A Magical Word Revealed: The World Unravelled

Day Ten, Chapter Twenty, The End

Simulated Battlefield, Alyssa Evadale's Brain

Saturday, 10/2/2024

16:57

Nathan Pendragon was both physically and mentally exhausted. Mostly mentally. According to Innerclock, he had been fighting for precisely two days, seven hours, eleven minutes and thirty five seconds... thirty six seconds... thirty seven- too long, in any case. Too long without sleep, rest or any sort of recuperation. The only reason he was still awake was due to a mixture of Everstanding and the artificial energy boosts granted by reconstructing himself. Calling those an adequate replacement for sleep is like calling chlorofluorocarbons an adequate replacement for tetrafluoroethane. Sure, the first seems to work better at the beginning, but the consequences far outway the benefits. And just like how chlorofluorocarbons punched a huge hole in the Earth's ozone layer, these artificial methods of gaining energy had punched an equally large hole in Nathan's health. He was tired, so tired. He rubbed his eyes. His vision was temporarily smeared with red. His hands were dripping with blood; not the blood of his enemies but his own. Blood that had been drawn by scratching at his forehead in frustration over the agonising two days of constant fighting. His opponents on the other hand, they were perfectly fine. Well no, they were tired and stressed from being in an active warzone, but other than that they were clean, well rested and motivated. Comparing them to Nathan, exhausted, starved and half-blinded by the blood dripping down his face, it was a dramatic contrast. Like yin and yang, complete opposites that were being forced together. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, trying to slow the constant trickle into his eyes. The poor Copycoat was in tatters. The overlarge dark blue trench coat changed to match Nathan's physical and mental state. It was filthy, almost black, and almost completely shredded. It hung loosely from Nathan's body as a collection of torn strips.

There was a sudden whistling. Well used to this noise, Nathan habitually used Hyperspeed to launch a few metres sideways. A Divine Dragon infused Draven smashed into the ground where he had just been standing. The shockwave sent Nathan tumbling, but he didn't care. He was too tired to care about a little more pain.

Clang!

Large metal pincers shot out of the ground and tried to snatch him.

Reject

They slowed and stopped, seemingly repelled by a magnetic force. Nathan wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. It was only a matter of time before he was unable to keep fighting. He leapt clumsily to the side and dodged a Discharge beam. A Tangle snapped around his wrist. Aurora pulled him towards her.

'Nathan, just give up! You can't keep fighting, you're going to die if you don't surrender!'

'Shut... up.'

Aurora kicked him in the head knocking him to the ground. Nathan's face squelched against the soil. It would be so easy to just sleep. Just give in and-

No!

No!

Nathan began pushing himself up off the ground. There was a deafening whirring-banging sound. A dozen bullets tore through his intestines. A quick Discharge beam killed the Talia clone that had shot him.

Reversal > Fracture: Second Degree: Solid > Enhance: Fourth Degree

He was healed. Nathan coughed, sickeningly. The artificial boosts of energy were growing smaller and smaller with each reconstruction. He didn't even have the strength to get back to his feet. He rested on his knees, preparing to move after the next attack. His murky eyes saw the desperate situation. Over the course of the last couple hours, his movements had slowed and decreased. And now, he had begun moving so little that he had gotten surrounded. A loose ring of people, about a hundred metres in diameter. But no one attacked. They seemed to be in unanimous agreement that Nathan had lost. Nathan himself begrudgingly agreed. A few people stepped forward, out of the circle of soldiers. Draven, Mayura, Ronin, Tenson and Hector. Hector Kingston took the lead.