"Kyomu Arts, Final Form: Blood Moon!"
As Eight pressed his hands together, the surface vanished. Savai found himself falling down a dark space stretching in all directions, with no end in sight.
Wind was hitting his face and cruising through his hair as the falling speed started to increase. He rotated his shoulders to face up and saw a pale red light coming from a large spherical object which was illuminating the entire surrounding. The object was getting ever so slightly smaller as he kept falling.
He tried to move his neck around to locate Eight, he was nowhere to be found.
He opened his arms to slow down and saw Eight to his right side but he was not falling.
In an upright position, Eight's feet were surrounded by visible air that was flowing upwards to his knees, giving him resistance against the wind. He was descending down but with some control over the speed and direction of the fall.
He slowly raised his arm, moved his head a little towards his shoulder and closed his left eye.
"Let me see it, immortal!"
The continuous sound of air drowned out his words but Savai knew instinctively what was coming next. Eight smiled a little and flicked his fingers.
The blades were timed accurately to hit Savai's arms and legs, slashing them through but the speed at which Savai was falling, gave him an advantage. He moved his arms back. The increase in speed helped him dodge the aura blades.
"Tck! I thought that would hit. I guess it's impossible from this position. Very well then."
The visible air disappeared, Eight directed his body towards Savai. A burst of air launched him straight ahead.
"Thud!!"
His body rammed into Savai. He grabbed his shoulders, now both were falling down. The motion rotated their bodies, while Eight was on top Savai grabbed his left arm with his left hand. It started freezing, as Savai came on top, he yanked his arm and threw Eight below.
"Wrong move, immortal."
In a fraction of second where Eight was below, he raised his right arm up and flicked his fingers.
Blades appeared directly in front of Savai hitting his arms and legs. Blood erupted out and drops of it went flying up.
Damn it! That was too close for comfort. I need to find a way to fight back!
Right before the blades hit Savai, he covered his arms and legs with frozen ice, avoiding a fatal hit.
The ice covered the wounds but instead of healing, it just froze his skin solid.
He whipped the transparent chain but Eight grabbed it with his right hand. The visible air appeared again flowing downward now, it gave him a boost in speed. At the same time he pulled the chain back, causing Savai to accelerate towards him.
As Savai came closer, Eight concentrated aura in his left fist and threw a punch. Savai raised his right palm to grab it. A loud boom sound followed as the hit exploded Savai's hand skin off into pieces.
Savai slapped his left hand forward which slightly grazed Eight's forehead and left a frozen mark.
"Clap!"
Savai clapped with the injured hand. Blue threads appeared in between his palms and he pulled.
The wind had drowned out any noise but it was instantaneous. A single circular rotating disk appeared and expanded, splitting Eight's head in half. The stream of blood accumulated into drops that flew up as his body disappeared while falling.
Savai covered his right hand with ice. Knowing Eight would re-appear nearby, he moved his arms back and sped up the fall.
This is dangerous. He has a better chance to land a lethal hit while I'm falling in a predictable trajectory. I have to act quick to avoid those blades or hand attacks, but I don't have any way to defend against the punches anymore.
Using aura will make me more exhausted. The only option I have is…
Savai moved his shoulders so his face was facing upwards. He closed his eyes, as his body kept falling, he took a deep breath. The aura surrounding his wounds disappeared leaving behind open wounds.
"Azure Divinity - Formless Existence!"
Focus. It has to be instantaneous.
Everything got quieter. The only sound he was able to hear was wind. He could sense a wide distance but nothing was moving towards him. But that didn't last long. He heard a distant sound of burst coming from the…
Left!
Savai quickly moved his left shoulder and opened his arms wide. That rotated his body to the right while his speed slowed down.
The screeching sound broke through the noise of wind and Savai closed his arms. With another burst of air, Eight launched at him.
Savai dodged just in time, he raised his right hand towards Eight's arm. The aura froze the hand and left a mark on Eight's wrist.
He immediately cut the arm with aura blade. The severed piece turned into ash midair. Muscle threads grew around the slowly regenerating bone and his arm was as good as new. Another burst and Eight disappeared again.
Savai closed his eyes. Everything got quieter again. So quiet that he could hear the blood seeping through his wounds.
This actually feels nice. The air moving through my face, I can get used to it. Ah! My mind feels empty now. Wait, not empty, but calm. What was I even trying to do? The same tactics won't work on someone like him. I have to be certain. It's either him or me.
If I am to go, then…
As Savai was falling in a dark endless pit, all the noises around him slowly stopped. He could not see anything but he felt a light around him. Slowly growing, it was warm. Inside his body, aura was not being suppressed anymore, in fact, it started to flow. So uniformly that it felt like no aura was left in his body anymore.
The final form of aura flow. It is gentle as it is fierce. Capable of changes that go beyond nature itself…
"If not now! You'll end up like countless others that came before me, GRANDMASTER!!!"
Eight approached from right with no intention of hiding his presence. Aura from his entire body had concentrated into his right fist which turned into pure black energy that was breaking through the darkness itself.
His voice was loud as he moved his right fist back and attacked, "The moon of darkness offers its final gift to the strongest warrior it has ever met, Kyomu Arts: Hand of the GOD!!!"
