"Captain... to... your right..."
The captain was dazed for a moment, but eventually, he heard Lucas's voice. Out of trust for his comrade, or perhaps it was just instinct, he dodged to the left, narrowly evading the enemy's sword that came from his right.
"What's wrong with you, Captain? If not for me, you'd be dead meat!" Lucas scolded, slashing his sword and splitting the enemy in two at the waist. Blood splashed across his face as he pulled his sword back, giving him a sinister look.
"...I don't... I don't know. Was that a dream...? Seriously..." The captain remained dazed, mumbling nonsense to himself.
"A dream? What are you talking about, Captain? Get it together. If we don't finish the job and destroy their supply railway, there'll be nearly ten thousand soldiers here by tomorrow, remember? There might even be some magicians among them..." Lucas reminded him, stepping closer.
"I can't believe I was actually daydreaming... But it was so realistic. Or maybe I'm dreaming now? ...Sigh..." The captain continued reminiscing, struggling to accept that he had been dreaming. He bit his lip, felt the pain, and began to accept reality with a sigh.
"But I could also feel pain in that dream and didn't wake up... and I remember this day too. Was I really so nervous that I imagined what would happen if we couldn't destroy that railway? ...That was a good scenario, though. I even ended up as a talented youth... Well, it's good to see you again, Lucas!" He continued recalling the dream as Lucas finally reached him. He looked at him with a mix of joy and surprise, startling Lucas.
"Stop the nonsense, Rue Bu," Lucas said, standing beside him. " the train's supposed to come from this direction tomorrow. All we need to do is go far enough from our side and destroy a portion of the railway. That'll buy enough time for headquarters to send reinforcements to the front line." The railway was already connecting the enemy headquarters to the front lines, so destroying it would be akin to severing their command, and possibly ending the war.
If they could do that, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. Their goal now was just to delay the inevitable and buy time.
"Yes, I understand. Let's go... Wait... what did you say..." The captain paused, startled by something Lucas said, but didn't finish his sentence before a bone-chilling pain struck his stomach.
Feeling the source of the pain, he sensed warm blood running over his hands. Looking down, he saw a sword piercing through his stomach. Its silver glow now tainted with red, giving it a chilling appearance.
"...Why?! ...Lucas?...!!!" The captain was stunned, confused, and angry. But what shocked him more was what he saw when he turned around.
"Shui... Tao?!" he gasped, coughing up blood.
An amalgamation of both Lucas and Shui Tao smiled at him and pulled the sword back, making him cough more blood as he collapsed to the ground.
'Am I going to die again? What's happening? I thought all this was a dream. Am I dreaming now? But it feels so real. I can feel the blood rushing out of the wound, the warmth on my hands, and my consciousness fading... I'm really dying...' His thoughts raced. He couldn't understand what was happening, but eventually, he focused on the figure before him. Lucas, or Shui Tao, he wasn't sure anymore.
"What's going on, Lucas? How are you going to explain this to the rest of the squad?" he asked, choosing to address him as Lucas, perhaps out of familiarity, or perhaps because he couldn't bring himself to speak to Shui Tao.
Eventually, the flickering image settled into Shui Tao. He simply smiled and raised his sword.
"Wait, wait, listen Shui Tao, I didn't have a choice! You have to understand me, okay? What did you want me to do? Let that son of a bitch kill all of us? At least Chen Huan and I lived. Or do you want us to join you in death? Don't be selfish..." The captain started rambling, trying to get a response out of the man before him.
But it was no use. The sword came down swiftly. The captain wasn't startled though, Shui Tao had raised his hand and held it mid-air, as if giving him time to plead before striking.
Given just enough time, the captain drew his sword and blocked the blow aimed at his neck.
Sparks flew as their swords clashed. The captain, already bleeding severely and wracked with pain, barely managed to summon the strength to block the attack. But then, Shui Tao's sword suddenly shifted direction.
Instead of a diagonal slash at his neck, the blade came straight down. The captain, now at a disadvantage, couldn't stop the sword. His own weapon dropped beside him.
With a swoosh, the blade slashed through the captain's shoulder, cutting through flesh, muscle, and bone, severing his left arm completely.
