Aetheral Space

Dragan Hadrien was starting to get a little bit annoyed.

Muzazi came for him, again and again, his flight-path chaotic -- as if he were ricocheting off of the air itself -- and each time he passed, he cut. Blood sprayed from transient wounds, spilling with the rain in the moments before Pan’s regeneration triggered. His arms, his legs, his stomach… more than once his entrails threatened to slip free of their cage and abandon him.

The sky was made bright with fireworks -- the white ribbon of the zigzagging Muzazi, and the countless blue flares of Gemini Railgun. Dragan blasted the entire area around him, hoping to strike Muzazi out of the air, but the Full Moon was too fast, too fast, still too fast. Right now, even with his senses infused to their utmost, Dragan Hadrien could only strike his enemy's afterimage.

This wasn't right.

He'd already confirmed that this ability of Muzazi's was unstable. The first attack had been absurdly fast, the second impressively fast, and the third only slightly faster than normal. The benefits of his reckless power should have worn off long ago -- so why had he sped up again?

Muzazi had returned to a speed at a midpoint between his first and second strike, and that was far too close to absurdity for Dragan's liking. His mind raced, trying to figure out the trick to it. Was this an Aether burn after all? No, if it was, Muzazi's body would have collapsed long ago. Had he somehow managed to counteract the overheating? A cooling ability? The rain -- it was raining, was that helping to cool him off? No, the rain wouldn't be enough to do that on its own, there had to be something --

Aether crackled.

Ah. I see.

It was the rain. It fell relentlessly on both Muzazi and Dragan, battering against their bodies -- but in the instant before it struck Muzazi, a tiny tendril of white Aether reached out and embraced the droplet. He was infusing the rainwater the moment it touched his body, enhancing its potency as a coolant, allowing it to reduce the strain of his ability.

Under these conditions, he could probably move at this speed for a good while.

The two crossed paths in the air, their attacks barely missing each other, their faces only inches apart for the briefest of moments. Dragan let a victorious smirk spread across his lips. Muzazi's eye widened in alarm.

You know I know, don't you? That's right. You understand well. If I know how you're doing it… I can just stop you from doing it.

Gemini Railgun.

A sapphire aurora erupted outwards as Dragan spread his Aether, covering the area that both he and Muzazi were fighting in. Immediately, the air began to rapidly flash blue again and again -- each individual raindrop being recorded into Dragan's Aether before it could reach his opponent. He'd successfully disabled Muzazi's coolant.

Muzazi blasted away with thrusters -- and Dragan moved to follow, recording his lower half and firing Railguns from his hands to increase his speed.

He couldn't afford to let Muzazi put distance between them -- if he managed to leave the range of Dragan's recording, he'd be able to cool his body down once more and increase his speed. For the time being, Dragan had to keep relatively close to his opponent. Muzazi's aptitude for close-quarters-combat made that a risky proposition too, of course, but with his body slowing down again it was the best route to take.

Muzazi swung around, whirling a Radiant at Dragan's head -- but he managed to record it away before the blow struck.

Flipping through the air below Muzazi, Dragan fired a volley of Railguns upwards -- blue spears of light spiking through the sky. The first three Muzazi dodged, weaving in incoherent patterns to avoid Gemini Dominion, and the fourth he parried with a twin swing of twin Radiants. The deflected shot went wild, slamming into a floating advertisement and sending it smoking down to the city below.

As Dragan's head returned, Muzazi lunged in again, dancing with his blades as he attempted to resume his evisceration. Clearly, he wanted to capitalize on his increased speed while it still lasted -- already, Dragan could see his foe’s skin reddening once again, and the hiss of steam was audible once more. Ordinarily, Dragan would just retreat into Gemini World to avoid the onslaught, but…

Right now, my body is the obstacle he needs to get through. If it comes down to a pure contest of speed, he still has the edge. He'll be able to get out of my range faster than I can pursue -- and if he can get his speed back up to how it was before, I won't be able to counter at all.

So I can't just dodge. I need to keep him here. I need to keep him fighting me.

Let's go.

How much longer could Atoy Muzazi keep fighting without coolant? He couldn't say, and he didn't have the time to consider it.

The facts were that his body was rapidly overheating, and the strategy he'd used to mitigate that had been sealed off. He couldn't take the time to regret that. The only path forward was to coldly accept the new reality and choose to fight another way.

