Beyond the Gates

Hero

Bravos

Atsadi & Surge

Common

Every challenge is a blessing that lets me rise even higher.

392 AC - Dei Liberi, d'Aubigny, Bologne. Three names from seven. Three Eidolons I still haven't been able to manifest in my mind. But it's crucial if I want to face them and defeat them. Dei Liberi, d'Aubigny, Bologne. The names are a mantra in my head as I stand in the en garde position, my eyes fixed on my Alter Ego. I close off my mind to him. This training would be worthless if I could directly perceive his intentions from the fortress of my mind. Suddenly he disappears, as fast and ephemeral as lightning. There's a crackling and the smell of ozone. I suddenly spin and strike where Surge has appeared, my jian carving fiery fissures in the air. My blade cuts through the emptiness as the hairs on my arm stand on end, frizzing with static energy. I need to be even faster. I must move to the rhythm of the lightning.

Behind me again. No, that was just a feint. I jump to the side, slashing the air to parry the electrifying fingers of my Chimera. I must not think. I need to anticipate his movements and patiently protect myself from his attacks as I wait for my body to fill with Mana and for my essence to absorb the fleeting ideas that drift around me in playful, fragile gusts. Through the Avgrunn, I devour them and make them mine. Through Alteration, I feed my own identity and power. There. I suddenly twist by bending my body, lowering my center of gravity to stop myself from falling. But despite having dodged, I feel the bite of his electrical discharges as the arcs of lightning crawl over the surface of my skin. I spin around, ready to strike my sword at my Alter Ego. Another feint. At the last moment, I thrust my sword in another direction, driving it into his electric torso, right where he had suddenly appeared in a flash. He looks at the blade, then to me, and smiles. I return the smile.