[Luna POV]
“Are you prepared to face me?” (Skadi)
“As much as I can be.” (Luna)
Since this was a one-on-one the rest of my party joined the other adventurers that were watching this match.
{Luna, you need to be very careful here. From what I remember about Skadi, you have the advantage when it comes to speed and magic, but she has overwhelming strength. Do your best to avoid getting hit at all costs.}
‘I understand.’
I walked to the center of the room and offered Skadi a handshake before our mock battle.
“Let’s have a good fight.” (Luna)
She shook my hand and nodded. We increased the distance between us and faced each other. Skadi readied her greatsword and I was ready to cast magic at any time. A nervous looking guild employee came between us and made sure that we were ready. When we both nodded, he signaled the start of the fight and immediately ran away.
The first to make a move was Skadi. She started running at me and was closing the distance fast. She got very close before I managed to make a move. She swung her sword and I blinked behind her just before the blade touched me.
‘I thought you said I was faster!?’
{It seems she got stronger since the last I saw her. Sorry for giving outdated information.}
I was about to reply to Tamamo when I had to dodge another sword strike.
“This isn’t time for you to be distracted. You are fast and strong, but you have hardly struggled up to this point. Take this seriously.” (Skadi)
“Sorry about that.” (Luna)
I blinked away and then spread my mist around. It wasn’t very effective since Skadi swung her sword once and the mist cleared. When the mist was fully gone, Skadi was surrounded by four of me.
“This still isn’t enough.” (Skadi)
She dashed towards one of the illusions and cut it apart before swiftly changing direction and attacking a second illusion. Before she made it to the second one, she was blocked by a wall of ice.
“Not enough.” (Skadi)
She swung her sword and cut the ice wall like a hot knife through butter, but instead of an illusion behind the ice wall, there was a Gate with a sword waiting for her. The sword shot out of the Gate and almost hit her head on. She moved her head out of the way, but I managed to scratch her cheek. This caused a small smile to appear on her expressionless face.
“Better.” (Skadi)
She turned around to find several more illusions and even more Gates opened around her. Me and every illusory me spoke at the same time.
“You were right earlier. This is the first fight I haven’t been able to end almost instantly. Let’s see just how far I can go.” (Luna)
I charged all of the weapons peeking out of the Gates with lightning magic and aimed them at her. She then launched herself from her position and cut apart three illusions with one swing. I launched a spear from a Gate. Since it was charged with lightning magic, it was faster than it normally would have been. I even heard some murmurs from the peanut gallery stating that they didn’t even see the spear until it landed. She dodged the spear with a slight step to the side.
I launched several more weapons as well as ice spears that I was preparing. The illusions were also doing their part in keeping her running around trying to find me. She was able to cut apart the ice spears, but they were also slowing her down. When she cut one, it would start to freeze her sword, and the ones that missed or that she dodged started to put patches if ice on the ground to hinder her movements.
“This ice is annoying.” Skadi said as she slammed the end of her sword into the ground and shattered the ice on it and around her.
“Tch.” (Luna)
I upped the amount of ice spears and started moving on to making illusory weapons to fire out of the Gates. Since I ran out of physical weapons to fire, it freed me up to use lightning magic to attack as well. I called a few strikes down from above her head but she dodged them all. One of my illusions ran up to her and picked up a sword that was stuck in the ground next to her. It swung it and hit her in the side; but was immediately bisected with a counter.
“Another good hit, but it lacked power.” (Skadi)
“It moved your attention at least.” I said as I blinked next to her and delivered a slash with my short sword. “By the way, I can use high level healing magic as well, so don’t be afraid to be more proactive.”
“Heh. Good to know.” (Skadi)
She swung her sword even faster than before and scratched me just as I teleported away.
“Damn, she managed to scratch Luna.” (Velvet)
“How can you tell?” (Ophidia)
“Because I can smell the blood.” (Velvet)
“Is big sis ok?” (Soleil)
“She’s fine. It was only a scratch.” (Velvet)
‘Guess I need to do better.’
I charged myself with lightning magic this time and re-engaged Skadi. The self-buff on top of my already high Agi stat made the world look like it was moving in slow motion. I passed right beside Skadi several times and each pass I made, I cut at her. Even with the speed I was going, she managed to move just enough for me to deal insignificant damage to her.
