*********************************
Maddox "Sea's Shadow' Adkins
I feel the callouses on my non-dominant hand thrash against my jaw as I slide the dripping blood from my nose off my face. All the while, my right hand doesn't budge from Ocean's Tempo, and my eyes don't lay off Lennon. Instead, the grip tightens, my fury rising with every second. This fucking bastard!
He's ruining everything! I had so many things prepared for this!
Lil' Par couldn't come this deep inland, but that doesn't mean I didn't have extra forces! I made deals with practically half the world for this!
The Grayskin's High Prince promised to come, but I can't signal him with anything other than Eli's blood. The southernmost race is odd, but their innate ability to manipulate blood and shadows is incredible. And G'yankth can teleport to any blood spilled near his own blood, even from thousands of miles away. The vial in my pocket is the connector.
There are other scenarios like this...
But...
Fucking Lennon Hull.
Nwyn, the Evernighted Edge, is too scared to show his ugly mug after he saw what Lennon did to Karn. Karn's greatest rival amongst the demons doesn't possess nearly the same mettle as the Nahullo spearman.
Ah! And I can't even get close to speaking to the other demons because of this fucking bastard! My teeth grind as Lennon's hair waves in the air, the unopposed smile on his lips practically mocking me. He's doing this on purpose. He plays the dumb, meathead swordsman, but the only thing he is unknowledgeable about is Ether. Edmund did not train any incompetent soldiers.
I'm not afraid of a fight. In fact, I'm confident I'll win. Lennon has been an Angel for less than a year, even if he has managed to procure a Dominion. He won't be able to stop me. Plus, Autumn should be laying down that vat of water any second now at the top of the hole to help.
But...
I won't win without some sort of loss. Lennon is strong—very much so. In the best-case scenario, I'll be exhausted after our fight. The worst case? I may lose a limb or two with those bladeless slashes of his. But I can't dawdle any longer. Eli Weiss has the Sigil I need. I need to be the one to kill him and take it, advancing to the 9th Sigil. Still, I don't have my Dominion yet, but I am virtually positive I'll get it today. There is no way such a battle doesn't deliver it to me.
A deep breath fills my lungs as I give the approaching man another once over. Lennon's missing arms were a thing I lorded over him. Perhaps I should have just killed him. No. I definitely should have. But who could have known Lennon would awaken a Dominion outside of a fight? Absolutely unheard of.
I twist the cutlass in my hand, the long saber-like blade echoing the currents of air around Lennon. Only with Ocean's Tempo's trait to sense air pressure can I even remotely predict Lennon's attacks. They come from nowhere but his soul, but still, they have signs of origination. If I had my own Dominion, things would be easier to counter, but alas.
Sprinting forward, I toss my Ether out haphazardly, knowing I can't pull any punches with this man. A Tailwind thrusts me ahead, the air accelerating me to an unseen speed while Crashing Waves form around me. A Vortex of water begins to form within the air above for later use.
The water protects me like a cocoon as the air shimmers to my right ever so slightly. A bladeless slash cuts into my water, but the liquid slows it enough for Ocean's Tempo to meet it. Nevertheless, the force of impact sends me reeling. I stumble to the side, corralling a lake's worth of water from the very air with Vortex, a difficult thing to do on its own, to block another duo of strikes.
I quickly fall into my own rhythm as our dance of blades begins amidst the clash of elements, the cutlass in my right hand deflecting yet another wave of violence. My left hand, clenched into a fragile fist, weaves through the air, pulling all of the droplets of moisture from the cavern. They swirl and converge, forming a miniature tsunami that snakes and undulates at my command.
It soars straight for Lennon as I dive at him. Yet, the man, with a simple nod, cleaves the twenty-foot-tall wave of consolidated Ether in half as the waves turn to sparkling surges on each side. Insane. I even imbued Lightning Ether into that! The Plasmic Ether's effects are not enough to outpace this man. The Bladeless Monster is left unscathed as he steps forward. Curdling my fingers, the waves answer my call, twisting backward with a life of their own.
