The Nova Ranker - The Sword Almighty

Chapter 24. Blood of their Kin.

"His name was Uri. Uri was very active, and more excitable than he should've been..." Avi shifted on their seat, the car slowing down as we got closer and closer to the sand dunes. "We were orphans. Our parents died when Uri was very young. They were the protectors of the Sword Almighty and were killed by distant relatives who wanted to take the sword for themselves. When I joined Dawn Bringer, Calev adopted us. Uri was very excited to finally have anything like a father. And when I told him what being in a guild entailed, he wanted to join me. He wanted to be a part of the guild and be like the superheroes in his comic books."

I took note of the way Avi said "Was" every time they spoke about their brother. I already knew what had happened, but I didn't want to stop them. They needed to get this off their chest. "... four years ago, when he had turned 10, my brother joined Dawn Bringer, against my wishes."

My brother's hand went onto Avi's shoulder, and the car started to come to a stop. Avi motioned for us to get out, and once we did, they resumed the story. "... Uri was... overqualified. He was stronger than all the other kids his age. All the time, trying to be like me. Mimicking my accomplishments, my magic. All he did was try to make me proud."

"I hated it." Avi guided us towards the sand dune. "I felt like he was trying to steal my life away from me. Like he was trying to replace me. The last time we spoke, I... I screamed at him. I told him to stop. To stop trying to be me." They clenched their fist, and swallowed, as if trying to contain tears. "That was two years ago when disappearances started."

"He was 13. He could use magic. He could live through this. I wasn't concerned for his safety." I felt my brother's hand gently rest on my shoulder, and when I looked at him, I saw realization wash over him. "... It took a year for us to find him. Dead. In his killer's home. A member of Black Reaper had kidnapped him. Drained the blood from his body. And used it to create a Blood Iron weapon."

I looked away from Avi, staring straight into the horizon, trying to take in the infinite magnitude of those words. I felt myself shaking. What would I do if that happened to my brother? What would I do if I fought with my brother and then never saw him again? Avi stopped walking and turned to face me, holding their blazing dagger in their hand. The sky had grown so dark I couldn't see the finer features, but I could tell they were now facing me. "... Two months ago, I went into one of Black Reaper's arms factories. And their leader was there. He was holding the dagger. This dagger. A dagger made with my brother's blood."

Avi swung the dagger over their head, and an arch of brilliant red flames shot into the air illuminating the darkening sky for a moment. With the sudden flash of red light I could see Avi's face, a look of anger on their visage, tears rolling down from their eyes. They stood there, glaring in my direction, in complete silence, waiting for someone to speak.

I stood there in silence, staring at Avi's eyes as best I could through the darkness of the night. I didn't know what I could do but stare. And after a complete absence of movement for almost a minute, I heard someone move forward, and a silhouette had suddenly moved to embrace Avi. And then another. And then I went in. I could hear soft sobbing coming from Avi, and I felt their fingers tightly clutching at my shirt.

"You're not alone." The sentiment that I had wanted to speak came out of Andres' mouth. For the first time ever I felt a violently angry emotion coming from my brother's mind. I saw, for a moment, a tiny little kid, staring at a picture of a man, his eyes red from crying, his face contorted into a look of rage. Sitting behind him was a lady, with a very large belly, staring at the picture with incredibly sad eyes. It took me a moment. But I finally noticed. It was my brother and my mother. "We're here for you, Avi. Even if we can't understand the magnitude of pain you went through, we're here."