Come Love A Stranger

Forty four

Ilayas was shocked when he heard that and so was everyone else, “if not, how would you have been poisoning my father with bindweed mixed with water?” Alador asked with a light chuckle, “oh, do not worry, you are not the only one with a power to hide,” and with that, he molded a fireball and send it towards him. Surprised at the attack, Ilayas was hit by it and sent flying and slamming badly on the iron pillar that made up the battleground.
Everyone gasped in shocked, Alador has fire power and that means that he has four powers and that would make him the first god to have such. Threatened by it, in as much as treason has been reported against Ilayas, no one bothered about it anymore as the elders all from different faction joined in the battle ground. Alador was a threat and that only means that he must be taken care of.
Seeing them all, he only smiled and with a stomp of his foot, the ground started freezing over and it was left for the sky god elder to melt the ice and while he was bothered by that, Alador attacked Ilayas who was still trying to get up from his first attack. Before he could get to him, a water god made a rope using water and wrapped it on his leg, pulling him back forcefully.
Angrily, Alador made tree vines sprout from the earth and tie him up but the forest god among the elders freed him and they attacked Alador. It was a brutal fight, they all against him and when it seems like they were winning, Ilayas summoned the lightening on Alador but before it could get to him, he cursed a tornado and was lifted up the earth by it. Staring down at the six gods each with the different elemental powers and he knew that the only way to win was to fight each god with their own elemental power and so he went after the forest god first. He attacked without a moment of space while still fending off attacks from the others and soon, the god was left defenseless and without thinking, he sent a tree vine straight to the heart, killing the god on the spot.
Others were stupefied, Alador used to be the gentlest of god, stubborn, yes, but will never hurt anyone, what changed? They all wondered but he didn’t give them the time to figure it out as he faced another god, fighting with no mercy. When he killed that god as well, others became scared, they each have a family to cater for and was not ready to leave them and so they forfeited the fight with only a water god and Ilayas remaining.
“Give up now,” the god warned, “you may have won the others because you share their power but you do not share mine, give up now.”
Alador smiled, even though he had been fighting earlier, he was still looking as handsome with not a scratch of wound, which only means, none of the gods were a match for him. “Even without your power, I can always defeat you with that of the others but no, I would not be unjust, so…” and with a wave of his hand, he summoned a heavy downpour which was not a surprise for a sky god but what surprised everyone was when he started controlling the raindrops.
“No, that is impossible,” the god screamed.
“Aye, for a sky god but not for a water god,” Alador replied.
“What, what do you mean?” the god asked.
“While you all have been worried that I may have four powers, I figured out that I can control water,” he chuckled, “why, are you suddenly afraid learning that I am the first god to be born with five powers? Who knows, maybe I am the chosen one you have all been preaching about.”
There was a teaching in the god’s history that one day a god would be born with all or five of the elemental powers, and that god would be known as the true god and the rightful king. But that teaching has become an old legend since no god has been born as such and in due time, all the gods started forgetting about it and hardly remembers it. And now, right before them, was the true god but they have found out a little too late because now, Alador shares no emotion and his heart was as good as dead.
“No, it cannot be,” the god shouted, finally, fear enveloped him as he stared at the pitch black eyes that stares back at him.
“I shall grant you mercy but only for a short while, leave now and leave me to my battle with him,” Alador said, pointing at Ilayas who had been shocked by what was happening. How could it have happened, how could Alador have five powers and no one knows about it?
“Thank you,” the god bowed and staring at Ilayas, he sighed and teleported out of the arena, lucky to be leaving with his head.
“Finally, our deserved fight,” Alador sighed, turning to Ilayas now, “I do not why, but I bear this resentment for you, why? T’s certainly not because of my father that you killed,” he shook his head, “the last thing I would do is revenge him because, sadly I feel the same resentment towards him, I wonder why?” he asked but Ilayas did not bother to answer and just attacked him and so, they became buried in a heavy battle which sadly, Ilayas did not last long as he was soon brought to his knees before Alador.
Panting and ready to do anything to save his life, he shouted right before Alador releases his final blow, “I know why you feel the resentment!” and Alador paused with his fist two inches from his forehead which would have taken his life had he not said anything, “t’s because of her.”
Alador frowned, “her, her who?”
“Mariah.”
He took a step back by the mention of the name, images flickered in his mind but he cannot vividly remember, he shut his eyes as he was soon overwhelmed by a strong headache. Ilayas took that opportunity to stand on his feet, “she is the reason you are like this, she made you this when all you have done was love her. You resent me because I summoned for her to be killed four times and you resent your father because of the same reason. But what has that brought you, you spent years fighting us for her, resenting us and what did she do? She rejected you immediately you confessed your feelings to her, she rejected you immediately your mating mark appeared on her neck, thus turning you into this.”
As he spoke, the memories of that night in the forest flashed back in Alador’s mind and for the first time in days, he felt the pain he felt that night. “While resent us,” Ilayas continued, knowing the effect his words have on him, “when she made you this and all we have been trying to do was protect you. Look at you, you know the punishment that comes when a god confesses to a human and the mating mark appears but they reject you, you know the consequences but you still loved her unconditionally, denying yourself your place on the throne because you resent your father. Agreeing to be banished rather than let her go, think about all the pains you went through for her, all the sorrows and all you asked was for her to feel the same and what did she do, she rejected you, making you this. If you do not know Alador, you are serving a punishment because of your love for her.”
“Enough!” Alador shouted, his eyes were dangerous, “I do not want to hear anymore.”
“I know, but do not worry, I know of a way to free you from this curse,” Ilayas suggested.
“What way?”
“To free yourself from the curse, you have to do one thing.”
“What?”
“You have to kill Mariah.”