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View Full Version : Round 3: Redkayne vs m139 (Judge: G)



G
04-21-2014, 01:00 AM
http://cdn.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/bayonetta2.jpg

A dim, bleary light casts a blue tint over the ruins amongst which you find yourselves, any injuries sustained from your previous battle, gone; your energy renewed.

You are standing at the top of a short flight of stone stairs, more of a decoration than a fixture of any purpose on a narrow ledge laid with cobblestones. Some distance away, your opponent stands on an identical five-high staircase. To one side, the high wall of a building creates a barrier, the marks of age evident on the stone. In some places, it is chipped and gouged, though whether it is the ages that have made these marks, or some glorious battle past, you do not know.

To the other side, the ground drops suddenly away, the pillars that once would have provided some more safe treading along this narrow ledge long since fallen into seemingly endless cavern below. Peering down, you can see archways, narrow bridges formed from stone, but they are beyond reach, and where they lead is a mystery. Falling into the crevasse would surely mean fatal injury. If you were to turn, to try to escape along the ledge, you would only find yourself back where you started; the passageway forms a ring around the impenetrable building it runs alongside.

The shriek of a bird has you staring up, but you catch only the glimpse of huge black wings as they circle above. Then another, in the corner of your eye, and more cries ring out. They are ravens, you realise, scavengers, though larger than any of their kind you've seen before. Peering down at you with beady eyes, you realise they are waiting.
But they are impatient birds, and the longer you linger in this place, the more likely they will descend, trying to swiften your passing with their long, cruel beaks and sharp claws.

-

Fight well, you have 5 posts per person and 72 hours to respond between each post.

The first to go is m139.

m139
04-26-2014, 07:07 PM
It had all happened so fast...

Cad had fallen head first toward the chanting woman. Suddenly, she changed in front of Cad again, this time into the slithering sea monster who had taken that other opponent. Its body wrapped itself around his neck, and dragged him underwater. Cad struggled to escape, flailing as well as he could in his deteriorated condition. But he could not escape. And he was running out of oxygen.

Finally, he could hold his breath no longer, and he opened his mouth to fill his lungs, and everything became a swirling mist of blue...

But it did not remain swirling for long. It quickly began to solidify, leaving Cad on a small blue flight of stairs. Soon after, a blue ledge and a giant blue building became real. It was all so... blue. And silent. The only sound Cad could hear was his own breathing.

Suddenly, from out of the blue, Cad heard a shriek from up above. Surprised, he looked up, just as the shadow- or whatever thing it was that was close to a shadow in this dim light- of some giant bird passed over him. The bird was completely black, not even slightly tinted by the filtered light. Cad shuddered, both inwardly and outwardly. Even its shadow had felt cold. And even after the shadow disappeared, Cad still felt the same cold feeling. It was as if he was being watched by something with evil intentions. He then heard a ruffle of feathers, and turned, noticing another group of black birds staring at him. They fluid blue eyes seemed to stare at him, with an intelligent, cruel, and piercing gaze.

A bit intimidated by this, Cad took a small step back. His foot now resting dangerously close to the edge of the platform. Luckily, the stone most of his weight was on still had good mortar, but one on the end... well, it came loose and was sent tumbling into the abyss. For a while, Cad heard the echoing plink, plink, plink of the pavement piece as it hit various obstacles on its path down. The birds ruffled their feathers, seeming slightly amused.

Cad's eyes looked down to where the stone had fallen as he moved back towards the center building. It only took a second to decide that he did not want to follow the stone's path. But where else to go? Up seemed somewhat possible- the gouges in the rock would make it climbable, but dangerous, as most of this place looked like it was about to fall apart. The only other choice, then, was to follow the path around the building. Judging by its curvature, it seemed it would wrap around. He guessed that the radius of this circle would be about twelve feet, if measured to the center of the path. And there might be a safe way down on the other side. So, he began to walk, stepping down the steps, and treading lightly and silently, close to the building, so as to make sure the place would not fall apart. He was walking, in relationship to himself, counter-clockwise, right shoulder to the wall.

He was only fifteen feet into his journey when he noticed that the birds were not the only one making a sound. There was something else. He paused, listening. Yes, the sound was faint, but unmistakable. There was another being, not far off. He could hear the breathing, in...out, in...out.

Another being? Cad wondered what they were doing here. But that thought did not last too long, after all, he did not even know what he was doing here. But whoever it was... Whoever it was, based on this long sequence of weird battles/dreams/whatever-they-were-things, was probably here to fight. And even if they were not, there was also the possibility that they knew a way out of this. Either way, Cad had to go on to find out. And considering both were preferable to waiting in this gloom doing nothing, he continued on his path.

He was almost to the quarter mark of the circle when he first saw the other living thing. He stopped, abruptly. He could now see his opponent- or rather, he saw a bit of his opponent's armor.

Since his opponent was so broad- or rather, his armor was so broad- Cad could see a bit of the shoulder piece while his opponent, as of yet, could see any of Cad. The armor glinted in the blue light. Judging from where it was, his opponent was probably tall. Much too tall to be another Salician, but not nearly as tall as the man inside the metal monster had been. And judging by the fact that it was armor... well, that meant this was likely to be another fight.

And so, still hidden from the other's sight, Cad kicked another piece of pavement into the abyss beneath. Now Cad's opponent would both know someone was here and Cad would miss whatever reactionary attack might have come just from his opponent's being startled.

Now that that was taken care of, Cad paused for a short second. Then, taking a deep breath, Cad revealed himself, right hand on sword hilt. He was now around fifteen feet- if measured along the circumference- away from the bottom step of his opponent's platform, and in full view of his opponent, who was bigger than even Cad expected. This opponent's mass and stature were somewhat awe-inspiring, and his opponent's eyes even glowed the blue of the surroundings. It was quite picturesque, well, at least for the short while his opponent remained in that position. The watching birds seemed to agree with this, and cawed in approval.

Or then again, they could just be making noise to celebrate the great feast they would be having in just a short while.

RedKayne
04-29-2014, 07:39 PM
Fall of the Templar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc_9RT4q8YA)

Screams of agony and visions of gruesome deaths echoed throughout the Emperor’s mind. All of the pain he witnessed, all of the pain he inflicted, these memories now tortured him.

He was standing in the middle of oblivion, as the ancient entity within the Dark Gauntlet once again took over his mind. The Emperor knelt down to the ground, panting heavily, trying to shut out the hateful memories. He was naked and vulnerable to everything now. At the moment, he was no longer the Knight of Destruction, but a mere human man with a tragic past.

