Shadow Slave

It went well.

Sunny was not doing much better against the murderous hurricane of steel wearing the beautiful human face of Morgan of Valor... but he did manage to slow her down a little.

Morgan slowed down not because she felt pressured by his sudden change of techniques, but because she was fascinated by it.

Her raven-black hair swept back and her simple tunic rippling from the wind risen by their clash, she pierced him with a burning vermilion gaze. Her red lips moved:

"Interesting. Very interesting..."

Morgan was not addressing Sunny, but more so speaking to herself.

After that, she changed her strategy, as well. Before, Morgan was all offense, all sharp edges, and a relentless barrage of calculated, but devastating strikes. Now, she was moving more deliberately - not really holding back, but also not pursuing an overwhelming defeat of the enemy at all costs.

It was as if Morgan was afraid to break him too soon.

...Sunny did not really know how to feel about that.

'Huh... well, that's a new feeling...'

They clashed, their swords weaving a cacophonous, but strangely beautiful melody of hissing and clangor. At the side of the dojo, Cassie turned her head slightly, listening.

Sunny had long beaten his record of holding out against Morgan for thirty-six seconds. A minute passed, then another. He was still solidly standing on his two feet, and even though his breathing was growing a little labored from the terrible strain of the intense fight, his stamina was far from running out.

In the middle of a particularly furious exchange, when they were close to each other, Morgan suddenly asked:

"That style... who taught you?"

Sunny struck at the hilt of her sword, aiming to sever her fingers, and answered hoarsely:

"No one taught me. I just learned it... from a Nightmare Creature..."

She easily avoided his strike and punished it by aiming a thrust at his heart. A smile appeared on her face.

"...In the Nightmare?"

Sunny hesitated, considering how much he could reveal. He had fought the Barrow Wraiths as Mongrel, after all... but then again, no one else had gotten a proper measure of their battle skill, and he had faced countless Nightmare Gates later in Antarctica, most of them undocumented.

"No, in front of a Nightmare Gate."

Morgan's smile widened.

"You're a fast learner, then..."

She seemed to have gotten a good grasp on the essence of the primal battle style he was using, which translated into her attacks becoming more purposeful. She was probing and testing, forcing him to reveal more facets of the technique... all of them, ideally.

Which did not quite suit Sunny. It was too soon - he could not have her growing bored yet. He needed to impress her some more before losing, so that the impression he made lasted.

Without giving Morgan any warning, he commanded his shadow tachi to change in the middle of a swing. The shadow flowed, turning into a great jian. It was still a two-handed sword, but this one was straight and double-edged, much more suitable for thrusts, slightly more versatile, and supremely mobile.

The swing staggered unexpectedly and turned into a thrust, catching Morgan by surprise. She moved with the grace of a dancer, pulling her head out of the way. A strand of wavy black hair was cut and glided through the air.

"Ah! Devious!"

Despite the outraged tone, her vibrant eyes were shining with excitement.

Technically, Sunny had just cheated - they had agreed to leave their Ascended Abilities unused, after all.

But that was fine. Cheating was exactly what an exalted Legacy would expect an outskirt rat to do...

And honestly, it was also what a person from the outskirts would actually do.

It was also what a fighter in a real battle would not shy away from, which was why Sunny thought that Morgan was bound to enjoy his little twist.

Instead of answering, he attacked, turning his jian into a spear.

There were a few weapon forms that he had trained creating well enough to summon them on the fly... the only one he had reasons to avoid was the odachi, since that was what he had used the last time he fought Morgan.

Her smile grew wider.

They fought, putting the armored plates of the dojo under more and more strain. At some point, one of them even started to crack. Sunny used it to his advantage, launching a deliberate strike while his opponent was slightly less sure-footed.

Pushing the tip of her spear aside, Morgan pivoted, shifting her weight to one leg...

The other suddenly whipped into the air, delivering a lightning-fast, picture-perfect roundhouse kick to his head.

Sunny barely had time to react, pulling the spear slightly back and raising its butt to solidly block the kick with the shaft.

Morgan's alabaster shin connected with the matte black surface of the shadow spear...

And cut straight through it, as if it was not as strong as an Ascended weapon would be. Sunny's eyes widened slightly.

'Crap...'

It seemed that Morgan had decided to start using more of her Aspect Abilities, as well.

There was nothing really for him to do but accept the blow and hope that she was not planning to decapitate him.

The kick had lost none of its power after cutting the spear. The moment Morgan's foot connected with his jaw, it was as if he had been hit by a siege ram. Sunny momentarily saw stars. He was thrown aside and staggered, barely managing to maintain some semblance of balance.

'Not good... no... actually, very good! This is exactly what I wanted. Time to be defeated...'

He overplayed his disorientation a little and waited for the follow-up strike to come.

But it didn't.

When Sunny regained the ability to see clearly a second later, he saw a hint of guilt on Morgan's face. She was looking at him with a resigned expression.

"Ah, damn it... sorry, I forgot myself for a moment. I have a healer at hand..."

Then, she paused and stared at him with a slightly startled expression. It was strange to see Morgan surprised.

"You're... you're not cut?"

Sunny rubbed his cheek, which was still numb. He was going to have a nasty bruise, that was for sure. But the Marble Shell seemed to have withstood Morgan's Aspect Ability.

No, not quite... she had probably released the Ability after slicing through the spear. But her Flaw - what Sunny suspected to be her Flaw - remained.

He grimaced, then moved his jaw side to side and answered in an even tone:

"No. Why would I be cut? Do I look fragile? Well, I'm not. I'm quite sturdy, in fact."

Morgan stared at him for a bit, a strange expression on her face. Eventually, her lips twisted into a light smile.

"That you are. I'll remember that... for our next spar. This one, sadly, has to come to an end. Thank you for a wonderful duel, Master Sunless."

She glanced at her training sword, then calmly turned around and went to place it back in the case.

Sunny rubbed his cheek again, feeling a bit of dull pain seep through the numbness, and looked at her back.

'Seems like it worked. That... is what I call a job well done. Beautifully, really. Ah... I guess that is what they call suffering from success...'

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Erdiul's Note: See, I told you I did you favor by releasing all four at the same time. No cliffhanger, solid reading experience. You're welcome.