Between the wave and me stands the swordsman without arms, a paradoxical foe. His soul-forged blade, unseen but undeniably lethal, lashes out independently of his body. I twist to the left, forced into a slight kneel from the sudden strike. His Dominion is exceptional, not that I've faced very many. Still, it is only another obstacle to overcome to reach my goal. Immortality. I want to live forever. I want to... be invincible. I want to never have to wor—
Another onslaught comes, a swift and unpredictable movement of the soul-forged blade. I raise my cutlass and conjure a watery shield along the blade, the fluid barrier absorbing the spectral impact. Then, I flex the invisible muscle between my hand and my Claymore.
A shriek of lightning bulges out, lashing into the air toward Lennon. The clash reverberates through my bones. Still, I wade through the forces, even as I watch Lennon cut the lightning bolt in half. The Bladeless Monster smiles, his face lowering as I can only see the top of his pupils.
"I always wanted a Claymore like that. Beautiful. Powerful. Lively. Electric. I suppose it's a bit too late now. Or is it..."
The madman slows for a moment, and I shout at him, trying to stop this fight as soon as possible. With every second, it seems less likely, but I can't just give up. Things would go so much better for the both of us if he just turned the fuck around!
"We can still end this! I'll let you have the Claymore if you help me kill Eli Weiss and the Covenant!"
Lennon Hull raises his head as I approach twenty feet, the striking distance for Ocean's Tempo. When swung, the blade has air that extends far beyond the steel. However, A chill runs down my spine as Lennon's eyes don't even meet me. They phase right through me as if focused on something else. Something... greater.
"This is a duel, Maddox. And there is but one rule. One shall live. One blade will be broken, and the other shall be sharpened."
His words rile up the sea of anger that I've kept deep within my veins. Insane. What got into him? Just a few days ago he was a lost animal, directionless and without power. And now... Fuck! I let it all out as he charges toward me with gleaming eyes and shattered marble beneath every step.
A blade of his comes for me, and I swing mine in turn. But before we even make contact, I retaliate with a deluge of water, shaping it into a swirling torrent that surges toward my opponent. The liquid force collides with the intangible blade, creating a momentary clash of elements. It's a brief respite, but the soul-forged slashes persist, each one carving through the air with an eerie precision.
Only to meet my steel.
Pure, blue-hinted lightning screeches out alongside the horrible wail of crossing blades. This time, however, I don't deflect his blade.
I press forward, the cutlass in my right hand guiding the way as the lightning surges up and down the metal, shattering his intangible blade with a yawp. Then, the air from the blade continues, opening a gash across the man's shoulder.
Lennon bleeds just like any other man, yet he is unable to touch the wound like the others.
Water dances around me as I dart forward, forming protective barriers and fluid blades that deflect the ethereal onslaught. Finally, I'm close to the man. Close enough to strike. Yet, with every step I take, I earn another wound. The soul-forged blades pierce through my defenses, leaving trails of ethereal pain in their wake that rapidly shift to clotting blood. My movements become a delicate balance between offense and defense as I swing for his neck.
Still, I'm not close enough, as he learns to cut even the wind followed by lightning. This isn't normal. Dominions shouldn't grow this fast! Gritting my teeth, I press on, covering my own flesh with water to help lessen the pain and heal me from my wounds. Closing the distance with another lash to my back, I unleash a torrential wave, aiming to engulf my adversary from behind. The liquid is submerged with my Ether, and trickles of lightning are hidden beneath the surface as well. Lennon responds with a kick backward.
To any other being, this would look so simple and weak—so feeble. But to me?
I see the very air shudder under the wake of his movement. A collapsing wave of force rends my wave in two, but I already knew that would happen when I sent it a moment ago. As his leg is raised, I dive in, cutting for the outstretched limb from a hundred different directions.
