Both Jack and the fallen bird monster were dumbfounded by the sudden approach of darkness.
After all, Jack had just gotten to this world and the bird usually never left the cave and stuck to it when hunting.
Even when it did hunt outside it was always more or less in the same altitude, never going upwards too much due to the fog barrier and never going down too much as even it had no idea for how long the fall went.
Still, despite the sudden change in environment, neither ever stopped fighting.
Jack still felt it was not the right time to actually use his blade's skill, thus he was actually going ham with his bare hands, plucking feathers like one would do to a thanksgiving turkey.
He kicked punched, bit and gored with his one horn and the water still swirling around him, despite it being in a much smaller quantity than before.
The monster repeatedly knocking the human off his back, but failed, as he was just gripping too tightly on the folded chains that connected them both.
At this point they were on the very edge of the dark under sky of the dungeon, the air grew colder and only the wind of their fall was left.
The more they struggled, the more the abyss dragged them down and isolated them from the rest of the world.
Only through the shining golden string could Jack somewhat situate himself.
It was his only hope of survival, so when the bird beat its remaining wing again, this time making them stray from the direction the wire indicated, Jack got desperate.
''I guess only crazy decisions can salvage a crazy and unknown situation.'' He thought as he prepared to do something insane once more.
As to what said plan is, it was simple actually, he felt it was time to finally cut with his blade, but not at the creature, but himself.
''Please work!'' He yelled while jumping off the creature's back again, this time with all his strength and in the direction of the strand of hope.
Subsequently, he did a small cut in his forearm, activating the skill.
''Just don't kill me.''
And it did not, as the skill imbued on the blade was a true-hidden trump card. Gravity reversal.
The chains of fate immediately tensed as one force was pulling it down while the other was pushing it up.
Thus, a weird equilibrium was established.
Both, the only living beings in the soundless void, were moving forward towards the golden line due to the negation of both gravitational forces.
''Como on! Show up! I don't know for how long I'll be able to fly this weird plane, We have to be close to it!''
His arm was almost tearing apart due to the chain's pull, he felt bones break blood spurt and an unimaginable pain.
The fallen bird lord felt the exact same but on it's neck, to the point that it was very close to breaking.
At firs, it had an overwhelming advantage, but the unpredictable actions of its human prey had turned the game around, making it so neither of them were in a good spot.
Therefore, the bird lord had changed something fast and so it tried, by beating its one wing with all its force. This managed to alleviate some of the weight, almost decapitating it.
After that, the monster even tried using its stone breaking beak to tear the chain strapping them both together.
Specially since it went from an advantage to an actual death trap when the human had sliced its left wing.
Simultaneously, as Jack noticed the pull on his arm get looser, the pair of enemies started ascending a bit, now with the golden cord so close the hero could even touch it.
Next, following it with his eyes as far as he could, another small light in the sea of darkness could be seen.
It was still far away, but the string of fate was leading straight to it.
''Almost there!'' He thought, when finally the chain's effect wore off, and it crumbled in iron dust and rust, separating the two fighting forces.
''Oh no! I'll ascend too much now that only the gravitational inversion was in effect.''
Simultaneously, the fallen was having too much trouble just not falling down to the endless nothingness.
Even it had to go beyond its limits to survive this ordeal.
The beast then decided to use all of its now shallow pool of blood to use its own elemental affinity.
There wasn't much of it, due to the connection the beast would have with nature being dangerously strained due to the portal on the cave and its own actions.
Still, it was enough for it to call upon the wind and air around it to make up for the lost limb and ascend back to the prey's still increasing height.
Jack, noticing the creature's approach, readied his blade and had a good hunch somehow.
The moment the creature was just below him, Jack rolled his power again at the same time as the effect of the gravitational inversion ended.
Both accelerated towards each other one last time.
''Let's end this, you ugly fucker!'' Jack bellowed.
In due course, both clashed in the air, sparks flying from the blade and beak, lighting up the surrounding.
Neither him nor the beast were driven by logic or survival any longer, both just wanted to put an end to the other's life.
They fell towards the light and attacked each other with swift but brutal moves. The clinging of their weapons making contact echoing through the vast empty space.
None of them noticed as they were too occupied going at each other's throat, but the thing emitting the light they were following slowly began to unfold as each hit got heavier and heavier.
It was a giant shining three, like if Yggdrasil itself was showing its majestic branches to the two monsters engaging in a senseless bloodbath.
