Episode Six
Showdown in Eibon's Observatory, Does Everything Happen for a Reason?
A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.
The walk of shame back to my village was harder than it was to infiltrate the DWMA. How can I show my face to them again? What other choice do I have? Who knows what the elders are going to say with me returning so soon? Maybe they can offer some wisdom that will help me. I doubt it. If they disagree with the decision they probably won't offer me any help—even in the way of advice.
He walked up to the dojo where he knew he would find the village Elder. The rest of the assassins were training, all children younger than him. Many of them gave promise of great assassins that the Scroll Clan would one day command. The elder saw him immediately and a smile came across his face.
"Welcome home, Vyse. It is good to see you," the elder said. Several of the students practicing their forms stopped and looked at Vyse as the elder addressed him.
"I did not say to stop! Gobei, continuing running them through their drills," the elder commanded. The older student came to the front and did as instructed as the elder came to Vyse.
"Come. Let us go and sit at my house. You've had a long journey and you look like you could use a meal and some tea," the elder said.
"You are most kind, Elder," Vyse replied. He followed him to his house not far from the dojo, kicked his shoes off before entering. It was a humble home built to accommodate a single old man.
"Please have a seat at the table. I will fix us something to eat," the elder said.
"You don't have to do that. I can help myself," Vyse said. The idea of the elder serving and waiting on him was abhorrent.
"Sit down, Vyse," the elder said. Vyse knew that the elder hated to repeat himself and did not want to invoke any more wrath from him than he already had. Vyse waited patiently while the elder cooked up some rice, fish and vegetables and set it before him with some cheese, crackers and tea.
"I assume that your return to the village means that you were successful in your mission to assassinate Black Star and Tsubaki," the elder said. Vyse was surprised that the elder had that much faith in him.
"Quite the contrary, I'm afraid. My cover was compromised and staying at the Academy was no longer a viable option. I decided to return home until I can come up with another method to fulfill my mission," Vyse replied.
"Your failure comes as a great surprise to me. You are, without doubt, the most promising assassin to have been raised up in our village for generations," the elder said. Vyse ignored the compliment. If he was as good as the elder said they wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
"All my skill was not good enough. I underestimated the power of the Weapons and Meisters at the DWMA," Vyse admitted.
"I have been reading the textbooks that you sent to us. They are being translated into our language and put into the library as we speak. We have become prideful in our ways, thinking ourselves the authority on Weapons and Meisters. We were fools to think that Lord Death himself would not be able to do a better job.
"Always remember, Vyse, that the quest for knowledge will never end. The moment one thinks he knows all he needs to know, he ceases to grow."
"Yes, Elder," Vyse said with a nod.
"I trust that this experience has taught you a lesson and that you have abandoned this quest for personal vengeance," the elder said.
"No, Elder. If anything it has done nothing but give me greater desire to carry out the task that I set out to do," Vyse replied.
Slam!
The elder smashed his fist into the solid oak table and left a sizeable dent in it. Vyse was awestruck. The elder was the most calm, level-headed, collected man that he had ever met. He had never seen him act out in anger.
"Forgive my outburst, Vyse, but your answer infuriates me so," he said.
"I am sorry, Elder. It is something that I must do. I only came back to the village to rest, and to seek advice on what I might do in order to succeed," Vyse said.
"You are grasping at straws and chasing after the wind. Black Star and Tsubaki were instrumental in the destruction of the Kishin Ashura. Black Star is a Meister of the highest caliber, Tsubaki, a Death Weapon. How can you possibly think that you would win in a fight against them?" the elder asked.
"I do not plan to fight them outright. If I have to poison their food, surprise them from the shadows, catch them alone—whatever I must do—my blades will taste their blood or the cry for vengeance will drive me mad," Vyse said.
"Very well," the elder said resolutely.
"Will you allow me to petition for a Meister partner to help me in this quest?" Vyse asked. He was fairly certain he knew the answer, but it was worth the try. He had a feeling that the elder favored him.
