Author's Note: Muffin wrote something that isn't MHA? Shock. Horror.
I kid.
Been really struggling with writer's block and a lack of motivation over the past months, to the point where I've been actively hating everything I've tried to put to paper. Despite that, I managed to bang this out over a couple of days. I've been wanting to write my WOL's personal response to Zenos's question, as well as an idea I had for the duel between them (if it wasn't constrained by game engine limits). This is the result of that.
Arike is a Rava Viera
"Such pleasures, you seek for their own sake, and no other reason. Is this not so… adventurer?" Zenos said, his voice dripping with implication.
Slowly, Arike let out a long breath and all of her tension along with it. Her eyes drifted shut as memories of her journey flashed through her mind. Between the question posed by Venat in Elpis and the struggle to summon the Scion's corporeal forms without mistakes, the Champion of Eorzea had reflected much on her journey in the past days. And so, here at the end, she had an answer ready and waiting for the erstwhile emperor.
"I know as well as you that there is nothing that matches the thrill of a good battle," she said, allowing a small smirk to cross her face. "The way my blood sings when I face down a powerful opponent, or the tension of pushing myself just the smallest bit further to claim the victory."
Zenos's own grin widened at her words, an expression of unrestrained and wild delight that only barely managed to match the battle hunger that burned in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, no doubt to commiserate about how he was, inexplicably, the only one who really understood her. However, Arike was far from finished.
"But you have never understood me, Zenos. That void within you, the one that you are so desperately trying to fill? If ever such a void existed within me, then I filled it long ago. I filled it with life, companionship, and love. That is why I fight. Not for pleasure or self-satisfaction but for the people and the world that I wish to return to."
Here she locked eyes with Zenos, matching his hunger with every bit of determination that she possessed. With her will to return to the companions that she held so dear, the world that yet held wonders to explore, and the love of her life that was still waiting for her to return.
"So look at me now, Zenos, and tell me that if I walk away from you now, it will be the end. That you have truly moved beyond the desire for battle that drove you to release Zodiark and end more lives than I can count. Tell me that you will never again threaten my companions in search of your 'bliss.'"
Silence stretched between them, an interminable moment that seemed to last an eternity and an instant as Zenos pondered Arike's question.
"I cannot. Not when I have seen what heights we may reach when we bring our all to bear."
Arike sighed. She'd already known what his answer would be, and yet a part of her had dared to hope that this could be solved another way. Mad as he was, he was also a mighty warrior that could have done so much good in the world if things had gone a different way. Perhaps if they had met earlier, or in different circumstances, they might have truly been friends.
But if she had learned one thing over her journey, it was that she could not save everyone.
"Then for my friends, my comrades, and all the people of Etheirys, I cannot let you leave this place alive!"
"Hah! Finally mustered the desire to kill me, have you? Go on then. Try and strike me down in this forsaken place. I shall return the favor!"
He drew his scythe with a flourish, but Arike did not do the same. Loathe though she was to agree with Zenos, she truly would need to bring her all to bear for this battle. Every lesson learned, every battle fought, every discipline mastered. She intended to call upon them all and hold nothing back.
Azem's crystal fit perfectly into her palm, its surface gleaming in the dawning sunlight. The last blessing of Hydaelyn had faded from it, the creation magics spent and only its summoning spell remained sealed within the crystal's depths. But if her journey through Ultima Thule had taught Arike anything, it was that belief and memory held a magic all their own in this plane of Dynamis.
The crystal pulsed as she focused her will and an armory's worth of crystalline weapons bloomed into existence around her, each one both familiar and unique. Swords, staves, daggers, chakrams and even a scythe to match Zenos's drifted lazily through the air, waiting for her to wield them. She had mastered each and every one along her journey, and they were as much a part of her as the blood that pumped through her veins.
"An impressive arsenal," Zenos complimented. "Come then! Let us indulge in the only worthwhile pursuit, and burn our lives to their end!"
And then there was no more time for talk. He struck, swift and deadly as ever, only for his blade to meet shining crystal. They sang, a twin harmony that resonated in the water beneath them and sent ripples spiraling outward.
The water had no time to calm. Zenos swung again and Arike leapt to the sky, crashing down with a simply decorated spear in hand. He slipped backwards at the last moment, the shaft rustling his cloak but doing little else to the mad Garlean.
His avatar was behind her, swinging its own blade towards her back while Zenos surged forward to trap her between the blows. Arike met both, a unicorn crested shield on one arm and a flaming blade in the other.
Zenos grinned, swinging the butt of his scythe around to smash into her stomach. She flew backwards, her boots failing to find purchase on the half-imagined surface beneath her. At the same time, her arms were far from idle. A rifle came to hand and fired a burst of aethershot at Zenos, only for him to casually deflect the bullets with ease.
She called a bow to hand, more instrument than weapon and yet not a bit less deadly for the design. The crystalline arrow that leapt forth curved impossibly through the air to bite into Zenos's thigh. She didn't pause at the sight, kicking off the ground and sending a second, shining volley at her opponent.
His scythe pulsed with black energy as he swung, slicing the arrows to ribbons with a single swing before bearing down on her with a second.
"Mine for the taking!"
She dashed out of the way, leaving a shadow behind to take the hit in her place. Hand signs flashed and a bolt of lightning struck Zenos in the back. Arike rode its tail, thunder crackling in her palm.
