Exhale...
After 15 minutes of steady focus, Klein managed to recover his mana.
He observed his body's condition, and after finding no overt problems, he stood.
Step. Step.
He walked slowly, small stones and pieces of dirt being ground by his steps.
Swoosh.
The sounds of the barest movement of the water reached Klein's ears, also bringing with it the faint smell of iron.
Step.
The crimson sea greeted him. It was endless, and Klein wondered if it would still be there in daylight or if it would simply vanish at sunrise.
'Scary...' He thought with a grin. He imagined a harmless stroll through the countryside at dusk, and at sunset, finding himself drowning in the middle of an endless red sea.
He looked forward.
Everything felt much larger now that it was immediately in front of him. The sea roiled calmly, splashing red droplets by his feet.
Pieces of wreckage floated by. They seemed to be the remnants of a fleet comprised of colossal ships.
And somewhere in the middle of the vast expanse, that large stone monument was tilted, most of its form lost beneath the waves.
The outstretched palm appeared like a pillar reaching for the skies.
And the armor atop it abruptly stood, two orbs of red flashing behind its visor.
It seemed old, any symbols etched into the steel having long been faded away. Patches of rust marred the otherwise exquisite craftsmanship.
The sword too, showed signs of decay. Its edges were worn and irregularly serrated, dark ferrous crumbs running down its length.
Screech.
The armor pulled the sword from the stone of the statue's palm, carrying its heft with a single arm.
Then...
The armor and its sword vanished in a black smoke, disappearing in the dark.
Klein's eyes widened, and before he could visually process the events, 'blink' was cast from muscle memory.
Not a moment too soon, as the black smoke gathered swiftly in front of him, forming the armor again.
Slash!
The rusted sword approached Klein's neck with incredible speed, and when it was a mere millimeter away from slicing his head off, he blinked away.
'Huff, huff... crazy' Klein's eyes lit up in the darkness, the prospect of almost having lost his life lingering in his heartbeat.
He found himself on a floating mast on the crimson sea. Its girth was wide enough to walk on comfortably.
Clank.
The sound of metal grating against each other rang as the armor shifted. It turned back to face him, its red lights flashing.
"Phew, quite the greeting you have there, eh?" Klein said, preparing three more casts.
The armor, unamused, dissipated once more in the smoke, instantly appearing in front of him again, and the sword arrived once more with a piercing wind.
'Blink', thankfully, Klein was prepared this time and designated his reappearance behind the armor.
He disappeared and slashed his knife, enforced with light and mana, behind him.
Swish.
The knife found nothing but a dissipating smoke, which flew and returned to the other end of the broken mast.
The armor stood there, holding its sword downward - its tip gliding on the surface of the sea.
Exhale...
Klein observed it closely, the swiftness and speed of the armor was impressive. He surmised that its abilities were comparable to a refined or void-level swordmaster.
He grabbed the knife in a reverse grip, ready to activate 'blink' once again.
The knight paused before holding its decaying sword in a two-handed grip, and raising it overhead.
'What...'
Before Klein could think, faster than he could see, the sword was brought down. And from a distance of ten meters between them, it reached him.
The downward slash had evenly split the mast across its length, and when the force of the wind approached Klein, he blinked away onto another piece of floating oak.
Strands of hair floated at the spot he disappeared from.
'Phew... Okay, probably a void-level' Klein barely had the time to think before black smoke appeared in front of his face, forming the tip of the decaying sword between his eyes.
His knife arm barely managed to move upwards to deflect the blow and the incoming sword was redirected, having missed his head by a hair.
He jumped backward, earning a brief second to prepare 'blink' once again.
The armor relentlessly pursued him, swiping its blade horizontally at Klein's waist.
Klein blinked half a meter to his right at just the right moment, giving the illusion of the sword having passed right through him.
Without wasting a breath, he threw his knife arm forward, accurately stabbing through a slit of the armor's visor.
Feeling no resistance, he blinked away once more before that swift sword could catch him, not having time to process the oddity.
'Huff.. Enough for maybe two more blinks?' Klein assessed his current state.
Thump.
The armor's head fell and it rolled slowly on the oak.
It was empty.
Klein looked up again to face the opponent, only to let out a gasp and a wry smile.
Where its head was supposed to be, only a black smoke emerged. Two red lights still flashed through that dense dark mist.
Clank.
The metal shifted and the sound of metallic joints grinding against each other rang once more amidst the calm red sea.
Klein maintained his balance on the swaying wooden platform, focusing all his senses on the ghostly armor.
Swish.
As he expected, it vanished again, and Klein's ears picked up a whistling wind by his ear.
He ducked and stabbed backward with his knife, meeting nothing but mist.
The wind howled once again above him, and he made to jump backward upon registering the change with his senses.
However, it was a little too late, as the rusted sword's speed and swiftness managed to draw blood from Klein's chest.
He stumbled away, placing his hand on his chest, feeling a wetness, grimacing slightly from the pain.
The sword was not only decaying but also its edge was serrated. The cut certainly wasn't a clean one.
He had no time to worry about that, however, as another piercing whistle approached him.
'By the circles...'
He blinked away again, and when he reappeared, he was standing upon the outstretched stone palm that the knight-armor had come from.
He looked down at his adversary, a grin slowly making its way onto his face once again.
'Come'.