SKY VS COLE (2)

I completely regenerated and held the pistol up to the sky to shoot at Cole, when he held out his left hand and ice shot out from it.

I narrowly escaped, watching my leg freeze solid as I dove out of the way and continued to run. He was using The First Trial abilities now, purposefully pulling me into a mess of memories.

Illusions of Cole appeared in front of me, and I didn't fall for a single one, running straight into them and turning them into strands, absorbing them into my body as I continued forward.

When the smoke cleared, I saw an illusion in front of me trying to attack. I knew it was a fake, so I looked up to see Cole coming down to stab me. That damn idiot!

I held up my gauntlets to block his strike, watching the blade fade into my arms and turn into strands.

I was fooled and turned my back to suffer another crack to my spine that split my body in half.

I was in midair, launching while my organs and what felt like gallons of blood spewed everywhere. Before I could even repair myself again, Cole was above me, presumably moving with Boo's speed, and impaled me with the Mahina Blade.

My lung was punctured as my bottom half regenerated, and the highway shifted in elevation. Cole pushed it down so it was level with the opposite end, and pulled the sword out of my chest while looking around, bouncing with a cocky emphasis.

"All those people you could fight... but you can't be yourself. Isn't that so shameful? What kind of strength do you have?" Cole asked me.

Strands healed my wounds, and I flipped up, holding the pistol widely in front of me while taking aim at Cole.

The Retriever cut off my left hand and cut my stomach open so my guts poured out. It was stunning to watch that happen, even though I had grown adapted to it. I haven't seen my guts in such a long time... this opponent was insanely tough...

Cole picked me up by my throat, slammed me into the ground, and kicked me, all before I could retaliate with Umbra's Gauntlets.

The speed was overwhelming... I couldn't match his power without diving into The First Trial Abilities... that meant I had to purposefully reduce my lifespan to ensure that the person from four hundred years ago wouldn't reclaim my memories.

…

Huh...?

Wait a minute...

Illya once told me that the reason it hurts and reduces my lifespan when I pull out The First Trial's abilities is that it's like I'm expending my memories... but why can he do it so well?

I thought to myself for a moment while I was flying through the air, and it clicked in my mind as soon as I hit the ground.

The old me has no memories. That's why he can use them... he has nothing to expend... this is an uphill battle, curving now at 90 degrees. Could I win against that?

When I hit the ground, my feet instantly began to move in conjunction with the ice that was gaining on me.

I deliberately used Belle's ability, watching the clock tick down.

[Lifespan Reduction: 7.5 Years]

The time was rapidly increasing now, showing no signs of slowing down. By the time this fight was over, I'd be lucky if I had any life left.

The ice collided with Cole's and he then used Shike's ability to launch everything at me.

I sped through, using Boo's ability next, and getting myself cut with thousands of ice shards that tore my skin up to no belief. I placed six illusions beside Cole, and he fell for the wrong one, which allowed me to make my first, powerful strike.

My golden saber came out and struck him in his neck and with Umbra's gauntlets, it shattered his bone and decapitated him easily. I knew it wasn't over at that point, so I pulled out the gun next and shot six times toward Cole while running through cement and icicles that blew up from the impact earlier.

[Lifespan Reduction: 7.76 Years]

Blood started to drip from my nose, but that couldn't, and wouldn't stop me. I continued my path straight over to Cole, with my saber cocked back, and my arms tensing up in strength.

I dove into the black strands again, coating the saber in them, and colliding with the Mahina Blade. It rung against the earth once more, and another chip went into the blade, cracking the entire thing down the center. If it cracked once more, nobody could use it!

I continued my onslaught, watching Cole utilize all of the abilities of people I've met in my time. He was fast, he stabbed quickly, he was strong, and he was smart, above all else.

[HEART RATE: 290]

I sucked in a quick breath of air while pushing against the Mahina Blade, watching the metal slowly fall apart... until it shattered.

Like breaking a window, shards of metal fine enough to fit through the eye of a needle sprawled out in the air, wildly floating in the air against the rules of gravity. While it floated in the air, it briefly blinded Cole... but I couldn't see the light.

All of the shards of Mahina were sent into my White Stone, perfectly restoring it to the condition it was in before I deflected the Isle.

"Sky..." Avie's voice rang out in my head, and I could see the strands of hair on my head shift from brown, going darker, and then turning straight to blue.

Avie was now with me again.

I swapped with her, and in a millisecond, she broke the sound barrier, made the speed of light look like the minimum, and impaled Cole in sixteen different places with her fist before kicking the bottom of his jaw clean off.

I swapped back, briefly regenerating my stamina, and running at him again.