Zelriane parried the bladed staff upwards with the palm of his hand and struck forward. He was too fast to avoid in his original form, but his punch dealt more damage to his own hand in his weakened state, than it did to Zios. The man flipped backwards and landed several feet away.

"This fusion is permanent, then..." He mused. He dropped his fighting post and rested his posture, looking up towards Zios with a sudden calm. Though, earnestly, what swept him over was not a random swell of confidence or insanity, but amusement. He'd never though about it being necessary before. "Shaidra, Fetch," he whispered, as inaudibly as possible. Then he chuckled, hoarse enough that it quickly devolved into a coughing fit. "I have lost. You are, with all honesty, far stronger than anything we have come across before. But I will not simply lie down and accept my death. Instead, I think I'll take a note from my old friend's idiotic notebook for once..." Zelriane took a few steps back shakily. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but..."

Out of a cloud of smoke, a large mass of muscled flesh fell towards the ground. It was a torso, and a head, with shredded clothes, and stumps for arms.



It was Rajaka.

"Do you want to see something... Rad?"

The spiral of stairs leading up towards where Yzeira stood poised to strike down the universal fabric was cramped, and long. Jenso walked for several minutes before he reached a small gap, leading out onto the roof. The staircase was wet, slippery, and almost faded into the flattened plateau atop the tower. As he emerged, it became clear that it was raining profusely. It looked as if an ocean storm had rolled in, either as a result of the disturbance above them, or on sheer coincidence. Either way, his footing would be precarious if he did not take care.

"And so you come," Yzeira hissed, standing on top of a small podium that directed him towards the massive tear in the sky with his back turned to the golden hero. Jenso could barely see his body's details through the thick wall of rainfall, but his silhouette was clear. He turned his head slightly, revealing one eye. "I won't bother asking why."

Jenso gazed over at Yzeira as he'd finally reached the roof, taking in the scene around him as his eyes tried to adjust to the poor visibility from the rainfall. "You'll find that most people, or hell, even anyone, would continue to struggle to survive even when it seems pointless. That's just basic survival instinct." He stated, and began to walk over to his foe. Slowly, to avoid slipping. "Y'know, most people would get a cold if they stayed up here in this kind of weather for too long." He added with a slight smirk.

Yzeira ignored Jenso's wry comment. "No." He turned to face Jenso. The around the tower's peak began to pick up, pushing his coat with it, and loosening the rain somewhat. "Oft it is people like you who act as mascots for your populations. Colorful, annoying mascots that, once defeated, topple those behind them like dominoes." He rose one of his hands slightly, touching the rim of one pocket on his coat. "I've seen it time and time again. Once you are dead, your people will falter. I might have killed you earlier if you actually presented yourself as a threat." He looked to the side and winced. "My mistake- I would have killed you again. The fact that Nexus revived you will change nothing. Even he has lost hope in your petulant little conquest."

Jenso shrugged for a moment, still walking closer to Yzeira. "Good job, you killed me once when I was exhausted after fighting Rajaka, while my shoulder was shattered." He mocked. "Well, I would have been killed by you either way back then. I will admit that." He added.

"As for Nexus...you either ordered him to say that to discourage me, or he really did lose hope. I think it's both, honestly." Jenso stated, looking up at the rift above them. He continued talking after a short pause. "At least this happy mascot has actual friends. But if it makes you feel better, I guess you could consider your servants to be your friends." He stated lazily.

"People won't give up if I fall, Yzeira. But I suppose I can appreciate the compliment that I represent the willpower of a whole populace. However, one person's death won't kill the spirit and courage of others. It might be discouraging to some, but it won't stop people from trying to defeat you."

Yzeira's eyes narrowed and a small puff of air escaped his nose. "Amusing, that you would mention friends. I've heard it many a time before, from heroic symbols much wiser than you." There were many before him that spoke of the same principals with a great deal of wisdom. Jenso was but a child compared to the many that stood before him in the path of the order's monstrous force. Yzeira began stepping down from the tower's pedestal.

"You are not a complete idiot. You should know that facing me now will end in failure. What is it exactly that you are hoping for, here?"

Jenso glared at Yzeira as he approached. He stopped walking forwards, keeping a close eye on Yzeira's movements. He was unsure if Yzeira had something in the pocket of his coat that he'd touched earlier, and it was possible that he'd taken more measures to keep Jenso at bay. Especially when he fully intended to focus on the rift now. He felt a flame burning within, one that told him to advance at his foe and attack. But he needed to wait for the right moment.

