Jenso felt a brief warmth course through his body, but a moment later, it faded. Luke waited, but nothing noted danger. The room was still silent, without even a breeze upsetting the dust on the floor.



Vale cringed at Bruce's action and closed his left hand, pointing his blade towards Bruce with the other. His eyes narrowed. "Such a soul is reverent, the sands do not shift for just anybody, paths, intertwined, spinning, turning, up, through the darkness of the void, and back into the lap of my sword."

Vale clasped the handle of his blade and spun it so that one of the flattened edges was facing Bruce. Two white circles were etched into the perfectly black blade. "Ying... Yang..."

Jenso blinked. "Well, that was uneventful..." Jenso stated, staring at the amulet. He pulled the others out of his bag as well, and removed the amulet from his neck. He was now holding all five of them in his hands. He stared at Luke. "So...now what?" He asked, unsure of what to do next. He felt concerned about Bruce, and wanted to aid him as fast as possible.

Bruce felt a shift in the air once Vale's blade was directed at him. He sighed silently.
"I couldn't care less about whatever nonsense you're spouting," he said, shifting the stance of his feet. "But I can't help feeling pity for you, so I'll let you know one thing."
Bruce pointed at the sword.
"When you direct a weapon at someone, you should expect a fight."

Luke took hold of all 5 amulets with one of his hands after holstering his gun, "I think I got it, Jenso," He said, raising them over Jenso's head. "The book says it all..."



Vale chuckled and nodded. "This is assured. Jenso will face an evil greater than any other, but for you, you shall face me. You shall face your executioner, powered by a truly evil force in its own right..."



Luke held the amulets quietly above Jenso's head and looked down at him, hesitant. "When you wear all five amulets, the power within shall be released. That's What Bobba Wrote.." Luke looked away from Jenso for a moment, remembering the Mural painted in the room prior. "You'll have the power to face those hellish men..."



"Do you know what that might be, boy? What evil I'm speaking of?" Vale asked Bruce, still holding his blade steady. "That force which drives me, the force that drives all of reality. What is it? Tell me! Tell me! DO YOU KNOW!?"

Jenso nodded at Luke, and smiled at him. "Remember...whatever happens...I'm glad I got to meet you, dad." Jenso stated, grabbing the amulets and backing further away from Luke again. "If I lose control with all this power and attack you, I want you to shoot me in the head or in my heart. Don't hesitate, understand?" Jenso said to him. He wore the five amulets around his neck, and waited to see what would happen.

Bruce's brow furrowed, taking in Vale's ravings.
"You claim to equate yourself with reality," he said. "Yet you preach of fate and predetermined events as though you're a player within it."
Bruce shook his head.
"I'll say it again- I couldn't care less. I don't care to know what drives you."
He let a small bit of ki leak out, sensing that the schism between Vale's tone of voice against his physical posture was about to break.
"And I've faced numerous self-proclaimed executioners. I don't expect you to be much different."

Luke's eyes glossed over at Jenso pulled at the amulets, but his grasp didn't release, preventing him from truly putting them on. Anxious thoughts coursed through his head as he pulled back the amulets from Jenso, somehow overpowering him. A burst of Ki flowed through the old man's body, until he held the necklaces over his own head.



Vale chirped a small tune and readied his blade. He ignored Bruce's responses and lowered his stance, until it was laden with chaotic killing intent, wielding his blade with both hands, and angling it at a 45 degree angle once again.



Luke closed his eyes, and a single tear rolled down his left cheek. "I'm sorry, Jenso," He whispered, pulling the amulets down onto his own neck in a single motion. A blast of energy shot out from where he was standing, launching Jenso back.



Vale smiled and charged forwards.

As the energy around Luke dissipated, he was revealed, coating in a dark purple aura. His body looked the same, but a strange glow coated his eyes. He rose his hands and glared at them, overtaken by a rush of emotions.



Vale carried through with his dash and swung his blade at Bruce horizontally, with a frightening amount of power and speed. His sprint picked up dust that carried through with his swing, surrounding both fighters in a thin cloud of obstructive dirt.

Bruce let out his ki in a rush, focusing it into his preferred blade in an instant and hoisting it up with the tip pointed down to parry Vale's attack. At the same time, he slid one foot backward to give him leverage to aim a kick at Vale's torso.

"Dad...Luke.." Jenso muttered, backing away from his father. He could sense a great deal of power rushing forth from within him, and felt concerned for both his own safety, and his father's. He took a combat stance and glared at him. "So you've been using me all along after all...I should have known..." Jenso muttered.

Jenso crossed his arms in front of him as white flames violently bursted out of his body.



His pupils turned into white flames as an intense heat radiated from his body, heating up the air within the room. If any normal person would linger around too long within the room, he would suffocate. He uncrossed his arms violently, stretching them out behind him.



