Reflections of Ruin [End]

[Khei Noh]

Khei closed her eyes for a moment, struggling against the weight of exhaustion. Every breath burned in her chest, and her body felt like lead, but she pushed the pain aside. She had to figure out who this man was, where he was taking her—and why he hadn't killed her yet.

“I said... let me go,” she repeated, this time with a little more fire in her tone, though her voice still wavered with weakness. "Now."

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Current Energy Level: 40%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

Aerys didn’t respond right away, but he did take into a account her agitation. He adjusted his grip slightly, his arm shifting to ensure she wouldn’t slip from his hold. “Oh, that’s not happenin’, love.” he replied, glancing down at her again with a mix of amusement and calm.

“You’re in no shape to go anywhere on your own.. And you're certainly not in any position to be barkin' orders. So how 'bout you just relax, eh? We’ll be landin’ soon enough.”

His voice carried easily over the winds, steady and confident. Far ahead, the continent of Muu came into view, a thin strip of land barely visible against the dark expanse of sea and sky.

[Khei Noh]

Khei’s eyes narrowed, a flicker of defiance breaking through the fog of her exhaustion.. She wanted to fight, to force him to release her, but her muscles refused to obey, stiff and unresponsive beneath the weight of fatigue. It was too soon. Her body was still recovering, and she could barely manage to keep her eyes open, let alone summon the strength to defend herself. This is precisely why she needed to invest in some sort of weapon..

Still, she wasn’t about to be carted off like some helpless prisoner.

“Listen…” Her voice was a strained whisper, each word feeling like a weight she had to drag from her throat. “I don’t know who you are… but you don't know what you're getting yourself into.” Her eyes met his, sharp despite the exhaustion clouding her senses. “I don’t want to hurt you, okay? So do us both a favor... and just drop me in the ocean, yeah?”

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, though it lacked the energy she’d usually wield with such sarcasm. She didn’t have the strength to follow through on her threat, but the fire in her words was unmistakable, even as her body betrayed her.

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Current Energy Level: 45%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

"The ocean? Is she serious?"

Aerys let out a low chuckle, the sound barely audible over the rushing wind. "The name's Aerys Hellgate. Charmed, I’m sure." His voice carried an easy confidence, tinged with a faint edge of amusement as his gaze briefly flicked down to her. "And I'm pretty sure I know who you are, Khei Noh Niyotomi"

He adjusted his grip slightly, ensuring her weight was balanced as they soared through the night sky. "The Okasha, right? The Vector Of Ruin, The Destroyer of Dabih’r." He paused for effect, the titles rolling off his tongue with deliberate care. "Your poster was plastered with all manner of fancy names. For such a little thing, you’ve managed to build yourself quite the reputation."

His eyes lingered on her for a moment, studying her with an expression that hovered somewhere between curiosity and caution, though it was hard to read fully. "I've recently earned a title myself– one that makes me responisble for protecting those people you decided to slaughter."

His tone shifted sharply, the warmth drained from his voice, replaced with something far more frigid. Even his smirk took on a harder edge, though it. never entirely. “So if you think I’m lettin’ you go after all the chaos you’ve caused, you’re sorely mistaken, love. You've got a trial to face, and no amount of pleadin' is gonna' change that.”

[Khei Noh]

Khei’s released an exasperated sigh. Her mind raced with Aerys’ words echoing in her ears– the titles he had thrown at her like a list of crimes:

The Vector of Ruin, Destroyer of Dabih’r, The Okasha.

“God.. such a shit name.” She mumurmed lightly. She could practically feel the weight of the accusations pressing down on her chest, but it wasn’t guilt that infected her veins—it was adrenaline. Survival instinct in its rawest form. If Aerys truly knew what Khei was capable of, then he was either shockingly brave or a hubristic fool for thinking he could carry her off like some helpless prisoner.

But she wasn’t helpless. She had never been.

Her thoughts hardened, cutting through her exhaustion. She wasn’t some bounty to be carted off and paraded in front of a trial. She'd never been arrested before, let alone subjected to the mercy of peers. And today would be no different. The destruction of Dabih’r wasn’t something she wanted to relive—least of all in the presence of those who would demand retribution for something they wouldn't understand. No, if she was going to face her past, it would be on her terms, not theirs.

