The Abyssal Knight groaned and moaned, its voice warping, as it picked itself up off the ground. It pulled the massive sword out of the earth with one hand, the sheer strength required for such a feat shaking the ground below.
Muzazi stumbled back, holding out Luminescence protectively, only to stop when the back of his foot bumped into Regan's unconscious form. He tried to gulp, but his throat was far too dry.
"Boy," the Abyssal Knight wheezed, voice skipping like some kind of recording. "Boy, boy, boy, boy, boy. Aside -- stand aside."
With those words, barely coherent, it began to move forwards -- shambling like some kind of zombie. With each movement, the joints of the Abyssal Knight audibly crunched, as if its bones were grinding against each other. Patches of its armour fluttered in the wind, but the imperfection of its defense did nothing to lessen the intimidation factor.
It reached the crest of the crater, pulling itself up with an arm that lashed out at an unnatural angle. Within a second, the Knight was standing before Muzazi, only around two meters away -- slouched over like a puppet hanging from invisible strings.
"Hear," it gurgled. "Did you not hear? Move. Move, move. Move aside."
Muzazi took a deep breath, adjusting his stance slightly, positioning Luminescence so he could take the Knight's head from its body if it suddenly lurched forwards. He had to believe he was capable of that.
Even so, he was surprised by the confidence in his own voice. "I can't do that," he said. "I've sworn to bring this man back alive."
The Knight hesitated for a moment -- and underneath its loose skin, Muzazi could see muscles writhing like agitated eels. There was the sound of creaking bone as it adjusted its stance. Then, overpowering that, a rattling noise rang out as the Knight's head began to rapidly vibrate, as if the thing were agitated.
"Rush?" it hissed, barely audible over the rattling. It slowed slightly. "No. Different -- similar but different. No. A sickly sense of humour. You won't move? No?"
Muzazi didn't quite understand, but the question at least was clear. His hands tightened around the hilt of Luminescence. His lips almost stuck together as he opened his mouth, like his body was reluctant to let words escape.
"No. I won't move."
All of the Abyssal Knight's movement ceased -- from the rattling of steel to the clicking of bone to the soft breathing beneath its armour. For all the world, it looked like a statue standing before him. Even the wind seemed to grow still.
"Die, then."
The Abyssal Knight moved so quickly that Muzazi stood no chance of even perceiving it. Its massive sword slammed into Luminescence with devastating force -- instantly shattering the bones in Muzazi's arms and sending him flying backwards. He landed on his back in the wreckage of the cabin, surrounded by sparking cables and warped metal. Luminescence itself lay across his stomach, the blade steaming from the sheer friction of the blow.
Muzazi gritted his teeth as he struggled to pull himself back up, to ignore the excruciating pain from his broken arms. It was tempting to think that his Aether had been useless -- but he knew full well that, if not for the defense it had provided, he'd have been reduced to a puddle of viscera from that attack.
"Weak," the Abyssal Knight whispered, its voice carried by the wind. "Weak, weak. Weak. You're weak."
Each insult struck Muzazi like another blow, driving him deeper and deeper into the ground. He'd been reduced to such a state with but a single attack. Even rising to his feet was beyond him.
In the distance, he could see the Abyssal Knight lurching forward, raising its massive executioner sword to eliminate Regan. If he died, so would any link the Supremacy had to Darkstar. Everything they'd done on this planet would become pointless.
The battles they'd fought.
The work they'd put in.
The agony of losing Marie.
Despair tightened its cold grip around his heart, and for a single terrible moment Muzazi seriously considered falling back down into the snow and giving up entirely. They'd done their best, after all -- they were simply insufficient. Did one disparage the ant for refusing to fight the boot? There was nothing to be done.
However.
The words he himself had said not long ago rose to the surface of his mind.
"What is special about us, I think, is that we take responsibility for ourselves. When we take actions, we stand by our actions. We don't blame others for our shortcomings. Our defeats belong only to ourselves, as do our victories."
Was this a defeat he could accept, that he could take responsibility for? Had he truly dedicated every drop of blood and every scrap of bone to achieving victory? Was he satisfied with this outcome?
