"Why did it have to come to this, Jason? All you had to do was turn a blind eye and trust us...." A calm but remorseful voice was barely audible over the crumbling infrastructure caused by what could only be described as a brutal and unyielding battle.
A muffled cough was heard as a hand burst from the rubble,as the owner of said hand emerged he collapsed to his knees coughing up blood,yet despite his disheveled look and wounded body he held his head high,glaring at the figure above who used the very air as a foothold.
"Why?! You ask,stop playing the fool, Rai! I more than anyone else know sacrifices must be made for the greater good and the safety of this world. I've burned countless in the pursuit of this goal,I know I'm no saint, but I'd never stoop so low as to work for the very beings plotting our demise. Wake up, Rai! " Bizarre white flames engulfed Jason's body as he let out an enraged shout,using the flames he propelled himself off the ground and charged up at Rai.
He closed the distance in a blink of an eye,fist cloaked in flames he attacked,but something was wrong,the speed and momentum of his fist slowed as it surged towards Rai. Before he could counter whatever was happening, his flames flickered and disappeared,shocked and confused he pulled away before observing his fist, then his foe. Sighing Rai floated forward,Jason felt caged as the distance between them lessened,it's the air! It was slowly compressing around him,the flames at his feet wavered at the sudden increase in pressure but kept him afloat: 'But for how long?' This thought lingered, but Jason wasn't about to just accept defeat so easily tensing every muscle he dug deep and roared, white flames flared around his body once more carrying an intensified heat and radiance that burned away the air that restricted him,the calm and confident expression that was every present on Rai's face faltered for the first time during this battle.
'Although halved his flames output is still dangerous,you're living up to the title bestowed upon you of Flame Lord huh?But even this strength as its limits,' Rai assured himself as his hold on the air vanished. This assurance soon faded as he felt the heat climb higher, and the radiance of those bizarre white flames showed no sign of dulling. In fact, it almost rivalled the twin suns of their once blue home.
His eyes narrowed instinctively to ease the light's burn,that was the only opening Jason needed,blizting forward, he pierced through any barrier Rai had conjured,they couldn't stop him! Deafening whistles reverberated throughout the surroundings as the air barriers ruptured to the heat,speed and force.Jason's fist was all his eyes registered,then nothing,no searing pain,no movement from his position,not even a rustle on his garments only an eerie silence.
"Didn't you give us a confirmation that you can handle this problem? Given your history together ,we agreed, now with this assumption why aren't you taking this fight seriously? Or is it because of said history you can't? Although the boost to your air element wasn't necessarily meant for battle,but as crutch to adapt to your situation, your performance is disappointing to say the least," contempt laced each word said,by a being made completely out of water,it stood in front of Rai blocking Jason's fist,which had sunk into its out stretching arm.
The water bubbled and sizzled before finally dowsing the flames,Jason caught off guard by this turn of events still struck quickly with the other fist,it's head imploded from the blow. He adapted a defensive stance while keeping a safe distance,his senses on high alert ready to act on the slightest movement this being made months of dealing with them taught him that such an attack was harmless.
"This whole situation has proved to be an unexpected obstacle in our plans. Why Flame Lord Jason, do you still oppose us? When our only intention is save to your pla...."
"Shut up! How dare you talk about saving our world when all I hear is contempt in your voice? Would a person who views an entire species less than their own follow faithfully through promises made with no clause. I don't know what you said or did to convince the other Lords,but I've given them enough time to come to their senses,now I act," neither surprised it could still speak nor interested in hearing the drivel that was going to be said Jason interrupted the attempt.
Rai's brows furrowed as he heard Jason's words, yet he kept his silence and stayed in the background,his thoughts unknown as his gaze focused on the headless figure in front of him. It was quiet as if shaken by his words and contemplating how to respond, which it did,its mirthless chuckle echoed from the headless blue blob of a body.
"Amongst the denizens far and wide, you're known as the most ruthless and unforgiving of the elemental Lords,to think such behaviour would extend to your world as well,how heartless can you be? We've shared decades together since our first meeting and, yet you still don't trust us, you and your faction would've gladly gotten rid of us if possible back then. But this isn't the time to doubt our good intentions look around you,the planet's getting to the point of being inhospitable,the Ice Lord's domain and people are missing,the other available Lords are fighting a losing war against invaders,who want whatever resources this world has left. As the benevolent beings we are,we're offering a helping hand, and you spit in it!? It's a mystery how this planet hasn't vanished from existence with rulers like you..."
