Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:05 PM

Cling Clang—the sharp sound of blades clashing echoed through the forest. Norika faced off against her illusionary counterpart, known simply as R. Norika, short for Reflection Norika.

Norika, with a surge of energy, sprinted forward, her obsidian blade aimed for a swift strike. Her attack was effortlessly countered by R. Norika’s all-white sword.

Surprised but undeterred, Norika tried a different tactic. She unleashed the first rune of her sword, coating it in red flames that began to set the forest ablaze. Charging in to deliver a powerful blow, she was again thwarted by R. Norika, whose sword now mirrored her own, encased in identical flames.

Expecting this, Norika increased her strength, pushing her copy back.

"Oh, getting serious, are we? Then so shall I," R. Norika smirked, releasing her grip on her sword and delivering a swift kick to Norika’s abdomen. She spun around, kicking Norika’s sword out of her hand, and it pierced her leg.

Norika grunted as the flaming sword lodged in her leg, but as she reached to pull it out, it disappeared and reappeared in R. Norika’s hand.

"It seems we are equal in power and skill, but our fighting styles differ," R. Norika remarked dryly. "But let’s see how you handle this."

Norika raised her hand, summoning multiple giant stars above and sending them at R. Norika. Unfazed, R. Norika raised her own hand, summoning an equal number of stars, causing a massive explosion that obliterated the surrounding flames.

Both watched in amazement as the flames began to restore themselves. Seizing the moment of distraction, R. Norika moved swiftly, intending a fatal strike, but Norika parried, severing her arm and kicking her away in seconds.

"You may be equal to me, R. Norika, but you lack the years of experience and training to master your power," Norika said. Activating her Omni-Watch, she shifted the surroundings to resemble the underworld. The flames around them burned hotter, but Norika’s flames glowed brighter, growing stronger, while R. Norika’s remained unchanged.

"You may have power and an Omni-Watch, but let me show you how to truly use them." Instantly, Norika appeared before R. Norika, slicing her into pieces and incinerating her with flames.

Knowing the battle wasn’t over, as R. Norika’s Omni-Watch remained intact, Norika flew into the air, waiting for her copy to regenerate.

"Damn you! To think you could harm me this much!" R. Norika, now fully restored but stark naked, glared at her. "I'll show you true suffering."

Norika grinned mischievously. "Stop yapping and show me what you can do, copy." Her taunt worked.

Blinded by anger, R. Norika charged, swinging her sword wildly. Norika easily anticipated and countered her attacks.

"This fight is over. Anger blinds you, making you weaker."

–With Scarlet–

Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:03 PM

Swish Swish—two white blurs clashed at high speeds, exchanging blows and elbows. Time around them warped and changed, yet they moved so swiftly that everything seemed at a standstill.

The desert bore craters from their intense fight. R. Scarlet pouted, "Ara, Ara, you're really used to fighting yourself. Nothing I do works. Why don’t you lighten up and stop aiming to kill me?"

Scarlet touched a scar on her neck, perplexed that it hadn't fully healed. "That should be impossible."

"You’re wondering why you can’t fully heal? Simple. I’ve altered reality so any wound you take becomes more fatal and leaves scars. Be grateful I didn’t remove your regenerative ability."

"Ara, so you’ve been ahead this whole battle. Why try so hard?"

"I must defeat you, then that stupid horse, and then Famine to heal my adorable Eve. Anyone in the way will be killed." Scarlet charged, pulling out her twin swords, "Mirage," mirrored by R. Scarlet.

Blades clashed across the desert. Scarlet’s left swing was blocked, but her right phased through R. Scarlet’s sword, landing a blow and kicking her to the ground.

"Pathetic. With this power, there's no need to transform."

"Transform? What do you mean?"

"I see, you can’t. I have a stronger form, but you won’t live to see it."

Scarlet threw her sword, exceeding light speed, decapitating R. Scarlet. Her head rolled lifelessly, but then exploded, hurling Scarlet back.

"Fufu, to think you’d fall for such a simple trick. Disappointing." R. Scarlet emerged from the smoke, her body turning to time particles.

"A time clone. Annoying and sneaky."

"A woman must have her secrets, especially against someone so similar." R. Scarlet charged, aiming to pierce Scarlet's heart with one strike.

–With Paradox–

Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:10 PM

It might seem like a peaceful scene if not for the intensity of the situation. Two men sat on the forest floor, engrossed in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

“Rock,” said Paradox.

“Rock,” echoed R. Paradox.

“A draw again! How can we keep getting draws?”

“I don’t know, Paradox. Seems like this isn't working. How about we see who can create the better golem?”

