XCEL

“You are the weakest of all!”

Gus Ishimatsu struck the phenomenon dead-on. A blinding flash momentarily turned the night sky to day. Seconds later, a sonic boom shattered the glass at the top of the Skytree. Ashinaga, a literal skyscraper, teetered back from the force. The impact had driven a crater into the entity’s front, spiralling shatter patterns splintering the phenomenon’s ethereal body like glass.

Hanging motionless in the air, Gus pulled himself upright. His fist bruised and smoking from the exertion. The attack had landed, but Ashinaga had not fallen. The titan had righted itself, but did not retaliate. That cold, bony mask had no expression, yet still it pitied him. Infuriating. Worse still, the wound he’d inflicted had already started to regenerate. The cracks his punch had driven into Ashinaga’s smooth, thread-woven exterior were starting to disappear, a certain flow of the nebulous psychic energy buffing out the dent until no trace remained.

“You managed to reach me.” Ashinaga stated. “I’m surprised. Nothing has ever been able to reach me before, but no matter. Do you really expect to defeat a phenomenon with strikes alone? I am made of psychic energy itself. My regeneration is absolute. You cannot kill me in any way that matters.”

“The more you look down on me, the more humiliating your death will be.” Gus wiped a bead of sweat from his cheek. He looked down at the great height that stretched out beneath him, and grinned. “Have you noticed yet, Ashinaga? I’m standing in the air.”

“Curious. You possess powers of levitation in addition to supernal strength.”

“That’s not it. Seems you fundamentally misunderstand. Don’t worry; I will give you a chance. It would be cheating to reveal my Specialty so early on.”

“How arrogant. You will not get that same chance.” From within the dark, empty pits in Ashinaga’s bone-white mask glowed piercing pinpricks of white.

Origin of Falling, Technique Release

落下ノ原始、術式開放 Rakka no Genshi, Jutsushiki Kaihō

Heavy Hold

重掴 Jūkaku

A spectral hand appeared around Gus, crushing him in its grasp.

“Gravity is a symptom of falling,” boomed Ashinaga. “All objects in this universe possess mass. Mass attracts mass; all mass falls towards one another. I am Lord of the Fall. No matter how you try and resist, you will fall at my decree.”

Heavy Hold: Hurling

重掴「扔」 Jūkaku・Jō

The hand flung him with otherworldly force at the spire of the tower behind him. Concrete and metal was no match for this incredible inertia. Gus smashed against the pillar like he’d fallen from thousands of feet. Ashinaga’s assault did not end there. Still barely able to hold out against his restraints, the hand’s tight grasp lifted Gus upward—a slow, tantalising ascent—before smashing him through the observation deck. The phenomenon did not relent, dragging Gus down further still. The din of smashed glass and concrete filled the air. The hands repeatedly threw Gus against the building without reprieve. The assault ended after far too long. Gus was left embedded in the wall, cut and bruised all over, shards of glass extruding from his skin. Another symbol carved itself into the man’s back, and his eyes opened.

“Have you finished your temper tantrum yet?” Gus pulled himself from the wreckage and dusted the glass from his skin. “Your attacks are repetitive, and elementary. Consider me both bored and disappointed.” Thrusting his hand into the concrete, Gus hung from his hold and let his psychic energy crackle and flow, before launching himself upwards parallel to the building. A vertical eagle, he soared, before bursting back up through the observation deck. Slowing once he reached his prior elevation, Gus resumed his fighting stance and beckoned tauntingly with one hand.

“I thought you were going to make me fall. Why don’t you try again?”

Ashinaga’s bellows echoed like a thunderclap.

Heavy Hold: Crushing

重掴「握拉」 Jūkaku・Akura

Another spectral hand materialised, seizing Gus and holding him in place. Another giant pair then manifested above and below him. The fingers closed inwards, completely eclipsing him from view. The hands then violently scrunched inwards, compressing all matter into an infinitesimal space.

That’s what should have happened.

A force within, however, prised apart the fingers. With a guttural yell, Gus broke free from attempted capture. Their attack voided, the hands dispelled.

“My turn.”

Gus kicked off the air behind him, launching into a furious charge at Ashinaga’s face. The deity rose a little higher in the sky, spiting the man who simply could not. That didn’t matter. Gus delivered a mighty flurry of blows, a furious assault that split juddering cracks into the phenomenon’s body like ceramic. Those constricting hands tried to restrain Gus, but to no effect. The phenomenon’s wounds began to heal from the abundant psychic energy, but Gus kept attacking—determined to out-damage its healing factor, or push it beyond such a crucial threshold.

