Reflections of Ruin [End]

[Khei Noh]

Ul'duin's crimson gaze remained locked on the rapidly approaching figure, but at the speed he was traveling, Aerys had become more of an echo than a physical construct. His form streaked through the sky like a comet aflame and despite his fury, Ul'duin struggled to truly trace his adversary with any real precision. But instinctively, the beast's primal mind interpreted the threat and every fiber in its massive being grew taut with anticipation.

A direct tackle. A simple approach, but a vicious one nonetheless. The beast pulled back its colossal arm across its chest , muscles coiling like steel cables as it prepared to swat Aerys from the sky like a bothersome pest.

But..

As he neared, Aerys shifted mid-flight, dipping low and cutting toward Ul'duin's flank.

With a sudden aerial twist, Aerys strafed beneath Ul'duin’s arm in a blur– his raw speed leaving the beast striking at nothing but empty air. The power from the missed attack whipped up a gale of force across the barren landscape, but Aerys remained undaunted and positioned to strike.

Without wasting his momentum, Aerys’ fiery right fist crashed into the back of Ul'duin's leg. The impact was bone-shattering, and managed to cut through Ul'duin's alabaster hide and sear the sinew beneath. And though the strike didn't sever the limb as intended, it was enough to cause his massive frame to stagger to a knee in a roar of agony.

The ground beneath them quaked in response to Ul'duin's shifting weight. Aerys’ other fist was already in motion for his subsequent uppercut, primed to rip through his foe in two steps. But the bout was far from over..

Though reeling in pain, the lumbering creature's reflexes responded with a sudden burst of speed unlike anything it'd exhibited before. Ul'duin twisted on its pivot and intercepted Aerys’ deadly punch with one of its own.

The collision was cataclysmic, and accentuated by a thunderous shockwave that unearthed slabs of terrain, flattened towers of arbor, and disintegrated loose debris in its path. Ul'duin's might was growing at an exponential rate with every blow exchanged between the two warriors. Aerys would learn this soon, for his foe did not stop there. Ul'duin's lifted his other hand over his head before bringing it scything down on Aerys' skull like a gavel. Whether or not he connected with his target, Ul'duin intended to unleash a deadly torrent of swipes and punches unto its pray with extreme prejudice.
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Current Energy Level: 40%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

As their fists collided, Aerys instantly recognized the power he was up against—a raw, primal force surging through the contact point like the blast of a supernova. His arm trembled under the pressure, and for a split second, it felt as though the very air around them had frozen in time.

The sound of their clash ruptured the heavens, sending shockwaves outward that flattened the landscape in every direction. Locked in a deadlock, Aerys’ muscles burned as he resisted the beast's raw strength and held his ground. His violet naten crackled wildly around him, but as Ul'duin pressed forward, Aerys felt an unmistakable shift in the air—a change in the beast's power.

“..are you getting stronger?”

His thoughts churned as Ul'duin's monstrous form loomed closer, forcing him back step by step, grinding him into the cracked soil below. Up close, Aerys could see the intricate lines of rage etched into Ul'duin's horrifying visage, the beast's maw gnashing and dripping with fury as it howled without pause. This creature wasn’t just fighting—it was growing, adapting to each blow, and Aerys could feel it in every fiber of his being.

But instead of being discouraged, Aerys grinned—a wild, reckless grin of someone who had found exactly what they were looking for.

“Oi, did that piss you off, mate?" he muttered through gritted teeth, adrenaline spiking with every second. His aura flared, growing denser and more vibrant as he leaned into the clash, determined to match Ul'duin's strength with his own. The energy around him crackled like an angry storm barely contained within the confines of his body.

In a split-second move, Aerys twisted his arm, using his momentum and agility to redirect the monstrous force that had been pushing against him. His body flowed like water as he slipped out of the deadlock just as Ul'duin's other fist came crashing down– narrowly missing him but tearing a massive gorge into the earth.

Seizing the opening, Aerys' eyes ignited with intensity. His aura, now a blazing inferno of violet energy, spiraled around him as he gathered the power surging within. He extended both arms toward the beast, his voice cutting through the chaos.

"Try this then!" he bellowed, unleashing a concentrated blast of molten violet flames from his palms. The inferno shot forward like a tidal wave of destructive energy, enveloping Ul'duin in an instant. The flames roared and churned, swelling with every passing second as Aerys poured more and more power into the onslaught.

The flames weren’t just meant to burn—they were a controlled tempest of obliteration, their heat so intense that the very air seemed to warp around them. Aerys wasn’t aiming for precision this time; his focus was pure, relentless output. His goal was to erase this abomination in one cataclysmic strike.

