Chaos: Genesis

After Spero leaves the tower, a pair of eyes follow. This shadowy figure stalks far behind him as he takes his leave outside the city walls. This unknowing person tails Spero for quite a while but she is not as inconspicuous as she may think.

This person has been following me this whole time. I'm starting to get impatient. Just attack already.

As the moon rises high in the sky, casting a glow over the landscape, Spero finds solace next to a dying bonfire, its embers flickering into the night sky. The hunter seizes her chance, closing in on Spero, she draws her dagger, the metal glinting in the moonlight as she prepares to strike. The assassin lunges forward, however, a forceful kick pushes into her gut. She rises to her feet, a hint of pain evident in her eyes as she rubs her stomach. Her gaze pierces through the darkness.

"You were supposed to be asleep," the assassin speaks.

Spero observes her closely,

Woman, relatively small. One long dagger, curved.

With a knowing smirk, he remarks, "You're not good at hiding your Vita energy."

She takes a step back and stares at Spero.

"Who sent you?", he questions.

"I don't work for anyone." she quips.

"I see, another bounty hunter", he sighs, "Let's get on with it then."

Spero unsheathes his sword as he gets into his left fighting stance. The assassin utters a soft whisper, her words inaudible. Spero squints, focusing intently as he tilts his ear towards her, straining to catch the elusive words that escape her lips. Suddenly, a surge of green energy erupts around her feet in a swirling circle before shooting up her body in a dazzling display of power. She dashes towards Spero, he dodges her strike, his reflexes sharp as he slides to his left, narrowly avoiding her attacks. He reaches for her shirt, but she ducks down, evading his grasp. Undeterred, Spero slices to the right, but she blocks his attack. Surprised by her agility, Spero shoots his head back to avoid an impending upper slash from her dagger, a move that saves him but leaves him vulnerable to a hidden blade in her left hand that pierces his ribs. Blinking in disbelief, Spero looks down, expecting to see blood and feel the searing pain of the wound, yet there is none. Confusion clouds his mind as he stares at his opponent. Immediately after, a knife slides from her left sleeve, and she tries to stab him. Spero smacks her hand down with force, she backs up, creating enough distance, and reassesses the situation.

What the hell was that? Why did that feel so familiar?

Spero thinks to himself. He stands, perplexed, as he closely observes the woman before him. He notices the subtle movement of her chest, as heavy breaths escape her nostrils. As he contemplates his next move, the assassin whispers something under her breath again and a sudden glow surrounds her. Without hesitation, she charges towards Spero, striking with precision - first her right hand, then her left. Spero manages to block the initial attack but is taken off guard by the second blow. In a nimble move, she ducks and spins a kick towards Spero's side, but he grabs hold of her leg. To his surprise, her leg seems to fade away from his grasp. Regaining his composure, Spero looks forward as she attempts another spin kick. However, instead of aiming for his ribs this time, she redirects her kick towards his shin.

I caught her leg...didn't I?

He regains his balance and counters with a powerful front kick, pushing her back. Once again, she activates her ability.

What is she saying?

Spero eyes her closely, noticing the beads of sweat trickling down her face and neck. It was evident that her energy levels had significantly dwindled.

We just started this fight moments ago...how is she losing stamina so quickly?

Spero boldly charges ahead, thrusting his blade towards his opponent's shoulder, making contact as it pierces through. He blinks and she is not in front of him. She evaded the strike, quickly repositioning herself to his left. The assassin retaliates by cutting Spero's left shoulder. Spero steps back momentarily before surging forward, driving his knee towards her gut. She blocks the attack, standing her ground firmly. Spero grabs the back of her head, aiming an elbow strike towards her face. To his surprise, her image blurs and dissipates, leaving him confounded. The woman pushes Spero back, her body envelops in the shimmering green aura as she charges toward him. With a series of swift movements, Spero attempts to slash and slice, yet she evades each of his maneuvers.

There's no way she's reacting to all my attacks. Her fighting skills are subpar.

Spero finds himself caught in a whirlwind of shifting realities, uncertain of what is genuine and what is a mere illusion. Determined to gain an edge, Spero begins counting the passing seconds each time his opponent activates her mysterious aura.

5...6...7

1...2...3

Every 5 to 10 seconds she activates it. She creates space between us and says something, but I can't understand that damn word.

Spero's senses sharpen, he anticipates each move before it is made, as if he is drawing from a well of premonition, seeing glimpses of her attacks. The woman, her energy waning, faces Spero who now focuses on his auditory perception, hanging on every sound around him. In a moment of stillness, a faint whisper reaches his ears, carrying the word,

"Εφήμερος"

Spero fixates on her lips, thinking,

And what the hell does that mean?!

Spero evades the woman's attacks and counters while his mind races to decipher the mysterious word.

Okay, εφήμερος, it sounds like efímeros, break it down...efí - meros...εφήμερος?

Efí, efí, sounds like epí...it's Greek! Epí = ἐπί = on, upon

meros...hemeros...hemera = ἡμέρα = day...efí - meros = ephemeral = a short period of time.

That's it!

Spero clutches the woman and hurls her a couple of meters away, a smirk playing on his lips as he watches her rise once more. Just as she is about to speak, Spero intercepts, his voice joining hers,

"Εφήμερος"

"Εφήμερος"

The Greek woman meets his eyes, her expression a compelling mix of shock and disbelief.

