Spring 2007 R2-1: Anomaly v. Great Writer Fuji -- Crystal Moon Tarsus

[Shan'do Spike]

Reference this thread for bracket information. Reference this thread for environment information.

You have from now until the 5th of April to finish your round. Good luck!

Welcome to the second round:


Remember, your characters have been teleported to this location via the powers of the gods/aliens (call them anything but judges). Because this is the second round, long introductory posts explaining your characters' journey prior to abduction are acceptable, so try to keep this aspect of the opening post shorter.

Remember in Round 2, Character 1 will be used.

Again, good luck, and more importantly, have fun!

[Anomaly]

As soon as her delicate blade slides into her opponents flesh, Aria Schneider feels the forces raging just outside of her speed spell increase in intensity. To her, it feels as if she is frozen in amber and at one and the same time being ripped apart at thousands of miles per second in every conceivable direction. The agony is unbearable yet there is no time in which to scream. In truth the sensation only last for a few seconds, but to her the seconds stretch into eternity. As suddenly as the strange temporal forces increase their grip upon Aria, they receed.

Time returns to the world...but it is not the world Aria occupied but a few scant moments ago. The world around her glows, a soft, pale light. At first glance she's sure she's dreaming. It takes the golden haired woman a moment to register the reason the world is glowing because it is composed of various crystal formations. A vast plain of crystal, with low hills and cliffs not far away arrainged in geometrical outcroppings. In the chilly light, she half expects to be suddenly gripped with a starteling cold...yet no such winter blast envelops her. Though there is a slight chill in the air, she is not uncomfortable, aside from the cut on her cheek and the pain of flayed flesh in her sword hand. The latter assures her that she is not dreaming...she'd never known pain like this while she slumbered. Though her white gloves had done a fair job in protecting her from the brunt of the damage there, her right glove is now stained scarlet. After making sure the damage is not too severe she turns her left, and only eye, to the horizon to try and discover her location.

It is now that she pays close attention to the star strewn sky, full of glowing moons, and watches as a silent world emerges from the misty darkness. As twin suns rise behind the hulking world, Aria's eye widens and her dainty mouth drops open in shear disbelief. If she wasn't dreaming, then she was surely dead, for before the elemental mage floats her destroyed home world Camulus. The plant rises, a serene blue and green giant, clouds swirling upon its rough surface. A faint corona of magic baths the world in ever changing multi-colored light. The sight brings tears to her eyes as she remembers, not for the first time, all she has lost and all she has fought for these last decades. Tears of crimson leak from beneath the ornate eye patch over her right eye. If this is the ghost of her home world, then surely this is Hell, because even now the loving embrace of Camulus is forbidden to her...seperated from her by the gulf of space.

Yet, as she has time to rest from her recent battle, the emotions raging inside her have time to calm. She silently curses herself for her foolishness. This is neither Heaven nor Hell...rather it is Tarsus, the Crystal Moon. One of many great works of magic wrought in the old days, it was said that the Crystal Moon was created by an ancient and venerable Eluminati to aid the elite mage in some dire war long past. It was rumored that the magics that created it had been so incredible as to rob its creator of his life in the process before the magics of the moon could be worked. Either way, its original use had been forgotten eons before she was born. Tarsus was one of many satalites that orbited her world, before the coming of the Harbingers and the shattering of her world, but by far the largest and most mysterious of any of the artificial ones.

Tarsus...large enough to support an atmosphere similar to her home world. Tarsus, the gleaming jewel in the night sky, whos light could rival that of the Brothers, the twin suns that now rise over her world. Tarsus...so beautiful that it had been worshiped above the other moons, despite the fact it was no real moon at all. The power of the Great Ones surely knew no limits if they were able to transport her to this place, at this time, before the sweeping destruction that would end millions of lives down below. It could also be said there was no end to their cruelty...for not only does the prize she dreams of hang just out of reach, she finds herself alone in this place tied up with beautiful and painful memories.

