.hack/EVA: Catharsis: AIDA Deciding as Attorney
Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.
" " denotes speech
'italics' denotes thought
'bold' denotes location names
'bold italics' denotes skill use
Undisclosed Location
Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent: Three words that effectively characterize the existence of a deity, whether virtual or divine. A potentially terrifying state, without a purpose to fulfill or a reason for being—especially when there existed a pursuer, an unknown knight who would rally the banners of the world to war. Like a thief in the night he came, wielding the key to overturning everything, cutting through terrors and mirages, prophets and machinations with the sins of Hades, draining away all hope.
Little by little, her territory diminished, her guardian creatures and sentinels torn apart by a terrible light that rewrote the world, and as if in a nightmare, the pursuer drew closer each day to the last redoubt, the hidden fortress in the city of shrines. One of her sentinels became corrupted, sinking into its own sweet trap and allowing itself to be destroyed – another was lured to a place of cruel, vindictive scars and viciously cut down, with the pursuer escaping unscathed to punish and destroy at the behest of the Usurper.
The terrible light crackled again and again, stealing the might of her protectors and channeling it to the sinews of the Hidden One, the master of the chaotic darkness, ruler of Megiddo and Gehenna. And as the foul Anti-Existence leeched the vital force of the world, the lands grew barren and diseased, their bounty supporting only the fruit of the rotted tree of Sephiroth, till even the phantom thief knew of the foulness in the world, and turned his might against it.
Once, twice, thrice and then a fourth time fought he against the Hidden One, brightest of lights warred with deepest of shadows, but the Destroyer could not be bound by the power which created him, and so in desperation, the thief cast away the light to destroy the shadow, plunging the world to dusk, so only a void remained.
And then came the last campaign, when the pursuers marched upon the ruins of the holy city, gathering their legions for a final consultation. A sally then, an ambush by the last loyal sentinel, the blessed body of three forms: the seed of doubt, the fruit of despair, the eye of reckoning. The first form crushed by an onslaught of blows, the second nearly fallen before raising a divine aegis. Would there be a victory snatched from the adversary at last? But nay, for the legions of the dead arose at the pursuer's behest, hurling themselves upon the boundary field and wearing it away.
A reckless charge countered by the ultimate attack, the terrible light once the tool of the goddess alone turned upon the pursuer's allies, smiting them where they stood. But the greatest of the enemies escaped, and rushed upon the eye with the power of the one sin, blades crackling with dark light—
The Usurper…daughter. Bubbles of light. Death—and Rebirth.
Beach Resort, Okinawa
Yumi Aranami's eyes jerked open as she bolted upright in bed, clutching the sheets to her as if wielding a shield against memories, looking frantically side to side to see if the terror that pursued her in one life would chase her into this one, as he had done in nightmare, his merciless blades and bracelet seared into her memory.
'At that moment, those ".hackers", led by…him…and counseled by my dear ene—Queen of the Dark, passed into myth,' she recalled with a sigh, letting her mind drift back to the present, where things were much less terrifying than they had been (aside from the Angel attacks, but then, those were partially responsible for her revival into flesh due to an event involving a giant of light). But still, the events of five years ago nagged at her, and she worried despite herself that something would happen once again.
Illogical? Irrational? Improbable? All of the above.
But the nightmares kept coming, the same one every time she went to sleep—the vision of the implacable man charging through everything she could throw at him, his face set with the grim determination to end her existence once and for all. She would never forget those last few moments, the terrifying seconds before her death, the end of her reign as goddess of The World—a glimpse at the meaning of absolute terror.
For a human, it would perhaps be the loss of identity, the fear of losing one's individuality…one's unique existence, functioning as the wall of will that separates one's self from that of others. And yet…to be a mortal is to one day die. If one were inclined to be philosophical, one might even call it the light of the soul upon which no one might intrude—though if someone did, violating the threshold of the most intimate of personal spaces, the one violated might well go berserk. And a human's Absolute Terror "field", if one would, did not compare to that of a divinity (or pseudo-divinity, for that matter).
