Time had stopped. The world stood still, and nothing was moving. Nothing except for Togai, of course. He hefted his sword, which he'd recovered, and darted forward once more. Will followed his progress with only his eyes, as even his body seemed stuck in place. He watched as Togai, the man who had killed three different Alphas on his own, ran forward, sword raised, directly for the rest of the Fire Nexus. Towards one figure in particular. Will's eyes flicked to the side, seeing who it was, and finally, his body responded.

Togai was inches from Charlisa when Will hit him, his sword ramming straight through the murderer's chest. Will had enough force behind the stroke to knock Togai back several feet. Will let out a shout of rage as he threw his enemy, and the sound didn't stop, even as he continued to run forward. As Togai regained his feet and swung his sword, Will slid under it, coming up with a searing uppercut to the chin with his free hand. Then he pivoted to the side, slashing his sword across Togai's chest, opening a deep wound. This was quickly followed by another flurry of strikes, but now Togai was getting faster, and he started blocking the strikes. So he'd unveiled his trump card early then, Will thought. He could see the electricity arcing across Togai's body as he jumped back to avoid his last strike. Not as fast as Will, but definitely fast enough to keep up now.

Togai swung at him one more, but it was a feint. He continued moving forward, stepping around and past Will, running for the Fire Nexus again. Will raced after him, catching up just in time to block the sword cut that would have killed James. Then Togai was away again, taking a long arcing path as he went for a different angle of attack. Will intercepted him again, this time saving Angel's life. The fear on the faces of the Fire Nexus was all too obvious, as they tried and failed to conjure flames. The reality of what had happened was setting in for them, but they weren't given any time to react.

Togai snarled in frustration as he found Will blocking his way a third time, and danced away. He threw a wide fan of flames from his free hand, flames that Will dispersed with his own. He couldn't afford to let a single attack pass him, because he was the only one who had the power of fire now. Kenta appeared, flanking Togai and cutting downward. Togai was faster, sidestepping the blow and then striking back with a closed fist. Kenta recoiled, visibly slowing down as his power was sapped. Will immediately jumped forward to attack and opened a nasty cut on Togai's forearm. It healed almost immediately, but Togai regarded him suspiciously.

"So you know my Condition's weakness," the murderer hissed. "Interesting. But I won't give you the chance."

The weakness of the Soul Nexus, as Kenta had explained it, was only present when they were siphoning life energy from another person. Otherwise, their body was incredibly strong, and any injury could be healed at once. With the weaker members, you could wear them down by inflicting damage and forcing them to heal. Eventually, they'd be forced to try and use their draining power. While they were doing that, they were incapable of healing. Will had just been a second too late in his attack. Togai had already switched back to healing.

"We'll see about that," Will said, flicking the blood off his sword. "You won't have a choice if I keep chipping away at you. If you can't steal power, you'll grow weak."

It was the crucial difference between Togai and the Alphas of any other Nexus. He was functionally immortal, but the less energy he had, the weaker he became. He would always be able to heal, but his power would drop off significantly, and then his only chance at victory was to sap more life from one of his opponents. Will just had to keep attacking, to force his hand. Then, when he went to drain energy, he could inflict real damage. Togai regarded him now, noticing his patience and intense focus, and snarled in anger.

"Pesky little obstruction, you are," he said. "But you can't protect all of them forever."

"Why don't we test that theory?" Will said, trying to make his voice as taunting as possible. "Come on then."

He knew that Togai wouldn't try to attack the Fire Nexus. Will was in the way, and he'd never make it. So he made the only other choice available to him and attacked Kenta. Will and Kenta had already discussed what to do if this happened. He was pleased to see that Kenta went straight for the plan, not wasting any time or energy on fighting back. As Togai cut at him, he ducked low, immediately taking a step back to make room for Will. Togai had no chance to react as Will stepped inside his reach and cut across his chest. Blood sprayed, but Togai retreated, unharmed, half a second later. He attacked Will directly again, swinging his blade in a flurry of silver. Will parried and ducked as he could, but some of the cuts made it through his guard, glancing harmlessly off his skin.

Kenta immediately lifted his free hand and fired off an arc of electricity. Having never seen this before, Togai was too slow to react, and the bolt hit him squarely in the back. Will fired another bolt at the same moment, catching his enemy in the chest. The two bolts together created a hole the size of a fist. Togai staggered under the attacks but healed nonetheless. He stepped out of reach of both Will and Kenta, throwing many shards of ice. They were slow attacks, meant to give him plenty of space, and were broken apart easily with the swords.

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"It seems to me that he's running out of options," Kenta said. His voice was light and casual as if he were doing nothing more exciting than commenting on the weather. "I wonder what he'll try next."

"I wonder as well," Will replied, stepping closer to his friend. "Think he's got a trick or two up his sleeve?"

"He might think so," Kenta said. "But I doubt it."

