HomeSleep - Balance Incarnate
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Sleep - Balance Incarnate
Damxge Tue May 10, 2016 8:50 am
Name: Sleep
Gender: Male
Age: N/A
Appearance:
Short for what he is, coming in at five foot eleven inches, Sleep has pale skin covering a muscular body. Across his skin spider lines of darkness, as if he were a shattered statue pieced back together. His face, too, it statuesque, with a hard heavy jaw and high cheekbones with a crook nose and thin lips. His eyes, a dark gray, are slightly slanted with heavy brows above them.
His hair, solid black, hangs down over his face, frequently obscuring his eyes, and sticking up in all directions. His teeth are slate gray and match his fingernails.
On his body, sleep wears a simple black tank-top tucked into his baggy, dark red cargo pants. His feet are clad in plate metal boots that gleam a bright silver. The tips of the boots are rounded and intricate swirls and designs make their way down from the ankle. On his arms he wears plate metal sleeves, matching his boots, that end in clawed gauntlets. The brown leather straps crisscross his chest, keeping them bound to his shoulders.
The Creation of Sleep:
- Spoiler:
Sleep's name wasn't always what you do when you're tired, he was once Sir Alexander Henry. A knight and member of the elite military council headed by a long since forgotten king. He was, in short, the most feared man in the kingdom and his name caused most enemies to abandon their arms and flee.
It remained this way for many years, the kingdom expanding steadily thanks to Sir Alexander and his private forces. It all came to an abrupt end when he received word that his king had fallen to an assassin's poison. As he was currently in the middle of a siege against a smaller warlord many weeks ride from home, he could do nothing but wait and continue his assault. In the weeks that followed, Sir Alexander conquered the lesser warlord and, after installing his forces there, rode home to see what had befallen his precious kingdom.
Upon returning, he was met with less than the expected celebration after a successful campaign. Instead he found a gate wide open, empty, bloodstained streets, and a castle full of corpses. On the throne, the Dark Throne, crafted from the fallen star that destroyed the city many centuries ago, sat a man. But he was no mere soldier or warlard, this was apparent. His armor was darker than the throne on which he sat, his red eyes gleaming with an evil the likes of which Sir Alexander had never seen.
"Who be you, name yourself!" Alexander bellowed across the corpse littered banquette hall, drawing his longsword from his back and settling into a fighting stance. It seemed at that moment that the sun disappeared, plunging the room into absolute darkness. Then, slowly, light came. Candles began to flicker to life, illuminating the hall, casting long, waving shadows across the tables and benches, filling the terrified faces of the dead scattered across the room, reflecting off of the blood that coated the floor. The man, this demon, stood. The candlelight seemed to have no affect on this man's armor, no reflection, no glint. It stayed the darkest of night despite the flames he passed, walking slowly down the middle row of tables, towards Alexander.
"So you are Sir Alexander," He said, his voice booming out, echoing off of the walls, filling the space with it's resonance, "I've been watching you for a while now, but recently I felt it was time for a meeting,"
"I am Alexander, why have you done this to my home? Where is your army?" Alexander said, his emotions coming through more clearly in his voice than he'd have liked, his eyes filling with tears.
"I need no army to dispense of mere mortals," The figure laughed, stopping a few paces from Alexander.
"Mortals? What do you claim to be?" Alexander shouted, tightening his grip on his blade.
"I am Sleep, the incarnation of death and balance," He said, his voice softening slightly, and although you could not see through his helm, his smile was evident in his speech.
"You claim to be a god?" Alexander scoffed, his grief turning steadily to fury.
"No. I am no god, but I am no mortal. My god, her name lost in time, gave me power so long as I carried out her will in the mortal world," He explained. His stance was odd, he simply stood, as if speaking to a friend, completely unprepared to battle. Alexander felt he could kill the madman in a single strike, but something stayed his hand. As angry and sorrow stricken as he was, he needed to know more. Had this strange being truly been responsible for all of this death? Or had a siege taken place and this man, a delusional squatter, taken up residence?
"Your god is a cruel one," Alexander spat at the man.
