Chapter 40

Tergon felt those pulsations stream through his being and his vision rose to a higher level of comprehension making the hidden dimensions of this arena becoming visible to him. Those ideograms and geometric projections trailed the steps of the warrior, with every move he made, creating a strange series of geometric combinations, it was a martial pattern of combat, Tergon grasped the wave and the way they fought was so unique, that they played both roles of offense and defense based on the way those ideograms configured themselves.

Tergon was beginning to see those symbols which trailed the warrior's sword with each strike he made, his blade disrupted the atmosphere, resulting in that explosion of geometric symbols and ideograms that reeled their way through his being, symbols which Tergon's ignorant mind could not comprehend. The symbols were undeniably explaining the warrior's battling moves but they were beyond what Tergon's mind couldn't and wasn't elevated enough to understand. The fibers of the atmosphere which had now become visible to Tergon contracted, lagging the pace of their motion.

Tergon's eyes just couldn't miss it, his slowly progressing sword clashing with the warrior's, resulted in those flaring ripples which consumed the entire expanse of this arena, birthing those infinite cube like domains, their surfaces creating multiple reflections which were beyond anything Tergon had ever seen. The fibers of the atmosphere slackened, releasing them from their tardy momentum, their motions went wild, taking on a lightning pace. Tergon could see the warrior's being fray through the cubes which consumed him in their mirror like depths, releasing him from the corners where Tergon wasn't expecting him to resurface from.

Parrying his blows Tergon was driven backwards by the ferocity with which the warrior unleashed his strikes but pushing forward, Tergon slowly tilted the balance gaining ground, giving them both an equal edge. The warrior never relenting in his resolve to take down his opponent went sonic in motion, breaking the barriers of time, his being frayed across every corner of the arena, creating multiple impressions of his form which struck Tergon

Feeling the slashes dig their fangs into his being, Tergon yelled in fury and frustration, not able to effectively sustain his defensive stand against this storm of multiple forms. Falling on his knees, Tergon strained to get back up at that instant but felt those fiery jabs scald his face and ribs from every corner and that hail of enflamed lightning from above buried him in their burning waves.

Tergon's body steamed with his back to the ground, bruised and bleeding, his muscles begged to be left to rest, but this wasn't the time to yield, this wasn't the time to relent neither was it the time to surrender. He had been beaten, he agreed, but he had eight more duels to go, having fought valiantly in the third, Tergon knew he could do better.

"Are you ready for the fourth duel ?" His opponent asked, his sword still drawn, his bronze gaze dwelling on Tergon's lying form like a malicious storm, daring him to either get up or walk away.

One step at a time Tergon rose to his feet, picking up his sword and shield. Face scarred and scalded, his eyes, now burnt out embers still glaring at his opponent fearlessly, unshaken by the defeats and ever hungering for victory. He hadn't come all the way here to lose, he had come here not just with hope because there was a chance that his hopes could get dashed to pieces, he had come here with a will and the will of a man was one thing which could never be broken.

"I'm not giving up now", Tergon said to himself, his lips bleeding, "you might be stronger", he said to the warrior, "faster and evolved at a cosmic level higher than me. But evolution isn't a matter of chance", Tergon smiled, "It's a matter of will !"

Charging at the warrior, sword raised high, Tergon's once coal dark eyes ignited their spark, his shield and being raving to this resonance, he slashed at his opponent. The fought round was fought with soul, body and mind, with will, skill and zeal, those torrents of flames rising as they clashed, those slashes countered with perfect precision and. the torrential storms erupting from their being, making this frozen astral plain ripple madly, the vividly burning waves spreading across this expanse.

Tergon felt the heat of battle reincarnating within him, pushing him towards that craved summit, making his being rage and rave. His vision went hypersonic and his slashes were lightning streaks clawing at his opponent, driving him backwards as Tergon fought furiously for victory. His vision could now interpret those ideograms and configurations and he espied every move made by the warrior even before he could strike. sending a fierce jab which dug into the warrior's middle, the impact made Tergon's opponent stumbling backwards. Not giving the warrior even a second to recollect himself, Tergon fell upon him like an astral tornado. Striking him from every corner, he made the warrior stumble backwards even farther.

"I know this is your arena", Tergon said as their swords locked, "but the game of swords is no man's title, it all comes down to the pillars of infinity."

Swirling around, Tergon unleashed that storm of lightning at the warrior who forged his way through it with his shield, reemerging with a steaming armour and a colossal gait of destruction. And like previous encounters, they clashed, the impact of their collision resulting in a rising mountain of colossal flames.

So this was how it felt like to battle through evolution and this was how powerful he was capable of becoming. Tergon was astonished at the new waves of energy traversing through his being, making him feel invisible, those conflicting sensations of heat and cold ran all over his body as though he were their seabed’s. This astral ocean rising within him was now taking him higher upon its waves towards that cosmic peak. And who was he ? Fire and lightning.

Tergon's blade, enflamed and burning of fire and lightning, struck like a live serpent hissing at his opponent, its fangs furiously clamoring to bury themselves into the warrior's being, with each blow it made sending the warrior staggering backwards, driven by the storm surrounding the sword and its master. And that sea awoke, flowing beneath them,. it burst through the arena's floor, engulfing them in its blazing waves.

The warrior rode this sea's waves aiming at Tergon, he brought down another storm upon him. Reenergized by this new surge. the warrior battled fiercely to gain the upper hand, striking and fraying through the distance, his sword locked with Tergon's, clanging like crashing meteors, they exhumed bursts of flames. The warrior's being raved and that fall of lightning infested waves crashed upon Tergon, consuming him within their monstrous pillars, they burnt and raved, making the arena quake and tremble, those cracks emerging from the earth as the turbulence persisted.

His burning shield raised and his form still standing, the passing of the storm unveiling his still living being, steaming. Tergon stared at his palms, feeling that new surge of energy brewing within them, his sword and shield melted away and in their place, those ideograms intertwined and intricately linked themselves, forming helical strands, their burning flow condensing into a new sword and shield. The lips of Tergon's wounds and injuries sealed themselves, healing under the influence of the flare burning within him. His parched skin fell off him and like a serpent he sloughed away his former self, arising as a higher being and an evolved form, Tergon's new suit of armour blazed.