The Poleman

Sine gasped and coughed up water, gripping at the charred grass as a handle. Sine was feeling many things, the blazing heat from the blue fire tornado next to him, pain from not being able to breathe, and... he felt natural. More natural than ever.

Sine looked at the Cryo, being able to discern much more details than he should have been able to. He felt as if he could feel everything. Smell everything. 

As if he had become one with the world.

And he could definitely feel the heat. It wasn't exactly more painful, he was just more aware of it and could discern the heat better.

And he felt much stronger as well.

Sine wiped his mouth and stood up, staring past Ariet and looking at the Cryo. Then he realized something...

'Where's my Pole?'

He looked around, but couldn't find it anywhere. He felt a panic arise in his heart, and he felt his spine.

'Ah... okay.'

He unsheathed The Pole, and started his gaze back onto the Cryo. The battle had already begun. Ariet had a forest of blue flame surrounding him, his refraction barely seen through the dense blue flame, dancing along with it. The gluttonous flame spread towards the menacing figure, the Cryo standing still and watching it as the flames sprinted towards it.

"Interesting..." The Cryo muttered as its whole body crystallized. The flames enveloped him, chipping and singing his hardened skin.

But he withstood the heat. 

A tap was heard in front of Ariet, and suddenly, the Cryo was in front of him. With a jab, it threw its arm at Ariet, who dodged and swung his almost melting sword at the Cryo. 

Missing just by a hair's breadth, the Cryo swung again, this time, sending Ariet flying backwards towards Sine.

'Whew... calm down.'

Sine started jumping up and down, stretching his shoulders. He started to lock his gaze onto the Cryo, and just as he finished his last bounce, the thing almost teleported in front of him. But Sine was ready.

With a flash, Sine met the enemies arm with The Pole, almost being sent flying back in the process. Even with his newfound senses and strength, he was simply no match for the Cryo.

As the Cryo wailed on Sine who barely stood his ground, it asked, "How did you survive the river?" It's pace increased, and Sine nearly had to rip all of his muscles just to dodge the next few blows.

"I- adapt-ed." Sine struggled to say as he defended himself, starting to build up his Cadence and find his rhythm in the battle. Ariet had finally gotten up and exploded towards him in a burst of heat.

"RAHHHHH!!!" A cry escaped Ariet's mouth as he plunged headfirst into battle. A network of flames erupted from the ground, narrowly missing Sine and only targeting the Cryo. Getting to the side of the Cryo, Ariet also started using his swordsmanship to fight alongside Sine.

And yet, they were still both getting pushed back.

"You..." The Cryo grit its teeth and quickened its frontal assault, its feet moving lightning fast and arms whipping around, slicing through flame and shallow skin alike. 

'This... is... unwinnable...' 

Sine's mind has started to race through ideas for what he could do. Maybe bait it into the river? No... Ariet's flames turn it into mist. 

'How can I live?'

...

A devious smile formed on Sine's face. 

"Ariet! Hold him off for 3 seconds!" Sine screamed as he jumped into the air. 

Ariet's skin began to blister and pop as his flames started to burst and explode, the sound of his engine revving was almost deafening to the ears. Cobwebs and networks of blue flame exploded in motion and shot towards the Cryo, who weaved and slashed through most of them.

The ones that did reach him however, did little damage. And it was starting to add up.

Just as a blur whipped towards Ariet threating to slice him across the chest, Sine plummeted downward and crashed into the arm, pinning it to the ground. He immediately jumped back as another arm whipped around and a shrill screech escaped the Cryo's mouth.

"Follow me!" Sine's muscles combusted as he dashed with all of his strength in one direction. A flurry of flames followed behind him as Ariet followed. They narrowly dodged attack after attack from the Cryo, even tanking ones that wouldn't do serious damage.

As they crashed through the forest, the space around them seemed to distort, and it started to get darker. Sparkle and glitter formed in the edges of their vision, and eventually, it seemed as if they were in space itself. 

Sine had led them to the Sin of Wrath.

Galaxies, stellar clusters, and molecular clouds seemed to possess his vision, and a strong sense of being lost filled the boy's hearts. The whipping seemed to slow down, but it still chased them.

"Why the FUCK are you approaching him!?" The Cryo shrieked as it started to get more desperate, using everything it could conjure up to kill the boys before they got too close to the entity.

But it was too late.

As swirls of nebula and a sea of stars swarmed around them, the boys tripped over universes and stumbled over cosmic clouds. Sine grabbed Ariet, and just in time. The Cryo stumbled past them and into the Sin of Wrath's proximity, causing a quake of plasmatic star matter to shatter its body, rumbling the surrounding area.

Sine's eyes turned white, and just before he passed out, he got a glimpse of the sin. 

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HE SAW IT 

HE SAW IT

The spacesuit looms impossibly tall, its metal surface rippling like liquid mercury despite being solid. The helmet is a dark sphere with a single vertical visor that seems to absorb all light that touches it. Where there should be reflections, there is only an endless void.

The joints aren't mechanical - they're organic gaps in the metal that pulse and flex like living tissue. The gloves end in unnaturally long fingers with too many joints, each digit able to bend in ways that defy human anatomy.

On its back, a nest of twisted pipes serves as the life support system, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm and occasionally emitting sounds like distant, distorted whale songs. Strange symbols that resemble star charts crawl across the suit's surface, seemingly shifting position when not directly observed.

The suit never quite stays still - not in any way you can catch it moving, but each time you look away and back, it seems to have changed position ever so slightly, as if it's only pretending to be inanimate.

Sine writhed on the ground in a scream of terror, it felt like his brain was going to shatter. He was grasping and clawing at his throat, his veins popping and his lungs tight. But somehow, he seemed to calm down. His breathing slowed, and as he began to regain his focus, he realized Ariet had been yelling his name.

"Sine!" Ariet yelled, shaking Sine. Sine sat up and looked around.

Sweat dripped down his face, his eyes erratic and pulse faster than fast. Sine was like a crazed dog, it felt like he had just touched the edge of eternity, and it touched him back. Everything didn't feel real, except for The Pole implanted in his back, which felt like he had veins with strange cosmic blood running through him and The Pole, as if they had become one.

His hands gripped his head, scratching and pulling at his hair and scalp. "What is happening what is happening what is happening-"

"Sine!" A worried and stressed look was plastered on Ariet's face, he kept looking behind himself, and would look back at Sine with more worry and concern... and fear.

But Sine wouldn't respond. Or more, he couldn't, because his brain had just been fried from the thing he had just experienced.

Ariet grit his teeth and picked Sine and threw him over his shoulder. He started to limp through the barren forest that had been wiped out from the interaction between the Cryo and the Sin of Wrath.

But somehow, the Cryo didn't perish.

For the Cryo still struggled and breathed to kill the two boys. A jumbled mess, half melting, half hard as steel. A gurgling sound escaped its lips as it crawled towards them, its legs completely obliterated.

"You -mother-Fuckers. I am going to kill the shit out of you." It inched towards Ariet, and a more desperate expression painted his face. He started to limp faster, his breathing heavy, turning into distressed cries and moans. 

He tripped over a rock, and Sine fell off his back. Seeing a chance, the Cryo started to crawl even faster. Ariet cried out in fear, and picked Sine back up and started to move as fast as he could. He had no strength in his body, no will to fight, and barely enough strength to move.