Khei's eyes flicked with a crimson hue as they scoured the endless expanse of ocean beneath them, the dark waves churning far below. The two of them had to be at least a thousand miles from the shores of Muu, which meant she couldn’t swim back even if she wanted to. But that didn’t matter. Her way out didn’t involve swimming.. not exactly anyway.

Ul'duin stirred within her, his presence faint but undeniable. She could feel his latent power begin to return, gradually regenerating following his defeat of the Sunderer. She felt.. stronger–more connected to him than ever before. Still, Khei never learned how to trigger her transformation without.. well, dying first or suffering some injruy. And while Aerys seemed plenty capable, he didn't seem like the type to brutalize an unarmed woman. That meant she had to take matters into her own hands.

Her gaze narrowed into fine slits, her thoughts coalescing into a single, reckless plan. She knew she couldn’t fight him in her current state—but she wouldn't need to. All Khei had to do was make him drop her.

She’d surely drown on account of her fatigue, which would trigger Ulduin to awaken fully. He would save her life, and show this wanna be super hero what happens when you go hunting for real monsters.

Khei focused on the feel of his arms holding her, his grip tight but relaxed. He wasn’t expecting any kind of fight—he likely thought she was too weak, too drained to do anything but submit. That arrogance would be his mistake.

Khei braced herself, suppressing the scream of pain from her exhausted muscles as she gritted her teeth and tensed her muscles– waiting for the right moment. “Fine... I fuckin’ warned you.”

With the last of her strength, she lunged. Her head twisted toward his shoulder, and she bit down—hard. Her teeth sank into his flesh with all the force she could muster, the salty tang of skin filling her mouth as she clamped down. She bit deeper, not caring about anything else but making him lose his grip. If she could shock him, even for a split second, it would be enough.

The wind roared in her ears, but all Khei could think was: Drop me.

And as soon as he did, the ocean would greet her, and Ulduin would rise.

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Current Energy Level: 50%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

Aerys felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder and looked down in confusion. He had barely noticed the motion, but when he glanced at Khei, it became clear what she was trying to do. Her teeth were clenched around his shoulder, her eyes filled with desperation, fury, and sheer determination.

For a split second, he was surprised. Then the reality of it hit him.

It didn’t hurt. In fact, it didn’t feel like much of anything. Her bite, though fierce, was met with the natural resistance of his skin—hardened to a near-unbreakable state by the enchantments that came with being a Tyre Hellgate. His body was practically indestructible, his skin harder than steel or diamond until his naten, the essence that fueled his power, was completely drained.

He frowned, staring down at her as if she’d just done something nonsensical. "Are you... biting me?" His voice carried a note of disbelief, an almost bewildered amusement at her futile attempt.

A crack echoed through the wind as Khei’s teeth either broke or her jaw gave way against the resilience of Tyre flesh. Aerys’ arrogance flared up, conceit dripping from every word as he shook his head. “Gotta’ hand it to ya’, though. That’s a new one. Bold, feisty, but stupid mate. My skin's a bit harder than your average shmoe’.”

But his gaze softened once he'd seen the amount of blood leaking from her mouth, and instantly he felt encumbered by a wave of pity. “Oi, that's gotta hurt. Look.. I know you're desperate, tired. I get it alright? But trust me when I say, there are worse things than owning up to what you've done.” With that, Aerys adjusted his grip– certainly vigilant to any more of Khei's escape plots.

"Now, no more crazy plans, yeah? No reason in hurtin' that darlin' face of yours anymore."

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[Khei Noh]

Blood flooded Khei’s mouth, the sharp, metallic taste instantly overwhelming her senses as she pulled back in shock. Pain exploded through her jaw, blinding and searing, radiating upward like a red-hot blade. She hadn’t expected this.

“A-agh—”

Her breath came in ragged gasps, the words dying in her throat as her shattered teeth throbbed painfully. Khei hadn't known about Aerys' enchanted skin and how biting him would be as futile as gnawing on solid stone.. Luckily, the pain from breaking her jaw against his shoulder was enough to trigger her plan anyway.

If she could laugh at him, she would.. but the pain was excruciating–spreading from her fractured mandible throughout her entire being like a bolt of lightning. She barely had time to process it before the deep, primal force within her awakened in response.

Ul'duin stirred.. and soon Aerys’ unbreakable body would meet the crucible of The Devourer's incalculable might.

