Just In The Nick Of Time

What followed was a battle like no other. The energy was palpable, crackling in the air as the group fought with everything they had. Raten masterfully commanded the Sunshield ability like a prodigal legacy, Shiro moved with seasoned agility and wielding the combined power of both of the girls' powers, while Sil, despite his powerlessness, used his century of combat experience, to land deadly blows.

Sil had more experience than all of them combined when it came to the subject of slaying gods after all. In that area he was rather proficient. He also was never a typical human to begin with. The sharpening of Blades that took place on Blade Island, as harrowing as it may have been, that was of course by design for this exact reason.

The celestial was no less than deserving of his title to be sure, though. Calyx, the celestial was faster and stronger than any mortal, and retaliated with unbridled fury. He clashed up against the line up of skilled warriors like a deadly storm making landfall. He moved quickly from blocking one then the next, turning in for a strike, following through for another block. He himself was a natural disaster, even against all of them together.

He was so fast, breaking Cassie's arm in one brutal move, Jade's collar bone with another. Shiro's cheekbone was shattered by a cruel fist, Raten's nose broken by an elbow. The sound of bones crunching, cracking, and snapping, combined with the cries and yells of pain drowned the group in a grim cacophony. A morbid symphony playing live, as the soundtrack to this burgeoning morose manslaughter.

Sil, however, bore the brunt of the celestial's wrath. His face was a mess—two black eyes, a broken nose, a fractured eye socket, and a split lip. But he fought on, each blow only pushing him further into the fight. He watched as over and over his fellow combatents fell by the hand of the monster of a god. Eventually all had been laid to the ground. Bloody, bruised, battered, and broken, moral was broken too.

At that point even Vorden, as broken as he has already been, pulled himself up, leaning on the crate for support. Through swollen eyes he saw Shiro fall to the ground a mere foot away and knealt down shakily reaching out with his hand while trying to remain as unnoticed as possible. Shiro, seeing this reached out and they just barely reached enough to tap their fingers together. A jolt of electricity shot up through Vorden's arm and settled like embers in his stomach. Oh how he had missed this feeling.

A smirk found his lips, and he started to build up a ball of bright white light compressing the light as he did. At the last moment he held it out in front of him and blinked. The ball of light suddenly went up in flames, like it had been drowned in gasoline. He took aim at Calyx and waited for a clear shot.

The second he took it, launching the condensed orb of light and flame like an Olympic shotput throw, he quickly ducked back down behind the crate. Unable to hold himself up in such a position, his legs gave way and he landed on the floor instead, falling to the side from over exertion. To his horror, he watched in clear view as Calyx, seeing the incoming projectile, reached out with two hands like a football player in the end zone, catching the orb. It's power seared the flesh of his hands and it's momentum tugged him along with it causing him to spin around. When he did, he made use of that momentum firing the ball right back in Vorden's direction.

Vorden, who has pushed himself back up to the crate, not wanted to leave Sil without cover, had barely made it all the way up before his gaze saw something bright hurdling towards him at an unimaginable speed. He had almost no time to even recognize what was coming at him before he raised his hands to form another structure of light, like a shield, attempting to deflect it, when it hit him squarely on the chest.

Luckily his hands had moved on instinct. The light shield wasn't very thick or strong as it had been formed in a hurry. Thankfully though it was just enough to save him from losing his life. The energy hit the shield and with a loud crack the orb was absorbed by the shield. The impact however, was not, sending him thrust backwards, skidding along the floor until he hit the wall. Vorden was unconscious, but alive.

The group was battered, bruised, and on the brink of exhaustion. Their MC cells were nearly depleted, and they struggled to rise, and to fight, but they didn't stop. They hadn't stopped until they were unable to get up again.

And then, Calyx saw his chance.

With one swift motion, he grabbed Sil by the neck, lifting him off the ground. The others were sprawled on the floor, bloodied and gasping for air, too injured to stop him. Sil gasped, struggling to breathe as the celestial's grip tightened.

Calyx sneered down at him, savoring the moment. "I've been waiting for this for a long time," he muttered darkly. Sil's eyes widened. "You thought I wouldn't recognize you? I don't know how you lost your abilities, nor do I care. I only know that you will die by my hand for what you did to me." A crazed look filled with murderous intent flooded his face. For once, Sil felt a slight hesitation, a hint of fear, of panic, and began to creep up inside of him.

That was when the impossible happened. Time froze. For everyone except Sil.

The world around him ceased to move. Silence enveloped him as he dangled in Calyx's grip, his lungs burning for air, his vision blurry, his trachea starting to tear at the seams.

Within this frozen moment, Sil's mind raced, trying to discern what had happened.