Alda took a deep breath, allowing a purple aura to shroud her vision. All her surroundings turned purple, her body constantly releasing a wave like sonar. "Void, I am about to break away now. Sound Art: Decibel Control: Sonar Reverberation. As well as, Sound Art: Decibel Control; Instantaneous Amplification!" Her body began vibrating. Trembling as though she was a particle constantly oscillating to form a wave.
"Already pulling out that level of speed? Alright, I get you. Your Sonar Reverberation has even altered the Spiritual Vibration Rifts. I am no longer auto locked in Lightning. I am now going to access…"Let's see, Wind and Lightning scattered each other and Sound tempered with them. High kinetic vibration would equal a shift to Lightning or Shadow…..no, Flames this time. "I am flame…one Rift birthed from a spark!"
An explosion resounded, it was as though a Canon was shot. A massive pulse rushed the battlefield as Alda lunged. She was the Wave of sound fired, a wave that that traveled at roughly 200m/s.
The man with golden eyes looked on before smiling, "Element mimicry then." His fingers thinned out, stretching out to mimic talons. He grabbed her face when she attempted to blitz passed him. Slamming her into the ground. Talons were truly the perfect weapon for grabbing.
She coughed, Damn it…he has insane kinetic vision. I hope it didn't break. When the dust cleared, a purple transparent aura covered her black bag. She raised her hand and grabbed his wrist. Vibrating as she tried to loosen his grip. He won't budge. He tightened his grip, his nails, piercing her flesh. "Sound Art:" She was pushed into the hard ground, her vibrations cracking the rock on which she lay. "Decibel Control: Prima Vibrous!" Purple vibrating rods ripped through his wrists. Forcing his hand away.
In that brief moment of separation. "Sound Art: Decibel Control; Instantaneous Amplification!" She exclaimed before an explosion was set off. This time, moving even faster, roughly 260m/s. Even though his eyes could track her, her eyes could track his movement too.
I see now, you used Red lightning…what was its name again— sprites was it. A millisecond reflex boost. That's why your snap reaction got me. Its your turn now, Void.
Alda broke through, aiming for Mrs. Chimeralana. A slight whisper met her ears, "Flame Art: Hallowed Incandescent; Tri-Octid Ignition. Condensed." A sphere of flames Condensed in between her palms, raising the surrounding temperature.
She shot a condensed stream of flames. Alda dodged, albeit narrowly as it grazed her hair. She pivoted her foot, raising her speed even further, all the way to 300m/s. Another boom was set off as she grabbed Mrs. Chimeralana. Sending her flying as Alda grabbed her waist tightly.
While Mrs. Chimeralana fired her condensed stream of flames, the golden eyed man bit his finger. Licking the blood that came rushing from it. Meanwhile, a massive arrow of condensed flames materialized beside Nazir. An arrow wrapped in a starry aura. "Alright Ser, my turn. Aether Art: Ethereal Celestia; Mimicry, Attribute type; Flame. Special Variant; Aurora array."
He projected the arrow, meeting Mrs. Chimeralana's stream of flames over the golden eyed man's head. The flames fused with each other, shrinking into a single point— before exploding and reducing the entire town's square to rubble. The Shockwave produced from the explosion projected an already high speed Alda into another gear of speed. While, forcing Nazir back.
Nazir let out a sigh of relief, "At least that explosion didn't destroy the whole town. Xem would kill us if we killed the target." A starry-belt colored rod appeared in Nazir's hand before it became coated in water. "Aether Art: Ethereal Celestia; Mimicry, Attribute type; Water. Special Variant; Concordant Torrent." The water formed a stream, revolving about the rod.
He then slashed upward, blocking the claws that the golden eyed man aimed to scratch him with. Aimed to skewer him with. "So first you were a cat, then a human, now a golden feathered eagle. Giant one too. You could hold me in one claw." The revolving water clashed with the golden aura before a Shockwave was generated. It sent them flying in opposing directions. Nazir stopped himself, planting his feet against the ground. He was sent sliding.
The golden eyed man, now eagle, stopped itself. Flapping its wings. Nazir panted before shouting, "I can't get over how hot your wife is! I mean that both literally and metaphorically. You saw those flames, right? How did you end up with someone like that?"