"Clever boys," Togai said. Then, his eyes flicking to the side, towards the Fire Nexus, he added, "Actually, I do have one last trick. Just one."

A shiver seemed to go through Togai's body, then what looked like black smoke drifted off his body in several large clumps. They resolved into human shapes, and each ran in a different direction. One each charged Kenta and Will, while two more, along with Togai himself, ran straight for the Fire Nexus. Will immediately raced after them, easily outstripping them and blocking their path. He cut at the two smokey figures, but they disappeared. Togai attacked him directly, and while he was busy guarding, he saw the two smokey figures reforming behind him, lunging directly at Angel.

"Charlisa!" Will shouted! "Help Angel!"

Too late. The apparitions each struck Angel at the same time, growing denser as they made contact. Will knew at once that Angel was dead by the way her feebly stirring body went limp. Either dead or very near, he thought. He thrust his sword into Togai's chest and released it, turning on the spot to attack the apparitions. His foot went through the first, dispersing it with a small explosion of fire. Charlisa rose to her feet, her face stained with dirt and tears, a look of rage in her eyes and mouth. She lifted her hands, flames appearing, ready to attack. Then, suddenly, Will felt an intense burning pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw Togai's hand there, having just struck him. He'd hit him with lightning, Will realized. He could see the realization dawning on the murderer's face, and the look of triumph slowly setting in.

Togai struck again. Will was too slow to avoid, stunned by the last strike. Togai moved quickly, hitting him three more times. The final attack, connecting directly over his heart, felt like he'd been stabbed with a burning hot blade. Togai would have struck him again, but at that precise moment, the electricity on his hands faded into nothing. He was out of energy. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his sword to thrust it into Will's chest. Will knew, in that small fraction of time, that the sword would cut him. He'd failed, he thought. Togai was about to kill him. Then nobody could stop him. He watched the tip of the sword reach a standstill and saw Togai's arm muscles tense, ready to thrust.

Then, suddenly, Will's vision was filled with light. A raging storm of flames and lightning broke out over him and Togai. It sailed harmlessly over the crouching Fire Nexus, barely singing their furs, and surrounded Togai and his soon-to-be victim. Then, the world around him broke, and all he was aware of was pain and noise, and a ringing, raging scream. He was thrown backward.

It took him a long while to come to his senses and lift himself, aching from head to toe to his hands and knees. He'd never struggled with anything as much as that simple motion. The world was silent around him. Not a single person stirred. The fire was gone. The scream had ended. He rose to his feet, standing unsteadily as he peered around, his only thoughts directed towards finding Togai. He could see Charlisa lowering her hands, her face still twisted by rage and grief. As Will rose to his feet, she dropped back down, half collapsing onto the limp body of her father. And there was Kenta, laying on the ground, his face badly burned. Alive or dead, there was no way to know. There was no sign of Togai. As far as the world knew, he was alone, standing as everyone else was fallen.

Togai must have escaped, he thought. He'd been hurt by the blast that Charlisa had released and chose to flee instead of continuing to fight. Will scoured his surroundings again, but could only see the badly scorched tundra around him. Then, suddenly, he felt an overpowering sense of deja-vu. He'd arrived, finally, at the setting for his vision. Seconds after he realized this, the rage returned. It coursed through his entire body, forming into lightning without his conscious direction, and rippling across his skin as he opened his mouth to yell.

"Togai!" He screamed, his voice rippling out to be swallowed by the empty horizon. "Togai! Come back here now!"

"He cannot come," Tobias had appeared. To Will's surprise, he was beaming. He was happy, an emotion that felt nothing short of foreign to Will at the moment.

"What do you mean?" Will shouted, rounding on the man. The one who was responsible for all this. "Where is he? Where is he, Tobias?"

And again, Tobias lifted his arm, pointing. Will turned to follow the pointing arm, a sinking feeling in his chest. The man was pointing directly at the Fire Nexus. But then Will saw. He understood, and the shock of understanding was enough to almost bring him to his knees. Just visible, half-draped over Angel's limp body, was another. It was scorched badly, nearly burned beyond recognition. But Will saw the sword, and the fragments of robe that still remained, and understood. It was Togai, dead and unmoving. Charlisa had done more than save Will's life with her attack, more than incinerate the grass for over a hundred feet in all directions. She'd killed him.

Will rushed forward, snatching the body from where it lay, and threw it away from the Fire Nexus. Just in case. But Togai merely hit the ground with a thump, making no movement or response. Will bent to snatch up his fallen sword, and rammed it into the chest. When he withdrew it, the wound did not close. Now he really did fall to his knees, only vaguely aware of the former Fire Nexus getting to their feet, their faces stained by smoke and dirt, turning to see the fallen enemy. Will felt... incomplete. He had no avenue for the power still coursing through his body. All he could do was scream, releasing his rage, grief, and relief into the sound.

It was over.