Her brother, Canticle was ever the steady one. He would not have let this scene throw his emotions as she had. Indeed, he would've been of far more use in a fight here, with the power of the magical crystals his to command. Aria almost laughs at this thought...she always looked to her brother in situations like this...maybe she was as worthless as he always insisted she was.

That thought is cut short as another wave of vertigo strikes her senses. Somewhere, the Great Ones have transported another to the moons surface. Is it her brother? Or is it, as she suspects, another opponent to test her and see if she is worthy of that blue and green ghost that haunts the night sky? Regardless the white and blueclad woman holds her rapier, Symphoney, at the ready and turns in the direction her magical senses indicate the disturbance is centered. With any luck she can prove to herself, if not her brother, just how worthless she is not.

[Toph Bei Fong]

Kage and Kana had waited for their opponents to appear so the battle could start, but no such luck was with them. As they woke up from their unintended slumber, they woke up in their sleeping quarters.

“Well that was totally lame.” Kana said.

“It’s to be expected sometimes, Kana-kun. Perhaps some difficulties could not be avoided by the opposition.” Kage said as he yawned and cracked his neck.

“Well, since we didn’t do anything in the last round, I’m sure I’ll be teleported to the next scene in a short while.”

“How do you know, sensei?”

“I’ve been in this tournament before, remember? Although I wouldn’t be surprised if they changed up the bracket order. So maybe this time around, you’ll be taking a trip.”

Just as the last word of the statement left his lips, he poofed out of the room and into a very well lit atmosphere of a place. He immediately sensed someone else was there other than himself.

Before he made himself known to the opposition, he took in his surroundings to see if he could use anything to his advantage. He noticed mountains made of crystal and that the ground he walked on looked like glass. Then he looked toward the sky and noticed the planet nearby.

“Hmm… just as I thought.” He wiped the sweat from his brow and took out a bandana. He wrapped it around his head before he took off toward his opponent. Just incase the Light of Tarsus had activated, he would use the bandana to cover his eyes.

It was a good thing he trained himself in doing combat while being blind just incase something of this sort happened. He had heard about the Light of Tarsus while he and the Crimson Renegades stayed at Camulus.

“Ah, the good ol’ days. I wonder what the other renegades are doing right now?” he wondered as he cracked his neck and dashed toward his opposition. He knew where they were located because of his abilities to sense others.

When he arrived a few yards away, he noticed his opponent was a woman. A very beautifully built one as well. This was going to be yet another difficult battle for him. The resolve that she gave off was really strong, so she must have a strong reason to win the fight.

He gripped the katana sheath and flicked the blade out of its slumber. He gripped the hilt tight as he pulled it out. The blade itself was radiating a slight dark aura, as if ready to strike.

His bright red eyes peered onto the soul of the woman in front of him. He decided not to pull any punches and released his Surging Slash straight away. The blade had been gathering light from around the area and concentrated it into a large crescent wave of electricity. This area while dangerous also provided him with a slight advantage.

The crescent wave headed straight for her, as if a test to monitor her abilities. It had the intent to slaughter.

It edged closer with each second.

"Sa... do suru?"

[Anomaly]

With a roar and a crack like lightning a fleet figure unleashes a powerful electrical attack in Aria's direction. Though she has been transported here shortly after her last fight, she had still had time to recover. Thankful for that, she leaps nimbley to the side of the sweeping crescent strike. An elemental of wind, her entire body has been conditioned towards speed and precise force. Such grand, sweeping attacks would be of little use against a rested Aria Schneider.

The Gale of Blades regards her opponent for a moment. From just his appearance and battle stance he seems little more than a common warrior. Perhaps the intense spiritual energy strike just now was a product of his blade, or some anceint technique tied to it. Yet if that were so what was this power she felt slumbering deeper in the warrior? She raises her rapier just in front of her face in salute and slightly bows to her opponent.

"Well met young warrior. I sense a powerful battle aura coming from you. I don't expect an easy fight if it was the Great Ones that have sent you to me. But be warned...I fight for the world you see floating their on the horizon. I will not let you stand in my way."

