A Sunless Dream

Shadows danced and twisted unnaturally as Sunny's eyes remained firmly placed upon his opponent. Although he wouldn't kill Orion, he would surely make him suffer for the death of Effie and he would make is suffering slow.

Orion's presence was dominating, a tidal wave of controlled power that caused all of Sunny's senses to flare in high alert. Sunny however, remained calm, his presence was brimming with hatred and anger which fuelled him to match those heights that Orion stood on.

Between them, the air pulsed with shadow energy, the darkness itself alive. In their hands, identical weapons, materialized swords forged from shadow, their edges glinting like liquid night.

Orion moved first, closing the distance in a blur. His sword elongated mid swing, transforming into a sleek scythe with unmatched precision, Sunny barely managed to parry the blow, his own weapon shifting to match Orion's. Yet the force of impact sent him reeling.

"No matter how angry you get, you're still weaker than me" Orion mocked, pressing forward. His strikes were fast, each swing carrying both elegance and brute strength. The type that could only be formed through years of practice, however Orion reached that domain in little less than a few months.

His scythe curved and lashed out like a serpent, forcing Sunny to remain on the defensive. Sunny gritted his teeth, his movements entirely reactive, his hands trembled under the force of Orion's relentless blows. Each strike felt heavier than the last.

Finally, a sweeping kick caught Sunny's leg, and he stumbled. Orion's fist flew into his chest faster than the eye could see crashing into Sunny's ribs sending him flying across the battlefield. Sunny hit the ground hard, coughing as shadows wavered around him.

Staggering to his feet, a bloodied grin settled on his face as his scythe flickered back into form. "Fight like you mean it, you want to deny my identity don't you, Sunless!" Orion roared.

Tightening his grip around his weapon, Sunny blurred forward. This time he didn't wait, he lunged forward at Orion with murderous intent, his scythe extended mid strike catching Orion off guard. The blade carved through the air forcing Orion to sidestep the blow.

Sunny followed up with a spinning kick, landing a glancing blow on Orion's shoulder. Ever quick to react, Orion grabbed his foot and snapped his leg at the shin. However, this didn't even elicit a grunt from Sunny as flames enveloped his leg quickly healing the injury.

'Who am I again? I can't remember, I must kill this guy, right? Yeah, that's it' Sunny's mind was in a haze, all aspects of his brain were entirely dedicated to the fight. Anything less than this and he would be unable to compete with Orion any further than he had been.

Their weapons clashed again, but this time, Sunny's movements were sharper. He began to anticipate Orion's strikes, countering with increasing precision. Shoving Orion's scythe to the side, Sunny landed a kick to Orion's flank sending him flying slightly with gritted teeth.

Wiping a small trail of blood from his lip, Orion blitzed towards Sunny once more. His scythe slashed in a blur of black arcs, each slash with enough force to remove Sunny's head from his body in seconds. Sunny grunted, barely managing to deflect a downwards strike.

In moments, Orion delivered a swift kick to Sunny's ribs. In the same moment, he formed a sword from shadows on his foot, driving the blade into Sunny's midsection causing blood to pour out of his flank in droves.

Blood weave kept him alive; Orion knew this all too well as he continued to circle Sunny like a shark in bloody water. Sunny spat out droves of blood, when Orion began his onslaught once more, Sunny mimicked his movements. Mirroring Orion's perfectly, his scythe shifted mid swing to intercept Orion's.

The clash of their weapons sent shockwaves rippling throughout all of God Grave as their battle increased in intensity. "Someone's learning" Orion whistled as he continued his onslaught, Sunny didn't grace his remark with a reply as he pressed forward.

Slowly but surely, Sunny's attacks were becoming sharper, more fluid. He ducked under a scythe strike, countering with a spinning kick that caught Orion on the jaw. Orion staggered for the first time in his life, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

Snarling, Orion's scythe dissolved into tendrils of shadow before reforming into twin blades. He rushed at Sunny with blinding speed, slashing in rapid succession. Sunny matched his choice of weapons like a mirror, his own blade splitting in two as he met his movements with uncanny efficiency.

"Sunny might actually do it!" Nephis praised, she didn't know what he was doing or how he could suddenly match Orion, however, whatever he was doing was working. Constantly, she had been trying to ascertain the essence of Orion's fighting style, only to discover that there were too many to count.

His brain was like a supercomputer, containing and emitting infinite numbers of techniques for the sole purpose of combat.

The two onyx haired saints clashed in a storm of blades. Their identical fighting style created a mesmerising dance of death of shadow and steel. The feeble balance that kept Sunny in the fight continued has he surged forward in another whirlwind of blows.

For every move Orion made, Sunny mirrored, every feint, counter and every strike. Orion grinned, 'Can you see it now, can you see the world I'm seeing?' he wondered as he deflected a downward slash from Sunny. Colour slowly drained from Sunny's eyes as he continued the fight, however he was too focused to care, he was going to win even if he lost himself while doing so.

But Orion was still stronger. His strikes carried more weight, his transitions smoother. Slowly, he began to overwhelm Sunny's moment of excellence once more.

[Their movements, it's like they're the same people.] Cassie commented, as she spectated the fight through the eyes of Nephis.

Nephis could only nod in reply, however, she too noticed that this equality wasn't going to last for long. As Orion landed a low kick to Sunny's leg, making him buckle under the impact Nephis finally decided to respond.

[They appear to be using all the same techniques; however, Orion appears more experienced in using them, despite the fact he's been alive for less time than Sunny has.]

[What a monster.]

"You're seeing it Sunless, however you don't have the commitment, do you?" Orion jeered as he drove Sunny back once more. Sunny stumbled back, gasping for air. His shadow weapons flickered, unstable under the pain the fight had brought to him.

Taking a second to blink, Sunny felt drops of blood pouring from his eyes under the constant strain of immense focus he had put himself under. "You're breaking yourself Sunny," Orion's voice sounded almost disappointed "You don't remember who you are anymore do you? There's a difference between someone who constantly toes the line like myself and a half pint who just learnt how to do it."

Falling to one knee, Sunny grasped at his head as he hit it lightly with his hand repeatedly. "Who am I?" he muttered to himself, in a moment, he charged at Orion once more with his scythe reformed. His attacks wild and frenzied.

Orion blocked easily, countering Sunny's strikes with godlike precision as he swept Sunny's feet and kicked him backwards. "I'd kill you now, but it would be better for you to figure it out and then fight me, no? Show me your ideals, show me your resolve and allow me to crush it in earnest!"

Sunny's silent mutters continued to radiate throughout the quiet field. Attempting to rediscover himself.

"Sunless, Sunny, Nephis, Lost from Light, Hatred, Slave." His quiet ramblings slowly grew louder as his eyes blazed with reignited resolve "Freedom! I want to be free!"

Grinning madly, Orion readied himself for what he knew was his final fight with Sunny. Their clash of resolves may change the course of their destiny forever as well as shift the balance of the world, however, neither party cared about any of that. Their focus entirely on the man before them.

"There we go, that's the resolve! Now come kill me!"