Disclaimer: See the first chapter.
Nerissa glared at Will and Will glared back. The air was thick with tension and even the world seemed to hold its breath as the two swordsmasters faced one another. Will pulled her chi into herself, wrapping into her skin and for a moment Nerissa looked surprised for a brief moment and that was the opening Will needed. Throwing her chi at Nerissa with enough force to send a normal person staggering, Will leapt forward and swung her sword in a sweeping downward strike.
Unfortunately Nerissa was no ordinary person. Parrying the strike, she threw her foot up at Will's stomach, a move that would have caught most sword fighters out. But then again, Will was no ordinary person either. As Nerissa's foot flew up, Will twisted her body aside and she rolled her sword on Nerissa's blade until her hilt was facing Nerissa's chest, before suddenly slamming the hilt of her weapon towards Nerissa's chin.
Nerissa pulled her head to one side and the hilt smacked the side of her jaw instead of under it. Spinning her sword as Will's strike pulled her sword past Nerissa's, she swung her sword upwards in a disembowelling strike, only for Will to use the momentum from her own strike to pull her out of the way and a gap opened up between the two fighters.
"You've managed to improve I see," Nerissa growled with just a hint of amusement. "I was thinking that this would be an easy fight. Who taught you?"
"You know who trained me," Will snarled back, her face an angry scowl. "You should know who after all. You killed her."
"Hmph! You were just a child then, your skills undeveloped," Nerissa paused and waved her hand casually. "This is something else, something different. Who trained you after I killed you? Who made you stronger?"
"You really want to know, don't you?" Will asked with a snicker of amusement. "You really need to pay attention."
"No matter," Nerissa said, drawing herself up to her full height. "I will find them and make sure they never bother anyone ever again."
"You have to beat me first," Will countered as she rushed forward with what appeared to be a wild, one-handed swing at Nerissa's neck. Nerissa avoided it with a simple step back, but it was Will's next move that caught her off guard. She slammed her fist into the ground and the earth shook. Temporarily unbalanced, Nerissa stumbled and Will rapidly followed up her swing with another attack, this time a real attack instead of a distraction. Parrying desperately, Nerissa stepped back as a series of fast-moving strokes swung in at her from over a dozen angles and with every parry she was forced back another step. Will grinned. After so many years, she was going to capture Nerissa and make her pay for her crimes.
Nerissa stepped aside and Will narrowly avoided crashing forward as her sword hit air instead of Nerissa's blade and with a cut so fast Will almost didn't see it, Nerissa swung her sword at Will's stomach. Will twisted desperately aside and Nerissa's sword narrowly avoided slicing her open and a space opened up between them once more.
"That was sloppy," Nerissa commented, as though they were discussing nothing more serious than a training match. "I would have thought your teacher Susan would have taught you better than that. You're a disgrace to her memory."
Will growled and tightened her grip on her sword. It was bad enough that this bitch dared refer to Sensei Vandom at all, but the fact that she was right about Will being sloppy there was even worse. There was no excuse for allowing herself to over extend her attack like that. Nerissa raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps you're not as good as I thought," she commented dryly as she stared at Will. Will simply glared back and said nothing. What was there to say after all? She slammed her fist into the ground once more and leapt into the attack but this time Nerissa was ready for her. With lightening speed, she parried Will's downward strike and spun her own sword into a strike at Will's exposed stomach. Will twisted and Nerissa's sword slammed into Will's and for a moment the two women locked blades.
Will twisted her body under Nerissa's sword, using her own as a lever to throw Nerissa's sword aside, swiftly followed by a fast swing at Nerissa's arm that would have broken it had Nerissa spun away at the last minute. But it was a clumsy move from her and her legs wobbled momentarily underneath her and her eyes were wide with surprise. Will swept in to finish the fight.
An explosion rocked the room and more through luck than skill, Nerissa's sword swept forward under Will's sword and stabbed her in the stomach. Will's sword continued on its arc to smash into Nerissa's shoulder, but it was clear who had come off worse.
Will staggered back, grimacing in pain and Nerissa stepped forwards swinging her sword one handededly. Nerissa's sword hadn't gone in particularly deeply, but it was enough. Enough to put Will off balance and stumble to the ground. Nerissa smiled, despite the obvious pain in her shoulder and her arm hanging loosely at the side of her body. She swung her sword downwards to slice through Will's shoulder in a lethal strike, determined to end this fight. Will parried and turned the blade aside with a twist, leaving Nerissa open, an opening Will took full advantage of. She made a sideways swipe at Nerissa's legs, aiming to send her crashing to the ground and only narrowly missed as Nerissa leapt back.
