The Virtual Realm (War Of The Elements Book 1)

by Daniel Perusko

  For Tsuki, this was all the confirmation she needed. Normally, a telepath could read someone else’s mind if their telepathic abilities were evolved at a certain level beyond someone else’s. For example, someone adept in telepathy could read the mind of a novice telepath, and a novice telepath could read the minds of those who hadn’t awakened their latent telepathic abilities, in other words, the common man. Though levels of telepathic ability were not so clear cut, Tsuki estimated herself to be around the adept level. For all of Ace’s thoughts to be closed to her, the gap between their abilities must be relatively small. In other words, he must be at least at the median level or higher. The fact that he was not crushed by the weight of Omni’s focused telepathy was not just a fluke.

  She clutched her colorless sword tightly, hammering her mind into a blade as she studied the enemy before her.

  There was no more time to focus and ponder, as Ace charged forward like a missile, seeking to crash right into her. His scythe made a swift horizontal arc. Tsuki quickly recoiled back, barely avoiding the powerful swipe. A whooshing sound could be heard as the air vibrated, the breeze blowing itself at the snow princess, sending her hair fluttering about from the resultant gust. Such was the force behind Ace’s attack.

  Tsuki’s mind kicked into overdrive.

  If I’m hit directly by a blow like that, I might even lose all of my health in one shot. I have to be extra careful. This is a bad matchup for me. His scythe has long range, so I will have to get in close. But that will be difficult if he can swing that large weapon around so deftly. I’ll just have to be patient and seize the right opportunities when they present themselves.

  Before any more ideas could bubble to the surface, Ace’s golden scythe filled the area with parabolas of death. Tsuki scarcely dodged each attack. Her evasive maneuvers were ever so graceful, like she was doing a waltz. Her silky silver hair flowed silently and beautifully with every nimble movement. One would not know from looking at the way she eloquently moved that she was in fact narrowly leaping out of the way of these powerful swings by the skin of her teeth.

  Splinters of vexation were beginning to slowly cut away Ace’s composure. Such was the result of all of his attacks being near hits, with Tsuki only escaping by a hair’s breadth each time. He voiced his agitation through a taunt, hoping to rile her up and get her to attack.

  “C’mon, what’s wrong, Princess? Aren’t you going to attack me? Aren’t you going to show me how a true king fights? What a laugh! I should’ve known better than to expect a girl to do anything but run away.”

  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

  With every swing of the scythe, the wind cried out in protest. Such a strong swipe would cleave flesh in two if it struck cleanly. Now was not the time to panic, now was the time to concentrate. Tsuki, realizing this, remained stoic, not intending to be sucked into her opponent’s rhythm.

  Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

  She continued analyzing each swipe patiently and dodging until she felt the time was right. She jumped a little farther back than usual this time, having room to counter Ace’s large sweep. With his scythe having just completed a full swing, this was the time to counterattack.

  He's vulnerable!

  Tsuki darted forward with a movement that could barely be perceived by the naked eye. A large white blur was all that could be seen as she deftly charged at Ace’s left side, her pearl shaded sword lunging forward, intending to run itself straight through this cocky fool’s lower abdomen. Ace, being the expert fighter that he was, saw through this rapid movement in the nick of time— putting all of his weight on his left foot, spinning like a top and narrowly avoiding a critical wound. Instead of being stabbed in the stomach, Tsuki’s heavenly blade skewered through his forearm instead.

  She intended to slice clean through his forearm while her sword was still stuck in him, in order to multiply the damage inflicted. Yet before she could do so, Ace swung his wicked scythe mercilessly at her with his other arm. Noticing this, Tsuki quickly channeled all of her strength into her legs, springing upwards. On the way down her feet landed on the flat end of the scythe, the weight of her body forcing it to the ground with Ace’s right arm still clasping onto it with all of his might.