"She is not cruel, she loves life and finds it difficult to destroy. This is why she created me, to keep the balance, even when that means death and destruction," He said, spreading his hands in an open manner, as if he were genuinely trying to convince the knight of his beliefs, "I am not evil, it is my job to keep balance. Unfortunately, much of the time the balance of light and dark in the world is skewed toward the light. This is thanks to Wake, my counterpart and the woman whom is responsible for life and power," He looked to the left and, as if from thin air, a woman appeared, garbed in a dress of sky blue, and even in the dim light, she stood out like a shining star. Her beauty took Alexander by surprise and almost convinced him of the words this dark warrior spoke. She was no mortal human.
"Sleep, it's so nice to see you again," She crooned softly, her voice like a melody, as she strode to Alexander's side, resting a hand on the shoulder of his armor. So light a touch, and yet it felt as if she were reaching through the metal to his skin.
"Stay out of this, Wake. I know he is yours, but you have given too freely again. He must be destroyed," Sleep said, irritation creeping into his voice.
"You will not take him as you have his kingdom," She said, shaking her head, her golden locks swaying with the motion, "Our mistress sent me to speak to you before you carry out your role,"
"What of the Mistress, why did she not come herself?" Sleep asked, his tone doing a complete one-eighty.
"Our brother Artheus was taken recently, as you know," She said. The two seemed completely focused on each other, leaving Alexander in a state of extreme rage, sadness, and confusion, "The Mistress asks you to fill his place, as your jobs were quite similar,"
"Of course, she only need ask, but why has she not come herself?" He asked his question again, reaching up and removing his helm to reveal. A human face. He was strikingly normal, with short cropped blonde hair and an average face.
"You know her views on conflict, and you know how the Chosen are created," Wake said, a hint of sadness reaching her words.
"Ah," Was Sleep's only reply, and he replaced his helmet, "Then Alexander is the next?" He asked, a blade appearing in his hand in a puff of smoke, a shortsword, a gladius to be exact.
"You know the way this takes place, Gabe?" Wake asked softly, stepping away from Alexander, toward Sleep.
"I do, it was the same when I took the role from Artheus," Sleep, or Gabe, responded, reaching his free hand to Wake, who took it for a moment and then disappeared, the same as when she came, into thin air.
"What-?" Alexander said, his grief and anger replaced entirely by confusion. And fear.
"If you cannot kill me as I am, you do not deserve the name of Sleep," Gabe said, readying his blade, "You have been chosen by the Mistress to replace me, but you must first be tested as a mortal before you can be trusted with the power of her blessing,"
"I-" Was all Alexander got out before Gabe attacked, spinning to the left, his blade streaking through the air with a deadly whistle, crashing into a sloppy, unprepared block from Alexander. Without a moment of hesitation, Gabe spun the other way, slicing through air as Alexander ducked the swing, responding with an upward thrust with his blade toward Gabe's chest. Unfortunately, Gabe saw it coming and continued his spin, knocking the blow away with a backhand from his metal coated fist.
Recovering from the parried stab, Alexander dove past Gabe, using his momentum from the thrust, and rolled to his feet several yards away. Still unrelenting, Gabe rushed toward Alexander, slashing downward at him, to which Alexander replied by blocking the blow with his armored forearm and a sloppy one handed swing at Gabe's legs. Taken slightly off-guard, Gabe jumped over the swing, leaving him open to the powerful rush Alexander planned next, barging into him with his shoulder and throwing him several feet onto his back, his blade skittering away across the floor, stopping only when it wedged itself into the corpse of an advisor. Rather than giving him time to get up, Alexander leaped forward, driving his blade down through the man's chest.
Panting, Alexander backed away from the man, leaving his longsword protruding from Gabe's chestplate. Slowly, it began to sink in where he was and all of the horrors of the place began to weigh on him again. The blur of battle and the confusion of the confrontation fading away. He was about to begin checking for survivors when Wake appeared again, standing over the body of Gabe, a sad expression on her face.
"He fought well below his skill level," She said with a sigh, "I knew he was ready to relinquish his status, but I had no idea he would relinquish it so easily,"
"Or he became so used to relying on his gifts that he forgot what it was like to fight as a man," Came a new voice, also distinctly feminine, but this time from the throne. Spinning on his heel, Alexander came face to face with another woman, this one far stranger and less human than Wake. She wore no clothes but bore no marking of a human, no belly-button, no nipples, and her crotch was smooth. On her face she wore a white mask with no markings and no eye holes. Her hair, a strange ghostly shade of white, floated gently about her as if caught in a soft, upward breeze.
