Consequence of Winning

Cheers were heard from the entire clan as their chief chased off the mighty dragon. Vloz was blown away by Dioro's strength, much like Oli who couldn't be any prouder in his dad.

Ania, however, had tears in her eyes as Brak fled from Dioro. When he fell from the sky, Ania had already started running towards him. She wasn't able to get there soon enough to catch him before he crash-landed, but she grabbed his hand and sat beside him.

Everyone else stood in shock, not knowing what to do. Now that the action was over, they finally took note of the many wounds scattered across his now charred skin. There was no fur left and some of his internal organs had taken a direct hit from Brak's flames. Now they understood that Dioro had won the battle and not the war.

Oli trembled, thinking that this was all his fault. Once he ran away with the dragon egg, he knew that he could very likely die, but what he didn't want was to see someone else die in his place, especially his dad.

He scrambled to his father's side, hesitating to reach out to him. After a moment or so, Oli realized that Dioro had already reached out with an unsteady hand and grabbed it gently.

"Ania," Dioro spoke softly, "I was able to save him... Sorry I couldn't say the same about myself…"

Everyone watched Dioro carefully with watery eyes. Ania tried her best to remain calm while Vloz bowed his head in respect with a tear in his eye.

Dioro took a short breath before continuing, "Oli... You will shine far brighter than you know... You want to be the strongest, right?"

Oli wiped his eyes and nose. "I want to be like you, Dad. I need to protect people and stand for what's right. I can only do that if I'm strong like you."

A pathetic laugh left Dioro's lips, "I'm not all that strong, just look for yourself. But I can help you… Take this, I won't need it anymore."

Using up every ounce of strength left, Dioro released his hand from Oli's grasp. Suddenly, he thrust it straight into the center of his chest, just to the side of his heart.

"Dad!"

"Dioro!"

"Chief!"

They shouted and pled for him to stop but the deed was already done. Dioro's hand raised from his chest with something held in his fingers before it again fell to the side, nearly lifeless.

Dioro began to cough up blood by the mouthful and couldn't stop the light from slowly leaving his eyes. He looked into the faces of his wife and son around him, showing a warm smile of appreciation.

"I pass this to you… It's been the greatest secret behind my cultivation… With this, you can become the strongest… much stronger than a weakling like me…"

"But Dad!?" frantically Oli grabbed his father's bloody hand, "Who will teach me? You have to watch me grow. I'll even make sure the clan is safe. You and Mom won't have to worry anymore, and I'll get a lot stronger, like you!"

"Good… Ania... Oli... I love you," Dioro's breath faded away.

Silence. For only a moment, nothing on the earth was alive.

"Dad..." Oli lost control. "Dad... Dad! DAD!?"

Dioro's limp hand let the blood-covered item fall onto the ground.

Oli grabbed at his father's hand, desperate to feel the tender and secure sensation of his father's firm grip. Swollen eyes stared at his father who was still smiling, glancing back at him even.

The look of admiration from his father, especially during a situation like that, rocked Oli's heart further and further beyond his limits. He didn't want to accept that Dioro, his talented and awe-inspiring father, was dead and nothing could change that.

Ania wrapped her arms around her son as their tears fell together on Dioro's chest, pooling inside of the cavity he made. She peered into the cavity and confirmed her suspicions.

She and the other gorillas may not have seen the fight, but they were able to feel the surges in power that Dioro and Brak were giving off. It was Dioro's sudden boosts in power that scared her the most because with Dioro's core no longer there, it meant only one thing. She knew that to fight off the dragon and save their son, Dioro used the ultimate level of his Infinite Torment technique, igniting his soul as fuel to increase his strength indefinitely.

It was techniques like this that made facing soul experts so formidable because you could never know how strong they really are. For that very reason, Brak fled from the fight, knowing that he could defeat Dioro only at the chance of losing his own life.

The downside of such a technique is precisely what happened to Dioro, who was left without a core and a soul that was burning away with seconds left.

Ania couldn't take the thought of losing her husband, but her love for him grew when she realized everything he had been willing to do to protect their son.

Vloz kept his distance from the mourning mother and son. He knew Dioro, but not on a personal level. And the only thing on his mind was Dioro's ability to not only fight on par with Brak but force him to turn tail and run.

Although he was sad, he was determined to show Dioro the respect he deserved and help Rathe with the gorilla clan like Dioro would've wanted. All of his doubts towards Dioro were wiped clean by his show of bravery and expertise. He then left the gorillas in search of the weak Rathe that was left behind.