Re: A World of Dust and Souls

[Helsing]

"Yeah," Thomas agrees, his hand to his katana, "But..." he hesitates, "just know, I'm just doing this under orders."

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling unsheathes his sword. "Well, shal we begin?"

[Helsing]

Thomas nods, gripping the hilt of his blade as Amanda raises a hand.

When it falls, Thomas raises his free hand, firing a ball of white aura straight at Sterling.

[A Blind Guy]

With one arm, Sterling raises his sword, blocking the incoming attack, at that same moment, another blade appeared next to him but in it's rifle form, it begins firing rounds at Thomas.

[Helsing]

The ball hits Sterling's blade, only for it to go straight through his guard and hit him square in the chest. The white light washed over him, flashed once, then condensed into a ball in front of him. It took off, crashing into Thomas.

At his hip, his katana disappeared, only to reform above him. It spun without an arm to swing it, blocking the bullets leaving Thomas unharmed.

"Partial Download complete," Thomas says.

[A Blind Guy]

STerling dashes forward, rushing down Thomas with quick sword strikes. While at the same time, two more blades appear behind Thomas, and begin slashing as well.

[Helsing]

Thomas rushed forward to meet him. As the swords materialized behind him, his katana went to action. The curved sword batted the others aside, forcing a midair engagement between two floating invisible opponents.

Snapping his wrist, Thomas produced a small combat knife. He pressed it against the side of Sterling's strike, sending the tip of the rapier wide and forcing the two into a deadlock. It only lasted a second as Thomas dropped the knife, using the small bit of opening to throw a left cross at Sterling's head.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling ducks back, avoiding the punch, a 3rd blade formed, sweeping under Thomas's legs hoping to catch him off guard. as sterling re-engages.

[Helsing]

Thomas jumped back, firing another ball of white at Thomas.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling rolled out of the way of the ball of aura, another blade materializing behind Thomas as he jumps back. The blade starts slashing at the back of his legs. keeping him off balance.

[Helsing]

Thomas opens his hand, and another katana appears in a flash of white light. He swings at the sword, shattering the sword as it attempts to knock him off balance. Behind him though, the sword disappears in a shower of white sparks. The second he got his footing, his hand flashes like a machine gun, sending dozens of balls at Sterling.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling goes n the defensive, dashing out of the way of the hail of bullets. the 2 swords that were previously in the air suddenly zip down towards Thomas,t taking advantage of the machine gun ire and begin quick attacks against him.

[Helsing]

Thomas grabbed his sword, and against all logic, threw it at Sterling. But it went wide arching over him.

Then, another flash of white, and Thomas was in the air, grabbing onto his sword. Before Sterling could even think, there was a foot in his face. It wasn't much, as blows went, but it was still first strike. Thomas did a quick backflip to get some distance, smiling despite himself.

[A Blind Guy]

As Thomas landed he saw 3 blades pointed at him from 3 directions, each sword darting in and out while Sterling composes himself, an rushes back in and attacks Thomas from the front.

[Helsing]

Thomas' eyes darted around, targetting each of the blades before going into action. His katana sang as it cut through the air. The sound of metal echoing against itself filled the air as Thomas did the impossible and blocked all three blades at once.

But then, the dream came to an end when Sterling got in close.

The Prince rushed forward with the tip of his sword aiming straight for Thomas' heart. A flick of another combat knife is the only thing that stops him from getting skewered. The two swordsmen starred one another down for what felt like an eternity.

They say that the most experienced of hunters experience entire lifetimes between the exchange of blows. In the space between two clashes, a million thoughts can go through their head. Fueled by skill or experience, the next movement is decided seemingly instantly.

And such was the display that the two gave.

There was no stop between the flurry of strikes when the two were close, nor did their legs stop moving as distance was established. They earned the name hunters, at least in training.

At least, that's what Amanda found herself whispering beneath the mask of indifference.