He roared, as the violent white flames began to stabilize around his body and coated him in it. They didn't seem to be perfectly focused around him, though. He glared at his father, almost looking like a fiery demon.

Vale's blade bounced up and over Bruce's head. His body twisted to the left, allowing Bruce's kick to connect, but the man's thin frame budged only a few inches. Vale twisted his wrist in a quick motion, and brung his weapon down towards Bruce's right shoulder at a 45 degree arc.



"I never planned to betray you, Jenso," Luke said, his voice coming out in two tones. Something about him was off. He wasn't taken aback by Jenso's super-form, and his usual laid-back composure was gone. He stood up straight, formally, and threw his gun to the ground, crushing it with his foot. "I couldn't let you go, knowing what lies ahead. That man, that painting, didn't you see?" Luke looked at Jenso and then at the ground. "His body, his skin, the bits that were showing.. He was covered in bruises. His legs were bent, and you were hunched over him... You..." Luke grit his teeth, "You were going to let him live, weren't you? That's how he gets that attack in... That's how he kills you.."

Bruce strafed to the left, still moving his own blade up over his head to parry Vale again. He used his other hand to take another spearhead from his waist, swiping his hand at Vale in an arc in an attempt to cut the same area he'd kicked.

Jenso frowned at Luke, surprised by his response. "You're not having faith in me? You think I can't do it?" Jenso asked. "Like Bruce said, I'm not going to let my fate be decided by some random painting on the wall. I make my OWN fate." Jenso replied strongly to Luke. "I don't doubt that you might be able to beat the Order, but you sure as hell aren't going to do it alone. The Order of Chaos is my problem, and I'm the one who's going to finish this, with our without your help...I'm sorry." He added.

Vale felt a sting of pain when Bruce's spearhead pierced his skin, but didn't let up. His sword clashed against Bruce's, pushing harder and harder with each passing second. When it became obvious that it wasn't going to follow through, Vale slid his right elbow towards Bruce's head, trying to open his guard for a follow-up slash.



Luke sighed and reached for the amulets on his neck. "I.. Ah.. I.." Luke stammered, trying to remove the amulets. "Eughhr..." Luke bent forwards slowly as something began to take control of his being. "N..No!" Suddenly his body lost all signs of struggle, and stood up straight again. It smiled courteously, and bowed.

"I'd been trapped in those wretched caskets for so long," a new voice spoke, "Thank you... Golden..." He looked up and his eyebrow cocked back. "...Boy?"

Jenso gave Luke a confused look for a moment, but his glare soon returned. "Dad...No, whoever or whatever you are...get the hell out of my father's mind and body, or I'll kick your ass!!" He roared.

Bruce noted the instant that the pressure from Vale slackened and he used the moment to slip out from under the blade, skirting his feet in a semi-circle on the floor around Vale and using the same spearhead again to try to stab toward his side, keeping his blade of ki at an angle directly between himself and Vale.

Luke looked at Jenso and blinked. "Do you know who I am?" he asked, immediately closing his eyes and shaking his head, "Of course you don't. Brilliant- Listen, I've much to do in this world, starting with some business in the citadel alla golems, or whatever it is they call their little castle. Could you please let me.." He stopped again and shrugged. "No, I suppose you won't. This is your father's body, isn't it? Well, let's hope that it's not as limited as it feels." Luke positioned himself to fight and waited for Jenso to approach. "Come now, I don't have all day."

~

Vale stepped back angrily, out of Bruce's range, and flicked his sword forward. "Not a weakling, is it true?" Vale looked left, and then right. "Then I'll give it five minutes, until the shortest day of the year comes to a close," He muttered, pointing at the ceiling, "And the Moon is high in the sky." Vale tightened his right arm, and swung his blade upwards, cutting a large slit in the temple ceiling with the sheer force behind his swipe. It was large enough to light the entire room, but the sun was slowly fading. "Oh, maybe it was only three minutes? Such luck!"

With that, Vale lunged towards Bruce and stabbed directly at him with tremendous force.

Jenso sighed deeply as Luke got in a combat stance. "I don't know much about this whole Golem Citadel business or where it's even located, but yeah...I won't let you leave while you're inside my father's body." Jenso stated, dashing at Luke. 'I'm sorry for this, dad...I have no choice but to beat him.' He thought. He feigned a punch at the man's stomach with his left fist but suddenly strafed sharply to the right, punching at the man's left side with his right fist. As he punched, white flames erupted from his elbow which increased the speed of his attack. "Rocket Punch!!"

Luke had absolutely no time to react, allowing Jenso's punch to make contact with the left side of his stomach easily. Luke coughed and fell to his knees. "W..What? So.. Weak!?" He complained, writhing in pain.

Jenso reached for the amulets immediately as Luke fell to his knees and aimed to snatch the amulets off his neck. "It's over." He stated in a cold and booming voice, preparing to straight-up crush the amulets in his hands if he were able to remove them.