Eld would, at that moment, be treated with a veritable horror. Perhaps it was a viable belief to consider Gestahl a monster. Etsu affirmed this as soon as she saw what happened next . . .

A chunk of earth blasted from the cracks splitting through the air, a chunk nearly the size of Gestahl's fist, blasting forth from the earth's crust, soaring into the sky, striking Eld's sickle just a second following its departure from his hand, knocking it off its path instantly, throwing it up into the sky, with the rock not slowing in the slightest. It was as if a cannon had fired it, a cannon aimed upward-- up into the sky, the sky Eld inhabited.

And it wasn't the last one to fly, either.

"It is over," Toushikyo affirmed for himself, disdainfully.

The cannons fired over and over, as the flat surface was quickly reduced to an uneven dig site; rocks fired upwards rapidly, stones sometimes the size of fists, other times the size of boulders, rocketing forth into the air, up at Eldridge Tsukimono. Which was exactly the problem: Gestahl could aim with these. He could deflect Eld's sickle, and arc the direction of these earthen cannons-- to aim them strictly at the airborne menace.

Though he could sense it coming as it flew through the air, he could do nothing to prevent the rock from deflecting his attack. He frowned, it was an effective defense, but--

And then there was another, and another, now aimed directly at him. His scythe lashed out, deflecting them away with rapid strokes, each hit sending him floating upward a few feet.

More and more came, each deflection sending him higher and higher, and in a living satire of gravity soon he was gaining more altitude than he was losing. But they didn't stop coming, and they were getting bigger--some started to get through his guard, hitting shoulders and legs, places less vital but that still hurt. His arm was getting sore from warding off such strong shots, and at the rate things were going he wouldn't be able to keep the level of focus he needed to stay in the air.

And then the big ones started to come. He needed to change tactics, and fast; one hit from something like that, traveling as fast as they were, and he'd be lucky to survive. Intentionally letting himself drop several feet he narrowly avoided the first one as it flew over his head, and once more he lashed out with the chain and sickle to wrap around it.

This one was not used as a weapon, however. The shock nearly dislocated his shoulders, but he simply held on, letting the boulder rocket him up into the air. Compared to its size and speed, Eld's weight was minuscule; he might as well have been a bug.

The result was he rode it far into the sky, to the upper limit that the boulders traveled. It was about sixty feet in the air, but...to Eld, it might as well have been miles. He couldn't help but gulp nervously--if he fell from this height, he'd have more than just a few scratches and bruises to worry about. Or rather, he likely wouldn't be worrying about much at all.

But if the worst happened, there was no one to save Etsu. Maybe they'd let her go, not having a use for her once they had the scythe, but he knew that if Toushikyo had any say in the matter, she would never make it back. And that was a possibility Eld couldn't allow. He steeled himself for what he was about to do, as ludicrous at it seemed.

As the boulder reached the top of its arc Eld pulled himself up, landing lightly on it and jumping off...onto another boulder, that was also reaching the top of its arc, and then another. With Kageko's help, he knew right where they'd be, knew just how to jump and at what angle--it seemed like a suicidally dangerous thing to do, but with her help he may as well have been dancing on solid ground.

He knew, however, that this was only a temporary solution; as soon as Gestahl stopped firing at him, he'd have no more boulders to use as stepping stones. So he concentrated, reaching deep into his Qi and pulling it out--thus far nothing he did had phased his opponent in the slightest, and when it was time to come back down he intended to change that.

Over the period of seconds, the boulders became less and less frequent. On the ground, Gestahl was slowing down the rate of fire, as none of them seemed to be hitting Eld at the moment-- not that he could see. In fact, Eld was using them as . . . stepping stones?

"E-- Er-rd-kun-- he is . . ." Etsu could barely even see him up there-- and for that, she was shocked enough.

". . . he might as well be flying," Toushikyo growled under his breath.

Master . . . are you certain we can do this?

