Cats always seem to be able to contort themselves into safe positions while in midair. This is the result of a lightning-fast reflex within their bodies that automatically corrects their position. 

Similarly, Rouyi was rather well adapted to falling from great heights as well. Almost subconsciously, he uprighted his body from his falling position and extended a set of claws from his fingertips.

He slammed his hands onto the side of the tower, digging his claws into the crumbling stone and coming to a stop. From up here, the view was harrowing, and it was quite a long way down. He could even see over the city walls and out into the outskirts of town, where dots of light sometimes flickered and blinked like fireflies. A couple pieces of the tower fell off from the impact of a full-grown immortal shoving his claws into its wall. Shortly after, a couple of bottles and wooden planks, falling from the hole he was thrown out of, narrowly missed him.

“A cat always lands on their feet!” he shouted, firmly placing his feet onto the tower and beginning to climb back up at an alarming rate.

His words echoed loudly hundreds of meters above the ground. Up here, the wind blew stronger than ever before, and it was positively freezing. A mortal wouldn’t last long, even if they had a way of hanging on to the side of the building.

For a moment, he was promising himself that he would thoroughly throttle Seni once he got back, but his mind went blank when he noticed his opponent walking down the tower towards him.

It was surreal. He blinked and realized he wasn’t hallucinating. 

Seni was indeed walking down the side of the tower to face him.

Not climbing, but on a march towards Rouyi as if his feet could stick to the smooth stone walls.

“Tell me,” said Seni. “Do you believe in gravity?”

The howling wind almost blew his soft voice away, yet Rouyi’s sensitive cat ears picked up the sound.

What? No, that should be impossible. Did he cast a spell? Is it magic? Or is it just an enchantment on his shoes? 

Magic that could affect gravity was extremely advanced, even for immortals. It should have been impossible to cast unless they had been cultivating for at least half a millennia. And since cultivation also affected physical strength, Rouyi could clearly tell that Seni was not at such a level.

It must be some trick. He fumed with anger and uttered a bestial growl.

“Aaargh, I’m tired of this shit! Let’s end this!” he roared over the wind.

In actuality, Seni was not sticking to the side of the building through magic or other related means. Instead, he forced his feet to dig into the walls, creating grooves for him to hang onto by the tips of his shoes. With each step, spiderweb-shaped cracks formed in the stone. 

 

By this point, everyone in the pub was hurriedly casting bets and raiding the now abandoned pantry that was full of alcohol. 

“Ey, you’re gonna leave after this, right?” Skinhead Biyuan asked Ainsworth. “We can take all this sake, right?”

Ainsworth grinned just waved his hand, and everyone immediately went wild, hollering at the top of their lungs.

“So, who do you think will win?” said Ainsworth, placing a wet towel on a heavily bruised Min that winced every time he had to move.

“Ughhh,” Min groaned. “It’s gotta be Seni. Strongest guy I know. This isn’t the first immortal he’s beaten with only his fists and legs. Plus, I’m pretty sure he’s older than the cat guy.”

“...Wait, he?”

Min sighed after receiving a shoulder rub from Ainsworth, then nodded. “Yeah, he’s a guy. Before he moved to this city, he didn’t dress like a woman. Wore proper trousers and a tunic and all that, but now he’s got a closet filled with dresses and skirts. One time I asked him about it and he said that it made him feel young again.”

Ainsworth peered through the hole at the two combatants that were rapidly approaching each other. “You said he was older? How much older?”

“He’s a lot older than me. Hey, how old is the cat guy?”

“His name is Rouyi. A few years ago, he came over here and said that he was going to give one of us a chance to move over with him to the other district for his 50th birthday. Turns out he was looking for another wife and wanted to find someone more exotic than a normal prostitute in one of the red light districts on the other side or something.”

“Oh, yeah. No competition, Seni’s got the age advantage by at least a decade.”

“Wow. I never knew someone who could be my grandpa could look so young and vibrant.”

Suddenly, Min’s face clouded with worry as he thought about it a little more. “Hmm, shit. Then again, cat guy’s got the claws, and he might have a couple more weapons on him. He was following us for revenge, so I’d imagine he prepared something.”

“...Oh.”

 

The two ejected themselves from their spots in the tower and launched themselves at one another.

Seni ducked under a flurry of swipes and landed a clean hit on Rouyi’s abdomen.

They were sent hurtling downwards as they became entangled with one another, exchanging blows in midair. 

