Elyza had fallen for it. As her halberd neared his head, Alex let himself slip on the smooth sand, avoiding her strike as lightning surged to his hand, the electricity crackling back up his arm. She had committed to the strike, her stance wouldn’t allow for a retreat. Hitting the ground, Alex let go of the spell.
The impact to her chest knocked the air out of her lungs, stunning her for a moment, her ears ringing as her nerves scrambled to calm down. Sky, sand, sky, sand. Starting to recover from the shock, Elyza realised that she had been sent flying. She stretched her limbs out to stop spinning, but when that didn’t work, she forced the surrounding air to create a bubble around her. The impact sent sand flying up as she landed on her back. Her body hurt, but hearing a familiar crackle, she willed it to get up. Acting on instinct, she plucked out a clump of black beads from her pouch and threw them through the sand screen towards the noise, uttering a single word as they sailed through the air, “Sciath!”
A magic circle formed in front of her as the seeds burst, growing into a clump of cacti that formed a shield. It lasted for only a second before exploding into a shower of spikes, but it allowed enough protection for her to focus on her next spell. “Chwipiwch gorwynt,” her voice commanded the sky itself and the wind followed her, whipping itself into a frenzy, creating a whirlwind in the middle of the desert. Alex wouldn’t be able to see her through the dust devil, but she couldn’t either. Though hazy, she did remember her halberd slip out of her hand when she got hit.
Elyza was seething with anger; she had him on the ropes, knocking out Alex’s sword and dagger from his hands. His comments through the roar of the tornado didn’t help either, “Why am I not surprised? One setback and you’re back to cowering like a weasel.”
Circling around the edge of the spiralling column, trying to figure out a way in, Alex spotted a familiar spearhead sticking out of the sand. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to sustain such a spell for much longer, and unable to resist teasing her some more, Alex said, “You won’t believe it, Ears, I found a halberd that looks just like yours.”
That was a mistake. Now knowing where her weapon was, Elyza’s anger tempered as her mind came up with a way to salvage the situation. She raised her hand, commanding the wind to meet it. From outside, it seemed that the tornado was losing power, inviting Alex to come closer, as she slowly broke her flow to the whirlwind. She was shaping the wind that came to her into a pillar, all in preparation to breathe power into it with one phrase, “Gadewch i mi hollti'r awyr yn ddau.” The wind solidified in her hand, as the spell worked to harness it into a javelin. Its firm outer layer was unable to hide the turmoil within it as she gripped it tightly, the spell barely able to contain it.
Elyza saw a silhouette of Alex approaching her. She spread a couple more cactus seeds in front of her, knowing that as soon as she threw it, the dust devil would collapse. If it hit him, Alex would be sent flying back, and if somehow he was able to dodge it, she could use the seeds to tie him down. Either way, she would have enough of a window to retrieve the halberd, or at least attack with her knife.
The silhouette became bigger as Alex got closer, his arm raised in a futile attempt to keep the sand out of his eyes. Readying herself, arm stretched back, javelin level with her eyes, Elyza waited. Wind escaping from the weapon sent her hair into a frenzy, yet her eyes stayed fixed on the shadow, holding back, until her arm snapped forward. The javelin was eager to be thrown, leaping out of her hand as soon as her grip loosened enough, whining as it shot forward. Piercing the walls of the dust devil, the missile created a gaping hole behind and just as effortlessly sailed through Alex.
Her mind blanked, the thought that she had killed him caused the world to stand still. But as the Alex in front of her started to dissolve into thin air, she noticed another standing a few metres behind. He was just far right enough from the illusion’s centre to dodge the arc of the spear. Knowing she was up to something, his bow was already drawn, and as the airborne sand started to fall, Alex let the arrow loose. Still in shock, Elyza knew the arrow was coming, but her body refused to stop it. Racing towards her skull, she knew it was her loss, and as it pierced her skin, the spell activated, ripping her back to the ivy tree.
Exhaustion, she was used to, but once again the pain forced Elyza onto her knees. Tears welled up in her eyes, failing to escape the eyelids that held them back. Her body revolted—her lungs refused to take in fresh air, her stomach churned on nothing, her saliva burned like acid, yet her tongue never felt so dry, and her brain was being assaulted by shards of jagged rock.
Pumping furiously, Elyza’s heart raced to replace the stale blood coursing through her. Her body was struggling to remember how it operated. Every single time that she lost, she was subjected to this agony, and it was impossible to get used to. The form of teleportation was a cheap and effective way to keep them both away from any critical injuries, but a cruel gambit to evade death's grasp. Her spirit felt as if it had been dragged through molten lava while being frozen completely solid.
