Fall of Dawn

  Not a word was said, not a voice heard, but as the circle came to a conclusion, it all began.

  ?They clashed. Raiden was superior physically, so Blade compensated by using his mora and skills to his advantage.

  ?With each of Raiden’s swings, the terrain changed. She aimed to end this quickly.

  ?What Blade hadn't thought of was, what if her lightning evolved?

  ?As the purple lightning hit him, he felt it more than ever. This was worse than anything before. But as if the overwhelming lightning wasn't bad enough, he was also dealing with someone with full control over the ice in the area.

  ?If he stayed still for too long, the ice would freeze him in place. Yet he didn't have much leverage to move, as each deflection of Raiden’s blade took all his effort, forcing him still and making him have to use more mora just to free himself.

  ?Even so, there were cases where he couldn't even get time to free himself, as he would be sent back by one of Raiden’s hits, forcefully breaking him free while causing pain.

  ?And if that wasn't bad enough, things were truly put in perspective when she finally used Indra’s authority, as now their clashes not only carried stunning electricity but also fire that burned to the core.

  ?Avoiding the clashes was all he could do, yet his escape paths were narrow, as the ice made for no means of running away.

  ?Though at his first direct hit on her, he realized how far the power gap was, as with a strike to the ground, the area shifted completely. The ice took different shapes and actively tried to impale him, as fire erupted from the cracks in the ice, chasing to burn him whole. The lightning formed dragons that followed him, trying to hit him. And Raiden? She didn't give him a second to breathe.

  ?If he wasn’t dodging the area, he was parrying her blade. When he wasn't parrying her, the very world around him was trying to kill him

  ?As he struggled and fought, he noticed something. Raiden’s face wasn't the same cool and controlled mask she had when she fought him and Indra the first time, nor was it the one she had when fighting Iris and him. Now, it seemed like she was struggling. Had he truly managed to reach her before she fully controlled Indra’s authority

  ?It was also the fact she hadn't used a singular named attack thus far. Though neither Iris, Indra, nor Raiden had used a named attack against him before, it was strange for her not to do it now. Was she unsure? About what, though? It didn't make sense if she just didn't take him as worthy of it, as nobody in her position would hold back like this. So what was it then?

  ?He was grateful for Indra’s training, as with it his mind could mostly keep up with what was going on around him, even as his body ached, yet he couldn't let up now and continued fighting with all he had.

  ?Gathering mora around his blade, he went for a clash. And as his aura was met with Raiden’s lightning, an enormous lightning explosion was formed. Searing its way all the way down the mountain, causing the side to fall into avalanches.

  ?Blade, whose arm was almost fried in the clash, was sent back onto his back and noticed the avalanche heading for the village. Jumping up and creating a bow, he fired exploding fire arrows, covering them in mora to destroy the avalanche, before landing, making the bow vanish, and saying.

  ?“Don’t you care for the villagers there? That could have killed them all.”

  ?It was then he noticed how wrong things truly were.

  ?Raiden’s arm was burnt and freezing simultaneously. And her sword was discharging uncontrollable blasts of lightning. Was this a fight? Or was it him making her authorities

  ?She didn't have more time, and it showed with how her demeanor shifted.

  ?A crack. A crack of bones breaking, as Raiden's foot connected with the side of his chest, sending him flying into ice pillars she had just created. The moment he crashed, the pillars cracked and blasted out flames, forcing him back down.

  ?Raiden caught up, trying to slash him, but Blade managed to barely evade her first slash, only to be hit by the thin icicles that emerged from the ground, piercing right through the left side of his body.

  ?“Piercing Heaven

  ?Were the words that came from Raiden's mouth as lightning gathered at her sword, and she slammed down at Blade.

  ?As the swords connected, a shockwave of lightning shot out from the sword, piercing the heavens and clearing the sky completely. Blade was knocked down through the icy mountain.

  ?The pain exploded from his back, but he could do nothing as he continued downward until he finally stopped.

  ?That's when he saw the light behind him, and he just had a split second to react. Cutting through the fire that erupted towards him as he used his mora to defend himself, the icy mountain erupted into a flaming explosion.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  ?He could only lie there, in the crater, watching the debris fly off in all directions and seeing Raiden land a short distance away.

  ?He had been weak… No, maybe he was simply always weak, deluded into thinking he was anything. What was he supposed to do? He didn't understand, didn't understand why he was getting up, but he did.

  ?Blade put almost all of his remaining mora into this one attack. This was it, he had to do it. He was going to do it, right here, to get back his friends.

  ?A clash, yet could it even be called that? And he saw it. His blade, his sword, in two. It had been slashed by a singular cut.

  Crystalline snap in the silence, was all it was. The last thing he had, destroyed like a twig in a toddler's hands.

  ?How? How?! How!? It was the only thoughts resonating in his head. Had it been cracked? When? If he noticed? If he had taken care of it sooner? So many what-ifs resonated in his head, everything else seemed to disappear.

  ?The remaining mountain around him, Raiden, whose control was waning by the second, nothing. The only reason he came back was to be met with a Raiden who had lost control. As she screamed, the sky was torn open, the lightning spreading from her sword like roots, and then it fell. Fast, uncontrollable, and destructive. It hit randomly, annihilating the remaining mountain.

