Meanwhile, through the shared senses of Mind-Lace and Sense-Share, Yalis relayed his observations to Aethel. The Sheriff felt as though he were standing beside Yalis, witnessing the scene unfold firsthand. They were within reach, he thought, activating Aura-Sight. His blue eye glowed, along with the Sigil on his chest, as he sent out waves of energy, searching for Iskander's presence. The immortal appeared as a pitch-black figure against a stark white backdrop, devouring the surrounding StreamBreath and emitting powerful pulses that rippled through the Hall like dark waves.
Such a StreamBreath pulse, I had never witnessed!
His sword planted beside him, which he kept within the Void-Split he had created long ago in a hidden ring implanted beneath the skin of his right thigh. The Sheriff, however, perceived the StreamBreath pulse with a heightened clarity, sensing its true potency. He recognized the formidable foe standing before them. As he contemplated their next move amidst the trees, Iskander observed the eight with a slight tilt of his head, muttering words in an unknown tongue. Even with the Akashic Records granting them access to a vast array of languages, this one remained incomprehensible, even to me.
Kyra, ever fearless, addressed him in Aetran, "I do not recognize your tongue! Codex-7, can you translate?"
"Negative," Codex-7 responded. "No match found. I require more data for analysis and comprehension."
"I see," Kyra replied. Switching to Erathosia, the planet's common language, she inquired, "Can you speak the local tongue?"
"You are not of my kin," Iskander replied in the same language.
"So you understand us now?"
"I do," Iskander confirmed. "I hold no fondness for this rock's tongue, but it will suffice. Once more, I welcome you to Elysium, the Pantheon."
Ignoring his welcome, Kyra pressed on, "Who are you? How did you drain our StreamBreath? And why have you trapped us here?" Her team stood behind her, vigilant and ready.
"Are you of my kin? And if so, how do you retain your powers in a Base Domain?" Iskander countered with a smirk, realizing cooperation was unlikely. "It seems words were not the wisest choice," he added, tilting his head to the right.
He advanced towards them, his every move scrutinized. Two steps later, he vanished, and reappeared before Gaia, who instinctively swung her bow. He disappeared again, materializing before Sena, who reacted similarly with her spear. He then returned to his initial position beside the rifts.
Iskander observed the bewildered Riders, a drop of blood on his index finger. From whom did he draw it? I sensed nothing!
Gaia was the first to register the stinging pain on her left earlobe, followed by Sena, who felt the same. Tiny cuts, still bleeding, marked the spot where Iskander had grazed them. The eight were stunned. Even the Sheriff had failed to detect his movements or the attacks. The mystery of his vanishing act deepened his unease.
"How did he pierce my Aegis-Veil with his bare hands?" Sena exclaimed through Mind-Lace, her voice laced with worry.
"The cut doesn't regenerate!" Gaia wondered, "How? Why? He didn't even use a Soul-Sever!"
"Was that Stride-Flash?" Selhob questioned.
Negative, not Stride-Flash. Something else entirely. The Sheriff thought, keeping his speculation to himself to avoid further unsettling the team.
Igniss stepped forward, shielding Kyra from Iskander. "Captain," he addressed her through Mind-Lace.
"He's yours," Kyra responded with a smile. "Four Lock!" she commanded.
Iskander watched as Kyra, Igniss, Daed, Gaia, and Sena increased their mass with Mass-Shift and used Mind-Hand to immobilize him. Selhob, meanwhile, leapt to the ceiling, observing the scene like a hawk awaiting its prey.
With the target restrained, CodeForger positioned himself behind Iskander and fired a barrage of Shatter projectiles into the back of his head. Each shot pierced through, leaving gaping holes, but to his astonishment, the wounds instantly vanished. Undeterred, CodeForger persisted until Iskander struggled to turn his head, defying the destruction of his central nervous system.
As the Telekinetic hold faltered, Kyra and Daed, flanking him, swung their swords, severing both of Iskander's arms before delivering a synchronized cross-cut that decapitated him.
While Gaia and Sena maintained their hold on the remains, Igniss plunged his arm through Iskander's chest, extracting his heart. The organ pulsed one last time in his palm before he crushed it. Blood erupted from the headless corpse, a crimson flood pouring from the gaping wounds.