Even Kageko had her doubts. She wasn't so much doubting Eld as she was worried about him-- and rightly so. Gestahl could do so much-- he could take Eld down in a single blow, and it seemed each time he unleashed an attack, it was harder than the previous one. What if that trend kept going? What if the more steam Gestahl had behind him, the harder he was going to attack? If so, it would have only been a matter of time before Eld would fail. That was Kageko's concern. The feeling of dulled emotions caused by the scythe's release, dulled emotions felt by the both of them, did not shun Kageko's worry about Eld. In fact, Eld might have been the only person for whom Kageko had no dulled emotions in this state-- and while Eld may not have been similar (he had shown the ability to fight that dulled state, after all, but only when he could concentrate on it well enough), it would be easiest in this state to care about Kageko, too.

It's not a matter of being certain...

Eld's problem was not a lack of power. Etsu had told him he exhibited more Qi than anyone she'd ever felt. He suspected he knew why; it was something told to him by Tabris, the false Reaper. Something resided within him, within his very soul. It was a fragment of something much strong, but even that fragment possessed more power than most people could ever dream of.

No, power wasn't the problem. It was always control; Eldridge Tsukimono, who'd never gotten in any fight that he didn't lose horribly until six months ago, had been a weak boy. It was like giving someone untrained a sword, multiplied by a thousand--he was far more likely to hurt himself or a friend than any foe he fought.

Slowly, and with no small amount of effort, he got to the point where he no longer worried about accidentally hurting someone he didn't want to, but because of the sheer amount of Qi he possessed precise control was impossible.

So it was that as he drew more and more Qi out, he found himself straining to keep it together. It was like cupping his hands to hold water; he could hold some, sure, but only a small amount, and only for a short amount of time. It always seemed like more was slipping through his fingers than anything else.

As the boulders grew less and less frequent, he decided he was perhaps thinking about it the wrong way. Controlling a force that large was impossible for him, perhaps. Trying to hold and carry that power was inefficient. Perhaps the answer wasn't to hold it in...perhaps merely directing it would be enough.

Etsu currently could not sense Qi, Toushikyo couldn't at all, and it was likely neither could Gestahl. Perhaps only Kageko, seeing the world in that fuzzy way, would be able to see how instead bursting forth and clinging to Eld, his Qi began to twist and spiral around him.

It wasn't terribly long before Gestahl stopped firing altogether, and there was nowhere left to go.

...this is something I have to do...

He took a deep breath--even with the calm that having Kageko released brought, the thought of what he was about to do still made him nervous. But he needed to do it--if he didn't land a significant blow on Gestahl soon, his chance of winning the fight would slip away.

...so I will do it.

Resisting the urge to close his eyes, Eldrige Tsukimono dove off the last boulder, and headfirst began to plummet towards the ground...and more specifically towards Gestahl.

Master, I . . .

Kageko was . . . shocked, perhaps. Surprised by Eld's resolve. It was strange, this feeling. Every time before, when he released her, it was a matter of desperation, a fight thrown together without the chance for preparation, but here, today, he had the chance to prepare. Eld's resolve was steel.

Gestahl straightened up. He stood with his back perfectly straight and eyes transfixed upon the descending Reaper. A Reaper, yes. Toushikyo hadn't known it, but Gestahl had even said it before: he not only called Etsu a Reaper, but he directed the title to Eld, too.

It was a little tense, on Etsu's end. All she could do was watch. She would have rather been out there, fighting alongside of him, but at this point, even she knew that she might have just been in his way. He was fighting against someone tremendously more powerful that Toushikyo. Against him, yes-- Etsu could have been useful. She had been useful, in fact. The first time they fought him, they defeated him without much trouble at all. The second time, Eld had to go it alone, fearing that Etsu might be in danger if she were to get too close to Toushikyo again.

This time, she wouldn't have been able to even get in range to strike Gestahl with her naginata. He would have killed her before she even got the chance.

The shaking earth told her that much. The closer Eld got, the stronger the tremors became. No longer was Eld to be berated by boulders the size, if not larger, than himself, but soon, perhaps, by something else. What, no one would be sure. Whatever it was, Kageko could not feel it coming.

The two of them had tricks up their sleeves, Gestahl standing tall, arms by his sides, ground trembling all around him, a radius of effect coming close to even Toushikyo and Etsu-- eyes up, locked upon Eld, descending from the sky, straight towards Gestahl, his spirit roaring . . .

. . . I believe in you.

Thank you, Kageko.

The wind whipped all around him, roaring in his ears, causing his clothing to flap and billow and pushing his hair back, practically pulling it out. It was the most terrifying, exhilarating sensation he'd ever experienced.

