//------------------------------// // Gambit // Story: Calming Sigh-- with a Breath of Fire // by Laze Around //------------------------------// The cool breeze of the night felt good. The way it caught the tail of my coat, gently dragging it along, made for an entertaining watch. I’ve never worn a coat before. I once had a cloak, so many years ago, but it didn’t have any magical property. It got worn and torn by use and time, back when I dared to explore the farthest West of Equestria. The moon was shining brightly, an illumination in the evening gloom. I felt so relaxed, like a heavy weight had been taken from my shoulders. Yet, at the same time, I felt so hollow; at ease, but without the satisfaction. The death of Celestia, of this Equestria’s version of Celestia, did not give me that satisfaction of revenge like I thought it would. Maybe it was because it wasn’t my Equestria’s Celestia, or perhaps it was because, like they said, revenge was an empty goal. But that doesn’t really matter, I guess. That wasn’t my primary focus at the moment. Something was coming from the darkness of the Everfree. I could practically taste the anger permeating the air as the overwhelming presence seems to come closer. Hakumen stepped out of the woods, his strides at ease and without haste. He leaped over the rickety bridge that hung over the chasm separating the Everfree from the Castle of the Two Sisters. He looked at the light coming deep inside the Ruins and proceeded into its direction. He came upon the chamber where the vessels of the Elements of Harmony were supposed to be contained. Their altar laid farther into the room, beyond the source of light that illuminated the ruined chamber. He took a moment to stare at the light, his body making a momentary jerk of surprise. “No.” he said before he covered the distance between him and the light. He stopped before it and knelt down. His hand hovered over the cooling corpse of Celestia, still donned in her battle armor. The light had been her flaming mane, now slowly dimming as the light of her magic had disappeared. “Who did this?” Hakumen growled. He stood up and looked around the room, searching. There was nothing that the ruins could tell him. There had been no fight, no struggle. It had been a clean kill. Celestia didn’t realize the danger that she was in before it was too late. I took some satisfaction in how he turned rapidly, the eyes one his body shifting and taking in everything that they could. It would have been a good laugh to see how long he would keep doing that, but it wouldn’t be very fun. The sound of my clapping hands echoed in the ancient room, making Hakumen turn abruptly at the empty corner shrouded by shadows. I grinned under the hood of my yellow raincoat, willing myself to slowly phase out of the shadow. The way his body jerked and his hand going straight to his sword made me laugh. “Yo, Hacky.” I said, stepping away from the corner. “Hisashi na, eh?” There was an explosion of bloodlust. It washed over me live a wave and even managed to blow Celestia’s mane outwardly, away from Hakumen’s position. “TERUMI!” he roared. “Pfft,” I snorted, “Good guess, bud, but you’re completely wrong.” I pulled my hood down; showing him my combed down and gelled hair, the stupid ahoge persisted in staying up. I placed my hands on my hips and waited for the inevitable explosion. “RYU!!!!” There we go. “Yo.” I greeted again, lazily. “You look pretty high strung there, Hacky. You really should relax for a bit. Stress if very bad for the health.” “YOU KILLED CELETIA!” he roared at me. His bloodlust looked like it was coming off of him like mist. I let it wash over me like a breath of fresh air. “How dare you accuse me of murder!” I exclaimed indignantly, shifting my body to the side and clutching my chest with hurt feelings. “Did you actually see me commit such a heinous act? Do you have any proof of your claim?” “Don’t act like you don’t know!” Hakumen said, his voice still high and shouting. “Why did you kill Celestia?!” “Again with the accusations.” I shook my head, waving my finger with a tut and scolding him. “If you’re not careful, Hakumen, you might hurt someone’s feelings.” “Then are you saying that you didn’t kill Celestia?” he asked. I snorted. “Oh come now, let’s not be too hasty. I never said I didn’t.” My body exploded into motion, a burst of air exploding behind me and propelling me forward. I lashed out with my left foot just in time for Hakumen to raise his arm in defense. A glyph of [Zanshin] appeared over Hakumen’s forearm, waiting for my shoe to make contact. Then I stopped. Not because