Ali's Last Strike

Just as Providence came to the realization, Ali struck her dead in the center of her face, putting a hole through her head with her hand.

Providence fell over as if she was dead, and blood poured out of Ali's mouth in a steady stream as she stood above her body.

Golden strands tied Providence's arms and legs to the ground and the powerful gravity that Ali could wield slammed into her.

Providence's brain hit the ground behind her and splattered widely around the dome.

"Did... did she win?" I asked Eo.

She shook her head and pointed up.

"No... she's hitting her one last time." She told me.

Ali lifted her hand as high as it would go, summoning a saber with a golden beam at the end.

And that's when I remembered her scythe.

Her scythe came down at blistering speeds, one so fast that it hit the floor and a spark emerged that blinded me. It was such an intense spark that slammed into Providence's chest, that it cracked the ground beneath her...

And then it cut the dome in half.

Eo and I were baffled, so baffled that our mouths were stuck open as the dome collapsed around Ali and Providence... yet, Ali didn't even flinch when it happened.

She yanked the scythe out of Providence's chest and stuck it skyward as well, looking down on Providence.

"No way... no way! Ali can break the dome?! How much power is she exerting?!" Eo asked herself while peering at Ali.

Golden strands, like a swirl you'd see on ice cream, started to form the shape around Ali. They were flowing like a river and surrounding her entire body in opaque strands that covered most of her.

Then came the saber and scythe.

The scythe blade enlarged and pierced Providence's chest again, and when the saber slammed into the back of it, it cracked the ground underneath them and split it completely.

And then it split everything else underneath Ali in half as well.

The hit was so powerful that not only did a shockwave come out of the impact point, but it also bent the gravity waves around it, sending all rocks back down to the ground as everything came to a collapsing point. Even Ali hit the ground violently...

And then she began to revert back to her previous form.

Ali, panting with all of her might, spitting up more blood than before, and unable to summon strands at all, stood between Providence, Eo, and I.

She held her hand out, blocking us from being hit.

"Miss Ali?! Hey, are you okay?!" I yelled out to her.

"No." She told me.

In the blink of an eye, Ali's left arm was severed at her shoulder, spewing more blood as she held her ground. Her knees were shaking, and she eventually fell to them, watching Providence's body regenerate from nothing.

"Dammit... DAMMIT!" Providence shouted out. It was at this point that everybody realized Providence couldn't summon any strands at all...

Ali did it... she weakened Providence.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU STOLE MY STRANDS! GIVE THEM BACK!" Providence yelled at Ali... but she held her ground.

I went to stand up, but Eo dragged me down and put her finger over my lip.

"Shush... she's not done yet..." Eo told me.

"I don't know... what you're talking about..." Ali said, puking up blood now in the middle of her sentence.

"It's over... you and I both know you lost. Just give me my strands, and I'll finish everybody else here. You can't restart. This is it. Sky failed his test, you didn't kill me, your plan blew up in your face! Give me my goddamn strands back." Providence told Ali. I took note of how desperate she was...

"I don't have them..." Ali finally said.

"You don't have them? Don't be stupid! Who else would..." Providence stopped mid-sentence and looked back at the rock Ali pointed out where Sky and Providia used to be.

"You didn't..." Providence stopped her sentence again and Ali nodded with a smile.

"I warned you. You don't know shit about my son if you think he failed. Sky is my boy, and my boy would never fail in the face of a challenge like this one... he will keep on trying his heart out, and he will prevail, not because it's what I expect from him, it's because I KNOW it's what he's capable of." Ali told Providence.

Providence laughed, walking up to Ali with her hand cocked back into a punch.

"Don't hate me when I kill you," Providence said.

And just as she cocked her fist back, the ground started to shake, which disrupted her movement.

A loud slamming noise and the sound of dirt and rocks being kicked up and strewn about the battlefield were all we heard.

On the ground, in a spiral of dust, stood Sky. Golden strands were enveloping his body, starting at the bottom of both of his hands, and moving up to his elbows. They latched to him as a leech would, and when he turned his head upward... we could all see how powerful he had become.

I had known Sky for fourteen years. I had seen him cry, seen him mad, seen him happy, but I've never seen the emotion on his face right now.

It wasn't anger. This was pure hatred. Malice, maybe even Wrath captivated his entire face. His purple irises, mixed in with a golden coloring, and a red marking of three lines traveling up his cheek were all we could see now.

"What, you think I'm afraid of you?" Providence asked Sky.

He took one step forward and disappeared.

There was dust everywhere... and then there wasn't.

In a wide arc, Sky swung once and completely split Providence in half, pushing her away from Ali.

That's when Sky stepped in between the two and summoned two golden sabers in his hands after dropping one by Ali.

"I guess you are the Deity of Wrath now. Aren't you?" Providence asked Sky.

"Shut up." Sky told her. And in that instance, both of her arms popped off like they overstayed their welcome. Providence went wide-eyed as Sky stood in one place, watching her movement like a hawk.