Slowly, she drifted over to the corpse of the dead Gabe, her feet floating several inches above the blood-coated floor. With a wave of her hand, the sword slid from Gabe's chest and tossed itself away, clattering to the floor. Then, to Alexander's shock and awe, the once dead knight rose from the ground, heaving himself upright to face this otherworldly being.
"My Mistress," He said, bowing deeply to her.
"Gabe, you gave in easily, was it your wish to relinquish Sleep?" The 'Mistress' asked softly, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"I have served you for a millennia, my Lady, and if it were your wish for me to continue my service as Sleep, it would be my honor," He said hurriedly, sounding embarrassed.
"It is my wish for you to be happy, Gabe," she said with a smile in her tone, "If you are so eager to take on a new role, it shall be,"
"Thank you, my lady," He said, bowing again.
"And you, Alexander," She turned her head slowly to gaze at the knight, "You have done well in your life, but it is time for you to take on a new role,"
"But why?" Alexander said softly, his sense of awe and respect for this being completely replacing every other emotion, blurring out the horrid place in which he stood, surrounded by the dead.
"You have been gifted by Wake from birth. She gave generously to you, and to an extent, your kingdom," The being said, gently drifting over to Alexander, stopping a few feet in front of him, "And because none could stand against these gifts she gave, the balance of power in this world was skewed, and should you have continued, the world would be a very different place, a place lacking balance. That is why Sleep came for your kingdom, that his why it had to fall. But you don't need to fall with it. With the gifts Wake gave you, you have done something extraordinary, you upheld a sense of honor, something many who have received the same gifts do not do,"
"And that is the only reason you progressed as far as you have," Chimed in Gabe from behind, "I did not want to strike your kingdom because of all the good and truth in it. But truth becomes corrupt and that was all too apparent when the queen poisoned your king and assumed control. Had I not struck before you arrived, she would have had a squad of crossbowmen ready to receive you home,"
"It is with this mercy that I hoped to sway you to pledge yourself to me, to take onto yourself the weighty responsibilities of Sleep. Although Gabe didn't know until recently that this was my plan," The Mistress explained, "You are an honorable being, one that the world does not deserves, and you are capable of doing the unthinkable when you know it is in the name of what is right and just. It is with these words that I ask, pledge yourself to me, become Sleep, and bring balance to the world,"
"I-I don't think I can," Alexander stuttered.
"You are free to relinquish the gifts I give you and the responsibilities at any time, as my other devoted can tell you. You are not bound to me, though rogue activities using the gifts I bestow is a horrendous offense," She said, almost seeming to be pleading with him to convince him.
"In the name of balance I serve you?" Alexander asked hesitantly.
"In the name of balance you serve," She nodded.
"Then I will serve," Alexander said, shakily dropping to one knee, his mind overwhelmed by what was happening. A god asking him, in person, to serve under them in their name. And if their words were true, it was meant to be.
"On this day I name you Sleep, Alexander Henry," She said, her voice echoing through the halls. And then she stepped aside, just as Gabe charged forward, plunging his blade into Alexander's chest, through his armor, with the force of a god. And the world went dark.
"Rise, Sleep, guardian of Balance, bringer of death," Echoed the words of the Mistress through the black, and he awoke. The world blurring into focus around him. He lay in a hall of white stone, lined with statues of marble, a soft red carpet leading to a simple wooden round table at the center of the vast space. Around the table sat eleven people, two of whom Alexander recognized as Gabe and Wake as well as the Mistress.
"Welcome to the family," She said softly, her voice, despite as quiet as she spoke, carried through the air like a soft summer breeze.
Sleep's Abilities:
Sleep's powers include extreme reflexes and strength as well as control over the elements to bring destruction to the world. He is, generally speaking, the apocalypse.
Sleep's Weaknesses
Despite being chosen by a god, Sleep has many human weaknesses. The foremost being that his body is not indestructible. He can be "killed" by most normal means.
Another being his lack of body armor. While he is extremely fast and has good reflexes, a full strike to his chest can be a game-changer.
He also lacks non-element based ranged attacks. Meaning if he can't throw a rock at you or blast you with wind, he's pretty well unable to hurt you.
