Aetheral Space

The Abyssal Knight twitched, purple eye bulging out of its distorted socket as it stared at Muzazi.

"Hear… did you not hear, b-boy? Hm?" It cocked its head to the other side, so wildly it almost looked like its neck was broken. "Rush? No. N-No. Similar, but different. Argh… a sickly sense of humour."

Muzazi took a step back, Radiants raised defensively as he took a protective step in front of Aclima. Cold sweat clung like a cloth to his forehead. He took in a long, freezing breath through his nose.

"You're here for her?" he asked, as steadily as he could.

The Abyssal Knight twitched again -- and beneath what parts of its skin were visible through it's ruined armour, Muzazi could see flesh crawling, like hundreds of maggots were squirming within the Knight's body. He held back nausea. Right now, he couldn't afford to let his focus waver for a moment.

It had been nearly three years since Nocturnus. Three years since the Abyssal Knight had demonstrated just how powerless he'd been in the face of true monstrous strength. Three years.

But right now… it felt like three seconds. The pressure hadn't changed at all. Every movement this thing made, every breath it took, held the promise of instant death.

It spoke again. Whether it was answering his question or just talking to itself, Muzazi couldn't truly say.

"Recover asset… e-eliminate obstacles… don't look at me… don't look at me!"

With those final words, the Knight's head began to thrash this way and that wildly, even as the rest of its body remained as still as a statue. Wordless howls and screams echoed through the chamber. This thing's consciousness was clearly as unstable as ever, wavering the line between man and beast.

It was hard to believe who the Abyssal Knight once was -- Samson Rhodes, one of the most respected warriors the Supremacy had ever produced, known for his nobility and swordsmanship. Now he was one of the Supremacy's most dangerous enemies… no, he was an enemy to all living things. A servant of Darkstar.

Darkstar.

Muzazi's gaze flicked back to Aclima. The Knight had said it was to recover an asset. Her? Did Darkstar bring her here, then? Were they the ones who had gotten her off Azum-Ha? Was she being used as their pawn, too?

Atoy Muzazi worked out quite a few important things in that moment, but at the same time he'd forgotten one very, very important thing.

He couldn't afford to let his focus waver for a moment.

The Abyssal Knight screamed as it rushed forth, half of the room destroyed by the force with which it kicked off the floor. Muzazi raised his Radiants to block --

No. I'll die.

-- before igniting desperate thrusters to throw himself off to the side instead like a ragdoll. He did the same for Aclima, getting her out of the danger zone and flinging her off into the corridor. Rolling to a halt, Muzazi leapt up -- and felt the Abyssal Knight's hand seize hold of his neck.

A second of panic was all he was permitted. The Knight slammed Muzazi against the clear floor, shattering it and sending the two of them hurtling down below towards the cold harvest reactor.

I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.

The thought accompanied Muzazi's heartbeat as he fell towards the massive spinning installation below. The observation room upstairs had been massive, but the actual reactor core was even more so. In this cavernous space, both Muzazi and the Knight seemed like the tiniest of dots, the light of their Aether barely even visible compared to that of the frozen star as they fell.

I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.

No.

So long as he was thinking, he was alive. So long as he was alive, he could win. The Knight's grip had loosened just the tiniest bit -- and with an explosive thruster, Muzazi managed to slip free, flying back as quickly as he could to put some distance between himself and his enemy.

Crash.

The Abyssal Knight landed, gaze still fixed on Muzazi, touching down right next to the rotating reactor. The blue light turned the hunched, hulking figure into a silhouette -- but Muzazi could still tell that it was locked onto him, like a heat-seeking missile. Slowly, Muzazi touched down too, massaging his bruised neck with a hand.

That had been too close. If the Knight got its hands on him again, Muzazi doubted he would survive.

Aclima was still in the hallway, still safe. Muzazi could feel her location through the inactive thrusters he'd left on her. If the Abyssal Knight was after her, then Muzazi had to keep its focus on him instead. There was nothing else to consider.

