*been a while since I wrote a chapter as big as this one, at least that's how I feel. Let me know what you think, since I do need feedback on my battle scenes, since I feel I'm lacking more here. All feedback is appreciated. So, for now, enjoy, and let me know what you think. Peace out and Deus vult*
Crisp were the sounds that filled the place, roaring on and on as the flames kept burning, scorching her flesh in their path. Mark's breath seemed to never run out as the flames kept gushing out endlessly. Phantylia couldn't even scream in that state since the air burned before she could try to use it.
With what strength could be mustered, she threw Mark away, the flames glued to his body along the ice, both of them unaffected by the other. Ice grew from the ground, forming a path that caught him, reversing his trajectory by using the energy from her own throw. Curving nicely, he got back on his feet, flying her way with pillars of fire burning at his feet, propelling him forward. His right arm, covered in ice, only increased in size as more and more of it kept clustering, growing heavier and heavier.
Phantylia's flesh regenerated, only for her to witness as a boulder of ice crashed against her face, shattering only to grow more and more, the bits sinking in her skin, freezing her being all over.
"Suffer!" screeched out Mark, his voice a mix of thousands upon thousands of voices, just like the Stellaron sounded. The ice held him glued to her, growing along in spikes that erupted from her skin, relentless in their purge.
The other's watched Mark with wide eyes, worried, unsure of what was even going on.
"I've never seen such a thing before... what is he?" asked the General, his usually composed gaze losing just a drop of its intensity.
"I don't know, but the last time he did something like this, he was asleep for two days," replied March, trying to pry her eyes away from the sight. It was gruesome, to say the least, and she wasn't fully capable of watching a friend act like a total monster.
"I'm afraid this time it might be more than just two days," replied Stelle, trying to find a way to stop him. Approaching him, however, seemed impossible. His body was both ablaze and frozen, a mixture that should not exist.
"Should we intervene?" asked Dan Heng, ready to try and put out his flames.
Welt shook his head, simply watching the battle unfold.
"I believe it would be better to wait it out. There's no clear way to help him at the moment, and trying to intervene might put us in harm's way. The best choice right now is to wait it out and stay at a safe distance."
His eyes followed Mark's movements as Phantylia tried to switch to the offensive. The giant flowers that she made flew at Mark, only to get torn to shreds by ice chunks or burnt to ash.
"You bastard! What are you, you monster?!"
Her screams were audible as the frozen bits of her body only kept cooling more and more. Her body kept on regenerating, but she had limits. Without hesitation, she tore the bits of ice away, punching Mark in the side. The ice was quick to latch on her hand and catch him in the air, countless ice branches forming to hold him steady.
With a ferocious roar, hundreds of voices screaming in unison, he took to her again, using both sides of his body to the fullest. Fire spread out like the gates of hell had opened, burning her skin and eyes, rendering her sight useless. Crackles kept echoing as Mark tried to keep the flame just enough for her pain receptors to still be there—if she had any.
"Burn away, now freeze to death."
Switching powers, he froze her burnt body up instantly, as if stealing all the heat away. The cycle repeated, her flesh burning with a loud fizzle, until it was turned colder than ice, the torment continuing relentlessly. Mark's grin lacked any emotion, a mere barbaric act of sick pleasure found in decimating one's foe. Repeated on and on, like a broken record, going again and again, time after time, giving her no window to act despite how tired his body was becoming.
Phantylia found a window in which she infused more power into her transformation, adding the power of Destruction as well, which gave her the final form used in the actual battle Mark recalled. From above, tens of meteor-like chunks of magma formed, akin to her attack in the game, simply multiplied by a lot.
"Die, insolent vermin!"
Mark looked up, unwavering. The ice grew thicker on his body, while the fire increased in height and brightness. Inside of him, the Stellarons were slowly reaching the same frequency in their energy output, resonating. The result: his energy output far exceeded what he could do. Consequences: his muscles were slowly being torn apart, the strain too much on his entire being.
"You're yet to pay for your sins, Phantylia," he muttered, unbothered if she heard or not.
His hand instinctively reached out to the side, his body running on pure insanity and the urge to destroy her for causing his mind to crack. Lacking a vessel, the Sword of Will tried to manifest out of pure energy, but it was too sporadic, the image shaking and breaking, reforming and molding itself on and on. He didn't care. It grew in size, the mess of energy scattered around as the meteoric rain was about to happen.
Fire scorched the ground as he took to the skies again, his sword ready in his left hand. With a few movements, it grew in size once more, cutting through them effortlessly as more and more energy burned up inside of him. The rocks were cut to bits and pieces, left to fall as Mark twirled in the air, looking below at her, the sword twice her size.
"Fall..." he whispered, no humanity in his gaze. Tormented as his mind was, he clung to what bits of sanity remained.
One last push. The power within him synced, bursting out beneath the soles of his feet, sending him down like a falling star. Sword prepared, he swung, cleaving Phantylia in half from the head to the bottom. As he touched the ground, his legs took the blunt, the bones inside cracking. Still, the ice held him up well enough. Slashes flew as he kept cleaving her into tinier bits, cutting over and over, moving faster than the regeneration could keep up. Abundance or not, it all held a limit.
"Perish!"
He cut more and more, the disfigured version of the Sword of Will moving relentlessly in its assault, seeking nothing but her flesh. There was nothing she could do against him, despite having an undying body. Death was the only way to stop the onslaught. By her own will, she cut her ties to the Arbor and, thus, to the Stellaron. Mark's body did the rest on its own. Within him, the mysterious Stellaron, the artificial creation, sought and formed a quick bond to the source of her power, the very cancer of the planet that lurked there with traces of the Abundance.
Inside his mind, he could see it—the same snowy plain where he'd first found his will. It was there, floating, grass springing above as it whispered to him, promising eternal life. Mark's mental image, covered in just fire, grabbed it and threw it at the Light, which floated above like the sun. Down came just the power source, lacking any of the impure abilities.
"You're undeserving of those powers," he said, slowly returning back to his vision of reality. His body was spent, way past the point where he could handle it all. Still, the crisis was over. Phantylia's flame floated about, looking at him despite lacking eyes.
"You're a monster... One day you'll fall like the beast that you are."
He scoffed, showing her the middle finger—no more fire or ice to hold him.
"Fuck off, bitch."
He fell down on the ground, succumbing to the wounds and strain.
.................................................................
His eyes opened, and with them came the feeling of pain all in his body. It was bad—bad enough that he couldn't move. Still, feeling his limbs meant that he could move.
"What the hell?"
His mind was better, and within him, a new source of power could be felt, lingering there with the rest. He was lying on a bed in a place he couldn't recognize. His eyes moved around, and, seeing as no one was there, he chose to shout a little.
"Anybody here?"
Brief was the moment of silence that followed until a tiny voice could be heard trying to stop what sounded like a large group of people.
"You can't just barge in like that on a patient while he's still healing!"
No one cared. The doors swung open, and the group that walked in was more than he expected. With a smile on his face, laughing along, he watched how literally everyone walked in. From the members of the Express Crew, with even Himeko being there for some reason, to the General, Fu Xuan, and two faces Mark didn't expect to see even more than Himeko's. It was Yukong, with none other than a frail-looking Tingyun behind, her usual happy expression on.
His eyes fell on them all, simply staring, feeling as a tear rolled down his face.
"Heh, no need to get emotional now," chuckled Tingyun, stepping closer.
"I guess we won, right?"
Everyone nodded, but the memories of the battle were still carved within him. His body slowly lost control, the darkest pits of his mind taking form, coming after him again. The Stellarons were slowly trying to corrode his mind, chipping away at it bit by bit. He clutched his head, feeling the emotions linger, but Himeko's gentle touch calmed him. She stood by his side, just like everyone else, the group surrounding the bed.
Her touch was warm on his skin, her palms gentle, a stark contrast to his calloused, uncared for palms.
"You did well, Mark. What happened there doesn't matter. You did well."
He nodded, smiling a little as a soft tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. The pain was numbed in an instant, which Mark thought was the power of his feelings, but it was just Bailu who had applied some medicine to him in his sleep.
"Oh my, is someone blushing?" teased Tingyun, keeping a close watch on him. Mark turned to look at her, a bit annoyed, but knowing it was the real deal kept him grounded. Annoyance turned to joy in an instant.
"So, what did I miss while passed out? Hopefully nothing too interesting."
Stelle gave him a quick rundown of what had happened. Apparently, he missed a few of the extra events, which were mainly character quests. Dan Heng had met with Bailu, Stelle had helped Kafka, and March tried to see her past using the Matrix of Prescience. Something was missing, and Mark remembered.
"Jingliu..."
He ended up saying the name out loud, and both Dan Heng and Jing Yuan looked at him with a bit of a surprised expression.
"Where did you hear that name?" asked Dan Heng, but Mark shook his head.
"Ahem, moving on from that... not like I've spent a ton of time reading information on a lot of things. I know a few names and all, nothing more."
