ushernet Chapter 14: He himself, his enemy perhaps?
Chapter 14: He himself, his enemy perhaps?
Chapter 14 - He himself, his enemy perhaps?
The very presence of the woman was enough for all his senses to scream 'death' however Noir had to keep his head calm, in a situation like this, keeping your head calm should be the top priority as they say, 'A calm one always reigns over the disturbed ones.'
He immediately distanced himself further from the woman, his whole body feeling stiff due to the mere pressure of Noctis that the woman was emitting,
"Fu*k." Noir cursed as he bit his own lips.
Blink.
The woman managed to close a distance of more than fifteen steps in a mere blink, it made it seem as if she had teleported, or had she?
'Sh*t.'
Defeating this woman was clearly going to take more than what Noir has in him and Noir was the one who knew it the most. Not having much options, he decided to use his trump card.
Black aura bled from his chest, curling around him like hungry smoke. In an instant, Noir was no longer human. His body stretched, twisted—The Demon's Blessing taking hold.
This time, it felt different. Sharper. Heavier. A golden eye snapped open on his chest, unblinking, watching. The world around him dragged like thick syrup. Or maybe it wasn't slow. Maybe he was just too fast.
The woman or monster, whatever she/it was, didn't let it go unnoticed and immediately took counter actions.
With a sharp crack, she tore her hand free, skin slipping away like old silk. Blood dripped, but she only sighed, rolling her shoulders. The exposed bone gleamed, sharpened to a blade.
She broke it off and grasped it tightly using her right hand, testing the grip, then smiled.
"Now, now..." Her voice was almost gentle. "Didn't you come to meet me?"
Noir moved back so swiftly that it seemed as if he was the one teleporting now, additionally due to the extra large golden eye on his chest, he could see things differently from a normal human, everything turned black except the woman, she was... she was shining like a brick of gold.
The contrast between grim-black and shining-gold made it easier for him to focus on his target, not to mention at certain times time would seem slow allowing Noir to prepare his next attack properly, though Noir wasn't sure if he was able to use that ability properly, it was his first time using it.
It had been only around 3 minutes since the battle started, so far they hadn't exchanged a single blow, Noir had been dodging and she had been madly attacking like a wild-pig.
One, two, three and so on. If this were a game, she'd be button-mashing. Wild, relentless.
'I wonder how long I can keep up.'
Unlike Noir, she was probably pretty far in the Nefarious path and probably had lots of noctis in herself, which was very likely the reason for her to attack mindlessly, well she being mindless is also another. Noir? He had a lot of noctis in him, but not as much as her.
"Why?? If you entered my zane then it would surely mean you wanted to meet with me, right??" She added with one of the creepiest smiles that Noir had ever seen, "Then why are you keeping distance?" her eyes clearly screamed bloodlust.
Well looking at her now, one would consider a new metaphor since the wild-pig one seemed like an insult... to the pigs.
Just as Noir dodged her attacks, his body barely survived getting chopped into two pieces. For what seemed like another dodge, it wasn't, not because he barely survived but because he for the first time was able to use the skill on his own will, the time-related skill. Of course, this was the reason for the late reaction.
Due to this he managed to catch her off-guard, it was possibly not even a single second but due to his golden-eyes including the extra one, things seemed slower, if Noir had to describe the passing of time right now, it would be, 'One second equals to ten.'
While ten seconds wasn't much, it was more than enough for his current situation.
"Cursed Weave." he spoke fast yet quietly to prevent any information being given away to her.
His eye—his very soul—was being stolen.
A choked gasp tore from his throat as the pain surged. His vision flickered, the battlefield blurring into nothing.
And then—
Something snapped.
Noir collapsed forward, gasping.
His golden eye was gone.
His chest—hollow. His very being—missing something vital.
He trembled as he lifted his gaze—
And saw it.
Floating in front of him.
His golden eye—but no longer his.
It hovered midair, pulsing with an eerie light.
Then—a hand reached out and took it.
A familiar hand.
Noir's stomach twisted as he followed the arm upward, his breath catching in his throat.
Standing before him—was himself.
Not a reflection. Not a shadow.
Him.
Same face. Same body. But the difference was in the eyes.
This other Noir—this thing—held the golden eye between his fingers, rolling it like a marble. A slow smirk spread across his lips.
Then, in a voice exactly like his own, he chuckled.
"Thanks for this."
And crushed it.
"You'll thank yourself later."
Darkness swallowed everything.
...