Wet soil seeped into my boots shuffling around Cassi, parrying a pair of strikes and unleashing a series of slashes of my own. There was only us, surrounded by darkness outside of our shimmering forest clearing. The mana buzzing around Cassi's water orbs washing around her staff and body became audible over our clashing blades and my friends' helpful whispers, making it even easier for us to read her attacks. Ducking under her swinging head kick, a whisper pointed out her flow change as Cassi twisted, swinging the bottom end of her staff up toward my skull. Twisting and leaping into a corkscrew, a section of her water orb scraped against my cheek sending my senses into a frenzy.
My blade hilt went spiraling from my hand as I landed back to my feet, tossing it out and whipping the other hilt chained to it. The extra range clearly caught Cassi off guard, changing her casual leaning dodge into a panicked backpedal. The edge of my blade slashed across her turning cheek, spraying a stream of blood from her face. The sour iron aroma burned through the static, humid air as Ripple Stride propelled me after our target. Cassi summoned her cold waves underfoot that yanked her away, my hand jolting up and firing my grapple hook around a branch hoping to cut off her path. Cassi's eyes dashed back at me dismounting from the branch, descending at her headfirst with my blades at the ready. Her flow shifted all once, as the wave rolled under her legs and curved her momentum away from me.
"No!"
"The deceiver cannot flee."
"No escape."
Hundreds of rats filled the forest floor, save for a select space across the foliage I twisted and handsprung around upon landing. My arm whipped around as I felt the muscles in my neck scream an agonizing screech reflexively locking my eyes on the target's leg. My grapple hook that hadn't fully retracted to my wrist wrapped around her ankle, locking taut and nearly ripping my arm from its socket. The pain zapped my entire nervous system into absolute focus, my thoughts becoming less and less detailed while repeatedly bouncing off the muddy forest floor.
"Get off!" Cassi barked, digging her staff into the dirt halting her momentum with her boot aimed at my face. Kicking off the ground over a wall of rats all pointing upward, my body contorted over Cassi yanking her foot high over her head. Cassi flipped over using beck to roll as I landed on the other side, yanking on the leg again to pull myself closer to her with my eyes locked on her throat. Cassi spiraled her legs up like a topper, slapping my swiping blades away with two kicks and rolling away from my own spinning heel kick. An enormous rush of mana wafted from under Cass before her watery wave formed, launching her forward as she swung her staff into my ribs.
*CRACK*
*pitter*
*pitter*
My eyes refused to shut even under the immensely sharp pain hunching me over. Cassi's cutting elbow bashed under my eye, turning half my vision red.
"You are cold."
"Dying."
"Alone."
Stumbling in a dizzy haze, her heavy footsteps were Cassi's only tell, allowing me to slip past her vertical strike with her staff as she glided along her wave. Suddenly her body was completely horizontal, spinning around her bo staff in the soil and blasting both boots into my shoulder sending my rolling across the forest yet again. My nails dug into the dirt, pinning my blade hilts between my palm and the mud building around my hands as the voices grew audibly frustrated.
"We are not alone."
"We are the warmth."
"The colony."
"REMEMBER!"
The blood of over a thousand feasts poured through my veins, every ounce of pain, uncertainty, every thought was consumed by the warmth.
*splash*
Cassi's entire body washed by as I leapt to the side on all fours, finding the nearest tree and clawing up into its canopy.
"For fucks sake, get down from there, Tom! This 'rat' gag's getting absurd." She yelled, not appearing to react as I leapt to another tree. Slowly, I crept down the back side as she slowly circled the first tree.
"Tom? Come on, the next tectonic shift could take us both out. This is a waste of time!" She called out, her eyes scanning the trees as I circled to her backside, crawling low to the ground.
"Slowly."
"Keen deceiver."
"Warmest rewards."
"Patience!"
The voices argued as I inched closer and closer, following Cassi who was beginning to investigate the second tree I leapt across to. It was only now I realized all but the greens, blues, and a strange glowing orange was all my eyes were picking up anymore. Cassi was humming with spotty orange light, the very sight of such a condensed amount of warmth pulling me to her. Finally unable to contain the urge any longer, a surge of water mana shot out from under me as Ripple Stride's momentum fluidly stood me up into a sprint.
"Kill."
Leaping forward, lightning mana consumed my entire arm with a lunging Lightning Strike at her neck. Cassi spun around with her staff at the ready, the wood smashing my wrist just enough to knock my strike off course. Spinning through the air, my blades slashed wildly at her neck and side. Cassi's bo staff whipped to the side deflecting them both, the impact causing one blade to pierce the wood in her staff. Feeling the flow die in my hilt, I let go of the hilt blasting my fist into Cassi's cheek. Her head whipped back asI followed after her with a leaping kick, yet she managed to raise her arm and snatch the leg in her armpit. Yanking myself closer, my nails dug behind her neck thrusting my knee into her jaw. The impact allowed me to free my leg, at the cost of a loud pop in that knee.