The eagle, pecked its wing, causing itself to bleed. It then transformed back into the man. He landed before shouting, his deep voice reverberating. "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from speaking about my wife in such in a disrespectful manner. As for your question— arranged marriage. It was but a transactional deal where gold found me."
His fingers lengthened, hands reshaping into talons. He then slashed against the air. Sending wind blades all throughout the battlefield. Nazir lunged, dodging them all. He jumped over some, moved left then right for others. He then released a wave of rotating water bullets. Each coated in a starry aura. "Aether Art: Ethereal Celestia; Mimicry, Attribute type; Water. Special Variant; Concordant Torrent, Water bullets."
The bullets clashed with the wind, scattering each other. No sooner had Nazir landed than he was met by a hook that sent him flying. He forced himself to look up only to see the golden eyed man descending. Lightning, that's a Lightning enhancement. Can he switch between Attributes like I can? But if it was Aether, I would have know. The spiritual vibrations Rift wouldn't have allowed Lightning transcription. Wind vibrations and water interactions would result in an intermediary phase. Ice, no, the heat was too low.
The golden eyed man was about to deliver a hammer fist when he finally felt the Rift. I am still in bounds…but since I am still flying, I will be out of it soon. "Aether Art: Ethereal Celestia; Mimicry, Attribute type; Crystal!"
A massive cluster of blue crystals was released, slashing the man before he shattered them, reaching Nazir. He sent Nazir crushing into the ground before flipping through and landing beside him. The cuts he had became coated in a golden aura before they healed up.
Aether is known as Celestial energy, that is why it is coveted by all. It's an attribute which much like light, is made up of several individual components. With the right spectrum, you can isolate each component. Those spectrums are spiritual vibration rifts. They are as efficient as they are random. Each affected by a clash of magic. If that's the case, Crystal plus golden…Hold up— Golden. That wasn't even an attribute.
His trail of thought was interrupted by the man who said, "Child, why work as a mercenary? Life is much too short for those who choose such a path. I should know, I am no different. I too am shackled to my duties."
"Right, you think I am shackled to my quest as a mercenary. You are right on that end but not for a reason you want to believe. I chose this. You see, there is someone I respect more than anyone else in this world. He is but a hollow husk of a man. One without desire, without emotion and without a goal he can call his own.
He is in every sense of the word, a shadow. He bends according to the light's will. So we decided to be part of that light." Nazir continued panting. Laying motionless still.
"You are referring to that half shadow boy, no?" the golden man said.
"Yes, Ser and I made a promise. Until our dying breaths, we belong to him. Now, let's talk business. Since it's purely transactional, does your wife have a sister. I mean, it must be in the genes, right?" The golden eyed man was about to strike him when he rolled through. The ground cracked under the force of his fist and he hadn't even touched it yet.
Nazir jumped away before, "You know, you are supposed to answer when asked a question. You are the elder here, teach through example. So come on, even a cousin will do."
A wave of wind slashes headed his way. Crystals materialized all around him, blocking them before canceling each other out. "Finally, the Rift says metal." This is still a work in progress but if I can carryout the vibration conversion the right way, I will learn it. A special Variant of metal fabrication known as Structural Amorphi.
~
Meanwhile:
Alda and Mrs. Chimeralana crashed in a completely different part of town. Alda jumped back, hoping to catch her breath before another round ensues. "Madame! I just want to start by saying— Niveen is prettier."
"Huh? What are you saying?" Mrs. Chimeralana wondered what was going on, dusting her clothes.
"I am sure you saw him. You know slightly taller than me, has this beautiful aura about him. You know like all the basics. He is like really beautiful, I am sure you can agree."
"Right? I guess I have a nut job — I mean eccentric person on my case. Why is this happening to me? He just assumed a human form today too." She sighed in exasperation.
"Wait, you mean your husband. Isn't he like a Chimeralana? Don't people of that clan typically shape-shift?" Alda took her bag off her back. Before unzipping it.
"Well, they are supposed to but…his human blood was overpowered by the inhumane components in it when I got captured," she said, red transparent rods materializing beside her.
"Wait, by overpowered…you mean, his divine authority overruled his conceptual existence. That sounds really bad." She pulled out a bass, adjusting its strings.
