We Were Brothers Once

Shen had drawn his sword and was staring at his brother. Geno's blade glowed like molten iron and gave off heat, as if it had been forged in fire. Shen knew he couldn't go back now, and his head was spinning with all the choices and sacrifices that had led him to this point. Because of what Geno had done, this fight was unavoidable.

In a flash, Shen moved. He hit his brother with a swing of his sword. Geno skillfully avoided Shen's sword and moved to the side. He had seen this move coming.

Geno said, "You were always the braver one," and then he quickly cut Shen's shoulder. "But you don't have the maturity to make the right choices!"

Shen gritted his teeth in response to what his brother said. He hit back with a sharp blow, but Geno was able to dodge each one. As Shen charged again, the sound of their swords hitting each other echoed through the room, but Geno was able to block each blow with perfect timing.

Their blades caught fire from the intense heat coming from Geno's sword, and every blow made Shen's arms shake. He realized that Geno had given his sword some kind of power or technology that made it feel heavier and deadlier than any sword he had ever used.

"You are the one who taught me how to be fair and honorable!" Shen shot out in anger. He swung his sword down with all his might.

Geno's eyes sparkled with evil pleasure as he easily dodged the blow. When he said, "You pitied that woman even though you knew the child wasn't yours," his voice was sharp and poisonous. "And look where you ended up."

The words rang in Shen's head like a thunderclap, breaking up his thoughts and reason. He swung his sword at his brother in anger, but Geno was ready. Shen's attacks got worse and harder to stop. Geno used Shen's anger to his advantage by dodging each blow and hitting back with brutal counterattacks.

Geno skillfully avoided Shen's fierce blow and hit back with a powerful slash of his sword. Shen tried to back off and change his position, but Geno was always on his tail. Every move Shen made was full of anger and smart reasoning that made him dangerous.
Shen tried to back off, but Geno was much stronger than he had thought. Once more, the swords hit each other, pushing Shen back with each blow. Geno was strong and ruthless in every move. Shen got stronger when he was angry, but it also made him weaker.

Shen stepped back to catch his breath. Blood ran down his forearm where Geno's sword had cut him, and the pain got worse every time he held his weapon. Geno took advantage of the situation by moving forward slowly and swinging his sword for another blow. Shen fought to keep his brother from attacking him all the time, each time bringing him closer to losing. As their swords clashed again, Shen's blade finally slipped out of his hand and hit the ground.

Geno took the opportunity. As Shen swung his sword, he lost his balance and fell. Shen just barely avoided a direct slash, and the fire from Geno's blade burned his clothes. The fight between the brothers turned from a duel to a fight for their lives as they fought on the ground. Geno noticed that Shen had the upper hand because he wasn't armed. Geno quickly pinned Shen down and wrapped his hands around his throat as he fell.

"I'm sorry, brother," Geno said in a cool, distant voice. "But this is how it has to be."

Geno's grip on Shen's neck got tighter. As Shen reached for the knife next to him, his strength was fading. His vision got blurry, and every breath felt like a fight to stay alive.

Geno leaned in, showing his teeth and speaking in a voice full of anger and twisted logic:

"You kept going until now to see if what you did was worth it. I lived until now to see if what I did was worth it. We are both fighters. With rules, discipline, and limits. When you said you cared about that girl, I knew that about you. And when I let Fenix go to fight, you understood that about me. He grips harder.

"Shen, you're going to die." holds his ribs and breathes deeply. We had the same goals of helping each other, changing this kingdom, and changing other kingdoms. Our lives were similar. You're not going to kill me. You won't kill him, Admiral Takeda. You're killing "yourself." Take a deep breath. What do you want to see after you kill me? Hope? Feeling hopeless? Change. You think you can just walk away from the shame of ending something like you, but you're really killing the idea that you're on the same path. What are you going to do to make my death mean something? How are you going to make your own death meaningful? I was going to change the war. Stop my hopelessness, even if it means killing some of my friends. But you stopped me for your own good. You are calling me a monster and making me throw away everything I gave, even though you are trying to reach the same goal as me. Do you think that makes a difference?

Geno stopped when Shen's fingers jerked toward the sword that had fallen, then punched him in the jaw, leaving him half-dazed. Then he pushed Shen down hard on the floor and broke his neck again.

"You did that because you thought it was right," Shen would say.

Shen mustered all the strength she had left and coughed out:

"Don't act like I'm to blame when you and I are on the same path." You would kill to cause more destruction, but I would kill to save Lina. But what's the point of all the violence if you can't change the beliefs themselves? He tried to push Geno away by holding his hands and saying,

"I've always known that beliefs need to be acted on—'Beliefs direct actions, and actions sharpen beliefs.'" But you changed it. You lost sight of your heart because you let your actions take over your principles. You were a beast of opportunity, doing whatever the world told you to do. His face slowly turned red.