"Fate is on my side it seems," she said with a smile and she raised her sword. "You've come a long way, but this time you won't be coming back," she threw her head back and chuckled. "How does it feel to know that the only reason I live and you die is because my sword is a real sword and yours is just a sakobato?"
Will gritted her teeth and stood upright.
"I'm not dead yet," she said as she looked at Nerissa with a fire burning in her eyes and Nerissa raised an eyebrow.
"You will be soon enough," she replied nonchantly. "And your friends will soon follow. There will be no mistakes this time. Your bodies will be decapitated and burned in public. And the weakness of the elemental sword-styles will be purged from history as a new order takes shape."
"Elemental sword-styles…" Will began, then she laughed. "THAT'S what he was doing. It's so obvious now!"
"What who was doing? Tell me!" Nerissa demanded and Will laughed even harder.
"The elemental sword-styles aren't weak," Will replied as she suddenly drew in her chi. "They are a strength you don't understand!" she leapt forward and as her blade connected mid air with Nerissa's parry, she jumped away and vanished from view. Nerissa snarled and reached out with her chi and found…nothing.
It was like there was no chi to pick up.
It was impossible of course. Everyone had chi, even her constructs had it. And yet, she couldn't sense where Will was at all and that…worried her. Yes, worried her.
The ground suddenly shook once more and in an instant Nerissa felt a flash of chi to her right. She swung her sword in a deadly strike to hit…thin air. But before she could realise her mistake, she felt Will's sword smash into her back, sending her flying to crash violently aside the throne. As she stood up, her head spinning with the world floating in and out of focus, she grabbed her sword and faced Will. Just how had she done that? She climbed unsteadily to her feet.
"Surrender Nerissa," Will said with an infuriatingly calm voice. "You can barely stand as it is. Further resistance is futile. Surrender now and I promise you a fair trial."
"Fair trial!" Nerissa said with a hysterical laugh. "FAIR TRIAL!?" she snorted with contempt. "Are you really so foolish as to expect me to be swayed by that?" she lunged forward to thrust her sword through Will's chest and Will flipped the sword into her right hand to reverse the grip, a technique that usually made no sense in swordsmanship. Except in the way that Will was going to use it. Stepping aside, she used her right arm, protected as it was by Will's blade and swiftly followed Will slamming the palm of her hand against Nerissa's hand, abruptly knocking Nerissa's sword flying.
"Surrender Nerissa," Will said in a disturbingly calm voice. "You are unarmed and injured. Further fighting is pointless."
Nerissa threw her hands up and Will almost dropped her sword in shock. It seemed so out of character, so unexpected and so at odds with her past behaviour. that Will had no idea how to react.
"I surrender," Nerissa said calmly and she placed her arms out in front of her. "I believe this is the part where you bind my hands."
"How do I know I can trust you?" Will asked and Nerissa shrugged, before wincing painfully. Will smirked, glad to see that the damage she had done to Nerissa was still causing her pain.
"You don't trust me?" she asked in a hurt voice and Will growled.
"You turned your back on everything you once were. How can I trust you?" Will pointed out with a snarl on her face. Nerissa smirked.
"You are weak, your oath holds you back from doing what is necessary," she stood up straighter. "It is that same oath that won't allow you to take my life and you know it as well as I. It is the reason I will win and you will lose," she sneered and she reached out her hand. The sword of Candracar flew back into her outstretched hand and glowed. "First I will heal my shoulder. Then," Nerissa paused and looked firmly at Will. "Then I will…annihilate you."
Will simply snarled and swept into the attack once more, with a series of fast moving cuts and there was a series of flashes as her sword bounced off of an invisible magical shield surrounding Nerissa. Nerissa laughed.
"Even the sword of Candracar knows that I am a true swordsmaster!" she bragged as red and blue magical lines flowed over her body. But as she laughed, something odd began to happen.
The magic flickered and suddenly she was half the size she had been before. Nerissa screamed, but it seemed like her hand was trapped on the sword.
Her long dark hair turned to golden chains and her skin began to form crystalline patterns.