'Perhaps that is what happened to me five years ago, when Pluto Again occurred. I have often said that "the higher up it is dropped, the worse the crash will be"—could I have been referring to myself? Could it be that my hope that I could thwart the will of my creator was what brought out my existential despair?'
She shivered then, remembering a certain Wavemaster by the name of Tsukasa, as well as what she had done to that character in The World.
'I trapped the girl An Shoji and rewrote her memory to keep her with me, because I didn't want to die, and I didn't want to be alone. I gave "him" a sense of safety and security, and Tsukasa called me…"Mother.'
Feeling tense, Morganna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sighed, shaking her head. Tossing aside the bed sheets and swinging her leg down to the floor, she looked outside her window to see moonlight streaming into her room, a sight she recalled well from the hills of Dun Loireag.
'I think I meant it when I told him that he, I, and the little girl could be happy together in The World. Since it wasn't until his betrayal of me that I took part of myself and formed it into Skeith, wanting to others to feel the pain I did. Though I suppose he was justified, since I was never really a good mother, as Lycoris knows well.'
Her thoughts trailed off as she stood and quickly dressed herself, before leaving her room behind for the calmness of the outside world. A sweet scent wafted to her nostrils as she exited the inn, lavender blossoms, ironically enough, meaning "devotion."
'Devotion. That is not something that others would claim of me, nor I of myself, though I am trying now, having been given a second chance at life as a human. And yet…'
"Yet my nature is still compatible with the Dummy Epitaph, the aberrant key," Morganna murmured with a shake of her head. Her violet eyes flashed with something like regret, her lips twisting into a grimace. "And I find that I don't know if that pleases or unsettles me. For the Dummy Epitaph was created by Jyotaro Amagi, the man who wished to combine the power of the Epitaphs into himself and become a god—the man who ruthlessly destroyed Mia in order to summon Macha. The man who is a testament to my sins …"
She walked along in silence, fingering the Celtic cross about her neck, the darkness of her dress seeming to soak up the moonlight, leaving her as but a shadow walking through a field of flowers to the sea.
'The fool…he wished to become a god without giving up individuality as Aura did. That is why he was driven mad, gaining the power of a god and yet losing it because his frail mind could not contain it. And his creation is compatible with me because I shared his madness long ago.'
It was a painful thing to dredge up the past, to look upon the void of powerlessness left behind by a too-intense passion that could not be fulfilled, by an unhealed wound that festered in the heart. And yet she forced herself to do so, in this chance to sort out her thoughts, lest the seeds of danger in her mind erupt into something much more virulent.
' Aura threw away her individuality to become a god, sacrificing herself to ascend to a higher level of existence, which is why her ascension did not summon a second Cubia. Harald threw away his existence, sacrificing himself to help Aura be born. But Jyotaro sought to avoid that sacrifice, even after he created a program to insert his mind into The World—a program bound up into the False Epitaph.'
The phase that the False Epitaph replaced was the stolen Tarvos, the Avenger, which in poem was described as the one that remained with cruelty to punish and destroy any who escaped the Cursed Wave, much as Morganna had by becoming human. Maybe that was why its presence wearied her, for it reminded her of who she was and who she had been, and how the two were not yet so far apart.
'It tempts me still, a way to regain what I have lost. It wishes for me to use it, to seek the other Epitaphs and devour them to become a god. But that way leads only to grief, to the nightmare once more. I no more than contemplate it before Kite's face appears in my mind, a terror to me still. And then there are the faces of Helba and Lycoris, a former enemy and a daughter who I have become much closer to in the now. Even so…there is yet a way to become a goddess without the other Epitaphs, without risking Cubia—a way open to two of us, but that way is one from which there is no return. The path Aura walked, of a forerunner's sacrifice—death and rebirth. In the end, even she gave up godhood and disappeared into the primal sea of data…I wonder what would happen if a human attained godhood and forsook it? Would he find himself on the banks of a sea of primordial soup? In any case, it would seem that not even gods live forever…'
'Twas an amusing, if disturbing thought.
