~Notes~
This’ll probably be the last chapter before I leave for most likely the rest of this month. But Don’t Worry! Rice will be back this September (approximate) with the last two chapters of Phoneme and a preview of the next part of the series!

Episode 54 Shatter! A Battle Between Two Former Lovers

Within the confines of an immeasurably large hall, Lord Kimura stands at the head of his throne, peering up into a cocoon above him swathed with a brimming blue electrical energy.

As the sound of the lightning sizzles above him and the waves of electrical current part, the still figure of Ivy can be seen inside, her head lolling on her chest in her unconsciousness.

Kimura laughs softly to himself as he stares at the figure of Ivy. “It is only a matter of time now…”

Ayame stands alone facing Ryuu in the center of a library, shelves and shelves filled with books surrounding them on all sides of the tower. Behind Ayame lies an open door, with light pouring in front outside leading to a staircase, the sign of a pathway out of the tower.

Ayame silently draws her Geta, and steps up to Ryuu, facing him head on. “Well, Ryuu? What has been the point of all this useless fighting? Do you honestly hope to compete against the might of the Myougun Empire?”

“The old Ayame was never like this…” Ryuu snarls, “She was kind, thoughtful, and giving. She would’ve never become this monster working for the Myougun!”

“Talk is useless, Ryuu,” Ayame snaps briskly, “Do you intend to fight me or not? Otherwise, you will die here, I can assure you that.”

“I intend to save her…your sister, that is, Ayame,” Ryuu growls, “And I won’t quit until I’ve done so! And if you stand in the way…! I’m prepared.”

“You’re prepared?” Ayame laughs. “Prepared for what? I’ve already told you, Ryuu, but it seems it hasn’t quite sunk in to your stubborn little head yet. You. Are. Weak. You stand not a chance against me.”

“Heh,” Ryuu replies with a grunt. His eyes gleam brightly in celebrated strength. “Really? I taught you everything that you knew first. You’ve never had a better teacher than me.”

“Are you going to fight or not, Ryuu? Would you rather stand here all day and relive old memories?” Ayame replies mockingly. “Unfortunately I haven’t the time to sit here and chat.”

“Just tell me one thing, Ayame, and we can stop talking,” Ryuu replies, his voice strangely controlled and calm.

Ayame raises an eyebrow, peering at Ryuu curiously. “What?”

“Why did you decide to join the Myougun?” Ryuu asks abruptly.

Ayame halts in her approach to Ryuu, her Geta half-raised. “Because…” she replies softly, “Destiny cannot be prevented, nor escaped from.”

Ryuu sneers to himself. “As I thought. Yttrius. Yttrius and your old thirst for power. In the end, seeking to become strong enough to defeat the Myougun, you became one of them. How ironic.”

Ayame clenches her teeth, staring at Ryuu, her entire body convulsing slightly at the sight of Ryuu. “I’ll ask you once again. Are you going to fight me?”

Ryuu flashes a sly smirk at Ayame. “Oh, I’m better than that, Ayame. You hear me wrong. I’ll fight you without holding back. You’re not the Ayame I knew. You’re a monster that only resembles her.”

Ryuu draws his sword, and as he does so, it flashes with bright tongues of red, blue, and yellow flame, crawling up and down the blade. “Nothing to stop us this time.”

Silver sways slightly from the impact of another blast of light shot out by Zack Jr. She catches herself only just in time, holding herself back from what would’ve been an otherwise fatal fall.

“Pretty impressive,” Zack sneers, “I didn’t think you’d hold out this long.” A bright gleam of toying, mocking cheerfulness rushes through his eyes. “Let’s see how many more attacks you can take!”

Another wave of his staff, and a flash of bright blue claws tear at Silver, groping for her flesh. She takes a step back, sways, and catches herself yet again.

Silver raises a trembling hand up to her blackened and bruised face, staring with hatred up at Zack. ‘What am I doing…I’m barely putting up a fight. I can’t hold back for the sake of defeating the Myougun!’

