Complications of Mortality | Druig x OC

XI | Melee

They heard him before they saw him.

Akiva's heartbeat pounded in her ears. It thundered around her head, bouncing off the walls of her skull. She suffocated in the sound, back resting against the cold concrete wall of the bridge. Her fingers felt like they had been turned to stone as they curled around her staff. The red statue of Arishem the Judge engulfed the pair of them, casting a bright vermillion aura at the center of the room. Their eyes met in the dark, before Akiva closed her mouth and began to hold her breath.

The light from the exit out of the Domo was blocked by his body, levitating himself into the entrance. He strode in confidently, finding Thena with his eyes immediately. His speed halted as he focused on her, landing on the floor with eerie grace.

It was like a lioness hunting her prey, the way he took each step around the circular room. Each one was so meticulous, so precise.

But Thena matched his energy. She rivaled it.

Each step she took was quicker than the last, golden sword already drawn and hanging by her hip. It pointed to the floor, and while Ikaris circled her, she walked straight forward. His lips parted as he watched her, eyes squinting in amused challenge. Akiva realized how off balance it was, even though they were both extremely confident in their own abilities.

Ikaris was hunting Thena for sport.

The sword changed grip in her hand, swinging it around in a twirl and throwing the blade towards Ikaris' neck with heavy deliberation. His hand moved up with the form of a fencer, grabbing the glowing sword by the blade. The shine of it projected onto his hand, further illuminating his face as he pursed his lips.

"You've never had to fight me," he spoke nonchalantly, meeting her eyes.

She treated the longsword like a two handed weapon, nodding her head with a smile. "But I've always wanted to." The blade grew under his hand, cutting along his palm and causing him to gasp with recoil.

Her first swipe at his head was fast, and he hadn't expected her to go for the kill so quickly. Because of course, he wouldn't do the same. He liked to play with his prey before snapping it's neck. Ikaris had to duck completely under it, knees bending in time to lean away from her next swipe at his heart.

She was quick in her moments, a bladarang sprouting from her other hand as she switched to dual blading. As he kept playing on the defense and ducking around each of her swings, she closed the gap. Another step forward and her knee bucked up into his stomach, sending him to the air. He caught himself as if he had landed on a cushion, eyes glowing and shooting an cosmic energy blast towards the goddess.

Arishem sung, the transparent statue ringing throughout the room at the outburst of cosmic energy.

Thena was slow to create a shield, but holding the blades in front of her chest was enough to absorb the blow.

He finally swung, fist flying through the air and colliding with Thena's cheek. It threw her head to the side and she huffed a repressed yelp, shocked that he had gotten so close so fast. Her longsword grew in length, trying to swipe him without the chance of ducking away so easily. Another energy blast from his eyes knocked the blade away, grip still strong on the handle but needing to lift her bladerang to absorb the cosmic energy again. It grew outwards into a shield, morphing to defend herself from the oncoming attacks.

His fist flew into the center of the shield, trying to throw Thena to the floor. The shield almost hit the ground but she ripped it back upwards, trying to clip him in any way she could. As it raised decently high, he punched through it once more, just as strong—if not stronger—than the first.