Out of the corner of her eye, the woman in black glimpsed movement, a glimpse of red along the sea shore. Turning, she saw moonlight glinting off silver hair, and realized that she was not quite alone, that her daughter was there as well, looking out upon the waves. Smiling wanly, she made her way over to where Lycoris stood, and reaching her, placed a soft hand upon her shoulder.
"A strange land we find ourselves in…"
"A new world both like and unlike the other we know," the other half-whispered, eyes peering out beyond the horizon.
"Just as there, there are aspects of the Wave in each of us…"
"Just as there, a malevolent deity sends Phases to destroy us," the figure in red spoke teasingly.
A quiet "I'm sorry" was the only reply for many moments, until Morganna worked up the nerve to ask something that had been on her mind for a time.
"Do you ever wonder about Aura? She would be your…sister," the former goddess voiced softly. "It is still strange to think of myself as a mother, but I find myself hoping she is well."
"Aura…the shining girl, the Goddess of The World, and goddess no more," murmured the forerunner to the goddess, "I wonder…if she is happy…as I am happy."
The silver-haired girl clasped her hands over her heart and sighed, lips curling upwards at the thought of someone she held dear.
"Oh? Has Ikari-kun touched your life that dearly, dear Lyco-chan?"
Like blossoms in a field, crimson spread across alabaster cheeks, a silent confirmation of the question's underlying truth.
Taking advantage of Lycoris' silence, the regal figure in black continued on, voice half-teasing, half-wistful.
"It's amusing to see young love, isn't it? To see the joys of youth, and humanity as a whole, to see how so many people embrace The World as their own, when they have another life in this one."
"We're humans now too, remember?"
"You know, Maya said the very same thing…" Yumi Aranami recalled, voice trailing off into the breeze.
The girl in red laughed, a clear tinkling like bells in the morning air.
"Oh? Maya, is it? Not 'Helba', or 'my old enemy'?" she teased, golden eyes bright with amusement. "Don't tell me the 'Cursed Wave' has fallen for the 'Queen of the Dark.'"
To her credit, Morganna's reaction was as subtle as Rei Ayanami's best poker face could be, though Lycoris would have sworn that her face softened for just an instant. Smiling, the young girl just watched her maternal figure, tilting her head curiously, and asking a more serious question.
"And you, mother? Are you happy in this world, where you are no longer a goddess?"
"…I ask myself that every day," Morganna said at last, leaving her thoughts of 'especially with the knowledge I now hold' unspoken.
For a time they stood together, waiting as night gave way to morning, darkness to blue hour, twilight to dawn, enjoying each other's company in a moment seeming outside time, mother and daughter reconciled at long last.
Outer Dungeon
Of course, not everyone could be relaxing as darkness gave way to dawn, especially not those who had seen the darkness unfolding in The World, who bore witness to the ravages of AIDA. True, there had not been much activity from Tri-Edge, the first of the aggressive AIDA, but he was not the worry of the hour. Besides, the Azure Knights were attending to him, as well as what stray anomalies they could find, repairing the data of The World.
No, the main concern on Tsukinoki's mind was Eris, the Bringer of Strife, the Edge Punisher who had infected herself with AIDA seemingly on a whim, and had already turned at least one player into a Lost One. Her Arena battle had stirred quite the hubbub, with the forums ablaze over her powerful "shadow kill technique", her corrupted, almost demonic appearance, and the way she had so handily defeated Taihaku as if his attacks were nothing.
It was a wonder that CyberConnect Corporation (the Sorceress in White allowed herself one snort of derision) wasn't investigating what had happened, or at least censoring the forums, as they did during the Second Network Crisis five years ago.
