Garden Of The Abyss

Holding a confident smile as he turned his wrist, Fai\'s subtle movement began the activation of the large-scale spell as a distorted, humming rang out underneath its massive power.

In this boring, weak world, there is nothing more I can ask for than a stimulating battle. A fight where I can feel my heart beating inside my eardrums, my blood boiling so passionately in my veins, and the pain dulled by my own excitement, my fervor to stand victorious. Show it to me, Fai, a reason worth remaining in this stagnant world, Avdima thought, Even if I should be felled by this magic, I\'ll accept it with open arms.

"Show me!"

Calling out as he felt the great magic being generated alongside the clouds, Avdima\'s sudden passion reached the ears of the Outlander.

In regards to Fai, it was almost an insult to place such a spell in the category of great magic. Nonetheless, he carried through with the desired will of his fervent opponent with a smile on his face.

In fact, there is a proper classification for a spell like this; "Grandiose Magic". It\'s the one thing I have over that blue-eyed bastard, the skill I\'ve perfected, that I alone among the Outlanders have achieved. It\'s a mistake to think I\'m just some brawler, above all, magic is the extension of my fists, so with that in mind--! He thought.

"Thousand-Fists Cataclysm of the Malevolent Ruler!"

Bringing himself above the colossal seal as he screamed out the true name of the spell from atop the avian\'s back, the magecraft was at last set in motion.

Emerging from the boundless depths of the intricate, immaculate crimson seal, countless, enormous arms formed of fortified flames, layered in flowing fur, descended down upon the Argonaut.

"I\'ll respond in kind, Fai. I\'ll show you the strength that has cursed me with such endless, tiresome boredom."

Stretching his arms out, the loose, sable sleeves of his uniformed robes fell to his shoulders as the tattoos scaling his limbs were on full display.

"Erebus."

Like Fai, just the utterance of his designated magic emerged from the depths of the unseen plains, shrouding his fists from his forearms in a mask of true, divine darkness.

Each of the fur-clad fists born of grand flames bore the size of buildings, slowly descending upon Avdima like a refined meteor shower. Watching from above, Fai knew more than anything the power of his grandiose magic, but a feeling of anxiety stirred in his stomach watching the man simply stand there in wait for the fists to meet him.

What is that guy thinking?! Does he have a death wish or something?--Even so, that uncaring, stoic confidence of his...It\'s making me start to doubt even the Thousand Fists will do the job, even if he lets them hit, Fai thought.

Lowering his stance to almost a crouch, Avdima positioned both of his dark-clad fists at each side, watching as the leviathan-sized fists were finally in reach of him after seconds that felt like minutes. Just the pressure that came as a result of such descending force cracked the soil, rumbling the forest as the trees shook in horror.

"Come."

With the first of these gorilla fists of immaculate flames meeting his position, Avdima responded with his own knuckles, not only halting the descent of the hand but sending it back violently.

"What the?! How!?"

Fai gasped in disbelief at the sight, feeling the shock wave from the Argonaut\'s simple thrust of his arm backed with simple magecraft graze his own sky-high position.

"Not bad."

Even though Avdima repelled the first fist, it wasn\'t a perfect counter; the incredible heat that existed by merit of the grandiose arms had burned away the initial layer of skin on his knuckles.

"I\'ll have to increase my output."

Following his own softly spoken words that only he could hear, Avdima further reinforced his fists in the coating of darkness, flowing like stagnant, cold flames before he was forced to go blow-for-blow with the now rapidly descending fists.

The exchange of blows left the ground beneath Avdima\'s soles shattered and desecrated by the immense strength and heat.

With every fist Avdima threw, Fai could feel the impact from his position halfway to the heavens, focusing his hold on the grandiose magic further as he felt the flame-born fists being pushed back by the tired-looking man\'s rapid, fearsome blows.

This guy...I heard rumors--and warnings from Beatrice, but this is beyond that! He might even be as strong as Sirius--no, stronger! He thought.

Each exchanged hit rang through the forest like a volatile explosion, the surrounding foliage being ever burned away into ashes carried by the ferocious winds or those very howling winds pulling them away. The once dark, calming nightshade was replaced by the vermilion haze of the grandiose magic, the crisp air being replaced by suffocating flames that filled the domain of sky-reaching trees.

As he threw fist after fist against the gargantuan fists that encroached on his very life, Avdima smiled with a grin that seemed as if he never used those very cheek muscles, repelling the heat-bringing hands. After minutes of this exchange, Fai released his hold on the magical seal as it was clear it was a futile attempt.

"Oh, that\'s it?"

Looking up, Avdima commented with little emotion as steam rose from his knuckles, the flesh having been charred a dozen times over.

What a damn monster, Fai thought.

The bountiful, supreme darkness that gathered at the Argonaut\'s fists dissipated as the man looked at Fai, who still hovered stagnant atop his avian familiar in the skies.

Holding a bored expression like that, in a time like this...Man, I\'ve got chills, Fai smiled.

Alone in the charred remains of the bountiful quadrant of the forest, Avdima stood, with only slight blemishes as a result of such magic. It was a perfect boundary laid out as a result of the grandiose spell; an immaculate circle lined the barren soil devoid of life, the surrounding cedar having been either lit ablaze or reduced to ash.

"What\'s with that disappointed look--I\'m just getting started!"

Foregoing the wings of his familiar and yelling out fervently, Fai dissolved Roc\'s form to nothingness as he began to descend through the skies, allowing a heat to burn through each strand of his flesh as he clad his fists in radiant flames.

