A Cracked Star

[Arya]

 

I float aimlessly as I feel my mind recollecting itself after that long memory. It felt more like watching a time-lapse video, just the emotions building up and releasing all at once.

 

“Arya, Arya you alright?” I feel Stella shake me by my shoulders as she tries to grab my attention.

 

“Huh, what?” I replied, slowly remembering where we were.

 

“What gives, you blanked out on me for a while, just staring helplessly into space for a while.” She said.

 

“I … it was another memory, just this time I felt trapped in it for so long.” I quietly said.

 

“Well we can talk about it later, now isn’t really a good time.” Stella says as I hear a loud crash.

 

Turning towards the source I see Dawn getting launched across the room as she tries to stop herself by digging the head of the ax into the ground.

 

“Why isn’t she using magic?” I asked as I watched the fight continue on.

 

“Something in the room is disrupting the flow of mana.” Stella replied.

 

“And you haven’t told Dawn to break the obvious keystone?” I said, pointing at the big glowing rock with runes that spread across the room.

 

“I don’t know magic, I didn’t think it would be important.” She said, grumbling in the process.

 

“Oh come on, think, fuck!” I tell her, wincing at my headache.

 

Stella seemed to notice as she reached out to me, “You okay?” 

 

“It’s fine, I’m gonna grab ahold of Dawn’s attention.” I said.

 

“Wa-.” Stella tried to tell me.

 

“Dawn!” I screamed, not knowing the problem I was about to create.

