02-13-2018, 11:31 PM
Tearen was honestly impressed by the font of psionic might that now poured from Strazio's mind like a great seeping waterfall. Raw mental potency fed directly into his highest mental cortices by the universe itself provided the Rage Mage's anger the sort of grist required for a focused burn. The Shadow saw before him a Rockwell that was more akin to a coiled viper, rather than the raging bull he was made out to be. Another mind flickered across his perception which was familiar, and cured in the fires of deep culture. Tearen was very pleased to see Gilgamesh after so long, and doubly pleased to note that the Golden King's penchant for irrepressible egotism had not diminished.
"So much ambition gathered here before me..." the Elder Prime murmured. The air became tangy with ozone, a palpable indicator that the ex-enigma was now marshaling his own potency. He gathered a deep breath and held it tightly for a few seconds before releasing it in time with the offshore breeze. A glittering pall of mist spiraled forth from pursed lips and wrapped Tearen in a shawl of protective energy as he lowered into a defensive stance. Lavender light heralded the beckoning of Enigma to his hands, and somewhere, a dove crooned.
"...let us see if you have the strength to match–" Tearen started before being abruptly knocked several yards through the air into the hedges by a crackling white fist. The ground smoked and fractured where Strazio had advanced to deliver the punch. He took another smoldering step before the cacophonous ringing of chains sounded. Despite his elevated mind, his body could not divert its momentum quickly enough to escape Gilgamesh's regal snare.
"Tempestuous fiend! I did not permit you to act out of turn!" Gilgamesh snapped, cocking his head to the side. Strazio strained against the steaming chains for a moment before growling softly.
"Oh you just had to give him an opening..." the Rage Mage seethed.
Meanwhile, Tearen picked himself up off of a collapsed bazaar stand and a very tall man in a trenchcoat who had been lingering nearby. The eldritch human grunted slightly before offering the scar-faced shopper to his feet.
"A treasury of apologies. Please, I would recommend leaving the area." Tearen said before summoning nuclear fire into his fingertip. Crocodile watched with restrained ire as the Shadow sent a wire-thin blast of destruction blasting through the ruined bushes. By the time Gilgamesh was wracked by the beam, Strazio had already shattered the chains and was busy smashing incoming Babylonian weapons as they whistled through the air. When the Rage Mage saw Gilgamesh spin down to one knee, clutching a freshly scorched shoulder, he immediately began searching for Tearen. There was, however, no sign of the Shadow in the direction the laser had been fired from.
A slight, fluttering shadow was all the warning Strazio received as Tearen rocketed down towards him from above, halberd poised to impale. Strazio's elevated mind easily prepared a counter, and he grabbed the wooden haft of Enigma before violently wrenching his erstwhile mentor towards the ground. Instead of smacking into the ground with a satisfying thud, however, the Shadow vanished through a rippling tear in spacetime that had opened up just next to the furious fighter. A similar disc of shimmering nonsense had opened above Gilgamesh, who was doing his best to regain his composure behind the violet barrier he had summoned. When the exit portal deposited Tearen's cloaked form on top of the shielding energy, Gilgamesh's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You...insolent...DOG!" the King shouted as a fusillade of golden portals suddenly encircled Tearen's position above Gilgamesh's head. Strazio looked on, his mind racing more quickly than can be expressed, before it came to a screeching halt. He was still holding Tearen's halberd. The instant he realized this, the eldritch weapon jerked to life of its own seeming accord, leaving a smart gash across Rockwell's left calf. He roared in pain as he hurled the thrashing halberd away from him.
This resulted in a standoff, if even for just the span of one breath. Gilgamesh could not drop his shield to attack, or the ex-enigma would be upon him. Strazio could not attack Tearen without putting himself in position to take the full brunt of Gilgamesh's blades, and Tearen could not attack without leaving himself open to either one of the other combatants. It was at that exact moment, however, that a freak storm of sand and grit whipped across the library's courtyard. Visibility was reduced to nearly zero in the dusty gale, and even Strazio's ascended mind could not force down the reflex to close his eyes for just a second.
