The Rootway's underground silence was thick, broken only by the settling of debris. Above, the golden fields of Stella were a distant memory framed by the hole in the makeshift ceiling. Down here, the air was heavy with a shimmering haze of crystallized glass shards, turning the limited light into a fractured, glittering fog. The tunnel itself was a jagged vein of cosmic soil, its walls encrusted with teardrop-shaped opaque gem boulders. Unlike the soft, sun-warmed farmland above, the stone here was cold and hummed with a faint, low-frequency resonance, the sound of the planet's raw energy trapped beneath the surface.
The girl and Nivk stood a few feet apart, resetting their stances. She reached out and tore a thick chunk of crystallized soil from the tunnel wall. As her grip tightened, the stone shattered, releasing a raw essence that spiraled upward through her palms.
As the mystic essence touched her palm, her limb became a translucent shell, light swirling beneath her skin. The Source in her chest reacted, a glowing core flared, then spun violently, its white-hot center pulsing as it drew energy through her golden veins to fuel its rotation.
With her internal spirit orb accelerated, she drove her fist into the ground. The impact forced a tremor through the shimmering soil beneath them, causing the fractured opening above to split wide. Then, a massive, teardrop-shaped crystal broke loose, plummeting toward the floor. The girl launched herself upward, a blur of motion, and slammed her full weight into the falling debris, propelling the boulder straight at Nivk.
As Nivk tracked the stone screaming towards him, his nostrils flared. His lead leg shifted ever so slightly, and the core within his chest began to switch from a stable glow to a frightening, high-intensity strobe . In an instant, he broke into a sprint, his barestride greaves kicking up crystalline dust as he closed the distance. He slammed both his palms into the prayer sign, and the strobe within his chest momentarily erupted in a burst of light before returning to its previous state. His arms turned translucent, the golden veins within thrumming as his palms condensed the light from his spirit, solidifying it into a ring of pure energy.
Without breaking momentum, he launched into a sharp sideways flip. His body rotated mid-air, and he extended his arm toward the ground, planting his halo-loaded hand into a momentary handstand. The moment his palm made contact with the shimmering soil, the halo in his hand reacted. Then, BOOM! A localized explosion of pure golden energy shot from his palm, the pressure from the blast rocketing him off the floor into the sky like a bullet. Mid-flight, he adjusted his form, tucking his body into a flying kick of sorts.
Now fully airborne, he didn't strike the boulder head-on. Instead, he angled his lead foot to catch the very edge, barestride greaves scrapping against the gem-like stone and sending up a spray of spirit-lit sparks as he skidded along its surface. Harnessing the boulder's own momentum, he pressed close, body curving with the stone as he carved a swift arc toward its precipice. At the apex, he kicked off with explosive force, launching himself from the boulder's summit, carried by the speed he'd built, shooting upward towards the girl in a blur.
As he collided with her mid-air, their forces merged in a violent burst of light. Their blows clashed, the impact shaking the tunnel as shockwaves rippled through the space. The girl swung both arms at Nivk, feverishly clawing with relentless speed. But Nivk tilted his head back, narrowly dodging each swipe. His palm flashed translucent, golden veins gleaming beneath the skin as he drove his elbow toward her chest. The girl gritted her teeth and absorbed the blow, grabbing his arm and twisting for leverage to drive her knee up into Nivk's jaw.
With a savage, echoing CRACK Nivk was sent flying backward, spiraling through the air as he tumbled, slamming against one of the Rootway's tunnel walls. He shot out his palms, catching himself before sliding into a low crouch. The girl was already closing the gap, jetting down the same wall he'd landed on. She clasped her hands together, fingers interlocked, and brought them down like a sledgehammer.
Nivk blocked with his forearm, then ducked beneath a wild, rushing knee. He moved with effortless precision, then, in a blur, he struck. His hand thrust forward directly at the girl's spiraling spirit core, making her reel back upon contact. As it disrupted spirit energy in her body, her expression was wide with anger, but before she could recover, Nivk had already spun around behind her. He snapped one hand against her arm while his palm slammed into the back of her head, forcing her forward. His other arm snaked around, forming a rigid arm-bar that locked against his first arm and pressed hard into her throat. To anchor her completely, he looped his foot around hers, scissoring her leg so she couldn't move.
Locked together mid-air, Nivk and the girl plummeted toward the ground, their limbs tangled in a desperate struggle. As they fell, Nivk forced his palms together. His arms turned translucent, golden veins thrumming as light gathered between his hands. The glow solidified into twin rings of pure energy, which burst apart in a shower of radiant fragments. Each shard unraveled into golden threads that stretched and wrapped around both bodies, shimmering and humming as they spiraled from toe to head. With every foot they dropped, the radiant strings multiplied and tightened, pulsing with power as they cocooned the pair in shimmering light. The girl thrashed violently, snapping and clawing at the bindings, even lunging to bite at Nivk's arm with feral desperation. The closer they came to the earth, the more the golden coils entwined them, their glow intensifying as they were pulled inexorably down.
A thunderous slam ruptured the Rootway's tunnel as they struck the floor. Dust spiraled through the underground passage, shaking the very walls. When it finally settled, a deep crater marked their landing. Nivk stood at the rim, his spirit orb steady now, no longer strobing with frantic energy.
At the bottom of the crater, the girl sprawled amid the rubble, her body aching, but defiance still burning in her eyes. She glared up at him, chest heaving as golden veins shimmered beneath her skin, working to mend her wounds. Her spirit orb no longer spiraled wildly; instead, it glowed faintly steady, its light weakened but stable. Nivk's voice echoed, firm but not without sympathy.
"Hey, flicker-face, mind staying shaded for a bit and telling me where your Dodma is?"
He glanced at his fingers, which flickered translucent from the exertion of the battle.
"Also… what's your name?"
For the first time, the girl hesitated. The fire in her gaze faltered, confusion joining exhaustion. She'd expected him to come for her sister, to be another threat.
After a long silence, she scoffed, shaking her head against the stone.
"It's Themaine… you dampened zork."
Nivk blinked, then pressed gently,
"And your Dodma?"
A pained smirk tugged at Themaine's lips.
"I don't know. You'd have to ask my sister; they left for duty earlier today."
The realization washed over Nivk all at once. His shoulders slumped, mouth falling open in a silent, incredulous protest. He stared at Themaine, eyes wide with disbelief, a look that said,
"Seriously, are you being bright right now?"
All the tension drained from his posture, leaving him at the crater's edge with arms hanging limp and shoulders sagging, a look of utter disbelief settling on his face. He seemed to wilt where he stood, as if only now realizing just how much time and energy had been thrown away on a pointless fight.