The last comment is not a threat, but a seeming statement of fact. Aria lowers her blade and begins to whirl it through the air in increasingly widening circles. As the blade sings ever faster through the air, the mistress of the winds begins to chant gently under her breath. The volumn of her voice rises higher and higher as the spell and her sword work reaches its crescendo. At last the sweeps of her blade halt as her rapier is thrust heavenward. A massive aura of wind whirls around the elemntal.

"Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea...all we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see. Livgren's enchantment! Dust in the Wind, All we are is Dust in the Wind!"

Though the surface of Tarsus is not at home to storms, a great cloud rises now as crystal fragments are stirred in front of a surging tornadic blast that sweeps from one edge of the horizon to the other. An unfocused attack, meant to sweep the field of any opposition, be it fortress stones or an entire standing army.

The surging wall rises high, obscuring the light of the stars above and the moon below. Aria is engulfed in a wall of shimmering, slicing crystal shards. Her own personal control over the wind protects her against the jackhammer force of the spell as well as the cutting shards carried with it. She is safe as the wave of death sweeps ever closer to the enemy that stands before her. All this happens in a matter of seconds.

Aria does not wait, expecting such a skilled warrior would be able to devise some defense against her spell, she instead charges forward with the winds. The sound of the roaring wind silencing her footsteps, the sheer mass of dust obscurring her image, and, hopefully, the matrix of her spell work shielding her from any other senses her opponent might possess, she presses the attack. Just as the wall of slicing shards threatens to engulf her enemy she strikes, thrusting Symphoney high. She aims to imbed the blade in her adversaries windpipe before he inhails the first of the horrid dust. Perhaps this is a gesture of mercy as the rest of the spell will likely blast the very flesh from his bones.

[Toph Bei Fong]

As expected, the girl had successfully dodged his simple attack. A satisfied smirk ran across his face. Though, she did not rest after his attack. She pressed on and unleashed one of her own. She began with a chant that unleashed a heinous storm.

A ferocious wind conjured a tornado which dug into the ground, releasing many shards of crystal as shrapnel which acted as a weapon and a defense at the same time. She was very skilled with the element of wind and was very agile. Not as agile as he, though.

As the crystals grew closer to him, he knelt down and spun his sword in a swift circle. It absorbed the light of the shards and everything around it and created a vortex of lightning. It was similar to that of a black hole, except the contents didn’t turn to nothingness; they simply were rerouted to another location. Such was the power of Raiken Void.

As the vortex was shielding him, the wall kept moving in closer, to which he figured she was behind it. It may have shielded her from all of his natural senses, but not his logic. It was obvious that to defeat her, he would have to go all out. He didn’t like using his true form very often, even though he was able to control it now, unlike over one hundred years ago when it first awakened. Luckily nobody innocent was around, only a massive army that had been slaughtered in just minutes.

His hair changed from dark brown to a dark grey. His eyes subtly changed from red to crimson. His dark aura went from miniscule to overwhelming. His one katana grew a foot longer and its blade changed to crimson. The first layer of the shards delved slightly into his skin as he unleashed a powerful slash in all directions almost simultaneously. It was ridden with red electricity and extreme pressure which pushed it back from the direction it once came. The attack didn’t break the wall, but it stopped it from moving and cracked it in several places. The two moving forces negated each other and created a frozen stalemate; just as he felt the tip of her blade stubbing at his throat. It was a very close call for him. If he hadn’t reacted as quickly as he did, it would have ended right there.

Rin Pyou Tou Shai Kai Jin Restu Zai Zen

He moved away from the wall while it was frozen temporarily as the powers struggled for dominance, and released a spell of his own. Though this one was slightly more dark and sinister and had a will of its own. The sky above which was still covered in the earlier storm clouds grew blacker with every second that passed and booming thunder in a dark red shade. Then a large lightning bolt struck the wall of shards, making it glow red as a ruby would. Overtime the heat would grow too strong for even the woman to endure. And if she ever were to release her wall, the horror in the clouds would come down in the form of a wolf’s head formed from electricity. Such was the power of the Kiba of Hades. It would follow her wherever she fled and follow her scent.