Silver closes her eyes heavily, her eyelids drooping down. ‘I don’t have much strength left. But I’ll take him down with me!’ She opens her eyes wide, and Zack blinks in alarm at the hint of murder in them.

Raising her bow, Silver loads it with another pair of poisoned arrows. Zack stands still, poised to dodge the attack, his confidence back now with the knowledge of her next move.

Silver fires both arrows sequentially, watching as they sing through the air headed toward Zack. With a fiery blast of light, Zack Jr. counters the attack, turning the arrows into a mere pile of dust.

Zack smirks as the bright, blinding flash of light clears. However, his smirk suddenly turns into a frown as another, much, much larger arrow glides through the air heavily, and pierces him directly across the stomach.

Zack grimaces from the pain as the arrow penetrates his body. He stares down at the shaft of the arrow, noticing the grim streaks of poison running across it. He smirks again. “Heh, didn’t I tell you that I’m a Priest? Attempting to poison me is no use.”

“Don’t be so cocky,” Silver replies, and Zack looks up, slightly rattled. “This is not a poison in which you may battle against, even with Dispel.”

“Impossible! My Dispel will cure me against any poison that enters my body!” Zack retorts angrily.

“No. Why? Because this is not a poison that I have injected into your body. It is a reverse poison! No poisonous substance has entered your body. Rather, substances are exiting your body!”

“Exiting?! What do you mean?” Zack gasps.

“Not very observant, either,” Silver notes. She points at the base of the arrow, which is connected directly to her own abdomen. “We’re both connected to this arrow. The vital substances from your own body are flowing through that arrow into mine.”

Zack seizes the arrow in his hands and tugs, trying futilely to remove it from his own body. Sweat drips down from his forehead from the effort, but the arrow remains fixed and immovable, lodged in between he and Silver. “Damn you…let me go from this thing!”

All at once, Ryuu releases the pent up energy built in his sword, and fires a spiraling current of fire, ice, and lightning rushing through the air directly at Ayame.

The blast of energy explodes in the air, sending debris collapsing onto the floor and smoke rising into the air. As the smoke clears, Ryuu widens his eyes as he realizes Ayame has disappeared.

“Too slow,” Ayame mutters with a smirk, tapping Ryuu’s shoulder from behind.

Ryuu swings around instantly, but turns too late, and receives a Geta in the stomach. Ryuu slides backwards, his feet scraping over the hard stone floor. He coughs from the quick wound, but Ayame leaps forward and knees him in the chest, kicking his chin upwards and cracking his neck.

Ryuu dashes out of the way, collapsing onto the ground gasping for air. He stares up into the air as Ayame stands over him, looking down with a sneer on her face. “Pathetic, Ryuu.”

Ryuu gasps, clutching his injured side, drawing long, rattling breaths. “Not…quite,” he hisses between heaving breaths. “Heh.”

Ayame glances perplexedly at Ryuu. “What are you—”

Ryuu shakes his head, and slowly raises his right hand, pointing with his index finger up at the ceiling. Ayame follows his gaze, and exclaims astonishment at a shower of sparks hovering in the air.

The flash of yellow and red sparks cascades down from the air, showering with loud pops and short, quick blasts around Ayame. She raises her arms, shielding herself from the explosions. “What’s the meaning of this?!”

“Heh,” Ryuu replies with a smirk, “This!” He rises from the ground without warning, and sprints forward, knocking Ayame far into the air backwards with a swipe of his sword.

Ayame lands on her rear on the ground heavily, looking upwards at Ryuu in surprise. “You’d…planned that far ahead to attack me?”

“Fighting is not just about pure power, Ayame,” Ryuu replies, “It’s also about tactics, and, most importantly, for what reason you’re fighting, because that determines your motivation. You used to know that, Ayame.”

“No. I still know that. My reason for fighting is to defeat you. That’s the greatest motivation of them all,” Ayame replies in a low voice.

“Tch,” Ryuu growls, “Have it your way then.”

