Familiar Weapon and Revelations

Melisa gasped for breath as she desperately defended against yet another surprise attack from her opponent. Frustration and annoyance bubbled up within her as she continuously failed to land a single hit. She felt utterly inadequate, never before experiencing such a sense of helplessness since gaining her powers. Not having a weapon on hand proved to be a far greater disadvantage than she had initially thought. On top of that, her energy was being drained every time a copy disappeared. She needed to come up with a solution fast to turn the tide.

An idea flashed in Melisa's mind—a completely reckless move that would surely earn disapproval from Celeste if she ever found out. But with no other options, she had to take the risk. As soon as the enemy's attack landed on her, she gathered all her focus and willed her defenses to concentrate in her hands. As the light particles condensed, they took on the familiar form of her bow.

This seemed to have an immediate effect, as the enemy became cautious of this new move. She summoned an arrow and shot it the moment she saw her opponent preparing to attack again. The two projectiles clashed mid-air, resulting in a dazzling explosion of sound and light. Shockwaves rippled outward, but fortunately, the others stood at a safe distance, spared from anything more than an unsettling noise.

Melisa fired again, but her arrow failed to hit as the enemy dodged at the last moment, using the same move once again. She let out an annoyed click of her tongue and shot another arrow as soon as she saw the enemy emerge. Undaunted, she repeated the process multiple times, but the result was always the same. Her arrows kept missing their target, leaving Melisa growing more and more frustrated.

'Her attacks aren't fast enough to connect.' Dan heard the stranger's words.

Finally deciding to intervene, Dan activated time dilation and swiftly moved toward the enemy as soon as it appeared, but he found himself frozen in place. He was shocked to see the enemy move its head to track his movement as if it was able to perceive him. Despite pushing his powers to the absolute limit, it was clear that his efforts fell short. He had encountered people who could somewhat perceive him during time dilation, but only when the effect was minimal. Yet this new opponent effortlessly countered his abilities, possessing either extraordinary reflexes or some other unknown advantage.

Deciding not to take any action, Dan disabled his power, but that split second was enough for Melisa to seize an opportunity. With the enemy momentarily distracted, she managed to land a shot. The enemy stumbled briefly before quickly recovering and retreating. Although the hit had caused some damage, it seemed relatively unharmed. Its movement ability was simply too much for her.

However, as she closely observed the enemy, she noticed a change. It appeared to slow down, taking longer to reactivate its movements compared to before. Sensing her chance, she concentrated intensely, allowing herself ample time to create multiple arrows. With determination in her eyes, she released them in a sweeping, semi-circular arc toward the enemy's general direction. At first, disappointment washed over her as nothing seemed to happen. But then, her disappointment transformed into a victorious smile as the enemy reappeared. One of the arrows had become entangled, piercing one of its legs. Every attempt to free itself only resulted in further entanglement. To make matters worse for the enemy, one end of an arrow stretched out, effectively nailing it to the ground.

Melisa geared up to launch another attack, but to her surprise, the enemy vanished into thin air. This was perplexing, as it should have been unable to use magic for a brief period. Yet, it seemed unaffected by any such limitations. Another puzzling revelation left her bewildered—the thread extending from the arrow was abruptly cut off in mid-air and then reappeared with the enemy elsewhere. It became evident to Melisa that this was not teleportation or any magic she was familiar with. But whatever it was, it had further slowed down the enemy, granting her the opportunity for a devastating strike.

With unwavering focus, she concentrated once again, causing the arrow in her bow to grow brighter and brighter until it was finally released. The enemy attempted to evade once more, but it was too late. The arrow found its mark, piercing the enemy's body just before it could escape. Melisa let out a sigh of relief as her weapon vanished, and exhaustion washed over her. She sank to her knees, completely spent from the intense battle.

"So she won't kill a human but has no issues with killing another being," Dan commented as he witnessed the end of intense fight.

'Check the body first' The stranger said when Dan began to approach Melisa, prompting him to turn towards the now-dead enemy. It had landed a few meters away in its final desperate attempt.

As Dan got closer, his initial doubts regarding the enemy's origin started to dissipate. Although the armor had some slight variations, the overall design and structure hinted at a common source. The same type of armor had been worn by the people surrounding and ultimately killing the stranger in Dan's earlier vision. The damage to the enemy's torso made it difficult to fully recognize, but he now felt certain of the connection.

"Do you remember anything about them now?" Dan asked the stranger, who stood beside him.

'No, but I might be able to try something if I had control' The stranger replied.