of Hakumen’s skill, but by something that I used on myself. I stopped in mid-air, suspended by an unseen force. My own telekinesis held me at bay and stopped me from touching the skill on Hakumen’s arm. “What?” Hakumen asked, his glyph fading as the skill’s duration only lasted for a moment. I smirked at his confusion and twisted. Using my left foot as leverage, the foot closest to the other Displaced, I swung my right one and nailed the masked warrior in the side of his head. The force of my kick sent the armored Displaced into a rolling tumble, continuing until he rolled straight into the altar of the Elements. The stone structure of the altar was obliterated by the Hakumen’s plated body, sending the stone vessels of the Elements scattering all over the floor. I landed by Celestia’s corpse, stopping one of the stone vessels by stomping my foot on it. I waited for the dust to settle and to see Hakumen stand. The man didn’t disappoint as he was back on his feet and already mid-leap before I could get a better look at him. With eyes shining from my [Mind’s Eye] I traced the path of Hakumen’s sword and moved my body slightly, shifting far enough that the blade won’t reach me. Ookami, Hakumen’s tip-less nodachi, cut nothing but air. I was prepared for the pressure that followed the swing and braced for it. The blast of wind succeeded only to blow the tail of my coat into the air but didn’t do any harm on me at all. I kicked the stone orb forward as soon as I saw Hakumen’s leg move. The Element’s stone vessel rolled straight into the spot where Hakumen’s foot was going to land, causing the man to crush it in his step. The follow up swing he made swung wide and missed me by a mile because of the disturbance of his footing. I took that moment to point my right hand’s index and middle finger at the eye that was on his right shoulder; his sword arm. “[Lightning]” I said gleefully. A massive bolt of static erupted from my fingers, straight into the eye on Hakumen’s shoulder and through it. The other Displaced screamed in pain as he flew backwards, discharges of electricity dancing around his body. His right arm shuddered violently, but he impressed me when the hand hold his sword remained firmly closed. The eye that had been my target on his shoulder was covered in soot, and I was displeased to see that other than that the eye remained intact. “Damn,” I muttered. “You gotta love an indestructible body. No blood or any of that messy stuff at all.” I turned around and walked over to Celestia’s corpse, ignoring Hakumen’s writhing body. I could have capitalized his prone position, but kicking a man while he was down wasn’t all that fun. Not unless I could see his face twist in pain. But the mask kinda made that point moot. “Thank you for luring him here, Celestia.” I said to the corpse as I picked her up by her broken neck with one hand. I wiggled her for a bit and watched head roll side to side. “I hope you don’t mind where you’re going, but I really need you out of the way.” Then, for Hakumen’s viewing pleasure, I opened my mouth wide and connected the shadows in my mouth to my inventory pouch before swallowing the corpse whole. I made sure to add some noisy slurping sounds just for Hakumen to hear. I patted my belly after my little swallowing act, burping out a small bit of air as the bloodlust in the air seem to multiply. Odd growling noises started coming from Hakumen’s body. The little mists of power that was coming from his armor were thicker now and his muscles seem to be shifting under the cloth. “I showed you mercy and allowed you to leave with your life.” He said as he rose back to his feet. His almost-seven feet in height looked bigger under the oppressive air that was pushing down at me. “But you did not heed my warning and instead spat on what kindness and generosity that I’ve given.” “Says the guy who didn’t even let the Element Bearers manifest in this world. There is no Kindness of Generosity here.” I quipped, only to get ignored. “And now you killed one of the rulers of this world and devoured her body right before my eyes.” He said. “I’m sure that if you wait long enough you’ll see her again.” I said, ignoring his angry ranting. “But I hope you don’t mind her looking like shit since… well, she’ll literally be shit after she goes out the other end. Though, if you ask me, it would be an improvement. Just think of it as her moving up in the world and embracing her calling. She was a shitty ruler before, and now she has the chance to literally be one.” “RYU!” Hakumen roared. “I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!!” “What’s