Handeron found himself in like a headquarters of a high ranking general. It was a room full of bookshelves, with a desk, made out of wood, golden colour, and a map on the wall behind. It was a world map, like the ones that were in his old world. He saw there three big countries, divided like islands, one named Colliteoir, in the top left corner, Daonna, the biggest one, in the middle, and Beithioch, in the down left corner. Besides those two, there were lands located on the both north and south pole, as comparing it to the original world Handeron came from. They were just marked, no names, no rivers shown, no borders of regions and stuff like that. As Handeron was looking at the map without rest, a voice could be heard.
Are you going to stare at that for long?
The voice was heavy, deep, manly, but also, very elderly. Handeron then turned around to see nobody behind, what surprised him. He was looking around, searching for the person speaking.
- Hello? Where am I?
Didn't nobody teach you manners? You greet a person you just met!
- I am sorry. Good morning, sir. Could you please explain, what happened?
We are in my mind construct, but we don't have much time, so I will do the talking, you got that, kid?
- Yes, sir.
Good. I am the Gauntlets of Resilience. I sensed your act of not giving up till the last moment, one that I didn't think I would see in this world again , and it moved me. I will accept you as my host, if only you are interested.
- Um, okay I guess...- I mean...I accept.
Great, first things first, we have to beat up that guy. He will interrupt us, so we need to prepare.
- Prepare what?
You, for this fight.
- Huh?
You need to know about some things, for you to understand how fighting with opponent this strong means.
- He is strong?
He could attack you even without a host. Normally, it takes a huge impact on stamina, so it isn't used, and even if used, you don't pull multiple attacks, just one or two, and he managed to pull of multiple chains... I wouldn't be able to move that much without recovering for at least a hundred years. He is probably going to manifest, too.
- Damn, can't we outlast him?
That's the part I want to tell you, sit and listen carefully.
***
- We are at the bottom, what now? Maybe he is at the entrance or something?
Why didn't you just go to the entrance at the top of the mountain?
- He should have left the mountain, didn't he? It was a few days since my training.
Time is slowed in a mind construct. It was a few minutes at best here...
- Wow, thanks, now I know....
Then, a loud sound could be heard, like a hammer hitting a concrete wall.
- What was that?
It was on the other side... Maybe it was him?
- Yeah, I should check.
As he found himself on the other side, he saw a tunnel, a very thin one at that.
- False alarm, maybe it was a super fast digging racoon?
No, go there.
- Inside?
Yes.
- Why?
Just go.
- How will I even fit?
Try to push the tunnel's wall back with your power.
- Okay, then, here I go...
He flew through the tunnel, still learning how to control his powers. He got hurt here and there, but it was nothing that could be called a wound. Still, he managed to widen the tunnel, and go through it. He then entered the room with a hole on top...
***
As soon as he regained consciusness, he was leaning forwards, and was soon about to meet his head on the floor, but managed to balance himself out.
[Wasn't I in the wall earlier? Did I bounce from it and now I am here? Time was slowed down?]
As he looked around, he saw chains already moving towards him, and other chains in the back making a black figure resembling a person.
Handeron quickly blocked the chains, and as more chains were coming back, he merged the tips of his middle and index finger. He then put the formed oval next to his eye, and while aimimg at the black figure, he said.
- Ionsai!
The area of the fight changed almost instantly. The walls of the room started to disappear and soon, they were nowhere to be seen. As he looked around, he was standing on grey floor made out of stone. This place was a void - empty red skies, nobody in sight. Soon enough, a voice could be heard.
- Kh, I thought I would be first to do that.
It's him again. He was walking, slowly, with a big ball made out of chains next to him.
- You, old geezer, why did you help that kid?
It's not of your concern, brat.
- Hey, I am grateful, seriously. I didn't have any fight where I actually had fun in 5000 years, and this kid was great, so it's nice to see him back in action
He did his best, and didn't give up until the end. I was like that, or, maybe not me but the last host I had.
