Shike VS War (2)

-11 Minutes Until Providence's Arrival-

"Not bad, Shike! You figured it out, I see, but can you hit me again?" War asked me.

War charged in and now when he swung his sword, it was filled with much more strength. Enough strength to offset what I was capable of storing. The surroundings around me, such as weak bushes and fallen branches, were being blown away by the strikes from War's sword. It was like a blast of wind as I absorbed the attack and launched it back at him.

We jumped around, running through the scenery together as we threw strikes back and forth until I was lucky enough to split him in half while absorbing another attack.

War clicked his tongue and I flipped my body, slamming my heel into the side of his skull by one of the eye holes. It cracked and he was sent bouncing off the floor, past piles of brick, rock, and puddles of water, and eventually landed against the grass.

Just like one of Sky's sabers, War's sword dissipated into smoke and teleported back into his hand.

"Wow! I can't believe how much you're pissing me off! I can't land a single hit on you, yet I'm bordering the line between life and death pretty intensely right now! You piece of shit..."

Before I could even process what was happening, War's blade rose out of the ground and stuck me in the hand. It pierced the center of my hand as I held it parallel with the ground, and disrupted my entire thought process. Not because of the pain, but because of something else...

I looked back to War and could only see him as my teacher. I wanted to listen to him now, but I was conscious of the decision! I don't want to do this! But, I can't even move my body right now.

"And just like that, one tiny stab is all it takes for me to win over you. That was fun, Shike, but now, I want you to go kill your friends for me." War said with a smile.

My foot moved to the ground and I turned my body to Belle and Alexia. Everything in my head was screaming at myself to stop moving, but I couldn't stop. My left hand was tingling as I refused to move my body with all of my willpower.

"If you don't kill them, I will. So, go on, hurry up." War said with a smile. He was leaning in beside my face while we both looked in Belle and Alexia's direction. They were doing their best fighting Famine, why can't I move my body?!

I stomped my foot in the ground and stored kinetic energy I made from walking, pushing my body back. Like squeezing a balloon until it burst, my chest was getting tighter and tighter... and then... my head followed.

I saw something that looked like words in my vision as I held my head in defiance while staring at Belle and Alexia.

"Hey! Why isn't my ability working?!" War screamed out.

He was starting to run at me while the words exploded in my left eye, covering everything I could perceive.

[A USER HAS BEEN REGISTERED AS THE SECOND WHITE STONE OF SCARS]

[SHIKE ASTERIO]

In a fraction of a second, my left hand exploded in a burst of crimson-red blood and fell to the ground as chunks of my fingers, nails, and bones clattered against the grass. My left eye burst out of my head in the same red fashion and I screamed in pain as my hand slowly regenerated, covered in strands.

And as my left eye came back to me, my vision was restored and I could see a pure white diamond-shaped stone emanate from the back of my hand. I was glowing with color and I felt much stronger than I previously did.

"What the... no way..." War muttered.

I fixated my vision on him and then ran after him. War tried to slash downward at me, but I grabbed the blade of his sword and used my ability.

The increase in strength I've obtained from this White Stone, or something, put me far above War as his right arm exploded into blood and bone all over the field. His sword was gone and my saber was halfway through his neck before he could react, but I knew that's what he wanted from me.

I stopped my saber's momentum, turned my wrist, and then pulled upward, cutting through the top of his cracked skull with the rapidly flowing white saber in my hands. It shone brightly and even lit up the ground as I let it hang by my side.

"You son... of... a bitch..." War said. Soon after, he disappeared into smoke, and his skull was followed by turning into dust.

I had no time to consider what just happened to me, but I was astonished by it. It was like my strength naturally grew way past my previous limits. I wasn't sure what all this stuff was, but I knew for a fact it wasn't normal. Words appeared in my eyes, this white diamond that I tried to take off, but couldn't. This wasn't normal, it was far from it!

However... I wasn't directly affected by it at all. My body still moved as it did before, if not more efficiently, and I could think to the same capacity. I turned to look at everybody else... but my surroundings were... infinite?

---

Like an infinite plane of flowing water that was too shallow to drown in, I was stuck looking around aimlessly. Once I turned around, however... I saw signs of human life.

"Hello? My name is Shike... I'm lost, where are we?" I asked the person.

Her golden hair swayed side to side in the unpredictable wind and she turned around with blood-red eyes and a stone similar to mine.

"Shike...? How did you get here?" She asked me.

"I'm not sure... the last thing that happened to me is that this White Stone grew on me... does that have something to do with it?" I asked the mysterious girl.

"That would... then, it's nice to meet you, Shike. I'm not sure why I'm here either... but my name is Dani." She said.

"Dani Asterio."