Zenos's avatar flashed into existence with its blade mid-swing. The blade cut deeply into her side, but pain was an old friend to Arike and she pushed it away with practiced ease.
She reached out and a great sword landed in her palm, ready to split the very skies as it had so long ago in Lakeland. Zenos met her blow, void against shadow as their muscles strained and their wills clashed.
She was honed steel and spun gold, always striving for perfection with every movement and every breath yet knowing she would never reach it. He was an inferno blazing with pleasure and hunger, hunting for the meaning he would never find.
Something broke. A blade, a limb, a thread of reality? She didn't know, couldn't spare the time to think.
Faster
A katana. Forms that were more felt than remembered, building to a slash that bit through fabric and flesh with ease.
Harder
An axe. A primal fury that burned inside and through her until a beast was all that was left.
Endure
He fought like a man possessed. No blow was off limits, no trick ignored. He slashed and parried, kicked and lunged. Teeth were bared, met skin, drew blood.
Protect them
A stave. Aether twisting around and through her as she channeled it. Her voice trembled but did not falter as she slid from spell to spell. Lightning flashed, fire blazed and ice rose in towering glaciers.
See
The echo showed her what she needed, where to step and where to die. She felt the pain before it happened, a myriad of endings flashing by in a second as she stood upon the precipice.
Move
Chakrams. Her steps were light as she danced to the song of ringing steel. Form by form, step by step, each movement empowering her as fans and feathers spun in the nonexistent breeze.
Learn
His form was unique and his attacks were clever, remnants of Shinryu's power mixing with the taint of the void. But she knew his mind and with each clash her confidence grew.
He called a tidal wave, she froze it solid. Flames burned the sky, she wreathed herself in water. Claws flashed and met with steel.
"A test of your reflexes!"
A book. Shadows at her side, pale imitations of the primals that had carried her to the stars. A carbuncle; her oldest companion, with her since the beginning of her journey. Changed completely, yet still at her side at the end.
fight
A globe. Her flesh knit together as fast as it was torn apart. The threads of fate twisting in her favor as cards flashed through her hands.
Fight
A rapier. Might and magic working in tandem as she cast in twos, then fours, then eights.
FIGHT!
She was burning. Her skin, her bones, her very soul had been ground down by the battle. Her clothes, so carefully woven by Tataru, were ripped and torn, held together by strings and faith.
Zenos spoke, his words washing over her without meaning as she desperately fought to gather a thimble more of strength. He had changed, fused with his avatar to inherit its strength. She'd barely noticed it happening, merely noting the increase in the power of his blows.
He erupted forward without warning and she moved to meet him. She had a weapon in each hand now, the forms and styles blending together as she fought on. Her automaton fought at her side while a gunblade flashed. Twin dragons roared forward as her shield blocked blow after blow. Her own void avatar bought a moment to breathe and diagnose her injuries.
They fought harder. Drops of water kicked up by their clash vaporized before they could fall to the ground. Her weapons shattered and she made new ones, amalgamation sof all the armaments she had carried along her journey.
And then- a mistake. His stance too wide, the counter blow just a hair too slow. She didn't hesitate. Her blade tore a line of red across his chest and Zenos growled in pain.
Arike pushed back against the darkness creeping into the edges of her vision. She could rest when this was done. Now was the junction, the moment that would decide everything. She needed clarity and focus.
"Not yet," Zenos said, his breathing nearly as labored as hers, "Not until the last of me is spent."
Aether blazed, shadows running red as his spirit ignited. Darkness bloomed beneath Arike's feet, holding her in place as Zenos ripped his blade through her again and again and again. She collapsed to the ground, her legs refusing to hold her weight for even a second longer.
Somehow, some way, he found the strength to continue. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth and his arms trembled as he held his scythe aloft.
"This is my moment! Our moment!"
He leapt aloft, a blade of pure shadow forming at the edge of his weapon and bearing down on her with lethal intent.
The weight of the world pressed down on her as her heartbeat pulsed like distant thunder. She had found her limit and passed it long ago. There was nothing left to give.
And yet she stood. Not by strength, or force of will but simply because she had to. Had to bear the burden, had to take another step, and to keep smiling no matter what.
Crystal forged at her fingertips. Not her blade, but the one that had sundered the very star and given life to so many. It met Zenos's strike almost without her input, light grinding against shadow in a desperate struggle at the end.
Neither would give, and neither could endure. They shattered simultaneously, Arike and Zenos tumbling backwards.
She stood.
His fist lashed out, artless and powerful. Hamon at his worst could have dodged it, yet she could not.
She stood.
Her knuckles broke on his jaw and her arm fell limply to her side. His fist buried itself in her stomach and she gasped.
She stood.
His arm drew back, power burning within it. His last, it had to be. She could not endure another.
She mirrored as best she could, their aether charged fists slamming into each other in slow motion. They held for an eternity and an instant.
She stood.
Zenos fell.
For a moment her mind struggled to comprehend her victory. She stared uncomprehendingly as he struggled to clamber to his feet, only to collapse into the water and lie still as the last of his power faded and his voidsent cloak dissipated into nothing.
She took a single, trembling step towards him, and then…
At last she fell.
Author's Note: This turned into a sort of writing exercise with a very different style of fight scene than I usually create. I'm still kind of proud of it, though.
I know a lot of people have very different interpretations of Zenos's proposed fight than I do, but this was my personal take and the one that felt most in keeping for my WOL. She never really got along with Zenos or agreed with his ideology.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have an excellent day.