  With Ace’s scythe currently on the ground, and Tsuki’s milky white blade, which was currently crackling with lightning bolts, skewering his left arm, it would seem that the rapier user had the advantage here. Even so, this perceived victory was short lived, as her golden haired opponent did something unexpected. He opened his right hand, releasing his gleaming golden scythe from its battle charge, letting the handle fall to the floor.

  Before she could even have time to be confused, he immediately shot that very same hand forward expeditiously, taking a firm hold of Tsuki’s neck, coursing all of his strength into his right arm. He lifted her up by her neck with one arm, choking the life out of her. Tsuki’s pale face immediately darkened into a beat red tomato as she gasped for air. Her neck felt like it was going to be crushed at any moment. The insufferable pain... she feared her windpipe would be snapped like a twig. She had to pry his fingers off of her. She had to breathe! She quickly discarded those thoughts, fighting those base instincts. Even in these extreme circumstances, especially in a situation like this, she had to calm down and make the right call. A single misstep would mean her death. She kept her hand on her moon tinted blade, deciding on a more prudent plan of action.

  She began forming a concentrated sphere of pure water in her left hand. Ace’s eyes lit up in surprise for but a split second, immediately discerning Tsuki’s intentions thereafter. Right now, there was a blade diffusing moderate amounts of electricity throughout his body. If that stream of water hit him directly, the electrical damage would multiply exponentially. In all reality, he was in a no win situation. He had to jump backwards to remove Tsuki’s blade from him without severing his arm, and in doing so he would no longer have the lightning surging through him either. Even so, if he dodged straight backwards, he would still get hit directly by that torrent of water. He had no choice.

  The next actions happened in a mere second of time. Having figured things out, he quickly released his Pyrrhic captive from his vise-like clutches, letting her fall a short distance and landing on her feet. As soon as he did so, he jumped backward as far as he could, roughly freeing his forearm from Tsuki’s deceptively beautiful blade. The instant he freed himself, the compressed sphere of water turned into a pressurized stream, homing in straight on Ace with mach speed.

  Smack!

  The impact hit him dead on, causing him to reel over backwards, falling to the ground.

  He recovered his awareness as quickly as possible, just in time to notice Tsuki flowing into a downward drive with her blade in a blur of ivory. He rolled away from this attempted thrust, jumping to his feet just in time.

  Now it was Ace’s turn to dodge, as he was at a disadvantage. Just like Tsuki before, he was having a very difficult time dodging these attacks. Her movements were so fluid, each motion gracefully flowing into the next—each strike swift and powerful enough that he could not go on the offensive. A snowy shower of thrusts and slashes lit up the room. If only he could recover his weapon...

  Shoom, shoom, shoom.

  Ace evaded for what seemed like forever, waiting for the opportune moment to regain the advantage. Suddenly, a moment in time where Ace could even the odds finally presented itself. Tsuki had put her all into a single straightforward lunge. The glittering snow blade grazed the very edge of his hip, sending blood trickling downward, but it was merely a minor cut. Ace completely ignored this pain, punching his aggressive adversary. His hook sunk straight into her beautiful face. Tsuki stumbled to the side, disoriented and caught off guard. Ace, having his opponent on the ropes, wasn’t about to ease up now.

  He followed up with another punch to her stomach, knocking the breath out of her— twirling into a roundhouse kick to the face and sending her crashing to the carpet.

  Ace immediately ran
to his vermillion scythe, retrieving it from the ground, happy to have it within his hands once more.

  By this time, Tsuki had gotten to her feet, having had enough time to recover from the walloping impact she had just received. The two battered combatants were now a safe distance away from one another, each staring the other down. The injuries were apparent on both fighters.

  Ace had a bloody hole through his left forearm, as well as a decent sized cut on his left hip. The third injury, which was yet invisible, was a large bruise that would soon torment his chest area.

  Tsuki was by no means unscathed either. The right side of her face would soon have a bruise, and her lips were dripping fresh blood from the right side. Not to mention the intense red mark on her neck from being choked earlier.