He took another quick look around the surrounding area for something else he could use and noticed the crystal ground shone somewhat brighter than it did a few moments ago. It was not a good sign for him.

Just as he took in the changes in the scenery, the pressure of his attack waned and the wall started to move again, but this time it was slightly weaker. Lucky he moved quite a distance away.

[Anomaly]

Her thrust dodged, Aria falls back to take stock of the situation. Moving through the wall of carnage created by the Dust in the Winds spell, she retreats to the other side as the strength of the very winds struggle against the power of this new opponent. He had changed some how, this was very clear. The power Aria felt from this being before had multiplied and darkened beyond what she had initially anticipated. She knew there was more to him than met the eye, but she never suspected anything like this.

What could she possibley do against such a monster? A sudden howl shakes Aria to her core as something rises from the cloud of crystals she left behind. An energy beast, the likes of which she had not seen in ages roars as it closes on the spell caster. Stealing herself against the impact, she raises her Symphony to catch the creatures strike. As the wolfen beast smashes into the flexible blade its very being distorts. Instead of devouring the maiden, the wolf collapses into a single tendril of crackling crimson electricity that snakes up and down the reflective blade. With a smile, the young woman thrusts her blade, sending the reflected spell and thus the scarlet lightning bolt roaring back towards its caster.

If the majority of his attacks were based upon the light, then her rapier was her best friend for this fight. Already the Light of Tarsus was beginning to shine, that blinding brillance that engulfs the crystal moon once a month. Soon her enemy would have more light than he could likely handle. Still, to stay here as he her enemy had become would likely prove ot be suicide. Closing her eyes, Aria reaches out with her senses and begins to chant anew.

"Illustrious Kai! Give me wings to fly...Ride the Sky!"

Like a gentle hand, a cool breeze caresses her face. Golden tresses rising with the sudden updraft that surrounds her the wind lifts Aria Schneider into the sky. Invisible wings spread wide riding the updraft, the mage soars sword tip first away from the chaos strewn surface of the moon into the atmosphere choked with black clouds spawned by the dark being below. His spell would serve her though he did not know it. While he might still look for her below, hoping to use his deadly blade or his dark power to finish her, she would see his darkness end here with her own subtle machinations.

High above the swirling chaos below, floating at a point where she could feel the barest tug between the jewel of the night and her homeworld, Aria removes a small pouch from her belt. Inside is a yellow dust that has silenced and stilled many an enemy in the past. Made from a powdered root of her home world, this dust absorbs spiritual energy, the kind needed for the casting of spells and the use of most special techniques. It also sapped the power of any who felt the touch of the dust, let alone inhaled the deadly poison, causing their metabolism to slow to a crawl. Thus weakened, even the mighty dragons of her home world would barely be able to lift a paw in their defense. This poison had only ever failed her once. She hoped now it would not fail her a second time.

No magic is tied to the poison...she simply sprinkles the dust into the clouds, allowing the ambient winds focused on driving their forces downwards do their work of spreading the dust. In the air the scattered powder is nigh invisible, but it was plain from the intensity of the storm of powers they had created that it would be spread far and wide for some distance around. She waits...probing the dark clouds below...waiting for any sign that her opponent might be weakening.

[Toph Bei Fong]

His glance shot to the sky as he saw a glimpse of something heading into the atmosphere above the storm clouds. Not to mention he sensed her aura moving upwards. The remaining blast of Kiba was absorbed into his blade and caused it to glow and pulsate with the electricity.

“Two can play at this game.” He thought to himself as he cackled softly. Did she think the storm clouds would stay forever? The effect of his spell would wear off soon enough as the clouds had already began to dissipate.

While his blade surged with his energy from the earlier attack from the sky, he stabbed his sword into the ground and unleashed the energy from within. He was blasted through the clouds at an alarming speed. Before long, he arrived far above the woman hiding in the remaining cloud cover.

