The Greatest Fight [progression cultivation isekai]

X2.5.2 - Old Friends

A woman climbed off of her bike as the dust cleared. She was wearing an adherent, black bodysuit. A very tall man behind her also dismounted. He took off his helmet, and two long, furry white ears popped out, shaking them as he took a deep breath in.

"Shiro?" Roa said, his eyebrows raised. "Then, that means—"

The woman took off her helmet, revealing her long, pink hair.

"Woah—you look like absolute crap, flower boy," said Nirvana, staring him up and down. "What in the hell happened to you? I leave you for a few years and you come back—like this?"

"It's nothing," Roa said.

"Well, it's clearly something. You look like you are barely able to stand," she continued.

"He got infected with some space virus," explained Indigo, "we've been trying to stop him from using his aura since it advances the growth of the disease. But it has been no use. He won't budge much."

"Typical," Nirvana said, shaking her head.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been sending you Blurr messages for years," Roa asked with anger in his tone.

"Where have we been? If you two did as I told you, followed my lead, and not gotten yourself kidnapped—ugh, you know what, we've been busy. Busy doing what you were supposed to be doing—organizing the revolution."

"Well, I'm sorry but everything went tits up. We've been busy too—mostly doing flips in the circus and getting infected by space zombies," Roa shouted back.

"And why the hell are you still so young?" Nirvana blurted back. "Don't you know that dampens your auric level?"

"Because they forced me to drink Ambrosia while I was unconscious," he said, pointing at his friends.

"You—I swear, Roa, you are always the same. You are not the agent of change, you're the agent of CHAOS," Nirvana pointed her index finger at him. "It's one mess after another with you. Sometimes I wonder why I even try to work with you."

"Then don't. I never asked you to," the boy said.

She scoffed. "You did, you idiot. You literally instructed me to do all of this—you just don't remember a damn thing, because, again, you are an IDIOT!"

"If you don't want to work together anymore, that's fine with me. You have done nothing but cause me trouble, ever since I met you."

"Oh, is that so? Who the hell broke you out of that prison world? Who the hell saved you from turning into a fetus, or after the chokepoint fell and an army of Shadows was coming your way? Who—tell me, who the hell has been looking for you, yet again, for goddamn years, worried, that you might be sick or dead?" she said, her face flush red. "You—stupid, stubborn, foolish, goddamn—ungrateful idiot."

"You haven't been completely truthful to me, have you?" Roa asked, his eyes digging deep into hers.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I met my old teacher, Master O. He told me that he knew my girl Eralay—from before Black Fortia. She's the one who brought me to him the first time. How is that possible? I thought she was a local girl I met in that prison world. What the hell is going on?" he pointed at her with fire in his eyes. Nirvana froze for a moment, then the boy continued, "I know you know something. I want to know what you have been hiding from me."

"I don't trust her," Nirvana said eventually.

"I don't trust you," Roa blurted back, causing her face to grow red again.

"I don't trust her—because I don't know what game she's been playing all this time," she continued.

"I'm listening."

"Your old teacher was right—she did bring you to him the first time when you trained under his school of martial arts. You two—knew each other long before we even met in Pardasia."

"Who is she?"

"I don't know, Roa. Your old lover? A Jumper? A friend? A traitor? A Shadow?"

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Why the hell would she be with me in that prison world?"

"I don't know!"

"You know something, tell me!"

"I don't know, I told you! She's the one who sent us a message from the inside, telling us you were ready to escape," Nirvana revealed.

Roa's mind shifted back to those days, remembering a specific detail.

"What day was it?" he asked.

"What day was what?"

"What day did you break me out?"

"It was a Monday, I think," Nirvana said.

"I just got a feeling that's going to be our day," Roa said.

"What are you talking about?"

"That's what Eralay said to me. She said that we would leave on Monday. What the hell is going on? She worked with you to break me out. She was obviously on our side."

"Yeah? Then why the hell was she allowed to be with you in that prison? She asked the Shadows for a favor—and they just--obliged?" Nirvana accused.

"I don't know."

"And why the hell did she just stand at the threshold of the Exit, next to Briteside, as if they knew each other?"

"I don't know!" shouted the boy.

"I told you—I. Don't. Trust. Her. And neither would you—if you weren't blinded by some stupid infatuation. You made this chick your whole personality—you're obsessed with her, and yet—you don't even know who she is." Nirvana walked closer to him and got in his face, "you're in love with some—idea that doesn't even exist."

"Shut up."

