As he rose to his feet, ragged breaths left his lips as crimson blood dripped from his chin. He stood straight with his purple, swollen arms hanging down, huffing out as his teeth were shown to be drenched in his own blood.
I'm greedy. Even after living two different lives, I still want more. There's still so many things I want to see–the great cities of the elven continent, the fantastic beasts roaming Yulagsdra and its endless cultures, and even the blessed and accursed land of Jubra. All of it. I want to make so many friends that I struggle to remember their names. I want to experience enough adventures that I'll have to be reminded of them by singing bards. Life is boundless in its joys. I can't get enough of it–It's amazing. This is what I missed in my first life…Even here, stuck in the afterlife, I feel more alive than ever. I won't accept death until I'm satisfied, he thought.
Despite everything, victory was his.
Maybe it's childish to believe I can overcome death, but isn't that the point of being human? He questioned, Striving for things that seem impossible? Pushing further each and every day?...Besides, for some reason, I just feel like it's not my time yet. There's still so much I have to do–so much I want to do.
A gargled cough from the presumably dead foe of his immediately made him raise his guard again, ready to plunge his blood-soaked dagger back into it, but it didn't seem the amphibian fighter was getting back up.
"...Ri…bbit…"
With that last expulsion of noise from its body, the frog coughed up something from inside out it, spitting out a slime-covered object.
Though he was exhausted, he was able to make out what the tiny object was while it was still in midair, prompting him to dash forward with his tired body and snatch it out of the air.
"...Got you," he said.
In his palm, the second of the black keys needed for the cube presented itself, though covered in a less-than-savory fluid.
Glancing down at the slain foe of his, the young man could feel a certain sense of vindication, not for him, but for the doting father he wished to see again, "I guess I'll have to thank you for toughening me up–magic can't always be there to save me."
Though as he stuffed the black key in his pocket and began to head towards the rightmost corridor, the opposite direction where the frog beast did not come from, he felt a stiffening air brush against him.
It was an unmistakable feeling: the sensation of not being alone.
This feeling was magnified when he faced the right corridor where metal bars once blocked the way; through the absence of light that allowed shadows to occupy the hall, he felt something there.
This feeling…There's no way, right? He thought.
It didn't make much sense to him why there would be another figure in the chamber, especially after not showing themselves throughout the duration of the deathmatch with the wild amphibian. Still, he wasn't about to doubt his own instincts.
He recalled the thoughts he had just prior to the fight against the frog–the idea of there being multiple opponents awaiting him.
I already have the key though…but, it's true that I don't know how to get out of this room yet, he thought, I wonder–is that corridor where I have to go?
Footsteps made themselves known as the young man stood there, begrudgingly wielding his dagger once more.
A fight wasn't high on the list of things he wanted to delve back into, not directly after barely scraping by in the battle against the frog demi-human. He could feel his arms throbbing and each breath he took in through his lungs drew in a flash of pain.
As he stood his ground, listening to footsteps echo out throughout the shadow-filled corridor, he found the steps sounding as if they entered the same room as him, though he could see nothing.
What? He thought.
There wasn't any doubt to him: the steps were definitely in the metallic chamber with him, sounding just meters away now, yet he couldn't see any figure which they would belong to.
While he was left perplexed by the audible footsteps of an unseen entity, he suddenly felt his reflexes fire off before something came sailing through the air. What felt like a heavy, armored limb whipped against his chest, knocking him back.
"--!"
It took the breath from his lungs, but it wasn't on par with the powerful kicks suffered by the fallen amphibian, allowing him to catch himself before falling to the ground. Though it wasn't on the same level of the explosive kicks before, it didn't mean they were unfelt–not by a longshot.
More blood was hacked up by the young man as he felt his insides scream at him after suffering the unseen blow, though with the adrenaline pumping through his body, he was already locked into the mindset of a fighter.
"...Here we go again," he breathed out.
As he looked up at the sound of footsteps and light breathing meeting his ears, he still found nothing meeting his gaze. This led to a theory rising from the young Dragonheart as he held his dagger up, readying himself.
It's not something I'm excited about, but I might be up against an invisible opponent, he thought, I've never heard of a spell for invisibility, but I wouldn't be surprised if it existed, either. Yet, I don't think it's magecraft.
With the idea in his head of fighting an enemy without a seen form, he had to sharpen his senses despite his exhausted, injured state; he opened his ears, listening to the most minuscule noises and where they came from in relation to himself.
For the time being, he was stuck on the defense, pacing backward as he tried to get between a row of pillars for cover.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
Fast-paced steps approached him, prompting him to react, though he didn't instinctively know what to do in response to an invisible attacker, not knowing if a kick, punch, or perhaps another tail strike was coming his way.
What's coming–?! He questioned.
Without knowing what sort of attack was arriving, he decided to take a gamble and duck down just as he felt the presence of the unseen foe arrive within striking distance of himself. It seemed to be a good guess as he could feel a force swipe over his head, instead smacking against a neighboring pillar with an echoing "thud".
In response, he swiped his dagger across whatever was in front of him, looking to feel some sort of resistance–and that he did. It was only a scrape, by the feel of it, but he managed to land a counterattack, briefly feeling the scaly hide of whatever his foe was.
Gotcha! He thought.
Just as a sense of small triumph flooded him, he was hit square in the nose, being knocked back as he fell onto his back from his crouched position, but not before quickly rolling back, using the momentum to stand back up.
I'm not getting out of this room till it's dead–which means I'm not getting out of this hellhole till it's dead either, which means–I have to kill, he realized.
A smile that bordered on fright and excitement stretched across his lips, revealing his blood-painted teeth as he found concrete evidence of his invisible opponent.
I can do this! He resolved.
As he spit out blood from his mouth without much thought put into it, he noticed it didn't travel very far before seeming to be stuck in the air. It was confusing at first, but as the loogy of blood seemed to get closer to him, he realized what had happened.
It was another revelation–another edge given to him in the deathmatch:
My blood–it's on it! I can see it–at least, I know where it is now! He realized.
Only a small amount of blood managed to stick onto the invisible fighter, though it was a tide-shifting evolution of the battle, now giving him much more information than nearly nothing. Though, now being able to somewhat track the movements of his opponent, he realized just how unorthodox they were–
"--!"
The Dragonheart's eyes widened as he witnessed the unseen figure rise higher before the footsteps sounded as if they were racing across one of the metallic pillars.
Is it…running on the pillar?! He guessed.
It seemed ridiculous, but after what he came to face thus far, it wasn't out of the question as he jumped back as the footsteps came closer to him, sounding as if a jump came from the invisible fiend.
WHAM
Smacking against the spot he previously stood the moment prior, a vicious slam came, echoing off of the metallic flooring and sounding as if a fatal injury would've come from being in the way of the downward blow.
–How about this?! He thought.
Knowing his opponent was vaguely in front of him, he reared his head back before swirling the abundant blood left in his mouth before lunging forward while spitting out a blast of crimson fluid straight towards the unseen figure.
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