We move back to when the assassin woman is stalking Spero. Quietly, she creeps closer and closer until she stands right beside him as he sleeps, ready to strike him down with her dagger. But to her surprise, Spero is not as defenseless as she thought, and he kicks her back. Their eyes lock in a brief yet intense exchange of words until she whispers,

"Εφήμερος"

Energy begins to gather at her feet and form into a small circle. Green vita forms from her soles and travels up her body as the light dissipates rapidly. She rushes at Spero, who manages to evade her attack by shifting to the side. He tugs at her shirt, pulls her closer, and delivers a fatal blow to her chest with his sword. WHOOSH! The assassin reappears in front of Spero clutching her dagger once more.

"Εφήμερος" she whispers again,

She charges at Spero with relentless determination. Spero quickly dodges her lethal strike once more, but this time she anticipates his move and ducks. In a split second, he adjusts his grip on his blade and executes a swift strike, cutting her throat. WHOOSH! She appears in front of Spero, dagger in hand. She thinks,

He's a lot harder to fight than I heard. This is going to take a while.

She faces off against Spero, their blades clashing in a flurry of steel. She blocks his first strike, but Spero dodges her subsequent attacks and scores a deep cut across her chest. WHOOSH! Undeterred, she recalibrates her strategy, recalling Spero's tendency to shift to her left side. With a decisive thrust, she surprises him with her hidden blade, drawing a gasp of pain as it finds its mark in his ribs. Spero seizes her wrist, overpowering her with a forceful twist that leads to a sickening CRACK as her wrist snaps. Spero extracts the knife lodged in his side and aims for her vulnerable neck. WHOOSH! She tries again, and the woman pulls the blade out just in time, aiming for Spero's ribs once more, only to have her hand deflected by his swift smack. She backs away.

What? That didn't happen last time... I stabbed him in the previous run.

Taking a moment to gather her breath, she wipes sweat from her brow and then her cheek.

I can't keep using my ability this quickly. I need to step up the pace.

She activates her ability, and she continues the duel with her bounty. Each skirmish ends with her death as she constantly resets her approach, analyzing Spero's tactics and adjusting hers accordingly. Yet, with each reset, the outcome seems to only shift slightly, keeping her on her toes.

1...2....5...8

I need to create space; my timer is about to finish.

Aware of the dwindling time on her internal clock, she manages to retreat a few paces, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling in, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she readies herself for the next round of their battle.

How the hell is he doing that? Why do his attack patterns keep changing? It shouldn't be possible!

After a few new save points and resets the assassin finds herself on the brink of exhaustion, but her determination to claim the coveted bounty keeps her going.

Okay...just a couple more times.

Her energy levels are rapidly depleting, with each inhale through her nose, she draws in the last ounces of her reserve strength. With a voice strained but unwavering, she speaks,

"Εφήμερος"

"Εφήμερος"

Spero's eyes lock onto his opponent and he smiles as they exchange identical words, a moment of eerie connection before the battle erupts. He runs forward and his fist connects with a swift punch to her face, followed by a solid kick to her hip. Grappling with ferocity, he rains down non-lethal blows upon her. The woman's expression shifts, worry creeping into her features as the countdown in Spero's mind reaches ten seconds. At this critical moment, Spero pushes her away, the force of his action sends her stumbling back. Frustration boils within the assassin as she bellows out the word, "Εφήμερος".

Energy engulfs her. Blades collide, and Spero delivers a punishing uppercut to her stomach, following through with a strike piercing her chest. Time seems to stand still as the blade slashes down her body. WHOOSH! The woman's gaze meets Spero's across a distance of a few meters. STAB! A sharp, searing pain lances through her as she looks down to see the sword embedded in her chest. In Spero's perspective, he has just completed the count and she jumps back, creating distance between them. In a heartbeat, he seizes the opportunity, flipping his blade around and launching it like a javelin, hurtling straight toward her with unerring accuracy.

The woman falls to her knees, blood spilling from her lips. In a weary and breathless tone, "How....did you...?", she struggles to speak amidst coughs and gasps for air,

Spero approaches her deliberately, a sense of accomplishment visible in his gait. "It took a sometime, but I managed to figure it out."

Kneeling before her, he meets her dimly lit eyes, "I haven't practiced my Greek in a while, but I guess it came in handy."

Her question echoes, "how?"

"Time abilities tend not to work against me", he states as he removes the sword from her chest, his stare unwavering.

She can manipulate time? How is this allowed? The Timekeeper would have prevented her from using this.... unless...those damn deities get to pick and choose.

She slumps over, blood trickling from the wound, but Spero steadies her by the shoulder, refusing to let her fall.

I need a power like this, something more, anything!

As his hand starts emitting black energy, his eyes transform into the unmistakable chaos symbol. A dark voice echoes in the depths of his mind as Spero stares down at his prey.

"DO IT!"

The assassin's eyes widen in fear as Spero places his hand on top of her head, the dark energy emanating from his palm enveloping her face. The woman's piercing screams fill the air as her vibrant green energy oozes out from every pore of her body. It flows into Spero's hand, merging with it in a pulsating dance of light and darkness. The woman's eyes dim, and her body goes limp and lifeless, collapsing to the ground. Spero inspects his hand, now pulsing with the new, potent energy that had been absorbed from the woman. A surge of power courses through him, filling his sense of strength and control.