The Blade Sovereign shot forward like a streak of light, closing the distance in a flash, his sword gripped tightly.
"Sovereignty Fang!"
Fwoosh!
The blade shot like a comet—but Aeris didn't blink.
Two fingers extended. The golden edge stopped mid-air caught in between them.
"Is this the best you've got?" Aeris tilted his head, his voice mocking. "Need I remind you- You have never once beaten me."
His hand twitched.
A shockwave exploded from his palm as he backhanded Felgrand across the plaza. The Sovereign's body crashed through two broken pillars before slamming into the charred earth. Debris rained down like shrapnel.
"Worms," Aeris lifted his right hand, "should stay buried deep beneath the earth..." Violet flames coiled around it like serpents. "Ashen Judgement!"
The flames burst forth, engulfing the spot where Felgrand had landed. The impact rattled the sky. For a moment, all that could be seen was fire.
Silence followed as the flames died out.
Aeris hovered above the destruction using Flight magic, there was nothing but rubble and ash.
"Dissapointing... The former Blade Sovereign proved a more worthy opponent."
A sharp whistle sliced through the sky. The golden blade tore through the sky like a missile.
The Hollow King's scythe swung out like lightning, intercepting the blade with a deafening clang.
Felgrand landed behind him, panting, burned but alive.
"So the worm is a cockroach, huh?" Aeris smirked, still not turning.
Felgrand's eyes burned with fury. "A spell that scorches both body and soul… how fitting for a savage like you. But it won't work again, False Sovereign."
Aeris didn't look offended. In fact, he laughed.
"Haha! Now that's more like it! A hunt's no fun if the prey dies too quickly. Entertain me, Fergh."
"It's Felgrand!"
Their blades met once more, steel screaming against steel. Both refused to give an inch as their auras surged and collided. One black and violet like an aurora on a night sky, the other golden and radiant like dawn.
They broke apart, leaping back. Felgrand raised his sword. A violet glow surrounded Durandal igniting the blade with the same type of flames as Aeris'.
Aeris' eyes narrowed. 'That sword... It's giving off an Ether signature that's similar to mine.'
"Witness the power of my Artifact - The Sacred Blade, Durandal... Divine Reflection!"
Felgrand swung Durandal, unleashing flaming arcs that screamed through the air.
"Flight!" Aeris launched skyward like a black meteor, dodging each strike with ease. Felgrand attacked faster, but Aeris dodged them all.
"An Artifact that absorbs and reflects Magic spells... That could pose a challenge."
He flipped mid-air, "But not for me!"
Black seeps from Aeris within him like a fog, coating his scythe.
'If Magic is useless- I'll use Martial Ether..' Aeris's aura seeps out of him coating the blade of his scythe.
Felgrand clicks his tongue, "So this is the power of the man dubbed as the Hollow King... I can see why my predecessor fell to you."
"If you miss him so much you won't have to wait much longer, for you shall be joining him soon enough!"
He descended.
"Grim Arts Third Form: Judgement Arc!"
The scythe sang unleashing a flurry of black crescent slashes, laced with Martial energy.
"Sovereignty Fang!" Felgrand roared and met the storm with his own, gold slashes crossing mid-air.
The clashing attacks ruptured the battlefield. Dozens of explosions lit up the sky like cluster bombs. Shattered chunks of stone fell as dust gathers.
Silence fell once again.
As the dust begins to settle, two blurs exploded toward each other.
Felgrand swung Durandal downward.
Aeris sidestepped, avoiding the sacred relic.
"You're wide open."
He drove a jab straight into Felgrand's jaw. The Blade Sovereign staggered. Aeris spun, swinging his scythe. Felgrand leaned back, but the blade kissed his arm. Blood spray out staining the ground.
Aeris grinned. "Running out of tricks?"
Felgrand smirked through the pain. "Worry about yourself, False Sovereign."
"Blink."
