Desert Company: Retrospective

“Now that folks, was sure an interesting fight between Laoyuang and Lanu, but now we are moving onto the second to last duel of the Minor, and these two are a special bunch! Here from the left side, we have a fierce Buhang with a sahar level to rival that of champions, Suruj Garcia Zundui!”

A loud commotion swelled as he walked onto the field. Honoring his Khoitan heritage, he had a traditional hat with a conical center and a pointed top, while wearing his original silver Al-Wa uniform. As the sand crunched under his feet, his hands couldn’t help but tremble at the reality. The thing that they had wished to destroy, to escape from, was here.

“And coming from the right, the last Khoitan of the Kalyk tribe, Mouka Toqemur!”

“Can they not state my tribe name so freely?...” She complained as she fixed her fleece sweater. “So ‘Garcia’, I actually got an idea to propose.”

Suruj shouted to her. “Alright, as long as we have something to do.”

“And for the sahar density of the arena is… three hyakume! Wow, that’s practically low,” The commentator interrupted them. Suruj read that in a normal environment there would be a particle density of thirty hyakume. “Let’s hope for an exciting fight between these two!”

“These lackeys think we’re gonna duke it out,” Mouka shrugged, as they walked towards each other. “So, from what Kwazhak reported, the barrier up above is the quickest route to getting out of here… Oi, Buhang boy, you listening?” She pulled on his ear tightly.

“Ow, I’m listening.”

“Good. I was thinking about how much it would take to shatter that dome. But it would require someone with a high enough sahar level…” Mouka sighed again, annoyed. She flicked him in the head. “The only person that fits the requirement is you.”

“Me?” Suruj let out, involuntarily asking.

“Hah? Don’t be a dunce. Everyone knows that you’re the person with the most powerful saharic capabilities ever seen.”

Suruj knew why his behavior now was offsetting. He was just genuinely afraid. Afraid that he was going to lose someone close to him again and again. Afraid of letting go. He needed to focus now. One hour to figure something out.

“But in order to shatter the dome, we can’t do anything about it in this low particle density,” Suruj realized. “My spell, Daigdig requires a lot of particles beforehand, so it would take a while to even use it at a normal level.”

“Hmm… That certainly is a problem,” Mouka circled around him, thinking.

They were delt the short end of the stick. They had three chances between the Minor, Major, and Terminus, and now they were going to use up a chance. He couldn’t let the information that Kwazhak, and the late Ki Lanu had gathered go to waste, in contrast to Niktar Shunji. They were pressed for time.

“Maybe if you used that Alam Baohu that caused an explosion?” Mouka suggested with a finger.

“From what happened in Wakoku? That might work…” He acknowledged it, holding out his arm. If he could cause a blast inside the arena, then maybe… “Stand back. Alam Baohu!”

Suruj felt saharic particles coil around him, but it wasn’t enough. Using a spell was like igniting fire using flint. If there wasn’t enough sparks, then the fire couldn’t start. His heart rate began to climb as an option had disappeared from them.

“Hold on, this might work.”

“Wha-”

“Tusgal doesn’t require as much sahar compared to Baohu,” She explained, picking up a stone, “Alam Tusgal.”

The pebble warped through her left hand as it came out the opposite. Flying in the air, she stumbled to catch it. Watching how Tusgal worked gave Suruj an idea. The spell mirrored an attack, whether physical or projectile, while boosting the power of the reflected attack. The properties on how Mouka used it, were indeed correct. But there was a loophole, something that maybe she hadn’t tried before.

“M- Mouka.”

“Hm?”

“Since the reflection is based on your two palms, try to position your hands like this,” He demonstrated by making his hands face each other, “And now use the spell with the rock.”

“Okie. Alam Tusgal,” Her hands glowed as the stone passed through her left hand, out through her right, back into her left, out through her right. Each time it warped through, the rock seemed to increase in mass.

“Ghh…” Mouka struggled to keep her position.The object became heavier and heavier, until eventually she noticed that it was no longer going to fit through. Braking hand formation, the rock ejected at high speeds, propelling itself into the wall with a bang. They coughed, as the dust cleared. The tiny pebble turned into a fist-sized cobble of stone.

“We can use this,” Suruj exclaimed profoundly. “Though there needs to be a powerful projectile or something-”

“Charge up your main spell,” Mouka gestured with a smile, “That has a powerful energy burst right?”

“Yeah,” He thought back when he used it in Dyak-ar-salaam. How the ground trembled before them, white light seeping into the open air. “But I need time.”

“Then start now, there’s no time,” She referenced the timer, which was at the fifty-minute mark. Mouka grinned as they faced back to back. “Here’s a bit of leftover particles. But I’ll keep a share so that I can still activate Tusgal.”

“Thanks, appreciate it,” Suruj closed his eyes slowly, the power surrounding him. Leaning on each other, he could feel their two heads bump. The audience lay bewildered. A few minutes began to pass.