"Absolutely not," the elder replied.
"I pray then, Elder, please tell me something that I can do. Anything that you know that might help me to defeat them," Vyse said.
"You know not what you ask, Vyse. If I tell you, the path that you walk will be one of pain and suffering from which you can never return. However, it is likely that if you endure you will know victory," the elder said.
"No pain or suffering that I would endure could ever be greater than that of the loss of my sister, especially know that those responsible for her death remain unaccountable for their crimes. Tell me where I must go, what I must do, who I must kill in order to attain the power that I need to defeat them," Vyse said.
"Even assassins should be careful about seeking out death unless they become full of wrath and become a demon," the elder said. Vyse waited. The elder didn't like it when people repeated themselves. He would wait until he gave him the information that he sought.
"During your studies at the Academy, did you hear about a person called, 'Eibon?'" the elder asked. Vyse frowned and furrowed his brow.
"That name sounds familiar. I don't know if I heard it at the Academy or in passing here in the village," Vyse replied.
"Eibon was a great wizard. He was responsible for the creation of magic tools. These tools possess great power. The wizard himself is thought to either be dead, or in a world other than this one for none have seen him since…"
"Since…?" Vyse pondered aloud.
"That's not important. What I'm getting at is that his laboratories and observatories are still here, abandoned and full of what most people would think is junk. There very well might be a magic tool that people are overlooking. I would start there. If you possess a magic tool, you will be wielding great, ancient power. Even Black Star and Tsubaki would have trouble countering it," the elder explained.
Vyse had heard all that he needed. He would need to make a quick stop by the library to take a look at where he might find some of these laboratories or observatories, but then he would be on his way.
"I cannot thank you enough, Elder. As usual, you are far kinder to me than merited," Vyse observed.
"Please tread carefully—and stay alive," the elder said.
"Thank you for the meal," Vyse said, finishing the last sip of his tea. He bowed and left the elder sitting at his table. He went straight to the library and started looking at maps that would help him find these observatories and laboratories. It didn't take him long either. Not too far from the DWMA there was supposed to be a large, round observatory hidden in the trees on the mountain.
Nothing stays hidden from me for long, he thought to himself. He put his index finger on the spot and began to think of things that he would need on his journey. He washed his clothes, left most of the weapon arsenal he had taken with him to the DWMA back at his house. He even had dinner with his mother.
"Vyse, I'm so glad you decided to come home," his mother said with a smile. She had no idea that he was leaving again and only came home because his first attempt failed.
"It's good to be home," he said, forcing a smile. He couldn't bear to tell her he was leaving early in the morning again. She made him a feast of a meal. He wasn't really hungry but he finished everything on his plate to make his mother feel better.
"Vyse, I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I know that you're struggling right now to find the path that you're supposed to take, but you will know it is right when you walk down it," his mother said.
"I have already chosen my path, mother. I just keep running into obstacles that I must overcome along the way," he said.
"Everything happens for a reason, Vyse; there are no accidents. If you come across an obstacle on the road, it is there to teach you something," she said. His mother had given up being an assassin once he was born, but she was extremely wise. She was one of the teachers at the dojo who helped to shape their minds.
"I'm not entirely sure that I believe that," he said, rolling over in his bed. She stood at the door; he could still see the silhouette of her shadow.
"Vera's death was tragic and unfortunate, but I have no doubt that it is part of a bigger plan that we do not understand," his mother said. He turned and scowled at her.
"If my sister's death was part of some plan orchestrated by an unseen force then I want nothing to do with that plan. I don't want to walk a predestined path beyond my control. I will make my own path. I decide my fate, not Fate itself," Vyse shot back.
"Whatever path you choose, Vyse, I know that it will be one that will one day lead you to peace and happiness," his mother said, realizing that arguing with him about Vera's death was pointless.
"I doubt that as well, but I hope that you are right and that I am wrong," he said. With that she gave him a smile and shut his door. He stared up at the ceiling trying to empty his mind until he fell asleep.