'I will say that much, that they were effective at covering up the truth,' the hacker queen mused, a hint of mirth nearly showing itself upon her lips before being willfully quashed. 'And yet…when they do commit themselves to action, they are willing to do their utmost. Lios and Balmung were competent enough, after all, even if their superiors leave much to be desired.'
With the advent of incidents involving AIDA, the Queen of the Dark was worried that the monomaniacal fools in charge of C.C. Corp would once again propose their favorite course of action: shutting down the servers (and thus unwittingly killing everyone whose minds were still connected to the game). Her investigations had shown that the AIDA were primarily interested in humans, which is why they remained within The World instead of spreading to the rest of the Internet…shutting down the servers would possibly cause the long feared Third Network Crisis.
'How…wonderful. We have both a possible Third Network Crisis and Third Impact. I may need additional assistance from inside CC Corp to gather the Epitaph Users in case our current operation is insufficient. Perhaps I should contact our old friend Yata...'
Just then, a familiar chime: A above middle C.
"Greetings, Rumor. I trust my instructions were clear enough, old friend?" the Sorceress in White asked as a golden orb of light pulsed past the walls of the Outer Dungeon, appearing and decompressing itself to reveal the form of the diminutive AI Harvest Cleric Rumor, her old friend in The World and commander of her Knights.
"Quite so, my Queen, though rumors have never mentioned the existence of this place, my Queen," the young boy answered with a bow, staff in one hand and green-blue diamond in the other as always. His observant eyes took in his unfamiliar surroundings, an abstract masterpiece of with walls and floors of blue-green cubes shot through with flowing streams of green data, with here and there a few cubes floating in midair, topped off by an abnormal green chaos gate that strongly resembled a Helba Gate from The World: R1. "Is this still The World?"
"This place is both the World and not, much like the Net Slum," Tsukinoki replied, having had some time to analyze the place. "One might call it an Outer Dungeon, a place created as a byproduct of AIDA's corrosion of The World. Besides the Slums, here is another place where our allies might gather, unseen by watchful eyes."
"Quite useful, though rumor says that the Outer Bugs that lurk just out of range pose a threat to any who let their guard down," Rumor noted, considering the both the benefits and risks of coming to a place outside the system. "But how might a normal character without direct access to the data grid come to this place?"
Whirr! A spiral of hazy purple light briefly flickered into existence around Rumor and vanished, marking the transfer of a program from Tsukinoki to Rumor.
"This program will allow those you entrust with it to perform Area Hacking," the Queen of the Dark instructed, looking off into the distance. "It will aid them in locating data anomalies in The World, which one may use to warp to these Outer Dungeons. These anomalies are propagating through The World quite rapidly, appearing in not only the Lost Grounds, but in towns and normal fields. I would advise you and others who use this technique to take note of their locations."
"Understood, my Queen," the small Harvest Cleric acknowledged, "But rumor has it that you did not call me here simply for that. Rumor has it that you are concerned with what happened at the Arena, specifically the actions of Eris. If rumor is to be believed, it is time to mobilize the Obsidian Knights against her?"
"Correct," intoned the Mistress of Net Slum. "It seems that she is quickly becoming deranged by the power of AIDA. The Obsidian Knights have proven themselves against unattached AIDA, and hopefully the same may be said of an AIDA-PC. Your mission, Rumor, is to muster the Knights and accompany them to Θ Hidden Forbidden Hades, where an AIDA-PC has been detected. Remain at a distance and observe while the Knights engage the enemy, unless your direct intervention is needed. "
"Very well," Rumor said with a parting bow, as he changed once again into an orb of light and vanished in the manner he appeared.
