A Sunless Dream

"Kai" Effie's voice rang through the empty field near bastion as Kai wiped the blood of fallen terrors off his armour with an awkward smile on his face. Turning around, he smiled at Effie "Yes Effie?" his voice remained as jovial as always in fact he seemed slightly upbeat that he didn't have to speak first.

"If I ever die, can you promise me something?" Effie's voice remained aloof despite the gravity of the words he was saying. Her eyes remained firmly placed on the sky as she spoke, almost fearing to make eye contact.

"Anything Effie. You don't even need to ask" Kai's voice rang with resolve as the awkward smile was peeled from his face, leaving only seriousness and sincerity plastered upon his heavenly features.

"Take care of Ling and his father for me. Make sure Ling never gets involved in the world of awakened. And let him know his mom died a hero." The grin on her face wavered slightly as her voice cracked, however her eyes remained firmly faced towards the sky.

"I'll do my best for you Effie, but don't go dying on us soon" Kai lightly punched her arm in an attempt to lighten the mood, surprisingly, it worked. Effie looked down from the sky and stared at Kai, before allowing a grin to make its way onto her face.

"Thank you, Kai, you're the best friend I could ever ask for."

Kai's eyes widened as he gazed upon the bloody scene from afar. He had already dismissed his transformation ability, instead, he was seated in what remained of a mountain with a hand placed on his forehead.

"It's a dream, I have to be dreaming." Kai mumbled to himself, slapping his head a few times he continued to gaze at the scene. Trying and failing to dismiss any mind hex that had been placed upon him. However, it was to no avail. The scene before him was real.

Slowly rising to his feet, Kai's steps were staggered. His armour was worn down and on the verge of collapse, yet he forced himself to his feet anyway. Trying to slow his breathes, Kai attempted to calm himself down and assess the situation rationally.

All his attempts failed.

His blood boiled, his eyes bulged, and his fists were clenched so tight that they drew blood. "You, you bastard!" Kai roared as he blitzed across the battlefield. In a moment, Kai had crossed hundreds of kilometres in the span of three seconds and was standing directly in front of Orion.

Sunny's charge slowed to a halt as he too attempted to suppress his anger, allowing his comrade to vent his out on the killer of his friend. The air crackled with tension in the clearing as the faint glow of twilight continued casting long shadows on the floor.

Orion remained composed; his head cocked slightly to the side as he observed the wounded archer before him. His obsidian sword gleamed in his hand dangerously as tendrils of shadows swirled around his form. Never taking his eyes off Kai.

Across from him, Kai's injured form staggered into position. His bloodied leg still leaking out the fresh fluid of life however he stood unperturbed. His bow was still gripped tightly in his hands, his grip almost threatening to break the supreme weapon.

"Oh? So, this is the type of face you can make when your loved one dies." Orion said, his voice smooth yet dripping with barely detectable sympathy "Do not blame me, this is not my fault. You could have chosen to refuse Changing Star's summons. You and her came to kill me yet she has been killed instead, no? All is fair, I have done you no wrong."

Kai didn't answer, instead a guttural roar akin to that of a lion escaped from his lips. He charged forward swinging his bow in a brutal arc. Orion tilted his head, smirking as he dodged the strike before levelling a blow at Kai's stomach.

Almost absorbing the force of the blow, Kai merely grunted and continued his onslaught. His bow, formed from the carapace of a cursed titan, whistled through the air, narrowly missing Orion's head.

Before Kai could follow up on his attack, Orion's sword came up just in time, catching the bow with a sharp clang as the two materials fought against each other for dominance. The force of impact vibrated through both weapons, but Kai didn't relent.

His strength was immense, each swing of the bow had enough force to level continents. A fact that Orion was all too aware of. Continuing to dance through the strikes, Orion's movements remained fluid despite the onslaught of attacks that were being levelled at him.

"You're strong, you don't look like the type" Orion admitted, jumping over another wild swing from the archer before crushing an arrow that had been fired at him midair. "But strength without focus is just noise."

Kai remained silent to the taunts, only allowing a growl to indicate he had registered them before feinting a swing to the left. Orion smirked at the feint however Kai immediately summoned another arrow, using his bow to control it's flight he shot it directly at Orion's chest.

With only mere inches separating them, Orion raised the flat of his blade to deflect the blow sliding back five feet before smirking slightly. Orion twisted slightly, dodging another arrow that had been levelled at him however it managed to leave a deep gash on his shoulder before being dodged.

Sighing lightly Orion thought to himself 'If I keep using Changing Star's aspect, my essence might drain faster than desirable' he mused before continuing to avoid Kai's blows. Orion soon retaliated with a quick slash of his sword, causing Kai to backpedal.

However, the counterattack didn't give Orion much room to breathe as he surged forward again, wielding his bow like a club. The weapon cracked through the air as he swung with reckless abandon, each strike left large gashes in the floor marking a testament to his fury.

"Oh? I gained an echo. How would you like to fight Effie?" granted, he only technically gained an echo by extension of Sunny gaining one back in the forgotten shore. He had made sure to not specify a time period to avoid a lie.

Quite frankly, Orion would never admit it to anyone but the times in which he barely possessed a sense of self were quite fun. It allowed him to bypass his flaw and lie freely, he had no such liberties now.

Kai's jaw tightened displaying his rage once more as he swung his bow with blistering speed, Orion raised his sword to parry, calling upon shadows to form a weak wall in front of Kai's blow to slow it down even marginally. However, it wasn't enough, the blow sent his sword flying downwards as he was forced to jump back.

Although he was inferior in every aspect, Kai's sheer ferocity was keeping Orion at bay. The question that was ringing through the minds of Sunny as well as all present was simply...

For how long?