ALESSANDRO'S POV

We jump. We're in the air. We're falling. We're getting closer. We're three feet away. We're on the ground.

I cover my head and let my body roll on the sand, taking in the fall and allowing gravity to push me back up.

I shoot my eyes open and look around, I trace down every face, I count them over and over, I make sure everyone landed, I make sure everyone is present when I don't find Dante.

Adriano is laying on his stomach, groaning and gripping his forehead. I see Julia, Kira next to Emilion, Armando, Lilianna shaking the sand out of her hair and it hits me. Akila is not here.

I lose focus, I lose my sight and stand up. I rose to my feet and gaze around, my mind playing the worst scenarios, my mind turning hallucinations into reality, my mind is spinning, my eyes are seeing things, I'm imagining things, I'm doing things out of control, I don't know what I'm doing.

I hear my own voice, I hear it loud and clear, I hear it shout and scream, I hear it angry and full of rage, I hear it fall out for Akila. "Where the fuck is Akila"

They all look at me, they stare at me in horror and hesitation. Who's going to answer? Who can answer? Who knows the answer.

No one does. No one knows. She's gone and no one knows where, no one knows if she's just planning something or never coming back.

"Find her" I bark at the many faces in front of me. They jump to their feet in fear and start running, they run further, they sprint and search, they're travelling behind trees, wood and a forest. We landed next to a forest. We landed on a beach. An island.

I move and advance to a huge mountain, I check the pistol in my back hostler and snatch it out. I turn it around, I look for any signs, any notes, anything she could've left behind but I find nothing.

I must find her. I have to find her. I will find her. I'm not losing her today, I'm not losing her to this, I'm not losing her.

Dante. Dante. Dante. Dante and Akila. Akila and Dante. You're losing, you're losing both Alessandro.

I hear gunshots. I hear two bullets shot into the sky. I'm too furious to take cover, I'm too furious to hide and observe from a distance, to make the right move because right now, I got nothing to lose, I got no one to hide for, I got no one to go back to.

My body is shaking, not in fear, not in terror, in madness, in losing my mind, losing Dante, losing Akila.

I didn't get time. I didn't have time. The gunshots continued, the gunshots aimed, the gunshots aimed at me.

Emilion hovered over me and pushed me to the ground, we both fell on the sand and sat up. "What the hell are you doing" he asks me, he's angry, he's messed up, we're all messed up.

I ignore him, I don't speak, I'm unable to speak. I try to get back up when he pulls me back. I take a deep breath in, I tame the urge to shoot him with the pistol in my hand, I tame my temper and send him a glare, I send him a look of dominance, of a reminder who I am and who he is.

"Alessandro" my name, it's always my goddamn name. "We will find her, we will look everywhere just please, stay down and will figure this out" he begs, he motions me to hide my face, to hide where we stand and he's right, I should listen, I should have listened.

I get back up and the shooter locks eyes with me, I catch his eyes, his eyes.

I feel nothing. I feel so much that I feel none. I feel numb. I feel nothing. I feel silence. I feel air. I feel light. I feel heavy. I feel murder. I feel blood. I feel death. I feel his blood. I feel his death.

I hear footsteps behind me, I hear their footsteps. They gathered around, they must've heard the gunshots as a sign, of course he wants us all together, of course he wants to make the kill in one shot, of course he wants to kill his son in one shot.

And God knows, only God knows how badly I crave it, how badly I was ready to kill myself just to see him die, just to see him suffer and get set on fire, set on swords, set, set to death.

I'm not trapped, I'm not locked away from the world, I'm ruining him, I'm destroying him, I'm weakening him by my existence, I'm weakening him by being his son, by being stronger, more powerful and worthy. I'm breaking into his head, I'm crashing and abolishing him, I'm twisting his mind, I'm manipulating him, I'm overworking him and I'm killing him.

We stay in position, we don't move an inch, we're frozen, we're fixed, we're broken, so broken there's nothing left to shatter, nothing left to secure, nothing left to protect, nothing left to wish for but revenge. Revenge.

I was ready. I was ready for anything. I was ready to die. I was ready to take my life with his. I was ready to end us both if that's what it takes.

But. That word.

Hell if I thought there was nothing left to break, there was nothing left to shield and save because now, my father's side, stood by him my mother.

She's crying, she's fighting back, she's calling for me, she's trembling, she's screaming for mercy, she's screaming for me to save her, to stop this, to end this.

He's using her, he's using his wife to bait me, to attempt my own murder, to drive me places, to drive me to things, things I would soon enough lose control over.