The young man squeezes his eyes shut, trying to block out the multiple screams and images around him. However, he heard a familiar voice, and had to look up. In front of the young man was a vision of his former self

In this vision, it was a man cladded in crimson-red armor who was kneeling before a white altar. This man was known as Kyril, the Crimson Templar. He was a prodigy amongst his peers, and fought for the side of righteousness. In this memory, Kyril was praying to his benevolent god for another blessed day.

“Oh, my Lord, You are my King,
I am nothing without You. Use me as Your humble vessel.

Holy Luthious, please guide me through this tunnel of darkness,
Awaken my soul with Your righteous fire.

My will shall not waver, for You will be forever by my side,
Your Light is my sinew, and good fortunes will surely follow my body,

I shall bow before Your Throne,
And will eternally live prosperously within Your Kingdom.”

“You fool,” the Cold Emperor muttered as the Crimson Templar stood up from his warmhearted prayer. The Emperor can vividly recall the lines of his daily prayer during his time at the holy order. They were from the book of Requiem, chapter 7, verses 18 to 25. Beforehand, the Templar appreciated the beauty of these words as it calmed his soul, and he loved his Lord with all of his heart. He was a devoted soldier for the order... but now times have changed.

The Emperor knew that Luthious hardly cared for his loyal subjects. Ever since... she was taken away... his reality changed forever. Now, he thirsted for vengeance against the being that stole everything from him. He allowed himself to fall into a deep pit of everlasting darkness.

The visage of the Crimson Templar melted away, only to be replaced by two demonic red eyes. These were the eyes of the unholy being that destroyed the Emperor’s former life, and it began to cackle. Shivers were down the Emperor’s spine upon the new vision, but the warrior’s fury cannot be caged.

“I swear to you!” The Cold Emperor bolted up, courageously facing the red eyes that still haunt his dreams. “I will hunt you down and kill you! I will become stronger, and once I do, I will rip out your goddamn heart!”

Yes, Kyril... Give into your rage... Use your hatred to become stronger... Let us become one and destroy everything in our path!

The Cold Emperor was no longer trapped within the chaos of his memories, but now stood in a new battle arena. His eyes of blue fire glance around, the swampy waters from before were now replaced by crumbling ruins. He could only assume that Yynglyng warrior from before was finished off by the dark entity that controlled the Emperor, and thus he became victorious in the battle. This slightly pleased the black knight, but he was still highly frustrated that his willpower was still too weak to fight against the evil spirit within the forbidden gauntlet.

The Emperor immediately noticed that his injuries from the previous battle were inexplicable healed, and his magical armor repaired. There probably wasn’t even a scar on his right forearm or left calf after being sliced in the previous battle. Also, the Emperor's energy was now entirely rejuvenated. He cracked a small smile, for he was glad that he didn’t need to waste time and rest for the next battle. The gods over-watching this tournament were certainly eager to see their fighters fall into a senseless slaughter.

The Cold Emperor was standing on top of a stone platform, overseeing most of the area. A bleary light from an unknown source cast a blue-tint upon the surrounding runic archways, caverns, and cobblestone. To his one side, there was a high impenetrable wall. To the other, the ground drops down to deep chasms below. One misstep could seriously lead to an undesirable fate in this fight.

It appeared that this was a circular arena, and the only way to battle was upon the narrow pathway surrounding the monumental wall. It would probably be difficult to strategize in such a limited space, but the Emperor supposed that the best way to utilize his environment in combat was to simply push his opponent off the ledge and watch him plummet to his death.

The Emperor’s breathing began to slow down as he needed to calm himself. The echoes of his previous memories needed to be ignored for now, for he couldn’t allow his anger to cloud his judgment or abilities before the fight even began. He predicted that this will be an extremely difficult battle, considering that his opponent surpassed many trials to make it this far in the inferno tournament. The Emperor couldn’t afford to make any mistakes this time if he intended to become the champion this year.

There was a loud caw above, and the Emperor flinched. At first, he thought that it was the spirits of Ionor again, and he was about to curse his luck. But upon further observation, the Emperor realized that the winged creatures above were simply large ravens. Their beady yellow eyes looked down upon the invader of their territory, it seemed that they hunger to feast upon their next prey.

The Cold Emperor shook his head, knowing that the wretched birds will be a nuisance in this battle. He supposed he could get rid of them right away by shredding them apart with his Frost Shards. Before he could do so, though, his back stiffened upon hearing a piece of rubble rolling down the crevices behind him.

His opponent... was right there.

He slowly turned around to face his new enemy. A few thoughts came to his head. Why exactly did his foe reveal his location by kicking down the piece of rubble? Was the being just simply clumsy? Or did it wanted a fair fight? If it was the latter, then his opponent was certainly honorable and received points for that, but the Emperor will make sure it would soon regret its decision for not fully taking advantage of the situation.

Below the short stone staircase, and several feet away, was the enemy. The Emperor’s fiery gaze examined his opponent. It was a strange humanoid creature clad in metallic armor. Some of its body parts were quite out of proportion, including its long legs and thick, stubby hands. It had the natural built of a human, but the creature was significantly short. The Emperor could already tell that he would tower over his opponent if he stood right next to him.

The creature’s orange eyes were carefully watching the obsidian warrior. The Emperor wasn’t sure, but from his perspective... it seemed like his opponent was nervous for the next move... almost as if he was not confident. The Emperor could hold nothing against the strange humanoid for being cautious, for that may be the reason why it won so many battles. However, the black knight held a distaste for those with such a pitiful spirit. Hopefully his opinion will change by the end of this battle. After all, the Emperor’s current opponent made it this far, and should definitely impose some form of a challenge to the ice monarch.

“Nice blade,” the Cold Emperor calls out, his malicious grin hidden beneath his helmet. He noticed the short warrior holding on to the hilt of his blade, which appeared to be around four feet in length. “But mine’s bigger,” he raised his right arm and outstretched his open hand. A dark-light flashed upon his palm, and it began to materialize into a large weapon. The black-light solidified into the Death Claymore. At least five feet of stainless black steel rose from the hilt, and it was about ten inches thick.

The Emperor easily held the heavy blade with one hand because of his enhanced strength, and then he pointed the sword downwards, directly towards his opponent. “Let’s see how you shall fair in this battle against your worst nightmare,” he cackled.

He took an aggressive step forward, preparing to deliver his first move. He had to be careful right now, though. His foe’s appearance didn’t give away anything about his powers. For all the Emperor knew, the strange humanoid could be a master of deadly shadow magic or has the colossal strength of a savage werewolf.

