Chapter 11: Shattered Pieces

"What is Soul Crash?

The soul, as we know it, is still a vast mystery. There's still so much that could be locked away, so much unknown power that could make us evolve as humans. but such power is hidden behind walls. Walls that, if broken, could lead the human astray, trying to break free of his mortal chains and pursue the gods. Well, this is just my personal idea. Is the human real better off evolving? Or should it stay like this, under the rule of gods? Only time will tell, as BladeMasters continuing evolving, both as warriors and humans.

Well, now to explain what Soul Crash is. Each and every soul, as said before, as hidden potential locked away in it. Soul Crash is a method of releasing that power by drastically increasing the energy output the soul gives out. Many cultures gave it many names and ways to achieve it, but popular teaching here in Karash is the classic 'Attillian' method. Yes, it was Attila, the brave BladeMaster and founder of the mighty Order that created a new way to achieve Soul Crash. Its quite simple, really: one must set himself into the right position, a leg bent back, the other stretched out, the body leaned backwards and the Blade set above the head, on a slight downwards angle. Then, one must control his breathing and pronounce the magic words: Soul. Crash.

But why the stance? And why must one say the words? Well, through strict training, a young BladeMaster's soul will naturally achieve Soul Crash, especially if said BladeMaster is in a situation of danger. But, if let alone, Soul Crash could be activated randomly throughout a battle and would represent great danger to the BladeMaster and everything around him. One must train himself in order to develop a 'trigger' of sorts. That's why the 'Attillian' method forces the BladeMaster's 'trigger' to be the stance and the pronounced words. That way, the BladeMaster will have a way to safely unlock and lock his Soul Crash, allowing him to freely control the soul's energy output.

While Soul Crash is an amazing method to evolve oneself, it isn't free of danger. Increasing the energy output puts great stress on one's body and not all can sustain Soul Crash for more than a full minute for it saps the user's stamina. If a BladeMaster does not know his limits, the Soul Crash could gravely endanger his life. So it's a good idea to control stamina and know when to lock the Soul Crash away when it's too much.

A mode that allows humans to evolve, to achieve new life, but at the constant danger of death. A mental and physical 'trigger' that manipulates the very soul... Human souls are so fascinating..."

From "BladeMasters: Souls, Blades, Culture, Past and Future" by Eldus Egas.

*

The ground shook beneath Noah. After Terri had exclaimed those words, it seemed that the whole world was shaking. He could feel it. The tremendous energy she was emitting. And it was all intended to kill him. But he stood still. Not because he was frozen in fear, but because something rang inside his mind.

"Soul...Crash..."

Another memory? Maybe he had used Soul Crash before. He had read about it in the Academy, of course, it was even an article written by Eldus, but upon asking his friends about it, they quickly told him that it was still too early for, not only him, but the entire class to start practicing using it. It was far too dangerous. But now, face to face with Terri's full power, he couldn't help but think that maybe he'd have better odds at surviving if he did knew how to use it.

The shaking stopped and Terri looked at him. Her eyes were fierce and she exuded a threatening aura towards him. She was definitely serious, but Noah had no intention of backing down. He readied his Blade and awaited her next move.

Not wasting any time she stomped the ground and Noah felt shaking below his feet. He quickly jumped back, avoiding the giant sword-shaped rock that sprung out of the ground. So she was finally using her Element! And what power! It was just the "sword"'s tip but it was almost the size of him. If she could bring out more of them, her mastery of Tera would be leagues above Angus'!

Like she read his thought she raised her arm upwards, just as he was softly landing on the floor and raised another rock sword. Upon landing he quickly spun on his heels and jumped to the side. He didn't even have a moment to breathe when another sword popped out. He jumped back. Another rock. Forward. Another. Left. Right. No matter what direction he jumped to, certain death awaited him. It was like he was dancing to her tune. Like a plaything.

He wouldn't stand that. He jumped backwards to avoid another incoming rock but, just as he landed he ran forward, back to the already-sprung trap, jumped towards it and used it as support to jump towards Terri and swing his Blade at her. Without effort, she blocked it. Noah kept swinging, unleash a flurry of slashed but it was like her Blade's length and weight meant nothing to her. Like she was moving a feather, she easily blocked his attacks. After the last clang, Noah used the momentum to move backwards and land on the ground, in order to unleash his next attack. She took a moment of pause from Noah's part to turn the Blade's knurl towards him and swung. This time she wasn't using the side but the real deal..! Noah's instinct was to block the attack but the memories of the ELX Sword came to mind.

That Blade can release shock waves up to half of its swing's strength! If I block I'll still get hit with the after blow! I gotta dodge!

He forced his knees to bend back, like he was on a limbo. That seemed to be the sensible decision as Terri's Blade just scrapped by his hair hitting nothing but air on its arc. Soon, Noah could feel the pressure of the shock wave being released. But said pressure also made him fly backwards.