“Suruj, you done yet? There’s still more than thirty minutes left,” She leaned her head backwards, pushing his down.

“Definitely not. Even the Dine al-Othoji has more sahar…” He pushed back. “If you’re that persistent, let’s talk. How about we exchange what we did before we ended up here in this rotten hole.”

Maybe that was a bad thing to say, Suruj thought. He remembered seeing the pamphlet at the Daimyo-Wakoku Infirmary. Even so, that was the first thing he brought up as a topic. It was a while before she answered.

“How about you tell me first?” She turned her head slightly. “If anything, I’m curious to know how you went from a Buhang hot head to planning the fall of the Dineh Kazaàd.”

“Uh, well…” He began to regret what he said. “My family owned a business in Dyak-ar-salaam. After my tatay left us, my nanay took care of my little brother and I.”

“Hmhm, so that was the little kid with you, heh.”

“Wait, you’ve seen me in the city before?”

“Of course, whenever I go to the palengkes. Not that I knew anything about you back then.”

“T- that’s a bit embarrassing,” He scratched his head, concentrating.

“Okay, you said your family ‘owned’ a business. Did it fail or something?”

“...” The sounds of his mother and brother falling to the ground haunted him once again.Like flashes of lightning stung his head, particles swirling inside him. “Al-Wa… killed my family.”

“Well, um…” Mouka stuttered for the first time. “I’m pretty sure you saw what happened to my tribe during the massacre. Would you care to tell me what your family was like?”

“Sure, but in exchange I want to hear what Mouka Toqemur was like before this all happened,” He said with a straight face.

“You got me…” She uttered in defeat.

“My nanay was the most caring person I knew…” He began to recall, “Never went to school, devoting her time to the food stall that fed the entire ward. Even when business was bad, she always made me and my brother to go to school when we tried to get jobs…” His voiced slowed, as Mouka listened silently. “Told us that it would interfere with our studies. But now, am I a student anymore? As for my brother, he was a big ball of sunshine… enthusiastic from dusk to dawn. Bratty when he needs to be, apologizes when he does something bad, always says his thank-yous… I really, really, love them both.”

He felt the sparks ready to fly. Suruj gathered enough saharic particles to conjure his spell. Moving his hands, feeling the empowerment he never experienced since they were locked up in Wakoku. Ever since Tvuj Hosyi gave him that push.

“I’m ready to use it, Mouka,” He alerted her.

“Eh? Already? Okay then, bring it on,” She took a few steps backward, and they faced each other again. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Once you catch it, I’ll immediately withdraw,” They nodded in unison. This was it. “Alam… Daigdig!”

His fist grew white. He plunged it into the ground, shaking the field and the stadium itself. The stands bent to his will as lights flickered. The sandstone cracked apart. Within the cracks, beams of energy seeped through. Mouka sought to grab one. In order to survive, it had to be a miracle.

“Alam Tusgal.”

An energy beam phased through her hand. She clasped it in the position Suruj instructed. It traveled back and forth between her hands, the amplified beam transformed into a blinding white.

“Hah… Gh…” She fumbled, trying to keep her balance on the uneven terrain. Suruj grabbed onto her shoulders to keep her grounded. It slowly turned into a deadly laser.

“Suruj! I don’t think I can’t hold it much longer! I gotta shoot it or my hands get blown off!”

“Aim it at the barrier above!” Suruj pointed quickly. She aimed her hands at the sky. The laser impacted in a split of a second. A loud boom sounded afterwards. Everything turned a glinting white. No one saw anything but a shimmering glow.

When the light finally cleared, the ground was devastated. The walls bore cracks. Suruj laid on the ground. Cramps settled in. He got to his feet. Red blood dripped down the side of his head, exasperated.

“Mouka?... Where are you? Are you alright?” He paced frantically with blurry vision.

“Oi, I’m here,” She raised her hand up with a painful expression. Suruj ran over to her, ignoring the buckling bones and knees.

“Did we do it?” He coughed, as he glimpsed the aftermath. However, the odds weren't in their favor. Mouka damaged the dome with such force that many cracks filled the barrier up above, but it was still there. They were still trapped.

“This is…” The commentator was in awe, “The barrier rotunda is cracked… with only ten minutes remaining!”

“No… This can’t be…” Suruj’s legs gave out. He couldn’t accept it.

“Well Buhang boy, I guess I can’t share the chronicles of Mouka Toqemur… At least in person,” She exclaimed with a sad smile. Suruj shook his head heavily.

“What do you mean by that?... Oy…” He didn’t want to accept it.

“I thought I was good at hiding myself with happiness, but I’ve turned out to be pretty honest when I’m with you,” Mouka moved in and landed on him with a hug. Suruj never responded back, her head resting on his shoulder.

“No… What?... We can still get out of here I- If I can conjure another spell then-”

“From one friend to another, this is for the best,” She moved her hand to his back. “Alam Sariqat: Smitting Drain.”