Beyond The Impossible

New Rhetra, planet Myridia

Torn has seen better days: he’s been stabbed in the chest, leaving him in a pool of his own blood.

The man in a blue armor that hurt him is standing before him, with his arms crossed.

<Still alive? I expected no less from a full-blooded Demon>– he comments.

The demigoddess Naiad, standing next to the armored man, is nervously looking around.

<Why are we still here? We have to go!>

<He issued a challenge. Honor dictates that he should have a chance to admit his defeat.>

-Never…going…to happen – Torn answers, painfully standing up by leaning against an energy sword he created to use as a cane. He’s still bleeding profusely, but he closes his wound by conjuring several red energy stitches.

<You talk about honor, but you killed a defenseless old man.>

<Your friend is still alive and will be set free once he’s no longer useful to the Guild. You, on the other hand, are now expendable> he says, lifting a hand towards Torn.

His ice blast doesn’t hit Torn, though, since one of Kari’s duplicates kicks him in the head at the right time, making him miss. Things didn’t go as planned though: Kari’s duplicate is rolling in severe pain, holding her leg. It’s been completely frozen up to the knee.

Torn seizes the opportunity, using his sword to attack, but the energy construct completely shatter against the blue armor.

<Naiad. Dispose of these… annoyances.>

<With pleasure> she answers, returning her body to its water form and unleashing a tidal wave.

There’s no time to react: the wave hits like a tsunami, destroying everything in its path. The Kari duplicates could easily escape by creating more copies above the wave… unfortunately, Kari’s original body is very close to the epicenter.

 

Null City

Kari’s battle with the Mist is less evenly matched than expected. They both have the power to duplicate and considerable fighting experience, but he has something that she lacks: weapons.

<You shouldn’t have blown my cover> the Mist chastises her, attacking with a dozen throwing stars. Each of them hits one Kari, causing their bodies to disappear… which means they would’ve killed a real person.

<I was about to trick you into believing you’d defeated the Guild.>

<Like we need your help for that> Kari taunts him, restarting the match. Despite her bravado, it’s harder than she wants to admit… every time she gets close enough, the Mist counters her attacks blow for blow. His duplicates are as fast and coordinated as she is. She could handle him if it wasn’t for those weapons… but since Myridians can’t duplicate them, all she has to do is take out the original.

She manages to steal some throwing stars while they’re in mid-air and to throw them back at him, but his white costume offers enough protection to prevent his duplicates from disappearing once hit.

<I like your choice in weapons, though; very well-balanced. But sooner or later, you’ll run out.>

<Really? I can do this all day> the Mist mocks her, showing a throwing star between his fingers.

In the blink of an eye, he’s holding two. Then six. Then his other hand is also carrying a bunch.

<How… you duplicate objects!? That’s impossible!> Kari complains.

<That’s one of the perks of working for the Guild: nothing is impossible for us.>

Kari goes on the attack, finding herself overwhelmed by the Mist’s arsenal: no matter how close her duplicates can get, he’s always ready to defend himself long before they can do anything.

She’s never heard of a Myridian able to duplicate anything except himself and the clothes he’s wearing… she doesn’t have a strategy to deal with it, and her duplicates are quickly defeated.

 

Locris desert

Vesta is having more luck in dealing with Scarab, despite facing a rock giant literally as big as a mountain. When the monster tries to punch her, Vesta becomes so hot that she’s able to fly through its arm by melting the rock she touches. Unfortunately for her, it doesn’t do anything to seriously hurt the giant: it’s far too big to be hurt by something as tiny as a human being.

Even when she punches the thing in the face hard enough to damage it, the rocks quickly return to their place.

<It’s no use! Whatever damage I do, Scarab has enough material to fix it!> she complains.

She’s talking to Quantum, who’s having a similar problem with the second monster. It’s made of lava, constantly shifting its form to avoid his attacks. He’s turned himself into several types of energy: laser blasts, electric bolts, magnetic fields, nothing seems to be able to hurt the monster.

<We need to take these things down without leaving her anything she can work with!> he says.

Scarab is overlooking the battle from a vantage point, sitting on a rock floating in the air. Vesta and Quantum have tried attacking her first, but the speed at which the rocks come to her defense has proven a challenge even for their powers.

<Keep dreaming, amateur. I’m just warming up!> she boasts, snapping her fingers.

The two monsters turn towards each other, with material from both flowing to a single spot: despite the immense quantity of material, it takes very little time for the two beings to merge into one.

Vesta looks at the new menace with sheer horror in her face, while Quantum…

<Oh, wow! How freakin’ cool is that!?>

<Not now Max. We have to stop that thing before it gets anywhere near the city!>

<Can’t you just throw it into space?>

<I don’t know if I can lift something that big, but even if I could, she can always make a new one. We have to stop it right here, right now!> she explains, shooting fire from her hands to keep away the sand lifted by the monster’s slightest move.