Roa didn't say anything for some time. His mind was racing and his heart was beating like a drum.

Half hour passed. Nobody said a word. The boy was sitting down on the sand, looking down when Nirvana walked up to him, and stared down at him.

"What?" he said, looking up.

"Listen—if you fight in the tournament, you will die. And I—don't want you to die, alright?" Nirvana said, bending down on her knee and smiling at him. "We need to bring you to the closest fountain of Ambrosia. It might help, or at least slow down the infection."

"No. I already told you and everyone else that I am fighting in the tournament. We don't have time to waste."

"Is this about the revolution, or is this really about something else?" she said, staring at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you trying--to die?" Roa froze for a moment, not saying anything. "You're having those thoughts again, aren't you? You've always been your own greatest enemy, Roa. That's it. Enough. You're coming with us, whether you like it or not. I'm going to drag you to Grand Market's fountain whether you agree or not, even if I have to drown you in those damn waters myself," she said, standing back up.

"No. I am not."

"Yes. Yes, you are."

"No." Roa stood up, wobbling for a moment before taking on a defensive stance.

Nirvana laughed. "What? Are you seriously going to put up a fight—against all of us?" she said, opening her arms, looking at all the Jumpers on her team, as well as Roa's friends.

"Just do as she says, man," Rosso said. "I don't want to hit you again, but I will if it will save your life."

"We're your friends, Roa, and it's our job to protect you—even if it's from yourself," Indigo said with a look of concern in her eyes.

"Shut up. None of you get to tell me what to do with my own life," Roa shouted.

Nirvana's foot shifted, catching the boy's attention, his eyes darting in her direction, his mind focusing on the sound. Her chop was about to land on the back of his neck, when he instinctively ducked, feeling a powerful gust of wind move past him as the strike missed him. Several punches and kicks followed, the Sunflower blocking them one after another. With her fists in his palms, they struggled for a moment as they stared in each other's eyes, teeth grinding, as their feet sunk in the sand while they pushed in opposite directions.

"I fucking hate you," she said to him with fury in her eyes.

"Let me go," he said back, defiantly.

"No," she pushed even harder. "I'm going to beat some sense into you this time."

"I doubt it," he said, pushing her away.

She screamed, and lunged at him again, striking over and over at lightning-fast speed. When she realized that the boy was still strong enough to put up a fight she turned to her crew.

"Shiro, girls, give me a hand, now," she commanded.

"Can't take me on your own?" the Sunflower shouted back, panting.

"This isn't about my pride, flower boy, but yours. I don't care if I need to ask for help—if that means saving your dumb ass," Nirvana said.

Her crew appeared in front of the boy.

"Just comply, Sunflower. There is no need for any of this. We are just trying to help," Shiro said, taking a few steps forward.

The boy lunged at the hare, as the rest jumped on him. He took them all on at once, moving at speeds that left the rest in awe.

"I've never seen him move like that before," Rosso said to Indigo.

"He's going to push himself over the limit. Let's go!" she said, joining the fray.

The Sunflower's aura spiked and his tattoos glowed. His body was enveloped with a golden energy, and his mind was suddenly sharp. He punched Shiro in the face, blinded everyone with a Solar Clap, backflipped, pushed Rosso to the ground, and threw Indigo onto the sand. He lunged forward until his hands were about to reach for Nirvana, when her fingers wrapped around his wrists and stopped them. A scuffle ensued.

"Look at yourself—I don't even recognize you anymore," she said, struggling to push him back.

"That's because the old me is DEAD!" the boy shouted, pushing harder. "Don't you get it? He died the day I erased my own mind!" His words caused her eyes to open wide. She let go, and fell onto the ground. "Stay down!" he shouted at her. He turned to the others, still trying to get back on their feet, and shouted, "I am the strongest here. I will fight all of you until none of you can stand anymore, if I have to. Let me go. My mind is made up."

Indigo walked up to Nirvana and placed her hand on her shoulder and said to her, "let him be. He has made his decision."

The pink-haired girl stood up and brushed the sand off of her.

"Fine," she said. "You want to die, then die, Roa. I'm done trying to save you if you don't want to go on. I did all I could," she said, walking away as her crew followed. "Pardus is waiting for us," she said, as she mounted her bike. A tear on her face reflected the sun above for a moment, catching the boy's sight for a second, causing his eyebrows to unfurl, and raise.

Roa collapsed on the ground as his tattoos disappeared and his aura collapsed.

"Good. Bring me to him. I want to meet him," the Sunflower said with a serious tone, as he caught his breath.