"I may not have a chance of beating you, but I don't intend to flee, either. It's not something that I like to do in any situation, and it's pointless to run anyhow. I got this far thanks to the aid of my companions, and I don't intend to let them down. Honestly, trying to fight you is simply better to me than accepting my end." He responded, clenching his fists.

"If you were in my shoes, would you surrender? Would you simply sit by and accept your demise?" He asked.

"No," He hissed deeply, "If I were in your shoes, I would think and speak with reason. Instead of aiming to win, I would strive to bargain with what little leverage I held." He reached the bottom of the steps and stopped, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small book, and a pen. "I would have aimed to ally with my executioner- To work out a deal, one which I would not be so ludicrous to turn down several times." He opened his book.

"I still have it written here," Yzeira grunted, "The exact coordinates of your universe, Zelriane's universe, and Ada's universe." He spun the book around slowly, and revealed pages upon pages of text that detailed the specifics required to revisit past universes. "I can be dishonest, but there is no benefit to destroy the worlds from whence my thralls were conceived- Unless they wish it themselves."

"Okay, first off..." Jenso muttered, sighing in annoyance. "Look, you have a point. But Adarine was the one who messed with us first. Hell, I couldn't even reach you. And Zelriane apparently had a little plan with Alexis to stall me before I could reach you to accept your offer, so you could destroy everything before I could even get to you. That was before Ada died." Jenso stated calmly. "Ignoring the fact that you, and the rest of the Order did horrible things to all of us, I never had a fair chance to accept your deal. Jeff, Oz and Dacer may have killed Ada, but she would have killed them too if she had the chance. And I, myself, never killed any of you." He stated. "Don't speak to me about fairness, when the deal was rigged from the start. I didn't exactly have much reason to trust you, either, the mysterious man who'd already killed me once."

With that said, Jenso glared at Yzeira and grit his teeth. "That would be from a logical viewpoint alone. But you and the rest of the Order killed many people that we cared about. And captured my mother and Melina. And you'd keep destroying universes after sparing ours." Jenso stated. "We have no intention of letting you people get away after all the pain you've caused." He stated coldly. "And we'll stop you from causing any more."

"Your audacity... It is absolutely astounding. Do not think, even for a second, that I have not been keeping on eye on your approach." Yzeira slapped the book shut and shoved it back into his pocket. "You bring a fortress, armed with technology that rivaled Prisma's arcane weaponry to my tower, and speak of trust? I allowed you to walk away so many times. I assured that many lives would be spared in accordance with that offer that I graciously placed before you. You've had a myriad of chances to accept my offer, and what of it? Rather than accept your weakness, a survival instinct with no shame behind it, and trust my offer, you choose an impossible path in defying me directly?" Yzeira's eyes began to thrum with overbearing energies, piercing the slanted rain like brilliant rubies. "You hold so dear, parents whom you've never known over friend and foe like they are to be worshiped like gods. A man who cared so little for you that he'd willingly put you in danger for an untrustworthy myth? A woman who's pride and selfish carnal desires ripped you from what could have been true stability? You demonize my actions and assume me to be some unreasonable tyrannical barbarian because of those working under my mask? And worst of all, you stand before me, an inferior child by comparison, and poise yourself to deliver lectures?!" His barrier flared outwards, creating a rounded silhouette beneath the rainfall.

"You know nothing of me or my history, that much is to be expected. But to know so little about your own self... I pity you. I pity your friends, family, and everyone who you swear so adamantly to protect. This world has my pity."

Jenso got in a combat stance immediately. He glared deep into Yzeira's red eyes, as yellow Ki began to sparkle violently within his pupils. "Yeah, clearly I should have come unarmed towards the god-like beings who have been killing people left and right." He stated sarcastically, as Arki violently flared out of his body. "They had their own reasons for leaving me! What reason do you have to destroy this universe? That this world doesn't seem interesting enough for you? For one person?!" He roared.

"And, if you wanted a stable deal, you could have ordered your Order members to stand down. They can't defy you, or they suffer, right?" He added, keeping a close eye on Yzeira's moves. "What myriad of chances?! I had one back in the Golem Citadel, two if you count that worse deal that you offered in the library." He retorted. He felt a great deal of anger erupt from within.

