Arrows

Axel lead the way through weaves of thickets. The importance was to remain on the move to avoid getting ambushed by other pairs. Although the Sins were the biggest threat yet to find, other strong individuals made up the remaining 100 contenders as well.

"Is there anywhere in particular we're going?" Abel asked, panting.

"No, just keep moving. Eventually another Specialized Phase should occur," Axel stated.

The direction was unknown, but the wind blew against them. Axel hadn't stopped walking since Phase 2 started. Abel didn't admit it but he was starting to get tired. He knew if he spoke up, Axel would've just kept walking. That's the kind of guy Abel assumed he was—serious and closed-minded.

They walked by shallow ponds in an open field of grand trees. The ground was irregular, giving the feeling as if walking with legs of uneven length. Thick bushes scattered the area, and with caution, Axel kept his eye on each one in the case of hidden attackers. For the vast amount of ground that Abel had traveled since awakening, he was surprised to have not come across other contenders. That was excluding Midas and Axel.

"It's weird, I've barely seen any contenders at all," Abel spoke up.

"We're in the southern region of the boundaries. Most of the contenders can be found up north where there's more city. Down here it's mostly just wilderness, but there's a few abandoned districts here and there."

Abel remembered the ghost city he came across with Midas. He was curious on how it came to be.

"I actually came across one of those when I was still travelling with Midas. It was empty and eerie."

"I know, I was following you guys," Axel said.

Abel was sort of surprised. "You were? How come you didn't attack us then?"

"I was using you guys to lead me to the location of the gem first. I thought that I'd be able to retrieve the gem myself once defeating Greed, and then use the gem to bait in other Sins, but my plan completely fell off," Axel sighed heavily.

The two kept walking and came to some woods. The trees were thick, and very spaced out among the area. The leaves were a fern green, but the sunlight that shone through colored them an olive-like green. The sun had been setting for quite some time, but was just now over the horizon. The sky dimmed to a low orange, and the temperature dropped slightly. Night was slowly approaching.

Abel's legs were burning in pain. He wasn't sure if they were just aching or if he had an actual injury. The thought of having a fractured or broken bone in his current situation brought him fear. Abel couldn't help but wonder how Axel walked these miles seemingly without struggle, but then remembered that he was in the military. Still, Abel felt frustrated that they couldn't just stop and break for a bit.

"Would Axel ever stop walking?" Abel thought to himself. "He could probably walk the Earth three times without stopping," he imagined. "Walking man"; that's what Abel wanted to call him. Suddenly, Axel stopped walking, and sat down on a log.

"Let's take a break," he said.

Abel just stood there, speechless.

"Wh… WHAT."

"What?" Axel asked confusedly.

"I-I thought, like... I thought you wanted to keep walking!"

"Yeah but now I'm tired. Sit, have some water," Axel held out a water bottle.

Abel could feel the irritation getting to his head.

"We could've just taken a break this whole time?" Abel asked.

"Yeah...? Just say so." Axel began gulping his water down.

Abel, responding with an annoyed look, sat down on the log.

Axel laughed. "How long have you been waiting to sit and rest?". He passed him the water bottle.

"Too long," Abel scoffed. Axel chuckled.

Abel gulped the rest of the water down.

"There's other things you should be more worried about instead," Axel said.

"I know, I know—"

An arrow suddenly struck the water bottle out of Abel's hand.

The two turned back over their shoulders, but the sunset glow blinded them.

"Where was that from?" Abel asked in a panic.

"Definitely in that direction, but I can't see from who..."

Suddenly, another arrow came flying in. This time, it wizzed past Axel's face, skinning the surface of his cheek. He yelped in pain as the arrow sliced past him, hitting a tree further back. His cheek bled.

"Urgh! They have a bow!" Axel turned back towards the sunset.

A silhouette was now present, accompanied by a bow in hand. The bow was readied and aimed towards them.

"Spread out!" Axel yelled, pushing Abel in the opposite direction.

Axel ran the other way and took cover behind a tree. Panicked, Abel scurried behind a tree on the other end. Axel had already unsheathed his hatchet by now, Abel noticed this and took his dagger out.

"Take care of him while I go and find his pair!" Axel yelled from the other tree.

"T-Take care of him? What do you mean?" Abel was now fumbling his weapon.

Axel sighed of frustration. "Kill him!"

Abel reacted shockingly to this.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Just like... I don't know... Distract him for now until I get back! But if you have a chance to take him out, do it!" Axel then got up and set off further down his direction.