So he'd overwhelm his opponent, and then…

Muzazi charged forward, adjusting his path slightly to avoid being recorded, and let loose. He was a spinning top of blades, Radiants erupting from his elbows and knees to bolster the ones on his hands. He ignited thrusters on his broken arm to keep it moving, ignoring the pain. Sparks and blood flew in every direction as the dervish that was him made contact with the enemy.

Dragan Hadrien didn't take as much damage as Muzazi had expected. Rather than dodge, he'd opted to block and parry, fists lashing out with pinpoint Aether to meet the incoming blades. It was only two hands versus many more blades, of course, and Muzazi was still faster -- but more of Hadrien's flesh went unscathed than Muzazi was comfortable with.

Gemini Railgun!

Hadrien's fist clashed with Muzazi's Radiant once again -- and in the moment it did, a Railgun shot forth from his knuckles and blasted the blade of light apart.

Damnation!

Muzazi went to move backwards, to stop Hadrien from pressing the advantage, but it was too late. A victorious grin was already on the Cogitant's face. The speed of his punches increased as Hadrien advanced -- each blow accompanied by a Railgun to seal the deal, each blow disrupting and scattering the sword that met it.

The scale tipped, ever so slightly…

…and Hadrien's fist slammed into Muzazi's shoulder.

Muzazi focused pinpoint Aether to block right before the followup Railgun fired -- but even so, the pain was immense. He felt his skeleton creak as he was sent flying backwards, flipping end over end as he tried to right himself with thrusters, white beams spluttering and fading as they drained away. His vision was a rotating blur, city and sky melding into one sickening kaleidoscope.

For all the world, it looked like the perfect opening.

Dragan Hadrien clearly thought so too. He brought his knees to his chest and kicked himself through the air, Railguns firing from the soles of his feet to propel himself towards Muzazi. Already, two more nuclei of Aether were building in his hands, ready to fire the killer shots.

For all the world, it looked like the perfect opening.

Muzazi's flipping finally came to an end, his good arm flailing in the air as he tried to reorient himself.

For all the world, it looked like the perfect opening.

Muzazi's eyes widened as Dragan swooped right in, planting those deadly hands against his chest, ready to fire point-blank.

For all the world, it looked like the perfect opening…

…until Atoy Muzazi opened his mouth.

A thought occurred to Dragan Hadrien, in the moment before the trap closed. Why had he been able to overwhelm Atoy Muzazi just then?

If he considered it, it didn't really make sense. The entire reason he'd been on the backfoot so far was because of Muzazi's speed. Fighting Muzazi in close-quarters hadn't been his first option because he knew it wasn't his best option -- and yet, he'd managed to turn the tables on Muzazi with relative ease.

It had been because of the swordsman's speed, Dragan realized. As they'd clashed, Muzazi had quickly lost much of the speed that had made him a threat. By the end of their bout, Dragan had probably been faster than him.

But that had been expected. Having lost his coolant, Muzazi would quickly lose the benefits of his ability as well. That had been the entire reason Dragan had done this.

Still, though, hadn't he slowed down just a little too quickly? Had Dragan misjudged this? If that was the case… if that was the case… then it begged another question.

If the power from those thrusters was no longer going towards Muzazi's acceleration… where was it going?

Atoy Muzazi opened his mouth -- and the white light of heaven shone within. The force had been gathered together where Dragan would not see it. Muzazi had sacrificed speed for this attack.

He'd allowed himself to be humiliated… and from his shame he'd forged the spear that now waited at the back of his throat.

Radiant…

Oh fuck.

…Almighty!

The beam of light blasted free from Muzazi's open mouth, slamming into Dragan’s chest and sending him flying down into the city-abyss below.

Even as he saw scorched limbs flying in every direction, Muzazi was under no illusions. If he didn't see Hadrien's brains smeared on the sidewalk himself, then the bastard wasn't dead. Given enough time, a near-lethal wound was no wound at all for that man.

He wanted to pursue. He needed to pursue… but that was easier said than done.

Smoke was pouring from his mouth, and he could taste the metal signature of blood along with it. He'd infused his insides to withstand the backlash, but that had still been a reckless move. He put a hand to his neck, massaging his throat, forcing out wheezing breaths.

If he just spent a few seconds… no.

He couldn't waste time. If he was falling apart, then he'd just have to finish this while falling apart. He'd thrown too much away to do anything else.

Muzazi zoomed down into the abyss, thrusters blazing from his feet as he pursued his foe.