Suddenly, Rouyi flipped backward, dodging a heel kick by the width of a hair.

He contracted his legs, then thrust them forward.

A large rumble shook the tower as Seni found himself dropkicked through the wall and smashing through an apartment built into the interior.

“HOLY SHIT!” screamed an inhabitant of the apartment.

More walls and furniture were demolished before he tumbled through the door and came to a stop after planting his face into the floor. For a moment, he grew anxious, then sighed in relief after noticing that his sword hilt was still in his hand.

Rouyi didn’t take long to pounce, with claws outstretched, but Seni curled his legs back and kicked him in the crotch.

“Ack! Fuck - you fucking motherfucker!” Rouyi gasped in pain while doubling over.

“Had enough yet?” Seni replied, picking himself back up.

“I think...I’ll just go home -” he turned around and lunged at Seni “-HA! You fool, you thought!”

Seni ducked to the side, but this time, he’d been caught off guard. He spun around and leaped backward, noticing a stinging pain on his cheek. A couple droplets of blood dripped onto the floor.

“Naive, naive, naive!” Warrior Seni taunted.

However, Rouyi was already following up with the intent of pulling off a combination attack. 

Just as he went in for a follow-up attack, Seni smashed an entire wall ripped out from the apartment into his face. It quickly crumbled against the durability of an immortal, but even for just a second, it obscured his view.

Punching through another section of the wall, Seni rushed in and landed a vicious uppercut. This time, he twisted his fist at just the right moment of impact and sent Rouyi flying.

Seni had devised a combination of his own. Just as Rouyi was beginning to regain his senses while barrelling through the air, he noticed that his tail had been caught in a certain someone’s grip.

Seni threw his opponent by the tail to the other side of the tower, and Rouyi blasted through the wall of the building once more. 

Once again, he felt himself falling. The cold air rushed past his flailing body under the moonlight as he was being pulled down to the earth. But as he was correcting his body position, he noticed something in the direction he was traveling.

Using his momentum, he stretched out his claws behind him and latched onto a solid wall.

More solid stone cracked and crumbled off.

He gasped for breath, grabbing on with his other hand.

Another enormous stone tower stood to the north of the previous tower. In total, there were three of them in the district. This one was shorter than the last one, as part of it had seemingly broken off like a toothpick at some point in time and presumably fallen into the river.

He had no time to contemplate the history of the building, as Seni came after him, vaulting the enormous gap and diving for him with outstretched hands.

Rouyi reached into his coat and clasped his fingers around a throwing star.

It spun as he frantically launched it, cutting through the air itself - and lodging into his opponent’s shoulder.

 

Mid-flight, Seni felt something slam against his arm, and he began falling.

A trail of blood followed his downward path. His arm began to feel numb.

Shit! The heirloom!

His sword hilt was starting to slip from the grasp of his unfeeling fingers, and he pulled a rather sharp object out of his shoulder.

“Ahh…” he cried out after realizing his blunder, then his face returned to a neutral expression. “Hold up.”

Still in freefall, Seni drew his arm behind him and threw the throwing star right back.

 

Rouyi noticed the gleaming object spinning back at breakneck speed, and he tore his body to the side as it narrowly missed him. 

It hit the tower like a ballista shot. 

Something akin to an explosion eradicated the area around the tower as the stone wall crumbled into chunks of rubble.

Oh, shit! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! No!

“AAARGH!” Rouyi shouted as he lost his grip on the building and began plummeting down.

This time, the tower was just out of reach.

 

Seni was the first one to hit the ground. He smashed through a restaurant that was in the process of being robbed, hitting the floor feet first, and immediately performed a roll to disperse the impact.

Shortly after, he heard a rumble outside, followed by the road being demolished into pebbles and Rouyi shouting “FUCK! MY KNEES!”

Seni walked out of the door for another round, after which the entire restaurant collapsed.

“You’re going nowhere at this rate,” he mocked.

Rouyi picked himself up and assumed a stance. “Try me.”

From that point on, their fight could only be described as something that vaguely resembled a street brawl between two drunk apes high on cocaine.

Every time they met, they would try to gain control of the fight by grappling the other, then when they finally broke apart, they would exchange a few kicks and punches before going right back to rolling on the street and slamming each other into buildings.

While yanking on Rouyi’s tail and having his long hair pulled, Seni felt his forearm receive a painful chomp from a set of pointed canines, after which he pounded the hilt of his sword on Rouyi’s back. 