"Disappointed?...Apologies. I\'m bad at displaying my inner excitement."

Seeing that magical display with his fists, I have to experience it firsthand! I can\'t call myself a martial artist if I stray away and cower in fear! With my own two fists, I\'ll greet yours, Avdima! Fai thought.

As Fai descended like a fleeting meteor, his right fist enveloped itself in dense, raging flames that contorted the space around his hand. Landing fist-first into the world below, the collision between his viciously rising mana and physical strength unleashed a nuclear strike unto the desecrated land, absorbing it in an explosion that parted the winds once more.

Raising his arms into a swift guard out of surprise of the unexpected volatility of the landing, Avdima smiled ear-to-ear as the blistering, melting heat pelted against him, the raging, howling winds and pressure releasing from the landing attempting to push him back.

"I knew it! You\'re not like everyone else! You can do it! You can cure my boredom!"

"You\'re an Argonaut all right. A crazy bastard, through and through."

With the dust settling itself alongside the flames as embers danced in the air like droplets of snow, Fai cracked his knuckles with a fiery smile present across his lips.

"And you\'re any different? Obtaining this level of power is something only those with inhuman minds can achieve."

"Is that right? I guess I can\'t disagree."

Hopping in place on the tips of his slippers, Fai shook his arms to warm his body up to completion.

I\'ve never put much stock into where I was born. In my heart, I knew I wanted to journey across the world, experiencing everything it had to offer. Thing is, my family wasn\'t exactly well off. I was stuck, all I could do was dream.

When Gran became sick, I just couldn\'t bear to look at her. Seeing her like that, growing weaker and more frail, her eyes and cheeks sunk in...I locked myself away in that kwoon, day in and day out. When she finally left, I was so ashamed,

No matter how much I trained my body, my mind was as frail as a bird\'s feather. My sister didn\'t look at me the same way, hardly speaking to me. When I found her in her room, having slit her wrists like that, bleeding everywhere...

I froze. And because I did, she died. Just like everyone else in my life. I had no idea how she felt, just what depths of despair she had sunk into, all because I was too much of a coward to reach out to her--as her big brother, I failed her.

That\'s why...I\'m so grateful to be here now. I\'ve been given another chance at life, to walk down a new road, to die before those I care about. My survival doesn\'t matter in the grand scheme of things. I\'ve lived and failed; with this last chance, I\'ll cement a proper legacy.

How great life is, he thought.

"Sorry, but I can\'t indulge you."

"Hm?"

Avdima raised an eyebrow at the otherworlder\'s words spoken behind a smile. Opening his eyes once more, Fai set his gaze on the ship hanging airborne in the wild skies, its attacks having fallen stagnant--a fact Avdima only noticed once turning to look at it himself.

Peculiar. Why did the barrage against the barrier stop? Did something happen to Navigator? That\'s right...Fai sent one of his familiars up to the ship, but even so...One familiar shouldn\'t cause this, Avdima thought.

"Zhurong: Pride of The Mighty!"

Allowing the crimson and golden flames to embrace his body, Fai smiled as the amplification spell gave a sense of strength branching off from the norm.

"Oh? A buff spell? Interesting."

Sensing that their battle was about to begin once more, Avdima took a stance that was hardly different from his usual form, simply raising his fists up with little care in his obsidian pupils.

Damn right. With this, projectiles bounce right off of me. Trying to hit me from behind is just as futile. That\'s the pride of a warrior, birthed into a tangible form! Fai smiled wide.

"Guess I\'ll start things off!"

Launching off of the heel of his foot, Fai cut the space between his fist and his opponent in a moment, being blocked completely by the sturdy, tattooed forearm of Avdima. Though the pale, bored-looking man guarded each fist through his way, as swift as they may be, the damage wasn\'t completely negated.

Each of these sharp blows rang out like a gunshot through the desolate section of the nightly forest, crashing against Avdima\'s arm as the force reverberated through skin, muscle, and bone.

These hits--they aren\'t normal. It isn\'t just that the power backing them up is fierce, something altogether is altering the function of each blow, Avdima thought.

"That puzzled look on your face; you\'re starting to figure it out, aren\'t you?!"

Sending the Argonaut back with a spinning kick, Fai came to a stop as did the scroungy-haired man, who held his throbbing arms up as his forearms were reddened from the repeated blows.

"I believe so...as unorthodox as it is, it seems your strikes carry over three times in a single moment. I doubt your innate ability is playing a hand in this."

"You\'re right, it\'s something forged by my own blood, sweat, and tears. Something you won\'t be able to replicate even with all of that talent!"

Continuing the battle, Fai\'s freely flowing movements continued to circumvent Avdima\'s monstrous reaction times, landing a few sharp blows on the man\'s body. Using an open palm strike, Fai pushed the Argonaut back with a force that triggered three times in succession, sending Avdima flying back as his vacant expression was replaced with a medium amount of shock.

I have to finish this before he adjusts to it. My "Qi" acts as a different set of reinforcement. Taking advantage of that, I\'ve perfected the ability to strike with my own fist and my coating of mana, allowing for three strikes to hit with a single blow. Even a monster like him will have trouble handling it, Fai thought.

"So--tell me: how did you find our base?"

Speaking between the sharp breath that accompanied each eloquent blow he threw towards his opponent, Fai\'s question seemed to sink the man\'s face back into stoicism.

"Ah, who can say?"

"Don\'t play dumb with me!"