No.
To be more tomorrow than you were yesterday. To Atoy Muzazi, that was what it meant to be supreme. He couldn't stand, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight.
Sorry, Marie.
Muzazi's parka exploded into scraps of fabric as the thrusters he'd placed within it tore it to shreds. Underneath, all he was wearing was a plain black shirt -- and so the cold quickly assaulted his body with renewed vigor. What was also now visible, however, was the payload of throwing knives Muzazi had concealed within his coat, flying up into the air.
Twelve thrusters appeared on twelve knives -- and each of them individually zoomed towards the Abyssal Knight, their flight paths distinct and unpredictable. It was as if twelve shooting stars were slashing across the earth.
Each would strike from a unique angle. Muzazi had no doubt the Knight would be able to block the majority of the projectiles, but some would make it through a blind spot. That, at least, would be a blow landed.
The web of knives surrounded the Abyssal Knight, preparing for the final approach, and it took a deep whistling breath in response.
"Sodom," it intoned, the air vibrating around it. "Seal of Observation."
Immediately, the purple Aether of the Knight exploded outwards -- forming a transparent dome that encompassed itself, Muzazi and the wreckage of the cabin. Like an Aether ping, Muzazi could feel the energy of the dome washing over him, pressing down like he'd suddenly been teleported to the bottom of the ocean.
He glanced up, and immediately regretted the decision.
Eyes.
All around him, coating the inside layer of the dome, were countless staring human eyes. Their pupils flicked around madly, ceaselessly watching everything in the area -- Muzazi, the knives, and even the Abyssal Knight itself. Nothing escaped their view.
The Knight's response was effortless. With a fluidity and ease you wouldn't expect from such a massive creature and weapon, it whipped its sword around at bone-snapping angles, smashing each knife right out of the air. What was left of them dropped to the ground, merely warped and crushed scraps of metal.
Full Throttle.
In a moment, Muzazi was upon the Knight, Luminescence clutched between his teeth. His body might not be capable of getting up, but his thrusters were ready and waiting -- allowing him to move his body manually by propelling his muscles. His body was screaming at him as it tore, but he had no time to listen. There was a battle to be won, after all.
Muzazi jerked his head, slashing at the Knight, but his attack was blocked by his opponent's monolithic sword. It felt as if he'd struck a brick wall, and he could hear and feel his teeth cracking inside his mouth from the recoil. Warm, metallic blood seasoned his tongue.
"You. You -- you," the Abyssal Knight murmured. "Were you not listening? Weak. You're weak. Stop doing that."
Again, the Knight moved so quickly that Muzazi stood no chance of dodging or even reacting. Before his brain could even register the sensation of touch, Muzazi found he had been lifted up into the air, the Knight's gauntleted hand gripping him firmly by the neck. Not even the slightest trace of oxygen could enter Muzazi's body when faced with that iron vice.
"Stop doing that," the Knight repeated, ignoring Muzazi's gasps for air. "Told you. I told you to die."
The grip on Muzazi's throat tightened, just slightly, and deep in his heart he knew only seconds of his life remained. Before he could ever take another breath, his neck would be snapped like a toothpick.
Muzazi's vision began to swim. All remaining strength drained from his body. Vaguely, he found himself wondering if Marie was okay.
Everything went black.
"Lengthwise Guillotine."
A familiar voice rang out through the field -- and a moment later, the Abyssal Knight's arm came flying off, releasing Muzazi from its iron grip. Muzazi's vision returned in a flaring kaleidoscope of colour, the pressure on his neck disappearing. As he fell down to the ground, sucking in deep gulps of air, he looked up at his assailant, wary of a new attack.
However, the Abyssal Knight had not moved. It was simply staring at the severed stump of its arm -- black, viscous liquid was steadily pouring from the wound, bubbling angrily as it pooled on the ground. Next to Muzazi, the fingers of the severed arm thrashed wildly for a moment before finally becoming inert.