"WOO-HOO! It's Saturday! That means no classes!" Hammer exclaimed loudly. He was hopping about the dorm room like a little kid on Christmas. Nail had his nose buried in his video games. Tsarevich found himself picking up around the house. They had been busy all week and really didn't have time to clean, but as he starting picking things up ne noticed something that all of the items left out had in common: none of them were his.
"Guys, I think we need to have a talk about personal responsibility," Tsarevich said. He was apprehensive about moving in with Hammer and Nail from the get-go but their suite was a lot bigger than his double. Even though he had the smallest room in the suite, it was still bigger than the space he had before. The downside: he had become the den mother.
"If you're going to try to tell me to clean, forget it. It's Saturday. I'm making a great effort to do absolutely nothing," Nail said. Before Tsarevich could reply Hammer burst through his bedroom door. He was shirtless, in pink and yellow swimming trunks, with a blue duckie flotation device, suntan lotion, goggles, flippers on his feet, and sunglasses over his face.
"It's swim time, guys! C'mon! Get your trunks on! LET'S GO!" he shouted. He looked ridiculous and Tsarevich couldn't help but smile.
"It's too hot out to swim," Nail protested.
"How can it be too hot to swim? That's what you do on hot days! You jump into a pool! I've been working out, working on my dives, working on my tan. All of the ladies can't wait to get a load of this!" he said. He dropped the collection of swim accessories on the floor and began to flex and grunt around the apartment. Tsarevich rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious, Nail. This might be our dorm room, but this is still the property of the DWMA and we need to start taking better care of it," Tsarevich said.
"You're right. I'll help you clean it tomorrow," Nail said.
"That's what you're going to say tomorrow when I ask you about it," Tsarevich said, narrowing his gaze.
"What makes you say that?" Nail asked.
"Because that's what you said when I asked you to clean yesterday," Tsarevich pointed out.
"I don't remember that," Nail said. Tsarevich was about to say something again when Hammer was standing on the coffee table, bent over, butt in their faces.
"And flex! FLEX! FLEX!" Tsarevich's face twisted in shock and horror. He wanted to look away but he just simply couldn't bring himself to do it. Finally, he decided that what he needed was a day out of the house and away from the academy.
"Where you going? You can't go to the pool without swimming trunks," Hammer said.
"You have fun at the pool, Hammer. Nail, enjoy your video games. I'm going out for the day," Tsarevich said. He walked out of the door before they could protest and began to roam the halls of the DWMA.
What an incredibly boring, terribly depressing way to spend my Saturday: walking up and down the halls of the Academy with literally nothing to do. I don't want to go back to the dorm room because I'll be too compelled to clean up after Hammer and Nail's mess. I don't want to go to the pool—especially with Hammer—last time they had to call the security officer to give him a speech on sexual harassment. Ugh!
"Hey, Tsarevich. What are you doing wandering the halls on a Saturday? Shouldn't you be at the pool having fun with your fellow classmates? I hear they're having a party out there today. It sounds like fun." Professor Aurion seemed to be able to sneak up on him from anywhere. Tsarevich looked around and realized that he had absentmindedly made his way to the faculty floor and was walking through the halls of their offices. He had snuck up on the professor this time.
"That's okay. I'll pass. Hammer's going and he's always such an embarrassment," Tsarevich said.
"He certainly has a way with women," the professor added with a chuckle.
"Professor, something has been bothering me since the day that we chased down that Warlock," Tsarevich said.
"If you're talking about Liir's soul, I know exactly what you mean. There's no doubt about it. It was a Witch soul, but there was something off about it," he said.
"I've been thinking about it too. But it's not just that. I was wondering about the tool that we collected. Do you know what it does?"
"No. Lord Death was pretty secretive about what the tool does," he replied.
"And that doesn't bother you? It doesn't at least make you curious?" Tsarevich asked.
"Of course it does. If it was something that we needed to worry about, Lord Death would have told us," the professor said.