<Wait, I’ve got it! Can you set up a wall of fire around the monster?> he asks.

<How hot do you need it?>

<Hot enough to vaporize anything.>

A walking volcano is walking towards them, causing massive earthquakes with every step. Vesta isn’t sure about her friend’s plan, but there’s a wicked smile on her face.

<I can do that.>

At Vesta’s command, the desert is lighted up by a dome of white-hot plasma that rivals the Sun with its brightness. Even Scarab has to cover her eyes.

<What the φθχ was that!?>

<We’re just warming up: here’s the big finale> Quantum answers, turning into radio waves to position himself right at the monster’s center of mass.

<ANTIMATTER PUNCH!!!>

There are no words to describe the pure destructive power unleashed against the monster when Quantum’s body changes into antimatter. Everything is obliterated in its path: Vesta has to give everything she has to sustain the firewall, to prevent untold tons of pulverized material from escaping and destroying the planet’s environment.

She’s grinning her teeth, straining her body to its limit to sustain the barrier; she’s sweating profusely for the first time in the last thousand years.

<The boy has… potential.>

Vesta feels a chill down her spine when the armored man shows up. She knows she can’t afford any distraction or she will lose the containment. And to make matter worse, Scarab has just landed next to her, ready to throw a rock javelin in her face. She stops when her weapon is suddenly completely covered in ice.

<No. The battle is over.>

<What are you talking about!? They’re still alive!>

<They are trying to protect this world. If we take advantage of the situation, we have no more honor than common criminals.>

The man in the blue armor touches the wall of fire, which should be enough to vaporize it. Not only that doesn’t happen, he’s able to turn fire into solid ice and to instantly stop the storm raging inside.

It’s difficult to tell because the armor obscures his face, but Vesta could swear this was no effort for him. The ice crumbles under its own weight, leaving sharp ice shards everywhere.

Quantum reconstructs his body from the gamma radiation generated by his attack, but his stunt was exhausting: he immediately collapses into Vesta’s arms.

The man in the armor is in front of her, ready to blast them with an ice wave from the palm of his hand. She’s far too tired to do anything about it, but he hesitates.

<Well? What are you waiting for!?>

<Hephaestus was right. You are very beautiful.>

This was probably the last thing Vesta imagined he would say. She also didn’t expect him to step on a platform of ice that’s lifting itself off the ground.

<What? Do I know you?>

<Tell your mistress Null that the Winter King would like to speak to her.>

Just like that, the armored man and Scarab float away, leaving behind an extremely tired and extremely confused Vesta.

 

Myridian Palace, hours later

Noriko has never felt so tired in her life. Even her first visit to Myridia wasn’t as exhausting: as harsh as the fight with Demeter was, her team survived in good shape.

Now that the sun is setting down, they’ve all gathered in one of the many rooms of the Palace that now serve as emergency rooms. Doctor Kalama is trying to check Torn, who still has a nasty scar on his chest but is putting his clothes back on.

<Where do you think you’re going?> the doctor chastises him.

<Outside.>

<And you think it’s a good idea? You were stabbed in the heart!!!>

<Yes. I have two more.>

Noriko chuckles; for once, she’s not the only one having to deal with the weird demon. Kari sits down next to Noriko; she’s almost drowned, but compared to the rest she was lucky.

<Hey. Are you okay?>

<-I went into cardiac arrest, again. The city’s been severely damaged, again. And most of the region’s infrastructure needs to be rebuilt… again. The Guild has escaped, we have no idea what they were after, we have no idea where they’re keeping Old Man Vor or if it’s true that he’s really alive, I’m worshipped as a goddess by the same people I freed from slavery… is anything okay?>

Kari doesn’t know what to answer, but they’re quickly joined by Quantum:

<We survived and we saved a bunch of lives. Plus, I blew up a living mountain!>

<And you’re fine? No repercussions on your powers after such an extensive use?> Noriko asks.

<Nope. I have a headache, though, like when you’re trying to follow a time travel story, y’know?>

She can’t help but smile. Sometimes, her friends remind her why she needs their perspective.

<Well, the city’s not going to rebuild itself> she says, getting up and immediately regretting it.

<And where do you think you’re going, young lady?> Doctor Kalama stops her.

<To get some rest?> Noriko asks; she’s too weak to argue with her doctor.

<To get some rest> the doctor repeats, nodding solemnly.

 

Reaching her room feels like running a marathon. Noriko closes the door behind her and collapses on the bed, feeling sore in muscles she didn’t know she had.

She should love nothing more than to soak in a bathtub for a few hours, but even that is too much to ask at the moment. She’s planning to sleep as much as humanly possible.

<Noriko Null.>

Just the sound of that voice gives her goosebumps all over her body. The armored man is there.

<Can’t it wait until tomorrow?> she asks, sitting on the bed.

<I am the Winter King. I wish to propose a formal alliance between us.>

<Just get me a cup of coffee and you can have the whole freakin’ galaxy> she comments, yawning.