POV Sora

Today called for rain I see. The leaves of the trees around me still wet from the early morning downpour. The sounds of the pattering rain can be heard dancing across the pond in front of me. Small ripples leaving trails in their beaten path. The birds are chirping past the sound of the now leaving rain. It was rare sight in Avirun. The Hyers said it was pointless for it to rain, the city has an artificially built water system. The plants are always watered, people always hydrated. Very rarely did it rain or thunder anymore. My pants stick to my skin because of the humidity. The sword on my back making this experience all the more uncomfortable. I take it from its sheath and jam it into the ground next to me. I managed to find a curiously dry spot under a tree. My guess being the leaves blocked what little rain there had been from touching the ground, the forest being as dense as it was. I gently throw myself to the ground using the tree to prop myself up. A nice, quiet place. My sword giving off bits and pieces of reflections from the broken patterns of the sun through the leaves. I don’t have to be back for a while, I have at least a few hours. I chose to take this opportunity to look out over the pond. Across the way are two deer, what I guess are a male and female. One having antlers and the other not. They were taking turns watching for danger while the other drank from the clear pond. It’s amazing, even though they’re animals, they have a level of protection over each other. The breeze knocks my hair the other direction and I start to feel my eyes become heavy. A nice, quiet place.

POV Inori

The inside of this room reeks of dust and stagnation. I hate this room, I avoid it as much as possible. The dust from the light switch is evident enough of this. I can’t stand to stay here any longer, I put my uniform on and head to the elevator.

“Take my ass to floor One!”

The elevator does nothing. Perhaps I should push the button. The elevator moves down several floors and stops. Please god don’t let it be someone annoying, I don’t want to listen to anymore crap. The doors slowly open and in front of me appears Dr. Nishue. Fucking great, while you’re at it why don’t you just have… In the middle of my thought his assistant walks in behind him, probably debriefing him on the latest Lydius sighting. Well, I’m prepared to be annoyed.

Dr: Hello Inori, where are you off to? You seem to be in a hurry.

“Isn’t your pet talking to you?”

Dr: No I’m talking to her.

“Well she’s not listening.”

The elevator thankfully hits floor one and I ignore all else. The large lobby is full of people mingling and talking about their day to day research. I don’t give a shit about anything except getting to where I’m going. Out of this god forsaken “city”. As quickly as I came I left, right out of the door. The city was always alive, there was no such thing as downtime in Avirun. Which was why I needed a break. I take to the rooftops and leap from building to building until I reach the outer wall. The wall is highly guarded by Aviruns police force. They stood constant watch over the forest ahead. Making sure everything on the other side was normal, if they spotted any Lydius they were to report it immediately. As the guard turns his back I take a deep breath and scale the 40 foot wall. Having already been on the rooftops and with my agility level, scale isn’t really even the word I should use. I more or less just jumped it. I swiftly climb over the other side and land directly into a tree to avoid being seen. I didn’t hear anyone angrily call my name so I guess I’m all clear. Happily I stroll my way through the damp forest. The ground mushing under my steps, much preferred over the hard streets of Avirun. The sounds of dear catch my attention. They must be at least a kilometer away, I can smell their lingering scent. I run towards the smell to get a glimpse of the rare wild animals. In only a couple of minutes I cover the distance. The leaves on the trees still dripping away. I’m surprised they let it rain. Must have been a special occasion or something. God forbid their city not be perfect. Suddenly I picked up another scent, someone else was nearby. No one should be out right now. The adults are confined to the city and the basilisks are in training. There didn’t seem to appear to be any obvious signs that a class F Lydius came through here. They’re too large to fit through here without destroying the area around them. Perhaps something small maybe? Something flashes ever so slightly in the distance, what could that be? I’m not taking any chances. I unveil Reaver from its sheath. My favorite sound, the steel of this blade. Slowly I make my way closer, my heart starting to beat faster and faster. I love this. The fire inside me before the battle. I crave this. I slowly approach the figure, it appears to be sitting against the tree. As I got close enough to attack I was able to see his sword. Its black blade gleaming effortlessly in the daylight. That’s a serious blade, it’s not as strong as Reaver but this will definitely be a good fight.

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POV Sora

The deer were beautiful to watch but something startled them, and it wasn’t me. The sounds of the birds seemed to stop, along with the wind. I stand up and pull Lazaurain from the ground. Something doesn’t feel right. I didn’t hear it coming. Like lighting a blade flies past my face, I block it by a mere inch. I jump back with my sword drawn.