"Where was Liir coming from when we intercepted him? Where do you think he found the tool?" Tsarevich asked.
"It probably came from that old observatory in the mountains. It's on the south side of the mountain, pretty high up, hidden by a lot of trees. You can't see it except for the telescope that comes up just above the tree line," the professor said.
"Hmm…" Tsarevich was struck by an idea.
"Where are you off to so quickly?" the professor asked.
"I'm going to the pool party after all," Tsarevich lied.
"Okay, well have fun!" the professor said with a smile.
Tsarevich had a gut feeling that there was something ominous going on behind the scenes involving Liir, Lord Death, and the magic tools. If there were any answers to uncover at the observatory, Tsarevich had determined to find them.
Vyse looked up at the observatory. It was a huge, cylindrical building with a domed roof and an opening for an enormous telescope. He had to find a way to get inside. With the telescope projecting out, he should be able to climb in the top. He started climbing, using trees, kicking off of the side of the building to continually ascend. He grabbed hold of a branch and it snapped sending him plummeting to the ground.
Thump!
"Ow!" he complained, picking himself up. He went up again through the same route until he came to the broken branch and tried another. It also broke.
Thump!
"Ow!" He was on the ground again. He took a deep breath and started climbing as fast as he could manage. When he finally got high enough he kicked off the tree, did an aerial flip inside of the opening on the top and onto the deck inside the observatory.
"Success," he said to himself.
He began to look around and saw that the observatory was in pitiful shape. The opening for the telescope had been left open. Rain had fallen in over the years and rusted any of the metal in its path. Vines from nearby trees had started growing along the walls. All of the machines and computers inside were not in working condition. Some of them had been smashed and looted he was sure.
There were piles of junk everywhere. As he made his way down the spiraling staircase, he would stop and step into the rooms along the outside of the main opening that went all the way down to the floor where the telescope was mounted. Vyse was surprised to see that there were still books on the shelf. He picked up a couple but noticed instantly that they were in a language that he did not recognize or understand.
"What is this place?" he asked himself.
Every few doors or so on the way down had machine parts scattered all about. The tables were filled with empty beakers and Bunsen burners. There were scales and vials labeled in the same language that Vyse didn't recognize. It looked like a place that a mad scientist would live.
Partway down the staircase, Vyse stepped into a room that had either been the junk room or storage. There were all kinds of contraptions scattered and stacked in no particular order. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did: these were all magic tools. They might have been the throwaways, but he could sense a sort of presence about them. The thing that he didn't like was that the presence was not good. It wasn't necessarily evil, but it certainly wasn't good.
He began to dig through the contraptions and tinker with them. He felt kind of out of place. The Scroll Clan wasn't the best when it came to technology. There wasn't a single computer in the village for crying out loud. These machines could do anything for all he knew.
He touched a cube and when he did it sparked to life. The top of it had circular door that opened. Some sort of lens popped up from the circular sliding door and it started projected an image. Vyse dropped it and stumbled back when he saw it.
It was Vera. She was just as young and beautiful as he remembered. She was laughing and running through fields of wild flowers. Suddenly she was flying a kite. Then she spun around like she was dancing. It was a hologram image. What in the world was something like that doing here? The only place that these images existed was in Vyse's memories.
It started to scare and sicken him so he hit the same button he had before. The image disappeared, the lens retracted inside of the cube and the sliding door closed. He had always told himself that he would do anything to see Vera again. When he finally did, it had the opposite effect he imagined. He wiped the tears from his eyes and composed himself. He was an assassin after all and assassins did not cry.
He heard the door creak on its hinges as it opened. There was someone coming in behind him. He reached for a shuriken on his belt but stopped when he saw who it was. His mouth actually dropped open.
"Vyse! It's so good to see you! Imagine running into you in a place like this!"
"Tsarevich? What are you doing here?" Vyse asked. Tsarevich approached him non-threateningly. Was it possible that he didn't know what happened and why he left?
