Planet with no name.
The Alpha gorilla charged.
His massive three-meter-twenty body tore through the ash-laden air like a meteor of flesh and muscle. His fists, veritable masses of volcanic stone, came crashing down on me in a hooking motion that would have pulverized an armored vehicle. The ground trembled beneath each of his steps.
I didn't retreat.
My Primarch mind analyzed everything. The trajectory of his arms. The position of his footing. The slight imbalance on his left flank. Every detail broke down in slow motion, as if time itself was slowing to let me think. Thank you, Vulkan's body. Thank you, superhuman reflexes.
I dodged the first blow by pivoting on myself. The gorilla's fist passed within inches of my face, the wind of its passage ruffling my short black hair. I felt the heat radiating from his knuckles, the lava pulsing beneath his cracked skin.
The creature immediately followed up with a second strike, a massive straight punch aimed at my torso. I blocked with my forearm. The impact produced a dull thud, like two granite blocks crashing together. The force was colossal. My feet slid back a few inches in the volcanic ash, carving two parallel furrows.
But I held firm. My Primarch muscles absorbed the shock without flinching.
Vulkan: "Not bad. But I've known tougher brothers."
I counterattacked. A straight right to the beast's gut. My fist sank into the burning flesh with a muffled thud. The Alpha grunted, surprised by the power of the riposte, and stepped back. His incandescent eyes widened slightly. He had clearly never met an opponent capable of standing up to him.
The other gorillas, forming a circle around us, pounded the ground with renewed excitement. Their drumming beat out the rhythm of the fight like the percussion of an ancient arena.
---
The fight then transformed into a titanic wrestling match.
The Alpha charged again, but this time he didn't try to strike me. He wanted to immobilize me, to crush me in a deadly embrace. His immense arms opened wide to seize me.
I ducked and dove under his embrace. My hands grabbed his wrists. My feet anchored into the ground. I used a Brazilian jiu-jitsu technique, a hip throw, one I had seen hundreds of times on the internet, in another life, on my couch, watching MMA videos I never dared to practice.
But today, I dared.
Today, I could.
I pivoted my body and used the gorilla's momentum against him. The massive creature flipped over my shoulder and crashed onto his back in a cloud of black ash. The ground shook. The other gorillas let out cries of shock.
The Alpha rose quickly, more furious than injured. The lava flowed faster through the cracks in his skin, proof of his anger. He roared and charged again.
This time, he tried to grab me by the waist. His enormous fingers closed around me like steel talons. The pressure was crushing. Even for a Primarch, it was painful. He lifted me off the ground, seeking to crush me against his burning chest.
Vulkan: "Good technique. But here's mine."
I recalled a wrestling match I had seen on YouTube. A trapped wrestler who had managed to break free using his elbows. I inhaled, focused, and struck.
My elbows came down on his finger joints with surgical precision. One, two, three strikes. Each impact targeted a pressure point, a nerve, a joint. The gorilla's grip weakened. His fingers loosened against his will.
I dropped back to the ground and immediately followed up. I grabbed his right wrist and twisted it in a karate joint lock. The Alpha groaned in pain, his massive arm bent behind his back at an uncomfortable angle. He tried to break free through brute force, but technique trumped power.
Vulkan: "Wrestling isn't just about muscles. It's also about mechanics."
I pushed him back and we found ourselves face to face, a few meters apart. The Alpha was panting. Me, I was smiling.
---
The fight continued like this for long minutes.
I used everything I had learned watching combat videos on the internet. Boxing for dodges and direct strikes. Karate for blocks and precise hits. Wrestling for throws and pins. Jiu-jitsu for locks and chokes.
But above all, I used my perception. That strange ability my Primarch brain had developed: analyzing the opponent's movements, anticipating his intentions, reading his muscles before they even contracted.
The Alpha raised his right arm? I anticipated a hook and ducked left. He bent his knees? I anticipated a charge and prepared to counter. His eyes fixed on my throat? I knew where he was going to strike before he even knew himself.
The fight was magnificent. A brutal dance between two forces of nature. Two alpha predators fighting for the top of the food chain.
The spectator gorillas had stopped drumming. They watched, fascinated, as their chief battled this stranger with black skin and red tattoo. Some tilted their heads, as if trying to understand what they were seeing.
---
Finally, the Alpha understood he couldn't beat me through brute force alone. He changed strategy. He began circling me, searching for an opening, his incandescent eyes gleaming with a new intelligence.
He feinted right and attacked left. I almost got caught. His massive paw grazed my shoulder, tearing the leather of my loincloth. A few drops of blood beaded on my obsidian skin.
Vulkan: "Well played. You learn fast."
I smiled. This gorilla was a formidable opponent. He learned. He adapted. He deserved my respect.
But the fight had to end.
The Alpha charged one last time, claws fully out, determined to finish it. He leaped, his arms spread for a final embrace, his open maw revealing stone fangs.
I didn't retreat. I didn't block. I ducked under his guard, grabbed his waist, and used all my Primarch strength to lift him. His feet left the ground. His arms flailed in the air, surprised.
A perfect throw. A pure Greco-Roman wrestling move.
The Alpha crashed onto his back, the wind knocked out of him. Before he could rise, I placed myself above him, one knee on his chest, my right hand raised, ready to strike.
Our gazes met. His incandescent eyes plunged into my red eyes. He was panting. The lava flowed gently from the cracks in his skin. He knew he was defeated.
I lowered my hand.
Vulkan: "You are a worthy opponent. I will not kill you."
I stood up and extended my hand. A universal gesture. A gesture of peace.
The Alpha stared at me for a long moment. Then, slowly, he grasped my hand with his massive paw. I pulled him to his feet. He straightened up, beat his chest once, softly this time. A sign of respect.
The other gorillas exploded into cries and drumming. But it was no longer a war chant. It was a celebration. The intruder was no longer an enemy. He was an equal.
Vulkan: "I name you Winston. Like the gorilla from my childhood memories."
The Alpha, now named Winston, inclined his head as if he understood. Then he turned his back and disappeared into his gallery. The other gorillas followed him, vanishing one by one into the darkness.
I remained alone on the ash plain, my body covered in sweat and volcanic dust, the red mark of Kratos glowing softly on my skin.
The volcano awaited me. But I had earned far more than a fight. I had earned the respect of the creatures of this land. I had proven that Vulkan the Primarch could conquer without killing.
And that victory was worth all the treasures of the cosmos.
Vulkan: "Alright. The road continues."
I adjusted my torn loincloth and resumed my march toward the mountain of fire. Behind me, the galleries faded into the distance. But I knew that if I ever passed this way again, I would be welcomed as a friend.
As a brother in combat.