. He had to get away. He couldn't stay near that damned monster any longer. He couldn't look at it. It wasn't real.

The monster wasn't real. It was real, he was sure of it, until the last moment. "N-No.. I-I killed it! It-.. I-.. How?-.." He took a sharp turn around, but as he was halfway.. 

CUT! SLASH! STAB!

His chest had a hole in it, and as he finished turning around, he saw Naphtali. Except, he was in his human form. The only difference is the 3 scratches he has on his eye due to the effect the transformation had on him. Naphtali could somehow control his power. Eros fell to the ground, his hand on his chest. "Son.. why? I-I was.. sorry.." He took small breaths, as he couldn't breathe more. "Shut your mouth. As if an apology could help the situation you're in." He looked down at his father, who was bleeding out. "Your stupid apology may have worked when I was 10, or 11, when you had full control over me." He squatted down. "I'm more powerful than you now. I learnt that. I'm a Holy Stone." He smiled, maniacally. "Wanna know how I know all that?" He slapped his father's pale face. "THROUGH VIOLA! THE WOMAN YOU KILLED! MY! MOM!" He got on top of Eros and started pummeling him to the ground. "HA! HA! HAAAA!!!!" He hit him over and over again. Left hand, right hand, left hand, right. He was beating the hell out of his father. "DIE! DIE! DIE!!!" Blood was pouring everywhere. Into Naphtali's mouth, on his fists, all over the grand hall. Down came sprinting the remaining 5 Holy Stones, who all took care of Naphtali, though it was less than Viola. Naphtali sobbed violently. Faolan ran in to see if Eros won, only to see his dead body on the floor. He gasped, and he ran away. He couldn't believe the sight he had seen.

Naphtali was locked away for 3 months, as the Kingdom of Kraghon tried its best to make its way back to the way it was before King Eros got killed.

3 MONTHS LATER

Naphtali's birthday. The first one without Viola. It didn't feel right to him. He had a birthday cake that was in the fridge, but he'd rather stay in bed and sob.. forever. Ruthven was the Holy Stone taking care of Naphtali throughout the whole period of him being down and out of it. Until came 1294.

"Soldiers! We will be embarking on a journey to avenge Viola!" Shouted out Lilith. "Our friend was killed by the kingdom of Kraghon.. so they are the evil ones!" She stomped around the war room. "We are the guardians of the planet. We must defeat all evil. Leave every other kingdom except Kraghon! Are you prepared for war?!" She exclaimed. "YES, MISS!" Shouted all of the soldiers. The Holy Stone empire had around 300 soldiers and 6 Holy Stones, including Naphtali. "Naphtali, this does mean you will have to kill your sister. And Faolan. Are you prepared to do so?" She looked at him. "Yes.. miss."

She smirked. The soldiers got on their horses as the castle gates opened. "Great.. then this will be the second revolt of the Holy Stones. We must follow in Krilia's footsteps. This will be named.. the Holy Stone Empire's Rebellion! Soldiers..

PREPARE FOR WAR!"

Meanwhile, in Kraghon..