"I'm doing a little investigation. The professor thinks that his place might be linked with the magic tools. Everyone at the Academy is being all hush-hush about it. I decided to find out on my own," Tsarevich explained.
"I see," Vyse said, still unsure if Tsarevich was telling the truth. He looked into his smiling eyes and did not see any deceit. Vyse guessed that it was possible that the professor really had said nothing about their little confrontation.
"What about you? Why are you here?" Tsarevich asked.
"Wait…how did you get in?" Vyse said, realizing that Tsarevich had come from the bottom of the observatory.
"The front door was unlocked. I just walked in," Tsarevich said. Vyse let out an exasperated sigh of disappointment. All of that falling out of the trees like an idiot: for nothing.
"To answer your question, I'm here because I'm looking for a magic tool. I have reason to believe that this observatory once belonged to the great wizard Eibon. I don't have a Meister partner so I thought that having a magic tool might give me an edge in combat," Vyse said. He was being mostly honest. He was just leaving out the part where he planned to kill Black Star and Tsubaki.
"You don't have to be without a Meister partner, you know. I would more than happily fill that position," Tsarevich said.
"Look, Tsarevich…you're a nice guy, a great fighter, and I'm sure that you would make a good Meister, but I am not interested in the Academy. It's just not for me," Vyse said.
"You didn't give it very long. If you had stayed just a little longer you could have started accepting missions. I just went on one with my friends Hammer and Nail. We stopped a cannibal madman named Dahmer. We're doing what we were born to do as Weapons and Meisters, to fight the growing evil in this world. How can you not want to be a part of that?" Tsarevich asked.
"I do, it's just that…I have some unfinished business to take care of before I can start doing that," Vyse said.
"What kind of unfinished business," Tsarevich asked.
"I'm not sure I want to share that," Vyse said, "Did the professor tell you why I left?"
"No. He told me he didn't know why you left. He said that you had dropped out early in the morning and left and wouldn't say why," Tsarevich said.
"So he lied then," Vyse said.
"I suppose he was trying to protect whatever it is you're trying so desperately to keep secret. I don't know all of the details and I don't need to. You can trust me, but I'll let you figure that out on your own terms," Tsarevich said.
"I'll think about it, but I can't make any promises," Vyse said.
"Well, since we're here we might as well catch up. I'll help you shuffle through these magic tools and see if we can find anything that will give you the edge you were talking about," Tsarevich said. The two of them started towards a pile and when they did Vyse heard the tiniest noise from the corner.
He heard the attack coming before he saw it, but he jumped to the side, tackling Tsarevich and rolling to his feet. He jumped around as more of the bolts shot at him. He threw a shuriken in the general direction from where the bolts were coming.
"Ugh!" he heard come from the shadows.
"Who's there?" Vyse asked. He threw blindly and doubted if he had hit anything vital. He heard the sound of the metal shuriken hit the steel floor.
"Wait a minute…I know that soul…" Tsarevich said aloud.
"Stand aside and let me get what I came for and no one has to get hurt," the voice from the shadows said.
"Who said that? Show yourself!" Vyse demanded. A young man in his late teens stepped from the shadows and into the light. He was tall, well-built, had jet-black hair and donned a black, hooded cloak.
"Liir!" Tsarevich said. Vyse recognized the name from stories that Tsarevich had told him.
"This is the Warlock that you and Professor Aurion intercepted?" Vyse demanded.
"Yeah, that's him," Tsarevich confirmed, taking stance like he was ready to fight. Vyse instinctively followed suit.
"Shadow bolt!"
Vyse dodged around as bolt after bolt blazed past him, causing small explosions as it hit the tools behind him. He wondered which tool it was that the Warlock wanted because he certainly had no problem damaging the rest of them.
Vyse rushed forward, jumped in the air and started kicking at Liir. He blocked the kicks and punches as Vyse was on the ground. He performed his signature sweep but the Warlock jumped over it easily.
What?
Slam!