"Well, its supposed to be. But it is not uncommon as you would like it to be. It occurs often, particularly with half shadows. They tend to go mad and die after inheriting about 500 familiars. That's their apparent limit." The rods became coated in flames when they lifted. A bright blue flame.
Alda's hands slipped, dropping the bass. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"That they have a limit of 500 familiars?"
"No before that!" she picked up the bass, before stringing it a bit.
"That they lose any semblance of sanity and brought to ruin by their own power."
Alda stood up, allowing her thoughts to dwindle. Wait, is that why he seems to constantly be hungry as of late? Majority of time he prefers not to feed his flesh but rather his soul. He feeds on the primal emotions of man. But apparently, anguish and fear satisfy him the most. He may be a hollow husk, but, that is the one trait that shows him having an feeling at all.
"My preparations are set. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Chimeralana. You could have attacked me at any moment but you didn't. It's starting to feel sinful to even go ahead and kidnap your son. But we must, you know, mercenaries' pride."
"That I can understand. I come from a family of merchants. But if you touch my Nyambe, I will return you to the rubble from which you came. I mean— I will incinerate you. That does not feel right…."
"Please don't try to make advertisement quips for my sake. I am a musician, you know. Sound Art: Decibel Control; Catastrophic Reverberation." She strung her bass, a purple aura mixing into the sound it produced. It was akin to a sudden pulse. A tangible bullet moving at roughly 345m/s.
Mrs. Chimeralana grabbed hold of one of the rods, she then used it to slash the incoming pulse. The bullet clashed with the rod before snapping it and blitzing passed Mrs. Chimeralana.
"Oh, I almost forgot. My pulses can tear through alpha Crystalis constructs. They are made of the same material after all. That little trick won't work here.Try a little better, Mrs. Flame prodigy sold for debt. Your kind are rare. Pure attribute wielders, yes?"
Blood washed down her cheek as it became apparent. The bullet had grazed her. "How did you know that?"
"Only a fool does not study about family history and scandals. The prize of the Chimeralanas, the head of the whole clan and his wife go missing and no questions that . It obviously reeked of them knowing where he was. Particularly, the white flame, Chimeralana and pure flame hybrid. That perfected version of his father. Your son, Nyambe Chimeralana. He is the prize Hollow Veil desires. And by God's will, they will have him."
"I dare you to try it. Flame Art: Hallowed Incandescent; Tri-Octid Ignition!" she released another stream of flames when she heard a whisper. "Come now, I have already seen that little trick. I can outrun it now." The sonic explosion triggered by Alda's movement then met her ears. In that moment, however brief it was, Alda's elemental mimicry was perfected.
Mrs. Chimeralana's flames accelerated the molecular vibrations while simultaneously reducing oxygen composition in the air. That subsequent reduction in composition and increase in temperature resulted in the acceleration of Alda's sound wave. She strung her bass, producing a pulse that launched Mrs. Chimeralana. She then crashed into the ground.
"Sound thrives in heat." Niveen who stood, towering over the buildings thought, "I guess Alda didn't need a change in gear."
Mrs. Chimeralana lay motionless on the ground. Her mind filled with thoughts of relief. I suppose he had me in mind when he got all my clothing made of property-less Crystalis. That thread, though pricey is well worth it. Flames formed for beneath her back, propelling her into a vertical position. It can instantaneously harden when laced with spiritual vibrations. If not for that, that attack could have been more trouble than I hoped.
Niveen looked on, I see, she negated about 97% of the damage she was supposed to receive. She is wearing property-less Crystalis. But so is Alda.
"Property-less Crystalis, huh? Mrs. Chimeralana, who knew you were such a worrywart." She closed her eyes, "My sonar Reverberation is still active. I am actively a bat. You won't break through." She strung her bass, letting out a beautifully constructed melody. An instrumental bass piece. Her purple aura merged with each note.
"Is that right?" A array of flaming crimson rods had surrounded Alda from above. Their flames, an azure shade. "As they have been there for quite a while, I suppose I must." The rods came rushing down. Striking the ground at high speeds while Alda dodged for dear life. She kept playing her bass guitar before the wave halted.