With a grunt of effort from the Knight, the oozing liquid halted its descent, and it turned its head to look off into the distance -- beyond the light provided by the grass.
"Three?" it gurgled, cocking it's head. "Not two? More and more, more and more."
Vigorous laughter rang out as a figure strolled into the field, their arms spread wide. The silhouettes of thin strings trailed from their fingers, brushing against the grass below.
"I was so right," the man sighed, as if this situation provided the greatest ecstasy. "I was so absolutely right! This was so worth it! You're, like, a total ten-outta-ten, my man!"
Wu Ming grinned wildly as he stepped into view, the grass illuminating him from below. The strings tied to each of his fingers floated through the air behind him as if they were underwater, making the man look like some kind of human spider amidst his web. His nostrils flared as he stared at the Abyssal Knight before him, not even glancing at Muzazi.
"Contender?" the Knight rumbled, waving its massive sword through the air. "Contender? Clown. The Clown of the Supremacy. Why are you here?"
Wu Ming continued to stride forward, licking his lips, his green pupils gleaming in the darkness.
"I heard you were in the area," he whispered, almost breathless. "And I just had to meet you. I knew you'd show up if I waited patiently. You can't imagine how good I feel right now, seriously. I mean, look at you, my guy! A truly angelic person!"
As Wu Ming approached the Knight, Muzazi took the opportunity to gain some distance -- weak thrusters slowly pushing him and Regan through the snow, each inch of movement prompting flares of agony as his broken arms rubbed against the ground. Tears of pain froze on Muzazi's cheeks, but he didn't have the luxury of faltering. Although the countless eyes of the Seal of Observation tracked Muzazi and Regan's slow movement, the Abyssal Knight took no steps to stop them -- instead focusing entirely on Wu Ming.
A metallic growl echoed from within the Knight's helmet. "Here. Why are you here?" it repeated, limbs twitching like a dying insect. "What do you want? Contender?"
Muzazi reached the edge of the dome. It gave no resistance as both he and Regan passed through it, save for a slight rippling of the Aether barrier.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ming laughed, drinking in the air of the eternal night. "You're strong, I'm strong. I'm free, you're free. How about it, big guy? Let's show each other a good time."
For a moment, there was no response from the Abyssal Knight. Then, a discordant screeching noise rang out from beneath the Knight's helmet. It took Muzazi, slowly and excruciatingly standing at the edge of the crater, a moment to realize what exactly he was hearing.
The Abyssal Knight was laughing.
"Kill you," it breathed. "Kill. I'll kill you."
Wu Ming didn't need any more consent than that.
"Crosswise Guillotine!" he screamed, swiping his arm horizontally -- and this time, Muzazi could appreciate the form of the attack. The string attached to Ming's right pinkie finger transformed -- becoming as thin and sharp as piano wire -- and lengthened, spanning tens of meters.
As Ming swung the string, it sliced through the field of glowing grass, killing the lights as it went. Muzazi's breath caught in his throat as the string passed overhead -- he had no doubt that, if he hadn't been laying down, that attack would have been the end of him. He was thoroughly out of his league in this place.
The Abyssal Knight, for its part, simply slashed its sword as the string approached, severing it. The moment it was cut, both halves of the string dissipated into rainbow Aether -- they were definitely recorded.
Another pulse of Aether burst forth from the Knight's body -- and when it made contact with the already existing dome, every single eye lining its surface popped out of existence. The second difference was almost imperceptible, but the shade of the dome's colour brightened as well -- just a tad.
"Zoar," the Knight declared. "Seal of Regeneration."
In an instant, the blades of grass at the Knight's feet tore themselves out of the ground as if being pulled at by a tornado. As one, they coalesced against the stump of the Knight's arm, wrapping around each other like rope -- and then, as Muzazi watched with his bleeding mouth agape, the grass transformed.
Uniform plant life became bone, muscle and skin, connecting seamlessly to the Knight's body and creating a new arm. It flexed the new limb experimentally, clicking rhythmically beneath its helmet. Seconds after appearing, the skin covering the arm visibly began to rot, but this didn't appear to bother the Knight any. It clenched its fist, seemingly satisfied with the heal.
