I wiped my forehead and took a long sip of water. As I looked down at my sword, I paused for a moment, lost in thought.
Apparently, that was an attack I used to enjoy using on criminals.
So using it again now… felt strange.
I didn't remember doing that, but Malachi had told me.
He had to take a break after our last clash, though that was going to be our final fight for the day anyway.
Now, it was Mirabel's turn.
She told me she would be going a little harder this time, mostly because Malachi had told her I didn't lose my memory just to start holding back. Whatever that meant.
I set the cup of water on the railing and walked toward the center of the training area.
Mirabel sighed, casually swinging the training sword in her hand.
"This thing feels off. Can't we just use our own weapons?"
I shrugged. "Don't see why not. It was Kivana who said we shouldn't."
Mirabel grinned and dropped the sword, crushing it effortlessly beneath her foot.
Then she raised her hand. Light coalesced in her palm, forming a radiant sword.
It wasn't the same one I remembered seeing her use before. This one was different. It looked... cooler.
The blade was long, straight, and tapered to a fine point. Silvery, with streaks of bright white coursing through it.
The guard resembled a stylized star, red with black and white rims curving upward like elegant wings.
The hilt was a swirl of red and white, spiraling around each other like a helix, and the pommel was a round, shining sphere, reflecting the same brilliance as the blade itself.
I admired it for a moment before summoning Shattered Darkness into my right hand.
She smiled.
"Alright, no rules this time, but I'd like to keep the destruction to a minimum."
She snapped her fingers.
In the blink of an eye, we were no longer on the planet.
We were standing on a star.
I only knew because of the heat. Not that it affected me, but the atmosphere felt vastly different.
"This is dangerous, is it not? What if I didn't know how to fly?"
She chuckled. "You always used to do this with us. In fact, I'm pretty sure me and you had our.."
She cut herself off and looked away.
"…Let's just start."
That was suspicious. At this point, she was not even trying to hide it. She was practically laying the hints out in rows and harvesting them.
Still, I decided to ignore the obvious and centered my stance.
She mirrored me and took a deep breath, though in space it was probably more like absorbing mana from the expanse itself.
Then she launched.
Her blade moved like a streak of light, blinding and fast. She screamed out her attack as she closed the distance.
"Star Plunger."
The tip of her sword glowed with a brilliant white energy, cutting through the air like a comet.
I barely dodged in time, grabbing her wrist and slamming her downward into the star.
Which felt... odd.
It wasn't solid. Just gas and light. But her mana had hardened the space beneath her just before the impact.
She bounced up quickly, grabbed my shoulder, and hurled me over her hip, slamming me into the surface.
Then she swung her blade down.
I twisted and blocked it mid-swing, pushing back with my sword. Then I opened my mouth
And a beam of malformed darkness erupted forward.
It almost slammed into her face, but she raised her sword and blocked it just in time.
I pushed up and swung down hard.
She redirected the strike, flicking it to the side.
At the same time, I formed a ribcage of darkness around my torso. Her next blow clanked loudly against it, causing her to stumble.
I retaliated immediately, launching the ribcage at her.
Then I manifested miniature black holes at the tips of each finger on my free hand.
I stepped forward and pressed my palm into her stomach, launching her skyward with immense force.
As she righted herself mid-air, I raised my sword.
Even though they were clearly going easy on me, I still felt bad about going all out. But if I didn't, I would lose instantly.
My blade shattered.
Fragments of darkness split off and danced through the air.
Then, in a flash, they reassembled, each piece shooting forward and piercing into her chest.
Blood sprayed out, then burned away instantly.
She coughed.
This sword had several traits tied to it.
It could fragment and still retain its full potency.
The blade also allowed me to fully control each shard with my mind, it was like invisible hands all moved them to my liking.
The individual shards were above even darkness itself, which caused a unique reaction when I channeled my mana through them.
They ascended.
They moved without delay, able to strike instantly so long as my blade remained shrouded in darkness.
Which it always was because the blade was darkness itself.
Even while standing on a star, this weapon ignored all concepts of distance.
The only downside was my inability to retain all that power. In short, it was basically a one-time thing.
Still, as Mirabel coughed, I did not feel as though I had won. That feeling was confirmed the moment she smiled.
"Your power... it is so much less than before. It is kind of scary."
In the very next moment, before my eyes could even shift, I caught the faint blur of her blade flying toward my neck from the corner of my vision.
My body was too slow to react. All I could do was summon a shield.
It formed instantly, and her blade bounced off of it, only for the shield to shatter beneath her second strike.
She swung again. I parried, spun, and pushed her back. Then I swung downward, but she dodged with elegance and lunged to my side.
Her blade pierced through me, stabbing into my side, and I was sent flying back as she tore it out.
Then I heard something.
From across the surface of the star, I heard her voice.
It sounded... melancholic.
"Event Horizon."
There was no delay between the words and the effect. In fact, the technique seemed to activate before she even finished speaking.
The world curved unnaturally. Space and time dilated around me. And in that bent reality, I felt her blade press against my neck.
That attack was it even possible to dodge?
"Come now," she said. "I will allow us to continue, but that was pitiful."
She stepped back and cracked her neck.
"Go on and use those powers. I will not get sentimental like Malachi."
This was insane. It felt strange to harness such overwhelming power, yet at the same time, my body felt so attuned to it.
It felt natural, like I needed it just to keep going, just to keep living.
Fighting her, clashing against her blade, brought out something deeper.
And I really, really hate to admit it but, it turned me on.
[Nicholas had become addicted, not just to swinging a sword but to being dominated by hers.]
I felt that the voice was taunting me, playing with my thoughts; however, in this case, these were pure.