“I assume the event that pushed you to that point has something to do with Vii and Sie?” Staring emotionlessly at his Mirror Image, Cynrik stepped into his blades and shoulder rammed them upward, breaking M-Cyn’s stance before spinning and side kicking him in the left side of his body.
The attack forced M-Cyn back while causing him to wince sharply.
“You can say that, but it was much worse than you can imagine. Unfortunately, due to specific rules and restraints on me, I can’t tell you anything about it, not that it would matter.” M-Cyn stated with a frown as he shook out his left arm.
This little chunk of information caused Cynrik to furrow his brow, forming a deep crease on his forehead. What M-Cyn was saying didn’t make sense. Sure, if something happened to Vii and Sie, he would lose his shit, no doubt, but to be classified as something much worse…
Before he could finish that train of thought, M-Cyn rushed forward, propelling himself with a burst of BlackFire from his feet, and was instantly centimeters away from Cynrik’s Face.
“Getting lost in thought during a fight, are you sure you are me?” M-Cyn mocked as he headbutted Cynrik and followed up with a knee to his stomach. Twisting his upper body to utilize the force of his previous attack, M-Cyn spun and heel-kicked Cynrik in the head, flinging him like a ragdoll throughout the expansive world of black and white in an uncontrolled spin.
However, the force applied to the attacks was lackluster in Cynrik’s eyes as he squinted while flipping through the void.
‘He is supposed to be Mid-Tier-3, yet his attacks seem weak. Is this another part of the backlash received from whatever he did? This makes no sense; I am supposed to be taking a challenge on Grandmaster Mode; why does it seem like this version of me is below Tier-3?’ Reaching out with his right arm, Cynrik made the proper articulation to fire off the grapple, which dug into one of the inky black trees he was passing by.
Letting the cable run to its full length, Cynrik caught himself and spun around the tree, subsequently launching himself back into combat.
As he did so, Cynrik’s eyes flicked to his HUD and the damage notifications he received with each hit. Soon his suspicions were confirmed. So far, none of the attacks he had sustained did more than 1k damage to his HP.
Sure, his defense was relatively high, thanks to the equipment on his body, but this was nowhere near enough to mitigate the potential damage he should have sustained.
Correcting his course throughout his flight with small bursts of Fire, Cynrik easily navigated the Shadow Realm and re-engaged in combat with M-Cyn, falling back into the repetitive pattern of trading blows.
Unlike the fights he would usually partake in, Cynrik knew there was no point in taunting his opponent, mainly because taunts wouldn’t work against him.
Instead, Cynrik opted for pressing for information.
“What could have possibly led us to damage ourselves to such an extent? I don’t even have to try to defeat you as you are now. Your stats have somehow fallen below my current ones, not to mention that the left side of your body won’t listen to anything you try forcing it to do.”
CLING, CLANG, SWOOSH.
Leaning back till his head nearly touched his ankles, M-Cyn narrowly avoided a double-bladed horizontal slash meant to target an opponent’s head and abdomen.
“I already told you, dipshit; there is no point in asking. HUPP!” Kicking out with his right leg, M-Cyn propelled himself away from another combination of strikes before rapidly firing off several BlueFire balls, which were batted away by Cynrik after he coated both Kodachi with quad-Affinity Mana.
“Nah, we both know there is a way or two to skirt rules and regulations. Although I have no clue what the CSH is up to by pitting us against each other, you clearly come from a different timeline than me, and even if this is a virtual realm, that doesn’t mean they can control your every thought, move, or word.” Spinning like a top, Cynrik unleased several BlackFire Cyclones at M-Cyn, who responded similarly, canceling the attacks.
“Confident, Cocky, intelligent, and arrogant, these are the four things my Tribulation Quest made a point to detail in its description. And we both know just how accurate those descriptions fit us.” Tossing his left Kodachi into the air, Cynrik swapped to a reverse grip and began rapidly firing multiple Mana Construct arcs at M-Cyn.
In response to the attack, M-Cyn countered them with Bluefire and Lightning arcs creating a massive explosion that sent the two back over a dozen meters.
“Wait, did you just say I am your Tribulation Quest?” Swiping at the air to clear the cloud of petrified Mana particles, M-Cyn narrowed his eyes at Cynrik.
“I mean, why else would I, a Peak Tier-2, be facing you who was supposed to be Mid-Tier-3?” Tilting his head to the side as he flourished both Kodachi, Cynrik floated to the nearest shadow tree and landed.
“This makes zero sense. My Tribulation quest involved me, Sie, and Vii having to cross a ten thousand-mile plane in a short timeframe. Why is yours so different?
“Tsk, fucking CSH, they aren’t any better than those bastard Deities.” Clicking his tongue and kicking off the place he landed, Cynrik swore as he darted toward M-Cyn.
“You need to stop doing that, cursing the Gods.” M-Cyn used a mysterious tone as his face fell into one close to despair.
Upon seeing this, Cynrik scrunched up his face before kicking out with both legs, blasting a burst of Fire from his feet and stopping mid-air so he could float in place while examining M-Cyn.
“It was them? One of the Deities who killed our kids?” Cynrik questioned but only received silence in reply.
Instead of answering, M-Cyn sighed loudly before clutching his Kodachi’s hilt and staring meaningfully at Cynrik.
“Not exactly, but every time I have done it in the past few years, something always seems to go wrong; think of it as a triggerable murphy’s law. *Anything that can go wrong Will go wrong.*
“As for your quest description, the choices I have made in the last three years fit those words, but not in the way you may think. Confident, Cocky, intelligent, and arrogant are all the ways others have viewed me; however, two of those adjectives, Cocky and Arrogant, are why I am in the position I am now. If I had just….” M-Cyn’s words trailed off as his body moved into motion and restarted the fight.
