As the tension hangs in the air like a thick fog over the salty sea, my gaze remains locked on the man before me, his face not too much older than mine. Ryder's hand inches toward the polished grip of the Lumen at his hip, a glint of malice dancing in his eyes. The man's pupils don't look at me, however. They stare greedily at the weapon in my holster. The Blooming Spider Lily.

The greed weirds me out due to its bizarre nature. So, he does know what she is. And he wants Lily. I wonder if his father ordered him to retrieve her. They must want her for her renowned power. Little do they know the price that comes with firing her lead.

And so, we stand, two lone figures on the vast deck of the ship, poised for the duel that awaits us. The cold metal of my own weapon rests snugly in its holster, my fingers grazing its surface with anticipation. Yet as time passes, Ryder gives me a short, solemn nod as if prepared for the outcome of the battle. I want to say something, but I cannot.

As the arbiter's countdown punctuates the silence, Maddox's voice joining the sea air, the world around us seems to freeze. My hand mirrors the movement of my foe's, both descending towards the weapons that will determine our fate. The anticipation is palpable, each passing moment stretching into an eternity.

"On three, dimwits! One!"

I force Ether through my veins, preparing every hint of my aptitude for this fight. He wants to trade shots with our guns. I will do him a favor and respond in kind. Even a Lumen won't beat out Lily. I have that much confidence in her.

"Two!"

My fingers edge onto Lily's cold yet welcoming steel as I grasp toward the inevitable moment. The moment where there is no going back. It will be do or die.

But before the Sea's Shadow utters the command to begin, Ryder's hands move with alarming alacrity. His hand is already outstretched and primed toward me before I even manage to react in the slightest.

Yet, I feel the danger the instant he moves. My eyes turn shadowy for a split second as I move on my own, sidestepping and tightening my grip on Lily. I hardly have time to even register Shiver's immediate effect as I claw for my life.

Arbalest throws my right arm into the air, Lily attaching herself to my hand with a Petalshield as a shot rings out. During the slightest gap between the volley of lead crashing into me from Ryder's barrel, I respond, my fingers convulsing around the grip of my Colt and unleashing a retaliatory shot. The act is so swift and featureless that it is almost as if the Colt pulled her own trigger.

In a cruel twist of fate, Ryder defies the rules, perhaps reveling in the chaos he unleashes with that manic smile of his. The air crackles with the sharp retort of gunfire. His shot finds its mark first, half of his projectiles landing, and pain explodes through my whole body, a dozen holes opening as I stumble backward. Blood spills from me, staining the ground beneath us as we both kneel in the aftermath of our exchange.

Crimson splatters and falls from me in legions more as my legs grow weak, needing even more stabilization. My left hand bears my weight as Lily cries in horror, her voice echoing into my mind alongside a peal of cackling laughter from Maddox. The father on the sideline seems to enjoy my suffering.

"Aha! Great one, Ryder! Rules be damned! You can start whenever you like! And really, Graves... did you think I know not who you are? I am... meticulous in my preparations."

In the stillness, my opponent grunts, lifting himself to his feet while I stay on the ground. A thick ceramic plate, hinged with dense blue chains, clatters to the ground as Ryder massages his heart.

Damn. They had something to catch Lily's bullet? I... I didn't even know that was possible. How did they set that up? And why? How could they know I was taking her place? We were quiet when discussing it...

Unless...

My eyes flutter over to a man with missing sockets sitting silently on the bow of the ship, a knowing sightless stare digging into me. Him. That man. He... he feels like Sacate in a way. An Augur. That's how.

Bastards. There goes the bullet Lily had saved up.

Ryder steps toward me, rubbing his wrist as he flicks out the side of his Lumen, a massive cartridge falling out before he replaces it with a new one. The man is silent but focused as he prepares the Falling Rain for me once more.

I attempt to stand, but Blodwyn groans at me, warning his tone.

"Many holes. Need time."

