Desperate Rush Against Time, Part ?????
664 10/11 3:10 (Autumn, Day, Midrar)
Amber floated in mid-air, her orange eyes shining brightly before she burst forward with an explosion, crossing the distance between her and her target in a second, her flaming body accelerating greatly and leaving a burning trail on the ground beneath her flight, the heat charring the path towards her enemy.
The one enveloped in Shining Bolts could only scowl, the Light-Attribute intensifying around them and launching their body as a blur away from the Phoenix, dodging the massive bird's own massive body and functioning as a buffer against the purple Cursed Flames that erupted like a wave from her body.
Flames imbued with the Curse-Attribute grew along the ground, charring the ground while causing it to start rotting under the influence of the Complex Attribute, the purple flames attaching themselves to the Human-Spirit Hybrid's body and starting to corrode them from the outside in.
Before they could respond to the flames on their body, a layer of glowing water rising from around them and dousing the flames, using the Water-Attribute to shut off the Fire-Attribute and the combination of the Holy- and Light-Attributes to eliminate the Curse-Attribute imbued in the flames and to purge the Energy that was trying to invade their body from the burns.
They breathed out easier, the stress on their body lightening up as the drain caused by needing to resist the Curses coursing against their body as the clear bubble of Purification-infused Water surrounding them and allowing the eyes of the [Avatar Manifestation]-using one to meet with the bright orange belonging to the newly-arrived enemy.
Their lips twisted in a scowl, white lightning flaring around their body, as their mind worked overtime to try and figure out both a way around the Demonic Phoenix and how they could actually bypass the orb enveloping Luna to stop her from advancing even further.
Their bright blue eyes met back up with their opponent's orange one, just in time to see how Blessed Flames were concentrating within her mouth, golden light illuminating the area around her brightly before exploding forward in a concentrated beam of high-temperature holy fire crossed the distance to their body.
The Shining Bolts around their body intensified before they blurred left, launching themselves through the bubble and in this way dodging Amber's searing breath, the sphere of Purification-infused water previously surrounding them boiling, flipping in mid-air towards the Phoenix, their feet digging twin trenches in the ground to stop the recoil of their body caused by the steam explosion it caused.
Shining Bolts followed them, trailing behind them before joining together between their hands, condensing in an almost solid blade floating before them that they proceded to punch at full strenght, pulsing their Vital Mana in concert with the blow to maximize the speed of their thrown weapon, air being cut in two as the weaponized lightning bolt flew towards the great bird.
As an answer to the blonde's attack, the golden one merely huffed, beating her wings and raising a wall of Ominous Gales, the purple winds storming forward, lowering the speed of the thrown weapon, weakening its potency and then safely deflecting it away from herself, just in time for her to beat her winds once more to launch a sharp wave of Revered Winds, the Holy-Attribute counterpart of the just used Curse-based Composite Attribute.
The golden wind battered against Joule-Mark's body, inflicting little damage but still launching the Human-Spirit Hybrid back, smashing them through multiple trees, their Shining Bolts forming a protective shell that minimized the damage, leaving them winded but still fully functional, their blue eyes focusing back on the fight at hand and more precisely on the glowing bird that rappresented a very immediate threat to their life.
As demonstrated by a wail of Ominous Winds that Amber without any hesitation launched towards them, intent not on damaging them but on increasing their susceptibility to having a Status Alteration being applied on them, thing that despite their speed enhanced by Shining Bolts, they were unable to evade, the Curse-Attribute infiltrating their body, affecting them not from the outside but because the air full of the Attribute was breathed in by the Human-Spirit Hybrid.
After all while there were very rare instances where something's Interal Resistance matched, or even more rarely exceeded, their External Resistance, in the rest of the cases the Internal one is much lower than the External one.
Joule-Mark coughed harshily, their throat starting to hurt because of the malevolent air they inhaled, closing their mouth and covering the whole of their head in a dense layer of almost solid Light-Attribute, isolating Mark's lungs and insides in general from the cursed winds, minimizing further worsening of their condition.
Yet even once the gale ended, the danger was far from having passed as demonstrated by Amber closing her wings around her body before suddenly reopening them wide, the speed causing a brief shockwave around her that was however overshadowed by the golden flames erupting from her body and raining down in the form of two meters wide fireballs falling over the whole area, intent on destroying any possible hiding spot for Flux.
The Composite Attribute between the Light- and Lightning-Attributes rampaged around Joule-Mark, forming a tight sphere around their body to bunker down and outlast the rain of Blessed Flames, counting on the low general offensive power of the Composite Attribute in question, their theory proven true as three different fireball rained down upon their shield with minimum strain.
As their eyes watched the between the forth fireball flying towards them in between the golden sparks of the previous three only for their eyes to widen in distraught surprise as the Blessed Flames that would impact their bubble exploded against it, leaving them free to see how hidden inside of it was present an extra factor.
Sabel, her black hair flaring wildly behind her as she swung her sword right through their barrier, the Light-Attributes covering her blade allowing her to bypass the shield entirely and landing a thrust right into Joule-Mark's right shoulder, her feet landing on his body before a fifth Blessed Flame fireball fell upon the two, the Holy-Attribute glow that surrounded her body continued on its purpose of protecting her from the Composite Attribute that rained down upon the two.
Joule-Mark's mouth almost opened in a mix of surprise and pain as the golden flames exploded upon the two, sending them both flying back but leaving Sabel herself unharmed thanks to Mafel's previously Casted Holy-Attribute Spell, simultaneusly landing on her feet and swinging her blade at her opponent despite their distance, a crescent of Light-Attribute Vital Mana flashing towards the Human-Spirit Hybrid.