Lightning, water, air, and even my blade itself meet upon the man's pantleg, seeking to remove a third limb.
*******************************
Lennon 'Bladeless Monster' Hull
A lethal threat hurtles toward me, aspiring to cripple me from one of my few defenses left—my speed. It is clever, a carefully concocted strategy by Maddox. He always has been a tactician hidden beneath that facade of cruelty. So, I shut my eyes as the elements eke toward my flesh.
I've been on the back foot since Maddox decided to put his all into the battle. I expected this. The only question is, am I weaker than when I lost my arms, or am I stronger? Am I better with a physical sword or with only my soul to guide me?
It must be my soul.
I let time pass, delving into myself. If I am the blade, then the blade is me. I must temper myself. I must hone myself. I must perfect my blade. Inhale.
In the calm, storms brew.
In the storm, the calm is the most fatal.
I can still the thunder to a murmur.
I can halt the waves to a trickle.
I can pause the hurricane to a breeze.
I am a blade.
Unfazed.
Rain hell down upon me.
And it will be met with not with steel and blood.
It will be bisected by flesh and bone.
Exhale.
My flesh falls to the earth, the steel of Maddox's Claymore cutting into the marble below as my leg rolls along with it. Not a mote of pain or surprise washes over me.
Calmly, like that of a still patch of ocean caused by the intersecting war of a half-dozen seas, I raise an invisible hand. I can practically feel every vein in the arm that bears that hand. I can grasp onto each muscle along the shoulders that creep into my back.
A blade can have many forms.
It is formless in essence.
All it must do is its job.
To kill.
That formless hand clenches around a shapeless, intangible sword, identical to my long-broken partner. Dia.
She is four feet in total length. Slightly short for a bastard sword such as her, but I've loved her since I first got her. A slight whisper comes to me from some hidden part of the blade.
"I will fail you. Of that, I'm sure."
I can only smile at Dia. Maddox backsteps, the fear in his eyes evident, but he ceases his retreat after only a step. Instead, he presses toward my outstretched, phantasmal arm as I reply to my Claymore. I have learned a valuable lesson from this man. And it is because of that I must attempt to teach him one as well. He cannot run forever. He cannot reach the peak without putting it all on the line. My dear Dia understands. I am sure she does.
"I know. But that is the only way we grow stronger. Every time we break, we are forged ever more durable. I will fail you, too, Dia. Forevermore."
I swing my arm outward like I have done a thousand, no tens—no a million times. Just as I have cut into open, unblemished air a million times in training. A thousand times a day. Just like all the others, I cut toward Maddox Adkins.
The Vitrue contorts his body in a panic, doing everything he can to dodge the strike. Rivers of water crash against my Dia. Tornados of air slash against my Dia. Thunderstorms of lightning strike against my Dia. Still, she holds, even with cracks and blemishes.
Finally, she meets Maddox's own blade.
Dia comes to face with Ocean's Tempo.
And for a tiny instant, I hear my blade creak worryingly.
"I will fail you."
I let the words wash over my mind as I hold my faith unaffected. I press upon Maddox even as the squirrely man attempts to retreat. My lone leg restricts the force I can summon, yet Maddox cannot simply run. Still, fate seems to deem him fortunate; deep, trembling pain wracks its way through my body, mind, and soul as I watch Dia break once more. Her fragments shatter into a thousand directions, yet as she breaks, Ocean's Tempo suffers a visible crack across its edge.
Maddox and I are both catapulted from each other from opposite forces, his waves and my Claymore.
I roll along the soggy marble, bleeding profusely from my leg as I grasp for her again. My vision shakes; it trembles as I slowly lose the calm. My heartbeat trembles erratically, reminding me that, in the end, I am only a man.
No matter what I tell myself, it will never be true. There is a sword. And then there is—
"I will fail you."
"That is fine."