He felt a punch hit the side of his head, and another into his ribs. He didn't hear any crack but it hurt like hell. Liir fired a shadow bolt and sent Vyse skittering across the floor. When he started to get up, he saw that Tsarevich was locked in a battle with him.
"Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you get anywhere near me. I know you can hit me directly with your soul wavelength. You caught me by surprise this time, but I came prepared!" Liir said. Tsarevich continued to punch at him and kick at him, but Liir was faster and stronger.
He caught Tsarevich in the gut and fired a magical spell at him point blank, sending him sprawling across the floor like he had with Vyse. Suddenly, shadows came to life on the floor and wrapped themselves around his arms and legs holding him in place. Liir prepared another shadow attack, this one much bigger than the one before. Vyse didn't know much about magic but he knew that bigger probably meant more powerful. He knew that Tsarevich was unable to block or dodge being held down by the shadowy restraints.
He snagged one of the machines from the piles and tossed it in the air at the oncoming orb. They collided and there was a huge, shadowy explosion. Under the cover of the smoke and shadows Vyse hurried towards Tsarevich, transforming his hand into a kama. He sliced away at the shadowy restraints and was pleased when they broke, releasing Tsarevich from his bonds.
"You okay?" Vyse asked.
"Yeah," Tsarevich confirmed. The dust cleared and the sneering Warlock was blocking the entrance.
"This guy starting to piss me off," Vyse said.
"Me too."
"Let's take him together."
"Right!"
The two of them charged at him, Vyse jumping high and Tsarevich sliding low to get him from both angles. He jumped over Tsarevich, dodging the attack and engaged with Vyse. He was out for blood now. This was no ordinary foe: this was a Warlock. Who knew what kind of terrible, powerful spells he might have in his arsenal?
"Shadow specter!"
Suddenly a full-sized shadow representation ran towards Vyse, faster than should be possible. He tried to block and dodge but it was entirely too fast. It gave him an uppercut and send him into the air.
"Shadow port!"
Liir disappeared from where he was and materialized inside of the shadow specter that was fighting Vyse. He saw the attack coming and tried to dodge but it wasn't going to work. He did his best to defend against what he knew was futile.
"Shadow flare!"
The explosion of shadow magic energy sent Vyse flying into the wall. He hit it with a smack and fell to the ground. His clothes and in some places his skin was a little singed. Though he was worse for the wear, he was still alive. And as long as he was still alive he would still fight.
"Soul pulsar!"
"Shadow port!"
Tsarevich tried to hit Liir from behind but it didn't work. He disappeared into a shadowy portal in the floor and dropped down from the ceiling just a foot away from Tsarevich.
"Shadow stitch."
Tsarevich froze in place, unable to move a single muscle. Vyse knew that a deathblow was coming unless he intervened. He picked up another tool from the pile and hit a button on it, unsure of what it would do. As it was powering up he flung it at Liir from an angle.
For the second that Liir was distracted, firing a shadow bolt at the tool and destroying it, Vyse rushed forward, vaulted over Tsarevich's shoulders and placed a drop kick squarely in the Warlock's chest. Whatever he had done caused the spell on Tsarevich to release and turned around to watch as their foe started to pick himself up and strike again.
"This guy's tough," Tsarevich said.
"I noticed," Vyse added, "I think it's time we find out what kind of Meister you really are."
Tsarevich looked at him with eyebrows raised. The expression on his face seemed to ask, "Are you sure?" Vyse nodded and prepared to transform. It had been years since he was in his full weapon form, and had not been wielded by Meister since his remedial training.
He took the form of a katar because it was his first form. He felt Tsarevich's wavelength surge through him. He used his own to amplify the frequency as much as possible. Now was probably a good time to tell Tsarevich what kinds of Weapon forms he had at his disposal.
"Tsarevich, you need to know something about me. I'm a Dark Arm. I can shape my form into several shapes. This is katar mode. I can also be a kama or knuckles if you prefer," he explained.