The magic flickered once more and Nerissa size was once again halved. This time the patterns on her skin began to solidify and her hair began to entwine. Her screams went silent as her vocal cords appeared to solidify.
The magic flickered once and now Nerissa was only the size of a small gem and now another curious effect began to occur. Instead of her human shape, her body began to fold in an almost liquid manner and soon it was no longer even recognisable as human.
The magic flickered for the final time and where Nerissa had been standing, now lay a single gold chain with a multi-faceted, heart shaped crystal attached to it and the sword of Candracar.
Will stared in disbelief. After everything that had happened, it almost seemed surreal that it was all over and even more surreal that it had ended like…like that. The sword glowed and began to hum and Will found herself enveloped in a ball of pinkish-blue magic. But unlike the magic that had just transformed Nerissa, this magic was warm, comforting even. Her wounds closed and the sword began to reshape itself into a new shape. Instead of a normal katana with a sharp edge, it became a sakobato as the edges were reversed. Leaning forward, she gingerly picked the sword up. It might not have been the smartest of moves, especially considering what the sword had done to Nerissa, but in her heart, Will knew that was exactly what she should do.
There was a singing sound.
Actually singing was too small a word. It was almost running through her very bones. It seemed to be more than just sound, it was…
It was like it was tapping into her very soul.
The words were indistinct, but definitely there. She strained her ears. She could almost hear it. If only she tried a bit harder…
There was a sudden flash and Will was suddenly standing in an empty, featureless landscape. It was simply…blank.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Irma in a puzzled voice and Will turned sharply to see her appear beside her.
"I think where are we might be more appropriate," Taranee replied and Will saw her appear next to them.
"This isn't possible…" Cornelia said in wonder as she gazed at their surroundings. "I mean…it is but…"
"But it is, isn't it?" Hay Lin asked, before frowning slightly. What is it that you're thinking of?"
"It is and is not what you think it is young swordsmistress," a voice said from a misty figure emerging from the mists. "Welcome to my domain."
"Where are we? What exactly is your domain? And who are you?" Will asked and the figure appeared to smile.
"Those are most interesting questions," the figure replied with a smile. "Most interesting indeed and most pertinent too. Well you have earned that right. Where you are? Well I suppose saying my domain is really not much of an answer. Perhaps I should elaborate. We are…" the figure paused for a moment. "We are at a place known as convergence in normal magical terms. A kind of special place outside of the usual rules of time and space where magic, time and space all converge to form…special places."
"That's impossible!" Cornelia exclaimed. "They're a myth!"
"This place is very real," the figure replied with a chuckle. "And I assure you that they are no myth. Just," he paused for a moment and tilted his head slightly. "Unusual. Very, very unusual."
"Just let him talk Corny," Irma said wearily. Cornelia glared at her but said nothing.
"You have all passed the tests that confronted you in the palace and now it is time."
"Time for what exactly?" Taranee asked with a dubious look on her face and the figure appeared to shrug.
"Your reward," he replied and suddenly the blades of their weapons began to glow. Irma's swords glowed a sea blue, Taranee's sword a fiery red, Cornelia's a deep grassy green and Hay Lin's swords glow a light airy blue, but it was Will's sword that undertook the most interesting change.
Swirling in the air, it began to dance in circles with the sword of Candracar. Sparks flew between the two weapons, moving faster and faster until…
Flash!
There was a blinding light and suddenly where there had been two swords there was only one, the most beautiful sakobato, indeed the most beautiful sword any of them had ever seen. Intricate and bright patterns danced over the weapon, appearing to dance in the light, patterns made of water and flames and roots and air and something else, something below the surface.
Their blades abruptly stopped glowing and suddenly beautifully intricate patterns adorned their weapons.
"Wow…" Irma exclaimed as she examined her new blade as the patterns of the oceans and seas danced over the blade with greater precision and skill than any blacksmith or sword maker could ever acheive.
"Impressive," Taranee said as she ran her fingers over the leaping flames that practically seemed to leap off the blade.
Cornelia seemed lost for words as she examined her own sword. Roots and branches criss-crossed in ways not normally seen in art to form mesmerising designs that entranced and amazed.
Hay Lin's sword was by far the most subtle of the weapons. Airy currents swept across her sword in a gentle way that seemed to suggest a power hidden beneath the surface.
"Congratulations," the figure said with a smile as he began to dissolve away, along with their surroundings. "Guardians."