The Emperor moves his free hand to the bottom half of the claymore’s bronze hilt, and grips the blade tightly with both hands. His knees bend forth slightly, and his leg muscles tense up with anticipation.

It was now or never...

“Let us see you bleed.”

The Emperor leaped through the open air. The cursed black armor naturally increased the monarch’s physical prowess, and leaping over fifteen fifteen was child’s play for him. The obsidian steel of his armor easily blended into the darkness of this forsake area, and the Emperor shouts out as he went high up into the air and over the staircase. He rapidly cut the distance between himself and his opponent and then began to descend upon the Salician. The Emperor began to exert his strength and magic into his claymore. The edges of the blade began to glow a bright blue color as ivy strands of cold magic wrapped around the black steel of the weapon.

The Cold Emperor predicted that the Salician may be agile enough to dodge the initial attack, but the creature was certainly ill-prepared for the armored titan’s devastating move. Once the tip of the blade smashes against the ground, the impact would cause a powerful shockwave that will sent forth brutal ice magic. The blue energy will immediately transfer from his blade to the ground, and six-feet of razor sharp ice spikes will erupt from the stone floor in about a five-feet radius in front of the claymore.

The ice spikes themselves could possibly create a blockade upon the narrow pathway, and may separate the Emperor from his opponent if the creature managed to avoid the attack successfully.

m139
05-02-2014, 01:32 AM
So, this opponent talked. Interesting. The other two had been silent. But this one talked. A nightmare, it had said. Well, if it was just a dream, Cad had nothing to fear. Nightmares are only scary if you let them be. And besides, when they are over, you wake up as if nothing ever happen. It would certainly be convenient if this was true, as it would mostly explain the occurrences going on. Not only that, but it would mean he would eventually get out of this and back into situations that were a lot more reasonable.

But what if this tall man was only speaking figuratively? If that were the case, this man would be one of the most prideful persons Cad had ever fought. Sure, Cad had often talked about how great he was, but that happened after the battle, after one had proven himself, not before. Yet, this opponent did seem that the person did have reason to speak mightily, especially when he seemed to produce a weapon out of thin air. Well, that was somewhat impressive, but the method of the trick probably would have been visible if it was simply a little brighter.

And then, with that taunting, his opponent stepped forward, and tensed up.

It was time to begin.

Cad was ready. He still had not yet drawn his sword, but his hand was ready. He was planning to bring it out as soon as his opponent released the tension and started sprinting towards him. But, Cad had not interpreted his opponent moves correctly. The heavily armored man never took another step. Instead, he leaped into the air.

For a second, Cad was confused. The opponent had, after all, jumped higher than any Salican- or any man for that matter- could jump naturally. But that did not last long. After all, with his move, the silent air roared and Cad could figure out where he was. And once Cad, by listening to his opponent's moving position, realized what the armor clad guy was doing, Cad's face changed to an expression of horror. How the armor man had started his arc no longer mattered. The point was now only what was going to become of it.

"That fool!" thought Cad, as he crouched and took two running strides forward, "With that amount of strength from a fall that big, he's going to break the platform." Numerous other thoughts went through his head, mostly derogatory. What stupid idiot would jump with an extra large weapon on an elevated platform after seeing all the wreckage around? Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!

He could feel the wind coming off of the guy as he passed overhead. Because of the curvature of the circle, he knew that the guy would hit closer to the outside than the inside of the ledge, which would no doubt be weaker than the inside. Cad was not sure just how much of the ledge the guy would break, but he hoped he would be out of the affected area.

Yet even with that hope, Cad knew he probably would not get out of the area just by running. This part that he was running on now would probably collapse too, if the guy who was jumping applied the same amount of force in his swing as he had used in his legs. So, in order to spread out his weight to get as much surface area as possible to jump off of during the collapse, he threw his shield forward, and jumped up, intending to land on it before launching himself again.

At this same moment, his opponent's claymore hit the ground. While the building remained intact, the ledge around the area shook violently, and began to fall into the deep abyss below. The area that was affected was much larger than the area Cad had thought would fall apart, largely due to the extra shockwave added.

Cad happened to land on the shield at the exact moment that the ice spikes were beginning to come up. Coincidentally, he had thrown his shield at the exact five foot line from the radius, and there was a spike forming exactly under the shield. In the next instant, three things happened at once. The first thing: this part of the ledge was beginning to fall. Second: the ice spike was growing rapidly, pushing up on, but not pushing through, the strong metal shield. Third: Cad pushed off the shield with his legs, intending to land on a part of the ledge that was yet unbroken.

The combination of these three things caused one result: Cad was able to launch himself off of his makeshift platform, and with the extra boost caused by the ice, went higher than was expected. The shield and the ice covered pavement tumbled into the abyss below. However, since Cad's jump had a higher arc than expected, he landed on his feet on top of the edge of the remaining walk of currently uncrumbled pavement with more force than intended. And he hit it with such force that he was only on the solid ground for an instant, and then the already weakened pathway began tumbling down, too.

Cad flung out his arms, trying to find something- anything really- to stop his descent into the abyss below. His right hand was in the open air. But his left, in his flailing, scraped the wall. A jagged gouge in it caught his sleeve, and for a second, he hung there, only attached to life by the few strings of his garment. But then, he saw it. A small handhold, just inches away...

He cautiously brought up his right hand, and placed it into the cut stone. Nothing bad happened. After somewhat straightening himself, he moved his left foot, not daring to look down, until he found some small crevice where the mortar had fallen out. He placed his foot in it. Thankfully, it was somewhat firm. He could not find a place for his right foot, so he instead used his two already established supports as he moved his left arm in such a way to finish tearing the garment. And then he held on to the edge of that gouge.

At this point, he was about three feet horizontally to the unbroken ledge, and his waist was about where the ledge, less than a few minutes ago, was. He could already feel a bit of blood beginning to come from small cuts in his hands from the rough edges, but he was gladdened by this. After all, he was alive.

He slowly climbed the way back to the ledge. He mostly used his hands, as there were few spaces for footholds until he had passed the line where the ledge had been. As Cad climbed, he wondered how many battles had occurred here to cause all these little indentions he was now using for handholds. Silently, he thanked the gods for them. For without them, he would be tumbling down with all those stones- stones whose falling echoes still could be heard.