"Okay, do it then". Dan gave his confirmation and felt the same process unfolding that he had experienced before.

As Dan reached out to examine the enemy's armor, something unexpected happened. The central part of the armor seemed to retract, revealing what lay inside. Dan could immediately sense the intentions of the stranger, their thoughts seemingly intertwined, even though Dan wasn't fully in control.

The body of the enemy appeared humanoid, yet there was an undeniable alien quality to it. Something felt slightly off. Its skin bore intricate tattoos, which upon closer inspection, turned out to be markings embedded with metallic elements. These circuit-like patterns spanned the entire body, giving it an otherworldly appearance. The cavity in the middle exposed that a crucial organ had been struck by Melisa's attack, now missing. Just above the wound, Dan noticed an organ covered in a thick, dark goo-like substance, resembling some form of blood. Numerous thin wires connected to it, resembling blood vessels, which led Dan to believe it served a similar function to a heart. However, instead of two or three major vessels, it was an array of interconnected wires bundled together. The combination of organic and metallic elements gave the impression of a being constructed from a fusion of both materials.

Dan's eyes then focused on the weapon the enemy was wielding, urged by the stranger to closely examine it. Its overall structure resembled that of a handgun, albeit with a considerably larger barrel of peculiar shape. Rather than a conventional circular design, it appeared to consist of a smaller cylinder encased within a larger one. The design bore elements reminiscent of both a revolver and a modern 45mm pistol. However, what captivated Dan's attention the most was not the weapon itself, but rather how the enemy held it—or rather, how it didn't.

The enemy lacked fingers, and the gun seemed to be fused directly into its hand as if it existed solely to fire the weapon.

"It seems more like a fighting robot or an android than a sentient being" Dan concluded in his mind.

'We should check the weapon to see if it could be useful' The stranger advised, beginning to extend his hand toward it, only to pause.

"Are you sure?" Dan hesitated. "This could go very wrong and it seems to be a part of the body itself."

'I am not sure,' the stranger replied, 'but it seems familiar to me.'

As soon as Dan made contact with the weapon, it detached from the enemy's hand. Delicate biomechanical capillaries disconnected, creating the eerie sensation that the gun was a living entity and Dan was severing its life source.

Examining it closely, Dan noticed that the barrel possessed meticulously machined grooves, resembling rifling commonly found in firearms designed to fire mechanical projectiles. There was a tactile indentation that mimicked a trigger guard, allowing for a steady hold despite the absence of a physical trigger.

"It looks like someone tried to make a gun without understanding what its parts actually do," Dan remarked, noting the peculiar design.

He firmly grasped the weapon, mimicking the way he would hold a conventional firearm, and was immediately bombarded by a sudden image on his retinas. The same familiar interface appeared but with some new characters filling the space inside it. They raced across the screen too fast for him to be able to translate and after a few moments, the image vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving behind only a few lingering lines.

Focusing his attention on those remaining lines, Dan concentrated intently, and their meaning became clear.

"Primary identification acknowledged. Initiating construct retrieval from encrypted memory banks."

Those words echoed in Dan's mind as he tried to comprehend their meaning. Meanwhile, the weapon he held began to undergo a remarkable transformation. The biological components gradually faded away, revealing a complex network of circuitry beneath, bearing a striking resemblance to the patterns he had observed on the enemy's body. Simultaneously, it felt as if something was probing his mind, but instead of his memories, it was the stranger's.

"What the hell was that?!" Dan exclaimed, his mind swirling with confusion as the transformation concluded, leaving him bewildered. "Did it say that it recognized us? Are you one of them?" Dan asked, panic and caution seeping into his thoughts.

'No, I don't think so,' the stranger replied with certainty, although his tone wavered into doubt, 'but I have encountered it before.'

Before Dan could press for further clarification, Melisa's voice reached his ears, snapping him out of his introspection. She had approached him unnoticed during his examination of the enemy and now placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Concern laced her words as she asked, "Dan, you okay? You seemed lost in thought there."

Dan couldn't answer as he was abruptly transported to a completely different place, finding himself standing amidst a scene of utter devastation. The ground had turned to dust, buildings lay in ruins, and lifeless bodies with various wounds were scattered all around him. But what caught his immediate attention was a chilling sight—a gleaming sword, radiating an ominous blue glow, swung swiftly towards him. In the fleeting moments before his life could be snuffed out, he locked eyes with his attacker and realized with a jolt of recognition that it was none other than Melisa herself.