That… was a miscalculation.

Dragan had landed on a small control platform amidst the rushing rows of automatic traffic -- transporting their cargo across the surface of Azum-Ha. The noise of the rushing vehicles alone was deafening, and the raging winds produced by their movement battered against Dragan's body. He tried to get up, only to find himself unable.

How bad is it?

Very bad, dead boy. Can't move yet.

His eyes slid downwards, and he saw that Pan’s assessment was correct. He'd lost both of his legs from that attack, and one of his arms -- the other hanging on by a few thin strings of muscle. To be honest, he was surprised he could still see out of both eyes.

The heat of that Almighty had been immense, too. His flesh had been scorched all the way from his chest up to his jaw, leaving a skeletal grin for all the world to see. When he tried to get up, he could feel his skin peeling away -- it seemed he'd partially melted onto the surface of this platform, too. Focusing nearly all of his infusion onto his heart had definitely been the right move, then.

Already, though, he could feel parts of his ruined body molting away -- already, he could feel new flesh growing to replace them. This was a temporary state of affairs. So long as this was temporary, even the pain just became trivia.

How long until I can move again?

Dunno, dead boy. A minute, maybe?

A minute isn't great. With Muzazi getting his speed back, he'll be able to get down here and finish me off in that time.

What was left of Dragan's hair billowed as another line of traffic passed, bulky vehicles piloted by basic auto-brains. If he had lips, he'd have used them to smile. As things were, though, his rictus grin got across his mood just well enough.

I remember, Muzazi… do you? Dragan thought, malice oozing out of his delirium as he raised a hand to the distant white star. Back on Caelus Breck… back before all of this… you showed me what strength looked like. I remember you threw a car through someone. That really made an impression on me.

He tipped his withered body towards the traffic.

Wanna see something cool?

Gemini Railgun.

Muzazi fell.

If he was able to move freely, he'd probably have been able to reach Dragan Hadrien in the span of a few seconds. With the injuries he'd just inflicted, taking Dragan Hadrien's head would be easy -- and that would be the end of it. Of course, this world wasn't kind enough to let Muzazi move freely.

Bright blue lights flashed from the depths of the traffic-valley -- and a moment later, cars came flying at Muzazi.

Like giant bullets from a giant gatling gun, they tore through space without pause, their black chassis’ reduced to impressionist smears by sheer speed. Muzazi weaved through the hail of wreckage, thrusters splitting his skin as they forcibly pushed his body out of the path of traffic. Radiants blazed from his hands as he slashed and sliced at the vehicles he couldn't dodge, cutting them into clean pieces that scattered on the winds.

If he activated Quantum King, he could defend himself from all of these attacks without fail. However, that wasn't an option he was willing to entertain. If he activated Quantum King, that meant remaining stationary until the attack ceased -- and that was exactly what the enemy wanted him to do.

Because Dragan Hadrien was trying to buy time.

It was obvious. Everyone watching the Dawn Contest was now well-aware of Dragan Hadrien's regenerative powers. The majority believed it to be an Aether ability he possessed, enhancing the natural regenerative properties of the body to the extreme. Personally, Muzazi thought it had something to do with the events on Panacea, but that didn't matter.

The point was that Atoy Muzazi could not afford to stop attacking, not even for a second. If he did, then Dragan Hadrien would recover completely, while his own wounds continued to accumulate. In a war of attrition, this Shooting Star would always win.

His only choice was to snuff that star out.

Out of my way! he demanded of the world.

Pulling his arms in, he slid past an incoming car as he zoomed downwards…

… and time slowed down.

Muzazi's eyes flicked to the side.

There was a zombie clinging to that car, flayed and burnt and battered, holding on with barely formed limbs.

There was a zombie clinging to that car, pointing a finger at Muzazi just as the digit came into existence, sparks concentrating at the tip of the newborn fingernail.

There was a zombie clinging to that car, narrowing electric-blue eyes and opening an exposed jaw.

It had no tongue with which to speak, but Atoy Muzazi knew full well the words that were echoing within that head.

Gemini Railgun.

Muzazi went to dodge, to move his head back -- if he didn't, the shot that blasted from Hadrien's fingertip would surely have blasted his brains out. As things were, it flashed past his neck instead, opening the front of his throat and sending blood spraying out in front of him. Muzazi's eyes shuddered in his sockets as he felt a sudden and fatal chill vibrate through his body.

