Viessa tightened her grip on the chains, her knuckles whitening as she swung them down with a ferocity that sent a sharp gust through the air. The chains hissed like angry serpents, each link glinting with malice as they barreled toward Tarot.
But Tarot, ever the wildcard, twirled his staff between his fingers, its speed creating a small, whirling barrier of wind. With a cheeky smirk, he lunged forward into a daring leap, his voice booming with exaggerated bravado.
"Alright, chain lady! Wanna dance? Let's play!"
As the chains descended like a hammer meant to crush him, Tarot crouched low mid-air, twisting his body like a gymnast. His feet skidded along the ground in a slick slide, leaving a streak of displaced dirt behind him. He then pushed off with a spring-like burst, vaulting through the narrow gap between the metallic snakes with inches to spare. The impact of the chains on the ground behind him sent a quake through the battlefield, but Tarot landed cleanly, already moving into another sprint.
"Too slow!" he taunted, his laughter echoing as he dashed toward Viessa, gaining momentum. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled his staff through the air, its trajectory aimed directly at her chest.
Viessa snarled, her sharp eyes following the spinning staff. "Pathetic," she growled, swinging one of her chains to intercept it. The chain's links snapped upward, coiling around the staff mid-flight with a satisfying clang. She gave a triumphant smirk.
But her grin faltered when the staff exploded into a puff of dense, swirling clouds.
"Just kidding!" Tarot's voice rang out, but it came from a completely different direction. The cloud didn't just dissipate—it transformed, forming into another fake Tarot, complete with his signature grin and a comically over-the-top pose. Viessa, momentarily startled, lashed out with her chains, obliterating the cloud figure in one swift motion.
As she turned back toward her surroundings, her sharp instincts picked up something even more unusual. More clouds began forming at various points around her, each puff morphing into yet another Tarot.
"You got this, boss!" one fake Tarot cheered, pointing dramatically.
"Nah, don't listen to him. I got this!" another clone retorted, spinning a ghostly staff.
Viessa's chains snapped outward like vipers, ripping through the first two illusions. They dissipated instantly, but before she could draw her next breath, two more sprang up behind her, both delivering playful kicks to the air.
"Is that all you got?!" she barked, her frustration mounting.
The clones lunged in unison, their movements chaotic and unpredictable. One swung its staff downward, prompting Viessa to block with a chain. Another went low, forcing her to pivot. A third darted in with a flurry of jabs that forced her to retract her chains defensively.
Realizing she was being herded into a corner, Viessa gritted her teeth and unleashed a ferocious counterattack. Her chains spun around her like a hurricane, obliterating every Tarot clone that dared approach her. The cloud illusions burst into harmless vapor, one after another, until the battlefield was clear.
Or so she thought.
"Missed me!"
Viessa whipped her head toward the sound of Tarot's voice, but it was coming from above. The real Tarot descended from the air, staff spinning in his hands as he delivered a gravity-defying flip. With an almost theatrical precision, he drove the tip of his staff down toward her, aiming for the small gap between her chains.
Viessa narrowly blocked with one of her chains, the clash creating a resounding metallic screech. But Tarot wasn't done. The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield, causing clouds to erupt around them once more. As the battlefield filled with misty distractions, Viessa struggled to determine where he'd strike next.
"Surprise!" Tarot's voice echoed again, and she felt a sudden tap on her shoulder. Whipping around, she found yet another clone.
"This one's for real!" it said, pointing behind her.
Before Viessa could react, the actual Tarot dashed in from her blind spot, landing a playful but surprisingly strong bonk on the top of her head with his staff.
Viessa roared, her frustration boiling over. "Enough with the games!"
Tarot jumped back, spinning his staff with a grin. "Games? Oh, no, this isn't a game…" He twirled on one foot and struck a goofy pose, tipping an invisible hat. "This is art!"
The chains lashed forward with deadly precision, their tips gleaming like blades aiming straight for Tarot's chest. But the playful facade that had adorned Tarot moments ago faded, his usual goofy grin replaced by a rare flash of intensity. Stepping back with calculated precision, he reached under his orange jacket, revealing strange, spherical devices.
"Alright, enough clowning around," Tarot muttered, his voice low but laced with a mischievous edge.
In one smooth motion, he hurled the devices toward the ground near Viessa. They hit with soft thuds before detonating into dense, billowing clouds that consumed the battlefield. The sudden fog was thick and suffocating, even thicker than the mist that had haunted the Murky Woods earlier.
