Tempo, with aching bones, stepped toward his icy rival with booming, imbalanced steps. With each step, Tempo could feel an excruciating pain travel from the point of impact, which then traveled through his entire nervous system. Regardless of the pain, Tempo knew that this was the only way he could keep up with his team, it was the only way he could survive. He was certain that the other teams likely had players just as strong, if not stronger than Celsius or Infinite and these two were already omega-level in terms of strength.
‘If I can’t beat them, or at the very least, hang with them, I have no shot of surviving. I don’t even think I can beat Celsius at my current state, but I have skill points to spend. Now’s the time to find my weaknesses and cover them. Every second I use my Temporal Cloak on my own body, it hurts worse than anything I’ve ever experienced, but I need to do this to catch up!’
Even he thought it was crazy. Was it the game making him think this way? Was he finally no longer able to fight back against the game’s addictive nature? Or was this simply Ky’s survival instincts driving him to do the unthinkable? Perhaps it was all of these, culminating in creating an undying will, one determined to overcome any adversity under any means necessary.
Black and white energy began to emanate from Tempo’s quaking hands as he painstakingly walked toward Celsius. This energy was the result of Tempo’s aforementioned Spatial Construction ability, allowing him to fabricate objects by turning time, which is usually an intangible fabric of reality, into physical energy. This ability was still in its infancy. For the most part, Tempo could only create basic shapes. When it came to the more complex shapes, say a knife, for example, Tempo could only create small objects such as knives. He could also throw spatial energy as projectiles.
‘The descriptions of my new abilities are simple, however, a simple description usually means I get to be more creative. So far, it seems the only rules are the size. The more complex the item, the smaller it has to be.’
Tempo’s spatial energy, which appeared blacker than black with a border of white light, formed a short sword in his right hand. ‘It looks like, in terms of complex shapes, this is as big a weapon I can make. It doesn’t seem like this is attached to any cooldowns, so that’s one weakness of mine covered. Even if my cooldowns have been used, I still can defend myself.’
Celsius could feel a rushing sensation travel up his spine upon seeing his nemesis approach him with an all-new move. ‘So he’s been saving something for me too!’ Just the thought of Tempo wanting to beat Celsius just as badly as Celsius wanted to be him was thrilling. For once, it seemed Tempo was acknowledging him as a formidable foe, this thought too was exhilarating.
The ice user looked back to his fight with Blaze, remembering the feeling of going all out against a formidable foe with his newfound strength. Just the memory of it alone was intoxicating, that high of feeling powerful enough to flatten cities gave him a high unlike any other. Despite the memory filling Celsius with excitement, he was still unsatisfied. ‘We had to stop because I nearly destroyed the stadium– but inside the Hades Realm, we’re free to do whatever we want! Come at me Tempo! Give me everything you have!’ Though these words were kept silent, locked away inside of Celsius’s mind, Tempo could read everything through that shit-eating grin of his and those eyes beaming with competitiveness.
“Celsius, don’t hold back because I sure as hell won't!” Tempo’s roared with an almost unrecognizable voice. It was unclear if it was due to his mental state or a side effect of his Temporal Cloak ability being used on himself. Celsius nodded his frozen head, “You don’t have to tell me twice.” he said. As he spoke, the ice around his jaw crackled and smoke emanated from his frozen lips. Celsius too formed a weapon in his own hands; opting for a much larger weapon in comparison to the puny shortsword in his contemporary’s hands. His fingers began handcrafting a greatsword, staring from the hilt. This sword was beautiful, looking as if it were stripped right out of an anime with its sharp edges and complex design.
Despite Tempo being masked, Celsius knew that this was the most serious the time manipulator had ever been, it was seen through those glowing white eyes of his and the ferociousness of his boots hitting the ground with rhythmic steps. Tempo’s stare alone amplified the butterflies within Celsius, the excitement within him was reaching its limit.