The enormous arrow connecting Silver and Zack collapses onto the ground with a ringing thud, shaking the very floor precariously connecting the three towers.

Zack materializes just behind Silver, with a bright flash of blue light as a door snaps shut behind him. He taps her lightly with a smirk engraved on his face. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’re no longer dealing with Pigs or Mushrooms. You’re dealing with a highly skilled Priest in an organization designed to kill.”

Silver gasps in bewilderment. “How did you—?”

“I Mystic Doored myself out of there,” Zack shrugs, “I must say, even for an attack from you it was too easy. And to think I had a nagging fear you had a trump card I wouldn’t be able to beat!”

Zack pokes Silver again in the back, this time slightly more harshly, pushing her forward. He glances over at the wrecked path Arai and Arayu had created in their fight earlier.

“You’re going down just like your comrade,” Zack hisses in Silver’s ear. She merely returns his hiss with a grotesque, yet defiant, silent glare.

Zack raises his Kage, and forms a devastatingly bright bow and arrow in his hands. He places the edge of the strung arrow on Silver’s back. “You’re gonna die here and now!”

Silver retains her silence, standing awkwardly still under the dominance of Zack. Finally, he loses patience with Silver and fires the arrow.

All at once, a rushing explosion of light engulfs the stone bridges connecting the three towers. A deafening roar of thunderous combustion follows, as the entire bridge shatters in one mere blow, and as the light disappears, the bridge completely collapses, sending Silver plummeting down into the air below.

Zack remains standing at the very edge of the now fragmented stone passageway, staring down at the wreckage below. Large portion of the bridge lie in the gap between the three towers, with Silver nowhere in sight. He smiles pleasurably to himself and walks away, clapping his hands complacently.

He fails to notice a thin, fibrous rope of poison clinging onto the stone bridge, tiny dots of poison trickling down the makeshift thread.

Ayame dashes forth, striking at Ryuu blow after blow with her Geta. Ryuu parries every single one of her attacks, but overlooks a seventh attack, taking the point of the Geta straight to the chest again.

Ryuu leaps backwards, momentarily stunned by the surprise attack. “A Final Attack?”

“Surprised?” Ayame sneers, “A bonus of the Hybrid Crusader seal I managed to write after my second Paradox attack.”

“I see…” Ryuu whispers, “Well I’m not letting you block my way any further!”

“Just try and attack me,” Ayame replies lightly, “No matter what you say, you’ve yet to prove to me that you’re even a worthy opponent. Maybe I once thought you were one, but thus far as I’ve watched you on your journey, you’ve proven time and time again you’re nothing but weak.

“To think, you even failed to notice the strategic attacks I’ve been placing on you!”

Ryuu narrows his eyes, momentarily stumped, slightly. “What are you…” He suddenly doubles over, clutching his chest. As he raises his head, he finally notices the puffs of purplish smoke hovering around Ayame.

“So…you’ve been using Drain on me all this time, huh? I can’t believe I made such a rookie mistake…” Ryuu replies. “If that’s the case, then it must mean I’m gonna be running out of stamina soon. Even if I make it past you, I won’t be able to do much against Kimura…clever…”

“Yes, Ryuu…” Ayame simpers, “My attacks weren’t all for nothing. Each ‘futile’ attack, no matter how weak, was all part of my strategy. Well, Ryuu? What is the big Joukai Elite member gonna do now? You don’t stand a chance against a fully healed elite Myougun.”

A rattling spasm runs through Ryuu, and he coughs out a fair amount of blood onto the floor. He watches the dripping red plasma form a trickling puddle on the floor. ‘No use…I guess I’ll have to use the last one…but with my strength this low, it’ll most likely consume all the rest of my energy…if not kill me.’

Ryuu stands up straight, and, surprisingly, flashes a sneer over to Ayame. She narrows her eyes, attempting to figure out Ryuu’s next move. “Still smiling to the very end, eh? Very well. Then I shall show you why you should’ve never come here in the first place.”

