I am tired.
I don't know why, but I feel truly tired.
If there's a bright side to any of this, it's that the same rules of time dilation between boundaries apply to this zone as well.
Apparently, when someone leaves the boundary they designated as their "Home," their aging halts until they either drift long enough outside or assimilate with another boundary.
The time they spend without physical aging is referred to as their "Void Age," and it seems it's still in effect here. So I'm obviously not on Earth, but I'm not entirely convinced I'm on Hortusole either.
The one thing that remains unchanged during void aging is the development of your Authority.
The Captain might have explained why that was, but I wasn't paying attention.
WHAM!
"Waaah! Isn't the breeze nice?!"
I see.
So he got me even from far away. I guess I can't escape his range.
Hell, I don't even know his maximum range.
Litho's not much of a problem anymore.
In fact, it's safe to say he's easy to deal with once you understand how he thinks.
The only problem left is the armored man, and I never feel even a fraction closer to leaving a scratch on him.
At first, I wanted to believe I might surpass my previous self using the cycles.
But it's not as easy as one would think to grow while only being able to engage the same scenarios repeatedly.
All that happened was the polishing of the same fundamentals. And while that might have been enough to beat Litho, I don't think even a thousand years would be enough to tackle that man.
I also can't emphasize enough how tired I am. All I want to do is sleep until this is all over. But I can't accept the idea of letting those three die.
They're the only semblance of normalcy in this zone, even if they're just memories.
If I lose my ability to cherish them, I feel like I'd lose something unrecoverable.
So I'll have to keep struggling.
I have to keep trying, even if it does take a thousand years.
"Waaah! Isn't the breeze nice?!"
And maybe that tune won't get annoying anytime soon.
…
Thirty-eight.
He pulled her once again toward a finishing blow.
But at the last moment, she twisted the rules of her Authority upon themselves and targeted her own bloodstream instead.
"Urchin!"
Blades tore out from beneath her skin and threatened to punish his hand, but they simply weren't strong enough.
They shattered upon contact, and it was over in an instant.
It might have been better if she could target his blood instead. But an Eminent has no authority over the body of another whose level is close to or higher than their own.
…
Fifty-four.
She hunted Litho first, just to buy some time.
Then, before the armored man arrived, she turned her efforts toward a single blade.
She hadn't used that move in a while, since she was never given enough time to charge it.
But without Litho lurking about, she could bide her time while the others hid for cover.
Directing all the metal she attracted into a single point, she created a blade so massive beneath the floor that it would eclipse every fin in the canyon the moment it sprouted.
It was significantly larger than any she had ever made before.
And when his shadow appeared on the ground beneath him, and his eyes were trained on the red-eyed girl clearly preparing something, the ground split open as a tower of crimson surged upward toward him.
"Neutron: Orbital Deviation." He said, and it immediately became unable to make contact.
It looked as though it were being ground into dust the closer it came to his being.
Pieces of steel rained from the sky as the blade was broken down from the tip until it stopped sprouting, and she lost the clash.
"It matters not who you are. It was a futile, but commendable effort."
He spoke before pointing at her, and she immediately dove aside.
A large crater was left where she had stood.
I dodged it?
WHAM!
"Waaah! Isn't the breeze nice?!"
Of course, she had no way to counter another strike in such rapid succession.
…
Seventy-five.
She dashed at him with Whitney's boost and Dylan's reinforcement already applied.
She felt unbearably tired, yet her body never slowed across the cycles.
Her first blade swept toward him, followed by a row of spouts.
They tried to pierce through, but to no avail. Everything that approached his spherical radius was broken down into nothing the closer it came.
But it wasn't an absolute force, so there was still some hope.
"Waaah!"
…
Ninety-one.
She learned to cast her special skill without the need for concentration.
Soon, it became capable of activating on its own.
That still wasn't enough.
…
One hundred and twenty-one.
She contemplated jumping into that void after all.
Even if it led nowhere, drifting in its emptiness might let her get the sleep she wanted. Surely, it wouldn't be worse than what she endured in the zone.
But when she approached the edge, her Authority forcibly created a wall of blades to block her path.
She didn't have the energy to complain about the lack of choice. She simply turned around and continued through the bleakness.
…
At some point, she stopped counting.
The only tether she had to time was the mental notes she took on how to defeat him.
Over and over, she grew. But just as much as she grew, she lost something else, something intangible.
It was why she detested dying and having to rely on the cycles.
Eventually, she stopped speaking altogether.
Anything she said was for the sake of a new tactic. Merely a means to an end.
…
Once again, she got close enough to reach him, but her blade was shredded to pieces the moment it struck.
It was her cue to dodge the attack she knew would follow.
So she leaped back.
However, she was too out of touch to realize she had done it prematurely.
But he noticed.
He suddenly increased his speed and seized her by the neck, lifting her as she clutched his hand to support her weight.
"You," he said, "how do you foresee my attack before the moment arrives?"
I'm so tired.
"It's not through your Authority, so could it be a gift, then?"
I really need to sit down… just for a bit…
"Little girl, are you mute?"
I hate this. I just want to go back to the barrier.
"It seems I won't get an answer from you. You also don't seem to hold much fear of death. That makes you an incompetent warrior."
He tossed her into the air and wound his arm back.
And she waited for the start of a new cycle where it would all happen again.
Wait… what barrier? What was I thinking about?
A fist moving at breakneck speed approached her face as she fell toward the ground.
Where was I… even trying to get back to?
CLANG!
The sound of steel meeting the overwhelming force of a fist rang in her ears.
And who is this boy? The one who just dropped from the sky?
"Sorry to keep you waiting. We're here now, so could ya please leave the rest to us?"
Before her, a boy with black-striped hair reflected the fatal blow that threatened to break everything in its path.
A boy whose expression promised to repel a future where she would have to repeat such torment.
She could not comprehend the sight before the reddish-orange flames in the arm of a red-haired boy struck the armored man, brightening her darkened view.
What shone just as brightly was tied around their waists, familiar golden chains linking them to a blue-eyed boy who seemed resolute in assuring their safety.
And as their intervention unleashed a blaring impact that scattered everything around them, a pair of bandaged arms caught her mid-fall and leapt away from the dangerous scene.
Then, as the young man gently set her down, her mind still struggled to find the answers she sought.
But before it could, she had to wipe her endlessly blurring eyes.
"Wow… don't take this the wrong way, but you kind of look like sh*t."
Through a sniffling nose and a grimy face, she could only smile at the rude remark.
"You still have such a way with words… Captain."