My eyes fall down as I comprehend that I have a dozen fist-sized holes smashed into my body, even if they are rapidly closing. The weakness...

A click of a Colt being fully reloaded draws my attention as I glare upward. A barrel meets my gaze.

"Pet—"

"On it!"

Lily cuts me off with a gasping shout, and I have only a fraction of a second to lift my arm. The force of a dozen cannons slams into Lily's reinforced pitch made from the Cardinal, and only three bullets manage to puncture it. A hole in my shoulder, chest, and hip opens up as Lily concentrates the force on my skull.

The impact of the collision, however, sends me rolling across the ship, blood slickening my pace. I can feel the warm and wet surface of the Rising Tide's deck as a splinter pokes into my cheek.

This is not going at all how I expected it to. When was Lily ever outmatched? Never. She was never even contested by another Colt of the same status, let alone countered. It's my fault. I'm too slow.

Ryder hasn't even used his Ether while I'm here fucking struggling.

"Time to pick things up a notch, eh, Blodwyn?"

I might not have trained these past few days, but I have rested. And when I'm rejuvenated, so is my artifact. A growling scream comes from my arm as it shifts, the bone, flesh, and nails transfiguring into a shapeless blob that molds over my skull.

While Blodwyn works on Pautuhm, I reposition Lily in my right hand, resetting the grip after the movements, the cold steel of my prosthetic gliding against her handle. And as my heartbeat accelerates, my Ether digging deep into Painsforge, I charge forward at Ryder.

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My eyes open spontaneously to another loaded chamber of Falling Rain, but my eyes aren't my own anymore. They peer out from underneath a prison of bone, flesh, and blood more dense than any steel. Remembering how Blodwyn took the scythe of Haen without issue, I headbutt Ryder's weapon since I doubt I can dodge him.

And as if on beat with my heartbeat, the man pulls the trigger, another plethora of cannons entering the air. Darkness suffuses me for a moment as I bumble backward, gradually regaining my senses. And when I glance forward at Ryder, I find him cradling his wrist while chunks of lead fall from my head and onto the ground.

For the first time since I have met Maddox, I receive a round of applause from the man and a genuine compliment as feel my flesh mending from before.

"Incredible! Enduring such a blast to the forehead! A Wendigo, you sure are, Graves. Your father might just have his title challenged..."

The older man speaks to me, but I wholly disregard his presence, concentrating on his son. Blood boils within my veins as my heartbeat reaches incredible levels, beating hundreds of times per minute. Ether fills my heels as I soar forward, cracking the ship's deck beneath me.

As I charge toward my opponent, resolve burning in my veins, he unveils a deadly arsenal beyond the Colt at his side, finally grasping for his Ether. The broken bones open to the air in his shooting hand, born from firing the Falling Rain too much, unleash a torrent of blood, crimson liquid falling like rain. The blood sinks toward the deck but doesn't taint the wood. Instead, it halts an inch about the floor, a hovering menacing thing.

Simultaneously, the seawater over the ship's edge responds to his command, rising and curling behind him like a watery serpent. Torrents flow from multiple sources as the Angel backsteps, leaping up to the same height where his father is.

I grunt at the sight and follow, ducking under one clenching tendril of water. Maddox, thankfully, encases himself in water before reappearing on a lifted water spout over the side of the ship. The feat of Ether distracts me for a split second as more water shoots at me. The liquid is a relentless force that is attempting to wrap around my limbs, threatening to strangle the very life from me.

Another fusillade of cannons whizzes through the air as I get close, a deadly accompaniment to the elemental onslaught. I weave and dodge, ducking for the floor, narrowly avoiding the projectiles as I press on. Ryder, however, proves to be a slippery adversary, both literally and figuratively. He utilizes the ship as his playground, acrobatically evading my every move, climbing and darting around like a wet shadow.

His hands tie around the many ropes and contraptions on the ship, leaping high onto the masts. The movement is proof of his seasons on the sea, letting me know that he has done this many times.