- Yeah, whatever. I see you teached him stuff, but well, it's not like you have an advantage. So now, I won't be holding back, or at least I will try to bring the most out of me in current state.
He then started attacking with his chains. They were fast, and there were a lot of them. As they were being blocked, they flew right back. Handeron was caught with one of those.
- Gotcha, haha.
A giant chain started emergimg from the ground behind Handeron's opponent. It was fast, and it was approaching him, while other chains attacked him still. Handeron used the one that caught him to pull himself out of the attack range of the bigger chain, but was injured nevertheless.
- What? You done already?
As Handeron was being struck by more and more chains, some trying to tear his limbs out, but it didn't seem like he was losing. Instead, in a matter of a second, he already repeled all of the chains, and was going after his opponent. He looked very intense, his face red and steam coming out of him.
- Ooh, I get it now.
Handeron quickly closed the distance between him and his opponent, but as he was in the clear and could hit him directly, he struck the ball next to him. It was sent flying, its one side completely broken, and there was a glowimg red crystal inside, with something like a black chains around it, not normal chains, but tattoos of some sort.
***
We will be fighting him using a special technique, the Ionsai. It attacks the foundation of the weapon, and the one that uses Ionsai, is being transported to the defensive plain of the opponent.The goal is to destroy the crystal inside, it is the foundation of every weapon. This way, we will take down his stamina to nearly zero, because he doesn't have a host, so it will be more effective than normally.
- So I will be fighting him in his grounds?
Yes, but we don't have other choice. If he were to attack us first, we would lose, because you didn't have a chance to make proper defences in our defensive plain. You don't have any capabilities to defend your crystal, and it will just appear next to you if he does this, just like him, so it is an instant loss.
- Doesn't he have an advantage there?
He does. All he has to do, is to protect the crystal, until time runs out. Ionsai's duration is 3 minutes, so we've got to hurry, otherwise he will absolutely destroy us in the real world.
- Why can't we fight him outside?
You just only equipped me, and I can't do miracles without proper training. Besides, we don't have time for me to say this stuff to you. What matters now is how my powers work.
- Okay.
I am capable of enhancing your bodies abilities. I enhance the regeneration and increase stamina, you also get it back faster. A small window of rest can make you feel stronger already, if you lost a lot of it. I can also make you stronger, but that is only when you take damage. The healing drains stamina, a little but still. You got that?
- And why wouldn't that help me in the real world?
The strength of the abilities is greater when you use Ionsai. The only thing I am scared of is his Seans, but we will have to improvise with this one.
- Um, okay, I guess...
***
- So you are stronger the more hits you take? Hahah, that is great, I want to see it all, the power, the potential, show it to me!
He quickly remade the ball of chains and not soon later, Handeron was sent flying through his punch.
- Now this is getting fun!
He was so fast that he grabbed Handeron mid-flight, and thrown him onto the ground. He started puking blood, but it Handeron felt better in a matter of a second. The regeneration really did wonders.
- Well, now that you are still and listening, I've got to admit, all of this wasn't really my all.
He started to walk around, with Handeron chained to the floor.
- You see, when you are on offence, you get higher stats, and your abilities are stronger, when on defence you have advantage that you can play on time, creating defences, I never was really into that thus - the ball, but there is only thing, that can affect both attack and defence at the same time... the Seans....
***
If this thing is a counter, you are dead.
- What even is this?
It is like a change in the environment. It is omnipresent, so you can't dodge it, but it affects both sides. If it creates, for example, a field of trees that attack people that are near, you both will be attacked, or if it is a lake that heals wounds when you dive into it, you both can get healed, but it can be something totally unpredictable, so thanks to it he might as well kill us instantly.
***
- Did that old guy tell you anything about it?It seems like he doesn't have one, poor guy...
Shut up, you...
- Anyways, this is what I truly am capable of!
The chains threw Handeron away. As he stood up, he saw his opponent standing with his hands in the air, and his head looking up.
- Seans!
Some chains started flying through the air, from all the directions. They were colliding at one point, faster and faster, and not soon later:
'The red sun rose'.
^^^