Cassi took a strong step back as bright orange warmth spewed from her mouth, instantly injecting a surge of elation through my veins. My fists hit the ground before my feet, immediately leaping forward aiming a double lunging stab at Cassi's neck. Her hands clamped around both blade hilts before I could register, causing me to fall forward, my eyes still locked onto hers.
"Consume."
My jaws clamped down jutting my neck forward, Cassi's eyes wide with fear pulling her head back. Only managing to bite down on Cassi's crooked nose, I ripped away taking flesh with me into a spinning kick that bashed into her chest, sending Cassi reeling back clutching at her nose. I spat out her flesh and dropped down on all fours, ready to pounce the warmth when she let out a terribly pained groan. The sound pierced my ears like a cold syringe, sliding straight through the back of my head unleashing a flood of memories depicting each time Cassi died…because of me. Her head, rolling across the fires of Elysium's Pylon room. Her mushing organs squelched around my small, furry form burrowing through with the colony all around me.
"It was right."
"She was a lie."
Deceiver."
My blades pierced her neck as the rats ate through her chest as an act of mercy. A building collapses as a mass of rats climbed over one another, bashing the structure atop Cass before I could reach her. Each time she died, I had to remind myself more and more that it was okay because it wasn't her.
…but, this is.
A terrible clawing itch carved across my back in response, as I felt a flood of anger fill my mind.
"She threatens."
"Friends are colony."
"Colony loves colony."
"Freinds fight, this is normal. The threat isn't real, but my friend is." I muttered, only realizing it was aloud at seeing Cassi's wildly confused reaction.
"W-…what?" She asked, circling away as she finally removed her free hand from her face. The nose was…well, there was a decent chunk missing from the end.
"…you've been wrong."
"Lead estray."
"Into the cold."
"Until I learned, adapted, and found my warmth."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Tom?" Cassi demanded, spiraling her staff in her hands. I threw my index finger up, signaling for her to just give me a second.
"We cannot fail."
"Must protect the colony."
"Trust. Me." I demanded, feeling the voices scurrying around both my shoulders by the dozens. The subtle sour iron smell in the air began to diminish, replaced by the calming aroma of freshly cracked stone.
"…okay."
The mind-buzzing focus behind my eyes that washed away everything in my vision except Cassi and our forest fully lifted all at once. The pittering feet of my rat friends all retreated to my back, seeping into the scars. High through the forest canopy above arched a wall of compressed biomes in the distance, constantly pouring down tree roots, rocks, and melting ice shards. Realizing I was still down on all fours, I popped up to my feet spinning my blades loosely in my grips.
"You uh…you back?" Cassi asked, a grin flickering at the edge of her lips. Feeling myself out, it seems that mana potion was decent enough to keep me from feeling any mana exhaustion yet. Still, my gut tells me I'm creeping on running low, not to mention my health is sitting at sub-70 points left already. Luckily my stamina's still far above 200 points left, once more proving endurance was a worthy stat to boost above 80 after all.
"Not sure why you're so happy." I said, wearing a proud smile. Cassi finally stopped twirling her staff around, pointing it at me while assuming her fighter's stance.
"I'm not a fan of being bitten by a feral man." Cassi shot back, summoning her watery wave underfoot and gliding around a tree toward me.
"That's fair enough." I replied with a nod, shuffling diagonally behind another tree letting Cassi's testing staff bounce off the bark. Cassi's foot wrapped around the tree trained for my chest as I shuffled back around the other side of the bark. Seeing her zipping away on her wave, I sprinted back out and let a Lightning Bolt rip at Cassi's back. Her body curved out the moment the lightning crackled from my blades, skimming her armor leaving a cloud of smoke behind her. Cassi quickly circled around, gliding in straight for me while constantly twirling her staff around.
A watery orb splashed against my blades as I leapt over her swiping attack, springing over her shoulder and landing a sneaky slash across the back of Cassi's ankle as she passed by. She let out a subtle angry growl gliding away, as I stood by the tree awaiting her next pass. It didn't take long for her to U-turn once more, this time serpentining rather than beelining at me. My feet shuffled in a diagonal retreat tracing her movements, keeping myself on her outside shoulder. Cassi cut the distance quickly, showing a downward slam with her staff. A glimmer of blue arcing lights illuminated the truth of Cassi's feign however, as I quickly stepped around her backside avoiding her twisting double kick.
*POP*
My shin crashed against Cassi's calf, causing her foot to pop up off the ground twisting my heel. The same foot cracked against her side before Cassi's staff could smash into my leg, my strike sending her staggering several steps back. Cassi twisted around switching shoulders, kicking back around feigning a heel kick. Shuffling to the outside, her staff swept at my feet in a low spinning motion. I leapt forward aiming my knee for her skull, instead flying straight past as she weaved her head out of the way. Bouncing my second leg down and spinning my momentum to face her, Cassi glided along her wave for only a moment yanking her momentum straight past me. My blades flourished as she glided by, every strike read and parried perfectly as she slid her boots against the wet forest floor.
