> A fool's bliss is of ignorance and unmindfulness.
Wok and Probacon sitting on a crane that rises into the outer atmosphere as they eat sandwiches.
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Wok took into complete view the entirety of the platform, as those within the Coliseum hollered more from growing impatience.
Dgiag transposed into the Field, ready to reintroduce these two contestants.
"On this end,…” He said, pointing to where Wok stood. "The attainer of an unreached higher state and a faux godhood, attaining strength of all measures far beyond normal, and even greater potential. The Grand Rock; Grandmaster of The Cosmic Soil, Ran Wok!!!"
The crowd had minimal reaction to his presence, primarily resulting from the lackluster nature of Wok's previous battle in contrast to others.
He simply shrugged in nonchalance.
"And in the other,…" Dgiag continued, pointing opposite to Wok.
"One still shrouded in much mystery. Of the Kibito, and a carrier of their will. Tyrai!" He finished.
There were a few more cheers to Tyrai’s name, who was fairly all and muscular, having two mostly flattened and overlapping horns at the front of his head, along with mid-length straight black hair, a limestone tone and pure gray irides with no pupils, akin to a moon, and clothed a black vest with many white tomoe markings, gray harem pants and a strange kind of open-toed sandals that had ankle-high straps. He stood casually, eyes fixed on Wok, assessing his opponent.
《Tyrai. Member of the Kibito. Age Unknown.》
"…I fight the Ghoul God?" He said with a decently masculine voice, cracking a smile.
"Eh? Whozzat?,” asked a genuinely confused Wok, much to the disillusionment of the KIbito.
Wait…why am I here again? Wok pondered, with ever-growing confusion born of his cyclic memory loss and return. Come on! Think….Oh!
"This is totally a contest of artistic acumen, right?,” declared Wok innocently, pointing boldly at his opponent.
From which a wave of puzzlement and second-hand embarrassment from all corners would bloom, particularly noticeable amongst his allies.
"Wok…,” sighed an exasperated David, with a palm slapped onto his forehead.
"That moron…,” said an annoyed Noot as he furrowed his brows.
Dgiag just sighed.
"Now, your respects.” He said, to Tyrai and a still amnesiac Wok.
"Of what kind…?" He asked in a manner more archaic than he usually spoke, but in a kind and gentle expressiveness. "Could you explain such a word to an old-timer like myself?”
So this is the fracturing…, ruminated Dgiag. Truly a heavy burden.
Suddenly, Wok snapped into his normal self, and into realization. “Ah–.”
He would quickly perform a multitude of Eisendic greetings, much to Tyrai's bemusement and a blank stare from the Djikk host.
The KIbito would simply bow, not looking to waste any further pace.
Dgiag took himself out of their midst.
And upon that podium on which he and Tōmii took seat, he raised his hand high and straight, nearing to commence.
"BEGIN!!!"
Tyrai wasted no time, and began sprinting at Wok.
In response, the latter simply sent out powerful shockwaves in his opponent’s path with a swing of his arm, catapulting Tyrai in the opposite direction, and blasting away some urban rocks.
Tyrai recovered relatively fast, looking towards and gleaming widely at Wok.
"Huh. You’re taking this more seriously…" He spoke in excited anticipation. "Mmm…maybe. Just really wary of you…”
“Fellow All-Meridian."
Tyrai grinned at this response.
"Works for me. So better be prepared…" He placed his hand upon the rocky earth, and altered portions into liquid pewter.
And from that he procured a giant mace connected to a chain.
He began swinging it around rapidly, and pouring over it a myriad of energies and essences.
"RAN WOK!!" He exclaimed, launching the mace towards Wok.
Wok’s response was a simple defensive one, of forcefields that deflected the mace.
He then took offensive initiative by activating a set of three burly deep dark purple spurs sprouting from his lower back, as well as two thick ones arched over each shoulder joint.
His Jutwale!¹ Tyrai thought with an etched stare.
He used the spurs from his back to attack Tyrai, unleashing great blasts of energy and elements, all aimed at his opponent with a simultaneous forward stroke of all three.
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Tyrai evaded, charging at Wok at top speed.
But Wok nonchalantly stepped a good length back, spewing toxins from his spurs all over the ground fronting him.
Tyrai avoided these toxins by leaping high into the air.
He'd fire from his palm a gathered beam of pure radiance high in intensity towards Wok, and the Ghouling subsequently let it past himself.
And took offense again, creating a spiraling orb of energy on his palm, surrounded by a four-point star-shaped formation of wind.
He forcefully threw the ball towards his opponent.
Tyrai eluded it by making his body intangible and letting the attack simply pass through him.
Wok's eyes slightly jumped from the unexpected nature of that maneuver.
Tyrai then concentrated vast energy, of a yellow and orange coloration, around his fist with a fluctuating glow.
~ROSHAMBO!~ He immediately darted down and thumped onto the platform with that hand, causing gross tellurian devastation in the form of an explosion.
