"HE CAN'T BE REASONED WITH. WE HAVE TO TAKE HIM DOWN!" My voice echoed across the hall.
"AHH!"
Grace charged again.
He blocked every strike effortlessly, his body barely shifting, the weight of his blade cutting through the air like thunder.
I slipped behind him and slashed, aiming for the joints in his armor.
_Shatter!
He turned sharply, intercepting my strike, the sword in my hand shattered on impact.
I flipped back, caught another sword mid-roll, and dove again.
Grace crashed in beside me. We struck together.
He met us head-on. His sword blurred, one hand parrying Grace, the other twisting to deflect mine.
_Whir!
I darted around Grace, using her as cover, striking whenever I saw an opening.
_Clang!
Grace swung again, but he deflected it and drove his knee into her gut, sending her rolling across the floor.
Her head hit a pillar with a dull crack, and she went still.
_Rumble!
The entire hall began to quake.
'What now!'
[Your time is running out.]
'Great...' I gritted my teeth and charged again.
'Close range won't work.'
_Whir!
I threw my sword mid-charge, then ducked, sliding across the cracked floor.
The knight deflected it and raised his foot to crush me.
I rolled aside, grabbed a broken blade, and slashed at his knee, but he retreated again.
'This bastard... he's moving purely on instinct!'
He never once looked at me. Every movement was reflex.
A twisted smile crept across my lips.
'Good... I can use that.'
_Whir!
He turned toward me, sword raised for another brutal swing.
The instant his blade came down, I slid to the side, grabbed a fallen sword, and hurled it at his knee.
He swatted it away, unflinching.
I didn't stop.
I dodged.
Struck.
Dodged again.
Another sword came flying from behind him, then one from the left.
I moved through the hall, drawing and throwing, keeping his focus scattered.
He pivoted sharply, blocking and parrying, metal sang in every direction.
Then, suddenly, I appeared behind him.
My blade came down toward his unguarded back,
_Clang!
He twisted unnaturally fast, catching the swing with his elbow guard and countering with a brutal kick.
I barely ducked under it, sliding across the marble. My hand closed around another chipped blade.
I hurled it upward. He looked up, just for a fraction of a second.
That was all I needed.
I lunged low, picked up another sword, and threw it.
_Clang! Clang!
As he deflected the second sword, I closed in behind it with another in hand.
_Clang!
He parried, but I loosened my stance, letting his sword slide, releasing mine at the lowest point as I leapt.
_Whir!
The sword I had thrown earlier fell back into my hand midair.
My blade came down like lightning.
He raised his to block, but I twisted mid-swing, redirecting the force,
_rip!
His blade pierced through my arm.
_Thud!
But my sword buried deep into his shoulder.
_Drip… drip…
Blood spilled across the fractured marble.
"AGHHHH!"
I didn't stop, I pressed the blade deeper.
[Don't kill him, or he'll never leave this place.]
Orran's calm voice rang inside my head.
"Haa… haa…"
I released the hilt and stepped back, clutching my arm.
The knight knelt before me, my sword still lodged in his shoulder.
"Wake…" he whispered.
Still breathing. Somehow.
'What a monster…'
[The wound is heavy. He won't move for a while.]
"Haa… good for him…"
I steadied my breath and looked around.
My eyes fell on a woman lying near a pillar.
A strange feeling gripped my heart.
I frowned. Something was… off.
'Who is she?'
[...Forget it. Get out of here.]
_Rumble!
The marble beneath my boots split open, jagged lines racing outward like lightning across the floor.
Chunks of stone lifted, trembling midair before shattering into dust.
The stained-glass windows exploded outward, shards scattering like rainbows in a storm.
A deafening roar followed, as if the hall itself screamed in pain.
_Thud!
A pillar crashed beside me, sending waves of dust and splinters into the air.
I covered my face, coughing, stumbling back as the cracks widened, swallowing the tiles whole.
"Damn it!" I barked, spotting Melissa through the chaos, the ground beneath her quaking violently.
I dashed forward, dodging debris, sliding beside her just as a massive chunk of ceiling collapsed behind me.
_Wham!
The shock threw me off balance, but I caught her arm, pulling her close.
I looked back at the knight.
'Will he be fine?'
[As long as you end this dream.]
I turned to Melissa and shook her.
"Hey! Wake up!"
No response. Her eyes were hollow, her body limp.
The crimson light leaking through the cracks brightened, not fire, but something far worse.
The floor began to cave, revealing a swirling void beneath, whispering faintly in blue light.
"What happens if we get crushed?"
[You vanish. Permanently.]
"Great…" I muttered, tightening my grip on her.
_Rumble!
The cracks converged toward the center.
_Slap! Slap!
"Wake up!"
I slapped her face, but she didn't stir.
'What now?'
[Join your forehead with hers.]
I grabbed her neck and pressed my forehead to hers.
:: WAKE UP ::
Orran's voice overlapped mine.
Time froze.
My vision blurred.
_Rush!
A fierce wind tore past me.
When I opened my eyes again, I stood before a massive tree.
Its roots sprawled across a meadow of silver grass, and its trunk shimmered faintly, veins of light pulsing beneath the bark like slow heartbeats.
"We meet again, boy."
The familiar voice echoed, carried by the whispering wind.
I turned, and froze.
Melissa sat on one of the lower branches, legs crossed, a faint smirk tugging at her lips.
Her eyes gleamed with mischief, sharp and cunning, like a fox that had just stolen something precious.