Alex's mind wandered to what his Doppel had said earlier as blood flowed out from his many cuts and stab wounds. He had been created with all the knowledge that Alex had when he entered this place. Alex paused then as a thought occurred to him. It was a slight change, but was he not different than his previous self?
Surely the visions he had seen were disturbing, but he had learned his limits and weaknesses from them. He had seen that he still had a long way to go before he could face his true demons. With that came an understanding of himself that he hadn't noticed before.
He was stubborn by nature, and usually, he was reluctant to change his ways of thinking. However, it was that very way of thinking that kept him from advancing further. His fire burned brightly but did it have to burn in only a straight line? Were there no other ways to move forward in life? Alex tightened his grip on his Scal'tar and gritted his teeth.
If he were ever to move forward and find the strength to open that door and face these painful memories, he would have to become more than he was currently. He would have to open himself up to the dangers of the world and its many paths and truly come to know himself. This battle had been a turning point for him.
He still wasn’t ready to face the truth of the passing of his mother, but that day would definitely come. He could only hope that he would be ready.
It was a small step forward, but it was a step all the same, and Alex resolved not to forget the lesson learned from this experience. If he could manage to place his hand on the handle of that door, he could change himself for the better and become stronger through it. His current state was proof of that and he knew now that this Doppelganger represented a much weaker version of himself.
Alex smiled, and in order to trick his copy, he decided to go with a move he had picked up from Melodi. If he was willing to cast aside the lessons that had been hammered into him by his master and exchange wounds for damage on his opponent, then he could also expand his arsenal of spells as well!
He let his aggression fall away and turned to a tactic he wouldn't normally employ. His element was fire, but it was time to cool things down a bit! He pulled a pouch of pills from within his dimensional pocket and threw several into his mouth. His condition improved instantly as he swallowed the pills.
Each one was expensive and had cost him weeks of hard work. Most of his mission rewards went towards these healing and energy pills and he was reluctant to use them even in cases that absolutely required them. This was certainly one of those times but even with his life fading, he had refused to consume them. However, now it was time to cast aside frugality and do whatever he could to win this fight.
His reserves of Zight and physical energy refilled themselves as the pills went to work, and even his wounds began to close. His condition improved but his precious stash dwindled to almost nothing. Still, this was worth it. Before he hadn't had the Zight needed to carry out this plan and even if he had, he was far too damaged to pull it off correctly.
Now though, he was near his peak condition once again. However, Doppel Alex didn't seem to follow his example. It was strange that he simply stood in an attack posture and waited for Alex but he didn't mind. If this clone was willing to stand there and let him heal then he would take full advantage of the situation without question.
Despite the obvious disadvantage this spell would have due to its opposite elemental affinity he cast it all the same. "Solo, Verse 1, Hailstorm!" Ice shards shot forth from the end of his weapon, and this time, the attack landed on his Doppel and left deep gashes as the ice cut through its skin. The Doppel Alex faltered, but the real Alex continued his assault and dashed forward with his blade covered in a layer of ice.
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The Doppel moved to block but this attack pattern that Alex was using was something that, despite its intimate knowledge of Alex’s arsenal of spells, it didn't expect. That single instant of hesitation was all that the real Alex needed. In the blink of an eye, he had left two more deep gashes in the shoulder of his Doppel, and ice was spreading over its right arm.
These attacks hadn't been an exchange of a wound for a wound. This time, Alex had dealt damage without receiving any himself. The Doppel Alex grunted in pain and smiled as he looked into the eyes of his real self. "Very good! You're finally learning to let go and follow a path that isn't so obvious!" he said with a smile.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were expecting this development!" said the real Alex. His Doppel smiled and nodded his head.
"Of course, didn't I tell you that I had a little bit of extra knowledge in this old noggin of mine? I might be an exact copy of you, but that doesn't mean I truly am you. There are rules to this little game that I must follow. It isn't exactly an honest duel. That said, I think it's about time we ended this little struggle, don't you?" replied the Doppel, and Alex nodded in agreement.
The two spoke in unison as they readied their final attacks, their words reminiscent of what their old master used to say during training sessions.
"I will never yield to an opponent! I will always strive forward with courage and the burning heart of the warrior! You will know my power, and through it, I will burn a path to the future!"
"Duet, Verse 3, Tidal Wave!!!" bellowed Alex.
"Duet, Verse 2, Solar Wave!!!" bellowed the Doppelganger.
The two attacks grew massive as they each poured in everything they had. Above the Doppel Alex, a large sphere of fire had formed. It looked like the sun and burned brightly with a determination that Alex knew all too well. Its heat scorched the white void and left black marks on the ground. It was his most powerful attack and one that he rarely used because of the massive drawbacks.
Above the real Alex, a large sphere of water was gathered. It was equal in size to the Doppel's sphere, and it roiled and churned with all the force of the ocean. It left cuts where the churning water sloshed across the ground and froze in some places. Despite the weakness of being a water elemental attack cast by a fire elemental Conductor, it matched the Doppel's power.
Alex had poured all of his remaining Zight into this spell and was pushing himself far beyond the safe limits of his body. Once again, he was willing to endure harm to inflict it upon this doppelganger. This was different though. This wasn’t some desperate ploy to protect himself. It was a showing of his true determination to progress down the path he had chosen.
No longer was this an unwavering and pig-headed charge down a singular path, this was a deviation. This would cost him greatly and would normally leave his body in ruins. However, he couldn't worry about the consequences of his actions right now. As long as he didn't die he could deal with whatever came later.
With each element came certain attacks that could maximize the power of that element. Alex had trained long and hard to use the Solar Wave. It was a powerful attack, one at the peak of Fire elemental Magick within the human ranks. It was a dangerous spell to use though because the very energy it was made of would burn and injure the caster. In truth, it was a final resort that Alex had decided to use only if his life was in extreme danger.
He had learned it after his encounter with Louis and was happy to have such a trump card up his sleeve. That said, he hadn't been foolish enough not to study the other elements and their respective apexes of power. Human, Heroic, Relic, Guardian, each tier of power within a Conductor’s ranks had their own ‘ultimate spell,’ and while he only ever intended to use the Solar Wave, Alex had learned all four of these powerful spells within the human ranks.
Normally attacks of the other elements wouldn't have ever come up in his attack roster. He had been too stubborn to allow his path to deviate from the straight line he had endeavored to walk. He saw now that it was a flawed path that would have led him to ruin eventually.
That old path no longer mattered to him anymore. He now had the chance to forge a new path, one that cut through any obstacles and led him to his ultimate goal. Right now, he was determined to win this battle and lay claim to the Ark Cradle. He knew that his Doppel would use the Solar Wave, and so he had planned accordingly. With a final exertion of effort, the two fired off their attacks, and they collided with tremendous force that shattered the white void all around them.
Flames roared, and the water surged as the two attacks mingled in that great clash giving off great gouts of steam in the process. They each struggled for a few moments, but in the end, all was lost in a radiant flash of red and blue light as the two roared their defiant battle cries.