"That's awesome. I can't wait to give those a try. This should be fine for now. You picked a fight with the wrong Weapon-Meister team, Liir!"
"If you think that wielding your Weapon is going to help you in this fight, you're wrong. I would stand down while you still have the chance. I promise I'll make your deaths as quick and as painless as possible," he taunted.
"We'll see about that," Tsarevich shot back. He rushed in for an attack and the real fight could finally begin.
Liir knew what to expect this time, so he knew how to fight his opponent. At all costs, he had to make sure that he did not let the Meister hit him with his soul wavelength. If that happened, he couldn't be sure that he would win.
But you can't kill what you can't catch.
He shadow-ported at the last possible second, the katar thrust hit nothing but air. He kept his teleports short and quick. He tried to fire a spell but the Meister saw it coming, knocked his hand to the side, sending the spell spiraling into the wall. He thrust again with the katar but Liir easily teleported away.
He kicked at the Meister's ankle sweeping him. He used the time he had bought to get to his feet and prepare a kick this time. Perhaps melee was the better approach here after all. The nimble little Meister caught himself with his left hand, pushed himself off the ground in a spiral, causing Liir's kick to miss.
The Meister went for a side-kick aimed for the side of Liir's head. He blocked by throwing his arm up, letting hit take the brunt of the blow. The kick made a loud snap and he was glad he had been able to block in time.
How could he have grown this much in his speed and strength since the last time we fought?
The Meister had Liir on the ropes again. He couldn't even think about running a counterattack. He had to focus all of his energy on dodging and blocking. Liir teleported to the other side of the room and prepared a spell.
"Twin shadow specter."
He send two shadow forms of energy forward to do his fighting for him from a distance. Tsarevich whirled in the air, flipping, kicking and slashing dissipating both of the spells.
I get it now. It's because he's wielding that Weapon. The amplification of his soul wavelength actually increases his speed and strength. Incredible!
"Vyse, kama form," he said. Liir watched as the Weapon transformed from a katar to a kama without going to it's human form.
"That's a neat trick," Liir said aloud.
"That's not all we can do. You bit off more than you could chew this time, Liir," Tsarevich said cockily. He did a very obvious reckless dive towards Liir who stood motionless and wait for the right moment.
"Shadow barrier."
The kama slashed against a magical barrier Tsarevich bounced off of it. Liir broke the barrier into hundreds of tiny, sharp pieces and prepared his next attack.
"Shadow shards."
He used the shards to barrage the Meister who was swinging the kama to destroy them before they hit. Liir watches in satisfaction as the sharp slivers still sliced into his skin at the arms, legs, and side. Tiny trickles of blood began to seep from multiple wounds. He advanced towards him coming straight on and walked headlong into another spell.
"Shadow snare."
The cage appeared around him and locked him inside. Now, it was time to have some fun. Liir used the shadow energy to fire bolts of his wavelength into the cage. Tsarevich writhed in agony. This took an incredible amount of effort, concentration and energy, but Liir was not about to let him know that.
It was a necessary attack. If Liir hit him with his wavelength first, Tsarevich's would be so unstable he wouldn't be able to use a Soul Resonance attack or fire his wavelength directly.
"Enclose."
Liir tightened the box and tried to crush the Weapon and Meister inside. He heard a powerful cry before the bars of the cages shattered like glass and evaporated in the air like smoke. Tsarevich stumbled a little to regain his balance.
"It doesn't feel good, does it? Firing your wavelength directly into someone else's. It's painful, invasive and can mess with your equilibriums long after it has faded. I figured it was adequate payback for what you did to me," Liir said.
"I beat you once. I can do it again," Tsarevich said confidently. Liir didn't have time for any witty, sinister comebacks because Tsarevich was raging like a berserker. So fast and so strong that Liir was caught off guard. He retreated backwards and dodged the attacks. He blocked a kick meant for his ribs, countered a punch aimed for his throat.