At the eye of the firestorm, Ul'duin was lost from sight, buried beneath a relentless onslaught of violet fire. Aerys, for once, didn’t hold back. He wouldn’t allow this fight to drag on any longer than it needed to.. despite how much fun he'd been having. Ul'duin had proven his worth as an opponent, but this was a test Aerys couldn’t afford to fail.

He stood there, unwavering, his arms extended, feeding the firestorm with every ounce of energy he could muster. The column of fire twisted and howled like a sentient force of nature, all concentrated on obliterating the beast within.

“Come on...” Aerys growled, his voice low but laced with a manic edge. He could feel the strain on his body, the pull of his naten stretching thin, but he wouldn’t relent. Not until he was sure—certain—that Ul'duin was reduced to nothing more than ash.

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[●●●●●××]
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[Khei Noh]

Within seconds, the entire battlefield had been swallowed by a raging storm of amethyst flames, with Ul'duin buried at the center of the destruction.

But beneath the crushing pressure of Aerys' flames, the hulking monster's body refused to be so easily extinguished. His massive arms, though scorched and blackened, were raised defensively– shielding its face from the lashing inferno. The alabaster flesh along its arms melted away, revealing raw muscle and sinew underneath, but the beast's regenerative capabilities kicked in and prevented itself from falling apart completely. Ul'duin's body absorbed the thermal energy, and most of it was directed toward desperately repairing the damage caused by Aerys’ relentless barrage.

With a caged maw, Ul'duin endured the firestorm— his monstrous frame shaking under the intensity, but his primal will refused to break. Howls of its agony soon morphed into something darker—something more focused.

Then, in a sudden, savage motion, Ul'duin's arms shot wide open, extending outward as its chest heaved. With a primal roar that could split the sky, the beast slammed his clawed hands together, generating a shockwave of otherworldly force.

The sound was deafening, a thunderclap that surged outward from the point of impact, and dispelled the torrent of flames in an violent instant. The thermal energy from Aerys’ blast was absorbed and redirected into raw concussive force that tore through the battlefield and pulverized anything in its path.

The force expanded outward with devastating speed. Entire sections of the terrain were reduced to rubble in a matter of moments. Despite his speed and elusive capabilities, the sheer magnitude of the attack made it almost impossible for Aerys to evade completely. The sound reverberated like an earthquake, its deafening pitch enough to rattle bones and rupture eardrums.

Ul'duin stood tall amidst the destruction, his charred and mutilated body slowly knitting itself back together with each grisly breath. Crimson eyes, charged with fury and determination, scanned the battlefield through the settling dust. Undeterred. He was looking for its prey. The creature that threatened its life, and he was primed to strike at first glimpse.

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Current Energy Level: 30%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

The moment Ul'duin's massive hands came together, Aerys felt the shift in the air—a tremor of power that caused the hair on the back of his neck to rise. His eyes narrowed just as the deafening thunderclap exploded outward, obliterating his towering inferno in an instant.

He didn’t have time to react, only to brace.

The force hit him like a freight train, his entire body jarred by the concussive blast. The sound itself was enough to make his ears ring and his vision blur as the shockwave roared through the battlefield, reducing the terrain to ruin.

"Shit!"

Aerys’ body twisted mid-air as the wave of destruction crashed into him. His naten flared instinctively, violet flames surrounding him in a desperate shield against the overwhelming pressure. It wasn’t enough to fully negate the blast—his body was hurled backward, thrown through the air like a rag doll. For several seconds, the world spun violently around him. He felt the violent force gnawing at his muscles, threatening to tear him apart.

Aerys fought to maintain his composure. His hands dug into the air, a concentrated blast of naten firing downward to slow his wild trajectory. Gritting his teeth, he threw out another wave of violet flame, propelling himself away from the epicenter of Ul'duin’s attack. His vision pulsed, the deafening sound still reverberating in his skull, with blood leaking from his ears.

The ground rushed up to meet him, and Aerys slammed into the fractured earth, leaving a long trench in his wake. Dust and debris clouded the air as he skidded to a stop. His vision swam for a moment before settling.

He slowly stood, gingerly wiping the blood running from his ears with the back of his hand, a smirk tugging at his lips despite the throbbing pain. He started laughing, but he couldn’t really hear his own voice beyond an incessant ringing.

"Well.. that tears it, yeah?” he muttered, stretching his neck with a soft crack, his voice rough from the force of the blow. His Tyre skin was still unscathed, but Ul'duin's sonic assault managed to rupture his insides. His violet naten flared around him again, burning brighter and thicker with sheer magnitude of excitement through his veins.