Just as Gus was about to land his next punch, the air in front of the gigantic body shimmered in a haze.

Antefall: Strider

落下前「ストライダー」 Rakkazen・Sutoraidā

Gus’ eyes widened, as the distance between him and Ashinaga had abruptly lengthened. His punch—mid-throw—missed its mark.

“Your power defies logic,” stated Ashinaga from a safe distance. “First, you ignore the Pathless, and now, Heavy Hold.”

“I am ignoring nothing. Do you know the secret to boxing, Ashinaga?” Gus asked. “I’ll tell you: it’s adaptability.” Psychic energy coursed over the man’s skin, surging around him in a raging torrent.

“Strength is meaningless without form. If you are unable counter the flow of your opponent and break their resolve, no matter how mighty a fighter, the moment you enter the ring, you have already lost. I will say this much: my strength is mine alone.”

“No mortal has ever reached me before. I have encountered your Specialty before. Your predecessor was unable to defeat me, he was unable to even touch me. What makes you any different?”

“My predecessor was a fool.” A bolt of lightning struck the top of the Skytree, enshrouding all of Gus in that moment except for the gleam of his smile. “He didn’t understand anything of the power he wielded. The fact I’m able to both reach and harm you should tell you everything.”

Gus Ishimatsu’s confidence was so absolute, he felt no need to divulge his Specialty. In truth, his strength is all his own. Overpower only modifies the flow of his psychic energy. A key to a lock; a substrate to an enzyme: for every function, there’s an equivalent counter to cancel it out. Overpower counters any psychic ability by directly modifying the user's psychic energy flow in response to an external force. It carves an exact counter into the soul, not nullifying but creating a new attack blueprint, allowing Gus to overwhelm any opponent with his superior strength.

No attack had hit Ashinaga before Gus' first punch due to the phenomenon's Origin of Falling, specifically Antefall: Pathless (落下前「遠距離」 Rakkazen・Enkyōri). As a primordial phenomenon, Ashinaga’s domain of “The Fall” extends to everything related: the sky and heavens, gravity, the concept of space itself. Antefall: Pathless expands an infinite distance between Ashinaga and everything else. By carving a counter-flow into his soul, Gus surpassed that infinite distance in an instant.

“Enough.” Ashinaga’s eyes gleamed a powerful white. “I will show you the true depth of your arrogance in a form that will make you understand.”

Bone splintered with a sickening crack, and Ashinaga’s head snapped to the side. It rotated in place—a horrifying and slow revolution—until it was upside down.

Mindscape: Inverted Umbrella Paradox

虚廟「裏傘矛盾」 Koyashiro・Urakasa Mujun

The world abruptly turned on its head. The vast expanse of the night sky stretched below him, and the ground he detested replaced the firmament. Gus Ishimatsu felt the strangest sensation, overcome by the inertia of his own weightlessness. Pitching back, the man plummeted headfirst into the infinite abyss. For the first time, he truly embraced the feeling of the Fall.

It was true. Gus had never understood what it truly meant to Fall. That was how he was able to stand and move in midair. That was a counter he had carved into his soul long ago. By channelling his psychic energy into a flow that allowed him to pull on the air itself as a tactile surface, he had long since overcome the force pulling him down. He had overpowered gravity itself. The guaranteed effectiveness of a Mindscape was something different, however. The ground drew away from Gus as he fell further still. The pinpricks of light from the Tokyo’s buildings grew distant. His only surrounding was the moon, and a sea of darkness. He couldn’t afford to try and Overpower this ability until he knew exactly. This was the sole caveat to his ability. Once a counter had been carved into his soul, it was impossible to modify. Sometimes, guesswork was necessary. In this instance, however, failure to understand the technique’s true nature could prove fatal.

Ashinaga, in all his omnipresence, stretched down infinitely into the sky. His was a form that had no true height, for he was height itself. That cruel mask looked down at Gus from its ever-increasing point of vantage, as Gus had no choice but to fall. A booming tone rang out through the sky.