Weapons of Balance:
Besides his control of elements, he uses his clawed gauntlets to inflict terrible damage, and because of his strength, a single raw punch can kill most mortals.
Sleep's Tendencies and Personality:
Sleep will carry out his mission regardless of what stands in his way. His goal is balance, and if that means killing a thousand innocents, he is not above it. He does not take risks and does his best to avoid uncalled for killing or damage. Beyond this, he is almost always in a good mood and likes to joke around when not fighting.
2
Sleep vs. Normal Guy Man
(Completed - Victory)
- Spoiler:
- "You sensed it, didn't you," Wake asked softly, appearing to my left atop the skyscraper, the city lights twinkling below us, the clamor of day to day life a distant thrum in the night.
"Of course I sensed it," I replied, leaning on the railing before me, my gaze fixed on the starry horizon outside of the city.
"You're going to kill him aren't you?" She pressed, sadness in her voice.
"Of course I'm going to kill him," I responded, rolling my eyes.
"You can't let just one go?" She pressed, laying a hand on mine, drawing my gaze to her. She looked into my eyes with the hope of seducing me into leaving this one go, as that f***ing Rein had done.
"You're too forgiving," I responded harshly, drawing my hand from under hers and turning away, "He's drawn a following, just like someone else who was allowed to grow unhindered,"
"You're killing them all?!" She responded loudly, her voice cracking in despair.
"We wouldn't have this cursed magic in the world if you'd let me kill the f***ing necromancers instead of letting them grow until they unbalance the world," I spat back, "Should never have given them magic in the first place,"
"You are balance, not justice," She responded, equally harsh, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me to face her. Her flawless pale skin glistening with tears, the moonlight shadowing her silvery dress and turning her golden hair white.
"They die tonight, that's the last word on the issue," I responded, pointing a finger to the horizon, "Take away their magic and there won't be as many superpowered fucks out there,"
"We cannot reverse it, it would destroy the ecosystem and flow of energies," She responded, sounding hurt.
"Maybe if Rein would do her job, it wouldn't get so out of hand and so many wouldn't need to die," I shot back.
"You act as if I have some say over how Rein behaves!" Wake responded angrily, her teary eyes shifting from sadness to aggression.
"You voted to create her, vote to let me get rid of her," I said, my hand staying directed to the distance, "I know the rules, I've been informed in my short stay,"
"Just because she scorned you doesn't make it right to destroy her," Wake responded, getting in my face.
"That's not why- She never- What do you know about it? This has nothing to do with that," I stumbled over my words, lowering my hand and taking a step back.
"Go, murder another innocent, get on with your duty," She spat, disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving me alone and angry atop the building. Shaking my head, I turned and stepped up onto the rail, gazing out into the city. With a frustrated scream, I leaped off into open space, dropping instantly hundreds of stories to the street below, slowing and floating down gently about ten feet off of the ground, invisible to the passerby's.
I was about to take off when something curious caught my eye. To my left, on a street corner stood a man with shaggy blonde hair and stained clothes, a joint hanging halfway out of his mouth, his eyes locked on me. Cautiously, I moved to the right, watching him closely as his head turned, following me. In one jump, I cleared the street and landed right in front of him.
"Woooah dude," He said without flinching, taking a drag from his joint, "This sh*t is stronger than I thought," He laughed, looking at the pungent drug stick.
"How?" I asked, scrutinizing this disgusting individual. He had no sensible control over magics, no superhuman or godly abilities, nothing, and yet he could still see me. Regardless, he had to be dealt with, and I swung toward him, freezing my claw only inches away from his throat.
"Awh man, that claw is tight," He laughed, nodding in the way stoners do. It wasn't right, he wasn't unbalancing anything, he was just existing. In fact, he had to be the most neutral person I'd ever seen. And then he did something I never could have expected.
He punched me.
A weak, halfhearted uppercut that connected with my jaw, jerking my head slightly and surprising me more than anything. Snarling, I took a step back, ripping my clawed sleeves off, casting them aside and putting up my fists in front of me in the classic boxer pose.