”I am sorry about this, love..”

He reflected to himself as his eyes sharpened, locking onto the hulking figure of Ul'duin through the settling dust. The beast was regenerating, its alabaster flesh knitting itself back together, the scalding burns from Aerys’ firestorm slowly fading. Despite the damage, the creature was still standing, still ready to tear him apart.

Up until this moment, Aerys was clinging to the visage of the young woman he encountered earlier. Khei Noh– was she bound by some form of curse to this creature? He tried to reflect on the brief exchange before her mutation. She didn't seem at all remorseful, but neither did she convey malefic intent. Up until now, he valued her life as he would anyone who seemed to be in danger. But now, after seeing his own blood for the first time in what felt like.. ever? Aerys was done fucking around.

“But be you a lass or a demon, I'm gonna’ really enjoy killing ya'.”

He planted his feet firmly into the cracked earth beneath him; the flames swirling wildly around him slowly coalesced tightly around his right fist in preparation for his strongest technique. His breath was measured, but inside, the thrill of battle was smoldering into a vindictive bloodlust. He would need a moment to fully charge his next attack, fully aware nothing less than maximum output would be enough to finish his opponent. So Aerys adopted a more defensive stance– his left hand just a few inches from his face, ready to respond to Ul'duin's movements.

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[●●●●×××]
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[Khei Noh]

Ul'duin’s flesh wove itself back together, each searing wound from Aerys' firestorm erasing itself with a grotesque, effortless efficiency. In moments, the alabaster skin that was scorched and battered, once again gleamed with a nightmarish vitality. The energy from the Hellgate's flames hadn’t just been absorbed—it had been devoured, metabolized, and turned into raw fuel that rippled beneath Ul'duin's pale hide. Every muscle swelled with terrifying potency, his veins pulsating with a sickening rhythm, as if the very air around him thrummed in unison.

A wet, guttural moan slipped from Ul'duin’s maw—a ghastly sough that scraped against the battlefield like the talons of some unseen horror. The air grew thick with his suffocating presence, pressing down on the world like a shadow of death itself. Everything around him seemed to smolder under the weight of that malignant aura, and soon, his malevolent gaze would find the man who dared challenge his fury.

Aerys stood amidst the ruins, blood trickling from his ears, his defiant stance unwavering despite the magnitude of the horror before him. But now, compared to the titanic force Ul'duin had become, Aerys seemed small—insignificant. It was as if a 9” god had risen from the ashes, its purpose singular: annihilation.

The battlefield groaned as Ul'duin shifted his monstrous frame, his massive legs coiling beneath him like a predatory beast ready to pounce.

Then he moved..

In an instant, the world blurred. Ul'duin, a hulking vector of destruction, surged forward with impossible speed. The ground disintegrated in his wake, vaporized by the sheer force of his acceleration. There was no elegance, no strategy—just pure, savage power as he tore through the air, aiming to punch straight through Aerys’ skull. His right fist, massive enough to sunder boulders, whistled through the air like a blade.

In that moment, there was nothing but Ul'duin's monstrous charge and the primal hunger for blood. It was clear Aerys was still reeling from that previous attack, and that inkling of vulnerability spurred on this primal charge. Coaxing the flames of his rampage.

He was the storm. He was the end.

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Current Energy Level: 25%
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[Aerys Hellgate]

Aerys stood his ground, his left hand roaring with violet flames that grew more intense with every flickering second. His right hand, poised and ready, remained steady in preparation for the inevitable.

He watched with a sharp gaze as Ul'duin's body knitted itself back together with grotesque efficiency. And even worse, the behemoth wasn’t just recovering—it was growing larger. The sickening power that radiated from him had multiplied, and despite this brief pause in their battle, Aerys saw no signs of it slowing down.

For the first time in what felt like ages, doubt flickered in his mind. The Tyre body, unbreakable as it was, did have its limits, and his reserves of Naten were teetering along the low side. The firestorm he had unleashed had done nothing but feed the monster before him. He couldn't help but wonder if his foe was truly unbeatable. But he pushed it aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. His finishing technique required time—time he didn’t have.

Then, the creature moved.

Faster than anything Aerys had ever seen, the towering brute blurred into motion. He'd become a freight train of pure destruction. Instinct told Aerys to move, to evade, but he couldn’t afford to. He needed to finish charging his final blow. There was no choice—he would have to endure the attack.

“Heh, well c'mon, then..” Aerys muttered through clenched teeth, bracing himself.

”Let's see who breaks first.”