The platform had just managed to take a new form just before the attack; now a disk-like body with the spread of a hundred larger Jovian worlds, upon whose surface the explosion could be seen as a spark.
The turbulent aftermath eventually settled, revealing the contenders to still be upon their feet, with no wound, and no sign of fatigue.
The crowds roared, with growing excitement related to a contest more testimonial to the titles granted to Wok.
The Ghouling looked at his opponent with indifference, the wind from the prior explosion swinging his hair to the wayside and exposing his left eye, with black sclera unlike his right, and a white iris outlined with red, and lines similar to cracks on the skin around said eye.
The Kibito returned the look, but with a wide and satisfied grin, activating his visual power as the area around his eyes strained, and the eyes became an even purer gray.
He looked at Wok for a while, viewing the flows and pathways of all his lifebloods.
"It’s great, I think." He said, gaining more of Wok's attention. “Fighting someone like you."
"Hmmm. Well, I don't know you that much to understand. Heck, I don't remember your match or even most of them, mine included. I can't even recall what I ate a few hours ago.” Wok rambled in reply, slowly getting more and more audible as he went on.
Tyrai looked at him with no reaction as he spouted on.
Wok sighed, falling backwards onto the ground.
"All in all…sorry, but…I don't feel the same.” He said as he looked skyward, apologizing to Tyrai.
The latter's expression became slightly more aggressive.
"Hm. That’s it, huh?" He replied in a disappointed tone just as the Ghouling rose, bringing the latter to heed his words.
"Shame."
He suddenly launched himself at Wok at unprecedented rapidity.
But Wok was quick to catch on, fortifying himself against the intended attack. Fast!
Out of thin air, Tyrai produced an energy blade, using it to essay stabbing into Wok's neck.
~Unending!~ But the latter defended by creating another forcefield, this time one that simulated an infinite distance between the user and all else via infinitely self-multiplying fractions in space, but still allowed the user to make physical contact if desired.
Tyrai canceled its effect however, punching Wok away with a biff.
Wok began his recovery from that attack, healing the agitated side of his face. Great. My one issue in any fight. Zero hand-to-hand skill….
And my guy…well, he sure seems to have some level.
He looked at Tyrai, who took a casual stance and stared at him while leering.
Wok got up slowly, taking his time in such proceeding.
But it was a ploy, as in an instant, he blitzed Tyrai with a point-blank wave of energies to the face.
~Circle of Life Wake!!~ He activated a Nimbus, one with gold and white coloration, and a roughly arboreal and mystic desýgign with a jeweled arrowhead on its forehead.
The Nimbus that reverts causality to zilch. In that case… Tyrai mentated, preparing a counter.
Tyrai then did something to himself, which left him unaffected by the Nimbus's ability.
Wok pursed his lips in a mild impression.
He was subsequently pushed back with a front thrust-kick to the sternum from Tyrai.
He skidded along the ground on his feet for a while, before finally coming to a halt. This…this is a feeling I don’t think I’ve felt in a while…
My constant ragdolling…the dropping sweat…the rapid beating in my chest…
I… "…I just may be attuned to this now." He declared with a small grin on his face.
And so would Tyrai, but his was much wider and in great ecstasy at those words. "Yeah…that's good…”
“That's very good!" He shouted, which at first startled Wok.
The latter would later crack a light laugh.
And both would laugh together for a while, bringing about concerns amongst the audience.
《And between two mani-powered has a strange synchrony formed…》
"Uh…should we be concerned?,” asked a concerned Probacon, still facing the projection while conversing with the others. "Most probably, yeah…,” replied Watch, just as concerned. “I am greatly surprised by this…” Adashu added to their commune.
"No shock or surprise on my end,” added Noot.
"Wok is, to me, quite likely the most mental of this lot. But…it's not an exceedingly huge gap, now is it?”
"Did you just call us crazies?,” asked Couch.
"Did not realize you were allied with us, Couch,” commented Adashu with sarcastic dismissal, causing Couch to scowl.
Meanwhile, back within the Field, Wok and Tyrai had begun throwing everything at each other, as the platform itself steadily greatened in its total extent. Now six times more colossal than a starry giant, the dyad were allowed to display even more of their already supernormal might.
Wok shot bolts of white and black lightning at his opponent, who did avoid them.
He returned the favor with a flinging forward of his hand, causing a great rumbling of the ground, but affecting Wok in no way.
Then Wok sent a set of varied projected slashes, one of aerial nature, one of spirit essence, one of light, one of modification and one of dimensionality. Tyrai would make haste and swiftly move away from them.
Tyrai had been previously stunned by that attack, but it quickly changed to a jovial and excited smile.
Both now finally sprinted at each other simultaneously, unwavering in their thirst as their epic match marched on and on…
《Let their fires burn brighter!》
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1. The name of strange additional organs of these Ghoulings, for locomotion, feeding, and combat.
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