there to forgive, you dumbass.” I deadpanned. “I was doing it on purpose.” “I am the White Void, I am the Cold Steel, I am the Just Sword!” Hakumen chanted loudly, his rage palpable with every syllable. “With Blade in hand I shall reap this world of YOUR Sins and send you into a path straight to Oblivion!” “Oh my, you edited your mantra just for me?” I asked, flattered. I should be honored, but instead I just felt like laughing at how much he was pouring his hate towards me. “Go on, continue. Introduce yourself to the only person here who already knows you.” “I AM HAKUMEN!” “Hello Hakumen.” I said in a sarcastic drawl with a lazy grin on my face. “Would you care to share your thoughts to us this evening?” “I WILL BE YOUR END!!!!” “…And that’s why we all need therapy.” Hakumen went down into his stance, a palpable aura of rage and power cloaking his very form. During his mantra he had gone and activated his Overdrive mode. The man that I was facing now was the Unlimited version of Hakumen. With an increased level of Power, Speed and a variety of new skills available to him, Hakumen has declared that he was going to kill me dead before the night ends. I clapped my hands gleefully and laughed loudly. Just what I wanted. “No wonder Terumi was a prick. If this is how people react most of the time then I can really understand why he loves screwing with peoples’ heads.” “You think this is funny?!” Hakumen asked loudly, his front foot creating a spread of cracks along the stone floor as he placed his weight on it. If he thought that a show of power was going to scare me, then he would be wrong. “Maa, maa...” I waved my left hand dismissively in front of my face, a massive grin stretched on my lips. “Lighten up, Hacky. If you get any angrier you might get a stoke. But never the less, I suppose that I should return the favor for you little display.” I crossed my arms before my face and squared my feet. My legs bent and braced themselves on the ground. The stone castle shook… because I wanted to look impressive. I let my magic seep from my skin even as I continuously used my [Quake] spell into the ground. My coat flared and thrashed from the winds that I conjured up along with my magic leak. Hakumen actually looked wary as he tried to keep his balance. Then, I began my own chant; as a tribute to my opponent. “I am the Great Wood” Hakumen twitched. “I am the Intimidating Pillar of Power” Hakumen growled. “I am the Great Phallic Idol!” My seeping magic shot to the sky, longer and higher than the one Hakumen displayed. It became a beacon of awe and majesty, exposed to many in the miles around. I threw my arms to the side and bent myself backwards, to the point where my pelvis was jutting out. “Like a tent in the pants, I have risen to the challenge to bend you over and make you cry like a bitch.” I failed to keep my laughter in check and started howling with mocking hilarity. The way Hakumen was trembling didn’t help matters. “You Can Call Me Daddy!” The pillar of light dissipated and I shifted my body to send my right leg forward before slapping my thigh. A loud smack echoed in the suddenly silent castle. “Now come here and get rekt!” … … … “Ryu…” Hakumen spoke, his tone dead and lifeless. “Yes?” I jumped back quickly and awkwardly as the ground before me suddenly exploded into a pile of dust and debris. Before I could even land, Hakumen was already in my face. He grabbed me by the collar of my suit and then pulled me close to his faceless mask. He roared this to my face: “YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD!!!!!” “AND YOU’RE OUT OF CHARACTER!!” With one hand firmly keeping me in place, he used his sword arm to swing Ookami at our close distance with the intent of taking my head. I grabbed the hand that held my clothes and slipped out of his fingers. I barely managed to bend myself backwards to dodge the swing, but the shockwave that followed the attack sent me rolling and tumbling away from him. He was already there when I recovered, already swinging his sword at me. I made another close dodge and was sent tumbling once again. More swings came and I barely had any time to have my legs under me. There were too many close calls for me to be comfortable with, but I still managed to keep myself in one piece. The waves of pressure that came from Hakumen’s sword swings prevented me from really recovering fully, but I felt that if I ever braced myself for too long then Ookami would cut me in two. More stone, dirt, and parts of the castle was sent flying into the chasm surrounding the ruins by Hakumen’s relentless assault. The longer this