Cad slowly climbed up, then to the side until he was above the platform where his opponent once had been. He dropped onto it, and then turned back to register the damage. From this place, he could not see the other side of the unfallen ledge. The building's wall was all he could see. Of course, that was mostly because of the way the path curved: at any point, the building was blocking one's view of half of the circle, and where the emperor had attacked was almost at the edge of vision from this point. But even though Cad could not see the opposite edge of the ledge, Cad could see what was missing in front of him. On this side, there were now only three steps: the first step was missing completely and what had been the second step was now only a jagged ruin. There was only about the five feet of pavement that comprised these steps left in front of Cad, and the last three feet were of questionable strength.

The other side, that is the side that Cad could not see, had probably not lost quite as much surface. This, at least, was what Cad assumed. For although about six and a half feet of the damage on this side had been caused directly as a result from the armored man's attack, Cad had caused even more by his jumping then floundering in his first attempt to safe ground.

Cad wondered, for a moment, if his opponent had survived his own first attack. Cad considered the information. His initial conclusion was that his opponent was a fool, and now dead. But then, he doubted it. After all, his opponent might have been in this place way longer than him. He might know something about this place Cad did not. And anyone with that much strength might actually be able to survive the fall.

Speaking of his strength- Now that the initial event was over, Cad could stop and wonder at his tall, strong, but undeniably stupid opponent. He again surveyed the ruin in front of him, both the missing ledge and the broken arches and pathways below. He shook his head. Such power, but for what? To kill oneself? He doubted it. Most likely, his opponent had some plan to escape, and had escaped. The only question was to where. He looked at the birds, who were still staring intently, as if they could give him an answer.

But although they looked back, the birds said nothing. Whatever knowledge they knew of this crumbly place would remain theirs alone to contemplate.

RedKayne
05-05-2014, 01:32 AM
Returning from Darkness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsbv7cjzLks)

It seemed that the Salician was completely shocked that the Cold Emperor was performing such a risky move that meant certain death for the both of them. However, the Emperor’s grin did not falter. He did took note beforehand that the pillars supporting the ledges were weak from old age, and most likely his attack would shatter a large portion of the stone pathway and cause it to crumble.

Why wasn’t he afraid of possibly falling to his death? It was simple, the Emperor doesn’t plan to die that easily... he was determined to live on... and complete his vengeance. He wouldn't allow himself to die, he will continue on his dark path of being the avatar of destruction.

The strange disproportioned creature was quick on his feet, and ran forward to dodge the incoming blade of the Emperor. The Death Claymore smashed against the ground, the blue ivy-stands of magic surrounding the black blade were immediately transferred to the stone floor and razor-sharp ice spikes erupted from it. However, the Emperor did not get the chance to see the effects of his attack upon his opponent. As the both of them predicted, the floor easily crumbled from the heavy weapon and gave away, causing the Emperor’s body to fall through the wide gap and disappearing into the darkness below.

The air shrieked around his black armor as the Emperor rapidly descended. Even though there didn’t seem to be an end in sight, the Emperor did not intend to find out what lied beneath the veil of darkness. He quickly gripped the hilt of his claymore with both hands, and then thrust it towards his side. The black blade reached forth and pierced deep through the stone wall beside him, causing the black knight to immediately halt his fall. He was now hanging in midair in the darkness, but his sword proved to be a stable anchor. However, the Emperor didn’t want to risk falling to his death so he tightened his hold on the hilt of his blade, so that there wouldn’t be a chance of losing his grip and plummeting to oblivion.

The mage-knight could still feel the adrenaline pumping within his blood after that free fall, and he descended a couple dozen feet below the ledge. A few small pebbles that also fell clinked against the shoulders of his armor, but most of the debris and broken pavement from the ledge fell around the black knight. He glanced down below, and his eyes of blue-fire could see the dark outlines of the archways. However, further below the stone bridges was the gaping maws of the crevasses, and most likely the dark abyss hid whatever horrors resided at the bottom.

He glanced back up, and could see his opponent practically struggling with climbing the ledge. The Emperor frowned from this observation. His opponent didn’t retaliate the Emperor’s attack by using offensive abilities, or even defended himself with any sort of elemental shields of magic. In fact, the Emperor wondered about the Salician’s enhanced physical prowess as well. Sure, his opponent may be nimble enough to dodge the Emperor’s initial attack, but the creature’s speed did not match to that of a swift monster like the werewolf or wendigo.

Was this Salician truly an all-powerful warrior that the Emperor had been hoping to face? It didn’t seem so at first, but then again, the Emperor wouldn’t be surprised that his opponent was suppressing his strength. After all, the obsidian monarch faced numerous opponents who hid their own weaknesses in order to deceive their enemies, and thus use the element of surprise to catch them off-guard.

“Heh, trying to fool me, aren’t you?” the Emperor quietly muttered and smirked even though he saw his opponent drop his semi-large shield, and now that piece of metal was falling directly towards the dark knight. “Well, its not going to happen, imbecile,” he released the grip on his right hand and reached forth towards the wall. Upon contact, it seemed like the tips of his fingers phased through the wall. However, it was much more than that. The Emperor’s entire body was sucked into the stone in a matter of seconds, and he became one with his own shadow. The Salician’s shield collided against the Death Claymore with a loud clang, causing the blade to loosen from wall. Both items then fell to the abyss, forever lost to the unreachable void.

The darkened shadow of the Emperor then rushed up, intending to return to the ruined arena. His shadow rapidly traveled around the circular wall, climbing the large distance in a matter of seconds. His shadow was directly beneath the platform that Cad now stood upon, and it climbed over the side of the ledge.

The Salician was intensely watching the area in front of him, since he was probably expecting to see the black knight somehow appear from the other side. This caused the Emperor to cackle aloud, for the poor young man had no clue of what’s to come. Regardless if Cad had noticed the significantly darker shadow shoot between his feet and directly behind his body, the Cold Emperor began to rise from his own shadow. The Emperor’s cackles now echoed throughout the area as his feet stepped on to solid ground once more, and now the armored titan stood before the Salician.

It must be a terrifying sight to see a devil of ice towering over you, and peering deep into your own soul with eyes of furious blue flames.

“Are you ready to put up a fight now?” the Emperor questioned aloud, his cold yet fiery eyes staring upon his opponent. “Or are you going to continue running away like the coward you are?” he said in a mocking tone with a small cackle.

He then lifted his gaze over the Salician’s shoulder and examined the wreckage he made. The entire section of the pathway before them was mostly crumbled from the impact before. Narrow strips of pavement that were alongside the wall were now severely cracked and thus unstable to walk upon. “Hmm... It appears I overestimated my own strength,” the black knight mused aloud. “I was hoping to create an even more devastating mess than this one,” he cackled loudly and slightly shook his head, almost joking about his own powers.

