Sky VS Cole (1)

Cole seemed to have control over his weapon to a different degree. The spikes on the mace head were constantly changing, and the strands holding it together to turn it into a flail were flowing rapidly... but they were still comprised of the golden color.

He threw it at me with a wave of his hand, and my golden saber took the hit upfront.

It bent out of shape and I was only able to slow it down by using my body to push back against the mace head.

It pushed against my shoulder and pierced the skin, pushing past that, and feeling my bone through the wound.

From under my feet, those strands comprising the flail's chain grabbed onto my feet and turned me upside down.

Only after that was I hit by a second mace head and slammed into a building nearby.

More blood came from my mouth and I clutched my chest as I felt a dull pain in it.

[19:58]

20 minutes...? Can I distract him for that long?

When did I get to the point that I would strategize over relentlessly attacking? Do I run from this? Can he catch me?

I decided to smile while pushing my weakened body back up.

I don't know much about this city... but I know I have the stamina to do this.

I pushed ice into the ground and had it sprout up all around the city. This attack, however, would reduce my lifespan by a little more than normal.

[LIFESPAN REDUCTION: 54 MINUTES]

Shit... 30 minutes just in this encounter alone? I can't be wasting my energy on this!

I ran in the opposite direction and could hear Cole laughing as he started to pick up his pace.

The streets used to be crowded with people, but they were now empty. I wondered if they all retreated to a specific spot.

Regardless, I can't have these buildings destroyed... but there's nowhere else to go! I don't even know how to get out of here without running through where Cole is standing. If I keep going, I might hit a wall and be able to escape without damaging anything.

However, while I ran, I could see a populated part of town in front of me.

Before I continued forward, I checked behind me, saw Cole, and decided to try attacking.

I ran until my seventh step, where I slammed my foot into the ground, sprouted ice, and backflipped over Cole while he was running after my old position.

Using the extended saber attack I learned from my mom, I cut into Cole's back with a deep cut and sent him bouncing off of the ground while I landed the backflip, and ran in the opposite direction.

I completely shifted the path we were both taking, meaning that I could escape this city before anything got damaged.

I was now at an hour of reduced lifespan. I wasn't sure if it would incrementally stack, or if it would solidly build up over time. If I can return these abilities to Shike, Belle, and Alexia, I might even escape it... but would it pass to them?

Just as I was lost in thought, the mace head launched at me and tripped me, all while changing trajectory while doing so and launching me through a wall of what looked like a grocery store.

I slid through a hallway in the store and knocked over a ton of displays. When I started to notice my surroundings, people were looking at me, with their carts full of said groceries.

I immediately got back up and blocked the hole in the wall with Belle's ice, coating the inside of the store with a constant influx of unbreakable ice.

"GET TO THE EXIT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!" I screamed out. The sheer volume of my voice caused people to panic and run behind me, and the ice in front of me broke with the mace head.

I heard an old man cry out in fear behind me, and turned to look at the mace head.

I have a decision to make...

I don't owe these people anything, yet, my feet aren't moving. I don't want to move.

No...

I won't move.

Out of everything I've learned in my life, it was that to be a leader, meant to take hits like this. Even fatal ones, ones that would incinerate me... I wouldn't move.

And I didn't.

The mace's head hit me as I stood in front of the old man.

There was something I learned during my time in The First Trial... and Illya sort of completed the thought when I heard that word.

Incarnation.

I'm not sure what it meant, but I knew that it was a power that Cole had, and I didn't. I wasn't sure how to attain it... but I knew that from The First Trial, there was a way to increase the power in abilities like Shike, Belle, Alexia, and Boo. And I think I was doing it right now.

The mace head stopped before it even touched me as my body sparked with golden strands, and it evaporated from the pressure imposed in front of me.

The ground cracked underneath me and Cole was left with a stunned face as he pushed his way through that ice I put near the hole, and stood across the hallway from me.

"An imposing presence. I guess you are Sky, but your power is too lacking. I'll keep fighting you until your stamina is drained, can you survive?

[15:06]

"I think I'll have to, whether I like it or not," I told Cole with a smile.

The old man was brought away by a worker at the store and the fight began once more.

Cole charged in at me as I closed the distance with my own speed.

And when the mace head got close, I focused my eyes on it, and for the first time, used Alexia's ability.

The mace head completely vanished as it shrunk down to minuscule size, and the force of my saber slamming into Cole's chest caused the entire store to shake.

He was launched out of the hole once more and I ran after him, not letting him have any time to breathe.

When he tried to recuperate, I summoned ice underneath him and caused him to slip, and repeatedly did so until I got up to him once more.

Cole tried to punch me, but Shike's ability absorbed the force, and I transferred it into his body, sending him flying toward a wall on the opposite side of the city.

I stared at my stone, realizing that I was successfully staying out of my Wrath to fight Cole.