Consecutive flares of stark white swooped through the circled outline of the valley like a wave of light, like dozens of candles lighting up for just a moment around Nyss before flaring out, her opponents appearing from within.

Her body moved as swiftly as it needed to, uncountable years of practice steering her muscles by sheer instinct. She took a simple step back, the flat of her greaves grinding against the hardened rock, and raised her sword tentatively, only a few inches. Her eyes remained open, a sharp, piercing gold. Their weight bore into them, as though every movement, every twitch of their muscles could be easily seen through, like she knew what they were going to do before they did it.

Metchi and the trainers felt it too. And there was only one thing to do.

The three raised their hands and yelled in unison, their voices echoing through the hollow valley.

"Flamethrower!"

Three pairs of steps echoed and the licking of flames crackled for a moment before Enma, Wrathia and Lorencia threw their heads forward and spat swirling torrents of fire, each one dwarfing their own bodies in size. They burned through the air in a straight line and converged together halfway toward Nyss, blooming in size and power. It was less a torrent than a surge, an explosion of heat and force that fell upon the woman with the speed of lightning.

She moved her hand quickly, one fluid motion right as the flames were upon her. There was little strength behind the swing, just as much as was needed. Because as Nyss cut through the flames with Obsidian, it was not the sword itself that made them part, but her Will. It was remarkably simple, from her perspective. She wanted the flames to part, and through a swing of her sword, she made them part.

Much more impressive from the trainers' eyes, the crashing wave of flames cut itself in half as though by a potent gust of wind, but it did not dissipate. After swinging her sword, Nyss raised it up again, this time over her head. It wasn't a lazy gesture by any means, but neither was it quick or hurried. More casual, as though it were as natural for her as breathing.

And as the sword was raised, soon did the flames follow. Pulled by some magnetic force, they rose high into the air in the form of long, brilliant ribbons of heat, rapidly swirling around the tip of the sword as they were siphoned, absorbed. Veins of brilliant red and white carved through the glass-like surface of the weapon, streaking past it and onto Nyss' arm itself, lighting up her scars like rays of lightning straying off thunder. All the weight and power of their attack now glowed from within Nyss, turning the mirage of her body more solid, making her heartbeat echo all throughout the valley like the hums of the drums of war.

From afar, past the awe and fear she felt, Inyssa recognized what was happening, and she would've bet anything Cynthia did too. It was one of the earliest Nyss tales, one of her favorites as a kid. In it, Nyss slashed at a wall of flames that stood in her way, absorbing them onto her blade, using its strength as her own. The way she did it now was exactly as it was described in that story, down to a T.

Now, faced with such a sight, Inyssa could do little but gulp.

Surging with power, Nyss closed her eyes and breathed in, then out. It was felt through the air like a rush of wind. Then she took a simple step forward and extended her arm over her chest, sword pointing behind her. Winding back.

"Well… that was bad idea," Metchi muttered, lips pursed nervously. "Y'all should probably…"

Nyss slashed in a wide arc, and a storm of gale and flames exploded from the length of the cut, falling upon them like a tempestuous wave. For that moment alone, their sight was nothing but red and white. A wall of heat and power unrolled throughout the whole length of the valley.

"Protect!" Barry, Cynthia and Inyssa yelled in unison.

Half the Pokemon around them raised their hands forward, and through their combined efforts a colossal wall of energy was raised, so thick and bright they could barely see the flames past it. But they certainly felt them as they crashed. Tremors shook the ground, and one by one the many layers of the barrier broke down, until only a couple remained before the flames fully dissipated.

The barrier vanished, and before them stood Nyss just like before, waiting, immobile, and surrounded on all sides by scorched, smoking earth. She looked up toward them, and a minuscule smile formed on her lips. She tilted her head up in a gesture that seemed to say 'Is that all?'.

The three trainers felt it. That buzz in their veins, that familiar heat that came in battle. Unconscious smiles were drawn on their faces, and their orders came soon after.

"Everyone, spread out!" Cynthia bellowed, throwing her hand forward. "Fighters in the front, sweepers and immobilizers in the back! Those who can fly, give them aerial support!"

"Got it!" Inyssa yelled. "Enma, Shadi!"

"Pedri, Kitsune!" Barry followed.

Unified roars echoed as the Pokemon threw themselves at their opponent, Cynthia's Garchomp and Lucario joining them only a moment after. Nyss saw them coming and took a step back, feet sliding slightly apart. She fell into a small crouch and raised her sword in a downward position, hilt up, blade down. Her golden pupils moved frantically from one Pokemon to the other, as though she were a machine analyzing them to the core. And as she did so, her posture changed ever so slightly. It was subtle, almost impossible to notice. A quarter of an inch slide back with her left foot, a couple millimeters of adjustment in her sword's angle, they were the kind of movements that only someone intimately familiar with combat and her own body would've been capable of.

