Chapter 49 – A Duel Above the Heavens I

Gasping for breath, Prince Aerion’s eyes darted back toward his castle and noticed something—or someone—was flying toward him.

It was Shawn, soaring through the air on the back of Prince Aerion’s eagle, the wind whipping against his face as the creature’s powerful wings beat furiously. Prince Aerion, hovering high above the castle, was utterly shocked. His jaw clenched, his wings tensed, and his eyes widened as he beheld Shawn—the man he had been battling only moments ago—now riding his own steed. Shawn, gripping the eagle’s feathers tightly, locked eyes with the prince, his expression a fierce blend of determination and triumph.

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Just moments earlier.

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When Shawn had leapt after Prince Aerion, only to miss by mere inches and crash back to the ground, while Prince Aerion took flight to escape the relentless pressure of battle. As the prince rose higher, hovering above the castle, he believed he had gained the upper hand by putting distance between himself and Shawn, convinced that no one could reach him in the skies.

Shawn, grounded and breathless from the failed leap, scanned the battlefield with sharp, calculating eyes. He needed a way to reach the prince—something, anything that could close the gap. That was when he noticed it: the faintest movement beneath a pile of broken stone near a cracked pillar. A slow smirk crossed his face as a plan began to form. He sheathed his glaive across his back and strode toward the rubble. Then he shoved his hands into the stones and grabbed something—the wing of Prince Aerion’s eagle—and pulled the bird out from the pile.

As Shawn dragged the eagle from the rubble, the massive bird stirred, its body trembling as dust fell from its feathers. It shook its head weakly, blinking as if the world around it no longer made sense. The sharp, golden eyes that once burned with loyalty and purpose now flickered with disorientation, clouded by the blow it had taken. The creature tried to focus, but its memory was fractured—its master, its purpose, all lost in the haze of confusion. When its gaze finally settled on Shawn, whose imposing figure was casting a long shadow over it. There was no recognition, only the instinctive fear of a wounded beast confronted by an unfamiliar figure. The eagle screeched, a raw and broken sound, its wings flapping feebly as it struggled to rise, caught between panic and helplessness.

But before the bird could thrash itself free, Shawn stepped forward and placed his foot, pinning one of its wings against the ground, holding the massive creature still and pressing the cold edge of his glaive to its throat. The eagle froze, trembling in its confusion, its golden eyes wide and unfocused. Shawn leaned in, his voice low and commanding, cutting through the bird’s disoriented cries. “Listen to me. You have no choice but to obey me. You will carry me, up there—into the sky.”

The eagle blinked, flapped its free wing and let out a screech of protest as its head twitched in confusion as it processed what Shawn was asking. But Shawn leaned in closer, his gaze as sharp as his weapon. “Listen,” he said with a cold edge to his voice, “if you try anything funny up there, I’ll make sure you never see the skies again. Got it?” The weight of his threat hung heavy in the air.

The eagle, recognising the seriousness in Shawn’s voice, gave a small nod and let out a sharp eagle cry, signalling its compliance. Shawn removed the glaive from its throat and stepped off its wing. Shawn watched as the eagle stood, shaking off the dust and debris from the crash, its massive wings stretching out with a powerful flap. The beast bent its head toward the ground, a signal for Shawn to climb aboard. Without wasting a moment, Shawn vaulted onto the bird’s back, with his glaive held firmly in one hand.

The great bird flapped with a mighty thrust of its wings, rising from the ground in a gust of wind that sent debris scattering. The eagle launched itself into the sky, the ground falling away beneath them as they ascended toward Prince Aerion. Shawn held onto the eagle’s feathers as the rush of the wind rushed around them as Shawn leaned into the bird’s movements and, with subtle shifts of his body, positioned himself to become one with the bird to avoid drag. With powerful strokes, soaring up toward the open skies, the two of them were airborne at breakneck speed, locked onto the distant figure of Prince Aerion, who hovered in the air, his white wings catching the light against the sun. The castle below is shrinking as they rise higher in the sky toward Prince Aerion.

From his vantage point, Prince Aerion could only watch in disbelief as Shawn closed the distance between them.  Prince Aerion’s fury surged like a wildfire as he watched Shawn, riding the very eagle he had raised and trained, now carrying his opponent. His heart pounded in his chest, not just from the exertion of battle but from the anger and sheer shock of betrayal from what he was witnessing. Now, Shawn and Prince Aerion have prepared for the final clash in the skies.

“How dare he!” Aerion seethed. His wings flared wide as he channelled all his energy into one devastating attack. His body curled inward, and his wings shimmered with white and silver light, glowing brighter and brighter, until his wings and hair became like radiant blades of light. With a powerful flick of his shoulders, Prince Aerion unleashed two glowing slash waves from his wings. They twisted through the air like twin serpents, merging into a massive, radiant crescent that sped towards Shawn and the eagle like a blade forged of pure vengeance.

“This ends now!” Prince Aerion roared, sending the deadly wave hurtling toward his adversary. The attack wasn’t just meant to strike Shawn—it was meant to obliterate both the traitorous bird and the man who dared to defy him, but lest he know that his loyal companion had lost its memory.

Shawn saw the incoming wave of energy, its silvery brilliance lighting up the sky. He felt the shift beneath him as the eagle, sensing danger, slowed its flight and prepared to dodge. The bird’s instincts were sharp despite losing its memory, but its hesitation would lose the momentum that Shawn had gained till now.

