Laughter echoed in the valley as the two young boys clumsily whacked their wooden swords at each other.
"You'll never defeat me, you foolish mortal! I wield more strength than you ever will, bow down to me!" One smirked at his brother as their harmless swords clashed together.
"Never, you despicable monster! I shall save the princess and you will be at my mercy once you taste the power of my blade!" The boy responded, his weapon hitting the other on his chest as he fell to the ground.
"Ow!" The boy whimpered as he clutched his heart. His brother ran over to him.
"Rainier! Are you alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" He knelt down and reached his hand out to help him up.
_
The man suddenly screamed, retracting his bloody arm which was sliced cleanly in half by the other's mighty steel sword. Tears spilt from his eyes as he yelled for his once-beloved brother.
"Rainier!"
The other stood up slowly, grunting as he yanked the blade out of his crimson-coated chest before looking up at the other. He sneered.
"Brother, dearest."
The man stepped back as the armed one advanced towards him.
"What have you done to him? Where is my brother?!"
Rainier spread his arms out with an unnerving, sinister grin.
"I'm right here, Ezra. Always have been."
Ezra choked. This was not his brother. What happened to the loving, kind smiles they always gave each other? What happened to the fun late nights when they shared spooky stories together? What happened to the lively times when they practised the art of swords together? What happened?
"No...no! You're a monster! The Rainier I knew was nothing like the loathsome being you are. Rainier, please, snap out of it! It's me, your brother!" The man cried, begging for his brother's response. He got nothing but a heavy blow to the head.
"Foolish mortal. I told you to beware! I warned you that if you did not follow my clear instructions, you would regret it. What do you have to say about this?" His brother — no, the monster — inquired.
Ezra screamed in agony as he clutched his head with his remaining arm, not just from the punch, but also from the happy memories the two had. The nostalgia was heart-wrenching. This was not how he wanted to live, this was not how they planned to live!
"I don't want to hurt you, Rain! Please, answer me!" He sobbed as he backed up to the wall. The horrid thing howled with laughter.
"He's not here anymore, you stupid being! How could you not have noticed that from the start? All the clues were—" Its sentence was cut short as it looked down at the metal arm impaled into its chest. Its whole body crumbled into dust as Ezra finally stood alone, only the sound of crackling flames keeping him company.
At that moment, Ezra knew. He was no longer a boy.
