Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 Annabelle's POV

Okay, wait. What is going on here? I found it hard to believe that a Trickster could fight on even terms with me but here I was, watching myself actually try hard to fight this guy. How long have we been fighting? 6 hours? 7? I soon lost track of time but I kept wondering how a Trickster like him could last this long in a fight. He's got stamina and power, if nothing else. Right when I thought that I could finally stand a chance, he closed his eyes a second time, said something I couldn't make out and then it was like he was a different person entirely. His complexion changed from light tan to pale white, his hair grew out longer and his eyeballs disappeared as his eyes glowed pure green. He laughed, a low, pure sound like a bass guitar. "Come here" he said but I didn't move. "You know, if Eric had said that, you would be here already" he said again to which I asked "so you mean to say that you're not Eric?" "Indeed I am not. Now, come here". I don't remember taking a single step, but all of a sudden, I was right in front of him. He grabbed me by the collar, said "Distance means nothing to me" as he hit me. It was such an unbelievable force, harder than any hit I had ever received before. With a start, I realised that he, rather than his fists, used the entire space around me to hit me. "Are you now seeing the difference between us?" he taunted as I made to get away from his attacks. "You're really dumb" he said as he pulled at what I thought was thin air, but was my hair "didn't I say that distance means nothing to me?" He punched through the air but I felt the upper cut sending me flying. I couldn't but notice the shocked stares on the eyes of the crowd that gathered to watch him get beaten by the strongest at the sight of their strongest Irregular getting beat by the one they thought to be the weakest. "You hurt my little brother. Did you think I'd let you get away with it?" he asked, obviously enjoying my pain. "Little brother?" I asked and he answered "Eric Licht is my twin brother. Originally supposed to be born separately, we fused into one in other to save his life. Since then, I have lived only to protect him. Nobody, not even Eric himself knows about this but I will always look after him. He's the reason I'm alive after all". "So you plan to make me submit on his behalf?" I asked and he replied "Submit? I plan on breaking every single bone in your body before I knock you out". "You can only hope to try" I said as I sprinted to the right, looking for a blind spot in his defense when he created clones, moving at speeds so fast they gave me whiplash. Because I couldn't find the real one, he beat me to such a point I knew I had lost so I gave up but my plea for forfeital fell on deaf ears as he kept pounding at me, determined to break me. I had lost every hope of survival when, out of nowhere, a door opened, a familiar surge of power and a girl stepped out. "Delphine" I called, relieved and she said "I never knew you to fight a battle you were sure to lose". Delphine was an Irregular I met and befriended some some few years back. She had the ability to see one's past and future, hence nothing could be hidden from her. "Against a Trickster?" I asked and she laughed "No. Against a god". I was shocked but Delphine wasn't finished "Moreover, this guy is not just a god-level Irregular, he is two god-level Irregulars fused into one body". As she said that, she turned to Eric and said "Hello there, could you do us both a favor and accept her plea for forfeital?" "And if I don't?" Eric's alter ego asked to which she said "You don't want to fight a person with foresight now, do you?" "You might see the future, but of what use is it if you can't get through?" he said to which she laughed "we'll see about that" as she threw some knives at him (obviously they won't work, but still) as she placed her hands on the ground, chanting "I am the gateway between worlds, Tearing apart as I create, I am the bridge to the future, Connecting spaces, both real and imaginary..... As she chanted, Eric could barely do anything as the knives pierced through him, coming out of his back and dropped to the ground. "You killed him" I exclaimed to which she replied calmly "he can't be killed, at least not this easily but at this rate, I won't be surprised if he actually dies. We have to separate him from his brother, and that as fast as possible" "How do we do that?" I asked and she answered " find the one that handled his delivery. They may have a clue as to how to undo the seal." "How do you know that?" I asked and she answered "I analysed the seal on him when I threw the knives at him. That seal has been on him since he was born. Until then, there's nothing to be done." Meanwhile, Eric was carried into the infirmary and I went to see him. The wounds from the knives were already closing up, thanks to his unreal healing factor. He had already returned to his normal self save for his hair which remained long (guess I have my work cut out for me). Together with Delphine, I went with my friends to see him daily until he regained consciousness.