Heavy Fist: Strike

重揕「伐」 Jūken・Batsu

Another immense spectral hand, clenched this time into a fist, came crashing down from the inverted heavens and struck him directly in the chest. Gus grit his teeth. The shock made his ears ring. The blow sent him careering through space, tumbling amid the turbulence. Then came a rising uppercut into the centre of his spine, followed by a powerful knock to the side of his face.

Heavy Fist: Battery

重揕「殴常」 Jūken・Nagutsune

What followed was a sequence of agony, as Ashinaga’s fleet of ephemeral fists sunk blow after blow into the man. There were so many, Gus lost count. The force from every blow echoed through his body like gunshot—powerful, condensed psychic energy the likes of which he had never felt before. It hurt. Every single hit was a blow to his pride. Worse still, he couldn’t even react. He had no foothold, no vantage. His prior counter to Heavy Hold had no effect. That meant Heavy Fist was another type of attack. It made sense; this was his Mindscape. Gus only wondered how long he would have to fall before he hit the barrier.

Further he fell, and still the hits kept coming. Gus felt himself thrown around, battered and bruised, until he had lost track of time. Surely he had to have hit the barrier by now.

Was there no barrier? Would he simply keep falling forever?

Gus’ eyes widened. This was bad. If there was no end to this torment, even his endurance had limits. He had to act, before he was weakened by one blow too many. First, he’d have to carve a new counter. These attacks were linear, but fast, hard-hitting and numerous. Gus winced, another symbol carved itself into his back. It was impossible to get used to this pain; each carving came with a completely new sensation. When the next punch came hurtling towards the back of his head, Gus twisted in midair. Catching the next fist in one hand, he countered with a punch of his own. His blow shattered the spectral hand, ended the relentless battery.

“Is that all?” Gus asked. “I was beginning to fall asleep.”

“You continue to adapt to my attacks. Your persistence is impressive.”

“I see it now. Your Mindscape is like Yoha’s: no barrier. Such a divine technique. Fitting, for a phenomenon. If I do nothing, I will keep falling forever. You’ve had enough time to make your point. I’ve run out of patience.”

Overpower

圧倒 Ōbāpawā

Psychic energy crackled around Gus. A third counteraction carved itself into his soul. The energy cycled around his shoulders in blurring reams, exploding outwards in a burst of static. Immediately, Gus ceased to fall. Supported by the air itself, he stood upright. The battery had taken its toll. Gus’ chest heaved with exertion, covered in bloodied bruises. The man supported his weary stance with one hand on his knee.

Ashinaga, at last, descended through the skies until its face loomed ten metres above Gus. “Your adaptation extends even to the effects written into a Mindscape?!”

Gus’ triumphant smirk returned in full force. "At first, I thought your Mindscape merely flipped the world upside down, relying on gravity to pull me into the sky. That couldn't be; I have already countered gravity's pull. Instead, your Mindscape’s ability emulates a reversal. What I experienced couldn't be gravity; I fell away from the ground. Therefore, I had to carve an a counter that guaranteed force specifically. That detail alone was crucial."

“No wonder both your reserves and output of psychic energy are so formidable.” Ashinaga almost sounded impressed. “The depth of your mind complements your physical form.”

“Are you scared?” Gus taunted. “You are rapidly running out of ways to crush me. I will endure everything you have to throw at me, and I will succeed.”

Ashinaga was unfazed. “Do you think that your ability to adapt alone gives you a fighting chance?”

“I do not think. I have always known.”

Psychic energy charged around his fist. The next moment, the world abruptly flipped right-side up. Gus looked down. He was so far up, the entirety of Tokyo was laid out beneath his feet. The air was thin and cold, whipping at his skin, bruised, carved and bloodied. No longer below him, the moon hung in its rightful place, eclipsed by the primordial phenomenon of the Fall. Its glow framed Ashinaga’s pale mask in a mournful white halo.

“Dispelling your Mindscape already?” Gus clenched his fists. “I don’t blame you. It would only be a waste of psychic energy. What will you try next, O King of the Heights?”

Heavy Fist: Battery

重揕「殴常」 Jūken・Nagutsune

The ethereal fists materialised and resumed their assault. Gus pulled himself through the air, landing hit after devastating hit, countering the spectral punches before they could leave a dent. His flow had grown even stronger, racing through his entire nervous system in a synchronous current. With every counter, he drew closer and closer to Ashinaga. However, the moment he approached, the towering phenomenon widened the distance once more with Strider.