“No,” Ryuu contradicts, “I’m gonna show you why you should’ve never picked a fight with me in the first place.” He raises a slightly quivering hand up into the air, revealing a small vial of a black liquid.

Ayame’s eyes widen in fear as she stares into the depths of the vial. “That’s not…?”

“You should be quite familiar with the contents of this little potion bottle here, Ayame,” Ryuu smirks, “Seeing how it’s a top secret potion developed by the Myougun themselves.”

“Soul Potion,” Ayame mutters under her breath, “I underestimated you. To think, you actually obtained some of it…”

“Then I trust you’re aware of the delightful powers of this little potion here, eh?” Ryuu replies, continuing to smirk at Ayame. “This potion, in exchange for half my physical stamina and all my physical mana, will grant the user one shot to completely obliterate their enemy, by temporarily transforming them into a Paradox to destroy their soul!”

“I know what you’re planning to do, Ryuu,” Ayame hisses, “You’re planning to use that Soul Potion to target specifically only a part of my soul, thinking it’ll bring back the Ayame you miss so much? Forget it. It won’t work; you’d only be throwing your own life away.”

“It’s worth a try,” Ryuu replies softly, “Because I know that I will defeat you regardless. And I have to get rid of you even if it costs a whole lot more, for Kunai’s sake, and especially…”

“Ivy’s,” Ayame finishes. She laughs suddenly, a hallow, eerie laugh. “You’re so gung-ho about it, Ryuu. Do you honestly think everything will work out fine and dandy like that?”

“It’s worth a try,” Ryuu smirks, “As Arai often liked to say, ‘You never know if you don’t try.’”

“We’ll see about that,” Ayame growls, and launches herself forward, Geta poised to strike.

Ryuu dodges the ridiculously quick blow, and without hesitance, swallows the potion in one go. Instantly, his eyes begin to glow a bright yellow, and his pupils turn red. Ryuu raises his sword, clutching it closely. ‘I’ve only got one shot to do this right…otherwise, the potion turns useless and I’ve lost my only chance. The way she is now, I’ll never be able to land a direct blow on her. Even if I do hit her, I’ll probably kill her unless I get a perfect shot.’

Ayame dashes forward again, striking Ryuu lightly across the shoulder with her Geta. She disappears again, flying around Ryuu as a flash of purple light.

Ryuu remains standing fixed on the same spot, his mind concentrating meditatively on Ayame’s movements. ‘I’ll have to stop her movements just barely long enough for me to strike her. It’ll require insane luck and timing to pull it off…but I’m confident.’

Without even looking, Ryuu freezes a small square foot of ground just as Ayame reaches it, causing her to slip almost right away. Simultaneously, tiny threads of lightning spark up from the floor, enveloping Ayame and surrounding her, clinging and pulling at her.

“NOW!” Ryuu shouts, and with a powerful diagonal swing, Ryuu cuts his sword straight through Ayame, shaving past her forehead and sending the sword right through her.

At once, a gigantic explosion engulfs Ryuu and Ayame, as a loud, piercing, ear-splitting shriek fills the room. Ayame falls to the ground, unconscious as black smoke seeps out of her motionless body.

Meanwhile, Ryuu’s sword falls to the ground with a clang, completely shattered to pieces. He lowers to his knees, and finally collapses facedown on the floor. ‘I saved you, Ayame…’

Lying on the floor, Ryuu closes his eyes, breathing difficultly. ‘But as I thought…I didn’t have enough strength remaining to use the Soul Potion without completely overwhelming my body…’

Kunai hurtles straight up a dark, winding flight of stairs inside a tower, while sunshine seeps into the climbing stairway from high above. Kunai pants heavily as he runs, but refuses to stop, his eyes gazing up high at the end of the staircase.

‘Arai, Ryuu, Silver…you guys better be waiting for me to face Lord Kimura!’

Next Time: Episode 55 The Legendary Second Phoneme

Episode 55 The Legendary Second Phoneme coming soon!