Imperial Year 4004,
2nd day of The Month Of The Holy God's Ascension.
Fionn swiftly stood up from the destroyed stall and saw the old woman that had attacked her standing in place as the surrounding people hurried to escape from the market as it would soon become a battlefield.
“You old hag, you’re gonna pay for that!”
“Ohohoho! You realize that ‘hag’ already comes with the connotation of being old, right? So why would you use ‘old’ and ‘hag’ together?
“....”
A quiet fury unlike any other stirred within Fionn. This fury was waiting for the moment its master would unleash it upon her foe. And unleash it she did. Fionn dashed ahead while clutching the ivory sword still in its sheath. With one single, clean motion she unsheathed it and swung her blade. By the time she swung, Psamathe, the old woman, was already long gone. She stood a few feet away from Fionn and sighed. Then she slowly turned the round wooden top of her cane to reveal the sharp, small blade within.
Upon seeing this, Fionn laughed and smiled underneath her helm for it had been quite some time since she had gotten the opportunity to face off against another swordswoman. She squatted and held the hilt of her sword with both hands. Then she dashed with unimaginable speed for someone wearing such heavy armor. Her dash shook the air as she became a speeding blur that destroyed everything in its path. The old woman did not move a single step even as Fionn continued to charge towards her. Once she was in range, Fionn swung her sword again and Psamathe blocked it with her cane sword. Their clash shook the air and sparks flew around them. They seemed to be evenly matched until a small crack formed across Psamathe’s blade. She tried to escape but Fionn’s strength proved to be too much for her as Fionn’s sword sliced through her blade and her body. Psamathe’s bisected body collapsed to the ground.
Fionn’s disappointment was immeasurable. The fight she had been expecting, the fight that would raise her to new heights of power had ended and quite anticlimactically at that. She sheathed her blade just when something strange occurred. Psamathe’s body turned to sand as a quiet voice echoed around Fionn.
“Did you seriously believe that was me?”
Turning towards the voice, Fionn discovered another Psamathe with the same purple cloth and cane as the one she had just killed.
“Oh, please, I knew from the start.”
She did not know from the start. Fionn had no idea what was going on and she was struggling to hide her surprise and shock. Soon that shock would turn to excitement as she realized that their fight had not ended just yet.
Psamthe raised her cane and a sandstorm gathered around her. A few seconds later, the sand split into small clouds and formed perfect replicas of herself. They all readied their blades and swung them at Fionn. From each of those small blades, flew arcs of sand that sliced through all that they touched but Fionn nimbly dodged each of their attacks and unleashed one of her own.
‘Aerial Slash’
Fionn grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands and slashed diagonally, sending off a flying slash. Following that movement, two of Psamathe’s sand clones fell from the roof they were standing on as their bodies were cut in half. Unfortunately for Fionn, two more clones replaced the ones she had just killed. The two new clones charged towards Fionn and readied their blades. Fionn easily countered them and dashed past them while making small movements with her sword. Moments after she had done so, the two clones collapsed onto the ground.
‘Eclipse Blade.’
Eclipse Blade, a technique that uses small, simple and fast sword movements to counterattack. It can only be used to counter weak attacks from enemies and the damage that it deals to opponents is rather weak. Thankfully, Psamathe’s clones were also rather weak.
“Is this the best you’ve got ol-...Is this the best you’ve got hag! Come on keep them coming!”
As much as she tried to hide it, Psamathe’s earlier comment really got to her and she quickly corrected herself.
“...You seem to be enjoying yourself, girl. Do you enjoy fighting?”
“That’s a dumb question, of course I do.”
“But why do you enjoy fighting? Surely there must be some reason ”
“Why do I enjoy fighting? Well it’s pretty simple actually. I have someone I want to kill and to do so I need strength beyond all common sense. I fight to grow stronger for the sake of my goal and there’s no harm in having fun even when you’re chasing after something, right? So what about you, why are you fighting me, do you enjoy it too?”
Fionn went on a long tangent describing everything that she loved about combat. An impartial observer might wonder why she gave such a detailed response to someone that was trying to kill her but to Fionn this was just a part of combat.
“I’m here because I have a job to do, not because I’m some sort of battle junkie.”
“Hey!!”
“Ohohoho, your reactions make you so much fun to tease! But that was very enlightening. I think I understand why the master was interested in you. Girl, what is your name?”
“It’s Fionn.”
“Well then Fionn, if you truly believe in that goal of yours, then surpass me in this fight and win.”
All at once, every one of Psamathe’s clones lunged towards Fionn and she readied her sword to intercept them. Three clones closed in around her but she easily destroyed them with a single sword slash. From that point on, the clones stopped using close range attacks and resorted to the use of long range attacks instead. Flying arcs of sand closed in around Fionn as she tried her hardest to dodge them. She continually hopped backwards to dodge the incoming attacks. Unfortunately for her, this had been a ploy to trap her. Fionn found herself with her back against a wall and arcs of sand hurtling towards her. Presented with this life threatening situation, Fionn jumped up high as the arcs of sand cut through the wall she had been standing in front of.