Before he made his attack, he made sure whatever it was she planned to fail accordingly. He ran his fingers across his blade in front of him. His lips moved at an unreadable pace and mumbled a chant. Markings appeared on his sword as he dragged his fingers along to the tip of the blade. The symbols shone a sinister blackness that was darker than the clouds.

The chanting resumed as a new atmosphere full of shadows engulfed the two warriors. Several moments passed until the spell was complete. If this spell did nothing to his opponent, then he would have a whole new respect for her. The very spell had been used on him once as a trial to control the darkness within. The very worst fears and horrible memories that were unleashed within this realm were none like any other.

“This very technique was forbidden for me to use for one hundred years. The chaos and psychological damage was far too powerful. However, one such as you should be able to bear the worst part of it and come out mentally ill at least.”

Before he left the space to begin the second phase of the spell, he said one last thing.

“If, however, this technique becomes too overwhelming, I fear for what will happen. You may kill yourself, or you may go on a berserk rampage as I have done in the past. If you conquer this technique, consider yourself the winner of the duel. As you would have accomplished something not even I could pull off one hundred years ago…”

He flew out of the sphere of darkness and begun to chant the second phase of the technique; and brought out the worst possible memories and worst fears to life. As he chanted the spell, the memories of his own trial were brought back for him to reminisce in: The death of his mother and father struck with illness, and his whole race conquered by the vile race of the Relepti on his home planet of Kosenagi. As he trained when he was a young boy in his abilities and fighting, he grew tired of his father being ill and decided to try and heal him with his technique. The technique had backfired and created the personality that he is to this day; a twisted mesh of his father and himself born on his eighteenth birth day.

If he wished to, he could have attacked her many times in the darkness instead of chanting the second phase of the spell. He very well still could, and was often tempted to disrupt her mental trial. Perhaps he should unleash an attack every fifteen moments or so just to keep her on her toes.

(OOC: Since your character wants to “prove herself”, I figured this was a good way to do it. This technique isn’t unstoppable by any means. If your character has enough will power and mental stability, she can crack it. It would still prove to be a challenge, though. Since the “illusions” are “real” in there.)

[Anomaly]

(OOC: So your basic psychic style attack fueled by shadows where what happens in your mind is just as deadly as what happens in reality. Alright, we'll see how this plays out.)

She should've anticipated her enemy trying to come after her once he realized she was no longer earth bound. Luckily, he still had not detected the poison, or that trace amounts of it still clung to him as he had ascended through the atmosphere. Unfortunately there was not enough of the poison at this height to immediately effect the casting of his spells. What was a bright starlit night suddenly plunges into a gloom to rival the darkest caverns.

Aria keeps her blade at the ready, prepared to fend off any attack that might come from the darkness, invisible wings spread wide soaring on the wind currents. Her opponent continued to blither something about this particular spell. Belatedly, Aria realizes it may've been a better idea to have fled than attempt to defend herself against the coming attack. Thats when every last one of her senses shuts down...her vision was not the only sense stolen from her...she could not even feel herself.

Slowly...oh so slowly...half of the world comes back to her. At first it seems like so very little but that half is all she has, and its to that half that she clings with all her might. Her senses scream in agony but through the pain she senses other things going on around her. Her right eye...her only eye now it seems, opens wide and surveys the chaos around her shattered body. The once beautiful Sanctum, the monument of peace that they had errected with the visitors to their world is absolutely destroyed...all that remains standing is the fountain in the center that now overflows with the blood of her fellow arch-mages.

It is then she feels the chaos of magic, the very life blood of her planet going wild. The sensation brings new pain as she feels the torment her world is in, ripped apart by forces that should have never been put into play. But they, those Harbingers of Destruction, had now laid waste to any that could have stopped the raging magical storm. She tries to drag herself away from the carnage, but her body is still far too brocken. She looks down and, for the first time, notices her body. She screams.

At the same time, Arai nearly drops her sword, clutching the left side of her body as if to assure herself that it is there. In truth, in the darkness, its hard to tell if this re-assures her or not.