“Who’s there?!”

A moment later another strike. The sounds of swords clashing fills the air, this time, accompanied by a girl. Her long silver hair flowing effortlessly behind her. We had locked swords, so she knocks mine in the air and tries to attack my left side. A swift swing fit for lighting tells me I’m not dealing with any ordinary person, this speed was inhuman. I draw my movement backwards and release a series of kicks. She blocks them with ease, but she didn’t block my sword. While focusing on my kicks I managed to land a blow. A small stream of blood tears down her face. Her expression proved that she was not happy about this. But before I can land another blow she wipes the blood onto her sword. Something wasn’t right here, her sword starts to glow like veins. Running up and down the the blade like water across skin. What followed was a series of relentless strikes. All heavy and fast. I couldn’t keep up. I saw a small window and tried to strike. She locks my sword and for the first time I got a look at her eyes. Crystal blue, she was calm and calculated. I then looked down at her weapon and saw the symbol of Reaver. There’s no way, that’s impossible. The rumors of the blood sword are true? She breaks my guard and with one swift turn and kick my sword is thrown into the air and ends up in her hands.

“I don’t know who you are.”

The strange girl just stares at me. Her pose still that of someone who is fighting.

?: That was a lot of fun.

“Who the hell are you?”

?: The smell of fear, I love that smell.

“What are you talking about?”

She swings my sword to my left to draw my attention, and follows up with an over head strike from her own. I manage to grab her hand and get behind her while disarming her sword from her in the process.

?: What are you doing out here?

“Who the hell are you, I was just out here walking!”

?: If you’re going to lie tell it to someone who isn’t smart.

“I’m not lying you maniac!”

?: Give me my sword back. I won’t ask twice.

“You’re in no place to talk.”

Her eyes give me a look of intimidation. She draws a second sword from her back. She lands her blows one after another. Her sword felt so heavy in my hands. It wasn’t made of the same material as the rest of ours. Hers was made of some kind of high grade steel. We ran out of steel long ago, so we moved over to Cervenium. The strongest thing known to man. Lighter than traditional steel, stronger than diamond. It gave off energy similar to plutonium. Her sword was crossed with steel and Cervenium. This is one powerful sword, even if it is a little older. I block her attacks one after another while trying to find an opportunity to strike. This girl is skilled, every step, every swing, every breath, calculated, and nothing less. She was fast too, I could barely keep up. She was trained in a sword art, there’s no way she was just this good. Another barrage of attacks comes in, this time with more rage. Something is hurting in her, she shouldn’t have to put this much emotion into a fight like this. She swings around and knocks my swing from her back. Before I can make another move her second sword is pointed firmly against my throat. Besides being scared to death, I was enthralled. Her every move was pure beauty. I’ve never seen such a display before. I turn the sword behind my back and flip backwards. She gave me no time to rest. Swing after swing, I could hear the swords cutting through the air. Everything in my mind was blank, all my focus on the movements of the girl in front of me. Why was she trying to kill me? Surely this isn’t random, I didn’t attack her. Again she locks her swords with mine. I can’t use any sword skills without Lazaurain. My sword still being handled by her effortlessly. Suddenly Lazaurain starts glowing, there was no way… She can use Lazaurain’s sword skill? There’s only supposed to be one person who can. She drops her second sword and two hands Lazaurain. In one motion she cuts down and disarms me, causing me to fall to the ground. I’m not sure when but her eyes had begun glowing.

She thrusts the sword into the ground and picks hers back up. Her dual blades are basically one sword. They’re just an extension of themselves. She sheathes both blades into her back and walks away.

“Who are you?”

?: Inori.

“Why did you attack me?”

I: The tattoo on your neck, you’re a Basilisk aren’t you? You shouldn’t be out here right now.

“And what are you? There’s no way you were trained to move like that.”

She looked at me with an almost emotionless face. With barely breaking a sweat she turns back around and continues walking. I dust myself off and pick up Lazaurain. It was scary knowing that she had so much power she could harness its power. It took me years to handle it, and she just picks it up like it’s nothing. Her white hair flowing behind her with pure form. I don’t care how good of a fighter she was, I was curious as to why she attacked me. I wasn’t one to make myself known so I hold onto my question.