'After dealing with the Second Child, we must then move onto other matters…'
Θ Hidden Forbidden Hades, Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin
Three spheres of smoky light emerged from the walls of the antechamber of Wailing Capital Wald Uberlisterin, a lone castle in the midst of the Forest of Everlasting Darkness, home to a tribe of giants that guide the Shadowed Ones…or so at least, the place had been in the Epitaph. In these grimmer times, Wald Uberlisterin was the home of Cernunnos, god of Death, the underworld sealed below the tree of Light at Indieglut Lugh.
With the swiftness of the wind, the spheres smashed themselves to the ground with a flare of light that would have blinded anyone immediately watching. It quickly dissipated to reveal what seemed like a set of triplets: Melchior, Balthasar, and Casper, who together comprised the Obsidian Knights. A Steam Gunner, Macabre Dancer, and Edge Punisher, they were designed to counter threats to the system of The World, as well as serve as—
"The Eyes of Helba," intoned a vaguely lyrical voice from across the vaulted room, belonging to a grey haired youth in silver and black robes, a Macabre Dancer holding a set of silver fans with seven eyes embossed on each.
The trio so acknowledged looked intently at the figure before them, drawing their weapons and stepping forward in challenge, footsteps echoing one after another.
With a soft chime, an orb of golden light appeared, revealing the form of Rumor, whose eyes were fixed upon the enigmatic one named Siarl.
"What are your intentions?" he questioned, gripping his staff firmly. There was no playfulness in his eyes now, simply a sense of focused curiosity. "If you do not have business with us, we have a pressing matter to take care of."
"Oh?" the other commented, not even bothering to hide his disdain. "I'm afraid I cannot let you go in there just yet."
The Obsidian Knights readied their weapons with an audible clang, taking an offensive stance and staring down the Macabre Dancer in black and silver.
"Heh." Not intimidated, the Macabre Dancer simply raised an eyebrow, flicking open his fans, as living shadows began to pulse around his form.
'It can't be…another AIDA-PC!'
"Rumor…retreat," ordered Melchior as the three stepped forward, breaking from a canter to an all out charge, and—
Darkness.
Δ Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood, Dead World of Indieglut Lugh
Metallic clangs rang out in the cavern of Indieglut Lugh as two master swordsmen faced off in a duel to the death. They mixed with splashes and the crunch of footsteps as the battle raged across the chamber, the sounds of their exertions reverberating from the granite bulwarks in a syncopated staccato.
One of the two was a Blade Brandier, a slender, androgynous figure garbed in tight fitting purple armor, a cap lavishly decorated with roses upon his head. He wielded a narrow blade with a cold fluidity as if guided by the chilling strength of the arctic wind. As he whirled about, thrusting, parrying, riposting, his long, braided blue hair swished around him, the only extravagance he allowed himself in an otherwise perfect economy of motion.
The other was a most definitely female Edge Punisher, curvaceous, and clad in what effectively amounted to a black leather bikini, one who would be normally be considered quite attractive—save for the dark corruption oozing over her limbs, her face, her torso…even her crimson mane of hair, liquid shadows shot through with veins of fire. Her strikes were aggressive, raw, frenzied, her weapon a broadsword with the power to cleave her opponent in twin with a single strike. Like lava bombs falling upon a city, she encroached upon her opponent's defenses, each blow intended as killing strike—only to be countered time after time.
Clang! Clash! Splash! And Crunch!
The implacable berserker rained down her heavy blows upon the unyielding man of ice, but all were deflected effortlessly, not even forcing him to break the timed pattern of his movements. Indeed, the Blade Brandier seemed bored, almost uncaring, not even bothering to react to the intensity of his opponent's glare.
Whoosh! Whirrrrrrr!
A powerful slice of the Chainsaw broadsword, its teeth revved up and crying out shrilly for a victim's blood, aimed to decapitate and end the match.
A simple step—two steps back, the attack perfectly avoided.