Slowly he began to spin as he fell, the spiraling of his Qi now even affecting his descent. Invisible though it was to the naked eye, and he got nearer to the ground the dust in the air began be drawn into it, and give it a faint shape. For Toushikyo and Gestahl, it might not be immediately obvious, but it was something Etsu would recognize instantly. Last time it was fueled by anger; this time, it was sheer determination.

It wasn't until he was fifteen to twenty above the ground that he acted--still holding his weapons, his arms suddenly swept in front of him, and with a massive yell all the spirit he'd been gathering was released, but not so much controlled as directed. A painful ripple was sent through his entire body as the force of it buffeted him, stalling his descent and preventing him from becoming a smear on the dirt.

Two days ago Gestahl had shown him the terror of having the earth itself rise against him. Now, Eld would show him what it was like to be attacked by the very sky.

The attack would drill into the spot he stood, the Qi infused pressure cutting and ripping at both man and ground. Dust was instantly caught in the spiral force, giving it a shape that could not be mistaken by anyone, adult or child: Eld had just dropped a veritable tornado on his opponent.

Pressure. That was what he felt as Eld approached-- absolute pressure. For once, Gestahl almost felt like he was ready to fall to one knee, dragged down by the outstanding pressure caused by the power of Eldridge Tsukimono, power that he could, by that very point, see clearly before him, descending from the sky like a comet, a ring of power, vibrant around him, spilling out, practically glowing as light reflected off of it-- as all within slowly drained of color. Light couldn't enter, not well, not accurately-- not all of it.

Spiritual pressure. That's what Reapers called it.

There was no stopping it. It was coming for him, straight down, bearing down upon him like a whirlwind of pressure. That's what it was, at first-- pressure. Absolute pressure, thick like a cannon's blow, yet torrential like a hurricane's wind, an unstoppable beast of power--



Gestahl narrowed his eyes. For the first time, his expression changed. He lost his stoicism-- it was, instead, replaced with determination, courageous determination that mirrored much of Eld's own. Eld, who had been faced with something he thought he could not break, and now Gestahl, who gazed up at a power he felt moved by. His eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed, his muscles tensed all over. He slammed his right foot forward and clenched his jaw shut tightly, lips parted slightly, as if he were to let out a growl, but it was not from Gestahl that a growl would be heard, but from the earth itself.

Pressure struck pressure, downward pressure meeting upward pressure, and the earth before Gestahl lifted in an instant-- the jagged, broken earth, walls of stone lifting one by one to match up against the force of pressure before him, walls of stone that crumbled under the weight of the world-- under the pressure of Eld's spirit, and all the Qi he could muster, gathered for a period of time and thrown for Gestahl in full force.

A whirlwind struck the earth, and while the whirlwind continued, the earth hesitated.

Rows continued to grow, lifting and crumbling each time. The whirlwind surrounding Gestahl mirrored much of a tornado, throwing rock and stone around in a violent whirl, tearing upon the rock walls as they formed, tearing apart the foundations of stone, ripping apart every fiber of the earth--

--but it could only do so much. It could only tear so much apart, before even the wind would calm-- but even by then, there was little Gestahl could do. Little he could do beyond breath-- pant heavily, as blood flowed from his nostrils, and all that remained before him was a thin wall of stone, the final defense that had not been broken, before the pressure and the winds passed, a wall between the still descending Eldridge Tsukimono and Gestahl, but a wall only centimeters thick . . .

The tornado roared around Eldridge Tsukimono, hovering in the eye of the storm as the wind ravaged the earth below and debris of all sizes twisted upward around him. Gestahl's defenses repeatedly crumbled and rebuilt, and the few glimpses he could get of his opponent through the elemental clash were not enough to tell him how his opponent was faring.

He couldn't take any chances. It wasn't just his life on the line; Etsu and Kageko were both depending on him, and who knows how many other lives would be taken. While Eld couldn't be sure they were right about what his scythe could do, there was no doubt that they intended to use it for one purpose only: killing. That was not something he could allow to happen.

As the winds began to slow, he knew he had to do something more; if he didn't finish this fight now, Gestahl would almost surely kill him. Even he couldn't fight at this pace for very long.