Kolobos...thats all that comes to her mind, the only word that inhabits her head. She looks to her side and sees the gruesome display that is her brother...the right side of his body gone, yet still living. She can see clearly the internal workings of his body...every pulse, every throb, and she knows...she knows that if he were to turn his head to look at her he would see the same.

Outside the crumbling walls of the Sanctum, the earth roars and the wind howls in pain. The ground shudders...and then splits. Suprisingly enough, the ruins of the Santcum remain in one undisturbed chunk as the planet Camulus explodes. This is little comfort to Aria, as it means there is no death to grant her a ceasation of this waking nightmare.

The tears flow again, accompanied by shuddering sobs. But there is an unhealthy edge to the muffled cries. A low growling that accompanies each moan. If it were not for the shadows, someone might note the throbbing of her veins...the rythmic swelling and contraction of her muscles. The beating of invisible wings moving what is left of her recently used poison around her body.

She awakes...aching, naked, and cold though she is, it is still so much better than the pain she knew before. Stumbling, she rises to her feet...both feet. She looks down at her newly formed body. For a moment its clear that something is wrong, but in the very same moment the feeling is washed away by an overwhelming sensation of loss. She falls to her knees, weeping, as she gazes in all directions, seeing the destruction of her world floating around her. Dead bodies, dead plants, destroyed buildings... destruction floats all around her like some sick nightmare. Though she yet lives, her planet is like she herself so recently was. Rent and destroyed... though she fought her hardest, she has failed both her people, and herself.

"Not again...never again!"

Light, blinding and brilliant filters through cracks in the benighted spell. The poisonous dust glitters gold in the light, clinging to wings forged from wind. Down the right side of Aria's face and body, even beneath her cloths, a starteling series of runes begins to glow originating from right eye. The entire right side of her body seems to glow white...and a similar light beams from the cracks around the edge of her eye patch. Aria no longer appears the dainty noble...indeed there is more of her brother about her as the beams of her planets suns are enhanced by the crystal moon.

The Gale of Blades roars!

With that sound the spell crumbles, weakened as it is by the magic absorbing properties of Aria's poison, it is no match for the seering Light of Tarsus or the mages will. All at once the world is awash with light. Aria, a light of her own blazing in her eyes turns her frayed senses to the source of the nightmare, hair a frenzy of movement in the sudden gale of fresh air, vermillion at her lips where she bit her tongue to keep from howling her pain and rage. The taste of her own blood fresh in her mouth, Aria Schneider appears for all intents and purposes like an angel gone mad.

"I will not forgive you. By the brilliant light of Tarsus, you will DIE THIS DAY!"

Aria draws every throwing dagger on her person and tosses them into the air. Rather than throw them at her enemy, she throws them behind her back where they are caught up in the wings of Ride the Sky. In no time at all, her wings are visible not just from the magic absorbing poison coating them, but from the many knife blades that make for metalic feathers. Now more than ever Aria appears an angel of retribution. Her wings, and her blade gleam as if afire from the reflected light.

"Feel the passion of the beast...watch her come alive. SUPERSONIC MACH FIVE!"

That as her enemies only warning, she flies at Kage at hypersonic speed. Wings of knives spread wide, the Gale of Blades has made of herself a truly deadly missle. Even if her sword does not impale him, even if not a single blinding blade rips through his flesh, the very shockwave of her passing at such immense speed will be enough to shatter bones, deafen ears, and blister flesh. Ripping through the blinding sky, there are only millaseconds in which to react.

[Toph Bei Fong]

He chanted the second phase of his technique to begin the trial of her turmoil. After several moments had passed, he could hear her screams of agony and cursing at herself and vengeful statements. He shook his head at the thought of what would become of her. He had a slight hunch that she would become berserk, but he had no idea what would become of her physically.

Several more moments had passed before the dark sphere cracked and exposed white light. As the technique is finally cracked—from a berserker state of mind--, the power of her spirit transformed her into a super being. He gave a sigh and noticed the Light of Tarsus coincidentally opened its full force. He lowered his bandana over his eyes and became temporarily blind and went down back to the surface area from where he hovered.