Finally, his eyes glance up at the large dark creatures flying above. “Those ravens certainly look hungry,” the Cold Emperor commented as the pesky eyes of the ravens carefully watched the two fighters below. “It seems they cannot wait to devour the loser of this battle...”

The Emperor’s eyes returned back to the Salician before him. The Emperor’s malicious smile widened, “So, if you prove to be a worthy opponent, I will give you a quick death. If not... I will leave you alive... but just barely... so that you can suffer the overwhelming pain and despairing fate of the vicious birds above slowly devouring your body.”

m139
05-07-2014, 04:15 AM
Cad continued staring down, listening to the rocks. By now, the endless stream of clunks had faded to a dull trickle of sound, but even with this decline in volume, the decent of the pavement was still audible.

In fact, it was almost like a melody now, the clink clink of pieces hitting sides of other things, and sometimes a slight rumble as they destroyed something and more rubble joined the tune. And every now and again, the birds too would join in the song, ruffling their feathers as if they were the voices of this eerie air.

And Cad was so busy listening to this deadly melody and trying to decipher it that he failed to notice the dark shadow creep up under his feet; he did not notice it taking its place and solidifying behind him, either.

He was only made aware of the other man's presence when the other first spoke. Cad jumped a little when the armored man started speaking, surprised at how close the man had managed to sneak up on him. Judging by how loud the words were and the upward direction they seemed to be coming from, as well as the heat coming from his breath, Cad supposed that the other man had somehow gotten up on the other side, then walked around silently before taking his current position behind Cad. Cad must have missed all this because of the song of the falling pavement. Cad wordlessly reprimanded himself for this negligence. Stupid rubble. Stupid birds.

But even with these thoughts, Cad was listening to the speech going on behind him. In fact, the other thoughts soon were forgotten as Cad continued to listen. He was beginning to understand this nightmare man. Cad was beginning to see why someone would taunt, and be so reckless as to almost destroy oneself. The man was not a nightmare to Cad, but a nightmare to himself. In silence, he waited for the towering man to finish. Then, still facing the void, Cad began his own lines:

"The only one who is a coward," -here he began to turn, mostly with his upper body, until he could see his opponent's eyes- "is the one who hides his insecurity behind his words."

For a while he held the gaze. His own eyes, though tinted with the blue light, still shined fiery orange. And they met the icy blue eyes, which burned with a darker flame. For a moment they held the gaze, and the fire of both stood directly opposing each other, neither make a move, nor being moved. But they remained that way only for that brief moment.

For in the next, Cad suddenly twisted himself and ducked between the armored man's legs.

Now on the other side and with safer ground behind him, Cad drew his sword, and let it hang somewhat limply in his right hand. He was around five feet from the other man, and Cad's sword arm was to the wall. Cad straightened himself, and again looked into the other's eyes.

He continued his speech: "I do not know what your problem is, or what it is that plagues you. You speak as one who has something to prove, not as one who has proven. Yet, whatever it is you want, prove it later, for it means nothing now. It is only an airy shadow, something that if grasped at will only slip through your fingers. It is not your opponent. I am. So bring out your metal, and let us begin a real fight."

RedKayne
05-11-2014, 02:41 PM
Battle of the Ages (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UopuMvi0SCw)

There was silence as the two warriors faced each other, there was practically an electrifying tension between them. The Salician moved quickly and amazingly managed to slip between the Cold Emperor’s dark greaves. The black knight turned abruptly to face his opponent, his eyes of blue-fire seem to be glaring at the smaller creature.

Cad finished his words of supposed enlightenment towards the armored titan, and then the strange humanoid prepared himself for combat. At first, the Salician’s troublesome words slightly annoyed the Emperor, but then the human beneath the black armor actually cracked a small smirk. He then let out a quiet laugh, before beginning to cackle even louder. “Hah, you certainly have a fire inside of you, but you are quite a naive fool,” he laughed and taunted again while slightly shaking his head. “Because you see, I have no reasons to be insecure... I am simply a very confident warrior that knows my own strength, my worth, and my destiny,” he explained.

The Emperor then casually leaned against the towering wall to his left side, as if not taking his opponent seriously yet. “Yes, I must admit, an issue does plague me,” the dark warrior stated honestly, for he had nothing to hide. “However, it is what gives me strength. It is not simply an airy shadow, but an entity of darkness that resides in my very core. Vengeance against this darkness is why I battle... it is what drives me to all of my victories,” the Emperor detailed his own philosophy of combat that was influenced by his tragic past.

He then straightened up his body and leaned away from the wall, his shoulder armor left its place from the ancient stone. “So, what is the reason that you battle, little one?” the Emperor questioned, actually quite curious. “Do you battle to protect the ones you care for... that will surely die anyway? Or perhaps you battle to defend the honor of one of your pitiful gods?” he questioned in a mocking tone, grinning wickedly.

“Regardless, it is time to stop fooling around. Show me your true powers, warrior,” the Cold Emperor challenged. This Salician has not displayed any powers or magical abilities yet, and the Emperor could only assume that his opponent was hiding his own strength for deceptive purposes.

The Cold Emperor outstretched both of his arms, and dark-light flashed upon his open palms. The dark-light mostly blended in with the darkness of the area, but a keen eye would notice the magical energy because of the sliver of blue glow falling upon the ruins. The dark-light solidified and formed into two deadly weapons, the Destructive Dual Blades.

Beforehand, these weapons were lost in the Emperor’s previous battle when they were dropped into the mysterious dark depths of a sickening bog. However, because of the powers of the obsidian armor, the Emperor can automatically return these weapons to his pocket dimension every time he switches to a new set. In a manner, he even recovered his Death Claymore that fell into the dark chasms below and could use it in a future battle, for it now resided in the small dimension with his Scythe of the Reaper and... the other forbidden weapon.

“Its best to get serious, warrior,” the Cold Emperor stated as he pointed both of his swords towards his opponent. Small strands of blue magic surrounded the steel of his blades and upon contact, blue fire erupted and surrounded the swords. The Salician should be able to notice that not only were the flames of a strange color, but it did not emanate heat at all. Instead, the blue fire emanated a chilling cold, and the temperature in the nearby air began to plummet because of the flame’s effect.

If these iceflames were to come into contact against mortal flesh, it would create severe frostbites upon the wound. If any mundane weapons happen to be in pathway of the blades and come into contact with them, then the mundane weapons would be frozen and thus prone to be shattered into pieces.

“We have a crowd to please,” the Emperor referred to the gods overwatching this tournament that were eager to see blood spilled in this battle. He could also be referring to the ravenous crows above that awaited patiently to see the first one to fall.