“I’m starting to enjoy this now, Luna. Let’s see if you can dodge this.” (Skadi)
She readied her sword in a stance and swung. To the spectators, it looked like one swing, but to me who was still seeing everything in slow motion, I could see that she actually swung her sword a total of ten times. Since I was still in reach of her sword, every swing came very close to hitting me.
After her combo finished, I put distance between us. I came out of that with several more scratches.
“Good work. If any of those hit you, you would have been out of commission. To come out of it with only scratches is a testament to your skill.” (Skadi)
“It was intense. Now, I’ll step it up a notch as well.” (Luna)
I opened Gates all around Skadi and prepared the chains as well as started filling the space with mist again. This mist was filled with even more mana than earlier so it would be harder to clear. I reduced the temperature to below freezing and charged the chains with lightning. I started launching the chains and I could tell that I landed several hits. I didn’t let up with my earlier attacks as well. I had ice spears firing at her and the ground below her. I also started blinking around and slashing with my short sword.
[3rd Person POV]
The sounds of metal and magic clashing against each other were heard from inside the freezing mist that covered to arena. Through all of that, the spectators could hear two sets of laughter.
“Hahahahahaha! Good! Good! Very good Luna!” (Skadi)
“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! This is enjoyable. It’s so much fun being able to let loose like this.” (Luna)
The spectators could feel the temperature go down even more and a charge of electricity was filling the air. Someone in the crowd spoke.
“Is this the birth of a new S-rank adventurer?”
“I never thought I would see be able to witness something like this.”
A loud clash sounded in the arena and a shadow was sent flying out of the mist. It flipped in the air and slid several feet before disappearing back into the mist.
“Good one Skadi, but you won’t get rid of me that easily!” (Luna)
“I was hoping you would say that!” (Skadi)
“Hey Ophidia, can you tell what’s happening it there?” (Soleil)
“I’m able to see through master’s eyes, yes, but I am having a hard time keeping up with what’s going on. All I really see is mist and sometimes the glint of a sword.” (Ophidia)
“So, you don’t see this how Luna sees it?” (Velvet)
“No. If what I have heard about master from herself and the two of you is right, then she is in a battle-trance right now. That doesn’t carry over to me, so I see everything as we see it now, just with a different perspective.” (Ophidia)
Just then, the mist started to clear. When it was completely gone, the arena looked like a warzone. Discarded weapons littered the ground, and several areas were frozen over. In the center of the arena, Skadi was lifted off her feet wrapped in chains that were coursing with silver lightning and spears of ice hanging above her head like a guillotine’s blade. Luna was covered in scratches and had Skadi’s sword pointed at her throat. Both of them looked exhausted and on their last legs. The guild employee that was the referee to the match went pale and decided to call the match.
“The match is over! The result is a draw!”
Hearing the words of the referee, the lightning coursing through the chains stopped and they slithered back into the openings in space. The ice dissipated and Skadi fell to the floor. She caught herself from falling down completely by stabbing her sword into the ground and leaning against it. Luna fell flat on her back and taking deep breaths. After a few minutes, she got up and offered Skadi a handshake like she did before their match. She accepted the offered hand and the whole training hall erupted into cheers.
[Luna POV]
When everything quieted down again, the spectators started filing out of the training hall. My party stayed behind and started collecting my weapons that littered the arena.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good fight like that. I believe you are ready to be S-rank and I will gladly welcome you as a new goddess of the world.” (Skadi)
“Thank you for giving me a challenging fight. Give me a little more time to rest and I’ll heal the both of us.” (Luna)
“Very well.” (Skadi)
It was then that Velvet and the others finished collecting the weapons and they dropped them at my feet.
“Thanks for doing that.” (Luna)
“It’s the least I could do, master. The parts of the fight I could see were brilliant.” (Ophidia)
“They really were. It inspired me to redouble my efforts to getting stronger.” (Soleil)
“I’m hesitant to ask, but do I need to fight you as well?” (Velvet)
“That depends, how much of our fight could you keep up with?” (Skadi)
“Until the point Luna covered the arena with mist the second time, I was able to keep up with everything.” (Velvet)
“Then there is no need to fight you personally. I can feel you are strong, but in a different way to Luna. It’s enough that you managed to keep up with most of the fight. As for the other two, you need to get stronger.” (Skadi)
““We understand.”” (Soleil and Ophidia)
I managed to recover enough mana to heal both of us and did so.