“Keep going!” Shawn ordered, his voice firm. Rising to his feet atop the eagle’s back, Shawn placed his hand on the top of the bird’s head, steadying himself for the leap he was about to make. The energy wave was nearly upon them, its glow reflecting off the sharp edge of his glaive.

In one swift motion, Shawn pushed off from the eagle, launching himself forward into the air, his glaive raised high. The enormous slash wave came crashing down, but Shawn, with a fierce shout, swung his glaive down, meeting the energy head-on. The force of the impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air, but Shawn’s blade, imbued with his own power, cleaved the massive slash in two. The energy split, veering off to either side of the eagle, missing it entirely.

As the cut halves of the attack dissipated into nothing, Shawn began to free-fall, plummeting toward the ground. But just before he could fall too far, the eagle swooped in, its powerful claws caught around the glaive’s shaft. Then, with a mighty swing of its wings, the bird threw Shawn back up into the air, as he landed gracefully on its back once more.

The two of them resumed their dash toward the prince, now closing the gap between them faster than ever. Shawn’s eyes narrowed, his determination unshakable. Prince Aerion’s powerful attack had failed, and now it was his turn.

Prince Aerion watched in disbelief, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His mind raced as he watched Shawn cut through his most powerful slash. That attack had drained him of much of his energy, leaving him vulnerable. The force of his emotions had gotten the better of him, and now he was paying the price. “No…” he whispered, barely able to believe what had just happened. “I let my rage consume me again…”

His wings trembled as he hovered in the sky, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He could feel his strength waning. “I don’t have the energy for another attack like that,” he admitted to himself, his voice shaky with exhaustion. His once-proud wings, glowing with their radiant silver light, now flickered as if the power behind them was faltering.

Prince Aerion looked down at Shawn, who was now speeding toward him on the back of his own eagle.

As Shawn neared Prince Aerion, his gaze remained unflinching, radiating fierce determination. The air between them crackled with tension, and though Prince Aerion’s wings flared out wide, a symbol of his pride and defiance, there was a flicker of doubt in his heart. He hadn’t expected Shawn to adapt so quickly, to push him to this edge. Hovering in the air, Prince Aerion searched for a way to turn the tide of the battle in his favour. His experience in the skies had always been his strength, but without his glaive, a weapon he had relied on so deeply, doubt gnawed at him.

As Shawn and the eagle sped toward him, Prince Aerion’s sharp mind raced, then a shadow glanced over him as he looked up to see a roiling mass of thick clouds overhead and felt the stirrings of a plan take shape. A grin spread across his face, a mixture of confidence and desperation. “I may not have my weapon or enough energy,” he muttered to himself, “but I can still use the skies and these clouds to my advantage; they might give me just the advantage I need.”

With a furious beat of his wings, Prince Aerion shot into the cover of the clouds. Shawn decided to follow without hesitation, not fully realising what the prince had planned. The eagle beneath him gave chase, its keen eyes locking onto Prince Aerion’s figure for a brief moment, but as they ascended deeper into the dense cloud cover, visibility quickly vanished. The world around them turned into a grey haze of mist, the thick clouds blinding them.

The eagle screeched in frustration, struggling to navigate through the dense fog, its flight becoming unsteady as the mists wrapped around them like a shroud. “It’s fine,” Shawn reassured the bird, patting its neck firmly to calm it down, his voice steady despite the sudden change in their environment. “We’ll find him.” He tightened his grip on his glaive, his senses on high alert.

But just as he spoke, Prince Aerion struck.

Out of nowhere, with a terrifying burst of speed, Prince Aerion swooped from above, his wings slicing through the mist. His powerful strike hit the eagle, sending both the bird and Shawn into a momentary spiral. The eagle’s wings flapped furiously to regain balance, and Shawn, clinging to its back, held his breath as they stabilised.

Shawn cursed under his breath. “Looks like he wants to play games now.”

Prince Aerion’s strategy became clear. He was using the cover of the clouds, striking from all directions, vanishing back into the mist before Shawn could react. The thick cloud cover disoriented both Shawn and the eagle, robbing them of the ability to anticipate the prince’s moves. Each time Shawn tried to get a sense of where the prince might come from next, the prince swooped in from an unexpected direction, his wings like blades cutting through the air. The hits came fast and relentlessly. Prince Aerion’s wings, sharp and unforgiving, slashed across the eagle’s side and even grazed Shawn’s arm, sending sparks of pain through him. The prince was too fast, too unpredictable, darting through the clouds. His wings, though part of his body, were weapons now—swift, silent, deadly.

“Damn it!” Shawn growled as another strike came from behind, slicing across the eagle’s flank, causing the bird to cry out in pain. Shawn’s mind raced. Every time he swung his glaive in defence, Prince Aerion was already gone, back into the swirling mist. He couldn’t keep up with the prince’s aerial manoeuvring. The strikes were shallow but relentless, chipping away at his defences and wearing them down.

Prince Aerion’s mocking laughter echoed through the clouds, adding to Shawn’s growing frustration. “Having trouble finding me, aren’t you?” Prince Aerion taunted, his voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. “These clouds are my domain! Here, I am the hunter—and you, Shawn, are nothing more than my prey.“