The same could not be said for the rest of Team New York. Despite the atmosphere being unchanged by Mania, they could all feel the chilling aura resonating off of Tempo, or perhaps it was Celsius’s dry-ice form. They didn’t know much about Tempo; this was all by design for him. However, from what they could gather, he was rather reserved and level-headed. Based on his agonizing grunts with each step, his changed speech pattern, and the look of anguish in his eyes, they knew their initial read on him was inaccurate.
Lady Luck was already somewhat interested in Tempo. He was quite mysterious in her eyes, and she wanted to know his secrets. Seeing his transformation only piqued her interest even further.
Seeing that the battle was possibly about to get nasty, Infinite and Professor Anarchy started helping the others get back up on their feet before giving the two fighters some space to battle. By the time they were all at a safe distance, the ice manipulator and the time warper’s battle had commenced.
Ice met tangible time as their weapons clashed and an ice-cold wave of pressure emanated outward toward their spectators! Team New York, spectating the match from a good distance, covered their faces with their arms to protect themselves from the chilling air. The pressure was so intense, that their hair and clothes began fluttering backward despite them being half a football field’s distance away.
As the two clashed, the beta testers measured each other’s strength, trying to outdo the other by applying as much physical force as possible. Slowly, Tempo could feel himself losing the battle despite overexerting himself as Celsius overpowered him. Celsius’s ice form enhanced his physical strength, a category that Tempo was already lacking in.
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However, Ky took a note from Spectre’s playbook, turning his own sword intangible for a single moment. Celsius’s blade sliced the air beside Tempo, displacing the air around the blade and unleashing a cold wind toward their spectators once again.
It was just a moment, the briefest of moments, where Celsius found himself off balance. As if the world around him was moving in slow motion, Celsius could do nothing but watch as Tempo reeled his sword high above his own head. Tempo’s energy whirred as he cut through the air and Celsius’s frozen chest, cutting a chunk out of him as if he were carving an ice sculpture!
Celsius hardly reacted and a spike of ice retracted from his abdomen, impaling Ky in the shoulder and lifting him off the ground! This attack stunned Ky momentarily, but thanks to the adrenaline going through his veins, he was able to stay calm enough to reverse time. His feet were once again planted onto the ground and the icicle was removed from his shoulder. The second time resumed, Tempo took one big step backward as he sliced through the shard of ice before it would even get the chance to hit him.
Celsius and Tempo pointed their palms at one another as if they shared the same brain cell. Their respective forms of energy began to swirl around their palms and fingers and at the exact same time, they began firing a barrage of projectiles at each other! Celsius’s ice and Tempo’s spatial energy clashed between them and again, a blast of cold pressure blew outward in a three hundred and sixty degree radius!
By this point, everyone was on their feet, fighting against the 2Gs of force weighing them down. The amount of pressure was intense, so much so that the spectators found themselves sliding backward despite being so far away.
“You said we’re in 2Gs of gravitational force right?” Fixer held onto Infinite for dear life as the pressure blew him back, all the while Infinite stood in place like a statue. However, the question wasn’t directed toward him. Mania nodded, he too was being blown back slightly. “Correct.” said the emperor of the Hades Realm.
“If they’re moving like this in here– then imagine how they’d look in the real world…” Fixer felt a chill go down his spine. He looked around at everyone else, but he was the only one trembling. Perhaps it was due to the cold– but let’s be real, it was because he was afraid.
‘Why isn’t anyone else worried? Why do they all look– intrigued?’ He looked at Infinite’s face and he was completely locked in. Everyone else wore masks, but he could still see that they were fully invested in the fight. Fixer looked back toward Tempo and Celsius, still shaking in his boots. ‘There’s no way I can fight anyone of this level… They’ll kill me.’
Fixer had barely finished his first year of high school before he became a beta tester. Outside of Kapow, he was by far the youngest competitor thus far. His ability to create almost anything out of anything was handy for premeditated encounters, but one-on-one fights were where he was at his weakest. With eyes quaking, Fixer continued to watch the two of them fight, hoping he could continue to coast by on their coattails for the rest of the tournament.
Wanting the upper hand, Celsius started using both hands to generate even more energy and Tempo did the same. What was once a barrage of icicles turned into one concentrated frozen beam, one so powerful it could erase any normal human who was unlucky enough to come into contact with it!