Thomas threw his knife square at Sterling's head, only to be met with the side of a fully materialized sword. The prince jumped into the air, putting his rapier hilt deep into the ground as he landed. Thomas jumped back, barely avoiding the blow, but his eyes widened as Sterling pulled his sword up with a backflip, bringing a chunk of rock with him. An aura fueled foot hit the rock dead on, sending the missile rocketing towards Thomas.

The Atlisian's eyes widened behind his fold before he cut through the bolder, only to cry out as shots blindsided him. When he got his footing back, Thomas was met with the sight of Sterling in front of him. Gritting his teeth, the teen slashed with all the speed that he could bring the to bare with the blades. When the swords behind him began to come in close, Thomas threw his throwing knife over Sterling's head.

In a flash of white, Thomas was behind him, ready to strike with his true blade. A blade materialized tried to stop the strike, but it cut through, earning a grunt from Sterling. The two jumped back, panting as the tire of the battle got to the two of them.

They stared one another down, and rushed as one, this time without their semblances, they didn't have the aura for it anymore anyway. They met in the center, Thomas swinging for the side while Sterling went straight for the heart. With a display of brawn, Sterling batted the strike aside with the metal of his arm as Thomas reached with his knife, sending the strike wide as he kept the knife running towards Sterling's throat. But it stopped when he felt a blade materialize right next to his neck.

Neither moved, neither dared with the aura that remained between the two.

"That's enough," Amanda calls from the stands.

[Flagmauth]

"Guess it's a tie, then?" Sienna sounded a little put out. On the one hand, at least Sterling hadn't lost. On the other hand, the match ending without a conclusive winner one way or another was a little anticlimactic in her opinion.

[Helsing]

"Well, better than Amanda getting her way," Vance says with a shrug.

Opal didn't bother saying anything, jumping down to the stage as Thomas fell on his ass. He wiped the line of sweat forming on his face, smirking a little at Sterling.

"Guess I'm... not half bad... if I can... tie with... you," he says between breaths.

[Flagmauth]

In response to Vance Sienna nodded. The latest addition to the List of Things that Made Sienna Happy was "Things that do Not Make Amanda Happy," because Amanda was abrasive as all get out and Sienna didn't like her one bit.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling holds out his hand to the fallen Thomas. "That was incrediblle my friend."

[Helsing]

Thomas chuckled a little, taking the offered hand, "It's nice to hear that coming from you."

"Yes, but you didn't win," Amanda says.

Thomas jumped a little, just now noticing that his mother was barely a foot away from him. He stiffens a second later, bowing his head, shame stopping him from meeting his mother's stare.

"Sorry, Commander," he whispered.

Amanda didn't even give him a glance, turning everything she had to Sterling.

"Neither of us won the wager, consider it null and void. Dismissed."

She disappeared in a flash of white, and Thomas fell to his knees. He buried a face in his hand, gritting his teeth so hard that he started to shake.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling kneels down and clasps Thomas on the shoulder. " Thomas are you ok? what's going on?"

[Helsing]

Thomas flinched at the touch, actually moving to straighten to a solute with one hand. He looks up at his friend, giving him a shaky smile.

It falls every second as he holds something back. Then, slowly, it comes together. A broken line of teeth that somehow curves upward as the edges of his blindfold start to dampen.

"It's... it's fine man," his smile cracks, "I'm... I'm used to it... she's never impressed with me. My fault for getting my hopes up and all that."

He jumps to his feet, straightening to his feet and clapping your hands.

"But what's more important is that I haven't finished my orders! Come on, I'll show you to your room."

[BerrySayRoar]

In the end, Nisha was happy with the results. Neither won and they both still seem to be on good terms afterwards. That's more than she could hope for in a duel. Nisha grabs hold of both Sienna's and Tyson's arm to get them moving towards their designated sleep area.

[A Blind Guy]

Sterling blinks. "Oh uh, ok." utterly puzzled as to how to take this situation.

[Helsing]

Vance jumps down to the stage and pats Sterling on the back.

"Yeah, welcome to my world," he says before trudging off to follow Thomas. Opal looks at everyone, nervously stepping next to Sterling.

"I-Is this normal?"

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