Amidst this chaotic chase, the blood flowing from his broken hand becomes the most insidious weapon. Sharp sickles of crimson pierce the air, extending from behind him like malevolent tendrils. They seek toward me like that of a scorpion's stinger. Each strike I fail to avoid sinks into my flesh, leaving searing pain in its wake.

Despite the agony, I press forward, relentless in my pursuit, even as the blood digs deep into my flesh. Ryder's Ether is insidious, and I can only imagine the simultaneous control of these two elements is the base of his Power. The proper thing isn't even out here yet. The combination of the two must be the most formidable aspect of the man.

Salted Blood, huh?

The battle unfolds in simple moments, bit by bit, around the totality of the ship, with bullets whistling, water surging, and blood-tinged tendrils reaching out for me. My pursuit yields little results even after a nearly full minute until I follow him onto the masts and the sails, leaping all over to reach for him as he uses a torrent of water to guide his way back down, disappearing into the ship's depths.

I inhale deeply, sinking my teeth sharply into this moment of recovery and respite on the deck while Ryder is below. I don't know what he's doing, but Blodwyn needs a moment to regenerate the leg that was removed. Plus, we've only just now gotten my left arm reconstituted with flesh.

Then, I close my eyes and hold my breath, taking stock of Blodwyn's Ether. I feel it move. We haven't trained these past few days, but we have grown closer. Reaching for what feels like an instinct of mine hidden behind a veil of skin, I feel a sensation erupt within me. I copy his actions, using my own mind to multiply the effects.

My flesh warps and tingles as I see my toes regenerate fully. Meanwhile, Blodwyn uses his Power to hide the motions of our Ether. Only when we share the burden can he focus on other things.

While we're gathering ourselves, Maddox mocks us as he has the whole fight. This time, however, I listen. He's holding onto Autumn, after all, his daughter fearfully standing beside him. She's masking the alarm on her face, but I can tell.

"Well, aren't you going to continue!? This duel lasts until one of you two is dead."

I contemplate his words as I peer down the stairs that lead deeper into the behemoth of a ship that I'm on. I tighten the gaps in the armored skull made by Blodwyn to examine it more closely as I find hundreds of tiny wires of blood strung across the stairs and down into the hallway.

Nope.

"I think I'd rather stay up here."

I glance at Maddox for only a second, but I quickly realize my mistake as a fraction of something shivers within the depths of my soul., forcing me to leap aside. A peal of laughter from Maddox accentuates the splintering wood beneath me, exploding from the Falling Rain's barrage.

Gaps appear within my legs, and I stumble from the loss of force as water and blood surge from the hole, Ryder nowhere to be seen. Leaning forward, I throw myself backward even further with my arms and an Arbalest. If Shiver hadn't warned me, I would have lost far more than some of my legs.

Then, I work with Blodwyn as we move the flesh and blood within my body, repairing it as fast as we can, even while an onslaught falls upon us. A Petalshield from Lily stops a sickle of blood looming on my eye socket while I leap over a tendril of water. When I land, however, I find myself using my arms to push myself forward, but more puncturing blood seeps from the deck beneath me, stabbing into my prosthetic and the arm that has temporarily replaced Blodwyn.

I wrench my body back, but I quickly understand it won't be all that easy. I contemplate losing my arms as Ryder's hand grips the edge of the hole from below—no time to think any further.

Gritting my teeth, I rip my whole form away from the sickles. A jolt of pain that nearly floors me exits while a weight leaves my body. I land on the balls of my feet as Ryder aims his Colt for me once more. This time, however, my left arm has been reduced to an elbow while my right ends at my shoulder.

"More!"

I scream for Blodwyn to push our connection further before Ryder fires his weapon. We don't have much choice after all. I feel my heartbeat accelerate to a whole new level as it beats with insane power. The agony of losing my arms and the other leaking wounds fuels Painsforge to cradle my heart with raw, unbridled force.

But as it beats, I feel a crippling pain in my chest. My heart.

