7: The War Within [2]

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Discord Link: https://discord.gg/dHZHxzmNdp

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Sparks flew into the rising green water as the sound of metal clashing reverberated through the cave.

I pushed the katana down with both hands gripping the hilt. Bruce took a step back, his gauntlets raised high to block the blow, but the Lazarus liquid had risen above our hips, slowing both of us.

"Arghhh!" He yelled as he pushed back the blade and delivered a blow across my face. We both stepped back, taking a moment to collect ourselves. I touched my cheek; it was just a bruise, not a flesh wound. My grip tightened around the blade in my hand, its faint glow casting an eerie hue on the surrounding liquid.

Bruce's eyes blazed with determination – the determination not to let Gotham down, not to let the deaths of his parents and all his struggles go to waste. The golden gauntlets he donned gleamed with fierce intensity.

"I hoped you would be better than this." Bruce commented with a smirk.

"While you were hoping, I was thinking, maybe you should have a safe word in case I went a bit overboard with you." I replied, wiping out my lips.

"What?" He raised his brows in confusion.

"Hmmm, how about 'Martha?'" I smirked as he lost the one he had, his lips thinned down into a frown and the gritting of his teeth echoed through the cave clear as a day.

The air was charged with tension, the weight of our conflict mirrored by the swirling currents around us.

He lunged first, his gauntleted fists streaking through the water. I deflected his blows with swift slashes of my katana, each clash sending ripples through the water.

His attacks were powerful, sending shockwaves through the liquid. I countered with agility, evading and parrying, the blade dancing through the Lazarus like lightning.

I pressed forward, my katana a blur as I aimed for gaps in his defences. He met my attacks head-on, the brass and steel sparking with each impact.

Bruce's strength was undeniable; the force of his blows was enough to send me stumbling back. But I refused to relent, channelling every ounce of determination into my strikes.

"What are you trying to accomplish, Bruce?" I asked, genuinely wondering where he was going with this fight.

"To play the part of a grieving child. How far are you willing to go?" I chuckled as I slashed his arm; he winced as he failed to block due to a slight delay caused by the water's resistance.

He didn't bother to check the wound as it bled into the Lazarus. With his guard up, he came in for a strike and nearly took off my jaw if I hadn't stepped back. He smirked as my eyes widened, his other arm delivering a rib-crushing blow to my gut.

But he didn't stop at that, he clutched my head with his hand and brought it down to his knee. I groaned in pain as I was pushed into the water.

I wheezed as I stood up, soaked to the bone, my ears ringing. I knew that my 9th and 10th ribs were broken, but it didn't matter – I could still fight. Bruce rushed at me, showing no intention of prolonging the battle, and neither did I.

He drove his fists downward, sending a shockwave through the water. I leaped, avoiding the impact just in time. As I landed, I reached for the katana and pooled all my energy for a final strike.

Bruce turned back and launched himself towards me, his arm pulled back. He yelled as he came down, aiming for my head.

I glared back, catching his arm and pulling him close. I drove the katana right into his gut. I looked into his eyes, they were yet to comprehend what happened. I didn't plan to give him time, instead I drove the blade up to his chest.

I pulled him closer, our faces next to each other, my hand clutching his hair as I twirled the blade. He grumbled, blood dripping from his mouth, his eyes pleading, devastated, and in pain.

"You're dying," I snarled, whispering into his ear. "Not as the night, not as the shadow or Vengeance."

I smiled as I pulled his head back, watching the last bit of life escape his throat. "Your death would be nothing but a lost dream."

He wheezed in for air as I slowly brought him down to the water, his legs coming up, I held him tight as I pulled the blade out.

"P-P-Please-." I blinked as I heard him whisper. I brought my ear closer to his mouth as he whimpered his last words. "Te-Tell Alfr-."

Before he could finish, his eyes rolled back, his wrist falling limp. I looked at the lifeless body in my hands, sighing as I dropped it into the water.

Within the very cave he chose to be his mind, Bruce Wayne had died. It was a truth no one would know or speak.

I sighed as I watched his body sink into the Lazarus and gradually disintegrate into golden dust. In a matter of minutes, there were no traces of his form left; all that remained were the particles of golden dust that were slowly making their way into my body.

I closed my eyes and waited patiently as the water slowly rose to my level. Eventually, it completely surrounded me, and my entire body began to burn. Once the liquid had fully enveloped me, my eyes felt as though they might melt away. I screamed as if I were on fire, as if my entire existence were being torn open and then stitched back together a thousand times over.

"Arghhhhhh!" I yelled as my eyes shot open. Suddenly, I found myself immersed in a vast pool of thicker green Lazarus liquid. I stood up, steam rising from my skin as I emerged from the spring.

"You went down the Lazarus as a man." My head snapped to my right as I heard Ra's voice and with absolutely no surprise, I found him standing there in his usual attire. "But came back as something more."

"The Trial of Lazarus has come to an end."

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A/N: Suggest me some good songs to hear while I write.

My favs are:

• Ashes by Stellar

• The Nights by Avicii

• Right Round by Flo Rida

• The Search by NF

Check them out if you haven't before.

Also check out the riddle.