9 Years Later
An endless roar exerted from the hundreds of spectators who had gathered and paid a premium price to see the King's children brawl at such close range in an arena only few ever had the privilege of fighting in. No one seemed to be cheering for either Amin or Hamid. They were cheering for the pair to demonstrate their fighting ability and powers, desperate to lay eyes on their thunderous lightning and chilling ice. For some, this was the first and only opportunity they'd have to see members of the royal family in action. After all, tickets to the annual tournament were not cheap, even for the majority of those who resided within the rich Inner-Capital.
The arena had now become a fraction of its previous beauty. Its hardened floors shattered at almost every inch. And its raised peaks of stone and rock torn in half or dispatched off the arena itself, some even lying behind where the primary audience lay.
Amidst the animalistic cheers and eerie whistling, Amin and Hamid had already taken the stage, face-to-face with one another as their forearms harshly pushed against the other's. Both gritted their teeth. Hamid did so out of anger. Amin with a teasing pleasure.
Hamid was the first to throw yet another punch. Amin dodged, swiftly moving to the opposing side of Hamid's body as he let out a half-assed smile.
Slam! Amin returned without hesitation. A thumping uppercut connected to Hamid's chin, thrusting him into the air before he crashed back down onto the arena's surface while the crowd squinted and cowered back as though they, too, had felt the full force of the punch.
Awaiting Hamid's return to his feet, Amin cracked his fingers and took a deep breath. He looked apologetic but firm, and then breathed out. Staggering to his feet, Hamid pulled himself back up, using his forearm to wipe the droplet of blood that cursed his lip.
Standing off once again, Amin stuck out his right hand, extending all five fingers and directed his palm toward Hamid, "Come on, Hamid. It's not over yet," Amin said bluntly before purple electricity began to envelop his hand and, almost in the blink of an eye, burst from his hand and toward a vulnerable Hamid.
Still brimming with enough energy, Hamid mirrored Amin's actions, sending a ray of ice to counter Amin's electricity. The two beams clashed, their collision echoing around the arena and violently attacking the ears of all those watching besides the royal family.
A cloud of smoke swallowed the centre of the arena, leaving all onlookers avidly awaiting the next phase of the brothers' combat.
Suddenly, out came the pair from the secretive smoke, both throwing a rapid array of punches and kicks, each missing but Hamid clearly on the back foot. It wasn't until Hamid finally managed to catch one of Amin's attacks that he was able to land a blow on him. This time, it was a powerful headbutt right into the crown of Amin's skull. And yet, despite Hamid's attack, they were left equally harmed, both consequently stumbling backwards but able to maintain their footing.
Amin regained full consciousness first with the mere shake of his head. He knew he had an advantage in the fight, and wasn't going to let that go to waste. And so he rapidly charged toward Hamid, alarming him of his incoming presence with a sonorous roar of his own. Before Amin could reach him, however, Hamid composed himself, opting to shoot several small but sharp ice shards toward Amin.
Yet Amin's speed was too much for Hamid to bear. No shard even so much as grazed Amin's clothes, let alone his body.
"Shit! How is he avoiding all of these? I need to send something bigger," Hamid worriedly thought as he pounced backward away from Amin, narrowly dodging another heavy blow.
Recomposing himself for what must've been at least the fifth time now, Hamid stuck out his arms above his head, palms facing the sky and suddenly appeared a giant shard of ice that finely lay upon his hands.
"This should do it!" Hamid exclaimed as he hastily threw the shard at Amin.
"Too easy!" pronounced Amin. As the shard approached Amin, Amin halted his charge, readying himself on his two feet as his right fist began to charge with electricity. And just like that, with one strong blow, the shard was shattered into a thousand pieces, making an awful scene for Hamid but a dazzling spectacle for everyone in the crowd.
Hamid choked on his words before finally managing to say something, "But…but how? That was all I had!"
Lost in his thoughts, Hamid realised Amin had vanished from his view. He was no longer standing triumphantly amidst the shattered ice that gently fell from above.
"Pay attention, big brother."
"Huh," Hamid said as he turned his head only to see Amin patiently waiting behind him. But that wasn't what unsettled Hamid the most. Before even turning around, he could feel the ball of electricity Amin was about to unleash into his back.
