Epics of Noche 3, Limbo

EON CH 34

NOCHE VS. DIA.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY7:13 pm.

Noche screamed and tackled Dia. When the tar harpy was pinned to the floor, Noche punched her in the face again and again. Tar splattered in all directions as Noche's fist came crashing down over and over. In moments Dia's head looked like a rotted old pumpkin that caved in on itself.

The blonde tried to calm her breathing, but she couldn't get enough air. Her hands trembled as she raised them away from the body.

"I didn't kill that family. I'm not a murderer," she muttered.

"Yes you are."

Noche flinched as she stared at Dia's caved-in skull. The corpse slowly began to rise.

"You're a murderer, and worse, a coward," she said. "You didn't even take responsibility for killing that mother and daughter. You hid behind a mask, a scapegoat of your own creation. A tar puppet meant to distract everyone from the puppet master."

Noche covered her ears and screamed.

"You can't mute your own thoughts," Dia's voice echoed in her head. "You wanted an easy escape. An easy win. You stopped caring... And excuses won't let you run away from the consequences of your actions forever."

Dia's head reassembled itself from the splattered tar.

"Do you feel comfortable in your own sin?"

The tar harpy raised a fist and Noche was too distraught to avoid it. Noche's stomach bulged from the impact and she was launched like a rocket. The blonde flew parallel to the ground and in a flash, Dia caught up.

"Jack be nimble!"

She kicked Noche in the chin, launching her faster.

"Jack be quick!"

Dia's wings exploded and she outpaced the blonde. She spun to face the incoming blonde missile.

"Jack is dead because of your weakness!"

With a dropkick so strong it broke the sound barrier, Noche was slammed into the ground at Mach speeds. The explosion sent dust and debris everywhere; a fountain of blood sprayed out of Noche's mouth as she almost lost consciousness. The blonde laid on the ground and twitched. Her body spasming against her will.

"Gonna lose at this rate," Dia grinned.

A flood of anger washed over Noche. She grit her teeth as something snapped inside her. The blonde didn't care anymore – she wanted to win. If Noche had to become a monster to do so, she would.

The world itself began to shimmer and warp. Red cattails sprouted from the floor as gray clouds filled the starless black sky. The lighting changed everything into dark silhouettes causing Noche and Dia to look identical, like two figures of obsidian. Everything gained a sharpness to its form — as if the realm itself was designed to draw blood.

Dia held a swirling orb of tar in her hand and aimed at the blonde. Noche created a barrier of water that pushed the harpy aside. With her aim thrown off, the tar orb missed the blonde, but it ate through everything in its path like fire to paper.

A scythe came down to Noche's head, but it was deftly blocked by a black sword. The impact caused a shockwave that sent all the plants scattering. Noche was the quicker to react, she swung and enlarged her sword mid-swing; Dia backflipped over the ultra-great sword.