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"Good," Wu Ming moaned, bringing his body low to the ground. "You're so good, man. It's no fun if it doesn't last. Let's keep going, my guy!"
For the first time since he'd arrived, the Contender's eyes flicked over to Muzazi, just outside the dome.
"You might wanna run, friend," he grinned, excited eyes as wide as dinner plates. "I doubt anyone nearby'll survive. Ain't that great?"
Such was the glorious insanity of a Contender.
Muzazi didn't need to be told twice. Thrusters returned Luminescence to its sheathe, freeing his mouth up to bite down on the back of Regan's coat. He dragged the unconscious Governor away with him, desperation driving his exhausted muscles.
He'd thought his well of strength had well and truly run dry, but now his animal brain was screaming at him to run, to get away from here. Even if his legs snapped under him, his body would make whatever effort was necessary to survive.
As the cold and the wind lacerated at him, Atoy Muzazi fled into the darkness, ignoring the sounds of devastation behind him.
----------------------------------------
This, right now, was what Wu Ming lived for.
Six abilities should suffice to start with, he thought.
The first two, Lengthwise and Crosswise Guillotine, would allow him to attack both vertically and horizontally from a significant distance.
The third, Heel of H, created bundles of frictionless string that wrapped around his feet like shoes, granting him extreme speed and mobility.
The fourth, Burst Enhancement, primed bundles of hardy string that he could manifest under his skin to act as supplementary muscle if he needed to enhance his strength.
The fifth, Mosquito Loop, created floating spheres of string around him -- each bearing a tiny flame in their core to provide light.
The sixth, Pecos Bill, created a floating circle of string around Ming's body that would weaken any air pressure attacks aimed at him.
These were some of the more basic techniques Wu Ming had developed -- but that usually made them more useful in general situations. Specialized techniques were always fun to develop, but more often than not he ended up forgetting about them shortly after -- meaning he ended up with countless powers that all did basically the same thing through different methods.
He wouldn't use String Theory yet. His opponent had to earn that sort of pleasure.
"Admah," grunted the Abyssal Knight, crouching down as it got ready to charge. "Seal of Acceleration!"
The dome around them darkened, just slightly -- and a moment later, the Knight was upon Ming, swinging its sword to cut him in half right then and there. Ming dodged the blow, leaning backwards as if he were playing limbo, but found himself surprised by the speed of his own movement. He'd expected that blow to land, but he'd avoided it with time to spare.
He skated along the ground with Heel of H, avoiding the second and third slashes the Knight unleashed at him -- Pecos Bill reducing the crushing winds that resulted into gentle breezes. Again, the speed of his movements was astonishing -- Ming's perceptions could hardly keep pace. The Abyssal Knight relentlessly pursued him, but he'd at least bought himself a second or two to think.
Seal of Acceleration, the Knight had said.
Was this a power that increased the speed of everything within the dome, then? That was a well-conceived ability if so. It gave the person used to moving faster an advantage -- they were used to the increase in the pace of the battle -- opening their opponent up to make mistakes.
This was pretty cool -- under these circumstances, Ming might actually die. All it would take was for him to misjudge his timing, opening himself up to a lightning-fast counterattack from the Abyssal Knight. Ideally, he'd like to avoid that, so he had to take steps to ensure he could continue to properly avoid his enemy's strikes. The attacks of the Knight were nearly constant, a veritable whirlwind of slashes, so this was becoming quite the workout already.
Rainbow Aether flowed across his body, and Wu Ming created a new ability.
Countless thin strings manifested within his body, intertwining with his nervous system and forming a secondary response network. If his body detected an incoming attack, whether consciously or subconsciously, his nervous system would be prompted to automatically dodge the blow as quickly as was safe for his body. Devising and implementing this ability took him about three seconds.
The first field test worked well. As the Knight thrust its sword forward with one hand, intending to impale Ming, his body automatically veered off to the side -- avoiding the blow by mere inches. That short distance made it even easier to dodge the second, true attack -- the punch that had been intended to smash Ming's skull in.