After a seemingly endless minute or two, the intensity of the pain subsided enough for Elyza to muster the strength to stand, her limbs feeling bloated as she lifted them. Limping towards the ivy tree, the circle of soft green grass under her stood out against the coarse sand surrounding it.
Alex appeared next to her just as she sat down, having the luxury of taking the cleaner way through the shade of the tree. Taking out a handkerchief, he wiped a trickle of blood from her forehead, before giving her a vial to drink, all without the usual boasting that followed after their fights. He saw that it was best to keep quiet for now, so he placed her halberd next to her feet, and sat next to it.
As she downed the potion, a numbness settled over her—a physical numbness induced by the potion, and a mental numbness stemming from the sting of defeat. This loss hurt more than all the previous ones combined, solely because she should have won. Everything had gone perfectly; her plan worked, she had disarmed Alex, and he didn’t have enough time to retrieve his backup. She lost because she thought she had already won. Elyza wanted to scream, but the sun was high in the sky and there was still a chance to kick his ass.
Noticing the change, Alex, without missing a beat, playfully remarked, “Surely, you didn’t think I would let you beat me that easily.”
“Usually when one falls on their back, it is not because they intended to.” Elyza simply replied, getting up, her mana replenished and her body bursting with energy, courtesy of the mana potion.
“I am full of surprises,” he remarked, grinning as he added, “Shame I can’t use that again… Till you forget about it anyway.”
Wiping off the sand from her clothes, Elyza coolly dampened his spirits, “If you even get a chance to, that is.”
“Those are some fighting words, considering I didn’t even use the sword,” Alex joked, lobbing a die at her, unaffected by how close he had come to losing.
Catching it effortlessly, she clenched the icosahedron in her fist, trying to force it to follow her will as she tossed it on the grass. A 16. An evergreen forest. A slight smile spread across her face, and the sigh that escaped Alex perfectly contrasted Elyza’s badly hidden excitement.
Retreating into the shadows without a witty remark, Alex seamlessly transitioned from the sandy battleground to the comfort of his living room. Now out of sight of his companion, he let his exhaustion catch up to him. Their earlier spar had proven that Elyza could match his abilities. Now, with the battleground skewed enormously in her favour, a loss loomed closer than ever. Yet, there was a certain calm acceptance in Alex's demeanour, as if he had resigned himself to an inevitable outcome that was just a matter of time.
After shaking his whole body with the vigour of a wet dog, flinging sand everywhere, Alex made his way down the hallway. As he turned the doorknob of the last door, he thought of going to the control room. The door shuddered before it let him through. Immediately, the stench of sulphur rammed into his nose, who slammed the door shut in response. The smell wasn’t the problem, but the air, thick and viscous like the yolk of a rotten egg.
Gathering himself, Alex ventured back into the yellow tinted room. Calling the space a ‘room’ would be a gross falsification. Unlike the rest of the house, the floor was solid rough cement. Dominating the space was a chaotic assortment of different metals emerging from the wall in front of Alex. The machine’s crude construction betrayed the wondrous magic it was capable of. Golden pipes connected this monstrosity to the confining walls, giving the impression of a heart to the house surrounding it.
A lone blue crystal, at the end of a chain hanging in front of Alex, fought against the suffocating atmosphere, emanating a soft glow to pierce the smog. As Alex tugged on the chain, the vents along the base of the walls creaked open. The machine stirred from its slumber with a subtle hum, pushing out the sulphuric air as it rushed to replace it with a less revolting atmosphere. Approaching the mess of wires, dials, crystals, and gears, it always felt exciting whenever he used it.
Floating above the machine was a luminous replica of the area surrounding the house. Currently, it was showing the image of a desert, with low sand dunes covering the ground, the sand represented by yellow and the ground being represented by purple. Alex picked up the journal besides the magical rendition of his home, flipping through the worn pages, all of which were written in a variety of alphabets-some of them were known to him, some were completely alien. Since he mostly navigated through the pages using the diagrams, though, he quickly found what he was looking for.
On the left page of the worn journal, intricate diagrams of various evergreen trees adorned the parchment, each accompanied by a set of numbers scribbled beneath. Flipping to the opposite page, a collection of numerical configurations denoted different settings. Thankfully, numbers were easier to decode, and Alex began to reset the machine. The room echoed with the unsettling shudder of the machine, as each lever pull and dial turn elicited a plaintive whine. Whenever he used the machine, it always seemed to have the urge to collapse into nothingness.