Before she could land back on the ground, Fionn was attacked again. Two clones of Psamathe jumped up towards her. They were still quite a distance away from her so Fionn did not believe that they would catch up to her before she fell back onto the ground. That belief would soon be proven wrong as one clone used the other as a launchpad. The clone collided into Fionn and sent her crashing into a stall a few meters away. Despite the pain she felt, Fionn quickly dashed away from where she had landed. Immediately after she left, the stall or rather what remained of the stall was destroyed by more flying arcs of sand.
Fionn was beginning to grow tired of Psamathe’s tricks. The constant attacks from the clones were wearing on her already thin patience. She wanted nothing more than to find the real one and slice her open.
“I really wish you would stop hiding and fight me head on!”
In unison, the clones replied to Fionn’s demand.
“Why should I have to fight you head on?”
“Because this is a fight between two warriors. You yourself acknowledged that.”
“Oh, my dear girl. Whoever said fights between warriors had to be straightforward? If you keep fighting with that mindset, you’re going to be in a world of pain.”
Fionn found it hard to argue against that fact but she still felt ticked off.
“...I guess you’re right about that but you do have to admit that what you’re doing is really repetitive and boring.”
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“Oh my, you’re quite right. I really should change things up a bit.”
At this point in time, there were twelve clones in front of Fionn. Fionn watched as ten of those clones surrounding her turned back into sand. She surmised that one of the two remaining clones was the real Psamathe. The sand from the ten clones then flew up above her and fused into a large clone of Psamathe that was ten meters long. In a loud and imposing voice, the clone spoke to her.
“Well then, is this exciting enough for you?”
In a joyful and excited tone, Fionn replied.
“Yes!”
After her reply, the sand titan immediately attacked. It slammed its massive hand on top of Fionn with the intention of crushing her into the ground. The hand barely reached her when it crumbled back into sand. In the few moments the hand had been in range, Fionn had cut it into pieces. Shocked at what Fionn had just done, the titan pulled its arm back but it was too late. Fionn had hopped onto its arm and was racing towards its head. The titan tried to swat her away but Fionn was too fast and it was too slow. Fionn jumped above its head. Her sword was still in its sheath when she swung it downwards.
‘Starfall.’
What cut through the titan was not the sword or a flying slash. No, it was the sheath itself that sliced the titan in two as it fell through it. The sand that made up its body fell to the ground and Fionn fell back onto the ground. She picked up her sword's sheath and looked up towards the two remaining Psamathe clones. One of them sighed as the other turned back into sand.
“With how old I am now, I can barely use this technique at all so if you survive it, then you just might win.”
All the sand that once made up the titan returned to Psamathe. The sand flew to the small blade on top of her cane and extended long past the building she was standing on. Then she swung horizontally. The sand greatly extended her reach and sliced through everything it touched as it raced towards Fionn.
Fionn waited until it was close enough before she swung her sword. The force generated from this action scattered the sand everywhere.
“Was that the best you’ve got?”
Fionn taunted Psamathe for she was sure that she had easily dealt with her ultimate attack. Mere moments after she felt a warm liquid flow out from multiple places across her body. She could tell the cuts weren't too deep but at the same time she was greatly disturbed by this as the old woman had cut her without cutting through her armor.
“Most people think it’s the sand sword that’s dangerous but it’s actually the sand particles. They move through any form of protection and kill my opponent. The fact that you’re still standing means I’ve gotten much weaker. I’m so sorry about that.”
“What are you apologizing for, you crazy hag? This is awesome!”
“Ignoring the ‘crazy hag’ part, I’m grateful for the compliment. As for my apology, it’s because I am unable to give a fight that you desire and also, it really does hurt me to be so repetitive, but I only have enough energy to use my earlier techniques and for that I apologize.”
The old woman smiled as a sandstorm blew around her. Once the storm settled, multiple indistinguishable clones had formed around her. Including Psamathe, Fionn had to face thirteen opponents at once. The clones swarmed around her with seven of them closing in for close range attacks and the rest supporting the others with long range attacks. It took all she had to just dodge their attacks and this left her with little opportunity to counterattack. Even when she was able to counterattack and kill a clone, it would just reform itself and return to the fight. As she continued to fight, Fionn thought to herself of a way to win this fight.
“My dear Fionn, there is a way to win this fight and you already know of it.”
The voice speaking to her came from an old man wearing armor similar to hers. He was standing right in the middle of Psamathe’s and Fionn’s fight but Psamathe continued to ignore him.
“If you really do know, then just tell me.”