"Ya want some, mate?" He asked, skipping from foot to foot, shadowboxing the air in front of him in what I could only interpret as an attempt to look threatening. After a moment of this, he paused, lifting one knee in front of him and raising his arms above his head, pointing his fingers toward me, a soft "Whhhuaaaaaaaa" Emanating from his mouth, his joint dropping to the pavement, "f***,"
With that, I stepped forward, launching a devastating left cross into his jaw, rotating him in a complete circle. With a forearm block, I stopped his flailing arm as he came back to face me, trying to land a lucky shot with his momentum. With his other hand, he tried to, as far as I could tell, karate chop me in the head. None of his fighting technique made any sense at all and it threw me off considerably. I ducked back to avoid the chop and paused, watching him punch the air for a moment.
"Had enough f***er? I got more fer ya right 'ere," He said, acting as if the strike to his jaw hadn't happened. I'd limited my power back to human levels, but Jesus Christ, this dude could take a hit. Before I could respond, he jumped toward me, swinging wide with his right, trying to hook his fist into my head. I ducked under the blow and attempted to return, but had to sidestep a strange, flailing left uppercut under his right hook, which he then swiped back to try to catch me unaware, even though the backhand had no force behind it. I laughed aloud and stepped toward him, swinging my right leg around to hook my foot around his heel and drove my palm straight into his chest, knocking him backward onto the ground, his head bouncing off the concrete sidewalk.
While we'd been fighting, a considerable crowd had gathered to watch the man flail at his invisible assailant. No one made an effort to intervene, several people placing money next to him on the ground. With the man apparently unconscious, the crowd applauded, a couple people walking over to try to help him up.
I didn't stick around, though, I had a date with a knight that I couldn't miss.
Sleep vs. Resonance
(Completed - Victory)
- Spoiler:
- A soft rain fell as I approached the old warehouse in the docks district. I had no idea what this shithole city was even called, but it stunk of sin, human suffering saturating the air. Skyscrapers reached into the sky behind me, forming a dismal gray concrete backdrop to what was sure to be a grand battle. It fit well with the suffocating depression that permeated the very ground on which this place was built. Homeless men and women dodged away as I passed darkened alleys, despite being lowly humans, they could sense something was about to happen, something they should probably get away from.
"What a noble abode for a knight," I laughed as I approached the area the energy was emanating from. I could feel others there as well, powerful magic users. I shook the water from my hair, clenching my fists as I continued, coming to the main doorway guarded by two men armed with blades of the medieval era.
"Halt!" Bellowed one, a larger man wearing a dark hoodie and jeans, a black beard poking from the shade under his raised hood. He and his cohort tightened their grips on their blades, but kept them sheathed.
"What business have you here?" Asked the other guard, this one skinnier than the other, though dressed identically and with a similar beard. His eyes glinting dangerously beneath his hood, lightning streaking across the tumultuous skies, the crash of thunder following almost instantly, the misting rain thickening to a downpour.
"I'm here to kill the man who calls himself Resonance," I said bluntly. The slithering sound of metal on leather filling my ears as they drew their blades, simple shortswords that shone in the low light, droplets of water adorning the razor sharp blades.
"You'll do no such thing, nave!" Bellowed the heavier set man, taking a step toward me, slashing his blade downward toward my shoulder. With a snarl, I reached up and gripped the blade, stopping the swing in midair, the man's shocked expression clearly visible as another bolt of lightning streaked overhead.
"You are not worthy to stand against me," I hissed, bringing my other hand up in a streak of silver, jamming the tips of my fingers through the bottom of his jaw and into his brain, his eyes rolling back in his head as the life faded from him. His friend jumped away with a cry of fear, his free hand going to his side, his palm facing toward me, his sword held out before him, as if it would stop me should I attack him. In his hand formed a fireball, flickering to life, struggling to survive in the downpour of rain, "After seeing that, you'd challenge me as well?" I asked, yanking the sword from the dead man's grip and tossing his body aside. I turned to face my new opponent, his fireball slowly growing in size.
With a flick, I tossed the sword into the air, catching it by the hilt in my right hand. It was now that he decided to attack, hurling the fireball at me as if throwing a ball. The swirling lump of fire expanded tenfold, coming to about the size of a large dog before it reached me, passing over me like a soft breeze, leaving me completely unharmed, but scorching the blade I held in my hand. With a smirk, I drew in a deep breath. The man realized what was about to happen and turned to run into the warehouse, just opening the door when I unleashed a torrent of blue flame accompanied by an unearthly howl, the fire completely obliterating the fleeing enemy and sending the doors rocketing inward, knocking them off of their hinges and causing them to fall to the floor, charred and on fire. The blast of fire extended through almost half of the warehouse, sending the occupants fleeing in different directions, screams and shouts filling the air as they tried to prepare for whatever was attacking.