As Alex continued the reset, the holographic representation of the desert began to shift. The sand in the projection slowly receded into the ground until all remained was a plain white plane. Following the numbers on the page, he started to put them in, making sure to do them in the order specified. With precision, he turned the temperature dial to a precise value of 8, rotated another dial until it glowed yellow, and nudged a horizontal lever rightward, the mechanism clicking with each incremental adjustment until it reached 75.
Finally, the hatch swung open, revealing a hole that led to the depths of the apparatus. He rummaged around in the realm of shadows, looking for the right materials to put in the machine. Alex pulled out a quartz crystal, a blob of clay, a small sapphire gem, and, something even he didn’t know why he had, a clump of soil, but he was still missing something crucial.
Tossing them all in, he slid downwards, his body morphing into pure umbra as it melted into the shadow. He materialised into the dominion of darkness, the ground rippling as he rose up. Above him, reigning above the tallest of mountains, was an inescapable, indescribable darkness, as if something was hungry to destroy everything, even darkness itself. Far, far, below Alex, was a surface made of pure, white, shining light, pushing up against the shadows in an attempt to escape its prison. Its glow was barely able to illuminate the world above it, which consisted of shadows mirroring the ‘real’ world, their outlines made of dark hues of purple and blue.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Even looking through the cloudy ground, Alex could spot some pillars of darkness sinking down to the light as they were called upon by others. As he searched across the shadowy domain, everything in his view changed ever so slightly as their surface tried to keep true to what they were mimicking. It felt still, solemn, yet it also felt peaceful, beautiful even. Spotting the ivy tree’s shadow, Alex willed the ground beneath him to move till he was under it. Unlike normal objects, living beings indented the turbulent surface of the realm, and he dived into shadows next to Elyza’s, sinking towards the plane of light.
The transition was seamless, popping out next to where she was standing, not giving her a chance to react before asking, “I need pine seeds.”
Elyza reached into her seed pouch, pulling out a handful of flat brown seeds, almost translucent in their thinness, and handed him some. Alex melted back into his shadow, heading straight back to the machine, his shadow there still persisting without him, and dropped the seeds into the machine. Pressing the button beneath it, the chute slammed shut, and the machine was primed. He reached for the final lever, and pulled down.
As the machine meticulously calculated its next moves, tendrils of steam wafted off the golden pipes, hanging in the air as a silent anticipation enveloped the room. Initially, the holographic desert transformed into a canvas of clouds, a grey layer manifesting at the top of the projection. The golden pipes began to frost, emitting a low whir as the machine stirred into action. The machine started to rumble so furiously that Alex became worried that it may rip itself out of its stands again. It suddenly fell into a rhythm, humming as it worked to transform the environment, the pipes heating up as vast quantities started to flow through, causing steam to well up in the room.
From the pristine white plane in the hologram, trees erupted, growing at an astonishing rate until they obscured the surface entirely. As rain started to fall, Alex felt the machine was stable enough that he could venture out of the house.
Opening the door to the hallway, he was immediately hit with the much more pleasant smell of rain. Walking into the living room, he noticed the sand he had tracked in had been cleaned up, along with the window being open.
The air felt frigid as Alex stepped out of the house, and a fog rolled through the stand of evergreens. The rain was heavy and on the verge of turning into snow, but the weather lacked the intensity for a thunderstorm. He started to pulse electricity through his body to help deal with the cold. The visibility was abysmal, yet he still pulled out his bow, knowing that he could notice Elyza before she could get in range of her halberd.
Amidst the towering trees, Alex moved cautiously, his senses attuned to any subtle sounds that might betray Elyza's whereabouts. However, the gentle rhythm of raindrops on the soil drowned out most other noises, leaving only the muffled echo of his own breathing. Alex was able to comfortably see a few metres through the dense fog, but anything past that range was known only to the gods.
Despite the limitations of his senses, Alex, already en route to the ivy tree, opted for a more arcane approach. Channelling mana into his chest, he gathered a reservoir larger than ever before, focusing it into a tiny, concentrated area. Alex’s body started to freeze as it found its energy being sapped away.
Releasing the amassed mana in a controlled pulse outwards with enough energy that it made the raindrops arc ever so slightly as they fell. The pulse was big enough to cover the innards of the barrier around the house. As it returned to Alex, bouncing off every minuscule trace of mana and revealing three significant sources amidst the barren tree trunks. An ambush.