He knows, he knows what she means to me, he knows and he heard, he snuck around us and listened to her confront me when he would make me cry, when he would shout in my face, when he told me I'm useless, I'm nothing, I will never be anything, I will never be a man, I will never make a good leader, I will never make it.

He's holding her, he's grabbing her arm and forcing her to walk, she's going down, she's fighting him back, she's fragile, she's nowhere near his strength, but I am.

I throw the pistol, I leave it to the sand to drown, to suck it up and vanish. Enzo takes off the weapon hung around his chest, he throws it to the side, he lets go of my mother, he shoves her on the sand, the same sand I'm standing on, the same sand I'm dying on, the same sand I'm killing him on.

Only if I knew, Enzo had plans, Enzo was not a smart man but he was a ruthless man, a bastards who only knows how to fight, how to torture and kill.

It seems like he forgot, it seems like he had forgotten, forgotten so many things, things he shouldn't have forgotten, things he will regret forgetting.

An army. An army full of a hundred men in total broke in every direction, every path for escape, an escape I wasn't planning to do. I'm sick, I'm a nasty man, I'm the son of Enzo Santoro, I'm Alessandro Santoro, I'm a monster, I'm a sociopath, I'm a murderer.

I smile. My lips creep into a smile through war, through my sadness, through my anger, through the great falling, through the sky, the sky is splitting up, it's separating, it's cracking, it's failing.

While the whole universe is tearing apart, my eyes found him through chaos, through bullets, through blood, our shared blood, our blood.

He's waiting, he's patient and ready for my next move, my next gesture, my next reaction, any reaction. We're seven against a hundred, they're six against a hundred, I'm one against one.

Like father like son, like a previous leader like a current leader, a mistaken leader, a mistake he made. He's standing now against me, he's fighting against me, he's in this position because of his parenting, his teaching, his training, his creation.

I became his own creation, his own little project that slipped under his hand, slipped under his control and here I am, here we are on the day of his death and mine.

He's aware of it, we're both aware and accept it, we accept it like a gift, a present on Christmas morning. Death has never been a point to discuss, to worry about nor mention. Death is near, it's close and frequent among us, present and roaming our worlds, our bodies, it's hungry, it's endless and watchful. Death, your last ticket out of life, out of your soul, out of everything. It sounds peaceful, it sounds heavenly for those who walk earth with a pure heat, with clean hands unlike us, unlike our sins, unlike our hands marked with blood, with crime and iniquity.

We're set on land to kill, to take out lives and send them to heaven but once we're gone, once our wicked souls escape matter and fade into the sky, we're met with hell, with burning flames to ignite our skin, with our beloved sins, our beloved partners in crime to blaze together, to spend a lifetime, a forever.

Guns loaded. Guns from our side, guns they held, guns my men stood high with, guns no matter their number still shook the ground, still sent the soldiers in shock, shock of our commitment, our willingness to drag war and demand a battle despite our numbers despite our unprepared figures but they don't know, they don't know I've been preparing for this moment, for days, years, decades, for a whole eternity if I have to.

"ALESSANDRO" his voice interrupts the silence, his voice calms my nerves down and eases the worry. Dante showed himself between the crowd, between the dozen faces of men and kept shouting, he signaled with his hands, his mouth, all he got just to let me know he's alive, he's okay and I should win this.

Enzo raises his arm towards me, one of his men moves, dragging Dante with him. I finally let go of Enzo's gaze and looked at Dante, I titled my head to communicate, he smiled and gave me a hidden nod. Next thing we see is Dante knocking down the man who was holding him, his arm wrapped around his head, choking him.

More men stepped forward to help their friend but none took action since Enzo didn't order them yet. I find his cold gaze again and frown, if he wants this, I will gladly give it to him so I could at least get to say I've done one thing he asked me to do, I've once obeyed him because finally, we had the same interests.

"Rise" he tells his men, they steady and get into position. I turn around to face them, to look at them one last time, to remember them, remember my people, my back and fighters, my family.

"Till hell reunite us again" I speak what may be my last words, I speak what may be my last sentence, my last order but not my last wish and I will accomplish that wish before I die, whether this world let me or not, I will find her, I will talk to her one last time, I will tell her I love her, I will tell her that I always loved her and always will, I will tell her alive or dead, she owns me, she has me by her side, dead or alive, I'm hers, I am only hers, I only belong to her.