It's beating too fast. Yet there is no time to worry.

I sidestep, wood splintering and shattering underneath me as I use far too much force and slam into the railing of the stairs to the upper deck. I stumble and regain my balance in only a moment as another pair of water and blood come hurtling for me.

A sickle slices for my chest, and I slide under it with such speed that more wood breaks. I exhale the Strugglers Gasp from earlier and renew it to remove the attacks directly surrounding me. I can hardly control the force coming from my muscles as I feel them rip and tear, the Ether flowing through me too much for me to handle. Blodwyn groans in tension as he is the only thing that holds me together.

But it's not enough.

I dart for Ryder, but he's simply too fast and too skilled. Water surges him into the air, sending the man beyond my reach. As I step forward, my left arm coming back, this time tinted with plates of bone from Blodwyn, I hear Lily's voice.

"Wyatt! Wyatt! Can you hear me!?"

She lies in the grip of my amputated prosthetic, shouting for me. I glance between her and Ryder before choosing her. Sliding underneath a tendril of condensed water, I retrieve the Colt from the arm with my newly regrown left arm, only to feel a sprouting explosion of agony in my back, punctuated by another round of cannon fire.

Sputtering out blood all over, I fall to my knees as bloody scythes sink into my flesh. Watery tendrils contort and wrap around my neck and arm, holding me still as Ryder hastily but carefully reloads his Colt. Even from here, I can see that his hands are roughed up. He's not as bad at me, but bone sticks out from his wrists from the simple force of firing his weapon.

Regardless, my vision darkens as I struggle against the Ether holding me down. But it's not enough. I can feel the water and blood mixing, becoming diluted but more potent in the end while constricting me and invading my flesh.

"MORE!"

I shout for Blodwyn in my mind as water covers our mouth and nose, stopping all breathing while strangling us. The night closes in during midday as Ryder levels his Colt toward my skull.

My heartbeat accelerates further as my partner follows my needs, pushing with all he can toward the goal of increasing our physical strength to break free. But it's not enough. We are in a direct contest against an Angel's Power. Not just any Angel, too. Ryder was talented enough to outcompete all his siblings, each, based on Autumn, Rhuger, and Ryder, impressive people in their own rights.

A muffled detonation leaves me reeling as bone shatters and breaks off my face. Falling Rain pierces through the majority of the protections Blodwyn has given me in a single moment. My muscles begin to weaken from a lack of air as Lily speaks to me, and Blodwyn flows my blood with all his might.

"I can shoot again! Aim me! Come on! Don't die! Please! You're so close!"

The thoughts in my mind muddle under the wavering energy left in my body. Far away, I see a shadowy figure bolt toward me, only to be blocked by a wall of water, hiding the rest of the confrontation from me. Damn it, Virgil.

My eyes, only able to see through pinpoints, glance at Lily. She's still in my hand, primed to fire. If only I could move it.

Time appears to slow as Ryder closes the chamber of his Colt for what is likely to be the final time in this fight. Even I can recognize that. Liberation seems to move independently, just as Blodwyn groans to me under the force of using it on his own.

"How win?"

I can only sigh to him in reply. It doesn't look good.

"I don't see a way, buddy. Maybe you ought to detach and find Virgil."

A vehemently furious whine strikes that thought from existence as Blodwyn simply throws more of himself at Pautuhm, pushing the skill even further. He must believe we will break out if we beat my heart fast enough.

Might as well join him. Due to how daunting it is, I haven't attempted to help him run the skill yet. But I suppose now is a better time than any. I reach for the blood in my body, sensing that film between my Sigil and Blodwyn's core. It's like we are one, but not. The most vital portions of him I cannot touch, being his Power and his actual Sigil, but I can handle the rest.

So, I tighten my grasp around my flowing arteries, circulating veins, and beating heart. Closing my eyes, I pull with all my strength, just as I did against that train long ago.

And as Liberation falters due to a lack of focus, I hear, no, I feel a heartbeat louder than a gun.