But… was this really a fight that Muzazi could even win? He'd become far stronger since their last encounter on Nocturnus, true, but was that enough? The Knight's power seemed to go beyond what was reasonable. Was there a secret to it? Something Muzazi could exploit, perhaps?

He let out a shaking breath -- and then stopped as he saw that breath leave his mouth as a white mist.

Indeed… this place really was cold, wasn't it?

Atoy Muzazi took a step forward.

"Samson Rhodes!" he called out, with more confidence than he felt.

The Abyssal Knight cocked its head like a dog.

"If you still recognise that name," Muzazi said grimly. "And if you still consider yourself a knight… then listen to my words. I, Atoy Muzazi, challenge you to a duel. Honour demands you acquiesce!"

For a moment, there was silence.

And then… a horrible, warped, gurgling noise. It trickled through the room, audible even over the whirling of the reactor, infiltrating everything like sickness. It took a few seconds for Muzazi to identify it…

The Abyssal Knight was laughing.

"Honour…?" it chuckled darkly. "Honour? H-Honour. Honour! Honour… I remember you now, b-boy, I remember you. From the snow. Weak, weak. Haha. I remember you."

Muzazi took another deep breath, and let out another puff of cold mist. Resolve in his eyes, he held out his Radiants.

"See if I match your memory, then," he declared.

Full Throttle.

Muzazi's body flared into light.

The danger of using his thrusters inside his body came from the risk of overheating. If he pushed his body too far, he'd lose consciousness and his defeat would be assured. That was why he could only use Overdrive in short bursts.

Full Throttle -- Overdrive.

Muzazi's body burst into light.

During his battle against Dragan Hadrien, he'd gotten around the overheating problem by using the rain as a makeshift coolant. Even then, it had been a limited measure -- slowing down the overheating, but not completely stopping it. Water could only do so much, after all.

But right now, frozen water pelted at his face.

But right now, his breath emerged as mist.

But right now… he was standing next to a singularity of ice.

He wouldn't find any better coolant in the world.

Full Throttle -- Redline!

Atoy Muzazi's body exploded into light --

-- and he vanished.

The Abyssal Knight twitched.

With the first attack, Muzazi was just getting used to his speed. Firing himself like an invisible bullet, he struck the Abyssal Knight in the side of the head with a dropkick of divine proportions. The Knight did not fall -- its stance was nigh-unbreakable -- but as its head jerked off to the side, Muzazi heard an unmistakable gasp of pain.

If it can feel pain, then it can lose.

If it can lose, then I can win.

The Knight lashed out with a hand to grab Muzazi, but the swordsman was already gone -- moving with such swiftness that he seemed to be teleporting. Nausea beat its fists against the back of Muzazi's skull as he moved. Right now, the world was an indistinct blur, a smear against his vision. In time he'd perhaps grow used to this speed, but for right now all he could manage were the most simple lines of attack.

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Attack.

A strike to the arm.

Attack.

A strike to the leg.

Attack.

A strike to the chest.

After each lightning-fast strike, Muzazi retreated just as fast to avoid the Abyssal Knight's retaliation. He was no fool; speed barely gave him a fighting chance here. If the Knight was able to get one good blow in, it could very well be the end. Hit and run was the only path to victory.

Attack.

Attack.

Attack.

White light zipped back and forth like deadly string. Black blood sprayed across the ground -- not much, but proof of injury. This was a fight that Muzazi could win. The Abyssal Knight was a man, not a monolith. He could fall. He would fall!

Attack!

Attack!

Atta --

"Sodom," the Abyssal Knight said. "Seal of Observation."

It reached out and snatched Muzazi out of the air.

All around him, for around ten meters or so, floated countless staring eyes -- as if space itself had opened their lids to look at him. The Knight had used this ability on Nocturnus, too. It allowed the Abyssal Knight to keep watch over everything in the affected area. Sneak attacks would be useless.

Not that that mattered to Atoy Muzazi. He'd already made the one mistake he was allotted, after all. He was in the Knight's grip again.