Righting himself in air, and raising his arms once more, he contained the Qi as it attempted to escape with the wind, creating an large, wide dome of energy above him. And as the tornado finally stopped completely, there was still a wall of stone between the two combatants. Eld had no way of telling how thick it was, and so he made his decision.

There was a moment's pause as the air, in the wake of the storm, was unnaturally still.

And then, with one final roar, the Reaper who was not a Reaper made a slamming motion with his hands, and a wave of pressure from all around them converged on Gestahl's makeshift fort. The pressure itself, though, was negligible; spread out as it was, it would hardly put a dent in even the remaining flimsy wall.

But in the wake of the tornado, debris of all sizes and shapes still hung in the air, and as the wave of spirit moved so did the debris; from pebbles to boulders it would all converge on Gestahl's position.

The wall broke, not due to Eld's spiritual pressure anymore, but due to his final attack. The wind again took the rocks and boulders scattered around Gestahl, and brought them in on him-- those coming from the front shattered the thin wall instantly, kicking up dust instantly, while those on the sides crashed in all around him. The first one struck the earth, a massive boulder, almost the size of Gestahl himself, sinking into the earth, instantly kicking up a cloud of dirt and debris that filled the air, clouding the area around Gestahl--

Eld, Etsu, and Toushikyo would hear it, though. The earth caved in on itself, crashing and crumbling. Grunts escaped the growing cloud of dirt and debris, but nothing more. Grunts of pain, one after another, growing from soft and borderline silent to loud and audible even to Etsu and Toushikyo in the distance. The final stones struck, and the trembling of the earth quieted.

And then . . . there was nothing.

A silence. A persisting silence.

Etsu trembled. She didn't know what to feel-- fear, awe, delight? Absolute rapture? "Er-rd-kun-- he-- he--"

And still . . . silence.

"He did it . . .!" Etsu exclaimed. She brightened up immediately. This was, perhaps, the first time she had been this happy in awhile.

Toushikyo did not share the same sentiments. Quite the opposite, in fact. His eyes remained narrowed, his brow remained furrowed, and the muscle below his right eye twitched somewhat. He didn't know what to feel-- what level of hatred this entailed. He, himself, was somewhat awed by Eld's final attack. That was, perhaps, what could happen if Eld was allowed to get a head of steam behind him.

Or, what he intended to be his final attack . . .

As the dust settled, he'd find that Gestahl was not down-- long before Etsu and Toushikyo would be able to see him. He was not even down upon his knees-- not even one knee. The hulking form of Gestahl would be seen as a silhouette in the shadows, hunched over, breathing heavily, so heavily that it could be seen. But as the dust settled more and more, Gestahl's breathing became less heavy; he ceased requiring balance, and by the time Eld would be able to catch details of him, he was standing upright once again.

Cuts lined his entire body, cuts and bruises all over him. His shirt was torn, as were his pants below his knees. Blood matted the white shirt, staining it red-- the same color his hair was stained-- hair matted to his head, where he had taken wounds to the skull, both the front and side. He was a mess, but he was still standing.

What? That is . . . that is . . .

Earth could not kill this man.

Impossible . . .

Blood trickled from both corners of his lips, but Gestahl brought his right hand up, and with his wrist, wiped them away. He was still breathing heavily, hindered by his injuries, but not defeated . . .

Gestahl dropped his right arm to his side again, asking softly-- pain in his voice, but still no sign of hindrance in it, "Is that your best, Reaper?"

It took all of Eld's concentration to maintain his floating; when he landed about fifteen feet away from the pile of rubble he'd created, he dropped to a knee, panting. All his clothing was matted with sweat, and he was perhaps one of the few people whose disheveled look could be accurately described as looking like he was in a tornado.

He really had thought it was over; Gestahl should have been lucky to survive that, let alone be moving afterward. Controlling earth didn't make one immune to being hit with a rock any more than controlling air (via Qi, anyway) made Eld immune to winds.

But all the same, he wasn't entirely surprised when his opponent stood up out of the rubble, either. But even though the sight of Gestahl still standing should have been a great blow to his morale, he remained calm. He was still moving, yes, but for how long? Even if Eld did nothing, he'd be losing too much blood to continue fighting soon.