Ul'duin’s fist came at him with terrifying speed and power, aimed directly at his skull. Aerys had only a fraction of a second to act. He raised his right arm, steeling it for the impact. The moment Ul'duin’s colossal punch made contact, Aerys’ world erupted in pain.

For the first time in his life, Aerys felt something within him break. The sickening snap of bone—his radial and ulnar—echoed through his body, accompanied by a roar of pain that tore from his throat. The force of the blow was visceral, threatening to crumple him where he stood. But he held his ground, his feet digging into the earth beneath him, refusing to be moved.

Blood leaked from his lips as he glared up at Ul'duin, eyes blazing with fury and defiance. His arm, shattered and useless, hung limply at his side, but his left hand was still ablaze, still charging with the energy he needed. "..my turn."

With a snarl of defiance, Aerys struck.

His left hand, now glowing with unimaginable power, shot forward like a spear. It wasn’t just a punch—it was a nuclear cataclysm compressed into a single, devastating blow. His fist slammed into Ul'duin’s body, the force of the impact radiating outward in a devastating shockwave. The earth beneath them liquified, the sky above them seeming to warp under the sheer intensity of the strike.

Aerys’ body trembled from the exertion, every muscle in his body straining to deliver the final, decisive blow. He'd used a similar technique once before, during his quest to become the Tyre Crown. But since then, Aerys drastically fine tuned it into something truly marvelous.

He roared through the pain, his voice shaking with raw fury and determination. He'd poured majority of what remained of Naten into the attack, so he was more than confident that at this range, this battle was over. However, should this creature somehow persist.. Aerys would be in true peril.

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[●××××××]
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[Aerys Hellgate]

Clash

[Khei Noh]

Clash

[Fate I]

The moment Aerys’ fist collided with Ul'duin’s monstrous frame, the world held its breath. Violet flames exploded outward in a blinding torrent of power, engulfing the battlefield as their clash reached a cataclysmic peak. For a fraction of a heartbeat, it was as if the universe itself recoiled from the force of the impact, and then—the explosion hit.

A soundless, blinding light radiated outward, illuminating the skies above Muu. The energy was incalculable, shaking the very crust from the planet and tearing apart the landscape in every direction. The shores of Muu were splintered into massive fissures that spread like spiderwebs for miles, their depths unknown.

At the center, the pressure was unbearable. It was as though all the wrath and chaos of nature had been compressed into one instant, unleashed upon this corner of the world with merciless finality. The concussive blast tore through both combatants, launching them backward as if they were mere leaves caught in a storm.

Aerys was ripped from the ground in a blur of light, sound, and raw force as. His body, unbreakable as it was, couldn’t withstand the tidal wave of destruction unharmed. The flames around him flickered, his naten reserves drained beyond measure, and he was swallowed by darkness even before he hit the ground.

Ul'duin’s gargantuan form was similarly blasted away– his ivory flesh seared and shattered by the very force he had recklessly absorbed. Even his resilience had limits, and the primal energy within him flickered erratically as he was thrown into the distant mountains and reverted Khei to her natural form. Although her body remained mostly unharmed, she was unconscious.

Once the explosion finally settled, silence reclaimed the battlefield, punctuated only by the crackling of scorched earth and the distant rumble of collapsing stone. The landscape, once marked by rivers and ancient trees, was reduced to a smoldering wasteland, blanketed in ash and littered with the detritus of their battle. The very air itself seemed to carry the echo of their clash, a testament to the fury unleashed upon Muu.

Aerys laid unconscious, his body buried in debris, his flames finally extinguished. Khei rested at the foot of the distant mountains, bruised and battered but alive, her breath shallow as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Miles of scorched earth separated them now, a wasteland standing testament to the terrible power of their fight.

[Qarinah]

She was watching of course.. As she said she would..

"Oh.. this simply won't do dear."

Qarinah was simply waiting for nightfall to retrieve to her new.. interest. She appeared from a blister of Shadows beneath the crumbling rock and smashed arbor. Her dress of the night was opulent and regal, intertwined with gothic themes that did not do well when covered with dust. She did her best to keep the seams from dragging along the ground, but nothing else but hovering seemed to do the trick. "Well, you really put on show, huh?"

She appeared just above Khei's unconscious body. Her ragged breathing slowly drawing level as rest returned her strength. "Awuh, gone and tuckered yourself out?" Qarinah could tell she'd grown stronger since their last rendezvous, despite the rather compromising situation she'd seemed to have found herself in.

"I see you found yourself a friend?" She said, gingerly caressing Khei Noh's face before the two of them were enveloped in a ring ebon flames. "You'll have to introduce me." She said as she gazed eerily in Aerys' direction before the pair of women were enveloped in a vanished orb of darkness.