A bolt of lightning soars toward me, but it is weaker than before. Maddox's lightning comes from his blade. And Dia hurt it. Again, I wave her outward, and the lightning is split onto each side of me, leaving me unharmed.
No one has ever broken a Lumen before. Nothing has.
My 'arm' stretches out and hauls me to my single foot into a stand. I stagger, unused to the feeble balance. Maddox stares directly at me before peering at his Lumen with a tight squint.
"Shall we end here, Lennon? You have proven yourself a mighty foe. That is what you want, yes?"
What do I want? I gaze upward as I still feel Dia's handle upon my missing hand. There are many things I want. Yet, what do i want most of all?
Do I want to save the world? Do I want to make it a better place? To remove all the threats from humanity? No. Not truly. Those are the wishes of my mentor, things I will do if given the chance. I do not want to disappoint him, but there is a more significant crisis, disappointing myself.
Do I want to help this man before me discover himself? To become more than a broken shell of a man, the one shattered by misfortune? I will if given the chance, but it is not my priority... What do I want?
"What... I want?"
Maddox nods toward me as if telling me to spit it out and give up. He doesn't understand. No one does. I came here for my mentor, lying to myself about my true intentions. I could only hold it for so long. I do not want to save the world. I want...
I want to be the strongest being alive. I want to cleave Gods with a hand and remove all threats with a blink. Why?
Why do I want this?
What could possibly make the depths of my soul seek this?
"A challenge. You seek the most difficult road. To prove yourself to yourself. To prove that anyone can become anything. If you can do it, so can anyone. After all..."
Dia's voice overlaps with Edmund's as I realize neither is real. They are only figments of my own insanity. Yet... what is real matters not to me. Their wisdom is true, and that is all that matters. They have guided me faithfully so far, never straying from the path.
"I am but a common man. No special lineage or talent. No family or gifts to guide me. Only this blade, here, and myself."
Right now, Maddox Adkins is the strongest human alive that I can face. Eli is even more squirrelly than he is and not as strong up-front. Furthermore, Gods do not count, and Killian Graves might as well be dead. The Sea's Shadow gives me a bizarre look as I realize I spoke aloud.
Blood trails from the third limb I've lost, possibly for eternity, as I stare down Maddox Adkins.
"And I want to kill you."
The man's eyes widen as I swing Dia again, launching myself forward with a tightly condensed Monster upon my only leg. The force is so profoundly focused due to my missing limbs that it almost counteracts the fact I'm missing a leg. Maddox raises his blade alongside all his other elements. They strike at me from a myriad of positions, stabbing into my flesh of moisture, gnarling my skin with scars of lightning, and assaulting my bones with the wind.
In the end, our blades meet again, his only way to protect himself against mine. And again, Dia shatters, sending me bounding away in a heap of blood.
"I will fail you."
Again, I stand, summoning the strength I only have in my dreams to swing Dia once more. She reforms, stronger than before, and meets Maddox's blade again.
Still, we fail.
"Stop this, Lennon! What are you doing!? Dying to break my blade?"
Again, Dia forms. And again, I swing, kicking myself forward with what little energy I have left. Maddox is getting nervous. He wouldn't speak otherwise.
This time, though, Dia isn't the only thing that breaks, for a deafening wail marks Ocean's Tempo's demise as both Maddox and I stagger backward. Yet, a blade forms behind me to catch my momentum as I bleed all over.
Hopping with a single leg, I grab the blade, feeling Dia's grip upon an intangible hand. This time, she is confident.
"Nevermore, even if I break."
I nod with a vision that alternates between being grayed out and far too colorful. And then, I swing her once more, cleaving all of Maddox's defenses in twain.
"Nevermore shall I lose."
A body falls in two halves before me, a shocked and indignant scowl on the Sea's Shadow's face. Blood pools, staining the water that he had ripped from the air during our fight. If we fought on the ocean... I might have lost. But here? I prevail once more.