As the other Pokemon roused to action behind them, Garchomp was the first to reach her, followed by Shadi and Lucario. The first wound her arms back and slashed at the woman in an X, an attack which was parried with minimal effort, the beast's claws bouncing off violently at the mere touch of the black sword. In an instant Shadi slipped past the dragon and spun on the ball of her feet, the buzz of her wings adding speed to her slash as Lucario jumped over and threw himself down at Nyss' head with a kick.

Nyss stood up out of her two-armed stance, swinging her sword down with her left hand to block Shadi's slash while raising the other one above her head, grabbing Lucario's ankle with an iron grip and completely killing the momentum of his kick. Both Pokemon froze in shock for a moment, but there was no time for such a thing. A purple glimmer shone behind Nyss. Kitsune materialized from nothing, a wellspring of psychic energy materializing into the form of a sword in his hands, which he raised forward and stabbed onto the woman's b–

"Too slow."

Although being called such was truly offensive for someone as fast as Kitsune, he had little time to worry about that as the woman turned around in a flash and –with strength that was entirely inhuman– slammed the airborne Lucario against him as though she were using a hammer to hit a nail. The sword of energy vanished into the air. Both Pokemon fell to the ground hard, cracks echoing as bones were broken by the impact.

Nyss did not wait. Moving on autopilot, she immediately gripped the sword with both hands again and raised it over her head, ready to skewer both Pokemon with–

Sharp, glass-like cracks resounded behind Nyss as a pair of vines as thick as her arms shot up from the ground, coiling tightly around her wrists and pulling them taut. Her brow knit up slightly at the feeling of thorns digging into her skin. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the two Roserade in the distance, their bouquet-like hands pressed against the ground. Frowning, she started to pull against the vines, but a pair of streaking figures shot at her from the left and right.

"Aqua Jet!"

"Mach Punch!"

Pedri's entire weight and the momentum from his speed slammed against Nyss' side. Pieces of black iron flew off her armor as she was thrown back, straight toward Enma. She tried to spin and maneuver in mid air, slashing at the air with her sword, but the Infernape ducked under the slash and, with only a few inches of space between them, threw an uppercut with as much strength as he could muster, the flame-coated knuckles bending the metal of the armor and digging into the woman's stomach.

Breath and spit flew from her mouth as she was thrown dozens of feet up in the air, limbs uncoordinated, body spinning wildly. She recovered quickly, however. Still high up, she forcibly spun and angled herself to look down, both her hair and her blade streaking like lines of black behind her as she fell, eyes set on Enma.

"Again!" Cynthia and Inyssa yelled.

Another pair of enormous vines shot up from the ground, traveling more than a dozen feet up the air before coiling around Nyss' ankle. She threw her arm down and tried to cut at them with her sword, but just then the vines moved as though they had a mind of their own, rising higher and holding her up like a Magikarp in a fish hook.

"Now, everyone!" Barry yelled. "Blast her!"

"Right!"

It was like a show of lights, a night lit by fireworks. Torrents of water and flame, bolts of electricity and rays of frozen energy were shot in a circle, all aimed straight at Nyss. Looking at them upside-down, the woman blinked once, and smiled.

She moved her arm swiftly, but not hurriedly, and just like before an incredible force sprouted forth from the slash. It was as though a gust of wind had knocked the attacks out of place. They all bended around the air Nyss was occupying, crashing above her where the vines were holding her, the sheer force and brightness of the explosion blinding them for a moment.

Which was unfortunate, because that same force was now propelling Nyss like a bullet toward them, eyes cold and ruthless, sword raised behind her, ready to strike.

Again, thought Inyssa, nibbling her lower lip. That move she used, it's just like…

But there was no time for thinking, only acting.

"Lorencia!"

"Enma!"

"Intercept!" both women yelled in unison.

The Garchomp was the only creature in the battlefield that could move nearly as fast as Nyss, jumping up in a flash and slamming against her with her entire body, stopping the woman's momentum. Nyss wasted no time, however, slashing with enough force to cut a couple inches into Lorencia's rock-hard shoulder. A grunt of pain left the Garchomp's maw and Nyss retreated the sword to slash again, but she suddenly noticed a bright light in the corner of her eye.

"Rhaaaaaa!"