The Blade Sovereign vanished. Aeris turned, reacting a second too late.
Slash!
The Hollow King stumbled, blood dripping from his chest. "Now that's more like it." He muttered with a wide grin.
"Let me tell you why you will lose, brother." Felgrand marched forward, dragging Durandal beside him. "You think you're untouchable. That is your biggest arrogance blinds even the strongest." He declared pointing Durandal at Aeris. "I will become the harbinger of your reckoning. Everything you hold dear- your throne... your legacy... it all ends here!"
Aeris lowered his head.
Then he laughed.
Felgrand's eyes narrowed. "What's so funny?"
A faint light burst across Aeris' body. Ancient runes appeared on his arms and neck. The wound on his chest sealed shut as if it never existed.
Felgrand froze. "Rune magic?!"
Aeris straightened, resting his scythe on his shoulder.
"The second you drew blood, you started monologuing. And you call me arrogant?" he scoffed. "You think I underestimated you?"
His gaze turned cold.
"Do not be mistaken boy," Aeris's aura surged, like a wild storm. "For me to underestimate you- you would have to have been a threat to me in the first place."
Shadows rippled from his feet, crawling across broken stone, swallowing light itself.
"I am the master of the dark arts," he declared, voice echoing like a judgment bell. "I am the Hollow King. I am the embodiment of your worst nightmares."
His scythe hummed as the shadows wrapped tighter.
"I am the Sovereign of Sovereigns... I am the Absolute Sovereign!"
His aura detonated outward like a volcanic eruption bending the very air. The ground beneath him split apart, veins of black energy tearing through.
Felgrand dropped to his knees. Blood dripped from his lips as he coughed violently. His arms trembled, his vision swam.
'I can't breath.' He was at the mercy of the chaotic aura's pressure. 'How could anybody possess so much power? It is taking my entire being to avoid losing consciousness.'
Felgrand felt as if he was sinking in a cold, dark, and bottomless sea.
'This… This is his true power?' he thought, eyes wide with fear. 'The power of the Hollow King…'
Aeris walked forward, dragging his scythe like an executioner. His pacing was slow, his stride steady. It was almost as if he was a predator stalking his prey.
He stood over Felgrand, who struggled just to lift his chin.
"I do not want to spill the blood of someone I once called brother. But, this game of ours ends now... I have wasted enough time playing with you...I am needed elsewhere.
Felgrand's fingers twitched. He tried to rise, but his body betrayed him.
Aeris stared down at him with hollow eyes. Empty. Like a god who had long grown tired of mortals.
"Don't even think of pleading," he continued. "My mercy is strictly reserved for my people. You are not one of them."
His voice grew colder. "But since you entertained me… I will grant you a swift and painless." His scythe began to glow with the Dark Ether. "Last words?"
Felgrand didn't answer.
Instead, he laughed.
At first, it was a low wheeze, then it grew louder becoming unhinged. His shoulders shook violently. Blood poured from his mouth as his chest heaved. Despite the pain he kept laughing.
Aeris paused.
Something was wrong.
'Has he finally gone mad from being exposed to my Aura?'
Felgrand looked up through the blood smeared across his face, as his lips parted...
"Checkmate."
Shhk!
A sound like steel through flesh echoed across the battlefield.
Aeris stiffened.
A black blade tore through his back jutting out of his chest.
He looked down slowly, locking onto the weapon. Its surface was pitch black, almost as if it was absorbing light itself.
His expression darkened.
"Muramasa..."
The Cursed Blade, Muramasa- Aeris was familiar with the sword. Its user fought beside him during his ordeals in Zathan.
He never would have thought that it would be used against him.
"What... do you...think you...are...doing..." his voice cracked as he coughs up blood.
Slowly, Aeris turned his head- and his breath caught.
Standing behind him was Muramasa's master- One of the Four Warlords of Zathan and his most trusted companion.
Her crimson eyes glowed with sadistic delight.
"Zera…" he breathed.