*********************************
Maddox "Sea's Shadow' Adkins
I feel the callouses on my non-dominant hand thrash against my jaw as I slide the dripping blood from my nose off my face. All the while, my right hand doesn't budge from Ocean's Tempo, and my eyes don't lay off Lennon. Instead, the grip tightens, my fury rising with every second. This fucking bastard!
He's ruining everything! I had so many things prepared for this!
Lil' Par couldn't come this deep inland, but that doesn't mean I didn't have extra forces! I made deals with practically half the world for this!
The Grayskin's High Prince promised to come, but I can't signal him with anything other than Eli's blood. The southernmost race is odd, but their innate ability to manipulate blood and shadows is incredible. And G'yankth can teleport to any blood spilled near his own blood, even from thousands of miles away. The vial in my pocket is the connector.
There are other scenarios like this...
But...
Fucking Lennon Hull.
Nwyn, the Evernighted Edge, is too scared to show his ugly mug after he saw what Lennon did to Karn. Karn's greatest rival amongst the demons doesn't possess nearly the same mettle as the Nahullo spearman.
Ah! And I can't even get close to speaking to the other demons because of this fucking bastard! My teeth grind as Lennon's hair waves in the air, the unopposed smile on his lips practically mocking me. He's doing this on purpose. He plays the dumb, meathead swordsman, but the only thing he is unknowledgeable about is Ether. Edmund did not train any incompetent soldiers.
I'm not afraid of a fight. In fact, I'm confident I'll win. Lennon has been an Angel for less than a year, even if he has managed to procure a Dominion. He won't be able to stop me. Plus, Autumn should be laying down that vat of water any second now at the top of the hole to help.
But...
I won't win without some sort of loss. Lennon is strong—very much so. In the best-case scenario, I'll be exhausted after our fight. The worst case? I may lose a limb or two with those bladeless slashes of his. But I can't dawdle any longer. Eli Weiss has the Sigil I need. I need to be the one to kill him and take it, advancing to the 9th Sigil. Still, I don't have my Dominion yet, but I am virtually positive I'll get it today. There is no way such a battle doesn't deliver it to me.
A deep breath fills my lungs as I give the approaching man another once over. Lennon's missing arms were a thing I lorded over him. Perhaps I should have just killed him. No. I definitely should have. But who could have known Lennon would awaken a Dominion outside of a fight? Absolutely unheard of.
I twist the cutlass in my hand, the long saber-like blade echoing the currents of air around Lennon. Only with Ocean's Tempo's trait to sense air pressure can I even remotely predict Lennon's attacks. They come from nowhere but his soul, but still, they have signs of origination. If I had my own Dominion, things would be easier to counter, but alas.
Sprinting forward, I toss my Ether out haphazardly, knowing I can't pull any punches with this man. A Tailwind thrusts me ahead, the air accelerating me to an unseen speed while Crashing Waves form around me. A Vortex of water begins to form within the air above for later use.
The water protects me like a cocoon as the air shimmers to my right ever so slightly. A bladeless slash cuts into my water, but the liquid slows it enough for Ocean's Tempo to meet it. Nevertheless, the force of impact sends me reeling. I stumble to the side, corralling a lake's worth of water from the very air with Vortex, a difficult thing to do on its own, to block another duo of strikes.
I quickly fall into my own rhythm as our dance of blades begins amidst the clash of elements, the cutlass in my right hand deflecting yet another wave of violence. My left hand, clenched into a fragile fist, weaves through the air, pulling all of the droplets of moisture from the cavern. They swirl and converge, forming a miniature tsunami that snakes and undulates at my command.
It soars straight for Lennon as I dive at him. Yet, the man, with a simple nod, cleaves the twenty-foot-tall wave of consolidated Ether in half as the waves turn to sparkling surges on each side. Insane. I even imbued Lightning Ether into that! The Plasmic Ether's effects are not enough to outpace this man. The Bladeless Monster is left unscathed as he steps forward. Curdling my fingers, the waves answer my call, twisting backward with a life of their own.
