The Final Blow

It felt like time slowed down for me. I wanted to try this move on Gravast since our last fight. Gravast made a move and used his rushing technique, where he rushes and overwhelms his opponent with fast-paced punches. I took the beating and withstood his punches by blocking them with my elbows for the first few seconds. He still didn’t stop and continued to punch even harder.

It was time to make my move. The announcer was driving the crowd crazy by applauding Gravast. The crowd cheered, “Gravast! Gravast!”

I sought a moment where his punches started feeling a bit weaker than before. It was my time to hit the nail. I blocked his right punch and used my right elbow to hit him on the forehead. I quickly swept my left foot beneath him after that, causing him to fall at the same time. It was a very slow yet effective move, I used his teachings to counter him. It was one of the core aspects of Wing Chun; To use minimal moments to defeat our opponent.

It wasn’t enough to defeat Gravast, he stood up quite fast after he fell. I need to fight smartly, I thought. When fighting an opponent who is more experienced than you, the only thing that will help you get an edge over them is your ability to adapt. I had to adapt as the fight progressed. I couldn’t throw the same moves and expect to win. Gravast was calm even after getting hit by me. He seemed happy that I could pull a move like that without being trained in that manner for years.

“Now, can you handle this?” He said out loud. I knew he was going to go all out after that, but instead, he seemed even more excited than he was before the start of this fight. Xiba was overseeing our fight from above. At that moment, I told myself, ‘If I couldn’t defeat Gravast, I will not face Shin.’

It was my time to rush, I knew that going for a normal approach could fail, so I used a different approach. I performed a barrel roll on the ground and used my hands to sling back myself at him as I reached near him. My feet connected with his elbow and chest, and he got thrown back to the ground. It was the second time I had done this, and the crowd started shifting their cheering from Gravast to me.

I raised my arm in response and the crowd was going crazy. It boosted my confidence to fight. Gravast, on the other hand, was getting even more excited. He was considering me a worthy opponent now. We both moved closer and started punching each other. Gravast was effectively blocking my punches, but so was I. We were a perfect match for each other, it seemed. Later Gravast got an upper hand and started pushing me back. I was failing to block his every punch. and I was losing my energy, I knew I was required to consume more food to keep fighting for longer times. I had to end this fight soon, or else I would suffer defeat by losing consciousness.

I had no power left to block him, my elbows dropped and he got a clean hit on me. He used an open-hand chop at last, which almost made me black out. I had to control myself before he could use any other move on me.

I put everything I had left in me into the last punch I was going to deliver. I cried in pain, “Haaaa!!!” I used all my super strength and ran as quickly as I could. My left arm started transforming, and in order to deliver the final blow, I neglected it and carried on. I took a deep breath and delivered a heavy punch to Gravast. It was a hard punch as I felt it in my shoulder. Gravast’s body was launched into the air and did a one-eighty before falling back to the ground. He didn’t stand up after that, the fight was over. My transformation was triggered, but I wasn’t unconscious this time. Standing on my feet, I was able to change back to normal.

“Here it is, our winner, Edra!” Screamed the announcer.

The crowd went silent for a brief moment but started cheering again after the announcement. I was glad I won, but I wanted to make sure Gravast was safe. I went to him and checked if he was okay. “Are you all, right?” I asked.

He sighed and replied, “After taking that heavy blow, no one can be.” He smiled and winked at me.

It lit my face with a bright smile as well, I was happy to achieve more control over myself. This final blow could’ve been disastrous if I had pushed myself any further.

After the fight, we met each other again. Gravast was impressed by my fight and applauded for my ability to fight a superior enemy. He wasn’t even concerned about his defeat; he was just happy that I progressed a bit further than before. Xiba was sleeping and I was alone with Gravast, he wanted to tell me something.

We were standing outside, looking at the night sky through a broken part of the roof. It was beautiful, we could easily spot the stars. Gravast took a long breath and said, “The only thing which this Jahan has done better is getting rid of fossil fuel vehicles. It’s the reason we can see the stars more clearly in the night sky now. Well, we are far away from big cities as well, so less amount of light pollution helps as well.”

I was looking into the sky wondering if anything I was doing held any meaning in the end. Probably not, I thought. I looked gloomy to Gravast, so he told me, “You should let your thoughts out sometimes, you know. It actually helps you keep your mind fresh.”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what I am doing right now. I am just so lost, I don’t even know if all this makes any sense, I was just living my life casually a few months ago, unaware of the grim reality I live in now.” I uttered.