From his shadow, Alex summoned a trio of arrows, cradling them in his left hand while preparing his bow. Crouched and poised, he flanked the anticipated ambush with silent steps, steadying his breath, on edge, ready to draw. His feet moved silently over the wet soil, finding grip wherever they landed, as he maintained an acute awareness of his surroundings, keeping a mental map of his position. Coming up on the left flank, he started to slow down, checking the trees for any glyphs as he neared. Through the trunks of two trees, he discerned a silhouette in the fog, standing alone in a small plain, prompting him to notch an arrow in response, ready for whatever lay ahead.
Tugging back the string until it grazed his cheek, Alex positioned his grip to face the silhouette. The arrow slightly aimed to the left, while the layered metal arms of the bow strained against his muscles, the string eager for release. Alex stepped forward to get a better look through the fog, when he noticed something odd about the silhouette. Despite its Elyza-like shape, it remained perfectly still—devoid of micro-movements or any signs of life. Lowering the bow, Alex replaced the arrow with his dagger, cautiously inching forward towards the figure.
As he crossed the gap between the two trees, a magic circle beneath his feet erupted in a violent green glow. Making a split-second decision, his body became pure electricity, and Alex exploded forward as a bolt of lightning. The air crackled around him as he streaked through the fog, rain droplets instantly vaporising in his wake. He returned to his physical form after covering five or so metres, gasping for air as he stumbled forward, muscles aching. Performing such a move without preparation bordered on suicidal, but Alex quickly steeled himself as he turned to face the motionless figure, dagger poised for a strike.
Before he could react, a sudden impact struck him from behind, launching him towards the figure. The impact with the ivy replica was strong enough to tear through it. Rolling upon hitting the ground, Alex evaded Elyza's downward strike by a heartbeat.
Springing back to his feet, he deflected her ensuing thrust using the arm of his bow. Elyza followed with a rapid one-two, wielding both the blunt and blade of her halberd. Instead of trying to parry either, Alex allowed the blunt end to hit his left arm and turned his back to the blade, relying on his cloak to absorb the impact. As the blade glanced off the reinforced fabric, he melted into the shadows.
With a wave of her hand, Elyza pushed the fog to the edge of the area. She scanned her surroundings, spotting Alex reappearing behind her, his bow and dagger missing. Shadows started to swirl in front of him, stealing the shade of the trees to feed the spiralling pillar of pure darkness that had emerged—a dramatic precursor to what it was escorting, meant to instil fear in its onlookers. She dashed at him, needing to interrupt him before Alex could retrieve it, casting a barrage of wind blades with a single incantation, “Llafnau!”
The blades sliced cleanly through the pillar, interrupting the process but unable to harm Alex, who effortlessly slipped between them. As the column retreated back into the ground, it formed a barrier to obscure what was happening behind. Lightning appeared to crackle behind the purple wall, the sound meant to make her doubt. Aware that he couldn't employ lightning again so swiftly, Elyza leapt through the shadowy screen, her halberd raised above her head, ready to cleave anything below it.
In the brief moment, she caught sight of a blade, before a stream of lightning launched her backwards. Her breastplate protected her from the brunt of the attack, and the collision with a tree jolted Elyza fully back into consciousness. Using the tree as support, she stumbled back on her feet.
The charcoal blade of Alex's claymore seemed forged from pure absence, its crimson core glowing ever so slightly, testament to the mana that had coursed through it. He held the greatsword above his head, pointing the blade downwards, the stance defensive, yet trouble for anybody that attacked without a way to deal with it. The claymore surpassed his height, the blade’s width smaller than average, its hilt wrapped with stained leather, and the guard made a ‘W’ with the blade. It looked unwieldy, yet, as Alex paced towards her, he exhibited harmony with the weapon.
However, as Elyza raised her halberd into a similar defensive stance, anticipating his approach, she discerned a hesitation in Alex. His steps seemed unusually cautious, and his breath carried an unexpected weight. Behind the façade of control he projected, she detected a flicker of doubt in his eyes. The thought invigorated Elyza. She switched her stance, opting to extend the halberd forward, pointing the blade towards Alex. Before she started her approach, she picked some seeds out from her pouch, and scattered them to reduce the area he could work with. As she began walking, Elyza manipulated the air, coercing it to rise and draw in the surrounding mist through the trees, covering the arena with a dense fog that obscured everything—except the faint red glow of the claymore.
