The dagger flew at me, scraping past my missile. I raised my hand, conjuring a swirling wall of water. The blade cut through my liquid shield with a violent spray. But its trajectory bent enough to miss me and embed itself into the wall right behind.

This corridor-like room was too narrow for either of us to dodge well. I looked at Jack. He had blocked my Frost Missile with his leather-wrapped forearm, but the shot pierced his light armor. Blood stained his sleeve and dribbled on to the damp, stony ground. My muscles stiffened. Was I really going to do this?

Jack didn't give pause. He thrust his palm out at me. A distortion rocked the space between us, destroying what remained of my Vortex Shield. Sickening quakes passed through me, creaking my bones, rattling my organs.

Vacuum Wave.

70 meters range, 8 second cooldown. Deals 60 damage to all targets in its path, and applies the Resonance status effect. His melee attacks consume the Resonance status, dealing an additional 60 damage.

I began to conjure a Cold Grenade. Jack brandished another dagger from his cloak. Its silver edge glinted, polished and razor-sharp. He took a crouching stance.

His second ability, Slayer's Dash. 50 meters range, 8 second cooldown. It lets him dash to a target within range and strike them for 100 damage.

I prepared myself. Jack leaped at me as a blur. His blade sang as it sliced through air.

A blast of frigid fog filled the corridor. That was my Cold Grenade.

Jack's dagger, covered in frost, hung inches away from my eye. Behind its steely point was Jack, frozen mid-lunge, milliseconds before he could reach me. His dash was fast, but I knew how to anticipate his attacks, and time mine in reply. I doubt it'd work again. He was smart enough to mix up his rhythm and throw me off.

The pain inside my bones subsided. I assumed that meant the Resonance debuff had worn off. Good; I had thwarted the most damaging portion of his combo.

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Jack writhed himself free of the ice. He still had two skills left, I assumed. A third skill, and an Ultimate ability. I knew about neither of those. I backed away and fired railgun shots.

Jack approached me with his dagger. He inevitably suffered a few shots, but he closed the gap faster than I could back away. His dagger twirled around me as I tried to guard myself using the railgun as a shield. Slashes and thrusts made their ways through my defense. My flesh burned as the knife sailed through.

His footwork was better than mine, and his attacks faster. Even as I tried to track him with the barrel of my gun, he danced circles around me. But for all his speed, his cuts were shallow, noncommittal –

"Return," Jack muttered.

A terrible pain pierced my shoulder.

I looked down, only to find a gaping, bloody hole. My knees buckled for a moment, and I stumbled into a shelf, barely bracing myself against it. A slice of my shoulder had been completely gouged out.

Jack held two knives in his hands. The one he was wielding, and the knife he had thrown at the start of combat. The thrown knife had left a mark on the wall, where I deflected it into. The mark, the blade's current position, and where I had been hit – those three locations fell upon the same straight line.

I gritted my teeth. My body sweated in pain, even as I grew cold. Did the thrown dagger fly back into his hand, straight through me?

"Maybe that's my Ultimate," Jack told me. "Or maybe just my third skill. Or even just a magical item. Who knows."

I sneered between shallow gasps. "Did you taunt Saber too, before you killed her?"

The cooldown on my Cold Grenade had worn off. I conjured one in the barrel of my railgun.

"Of course not," Jack replied. "She'd never deserve that. But you. You are strong. I can only beat you by being a monster."

Jack snapped his fingers. The walls and shelves around us evaporated like smoke, and the lights flickered out. Jack, too, faded away. I looked down and saw that I stood on nothingness.

All that remained around me was a dark, shadowy void.

I uttered an expletive – only there was no sound. It was dead silent; not even my own voice reached my ears.

"This is my trump card," Jack's voice suddenly reverberated, from all directions at once. "Designed for assassinating other assassins, and moreso, mages."

Was this an illusion? A pocket dimension? Jack never mentioned anything like this to me before. I could only assume the worst.

"Ultimate technique," he said. "Scream."