Aetheral Space

Once upon a time, there was a very unfortunate girl.

Her name was Renée, and she had the bad luck of being born as the child of a Supreme -- the daughter of Helis-Audrey the Harsh, the woman with the authority of god. As if that weren't bad enough, she was born as one of two children. The twin daughters of a Supreme, striving for imitation.

Two daughters… but there could only be one Supreme Heir.

So the daughters competed, throughout their youth, training and training and training… trying desperately to reach the pinnacle of their strength before the other. The bond of blood turned poisonous. Sabotage and cruelty became common in their childhood home. The fear of failure -- the fear of being discarded -- would permit nothing else.

The day came. A final duel between the sisters, before the throne of the Supreme. Needless to say, Renée won, and it is said that she wept over the corpse of her slain sister. She was beaten severely for that weakness.

Soon after, Renée slew her mother too, at the Supreme's own bidding -- and so it was that she became Supreme.

It's said that Renée became obsessed with the image of the raven -- the black bird that served as a herald of death in several religions across the galaxy. She wore dark feathered robes to mimic their wings. She wore a silver pointed mask to mimic their beaks. She even styled her Unkindnesses, her secret police, after the birds as well.

But, of course, it was not the birds themselves that fascinated Renée the Raven, but what they brought with them. The end beckoned by their wingbeats. She had been a student of death since the moment she was born, and so she constantly advanced her studies. She wrote of death, and wrote, and wrote, and executed her theories in despair.

Eventually, the girl tormented by god took her own life, sitting cold upon the throne she so despised. But the ideas survived.

Those writings found their way, centuries later, into the hands of another hopeless girl -- a girl who had not so long ago dyed her sword red for the first time. The ideas found purchase in that mind, just as they had in the mind of the Supreme of Black. That distant girl spread out black wings as well.

Because Renée the Raven understood it well. The allure of the psychopomp. The comforting darkness that eased one's way along a bloody path.

A reaper could not be a murderer.

And so, Renée believed, there would always be Ravens -- and so, Renée believed, there would always be a Supreme.

A wave of death spread out from the form of Dorothy Eiro.

Everything perished as ordered. The ground crumbled away, sending both Muzazi and Dorothy down into the bowels of the arena. The energy shields around the stadium flickered out of existence. The electricity ceased to spark, and the flying knife crumbled into rust.

Yes, everything died… save for Atoy Muzazi.

He'd cancelled all of his Radiants, focused all of his Aether into infusion, and so he'd managed to resist the command carried by the Aether ping. As he fell into the skeleton of the stadium, though, he could still hear his heart thundering in his chest. His mouth was loath to take in another risky breath.

Death. He'd felt death just then, and its absent form still hung behind his mind.

No. He couldn't falter. Not now. Especially not now. With a grunt, Muzazi ignited thrusters from his feet, stopping his descent and bringing himself to a halt midair. Dorothy had destroyed the ground, but that didn't mean --

Black wings smashed him out of the air.

The breath was finally pushed out of Muzazi's lungs as he crashed into the ground, his entire body screaming out in pain. He hadn't even registered the attack until the moment before he was hit. As she was now, Dorothy Eiro's speed was a match for his own.

Very well, Muzazi steeled himself. Come for me, then.

He flipped out of the crater his impact had created, just in time to avoid another flurry of blows from Dorothy's new wings. She had become a blur of black and blue, power and speed combined into a single unstoppable force. Muzazi slashed back with his own white-hot Radiants, but his opponent deftly leapt backwards to avoid his strike.

The counterattack came a moment later.

“The Sudden Death,” said Dorothy, spreading her wings wide. A moment later, black specks poured out from the outstretched wings -- feathers, flying straight and true towards Muzazi, slicing through the air. A dagger would have been jealous of their sharpness.

Full Throttle!

Muzazi boosted his own speed to the maximum as he intercepted the barrage, Radiants dancing through the air and incinerating the incoming projectiles. Even with his godspeed, the sheer number of attacks meant that Muzazi had to prioritise -- he let some scrape past his face and sides as he cremated those heading for more vital areas.