“Do you want to take care of the S-rank promotion tomorrow?” (Luna)
“Sure.” (Velvet)
“Skadi, do you mind coming with us to the Celestia Kingdom to do that? We can teleport there and back.” (Luna)
“Why not just do it here?” (Skadi)
“I was told to do it there.” (Luna)
“Were you told that by Grey?” (Skadi)
“Not directly, but I assume he is the one that gave the recommendation to do so.” (Luna)
“Then it’s fine. I have nothing to do until the kraken shows itself.” (Skadi)
“Good. Let’s go somewhere to eat, I’m starving.” (Luna)
“I am as well.” (Skadi)
As we were leaving the guild, Tamamo spoke up.
{Luna, you were soooo cool.}
“I agree. When Tamamo called me over, I didn’t know what was up, but when I saw what was going on, I was mesmerized.” (Atmos)
{I think the best part was the serene look on your face. Your eyes were also glowing much more than usual and were dazzling. I can’t get enough of it.}
“If only you could see Tamamo’s face right now. It’s quite the sight.” (Atmos)
‘Well, I’m glad the two of you enjoyed the show.’
{You must still be tired right now, though you’re playing it cool. I wish I could let you rest while I hugged you.}
“Tamamo, calm down, you’re speaking your thoughts out loud.” (Atmos)
{How could I possibly calm down? My Luna is tired and in need of pampering from me, but I can’t indulge, I mean, do that.}
“Yes, yes, I know. Sit here and put your head in my lap, you’re too worked up right now and I need you to calm down. Luna, sorry, but I’m going to have to take care of this.” (Atmos)
‘Ok, but why is Tamamo acting like that?’
“Hmm. How is the vest way to describe it? Oh, I know. She’s extremely excited because you are close to demigod level and being able to fight to a draw with Skadi proves that. That also mean that you are closer to ascending and being able to always be with Tamamo. She is letting her excitement show through her normal demeaner because of how impressive you performed just now.” (Atmos)
‘So basically, she is getting overhyped right now?’
“Yes. She’ll calm down in a little while, so don’t worry about it.” (Atmos)
‘Ok.’
Just before the connection went out, I heard Atmos say one more thing.
“Now it’s time for me to act in my role as big sister. I’ve always wanted to take care if Tamamo when she’s like this.” (Atmos)
‘I feel like there is more going on than she let on, but I won’t worry about that.’
Author's Note:
Grey: That was an impressive fight.
I hope so. Now I really need to think of an epithet. Comments please help me. I only have one idea, but it only really pertains to her ice abilities.
Grey: Let me know when you come up with something.
Got it.
Grey: Before I go, do you think Skadi will show up here?
Maybe.
Grey: Good to know.
Do the two of you not get along well?
Grey: We get along fine. I just want to be far away from here if she meets Atmos again.
What did she do?
Grey: She took her hat as a prank once and Skadi has held a grudge ever since.
Noted.
Glacial Sage Luna.
Glacial due to her ice, sage as while it doesn't always mean someone with dominion over space, in the game Black Desert the sage class uses space magic.
An epithet? You already have one. "Abyss of Fluff".
*a note appears in front of Payto. Grey notices and wants to check what's written on it and reads with a questioning look.*
"Hey! It's me, 'Clayton'. I wanted to know if I could show up briefly, is it fine?"
It’s fine.
@Paytoechip *the note dissapears and I pop above a sink.*
*tonk**I fall in butt first*
Ouch... I really need to try to teleport correctly.
*Payto and Grey get up from the couch and see me in the kitchen's sink. Grey keeps himself from laughing and turn the other way trying to control himself, knowing that I may be someone Payto knows.*
Oh! Hi! Glad to see you! How was your day? Wait, before answering, can you guys maybe help me get out? I'm a bit stuck.
*Grey can't control himself anymore and starts laughing out loud.*
@Clayton4956 *We help Clayton out, laughing the whole time* My day has been good. What’s up?
@Paytoechip Thanks-* i crack my back*-for helping me out. I'm feeling pretty good. Well, I think introductions are needed. Grey, if I can call you by name, my name is Clayton, a reader of... now that I think of it, what are we watching/reading when we see your story, Payto? We have a glimpse of the life of Luna, yes. So is it Luna's story? I'm a bit confused by this... but I digress. I'm someone who knows who you are a bit through the leans of a story written by Payto here. I helped him out of the abyss fluff. I'm sure Atmos or Tamamo talked to you about it.
@Clayton4956 Grey: Atmos mentioned it a bit. But now I’m curious as well, how is this viewed?