Viessa snarled, her glowing yellow eyes darting around, straining to catch a glimpse of her elusive opponent. "You can't hide forever!" she barked, her chains whipping through the fog in wide, reckless arcs.
But Tarot wasn't hiding—he was already on the move. Taking advantage of the limited visibility, he darted around the clouds with breakneck speed, his feet gliding across the dirt like skates. He maneuvered silently, his staff held behind him as if ready to strike.
Suddenly, from the cover of the clouds, his voice rang out. "Hey, Viessa! Heads up!"
Viessa spun toward the sound, but it was already too late. Tarot slid into position directly behind her, his body low to the ground, and with a sharp pivot, swung his staff with all his might. The heavy blow struck her square in the back, the force enough to make her stagger forward, a grunt of pain escaping her lips.
Viessa roared in frustration, recovering quickly and lashing one of her chains blindly behind her, aiming to catch him. But the sharp sound of metal cutting air hit nothing but open space.
"Too slow!" Tarot chirped as he reappeared in front of her, his movements a blur. With a quick hop, he leaped into the air, his body twisting mid-flight. His leg arced around like a whip, slamming into the side of Viessa's face with a devastating roundhouse kick.
The impact sent her stumbling to the side, her glowing eyes momentarily dulling from the shock. But before she could recover, Tarot vanished again, retreating to a safe distance with a casual backflip.
Landing lightly on his feet, Tarot pulled out a peach from seemingly nowhere and took a large, satisfying bite. "Man, that was juicy," he mused, chewing exaggeratedly.
Viessa, now visibly seething, glared through the thinning clouds, her chains rattling ominously around her. Tarot, unfazed, gave her a cheeky wave.
"What's the matter? Can't keep up? Kinda tragic for someone who calls themselves a 'winner.'" He smirked, tossing the peach pit over his shoulder. "But hey, thanks for the warm-up!"
Viessa, her patience eroded by Tarot's antics, clenched her fists as the chains flared and whipped around her in a frenzy. The sheer force of her rage caused nearby rocks to crack and tremble. "Your 'style' of combat is infuriating!" she bellowed, her voice reverberating like a thunderclap.
Tarot, however, was far from intimidated. He lazily tossed his peach up and down in his palm, chewing with an exaggeratedly unimpressed expression. "Simple, predictable, and cranky," he muttered, shaking his head as though profoundly disappointed. "Honestly, you're easier to read than a children's book."
He sighed theatrically, popping one last bite of the peach into his mouth before tucking the remaining pit into his pocket. "Guess it's time to give you the full show."
With a sharp whistle, clouds began to swirl around him, thickening and expanding outward like mist come alive. From the opaque haze, duplicates of Tarot emerged one by one, each carrying the same cheeky grin. Together, they rushed forward, charging Viessa in a chaotic yet synchronized flurry.
"Let's dance!" they shouted in unison, their voices echoing as they sprinted toward her.
Viessa's chains lashed out, slicing through the air like deadly serpents. The first clone vaulted forward, leaping high into the air, only to be struck mid-flight. It burst into a puff of white vapor, harmless but short-lived. Another clone immediately slid beneath the sweeping chain, flipping over a jagged rock and springing off its edge toward Viessa, only to meet the same fate as the first.
The remaining clones didn't falter. One clone ran up a vertical tree trunk, using its height to flip over an incoming strike, while another used the momentum of a chain's swing to grab hold of it, spinning acrobatically before being obliterated in a burst of mist.
Meanwhile, a third dashed between two chains that snapped like scissors, tumbling into a perfect roll and launching forward with renewed speed. Two more clones ricocheted off the sides of boulders, using the rocky terrain to evade her relentless attacks.
Viessa growled in frustration, her glowing eyes darting as she tried to track their erratic movements. "Enough of your tricks!" she roared, slamming all her chains into the ground at once, creating a shockwave that obliterated several more clones in a massive cloudburst.
But amid the chaos, the real Tarot had already slipped into her blind spot. He perched casually atop a jagged rock behind her, spinning his staff lazily in his hand. "You're working way too hard, Viessa," he teased, resting his chin on his hand. "Maybe you should sit down. Take a breather. Or are you afraid I'll juggle my way into your nightmares?"
Her head snapped toward his voice, chains surging in his direction, but by the time they reached him, the figure on the rock had already burst into clouds. From above, the real Tarot dropped down, using the momentum to swing his staff with both hands. The impact cracked against Viessa's shoulder, sending her stumbling forward.
"I'm like a bad joke!" he laughed as he landed lightly on his feet. "You can't get rid of me no matter how hard you try!"
To be continued...