A fountain of blood and pain erupted. The captain writhed in agony but somehow remained conscious.
With a thud, his arm hit the ground in front of him. "....Hahaha..." Instead of crying out, the pain reminded him of something, and he laughed. "...You son of a bitch, I even forgot to check if I still had my aperture. How could I be this dull? I guess I really missed your horrible face, Lucas. But alas, you're dead." The bleeding suddenly stopped, and the wound began to close, healing.
"And you, Shui Tao... I... I did it because I wanted to live! If I had to choose again, I'd make the same choice. I'd kill you every time, just so I could survive! Even if it meant killing Chen Huan too, I'd do it a thousand times!" His voice rose with each word.
"Think of me however you want, I'll do whatever it takes to survive in this accursed world! I already wasted one life being soft, I won't waste this one too!!" He screamed, raising his sword towards Shui Tao.
Shui Tao's face frowned and then vanished, startling the captain. Lucas's face reappeared. His smile changed subtly, as if reconsidering the captain's words.
"Then prove your words, Captain. Come." He pointed his sword, inviting the captain to attack.
'I don't know what's happening. I don't know what this place is. But I know it's real, it has to be. The pain proves it. If this were a dream, I'd have woken up by now...' He hesitated, then asked, 'Are you there?'
'Yes, I am.' came the familiar, reassuring voice.
'Sigh, couldn't you have said something earlier?' The captain was annoyed. If the voice had spoken sooner, maybe they could have figured this out, or he wouldn't have forgotten to check his aperture.
'I tried. When I sensed the host was under the effect of a gu worm. But I couldn't connect until the host checked his aperture and used a healing gu.' the voice explained.
'So this is the effect of a gu? Was I in a fight and lost?' he asked, confused.
'No. Last I recall, the host lost consciousness, and two Gu Masters, one from the Jin tribe and one from the Lin tribe, came to help. Then a gu worm in the Lin tribe's gu master affected the host. I sensed a connection between you and that gu worm.'
'...The only thing that comes to mind is... the Mindless Wasp?' he muttered, more confused. 'Whatever, we'll deal with that later. What should I do now?'
'...Given how Shui Tao reacted when you admitted your true feelings, and how Lucas is behaving now, it's safe to say this place is testing you.' the voice answered after a pause.
Before he could respond, the voice added, 'There are two tests. You've already passed one...' referring to Shui Tao's vanishing image. '...The second is before you now.'
'So, this is testing my emotions? The first was about Shui Tao's death... and the second is...' He looked at Lucas, who was still poised to strike but unwilling to initiate.
'...Your lingering feelings about Lucas or perhaps your previous world in general.' the voice finished.
'Hahaha... he even said "prove your words." I guess I have to prove I've accepted your death, or that I'll survive no matter what, even if it means killing an old friend...' He charged forward. "Either way, both will be fulfilled by killing you!" he shouted, making Lucas's smile vanish.
He reached Lucas quickly. Despite missing his left arm, the bleeding had stopped, and pain no longer held him back. The healing gu wasn't powerful, but Lucas gave him time to recover by not attacking first.
Their swords clashed in a flurry of strikes. Lucas's skill was exactly as the captain remembered, but still no match for him, even one-armed.
They moved in harmony, a brilliant display. As the sun dipped lower, the flashes of steel grew more vivid, their sparks shining more dazzlingly. Sweat flew from their foreheads with each dodge or heavy strike. It was as though they were dancing, perhaps their final farewell.
Eventually, the dance ended. The captain, seizing a brief moment of fatigue and carelessness, disarmed Lucas by severing his wrist.
Lucas's hand, still gripping his sword, fell to the ground and vanished. Oddly, there was no blood.
He looked at the captain, frowning. "You've improved. But can you really do it? Dav..."
"Ma Rue Bu, my name is Rue Bu now!" Rue Bu interrupted, swinging his sword and beheading his old friend before he could finish.
Lucas's head hit the ground. Just before vanishing like the hand, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Then a voice, "Then go on and prove it to the rest of the world, Rue Bu!"
"Hmph. As if I need you to remind me." Rue Bu muttered as he vanished as well.