Inverted Deck

Inverted Deck (Chapter 12)

Chapter 12

*HUFF* *HUFF* *HUFF*

"Gotta make this quick..." Voncent says clearly exasperated.

"Ripple step... Ring of Light...."

Voncent raises his right foot, and in a dramatic fashion, everything seems to go quiet, the air, even the Aether itself calms for a moment. That calmness immediately goes away, as I feel an impending danger come over me, every cell in my body is telling me to flee.

"It's too late to run..." Voncent says more seriously. This isn't a game anymore, it feels more like... a test.

Voncent slams his right foot into the ground, and Gold and White Ripples appear from his foot, in the same way mine did not too long ago.

Then, all of a sudden, Voncent disappears, and a bright ring of rushing light forms around me. The Aether from the ring of light is moving so fast that it's kicking up dirt and wind alike, forming a mini tornado around me.

I guard my eyes from the dirt, whipping around in the air, and open up my right eye just enough to notice something about the ring.

One, the ring is slowly closing in on me, and Two, I feel something within the ring of light, I feel a strong presence, an Aether Signature. The ring of light is... Voncent.

The Ring steadily closes in, and it's getting harder and harder to breath and see.

"Why hasn't he attacked yet?! Is he trying to slowly deplete my oxygen to win? Wait. This isn't just a petty fight anymore. He's testing me, trying to see what I'll do in a situation with a fixed time. Well Voncent, I invite you AND your test!" I think as I stop breathing entirely.

I relax my muscles, close my eyes, hold my breath and wait. As I close off my sense of sight and smell, it seems a few of my other senses are heightened slightly.

I can hear the dust and pebbles rumbling around and dancing across the ground, I can feel the spontaneous wisps of air lightly slapping me across my face, and my Aether sense, my Nexus, is higher than ever.

Even though Voncent is moving faster than the eye can see, possibly faster than the speed of light itself, I can still feel every, single, step he makes, the moment he makes it .  Hundreds, maybe even thousands of steps constantly fluttering around me like a group surrounding butterflies.

That ripple step or whatever, he's doing it multiple times, over and over and over, with each time more slightly aimed at me. I know what he's going to try to do. Once the ring gets small enough he'll strike me from a random place in the circle. I can feel those are his intentions because... that's what I'd do.

For some reason I feel like we are, connected some how. Not the same exactly, but there's definitely a link between us, I can feel it.

I can feel my heart beat more violently by the second as I continue to hold my breath. How long has it been? 30 seconds? 40 seconds? 50!? My Nexus along with my sense of time starts to falter. No. I must remain Vigilant.

A few more seconds past lasting an Eternity. Then a few more. Every second dragging and dragging like years off my life scrapping past. My lungs start to twitch, involuntarily trying to breath but to no avail, I keep my mouth shut and continue to hold my breath and maintain my composure.

I feel myself start to... to...

...

"THERE!!"

I feel Voncent step directly in my direction, no doubt about it. I swing my body around without hesitation, and hold Inky Jet up in the air firmly with both hands, and sure enough-