He asked, "What's the difference between you and me?" as he coughed up blood. I never gave up my morals. I changed how I acted to fit in with them, not the other way around. You? You lost your soul the moment you put convenience ahead of your beliefs. You looked for proof that your belief was true and then did what you needed to do. But things changed as soon as you figured out that the "change" you were looking for was actually somewhere more "vicious." "You didn't care about the resolution you would bring," he says, taking a deep breath and his eyes blazing. "Your beliefs told you what to do, and you did it. Then your actions changed your beliefs, making you act like an animal and causing destruction that never stopped."

You can't even calm down your own spirit, even though you want to change the world. If you had stuck to one principle without wavering, you might have become the man that people looked up to. Instead, you became this. He whispered, "A monster, chasing change without believing in anything worth fighting for," as his anger grew. Everything he thought was true about his brother going missing.

Geno's face lit up for a moment with a mix of anger and maybe a little regret. But he clenched his teeth and squeezed Shen's throat until his eyes rolled back and his breath came in a rasp.

A figure then appeared out of the fading darkness: Lina. She held one of the fallen swords in her hands and moved forward with shaky resolve.

But when Geno saw movement, he quickly turned his head. He let go of Shen's throat for a moment to turn and use his forearm to stop Lina from coming closer. Lina was able to push the blade forward and hit Geno's side before the blow sent her flying back. Even though he grunted in pain, he stood up and turned to hit Lina with a vicious backhand that disarmed her.

Lina fell to the ground, still holding the knife tightly. Shen pushed through the pain in his lungs and the pounding blood in his head one more time when he saw Geno about to kill her.

Lina and Shen took advantage of the moment and looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking.

Lina lifted the blade again, which made Geno's attention move to Shen, who pretended to be weak and let his arm drop to one side.

Lina and Geno worked together to stab Geno in the ribs from behind. This time, the blade left a deeper mark. Geno was shocked and frozen. When he saw Lina, his eyes got big with fear. Lina stepped back, shaking as she did so, and tears ran down her face. Even though he was hurt, Geno yelled and violently twisted the blade away from his body.

Geno couldn't believe what he saw when he looked down at the bloody blade in his hand. Shen fought one last time and was free from the tight grip on his neck. He then reached for the sword next to him. As Geno tried to get closer to Lina, his face twisted with rage, she slashed his blade from the side. The sharp thing went deep into Geno's body.

Geno tripped, and the pain in his eyes took the place of the rage. The last hit made him fall to his knees. Shen stood there, breathing heavily, and looked at his brother's dead body. As he lay in a pool of blood, Geno's breathing became shallow. Finally, the war was over.

Shen slowly let his sword fall to the ground. He felt calm even though his breathing was hard. Lina ran to Shen with tears in her eyes and gave him a big hug. Shen took a deep breath and shut his eyes. This fight had worn him out both physically and mentally. He was heartbroken over the death of his brother, but he knew it had to happen.

As Geno took his last breath, his eyes met Shen's. He gasped and said a few last words in a voice that was hoarse from pain:

"Shen, you are going to die. One day you'll see.

He passed out right there and then, without saying anything else. Shen looked at his brother's still body for a while, but it was finally over.

Shen's mind went back to the voice that had worried him at the beginning of his journey. It talked about the lady who lied to stay alive, the guy who lived with devils, and the blurry lines between right and wrong. Could Shen make a judgment about them? Could he really criticize his brother, whose life was full of anger and conflict, just like his own?

Shen took Lina's hands and hugged her tightly. He whispered, his voice shaking with tiredness:

"But, brother, I understand you. I get you, Lina, Fenix, you, and a lot of other people who have lied to me. You have to kill, change, and never miss a chance to save yourself. I understand why you're trying to protect your reality with what you have in a world where you've worked hard to get your own judgmental rights and the freedom to do things that many people are too scared to do. I can understand how you feel. Before he dies, he raises his sword and looks him in the eye. But just because I can relate to you doesn't mean that what you did was right. The sins you tried to get rid of in this world made you who you are. That wasn't why I killed you. Admiral Takeda, you killed yourself.

The fight between the two brothers wasn't just physical; it was also about loyalty, honor, and justice. Shen took a deep breath in Lina's arms. He was very hurt and shocked, but he started to feel like he was being reborn because he had left Geno's shadow and started his own path.