When she looked around, the rods had surrounded her. Flaming still. Mrs. Chimeralana raised her right hand, aiming it at Alda. "Now, Resonance. Flame Art: Hallowed Incandescent; Cataclysmic Fireworks." Each of the rods shrunk, condensed into small spheres of flames. Before…the exploded, letting out an array of colors. The explosion remained in a circular formation as per the rods placement. The flames from the explosion shot up, forming a tower of flames before dissipating. Massive guests of wind were drawn to where it once towered. Hoping to stabilize the pressure zone.
She panted, gasping for air as she tried to catch her breath. Her art had just wiped out 80% of the oxygen present in the air. This new found deficit proved to be a source needed to fuel anxiety. As far as the Alpha series of magic goes, that is one of the arts I can use without destroying this entire town.
The sound of clapping felt the void left by the explosion caused by azure flames. "You nearly had me. Those flames absolutely incinerated my bass guitar. But not me though, I am still here." From the sky, she dropped in. A cloud of dust formed when she landed. Her body repeatedly vibrated before she was brought to a single knee. Afterimage after afterimage as she trembled about fixed position.
"How? That was a direct hit, I felt it!" Mrs. Chimeralana's eyes filled with worry. How was Alda unharmed? It made no sense. That was physical magic(Alpha series), an amount that great should have reduced Alda to dust.
"Of course you did. I was hit. Your flames burn at an astonishing temperature. But, are you familiar with the traits associated with the Zeta series of power." Alda too was gasping for a air. The surroundings let out a scorching breeze.
"Naturally, the Zeta series of magic deals with Mimicry and plane continuity. Mimicry, the art of mass manipulation to induce a certain trait present in an attribute. And, Plane continuity, mass manipulation interaction on both the real, imaginary and point of origin. Those are the two fundamentals it operates by."
She sat down before adding, "I am glad, you are magic theory literate. Explaining the theoretical data would be a true hustle. Here is the gist of things. I used Element mimicry to reduce my conceptualized existence into a unit of sound. Decibel. Your flames, due to extreme heat ionized the air resulting in my form, shifting into an electroacoustic wave form.
Even with the help of Element mimicry, my altered conceptualized form is one I can not maintain for too long. The longest would be 30 seconds as the oxygen deficit to my brain and heart would result in damage. I am glad that attack only lasted a few seconds. Because even now, my particle vibrations have not stabilized. My amplitude and frequency keep shifting. Tis taking all I have to even talk right now."
"So, if I am catching you correctly, you only survived due to your mastery of using Element mimicry on your own body. I should have tried making that last longer."
"Madame, that is not the only thing I am implying." She stood up, her body vibrating still. "The vibrations are still present in my body. Meaning, I can now access a speed that is roughly, three times the speed of sound." For only one burst though, or until my body stabilizes naturally. I just need to catch my breath.
"What kind of training were you exposed to? For one so young, how is it that you have already attained mastered mimicry." If our fight escalates any further, this town will be wiped off the face of the earth. So far, I have been limiting my power to prevent large scale destruction. I am sure everyone is doing the same. They need this town to remain standing because they can't overlook the possibility that my son is still here.
No, my Nyambe. Will I lose you again? No—that's not happening. I swore, after having you back. This world would burn before I lost you again. "Flame Art: Hallowed Incandescent; Inversion." Her body became clad in bluish flames as the surrounding temperature began to drop. All the heat was being absorbed by her body. She aimed her hands at Alda.
Alda stood, watching the sky darkened. A massive swamp formed over the clouds when she stuttered. Se-seriously Xem. Why now? Why one of your strongest familiar summons." A heart emerged from the portal, bleeding still as blood dripped from it.
The falling blood formed meteorites that leveled the town in a single instant. All it took was but a drop. Reducing it to nothing but rubble. Corpses lay dismembered, crashed. Those were there the horrors of Xem. As though it never existed, the heart vanished. But the destruction it left remained palpable.
Mrs. Chimeralana opened her eyes only to see golden wings had shielded her. The golden eyed man, now eagle, shielded her. "I was able to arrive on time." They saw the flame torn town before she exclaimed, "Nyambe!!!" Tears rushed down her eyes as there was hardly anything that could be done any longer. The town was destroyed and Remnants of people, stains on the pavement.