He stood back up and heard another spell loud spell phrase from above, toward the north-eastern side. As soon as he heard the two words “Mach Five” stringed together, he knew he so little time to react to her attack, if any time at all. Logically, Mach Five would be too powerful and fast to reach from the distance they were located. Just in case, he stood his ground and spun his blade in a spiral. He activated his void spell at ten times the normal amount of power. It became a smaller version of a black hole with about half the sucking power. It began to break the crystal ground and caused them to spiral around the void and became shrapnel. He planned to try and drive her off course and into the Crystal Mountains nearby, if his memory of the scenery served him correctly.

He felt the wind shift slightly and heard many rings and clanging sounds as if there were metallic wings attached to her back. As his aura sensors indicated that she was so very close. If she went through the portal, the other end would have the mountains to block her clear path and hopefully disrupt her speed and cause her to crash. Traveling at that high of speed could have tremendous pressure on one’s body, and if disrupted, could cause serious injury.

But with this idea of his, he would have to sacrifice his arm, from the aftershock of her speed. He did not have any qualms to sacrifice his arm, if it meant to win the bout. It would grow back after a half year anyhow.

[Anomaly]

She didn't see it, she smelt it...heard it...felt it. The vibrations of the molecules of air shift, dancing before her minds eye, as her enemy tries futiley to move to a more secure position on the ground. Her senses in over drive, Aria may be moving at speeds too quick for normal perception to work but her mind is a crackle with activity. She measures the distance between herself and her hated enemy, senses the strange spell he evokes as one used before, and notes its weakening thanks to the higher concentration of her magic absorbing poison in the lower atmosphere.

Moving as she does now, just another streak of light amid the blinding Light of Tarsus, she need not worry about her poison having any effect on herself. Kage on the other hand would find his powers weakening the longer he remained earth bound. As with the illusion spell before, this would give Aria just the edge she needs to win. Yet even so, she felt her enemy pour more power than before into his space altering spell. There had to be a weakness. Her mind opens and with her pain heightened senses she tastes the weakness in her opponents spell matrix and the vibration of the crystal shards that surround him. He relies all too much on a percieved weakness incumbent to spells of hypersonic speed, intending to cause her to crash into the landscape below. A cruel smile curling her vermillion lips, Aria murmers to herself, "Oh...well I won't disappoint him..."

Leaving a trail of burning vapor in her wake, Aria folds wings of knives around her body and plummets like a shimmering comet towards the crystal plane below. Each feather of her wing, each blade, begins to twist in the air. Her sword still stretched out in front of her, acting as a kind of nose cone turns red hot but reflects most of the heat caused by the friction of her decent. The air itself begins to spiral around the tip of Aria's sword, causing an unseen whirlwind. Her own body begins to rotate, spinning counter to the rushing blades that are enveloped in her wings.

The living missle smashes into the crystal ground with enough force to send up a sonic explosion. A significant distance below the surface, part of Aria hopes her enemy will assume she was indeed driven insane and killed herself in her own blind rage. Of course, part of her doesn't care, because there would not be much time for such assumptions anyways. Drilling through the crystal layer of Tarsus, slicing through solid rock like a bead of liquid lead through ice, Aria plummets...curves...and begins to rise again. In her passing the crystal melts, vaporizes, and builds into a volcanic discharge that builds up pressure behind her that presses her ever upwards. Beneath the feet of her enemy, where his defensive spell cannot reach lest he lose his own footing, Aria surges ever closer.

She screams...not in pain, or in fright, but instead in a haunting, blood curdling manner that cannot be muffled by the crystals all around her. It's the scream of an angery mountain cat about to slaughter an unwary enemy that has dared to set foot in her territory. Aria erupts from beneath the ground in a shower of molten crystal, blades, and flesh ripping explosions. A hellish precision strike of overwhleming force aimed precisely where her enemy stands feet formerly fimrly planted. His confident in his own strength perhaps his own undoing.