Standing up straight again, he took a few steps forward. "Don't be a fool. You can't keep fighting in that condition. Let Etsu go, return the villagers to normal, and go home and don't come back."

Eld was bleeding and bruised from the earlier barrages, but he was not nearly as bad off as Gestahl, and while that move had taken a lot out of him he wasn't completely spent just yet.

Gestahl was still standing. The sight of it was astounding to Etsu Hikane. She had thought Eld did it; no, she was convinced that Eld had defeated Gestahl, yet there he stood, unmoving, a constant-- a mountain that Eld could not yet overcome.

"No." Gestahl declared outright.

He wasn't in the state to fight any further. He was defeated, for all intents and purposes. His knees were ready to give out on him, regardless of how strong he remained standing. Willpower alone was all that kept him up-- the will to survive, perhaps? No. It was more than that. A man would not go this far and bring about this much destruction with just the will to live alone. It was deeper than that.

Gestahl was winded still, and though he was able to stand strong, his stoic expression did not change. His eyes flared. It was confidence, perhaps? Desperation? Raw willpower? Something-- something was in those hard eyes, something familiar to Eld. A look very, very familiar to Eldridge Tsukimono.

"A promise was made. A promise to build a world-- a world for her and our children.

Slowly, the ground began to shake. The ruined earth waned and whined against Gestahl's will, but he commanded it all the same. By the earth, he would not be ignored.

"The weapon you hold . . ." Gestahl coughed, the quaking halted-- a brief interruption. "Is the key to that world."

The ground continued to shake. Gestahl did not have much left in him. Indeed, he could possibly bleed to death with his injuries. Indeed, he was taking a risk-- but perhaps he did not care. Toushikyo was there. If Gestahl were to die, but to kill Eld in the process . . .

"You will not hinder this. I will . . . fulfill my promise. I will . . . defend . . . her existence-- and perpetuate . . . her dream . . ."

Gestahl was fighting something, too-- for someone. Someone important to him-- someone as important as Etsu was to Eld. Eld would be able to see that much in Gestahl's eyes. He would know, more than anyone else, that this man would not stand down--

Because when fighting for Etsu, Eld would not stand down, either.

"Even if you must die," Gestahl swung his arm out; his body could barely take what was happening-- his muscles were trembling, his knees wanted to give out on him right at that instant, but he refused. He would not fall. "Even . . . if I must die."

Fissures cracked around him, tearing through the already troubled earth. Small cracks lined about his feet, about Eld's feet, and all between, breaking out like spider's webs and flowing without restriction. Dust kicked up between the cracks, dirt shot out from larger holes like exhaust, as the world beneath them waned and howled violently, as if a hollow point below them churned stones under the depths, breaking apart the hollow point little by little under their feet.

A fissure. A deep fissure-- a fissure in which neither man could survive.

Eld would feel it, too; it would come with a sense of urgency. If he did not stop it, there would be no stopping it. In seconds, perhaps, the fissure would expand enough to break apart the ground below them, and take in both Tsukimono and Gestahl-- to kill them both, if absolutely need be . . .

It was...all too familiar. Eld knew better than anyone else what it meant to fight for the sake of others. It was really the only reason he fought; even his own self-defense didn't motivate him nearly as much as protecting those he loved.

But there was a line he drew. He protected their lives and livelihood from those who would unjustly take it away--he'd never go out and steal, hurt, or kill simply to improve their lives.

"You would build your world over the bodies of innocent people. Ask yourself, Gestahl: Is that something they'd really want?!" Because he knew his loved ones wouldn't. Not a single one of them would ask him to hurt another unless it was absolutely necessary; if he did, he knew they would no doubt be angry with him.

Unfortunately, he was given no time to truly debate the subject. Even as the he spoke, the ground began to quake and tear once more, on a far greater scale than anything thus far. He couldn't afford to wait, to hold back--he'd be killed, and that would spell the end for Etsu, Kageko, and countless others as well.

And so he charged--there was no time to be tricky or tactical. Hooking his kusari-gama back into the spot on his belt, he leaped once more with the aid of a final strength boost, but this time propelling himself forward, not up.

Taking up his scythe in two hands, he swung as he reached his opponent, for what he hoped would be the final time...