Abel saw arrows fly in his direction, but Axel remained swift and either dodged or hid behind cover. Eventually, Axel was now out of the picture, and it was just him and the bow-wielder.

Abel took a slight peak from behind the tree to look back, but was instantly met with an arrow that struck his tree.

"Shit!" Panic rose within him. He looked down at the dagger he had in hand. "What am I supposed to do with this if he's so far back?"

He cycled through scenarios in his head that involved running out and directly towards the enemy, but they all ended with getting killed. Abel somehow needed to close the gap between them to render bow usage useless, but he wondered how.

"A distraction of some sort... Misdirection maybe?"

Misdirection. With this bow user's keen reaction time, Abel needed him to react to something other than himself. Abel looked around him; sticks and stones scattered the floor. He grabbed a small stone and gripped it tightly. He needed to somehow stray his attention away for even a split second and buy himself time.

"This rock should do."

The bow-wielder kept his eyes pealed on Abel's tree cover, not once averting his gaze. That was until something came flying out of cover towards the left. The bow-wielder reacted within an instant, lining up a shot in that direction and releasing it. The arrow impaled its target, but the sound was an unexpecting shatter. It was a rock.

The bow-wielder was confused and quickly scanned the surrounding area. Upon turning a sharp right, he was met with a blade that approached his face. The bow-wielder immediately weaved to the left, dodging the attack. Abel fell forward with his attack and onto the ground. In a quick manner, the bow-wielder swung the bow over his shoulder, simultaneously pulling a knife out for insurance. The bow-wielder then proceeded to drop an attack towards Abel. But Abel quickly rolled out of the way, with the knife just missing him. He quickly got back on his feet and readied his stance.

Now up and close with the attacker, Abel noticed that it was actually a female. She wore a black mask that covered half her face, and wore a loose hood over her head. Her bow was now rendered useless at this distance, hence having her knife equipped. Abel had his own dagger in hand, ready for the close-combat to take place.

Abel felt his own feet move forward, initiating the first attack. He swung his blade, but narrowly missed. Using the forward momentum, Abel kept slashing towards her in a fury of swings. Each swing missed; some close, some far off. The bow-wielder used this aimless strategy to gain her own advantage by ducking under a swing and sweeping at Abel's legs. Abel proceeded to fall onto his back while losing grip of his dagger.

She immediately pounced onto him, attempting a follow-up final blow to the neck. But Abel was not going to let this happen to him. He amazingly caught her knife's handle on its way down. The bow-wielder now pushed the knife down towards Abel's neck as hard as she could. Under, Abel pushed up against the knife as hard as he could. The tip of the blade was making its way closer towards his neck, giving she had the gravitational advantage being on top. Now, the knife steadily made its way into the crevice under Abel's neck; the jogular notch. Just a centimeter more, and he'd have a hole in his throat.

Abel could be heard grunting as he slowly lost strength while the blade approached. He couldn't die here. He hadn't yet found the answers he needed. There was still so much more left at large. If he died here, he'd be dishonoring his past-self and what he held. Abel knew he needed to find himself. He needed to re-find himself.

With what little information and memories filled Abel's mind, indignation seeped in and seemed to fill the rest. Infuriation built within Abel, as he slowly started pushing up with more strength than before. The bow-wielder was shocked by this, but kept at her consistent force down onto him. But this didn't seem to work, as Abel was slowly gaining the advantage. The blade was now lifted up a good distance from his neck, but Abel's stress only seemed to build higher. Using this pent-up emotion, he grabbed the knife by the blade and threw it aside. The pain that sliced his palm open went unnoticed. Abel proceeded to shove the bow-wielder off himself, flinging her backwards as she landed on her back.

Getting winded in the process, she gasped for air. She then saw Abel walking towards her. Checking her holsters for spare knives, she went unlucky. Abel now stood over the bow-wielder with his dagger in hand. Its blue handle was colored red from the blood that gushed from his wounded palm. He looked down at the girl. His mind contemplated between a clean or bloody execution.

"Abel!" A voice called from behind.

Abel's eyes widened and turned in its direction.

"I couldn't find his pair! I don't think he had one!" It was Axel. He was running towards Abel.

"She has no pair—?"

"ABEL, LOOK OUT!"

Abel turned back towards the bow-wielder, and was met with the face of a bow himself.

A series of events happened in an instant. Impalation occurred.