What? But I dodged! How powerful did it become after Soul Crash?!

Luckily he landed rather softly on his back. He tilted his head towards the direction the shock wave went, seeing the very air around it bend to its sheer power. Soon it hit the wall. Noah expected that it would create a precise cut on the rock, like last time. But the result was different than he ever expected. With a loud BOOM, the whole wall crumbled down, releasing a wave of dust upon the arena.

-W-what...?- the words fell out of his mouth-How...?

He looked back at Terri, who smirked at him.

-Sorry to tell you kid, but during Soul Crash, my "ELX Sword"'s shock wave get quite the upgrade. Now, every wave packs the whole power of my swing. So, no matter what distance you are in, and what you're hit by, it'll all kill you pretty much the same.

It carries the whole power?! Noah was dumbfounded. Soul Crash not only give her a huge boost, but seemed to change her fighting style completely!

He rolled on himself and jumped up, still pointing his Blade to her. He had to find a way to beat her! Or else he could kiss his short life goodbye.

-Still not giving up? I gotta say, you've got guts kid.-she said, smiling at him. -I tip my hat to you. BladeMasters like you, who can think outside of the box, that never give up, are just what the Order needs. Why not join us? I may make a living out of fighting but even I don't like unnecessary bloodshed. Join the Order, and we'll assure that we can enhance your power to be be greater than anything imaginable.

She stuck his Blade on the ground and reached her hand out to Noah.

-So, you in?-she invited.

Noah looked at her hand. Maybe if he joined, they'd help him regain his memories...Maybe they'd give him the strength to be as strong of BladeMaster as he wanted, maybe beyond that!

He looked back. Lucy stood meters away from the rubble, leaning against the wall. She smiled at him and talked. He couldn't hear her, of course, but he could read her lips.

C'mon, kiddo. Make your choice. Don't want to keep the nice, undressed lady waiting, right?

He looked back at Terri, with a determined stare. And slapped her hand away.

-I'm sorry, but beating you is my on top of my chore list now.

He expected her to be angry, but she laughed, her voice roaring across the arena.

-I like ya, kid. Alright, I'm gonna give it my all. Don't disappoint me, ok?- she said as she reached her goggles. She pulled them down over her eyes and looked back at him.- I'm raring to go!

Noah gave her his most relaxed smile, even if his legs were shaking like hell.

-Let's go!

*

Lucy secretly sighed in relief. She didn't even think for a second that Noah would go to the Order's side! Nope, not in a million years! He might as well be her property because she'd never let him go to the other side. Besides, if he did, she kinda would have two opponents to contend with. And she had just done her nails, too!

"Still, it seems Terri has been training a lot too. That gimmick about her Blade releasing half of it's power upon swinging was only possible during Soul Crash, last time I met her. She's definitely stronger and that's pretty bad. I didn't take that into consideration. Who knew that the mighty Order Elite would have time to train, with almost of the entire country in its power? "Yeah, that's kinda naive, Lucy." Shut up consciousness! I totally knew this would happen and I still trust Noah. He won't get in trouble. I'm sure of it. "What if he does?" Then it's up to me to save him. I have to. I owe him that, after shoving him into this war. In insight, it was a pretty stupid move. Fuck, I'm such a selfish c...cookie!

Calm down, Crow...The moment he gets too hurt, you jump in. You save him. You look good while doing it. Two birds in one stone, r-right? Yes. I must.

I won't let another person get hurt ever again. Not this time, Lucy. Not...this...time..."

*

Noah ran forward, while reaching back with one hand. A pillar of rock sprouted out of the ground and lunged towards Terri. She raised her hand and the pillar was quickly shattered in half by an emerging sword, much like a shark's fin. She waved her hand forward, an array of swords popping out beneath Noah's feet. He concentrated his Element on the floor right beneath him, raising a platform and propelling him up, like in his battle with Angus. From up in the air, he let loose more pillars, moving quickly towards Terri. She swung her Blade and they quickly crumbled to her shock waves. She swung again, now towards Noah, who was still airborne. Quickly, he raised a tall platform in front of him and pressed his soles against it, skillfully jumped back before the shock wave hit the platform and made it crumble.

He landed meters away from Terri. She had way to fight him from a distance and from up close. There had to be a distance where Noah could strike her from. He weakness of sorts. She raised her arm unleashing more swords on Noah. He kept raising platforms to maneuver around the battlefield, like a bullet ricocheting on a mirror house. He couldn't stop moving or else a sword or a shock wave would cut him in half.

