Force Within

Golden Lake Arc: 4 | Twins

It was fortunate that Zeke and Avi pushed each other away, allowing them to evade the man's leap and whip. They separated, taking cover behind large trees near their respective positions.

"Great instincts, as expected," the man laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying himself.

As Zeke peeked from his hiding place, he noticed the man retrieving another steel whip from his waist, now wielding two in his hands. This made him even more dangerous.

In the distance, Zeke spotted Avi behind a distant tree, clutching her daggers in both hands. Their eyes met, and she suddenly shouted, "Leap! His core is Leap!"

Zeke's heart pounded as the man changed direction, heading towards Avi. He gripped his spear, unsure of what to do, but he also yelled to redirect the man's attention.

"Avi, go ahead to our meeting place now! Run!" Zeke shouted loudly, successfully diverting the man's attention towards him.

But Avi stayed in her place, refusing to leave.

"No one can escape from me! I can take you both down, even if you're apart!" the whip guy boasted.

Zeke felt nervous as the man seemed to prepare for a leap. His fears came true when the man indeed jumped.

"Circling Leap Slash!" he yelled as he soared high, rapidly twirling himself with his two steel whips. The steel whips extended and, with their sharp edges, sliced through nearby large trees until they were stripped bare.

The fallen trees reached their hiding spots, but Zeke and Avi swiftly flattened themselves to the ground, avoiding the sharp whips. Zeke was shocked to see their bag sliced behind them. That was a close call.

Zeke quickly rose and left the bag on the ground. They hadn't been hit, but now their location was exposed due to the man's destructive leap attack.

The man pursued Zeke, his whips lashing furiously. Fortunately, Zeke kept dodging by weaving among the fallen trees.

"Run, run, you little pest!" the man taunted while furiously laughing. 

This man was indeed scary.

Zeke was consumed by anxiety but allowed his instincts to guide him to stay alive. Although the man was chasing him, he preferred to be the target rather than Avi. He tried to run and evade, leading the man away from her.

Please, Avi, run. I'm giving you some time.

Zeke continued to dodge and run while holding his unused spear. On the other side, he realized how lucky he was not to have been caught yet.

Not until he stumbled on a branch that had fallen, and his body crashed to the ground.

"Fool! I got you!" the man triumphantly exclaimed. The man laughed loudly as he prepared to strike Zeke with his whip.

In a surprise move, Avi, hidden in the distance, hurled and threw her two daggers at the man's back. He yelled in pain and momentarily collapsed, blood oozing from his wounds as he turned to identify his assailant.

While Zeke was grateful for her actions, he felt anxious for her who had intervened. In the dark distance, he saw Avi. She threw her daggers from afar to save him from the man. Her face displayed both concern and fear.

"Please, Avi! Go! Trust me!" Zeke shouted in her direction while the man was still recovering. They needed someone to reach the Boards of Captain for help; that was their objective.

Please, Avi, follow my order.

Zeke looked at Avi, and he knew she saw the desperation and determination in his eyes as he urged her to leave. She lowered her head and began to cry.

Eventually, she sprinted away from the forest and away from them.

"That's it, Avi. Thank you," Zeke whispered to himself with relief.

Now, he only had to deal with this man and his whips. To some extent, he had relieved Avi of his worries. Even if he lost his life here, as long as Avi was safe and could help the people escape that force, he would be content.

Not surprisingly, the man was relentless. He saw Avi running away and leaped towards her.

 Little did he know that Avi's trust had given Zeke the strength and confidence he needed.

Zeke quickly retrieved the spear he had left earlier and hurled it towards the man while he was still midair. With the force of his throw and the spear's trajectory, it pierced through the man's back and emerged from his abdomen.

Zeke hadn't expected his throw to be that accurate, but the man fell to the ground, the spear still impaling him.

He cried out in pain, and tears replaced the laughter from earlier. Who's laughing now, huh?

The man dropped one of his whips and struggled on the ground, hampered by the spear lodged in his abdomen.

At that moment, Zeke considered leaving him and escaping, but he realized he had to take the man's whips to prevent him from harming others and to ensure his quick capture.

While the man continued to crawl, Zeke slowly approached him, attempting to ambush him. 

But the man turned quickly and lashed out at Zeke's leg with one of his whips.

The events unfolded rapidly as Zeke found himself on the ground with blood streaming from his legs. The man's whips had sliced through his legs and feet with one swift strike. The pain made Zeke scream and cry.

However, he continued to slowly crawl towards the man, refusing to give up.

"Please stop! Surrender!" Zeke shouted while crying, hoping the man would cease his attack as he inched closer.

"I want to see how long you'll last, you asshole!" the man retorted, even if he was coughing up blood.

Zeke kept crawling towards him, determined to immobilize him in one place. His legs and feet were greatly wounded, but he had wounded the man's body as well.

Zeke managed to grab one of the man's whips on the ground and crawled closer to him. His movement was slow due to the loss of blood and increasing dizziness.

"Stop now! Surrender!" Zeke shouted once more, hoping the man would give up. But the man refused to give in.

Zeke was so close to immobilizing him.

Then, out of nowhere, two tall figures appeared in front of Zeke. He couldn't see their faces as they were turned away from him, facing the whip man who was planning his escape.

Zeke's vision became blurry, but one thing was certain: the figures were the same height and build, only their hairstyles differed.

Zeke was shocked as one of the two figures thrust his pitchfork into the man's thigh, while the other drove a quarterstaff into the man's opposite leg.

"You fucking assholes! Who are you?" the man cried out in agony as he lost consciousness. Zeke couldn't help but smile at the sight of him finally defeated.

"No more leaping for you," one of the two tall figures said, looking at the unconscious man.

Before Zeke completely lost consciousness, he turned his head to see the two men who had suddenly appeared. He couldn't make out their faces, but he knew they were identical.

"Good job, kid," the other one said.

"Twins?" Zeke whispered just before passing out.

Please be safe, Avi.