lasted the more I was coming to regret ever staying here. I felt like bits and pieces of my life were being carved away for each close call that pass. My heart was beating wildly; muscles and nerves were strained by my use of magic just to keep up with Hakumen’s enhanced body. When I managed to get my feet under me again, I made a mistake and stumbled. Half a second gone and Hakumen was looming over me with his sword raised. His presence was overwhelming, like a massive figure in the veil of death. It was in that moment that I realized that I may have made a mistake in mocking him the way I did. But that didn’t matter to him. There was no way he could choke out the loud and hysteric laughter that was coming from my lips, the one that’s been playing ever since Hakumen’s first attack. The White Knight raised Ookami high. The moon behind him made his armor glitter in its ray and the man became a figure of both terror and majesty before my eyes. My life flashed before me; from the day I came to Equestria, my struggles, my quest for home, my training, the friends I made, the family that accepted me, to the fun but short times I experience with the Bearers. Tears trailed down my face as Hakumen swung down. My laughing ceased. Ookami bit down on my left shoulder. The blade sunk down and parted the cloth of my raincoat. It continued downwards and went past my shoulder, down my ribs, past my heart, stomach, hip and left leg. The ground beneath me exploded when the blade came down with a thunderous boom; the sword having finished its pass through me. When the dust cleared I saw my frozen smile reflect from Hakumen’s mask. He stared at me and took a long hard look. My right hand shakily came up and grabbed him weakly by his mask. My fingers trembled as my nails tried to find purchase. “You were a fool, Ryu.” He said to me. “And now you pay the price.” My mouth opened and moved. For a moment I tried to find the words that I wanted to say. “But, Ha-Hacky…” Then my fingers finally found something to hold on to. I grinned at him, one full of energy. Full of Life I showed him all of my front teeth in the smile. “I’m not dead yet.” Hakumen jerked back too late. “[BONEBREAK!!!]” For the first time in the evening, I made my own shockwave. However, unlike the ones made by Hakumen, mine connected to its intended target. With my right hand firmly wrapped around Hakumen’s masked face, there was no way for him to escape my point-blank telekinetic attack. The shockwave originated from Hakumen’s cranium, my attack going straight into his brain. The man reeled and screamed in pain, but my fingers remained firm. With a physical connection established close to his mind, I dove into his psyche and pulled. “[MONOPOLIZE!]” Memories not my own flashed before my eyes. Experiences that I never encountered poured into me, sharing wealth of knowledge for every second, minute, days, weeks and months that had been Hakumen’s history. I screamed. Hakumen screamed. Our minds were connected, both of us in great pain, but I was getting the better cut of the deal. With a roar of effort Hakumen’s free left hand found my torso and shoved me away. I went rolling down the cracked stone floor, dazed and with a great and splitting headache. “Gahh!” Hakumen thrashed and swung his sword wildly, one hand clutching his head. Wave after wave of air pressure bloomed with his every swing. I was laughing; still laughing even as I rolled out of control and slammed into a wall. Both my hands were on my head, my mouth alternating between choked laugher and screams of pain. I LEARNED… I LEARNED SO MANY THINGS!!! [Impact], [Corona Upper], [Comet Cannon], [Space Counter], [Asteroid Vision], [Big Bang Smash], [Particle Flare], [Planet Crusher], [Nacht Jager], [Nacht Rozen], [Schwarz Jagd], [Sturm Wolf], [Konig Flug], [Frostbite], [Ice Blade], [Violent Ice], [Crystal Strike], [Ice Fang], [Moon Song], [Kokuujin: Yukikaze], [Arctic Dungeon], [Hell’s Fang], [Gauntlets of Hades], [Inferno Divider], [Dead Spike], [Belial Edge], [Carnage Scissors], [Blood Kain], [Devoured by Darkness], [Sword Iris], [Ouroboros], [Venom Sword], [Serpent’s Benediction: Rising Fang], [Serpent’s Infernal Rapture], [Eternal Coils of the Dragons Serpent], [Hungry Darkness of a One-Thousand Souls], [Burning Heart], [Bang’s Shadowstep Jutsu], [Bang’s Tempest Kick], [Bang’s Unstoppable Double Palm Thrust], [Set Nail], [Fatal Eruption], [Steel Rain], [Bang’s infinite Chaos-Fist of the Void], [The Ultimate Bang], [Zanshin], [Guren], [Kishuu=Enma], [Renka], [Hotaru], [Zantetsu], [Tsubaki], [Kokuujin:Shippu], [Kokuujin Ougi:Mugen], [Kokuujin Ougi: Akumetsu]... So many… so many techniques that I don’t think I’ll ever even use. It hurts my head remembering them; remembering them using Hakumen’s memories. But the pain felt good. I stood up from my spot on the wall and saw Hakumen start to calm. He wasn’t swinging his sword anymore, but he was still clutching his head with one hand. “What did you do?” he asked me. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” “I did what I intended to do when I came here.” I told him. “I took your techniques and learned them. Since you weren’t willing to just hand them over, I took them.” I tapped my head and grinned at him. “Straight from the source.” Hakumen growled before shakily going back into his stance. “You are far too much like Terumi for my liking.” “[Mind Eater], right?” I asked. “It’s Terumi’s ability to steal memories of people and taking them for himself. Yeah, now that you mention it, I can definitely see the parallels between us. Though unlike him, I have diversity in my repertoire.” I raised my hands high and turned my body to the side. A sword manifest in my grasp made from my magic. From there it began to gather the energies in the air, using my [Leech] skill and empowering the blade. “That’s-?!” Hakumen exclaimed in disbelief. “[Kokuujin:]” I said with a wide and gleeful grin. “[Shippu!]” I swung the blade down and unleashed a concentrated wave of destructive energy. It washed over the stone floor of the ruined castle, kicking dust and debris as it went. Hakumen braced himself on the ground, the attack being too wide and too high for him to dodge, his head still probably throbbing in pain. The wave did nothing to his defense, but his feet were rooted to the ground unless he wanted to get blown away. The conjured sword shattered in my hands, it's energy spent. With the wave dissipating, I charged straight at Hakumen with a wide and vicious smile. But he was ready. He snapped his sword from his defense and made a horizontal slash at my body. It was an attack that I didn’t dodge, letting it hit my side. Hakumen completed his swing through my body, but my right leg connected to his masked face without any problem. He went for a returning swing, another attack that I didn’t dodge. The blade passed my body without obstruction and my next attack connected once again. This time it was a focused punch, Makoto Nanaya’s [Impact] drive. The charged fist dealt a heavy blow, strong enough to topple Hakumen and send him tumbling and skidding backwards. I threw a [Magic Ball] behind me and let it detonate. The flash of light elongated my shadow and connected it to Hakumen’s, where I used that connection as a path for my [Shadowwalk]. I appeared above the Knight even as he skidded on the ground, one hand raised high with another glowing and charged fist. But the man exploded into action and whirled into a spinning disk of legs. One clawed foot connected to my side, but like his blade it just sunk into my body and passed along without inflicting any damage. My fist lashed out and drove him straight into the ground. The floor collapsed under the weight of my blow, sending us down into the depths of the ruins. With the moon shining down at us into the hole, I grabbed Hakumen as we fell. I grinned at him and watched my reflection off his mask as the floor came closer and closer behind him. Hakumen made an effort to grab me by the collar of my suit, but his hand just passed through without even touching me. I kicked off his chest and added the force of the impact of his fall. One of the larger part of the collapsed floor was falling over my head, and I was left without much choice to dodge it. So I didn’t. I let the falling rock crash down on my head, the moon still illuminating the hole on the upper chambers, and I phased straight into the shadow of the falling debris without effort. The rocks fell and buried Hakumen in the rubble. Multiple tons of stones crashed down, kicking up dust and covering the place in smoke. I phased out from one of the shadows and stood in the wreckage, never really doubting that the heavy rocks did any sustaining damage to my opponent. I was proven right when one part of the hole erupted violently. I sat down on one of the rocks jutting out of the floor and waited for the man to appear again. “Shadows…” I heard him say. “You can use shadows…” I grinned and brushed away the dust on my coat. My suit was still clean and pristine, and there was no damage on my body whatsoever. “Neat trick, right?” I asked. “Thanks to one of my skills I can step in and out of shadows whenever I please. I’ve used it for sneaking, for