  For his part, Ace was pleasantly surprised. This princess was stronger than he thought. So far this fight was beyond exhilarating to him. More so than anything he had done on this game thus far. He raised his left forearm slightly, staring at it. His face cringed when he inspected the damage.

  “Phew, that’s a deep wound. That hurt you know.”

  Tsuki slowly wiped the crimson liquid that was flowing down her mouth in an unending yet steady stream.

  “I could say the same to you. Look at what you’ve done to my face. It’s a good thing I can heal it right back to its original condition once this fight is over.”

  Ace simply laughed in amusement.

  “That’s some interesting optimism you have there, Princess, thinking you’re going to come out of this the winner. Let me tell you something. I’ve never lost a battle, and I’ve participated in more fights than I can count.”

  “Then this will be your first loss.”

  A savage grin had suddenly crept onto Ace’s features, his voice gaining deadly enthusiasm.

  “Oh, I love that defiant attitude of yours! It’s going to make it all the more satisfying for me. The moment you realize you’ve lost. The hopelessness and despair in your eyes at that very moment... I can’t wait until you ultimately beg me for mercy, so that I can say ‘no’.”

  Tsuki couldn’t help but chuckle rebelliously.

  “I would never beg anyone for mercy, especially not a common thug like you. I’ll show you mercy, however. After I’ve defeated you, I’ll merely send you off to the Bermian prison instead of killing you.”

  “If you’re so confident you can defeat me, then come and get me.”

  Ace’s goading words were met with a response of pure stone from Tsuki. She merely raised her pure colorless blade, going into a guarded stance, unbothered by the burning sensation harrowing her neck as she kept her eyes peeled on the enemy before her. Suddenly, her thoughts went off on a tangent. She was no longer thinking about this battle. Rather, in this brief reprieve that she was afforded, she thought about her student and close friend who was currently engaged in a battle of his own.