  ?Blade forced his body up and ran. The mountain was falling apart completely. The sides were breaking off. Blade ran along it. He didn't care about safety or being hidden. He only wanted to leave. He ran all he could to get away.

  ?Just running away was hard. He was tired, beat, and bleeding. And the falling ice and destructive lightning only made things worse. Multiple times he was almost killed by lightning. Either it struck nearby, causing new ice fractures, or he was nearly struck himself, just being near was enough for the shockwaves to cause even more damage to his already ruined body.

  ?He held fast to the remains of his blade, the only thing grounding him in this hellish escape. So he ran.

  ?When he finally touched the ground, he didn't stop running. But not even he could run forever as he dropped. His eyes weighed down, and eventually, he collapsed.

  ?His body refused to yield any longer. He was blacking out.

  ?Yet he refused, dragging his collapsing body. He could see the village now, it had been spared. Crawling, one drag at a time. All so he could get ever closer, but he shut down. Eventually, he lost consciousness.

  ?Defeated.

  ?He wasn't like Iris, who had the knowledge to make the smartest choices. Who could use her own pragmatist mind to plan ahead and use her advantages to acquire victory.

  ?Defeated.

  ?He wasn't like Indra, who could use their own instincts to expertly fight. He didn't have the technique nor skill to fight those stronger with a smile, who could challenge those surpassing him and still come out in a draw.

  ?Defeated.

  ?He was simply a human. A weak, insignificant human, who had been completely and utterly defeated. An ant squashed under the heel of the strong.

  ?And he blacked out, letting the darkness take him.

  ?When he came to, he found himself in the same place yet again. The same place he had found himself in when he first came to the Origin Realm. He could not see, could not feel, yet he had the slight feeling that he was falling. And then he heard it, the same familiar voice.

  ?“You find yourself here again?”

  ?Unlike previously, he could hear clearly now. Was it because he could use mora now?

  ?“Not going to answer me?”

  ?Blade tried to answer, to say anything, yet he couldn't. Did he even have a mouth?

  ?“Can’t talk? Well, it seems you can listen at least.”

  ?The voice felt closer now. Had it come closer? That's also when the sensation of falling ceased. Had the voice stopped him?

  ?“I’m holding you now, I do believe you wouldn’t mind.”

  ?They were right, he didn't mind. Though he didn't really care for anything right now.

  ?“I would ask for your name, yet you seem unable to talk. I would give you my name, but it would do you no good.”

  ?Blade didn't really know what to think of that. Did they mean he was unworthy of knowing their name, or did they truly mean it would do him no good? If so, how could things get worse?

  ?“I mean no disrespect.”

  ?Well, that cleared up things, though he didn't even know why he trusted this mysterious voice so much.

  ?“I do wonder, though, how you keep finding me only at your lowest. Though it's strange enough that you can even reach me.”

  ?He couldn't argue that it was strange, he also found it so. Why was he here, wherever here was? And who is talking to him?

  ?“You must be wondering where you are. Well, you find yourself in the Abyss. A place beyond the Origin Realm you come from.”

  ?The Abyss? This was new. Neither Indra nor Iris had said anything about such a place. Could it be that they knew nothing of this place? He wished he could ask but still could not talk, yet it was her next words that made his mouth open.

  ?“Though I guess saying that to a human such as you won’t be of much help.”

  ?At those words, his mouth opened before his thoughts churned. He wanted to ask, to figure out. To get answers from this voice, who seemed to know something about him, yet all he got was a lack of air.

  ?He choked, and within himself thrashed as his body refused to move. He couldn't breathe. He was stressed, and the lack of breath only made it worse, yet then it happened.

  ?He felt the lips before he registered anything else. And suddenly, he was calm. Like a lover's kiss, it calmed him profoundly. It reminded him of something, of something far, far down. Yet the kiss resonated with something within him, as if the one who was kissing him resonated with him. Yet before he could think anymore of it, it was over. He was okay now, his mouth back closed.

  ?“You can’t breathe here, that’s why you should try not to open your mouth again.”

  ?Yet that wasn't the feeling he had. He didn't know why this person had calmed him, nor why. Then he suddenly voiced it.

  ?“Int… rest…”

  ?His words were weak, slow, and barely understandable, yet as if reading his mind, they answered.

  ?“Interest? Are you talking about my words when we first met? I do find myself wondering about that myself."

  ?He wanted to try more, to ask more, but then he felt it. Like his mind and body were being dragged back, yet before he began worrying, they assured him.

  ?“I healed your body again. I should have told you sooner. I guess… I simply wanted you to stay.”

  ?Blade calmed down and, surprisingly enough, felt no anger towards this person. Since they said it again, they must have been the same person who healed them when they first awoke in the Origin Realm. And so he tried again. Putting the remainder of his measly strength into two final words.

  ?“Thank… you…”

  ?He felt his eyes opening in real life, but as they did, he managed to pry his current eyes open too, if barely. And when he did, he saw it, something that made him want to figure out who they were and which calmed his remaining worries. It was small, it wasn't much, but it remained.

  ?A smile. A smile from the abyss, and the voice that resided in it.