Climbing The Tower

Ryker reaches for his knife, but the black guardian next to him already has him smashing against the white wall of the elevator. The Reaper steals the knife from Ryker's belt and stabs into his stomach, puncturing his vest. Ryker screams as the sleek blade sinks into a new wound, and the Reaper attempts to create a new one at his neck.

Ryker drops and tackles the Reaper into the wall across from them, grabbing the guardian's wrists and attempting to disarm them. Ryker throws as many punches as he can into the Reaper's helm, giving little care to the hard glass beating against his knuckles, and defends against the slices the Reaper thrusts into the air.

The elevator doors drag open again, and the two within are too busy attempting to decapitate each other that the doors almost close again. Ryker strikes the Reaper into another wall, thrusting to stab at their chest, but the elite grabs Ryker's fists and kicks him back.

Stabilizing again, the Reaper approaches Ryker and meets the barrel of a gun as it releases a bullet into their collarbone. Ryker grips the uniform of the Reaper and keeps the elite's body above the ground as they fall. He throws the body out to the small room beyond the doors of the elevator and watches as the Reaper growls their way back to their feet.

A large corridor lies on either side of the room they enter, the ceiling above reaching nearly the same height as the lobby before. The Reaper rushes for Ryker again with another wish to bring him down. As the elite reaches for Ryker with their rage rising to the rooftop, Ryker fires two more bullets into their chest. The Reaper gives little response to the metal piercing their skin and continues to charge at their target.

As Ryker swings his weapon to hit the helm of the elite, he finds the surroundings changing to the will of his enemy. He watches the elite as they step back and wait for the room to fade into a cloud of smoke, a blue void filling the hollow space around a neon-outlined platform. The distant shine of neon butterflies flutters around in the smoke, innocently sending grace to blend with the floating ash that litters the atmosphere.

Ryker turns to the elite as it draws a new blade from their uniform and spins it in their hands. Drawing the blade back and holding a stance in preparation for Ryker's attacks, the Reaper watches their target as he keeps his weapon lowered and his focus away from the artificial creation.

The two give each other a careful glare and rush through the smoke with lethal intention.