“If I am being honest, I also don’t know what I am doing with my life. Many people here look up to me and aspire to be like me, but I am as human as they are. I am not invincible, and my way of life is not the only way to achieve a certain goal they think they can achieve by following in my footsteps.”

Hearing him say that made me feel somewhat better, it’s like knowing that you are not the only person in the world who is confused about life or is in a weird situation. Gravast tapped my shoulder and leaned toward me. “You don’t need a reason for everything that’s happening with you now, things happen and you find the reasons eventually as life progresses,” Gravast reassured.

“Guess you are right. I am just tired of all those random things happening to me. I hope I am ready to face the end.”

Gravast giggled hearing that. “Hahaha. Do you really think you are not?”

I remained silent and nodded in response. Gravast was confident that I had something special in me that will help not only me but also all the people here succeed together.

“You defeated a seasoned fighter in just a couple of weeks of training. I was a fighter with great pride, my dad was one of the fighters that used to train under a master, that’s how they passed down their teachings. I, on the contrary, wasn’t much of a disciple. I lacked the skills like my father, he was a great Wing Chun master. A great student and a great teacher, unlike him I liked new age-fighting styles like mixed martial arts, Wing Chun wasn’t something totally different, but I still used to train alone and used to try a more aggressive types of fighting moves. Only after my father died that I realised what it was all about and appreciated his efforts in keeping this art form alive single-handedly.”

After listening to Gravast, what I understood was that he still misses his father. It looked like there was a sense of regret still in his heart that he never had a good relationship with his father when he was alive. Even after that, he still didn’t let it consume him and choose to walk in his father's footsteps. Gravast was an inspiring guy, to say the least. When Gravast’s father tried opening his own dojo for free training. They saw him as an obstacle to their business which the government and private firms were running already, so they got him murdered.

It was a sad tale about a father and his son but in the end, Gravast was content with what he had left and what the future held. He didn’t want to pry on the past for too long, as he says that, “the past can be hurtful and haunting sometimes, but our actions can only dictate our future, not the time which is never going to repeat itself.”

Gravast and other people living in the Underground were inspiring in their own way. Everyone was held together by the same pain they shared. The more I look into their lives, the more I realise it’s okay to be confused and it’s okay to have no idea about your purpose. Life teaches its lessons slowly, sometimes through pain and hardships and sometimes through betrayal and grief. I am still grateful for everything I have got, and with help of those around me, I can change not only mine but everyone's fate.

I was still staring at the night sky; my eyes were shining like glitter and I was full of energy. After many months, I have felt like this.

Gravast and I were reminiscing about our past and memories and Aja called us, there were some new details about Shin he wanted to share with us. We were summoned to his room where he gave us the information. I asked Xiba to join us on our way as well, the information can be crucial.

Upon entering the room, we saw Aja, he looked perplexed. “I called you here cuz I have gotten some fresh info about Shin, and there seems to be a problem.” Xiba eyed me, looking displeased.

“What is it? I hope it’s not something related to sending assassins to kill us or something.” I spoke.

“No, it’s not the case even though I suppose they might’ve done that as well. It’s actually related to Shin himself. He’s not been seen leaving Hope’s headquarters for the past few weeks, and it's concerning. Your plan about abducting him without killing him?” He asked worryingly.

Xiba was still determined to execute it whether it was outside the facility or inside Hope’s facility. “We will still continue with the plan, I don’t think it’s any reason why we shouldn’t,” Xiba answered with confidence.

“But… to attack an enemy in his own territory, which we have no idea about is pretty dangerous,” Aja said allegedly.

What Aja still didn’t know was that Xiba was an ex-worker, and she knew who worked and which areas can be crucial for our attack. “I used to work for them and I can help a lot. Trust me, it’s the best battlefield we could ask for.”

Aja put more faith in us after hearing that and Gravast was in our favour as well. “I understand Aja, you don’t want to lose allies, but it’s time we do something before they will. We can’t just stay here and wait for God himself to come down and guide us. We need to do this now.”

“I know, what are trying to say is reasonable but I don’t want casualties.” Aja glanced over to his wife and daughter’s photo frame.

“You don’t have to worry about that Aja,” Gravast reassured Aja but he had other plans.

“Yeah? I really don’t have to worry about anything. I will be joining you guys with the infiltration and will ensure everyone will remain safe until we finish the mission.”

Gravast sighed and agreed on Aja’s terms. The only thing left was to execute the plan without any mistakes.

“By the way, where is Soya,” Xiba asked.

“Oh her? She was the one who delivered the info. She will join us tomorrow at the site.” Aja answered.