Blood poured down his cheeks, and blood poured down his stomach, but he paid them no mind. Against the rain of death, a single moment's hesitation would spell the end. If he were to prevail, his mind had to be even sharper than these feathers.

Exhaustion and exertion pressed their iron hands against his temples, squeezing tight, but he kept going. He could keep going. For a few seconds more, he could keep going. He could manage at least that, couldn't he?

Even so… he would have been able to do this with ease… Nigen Rush…

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the feathers stopped. Muzazi panted for breath, his clothes shredded, his body bloody. Forcing a second wind out of his soul, he straightened up, holding his Radiants ready.

A swarm of Emerald Eyes now hung above them, like glittering green stars, no doubt transmitting these events to the audience far above. It seemed that, once again, Atoy Muzazi had disappointed those hoping for a proper arena match.

Dorothy stared at him, her wings still spread wide, her eyes still dark. Why had she stopped? Even as that ability produced feathers, her black wings didn't seem to lose any of their mass. Was there some other limit on how long she could use it?

Or maybe…

He opened his mouth, tasting metal on his tongue. “If you're hoping I'll surrender…”

“Feathers I just fired: pierce Atoy Muzazi's heart through his chest.”

He heard them whistling through the air. The projectiles that had just gone past him were coming back -- and now they were each and all locked onto a specific, fatal target. Immediately, he turned, resuming his dervish of slashes to annihilate the incoming attacks.

In some ways, the fact that all of the feathers were now aiming for a specific target made intercepting them easier, but it also meant that he had little room for error. These feathers were more than sharp enough to pierce his body. If even one struck their target, he would have no recourse. He would --

“Feathers I'm about to fire: pierce Atoy Muzazi's spine through his back.”

Atoy Muzazi's eyes widened. Dorothy could do that? She could prime a command before actually infusing the object?

Again, he heard the whistling of incoming death. More feathers -- potentially many more -- headed straight for his back. If he turned to deal with them, he'd leave himself open to the first set of feathers. If he focused on the first set of feathers, these ones would get him. If he tried to escape, both sets of feathers would simply follow and overwhelm him.

There was nothing he could do. There was nothing he could do. There was nothing he could do.

Only… he'd have been able to do something, wouldn't he?

Nigen Rush.

The finest swordsman the Supremacy had ever seen. The man who'd created the Seven Blades, who'd vanquished the Fell Beasts, who'd defeated a Gene Tyrant with ease. The corpse that Atoy Muzazi had been born from.

He'd have been able to do this. He'd have seen that golden path he'd written of, the narrow way through the gears of fate, and dealt with this situation easily. He'd have deflected both sets of feathers like it was nothing, along with anything else Dorothy threw at him.

Could those old memories be tapped into… could that old self be tapped into…?

…could he go back…?

…

No.

The memories of the dead were of no interest to him -- and even if they were, Atoy Muzazi would not. He was not Nigen Rush. He'd already confirmed that a long time ago. Any other notions, any pathetic thoughts of ‘going back’ to something he'd never even been… were nothing but momentary weakness.

He was not Nigen Rush. He was Atoy Muzazi.

And so he could do things that Nigen Rush could not.

Quantum King!

It was strange how easily the instincts came back to her. It was like Dorothy the Raven had never even gone away at all.

She watched, dark eyes dull, as Atoy Muzazi unleashed his Quantum King continuously -- creating a field of repulsion that pushed away all the incoming feathers. He kept it going, his body visible only as an aurora as he kept the feathers at a constant distance. The second he stopped, they would continue their death march -- surely he knew that.

Fine. There's still plenty of ways to kill you.

Dorothy stepped forward, the wings of the Sudden Death heavy behind her as they followed, yet somehow failing to weigh her down. Who was the first person she'd killed? She couldn't even remember. It had been shortly after the Special Officer Certification Exam -- it had to have been -- and that had been the start. Acting as an assassin for the Three Wise Men, eliminating their enemies, staining her sword red again and again and again.

Today, there was no sword -- the wings would suffice. She stopped on an outcropping of rubble, looking down at Muzazi. Blue Aether ran through her feet and into the ground below.