It had felt like this back on Ocean Hate, when the man called King had beaten him so badly that his heart had stopped. Back then, he'd been able to restart his heart through thrusters. Now, he knew Dragan Hadrien would offer him no such leeway.

This was it, then. This was how he --

No.

Thrusters flared inside Muzazi's throat, cauterizing and closing the wound in the moment it was created. The pain was excruciating, but he embraced it. This agony alone was proof that he was still alive.

He whirled around, igniting a Radiant, slashing at Hadrien as the car passed -- but the moment was already gone. The flying vehicle had been sent off course by the recoil of Gemini Railgun, and the wounded Hadrien had let go, floating a short distance away with the aid of his Gemini World. He was a sight to behold -- parts of his body were just meat regrowing over bones, while others had been recorded into fizzling Aether.

Anyone else would have been dead a long time ago, Muzazi knew. Anyone else would have died back in that arena, cut open by the first swing of a Radiant. However… Dragan Hadrien had no shortage of ways to avoid consequences.

No matter. He'd achieved the distance he needed when Hadrien had been sent flying away. The coolant strategy could now --

Oh.

He'd been so absorbed in the battle that he hadn't noticed. He'd been so consumed by the finishing blow that he hadn't realized. God had played another little prank on Atoy Muzazi.

It had stopped raining.

Where are you going, Atoy Muzazi?

Dragan flew through the sky in pursuit of his opponent, a cloud of Emerald Eyes surrounding him. After managing to survive Dragan's sneak attack, Muzazi had turned and began running away again. Well, Dragan could imagine why his foe would be panicking -- without the rain, he'd be unable to counter the overheating produced by his acceleration.

Without that additional speed, he was at a disadvantage here in the air. So… he was looking for a battlefield more suited to him.

Muzazi swerved to the side, thrusters blazing white, bringing him towards a large squat tower floating over the buildings below. Wax Herd Leisure Centre, the sign on the front said. Did Muzazi intend to take their battle inside here?

Gemini Railgun!

Dragan fired off a volley of shots with the cars he still had stored up. Muzazi dodged them with ease at this distance, of course, and the majority of them slammed into the building instead, cracks spreading across the brickwork. Kicking off the air, Muzazi launched himself upwards, heading towards the roof.

You think you can still outrun me now that you've lost your acceleration? Don't make me laugh.

One of the Emerald Eyes zoomed through the air a little too close, and Dragan immediately snatched it up with his Aether.

Gemini Railgun.

The shot manifested right in his grip -- and as the Emerald Eye was launched across the sky, Dragan was pulled along it. He let go after only a second, but even that was enough to fling himself into Muzazi's path, floating right in front of the Full Moon. He grinned.

Going somewhere?

He wanted to say that, he truly did, but his lips still hadn't fully returned. Instead, he just threw his hands out in front of him -- Aether running between his palms, ready to fire another Railgun right into the incoming Muzazi's face. At this distance, at this speed, he wouldn't be able to dodge or block in time.

Only… it didn't seem like he was trying to.

If anything, Muzazi sped up, barreling towards Dragan like a guided missile. His gaze was intense, his eyes full of vicious resolve. With sputtering thrusters, he managed to bring his arms out in front of him, ready to meet Dragan’s attack head-on.

Gemini Railgun!

“Quantum King!”

Muzazi activated his ability only for a second, and so it was like the flash of a camera as it burst into life, diverting the Railgun just enough to avoid death. The projectile scraped past Muzazi's face, shattering his mask and sending sparks raining down below -- but that was all it did. As shards of metal flew from his scarred face, Muzazi wrapped his arms around Dragan, the two of them twisting in the air.

As they flipped and flipped over the building's skylight, Dragan sneered. If Muzazi intended to come in this close, all he was doing was making himself a bigger --

-- thrusters exploded into life.

They blazed out of Muzazi's back, propelling him and Dragan downwards, towards the skylight. The shot Dragan had been aiming went wild, streaking off into the night sky -- and a moment later the two of them struck the glass, shattering it as they continued their descent.

At first, Dragan thought that Muzazi simply intended to slam him into the ground -- but no, it was worse than that. Now that the skylight was broken… now that he could get a good look… he could see what was directly beneath them. A circular swimming pool.

Water. Coolant!

The two of them splashed down into the pool, steam and water hurled up from the impact.

Atoy Muzazi had more than just coolant in mind with this maneuver.

