The Fall

Nellia was used to seeing the unexpected, used to experiencing it. But the sight she saw once she stepped off her ship, weapons raised, was so incredible she almost did a double take in surprise.

The same couldn't be said for the three soldiers that followed. They froze at the sight of a blue-haired girl covered in lightning with gravity-defying hair standing in the middle of a crater with the Injured General.

In their bid of confusion, the three-pointed their guns at her. "Stop. They are allies." Nellia's words cut their action off, so they took watch of the perimeter.

Approaching the two, Nellia looked the both of them up and down, scanning their figures. Nizael's injuries were quickly healing themselves.

Giving Nellia a nod, she stood in front of her granddaughter with an expression of momentary surprise that quickly morphed into a nod of approval.

It was likely that Lulu had been injured before, but in the state, she was in. It seemed that her body was put in its most optimized performance, and that came with a look she had never expected from the small girl who was her niece, one of absolute apathy.

The girl in question did not even give her attention. Instead, after removing her gaze from the General, it briefly flashed over her and her subordinates before pointing at the spot in the distance that once sparked with lightning.

At the point of her finger, lighting struck down once more. She continued staring out into the distance, not a single blink being caught in her eyes.

The soldiers watched the girl, marveling at her abilities, thinking hers was the most unique ability ever seen.

Sighing at her subordinates' reactions, Nellia looked around at the destruction in the surroundings, craters covering the entire vicinity, liquid fire oozing out of cracks in the ground.

"What happened to those who were attacking you?" She questioned.

"It appears the mercenaries left, while Lulu sent off the other. I can't say for sure whether that killed-"

An earthshaking boom erupted. Interrupting her grandmother's words, Lulu swiped at the air, sending a lightning claw slicing through the air, slashing against a large fist sent her way.

Recoiling from her attack, was a heavily injured Kharn, his body was covered in burns, his skin was charred, and smoke rolled off his figure. His skin started bubbling with pops as his recovery kicked.

The smile that this beast of a man had continuously held on to his face since he arrived had been completely wiped off and replaced with a seething frown.

The beast was not thrilled about being harmed by anyone other than the general, and his building rage was a great signal for that.

His eyes creased, glaring down at the young woman with her hair glowing a brilliant blue, blinding him while it defied gravity. Her body was drenched in blue, while her eyes flared with molten red. The contrast was all threatening.

While her appearance was worrying, what bothered Kharn was her irksome gaze, empty even in the face of the man who harmed her grandmother.

She was simply flexing her fingers, seemingly waiting to summon a powerful smite down on him once more.

It was no longer a laughing matter.

"I never thought you would be the vessel of such power. It seems to beat even your beloved General. Entertain me, child." He goaded.

His goading, however, was only met with silence. The young woman did not react in the slightest, instead, she was still simply staring at him.

In the blink of an eye and the pound of thunder, she had zapped in front of him, sending a knee to his face, knocking him off his feet, and sending him tumbling.

Stretching a hand to the heavens, lighting struck there a multitude of times, receding, a long trident made of lighting filling her grip. Spinning the polearm, she stabbed the three prongs through the beast's thick neck, pinning him to the ground.

Watching all this unfold, the soldiers gasped in bewilderment, the skill being displayed with her abilities was frighteningly precise, yet beautiful.

Observing her niece's movements, Nellia was similarly left speechless from witnessing it. "Has she always been like this?" She questioned Nizael, the old General also watching with a tight grip on her weapons.

"No..." She said, "This is the first."

Still pinning the beast to the ground, Lule had the beast's head hanging above deep emptiness as they were now at the edge of Asora's Rift.

Every attempt of Kharn trying to pry the spear or Lulu off him, lighting would jut out of her body, striking him and making his body go numb.

Loud, quaking laughter shook the air around them. Even with the trident in his throat, the beast found a way to laugh. "Impressive! Little Demon, you are just as spectacular as the General." He struggled to get the words to leave his throat, but he still managed to speak.

Laughing once more, his entire body began bubbling with explosive pops. "This reminds me of that day all over again." He lowered his voice, tightly wrapping his hands around the head of the trident-locking it in place.

Seeing the action, Nizael quickly began to move toward the two, remembering the bazaar actions of the man when they last fought.

However, her worries were unwarranted. Dismissing her trident, Lulu appeared a short distance from Kharn in a flash of lightning.

The bubbling beneath his skin stopped once she moved away. Hopping onto his feet, Kharn growled under his breath, "Seems you're as smart as her too. A shame"

Manifesting above his skin, the bubbles became a collection of popping explosions, Kharn's injuries being healed in in their after, though not entirely, where Lulu's trident had pierced left three gaping holes in his neck.

Observing the lightning-clad young woman before him, he snarled at her indifferent response. 

The scales on her prosthetic arm popped open with a hiss, greedily eating at the lighting rolling off her. Tightening her fist, it pulsed with violent energy.

Hopping off the ground she charged Kharn once more, lighting fled from her left arm, allowing her clawed prosthetic to produce a vicious swipe.

Dawning his grin, Kharn met her attack with vibrant glee, hurtling his large fist at her while sinking into the ground to anchor himself - bubbling explosions popping around him.