“Reasoning with you through any means is futile,” Ashinaga’s voice was the howl of the wind. “Reach no further, Gus Ishimatsu. You will never reach high enough to truly vanquish me. The harder you try and escape the inevitable, you will only fall for longer.”

“I won’t let you run away from me!”

Gus let out a roar, a fourth adaptation carving itself down his arms. Overpower didn’t let him carve a counter just in response to an external force. Gus could also devise counters of his own design. These were more difficult. He needed to conceptualise exactly what he needed. If he didn’t get the mental image right, he would have wasted the psychic energy entirely. The rain of heavenly hands never stopped. Ashinaga remained towering, just out of harm’s reach.

Gus needed to close the gap. Psychic energy coursed through his arms, and he imagined clutching two volumes of space in between his hands. His fingers flexed and dug into space itself. Gus let out a furious yell, bringing his hands inwards. The muscles in his chest twitched and flexed with the strain. The space resisted, but his sheer force of will prevailed. Clapping both hands together, a monstrous sound echoed throughout the airborne battlefield.

The adaptation was complete.

“Son of man, the flow of your psychic energy has changed once more. What did you just do?”

Gus let out a booming laugh. “I devised my own counter. You intend to exhaust me, run me out of psychic energy. You are a coward! I will tear your body asunder. I will shatter every last inch of that mask, such that you will never look down on me again!”

“Such hubris.”

Ashinaga projected a thousand more hands, all of which converged on Gus at the same time. Gus struck one of the floating hands, plunging his hands into the crevice made by the punch and tearing it apart with enough force to dispel all the rest. Kicking off the air behind him, Gus shot through the sky. His psychic energy exuded a gigantic, terrifying aura: a truly titanic figure. As he neared, Gus raised his fist. Ashinaga’s form blurred, as Strider took effect once more. However, the man’s grin only widened.

Ishimatsu Style: Instant Blitz

石松流「一忽躐」 Ishimatsu-Ryū・Ikkotsuryō

Gus bridged the hundred metre gap between him and Ashinaga just like that. There was no movement, no rush of air, no sonic boom. For, it wasn’t Gus that had moved. His adaptation allowed him to grasp and fold the fabric of space in on itself like material, allowing him to pull himself to a distant point in space instantly. Now, the man above men hovered just in front of Ashinaga’s bone-white mask, pure menace etched into every line in his face. The hum of his psychic energy, coursing through his fist, exploded into a roar,; the next instant, silence. The surrounding area distorted, as a metric tonne of space rushed inwards, weaving itself around Gus Ishimatsu’s tightly clenched hand. He threw his punch.

Void Fist: Singularity

虛空藏拳「一点載衝」 Kokūzōken ・ Itten Saishō

Cataclysm. A supernova explosion, condensed at a single point, conflagrated with a tremulous boom. The shockwave resonated not just throughout the air, but through the space between dimensions. The impact obliterated not just Ashinaga’s mask, but the entirety of his head. Splintering cracks ran down the towering phenomenon’s infinite form, chipping and drifting away into dust.

Gus Ishimatsu remained the sole survivor. The entirety of his right arm was numb, bruised to a pulp from the impact. Blackened and burned, it dangled, limp, from his shoulder. The man heaved for breath with all his might. Straightening himself as much as his bruises would allow, the warrior surveyed his new dominion of the sky. The man took a deep breath, and stretched both arms out to the side to embrace the freezing winds. His face relaxed, as did the muscles tensed in his back and arms. The cold bit at him now, the adrenaline of battle fading. He had overexerted himself. The Tyrant’s influence was starting to creep in. Furthermore, the lack of oxygen at such extreme altitude was starting to take its toll. His vision began to swim.

A scowl etched onto his face like the myriad of counter scars in his back. “Cowardly bastard,” He swore, the tendons in left hands straining with how hard he clenched his fists. “You take me up here, only to make sure that the first thing I do is fall. How ironic. I may have destroyed you, but it seems even I cannot kill you in any way that matters. For now. Have it your way, Ashinaga!” He cried. “Here I stand, and only here shall I…”

Gus Ishimatsu’s voice died in his throat. His eyes blanked. Reaching upwards one last time, he relinquished his foothold in the air. Teetering backwards, he finally accepted his Fall. The wind rushing past his face, he plummeted back down towards the Tokyo he had tried so hard to rise above and escape.

No longer cursing the ground, the CEO of JPRO stared straight up into the heavens, and cursed that false god that hid among the stars.