Immediately after, the slash aimed at Ming's neck was avoided just as easily.
What should he name this ability, he wondered? He hadn't given his most recent control powers -- Puppet Maestro and Damocles Coil -- a cohesive naming theme, so it'd be kind of weird to start doing it now. Something simple would probably work best, so he could remember it in the future. He'd have to think about it after the fight, if he ended up living.
The Knight unleashed a kick that -- even though it was blocked -- sent Ming flying, giving it room to act. "Zeboim," the Knight grumbled, tensing its body and its Aether. "Seal of Intensification!"
Another change to the dome.
This one was easy to figure out, too. The muscles of the Abyssal Knight bulked up beneath its loose skin, and Ming felt strength flow into his own body just the same. Zeboim was clearly an ability that powered up everyone within its radius -- the Knight's attacks were already devastating before, but now Ming definitely couldn't afford to be hit.
The return to normal speed made maneuvering a lot easier, though. Heel of H brought Ming back into melee range without very much trouble at all.
To avoid a slam of the blade as he approached, Wu Ming launched himself upwards, wincing as chunks of rock launched by the blow buffeted against his body. As he turned over in the air, considering his next step, he glanced towards the glowing bulbs created by Mosquito Loop -- and a thought occurred. He could probably get some more utility out of these.
Rainbow Aether flowed across his body, and Wu Ming created a new ability.
It only took a few minor tweaks. "Mosquito Loop!" Ming cried, pointing his finger towards the Abyssal Knight as he reached the crest of his jump. "Bombing Run!"
The name had been much easier to come up with this time.
As one, the glowing spheres launched themselves at the Knight, each bursting into an incendiary explosion the moment they made contact, the flames covering several meters each time. Only the first two actually hit the Knight, however -- after taking those attacks, Ming's opponent charged out of the way, avoiding the rest of the projectiles.
That was annoying. In the future, he'd have to make them home in on their target.
Wu Ming landed back on the ground -- with around nine meters between him and the Knight, each of them standing at opposite ends of the Aether dome. Ming took a deep breath, cracking his neck as he stared at his adversary.
This was not a moment of rest. Both partners in this battle would be watching their counterpart keenly, waiting for the moment of weakness that would allow them to get a kill. Still, that didn't mean they couldn't chat. As the bedroom hosted pillow talk, the battlefield hosted banter.
"I'm really enjoying this," he grinned, white teeth gleaming in the darkness. "Is it good for you too?"
The Knight didn't reciprocate his affection. "Rat," he warbled. "Rat, rat. Vermin. Dodging so much. Tired? Tired yet?"
That assessment wasn't exactly wrong. Constantly avoiding lethal attacks like this was exhausting, even for a Contender -- not to mention the fact that he hadn't landed a single physical blow on his opponent yet. Avoiding damage was all well and good, but if he wasn't able to inflict it they wouldn't get anywhere.
If things kept going like this, Wu Ming would surely die. A wild, maniacal grin swept across his face. He really had been right to come here!
"I think I'll go all-out now…" he quietly giggled.
"Sodom," the Knight replied. "Seal of Observation."
Again, the eyes appeared all around, staring incessantly at Ming. He wouldn't be able to get any tricks past the Knight under that gaze -- that is, unless he laid a trap where even those eyes couldn't see.
As a reward for its efforts, Wu Ming would show the Knight some more of his abilities, as a treat.
Upheaval.
Ming lifted his leg with Aether-enhanced effort -- pulling at the network of strings that had spread out from his sole into the surrounding ground. The earth quaked beneath them in response, and the Knight stumbled just slightly.
Burst Enhancement.
Ming activated the ability in two limbs -- his left leg and his right arm -- both of them swelling to nearly three times their usual size, the skin stretching and tearing in places with the strain. With the leg, he launched himself towards the Knight -- pulling his engorged arm back in preparation for a punch.
Two attacks landed at once. Ming's punch struck the Knight in its chest, caving in the steel -- and at the same time, the Knight slashed it's sword upwards, severing Ming's swollen arm at the elbow.
