Chapter 21
The general. his embrace still firm and unrelenting continued to speak, his voice a raw, open wound of emotion. '' I've been searching for you ever since we returned to the human world, '' he confessed, tears streaming down his face. '' I thought you didn't make it, I thought I'd never see you again.'' Hiro, his mind reeling from the revelation, stood in stunned silence, his thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and disbelief. '' Is he mad ?'' he wondered, his expression a mask of uncertainty.
The general, his body now a quivering mass of grief and emotion, proceeded to roll on the floor, his tears falling like a summer rain. '' I have been doing as you asked, big brother, '' he sobbed, his voice trembling with each word. '' I have been gathering the other soldiers like you told me to, preparing for what is to come. But I am tired.... so tired.'' He paused for a moment, his voice a hoarse whisper as he asked. '' Why did it take so long to find you? I waited so long to sense your power wherever you were but I didn't feel anything until one day. Did Garora delay your arrival?'' the general demanded, his voice rising in a crescendo of desperation.
''Or was the human soul so hard to merge with?'' he continued, his voice choking on his tears '' Why did you even choose a human child to merge with?'' he continued. The general, his face streaked with tears, lifted his head, his eyes pleading with Hiro, '' You must take the lead, big brother,'' he implored, his voice a broken plea, '' I cannot do this anymore, I cannot continue to act like an adult, nobody told me being an adult comes with a lot of responsibilities like this.''
Hiro, his expression now of confusion, leaned down and placed his hand on the general's shoulder. '' Who are you talking to ?'' he asked, his voice soft and gentle, his words a balm to the general broken spirit. The general, suddenly paused, his tears now drying on his face, and looked up, his expression a mixture of confusion and fear. '' who... who am I talking to ?'' he asked, his voice tremulous, '' You, big brother. You are the one of course.'' Hiro, his face now a mask of bewilderment, turned his face around the office, checking to see if there was another person who the general might be talking to.
'' Are you seeing a ghost?'' Hiro asked, his voice a mix of curiosity and concern. The general, his body suddenly tensing with sudden energy, sprang to his feet, his movements swift and decisive. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he grabbed Hiro's clothes, his grip strong and insistent. Drawing Hiro close, the general stared into his eyes, his gaze burning with a fierce intensity.
For what seemed like an eternity, silence enveloped the room, a silence broken by the rapid beating of Hiro's heart. And then, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, the general's eyes widened, his face contorting in shock. The realization is the general like a physical blow, his face draining of all color, his eyes wide with horror. '' No,'' he whispered, his voice barely a whisper, the word trembling on his lips. '' No, it can't be. You're not my brother. You're not my brother!''
The general s stood till, his eyes still filled with disbelief, his thoughts swirling in a maelstrom of confusion, a new realization dawned on him. '' If you're not my brother,'' he thought, his mind racing with the implications of this revelation, '' Then how were you able to use his powers in the arena?'' How could you wield such power, if you're not truly him?''
The general, his mind now aflame with questions, took a step towards Hiro, his eyes bright with newfound clarity. '' Have you been seeing a dragon in any of your dreams?'' he asked, his voice low and urgent, or perhaps, a vision of a dragon? One you see sometimes?'' Hiro, his face creased with confusion, shook his head, his mind still struggling to grasp the meaning behind the general's sudden changes. '' I don't understand,'' he replied, his voice a whisper. '' Why would I see a dragon? What does that have to with anyways?''
The general's demeanor shifted abruptly, his face now a grim mask of authority, his voice as cold and hard as steel. '' Tell me the truth human,'' he demanded, his eyes boring into Hiro's with the intensity of a drill. The air in the room suddenly seemed to solidify, the weight of the general's presence suddenly pressing down on Hiro like a physical force. The general's aura, now a palpable presence, suddenly filled the chamber with electricity that crackled and surged around him, the air itself seeming to tremble with the sheer force of his will.
Hiro, his body tensing with a sudden sense of danger, felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as if warning him of the danger that was now fully upon him. Hiro, his mouth dry, quickly forced himself to speak, his words escaping his lips like a desperate plea for understanding. '' I've been having visions,'' he admitted, his voice breaking with the weight of his confession. '' whenever that power leaves me, I become unconscious and during my unconsciousness, I see a dragon, a dragon of fire and fury. I don't understand what it means, but it's been happening since I first gained these powers.''
The general's gaze, his face now a study in controlled rage, fell upon Hiro like a blow to the face, the air between them humming with barely contained violence. The general face now trembling with a barely controlled rage, let out a heavy sigh, his voice low and dangerous. '' I was hoping what I was thinking wasn't going to be true,'' he said, his syllable was a dagger pointed at Hiro's heart. '' I hoped it wasn't true, but I see now that it is. You are not my brother, but you see the dragon you see in your visions is the true source of your power and that is my brother.''
Hiro, rooted to the spot, his face a portrait of confusion whispered, '' I don't understand.'' And then, in a flash, a startling transformation took hold of the general. White dragon scales erupted from his skin, his nails transformed into deadly claws, his left eye covered in a gleaming scale, and his iris mutating into a reptilian slither. The air around him seemed to crackle with primal energy, as though the very fabric of reality had been rent asunder.