He started striking back, but his blows seemed to do little more than fuel Tsarevich's fury. A kama slash came so close to Liir's neck that it sliced the collar on his shirt into ribbons. He was barely able to dodge several other slashes. The kama blade slide through the fabric of his clothing with little-to-no resistence. The Weapon that he was wielding was sharp, that much was for sure.
"Shadow specter."
Liir summoned a spector of himself and flung it at Tsarevich, tackling him to the ground. He jumped and stuck downward dealing a punch to top of his head. He anticipated the counterattack, caught his kama-wielding arm in hand and stepped inward, dealing a head butt to Tsarevich's face.
I have him on the ropes now.
He kept hold of Tsarevich's arm and yanked him back towards. He put his other arm out and clotheslined him. While his opponent was in midair Liir placed a spell on the ceiling and floor. It created a window that ignored the space of distance. If you walked through one opening, you would find your self coming out of the other opening.
"Shadow gate."
He slammed Tsarevich down into the portal he had just created and as expected, he fell through the opening in the ceiling. Liir closed the portal on the ceiling and placed it on the wall closest to him. As Tsarevich was falling Liir jumped in the air and kick-flipped Tsarevich under the chin, sending him flying like a soccer ball through the opening in the wall.
He watched as the Meister came flying up from the floor and closed the portal on the wall and opened one on the ceiling again. He used both fists to pound him back down into the portal and he came falling from the ceiling again.
I could do this all day long. He probably doesn't know what hit him.
He was expecting another easy hit, let his guard down and prepared for the final attack. He conjured the most powerful shadow flare spell that he could muster and waited as the Meister dropped lower and lower…and lower…almost…
He fired the shadow flare but the Meister twisted and dodged, sending the flare flying past him towards the portal. Liir was getting ready to close it but Tsarevich was too close to pay attention to anything but defense. He threw his arm out and howled in pain as he felt the kama penetrate his forearm. He forgot about that pain soon enough.
"Soul pulsar!"
Confusion. Pain. Agony. Fear. Pain. Can't breath. What's happening?
The concussive force of their colliding wavelengths sent Liir flying through the portal on the floor and then falling down from the ceiling right into the…
!
The shadow flare exploded on contact when it hit Liir and he would never be able to know how many times he bounced or what walls, ceilings and floors he hit or how many of the tools he crashed through. The skin on his hands and face were singed, his hair, eyelashes and brow burnt down.
He heard the footsteps of his opponent coming quickly. He could not lose. Not again. Chandra had been angry enough at him the first time. He had to retrieve the tool that he came for. The only thing standing in his way was this Weapon-Meister team. Who did they think they were? Who did they think they were dealing with?
He wondered if it was time for his secret to come out. Chandra had told him to keep it under wraps, that she did not even want the other Witch Covens knowing about him. He was to go and retrieve the tools of Eibon and bring them to her. He didn't ask questions and he draw any unnecessary attention.
But I was never one to play by the rules, was I?
He watched as Tsarevich got closer and he feigned weakness. He needed to make him believe that there was no chance of a last minute comeback, though that was what was coming their way—and some.
"Shadow, shadow, darkness, void…" he murmured under his breath preparing the right curse. If the spry little Meister managed to survive the initial attack, this would ensure a slow, painful end for him.
Tsarevich was just above him, his Weapon changed into a knuckle form, fist raised for a finishing blow when Liir transformed his left hand into a gunblade. He used his right fist to swat the attack away and stabbed his left hand into Tsarevich's chest with all of his might, pushing the barrel all the way against his chest.
"I finally figured it out…" Tsarevich muttered, blood trickling out of his mouth.
"What's that?" Liir said, whispering in his ear.
"Your soul. The first time I saw it I knew there was something different about it. So that's it then: you're a Weapon," he managed. He could feel his grasp on life slipping away.
"I am Liir the Witchblade, and I'm the last thing that you get to see before you die," he said. He pulled the trigger on his arm, which was now a gunblade. The last thing that Tsarevich heard was loud bang from the end of the gun.
Then...There was nothing. Just silence as he fell into the black.