"Then for Katalyna-- and the world of her dreams," Gestahl breathed in deep as he slid his left foot back, "I will lie-- even . . . to . . . her . . ."

The fissure under their feet churned and grew. How deep it may have been, perhaps no one would ever know-- not if they never fell in, not if Eld stopped it in time.

As soon as the Reaper leaped forward, Gestahl brought back his right fist. With a roar, at last from he, himself, he threw it forward as the Reaper approach, intending fully to barrel his fist into Eldridge Tsukimono, and end the fight, perhaps, before the both of them needed to die-- or perhaps before Gestahl did, to leave him enough time to take the scythe and return-- to see Katalyna one last time.

Eld would land behind Gestahl, with Gestahl's fist still thrown-- but he was stopped, and perhaps the both of them would remain that way, stopped in time, not even breathing. Halted in a single moment, a moment where the world around them ceased to matter entirely, only the final blows thrown, a final blow evaded, and a final blow received.

And for a moment, there was nothing.

Until Gestahl's knees began to shake, and a new source of blood seeped into his shirt. Whether or not Eld came out unscathed, he would be unable to see-- but for him . . .

It was . . .



"Nhh . . . nggh . . ." Gestahl grunted at last, groaning as blood seeped from his shirt-- free flowing blood, staining his shirt and spreading quickly, its source a gaping wound upon his side, a wound even Gestahl could not outlast.

The earth's quaking ceased as Gestahl fell to his knees. His body remained upright, but his shoulders sulked and his head hung slightly. Gravity wanted to pull him down-- but Gestahl refused. It was the final refusal he could muster. But in the end . . .

He could fight no more.

"Gnnnhh." Eld staggered almost simultaneously with Gestahl, reeling from the final blow--but unlike the other man he remained on his feet. "Dammit, not again," he murmured quietly; he'd managed to avoid the worst of the punch, but he'd been caught on the right shoulder still, and the force had been enough to dislocate it, an injury that now came easily to him.

It never stopped being painful, either, though his ability to ignore the pain had improved significantly. Holding the scythe loosely in his right arm, he used his left to pop it back into place with a small noise of pain.

Trying not to look at his opponent, he turned towards the observers of the fight, specifically Toushikyo. "Tell Illorex to return everyone to normal," he ordered calmly. That was the last piece of business that needed to be taken care of; all that was left was to get Etsu down and go home, and perhaps try and get Gestahl to a hospital along the way.

Toushikyo was not visibly surprised. The reaction, perhaps, was something he could not feel. He could only look at Eld with the utmost disdain. Raw and absolute hatred. Before, he wanted to see Hikane's head at the end of a pole. Now, it was Eld's. The azure haired Reaper was wiped from his mind entirely. All that was left was Eldridge Tsukimono. That girl hanging beside him may as well have never existed at all.

He grit his teeth together. He wasn't nervous, nor was he intimidated, when by all means he should have been both. Eld had defeated Gestahl-- Gestahl, who could have, theoretically, defeated Toushikyo without even a second thought.

Though, as much as Toushikyo felt raw hatred for Eld, and as much as Etsu was overjoyed over Eld's (and her) survival in this situation, both pairs of eyes changed focus quickly, from Eld to Gestahl in the distance behind him.

. . . Master . . . Kageko sounded . . . solemn. Not quite depressed, but not quite unfeeling. Behind us . . .

And if Eld were to look behind him, he'd see Gestahl in a state that he'd never seen before-- and yet, all the same, it would be eerily familiar to him.

Gestahl . . . was blurred. His entire left side was blurred. Biology ceased to matter. Eld would be able to see through the man's back, as a gap within it was marked by a growing blur. But there was no gore, blood or guts, there was just . . . nothing. Nothing, as if a gap in Gestahl had simply ceased to exist-- a growing gap, widening quickly with each passing second, while the gap upon his side grew and grew, taking with it his left arm and shoulder. Even the blood left behind from the injuries Eld left him with ceased, evaporating as rapidly as Gestahl was disappearing.

And he'd feel it, too. Something was happening to Gestahl's spirit-- and, too, the spirit around him. Gestahl's was fading, while spiritual density of the world around him grew. The correlation was far too obvious to ignore. Even Etsu could feel it. But Eld, on the other hand, would be able to see it-- Gestahl was fading-- fading into the world.