“Alright, R. Paradox, let's do it.”

They both leapt up, landing atop the highest trees. Simultaneously, they summoned 100-meter tall golems, Paradox’s glowing red and R. Paradox’s a shadowy black. They settled back to watch their creations clash. The colossal figures tore through the tropical forest, uprooting trees and hurling them at each other.

“They’re really going at it, aren't they, Paradox?”

“Yes, they are, R. Paradox.”

Suddenly, they remembered their original battle, jumping away from each other and dashing forward. Paradox launched a haymaker, which R. Paradox blocked, countering with a kick to Paradox's head. Paradox blocked the kick with his arm, grabbed R. Paradox's leg, and hurled him into a massive tree.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

They continued this back-and-forth, blows landing with incredible force. Then Paradox pulled out his Omni-Scythe, and R. Paradox mirrored him. Their weapons clashed, sending a shockwave that flattened trees within a 50-meter radius and shook the ground beneath them.

Paradox stomped on the ground, causing a pillar of earth to erupt beneath Paradox, launching him high into the air. Before he could regain his balance, R. Paradox appeared above him, slamming him down with a powerful double-handed strike, creating a massive crater upon impact.

“Geez, can’t you hold back just a little bit?” Paradox snapped his fingers, transforming the environment into a cartoonish world. The ground, trees, clouds, and even the sun gained eyes and began to sing. Paradox joined in, dancing as if he’d forgotten the battle.

“Can you take this fight seriously?” R. Paradox growled.

“Now, now, don’t get your panties in a twist. Come and have some fun.” Paradox’s whimsical words made the ground beneath R. Paradox animate, wrapping around him. The more he struggled, the tighter the hold became.

Paradox smiled unexpectedly, the cartoonish effect altering his demeanor. ‘Wow, I've only seen this in cartoons. This is amazing.’

Paradox bounced around as if the ground were a trampoline, high-fiving the sun, which had grown arms, and greeting the moon, despite it not being nighttime.

‘Hmm, what should I do next?’ Paradox mused, remembering that this world was an illusion. He altered the illusion further, making a laughtrack sound every time something humorous happened.

Running with legs that turned into wheels, Paradox approached R. Paradox, sending him flying with a comical punch. R. Paradox crashed near a dog that wasn’t there before. The dog, standing on its hind legs, mimed rolling up invisible sleeves before punching R. Paradox back towards Paradox, creating a back-and-forth volley.

As this ridiculous scene unfolded, the sun and flowers sang, trees swayed and hummed, and the water around them created waves in harmony with the surreal environment.

“How is this happening? How are you doing this?” R. Paradox demanded, bewildered.

“I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N,” Paradox replied childishly. “You have no imagination, R. Paradox. That’s why this is happening. You can’t even fathom the world you’re in right now.”

“I don’t care about all of that. What I want to know is how did you get past my Reflection barrier?” R. Paradox asked, both curious and furious.

“That’s quite easy. I just imagined it was gone. I told you, use your imagination. Now, I’ve grown tired of this fight, so be gone.”

Paradox imagined R. Paradox and the cartoon world ceasing to exist. With that thought, he reappeared in the forest where he and the girls had been.

–With Norika–

Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:15 PM

Norika advanced on R. Norika, who was frantically sending beams of light in a desperate attempt to fend her off. Each beam was instantly incinerated by the bright red flames of Norika’s sword, which burned with such intensity that even light itself was consumed.

With a swing of her sword, Norika sent a crescent blast of fire at R. Norika. R. Norika attempted to counter with her own attack but had to jump aside as her beam was effortlessly deflected.

“How did you get this powerful? Tell me!” R. Norika demanded, desperation tinging her voice.

“I have no need to tell anything to the likes of you. Weakness disgusts me, so why don’t you shut up and die already?” Norika’s voice dripped with contempt.

The flames on Norika’s sword grew even brighter with her anger, burning so intensely that they began to erase everything they touched, including the very fabric of the underworld dimension they fought in.

‘I see since we are in the underworld, these flames have the property of erasing things, and my flames have now taken on that attribute even in their base form,’ Norika thought.

With one final swing, Norika sent another crescent blast of fire at R. Norika. This time, the blast was so wide that it engulfed the entire dimension, erasing R. Norika completely while leaving Norika unharmed.

Once the battle was over, Norika reappeared beside Paradox in the forest.

“Welcome back, Norika. Good to see you again. Though I am surprised Scarlet was not the first one back. Maybe she is tormenting her clone,” Paradox greeted her.

“Yes, it is good to see you again, Father. That is most likely what Mother is doing,” Norika responded, contemplating what to say next. “How did you know I was fighting a clone, Father?”