At the moment of impact, he infused the water around him, white tendrils of Aether spreading out to the entire pool within a few seconds. Hadrien's blue current, on the other hand, only managed to cling weakly to the Cogitant's body, exerting no influence outside. That made sense: Muzazi had been ready for this, while Hadrien had not.

The two of them hit the bottom of the pool, thrusters still pushing them down -- striking with such impact that the floor around Hadrien cracked as Muzazi pressed him down against it. That was simply intended as a restraint, though. He just needed to make sure Hadrien couldn't move.

Everything was ready.

The water around them was Atoy Muzazi's territory. Dragan Hadrien's infusion was being fought against, preventing the use of Gemini World. Now that he'd put the Shooting Star in a situation where he couldn't use his abilities, all that remained…

…was the killing blow.

Muzazi raised up an arm, ignited a steaming underwater Radiant, and brought it down towards Hadrien's face.

Hadrien's eyes widened as he saw the blade slowly come in.

Hadrien's eyes closed as he braced himself for impact.

Hadrien's eyes opened once more…

Gemini Railgun.

…and popped in their sockets, as the twin projectiles manifested within them shot forth.

They'd just been pieces of scrap from one of the cars, but they'd been the smallest shots Dragan had stored up. Anything bigger than that, and Dragan would have killed himself manifesting Railgun within his own flesh. Even this had been a gamble.

The first bolt struck Muzazi in the stomach, the second spike in the arm -- and their combined force was enough to launch him up and out of the pool.

That was too close.

Dragan's blood streamed upwards… and he rose to meet it.

Muzazi roared in pain as he slammed into the wall, impaled by the shoulder against the concrete. He tugged at the metal rod, doing his best to pull it free… but it was in deep, and it was slow work. So, for the moment, he was stuck.

Splash.

Muzazi looked up.

Slowly, Dragan Hadrien floated up out of the pool -- legs dangling, head bowed, like he was a corpse being displayed at the gallows. His head snapped up. His face had now fully returned, covering the skeletal grin he'd previously bared… now, the only injury on that face were his missing eyes.

Even though Hadrien's eyes were gone, his Aether tic was still active -- an unearthly blue light shining from deep within his empty sockets.

Monster.

Muzazi felt a shudder run through his body as an Aether ping swept past. A second later, it happened again, the Aether colliding with his own from the opposite direction. It happened again, and again, and again… this was how Hadrien was seeing, Muzazi realized. He was using a pulsating Aether ping to keep track of his environment, to keep track of his enemy.

“You thought you did something there…” Dragan rasped, his voice gravelly and grave. “...didn't you…?”

Muzazi didn't reply to the ghost floating before him. He was fully focused on the spike in his arm, on pulling it free, on escaping. Even as pain beat its fists against his brain, even as blood oozed from the wound he was opening, he continued to pull.

“It's a joke,” Dragan sneered, toes dragging along the floor as he slowly floated forward. “If you've decided that you're going to do whatever it takes… then you need to live by it…. you need to die by it…”

He raised a skeletal hand, blue Aether dancing between the fingers, pointing it directly at Muzazi.

“The second that arm became a liability,” Dragan snarled. “You should have gotten rid of it! Gemini Railgun!”

The sapphire death erupted from Hadrien's arm, flooding across the room, aimed right for Muzazi's face. His expression twisted in exertion, he roared right back: “Quantum King!”

There was a flash of brilliant white as Quantum King exploded out of Muzazi's body, pushing away the projectiles that had been coming to kill him. Not one of them hit. Not one of them killed.

But… Dragan Hadrien smiled all the same.

Creak.

He had been hoping that their visit to this place would end like this, after all.

Crack.

That was why he'd fired Gemini Railgun at the building.

That was why he'd pinned Atoy Muzazi against the wall.

That was why he'd launched such a telegraphed attack.

Crash.

All for such a moment.

The building shook as it finally reached its limit, chunks of concrete falling from the ceiling into the pool -- and the wall Muzazi was impaled against giving way entirely. Structure gave up the ghost as the floor opened up, hurling Muzazi directly down into the building's bowels. If Dragan Hadrien had been standing, no doubt he would have fallen as well.

But he wasn't standing. He was floating, remaining exactly in place, his lips stretching into a grin.

Because…

…for just an instant…

…Atoy Muzazi had moved away from Dragan Hadrien…

…for a straight line of two meters.

Brilliant blue eyes bubbled back into existence --

-- and victorious lips formed two words.

“Gemini Dominion.”