Covered head to toe in flames, Enma slammed his fist against her cheek with enough force for the impact to echo around them. Nyss' head was thrown back, a sudden breath leaving her mouth. Moving quickly, both Pokemon wound their arms back and attacked at the same time, but Nyss recovered too quickly, throwing her body back as their arms passed overhead and kicking at their chests with both her feet.

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All three sent tremors throughout the ground as they fell, though Nyss and Lorencia were quick to get up, soon followed by Enma and the rest of the Pokemon close by. Nyss slashed strategically and took a few steps back as her opponents began to pile up, trying to surround her. She didn't fight desperately, like a wild Pokemon. Actually from the Pokemon's perspective, it was like they were fighting wind.

"Noria," said Cynthia. "Get ready to throw up a barrier if needed. Atlans, use your vines to immobilize her whenever possible."

"You too, Bret!" yelled Inyssa. "Johnny, attack with water when you've got a clear shot! Kuro, run around and zap her as much as you can!"

"Wrathia, Razen, follow their lead!" said Barry. "We should probably…"

Metchi took a step forward, absentmindedly spinning her knives in her hands.

"Don't go leaving me out of the action too," she said. "I know there's no way in hell I can compare to a monster like her, but if I can do at least a little bit of damage…"

She and Inyssa exchanged quick glances, and the same idea seemed to form in both their heads.

"Steven!" yelled the trainer. "Go with Metchi! You know what to do!"

There was no hesitation. The Staraptor swooped down and did the same thing he'd done with Mars in their fight against Shadi, grabbing Metchi with his talons and lifting her up, becoming her own personal pair of wings.

"Devias and Barry's Staraptor should join them in the air as well," Cynthia suggested. "And you three, do not forget about your powers! Even if they're weakened, we must use every tool at our disposal if we are to emerge victorious!"

"Roger!"

Metchi and the rest of their Pokemon took off to the skies, the subtle, golden warmth emanating from the woman somehow shared amongst them, as though they were emitting sunlight. Barry and Inyssa didn't need to look to know the gold of her eyes burned brightly. Theirs was the same way.

In unison, both trainers closed their eyes and pressed a hand against their chest as the fight raged around them. There was a change in the atmosphere. An electric shiver, a revitalizing gale. An invisible energy began to flow and crackle between the two, resonating with the warmth Metchi was emanating from afar. Suddenly, they could feel each other's heartbeat as though they were their own. That feeling, that pressure was… definitely weaker than the one their foe was exerting, but it was theirs nonetheless.

"There's probably not much we can do without Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie backing us up," said Barry, eyes still closed. "But as long as it helps…"

"We are stronger than the sum of our parts," Inyssa declared. "Each of our efforts will be another shard of the sword that will grant us victory!"

They opened their eyes and threw their hands forward in unison, the gold of their eyes flashing as a sudden, electrifying gale fell upon the battlefield. Pokemon and humans felt it equally as it washed over them. A shiver like that of blood rushing feverishly through one's veins, a sudden flash, a memory of what they were fighting to protect, and the way to make it so, paved before them by their own force of Will.

Multiple roars echoed throughout the valley as their Pokemon threw themselves at Nyss, the barest hint of gold hemming their bodies like veils of sunlight. Nyss froze for a moment in surprise, and that was enough for Lorencia to slam against her. There was a crack in the armor as the hardened elbow dug deep, followed by a sharp whistle as the Garchomp jumped a few inches into the air and spun in place like a buzz-saw, throwing one of her forearm scythes down against Nyss' head. She moved her hand, tried to raise her sword, but dizzying trails of light closed in on her and she realized she was surrounded. There was no time to block.

With inhuman swiftness and precision, Nyss took a half-step to the side and raised an empty hand to the right, and the sword to the left. It was a matter of an instant. Three exact, simultaneous movements. Lorencia's scythe cut through the iron shoulder guard like butter, sending a substantial chunk flying off, yet barely missing her skin.

Time slowed to a crawl. Nyss' gaze moved to the left, then the right. Alakazam and Infernape came at her from either side, one winding a punch, the other slashing down at her shoulder with a golden sword of light. But this, too, would miss its mark. She was in movement, Obsidian cutting up the air to parry the slash while her free hand–

She heard a sound. A creaking, derisive laugh coming from the Alakazam barreling toward her. Then his eyes lit up a beautiful purple, and the rest of his body followed.

"What–?"

Both her foes blinked out of existence in a flash, then reappeared where the other had previously been. Nyss couldn't even be surprised. There was a sudden, dull pain in her wrist as the Infernape chopped upwards, throwing Obsidian off her hands and up into the air. Then came the buzz. Like thousands of insects flapping their wings at once, sharp in sound and luminosity, the golden sword fell upon her and cut straight through her armor and onto her shoulder, slicing down to her collarbone.