Dr. Wraparound.
Another length of string manifested, wrapping itself tightly around Ming's stump and stopping the bleeding instantly. The limb itself went flying off into the air, the unusual course of its flight meaning that Ming couldn't quickly recover it with his usual method.
Fist of Z.
String bundled together to form a temporary replacement arm, the materials comprising it constantly writhing and scraping against each other -- generating a massive amount of static electricity that buzzed and sparked without pause. With it, he launched a bolt of lightning at the Knight, forcing it to block the attack with its sword.
Ming's severed arm landed in the grass a ways away -- and at the same time, he came up with a neat name for his new control ability.
Auto-Body.
Apparently, it took most people a long time to come up with new abilities. Wu Ming couldn’t imagine the pain of being so inflexible. The Abyssal Knight unleashed six slashes in a single second, each one coming closer and closer to penetrating Ming's automatic dance of defense. The last even shaved off some of Ming's black and luscious hair, which was almost unforgivable.
The time for playing around had come to an end. The Abyssal Knight had more than proven himself worthy of witnessing this.
"String Theory," Wu Ming whispered. "Wormhole."
The Knight's sword was swung at Ming's head at an angle that could not possibly be avoided -- and struck only empty air. In fact, Ming had disappeared entirely. For the first time in this conflict, the Abyssal Knight paused, looking around wildly.
It didn’t take long to stop him. Wu Ming stood on the other end of the dome again, his remaining hand on his hip and a wide smile on his face.
"Something wrong?" he called out casually. "You look confused."
Wu Ming wasn't surprised that the Knight was bewildered. It's senses would have been sharpened enough to detect any movement -- but in this case, there had been no movement at all. That had been nothing less than true and instant teleportation.
The Knight pointed its massive sword in Wu Ming's direction.
"Do?" it hissed. "What did you do?"
Ming sighed, looking wistfully up at the sky. "I love string, you know. It binds things together, it wraps them close, it can slice through flesh, it can do pretty much anything. I thought I knew all there was to know about string until recently. You ever have anything like that, big guy? Think you're an expert on something and just get blindsided?"
The Knight hesitated, and when it spoke its voice was surprisingly human: "Do. D-Do. I do…"
Ming snapped his fingers, pointing up at the sky. "String Theory. I've never been book smart, so when I heard about this stuff, it really knocked my socks off. I don't really get it, to be honest with you, but…"
Rainbow Aether collected at the top of his finger.
"...string really does hold everything together. Even space. Allow me to demonstrate. String Theory -- Gravity Well."
As though it had been struck by a giant fist from above, the Abyssal Knight was instantly hurled down to the ground, a sizable crater forming around it as the hold of gravity intensified. It really was a trooper, though: even though it's body was visibly shaking, the Knight steadily rose to its feet, hand tight against the hilt of its sword.
That was fine for Wu Ming, though. All that had been intended to do was keep his opponent in place for a second or two.
He launched himself up into the air, an orb of Rainbow Aether still hovering over his finger -- and pointed down towards the Knight. At the same time, the Aether orb shrunk, collapsing in on itself, more and more, more and more, more and more…
"String Theory!" Ming screamed, his voice encompassing the world. "Black Hole!"
The Abyssal Knight looked up at him, ready to answer his attack with its own. Gravity Well had left its mark -- a sizable crack ran along its cylindrical helmet, revealing a glowing purple eye glaring at Ming with utter loathing. Aether pulsed out from its body.
"Gomorrah!" it roared. "Seal of Extermination!"
The world erupted into burning chaos.
This, right now, was what Wu Ming lived for.
----------------------------------------
Atoy Muzazi forced his way through the cold and darkness.
He'd already lost feeling in much of his body long ago, but he kept moving all the same. Whatever limbs refused to obey his commands he just moved manually with weak, sputtering thrusters. He'd blinked at one point, and the lashes of his left eye had frozen together, leaving him only his right to see the world through.
But he had to keep walking.