Between the wave and me stands the swordsman without arms, a paradoxical foe. His soul-forged blade, unseen but undeniably lethal, lashes out independently of his body. I twist to the left, forced into a slight kneel from the sudden strike. His Dominion is exceptional, not that I've faced very many. Still, it is only another obstacle to overcome to reach my goal. Immortality. I want to live forever. I want to... be invincible. I want to never have to wor—
Another onslaught comes, a swift and unpredictable movement of the soul-forged blade. I raise my cutlass and conjure a watery shield along the blade, the fluid barrier absorbing the spectral impact. Then, I flex the invisible muscle between my hand and my Claymore.
A shriek of lightning bulges out, lashing into the air toward Lennon. The clash reverberates through my bones. Still, I wade through the forces, even as I watch Lennon cut the lightning bolt in half. The Bladeless Monster smiles, his face lowering as I can only see the top of his pupils.
"I always wanted a Claymore like that. Beautiful. Powerful. Lively. Electric. I suppose it's a bit too late now. Or is it..."
The madman slows for a moment, and I shout at him, trying to stop this fight as soon as possible. With every second, it seems less likely, but I can't just give up. Things would go so much better for the both of us if he just turned the fuck around!
"We can still end this! I'll let you have the Claymore if you help me kill Eli Weiss and the Covenant!"
Lennon Hull raises his head as I approach twenty feet, the striking distance for Ocean's Tempo. When swung, the blade has air that extends far beyond the steel. However, A chill runs down my spine as Lennon's eyes don't even meet me. They phase right through me as if focused on something else. Something... greater.
"This is a duel, Maddox. And there is but one rule. One shall live. One blade will be broken, and the other shall be sharpened."
His words rile up the sea of anger that I've kept deep within my veins. Insane. What got into him? Just a few days ago he was a lost animal, directionless and without power. And now... Fuck! I let it all out as he charges toward me with gleaming eyes and shattered marble beneath every step.
A blade of his comes for me, and I swing mine in turn. But before we even make contact, I retaliate with a deluge of water, shaping it into a swirling torrent that surges toward my opponent. The liquid force collides with the intangible blade, creating a momentary clash of elements. It's a brief respite, but the soul-forged slashes persist, each one carving through the air with an eerie precision.
Only to meet my steel.
Pure, blue-hinted lightning screeches out alongside the horrible wail of crossing blades. This time, however, I don't deflect his blade.
I press forward, the cutlass in my right hand guiding the way as the lightning surges up and down the metal, shattering his intangible blade with a yawp. Then, the air from the blade continues, opening a gash across the man's shoulder.
Lennon bleeds just like any other man, yet he is unable to touch the wound like the others.
Water dances around me as I dart forward, forming protective barriers and fluid blades that deflect the ethereal onslaught. Finally, I'm close to the man. Close enough to strike. Yet, with every step I take, I earn another wound. The soul-forged blades pierce through my defenses, leaving trails of ethereal pain in their wake that rapidly shift to clotting blood. My movements become a delicate balance between offense and defense as I swing for his neck.
Still, I'm not close enough, as he learns to cut even the wind followed by lightning. This isn't normal. Dominions shouldn't grow this fast! Gritting my teeth, I press on, covering my own flesh with water to help lessen the pain and heal me from my wounds. Closing the distance with another lash to my back, I unleash a torrential wave, aiming to engulf my adversary from behind. The liquid is submerged with my Ether, and trickles of lightning are hidden beneath the surface as well. Lennon responds with a kick backward.
To any other being, this would look so simple and weak—so feeble. But to me?
I see the very air shudder under the wake of his movement. A collapsing wave of force rends my wave in two, but I already knew that would happen when I sent it a moment ago. As his leg is raised, I dive in, cutting for the outstretched limb from a hundred different directions.