  Drake, are you okay? I wish I could be there with you. I wish I could bear witness to your battle at this moment. I wish I could keep you safe. You better win, Drake. I’ll win my battle whatever it takes, so you need to win yours. Show me that all the time I spent training you was worth it; show me what you’ve learned!

  ~~~~~

  Dusk and Jigsaw faced off against one another. Jigsaw was salivating in anticipation, anxiously waiting for the moment when their fight would resume. Dusk was in a zone of supreme concentration, not intending to take his eyes off of his opponent for even a second. Something about what Jigsaw had said earlier bothered him.

  “Jigsaw, what is the meaning of this death match? We are doing this because you enjoy the thrill of battle? Is that really it for you? Is that really all there is?”

  Jigsaw grunted in disdain as if a bothersome gnat was pestering him. The savage features faded from his face. The next words that came forth from him were enveloped with his obvious irritation.

  “Tch, you’re really starting to annoy me you know that. Does there really need to be any more reason than that to a fight? Besides, I already told you I’m fighting for my brother too.”

  “That’s exactly what bothers me. You speak of your brother this and your brother that. What about you, don’t you have your own dreams?”

  His aggravation had boiled over into a mild rage at this point, his teeth grating themselves against one another.

  “What the hell do you care? You’re my enemy! My dream is to fulfill my brother’s dreams. I’ll always have his back.”

  Before Dusk could utter any words to counter him with, Jigsaw charged forward intending to shut him up with his swords. Dusk raised both of his blades, crossing them in front of himself as if a shield and bracing for the inevitable impact. An ear piercing clang could be heard as the four blades clashed into one another, as if to symbolize the literal clash of their opinions. Newly formed sparks glittered briefly in the air before falling.

  Dusk’s back leg sunk into the ground, a considerable strain put on his muscles. His spine had arched back slightly. Yet he did not stumble backwards. He stood his ground, staring savagely into his hazel eyed enemy, attempting to push Jigsaw back with all of his might.

  “If you really wanted to have his back and do what’s best for him, you would have the guts to stand up to him!”

  Jigsaw’s facial features had changed. Whereas before he was battle hungry, like a barbarian, his face had now scrunched into an expression of grim dour. He looked more like an emotionless killer than a ferocious beast. Dusk imagined he must have struck a nerve with those words. As if to confirm his suspicions, the next words out of his mouth were poisoned with killing intent.

  “What the fuck did you just say to me, red star?”

  Letting the bottled rage empower him, Jigsaw pushed him even further back. If Dusk allowed him to break through his defenses even a little bit more, he’d be done for. Even so, his resolution didn’t waver one bit. His eyes were set ablaze with fire.

  “You heard me! Do you think what you and your brother are doing is right? Is your conscience really clear knowing that you are killing all these innocent players? If you really cared about your brother, you would steer him away from this dark path, before it’s too late.”

  As Dusk was shouting these words with fervor, his body seemed to be responding to his powerful will. He slowly inched forward, gradually gaining control of this struggle, much to his opponent’s shock. The two enemy’s bodies were shaking from the stress, each trying to win this deadlock. They were now at a complete stalemate, with neither fighter having the advantage. The sweat was pouring down in a torrent. Dusk roared out, attempting to empower his resolve into sheer strength. At the same time, Jigsaw was grunting through the strain. Both fighters put everything they had into this attack.

  "Ahhhhhhhhhh--!"

  "Gnhhhhhhhhh--!"

  It was Dusk who came out on top this time, repelling Jigsaw’s blades with great power— landing two slashes like an X across his stomach area and sending him stumbling backwards, but he did not fall. He wasn’t even slumped over, nor did he seem to be affected by the pain. He didn’t even scream out when he was sliced. He merely stood there with a dark expression before practically hurling deathly threats at Dusk.

  “Don’t you ever question my love for my brother.”

  Jigsaw was visibly struggling with himself, a mere trickle of pain absconding from within the bottle of emotional torment that was likely filled up within him to the point of bursting; most likely accumulated over many years. His tone of voice had changed to one of desperation. For some reason he wanted to plead his case to this enemy that by all rights he shouldn’t give a shit about. Most likely he was trying to convince himself.

  “You think I didn’t try to steer him away from this path? It’s impossible. Ace is stubborn like that. He doesn’t listen to anyone else. Never has, never will. He does what he wants. All I can do... is be his right hand.”

  “Wrong!” Dusk retorted swiftly. “If he insists on killing others for sport, if he refuses to change, then all
you can do is see that he is brought to justice. By that I mean he should already have been in prison. Then the lives of tens if not hundreds of innocent people could’ve been saved.”

  Jigsaw briefly turned his head, spitting on the ground in disdain.

  “You speak these righteous words so easily, as if you would do this in my situation.”

  The next words Jigsaw yelled out rocked the courtyard in fury, as if even the blades of grass themselves would tuck their heads into the dirt to escape the maddening decibel level of this roar.

  “Get off your moral high ground!”

  The flood of agony that had risen over the years had now destroyed the dam which held it in check for so long. Jigsaw’s heartbreak spilled out into the courtyard.

  “You have no idea what my brother and I have been through. We were born in hell, constantly fighting one person after another; fighting for our very survival! My brother and I, we grew up in complete poverty. I’m not talking about welfare or any of that bullshit. We lived on the fucking streets with our old man, eating garbage. My brother had my back more times than I can count, and even saved my life once. If not for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

  Jigsaw stopped for a moment to catch his breath. His eyes were locked on his foe, attempting to discern the thoughts behind the fair-skinned Phantom. Dusk’s eyes flickered with curiosity, but they were also still reluctant. That was only natural; these two were enemies after all. After this brief respite, Jigsaw resumed his dialog.

  “My brother was determined to make a better life for us and he did just that. Using his unparalleled talents, he made enough money to support me and my old man both, providing us with a better life than we had ever known.”

  After finishing his explanation, Jigsaw wanted to know his fellow Phantom’s answer to all of this. So he began asking questions.

  “After what I just told you, do you really think you could throw your brother in jail if you were me?”

  Dusk set his eyes on Jigsaw, deep in thought, pondering the answer to this question.