In one swift movement, the Cold Emperor surged forward and took an aggressive step. His left foot hammered upon the platform and then he swung both of his blazing swords simultaneously in an x-slash towards his opponent’s torso. Trails of blue fire followed the blades as they sought for the killing blow.

The Cold Emperor fully expected his opponent to draw out a magically-augmented sword to deflect the dual blades. Only a fool would bring out a mundane sword to a competitive tournament such as this one. Regardless of whether or not Cad would be able to dodge or block the attack, the Emperor was already calculating his own next move. The arena’s narrow and curved pathway was quite limiting for all sorts of movement in this battle, especially since the stone was crumbling apart from old age. However, the obsidian knight already knew how to use the narrow pathway to his advantage, and formulated a plan that would most likely cause the Salician to fall off the arena and into his grisly death.

m139
05-14-2014, 04:25 AM
Again with the lighting! Again with the blue!

Once again the other man's weapons appeared to come from thin air. And they glowed blue. Just like everything else. Including the watching birds' eyes, which seemed to follow Cad with a Mona Lisan stare. And their eyes seemed to feel cold, just like the one across from him. Those staring eyes of the man... Cold from... Vengeance.

So this is what the other fought for. No wonder he was so insecure. Vengeance led to constant questioning of oneself, of one's abilities, and what one could of done in whatever situation started it. No wonder the other was not afraid of death- vengeance had taken him, vengeance had consumed him. He was already dead. He truly was a nightmare- he was the personification of what the elders meant when they talked of one consumed with a negative feeling. He was so filled with vengeance that this once-man no longer remembered the first one he should be fighting for.

"I fight," began Cad, stepping backwards as the other began his upward stroke, "for myself: " Here he brought his sword over in a somewhat sideways turn. He placed both his hands on it, and brought it down. " my gods," - he let it collide with the forming X of the once-man's pattern- "my clan," - his sword hit at such an angle that it them exactly between, "and my life."

Like planned, the continuing upward swing of the other was much more powerful then Cad's downward stroke. Cad had planned on the sword's crossing X after he had seen the initial downward movement of the swing, and had planned on the force being more powerful when the metals met- after all, this once-man had just destroyed more than a quarter of the circle! And all this was good, for Cad had thought of a plan in the moments of the other's movements. And it was working.

As the swing continued to go upward, barely slowing down as Cad put his force on it, Cad pushed off the ground. Using his own momentum and that of his opponents, he launched himself in the air, avoiding the other's swords as they crossed and switched sides.

Cad did a full flip in his upward motion. He had tucked in his legs, and at the peak he was a bit higher that the other. Just as the other was finishing his action, Cad brought the sword down over his own head, intending to have it hit on the center of his opponent's helmet, killing him before kicking him over the edge.

And all was going well. Except... Cad's sword seemed heavier to him than normal. While this did nothing to stop the motion, as Cad was still easily able to bring it over his head, it did surprise him. And when it was in view of him, he was shocked.

Ice! His blade was coated in ice! Seriously! What was up with these battles? Why was it always ice! Did everyone in these dreams have to play with the stuff of gods! ARGGGGGGG!!!!

Cad finished his action, even while thinking of this, as it was already planned and his muscles were only following through. But the action would have consequences...

The blade had, on contact with the other's weapons, frozen. Because of the type of metal, it did not shatter at that instant. It stayed intact for those critical moments Cad needed to get into the air. But now... The initial effect was over. The metal was very brittle. Yet, there was some new benefit: his sword now had a thick layer of ice on it. The next thing it hit would probably take some damage, but only some, for though the ice- collected by the cold metal in the air- was hard, the actual metal was now very brittle.

But on with the story...

Cad came at his opponent, his sword coming down to strike the other right in the center of the helmet with force great enough (if the metal had still been intact) to knock out an average man even with the protection of armor. Parts of a second after the sword would strike, Cad's legs would shoot out, hitting the opponent right at his upper chest, just under his shoulders.

Of course, this movement was intended to knock a dead opponent off a platform. Cad had no way of knowing that there was almost no way the breakable sword could kill his opponent, as he had no experience of such sudden chills. All he could assume is that the once-man was still like a mortal on the surface, even if he was already dead inside.

RedKayne
05-17-2014, 04:05 PM
The Awakening Rage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46wPZIZORtA)

This wasn’t right... this couldn’t be right...

At first, the Emperor was slightly impressed by his opponent’s acrobatic jump into the air and then the Salician prepared to deliver a finishing blow with his blade. However, the Emperor was just as shocked as his opponent when they both witnessed that the mundane blade frozen upon contact against the iceflames.

The answer was becoming more and more clearer now...

First, the Salician didn’t use any powers or abilities to defend himself against the Emperor’s initial attack. Then, he didn’t use his powers when he nearly fell to his death, but instead lady luck saved Cad when he managed to find a foothold to grab on to. Now, the Salician’s blade froze in his attempt to counter against the Emperor’s assault. It was unbelievable that this foolish humanoid brought a pitiful weapon to a tournament of champions.

Did this worm have any powers at all? Was this idiot actually a weakling, not even worth the Emperor’s time?

The obsidian knight came too far into this infamous tournament to accept that all of his opponents were not even a challenge. This Salician had to be a true warrior that would push the Cold Emperor to his limits, in his preparation for his final battle against the dark figure of his past.

“Don’t mess with me!” the Cold Emperor roared as his blades crossed to switch sides in midair. The Salician’s blade swung down and directly aimed for the killing blow against the top of the Emperor’s skull. However, the Emperor immediately turned his blades horizontally high up in the air, and the tips of the swords were pointing in opposite directions. There was a brief flash of blue light as he slammed the hilts of the blades together, and then dense ice formed around the hilts and effectively connected them to form a double-bladed sword.

The timing and the position of the Emperor’s weapon was perfect, as Cad’s frozen blade collided against the frozen hilts of the Emperor’s dual swords. The impact was incredible as ice clashed against ice, but the Emperor held his ground and blocked Cad’s first attack. The Emperor then saw the Salician’s legs shooting out, and in those few seconds, the Emperor tensed his chest muscles and embraced for impact.

Both of Cad’s feet smashed against the Emperor’s chest plates, and the Emperor was sent flying from the blow. However, he was only sent back by a mere few feet, and then he performed a backwards somersault to land directly on the edge of the platform. Worn-out pebbles that were residing on the edge were blown away from the Emperor's landing and then they fell down to the chasms below... the Salician would share their fate in the abyss.

