Divinity

--- [Isaac’s perspective]

Lucas told me about his condition before we started.

He said he would essentially automatically dodge any attack headed his way, but he didn’t go into details about the downsides of said condition.

He dodges because his body doesn’t want to get touched, so I guess the same applies the other way around too; his body will automatically let go of someone if he tries to hold them.

It’s unfortunate, because we could have gotten him just now, but it is what it is.

I can’t blame him for something he can’t control.

“It’s fine. We’ll beat him soon enough anyways.” – Isaac

“You think so?” – Ace

“Yes.” – Isaac

“I see… Let’s get on with it then!” – Ace

He rushes at Lucas, attempting to hit him in the face.

Lucas bends his neck a little to the side, avoiding the attack.

Ace throws another punch with his other hand, baiting him into bending his neck back.

Lucas knows he sent the last hit into the future, so he can’t move in its path.

He ducks down, dodging the second punch too.

With a sweeping motion, Ace goes for a kick, but Lucas lets himself fall to the ground, avoiding the attack.

Ace follows up by attempting to stomp him, but he rolls back.

He successfully dodged all his attacks without ever crossing the paths of the previous ones.

He’s getting more and more used to his ability; he’s adapting!

While Lucas is still on the ground, Ace throughs a couple kicks his way.

He didn’t intend for them to land, but rather just to keep him away.

Then while Lucas focuses on getting back up without intersecting the path of his kicks, Ace switches targets.

Now it’s my turn…

I can’t dodge as well as Lucas; I doubt I could do what he just did.

That’s a problem, I don’t think I could beat him in regular hand to hand combat, but…

I have a theory…!

He said he can send his attacks into the future, right?

That’s very different from his attacks sticking around in the air, waiting for him to activate them.

Meaning, when he attacks, he probably has to decide how far into the future it goes.

If that’s true, then he’ll have to predict our movements for his ability to be useful.

In that case, unpredictability is the way to counter him.

I can do unpredictability.

But first, I need to confirm my theory.

He could have been lying about his ability, but he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d do that.

Just like he did against Lucas, he throws a punch towards my face.

It takes everything I got, but I barely manage to get my head out of the way.

As he pulls his arm back, I immediately move my head back to where it just was, back into the path of his attack.

…

I’m fine!

I move my head away again, before I get hit for real.

That confirms it!

He has to choose exactly when his attacks will arrive, meaning as long as he can’t predict my movements, his ability is essentially worthless!

He understands that I figured out his weakness, and it clearly confuses him.

The way he was talking before…

I don’t think this guy has ever lost a fight before.

He doesn’t know the taste of defeat, the feeling of having all your hard work overcome in the blink of an eye.

“How…” – Ace

He stops attacking, a deep sense of fear washes over him.

His usual cheerful and animated act drops, and he’s left with the dread of knowing he might lose.

“Even someone with an ability like yours can be defeated. You’re not all-powerful.” – Isaac

He thinks to himself…

God-knows-why, but soon enough, he’s back to his usual self.

With a smile as bright as the sun, he lets out a hearty laugh.

“I see… You think you could beat me with unpredictability? Not a bad plan, I almost started to believe it myself. But… Nah. Do you know why?” – Ace

“…” – Isaac

“Because I can be unpredictable too, dummy!” – Ace

He quickly throws a jab at me, it doesn’t land, but I don’t think he intended it to.

“How far do you think that jab went, huh? One second? Five seconds? A minute maybe? Who knows. I won’t even bother trying to predict your movements anymore. As the fight rages on, more and more attacks will be sent into the future. Meaning…” – Ace

“Nowhere is safe…” – Isaac

“Bingo!” – Ace

Without wasting any time, he throws a flurry of attacks in every direction.

“Good luck getting close to me!” – Ace

He stands still, and takes a deep breath.

Is he…

!

He’s charging up an attack!

We can’t stop him either; if we get too close, we might get hit by some of those attacks he threw.

This is bad…

I take a few steps back; I can’t be anywhere near him when he does that.

If I get hit by a charged attack from him, I’m out.

Even if I don’t get hit, it’ll get sent into the future…

I need to be very careful not to ever cross its path, no matter what.

Wait a second…!

He put our flag down earlier…

Should I go and grab it?

No…

He probably set up a trap while he was waiting for us to get here.

If I get too close, I’ll probably get hit by a barrage of attacks sent from the past.

Even if I don’t, he’ll just stop me anyways.

We need to beat him before we can consider going for it.

I assume knocking him out will make all his ‘future attacks’ go away.

I think it might be time…

I don’t see any way forward without it.

It’s time to use my own ability…

My specialty allows me to ‘sacrifice’ something in exchange for temporary power.

How much power, and how long it lasts depends on how valuable the thing I sacrifice is to me.

I can choose to sacrifice something temporarily, or permanently.

When permanently sacrificing something, the power boost will be significantly greater.

Earlier, I sacrificed the fingers on my left hand to beat Tiffany.

It was a temporary sacrifice, so they’ll heal in a few days, meaning after the exam ends.

My physical body is not all I can sacrifice; I can sacrifice every part of my being.

Body, mind, and soul.

Anything can be used for power.

But what should I sacrifice…

It needs to be something valuable if I am to overcome him…

If I sacrifice more of my own body, that will severely hinder my chances later in the exam…

Meaning it’s a very good candidate.

But…!

I got it!

I know of something super valuable, especially when it comes to team-based games like this…

Communication.

Being able to talk to each other is essential.

Without it we wouldn’t have been able to tell each other our abilities, formulate a plan together, or let each other know when we figure things out.

The host said there will be three rounds, but we don’t know what the next two are yet.

If they are team based too, then sacrificing my ability to talk will undoubtedly make it borderline impossible to pass.

Especially since the competition is only going to get stronger from now on…

“Lucas, stay back. I’ll finish him.” – Isaac

“Are you sure?” – Lucas

“Yes.” – Isaac

“Alright…” – Lucas

Okay…

I change the ‘shape’ of the Divinity, and channel it through my soul…

I think about my ability to talk, and my specialty activates.

To make sure it worked, I try to talk.

“…” – Isaac

I can’t do it…!

I can’t even make a noise.

It feels so strange…

It was just a temporary sacrifice, I’m sure it’ll go back to normal in a few days, but…

The power!

I feel the power coursing through my veins; there’s so much of it!

It won’t last long, probably just a few seconds.

I’ll have to make the most of it!

As quickly as I can, I sprint his way.

He turns towards me, and prepares to launch his charged attack.

As I get close, I feel the attacks he threw earlier hit me.

They don’t hurt.

Seeing me take all those hits without flinching takes him off guard, messing up his concentration.

His lapse in focus weakens his charged attack, but he has no choice but to throw it like it is anyways; I’m way too close now for him to have time to regain the lost power.

With all his might, he throws his final punch.

It hurt like hell, but I blocked it with the palm of my left hand.

Had it been any stronger, my arm would have probably broken.

Before he has time to get away, I quickly counter-attack.

My fist drills into his chest, breaking his ribs, and sending him flying away.

And just like that, I feel the power boost fading away…

Leaving me mute for the rest of the exam.