What Hamid expected duly followed. The ball exploded Hamid forwards, reducing him to his knees as smoke emitted directly from Hamid this time. Breathing and clenching one eye was all that Hamid could do to mitigate the pain and somehow protect his chances of winning the battle. Resilient, Hamid refused to back down. He raised his right leg, pressing his right hand against his knee and rose to his feet again, eyeing up Amin with a determined vigour.
"Dammit. I have to– Huh, what's he doing now?"
Amin leaped down from the raised area to which they both stood, falling to an area of the arena which undoubtedly gave Hamid the height advantage. Bemused, Hamid scolded as he saw a terrible grin grow on Amin's face. "Here it comes," Hamid said with an excessive amount of annoyance in his voice.
"Oh, how tall you stand above me, my great and fierce leader." The sarcasm in Amin's voice was telling, though his face reverted back to its usual serious look.
"Arghh, shut up and stop playing around," Hamid agitatingly returned as he charged at Amin.
Hamid threw a right hook. Amin caught it with ease. He then threw a left. Amin dodged without any trouble. Hamid went to throw a third punch. But before he could even think about reaching the vicinity of Amin, Amin responded with a devastating left kick to his gut, forcing him back.
"Are you holding back or something? Come on, attack me. I could beat you with one arm if I wanted to!"
And so Amin did just that. He waved his left hand in the air mockingly at Hamid before placing it behind his back, ushering Hamid to go for him with his right hand.
The regular crowd evidently enjoyed such a gesture. Voices around the crowd could be heard complimenting the boldness of Amin while others declared that the cost of the tickets were most certainly worth it.
Conversely, however, some of Amin and Hamid's family, most tellingly Ali, did not enjoy the act quite so much. Ali, positioned beside his father who sat in what appeared to be a makeshift throne, sighed as he ran his right hand through his bright, brown hair as his other sat in a sling.
"Look at him doing that again. He's so…," Ali huffed as he dragged down his eyes.
Though Amin's showboating was frowned upon by Ali, there was no evidence proving that it was working against him. Another kick of Hamid's was caught by Amin with ease, one which was followed by a clean sweep of Hamid's legs immediately after. His back crashed against the floor. Something it was all too familiar with by now.
Hamid's face scrunched up. His eyes brutally shut as he coughed out a few words, "No. Not again." His breathing intensified and his body shook as he used whatever energy he had left to rise back to his feet, "I–I–I won't lose to you aga—ARGHHHHH!!!"
Hamid disappeared from everyone's sight – if only for a brief second. Momentarily, his body vanished, replaced by a screeching ball of purple electricity that encompassed his entire body.
"It's over," Amin proclaimed softly.
Hamid's body entered a frantic spasm. His pupils wavered, unfocused and unstable. Then his body fell towards Amin. Seeing this, Amin turned his body and moved out of the way, allowing Hamid's shattered body's fall to be broken by the ground. Amin crossed his arms, closed his eyes and looked away as the host of the tournament began speaking to the crowd.
"There we have it! Amin progresses to the final once again. Will he ever not make it this far?"
The crowd let out another roar. Louder, more excited this time.
Amin ignored this, however. Instead, he turned back to Hamid with a disappointed face. He looked at Hamid who still laid flat on his face on the ground, unable to move.
Amin moved Hamid off of the arena with a violent kick to the gut, hoisting him to the nearby floor just beside the arena's edge. Still ignoring the crowd and everyone calling his name, Amin walked over to Hamid, scolded and resentfully spoke, "When are you ever going to change? It works every single time and you still don't learn. Tch!"
And with that, Amin left Hamid a wreck on the floor, still unable to move for himself.
"Hamid! Are you okay?" A concerned voice sounded from nearby, getting louder and louder in Hamid's ear with every scream.
Hussein finally reached Hamid, leaned over and helped him to his feet, wrapping Hamid's arm around his shoulder.
"You'll get him next time, Hamid. I'm sure of it," Hussein said optimistically, his face bright with a contagious smile that even the depressed Hamid couldn't resist appreciating.
"Mother and I were very impressed."
Hamid, barely able to think or speak, dropped his head, "Hmmm. Thanks."
And as Hussein slowly aided Hamid in his walk back to sit with his family, a blaring bell rang viciously in conjunction with the host announcing the next battle between Karim and the General's son, Zon.