Chapter 75. Dominic’s Resolve
As the massacre unfolded, dread filled the eyes of every student watching. Within the span of a few moments, students had fallen like dead leaves shaken from a tree. By now, half of them lay motionless on the ground, their bodies torn apart, severed heads scattered across the clearing, blood pooling and flowing through the dirt like a crimson river.
As they watched, whatever courage they’d managed to summon began to fade away. They had no idea what they were supposed to do, or what they could even do anymore. They stood frozen in place, watching friends, classmates, people they’d known for years, lying dead before them, and knowing that at any moment, they could be next. There was no way out of this. They stared at the abomination standing among them, waiting for what felt like an inevitable death.
Dominic, standing among them, had just watched Hana and Alana die right in front of his eyes. And yet, even now, he hadn’t gone to help them. He simply stood there, frozen with shame, trapped in indecision over what to do. Should he honor the promise he’d made to his sister, or should he act like a proper warrior and go help his companions? Dominic couldn’t decide. He was drowning in a sea of his own hesitation, sinking deeper and deeper toward the bottom. And the further he sank, the more memories rose to the surface above him, memories of his childhood, of growing up, of learning swordsmanship from his father, of the day his sister was born. He saw the image of his family gathered together around the dinner table.
Then one particular memory rose to the surface. He was standing in his father’s study, his father before him, facing the window, gazing out at the moon in the night sky. Dominic stood a short distance behind him, staring at his father’s broad shoulders. Then he heard his father speak.
"Listen, son. I won’t always be here to guide you. You’ll face many obstacles throughout your life. And there will come a time when you’ll have to choose between two things that both matter deeply to you. When that time comes, how will you decide which one to choose?"
His father asked him the question, and Dominic had no idea how to answer.
"I don’t know, Father."
His father turned away from the window to face him. His hair was blond, just like Dominic’s, with a neatly trimmed mustache above his lip. Deep lines creased his face in several places, and his eyes were a bright, striking blue. He wore a fine black suit and trousers.
His father walked slowly toward him, then reached out and pressed a hand gently against Dominic’s chest, right over his heart.
"Listen to your heart. If you ever find yourself in such a predicament, do whatever your heart tells you to do. Just follow that feeling, whatever the outcome might be. You yourself will never regret the decision you made. This is the way of Aslan. This is how all of us live. And you should carry that same conviction, my son."
As the memory played out before him, Dominic stared at it wide-eyed for a long moment. Then his gaze hardened, and he began pulling himself up from the depths of that sea, slowly leaving his sea of doubt behind him. At last, he broke through to the surface.
Dominic had made his decision. He gripped his sword tightly and fixed his full attention on the abomination before him.
He would fight.
He gripped his sword and began advancing slowly toward the creature. He was entirely alone now, after watching the massacre unfold before them, none of the other students had the courage to move forward with him. When they saw him walking out alone, they stared at him with a strange, uneasy look, unable to understand why he’d do such a thing. But none of them had the courage to ask him either. They simply stood frozen where they were, watching him walk toward it.
Sarliya stood at a distance, tears welling in her eyes, watching Dominic advance alone toward Xath’rael. Seeing him move like that, she understood exactly what was going through his mind, because she was thinking the very same thing herself, she wanted to avenge Hana and Alana too. But there was nothing she could do. All she could do was stand here and watch from behind. Yet watching Dominic walk toward it alone, something in her shifted. No, she couldn’t just stand here and watch. She had to help him somehow, in whatever way she could. Otherwise, she’d carry the guilt of this moment for the rest of her life.
She raised both hands forward, aiming them at Dominic. She was about to attempt something she hadn’t yet properly trained for, something dangerous. But she didn’t care about the risk anymore. Whatever happened to her, she would help him now, and help him avenge their companions.
Sarliya closed her eyes, both hands still raised, and began gathering every last drop of divine energy in her body into her palms. As she did, a golden light began radiating from her entire form. And not only that, blood began streaming steadily from her nose. She didn’t stop. She kept drawing more and more of her divine energy into her hands. After a moment, she opened her eyes, and they blazed with a brilliant golden light. Blood began trickling from beneath her eyes as well. But still, she didn’t stop. She poured every last ounce of her strength into gathering the divine energy into her palms.
"Divine Blessing, Haven of Tranquility."
The golden divine energy surged from her hands and struck Dominic directly. The instant it hit him, he felt strength surging through his body, building steadily, as though some strange new power had taken root inside him. He turned back to look behind him, and his eyes fell on Sarliya, still standing with both hands outstretched, blood streaming from her eyes and nose. Then he heard her speak to him, her voice soft.
"You can do this."
The moment she finished speaking, Sarliya collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The divine studies department students rushed to her side immediately and began working to heal her. Watching this, Dominic turned his head back around to face forward, his gaze settling on Xath’rael, which was staring back at him, its mandibles clicking together. Dominic gripped his sword with both hands and planted his feet firmly apart. He drew in a long breath.
"Here I come."
Dominic gripped his sword with both hands and charged straight at Xath’rael. The instant he moved, he realized his speed had increased dramatically, so much that it took him less than a second to close the entire distance between them. Even Xath’rael seemed briefly startled by the sudden burst of speed. The moment Dominic reached it, he dropped into a slide, sweeping beneath its massive frame.
As he slid beneath Xath’rael, he thrust his sword straight upward, aiming for its belly. But the skin there was so tough that his blade couldn’t fully pierce through. Still, he pushed forward with everything he had, driving the sword against the creature as he continued sliding beneath it, until he emerged out the other side. Though his sword hadn’t managed to plunge deep into its stomach, it had carved a fairly deep gash along the underside of its belly.
Xath’rael let out a roar the instant the blade tore across its stomach, and lashed out with a kick from one of its goat-like hind legs. As the strike came at him, Dominic caught it with the flat of his blade, deflecting the blow, but the force of the impact sent him hurtling backward through the air. Even mid-flight, he twisted his body around, landed cleanly on his feet, and drove his sword into the ground to slow his momentum.
He didn’t waste a single moment recovering. The instant he steadied himself, he broke into another sprint, closing the distance in the blink of an eye and appearing before Xath’rael once more. A strange power still surged through his entire body, sharpening both his courage and his thoughts. As he closed in on Xath’rael again, he gripped his sword tightly and struck.
"Aslan Style, First Sword: Gentle Rain."
He gripped the sword with both hands and brought it down in a clean vertical slash aimed straight at its arm. The instant it connected, one of its claws was severed clean off, falling to the ground below.
The moment its claw was severed, Xath’rael let out a thunderous roar. Black blood began pouring steadily from the wound where the claw had been torn away, and Xath’rael pressed its two upper hands hard against the injury, trying to stem the flow.
Watching this, the students were stunned. None of them had managed to inflict any real damage on the creature, not until now, seeing Dominic actually wound it. A spark of courage began to rekindle among them. Several students, weapons in hand, slowly started moving forward to join him. But what they saw next was something none of them were prepared for.