The Emperor held his double-blade sword with his left hand and then crouched, his free hand glowing vibrantly with blue magical energy. Before Cad would safely land back on to solid ground, the Emperor smacked his right hand against the stone floor and immediately transferred the blue energy into it. The effects were instantaneous, as slippery ice formed upon contact and rapidly covered the entire platform, some of the surrounding narrow pathway, and even climbed upon the high wall by a few feet. Normally, this spell would cover an area 30x30 feet square, but considering that there was limited space, the ice spread out and nearly covered a fourth of the circular arena.

This naive Cad probably did not figure out that the Emperor let his kick connect beforehand, as it allowed the armored titan to instantly create the distance between them. The Emperor used this opportunity and then enacted his plan of using the narrow spaces of the environment against Cad. The ice-covered area would surely cause the Salician to slip and fall off the ledge and join the darkness below.

“Stop fooling around, and show me your true powers!” the Emperor shouted and demanded as he straightened up his body. The only way the Salician could probably save himself would be to use his own secret abilities that he has been hiding this entire battle. The Emperor needed to know... he needed to know the worth of his opponent. Surely, this warrior had to be powerful since he made it this far in the tournament, right?

This couldn’t be a sick joke?

The Emperor’s eyes of blue fire glance up at the watching ravens, and he knew the answer deep down inside as the ravens’ eyes seem to laugh at the dark knight’s plight.

m139
05-20-2014, 04:00 PM
Ice against ice. The clashing blades hit, the sound filling the surrounding air. But one was weaker, one did not have the solid core of the other. One was only strong for a moment only and then....

Then the weaker blade shattered, ice flying off in all directions. The only metal left attached to the hilt was a thin small sharp spike, about three inches total in length.

And because of the downward direction of this, Cad's blade, it was a good thing, that at this exact moment Cad's feet connected with the other's metal suit. The push off of it allowed Cad to change his direction, where as otherwise the forward momentum would have carried him into the other's freezing blade.

And so, Cad twisted himself, and turning in the air, faced downwards, head first. His arms were held out in front of him. He was intending to flip on the pathway, and then stand up, but the pathway was a bit different then the one he had left.

The pathway no longer had the smooth roughness of much used stone, but now it seemed to be much slicker. In fact, now it even seemed to glow blue as the pale light reflected off of it. And it also seemed a little higher than normal...

It was ice! The man had changed the surface to ice! Again, Cad was amazed by the coldness of the other, so cold that it came forth from him. But now, there was not much time to think of this, as the ice was fast approaching. So fast, that for once Cad did not have a plan. And so close that his original one did not work. For indeed, his original plan was to tuck the blade in his palm before flipping. But the ice came too fast he was unable to tuck it fully.

Yet it turned out to be a good thing. For the splintered sword dug into the ice, creating an anchor. As Cad did not loosen his grip on it, his momentum, now stopped from going forward, caused him to spin around on the ice so his face was now towards the other. Now, he lay on the ground, looking up towards the towering once-man who was standing near the edge a bit away.

Underneath Cad, the ice was beginning to crack. Long lines were beginning to form, slowly spreading out from the area where Cad had first made his mark. The fissures began to spread until they covered the entire area that the other had frozen.

And the ice seemed to be becoming more translucent as well, so much that you could see the arches and pathways way down below.

Wait, the arches and pathways? Why could he see them? They should not be visible!

Yet they were. The strain placed on the pathway, both from the weight of the cover of ice and by the sudden freezing had caused chinks of the pathway to break off and fall into the abyss below. The next movement sudden movement would cause the fractured ice and broken path to fall into the nothing below.

Cad again looked at his opponent. Time seemed to have frozen. Even the birds themselves seemed to be waiting. Waiting for the next move. Waiting for their feast.

And then, Cad, careful not to move to much, answered his opponent's earlier question.:

"My power?" he began, speaking slowly, "My power... Is simply that I am alive. Unlike you. You're not. Maybe you once were, but now.... Now, you are only an empty body. Revenge has taken you over. I can't kill you. Nothing can kill you. You... are already dead."

And with that, he moved. The entire ice platform fell, and Cad with it. And as he fell, he looked up and saw the watching birds. Then, he laughed. It was not a malicious laugh, but one of joy. For, he had determined his life was worth it. Maybe he had not contributed much, but at least this was something. He had lived, and he had done something. For the shadow had likely fallen with him. One more gone from whatever world they were in.

The birds looked stoically on, watching the crumbling of slightly more than another fourth of the tower walk, and the un-winged Cad fell with it. But was Cad really the flightless one? No, for though the birds could physically fly, the creepy eyes they hid behind betrayed the truth of their lack of an inner soul. And Cad's soul- even as his physical body was rapidly descending- was soaring to a new height.

And his joyous laughter filled the cavern, a new sound, one that had been absent from this empty place for many a millennia.

RedKayne
05-23-2014, 06:21 AM
Broken Soul (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z76JoBLR-Rc)

Death.

It was such a simple word, but had such heavy weight to it.

The Emperor’s life has always been filled with death, ever since the Fall of the Templar. He has taken many lives in his quest for power, and thus became the embodiment of vengeance. No force shall stop his endless rage, and nothing will stand in his way of his hunt.

According to the Book of Requiem, everything happens for a reason. The forces of darkness have swayed the Cold Emperor to participate in this infamous tournament. His reason for joining was simple, he wanted to face a worthy foe to battle. He wanted to become stronger by overcoming the obstacles presented to him. He wanted to become powerful enough for his inevitable final conflict.

So far, he has been disappointed with these tournament rounds. He hoped that this battle against Cad, the Salician, would change his mind and challenge his might.

Cad managed to perform another incredible acrobatic move and used his momentum to land safely on the frozen ground. His dagger stuck out from the cracking ice, and his eyes glance up at his towering opponent.

The Cold Emperor clenched both of his fists in anger. Why hasn’t his opponent use any powers to defend himself? Was he truly a weakling? How dare this Salician... this worthless worm... could even thought to be a challenge for the dark knight?

The Salician’s eyes... those damn eyes of benevolent strength... were staring right at the obsidian warrior.

"My power?" Cad began, speaking slowly, "My power... Is simply that I am alive. Unlike you. You're not. Maybe you once were, but now.... Now, you are only an empty body. Revenge has taken you over. I can't kill you. Nothing can kill you. You... are already dead."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment, and then the world shattered. The ground beneath them crumbled as ice shards and stone debris flew everywhere, and the two combatants began to fall into the terrible abyss below. There would be no Returning from Darkness, the two would fall to the empty chasms and become lost within its forbidden territory.

