P.4: Face to Face

The origin was looking at him from a distance with a somber countenance and a penetrating gaze began to levitate towards him at great speed, marking distance with his left arm while he contracted the other with his elbow behind his back and his fist submerged in incandescent flames, ready to strike the next blow. On the other hand, the Paladin was still kneeling with his left arm resting on his leg and his head tilted down, observing the slight tremor in his right hand with suspicion. 

He felt a stinging burn in his side, his body resenting the attack. The armor had melted into his skin because the first blow was delivered at a rather high temperature. His breathing was even heavier than before, he found himself meditatively processing what had happened, aware that what he was facing was a great power, but he had never imagined that even with the technological advances he had obtained since the last time they met face to face on the battlefield, he was still below it, which evoked within him a great frustration that boiled his blood. "No... It can't be possible, the energy levels released from his body far exceeded those recorded that night. The armor... not only protected him... it also retained his power... This is... interesting, I guess I underestimated him after all.", he thought still staring at his hand, closing it tightly as he raised his head, watching as it quickly approached towards him.

The paladin accompanied by an incredulous smile finally stood up holding his forehead high to then take the small device that still remained hanging from his waist; two steel semicircles with black and gold details joined by a bar of the same material, holding it firmly activating a mechanism and extending his arm at the height of his chest. At the top of the largest piece of the strange artifact protruded a double-edged blade approximately 76 cm long, with gold inlays in the hollow of the blade. What stood out most was its large crescent-shaped tip with two symmetrical protrusions on the sides and on the front of the tip a small black crescent moon.

- Very well...- The paladin took a deep breath, making a small maneuver, turning his own wrist forward, rotating the sword as he got into position, ready to receive the attack- Let's finish with this...- releasing a slight sigh trying to focus to place all his senses in sync, focusing full attention on his opponent, who was approaching at high speed.

The Origin released the second blow, immediately blocked by the Paladin with the help of his shield, counterattacking with several thrusts in response to the attack, managing to evade them by very little, receiving some cuts in the process. Bringing a hand to his shoulder to then observe a bloodstain on his fingertips. " Did you...manage to hurt me with that, but...how?" Origin remained staring at his hand for a moment longer, being interrupted by another attack from the Paladin, who in less than a blink of an eye had managed to reach where he was, attacking him from the sides with his crescent-pointed sword, stained with the blood of his adversary.

- Shit...- The Origin retreated again trying to keep the distance between them. "This damn... How is it possible that thing can pierce my body even with all the power I possess...?", he wondered while trying to evade his attacks; however, no matter how hard he tried, he managed to match his distance with a simple leap, not letting him rest at any moment. "Damn... that doesn't matter now, I just need to focus on the movement of his wrist..", At that instant the Paladin was ready to deliver an upward slash, after missing the slash to the neck he had made previously. Keeping his right arm outstretched, he moved with great maneuverability the hilt of the weapon, turning it around to then take the blade with the tip facing the ground. Origin noticed the slight movement instantly, observing a space between both arms, an opening. Without thinking twice, he rushed against him taking him by the neck, receiving part of the impact on his left side, with the blade partially embedded in the torso, hitting him several times in the stomach to then submit him against the roof of the facility, creating a huge hole, without taking his hands off him at any time, holding him by the neck with both hands.

— ¡Die damned!— Blinded by rage and pain, the Origin invoked him by grabbing him under his arms, crossing the rocks of the subsoil.

The temperature it gave off was such that even being just a few centimeters away from him was enough to heat the armor instantly, penetrating the mesh underneath, burning the skin little by little. The Paladin nevertheless remained holding tightly the handle of the weapon trying to pull the sword out of his body, which was stuck because the metal was beginning to melt, clinging to it despite the multiple blows he was receiving, feeling how his skin burned at the contact with the heat of the metal, causing a stabbing pain invading every inch of his body, forcing him to grit his teeth as hard as he could until they finally reached the floor closest to where they were, bursting into the bridge room, where the rest of the group was trying to find a way to calibrate the zero point with the intention of finding a way out.

The bridge room was the central point within the main base of operations of the Order, a round room with a huge hole in the center where the zero point was stored when it was not exposed, surrounded by iron railings and on the edges several devices with engraved panels on top. The beacons were used to send the signal frequencies to the zero point according to the information registered in the system's database, in this way it was possible to calibrate the zero point to be able to travel to any desired reality. The cradle of the "Bridge" project. 

Both Dwayne and the others were impressed by the imminent arrival of the two, leaving a huge hole in the floor which activated the security protocol of the bridge room. The zero point began to descend through the hatch below it while reinforced steel louvered gates covered entrances and exits.

- Damn it... Cursor, how much more do you need to channel that thing?" - Dwayne remained at the front of the group, without losing sight of the origin, trying to control himself when he saw how everything they had gone through could end up being in vain.

- Lewis, damn it! I swear that if we get out of this intact I'm going to hang you upside down in the first tree I find!— Brie took some distance, approaching the edge of the railing, placing the still unconscious scientist lying on the ground, unable to do anything but watching what was happening with Origin.

- I'm coming, I'm coming! If I get even one digit wrong we could end up in some reality equal to or worse than this damn place! - Lewis continued typing several identification codes in the control panel of the "Bridge" system navigating through different realities, filtering them until he could find one that could meet the minimum compatibility requirements, with a danger rate of less than 10%. Something almost impossible, taking into account his previous experiences throughout his career as a raider of the Oathbound.

Meanwhile Origin kept the Paladin subdued, levitating a few feet off the ground, holding him by the neck, watching as he writhed in his own pain with the blisters swelling until they burst all over his body.

The Paladin feeling cornered, driven by the intense burning that afflicted him clouding his mind, struck him in the head using his shield, acting in a desperate manner, causing him to lose his balance breaking free from his grip, crashing to the ground.

The Origin was stunned for a moment, watching as the Paladin lay on the ground trying to get up again. With an inquisitive look evidencing the contempt on his face, he frowned even more as he wiped the blood under the corner of his lip with his forearm.

The Paladin, despite the discomfort of his wounds, tried to get up, barely able to partially stand, kneeling on one leg while resting his arm on it. Removing the helmet from his head, tossing it to the side as he coughed trying to catch his breath, breathing rather shakily with one hand on his chest, feeling as if it still exerted pressure on his neck.

The source landed a few feet in front of him, watching as he remained with his head bent down on his knees under his feet. The paladin saw how this one stared at him, being able to feel the hatred he emanated just by looking into his eyes, he raised his head and a faint smile was drawn on his face.

- Tell me... Are you satisfied? This... was what you wanted so much, wasn't it? ... hah- Being interrupted by the same every cough, taking a breath of air to continue, without looking away from his face — I guess you realized that in the end... all that pain... that feeling fueled by anger and rage... are still there. You feel empty... and if you don't, eventually you will... no matter what you do, the damage is done... I know you know that, but... you're not strong enough to accept it.

- Shut up! - After this last, Origin approached him grabbing him by the neck with both arms, watching with a full scowl, gritting his teeth in frustration.

-Bzzzt! Zero point preservation protocol, 60% complete - After the female voice on the intercoms announced the "Zero Preservation" protocol, the rift beacons began to deactivate, interfering with the signal and preventing the zero point calibration process.