Lightning, water, air, and even my blade itself meet upon the man's pantleg, seeking to remove a third limb.
*******************************
Lennon 'Bladeless Monster' Hull
A lethal threat hurtles toward me, aspiring to cripple me from one of my few defenses left—my speed. It is clever, a carefully concocted strategy by Maddox. He always has been a tactician hidden beneath that facade of cruelty. So, I shut my eyes as the elements eke toward my flesh.
I've been on the back foot since Maddox decided to put his all into the battle. I expected this. The only question is, am I weaker than when I lost my arms, or am I stronger? Am I better with a physical sword or with only my soul to guide me?
It must be my soul.
I let time pass, delving into myself. If I am the blade, then the blade is me. I must temper myself. I must hone myself. I must perfect my blade. Inhale.
In the calm, storms brew.
In the storm, the calm is the most fatal.
I can still the thunder to a murmur.
I can halt the waves to a trickle.
I can pause the hurricane to a breeze.
I am a blade.
Unfazed.
Rain hell down upon me.
And it will be met with not with steel and blood.
It will be bisected by flesh and bone.
Exhale.
My flesh falls to the earth, the steel of Maddox's Claymore cutting into the marble below as my leg rolls along with it. Not a mote of pain or surprise washes over me.
Calmly, like that of a still patch of ocean caused by the intersecting war of a half-dozen seas, I raise an invisible hand. I can practically feel every vein in the arm that bears that hand. I can grasp onto each muscle along the shoulders that creep into my back.
A blade can have many forms.
It is formless in essence.
All it must do is its job.
To kill.
That formless hand clenches around a shapeless, intangible sword, identical to my long-broken partner. Dia.
She is four feet in total length. Slightly short for a bastard sword such as her, but I've loved her since I first got her. A slight whisper comes to me from some hidden part of the blade.
"I will fail you. Of that, I'm sure."
I can only smile at Dia. Maddox backsteps, the fear in his eyes evident, but he ceases his retreat after only a step. Instead, he presses toward my outstretched, phantasmal arm as I reply to my Claymore. I have learned a valuable lesson from this man. And it is because of that I must attempt to teach him one as well. He cannot run forever. He cannot reach the peak without putting it all on the line. My dear Dia understands. I am sure she does.
"I know. But that is the only way we grow stronger. Every time we break, we are forged ever more durable. I will fail you, too, Dia. Forevermore."
I swing my arm outward like I have done a thousand, no tens—no a million times. Just as I have cut into open, unblemished air a million times in training. A thousand times a day. Just like all the others, I cut toward Maddox Adkins.
The Vitrue contorts his body in a panic, doing everything he can to dodge the strike. Rivers of water crash against my Dia. Tornados of air slash against my Dia. Thunderstorms of lightning strike against my Dia. Still, she holds, even with cracks and blemishes.
Finally, she meets Maddox's own blade.
Dia comes to face with Ocean's Tempo.
And for a tiny instant, I hear my blade creak worryingly.
"I will fail you."
I let the words wash over my mind as I hold my faith unaffected. I press upon Maddox even as the squirrely man attempts to retreat. My lone leg restricts the force I can summon, yet Maddox cannot simply run. Still, fate seems to deem him fortunate; deep, trembling pain wracks its way through my body, mind, and soul as I watch Dia break once more. Her fragments shatter into a thousand directions, yet as she breaks, Ocean's Tempo suffers a visible crack across its edge.
Maddox and I are both catapulted from each other from opposite forces, his waves and my Claymore.
I roll along the soggy marble, bleeding profusely from my leg as I grasp for her again. My vision shakes; it trembles as I slowly lose the calm. My heartbeat trembles erratically, reminding me that, in the end, I am only a man.
No matter what I tell myself, it will never be true. There is a sword. And then there is—
"I will fail you."
"That is fine."
