INEFFABLE

Strength

POV- Abanus

      **Hundreds of years before**

     "SIR ABANUS WE NEED YOU AT THE FIELD IMMEDIATELY WE HAVE AN ATTACKER. ALL HANDS ON DECK ALL HANDS ON DECK!!" The soldiers screamed.

     I quickly put on my helmet and began to run out of the ship onto the battlefield. The sickness
was everywhere and spreading. Soldiers were falling asleep and their hearts were flooding with darkness. I had the strength to keep going. That was my duty as general. I slammed my hammer down and sent shockwaves towards the virus. I heard hisses and screeches from the virus as it retreated backwards.

     There was a storm above and it began to gently rain glass. I ran for cover and hid behind a few abandoned pillars. My breathing rose and fell as I heard a set of boots click against the ground. It wasn't the soldier's boots either.

     The enemy.

     I didn't wanna look up from the pillar for fear of an unwanted death. I slammed down my hammer again and sent everyone flying back. They all burned in pink flames. They screamed and ran away from me. I got out from the pillar and saw a person.

     It was covered in all black and black blood dripped from its hands. Layers and layers of black clothing. No skin colors, no eyes, no nothing. Nothing to go off of.

     We stared each other down. I felt an ominous, fearing presence. I felt a sickness arising. I slammed down my hammer just as it released a shockwave and we both blasted back and retreated.

     At the end of that battle, I was the only survivor.

     I walked around afterwards and treated my wounds. I saw crashed ships and my home destroyed. I saw my friends and fellow soldiers that worked under me dead. Lying lifeless in the battlefield. I walked past all of them with my shattered armor falling to pieces. The diseased armor eventually fell off. I climbed onto one of the shorter pillars and began to sit down.

     It took a great amount of strength to see your friends die. I never got to meet my family. I sure do hope they were as tough as I am today. Maybe even tougher. The breeze blew in my face as I began to hop down and walk past the bodies once more. I knew this memory would haunt me for life. I just had to deal with it. That was my duty as general.

     I was a strong individual. However, sometimes when one acts strong they might have some weak points. Every creature in the universe is that way. I taught myself everything I needed to know.

     That's how it was.

     That's how it will always be.

     Therefore, it gave me strength.

     ****Present time****

     POV- Anabus

     I woke up and raised my head from the couch. It was early morning and the sun hadn't risen yet.  Narcissus was asleep I was sure. He took care of my armor and I saw it in a case on the wall. It was all taken care of and cleaned. What a good man. He might've had a big ego, but if you learned to deal with him, you could do anything.

     I learned for right now he was an acquaintance. Sooner or later he would be a friend of mine. Most of my growing up was spent training and fighting.

     I finally got up from the couch and began to sit on one of the bar stools. I found some leftover processed food from last night in his fridge and began to eat at it.

     As I was eating, Narcissus came out of his room and rubbed his eyes.

     He yawned at me, "I hope you slept well?"

     "I slept fine. Per usual," I replied.

     "Good. Good," he sighed.

     I could sense that Narcissus didn't get that much sleep. That, or he was just an exhausted person. I could see the small bags forming around his eyes.

     "You okay?" I asked.

     "Yeah I'm fine. Just a bit worried about the virus," he replied in a tired tone.

     "Oh and you need your bittersweet brew?" I asked.

     "Yes of course. I'll be alright after that for sure," he replied as he poured him and I some drinks.

     He set his drink down after a few sips.

     "You're a strong man Anabus," said Narcissus.

     "Thanks. I appreciate that too. You're not too weak yourself too," I said as I sipped my drink.

     Narcissus let out a small chuckle. Like me, he didn't laugh that much either. It was nice to see some tough people crack a bit. The sun rose beyond the horizon and shone on the cityscape.

     "Thanks for taking care of my armor by the way. I really appreciate that from you," I said darkly.

     "Yeah. That wasn't me. That was Antonio. He takes care of people," Narcissus said shaking his head.

    "Well tell him thank you anyway," I said politely.

     "Will do," Narcissus said.

     I got up from the stool and collapsed on the couch.

     Narcissus sat in the chair across from me and handed me a champagne.

     "I didn't plan on doing much today. May as well tell some stories right?" Narcissus said sarcastically.

     "Pretty much," I started. "I can tell you about where I'm from?"

     "Sure. Let's hear it," Narcissus said while sipping his drink.

     "Well..." I started off, "I didn't necessarily come from a planet many would expect. I came from a planet that had lots of fire. Pink fire. Known as one of the hottest. I trained with small weapons at first and fought the heat of the flame for years. Took me guts and lots of strength. I eventually traveled until I found my people. I worked up my rank and became a powerful being. Or maybe I was before I'm not so sure," I explained.

     "That's interesting. I've been king of the city for as long as I remember. I had parents but they died long ago due to old age. I can live as long as I want, however if I have a big enough wound, I will be removed from this world. So far I have enough protection so that doesn't happen," Narcissus said with a sigh of relief.

    "Well..." I held back a scoff, "I think we know what this means."

     "What?" Narcissus asked.

    "It took guts to get where we are today," I explained.

    "No. It didn't take guts. It took strength," Narcissus corrected me.

     "No. It took both," I said.

    "Both," he repeated.

     Guts and strength.

     Strength and guts.

     Both were needed to make us who we were today.

     Narcissus had the guts.

     I had the strength.

     And we both had the brilliance.