Chapter 56 - A Maze of a Canyon

<p>I pop back up as if nothing happened, looking up to see the hidden smug look in Eniyala's eyes.<br/><br/> "If you're too embarrassed, feel free to concede."<br/><br/> "Embarrassed? Why? I just hit the coolest swag walk you'll ever see."<br/><br/> The spectators sit in silence for a moment before Zwelli interjects. "These two are already going back and forth! Is it the flames of rivalry, or passion?"<br/><br/> We both look up to the announcer's box.<br/><br/> "Ew, what the hell?" Eniyala says, holding up both middle fingers.<br/><br/> "Yeah, not cool, man."<br/><br/> He stares down at us blankly. "And it seems they're screaming 'passion' loud and clear!"<br/><br/> I clench my fist. 'I swear to Alyphia, after this match is over…'<br/><br/> I turn back to Eniyala to see blue flames burning in her eyes, even though her face is the same. 'Glad we're on the same page.'<br/><br/> "Let's see our setting! Everyone?"<br/><br/> "ARENA… SET!"<br/><br/> The dirt shifts its shape and color underneath the both of us as it forms into a new scene.<br/><br/> "Woah! A maze-like canyon scene! That's pretty rare!" Zwelli exclaims. Everything is blocked from my view, including Eniyala, as tall stone walls that reach towards the sky grow from the ground. "Let's get our Eye Spies in there so we can see the action, shall we?"<br/><br/> I hear a slight whizzing sound, and a small gray orb flies around a corner, a yellow light emanating on its center locking onto me. <br/><br/> "There are both contestants!" <br/><br/> I'm assuming the crowd has some way to see us, as they burst into cheers suddenly. "Let's start em up, folks!"<br/><br/> "THREE!"<br/><br/> 'Here we go,' I tell myself as I pull UnHoly Raze out of an Inventory screen.<br/><br/> "TWO!"<br/><br/> As they count, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. No matter how things turn out, I'll fight the best I can, and end the day happy. <br/><br/> 'Stop, don't doubt yourself.'<br/><br/> "BEGINNN!!!"<br/><br/> I snap my eyes open, ready for anything.<br/><br/> Fwoosh!<br/><br/> There's nothing in the small area I'm in, but I can hear it.<br/><br/> Whish!<br/><br/> Something was coming. <br/><br/> Sure enough, a few seconds later, a flaming blue blade on a chain comes crashing around a corner, cutting a decent chunk out of the stone and searing it. As if it has eyes, it instantly turns towards me and flies towards me at high speed.<br/><br/> "Leave it up to you to come up with a genius plan on the fly," I mutter to myself as I lower my body and blade closer to the ground.<br/><br/>[Skill Sprint+ was activated.]<br/>[Skill Fury Slash was activated.]<br/>[10% Dark magic chance activated.]<br/><br/> BANG!<br/><br/> With the new Agility I had, I fly forwards a little unsteadily as I accommodate to the speed I was flying forward at. I drive my right foot into the ground, twisting my body around as I drive myself ahead even faster towards the blade. The dark mist pouring from the purple blade leaves a deep purple trail behind as I swing the blade up and around, knocking the tip of the chain high into the air.<br/><br/>[Status effect achieved.]<br/><br/> GO.<br/><br/> My Instincts push me to keep going, following the black wave of magic traveling through the blue fires shaped into chains, back to the Spellsmith they belonged to. And there I was, running full speed along it as I used it to track her. <br/><br/> As I expected, two chains suddenly appear from behind me, one even bursting from underneath the ground, and one came from around the corner that the first chain led to in front of me. The last one was…<br/><br/> THERE.<br/><br/> I swing my blade to my left, a second too late. The blue chain clangs off the bottom of my blade and stabs into my side, which had freshly been healed yesterday. I yelp a bit in pain, swiping again to cut through the spell. It snaps, and the disruption causes the spell to fade away. Luckily, the blade is made of fire, so the cut was instantly cauterized. UN-luckily, it still hurt like a damn bitch.<br/><br/> Clutching my side with my left hand, I order my Statscreen to open and dump the last five points into Instinct. <br/><br/>[New Stats taking effect in 3…]<br/><br/> I deflect three of the blades away as I wait for the stats to start working, and right as it kicks in…<br/><br/> The ground crashes open as one of the weapons bursts forward from right underneath me. I'm already reacting, swinging my blade to cut it down.<br/><br/> DON'T.<br/><br/> "Been quite a while since I've had to rely on my Instinct this much," I note as I turn the blade to its side, smacking it away like I'm backhanding a bug with the flat of the sword. I had seen the main chain moving out of the corner of my eye, and the one that had come from that direction had hit a 180 and gone back around the corner.<br/><br/> If I cut down this blade, I would lose the only fading bread crumb trail Eni had left me.<br/><br/> "Improvisation is on point, too, I see."<br/><br/> As all five of the chains burst from the walls and floor, I dash alongside the blue line leading around the corner. 'She can't easily cancel her spell, and I'll outrun the chain if she tries to retract it, so this is her only choice. Still, if I get held up, she'll be able to shut it down, leaving me stranded.'<br/><br/> So, I counter her counter by ignoring the chains entirely, and chasing down the one leading definitively to her.<br/><br/> "She's certainly not holding back," I note as I duck under three blades sprouting from the walls. She has a clear advantage here; while I would have to climb the walls just to run straight, her spell can apparently burrow through stone.<br/><br/> "I can't be that far now," I reassure myself. The line I had been following had been moving rapidly all this time, and I could now see the slightest hint of slack in it. As I saw the next turn coming up, I noticed the slack increasing exponentially. 'Finally.'<br/><br/> However, as soon as I rounded the corner, I cursed profusely. "Crazy bitch. Who am I, Tom Cruise??"<br/><br/> In front of me, chains ran from wall to wall, burrowing in tight lines and patterns that were reminiscent of those old laser security rooms you'd see in a classic spy or thief movie. <br/><br/> The difference was, I was on one hell of a timer.<br/><br/> Actually, I was on two timers, but I hadn't realized that yet.<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/> "I swear to Alyphia, after this match is over…"<br/><br/> It is a good thing I am not with anyone right now, because I can feel how beet-red my face is.<br/><br/> I clap my hands to my cheeks in embarrassment, squirming on my small cushion pillow. "He swore to me! He swore to me! Eeeeee! I knew I picked the right one!"<br/><br/> I pull my legs out from under me, kicking them up and down over empty space as I exhale slowly.<br/><br/> My surroundings are the same as always: dark and starry, with a square awkwardly placed right in front of me to look down upon. And, of course, my lovely red seat cushion that floats in place right next to it. In the far distance, the sun shines faintly; I may be dead and a Saint, but if the sun was turned all the way up, I would not be able to see anything. <br/><br/> I was relegated to only this space after interfering through the World Lines. <br/><br/> "Stupid World Lines. 'Accept this punishment for a year and a half, and you will be forgiven. This is the best you can negotiate for.'" As I quote them, I lower my high voice into mocking the deep, even and boring tone the World Lines used to communicate. <br/><br/> "It took me a few hundred years, but I finally picked one, and I was right about him, too," I huff, crossing my arms. "If you keep this up, my dear disciple, you may force me to fall for you."<br/><br/> I giggle lightly to myself as I watch the match begin, unable to hide my girly excitement.</p>