Woe of the chosen

Chapter 23: Even then, I still care for you

Zurich's POV:

"Ha ha! Come on Atlas! Fight me!"

        "No, I don't hit girls!"

             "Awww come on, please? Just one round!"

"Fine, pick up the stick."

                         "Yay!"

"Alright, come on Atlas! We have to go!"

         "Coming mom!"

     "Looks like I win, Atlas!"

              "Hmm, I'll get you next time!"

      "I'll be even stronger next time!"

            "Me too!"
   
          "Hehe! Ok then! See ya next time!"

           "Til next time."

There was no next time, he left Sparta after that. I didn't see him for eleven years. Now I'm here in front of him, after just barely catching up with him. I'm here, fighting him once again..perhaps this is what is meant to be, what is meant to happen. I'm here to beat some sense into him, maybe that's my role in all of this. After long, I've wondered what you've been up to, friend. Now that you've been blinded by rage and revenge, I have to snap you out of it. If I didn't, then what good am I? I know what it feels like, and I know what you think you must do, but that is why I am here to stop you from committing something that you'll deeply regret, something that'll leave you empty. Killing him, won't bring her back. Killing him, won't satisfy you. I don't wish that upon you and I know it's not my business, but I can't just watch you hurt yourself and if you think I'm wrong or if I'm a hindrance to you then so be it. There's only one way for us to settle things because words are no longer needed. You said back then that you'll beat me next time, right? Well...

                    This is our next time.

Taking a few steps back, I put my shield in front of me waiting for him to attack. Atlas, who was levitating on the air due to the small tornado he formed below him, was slowly moving himself forward towards me. Gritting my teeth and tightening the grip on my spear, I spin it around summoning thousands of spears and making them surround me, but I clasp the end of my handle on the ground taking off the sharp tips of the other thousand spears around me, making them into floating sticks of light. "I don't want to kill him, he's already in a weakened state...I just have to somehow bring him back down from that Tornado..", I thought to myself as Atlas punches the air, sending air waves towards me, Holding my ground, I block them with my shield, but the impact of the air sends me flying a few feet away. "I can't just send the sticks at him or else the tornado will just take them in. Hmm...", I thought to myself as Atlas slowly makes his way to me and I land on my feet. The Tornado picking up tiles around it and throwing them off into the distance, all of a sudden mist covers both Atlas and I. I immediately recognize that Pluto's black flames clashed with the other kid's water. Using the mist to my advantage, I run straight towards the tornado and leap up towards Atlas. I point my spear in front of me, commanding the sticks of light to strike Atlas, but of course they get dragged into the Tornado, but that was just a distraction on top of the mist around us. As I'm airborne, the mist the scatters revealing me in front of Atlas, which allowed him to counter attack by waving his left hand downwards making the wind pull me down to the ground. Falling on one knee, I struggle to get up trying to defy the winds that try to keep me down.