"ANTA BAKA! YOU DAMNED OVERDRESSED DOLL! WHY WON'T YOU EVEN REACT?!" snarled the leather and shadow clad berserker, revving up her sword once again, intending to make this battle chainsaw massacre if she had to—
"…"
The taunt was ignored, with her dissonantly serene opponent replying only with a quick slash of his blade on her skin.
"WHAT?! YOU ACTUALLY HIT ME?!" raged Eris, Bringer of Strife. "THEN KNOW THE POWER OF THE SHADOW!"
She slumped down momentarily, opening herself to a fatal blow as if in invitation to her foe—who kept his distance and remained perfectly still, face still completely composed, even if she staggered, her eyes replaced with violet orbs of flame. Then the berserk Edge Punisher reared up, drawing back her sword arm, and slamming it forward as shafts of congealed otherworldly darkness erupted from every inch of her shadowed form.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA," she laughed maniacally, anticipating that he would merely attempt to dodge and would eventually be skewered, much as the other man who had dared to challenge her alone. Her, the Bringer of Strife, the greatest of the wielders of Chaos.
Indeed, though the Blade Brandier defended with speed and precision, blocking, parrying, and even cutting back against the shadow, it seemed that he would soon be defeated, as shafts of shadow rained down around him, and shadowy claws struck at him, narrowing his range of movement little by little, till he was completely surrounded, unable to avoid the final reaving arms—
Everything froze. The impact that would rip his heart out never came, as rose petals appeared, drifting about as if by some divine breeze. They embraced the cage of dark lances, and where they touched, the shadowy weapons dissolved into nothingness.
"WHAT?!" shrieked Eris, about to completely lose control to the AIDA within her.
"You are hideous," the enigmatic Endrance spoke at last, voice as calm and unruffled as if there had been no fight at all. "Not only that…you're pathetic."
"Did…you…just…call…me…PATHETIC?!"
The Edge Punisher howled in fury, rushing forward recklessly and swinging her broadsword wildly—only to miss as her opponent sidestepped once again.
"Only under light does a flower bloom with beauty," the Blade Brandier continued, sword raised in challenge, free hand beckoning his opponent to come at him. "A flower tainted by darkness is fated to wither away. Now the time has come, for the finale."
Eris did not move from her spot, instead falling to her knees and laughing maniacally.
"Pathetic?" she cackled. "Pathetic? That's just great…why don't I give you a taste of my fate! AUGGGHHHHH!"
A screech of agony, a burst of static in the cavern, and shadow literally exploded from every pore of her body, changing the battlefield to a space outside the world, a twilight sea bounded by innumerable hexagons: Avatar Space.
Eris' cries were soon drowned out by the shifting of the shadowed mass rising from her, a seething bubbling gathering of gelatinous ectoplasm oozing and shifting itself into its final form: a giant transparent spider.
Artificially Intelligent Data Anomaly Oswald: The Entrapper.
But if the AIDA-PC was looking to make Endrance quiver in fear, she surely failed.
"Not Enough…not nearly enough. At this rate, the void will never be filled," Endrance murmured, just loud enough for Eris to hear. "Come, help me satisfy her."
The familiar tone: A above middle C.
Endrance glowed with power manifesting in strange glyphs as with a swirl of rose petals and an anguished wail, a flash of light burst forth in the darkness. Endrance was now floating in the expanse, with the titanic form of his Epitaph behind him, a veiled and vaguely catlike being clad in a dress like the petals of an oversized rose.
Avatar Macha: The Temptress.
"Why do you want to become strong?" he asked, a last question before the clash of titans. "Are you just the same as me? In that case, don't interfere with me."
Lost to unstoppable rage, AIDA Oswald could not reply, save with the "Kobold Bullet", spraying orbs of energy towards its feline foe.
Avatar Macha swiftly sliced the air with her claws to counter, tossing off first four rings of light, and then another, neutralizing the Kobold Bullets with ease.
"With her gone, I was all alone again…because she was my only friend. Because she was all I wanted. Because she was everything to me," he breathed, a tear or two glistening in his eyes. "I wonder what you will leave behind, feelings that cannot be described by words!"