It hit Savai directly. Instead of a thud, there was a flash. Instead of destruction, there was bright illuminating light spreading to all directions. It burned through the dark energy instantaneously.
Savai opened his eyes, moved his palm forward through Eight's opened arms. He hit his stomach, leaving behind a frozen mark.
"Clap!"
As Savai pulled his hands back, Eight was split in two. His body turned to ash.
A sound of gong spread everywhere. Suddenly, Savai's body stopped falling. It was floating in the air for a moment, then it started falling in the opposite direction.
So he reversed the technique. That means, I'm heading towards the surface now. I have to brace for impact.
It was even faster now. He was falling at a speed that would crush his body on impact. Savai opened his arms to slow down. He was still falling fast.
He covered his arms with frozen aura to speed up. Right before hitting the surface, he opened the arms again and covered his legs instead. The impact of fall broke the surface but Savai was standing still.
"This feels more and more like the end now, grandmaster! But what an end it is shaping up to be…"
No remorse, no frustration. But that glow in his eyes, so he has also accepted the fact that he might die today!
"You seem to have accepted my definition!"
"Hahaha! I would say, your idea is better than my reality. Someone carrying my memories till the day they die.. I might like that more."
"I'm glad you came back to reality. I don't like the fact that we both yearn for the same thing now, but at least, one of us won't find that satisfaction."
"Is that your way of saying you hate me, grandmaster?"
Maybe it is.
"In that case…"
Eight raised right fist up and flicked his fingers.
Savai disappeared.
Formless Existence is a unique technique inspired by Spirits. Savai's master developed the technique after fighting countless spirits in his life. The end goal was to hide his presence from the far stronger and faster spirits. And then counter attack.
Savai's technique went through a progression from fighting the summoned spirit Nora, to accepting his death against fighting with Eight.
Such a harmony was never intended to come to existence, but with the combination of such events, pushed the technique to its absolute level.
"He disappeared? In that condition?"
I can see my wounds, but it doesn't hurt anymore. I should be passed out but I feel more aware than ever. And this speed…
I'm definitely faster than ever before.
Eight moved quickly.
"There you are! What…"
It was Savai's chain but he was nowhere to be found. Eight deflected the incoming chain. Before he could react, a screeching sound from his right appeared. He slightly moved his head and met with a direct punch from Savai's fist.
"Thud!!" It was direct, resulting in Eight's face being blown to pieces.
His eyes could see Savai, so he clapped his hands. Iron hands pressed together instantly. As he looked, Savai was missing again.
He felt something. One of his arms was severed. A cut from Iron Blade technique. But Savai wasn't there.
Eight realized what was about to happen. He turned and jumped back. He didn't see Savai in front.
But he felt a cold hand on his back. He was frustrated but he couldn't help but to smile as his upper body leaned ahead and turned into ash.
"You keep using the same technique grandmaster. It's getting boring," Eight's voice appeared from far away.
Savai knew what was coming, he threw his chain towards Eight. "Clap!"
The chain wrapped around Eight's arm, Savai pulled to dash forward. Eight cut the chain with Aura Blade.
He shakenly tried to move his fist left and right, to aim towards Savai, who was quick to change directions. He flicked his fingers but missed.
He finally had an aim but before he could flick his fingers, Savai whipped his chain towards his fist and the blades missed the mark.
The screeching sound followed and Eight crossed his arms.
But…
Instead of the punch, an object pierced his arms, going straight through his chest.
Eight was just as confused as he was impressed. In awe of what had transpired he couldn't resist saying, "Ah! That's a cool blade!"
Savai stopped channeling his aura, blood poured out of Eight's chest as the ice blade broke into several pieces and disappeared into the air.
He felt a sudden weakness in his legs and coughed out blood. He smiled a bit and dropped to his knees.
Raising his head up, he asked Savai, "How is it that you're still standing after all that!"
"Because.." Savai took a pause. "I have to."
"Ugh!" he coughed out more blood.
"Hey.. ugh! Grandmaster.. Can I tell you something?"
Savai stood still.
"I've always hated the mountains. Something about their forever expanding and incomprehensible nature always made me feel uneasy.
These vast numbers of trees growing and existing without any help from the outside world, always made me feel so feeble."
Savai took another pause and said, "That might be how it feels from the sidelines. Having spent my entire childhood and a majority of my adulthood inside the mountains, I can say one thing for sure…
They always welcome a wanderer."
Eight smiled a bit and said, "You really have a way with words, grandmaster! Reminds me of someone else I used to know…"
That smile faded away. And his vision turned blurry.
"There are more like me that will come for you, grandmaster. Although, they're not as considerate as me…
Huff.. Huff.. But I feel you can survive them too."
Savai said nothing.
"I wonder if I'll get to meet my immortal…" said eight as his eyes closed and head dropped down.
"A human, afterall." said Savai, seeing that Eight's body didn't disappear.
Savai, who was standing firm till now, fell down. His dark blood slowly dripped down to the grass beneath. Lungs filled with heaviness that almost stopped breathing. He raised his right hand up in the air.
"What a shame, I was looking forward to teaching that brat…"