Their relief was short-lived. Iskander's body restored itself instantaneously, head and limbs reappearing as if they never left. He locked eyes with Igniss and then tilted his head to the right. The Mind-Hand was failing. Kyra and Daed retreated, but Igniss, his arm still lodged in Iskander's torso, was caught off guard as the immortal sliced cleanly through his arm just above the elbow. Igniss recoiled, leaving his severed limb behind, his stoicism unwavering.
"Sena, activate your Kin Rune," Kyra ordered.
Iskander pulled Igniss's arm free and discarded it, the hole in his chest sealing seamlessly. CodeForger, disturbed but resolute, continued his assault, stepping back to maintain distance and Gaia joined him as they flew rapidly in synchronized circles. Iskander was locked at the center of a tornado of fire and arrows
Igniss, panting and bleeding, joined the others. "Captain, any suggestions?" he inquired calmly through Mind-Lace, his gaze fixed on Kyra. "You severed his head, I crushed his Ul, yet he stands."
"I know," Kyra replied, her agitation evident. "Sena, have you looked into it?"
"Just confirmed, our minds are clear," Sena affirmed. "Captain, this is real."
The Abyssal's confirmation solidified my theory.
"Captain, your orders!" Daed urged.
"I don't know yet!" Kyra admitted. "For now, we observe and adapt."
"But Captain, Gaia and CodeForger cannot maintain this indefinitely!" Sena pressed.
"Do you think I'm unaware of that?"
"We need to act quickly!"
"And do what!" Kyra snapped. "Let me think!"
How could he achieve such feats? His speed, the StreamBreath drain, locking a VoidBubble, detecting us, performing abilities beyond our comprehension, and ultimately, how to defeat him? These questions tormented the young captain, as they did me.
Suddenly, Iskander vanished from the storm of fire and materialized behind Kyra, his body bare and unscathed. He lunged, arm outstretched, but Sena intercepted, flinging her Spear and severing his limb. He reappeared before her, and she struck again, splitting him diagonally in half. Simultaneously, Gaia turned and shot a volley of arrows into the back of his head.
Selhob, unable to remain idle, launched his Battle Axes. Spinning like whirling blades under his telekinetic control, they sliced through Iskander, the first bisecting him vertically, the second cleaving his head. He continued his assault, dicing the immortal into thumb-sized pieces.
Yet, Iskander materialized before Gaia, delivering a punch to her gut that sent her reeling and coughing blood. He locked eyes with her, tilting his head to the right. CodeForger, quick to react, resumed his barrage of Shatter bullets.
Before the bullets found their mark, Iskander vanished and reappeared several feet behind the TechKin. He placed a hand over his mouth and swallowed. Kyra lunged, aiming for his neck, but he evaded her strike with a backward lean. Gaia appeared behind Kyra and encased Iskander in a black cube with Convert. Daed followed, reinforcing the cage with Bastion, and together they compressed it into a fist-sized cube, attempting to crush and contain him. But Iskander vanished once more.
As Iskander escaped the collapsing cube, the Sheriff seized the opportunity. He had maximized his StreamBreath absorption during the fight, his Sigil glowing as black fog visibly flowed into his body.
Raising his right hand, he placed his index and middle fingers against his jugular notch, summoning the Heretic's Rune. With its activation, a vast, nearly transparent, black sphere enveloped Elysium and its surroundings.
Inside the sphere, time seemed to stand still. Everyone and everything froze, their comprehension suspended. The Sheriff, the sole being unaffected, retrieved his Katana and vanished from sight. He reappeared before the headless Iskander, his gaze locked on the immobile figure. Surrounded by the frozen forms of Kyra, Gaia, and Daed, he began to analyze the information he had gathered, formulating a theory.
He believed he had uncovered the secret to Iskander's vanishing act – manifestation. A bold hypothesis, but not impossible. He had encountered similar abilities before.
The Nexus-Spawn, beings of pure thought, existed detached from physical reality until they willed themselves into corporeal form. They constructed bodies from Nexus matter particles, drawn to their consciousness. Their lack of understanding of the physical realm resulted in their grotesque forms and erratic behavior.
Their world was alien to us, as ours was to them. Soulless yet conscious, they posed a threat that demanded study and understanding.
Iskander's ability to harm Riders without Soul-Severs had sparked the initial connection in the Sheriff's mind. Could he be a Nexus-Spawn in its ultimate form?
The use of StreamBreath contradicted this theory. Nexus-Spawn did not wield StreamBreath, and only beings with souls could generate a StreamBreath pulse. Furthermore, Iskander was clearly composed of organic matter, as evidenced by his blood and tissue.
