Essentia Animus

47-Tracing Numbers

Safe within Riyxia's small recluse, having been removed from the cage that had inspired her slumber, her sleep gradually wore off naturally. Feeling her body awaken finally, she set the coat aside and returned to her own body.

Riyxia rushed to consciousness, fully aware of her own circumstances. She now had access to her full ability, but knew her hunter was far too capable, and would have also had time to prepare. She pulled the book from the abandoned coat and added it to her own possessions, determined to still look into it further at a later time. Nothing else present would be useful for her, both now and later, it would all only slow her down. She was really hiding in a pile of useless junk, after all, leaving her with nothing else to depend on but herself. With that realization, she left her dark sanctuary and returned to the light outside, dashing to go further along the corridor with her own two feet. Almost right after she began, she was forced to halt before a gate that opened invitingly before her, not falling for the same trap twice. She then leapt over the gate, touching off from the ceiling of the hall as she pressed forwards. A distance ahead of her, a gate opened before the doorway of the hall, Ieqyisa stepping out from it.

"I brought you here to get some answers, and all you've given me is more questions. Even in your sleep, you've managed to manipulate your own results, but I managed to figure out that you must not be working here alone, someone else is here with you. I will catch both you and them, and then I will have some answers. Even if you really are Khyzae, I will even save you from yourself." Ieqyisa looked both irritated and kinda tired, herself having missed any opportunity to sleep so far. Riyxia had actually gotten plenty of rest from her own forced slumber, a turn that had gone in her own favour. She also took account that Ieqyisa seemed to believe that she was working with someone else, having confused her specter for someone else. Actually, was that completely wrong, considering she had two essences? She was effectively her own partner, which was even more clear with her newest discovery. She knew her real essence was of her spectre, but that implied that her partner was Khyzae herself. This was exactly where Khyzae ended, and Riyxia begun.

"There is no way you could hope to save anyone, without understanding what's going on. There is no hope in controlling anything you don't understand. There is no way you could control me, contain me, confine me, if I didn't want you to." Riyxia glared defiantly, taking account of her circumstances as she stepped forward spectrally. Ieqyisa gasped, feeling Khyzae in those very words, her face growing pale in that moment. Taking advantage of the hesitation, Riyxia's spectre dashed behind Ieqyisa and possessed the door, forcing it open dramatically and slamming Ieqyisa hard against the wall in surprise. Riyxia then rushed through the opening, picking up her spectre as she passed through the opening into the much larger hall on the other side, the hall itself mostly empty except for an assortment of decorative suits of armor standing guard. All the exits however were instantly enveloped in a gate, Ieqyisa having shown up again to cut off any further retreat, making it obvious that she would have to confront Ieqyisa before she could escape.

The metal plates of Ieqyisa's power armor shimmered as the protective barrier around it came to life, having been previously neglected in that moment of rush and then hesitation. Ieqyisa then opened a gate directly under the immobile Riyxia, something Riyxia barely managed to dodge in time. Riyxia was concerned about her options, knowing just how powerful her opponent could be. She could try to catch up by building her rage, at the cost of her mental clarity. However, her opponent still had her outclassed either way, her barrier being effective against anything she could have done. Riyxia had really counted on committing enough force previously to knock Ieqyisa unconscious, but it seems even the rudimentary defenses of the power armor had protected her from that. No measure of force was going to get through at this point, no matter how far into her rage she sunk. Her fists would still bounce off such a barrier, her gift similarly unable to pierce it. Strength wasn't going to win this for her, but that's not the only resource she actually had, she was also rather clever. Still, this was going to be quite a trial by fire.