He wouldn't live to regret it.

This time, the Knight did not play with its food. Letting out a wordless groan, it raised its massive sword of gnarled metal high, ready to bring it down on the captured Muzazi and split him in half. Muzazi tried one last-ditch effort --

Quantum King!

-- but even as his body became a burning light, the Knight's grip did not slacken. If anything, the pain invigorated it. With a scream of fury, the Knight brought the blade…

…down.

Unchained.

Only… that blade did not reach its destination.

As Quantum King faded from his form, Atoy Muzazi looked up in awe. The sword that had been about to end his life had stopped -- right above his head, inches away, as if held in place by an invisible hand.

"Don't die like that," a voice behind him grunted.

Despite the terror before him, Muzazi dared to look over his shoulder. A stocky, muscular man was floating down from the hole in the ceiling -- a man Muzazi recognised. Wild dark hair hung like a mane around his head. Stern eyes glared at the enemy before him. Even as he descended in defiance of gravity, he scratched at his chin casually like a caveman.

Mereloco.

"Another…" the Abyssal Knight hissed.

Mereloco landed on the ground a short distance from Muzazi, and with a jab of his finger --

Unworthy.

-- opened up enough holes in the Knight's hand that it looked like a piece of cheese, allowing Muzazi to leap back and escape.

The Knight, for its part, just inspected the lump of gristle at the end of its arm curiously.

"I didn't see it… d-didn't see it…" it mumbled.

"What's that?" Mereloco grunted, nodding towards the Abyssal Knight as Muzazi landed next to him.

Muzazi glanced at him. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

The last time he'd seen this man, he'd been covering his escape back on Azum-Ha. How had he somehow ended up here too? What on earth was happening on Serendipity right now?!

"Helping." Mereloco was as taciturn as ever. He nodded at the Knight again, and asked again: "What's that?"

Muzazi took a deep breath. In a situation like this, he'd take whatever help he could get. "The Abyssal Knight -- it's a member of a group called Darkstar. It used to be part of the Supremacy, but it turned against them and --"

"It's the enemy," Mereloco interrupted, already having gotten what he needed. "Fine. Let's kill it."

Muzazi swallowed. "It's not a thing to be taken lightly."

"Neither are you," Mereloco said -- and for the first time since he'd arrived, he looked directly at Muzazi. His voice softened, just the tiniest bit. "You still need to make it kinder, right?"

Muzazi snorted bitterly. "It's not like I can still become Supreme."

Mereloco raised an eyebrow. "So?"

With that, he turned back towards their mutual opponent, ready to take it on without a second thought. Muzazi wasn't far behind… but still, he paused for a moment in contemplation.

He'd thought that the path to the kinder world he'd wanted had been sealed off with the end of the Dawn Contest. Since then, he felt like he's been tying off loose ends, picking up scraps of purpose, struggling to find a reason to keep living. But it was as Mereloco said. Muzazi himself had once thought that a sword was nothing but a pen with which to write the future… and Atoy Muzazi could summon his sword as many times as he needed.

The path to a kinder world… it still existed.

"Yes," Muzazi said, igniting a shining Radiant against the darkness. "Let's kill it."

The Abyssal Knight took a deep, rattling breath…

…and the battle kicked off once more.

Muzazi appeared behind the Knight, already slashing his Radiants in a cross -- but the Knight whirled right around, sword hurtling through the air, moving on animal instinct. It was frightening to consider, but the sword-wielding beast was already starting to grow used to Redline's speed even after such a brief time.

It would have spelt disaster…

Unchained!

…if not for the two-hundred year-old man.

Muzazi's orientation changed, and he fell away from the sword, plummeting towards the far wall like he was falling off a skyscraper. Even if Mereloco hadn't deactivated Unchained, though, Muzazi would have been ready. Using his thrusters, he began to zoom around the perimeter of the room, drawing in closer and closer --

Radiant Ablaze!

-- all while leaving a spiral trail of shining swords beneath him.

