CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Light Path
The Dark Prince made a mad dash for the nearest pole and flung his Daggertail at it, swinging across to another rooftop as the one he was on before, finally collapsed from the overwhelming strength of the flames.
Mahasti taunted him to come a little bit closer, before the two finally engaged in combat. Much to the dismay of the Dark Prince however, Mahasti proved to be way too fast for him to continuously rely on the offensive, having to dodge and even slow down the flow of time to stand a chance at matching her.
And as Mahasti resumed slashing at the Dark Prince, he realized that he'd seen this type of fighting style before.
'Shahdee?' the Dark Prince managed to get out before Mahasti pinned him against a wall, struggling to keep him from easily escaping.
'Incorrect. I am in fact a pupil trained in her combat style, who you decided to murder in cold blood. I'd have your head if I wasn't under strict orders to bring you in alive.'
The Dark Prince put as much strength into his arms as he could muster, finally managing to force Mahasti off him before resuming sword clashes. 'It wasn't... entirely like that. I thought... she was killing an innocent woman. I didn't know... it was the Empress.'
'Liar!' Mahasti shouted, as she lunged at the Dark Prince and attempted to fatally stab him in a vulnerable but non-lethal area. 'She taught me everything I ever knew growing up. And now I'll never know whether she'd be proud of me or not... because of you!'
The Dark Prince slowed down time once again and slashed at her enough to force Mahasti to the ground, her swords slipping from her grasp.
'Go on... Do it. End me... It makes no difference anyway. The King will only send more forces after you. My death at your hands makes no difference.' Mahasti said.
'No,' the Dark Prince said. 'Its not worth killing you. No amount of killing is going to bring Shahdee back... Nor Kaileena.'
'Kaileena?' Mahasti said. 'I heard the King killed her himself. But I never thought you two would be...'
'Yes. I grew to love her,' the Dark Prince said. 'It was because of her foreseeing her death at my hands initially, that she sent Shahdee to prevent my arrival on the Island. After I killed Kaileena the first time, I realized I had only created the Sands of Time that my younger self would eventually find and repeat the cycle all over again, a creature called the Dahaka continuing to hunt me down.'
Pulling Mahasti to her feet, she could only ask, 'But what made you change your mind? Why are you even telling me all this?'
'Because I want you to know that if given the chance with the foresight I have now, I'd make sure all of these events across time never happened. That Kaileena would have been allowed to live out her own existence without fear... Shahdee would still be alive to tutor you and any future generation in the art of combat... Perhaps I could be allowed to live a more blissful existence,' the Dark Prince said. 'Even in this repulsive form I've now taken, I have enough humanity and sense of morality still flowing through me to know you're not completely irredeemable... I accept what I have done to Babylon and those around me, as a result of my actions. Can you do the same and let go of your anger towards me?'
'I... I don't know,' Mahasti said, having never had such a question asked from her before, as she proceeded to pick up her swords and return them to her hilts. 'But now, I just feel so stupid. Used...'
'It's never too late to change Mahasti,' the Dark Prince said. 'Join the Resistance. I can put in a good word for you.'
'No. They'd hardly accept you in that form, let alone me Prince,' Mahasti pointed out. 'But now, I intend to set my skills on those who truly deserve it. Farewell.'
And with that, Mahasti made huge leaps from ledge to rooftop, venturing completely out of the sight of the Dark Prince once more.
As he ran down an alternative route into the Gardens and coming across a reasonably sized pool of water to return to normal along the way, the Prince could only stop and wonder whether he had made the right call in sparing Mahasti's life. For all he knew, she could have been playing along the entire time and was likely rushing back to the Doppelganger to inform him of what had transpired or was simply waiting for her chance to retaliate a second time.
Either way, he had taken a risk and lived to tell the tale. And right now, Darius and the Resistance needed him in taking down the enemy forces residing within this area, rushing off to find them and hope they had managed to survive without his aid.
Dark Path
The Dark Prince made a mad dash for the nearest pole and flung his Daggertail at it, swinging across to another rooftop as the one he was on before, finally collapsed from the overwhelming strength of the flames.
Mahasti taunted him to come a little bit closer, before the two finally engaged in combat. Much to the dismay of the Dark Prince however, Mahasti proved to be way too fast for him to continuously rely on the offensive, having to dodge and even slow down the flow of time to stand a chance at matching her.
And as Mahasti resumed slashing at the Dark Prince, he realized that he'd seen this type of fighting style before.
'Shahdee?' the Dark Prince managed to get out before Mahasti pinned him against a wall, struggling to keep him from easily escaping.
'Incorrect. I am in fact a pupil trained in her combat style, who you decided to murder in cold blood. I'd have your head if I wasn't under strict orders to bring you in alive.'
The Dark Prince put as much strength into his arms as he could muster, finally managing to force Mahasti off him before resuming sword clashes. 'It wasn't... entirely like that. I thought... she was killing an innocent woman. I didn't know... it was the Empress.'
'Liar!' Mahasti shouted, as she lunged at the Dark Prince and attempted to fatally stab him in a vulnerable but non-lethal area. 'She taught me everything I ever knew growing up. And now I'll never know whether she'd be proud of me or not... because of you!'
That's when the Dark Prince got an idea.
'You're right. If it were not for my intervention, I would never have had the pleasure of killing Shahdee, nice and slowly. Do you want me to retell you all the screams that were made as I watched her explode into dust?'
'You bastard!' Mahasti shouted, as she gripped her swords tightly and let out a battlecry, not caring if she ended up killing the Dark Prince 'accidentally'.
But that was what the Dark Prince was counting on, as he slowed down time and got out of the way, stabbing an unaware Mahasti in the back. And as time flow returned to normal, Mahasti immediately collapsed on the ground, sand leaking from her body as she started coughing up blood.
'You... are an idiot! I'm merely one less soldier in the... rightful king's army. More will... take my place in... capturing you.'
'That's what I'm counting on.' the Dark Prince mocked as he walked away, Mahasti's body exploding into dust.
And as the Dark Prince ran down an alternative route into the Gardens, coming across a reasonably sized pool of water to return to normal along the way, the Prince could only feel uncomfortably annoyed that he had to return to normal in the first place. The length of time he had been in that monstrous form, was really starting to take its toll on the Prince and he knew he was running out of time.
But right now, Darius and the Resistance needed his help in taking down the enemy forces residing within this area. And while he did find regularly protecting them incredibly irritating, they still proved useful in taking the Doppelganger's forces down.
The Prince could only sigh as he rushed into the Gardens to find them.