Part 38: The Beauty of Black's Pain
The duel between Black and Talia was a symphony, yet entirely one-sided.
Swish! Swish!
Talia was a whirlwind of motion, her arcanatech light-tip spear slicing the air furiously. She was angry. Her opponent, silent and impenetrable, was always a fraction of a second, an impossible ten steps, ahead. Every aggressive leap, every spinning arc, was met by prevailing evasion. Talia lunged, aiming a vicious slash at Black's torso. A fleeting, confident smile touched her lips, certain she had finally scored a hit.
The smile faded instantly. Black, fluid as quicksilver, executed an acrobatic leap over her head, his movement barely disturbing the air. Mid-air, a sharp elbow strike slammed into Talia's back, forcing her to lose her footing and tumble away in a sprawl of frustrated fury.
"He's only been avoiding my attacks," she thought, scrambling back up. "Why isn't he attacking? He must have noticed... What is he up to?" Talia fought an impenetrable defense against a silent, unnerving opponent she had never prepared for.
Yet, her confidence was rooted in her own creation. "It's all in place now. Since he's been dodging all my attacks, my Inferno Shards will be more than enough to wipe him out."
Talia's second love, apart from being Primus's loyal assassin, was magitek—a dangerous fusion of ancient magic and repurposed human technology introduced by the Chronos Syndicate entity known only as "King." This Arcanatech, though a closely guarded secret, was mysteriously Talia's specialty.
Her spear had a secret, insidious feature: SHARDS. Every aggressive swing, even if avoided, released invisible, painless needles that latched onto the opponent's body. These shards silently accumulated and charged. When a sufficient number were placed, Talia would activate the Inferno, setting her target ablaze. Confident that death was inevitable, she chased Black with renewed fervor, her laughter loud and brittle as she failed to catch the fleeting shadow.
Black, the quiet veteran, was calm and analytical. He had noticed a strange vibration emanating from the glowing-tipped spear. It felt strangely familiar, like a part of his body under someone else's control. He was moving on the same frequency as the spear, capable of preempting its every move. To him, there was no surprise attack, just a furious lady trying to kill him for stopping what seemed to be an assassination.
He knew she was fast, so he pushed himself faster, exceeding her speed, not just in movement but in thought. He admired her resilience—she flowed like a stream of water, adapting her form to the battle's jar. He thought her impressive, but compared to him, she still had a long way to go. He was enjoying the fight, the effortless superiority of his own defense.
Until...
Knowing she had released enough Inferno Shards to annihilate even an armored giant, Talia activated her flames.
A loud scream, filled with primal pain and horror, tore through the corridor. It was the sound of a man who had forgotten how to suffer. Black, the unkillable, emotionless zombie, was in agony. For the first time since his rebirth, he felt pain, an excruciating heat he couldn't contain.
He crumpled, his feet failing beneath him. He curled up, trying to escape the blistering heat, rolling desperately on the floor to smother the fire. But the magitek inferno clung to him.
In that moment of agony, Black's golden eyes brightened with terrifying clarity. He could see it: intricate threads of fire connected to the hundreds of invisible needles embedded in his skin.
Suddenly, a strange shift occurred. Since the start of the fight, Talia had noted a faint instability in her spear's flexibility, mistaking it for a common magitek flaw. In truth, it was Black's own psychic power—his mind, which operated on the border of life and death—resonating with the archaic frequency of the arcanatech.
Instantly, the spear turned up in flames and burned Talia, the shock causing her to release the weapon in pain. Before the spear could hit the ground, it changed its trajectory, landing precisely in Black's outstretched hand, simultaneously extinguishing the fire on his body.
Before Talia could process the impossible turn of events, a chilling rage overtook Black. His long braids floated in the air, defying gravity. He moved with a kind of speed previously unimaginable.
He didn't hesitate. Talia's own spear went straight through her body. In a flash of terrifying understanding, Black—now fluent in the language of the weapon—set her ablaze. But this time, the flame was a shocking, agonizing purple.
Dying, the pain tearing through her, Talia cried out and turned to look for her brother, Zeldor. All she saw was the smoke of his essence dissolving and a sinister figure with a giant sword staring down at the residue. She understood: this was the group her master had warned them about. A twisted laugh, laced with bitter pain and sudden enlightenment, escaped her lips as she burned out completely, her smoke dissipating into nothingness.
Black stood, the strange, glowing spear held in his hand. He looked up toward the rooftop, but Jex and Orion were no longer there. They, and the others, were now moving toward him, their faces marked by a common expression of shock. Seeing Black in such profound pain was horrifying for the team; they knew the zombie could be cut, shot, or stabbed, but he never felt it—until now.
A profound silence descended as the team arrived, staring at their friend, weapon in hand, enemy reduced to ash. They moved toward the hotel rooms, the adrenaline ebbing away. In the wake of the violence, a chilling question hung in the air: What kind of enemy could make Black scream in pain? They had the weapon in their hands, but the fear of the unknown lingered. Jex, walking behind them, seemed to know the reason, but he offered no explanation.
****************
Elsewhere, in what looked like a subterranean, makeshift lab, two glowing chambers stood ready. A subtle red light pulsed as black smoke filled the vents, channeling the remnants of the slain assassins.
Chime!
The light slowly turned green.
Hisssssssss.
The chamber doors opened with a hiss of released pressure, revealing two perfectly whole naked bodies: Zeldor and Talia. Primus's most loyal assassins were ready to resume the hunt.