The transformation hit like a tidal wave. Khei's muscles convulsed violently as her body began to morph. Her bones cracked and shifted, sinew and skin stretching as she expanded within Aerys' grip. Her skin lost its warmth as it hardened to an alabaster shell. Her limbs grew longer, with thick cords of muscle bulging from beneath her flesh.

She could feel Aerys’ arms tightening around her, struggling to maintain his hold as her entire frame swelled against the very limits of her human form.. What was once a woman in his grasp was now an unstoppable, growing, thrashing behemoth.

With a deafening roar that shattered the night sky, Ul'duin fully emerged in a new form following absorbing A'maroth. He flexed one of its monstrous arms– thick as a tree trunk and corded with otherworldly might, and swung it backward toward Aerys. The sheer force behind the blow was capable of ripping the salty ocean waters into the clouds should it connect with its target.

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Current Energy Level: 40%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

"Oh fuc—!"

The air whistled with lethal intent as the back of Ulduin's fist swung directly at him. Aerys barely had time to comprehend what was happening before it collided with his chest– And the force behind it was incomprehensible. It felt as if a comet had struck him, a godlike blow that sent him hurtling into the watery abyss. His body, built like an indestructible fortress, withstood the brunt of the strike, but even he was shocked by the sheer power the creature unleashed.

For a moment, everything was chaos.

The world spun; water and air blending together as he plummeted from the sky, and then— the impact. The ocean slammed into him, the darkened waters splitting apart with an earth-shattering crash. The surface exploded outward, sending massive waves lurching toward the skies, as if the tides themselves recoiled from the force. Aerys sank deep beneath the waves, dazed but unharmed. He could feel the crushing weight of the ocean, threatening to drag him down to the depths, but his body, his enchanted flesh, remained unscathed.

Still, his mind reeled.

The speed, the power—it was like nothing he'd ever encountered. He had felt the force of titanic strikes before, but nothing had prepared him for this. If not for his unbreakable body, Ul'duin would have splattered him across the ocean like a gory mess of broken bones and blood. Aerys floated for a second, his senses returning to him in the dark depths of the sea.

“So.. this is the beast that destroyed Dabih'r.”, he thought, a cold realization that tightened his fists into weapons.

He hadn’t known what Khei Noh was, not truly. And he was skeptical at first that she was truly at fault for the things he'd heard.. But now, seeing her like this—her monstrous transformation, her overwhelming strength—he could infer just how dangerous she was. He could feel it in every fiber of his being. She wasn’t just a rogue fugitive; she was a walking calamity, a living weapon capable of bringing entire cities to ruin.

And she had to be stopped.

“Al'right, lass. Gloves off, then.”

With a sudden surge of determination, Aerys’ eyes began glowing with fierce, unrelenting energy. The ocean around him began to ripple and bubble as his power flared. He clenched his fists, his entire form lighting up in an amethyst-colored blaze. The water boiled around him, steam rising as his resolve returned, magnified a hundredfold. He wasn’t just going to fight her now—he had to eliminate this thing before it had the chance to obliterate another city.

Propelled by sheer will and unmatched power, Aerys shot upward, bursting through the ocean like a fiery meteor. His entire body was wreathed in molten amethyst flames, burning hot enough to vaporize the very water around him. The night sky blistered bright with energy as he flew, faster than any projectile, faster than thought, an unstoppable force streaking toward the falling behemoth.

He saw Ul'duin now, massive and lumbering, plummeting toward the ocean with all the grace of a falling mountain. The beast couldn’t fly—that much was obvious—but it didn’t matter. Aerys wasn’t going to let it touch the water again.

His speed increased, the ocean beneath him boiling into steam as he violently streaked toward his target. He was trying to kill her in one blow, and hoped his flames were hot enough to incinerate the pieces of meat that would fall from the skies afterward.

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[Khei Noh]

Aerys' fist collided with Ul'duin’s massive form with earth-shattering force, the likes of which generated a deafening shockwave that rippled through the realm like an invisible storm. The impact sent the beast hurtling across the sky, its colossal body carving a blazing trail through the starlit canvas as it plummeted toward the continent of Muu.

The crash into the distant landmass was nothing short of cataclysmic. The ground quaked violently, splitting open as Ul'duin was driven deep into the planet's crust–reducing the surrounding landscape to a wasteland of rubble and dust. But the creature wasn't dead yet..

Slowly, with an inhuman growl rumbling from in its hollowed chest, Ul'duin rose from the bedding of debris, its hulking silhouette framed by the twisted wreckage of the land it had crashed into.