Finally, I cut off the flamethrower, clamping my mouth shut, ending the howl and stream of fire, leaving the smoldering remains of the doorway and the red hot concrete before me, several charred bodies laying off to the sides where they dove in an attempt to avoid the fire. Without hesitating, I stepped through the doorway, my metal boots sizzling on the glowing floor, leaving imprints in the melting concrete. I spun the sword casually in my grip as I walked, watching as the several dozen occupants stared in shocked horror at me, their weapons at the ready.
"Give me Resonance and you can all leave," I said, my voice booming out, causing several people to jump, and rattling the windows high above us. Besides the limited light coming from these foggy windows, the warehouse interior was dark, the candles placed around had been blown out by the rush of air from the flame breath, and most of the light came from the hot cement on which I stood, filling the air with a soft orange glow. Further in the warehouse was a loft on which an office was built, a candle still alight in it's single window, the corrugated steel that made up the walls thick with rust, several holes allowing limited view to the inside.
"You'll not take our master!" Shouted a nearby woman, garbed in a long red dress, her hair a deep scarlet to match, yellow flames flickering in her palms. She moved toward me slowly, the flames growing in size, enveloping her pale hands and licking at her sleeves.
"No!" Bellowed a new voice, from high above. I glanced up to find the man I sought standing at the door to the office, wearing some metal boots and armed with a longsword sheathed on his back. Besides these, he had clearly adapted tot he modern ages well, wearing mostly present day clothing, "Who are you to attack my people?"
"I am Sleep," I responded matter-of-fact.
"That's a weird name," He responded, clearly a jab at me, as he descended the grate metal stairs to the warehouse floor, his people moving out of his way as he walked, the metal boots clanging loudly with each step. A bolt of lightning lit the warehouse momentarily, blinding everyone inside. Eventually, he stopped, ten or eleven yards in front of me, in the middle of the warehouse, turning dramatically to face me.
"You're Resonance, I take it?" I asked, "The self proclaimed knight?"
"I am," He responded, "And who do you claim to be, Sleep?" He narrowed his eyes, looking me up and down, blood still dripping from my left claw, a scorched blade in my right.
"I am Sir Alexander Henry, Knight to the dead Lord Richard V of Samanath, wielder of the dragon's claws, and physical incarnation of the element of Balance," I responded, bowing deeply as Resonance snorted.
"Here I thought I was the only true knight alive these days," He laughed dryly, ignoring my bow.
"Claiming such an honorable title after disgracing your kingdom is shameful," I said sharply, watching as his neutral expression turn to a glare.
"What do you know of my disgrace?" He spat, a look of disgust settling over his face.
"I know you were outcast and stripped of rank by your superiors thanks to your affiliation with the dark arts," I said, walking slowly toward him, dragging the tip of the blade I clutched in my right hand along the ground, sending sparks skittering across the cooling concrete.
"Did you just come here to insult me before I kill you?" He asked, shaking his head.
"I came here to balance the world. You've grown to a level of power that I can no longer ignore, despite my sister's reassurance that you are neutral," I explained, still stalking toward him, "It takes only one stroke, one man, to tip the balance in the favor of light or dark, and I sense far too much light in you,"
"You claim to be the god of death?" Came the voice of the woman garbed in crimson.
"I am the Incarnation of Balance, my dear," I said, stopping in my tracks to turn and look at her, "I balance the world, should good overtake evil, or evil overtake good," I was about to continue when a loud pop sent me staggering, taken entirely by surprise. As I turned to face Resonance, I realized that it was he who caused the miniature explosion as he did it again, and again, snapping his fingers, blasts of sound buffeting me and pushing me back, out the door of the warehouse and into the rain again. He slowly advanced toward me, snapping repeatedly, forcing me back as his cronies followed close behind him, ready to lend support.