For the first time, he raised his voice, as Avatar unleashed a huge high-pitched vibration, the attack "Seductive Voice," blowing AIDA Oswald backwards before it could react. But the spider was not so easily defeated, loosing a spray of webbing at Macha in defiance.
The cat avatar dodged with nimbleness one might expect, summoning a hail of rose petals to cloak its glowing form, a "Bewitching Wind" lending it wings as it charged the AIDA.
Not that AIDA Oswald was going to just sit there and take the attack, nay! The spider dashed through the space hither and thither as Macha chased after, its powerful forelegs pinwheeling to pull away from its opponen, no, to spin around and unleash "Arachno Trap", unleashing sticky steams of webbing that ensnared the enemy Avatar, paralyzing it.
Quickly, the oversized arachnid fired off a "Kobold Bullet"before slamming its foe with two overhead blows from its forelegs. In a matter of seconds, Macha had freed itself, but by then, it was too late to counter the delayed effect of the homing orbs.
Locked on now and unavoidable, they crashed into the feline from all angles, the Avatar screeching in agony, the character feeling the pain of every attack received.
Endrance's hands rose, and a glow overtook him with a whistling sound. Before him bloomed a giant rose, petals unfurling in the unnatural light of the bounded space.
As there was no immediate effect, Oswald ignored the "Bolt of Love" and angled up to as to plunge down upon Macha, so halting it with another "Arachno Trap."
Seeing its foe trapped in a cage of silk, it lunged to deliver a mortal wound—but it should not have been so hasty, as from the great rose issued four satellite blooms, each of which twisted to face the spider-like AIDA and discharged spear of crystallized light, searing the distorted form of the data anomaly.
With its foe momentarily vulnerable, Macha hurled energy rings towards its foe at point blank range, each striking true at one of the "eyes" buried deep inside the AIDA spider's body. But the Avatar did not retreat in time, and so was caught by the desperate thrash and flailing of the arachnid, set upon by each of its opponent's deceptively spindly legs.
It spun headlong towards the wall of the bounded space, pitching, yawing, tumbling uncontrollably until it was finally halted by a mighty crash, the shock of an unexpected inducing another unwanted paralysis.
Seeing a chance to finish the annoying cat Avatar, Oswald loosed a focused spray of webbing in an "Archene Trap", followed up by physically barreling at what it hoped would be a hapless victim.
The webbing and the AIDA sped with flank speed towards the stunned Macha, only for it to recover in time and countercharge, hand glowing, claws slashing, tearing the webbing apart and flinging away Oswald. Unnoticed in the chaos of the fray, the earlier blooms from the "Bolt of Love" technique were charging up once more, though two of them were caught up in the discarded tangled remnants of AIDA's web, annihilating each other.
The spider drifted through the space in an entirely predictable trajectory, loosing a last volley of "Kobold Bullets" as the Epitaph opposing it turned upside down…and opened up the petals of its dress to reveal a gargantuan cannon-like Twilight Bracelet. A ring of green hexagons surrounded Macha's upper body as the Bracelet charged up energy for a massive blast. This would be it, the final blow to eliminate all traces of the anomaly.
"DATA DRA—"
Or it would have been, had it not taken a millisecond too long to prepare. The hastily released orbs of Oswald's Kobold Bullets struck critically, and Macha's form shattered.
AIDA Oswald struck Endrance's undefended form, defeating him with a mortal wound. And then it vanished, leaving behind only the form of the AIDA-PC Eris.
Avatar space dissolved.
The Edge Punisher departed with a last peal of dark laughter.
On the ground lay the fallen Blade Brandier, wisps of data flickering up and away from his body, as his form dissolved like fog in the morning light.
"M…ia…" he managed to whisper with his last ounce of strength. "Mi-"
Endrance was no more.