User blog:DaWalkinWaffle/King of Steel: Part XXXIX

I usually make these when I'm procrastinating but I've been procrastinating on making the parts...

Winter's analytical mind was already attempting to process what was going on. Over the course of...he wasn't certain how long they had been there, he had seen both Sefia and Kikuri use two different powerful moves. He had read up on skills. But this third skill Sefia was using... Claiomh Solais is what she said. From what he could gather it meant... light sword? Whatever it was it was powerful. Cardes seemed unable to attack Sefia or Kikuri.

"What in the world?" Winter muttered. He blinked and looked at them again. Every move that the two warrior maidens made was followed by some sort of afterimage that mimicked their every move and seemed to actually damage Cardes. Winter waved his hand in front of his face. Two afterimages followed. Clearly Cardes was just as confused as he was.

"WHAT IS THIS?" he bellowed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT DEAD?"

"We all have our secrets." Sefia said with a smile. Cardes blasted them with dark magic but Kikuri just deflected it.

"RAAAAAAAARGH! DIE!" Winter watched, amazed. Few warriors could withstand the fury of a god but Kikuri and Sefia did it gracefully. They never were in the same place for more than a few seconds and they were constantly attacking Cardes. All the while keeping up with their usual banter.

"Would be a shame if you were killed and it wasn't by my hand." Kikuri remarked.

"In your dreams." Sefia scoffed.

"Some would say," Kikuri said, "that this is a dream."

"Then they are fools. Winter is as real as you and I."

"AND I AM MORE POWERFUL THEN YOU WILL EVER BE!" Cardes bellowed. Clearly whatever effects Sefia's special move caused had worn off. He blasted them into a pillar which collapsed on Kikuri.

"No!" Sefia cried. Cardes was clearly worn out, but not down.

"You mortals...have done enough! I will end you and take the boy as a prisoner." Cardes rumbled.

"Enough is never enough." Kikuri gasped. Cardes snarled and began to gather his magic. Time seemed to slow down. Winter analyzed the situation. He was weakened, with little steel energy and Revan nowhere near him. Kikuri was down and Sefia seemed determined not to leave her friend. He recalled a conversation he had with Sefia as they had travelled: ''"What was it like to be a hero?" Winter asked. "Let me put it this way. Nothing deserves to die, but not everything deserves to live. The hard part of being a hero is making those choices." Sefia had replied. "That's the part they never prepare you for." "Yes."'' He recalled all this in the time of less than a second and came to a split-second decision.

It was time to be a hero.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"We are here." Will said, pointing to an area on their map. Eze looked over Will's shoulder.

"Lomass Forest, Cordelica. Cordelica? Where's that?" Eze asked.

"I believe it's a possible path to Palymna from Mistral." Hadaron said.

"And Palymna is where we need to go." Rowgen said.

"It won't be easy." Lario said. "All forests are the same, there's always something bigger out there."

"And fortresses are meant to withstand attack." Hadaron remarked.

"Good thing we're not attacking and only passing through then." Zelha said.

"Still have to get past it." Rowgen said.

"Better than going through. Now, if we take this route, we can bypass the Tower of Light and the Cordelica Mines." Will said.

"Let's do it." Darvanshel said.

"Are we agreed?" Hadaron asked. The units nodded and grunted assent.

"Alright. Let's go." Will said.

-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

"ENDLESS!" Cardes roared.

"No!" Winter yelled as he tackled Cardes head-on. Cardes snarled at him. The dark energy that had begun to form solidified and hit Winter, sending him flying. Desperately, he formed a shield against the endless barrage of dark energy. He shouted as he delved deep into his energy reserves to stay alive. He roared as he expelled the last of his energy in a massive explosion before he fell to the floor.

"Fool." Cardes rasped as he looked down at him. The last thing Winter saw was Sefia's concerned face as she rushed towards him.

He welcomed the incoming dreams.