 

~~~~~

 

[Dawn]

 

The fight has been going on for a while now, any action I take is quickly shut down by this mass of bones. I would fight using magic but I’ve noticed that since entering this room it seems to be suppressed. The most I can do is spread it throughout my body, reinforcing myself slightly. 

 

I need to do something but this Damn minotaur wont give me any space, can’t it see that trying to swing this greataxe with one arm isn’t the easiest thing in the world. 

 

My thoughts stop as I see it’s ax start to swing down on top of me, realizing that I can’t take that hit I quickly jump to the side. To slow however as the shockwave from the minotaur sends me flying once more across the room. 

 

I lose grip on my handle in the process, sending it flying away from me. I can feel the slight ache across my body from the past attempts at blocking attacks. Its strength is enough to blast holes in the walls even underground. 

 

It feels like most of this fight has been an extreme game of cat and mouse as I’m chased around the room. Dodging attacks as nimbly as I can. 

 

“Dawn!” I hear Arya yell. 

 

“A little busy!” I yelled back. 

 

“The big glowing rock!” She yelled, “You need to destroy it!”

 

“Huh?” I turned to look, losing focus on the minotaur for a second.

 

In the center of the room, was the giant stone covered with runes that glowed bright and frequent. In the moment of lost concentration, the minotaur quickly gained on me as he rushed me, his horns down low as he tried to impale me in his charge.

 

“Shit!” I feel myself panic and start to lose all thoughts as I remember my lessons from my couch. 

 

“Too many thoughts is never good for you in a fight. Throw them away, trust yourself, don’t think, it will only harm you in the long run. You’ve trained your body, through different exercises, different experiences. If you can’t trust yourself in the heat of things, then you won’t ever succeed.” My coach would preach.

 

Placing my hand on the tip of the horn as it closes in on me, as best as I can, twisting myself between as I propel myself up. While falling back down, I summon my ax back to me as I swing down onto the back of the minotaur. 

 

I see a couple of its rib bones break off in the process before I make my way to the center of the room to break the stone. 

 

I was hoping that this charge would result in the minotaur getting his horns stuck in the wall, but it managed to stop itself in time. Quickly it turned around and started to attack me ferociously. Leaving me no time to counter attack as I parried or dodged attacks as best as I could. 

 

Many attacks managed to land, knocking me off my feet, taking my breath away from the impact, the amount of bleeding was starting to become excessive amounts honestly. I could feel myself growing worried, fearing for my life as I continued to fight this undead beast. 

 

Unfazed by what sounds I heard coming from Stella and Arya, or if they were even still floating about, watching the fight. 

 

Is this how I truly stop? All the years I spent training my control and strength, only to forget it all to crash and burn here?

 

I may not know how to use this ax, or how to properly use magic, but if there is one thing I have, it’s my mentality. I’ve gone through hell once, and if I have to go through it again to survive then so be it. 

 

“I won’t allow myself to die here, not like this!” I yelled to no one. “Not a dog's death!”

 

As my anger grew, I felt myself falling into a trance, losing track of my mana, my thoughts, everything. I could only advance and fight. I could feel something guiding me, showing me the way to move from point A to point B. 

 

It was like a blindfold being taken off of me, but only slightly, as I gained insight into how everything was moving. The push and pull of reality, my senses seemed to be amplified as the information flowed into me. I could feel a dull headache but I ignored it, along with the rest of the pain.

 

I don’t remember when I started using my left arm again, but my mind didn’t seem to pay it any attention. My danger sense seemed to also start growing in the face of death. It was becoming easier to tell where the attacks would land. 

 

I seemed to be letting the ones that would only cause superficial wounds to land, blocking any vital attacks, or ones that would leave me immobile. The pain it caused only seemed to give me an almost nostalgic feeling. 

 

In the midst of attacking the minotaur, my mind finally registered that I could potentially attack the crystal in the middle of the room with how I’m facing. Just as soon as the thought came to me, the quicker my body listened, throwing my ax across the room. 

 

The minotaur tried to intercept it but I kicked in its knee before giving it the chance to intercept it. The ax flew across the room with a clear arc. I stood without motion as I watched the ax split the glowing crystal in half.

 

Almost immediately after I could feel something heating up in my pocket but I paid it no mind as my connection to the mana around grew tremendously. If the information my mind brain was getting was a steady stream, now it was a roaring river. 

 

Like a thousand voices talking at once in an enclosed room, before suddenly synchronizing and warning me of an incoming attack. The amount of information was too much for me however as even as my body was warning my mind of the attack, I couldn’t react in time. 

 

The minotaur’s fist hit me across my chin as I felt myself being launched into the ground. Looking at it, I noticed that the color of its bones have started to change, a black darker than the corners of this room, started to seep slowly across it’s bones. 

 

“D–n!” I hear something muffled.

 

The site of it brought me out of my empty mind as I heard Arya trying to get ahold of me. The flow of information quickly diminished as my concentration changed. 

 

“Dawn, solar, you should be able to use our magic properly now that the crystal is broken. The minotaur is being strengthened by the corruption so it should be easier to deal with now.” Arya said.

 

“Really?” I said, slightly disappointed, “After all that, I have to use a crutch to win?”

 

I could feel myself starting to shake, not knowing if it was from my wounds or anger at the thought.

 

“No.” I said flatly.

 

“What?” Stella asked.

 

“I won’t use our solar in this fight. I’m so close to winning that I wouldn’t feel refreshed otherwise.” I said.

 

“Winning?” Arya asked. “Have you seen yourself? You’re about to fall over from just the wind.”

 

“Look at its bones again, all across its body are cracks.” I said as I watched the minotaur struggle to move, the corruption growing, likely fighting control for the body.. “All my attacks haven’t meant nothing, this fight is winnable.” 

 

“But for you to gamble our lives? Da-” Stella started.

 

“Stella, she won’t budge at this point.” Arya said as she stared straight at me.

 

“Thank you.” I said, finally catching my breath. I won’t let this chance slip out from under me. 

 

I call back my ax as I rush the struggling minotaur, swinging at its right shoulder joint, where the cracks were most prominent. It tried its best to dodge but had to take the brunt of my attack as my ax lodged itself into its joint.

 

Quickly I let go as I dodged between attacks as I started to feel myself fall back into that weird rhythm from before. Listening to my body and instincts as I attacked. Using ice and earth magic to black attacks, mess with its footing, doing anything to give me an edge in this fight. 

 

Through simple control and actions I was able to turn the fight finally after gaining control over the surrounding mana. Some of the minotaur's attacks were still landing, my body shaking from the shock. 

 

Realizing that I couldn’t be taking any more of those hits I started trying out something I’ve thought of before. Using space magic I would try to distort the space around me so that any attacks that would normally hit would be shifted out of this plane long enough for me to move away from it. 

 

I couldn’t keep them shifted for long as the mana consumption grew tremendously with each attempt. My mind is paying the biggest price however. The information quickly becoming too much for me with each attempt, I needed to do something fast. 

 

Thinking so, I start trying to stop the minotaur from moving, spreading the ice already covering the floor, attempting to freeze its legs. It took a bit as it wouldn’t stop struggling, breaking the ice most of the time until I resorted to digging out from underneath it by shifting the ground aside.

 

Once done I jumped as best as I could before turning so I could aim my foot to slam down onto my ax head, splitting the minotaur as the ax traveled through it. Even though the minotaur finally stopped moving, the corruption however didn't.

 

“Resilient fucks.” I said before throwing a ball of solar fire onto it as my legs started to give out.

 

At this moment the fire that was started to die out before the fight on my arm spread across my entire body, finding all the small cuts and big injuries acquired from the fight. 

 

“Dawn we’re gonna need to talk about this fighting style.” Stella said.

 

“About what exactly?” I replied, confused at what she meant.

 

“You just take the small hits and rack up multiple wounds as you fight, paying the state of your body no mind.” She said before pointing at me. “Do you even see how you look right now?”

 

Arya quickly materializes beside Stella, her eyes bleed with worry, “It is pretty bad. You look like you went through a tornado while feeling the aftereffects of four Monster energy drinks.”

 

I feel my lips crack a small smile as I replied, “Now how does that exactly lo-”

 

[You are now level 4]

[Mana Reserves Grow]

[Racial Affinities Leveled Up]

[Danger Sense Leveled Up]

[Action Surge Leveled Up]

 

“Huh.” I said, looking up at my sisters, “You both see this?”

 

Getting an affirmation from both of them, as I slowly get up on my feet. I feel the heat on my right leg start to grow quickly, reminding me about it from during the fight. Pulling out the temporary adventurers ID to see it flashing red quickly. 

 

On its clear surface a message can be seen, “All examiners and those able to fight are to report immediately to Wakiis”

 

“Guess that means us huh.” I say to the others.

 

“No, you are not in any condition to fight Dawn. You are to sit down and rest, you shouldn’t even be walking.” Stella quickly said.

 

“Dawn I know you have good pain resistance but this isn’t the time to prove your toughness.” Arya said.

 

“And why exactly should we-” I start before I feel my body start to give out, the aftereffects of my last fight quickly encroaching on me. Starting with my head as I feel an excruciating headache attack me. I feel my nose start to bleed profusely as my vision distorts and shakes. Quickly approaching the ground before everything goes dark.

 