The Sheriff theorized that Iskander manifested a physical form around his soul, drawing particles and converting them into organic matter. This would explain his ability to materialize seemingly from thin air. His disappearance could be attributed to the deconstruction or erasure of these particles, allowing his soul to move freely before reconstructing a new body. This would render him immortal, his physical form inconsequential as long as his soul persisted. It also explained his ability to move and act even with severe physical damage, his soul controlling the body directly.
There must be limitations to this ability, the Sheriff reasoned, but the speed and duration of Iskander's manifestations were astounding. The Nexus-Spawn paled in comparison.
The Sheriff generated a Shatter orb, instantly disintegrating it. The blood, gore, and severed limbs scattered throughout Elysium vanished. He had erased every trace of organic matter, eliminating the risk of regeneration from even the smallest remaining fragment. He could not afford to analyze Iskander's DNA to confirm this possibility, nor did he wish to rely on Codex-7 tech, a concept he found abhorrent.
He had formulated other theories, but these two seemed most plausible. Erasing Iskander's body entirely posed too great a risk, as his soul likely remained. While he could erase physical matter, souls were beyond his reach if Soul-Severs did not affect it. He could destroy a Nexus-Spawn's body, but not its consciousness. Only one being, to his knowledge, possessed such power – the old fool. The King of the Aggregate.
"A fascinating lifeform," the Sheriff mused. He extended his arms towards Iskander's mutilated body, shrinking the black sphere to twice its size, trapping the immortal within. As the sphere contracted, time resumed its flow for the others.
The eight Riders stood bewildered, struggling to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
"That was scary!" Selhob exclaimed as he landed beside them.
"What did you do?" Kyra asked, her voice filled with awe.
The Sheriff, his focus unwavering, maintained the sphere's stability. "Talk through Mind-Lace," he instructed as the others gathered around.
"He stopped his time!" Selhob observed. "Look, he's frozen."
Leaving them to speculate about the Heretic's Rune abilities was crucial for maintaining secrecy. The Sheriff thought, though he remained silent. Their presence during the fight had already revealed too much.
"Stopped his time?" Kyra echoed, incredulous. "Is that even possible?"
"Your power is brilliant!" Selhob gushed. "Old man, can you teach me?"
"I cannot, old ShadowWeaver," the Sheriff replied with a grin.
"How did you know I was old?" Selhob gasped.
Yalis remained silent.
"Time manipulation!" CodeForger exclaimed. "Starting analysis," Codex-7 declared.
"Hey!" The Sheriff interjected through Mind-Lace.
CodeForger paused. "Don't bother," he instructed Codex-7, his gaze meeting the Sheriff's. He knew better.
"Understood," Codex-7 replied, comprehending CodeForger's reasoning through their shared consciousness link.
The Sheriff understood the TechKin's restraint. CodeForger was undoubtedly curious and had likely theorized about time manipulation, but he also recognized the limitations. Even with a Mnemonic-Trade, he could only understand the how, not acquire the ability, or discover its origins. Moreover, he respected the unspoken rules.
Aces were categorized as weapons, their existence and abilities shrouded in secrecy. Disclosing their names, CallSigns, or secrets was forbidden. The Sheriff knew CodeForger understood this.
"I've never seen someone use a Heretic's Rune before! Impressive," Gaia remarked through Mind-Lace. If you had, you would not be alive, the Sheriff thought grimly. "Honestly, I thought yours was useless. But I was wrong, it's effective alright!"
"A truly powerful Heretic's Rune!" Kyra exclaimed, approaching and studying the mark on his neck. The Sheriff smiled inwardly, recognizing the shift in her perception. She should just forget about it, he thought.
"Who are you?" Igniss demanded through Mind-Lace.
"Sheriff, Igniss is right! Tell us who you truly are!" Kyra added. "We deserve to know, you used us for this."
"I used you to save you," the Sheriff countered.
"Let me rephrase," Sena interjected. "We trusted you with our lives. Manners dictate you offer us some trust in return."
"And I just lost an arm," Igniss added, his voice laced with anger.
The Sheriff hesitated. Divulging his name or ability was against every instinct, but he also recognized the need for cooperation. He could offer some truth without compromising his secrets.
"My true name is Conan," he declared, "and my CallSign is Aethel."