It is Luna’s story, I just write it down and let other’s witness what I do. I might be getting a little meta here, but if you believe in alternate realities, then this could actually be happening and I’m just a conduit to relay the story like I have mentioned as a story point before.
@Paytoechip Well, I always felt like this story is a bit too realistic to be made from the mind of someone. You all really feel like real people. So seeing you here is really exciting for me. How can I come here though, is a bit of a mystery I can tell you that.
So ending that bit, I came to tell some thoughts about Luna’s epithet, Grey. I don’t know if they’re good , but at least I gave them to you upfront. If you have thoughts on these, you can tell me.
@Clayton4956 Grey: I’m all ears for ideas.
I am as well, I’ve gotten a few good ones and will keep an eye out for more. In a bit I’ll post a poll and let people vote for the best one.
@Paytoechip Everything cool then? Ok!
“Divine ice queen” (ice/god related)
“Glacial war goddess” (ice/battle/god related)
“Glacial sparkling Valkyrie” (ice/lightning/battle)
“The cold Lightning Pacifier” (ice/lightning/battle)
“The rapid fight sage” (magic/battle/movement)
Personally, I think I nailed some, but if some are not to your liking, you can still rearrange them to make a better fitting one.
@Clayton4956 Grey: Very good.
I agree. I can even mix some of these and get some inspiration for a few more.
@Paytoechip I’m glad I helped. I’ve got a question for you though, Payto. You are the one creating the fate of everyone, right? When did that begin? Did you just create the world with everything in or was it a process? Or are you just a person sewing the fate of everyone in Luna’s world, but you didn’t create it. I’m really curious about your identity here.
@Clayton4956 It all started from an idea I had. I was reading a lot of stuff with fox girls as the main character, but caught up with all of them and decided to start my own story. I planned out the rough idea of everything so far while also getting inspiration from comments to add into the story. I still have a rough idea of where to go after this and up to the confrontation with Tamamo's obsessed vampire fanboy. After that it's free reign for anything to happen. I was going to go with an otome game-like plot point in the future, but in the end I think instead of that, I might go with something similar but different.
In the context of our comment storyline, I'm like a third party that makes sure things go how they need to. I weave the fate that Atmos overlooks.
@Paytoechip (meta version: I’m fine with any thing you do with this story. You’re amazing)
(Storyline version) Huh. But then, when did Atmos become the goddess of fate? And how? I might go in something private asking this so tell me if it is Grey. I don’t want an Angry Atmos coming for me.
@Clayton4956 Atmos appeared just like Tamamo did. She was a natural born Goddess of Fate. I won't go into her age as that is rude, but she is older than she acts.
Grey: Please don't ask how old she is, it's a sensitive subject.
@Paytoechip Ok. Thanks for the heads up. Oh, Grey, I just thought of a question for you.
If, hypothetically, your wife, that was swarmed by dozens of uncontrollable great fluff spirits, was asleep on the floor after loosing consciousness, would you be angry if someone picked her up to put her on the couch that was just nearby? I'm... asking for a friend of mine.
@Clayton4956 Grey: As long as whoever did it didn't cop a feel or anything, then it's fine and I would laugh at the whole thing. However, if anything DID happen, then we would have a problem.
@Paytoechip Oh thank god! So yeah, huh....... When Atmos was sleeping carelessly on the floor after I was finished being chased by a few hundreds of floating canines, i think I should have made a picture of this, I decided to put her on the couch. I didn't do anything to her. I swear.*I look at Grey very seriously*. I just picked her up in a princess carry, put her on the couch and also put a cushion under her head. I already know how bad can a back and a neck hurt after a bad sleeping place like the floor, so I didn't wish it for your Atmos. Payto, is it possible to show the memories of someone or making a picture of the memory of someone? I really want to show what I saw to Grey.
@Clayton4956 *I snap my fingers and a replay of past events appears on the tv in the room.*. Anyone want popcorn?
@Paytoechip I can do with salted butter. Thanks!
*after making the popcorn in the micro wave, we sat done and watched the whole thing happening from Atmos being swarmed by the dogs, through the moment when I shake her so she wakes up and to the moment where I begin to clean the hallway with cleaning supplies. While all of this is playing, Grey And Payto are making some passing comments on the situation from my point of view.*
@Clayton4956 I really was out of it then.
Grey:You sure were. I though we had resistance to this?
We do, it’s just that there were too many of them. If this somehow ever happens again, it won’t affect me as bad.