While Cynrik was still relatively fresh, M-Cyn continued to take damage; during one particular combination, Cynrik was able to slice through M-Cyn’s torso armor and bite into flesh, spraying blood everywhere.
Dashing out of the pocket with a burst of Fire, M-Cyn went on the defensive and found himself barely able to keep up with the onslaught of attacks and the rapid output Cynrik was using to control the fight.
Still, no matter how much pressure he applied to M-Cyn, or how much damage he dealt, the Mirror Image of himself was able to leap right back into the fight and continue, as if he had thrown caution to the wayside and was on a suicide mission to get himself killed.
Cynrik even noticed several moments during the fight where M-Cyn had purposely put himself in the line of Fire by revealing a perfect opening that could have presented a fatal attack. Yet Cynrik refused to capitalize and end the fight so quickly. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to know the events that led to this fateful battle.
Realizing that his current method was going nowhere except for a prolonged and tedious fight, Cynrik clicked his tongue before leaping back into the arena and out of the Shadow Realm.
Upon breaking the barrier between realms, Cynrik flipped several times and landed on one knee, only to be greeted by the excited chirps of Sie and Vii.
“Stay in the air, and don’t attack; the opponent won’t go after you two, so stay safe up there.” Raising his head and glancing at his two beloved Ravens, Cynrik ordered them to stay where they were.
And although confused by his order, neither Sie nor Vii argued and continued circling the Colosseum while keeping a close eye on their Papa.
It took a solid minute for M-Cyn to reappear in the arena, and when he did, he cut a sorry figure. Disheveled armor, covered in blood, hair loose and hanging around his shoulders, not to mention panting heavily.
M-Cyn showed off the image of a young man beaten and broken, and seeing this, Vii and Sie felt pride welling up in their hearts. Their Papa was strong, and thus why wouldn’t they be happy?
“Huff, why…why won’t you end my misery? You huff, you know damn well I threw this fight long ago, yet you are hell-bent on making me suffer.” Grounded on one knee and gasping for air, M-Cyn flipped his sweat-slick hair back and glared at Cynrik, who had gotten back to his feet and entered his fighting stance.
“Your existence serves a greater purpose. Instead of thinking about the insignificant details, think about the WHY and WHAT. Why are you here? What purpose do you serve? What are we supposed to learn by facing each other?” Cynrik stated as his eyes never left M-Cyn.
“There must be a reason, there ALWAYS is a reason, and I have to find it out. You being here as a Tribulation for me to face has meaning to it. Am I learning from your shortcomings to become a better version of myself?” Finishing that statement, Cynrik snorted before raising his voice.
“HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF CYNRIK JETLENSR IF YOU DON’T FOLLOW OUR BASIC PROTOCOL? FIGURE OUT EVERYTHING, THERE IS AN ANSWER NO MATTER WHAT, AND MOST OF ALL, FIGHT UNTIL YOU DROP!” Cynrik was practically screaming at the top of his lungs by the time he finished.
“There is no point….” Several minutes of silence later, M-Cyn looked up at Cynrik.
“No point? What the fuck do you mean no point? THERE IS ALWAYS A POINT TO BE MADE!” Cynrik’s Mana flared around his body in a short burst kicking up a gust of wind.
“No…there isn’t; nothing I could tell you changes anything for me. After reading that damned book Brancie got from Yennifer, you already know about timelines, and our theory about it being DBZ rules is correct. Even if I was to divulge everything to you right now, the best possible outcome is that you don’t end up turning into me. It has no bearing at all on my development.” Chuckling in a self-deprecating manner, M-Cyn returned to his feet and rushed at Cynrik to make his last stand.
Click click SHULK
And Cynrik obliged; in one move, he sheathed both Kodachi and caught M-Cyn before plunging both hidden blades into his Mirror Image’s torso, right in the wound he had previously opened up in the shadow realm, delivering a killing blow.
All the energy seemed to leave M-Cyn’s body as Cynrik guided him to the ground, resting him against his body after retracting the two hidden blades.
“Cough,” M-Cyn smiled weekly with blood spilling from his lips. His HP was already down to 3k and dropping rapidly by the second.
“Thanks, asshole, it took you long enough…I guess you figured out I am the real me; this isn’t virtual for me, so when I die here, that’s it. I guess that’s fine; everyone is already gone; it was just me remaining.” M-Cyn coughed out some more blood but was too weak to bother with it as his eyes locked onto Cynrik’s.
There was so much he wanted to say to his younger self, like how every life-changing decision he made needed to be heavily considered instead of acting on impulse. Instead, he settled for only a pitiful string of sentences.
“Think things through; our actions have consequences, some heavier than others. When shit hits the fan *COUGH*, and it will very soon, think things through before you act. Not everyone is an enemy, even if it may seem that way….be careful….good luck.” With those final words, M-Cyn’s eyes lost their light, and his head fell to the side.
DING DING DING
Several dozen notifications began going off in Cynrik’s eyes and ears, but he ignored them and reached his hand to close the eyes of himself from another timeline.
“Requiescat in pace, you deserved better than to become a plaything of some higher power. I will remember your words.” Sighing heavily, Cynrik moved the still warm corpse off his lap and felt a rush of power course through his body.
“Get ready, you two; the Evo is about to begin,” Cynrik said to Vii and Sie, who had landed beside him and tossed him a confused glance.
Just as the words left Cynrik’s lips…the pain hit.
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