“Well, it was easy. I imagined I saw what you were doing once I was out of the illusion and it was no longer messing with my mind.”

“Like that is true, Father. Any of us could have instantly gotten out of there, and it’s not like there is something that can truly limit your powers.”

With that, they fell into silence, waiting for Scarlet.

–With Scarlet–

Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:20 PM

Scarlet pierced her sword through Scarlet’s heart with a triumphant laugh. “Ara, to think it was that easy to defeat you, with all of that boasting you were doing. Pathetic.”

Scarlet did not have time to celebrate as a hand gripped her throat, tightening its hold. It was none other than Scarlet, her heart rapidly healing.

“W-wha—how? How are you still alive? Are you immortal?” R. Scarlet stuttered out.

“My, my, you should know the answer, clone. You are me, after all. I may not be immortal like Paradox or Norika, but I am eternal in the sense that I can live forever. I’ve come up with ways to keep myself alive, like pouring a lot of my power around my body and forcing it to keep functioning even when it is dead, long enough for my heart to heal.”

“Are, are you insane?” R. Scarlet asked, shocked by what she was hearing, understanding only parts of what Scarlet said.

“Insane? Well, love will make you do crazy things. And since I don’t like immortality in the sense that I cannot die, I made this way to stay with Paradox forever,” Scarlet explained, her eyes widening to extreme sizes, giving off a crazed look.

–With Paradox and Norika–

Paradox shivered, feeling like someone crazy had just mentioned him.

“Are you alright, Father?” Norika asked, tilting her head curiously.

“Yes, I am alright, Norika. Just a little chill, you could say,” Paradox replied, trying to think of ways to get away from Scarlet after this mission.

–Back with Scarlet–

Scarlet broke R. Scarlet’s neck before throwing her into a sand dune. She appeared above her, stepping on her body and breaking her bones, starting with her arms, then her ribs, then her legs, and finally her hands. She healed R. Scarlet only to continue the process over and over again.

After torturing her clone self for some time, Scarlet stabbed her sword into R. Scarlet’s throat, twisting it as a light appeared, erasing R. Scarlet from existence.

–With Paradox and Norika–

Jun, Tuesday 11, 2007 - 2:34 PM

Paradox and Norika waited in the forest. Eventually, Scarlet emerged, her demeanor calm despite the recent violence.

Scarlet appeared in front of them, covered in blood, which was odd since anything that happened inside the illusion should not carry over. Ignoring the surprise on their faces, she made her way to Paradox and planted a long kiss on his lips. Breaking off, she whispered into his ear, "If you ever think about leaving me again, I will make sure the rest of your life is a living hell, and trust me, I will do it."

“Ah, there you are, Scarlet,” Paradox said, trying to hide his unease at the threat realizing that somehow Scarlet had been able to hear his thoughts even while she was in the illusion. “R-right, I would never, EVER think about doing that. You know that Scar,” he stammered, trying to keep cool while thinking, 'I'm screwed. She 100% will make good on that threat. I should just keep my mouth shut from now on.'

Norika, overhearing everything, began to giggle. She quickly ran away as Paradox chased after her, wielding his scythe with the intent to cut her head off to shut her up.

Norika began to giggle as she quickly ran away as Paradox chased after her, wielding his scythe with the intent to cut her head off to shut her up.

“Did you have fun with your clone, Mother?” Norika asked, her tone respectful and curious while still being chased

“More fun than I’ve had in a long time,” Scarlet responded, her smile widening. “Now, shall we move on to the next part of our mission?”

–Somewhere inside the forest–

A horse stood impressively at 18 hands tall, a skeletal steed with a spectral presence. Its skin was stretched thin over its bones, and it had a ghostly white coat that shimmered under the moonlight. The horse's eyes were glowing orbs of blue, and its mane and tail were made of shadows that rippled and flowed as if they had a life of their own. Its hooves were made of dark, obsidian-like material, and as it stood there, the grass and leaves withered, cracking the earth beneath it.

The horse watched the three from a distance, taking in their powers and fighting styles as if it were an intelligent creature and not just a horse.

‘So these are the three that are going after my master. I must make quick work of them and not let the master dirty his hands,’ the horse thought, its glowing eyes narrowing with resolve.

As Paradox chased Norika through the forest, and Scarlet trailed behind with a satisfied smirk, the horse began to move silently through the shadows, closing in on them. Its presence brought a chill to the air, causing the leaves to rustle and the shadows to deepen. The spectral horse was prepared to confront them, knowing it had to stop them before they reached its master.