Savage Awakening 122. Touch of Death (V) (Patreon)

(2/2)

The punch fell the way night fell. An endless darkness settling over his world, settling over his soul. And he sank straight into it. Deeper and deeper…

He thought it would be a violent thing. Not at all. It was gentle, almost a tender good night; so tender he couldn't even rage against it. There was something almost beautiful about it. He once heard a quote about how it all ended—not with a bang but a whimper.

He felt a Law at work here. Less than a speck, the faintest whisper—but it was there, and it wasn't something he knew how to resist. He didn't even know what it was. It didn't feel like any Elemental Law. You couldn't even begin to compare them.

There was this aura about it…a wonderful, horrible aura. It had a certain grandeur, a certain dignity, that only certain very old, very beautiful things had.

He felt that in this little strand of Law. It suppressed everything—every other Law, every other particle; utterly dominating. And gently it dragged him away…

Warning! Health under 50%

Savage Body activated!

Speed increased 25%

Strength increased 25%

Vitality increased 25%

He was swaddled in the void, the nothing; he floated away from his body. All his muscles sagged and drooped at once. Even his heart. He went totally slack. The bright world fell away, a circle of light shrinking far above him, growing distant…

This must be what death felt like.

This utter numbness growing stronger by the second.

Warning! Health under 25%

“…”

He'd been in this place before. This was what life had felt like before the Change. Before he got free. Before he started fighting in earnest—before he remembered what it meant to be alive.

He had been in the middle of such a great fight; it seemed a lifetime away now.

He didn't want to be here.

The circle of light started closing far above…

The darkness wanted to smother him. It wanted him to give.

And Zane said, No.

He wasn't done.

He still had a fight to get back to. A fight to win!

It took his body from him; it took all sensation—it even dulled his thoughts.

But it couldn't take his spirit.

He was still burning up with it. Burning so hot with sheer fighting will he almost couldn't bear it. A light that cast out the dark, that gave him new life—

He felt the darkness dragging him down all around him, grasping at his limbs, whispering to him even—that weird flicker of Law. Dragging him into oblivion.

And Zane refused.

He started forcing himself toward the light. Swimming his way up.

And the void fought him every inch of the way back.

It felt like he was at the bottom of the ocean floor, chained down by Law. But he didn't let it keep him down. He kept bucking, kept straining, kept kicking—and it only got easier the higher he got; the pressure started lessening; feeling trickled back to him. He let out a scream; a silent scream, a scream with everything he had. A scream of the soul.

Warning! Critical health!

Savage Body activated

Speed increased 50%

Strength increased 50%

Vitality increased 50%

Then he broke through the surface.

He shuddered. He wheezed. Then he planted one fist on the ground, and hauled himself back to his feet.

Shakily, trembling, he stood. Through bleary eyes, he saw Eze with his back turned to him.

"I'm not done," Zane spat.

***

The silence was deafening.

The crowd all choked. None of them seemed to be able to comprehend just what they were seeing. No one could even make a sound.

Then there was a gasp. And a little excited voice called out from the edge of the ring.

"I knew it!" cried Evan.

Eze turned. And blinked. And even he seemed like he couldn't believe his eyes; he stared wide-eyed. Then he whispered something in a language Zane didn't understand.

"..How?! I struck you," he whispered. "With Death itself. Flush. That… that is not something one can simply get up from."

Zane grunted. "I have a thick skull."

Eze stared. Then shook his head. "Extraordinary," he muttered. He kept staring at Zane, studying him. "Yes… there is something strange about your soul. For everyone else, that touch obliterates them. But for yours... It felt like punching a wall. A wall in the astral plane."

For a while, they just stood there.

It was clear they were both on their last legs; their bodies were broken and bleeding. Zane's soul must be meat paste in the astral plane. And Eze's mind was so shredded it hurt just to think.

"Well then." Eze pursed his lips. "Shall we have one last dance?"

They grinned at each other for the last time.

And then, they started to circle.

Eze might have his Touch of Death. But the thing was, now Zane did too—in a way. Wish Upon A Star was fully charged, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

Together they raced back into the future.

Now the game was simple.

Whoever hits nine moves deep first? Wins everything.

Zane's soul hurt. Eze's head hurt. They were bleeding in so many places you couldn't even tell where the blood was coming from anymore. And the deeper they got, the sharper the pain got. Their fighting spirits burned as fierce as they ever had, dragging up their exhausted souls and minds for one last run—

Seven moves in and Zane started dry heaving. Eight moves in, and his mouth was a waterfall of blood. He didn't care. He could feel himself getting close; could feel the path start opening up ahead of him, could feel him running up against the boundary—

The world started clouding over. Everything trembled before his eyes; the ground felt deeply unsteady beneath his feet—

He flung himself across.

And he fell to his knees.

His eyes rolled back. He hacked. He spat a lung's worth of blood.

But he'd made it. He knew it. There it was, nine moves deep—victory!

Then—at the exact same time—he felt a spike of joy across the ring. He looked up.

There was Eze; there was mirth in his eyes.

Then the path of the future starting warping right in front of Zane—growing cloudy—unclear—

And he knew.

Eze had broken through too. Nine versus nine.

For a moment, they just stood there. In stalemate. What to do?

Then they locked eyes.