Jason expression darkened as those words of mockery tortured his ears,accepting help from them was never on the board as he knew the truth,these beings were snakes the whole lot of them were! It irked him to the point of madness,this thing! Had the audacity to adapt this overzealous attitude in his presence,when in fact,they were the root cause of their dire circumstances.
"Say what you will about our leadership,but since the discovery of planet Octa we've thrived,no enemy was too powerful,no disaster unconquerable and most importantly no betrayal amongst the lords . So tell me Rai why did the stasis faction allow outsiders of unknown origins entire our sanctum,without my or the other three prior knowledge? Your entire faction broke one of our most scared rules. You know what? I don't care for the reason you've brought snakes into the bird's nest and haven't realised. So it falls on me to exterminate these pest," done talking Jason aimed his palm towards the blob of water which instantly surged towards him as he took action,a ball of flames shot from his palm to meet its advance,which the water split in half to avoid,now twice the foe it drew dangerously close to Jason,a smirk dawned his features,welcoming the challenge he trusted both arms forward letting loose a ferocious stream of white flames from his palms that consumed the watery figure.
The gurgled scream gave raise to a sick pleasure within Jason,he momentarily lost himself to this sensation only to be awaken by a low swishing sound followed by a sharp pain that left a deep gash coursing from his chest to his left shoulder. He went reeling losing altitude and blood,barely keeping himself afloat he wasn't granted a reprieve though,his senses alerted of an incoming threat.
His gaze darted before focusing on the direction the attack came from,arms crossed and standing confidently was Rai he had conjured a transparent barrier of air around himself whilst forming countless semi transparent blades of the same element behind his barrier:"You've done enough damage Jason give up now! This is my last warning,take any further action against allies and I will view it as a threat to this world,".
Jason broke out in a fit of hysterical laughter:,"Me an enemy of the world do you not hear yourself!? Rai we've had our differences over the years and I've always hated your pompous attitude,but you can't really believe these people have our best interests at heart.Why would they want to save us? When only half the elementals gave a damn about them,Why would they even know how to fix a planet's core? More specifically Octa,which has eight unique cores and even if they can,why didn't they share such knowledge with us? We practically inducted them in our society! Shared almost everything with them so tell me why!?"
"Because such knowledge would be wasted on the likes of you," a cold voice stated behind Jason:"what?!" He spun around disregarding the intense pain from his sudden action,fist raised ready to deliver a crushing blow,alas he was too slow,a hand shot forward and pierced right through his chest stopping Jason midaction.
Choking on his blood he coughed spewing a mouthful,he stared at the hand pierced through him in disbelief,spewing more blood from a sudden coughing fit. Jason vision blurred as he made an effort to raise his head to glare at his foe,eyes widening slightly at what or who he saw.
Laughing at his expression of surprise this person enjoyed every moment of this,he knew that only a select few elemental Lords was in the know that the watery form he and his people always dawned was just a mere disguise. It was such a hassle to stay in that degrading form,when he just loves the warmth of his enemies blood on his hands.
He didn't think he'd ever reveal his true self facing Jason who was supposedly weaken after the connection between him and the planet was severed,in fact all the Lords were weaker than before except the stasis faction who were working with them on this endevour.
"I want to thank you Jason and since your at death's door I'll let you in on a little secret consider it a reward for ridden me of that form. What was it you said earlier again? Ah ahh~ it was 'there was no betrayal amongst the Lords,' you couldn't be more wrong my friend,sure you guys lived in peaceful harmony and won every battle that came your way,as such life became lacklustre for some,which gave birth to a longing for something unknown,something new and a more fulfilled life.
Trivial I know but that's how we've arrived to the situation you're in,really,the volatile faction was always going to be a problem too,and to give credit where credit is due neither you nor the other members trusted us which was a wild and exciting experience. Sneaking about,planting false trails and most thrilling was plotting each members demise...." the joyous laughter from this individual was both unnerving and infuriating.
"Bastard!!" His words lit a fire in Jason both figuratively and physically not caring about how devastating a damage his rash actions would cause himself. He lunged forward forcing the hand deeper into his chest as agonising as it was,he needed to do something to quell this rage inside him and the designated target was in his reach,this individual had a look of utter bewilderment on his features,before it turned to dread as Jason seized him by the head and roared in his face.
A white brilliance shone from Jason's mouth which soon illuminated the surroundings as an all consuming white flame exploded between them,two figures were flung violently from the resulting dense smoke cloud,one went west and the other east . The strong winds from the sudden explosion gave them such a push that both bodies disappeared as quickly as they had emerged.
Rai who had witnessed this scene was utterly dumbstruck luckily his thoughts weren't:'what the hell just happen!'