“Cables: crush Atoy Muzazi.”

More cables burst out of the ruined environment, electricity spitting from their torn ends, writhing towards Muzazi. They too were pushed back, straining in a vain attempt to reach their target, but that was fine. It was just another thing Muzazi would have to keep in mind.

Blue Aether pulsed out again, this time infusing the broken glass littering the ground. There was no shortage of it.

“Glass: skewer Atoy Muzazi.”

The glass joined the cables and the feathers, and Dorothy infused the ground again.

“Concrete: smash Atoy Muzazi.”

Huge broken rocks pelted themselves at the barrier of Quantum King again and again, determined to reach Muzazi.

“Metal: melt and drown Atoy Muzazi.”

A silvery snake crawled through the air.

“Electricity: shock Atoy Muzazi.”

As the space was lit bright, she let loose another hail of feathers.

“New feathers: pierce Atoy Muzazi's brain through the top of his skull.”

A hand of many deadly fingers -- fingers of stone and lightning, fingers of metal and wind -- was now curled around the barrier Atoy Muzazi had created. Pressing down, pressing in. With each second, coming closer to crushing him in its grasp.

The first lapse in concentration would do it. The first second he spent thinking of something other than this battle would end it. Even if it didn't… Dorothy was prepared.

She readied her hand, blue Aether coursing through it, and whispered.

“Atoy Muzazi's heart: stop.”

The command was primed. The instant Dorothy infused a valid target, it would take effect. Even if Muzazi somehow deflected these waves of attacks, even if he somehow survived them, even if he came for her… this was all but over. All she needed to do was plant her hand on his chest and turn him off.

Her original ability, the Sudden Death, could do more than just shoot feathers. With each attack that landed, it would drain a little bit more of the target's infusion -- until they were as defenceless as a normal human. It was ironic, given the name, but this ability would murder the opponent slowly and inexorably.

A gap in Atoy Muzazi's infusion would appear, no matter what -- and she would take advantage of it.

Just like old times. It was ironic. She’d created All-Word to get away from the person who’d used the Sudden Death, but now she realised the two abilities were perfect for each other.

Scowling, Dorothy glanced up at the observation booths -- from where she was sure the Three Wise Men were watching -- and narrowed her eyes. No doubt they were celebrating. No doubt they were pleased to see the return of their pet killer.

Well, this would be the last time they'd see it.

Dorothy snapped her gaze back down towards Muzazi, and -- as Quantum King exploded into further light -- she lunged forwards.

Let's end this, Atoy Muzazi.

He could see him.

In the maelstrom, in the chaos, in the blazing light surrounded by certain death, Atoy Muzazi could see him. As clear as day, standing right there, standing on thin air as if it were paying obeisance to him. Resplendent.

Nigen Rush.

For a second, Muzazi wondered. Was this some remnant? Some last lingering trace of the man he'd once been? The final spark that would graciously grant him victory?

No.

This was a hallucination, nothing more. A conspiracy of the mind and the eye, nurtured by pain and exhaustion, pouring itself into his vision like acid upon paper. Nothing more and nothing less.

And yet, that trick of the mind looked back at him. It didn't speak, but Muzazi knew what it was saying.

“Can you really win without being me? Can you really win without going back to the way you were?”

Atoy Muzazi didn't speak, but he knew what he was saying.

Of course I can. Now get out of my way.

Thrusters the size of Radiant Almighty’s pillars exploded out of Muzazi's back, pushing him -- and his Quantum King -- forward to meet Dorothy Eiro's charge. The countless death-dealers followed him, but the King kept them at bay. Muzazi's back burned and blistered, but he paid it no mind.

Pain was just another trick of the mind, after all.

Atoy Muzazi passed through the ghost of the past, scattering it like glass, and raised his hands high.

The thrusters from his back, the thrusters forming Quantum King… he'd sacrifice speed and defence for this one blow. They would serve as the fuel for the sword forming in his grip once more. He'd stake everything on this moment. He'd stake everything… and he'd win!

“RADIANT ALMIGHTY!”