Damn it.
Shuffling alongside her, Cass continued pressing forward at me as I fought to twist her momentum around by attacking her back shoulder. Yet my incredibly smart friend clearly caught on to that method, switching her stance each time without giving almost any gaps in her defense. I'd be proud had she not exuded a confidence that made me rather uneasy to throw away mana into skills, in turn letting two kill shots windows go. Cass however continually whipped around her staff with both watery orbs active without a care, even using her movement skill the few times I slipped her guard. The both of us traded blows, with only a few of my kicks and slippery elbows sneaking through. Cassi however managed to land a single, incredibly painful blow to my stomach hidden behind two leaping fake kicks, her staff launching me off my feet like I was a wet rag flung from a bat.
My body careened across the soil, finally stomping with a dull thud as my back smacked against a tree stump.
Dammit, she's starting to get a read on me.
Pulling myself shakily to my feet, cold water brushed against my leaning cheek barely evading Cassi's bo staff swiping by. My blue energy arched across my eyeline which I took as a hint to duck, letting Cassi's water covered foot wash overhead. The muscles in my legs screamed into action throwing an uppercut-stab with my blade to Cassi's chin. Her head twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the lunge. My eyes shot wide watching Cassi's head sink down, followed by the feeling of both her legs scissor-kicking my feet out from under me. Her legs locked around my hips, sprawling across my chest snatching both my wrists with hands.
*WHACK*
Her knee smashed across my cheek as she wrapped my arm in her legs while keeping my other wrist in her grasps. Laying horizontally, I felt as she pried my hands apart as I lay helplessly trying to fight her hulking strength. Not to mention I had zero leverage, save my blades chains remaining taught enough to keep my hands from falling completely fla-
*crack*
Cassi's free elbow bashed into my wrist, ripping my hilt from my grasp and completely flattening my hands out in a t-pose. Immediately, her elbow began bashing into my temple as I fought to free my hand. Though, seeing little option left, it didn't take more than two elbow strikes before I decided if I was going to lose to my ex-student today, I'd do it my way.
A massive rush of both euphoric power and a terrible emptiness filled every fiber of my being as Cassi's elbow paused in front of my swollen cheek, shaking violently. Lightning and Water mana alike crowded against my pores, jutting bolts rippling across mine and Cassi's body as Spirit Of The Storm fully activated. Timing her convulsions, I slipped my arm free from Cassi, slashing a water-infused strike across her face and kicking off her ribs. The force shot me up into a hand stand I sprung up from, immediately slapping a purple and blue lighting bolt that burned straight through Cassi's heavily armored shoulder. Spinning with the impact, Cassi amazingly managed to push with the same arm off the ground, twisting into a horizontal swipe with her staff. The flow illuminated across her body like a blue firework as I leaned away from the attack, swiping across her armor with two consecutive slashes covering her in water mana. Cassi snarled angrily, summoning her watery movement skill and gliding in retreat.
Curious, I leaned forward into a sprint before activating Ripple Stride, elation flooding my mind as the mana amplification thrusted my momentum forward like I'd been shot from a cannon. Two small waves parted at either side of me as quickly closed the distance, twisting around Cassi landing a spinning kick to the back of her head. Cassi's skull plummeted straight through her own waves, bouncing off the muddy soil face first before rolling to her feet. My hand suddenly smashed against my side as I felt my mana reserve quickly nearing 0. Cass on the other hand looked flat out exhausted, her shoulders rising to her ears with every labored breath.
"…good fight." Cassi said through a confident smirk and an exasperated breath. I smiled, knowing this was no submission. It was her calling her shot, sensing my health and mana leaking rapidly.
"…good fight." I replied, sprinting head first toward her. Cassi elusively stepped to the side swiping her staff, my blade easily slipping the strike piercing though a gap in her armor at the shoulder. Her eyes narrowed, remaining locked with mine as kicked my hand gripping the second blade, snagging the hilt for herself under my belly.
Oops.
As the blade neared my belly, every ounce of strength I had left poured into channeling pure lightning mana through my body. The mana poured into Cassi's wound, networking across her body as she stabbed my blade through my ribs, completing the circuit. I felt my flesh melting and fraying from my face, hands and legs as the lightning danced through the water mana covering Cassi's armor. Her own watery orbs chained and twisted into the amplified mana circuit, finally popping releasing a burst of jagged bolts. Still, Cassi's eyes locked with mine as we both fought off death itself.
"You promised us."
A familiar whisper echoed through my head as my vision tunneled, the deafening sound of my rampant lightning mana replaced by a low ringing. I fought to keep my keep open, fending off the familiar abyss of death that I'd felt more times than any human ought to endure. Just as I felt the last of my strength slip and Spirit Of The Storm subsided, I caught a glimpse of Cassi's head slumping down, and I smiled back at the abyss.
I didn't lie.