A bolt of lightning soars toward me, but it is weaker than before. Maddox's lightning comes from his blade. And Dia hurt it. Again, I wave her outward, and the lightning is split onto each side of me, leaving me unharmed.
No one has ever broken a Lumen before. Nothing has.
My 'arm' stretches out and hauls me to my single foot into a stand. I stagger, unused to the feeble balance. Maddox stares directly at me before peering at his Lumen with a tight squint.
"Shall we end here, Lennon? You have proven yourself a mighty foe. That is what you want, yes?"
What do I want? I gaze upward as I still feel Dia's handle upon my missing hand. There are many things I want. Yet, what do i want most of all?
Do I want to save the world? Do I want to make it a better place? To remove all the threats from humanity? No. Not truly. Those are the wishes of my mentor, things I will do if given the chance. I do not want to disappoint him, but there is a more significant crisis, disappointing myself.
Do I want to help this man before me discover himself? To become more than a broken shell of a man, the one shattered by misfortune? I will if given the chance, but it is not my priority... What do I want?
"What... I want?"
Maddox nods toward me as if telling me to spit it out and give up. He doesn't understand. No one does. I came here for my mentor, lying to myself about my true intentions. I could only hold it for so long. I do not want to save the world. I want...
I want to be the strongest being alive. I want to cleave Gods with a hand and remove all threats with a blink. Why?
Why do I want this?
What could possibly make the depths of my soul seek this?
"A challenge. You seek the most difficult road. To prove yourself to yourself. To prove that anyone can become anything. If you can do it, so can anyone. After all..."
Dia's voice overlaps with Edmund's as I realize neither is real. They are only figments of my own insanity. Yet... what is real matters not to me. Their wisdom is true, and that is all that matters. They have guided me faithfully so far, never straying from the path.
"I am but a common man. No special lineage or talent. No family or gifts to guide me. Only this blade, here, and myself."
Right now, Maddox Adkins is the strongest human alive that I can face. Eli is even more squirrelly than he is and not as strong up-front. Furthermore, Gods do not count, and Killian Graves might as well be dead. The Sea's Shadow gives me a bizarre look as I realize I spoke aloud.
Blood trails from the third limb I've lost, possibly for eternity, as I stare down Maddox Adkins.
"And I want to kill you."
The man's eyes widen as I swing Dia again, launching myself forward with a tightly condensed Monster upon my only leg. The force is so profoundly focused due to my missing limbs that it almost counteracts the fact I'm missing a leg. Maddox raises his blade alongside all his other elements. They strike at me from a myriad of positions, stabbing into my flesh of moisture, gnarling my skin with scars of lightning, and assaulting my bones with the wind.
In the end, our blades meet again, his only way to protect himself against mine. And again, Dia shatters, sending me bounding away in a heap of blood.
"I will fail you."
Again, I stand, summoning the strength I only have in my dreams to swing Dia once more. She reforms, stronger than before, and meets Maddox's blade again.
Still, we fail.
"Stop this, Lennon! What are you doing!? Dying to break my blade?"
Again, Dia forms. And again, I swing, kicking myself forward with what little energy I have left. Maddox is getting nervous. He wouldn't speak otherwise.
This time, though, Dia isn't the only thing that breaks, for a deafening wail marks Ocean's Tempo's demise as both Maddox and I stagger backward. Yet, a blade forms behind me to catch my momentum as I bleed all over.
Hopping with a single leg, I grab the blade, feeling Dia's grip upon an intangible hand. This time, she is confident.
"Nevermore, even if I break."
I nod with a vision that alternates between being grayed out and far too colorful. And then, I swing her once more, cleaving all of Maddox's defenses in twain.
"Nevermore shall I lose."
A body falls in two halves before me, a shocked and indignant scowl on the Sea's Shadow's face. Blood pools, staining the water that he had ripped from the air during our fight. If we fought on the ocean... I might have lost. But here? I prevail once more.
