A cloud of pure black swished from right to left in front of Saryn, his eyes only picking up on the shining white fangs as they seemingly flickered in and out of existence.
A momentary pause.
Saryn looked to his right, where echoes fluctuated like violent waves, before raising his arms to block.
And just as he had expected, the stalker appeared in that direction, slashing down at Saryn with the force of a truck.
His feet dug into the ground as he blocked the monstrous attack, leaving claw marks on his arms before he whirled one around to counter.
The aurora orbiting his left arm seemed to blossom, as his fist swung round, landing squarely on the stalker's abdomen, before it flashed out of existence, leaving a trail of blood.
Echoes rampaged behind Saryn, before he turned round, raising an arm.
'Tch.' Blood trickled down his robes as he was launched dozens of meters, whistling through the air like an arrow, the constellations around his arms flickering slightly, as if giving up. He fueled his semblance with more echoes, causing the tattoo to sprout to life, glowing brightly in various blue hues.
'This isn't going to be as easy as I had expected.' Saryn thought, before composing himself both physically and mentally, he slightly stumbled forward as he stood up, but the incessant hunger in his heart pushed him to combat the pain of his creaking bones.
He looked forward. The lilac echo, vibrating, as if communicating to him like he was some knight in shining armour, and pulling him toward it like it was his.
Saryn turned his head, spitting blood, before dashing toward the stalker, who was now moving slightly slower due to its injury.
They both clashed again like feral demons while tumbling down the hill toward the central blade.
Saryn's instincts sharpened further the closer they got to the central blade, the ambient echoes in the air thickening as a result of the sword.
And thus, with each exchange, the odds slowly turned to his favour.
The stalker roared, causing birds to flutter out of their nests in fear.
Fear struck into Saryn's heart, as the foreign memories returned to him. He dismissed them quickly, but his slight moment of hesitation allowed the stalker's jaws to clamp onto his right shoulder.
'Shit!' Saryn hissed in response, before flying into a panic as his muscles and bones tore from the might of the stalker's maw.
His shoulder sizzled as if being burnt by lava, and if not for his physique, Saryn would've passed out by now, becoming yet another lowly dinner for the stalker.
'Not yet, I'm not dying here!' Saryn commanded the echo fabrics to gather into his right shoulder, attempting to heal it faster than the stalker was damaging it.
But of course, this wouldn't work.
'Just give me time!' The fabrics slowed the damage, the stalker felt as if it was biting down on pure concrete, but it held firm.
Hydroform activated, Saryn could see the blue echoes gathering intensely as he burnt as much energy as he could on activating the semblance. The tattoo burnt with a vigor it never had before, as a river of water formed from thin air, swirling around his arms like spinning drills.
With each second, the drills revolved faster as Saryn plunged his arms into the stalker's chest.
He felt the titanic grip on his shoulder loosen considerably, as a deep whine echoed across the floor.
The stalker howled out of pain, before its demonic claws swiped at Saryn's arms in desperation, almost as if pushing him away.
'No, you aren't getting away now…' Despite the immense searing pain assaulting him, Saryn's lips curled up into a manic smile.
Blood splattered everywhere, most of it being the stalker's, Saryn could feel the drills of water piercing and shattering bone, nearly reaching right through the stalker and emerging from its back.
Maybe he could've already done that, and he would've, but his goal was different.
'Come to dada.' Saryn thought as his smile widened in insanity, the lilac echo pulsated in front of him, steadily pulling itself toward Saryn's bloodied arms.
His body was a crooked mess, an enormous crater lay where the stalker had bitten down on his shoulder, his bones either exposed or snapped, while his arms and abdomen were patterned with claw marks like an antique vase.
However, more adrenaline coursed through him than pain, he gritted his teeth in urgency for the echo, beckoning it to quicken its pace, for if it didn't, Saryn's death was surely imminent.
The stalker felt its chest wrangle as if being electrocuted, and it attempted to escape as it felt the echo, a necessity for its strength, leave its body.
'Oh no you don't!' Saryn pulled his left arm out, before slamming it into the stalker's head; moments later, the tip of the drill revolved even quicker as it exited through the stalker's forehead.
A pained whimper escaped the stalker's mouth, as its flesh quickly pieced itself back together.
But Saryn couldn't let go yet, he could feel the echo at his fingertips.
"Come on!" He shouted desperately.
The two demons tumbled further down the valley like competing sumo wrestlers.
Saryn's vision began to darken out of exhaustion, the sheer blood loss was beginning to affect him despite his tough body.
'Not yet! I'm so close…'
His eyes closed slowly, as the pain disappeared, and his limbs relaxed.
Saryn reopened his eyes, albeit not so rushed this time.
Darkness, nothing but black, no matter where he looked around him.
Except.
"What's that?" Saryn croaked.
In front of him, one singular dot of light.
Its pink glow comforted him, as he instinctively raised his arm toward the dot.
The dot entered his finger tip, the way a droplet of water would return to the sea.
Saryn blinked.
The stalker leapt away, its body slowly mended its tragic wounds, as a visible fright creeped up its face, saliva no longer dripping out.
Saryn stared at the stalker like an archangel, descended from the heavens to rid the earth of the supposed demon.
A vast quiet overtook the surroundings, drowning out the thick smell of blood.
Until Saryn broke the silence, a sharp but deep laugh escaping his throat, looking up in victory.
His body felt renewed, his previous injuries remained nothing but memories, as a newfound energy washed over him. His skin paled ever so slightly, as the tips of his seaweed-like hair glowed magnificent hues of either lilac, cyan or blue, three streaks of dark gills bore themselves into each side of his neck, as he turned his head back down to meet the stalker's eyes again.
His manic smile recovered itself.
'So this is what it feels like? That singular lilac echo?' The intense hunger from before had erased itself, the foreign entity in his heart almost disappearing, as if now dormant.
Upon meeting Saryn's piercing vicious gaze, the "stalker" shrank back out of instinct.
"Shall we pick up where we left off?"