They simultaneously punched at each other and broke free of each other’s grasps. Rouyi somersaulted backward, but not before Seni performed a wide-sweeping kick that knocked him off of his feet.

Time seemed to slow in front of Rouyi’s widening eyes as Seni raised his foot above his head.

Oh no.

Rouyi was partially paralyzed by fear, but mostly because he had a clear view under Seni’s skirt.

The ax-kick smashed into his chest like a battering ram. He could feel his bones crack and snap under the blow. His back met the ground, and the loose cobbles of the street dispersed underneath the pressure.

Both of the exhausted and injured combatants backed off, leaning against a wall.

“So,” Seni panted. “Are we gonna keep this going or are we gonna stop this shit?”

“...What?” Rouyi responded with a pained expression. “Do I look ready to you? After taking that hit? I am legitimately surprised I survived that. It felt like an entire building just landed on me. Holy fucking shit. I’m pretty sure every single one of my ribs has punctured my lungs because I literally cannot breathe right now.”

“Oh. So we’re done here, right?”

“I mean...yeah. Sorry for trying to beat you up, I guess I really wasn’t thinking straight after getting rejected.”

“Sometimes it just comes down to blows. That’s an apology that should go to my friend, though.”

“Right. Yeah, you’re right. I, uh, really am sorry for being such a jealous person. It was just this, like, rage that filled me up, you know? Most of the time I’m used to girls, y’know, coming to me for my money and status. Never really had a time when someone said ‘no’ to me, yeah?”

“I mean, I guess. Yeah, it’s understandable. It isn’t hard to imagine you’re a stranger to these scenarios, being rich and handsome and all.”

Rouyi nodded, staring at his feet. “Mm. Well, I’m going to go home and seek immediate medical help.”

“Yeah, alright. See you.”

Seni clutched his sword hilt to his chest as Rouyi stumbled away. 

Damn. Maybe I really can do this thing again with my heirloom at my side. Seeing him in public is going to be so awkward.

He turned his back and started to make his way back to the pub where his companions were waiting.

 

The room was clad in expensive furniture. A table stood in the middle, and comfortable seats draped with soft, red-dyed silk were placed around it. The ebony wood that made up the furniture was sanded until it was smoother than steel plating and similarly gleamed in the light. 

Four individuals sat around the table. At its end was a large, throne-like seat that was plated with intricate gold carvings. A long time had passed since anyone had sat on it, and was now covered in dust. Sometimes, people would remove the cobwebs as well.

“Well, what a joy it is to meet you fellows again after three months,” the stocky, muscled, and dark-skinned man announced. He had a slightly fishy scent on him, and he often just wore a vest to show off his biceps. “Seriously. Are we gonna get down to business or not?”

“Business? Nothing’s happened on my end,” replied the woman with a blood-red hat that had a golden feather stuck in it. “What? I thought we weren’t saying anything because literally nothing interesting has happened.”

“I had to replace my tax collector for the southern part of the East District. He was getting old, so I had this squad armed with clubs take his place,” a slim man with a short ponytail piped up. 

“Our accidental pregnancy rates and sexually transmitted diseases are at an all-time low, so that’s some good news,” said another woman, who was wearing dark blue robes. She was shifting through reports and papers, raising her eyebrow every once in a while before returning the offending document to the pile.

“Are we not going to address the elephant in the room?” exclaimed the muscular man.

“Huh? What did you say, Huan?”

“A proverb I learned from some guy in the south. Look, there’s absolutely no way you’re clueless as to what just happened about half an hour ago.”

“Please, fill us in, o great one,” the woman with the hat sighed.

Huan glanced at her with contempt before continuing. “A fight between two immortals broke out, and we have no clue who they are, or what started it. We don’t even know the casualties yet, but part of the central tower just exploded. It exploded, Taiwei.”

“So? Immortals seem to fight all the time. What does that have to do with us puny mortals? Nobody cares about the East District. Besides, isn’t that a job for your security department to take care of?”

“What he’s saying is that he’s once again asking for my financial support,” the man with the ponytail cut in. “Let me guess, is it about the property damage fees?”

“No, that’s in the hands of the government. Do you people really think those guys on the other side can take much more of this? They live in a shithole every single day. I’m surprised they haven’t rioted yet.”

“Isn’t that because the immortals keep our side safe?”

“Maybe not anymore. Now we know that the immortals visit that district. What if they get an immortal representative to speak up for them? We could end up with an all-out revolution within these city walls.”