Alex immediately went defensive, lowering his stance to have his blade cover the vast majority of his body. He could barely make out what was directly in front of him, but at least the rain had slowed down enough for him to hear something other than his own footsteps. Seeing something at the corner of his sight distort the fog, Alex moved his blade to intercept it, narrowly breaking a wind blade aimed at him.
More wind blades followed, manifesting randomly around him, with no indication of Elyza's position. A couple met their mark, but as the top layer of the mist started to retreat, he knew there was a more pressing issue. Instead of trying to avoid the coming spell, Alex held the claymore low.
Surging his body and sword with as much electricity as he possibly could, the crimson core glowing bright as it channelled it to the rest of the blade, giving her a target that she couldn’t miss.
A spiralling spear shot through the fog, leaving nothing in its wake as it pulled in everything around it. In a feat faster than thought, faster than anyone could wield a sword—let alone a claymore—Alex swung upwards, cleaving the spear in two and instantly dissipating the mist it carried.
Now, with a clear view of Elyza, he levelled the blade with his eyes before bolting forward, covering a span of seven metres in the blink of an eye. Stepping out of the bolt, Alex positioned himself perfectly for a devastating thrust to end the match.
As he stepped into the thrust, brambles erupted from behind, and he spotted the hovering rune too late. The brambles attempted to ensnare him, to hold him back, only to pass straight through as Alex sank into his shadow. Prematurely ending the spell, Elyza tossed a set of throwing knives into the air, commanding the wind to give them lift.
Three Alex-s emerged behind the line of bramble shrubs, their swords poised to release a thunderbolt. But before they could, the nine floating knives shot forward under Elyza’s command, each clone attracting three. Only one clone moved to deal with the self-propelling knives, giving away the illusion.
A wall would’ve been better, maybe some arms to pluck them out of the air, but Alex couldn’t afford a momentary lapse of concentration. Knocking away two of them with a single swift movement, he had no choice but to allow the remaining knife to embed itself into his shoulder, thankfully not breaking it in the process. Without missing a beat, he readjusted his aim back towards Elyza, who was already closing in for a strike.
Purple lightning danced all over his claymore, as the weapon's core unleashed all the mana it had been storing since the start of the battle into a singular bolt that rivalled those produced by nature. The bolt crackled with raw power as it streaked towards Elyza.
Before the spell could materialise, air melded with the standing water on the ground to create a near-frictionless surface, allowing Elyza to gracefully slide under his aim. For a brief moment, one half of her body remained dry as her metal armour creaked, pulled upwards by the movement. Even through closed eyes, it felt like she was staring at the sun.
Her mind struggled to capture the speed of the bolt as it leapt from the blade, only registering the resounding boom that followed it. The bolt sheared straight through a tree, the blast aiding Elyza to her feet and providing an opportunity to capitalise on Alex’s weakened state.
Alex pushed his left hand to grab the blade itself, striking the staff with his half-sword to parry her first thrust. In response, she hooked his legs with the halberd’s beak. Shifting his feet, he prevented them from being pulled forward, but the beak sliced through his left leg.
Retreating his hand back to the hilt, he propelled his claymore into a heavy strike from below, knocking Elyza’s halberd from her leading hand and using the weapon’s weight to spin him to the side. Alex's flawless footwork stopped his momentum on a dime as he pulled back the greatsword into control, ready to perform another thrust, when pain exploded in his left shoulder.
Elyza seized the opportunity, throwing a flurry of slashes at him. Her hands efficiently performed the manoeuvre, undeterred by how many Alex was still able to parry, as his shoulder spewed out blood that soaked into his white shirt. His stance faltered, as more and more of her slashes made contact.
Sparks flew as they traded blows, some of them were due to the blades gnashing against each other, but most of them were due to the claymore releasing its leftover mana. Somehow, even as his clothes were soaked with blood, Alex was able to catch the halberd in his cross-guard, using it as a pivot to slice open her right bicep. For a second, the wind shifted in his favour.
Knocking the polearm out of her hands, he swung the sword overhead and brought it down at her head. The throwing knife flew into Elyza’s palm. Dashing forward, she blocked the claymore with her right hand as it swung downwards to stop her. It sheared straight through the iron gauntlet and into her flesh, but it failed.
She swiped his leg, causing him to fall. Before he could even try to recover, Elyza leapt on him, switching the knife to her left hand mid-air before jabbing it straight through Alex’s heart.
Passing through thin air, the blade embedded itself into the soil. Elyza flipped herself towards the pouring rain. Her chest heaved due to the strain, yet a triumphant smile adorned her face. It was done.