He waved a dismissive hand. The General sighed, looking at him.
"She's here. She chose to give herself up for imprisonment."
Mark nodded, thankful for the information.
"I see how it is. Makes sense. Well, can I stand or something?"
He tried to move, but it all felt sluggish. Bailu looked at him with annoyance written loudly on her face.
"If you pull a stupid trick like before, it won't last. I used a lot of medicine to try and treat you. Your body was in shambles. It's a miracle that the amount of medicine I used on you even managed to patch you up so much in a week."
His eyes widened.
"I was out cold for a week!?"
He sat on the bed, finally aware of the toll his powers had put on him.
"Yes, a week. You sure slept like a log."
Stelle's comment stuck true. Mark did sleep like a log when tired. It was no wonder that he blacked out for such a long time.
"Well, it's all fine now. The situation ended well, at least for now. So, time to just kick back for a bit... at least I'd love to say that. I'm sure you all have your hands full here on the Luofu, right?"
They all nodded, except for Tingyun, who wasn't in a position of power like the others. Mark's gaze met that of Yukong, who lingered close. At first, she did happen to hate his guts, but now she regarded him with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Mark. I know we were off to a rough start, but you saved Tingyun here. Thank you for your efforts."
He chuckled and, taking advantage of the situation, chose to ask for something.
"Well, please come closer, both of you."
The others were watching intently, trying to figure out what he was about to do, while he knew for sure that, even if he'd end up with a beating, he had to go for it. As the two got within reach, he moved his hands to their heads, gently caressing their ears.
"I've been wondering if this is the same as it is for normal cats, or it differs."
To his surprise, they both purred softly, despite their faces being flushed. Yukong pulled away, saying nothing more, while Tingyun didn't seem to mind too much.
"Benefactor, this is a bit... unexpected."
He nodded and let go, nodding. The others chuckled a bit at his curiosity.
"Welp, I can die happily now. I know what the big cat ears feel like."
He took a deep breath, his gaze turning a bit more contemplative.
"Everyone... it's good that it's finished like this. Countless losses for the Luofu, sure, but at the very least, the threat was subdued for now."
Fu Xuan looked at him, studying him intently. Welt was on the same page as her, with Himeko joining the fray.
"Mark... we do have a little question," said Himeko, looking him over with the type of half-lidded gaze that could send him into a frenzy.
"Question... I don't like the sound of that, but sure."
Fu Xuan looked at the General, who gave a light nod, his arms crossed.
"Where is the Stellaron? When we were about to seal it, we found no traces of it in the Ambrosial Arbor, with most of the roots dried out, as if all the traces of Abundance had been wiped clean. Do you have any idea about that?"
He looked at everyone, trying to find an order to his words. Sweat rolled down his back as the implications of it all dawned upon him.
"It's the same as back on Jarilo-VI. I... absorbed the Stellaron."
The reactions they had were fairly unbothered, even for those who hadn't seen his previous exploits.
"I considered this possibility, but I wanted to hear it from you. We just wanted to make sure that it's in your possession, nothing more."
He gave a light nod to Fu Xuan, glad that they didn't question his weird display of power back during the fight.
"Well, if I seem to be able to fight, I'd like to head to the Express with the others."
Bailu seemed a bit reluctant to let him go, but she sighed and simply offered him a tiny box.
"Make sure to take one every day until you run out. They should strengthen your body a bit and make sure you heal faster. Remember: no using your powers."
He bowed his head slightly as he took it, slowly standing up. This time, he just grabbed his clothes from the chair, unbothered to ask about who changed them while he was out. It was becoming a bit of a common occurrence.
"Well, off we go. I think we'll hang around for a while before leaving, right?"
Himeko nodded, smiling softly his way. That was all it took to make him feel better.
"Yes, we'll stay here for a while before heading out."
It was perfect. He'd wait for Dan Heng and Jing Yuan to reunite with Jingliu and Blade, then he'd simply join the fray and figure out a few things. He simply wished to talk with the icy swords master, to try and ask a few things.
They all offered their thanks to him once more, which he took as respectfully as he could. He had gotten more thanks than needed by seeing Tingyun alive, with Yukong not having to suffer thanks to her death.
"Ok, everyone, to the Express we go. I guess you might want to ask me a few things, right?"
March was about to speak up, but he quickly shushed her.
"Nuh, not until we're on the Express. We'll discuss then."
He walked with them in line, clutching his sword as it rested in its scabbard, carried in his hand along the metal pipe that saved him time and time again.