The air whistled around the Cold Emperor as he fell, and the stones of the high wall flew by him. He already dropped and lost his Destructive Dual Blades to the maw of darkness below.

Deep inside of his being, the Emperor felt great pain. Not because he lost his weapons, or he will most likely lose his life, but because he lost himself to his hatred. He lost his way... he lost everything.

“Yes, I am dead,” the Emperor stated sadly and agreed with the words of his opponent. With this sad acceptance, his eyes of blue-fire were extinguished and revealed the human gray eyes beneath. He closed them, and the image of his beloved became vivid in his mind. “I lost my life... ever since I lost her.” Every single day since that tragic night, he missed her. He missed the scent of her lush dark-brunette hair, the radiance of her golden eyes, and the warmth of her soft figure. She was taken away from him, there was no rhyme or reason behind it. She was gone forever, never to be held in his arms again.

He became this monster to avenge her death.

He had come to terms now that he has damned his soul ever since he became the Cold Emperor, but it would be worth it in the end. He will complete his vengeance, and he will obliterate the enemy that took everything the Emperor once had... his life.

The Emperor’s eyes snapped open, and the blue-fires of rage formed around them once more. He will not allow his death to happen, he will refuse this feeble fate. He will continue on, for it is in his will and power.

He knew now that this battle was a complete waste, for it was not the Battle of the Ages that he had expected. He was tired of this tournament, for he has yet to find a worthy opponent. In the first round of this blasted contest, he faced a cowardly reptilian. He tore that creature apart limb from limb. Then, he faced a foolish tribal woman. He destroyed her battle spirit. Now, he faced against a pathetic weakling.

He will not let everything go to waste, for he will even challenge the gods of this tournament if he had to! They will pay for this mockery, they will pay for tossing this Salician to challenge him.

The Salician himself... he will pay as well. This strange humanoid was the essence of an honorable and righteous warrior, and his reasons for fighting reminded the Emperor too much of his former life. When he was a Templar of his holy order, the Emperor fought for his people and his god as well. He was so full of radiance back then, and he was an inspiration to his peers. There was only righteousness and justice within that life.

I shall bow before Your Throne,
And will eternally live prosperously within Your Kingdom.

“Enough!” the Cold Emperor roared and raised his right hand. Corruption began to fill the air and a dark-light flashed upon his opened right hand. An orb of swirling dark energy constructed upon his palm, and began to wrap around his hand and attached to his black armor. This terrible darkness solidified itself into the Emperor’s forbidden weapon, the Dark Gauntlet. The cursed sapphire embedded on to the palm of the gauntlet shined even with the lack of light. It was like an evil eye staring up towards its prey, the wicked crows. It was The Awakening Rage, and it will wreck havoc upon everything of this world.

“You lied to me!” his voice cried out to his former god. “I did everything for You!” his words were strained with heavy emotion. “Then You threw me away like a rag doll! You promised me eternal life!” For the first time in a long time, the Emperor felt tears roll down his cheeks beneath his helmet. “You promised me Your Kingdom! I did everything for You, and You took her away!”

He became completely oblivious to the Salician whom was falling below him. His current opponent was no longer important to the Emperor, for his anger has consumed him, and the only thing he could see was red. He was simply a Broken Soul now, there was nothing more he could do.

The Cold Emperor pointed his newly-formed weapon towards the looming shadows above.

You understand, now, don’t you Kyril? The ancient voice of darkness whispered into the Emperor’s mind. The entity of the cursed gauntlet would not leave the former Templar be alone even in this emotional moment. You have always been a warrior of darkness, Luthious never loved you or your corrupted, weak soul. However, you can have your vengeance by becoming His bane.

Vicious dark energy surrounded the falling titan, it was like a heavy whirlwind of dark gales seeking to rip apart the nearest living soul. The dark energy howled with hatred, the Emperor's negative emotions fueled their power.

I will give you strength, but you must accept me. I will help you fight against these gods, and make sure each and every single one of them meets their grisly demise. I will make sure that your precious Myra will be avenged. All you have to do is accept me, Kyril. So just them kill them... kill them all!

A massive amount of blue energy formed in the open palm of the gauntlet, and two dozens Frost Shards formed from this chaotic energy. They all shot forth towards the winged creatures high above, and each and every single one of those damn ravens will be torn apart by these razor-sharp shards. This... this was the Emperor’s act of defiance against the gods over-watching this tournament.

They will pay for this mockery, he swore it.

G
05-25-2014, 02:23 AM
The rumbles and crashes of falling ice and stone echoed through the ruins as the two warriors plummeted into the darkness below, both seemingly doomed to their fates. Then, from the black abyss, the Emperor's shards shot forth, glistening with a light of their own in stark contrast to the surrounds. The ravens scattered from their comfortable perches high above as the frozen daggers neared them, but not all were quick enough to avoid the last, furious attack from the tortured man. Their shrieks of pain were eerily human, like a desperate wail from a woman in agony, and black feathers made a slow descent after the shredded bodies of their owners, following the battlers into the bottomless dark.

The remaining birds began to gather.

There were more of them, far more than either of the combatants had seen, and what little light was shed from above was blotted out as the flock swirled in the sky, outraged shrieks descending first; swiftly followed by the cruel birds. The attack had been a fatal mistake. They swarmed on the emperor, their razor-sharp talons leaving harsh scratches along his armoured torso. Though they did not pierce the armour, the added weight of so many small bodies clinging to the man hastened his descent, and as he began to plummet faster, searching beaks found a vulnerable point - the birds began to peck at the ice-blue eyes beneath the gauntlet, tearing at the small, exposed area. With the increase in speed, the Emperor soon fell past his opponent, around whom some of the birds had also gathered... but where they attacked the former, they seemed to have no intention of tearing the latter to shreds; instead, he began to rise as countless birds latched onto his limp body. Wings beating in unison, the began to carry him free of the abyss, inexplicably sparing him from the fate that had awaited.

The winner of this round is m139.


Redkayne
Writing Style: (of 9) 7
-Ideas 2
-Flow 3
-Conventions 2

Effectiveness of Combat: 8
-Character Consistency 3
-Ingenuity 2
-Interaction 3

Control of the Field: 9
-Environmental Awareness 3
-Strategic Awareness 3
-Control of the Fight 3
Total : 24


m139
Writing Style: 9
-Ideas 3
-Flow 3
-Conventions 3

Effectiveness of Combat: 9
-Character Consistency 3
-Ingenuity 3
-Interaction 3

Control of the Field: 7
-Environmental Awareness 3
-Strategic Awareness 3
-Control of the Fight 1
Total : 25