Disclaimer: The entirety of this story, including, but not limited to, the scenario / plot, the characters, and the writing itself, is completely original, and was written by no one other than myself (unless otherwise stated).

A/N: Another flashfic entry. Theme was 'Weapon of Choice'.

I--I

The warrior never placed faith in destiny, yet he can no longer deny its existence.

His victories in battle forced the clouds to recover from their once-torrential downpour; the Sky was pleased, and her darkened atmosphere blesses him with sunshowers between broken streams of daylight.

Hundreds of feet above level ground, the young man stands cautiously upon the rocky brink, the cadence of his heart trembling in time with the ethereal roars shattering the air. The staff in his hands begins to quiver along with him. He gazes into the shadowed depths of the Sea and his stomach gives a churn of disgust, cursed to fear contact with the very element from which he was born.

A child of the Sea who fears to swim, the Gods laughed. Shame was the true cause of his father’s death.

His grasp on the handle tightens, and the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach settles sharply. His was the only weapon of this world that could pierce the skin of his enemy, and he was the only being of this world that could hold this weapon.

The end of the bar suspends two immense, arrowed prongs. Each raindrop which falls upon the blades resonates in a surreal echo, and when the demon below ascends like a scaled phoenix from an ashy Sea, the weapon requests its master to achieve what his father failed to accomplish.

The creature possessed a body as long as the mountain was high, a color as bleak as the waters it plagued, stark-blue eyes as distinct as Sirius upon a winter’s night sky.

Missing its target, the ungainly behemoth crashed its massive form against the cliffside, causing a brief quake in attempt to knock the warrior to his death. Being wise, the warrior leapt before impact, landing on the beast’s back and catching a tangle of its cerulean mane between his fingers.

The monster dived back into the Sea. The warrior wielded his weapon’s weight with a single arm, holding his breath as the fish swerved violently and forced the currents to whip at his face.

Soon, the great fish broke the water’s surface, bellowing as it curved and lashed through the air. The warrior raised the staff and shouted the incantation as loudly as his lungs would allow, thrusting both blades into the head of the mighty brute.

The monster cries a scream not of this world.

Its physical manifestation evaporates into a glowing essence absorbed by the weapon which slain it; a third cobalt blade reveals itself, making the trident whole once more.

The warrior fell, arm outstretched, embracing the growing distance between him and the blue of a happier Sky. At once, he understands what had driven his father to madness, as he was forever destined to face a lover with whom he could never be.

The curse is lifted, and the warrior holds no fear for the water below.

The Sky smiles at the Sea, and the Sea smiles back.

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