“Shit. Civil unrest, huh...those guys on the other side don’t have much to lose. We really could be dealing with a massive problem now.”

“It’s a reasonable assumpt-”

Huan was suddenly cut off when the door into the room swung open.

“Hey, who’s-” the ponytail man began to say, but Taiwei, the woman with the hat, clapped her hand over his mouth.

The man who walked into the room was slender and tall, with an exotic fur coat and numerous pieces of enchanted jewelry hanging on his neck, ears, and fingers. Unlike typical northern fashion, his black hair was cut short with his bangs swept to the side. His face was narrow and smooth, free of stubble, and by far the most handsome in the room. The way his dark, brooding eyes focused on each member of the group was enough to send chills down their spines.

People often said that someone’s eyes were the gateway to their soul, and Huan couldn’t help but feel that there was concrete truth to that statement. The way the man looked at them with nothing but indifference, as if they were all insects, was sending his heartbeat into a panic. There was a certain weariness to his expression that contradicted his youthful appearance. 

“Well,” he said. “I see you’ve been taking good care of my...reserved seat.”

Nobody moved a muscle as they watched him with wide eyes.

He turned his head to the large throne-like chair and snapped his fingers. 

Although they were indoors, a gust of wind quickly blew off every speck of dust. The gold ornaments shined like brand new once more, and he took his seat.

Tension persisted throughout the room while he drummed his fingers on the table, observing the others in silence.

Finally, he sighed and said, “Earlier, I sensed a particular presence on the other side of the river.”

He clearly meant for someone to respond after finishing, and Huan looked around.

Everyone averted their gazes.

Huan sighed internally.

Fine, I’ll take one for the team.

“Y-yes, sir,” he began but found himself at a loss for words for a couple seconds before resuming. “There was a, er, fight between two immortals in the East District, sir. Multiple buildings suffered some severe damage. Sir.”

The man waved his hand. “That’s not what I was talking about - although, there’s certainly a correlation between these two events. What I sensed was a brief spike in dimensional instability around the time the fight occurred.”

Everybody else blinked, having no idea what he was talking about, but he continued anyway.

“I’m seeing some blank faces. Now, imagine that there are some...individuals in this world, let’s say, who have a particular item. They’re powerful, beyond our comprehension, even. And the stability of our universe drops due to their effects. As if you poked at a piece of cloth. The area in which you poked pops up on the other side, right? However, it returns to normal once you remove your finger. That’s the effect I’m talking about. No lasting effects as far as I’ve been testing, but, you can sense that instability when you’ve experienced it long enough. Get what I’m saying?”

The other four nodded their heads slowly.

He folded his hands together and leaned forward. “I’m sure you’re all aware of the severity of such an artifact that could affect the flow of reality itself, correct?”

“What...what should we do about it, sir?” Huan responded.

“I want you all to secure it. Contain it. I’ve dropped instructions at each of your homes. Perform your duties efficiently, and I shall see to it that you will be awarded - perhaps even with the privilege of joining the ranks of the immortals.”

For a couple of seconds, Huan let those words sink in before he widened his eyes and began to breathe heavily. He nervously licked his lips and looked around at everyone else, who had a similar expression.

Immortality? Eternal youth? Power? For a mortal?

All his life, he held under the belief that mortals were limited to being trampled on by immortals. It was something that they were only lucky enough to be born with beauty, strength, and never-ending longevity.

Now, he had been exposed to a truth that shattered his perspective of the world in mere moments. To be an immortal - to be something that transcended humanity was within his reach. Maybe the chance was pathetically small. But even so, it was a chance, a light of hope that he could reach for, and he’d be a fool not to take it.

 

Edit: AN - Since this is my training ground for the sci-fi story I want to write in the future, I tried to incorporate the environment (towers) into the action sequence this time, and I'm sort of satisfied with how it turned out. However, after reading through the last few chapters, I just feel like I can't capture the full scale of the stone towers, which are meant to be these ginormous megastructures that any invasion force would probably attack first and are supposed to give off as sort of Anor Londo-ish feel when you look at it from the outside. They're supposed to be deteriorating titan-sized buildings capable of containing entire neighborhoods and businesses, but I find myself struggling with depicting their sheer size. You can tell, too, since it took longer to put out this one than my last chapter.

TLDR: Got any tips for describing size without making it feel like I'm bashing the reader over the head with the description?