travelling, for setting ambushes, and most of all…!” “You use it to dodge my attacks.” Hakumen said with a growl. “Where there’s light, there’s shadows.” I explained. “And where there’s shadows, there’s a path for me to escape through.” I pointed up the whole where we were in, up towards the moon shining down on us. “It doesn’t matter how strong the source of light is. As long as there’s an illumination I can use this skill whenever I want. And with the right set of clothes…” I pulled at my coat, pointing at the darker spots hidden inside. “You use your coat to cast a shadow over your own body…” he said. There was a tone of wonder and caution in his voice, and he was probably thinking of ways of how I utilize this skill of mine to the fullest. “That means…” “You can’t touch me.” I told him, loudly and confidently. “You’re blade can’t reach me, Hakumen!” This was why [Shadowwalk] was my trump card. It provided me with a perfect method to dodge. When my opponents thought that they had me, I took the pleasure of proving them wrong by killing them while I stood inside their shadows. It was nearly a perfect escape method, as well as an assassination method. All I had to do was make a light in front of my opponent. When their shadows were cast that was when I struck; either behind them or from inside the armor that they thought that would protect them. “You’re wrong, Ryu.” Hakumen said. “I can still reach you.” He raised his blade by the said of his head and took a stance. “[Time Killer], right?” I asked with a smile. I knew that there might not be a chance for me to dodge a conceptual attack, but so long as his blade can’t reach me I didn’t need to be afraid. “That’s pretty much the reason why I showed this to you. I can’t make a decisive attack that will put you down for good, and there was still a chance that you might use [Time Killer] on me when you get desperate enough. I can’t allow the attack to take me by surprise, that’s why I had to make you realize that you can’t touch me by conventional means.” “So you’re going to bet it all into a single moment?” he asked. “If your blade reaches me then I’m dead.” I said, “No, even worse. I would be deader than dead. My Present would be cut, my Future will never come to be, and my Past will unravel. I’ll be dead to the point where I never even existed. That’s the scary part about conceptual attacks; it hurts you deeper than any physical wounds ever could.” “And you’re just going to take it then, my attack?” he asked. “There’s no point in moving.” I said. “Like I said, it’s conceptual. If I move then you’ll just cut down the me of the past that stood where I’m currently standing, and that might still reach me. But if I don’t move from this spot, and still manage to dodge, then you’ll be left weakened by doing the attack. That would be my chance to end you once and for all.” “You’re insane…” “No,” I shook my head, “I’m desperate. There’s a difference.” “…” Hakumen stayed silent as his power flared. Ookami shined brighter than the light of the moon and I had to stop myself from reflexively move from my spot. Like I said, there was no point. This was a gambit meant to cut down what could have been days’ worth of battles. Shoving my hands in my pocket, I made sure that there were no exposed skin where he could aim at. The only spot available was my face. “This is the End!” Hakumen shouted. “Just take your swing!” “TIME KILLER!” I barely saw him move. And as I predicted, he aimed at my most vulnerable spot. My face was exposed since I pulled down my hood in the beginning of our fight. My hair could have triggered my skill, but that had been blown back by Hakumen’s assault. If he aimed high then the shadows on my scalp would swallow my forehead completely. If he aimed low, then the shadows under my chin would move up. So he made the most logical choice of attack and made a thrust for the bridge of my nose. Just like I wanted him to. As his blade approached, I saw with my [Mind’s Eye] where he would strike. I tilted my head upwards, the shadows of my scalp were crawling too slow to reach the area where the sword would touch. The same was with the shadows under my chin. But I already knew that. I already anticipated that. So I did something that I knew he didn’t think of. I opened my mouth and breathed out a tiny gout of flame. It didn’t stop Hakumen’s sword, nor was it meant to. With my head tilted upward, and with the fire coming out of my mouth, my nose cast a shadow right between my eyes. It was too late when Hakumen realized his mistake. My head was gone before his attack even connected. This was my win.