"Weakling!" Screamed the lady in red, hurling a fireball at me, similar to the one the man used earlier, only larger and more intense. Just like before, the flames passed over me without so much as singing a hair, and like before, I retaliated in kind. This time, though, I brought the blade I held down, point first, into the ground, shattering it with a thunderous explosion, a deadly orange glow bursting through the cracks in the ground, a fissure shooting off from where the blade pierced the concrete, firing like a lightning bolt toward the crowd, a streak of orange following it. Just as it reached them, it exploded upward, splitting the ground asunder, revealing a boiling pit of lava hundreds of feet below, shards of stone flying off in every direction, piercing cloth, skin and bone as they went. Several of the men and women fell into the fissure, screaming to their fiery demise, others fell victim to the stone projectiles.
Resonance, though, managed to escape, rolling out of the way of the fissure and propelling anything that flew his way the opposite direction which his annoying sound manipulation. Scowling, he drew the longsword from his back, tapping the tip off of the ground, sending off a soft hum that warped the air, displacing the rain as it fell, opening a bubble of dry around us for several dozen yards. The vibration of the blade also made the air feel thick and any movement sluggish.
"Get out of here, all of you, I've got this!" He yelled to his compatriots, pacing slowly toward me, several yards from the glowing fissure. Lightning streaked overhead, the boom of thunder signalling his rush as he closed the space between us in an instance, swinging his blade from the left, a streak of silver and a hiss of death. Reacting immediately, I blocked the blow with my forearm, realizing only after I'd done it what his plan was. Metal on metal, it turns out, makes a really loud noise, a noise he can control. It was this explosion of sound that rocketed me backwards, sending me crashing through two warehouses before coming to rest in the wrecked remains of a cargo container. As I opened my eyes, I could see him charging through the wreckage, ready to end the battle. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to give up, and I heaved myself to my feet, shoving the warped metal away as if made of paper, taking in a deep breath before unleashing another torrent of blue flame, far larger than the last, this one engulfing the entirety of the pier, the force of the fire obliterating the two warehouses I'd flown through as well as Resonance's hideout. The brightness of the flames filling the night, lighting the pier with a bright blue, casting long shadows of the other buildings and equipment before flickering out of existence, the only evidence of the warehouses being melted stone columns. Slowly, the whole peir began to slide down, much of the cement having been melted to a point that it was like wet clay, drooping on it's supports into the sea, filling the air with the hiss of water on fire, steam exploding up from the edges of the pier.
And yet, in the middle of the destruction, stood Resonance, slightly toasted, but still fully alive, his blade, glowing a bright white, clutched in his grip. As soon as his eyes locked onto me, he swung his sword overhead and brought it down on the melting stone beneath him, sending a shockwave of sound in my direction, tossing me backward and upward, launching me high into the sky above the warehouse, the sound of the hit ringing in my ears. I gritted my teeth and regained my composure, falling to the ground with a crash, shattering the concrete under me and leaving a sizeable crater. I couldn't afford to let him have any distance, he had somehow survived my fire breath and seemed more comfortable keeping me at range, which suggested that he was weaker at hand to hand combat, and more than likely didn't have more than a superpowered human's physical strength. With my strategy in hand, I launched myself forward with a powerful kick, crashing through the tin wall of the warehouse I'd landed behind, streaking out of the darkness straight at Resonance, who was hunkered down and ready for me. I landed just out of range of his blade, ducking low to avoid his first swing and sliding on my knees toward him, my claws ready to tear into his waist and leg. Unfortunately, he saw what was coming and spun out of the way, using the momentum to swing at me again. This time I had no choice but to block, though instead of just straight up blocking, I reached out and gripped the blade, muffling the following explosion and causing most of the vibration to stay in the blade, rattling it around in his grip as if it were alive. With that, I pulled hard, yanking him toward me and driving my other claw straight through his chest, through his heart, and out the back of his shirt, a spray of blood exploding from my hand as it tore through the cloth, splattering the ground beneath us with red, the blood sizzling softly as it hit the hot cement.
"Balance has been restored," I whispered softly, laying the body to the side, his eyes still wide with shock and pain, "Rest well, Resonance, I'll see you in the Halls of the Dead," With that, I stood and made my way off of the pier, the rain growing in strength as if Wake mourned the loss of another hero.
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CURRENTLY UNDEFEATED
ACCEPTING CHALLENGES
Damxge- Rook
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