Evangeline

      I run my fingers over the wall in my mind, feeling it out. The gradual release of memories threatened to destroy me last time. Now, let’s see what happens when the dam is broken!

      I “rip” the wall apart and stare into the void within. Eons of information flood through, far too much for me as I am. But I am sure, as the light envelops me, that who is to come will find no issue.

      As the world around me is snuffed out, in its place remains…

      Me? I look around. I’m looking out at Gehenna as she taps her foot with a menacing glare focused on me. I don’t get it.

      Of course you do. You’re Eve after all.

      I’m momentarily taken aback. I can feel age-old memories within me. Perhaps… this is the final gift from a being I am to be. Then so be it. No more regrets. I made my choice, my decision - clear. I reach to my side and the shimmer therein. Space before my hand tears open and lets me in. An infinite cosmos of knowledge and it all makes sense before me. I grab at the power and form it to my needs.

      No weapons for me. I will do this the way I have been taught. The power leeches on to my fist and coats over me. A soft golden hue envelops me and I redirect it to my arms.

      “Oh?” Gee’s eyebrows uplift. “Finally, then it is time.”

      She slams her fist together and the space before her opens and immediately pours over her. There is almost no delay at getting her own power- her experience sends chills down my spine. There, inlaid across her fists, is a set of metal claws as black as midnight. A twinkle in Gee’s eyes tells me the thrill she feels at my surprise. She drags her tongue down the steel with a teasing glance.

      “This could have been you, Eve.”

      “Maybe in another life, Gee.”

      “Been there, done that.”

      She soars at me with speed beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Turning, I block her blades with my energy-backed fists. They cut pass my defense just enough to draw blood. The shock wave from our collision booms across the area, taking out entire walls. Gee doesn’t seem surprised; instead, giving me a wink. She pushes off and backs away.

      Again and again she soars towards me with her ridiculous speed. She slices here, kicks there. She’s trying to wear me down. She points at me and makes a gun with her hand.

      “Oh, shit.” She does a little “bang” and a force that didn’t exist before, now does, and explodes on me sending me back and through a wall. Outside again, Gee gives a little laugh at the state she finds me in. I wipe the mud from my face and stand. She takes aim at me again and once again I’m blown away.

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      The third time, I manage to time it well enough to barely get away from it. When that happens, I start feeling more confident in myself. That is, until a hand reaches out of my shadow. There in front of me is Gee with her arms seemingly sticking through the ground. Her hands snake around my ankles from my shadow and pull me down through the world of shadow, before seeing me rise to the physical world again. Using the momentum of it all, Gee jumps into the air. With gravity’s assistance, she comes down slamming me through the island proper.

      We’re in free-fall now, as I look up at her. I throw a punch at her face but she pushes my arm aside like it was nothing. We fling ourselves at one another in mid-air. Eventually, I position her under me as we slam into Arsea proper. She coughs through the dust and looks up at me. “How long I’ve waited for you to mount me again…”

      I bring my fist down and bury it in her skull. It flattens as if it never existed. Breath ragged, I pull my fist up, covered in black ooze. As with the Beta, her head reforms, and she laughs as I vomit to the side. “Call it one of the perks of the trade, my dear Eve.”

      She jabs her claw forward and pierces my chest. I feel my lungs pop and my ribs snap. As if I weighed nothing, she chucks me to the side. Skidding across the ground, I feel my body regenerate itself. But I have to say just how unpleasant it is. I look up to her dashing towards me again. I roll to avoid the blow and punch out her right knee. She stumbles and I grab her by the leg and pull her over my head, slamming her to the ground.

      “How do you like it?!” I scream. She laughs and points at me. Goddamnit I think to myself as I’m flying away.

      “Not enough, Master. Give it to me harder.” She makes a gun with each hand now. I zig-zag non-stop, never letting one hit me. When I close the gap, I punch at her face only to meet her claws. Good, it was a fake. My right fist smashes into her stomach rupturing organs. She falls just in time to meet my knee. As her head jerks back up, I bring down a fist and destroy her face, snapping her neck in the meantime.

      It’s healed before she touches the ground and she slices me across the torso, disemboweling me in the process. I hold my organs in and take note at the speed in which I’m healing. Like magic – it is magik, after all – my wound closes.

      I look up just in time to duck her claws. Charging my fist with all I can in time, I deliver an uppercut to her chin. Her neck snaps and she flies into the air. Gee flies and flies and flies and… well, she doesn’t stop until she goes straight through the island above. Well, shit.

      Powering my legs with all the energy I can, I jump up. The force exerted by such a feat makes my legs literally explode from the knees down, causing me to rain my blood across the world. As I enter through the hole she made, I land on my fully healed legs. There’s Gee looking bored, twirling her hair as if she was waiting on me.

      “You’re always so slow, Eve. Can’t you come just a little faster? Let us both enjoy the moment.”

      I click my tongue. We aren’t ending this using physical means. I may heal, but I can tell I’m getting tired. That’s likely a consequence of keeping my mortal existence. Were I fully myself, she would be nothing to me. But no, I’ll end this the way we all deserve, with my own will.

      It seems I’m going to have to take another approach. I look around and notice the small castle we arrived to, is nothing but ruins now. The bubble barrier from before still contains my women. They look worried, but safe. My eyes hover on Kay a bit longer than the others. Her eye bringing forth memories.

      That world!