The closer they got, the brighter the light shone as if calling for them, as if telling the other to kill, and claim it for themselves, even to their last drops of blood.
''Alright, you damned three!" He yelled, rolling his last bit's of blood, an ominous aura of unknown and a fog of blood surrounding his entirety.
Without noticing it, Jack had begun to extend his water manipulation even to the coalesced blood of both him and his opponent.
It swirled around his blade, joining the remnants of fog.
At the same time, the fallen bird lord also used its last energies to surround its beak in a mini raging tornado, as the creature too was ready to end this.
Two energies clashed violently while falling like a comet freezing through the skies of the abyss.
One was cold and dry, like glacial winds cutting skin and tearing flesh, and the other was cold and wet, like a frozen ocean of blood.
Then both forces interlocked in another brutal engagement of death and destruction.
Jack felt he was in the sea of blades again, only this time it was in a much smaller level and swirling around the mandible of the fallen.
It, on the other hand, felt the blood around its injuries freeze with every cut of the blade. Its very body felt the chill of death slowly spreading and slowing it down, little by little.
Overturning even the violent sound of metal clanging, both fighters roared incomprehensibly and a battle of will and resistance like any other ensued.
Everything both felt was pain, rage and the struggle for survival.
Furthermore, Jack made out something else, a weird understanding of the creature slowly crept through his mind with every strike. ''Shit... he's just doing it for the same reasons as I...''
Long before the fated clash of the two monsters, it was just a beast like any other, wanting its species to thrive and flourish, instead of being hunted and now, after decades of fighting for the top its kin was mercilessly hunted just like before.
''And now... it wants revenge.''
One fact alone caused one of the monsters to decide fate. A simple fact: Water is essential for all plants and living things to exist. Even a few mythical ones.
The Yggdrasil three was one such existence. Even thought it could nourish and establish life all around it and even create the basis of it all (water), it needed at least a small native source to do so. This native source was the only reason it survived so long in this hell of nothingness and managed to even nurture some life from above.
Jack was the first to notice now that they were a lot closer to crashing on the three's island. Because it was vital to his survival.
The floating island was stealthily throwing water down at the unending darkness below.
They were only a kilometer above ground, that meant, he had only a few seconds to turn this to his advantage.
Therefore, he did something even his instinct would've deemed crazy. He gave up on all his offense and defense, throwing both of his blades down at the water island.
The bird saw a golden opportunity, and yet it hadn't even thought about what the monstrous man was doing, not even seeing fresh water in their oasis.
With no hesitation, it used the enormous opening to try and deliver devastating damage to Jack.
In addition to that, the fallen completely stopped stabilizing his flight and sent all the wind to its beak while spinning without control towards Jack.
''Minimize the damage as much as possible...'' He focused. ''Follow your instincts... avoid vital spots... position yourself...''
The drill like hurricane was only a meter in front of him and his skin already began to bleed again, but with devious calculation and instinct he willed it to from a freezing whirlwind in front of, blocking and redirecting some of the hurricane's destructive power.
Still, the blow catapulted Jack towards the water ground that was only knee-deep and almost knocked him unconscious, the pain around the very center of his abdomen was inconceivable.
Even though the ache in his abdomen was almost causing it to burst, he was able to keep his attention on his strategy.
''Position yourself... and position him! DON'T DIE!''
There was no more energy inside of him, yet he still willed the energy he had thrown away just seconds before, still residing inside the blades and creating two whirwinds of water in the stream comming from all sides of the great three.
Just as both the creature and Jack were about to smash into the ground and spell the end of the long and ardous battle, the foes aligned themselves perfectly with the two swords.
When this happened everything but the stream went silent, untile a chilling and cracking noise could be heard.
Concurrently to that, a loud splash.
Next, Jack felt the cool embrace of water holding his wounds closed and softening his fall by rising up four meters heigh and draining most of the surroundings.
Quite oposite to the fallen bird lord's feeling as an enormous icicle made out of all the remaining water impaled it from chest to back. Killing it on the spot.
The fight was finally over.
With Jack having spent everything he had and then some he immediatly went unconscious, his water controll fading, dispersing his safe cacoon of water and the ice-spike that killed the one-winged monster.
Blood began spreading around the water of Yygdrassil, washing over Jack while he was slowly drawn to his death by soft currents of water and the natural inclination of the small island due to erosion.
Then, right before he would return to his fall, the entire isalnd shook, rumbled and released hundreds of times its previous brilliance, some of it could even be seen by some beasts far above the darkness in the pillars of gray stone.