While he did that, part of his mind looked around frantically for a solution. Terri stood completely still, her eyes locked on him. As long as he was in her sights, there would be no chance of he taking advantage of some kind of blind spot. If he was going to attack her, it'd had to be from the front. His eyes stopped at the wound he had inflicted on her. It ran diagonally from her stomach almost up to her right elbow. It wasn't bleeding anymore...! Was Soul Crash helping her heal her wounds? If so, he also couldn't take advantage of her running out of stamina, especially since he didn't know how much longer she could maintain Soul Crash. He read that activating and keeping it on required a huge amount of energy,but she didn't even seem to be sweating!

"Damn it! Think Noah, think! You've hurt her once! How can you do it again?"

Suddenly, his mind went back to the moment where he inflicted her wound. He had used the surprise factor by rocketing towards her with the rock platforms and took a point-blank slash...But Terri was so skilled at close range, so why didn't she block it? He looked over at her. She swung her Blade, releasing more deadly attacks, that managed to only scrape Noah. If he didn't find a solution fast, his own stamina would run out, his speed would drop and he'd be an easy target. He tried concentrating on the way she swung. The way she arched her arm backwards and swung the giant sword like it was nothing, her stance, the direction of the knurl when the Blade swung, the moment where a shock wave would be released...

Then, time seemed to slow down. Right at the moment when the shock wave was being released from the Blade. The moment where she took the sword to herself, arching it behind her back to take another swing. That was it! Terri didn't have to worry about the Blade's weight, of course, but she'd still have to contend with its sheer length! For a Blade that big, she'd have to take an extra moment to position it correctly in order to swing it with full power. And when she swung, it'd take another set of moments to fully complete its arc in order to release the shock wave. With a smaller Blade, it wouldn't release as much power, but it would swing around much faster. That applied to close combat too. The reason why Terri didn't manage to counter Noah's attack was because the Blade's length didn't allow her to position it correctly in time, in order to defend against such a close range, borderline point black attack!

That was it! That was her weakness!

Confident, Noah felt invigorated. After dodging Terri's attack, he landed on the ground and made a beeline towards Terri, seizing the moment she positioned her Blade to catch her at her fatal distance. Each time she swung again, he'd sidestep or hop, depending on the angle of the shock wave/rock sword. He had to keep his trajectory in place, no matter what.

Finally, he was face to face with Terri. As his katana was much smaller than her Blade, he managed to take the moment she tried to position herself and swung. Unfortunately, she hopped back. She grunted. Her face revealed a worried expression. Looks like his theory was right, after all. He didn't hesitate. He lunged his Blade forward, but she sidestepped. He was hitting her, but she also couldn't correct the positioning of her Blade in order to swing again. He kept lunging at her, unleashing a flurry of point blank and fast attacks, she had no option but to run away from. Just a little more!

After his last attack, Terri jumped backwards. Noah took a step forward, stomping the ground. While she was still in the air, a pillar rose right behind her and she bumped into it. Yes! Now she was defenseless! Noah swung and a grunt of pain was heard. The knurl of his Blade was painted crimson as it hit Terri's hand, making her drop her Blade, it falling a couple of meters to the side of the pillar. Noah took the opportunity and quickly placed his Blade's tip against Terri's chest, applying the submission move just like Lucy had used on Angus.

-It's over, Terri. I don't want to kill you, so please surrender.- he asked, panting.

Terri looked at him. Her threatening aura disappeared. It seems she had turned off Soul Crash. A layer of sweat was visible on her forehead and she was panting too.

-Not bad, kiddo. You managed to figure out my weakness,but---

Noah jumped back. Another rock sword rose beneath his feet, breaking his submission completely. Terri jumped to the side, grabbing her Blade.

- ---you're still too green to make me give up!-she said, lunging at Noah, her Blade arched behind her waist.

Noah landed and lunged at her too, swinging his Blade. As long as he stayed at an extremely close range, she wouldn't have time to swing her---

-"Whirlwind Counter"!!!

The sound of shattering metal filled Noah's ears and even his mind.

He looked at the scenery in front of him.

Terri, spinning around herself, rocketing towards the sky, her Blade still on her chest's level, the knurl at a zero degree angle.

Drops of blood---his own blood---appearing before his dumbfounded eyes.

And among them, countless pieces of metal. The metal that once formed his Blade. Looking at the airborne pieces, he could make out bits and pieces of his shocked expression.

To compensate for the distance between herself and Noah, Terri made a point-blank attack too, spinning with her humongous Blade, unleashing a devastating attack on poor Noah.

Soon he felt himself falling back down. The sound of something sprouting out of the ground was heard. Then...just pain as he his stomach, face and other parts of his body were clobbered by the oncoming pillars of rock that sent him rocketing towards another wall. He soon crashed against it.

Noah Eon's consciousness had been shattered much before the impact of his crash made the wall crumble, the giant pieces of rock falling on top of him, trapping the boy in an early tomb, in the middle of desert.

All by the hands of the Titan.