A wet creak resounded and blood trailed through the air as she stumbled back, teeth clenched and face scrunching up in pain. It wasn't a lot. The highly concentrated energy of Alakazam's sword meant that the wound was almost instantly cauterized, but…

"Now!" Cynthia's voice echoed.

Bolts of lightning fractured the air. Her entire body lit up as the weaker one slammed against her back and cut off her retreat, paralyzing her for a fraction of a second, all that was needed for the second, much more powerful one to run her through the stomach.

"Keep it up!" a voice said, though Nyss could not tell whose amidst the confusion. "Don't give her a second to breathe!"

Lights exploded all around her. The torrential buzz of pressurized water, the roar of flames, the shimmer of psychic energy, they all barreled toward her in a flash. On instinct, she fell forward into a crouch as the flames passed over her, then used every ounce of strength in her legs to jump. Dust and force exploded in a shockwave around her. In an instant she was twenty feet up in the air, hand raised toward the sword that Enma had knocked off her hands. It was falling toward her. All she had to do was seize it and–

A blur of black and pink swooped down from above. Propelled by the powerful beat of Steven's wings, Metchi threw herself back and slammed her feet against Nyss' chest plate, completely sopping her momentum as she seized the sword with her left hand. She smiled cockily and waved the weapon from side to side.

"Oh I'm sorry hon, is this what you wante–?"

"It is."

Nyss reached up, fingers closing like a vice around Metchi's ankle. Searing pain shot up her leg like needles of fire, erasing the smile off her face, and then they started to drop. She didn't know how much Nyss and that armor weighed together, but it was clearly more than Steven could lift.

"Devias!" Cynthia's voice resonated in the distance.

"Paulette, Auri!" Barry's followed.

The two winged Pokemon swooped down toward them, but Nyss was fast. Pulling Metchi's ankle down, she extended her other arm and grabbed at the girl's calf, the searing heat of her palms burning through the fabric of her jeans and driving into her skin. Metchi yelled and tried to kick at her face, but it was like kicking a rock. Nyss didn't flinch in the slightest, and instead pulled both her and Steven down with enough strength to slam her own forehead against Metchi's nose.

The pain was blinding. Obsidian slipped from her fingers and Nyss wasted no time seizing the weapon as they both began to fall. Luckily for Metchi, Paulette arrived just in time to save her from the deadly blade, slamming his glowing wing against the woman's stomach and sending her flying back, straight toward Devias and Auri.

"Moonblast!"

"Dazzling Gleam!"

There was no way she could dodge. In the blink of an eye, the Togekiss and Togetic expelled swirling, concentrated bursts of energy out of their mouths, shooting it point-blank at Nyss' face.

Force and light burst in a massive shockwave around them, followed by a cloud of smoke that seemed to darken what little of the sky could be seen through the valley. From said cloud Nyss plummeted down, smoke trailing behind her like black tentacles. She hit the ground hard, embedding herself into the rock and shaking the ground in waves.

"Metchi!" Barry yelled, concerned. "Are you…?"

"A-agh… yeah-yeah I'm okay, I'm…"

Metchi and Steven landed unevenly, both breathing harshly. Not only was there smoke coming from her right ankle and calf where Nyss had grabbed her, but a copious amount of blood was now running down her broken nose.

"Bitch really went for the head butt… forehead harder than my fucking life," she muttered angrily. "Agh… don't worry about me, what are you fucking waiting for!? Lay into her!"

It didn't need to be said twice. Raising their hands in unison, all three trainers bellowed their orders.

"Keep her in place!"

Nyss tried to move, to jump out of the way, but thick vines erupted from the ground around her. She cut at the first two but the ones behind her closed tightly around her wrists, lifting her up to her knees as another one gripped at her torso.

"Now!"

"Attack with everything you have!"

A storm of light and power ate through the valley. Pedri, Johnny and Razen spat torrents of water that combined together into a drill-like jet, Kuro and Auri shot twin bolts of lightning and Wrathia, Enma and Lorencia summoned forth every ounce of heat in their bodies, releasing them together into a cyclone of flames that turned the entire valley a bright crimson.

Noria and Kitsune were the ones to give it the finishing touch. Eyes ablaze with psychokinetic energy, they molded the air itself and twisted all the attacks until they merged into one another, creating a vortex of pure light and force, a destructive storm that swallowed their opponent whole.