~~~~~

 

[???]

 

“Dammit, what is it this time?” I groggily said as I woke up, grabbing the book off my face.

 

Looking around my home, I summon my library to put away the book I was reading as I check on the countless realms within my chaos sea. As I do this I start to hear the sound that awoke me from my nap, a battle taking place in the distance out of my realm.

 

It doesn’t take me long to recognize what is being fought, a chaos quake, annoying little shits. The more inexperienced gods or goddesses of chaos end up being defeated and getting their realms destroyed or consumed. They’re tenacious little shits, so even if the person fighting it was experienced it can still take a bit to completely defeat. 

 

Now that I think about it, it has been a while since the last one. A couple thousand years or so, might be wrong, lost track of that ages ago. 

 

“Oh well, it seems the fight is coming to an end anyways.” I said to no one else as a large shockwave was sent everywhere as the chaos quake was deconstructed, signifying that the fight was over. 

 

“Guess I’ll just go back to my nap or something, I don’t exactly have anything going on.” I said.

 

Almost immediately after that, the space above me starts to crack as something strikes it, quickly giving away as I see a body get launched into the ground.

 

“Huh.”

 

As I stood there staring at the crater that was my floor, dust everywhere as I noticed a figure with fox features climbing out. “Ugh, how far did that last blast send me?” 

 

Seeing that it was another god of chaos I formed a table and chairs for us.

 

“Pretty far.” I called out.

 

“Oh that’s not good.” They said to themselves. 

 

“Eh it could be worse.” I said as I finally realized who it is. “So how is everything going, old friend?”

 

“Old friend?” He said confused. “Wait, Crimson?”

 

“Right on the first try.” I used my authority over the space to levitate my friend into the other seat.

 

“Sorry about the mess, a chaos quake appeared near my realm.” Payto says.

 

“How bad was it?” I asked.

 

“Oh nothing too bad, just had some outrageous healing factors. Had to destroy its core but getting to it was a nightmare.” He looked kinda roughed up but nothing I should worry about. 

 

“Everything been going well outside of the quake?” I asked him, not knowing the state of his realm recently.

 

“Oh yeah, one world finally stabilized since it has a proper space goddess now, so the spirits aren’t crying out from overwork.”

 

“Hehehe, yeah, it's always fun to watch the spirits panic.” I said.

 

I guess some drinks wouldn’t be too bad, maybe Ibuki could stop by, restock my alcohol cabinets since she raided them the last time she came.

 

“Something the matter?” Payto asked.

 

“Nah, just thinking if I should get the drinks out, wouldn’t be opposed to relaxing for a while with you.” I said.

 

“Sure, I have a few drinks I could pop out too.” He said, pulling out a few bottles as he tilted his head, pondering something. “Now that I remember, you met her just recently actually. That world’s space goddess.” 

 

“Really?” I think back to any possible visits, almost forgetting about the most recent one. The fox woman with the starry tails. “That was her? Almost forgot she even stopped by.”

 

Payto seems to laugh at my remarks as he pours a cup for me and him. “You should really visit more often. Being alone all the time seems to have turned your mind into a rock.”

 

“Ha ha.” I laughed dryly, taking my drink from him. 

 

“Anyways, have I told you about my wife and daughter?” Payto says, a huge smile across his face.

 

“You have a family?!” I yelled, surprised at the fact he has a family.

 

“Yeah, my daughter is just the cutest thing in the world. And she already has 3 authorities.” Payto said, proud of his daughter.

 

“Already?”

 

“Yeah so basically.” He starts to say as we drink the rest of the night away unknowing to me, the night of him bragging about his wife and daughter.