Psamathe and her clones were all taken aback as they were not quite sure who Fionn was talking to.
“Fionn you have to use the ‘Blade Vortex’.”
Before she could respond to the old man, Fionn was caught off-guard by a clone and just narrowly avoided its attack as she spun around it. While Fionn spun, her red scarf wrapped around the clone’s neck and she pulled on it. Instantly, the clone returned to sand.
“Teacher, I’ve never been able to use that technique and I don’t think I ever will.”
“Well, it’s either that or death by the hands of that woman.”
The old man’s comment reminded Fionn of how grim the situation was and this forced her to attempt the ‘Blade Vortex’. She threw her sword up in the air and jumped after it. While midair, she grabbed the sword’s hilt and spun around.
‘I can do it.’
She was nearly there. Just a little more and she would have been able to use the technique. Unfortunately, she had become too dizzy from all the spinning and fell face first into the ground. Psamathe and her clones looked upon her but made no move to attack as they were not entirely sure as to what she had attempted.
Quickly, Fionn stood up from the ground and attempted it again. This attempt was no different from the previous one and she fell again without being able to perform it. This time however, Psamathe wasted no time in attacking her. Luckily, Fionn was able to rise up and hold her own against Psamathe and her clones.
‘I’m sorry teacher but it doesn’t seem that I can use that technique. After all, someone as worthless as I am could never hope to use it. Maybe I should just give up and let this hag kill me.’
As foolish as it might seem to wish for death from just two failures, these negative thoughts stemmed not from the present fight but from Fionn’s past. In her home in the cold and frigid lands of Cailleach, Fionn had spent day and night learning sword techniques from her teacher. Her lack of talent forced her to work even harder but she quickly realized that there were things that she just could not do. Fionn’s negative outlook on herself combined with the fear of disappointing her teacher made Fionn hesitant to try techniques she struggled with. The ‘Blade Vortex’ technique was a difficult technique for new swordsmen in training but with the strength and experience that she now had, Fionn should have easily been able to use it. The only thing holding her back from accomplishing it was herself.
“That’s a shame Fionn. Your friends here were looking forward to seeing the ‘Blade Vortex’.”
The old man smiled and pointed up towards a roof. Standing on top of that roof was Nyameye with not a scratch on him as well as the three children she often played with in town. The moment her eyes fell upon Nyameye, he smiled and shouted.
“Fionn, what are you waiting for, kick her ass already!”
“I agree with him. You can do it Fionn.”
“You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!”
“You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!”
“You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!”
“You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!”
“You can do it, you can do it, you can do it!”
Together, the five of them, Nyameye, the old man, Alice, Elliott and Jack all cheered for Fionn.
‘All of you…thank you so much.’
Fionn thanked them from the bottom of her heart. Her tendency to undermine herself was overcome by the pure joy she felt from their support. She confidently threw her sword up into the air even though she was surrounded by enemies that were still trying to attack her. Then she caught the sword while midair and spun around. Still midair, Fionn steeled herself and swung her sword wildly. She swung it diagonally, horizontally and vertically.
‘Blade Vortex!’
The sword slashes flew far past the sword they originated from and cut through everything around her. The road, the stalls and even Psamathe’s clones were cut through. At this point, Fionn could only be described as a whirlpool of unparalleled carnage.
The clones turned back into sand but Psamathe still stood there as blood flowed from her chest. She had been caught off-guard but she was still standing. With her true adversary revealed, Fionn dashed past her. As she stood with her back to her foe, Fionn swung her sword to get the blood off it. When she did so, blood splattered from Psamathe’s chest and she fell to the ground.
As she lay there in a pool of her own blood, the old woman smiled even though she knew she was going to die. The old woman’s long life had been built on the destruction of countless others so she felt no hatred as Fionn cut her down. Through the wordless communication of warriors, Fionn felt it too. She now understood that the old woman had been looking for a place to die. A life spent hurting and killing had finally worn on her soul for too long and she lost the will to live.
“If you wanted me to kill you, you could’ve made it a bit easier, you know.”
Chapter 7: The Power Of Delusions
“Ohohoho…where’s…the fun…in that.”
With those last words, the old woman passed away. Fionn sheathed her sword and walked away from her corpse. She had scarcely made it a few feet when the old woman appeared before her. This should have been shocking for Fionn but she did not act surprised for she knew that the woman before her was not the real Psamathe, nor was it a clone made out of sand.
As she stood in front of the smiling old woman, Nyameye, the children and her teacher gathered around her. They all had smiles across their faces. A sign of the pride they held in her. Fionn took off her helm and in doing so revealed her face to them with her eyepatch , scar and smiling face visible to all. Fionn was happy but this happiness lasted for only a few seconds as she realized that Nyameye could be in danger. She ran off to find him but stopped as someone in a black mask appeared before her. Then everything went black.