Denied its prey, the Abyssal Knight roared in fury, the sheer sound enough to shake the air around it. Twitching madly, it moved to pursue Muzazi on all fours, but Mereloco wasn't about to allow that. The strongman finally lunged in himself, dealing an Unchained-enhanced punch directly to the Abyssal Knight's chestplate.

Clang!

The Knight's head snapped down to look at Mereloco. Mereloco, for his part, just furrowed his brow at his own fist as if it had somehow malfunctioned. The punch hadn't even made the monster budge, but it had certainly served to snatch away its attention.

The sword came down.

Mereloco was ready for it. He wasn't exactly slow himself, and Unchained and technique combined were enough to allow him to dart to the side just in time to avoid the blow -- the blow that carved a massive straight line all the way to the wall behind him. Even if one was able to avoid the sword, they had to worry about the resulting blast of air pressure, too.

Muzazi would keep note of that.

As the Knight turned its head in pursuit of its target, Mereloco took advantage of the opening. His fist, still rippling with manipulated gravity, slammed right into the Abyssal Knight's jaw. This strike at last provoked a real response -- an audible snarl of frustration as its feet skidded back across the floor.

There.

Mereloco had bought him the time he needed, and created the opportunity he needed.

Muzazi's flight came to a sudden halt as he raised his hands into the air -- and all of the Radiants he'd left in his wake scattered into specks of light and began to coalesce in his grip. The countless eyes of Sodom suddenly focused on him, alert, but before the Abyssal Knight could move to intercept him --

Unchained.

-- it was held in place for a single, vital moment.

"RADIANT!" Muzazi cried, swinging his collected shine. "ALMIGHTY!"

Trapped by crushing gravity, the Abyssal Knight had no choice but to just stand there… as a tidal wave of burning light crashed over its form.

What… was happening?

What… was this?

Ordinarily, the Abyssal Knight existed in a kind of waking dream, a stupor driven by orders and instincts and half-remembered skill. It swung its sword at phantoms and whispered the words that seemed right. That sleepwalking combat was enough to take care of most opponents it encountered. Enough to achieve success in any mission it was given.

But this… this felt different.

This felt like the man of strings, back at that snowy place. The Knight disliked it. Dull pain was radiating throughout its body. Its hand was mangled. When had that happened? A massive attack had just struck it directly. Gravity itself was holding it down. Pain and confusion were pulling consciousness, just a tiny bit, out of the pit.

And that consciousness was not happy about the situation.

The Abyssal Knight started trying, just a little bit.

It lunged forward suddenly, smoke rising from its charred armour, charging directly at the gravity-user. If it removed him, then the boy wouldn't be able to hold it in place again. The gravity-user channeled purple Aether in his hands as the Knight approached. He would use his ability to try and dodge once more.

That wasn't permissible.

Admah -- Seal of Acceleration.

The Abyssal Knight erected the Seal just for a second, just for enough time to increase its own speed at the crucial moment. With one hand, it hurled its massive sword up into the air. The gravity-user's eyes flicked up reflexively to track the weapon…

…and in that instant, the Knight struck.

Its gauntleted fist slammed into the gravity-user's chin from below, sending him flying up into the air with a satisfying crack. Most people would have been knocked unconscious by that. No. Most people would have been killed by that. However… the enemy was strong. It couldn't be too careful.

The Knight snatched its greatsword out of the air as it came back down -- and, bending its arm inhumanly far back, it blocked the flurry of slashes that erupted behind it. A hurricane of strike and deflection. It sighed in fond remembrance of past dignities.

"Fast…" it wheezed. "But slow… s-slow… slow in the head… you lost your chance, b-boy…"

As the boy swung his blade of light once more, the Knight allowed the Aether in his own sword to die down -- and, once the lightsword sunk into the metal…

…it infused it once more.

For a single fatal moment, the boy was trapped.

For a single fatal moment, fingers slashed like claws.

For a single fatal moment, the Abyssal Knight chuckled.

And blood sprayed up into the air.