And it begins. I thought war was going to be between us and the Russians, between us and our biggest enemies but I was blinded, I was distracted by them to acknowledge, to plan and attack, to know he's my enemy, he's my number one target, he's the first human I wanted to kill, the first man I wanted to lay a hand on, I wanted to disappear and here I am, here I stand, here I walk, here I run to him, to our end, to a stop for the past, for the unknown future, the nonexistent future.

It's funny, fighting for an endless life full of agony and pain, much more pain than we've ever experienced on land, much more misery and distress, much more loneliness, a void, an boundless universe, with no core, with no center where we can stand, we can relive and survive.

We're hungry for that life, we're ready to sacrifice, sacrifice this mortal life for retribution, for pay back to feed our broken heart, our weakened bodies and our lost souls.

We're ready, we've always been ready and now is the time to let go.

I land the first hit, knocking down a soldier and stealing his gun. I hear someone advance towards me, I swing the weapon in my hands and smack it on his head. The gun breaks in half and the man loses his balance. He passes out and I look up to his friends, to his side and they glare at me in hatred, in pain I'm feeling, in pain I'm living.

I'm getting shot, I dodge a bullet after another, I crawl on the sand and get back up. I jump in the air and kick one of them in the face as he gets closer to me. I hear a pathetic scream, a scream full of rage and needs, needs and starvation to cut my body into many pieces, to drink my blood and sever my bones.

I move, I take a simple step away from the maniac heading at me and he meets the sand, his cheeks slammed onto the ground. I rush to him and get hold of his head, I lift it up, I look him in the eyes and twist his neck.

His eyes roll to the back and he dies. "te ne pentirai" [translation: you will regret this] I will?

I shrug and let my body language trick him, manipulate him into thinking I'm taking no notice, I'm taking no awareness of the soldier sneaking behind my back. They're cute.

But before I was able to handle it, I turned around and found Dante with blood splattered all over his face, a smile shining bright upon his lips, he killed him.

"Shall I" he asks for my permission and I nod, I grin and step aside for him to take action. He shoots, he exposes blood and ends lives. I watch in awe, I clap twice and he throws me the gun. "Will find her. Now let's kill those morons" he winks and punches a guy while holding eye contact, I stare back at him and shoot the guy as we remain still.

We both crack into laughter and run opposite ways, I shoot a couple men sending them to hell and Dante launches a punch after the other. I seize Armando's figure next to mine within a few miles away, he's dragging a man into the water and drowning him.

I laugh. I actually laugh at their sight and he hears me. Armando joins me along with Dante who's stabbing another soldier.

Our hectic laugh echoed around, making more men race to us. I chuckle one last time and move, I take one step and freeze. I stop and stare at the grenade in between them, the grenade they're running from, the grenade Akila threw. She held a pistol in her hand and shot it, what the hell.

"WOOHOO" I hear Emilion cheer and I blink at him, I blink at the fire flaring in front of us, burning men alive.

Akila walked through the fire, she caught my eyes and stepped on a man's arm laying on the sand, slowly dying and allowing the fire to eat his flesh, to grow on his body and spread.

We're a few feet away from each other, we're a few steps away from touching one another but we don't get to meet, we don't get the chance, we're getting shot at, my father is shooting at us, my father is shooting at her.

She bolts the bullets effortlessly, she ducks and he misses. She moves around him in circles, he runs out of bullets and reloads. Akila takes her moment, she holds a dagger, she aims at him and release.

The dagger collides with Enzo's hand, stopping him from refilling the gun. He whines and supports his injured hand, he signals to his men to take away my mother and that's when I lose it.

My body is heated, my arms are shivering and my mind is playing sick images, disgusting ways I should kill him, I should erase him from this planet, I should detach his head from his body.

I'm breaking all over again, I'm living old memories, I'm watching my mother cry because of my father, I'm watching her sob, I'm watching him smile as she lose hope, as she lose herself and let go, as she slowly give up and he only smile brighter, his wicked smile grows and I'm wrecked, I'm trembling and don't know, don't know what to do, where to go, where to run, where to help, where to die.

The world is shuddering, I don't feel myself and I strike, my vision blur out the entire universe and focus on him, the man who ruined my childhood, the man who made me go through hell and back, the man who's holding my mother hostage, the filthy lothal man who dared to stand in my way, to attempt my murder and overrule me, carry away the people I love, the people who kept me going when I wanted to give up, when I didn't want to push back up, when I was ready to abandon life, when I was ready to become the one thing he told me every single day I would be, that I would evolve into and it seems like he's slowly succeeding, he's turning me into the one person I don't want to be.

