His whispers resonated deeply in Tai's head as they told them a secret of his soul, the one he had uncovered when he awakened.
[You are a servant that wishes not to be claimed by it, but it clings onto your very essence, pushing you and driving you to the world's cursed outcome]
[You are the one the world scorns, he who shall sin against its practices, a true sinner who committed the sin of weakness and hence you are exposed to it, and it welcomes you to embrace it, but upon this journey of weakness, you shall be a slave of the world, you shall ascend as the sinner of weakness]
Those words were of foreboding, but instead of discouraging him, they made him want to continue on this path with a greater zeal.
The golem prepared and attacked him first this time around, bringing down the great sword upon his head, but Tai moved to dodge it. He stepped aside, ducked and backed up slightly.
Dodging each attack, the golem sent his way, but not risking to parry, for whatever this dagger touches shall be reduced to dust.
He turned and ducked to dodge one strike before stepping onto the blade and delivering a knee hook to the golem's face.
The creature backed up only to see Tai upon it once more. He sliced with his dagger, aiming for the spot he couldn't protect, the weak spot in his defence.
The golem pulled back and was still gently grazed by the dagger. It looked down at its wound and saw the area slowly turn brown and begin to crack.
"Sinner of Weakness, so you cast this sin against me, and hence the world burdens me with corrosion"
Tai did not respond; instead, he raced towards the golem that didn't hesitate to raise its sword to confront him once again.
But he could see it now, the weakness of the golem, all the weak spots the opponent left exposed, what a thrill of always knowing your opponent's physical weakness
He and the golem exchanged blow after blow. He could allow his father's sword to corrode, so he did not allow the blade to touch the blade; instead, he blocked with the dagger's handle.
He slammed it into the sword's side as it slashed at him from the side, forcing his opponent off balance.
Tai was determined to take back what was his at all costs, and so this golem had to fall. He slid on his knees to dodge a slash from above and once again cut the golem's leg with the dagger before twisting his body and standing up to face the golem.
The golem fell to its knees before its eyes gave off a bright glow, and the sword in its hands soon followed as it stood up with the sword in its hands absorbing all the light around it.
"Sword forged for the dragon, Aurethonos, listen to my call and devour the light"
The room grew darker, causing Tai to freeze for a moment, but there was no time to freeze. He quickly bolted towards the golem, which responded by placing the sword at its back.
Tai threw his dagger, but the golem dodged before preparing that rib-shattering punch once more, but Tai will not be beaten with the same trick twice.
He side-stepped and jumped onto the hand of the golem and landed a kick of his own to the golem. He felt a sharp pain pass through his leg, but who cared?"
He jumped over the golem and attempted to grab the sword, but was foiled by the golem that blocked him and proceeded to send a myriad of punches his way, but Tao was not intending to die here.
He dodged and moved fluidly on the battlefield, moving backwards as he did. He finally reached the dagger as the light in the whole room suddenly disappeared.
But not for long, as a huge burst of blinding light appeared at the centre of the room as Tai saw the golem with a burst of pure white light, leaving the sword, bringing out a weird contrast of the golem's crystal body and the dark background
"Sword forged for the dragon, Aurethonos, listen to my call and let your light annihilate all life that stands in my path"
The light burst out of the sword, disappeared for just an instant, before bursting out at once, with the golem slashing down with its massive blade.
The light travelled towards Tai, who looked and searched for his escape. The attack covered the entire room and threatened to engulf him, but suddenly, the King's edge whispered to him.
[The previous king's talent is one you shall need and one I shall grant for the sake of my precious king, he who serves the Primordial Owl]
Tai now saw a weakness, and he exploited it. He let a wave of soul flame pour into the dagger before releasing a huge slash that went to pursue the golem's own attack.
The two attacks meant that Tai's attack was easily overpowered by the light attack, but he had already seen his loophole.
The attack destroyed most of the room, which slowly regained its light. The golem looked around but saw no sight of Tai.
The golem suddenly turned and saw Tai jumping with the dagger in his hand. The dagger spun in his hand as he put it in position to stab the golem in the chest.
The golem stumbled back.
"How did you survive that?"
"Do not underestimate my will to live, maybe a level one awakened, but I can still use my head and all the tools I have at hand, and all I needed was a little loophole"
The golem laughed
"So, you used that attack to create a temporary hole in my attack that you escaped through and used the chaos to sneak up on me"
The golem fell to its knees as the corrosion began to take its body. Tai moved carefully towards it, a cold look on his face.
"You really are his son. I stayed here to keep my promise to your father, a good friend of mine. I wanted to repay him for everything, but can this knight ask you for a favour?"
Tai sighed as he briefly nodded at the golem that raised its head to speak to him.
"My body and memory have both faded, but there is a memory I still cling to, my kingdom, my daughter, please help me find her, so that my soul can finally know rest"
"Tell me, Golem, who is your daughter?"
The golem let its head fall as it whispered a name to him
"Lyrrah, her name is Lyrrah"
Tai fell still as the golem raised the sword to him and faced the ground as if inviting him to cut off its head.
"This sword has been crafted as per your father's wishes, and it is only this sword that may grant me rest, so please use it to behead me"
Wait, this is Lyrrah's father, no, it wasn't accurate, he was a soul-enchanted weapon with Lyrrah's father as the soul powering it.
"I can't, I can't kill her father"
"But you also can't leave him to suffer. Those words tell me you have already met my daughter, so this is my only request: slay me and free me from this prison; it has to be you"
Tai felt his hands shake as he reached out and caught the sword that he raised above the golem's head.
"Please no, l don't want to kill you"
The golem shook its head
" Please, this is a promise I must fulfil, so let me fulfil it, let my soul fade into the afterlife and not cling onto this futile life I have"
Tai finally gave in and, with one slash, beheaded the golem