The blonde had barely landed that they needed to defend, their flesh-and-blood arm rising so that their limb coated in Light-Attribute would collide with the other attack, nullifying Sabel's attack, their attention moving to the Phoenix in the distance, noting how her attacks were being deflected by Flux going all out, purple flames being deflected by glowing branches of Purification-Infused water while golden ones were being extinguished by regular water.
All the while the clouds that were in the sky darkened before rain started to fall causing the air to become more and more humid thanks to Aler's efforts, both affording more water to Flux's combat and somewhat weakening the flames sent by Amber, making sure that this stalemate would actually last, water rapidly evaporating only to then cool back down in the cloud and raining back down, a localized and very accelerated version of the normal water cycle.
Lightning arced around Joule-Mark, moving from raindrop to raindrop, forming a vaguely circular line before their body that split into various pulsing spheres composed of Shining Bolts, spheres that soon erupted in nineteen different lightning bolts, seven aimed at the Human and the other twelve aiming on striking the Phoenix in the back, intent not on harming her but striking at the hiding Mafel, whose presence they were certain of considering both that her other Mates were present and that her assistance was the only explaination behind both Sabel's protective layer and Amber's ability to launch Composite Attribute after Composite Attribute.
Sabel narrowed her eyes once she saw the forming spheres of lightning before her opponent, Light-Attribute focusing around her blade as she calculated the trajectory of their attack, scowling as she noticed that only seven of them were directed at her.
In an instant she blurred in place, a storm of precise Light-Attribute crescent blades flying towards the lightning bolts, cutting them apart thanks to the sheer number of her attacks before striking at their origin point with a luminous shockwave that sent her opponent back. "Do not look down on me." Her low voice sounded out, her body glowing with light.
"I may not be as special as Luna's other Mates, but that doesn't mean you are strong enough to look down on me!" She continued, her glow intensifying even more, refering back to Mafel's inherited knowledge from her two components and ability to function as a Medium and Amber's nature as a Demonic-blooded Phoenix, a Runic Array starting to glow ever more intensely on her sword.
Joule-Mark stabilized, moving left to dodge the sword that Sabel threw right at their face, activating their Unique Skill to give themselves enough time to analyze the Runes on its surface, understanding at once why it was thrown so carelessly as a mere projectile.
The sword was not made of metal but of solidified Black Blood, a material good enough to form an excellent weapon and that Luna would find incredibly easy to create and manipulate in an ideal form.
While still in their time stop, Joule-Mark dashed away, turning towards the Human and ordering the still Shining Bolt around himthem to strike her down, ending their Time Walker and causing everything to proceed accordingly, the sword detonating in histheir previous location while the Light-Attribute fell upon the unarmed black-haired one.
Before they could concentrate back on the Demonic Phoenix, certainthinking that their attack had incapacitated his enemytheir opponent at least for a bit of time, he was surprisedthey were proven wrong when a vertical strike bisected their blow, a long line of light severing their own in two as Sabel stood there, holding firmly a new sword with a different Runic Array, theirhis light being drained into it and then being converted into Vital Mana to restore her own reserves spent from her reckless maneuvers.
"You will not ignore me to attack my Mates!" Her eyes glowed resolute, her Unique Arma, the Bracelets of the Rebel forming around her forearms as her body started to glow even more, her Vital Mana mixing with her light following her will and Luna's blueprint.
Joule-Mark stepped back, histheir fist clenching hard as he watched Sabel store the previous blade in a previously hidden ring, a different one appearing in her now joined hands, her Aura finally being Unleashed around her body fully, passing through her Unique Arma to then be drunk in by her newest weapon, cracks spreading rapidly in it before it shattered, leaving behind only its Shape.
With widened eyes, he watched as she swung, his crossed arms and the Shining Bolts that he rose in the way being severed in two at once, a long line being carved in his body from the shoulder to his hip, even more of his blood flowing from the wound.
"A-a part-ial ac-tivati-on o-of her-r Uni-que Skill-l." He almost fell on his knee, watching the figure in his way, briefly flashing back to that accursed Timeline, her image in his gaze being substitute by her older self, a burning halo floating over her head while a pair of angelic wings opened behind her, before returning from that Future to her sweat-covered and heavily breathing present, his lips twisting in a snarl. "You will die. Now!"
"We will see about that!" She snarled back, already wielding another sword.
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? ?/? ?:? (?)
It existed.
It had no concept of time or space.
Yet, it existed.
Nothing was present in this emptiness.
Yet, it existed.
Nothing ever was in this emptiness.
Yet, it existed.
Nothing would ever come to be in this infinite emptiness.
Yet, and all the same, it existed.
This void could never be filled.
Yet, it alone would be more than enough to fill it.
This void will never be filled.
Yet, it alone was greater.
This void was infinite in size, stretching out to encompass every instant that could ever come to pass in an inexistent past, present or future.
Yet, it was greater.
This void could easily fill every possible time.
Yet, even more, it was greater.
This void could contain every star in every Plane and no space would be filled.
Yet, it alone was enough.
This void could contain every dream and every nightmare of every single creature that could ever be and no space would be filled.
Yet, it alone was more than enough.
This void could contain the emotions of every single creature that could ever be and no space would be filled.
Yet, it alone was here and it alone was more than enough.
This void could contain infinity and no space would be filled.
Yet, and even so, it could not be contained.
Yet, and all the same, it existed.
Yet, even more, it was greater.
Yet, and even so, it could not be contained.
Yet, and even more, its hunger could never be extinguished.
Yet, and ever more, it could not be stopped.
Yet, and forever more, it would exist.
Yet, and now more than ever more, its maw opened, an infinite emptiness being devoured until even less than nothing remained.
And so, zero became one.
And so, she opened her eyes.
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