06

The empire's soldiers surrounded Karma in a large ring.

On Druva's order, they were supposed to stand and not let him leave. Their commander made a great show of descending from the elephant while some men loaded down the mayastones. Druva stood opposite of Karma in the ring. With a wave of his arm the mayastones were scattered to the ground on his sides. They alighted so brightly together that his skin looked inhuman while reflecting the red, green and blue colours.

He smirked.

"I don't have a lot of time, there is my troublesome cousin to take care of, but I will indulge you," Druva said. "Before you die like a poor and weak loser."

Karma gritted his teeth. He was tired and wounded. He instinctively eyed the mayastones lying near Druva.

"Plead for the stones. The green ones are your favourite, right? I may give it you as a token of our old friendship," Druva said, following his gaze. "Don't be so proud. You are already in bad shape."

Seeing Karma stand still and glare made him frown and he waved his arm. A gesture on which his men began to throw pebbles and stones. Karma yelled in pain and covered his head with arms. Somehow holding the spear by his elbow. Druva signalled them to stop.

"Know your place. You are nothing now," Druva snarled. "A fool who thinks the world runs on honour. It had to get you killed sooner or later. And what good did it lead to? Ahinara will be killed by my hand. All of those idiots who followed him will see the same fate. And then I will take his fiancée for myself."

"I will not let you!" Karma bellowed.

"Oh?" Druva smiled, pleased by the reaction. "How will you stop me? With that spear and your pitiful honour?"

"I have none," Karma said, falling into fighting stance. "That makes the two of us."

Druva scoffed and fell into fighting stance himself. Then he pounced, switching his spear between left and right. Slow and playful.

Karma pulled himself back while blocking them. Focus sharp. His breathing and his movement were all in the rhythm for now. He needed to reserve his energy for as long as possible. But a look at Druva's face told him that it was making him lose patience.

Both aimed for the other's shoulder.

Except Karma got out of the way. His spear tip broke into Druva's flesh, the impact jerking him back. But he did not cry or curse. He met his eyes and smiled as if he had no care. Nearby the green and red smoke crawled out the mayastones, filling him.

Two best warriors. Two friends. One with nothing and other with everything.

"This is ridiculously hopeless," Druva said. "Sorry old friend, but this ends now."

With that, he charged. His skin absorbed the red smoke. The speed of his arms quickened as he attacked. Karma flung back further with every move, exasperating him. So he got serious. His thrusts actually going for the any vital body part. It was beginning to exhaust Karma and he ended up taking more wounds. Not bad enough. But it began to effect his coordination.

He was growing too tired.

--

The group carrying prince Ahinara stopped to rest. They tended to their wounded, mourned their dead and unpacked food to eat.

Mahasita and Helen were missing. They were a few distance away, looking from the edge of a plateau that showed the kingdom they had left behind. The monk was sitting in meditative pose, praying. Helen struggled with worrying thoughts.

Then something caught her eyes. A bright shine that appeared to be coming from the palace.

She struggled to figure out for a few moments and gasped. The monk looked up in response. The palace seemed to glow like a giant Mayastone. On further inspection, it turned out to be several magical stones were gathered at one place.

"What do you think is happening?" Helen asked.

They could see soldiers crashing against each other but could not make out faces. The light was growing brighter and brighter.

"No good. A desperate fight for power," Mahasita answered.

--

Karma ran further back, nearing the soldiers that were surrounding them. They held out the spears in case Karma tried to break through.

"Are you planning to flee now?" Druva said with a sigh.

There was some distance between them. Druva did not try to chase him. A few moments away from him reaching upto Karma, extend his spear and stab him dead. He took that chase and threw the spear.

It zipped past Druva's head.

And went straight for the elephant's leg.

The moment it hit, Druva turned back with his expression shifting from confusion to realization to horror. The elephant's cry tore through the sky and it rampaged across the circle of soldiers. Dust filled the air as men scrambled in all direction. Some were hit. Some tried take energy out of mayastones. Those who were trained managed to do it successfully. The stones themselves were kicked around.

Druva barked commands, "Control the elephant! Get back in formation! Those mayastones are not for you! I will kill those who disobey!" But no one listened. Everything fell out of his control.

"You think people like you – liars, betrayers, thieves – rule this world," Karma said between heavy breaths. "Look at your men. They only think of themselves and have abandoned you. This is the foundation of your power."

"You!" Druva bellowed, charging with all of his energy. No mayastones nearby that he could access. Karma quickly picked up a fallen spear and tackled back. He wobbled, his own body weighed on him. But the fight was not over yet. He had to make it end or he would definitely die. First, he needed to find his metal spear.

He ran in the direction the elephant originally stood, hoping he would find it dropped somewhere. Druva chased after him. He reached him easily, he still had much more energy than Karma. He grabbed him by his langotti and shoved him on the ground. They began to punch each other.

It reminded him of when they were children. Karma was a new arrival in the empire and Druva used to make fun of his villager mentality. Which often led them on the ground like this. Until their teacher pulled them back and gave punishment.

Right now, Druva threw his fists with a resolve to break him. His motions relayed anger. Frustration. Deep inside, he knew why Karma had stood back to confront him.

Something sparkled in distance. The dust was still up but the mayastones had lighted the ground. Karma found energy with renewed resolve and throw his whole weight into pushing Druva away. Then scrambled to toward his spear.

All the energy from the mayastone around sped in Druva's direction. The light covered him, making him look human. Karma froze in horror. He did not know what drawing too much light did to its user but he had been taught it would burst open the body.

"Stop! This is madness!" Karma cried.

"I will show you my true power," Druva said with gritted teeth. "I am the legend this world will carry songs and poems about, not you. Men will do anything to gain my favour. I can proclaim myself a god and make everyone bow to me. How dare you try to come in my way!"

Karma picked his spear, decided to draw some red light to the spear tip and charged. They both attacked at once.

Druva advanced with a fist surrounded by red light. And it met with Karma's spear tip. The two collided. The power in that hand was enough to shatter the spear. But it withheld. It trembled violently as it ran past his fist, his arm. And landed on the left knee Druva had left unguarded. An opening only Karma knew well for years.

The blade finally broke. The concentrated light in the body released all at once in an explosion. It sent Karma flying away. The landing was rough. When the dust calmed down, he forced himself to open his eyes. His whole body screamed in pain. His ears rang. Where was Druva?

There. Lying writhing in pain. He had earned burn marks across his body. Beside that he looked alright. He struggled to get on his feet at the same time Karma did.

All the mayastone had turned to rocks.

"The way you are using Mayastone," Karma groaned, "their light is bound to run out someday. What will you rule the world with?"

"You," Druva said with pained voice, "won… how?"

"Go back to the empire and try to handle things better."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Because you are better than this," Karma said. He gripped the pole of his broken spear, its butt dug to the ground, while he struggled to keep his balance. Covered in wound. "I defeated your miserly self, rise back a better man."

Druva bowed down his head. "This is what I hate about you, old friend. Even when I had surrounded you with death yet you dared look like you were trying to save me."

With that he limped away with his disgrace.

Karma heaved a sigh of relief.

--

Helen called out his name with a mixture of joy, shock and worry. Well, Karma looked horrible. He strutted toward her and the monk with the help of the spear. He wanted to sleep and never wake up.

Then he saw what was happening to the castle far away. A great explosion of Mayastone light released its three colours toward the sky. Despite himself, he was awed. Helen helped him to sit on a rock nearby and called someone for treatment.

"The world will change after this day," Mahasita said as he walked next to him. "We must forget this life and act for a better one."

THE END