Weird thing. Share a ring with a guy long enough, and you got to know him more deeply, more clearly, than almost almost anywhere else.

Everything that truly mattered about each other, they knew. They knew neither of them let themselves fear. They knew when you put them down they never stayed down. And when the pressure was greatest, when life or death was on the line, they always rose to the challenge.

Eze felt a sense of such fierce respect for him then—a feeling Zane knew was very, very rare for the man. And Zane felt the exact same way. It was a level of respect, of understanding you could only feel when you tested each other to the very limits. A respect bound in blood.

When they looked eyes, they didn't need to say a word; they just knew, since they knew what sort of man stood across from them.

An unspoken agreement passed between them.

They gunned it at the same time.

And they started destroying each other.

Letting the stuff of their hearts, the stuff of their spirits, pour straight into the battlefield in a show of beautiful, glorious violence.

Blocking and dodging, hearts soaring, throwing wildly, Skill after Skill stacking one on another—Five. Six. Seven. A gauntlet, smashing a meteor out of flight. A meteor splitting the guard; Eze, spinning away—Eight. And a star flared up in the sky. Shining with a brilliant passion, crackling and raging, blocking out the sun—

At the same time, Eze ran for him.

Ran for him, fist cocked back, swinging an utterly ordinary punch. A punch that had its own corona of sheer blacker-than-black; a punch that trailed voids; a punch that carried the power of life and death. And Zane knew if he got hit by this one…

This time he wasn't getting back up.

Nine.

The shooting star fell to earth. And the fist shot forth, arcing for Zane's chin—

Bang.

At the same time—

BOOM!

The world whited out.

It turned out Zane was right.

This time when it put him down, it put him down for the last time. He wasn't getting back up. It was over. He was blasted into oblivion—then yanked back as something outside of him, something working furiously, absorbed the rest of the force.

It was the sparring ring. That would have taken him past zero, it seemed…

So he'd lost.

He couldn't even be mad about it; he was grinning. He'd had a lot of fun. He was exhausted. It felt like he'd been flayed, beaten all over; even his soul had taken a bad beating. After this, all he wanted to do was sleep. It took a huge effort of will just to get up to a knee.

Then he saw the notification.

World Rank #10 Zane Walker has been defeated!

Figures.

But then, right below—

Wait.

World Rank #3 Emeka Eze has been defeated!

And just underneath—

Skill up!

Wish Upon a Star I -> II

Huh.

He blinked.

Double KO!

Verdict: Draw

Then the notifications started to spasm. Flicker. They faded out. Zane got a glimpse of a few Silicon Coven technicians working in a panic on the sidelines—

He and Eze blinked at each other. Both wobbly, both dumbfounded.

CRACK!

The ring split down the middle. The crystals on the side of it exploded one by one, showering sparks. And the whole 'King of the Ring' collapsed, spewing dust and sparking essence everywhere.

A silence.

Then—

The crowd erupted so loudly Zane almost blacked out. His soul was still quite tender right now—all that noise—all that joy, that feeling, that shock, that awe—it was enough to split his head.

He was getting swamped; he felt woozy, he had to make it out. The crowd was spilling over everything, shouting, grabbing. Across from him, there stood Eze. He looked pretty awful. Bloodied all over, hunched, swaying a little on his feet. Probably as awful as Zane looked. He put his fists together, and gave Zane a little bow. The guy felt deeply grateful.

Then he faded into the noise.

He was gone now, but Zane was sure this wasn't the last they'd see of each other.

Zane stumbled about for a little bit, feeling quite confused. He was getting grabbed quite a lot. Then he felt something tackle him—he almost keeled over. Then he found out it was Evan, wrapping him in a hug. He grinned, feeling rather drunk. He really needed a nap.

Then he felt a strong tug on his arm—it turned out to be Avery. "Alright, big fella," she said, guiding him along. "I've got you. Stay with me now! We're going to get right back to your hotel, okay? If you black out on me right now it's all over. If I try to lug you that far I'm gonna throw out my back or something."

Zane nodded blearily. His head felt very float-y right now, very light. He was happy. He had such good friends. It made him feel all warm on the inside. Well—Evan wasn't helping his mobility much right now, but Zane appreciated the intent.

They stumbled about for some indeterminate amount of time—it got less noisy as they went; that was all Zane knew, which he really appreciated. A big shadow loomed up ahead—the hotel? He felt relieved.

Then Avery stopped right in the middle of the road.

"Err," she said.

Standing there, blocking the way, was a very familiar figure. Zane grinned stupidly. He felt very warm in his chest seeing her. "Reina," he slurred. He stumbled toward her.

Then he felt how she was feeling; his grin slipped a little. He stumbled to a stop right in front of her.

Her arms were crossed. She glared at him. Oh. Oh no.

… She was mad. Really, really mad.

Then she got a good look at him—the shape he was in—and so much concern spiked up in her she almost stopped being angry with him.

Still—her anger won out in the end.

"Uh," he said.

She arched a brow. "Well?" She said coldly. "Is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

"Uh," Zane said again. He was finding it hard to think. She was kind of scary like this.

He scratched his head woozily.

In the end, he decided to just take the easy way out. And blacked out, collapsing all over her.

//

A/N: 

heard yall about the cliff got this one out asap >.>