His jaw ached from the strain of holding onto Regan, of pulling him forward. Blood had frozen in his mouth, so the only breathing he could do was through his nostrils -- and even that was ragged from pain and exhaustion.
But he had to keep walking.
His arms flapped uselessly at his sides, each movement causing unimaginable pain to course throughout his body. He'd lost one glove in the fight, and he could see already that the fingers on that hand had blackened from frostbite.
But he had to keep walking.
He couldn't even tell if he was going in the right direction anymore. There was no way of telling -- no landmarks, no sounds save for that of the battle far behind him. For all he knew, he was wandering further and further into this wasteland, his only destination being a frozen death far from home.
But he had to keep walking -- for that was his duty.
Boom. A shockwave struck Muzazi from behind, and he was sent sprawling down to the ground, his face landing in the cold snow. With effort he couldn't afford to expend, he rolled over, giving himself a good view of the spectacle far behind him.
A pillar of chaotic purple Aether was rising up into the sky, surrounded by rays of rainbow Aether, like two primordial forces at war. The sheer power being displayed was beyond Muzazi's wildest fantasies. He truly was an ant looking at a boot.
But he couldn't just stay and watch. He had to keep walking.
Muzazi tried to get up, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He tried to create thrusters to force himself up, but his Aether wouldn't listen to him. All he could do was stare up at the sky, watching the snow and the dark press down on him.
Was he going to die?
Looking up at nothing, breathing slowly through the single nostril that hadn't frozen shut, Muzazi found that he was frightened. He didn't want to die here. There were things he wanted to do. There were things he needed to do.
He tried to open his mouth to speak, to beg mercy from any god that might have been listening, but even that was beyond him now. Bitter tears flowed from his eyes, but froze soon after. Not even that simple sorrow was allowed for Atoy Muzazi.
His eyes fluttered closed. Perhaps it would be nice to finally take a rest…
"Atoy," whispered Marie Hazzard.
He immediately opened his eyes again, clarity returning to his mind. Marie was standing above, a horrified expression on her face as she looked down at him. She looked different from the last time he'd seen her, and so modesty demanded he focus on her face.
Cracked words trickled through cracked lips. "Regan…" he whispered. "W-We need to bring him in…"
Her eyes flicked over to the side, and her face fell. "He's dead, Atoy," she answered quietly. "I'm sorry. It looks like he died a while ago."
Tears flowed anew. He'd failed, then. His opportunity for redemption had come, he'd understood what was required of him, and he'd failed all the same. As he always did.
Marie's face fell in sympathy with his own -- then, the cold seemingly no obstacle for her at all, she crouched down in the snow next to him. With warm hands she pulled him up off the ground and into a tight embrace.
"It's okay, Atoy," she whispered. "Don't cry."
The time for dignity had long since passed. "But I tried," he sobbed, throat aching from the effort. "I tried my best. I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Marie. I've failed. I've doomed us both. We're going to -- we're going to die out here."
He could feel her shake her head next to him, one hand stroking his hair in comfort. "We're not going to die, Atoy."
"We are," he wept insistently. "We are…"
Her voice was surprisingly firm. "No. People like us don't die that easily, Atoy. You're tired, right? It's been a long day. You take a nap, and I'll take care of it, okay?"
His heaving sobs trailed off. That didn't sound so bad, really. Did all of this really have to be a burden he shouldered by himself? How nice would it be if this was just someone else's problem?
He closed his eyes, aches and pains eased by the warm embrace. He'd forgotten how nice it was just to be held by another human being. When was the last time that had happened? Had it ever happened?
He couldn't remember.
As he drifted off, he felt the warmth of Marie's body steadily increasing -- until it felt like he was sitting next to a warm and roaring fire. Ah, so that was it. Marie was a Gene Tyrant, after all. She could just raise her own body temperature as she liked. Maybe not forever, but for now.
He felt safe.
"Goodnight, Marie…" he murmured, barely audible.
"Goodnight, Atoy."
When the rescue crew found them, many hours later, not a bit of snow remained for meters around. For perhaps the first time on Nocturnus for hundreds of years, the cold did not win the day.