"Anansi Update me on the shadow search."

Shadow Update: Despite not being able to pick up any sort of data whatsoever from the last encounter with your assailant, The Shadow database does seem to contain a small amount of isolated reports from decommissioned field operatives. I will need further time to decipher this manner of encryption.

Nora had asked for that information when the night sky was pitch black with the plethora of celestial bodies being the only sources of radiance. She gazed up and found beauty, she’d almost forgotten this planet had two moons.

A thin red slash stained the horizon by the time she reached the tall grass. The blades towered comfortably over her 6 foot frame, another gallant display of island gigantism. The Gods Mao spoke of played cruel games.

Two mounds into this portion of her trek and her injuries started working overtime. The pain serum's effects were subsiding and the stings in her sides felt like stabs now, the gash in her arm made its presence more known by the second and her head felt like a baby elephant's ballet recital.

She reached for her utility belt and produced a syringe, her last serum, she'd saved it for the moment she felt her fever symptoms started to creep in.

She had no doubt he was out there creeping too, she found it satirically hilarious she'd gendered him as a male. I mean I've known men crueler than this. A smile snuck up on her face. Hours ago she didn't think she'd be alive let alone smile again.

Nora halted and took a deep breath upon removing her helmet. It had been hours since her dark brown skin felt anything that wasn't woven Cascadium. A calm temperate draft blew through her jet black curls, she basked in it almost in an attempt to draw energy from the current. but she was an Alchemist not an Aeromancer so that wasn't possible.

An Alchemist. She had almost forgotten that. The slight respite grounded her bearings; the breeze on her umber skin, the scent of an open field invading her nostrils, the rising parent star and its accompanying effects on the sky, a midnight snack on the streets after a night filled with beer, carbs and laughter, the echo of her nephew's cocky laugh, the rest of her family in Askium. For a moment she'd almost forgotten who she was and why she wanted to live. That's what pain did.

Most of the physical and emotional manifestations of pain had subsided two mounds later, the building on the hill was getting larger and she felt healthier, the pain by on her sides were but a faint tingle, the mid range plasmite rifle and hoverpack that hung across her back felt lighter improving her posture.

Most importantly her head felt clear, an Alchemist’s most powerful weapon was it’s mind and she’d have to wield that weapon firmly when she faced the horseman. Nora ignored the voices telling her she could reach her extraction point without obstruction, another dance was inevitable. Even now she could almost feel him trotting on the opposite side of the path, waiting for the moment she stepped on it before he emerged like the accursed showman that he was. The path of course would've made her transit much easier but she needed time to plan.

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She'd spotted more than unkempt farmland when she first assessed the building, along with decapitated cadavers of humans and earth animals, all types of equipment she could and couldn't identify, a clothing line, broken down hover vehicles, a chicken pen, a ravaged shed. This planet wasn’t just charted, it was colonized and the former inhabitants were no doubt victims of the horseman's wrath.

Wrath? He was laughing the whole time. Like the sick version of some Japanese game show. Of all the things Nora remembered from the attack, the laugh stood out the most, she still heard it, maniacal and mimicking. Why’d he laugh like that? It wasn't even necessary.

The ship had exploded the first time she heard that cancerous cackle, she lay there recovering from an unconscious stint and turned towards its direction. Ebukah was sending shots at the mounted assailant, most of them missed. He was one head lighter a few seconds later.

Dieter and Zasid's bodies were leaking dark red liquid onto the beach sands, their heads lay closer to the shore and its red bioluminescent waves.

Mao had abandoned technology and opted for arcane combat against the horseman. Mao uprooted chunks of rock and hurled them at the assailant, each hit leaving the mounted menace unbalanced. The horseman regained composure then sent his weapon, a flaming circular disc with buzz saw edges attached to a chain flying towards her.

Nora stood dumbfounded watching her East Asian comrade, Mao teleported and reappeared above the horseman wielding a thin sword in both hands. Using downward momentum she wedged the blade into the rider's shoulder blade before teleporting a few feet away. That was the first time Nora noticed the wicked similarity the horseman shared with his victims. However, that wasn't the time for shock.

She suddenly remembered her job then. The guillotined rider was distracted by the incision so she had to act. The plasmite rifle wasn’t her surest bet but it was her closest.

She'd barely had any time to process why the horseman wasn't dismounted by the flurry of shots she'd dealt him before she saw Mao leaping towards the horseman. Mao telekinetically dislodged the blade and brought it to her possession in mid air, right before she reached the horseman she teleported behind him but this time he'd unfortunately predicted that.

The horseman's hand was already outstretched when Mao landed in its icy grip. Mao was choking. Nora’s rifle was reloading. Mao repeatedly stabbed and slashed at the horseman’s arm, he responded with a mocking laugh. His fingers made a slight movement and Mao's head was sent flying upwards with the rest of her body left to the mercy of the planet's gravity.

Nora let out a loud shriek of disapproval and another barrage of plasmite bolts, both left the horseman unfazed. The mechanical steed exhaled two thick white puffs then trotted towards her. Nora instinctively set the rifle to maximum impact; a mode reserved from inanimate obstructions such as walls and vehicles. The horseman’s proven resilience required it.

The longest seconds in Nora's life were the ones she spent watching the horseman approach her being. Each gallop sent a furnace of fear through her chest, her mind told her to dash into the trees on her left or dive into the gleaming waves crashing on the coast to her right but she needed to be brave, as brave as Mao.

The horse's slow trot came to an end right above Nora. The steed rose on its hind legs with the horseman spinning his chain in a circular motion, the flames from the blade forming a bright yellow oval above him.

That's it! The fucking chain!