I try to reach my mother, I try to help her, I try to be useful, I kill men on my way, I knock them down and hear someone shoot them for me, Akila is the one shooting, she's the one clearing the way, she's the one aiding me, she's the one fighting by my side, she's the one.

I feel blood running down my hands, some of it is mine and some of the unknown bodies I took, the unknown figures who suffered a life close to mine, a life where they chose to work with Enzo, a life where they chose death.

Death. Oh how many times I talked about it. How many times I mentioned and thought of it. How many times I wondered and tried to imagine, to put it into words yet I never considered this, never appraised this, never pictured my mother in danger, my mother getting shot, my mother falling down, my mother suffocating in her own pile of blood.

I saw it, I witnessed it with my eyes as she closed her eyes, as she failed to capture herself, I watched it and so did he.

He was in shock, he didn't plan this, he didn't plan this to go that far, he didn't plan to kill his wife.

But he killed my mother.

He killed my mother.

I fall to my knees next to her, tears exposed, screams louder, rage and misery collapse. A bitter pain, grief, a feeling of deep poignant distress, an intense emotional experience triggered by a loss, leaving you depleted and vulnerable to infection.

My blood pressure increases, my lungs burn as I breathe in and out. I grip my mother's hand, I hold it to my heart and call for her, I cry for her, I beg her to wake up, I beg over and over, tears running down my face, my head spinning like a hurricane, my body shaking as wind crashes into trees.

Enzo is near, he's gazing in silence, in placidity and dullness. My mother's eyes flatter, she heavenly blink and look at me, she weakly lifts her hand and touches my cheek, she wipes my tears and forces a smile. "Alessandro. Protector. Leader. Strong" she runs out of strength, she runs out of life but still tries, still resists and speaks her last words. "My son. My only son" her eyes shut, her chest no longer rises and falls, her head drops in my hands and I bawl.

I hear a whisper, a fragile voice for the last time, my mother's soft gentle vocals one more time, "Fight back"

And she goes, her soul breaks free and fly up the sky where I will never see her again, where I will never hold her hand and honor her, where I will never get to thank her for everything, for being my mother, for being my rock, my reason to live, the only person who defended me, who believed in me and supported me.

"Grazie mama" I swallow the pain down my throat and rise to my feet, I wipe my tears and load my gun. I don't look at Enzo, I don't acknowledge him and release a shaky breath.

I will never see her again, I will never hold her hand, I will never look into her eyes and see her smile, I will never feel her warm hugs and kind touch. She's gone. She left and never came back, she left and never survived, she never survived and lived, she's gone, she's dead.

My heart aches, my heart tightens, causing searing pain, spreading down my back, my neck and bones. Rushing in with torture, with no sympathy and consolation.

My eyes travel around, Akila is on some guy's shoulder, she's holding his head from each side with both her hands and twisting it. I believe a loud sound of his neck erupts and his body crumbles to the ground.

She heads for another after another while no one touches me, they all seem focused and determined to finish them first.

At least that's what I thought, that's what my mind made up for a few seconds when I caught the eyes of someone, of a strange middle aged man I didn't recognize. His form is tall and shoulders wide, his hair is black, matching his choice of clothes.

He's staring at me unarmed, holding no weapons in his defense. He just stands there, looking at me as I stare back.

I title my head, I narrow my eyes and try to put a name on him but I can't. He titles his head with me and his lips switch, they appear in a devilish smile and remain still for a moment.

He carefully raises his arm, he slowly brings it in front of his shoulder and waves.

His hand moves from right to left several times, repeatedly and none stop.

My guts are telling me to pull the trigger, to harm and get rid of him but I ignore it, I ignore the signs and keep staring at him.

I should have listened. I should have taken action and advanced before him, I should have killed him before he shot me.

The bullet buries itself through my ribs, it proceeds into my flesh and spills my blood, almost all of my blood.

The man disappears, he flies out of my sight and never reappears or maybe he did, I wouldn't be able to say, I'm losing a lot of blood, my vision is unclear and my skin is growing colder.

My eyes close, my will to get back up dried out. I don't feel, I don't sense, I don't bear with the pain and allow it to consume me, to drive me away somewhere, somewhere I won't wake up.

Sounds fade away, they vanquish except for one, except for one scream, one voice full of agony, full of hurt and affliction, the one voice of Akila next to me, supporting the back of my head and panicking. She's saying no, over and over, she's throbbing, she's howling and yelling. She lays her head on my chest, she cries, she sobs and I'm unable to confront her, I'm unable to tell her it's okay, I will be okay because I won't.

Darkness. It all stops and shifts into obscurity, into dusk and STYGIAN.

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