"You all are being a damn nuisance, you know that?" Crocodile bellowed as he strolled into the fray...
"So much ambition gathered here before me..." the Elder Prime murmured. The air became tangy with ozone, a palpable indicator that the ex-enigma was now marshaling his own potency. He gathered a deep breath and held it tightly for a few seconds before releasing it in time with the offshore breeze. A glittering pall of mist spiraled forth from pursed lips and wrapped Tearen in a shawl of protective energy as he lowered into a defensive stance. Lavender light heralded the beckoning of Enigma to his hands, and somewhere, a dove crooned.
"...let us see if you have the strength to match–" Tearen started before being abruptly knocked several yards through the air into the hedges by a crackling white fist. The ground smoked and fractured where Strazio had advanced to deliver the punch. He took another smoldering step before the cacophonous ringing of chains sounded. Despite his elevated mind, his body could not divert its momentum quickly enough to escape Gilgamesh's regal snare.
"Tempestuous fiend! I did not permit you to act out of turn!" Gilgamesh snapped, cocking his head to the side. Strazio strained against the steaming chains for a moment before growling softly.
"Oh you just had to give him an opening..." the Rage Mage seethed.
Meanwhile, Tearen picked himself up off of a collapsed bazaar stand and a very tall man in a trenchcoat who had been lingering nearby. The eldritch human grunted slightly before offering the scar-faced shopper to his feet.
"A treasury of apologies. Please, I would recommend leaving the area." Tearen said before summoning nuclear fire into his fingertip. Crocodile watched with restrained ire as the Shadow sent a wire-thin blast of destruction blasting through the ruined bushes. By the time Gilgamesh was wracked by the beam, Strazio had already shattered the chains and was busy smashing incoming Babylonian weapons as they whistled through the air. When the Rage Mage saw Gilgamesh spin down to one knee, clutching a freshly scorched shoulder, he immediately began searching for Tearen. There was, however, no sign of the Shadow in the direction the laser had been fired from.
A slight, fluttering shadow was all the warning Strazio received as Tearen rocketed down towards him from above, halberd poised to impale. Strazio's elevated mind easily prepared a counter, and he grabbed the wooden haft of Enigma before violently wrenching his erstwhile mentor towards the ground. Instead of smacking into the ground with a satisfying thud, however, the Shadow vanished through a rippling tear in spacetime that had opened up just next to the furious fighter. A similar disc of shimmering nonsense had opened above Gilgamesh, who was doing his best to regain his composure behind the violet barrier he had summoned. When the exit portal deposited Tearen's cloaked form on top of the shielding energy, Gilgamesh's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You...insolent...DOG!" the King shouted as a fusillade of golden portals suddenly encircled Tearen's position above Gilgamesh's head. Strazio looked on, his mind racing more quickly than can be expressed, before it came to a screeching halt. He was still holding Tearen's halberd. The instant he realized this, the eldritch weapon jerked to life of its own seeming accord, leaving a smart gash across Rockwell's left calf. He roared in pain as he hurled the thrashing halberd away from him.
This resulted in a standoff, if even for just the span of one breath. Gilgamesh could not drop his shield to attack, or the ex-enigma would be upon him. Strazio could not attack Tearen without putting himself in position to take the full brunt of Gilgamesh's blades, and Tearen could not attack without leaving himself open to either one of the other combatants. It was at that exact moment, however, that a freak storm of sand and grit whipped across the library's courtyard. Visibility was reduced to nearly zero in the dusty gale, and even Strazio's ascended mind could not force down the reflex to close his eyes for just a second.
"You all are being a damn nuisance, you know that?" Crocodile bellowed as he strolled into the fray...
Quote:800 Words Exactly, According to Wordcounter.net
Tearen used Tier 2 Utility - Ablative Succor to give himself an additional temporary 6 HP for the duration of this fight.
7/9 SP Remaining
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued