Inferno Ascended

"Oh. Okay. I'm open to dialogue. So I'm calmly turning around, and putting the gun down…" Glax didn't recognize the voice, and cursed himself for falling for that like a chump. Shame on his sniper class.

"You don't need to turn around. Just listen to me."

"Uh, okay."

"Don't open that artifact."

"The Cauldron of Valya?"

"I'm glad you know what it is."

"Oh, partially. I think you're giving me some expert advice. Can't we talk amicably?"

"Not now. If you don't want to make things worse, what you have to do is: first, don't open the artifact under any circumstances. Second: hand it safely to me."

"It's not exactly in my pocket," Glax didn't resist, and sneered, "Your assault lacked a good timing."

The footsteps approached. Glax squeezed his eyes. 'Me and my tongue…'

The man stopped behind him. "No jokes, I told you. You must take the Soul Forge to Stimhena again and leave it there. Then everything will be fine for you and your friends."

"Sorry buddy, but I think we have to talk further about this…" It could be idiotic of him, but he knew he was talking to a vselys and he couldn't miss this opportunity. "You're a vselys, aren't you? What happened here? I have nothing personal against the vselys. By the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours."

"An Echelian who prefers arguing over fighting?" The vselys behind him laughed hoarsely. His sudden laugh made the restless birds startle and flit from the nearest tree.

"There is always an exception to the rule." Thus, Glax tried to catch him by surprise, and turned to the same side of the vselys' dominant hand. At the same time, the valosian raised his rifle in an upward movement, trying to disarm him. 

The point-blank shooting of vselys firearm left Glax deaf for a moment. The glare almost on his face made him fight the instinct to close his eyes shut out of fear. His torso leaned back, away, while the vselys immediately used his arm to strike him with the pistol." Glax jerked his head back in time to dodge the impact.

Kind of.

The barrel of the pistol hit the masked side of his face, and shifted the mask to the side, as Glax took a few steps back, one eye completely covered.

His next reaction was to use the carbine as a bar, holding it with both hands, to block the vselys' attack. Instead of firing, the man also used the pistol exactly as Glax had done.

Glax used all his own strength to push the carbine against his opponent's chest. The vselys men dropped his own gun and grabbed the carbine too.

In a sudden movement, the man used his superior strength and tactics and seized the weapon, swinging it in one hand like a club toward Glax's face.

The valosian knew the next and inevitable memory would be how his cheekbone had been shattered by the wooden stock. He would fall to the ground like a crying baby, as the vselys approached with a sadistic, ironic smile. Why was it so familiar and recurring?

But that's not what happened.

Everything stopped when Glax reached out to try to soften the inevitable blow.

The Valosian realized that time was flexible again, but in a different way than when he wore his clock.

He could feel the elasticity of time. It was leaning to one side, 'the future', more forcefully. But it could also flow into the 'past'. 

Each side had a different resistance. It was easier to go with the flow. 

But Glax pushed time into the past, as far as he could work with that elasticity. This time he realized it wasn't just his actions that changed, but he knew he was the one who needed to take the initiative to change the future.

Everything stopped at a point of unbearable tension. Glax felt his chest burn as the force of time—like snow that had gathered on the roof—began to force it back against him, and things started happening again.

He was holding the bar in both hands, and he had just parried the man's blow, which was higher and less sharp than before. Glax almost didn't make it this time!

The blond man - tall with gray eyes and very long hair - lifted his foot in a swift movement and hit Glax square in the stomach. The Valosian lost his balance, and fell awkwardly backward. His best attempt was to point the gun back at the stranger.

It would be very lucky if he didn't die now, as he hadn't disarmed his opponent.

But it was too late. The vselys was much faster and more efficient and stomped on his chest, pointing the pistol at his face.

"Braver than I expected. And less smart, too."

"Ugh! Please, I don't need to see what's under your skirt before I die!" Glax complained.

The vselys laughed again. He was different from Malko. For starters, he didn't look dead. He was definitely not blue. "Hey, wait. Your weapon…"

"AH AHHAHAHA. Did you realize that," The man took Glax's carbine and flung it away, "my gun has no more shots? Too bad for you. But I don't need that to deal with the, pfff, champion of Valosia."

"You are very well informed about me."

"Mors! Get that mask. It's horrible to look at half an eye," the vselys backed away. Glax quickly composed himself and stood up. The stranger didn't want to kill him. But why? 

Maybe Glax was worth more alive than dead was the most logical conclusion.

Out of the corner of his eye, Glax saw more people arriving at the scene. Kal and Alekos, no doubt about it.

"Ahem. Let's duel." He spoke loudly for his companions to hear.

The footsteps stopped, and the blond man looked at him with unmistakable surprise and confusion. 

The vselys dressed like a warrior. His clothes would be indistinguishable from a typical Echelian warrior. 

Glax had not yet seen the carved phoenix brooch, and didn't recognize what it meant. The end of a braid was painted red. Only his non-Echelian-gold blond hair and his chiseled, narrow-eyed face betrayed that he was no ordinary Stygian.

"Are you serious?"

"As serious as your Mom. If you want this Valya's Cauldron, let's duel for it!"

"All right." The vselys shrugged, and threw his weapon away. Stretching his neck, he asked, with a mocking look. "How should we do it?"

Kal and Alekos approached, weapons drawn. But the mysterious vselys remained unfazed. He just kept his eyes fixed on Glax.

It wasn't as if Glax couldn't recognize the vselys' physical superiority. He was quick and showed to possess very effective techniques to disarm and subdue an enemy.

"Although it's very simple to show why I'm the Champion, right now I'm busy. I have an important mission. None of us need to be in a hurry… We know we'll do this sooner or later."

The vselys's lips twitched in a contained laugh.

"Oh indeed. I can't wait to test the strength and bravery of the audacious Glax of Valosia! Keep using your common sense and fulfill your mission. Don't be more of an idiot than you look and put more Echelian morons on this. I'll be waiting for you… Bring the coffin and we'll have the duel on the main street of Stimhena…" Saying that, he turned to leave, taking his weapon and putting it on his hip.

"Hey. Not so fast!" Glax sometimes couldn't explain even to himself what bolts of daredevil insanity possessed him when adrenaline peaked in his blood. "What is your name?"

"Damiamon Oefer. Don't be long. I don't want to take what is mine by force."

"Do you know where is it? Why don't you try to?" Glax wanted to see if he really had the guts to try to get the object from inside the fort if Glax didn't turn it over. After all, he didn't really have any sound reasons to comply with the vselys' demands. And much less duel with him.

"Why… butchering that pathetic fort would only attract more of you."

The vselys spoke without looking back, and just holding up a hand, waved goodbye.

The Valosian grimaced, and spoke to his companions,

"He wants the artifact."

"We understand that part. Where did he come from?"

"I think he's the vselys Thersos mentioned," Glax explained. "The one who was in the company of that necromancer. This is confusing me so much…! Sheesh. What do I know? Let's go at once!!!" He went to get his weapon lying on the ground, and checked its conditions. 

Alekos expressed his puzzled mind.

"Why did you let him choose the location and date of the duel, master?

'Because I don't plan to attend?' Glax answered in his mind. But externally, he explained, "Because I wanted to give him some time to rethink his strategy. Look, Alekos," he spoke as he resumed the path to where they had to go, hoping they would follow him. "It would be better to know more about why this object was in the factory, what the necromancer's plans were…and why this vselys was involved. After all, it doesn't make sense, does it? I thought steam engines, firearms, and robots were Prometheans affairs only. Why are a vselys and his artifact involved in this?"

"Ah, you have a point in that." Kal nodded. "I don't understand either. The… giant robot. What would be done with that?"

"Challenge the gods?" Alexandre asked candidly. Both men looked at the young man between them, for the first time considering the idea.

"It doesn't matter at all!" The teenager ignored them, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. "What matters is that there will be a duel between my master and the vselys!"

Glax grimaced. "Hopefully not."

"What? What did you say, master?"

"Nothing. Look ahead. Don't stumble and make me worry again!"

"Nah, I'm paying attention. What is this outfit?"

"It's a tunic Lady Aiops gave me. Quite pretty, is it?"