A Deal

The man glided across the granite roads, ice forming at his feet with each slide forward. His hand occasionally darting outwards to keep balance, his hair fluttering wildly from opposing winds. His breath visible in the cold air and his eyes set on his adversary that chased him.

'Stop running!' Merlene shouted, her hands gripping her blade in annoyance before leaping forward. Her shadow loomed over the man, his feet grinding against the ice that followed, creating a new path to dodge the blow.

Her blade collided with the ice, sparks and shards flying, the cold dust lingering in the air as the moonlight illuminated all that flew close, making them look like tiny shards amidst a heated battle. Merlene did not relent, her feet digging into the ground that held her before dashing after her foe. white light glowed around her. Her feet picking up speed until she was a blur. The man had no time to react, his ice breaking at her break neck pace. 

He tried to get away as fast as possible, the sword already colliding with his chest, leaving a wound that was almost fatal, Crimson was painted across his chest, as he tried to catch his breath, his strained pants barely squeezed past his lips. His pupils dilating in horror.

'Oh dear is it done already?' Merlene mocked, his blade drawn once more ready to strike the man as Niao prayed in the back, providing her strength. 

The cold air sent chills down her spine, the man's hands slowly moving up to his chest, tainting his palm with it's deep red hue. 

'I-..' The man murmured, not sure what to say, his sentences hardly came his words quivering under the wait of his fatigue. 

'I can't prove useless again.' He muttered, his hands digging deep within his wound, pulling out a claymore blade. 'Never again.'

'If i die it will be with the blood of at least one of you on my hands!' He shouts, his breath heavy, cold mist coming from his mouth with each shaking pant, his pupils were shrunken, dilating in pain and rage, his heart racing in his chest as more crimson fell to the floor from the open wound.

'That's what i like to hear!' Merlene cheered, a grin on her face as she charged towards the man once more, their blades colliding with amazing force, dust flying from their encounter.

The cold from the blade caused her skin to crawl as she pushed forward, the sound of screeching filled their ears as the blades glide against each other, sending sparks to fly. Both of their blades pointed to the sky from Merlene's retaliation, both trying to regain their balance to gain the first strike.

'Niao, do it now!' She shouted, needles flying in the midst of their battle, impaling the arm of their common enemy. his other arm proving numb, his blade shattering against the floor as his gaze fixes on his adversaries.

With a grin Merlene charged, ignoring the blue light that formed by the man's foot. He stomped to the floor the a blade spinning in the air from the impact, catching the handle in his jaw before parrying the attack. Merlene's blade faced the night sky, her eyes widened by the unexpected retaliation, her mouth slightly agape. The man kicked her in the gut, sending her back into the ground, her back grazing the concrete floor.

The man sighed, his mouth opening to drop the blade, creating a wall of ice before running into it to pop in the socket to one of his arms. 

'Merlene, can you stand?' Niao asked.

'Yeah,' She murmured, getting up from the floor, her hands wrapped around the hilt of her sword as she stared straight ahead. The man doing the same with his blade, his body bruised, his arm shaking under the weight of the sword he wielded to guard his life.

'You sure do know how to stay alive.' Merlene grunted through her panting breaths, the man staring at her, the moonlight revealing the scratches and fatigue of his face.

'You can still surrender, your death has no need to be a painful one.' Merlene commented, her eyes opening to reveal a hazy white mess, her pupils no different to a glass ball.

'I can see you don't have much longer.' A hazy outline forms around her foe, the only thing visible to her gaze as numbers generate over his head until it stopped at two, whether it was years, months, weeks or days was unknown to her. Though she kept her bluff.

The man chuckled, blood trickling at his lips, his body leaned forward to somehow dispel the pain without the comfort of his arms, his laugh only getting even louder at the pain that shot him in the foot, the pain that might make him die here.

'Yeah, probably.' He grinned, his and reaching to wipe the blood from his lips. Crimson smeared across his face. Before he lets out a sigh, straightening himself despite the pain.

'But if there's even a chance that ill make it out of here, ill keep going. I hope you see my point.' He murmured pointing the edge of his blade at his enemies. 

Noticing his aggression they got back into a battle stance, the air distilled between them as they stood off against each other, both parties waiting on the other to make the first move. The eerie silence breaking over their heads soon enough.

'Well this is a predicament.' A calming voice cooed in the darkness, soft steps walking towards the group, his hands hidden within his long sleeves. Yellow gaze peering at the man from where he stood.

'You two should head back.' He smiled, stepping in front the two of them.

'You two go take care of the residents.' At his command both Niao and Merlene nodded, departing to Anvile.

The man looked around in confusion, his gaze fixing on Vasrien. His appearance calming yet dangerous, he wanted to retreat but he couldn't he was too fatigued to get anywhere far.

'Tell me, what's your name?' Vasrien pondered as he started to walk before the man, a smile gracing his lips the closer he got. 

'A3-' He murmured. Stepping back from him, hoping to get as much space as possible. His breathing spiked, his hands shaking and goosebumps rising on his skin as he got near. His pupils dilating in horror of the supposed human before him.

'A3, that's an interesting name.' Vasrien murmured, his hand stretched out towards the man, his sudden movement making him flinch before opening his eyes towards the man who stood in front of him.

'Well then, let's make a deal.' He grinned, his eyes glinting with a sense of the unknown, he couldn't really tell what he was thinking, but he knows what will happen if he don't agree.

'A3.'

'Did they win?' Kaluar pondered, staring up from the machine he kneeled on, his gaze peering over the machine. Hands digging as deep as he could into the top so he wont fall. 

'Shouldn't you be more concern on how we'll get down?!' Celi shouted, now realizing the weight of their situation. Clinging to his shirt in her feeble attempt to pull him away from the edge.

'Are you two alright?' A deep voice pondered, causing the two of them to look back their hearts racing at who it might be.

'Don't worry, I'm not one of them.' Kaisen reassured, his hand stretched out towards our hero, waiting for him to take it. 

'I'm here to get you down.'

Hesitantly, he took Kaisen's hand, both of them glowing in a blue light along with Celi. Being sent to their dorms once more, the hole in the wall a reminder of the confrontation they had with that weird man.