Realizing what the aftermath of their attacks would be, Nizael quickly escaped further, the soldiers and Nellia following her example.

At contact, everything went silent, the wind came to a sudden halt and the soldiers held their breaths in anticipation.

Then, at the release of a bated breath rumbling explosions shook the earth, the sound so loud it shook the hearts in their chests, only for that ear-splitting sound to be drowned out by the monstrous boom of lighting, like the roars of dragons rolled through the clouds above.

Light enveloped the Lulu and Kharn before stretching out to envelop the area far beyond, almost reaching where Nizael stood, a stroke of lightning tickling the tip of her nose.

With unflinching eyes, the General watched the light recede, leaving a massive crater, reminiscent of a meteor strike.

In the center, stood the two makers of this destruction.

Kharn stood planted in the ground, his body torn in half at the deep claw marks digging in him, lightning danced along the wounds causing his healing to struggle as it failed to fix the wounds.

While the lightning-clad young woman's blue aura was tainted by red, a hole popped into her side, leaking blood down her figure. Touching the blood, Lulu brought her fingers to her face. With a blank stare, she burnt the blood out of her sight, the wound quickly closing as she eyed the beast before her.

His healing was not being as nearly as compliant as hers. Her attack left an aftermath of lightning that contaminated his wounds, keeping them from healing. It would fade in due time, leaving an invasive scar-one hard to ignore.

Squinting at the pain, Kharn let out a boisterous laugh, one that echoed across the now snowless plains for miles. "Splendid! Absolutely splendid! You scar me, I claim it now, Little Demon. You will be a force to be reckoned with in the future for sure. Let the vast universe know that it was I, Kharn the Giant that foretold this!" He shouted.

Hearing his words, Lulu remained still, staring at him as if his words meant nothing. Already growing used to her indifferent attitude, Kharn grew a wide smile, one that worried Nizael to no end, causing her to attempt to rush over. Only for her to stumble over her steps, the use of her abilities already being felt throughout her body. "My bag! Bring me my bag, now!" Her groans turned into a yell that sent Nellia's soldiers scurrying to her ship.

Kharn stomped one foot onto the ground then the other, then repeated this process. As he did this, he began clapping his hands together, the wicked smile spreading across his face, as a sequence of words began to escape his lips. "Moltreind, Voltreind, Cra, Cra, Lel, Lel!" At his words, the air around the beast of a man shook.

Nellia's eyes widened as she tried to match the man in defending herself and Lulu, while Nizael, after receiving her bag, injected herself with a syringe before launching herself towards the two.

But it was too late.

"Grand!"

At his shout a bubbling of explosions expanded in mass from Kharn's body, covering the area around him, before enveloping Lulu, who had a weak shield from Nellia covering her. Yet that meant nothing, it wasn't the goal.

The ground beneath the two shook before breaking apart, It was only now apparent how close they were to the Rift, as the ground gave in. Lulu was forced into a freefall, the explosions knocking her off balance and removing any footing.

Similarly falling, Kharn was stopped in place before being pulled above, his ship hovering as an attraction forced pulled the man aboard.

Overlooking the destruction that ensued, he watched as Nizael tried to rush to her granddaughter's aid, Nellia on her heels. His cackle swept through the air, "We will meet again, Little Demon. Let us both remember this day!" With those departing words, his ship quickly zoomed off into the sky.

Trucking through the explosions, the two made it to the edge of the now-destroyed edge of the Roft, watching the blue-haired girl's freefall. "Quickly! Form a tear under her!"

"I can't! The explosions are blocking my line of sight, I can't form it If I can't see where she is!"

"How about forming a barrier!?"

"No, the problems are the same!"

Lulu was falling deeper into the Rift, the explosions were knocking her around, and the lighting had begun to leave her body, resolving to form a protective bubble around her instead, returning her hair to its natural dark blue color.

The young woman's eyes widened as she comprehended her predicament, she reached her arms out as her body sank with the dark fog that obscured the insides of the Rift.

Cursing, Nizael summoned white light to surround her body, preparing to dive in after her, only to be stopped by the tight grip of Nellia's hand. She looked down into the Rift before looking back at her and reluctantly shaking her head. "You know as much as I do that jumping in won't help her now, the Rift shifts every few moments. Right now she might as well be in a different dimension. We must use the other entrance.

Gritting her teeth, the General clenched her aching fingers into a fist, shaking her head. She looked down once more with a solemn gaze. "Let's return. I must inform her mother and organize a search party." She muttered before turning back to her ship.

Nodding, Nellia also gave the Rift a solemn once over, signaling with her hands as her soldiers shuffled onto their ships to depart.

...

The fall was arduous.

Long and painful, the fog that surrounded her attempted to suffocate her with all its might, only to be intercepted by the lightning surrounding her.

Yet the deeper she sank, the less she was protected. So much so that at the end of her fall out of the fog, she was no longer protected. In an act of survival, she tried to grab onto a ledge, once that proved impossible, she slammed herself into whatever surface possible to slow her fall.

Turning on her side, she used her prosthetic arm to cushion her fall. Still, her face scrunched in excruciating pain as she slammed into the bottom of the Rift. Curling into herself, her arms hugged and wrapped around her stomach as she squirmed.

Black seeped into her eyesight and darkness took hold.