"A temple?"
Of all places for a street fight, I never thought that a supposed holy ground was the best fit. The domain replacement opened me into a cold harsh night, and I was standing right in front of a tall synagogue.
The moon overhead was red, almost bloody, like it was trying to communicate something about my fate to me. Death, possibly? Only that I wasn't a big fan of dying.
"What are you doing?" Amelia's tone was laced with concern. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
The moment she said that, the large wooden doors that guarded the temple opened. Cold wind brushed through immediately, and someone walked in.
A girl.
She had the biggest eyes I'd ever seen, stained purple. The same was the colour of her hair. And the way she walked, smiling like someone who didn't come here for a fight. It was almost intimidating.
"Didn't you mention it yourself? That I either become stronger or die trying." I replied to Amelia after a long while of silence.
"Well, in this case, you aren't even gonna try before you die!"
"Let's make a bet, Amelia." I adjusted my pose, preparing to attack. "If I beat her, then you have to be nice to me. How about that?"
Amelia slapped her face in sheer disappointment. "Oh good lord." She groaned. "If you need motivation, at least you should raise the stakes."
I didn't wait for her conclusion. I just leapt down the temple stairs, charging towards Ember. An impossible difficulty. It was best to keep her cooped up rather than have me finish in a second.
I swatted my hand at her, maybe to slap her out of the way. But she didn't dodge as I'd expected. She brought her own against mine, replicating my move. When her hand hit mine, I felt it in my palm. Hot pain.
Regardless, I folded two punches and threw them at her. But she only met my attack with one hand. Her punch blocked mine at the perfect time.
Honestly, it was insane that she could withhold the force behind my fists with just one of hers. Too surprised and distracted, she twitched her fists, and shot me off, as if she'd focused an unhealthy amount of energy into that arm alone.
I skidded against the floor, my back meeting the temple's entrance. Okay, judging from her difficulty, I'd expect that.
I stood again, leapt at her, somehow managing to double my force. My next move was a death hug. I crouched down, running as fast as I could just to wallop her, but just as I was half a foot away from her, I felt a kick in my chin. A brutal crack followed.
I registered the pain. Severely excruciating. But that didn't stop me from trying to swipe a blow up her unbothered face. But Ember grabbed my arm instead and twisted.
"Argh!"
She caught my collar and lifted me to a standing position. In that one second, she smiled. A menacing kind. Then she brought her foot up, throwing me off with a kick to my guts. And there I was, back at the temple's entrance.
Fuck.
"Fuck, she's tough."
"That's your problem now. I did warn you anyway." Amelia looked unbothered as she rubbed her fingers. She even gave me a shrug, one that explained that she'd given up on my surviving.
I stood, holding on to my wounded arm which was now sore. Through the cold air, I could barely balance my breathing. I could barely even think. Analytical eye. Flow state. Adaptive Reflex. Nothing was working against Ember.
Was this just a difficult game, or was it a game I couldn't beat no matter how hard I tried?
Ember still hadn't moved away from that one spot. She stood still, amusement written all over her expression. Looking at her from up close was enough confirmation that she was really a psycho.
And so was Tyler. And if anything, I was done getting beaten up by psychos. I dashed towards her again, not sure how to attack her this time, but regardless, she didn't wait for that.
She hummed. Which at first I thought was a weird move in a spar to the death. But it was her move anyway. All of a sudden, my body stopped moving. My bones shrieked tightly against each other, like they were reacting to a deep frequency.
Ember's humming frequency.
Even the ground rumbled beneath me as she continued to hum. And for a moment there, I thought the whole place was going to fall apart, including me. But then, she stopped.
Showoff.
When I recovered my movements, I stood upright, still holding on to my arm. I didn't know what was so funny, but she hadn't stopped smiling. Even at that moment, the whole thing still wasn't sounding rational. How could someone way powerful than me be so shameless as to invite me to a multiplayer?
[New Skill Added]
[Recovery Rate Up— Passive]
A recovery skill? Finally, something to add to my health equipment. I didn't need to activate it before a green glow surrounded me, slowly healing my wounds. Apparently, the skill was still at a low level.
"Who the hell are you?" I threw the question at Ember. Trying out my last survival resort. "And why don't you pick on somebody of your own size?"
Hopefully, she could talk. The same way Cypher did. Then there might be a chance that my psychological deception would work.
"I tried. But no one wants to play with me, you see." Ember said with a look of disappointment. "They either decline my invitations or quit when they figure out my powers." She continued, her sad look immediately turning into a smile. "But you? You haven't left yet. Isn't that cute?"
She began an elated jump and clap session. And for a moment there, her presence changed from a dangerous, strategic fighter to an excited kid who was desperate for friends.
I didn't know what friendship meant to her, but if she enjoyed practising it here, then to her, it probably meant how many people were willing to let her kill them.
"You're a psycho..." I said. matter of fact, she was. "And what makes you think I won't leave?"
Her smile deepened. "Because that option disappeared just now." She said. "which means one of us has to kill the other to win."
"Amelia?"
Amelia didn't answer. I hated how she loved to make me figure things out by myself. How was I supposed to know that there was a limited option to quit multiplayer modes? But then again, I was the one who'd insisted on doing this. She'd tried to warn me out of it anyway.
So, the next step? It was certainly not to wait around and accept death's warm embrace. I have a recovery skill now. All I needed was to protect my health points— if they even existed. And to do that, it was best that I didn't get hit by her attacks.
Humming abilities. Incredible physical training. She was impossible to beat in both ways. There was no visible weakness I could use against her. But then again, one thing would always enslave a man. There had to be one thing she had no guard of.
That was my assignment to figure out.
I ran to her, reached for her with a punch which I immediately retrieved the moment she tried to slam against me. I parried, swerved right. A nanosecond. That was all the opportunity I had to bring up my fists to her neck.
But she grabbed my arm before I could reach, and aggressively tossed me over to the bare floor. Fuck. That hurt in a million ways. I tried to stand, but I couldn't. My bones failed me.
And she just stood right in front of me, staring at me the same way they'd all stared at me. Like a weakling. Like someone who didn't belong in the picture.
Weak. Weak. Weak!
That's what you are, Ren!
You'll never become stronger!
"Why do you still keep pushing?" Ember's voice was laced with curiosity. "Most people beg me to spare their lives. But you? You keep persisting. Why?"
I laughed, despite being at the sheer brink of death.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
I let my eyes meet hers. "It's just the way you say it. I find it hard to believe that someone would actually beg a psychopath for mercy." I said with a smile. "Plus, you're just a brat."
She kicked me at the last line. Really hard. I rolled off a few metres away from her. And when I stopped, blood spurted out of my lips. I was dying for sure. And something told me that this was not a three-life chance battle.
Well then... I guess this is where the story ends for me.
Ember walked down to me, which was pretty much the first time she'd moved ever since the fight began. She stared down at me, her face all shadows and purple eyes.
"Interesting." She said. "Really interesting." Then rubbed her fingers on her chin. "You know what, I'll let you live. I think you'll make a good playmate in the future."
She turned around, about to leave the temple.
"Grow stronger and find me, Ren." I heard her say. "I'll be waiting for you."