Once the light flared, then twice it bloomed, rising and coiling around itself like a tower of liquid sun-fire. When the boom came, it was like slap from an invisible giant hand. Half the Pokemon were thrown off their feet like they were pulled back by a string, and all humans but Cynthia suffered the same fate. Metchi and Steven were thrown off the air, Inyssa flew like a leaf in a tornado and Barry barely managed to catch her before the shockwave hit him, sending both to the ground.

Spitting out a mouthful of Inyssa's hair, Barry grimaced and lifted both of them up to their knees, the world spinning around them. Everything was black and blurry. The thick smell of smoke and sulfur permeated the air. Even Cynthia didn't seem to escape unscathed, coughing and tearing up as the cloud of black rolled toward them. By the time they got back to their feet, it was hard to even see each other amidst the smoke.

Luckily, there was a quick way to fix that.

"Paulette, use Gust!"

The Staraptor beat her wings at dizzying speeds, and a torrent of wind fell upon the valley, sweeping away the smoke and dust permeating the air and covering what little was left of the setting sun. The cloud dissipated into the air in a hundred little motes, revealing the battlefield once more. The ground was cracked all over. Black and scorching. And there in the very back, ashes of incinerated vines trailing behind her…

A small glow. Weak, golden, like a dome of sunlight.

"W-what?" Inyssa's eyes went wide. "What is…?"

Metchi scoffed. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."

Amber, the most renowned of all shields, held its glow strong for a few more moments before flaking away, melting into the air itself as the ring in Nyss' right hand did the same. The fingers behind it were charred, black, and most of her armor, especially past the circumference of the now destroyed shield, was smoking and red hot. Even so, most of the attack had clearly been absorbed.

Inyssa blinked in disbelief. This time, she was absolutely sure; all of Nyss' more complicated maneuvers so far had been… well, derivative, of her own tales and legends. They were all things she'd been rumored to have done before. Almost as if she were putting on a show for them. A 'Nyss' greatest hits' of sorts, as absurd as the idea was. But…

"Now…"

She was startled back to reality. Nyss stomped the ground, the air bending with heat around her, and rose to her feet, right arm falling limp at her side. She breathed harshly for the first time since the start of the fight. The lines on her face, previously framing the ruthlessness of her expression, were now relaxed and amused, and a smile could clearly be seen on her lips.

Pleasantly surprised, she laughed and looked upon them.

"I must say… there aren't many things in this world that could shatter a shield like Amber. You've all done exceptionally well so far. But that's enough warming up," she said. "Time may weaken the Spirit and dot rust across one's blade, but we humans will find ways to make them meet again and again, like an endless play."

And this time, when that feeling of deja-vu dawned on Inyssa, realization did as well. She understood now. All those incredible feats she'd performed so far, the words she'd just spoken the way she carried herself and even the weapons and armor she used… they were taken straight out of tales and legends about her. They were all…

They were all memories, Nyss herself included. It made sense; after thousands of years, so little of her immeasurable spirit, of her famed strength, must have remained. She was literally running on fumes now. Less than a shadow of her former self, Nyss was… she was only what she could remember of herself. She played through the battles she'd once fought, the maneuvers she'd once executed, because that was all that was left of her. Only memories remained, and she was using them as fuel, as kindle for her flame to burn one last time before it went out for good.

With that realization, now Inyssa knew, as the woman raised Obsidian over her head, exactly the words that would leave her lips next.

"For when steel and blood meet, a flame sparks alight."

Suddenly, the air felt very cold. It was like a vacuum, a sink of heat located within Obsidian itself. Barely-visible wisps of luminescence rose up from Nyss' blackened armor, from the blood running down her shoulder, from the smoking ground around her, expanding and twisting and coalescing into a mass of pure concentrated energy within the cracks and veins of the ebon blade. The heat donned its length in a light that should have been blinding, but seemed almost… contained, much like the heat itself. As though Nyss were keeping them both from pouring out by willpower alone.

Though only for a short time. The sight was so strange, so entrancing that it took the four of them longer than it should have to realize what was about to happen.

"Tsk!" Cynthia clicked her tongue, taking a step back. "Q-quickly, we–!"

"Everyone, look out!" Inyssa yelled. "Protec–!"

Her sentence was swallowed by the rush of flames. Every vein of heat carved across Nyss' arm and the length of her blade expanded, grew out like lightning from a storm, the immense heat within freed at last. It shot off in all directions, quick and indiscriminate, too fast to react to. Hundreds… no, thousands of thin strands, of veins of flame, weaved through the air and filled the circumference of the valley in an instant, stopping at nothing to swallow it whole.

The brightness blinded them. The sound was like that of a jet engine's flame divided into countless threads. Inyssa reacted instinctively, closing her eyes, raising her hands over her face, and she did not have to wait for the pain to arrive.