Tempo’s barrage of shards of spatial energy also became one large beam as his hands joined together; however, Tempo’s ability was still untrained, and Celsius’s energy began to overtake his in both size and strength! It was the classic beam struggle from the anime games of old and Tempo found himself on the losing end of it.
One would be dead wrong to count Ky out despite the disadvantage. Black and white energy began to form in the shape of a ball beneath Ky’s feet! Before Celsius could destroy the time manipulator with his wave of ice, Tempo reeled his leg back and struck the formation of energy as if it were a soccer ball. He kicked it with such force, that a slipstream could be seen trailing behind the construct of physical time, curving underneath their clashing blasts before shattering Celsius’s icy torso and stunning him for just a moment, but a single moment was all Tempo needed.
If one were to stand behind Celsius, one could see Tempo running toward the ice user through the soccer ball-sized hole in his body. As Tempo painstakingly hauled ass toward his rival, he formed two blades in his hands. Meanwhile, the hole in Celsius’s body began to close, accompanied by the sounds of ice crackling!
‘I see!’ Tempo was on the offensive, slashing with his dual blades in an attempt to chip away at the ice sculpture! ‘There’s a noticeable decline in his speed when he’s repairing himself.’ As Celsius’s wounds healed, he was countering with his own blade, but the time warper was just too quick. The fact that Tempo could simply travel back in time and dodge any attack wasn’t doing the ice manipulator any favors either.
Tempo, seeing this as an opportunity to do some serious damage, raised both swords high above his head in preparation for one large attack. ‘If I can destroy his limbs, he will have to yield before they can grow back!’
Unfortunately, ending this fight wouldn’t be so easy, at least for Tempo. At the last possible moment, Celsius placed his palm on Tempo’s chest and a layer of ice started to encase the time warper! Tempo found himself frozen solid in mid-air, his swords still high above his head. ‘I- I can’t move.’
Tempo wasn’t the only one with cheap moves that were tied to cooldowns, which was something he expected. However, what he didn’t expect was how this move would affect him. Tempo tried to reverse time, he tried to do anything, but he could not. In the corner of Ky’s visual field, all of his cooldowns were greyed out! It seemed Celsius’s ability deactivated all of Tempo’s abilities, leaving him frozen solid indefinitely.
Celsius, forming yet another ice blade, placed it at Tempo’s neck. “Checkmate.” he told him, hiding the thrill of finally defeating Tempo deep within him. Despite his excitement, he still kept his cool exterior, both literally and figuratively.
Despite being frozen solid, Tempo was still conscious. And even though no words were being exchanged, the two agreed that the match was over. After a few seconds, the ice melted, and Tempo fell to the ground into a cold puddle. If Celsius wanted to, he could have left Ky frozen indefinitely or until he died of suffocation. However, he wouldn't kill his rival just yet.
Despite losing, Tempo wasn’t done just yet. They still had plenty of hours left to train. “Now the score is two to one, you still have some catching up to do.” Celsius was thrown off for a moment, but Tempo’s resolve was contagious. His resolve wasn’t only inspiring to Celsius, but to Team New York as well.
“Say, Professor, how about we spar?” Infinite asked the warlock as they both watched the other two in the distance.
“You took the words right out of my mouth, Infinite.” Professor Anarchy replied.
Lady Luck and Flora looked at each other, their exchange of looks was the only thing needed before the two headed off together to spar as well. This left Mania, Fixer, and Novacaine as a trio. ‘Thank God it’s uneven. I can just sit back and–’ Before Fixer could get too far into that thought, Mania jumpscared him with his booming voice. “Fixer. Novacaine. You’re both with me.” Neither of the two wanted to train, but Mania dragged them with him nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Celsius helped Tempo back onto his feet. Celsius didn’t notice it, but Tempo had just frozen time and went through his Hero x Villain app to purchase a few upgrades, and perhaps a new ability.
As for what exactly this entailed–
It would all be revealed during their next battle.