Aerys’ strike had torn through the creature’s alabaster hide, gouging a deep, gaping wound in its abdomen. Flesh and muscle were shredded, exposing threads of raw tissue beneath—yet even as the wound gaped, it could be seen knitting together with unsettling speed. Bones snapped back into place, and torn skin stitched itself together as if Ul'duin’s regeneration worked in terrifying harmony with its monstrous hunger. But in truth, it was the kinetic energy from Aerys' strike that fueled its repair.

Blood dripped from the still-healing gash in its abdomen, sizzling with a putrid steam that distorted the very air.

The creature’s eyes glowed a deep, hellish red, radiating with the energy it had drawn from its assailant. Despite the thousand miles of ocean and sky separating them, Ul'duin’s gaze never wavered from its target. They were locked unto Aerys with a predatory intensity, piercing through the distance as if the Hellgate was standing directly in front of it. The beast’s vision wasn’t limited by space or obstacles—no, it saw energy, the pulsing naten coursing through its prey like a beacon, and it fixated on him with a lust born from battle.

Ul'duin’s chest swelled as it inhaled deeply, and then, with a roar that echoed across the continent, it unleashed its wrath. The sound was more than just a war cry—it was a force in itself, a primal release of power so devastating that the surrounding terrain liquefied under its intensity. Trees disintegrated, rocks dissolved into molten slag, and the very air seemed to warp under the weight of the sound as Ul'duin prepared for a counter attack.

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Current Energy Level: 45%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

The air quivered with the force of Ul'duin’s roar, the sheer power of it vibrating deep in Aerys' chest even from miles away. He hovered in the sky, surrounded by a shimmering haze of violet naten, blistering around him like an aura of raw fury. His breath was steady, but the shock of what had just occurred was still sinking in.

“Huh.. you're not supposed to still be breathin' after that..” He murmured, his eyes narrowing toward where the creature crash landed. Aerys knew how strong he was.. A Tyre's fists alone were capable of reducing entire mountains into dunes of rubble, which was why he was confident that his last blow should have tamed the beast. Yet there Ul'duin was, with his rage and defiance stirring up a literal storm along the coast of Muu.

For the first time today, Aerys fully understood how Dabhir had been obliterated– despite Khei Noh's delicate appearance, she harbored truly hellish might.

The Hellgate's body, though unbreakable, still throbbed with the aftershock of Ul'duin's attack.. He knew that if not for the enchantments binding his flesh, that punch would’ve splattered him across the ocean in a chunky mist of blood and viscera.

Still, Aerys’ confidence hadn't faltered. If anything, the unique caliber of his opponent ignited something deeper inside him. He relished the challenge, the adrenaline surging through his veins. But from what he learned from his first attack, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe brute strength alone would topple this monstrosity.

He was going to need to be creative.

“Okay, okay, how about we try that again, eh?” Aerys muttered under his breath, smirking as a plan began to take form. “Only this time, ya’ won't be gettin' back up.”

With a burst of power, Aerys shot forward, the air cracking like thunder in his wake. His speed was beyond comprehension, his body leaving an afterimage as he blazed toward Muu. The water below parted violently, creating a trench beneath him as the sky seemed to warp under the velocity of his approach.

The distance between them melted in moments. He could see Ul'duin’s glowing eyes were still locked onto him, their crimson depths burning through the night with a hunger that sent a chill crawling up Aerys' spine. He knew one thing for sure: he couldn’t give the Khei– or whatever it was she became, the time to fully recover.

As he neared, he shifted mid-flight, dipping low and cutting toward Ul'duin's flank. The amethyst flames swirling around him concentrated along his arm like a sleeve as he drew back his fist. The moment he was within striking distance, he unleashed it, aiming for Ul'duin's knee joint with the intent to sever the limb entirely.

The force of the blow ripped through the air with a boom before Aerys ever made contact. His eyes were wide, trembling with anticipation. The first time he struck this creature's hide it felt as if he were punching against solid crystal, diamond quartz or some mixture of flesh and stone. But none of them were stronger than he, and Aerys intended to sear that truth into his enemy's mind forever.

Should he succeed in dismembering Ul'duin's leg, or even crippling it, Aerys would use the momentum from that initial strike to combo into a deadly uppercut with his other fist into the creatures center mass.

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