"Tis' child of ill stock that begs and pleads to be pampered and guided through the harsh realities that they refuse to face openly," Yzeira chanted. Seven orbs emerged from his torso and began to orbit him slowly. He held one hand to his side, and from his palm, emerged a mirrored image of his body. They spoke in unison now. "A babe no more, when they learn of the advantages that plague a spoiled upbringing, at the cost of all better sense, Orbs of chaotic energy began to form around his clone's waist as well. From their bodies combined, a sudden spike in energy erupted, flooding the air around them with an oppressive aura. He revealed it then for the first time- The true scope of his power. It continued to rise and rise, with no sign of stopping. "Even before god they would scratch and claw and bite and scream, to their bitter end, ignorant and unyielding. For this they are quashed, snuffed out like a soaked candle by the overwhelming force that dictates right and wrong, good and evil," Then, just as quickly as it had been revealed, the aura shrunk, and was brought back into Yzeira's body, where it was maintained peacefully under his control.

"I will not try to reason with you any longer. Look upon my power and tremble, little boy." He lowered his hand, and the clone mirrored him.

"Or step forward, once more... Step forward and..." He paused and looked up at the rift in the sky.

"Try, if you must."

Nexus had abandoned use of his visual prowess. In a moment, Bruce would regain access to both the full extent of his Ki, and Arcane abilities. But as his powers returned, Nexus' only grew much stronger. Much stronger. Like a torrential storm lashing out with little restraint, the blue energy within his body emerged in the form of a brilliant aura. His armor shifted in shape and color until the once darkened blue steel plates were like a series of sapphire mirrors. The full breadth of his body looked as if it were fading into the very fabric of space and time like a visual marvel that defied the eyes.



"Now it is a battle of sheer limits. I will not restrain our bodies any longer," Nexus finally announced, "Come at me with everything you have."

Bruce landed on his feet. The gem-like quality of Nexus' armor shone in the vacuous chamber, like stars in the night sky.

'How fitting,' Bruce thought, reasserting his Sage state, the scent of the earth flooding his senses and empowering his soul, his Ki singing at a cacophonous volume without loss of clarity. 'The Earth shall clash against the Sky. One who climbs against he who flies.'

"Terran" Bruce's voice echoed, sand pooling up to Nexus' heels at an alarming rate and hardening. "Colossus."

Teeth, gnarled, concave, jagged and razor sharp, shot up from the floor. Petals of earthen material, dense as concrete, snapped up around Nexus on all sides, threatening to smother him in spikes.

Nexus whipped his arm to the side, forming energy into the shape of a spear, whilst engulfing it in an array of electrical veins. Sparks, brighter than the armor he now donned, lashed out across the ground from the forming tip of his weapon and sliced through much of the approaching rocks like butter. But Nexus didn't rely on the brief surge of energy to protect him, and quickly burst out of the rising trap, bounding towards Bruce with his spear fully formed. The gigantic tip weighed heavily, and sent streams of lighting forward as Nexus pulled it back over his shoulder. Before he neared the ground however, he threw his weapon towards Bruce, and increased his body's gravity, landing in front of him long before the bladed weapon would reach its mark. On the ground now, he created several small tear-drop shaped daggers between each of his fingers, and tossed them forwards in a large fan, each weapon coated in a Ki-like energy that threatened to tear through rock and flesh as if it were not present.

Bruce formed his blade in his outstretched right hand, particle by charged particle, Ki layered, folded and stronger than in any of his previous weapons.

'Limits.' The word stuck in his mind as he assessed the energy flowing inside the spear flying for him. Bruce took a leap backward, outside of its downward path and loosed a horizontal flying slash of Ki to intercept the fan of daggers.

He reflected on something Ross had told him, on a day that felt months old now.

"All right, listen close," Ross said, squaring his broad shoulders on their walk around the guild's walls. "The Earth was formed in a competition between giant space rocks bashing against each other till one had enough mass for its own gravity. What you're walking on is just a boulder that won."

"But," Ross tapped the heel of his foot into the ground. "It's also alive. The Earth remembers every imprint we make, even if it's washed away from sight. And the ones who respect her, give her the regard she deserves, get the privilege of possessing her strength," his skin darkened into a tone of sandstone.

"We literally become part of the Earth. You're strong, Bruce, but there have been a couple who were able to go beyond emulating the properties of stone. Some could become the Earth. Those guys? Make Earth Sages look like whipped puppies."

Time had never been on their side since they made their stand to save their world. Bruce didn't get the luxury of forcing himself into a corner, or achieving the power to fight the Order through mental and physical self-discipline. He'd gotten a few hours of meditation on the subject.

He had to go beyond.

So instead of breathing with the Earth's heartbeat, he listened to the vacuum that existed between each pulse. He didn't strain, practicing the peace Nexus himself had encouraged. He trod inside the space of that obsolete wall, neither on one side or the other. Grounded and disconnected. Light and heavy. Dead and alive.

Bruce's eyes cast a faint glow, and his aura shrank, brewing beneath the surface of his hardened skin like magma. When he spoke, his voice hadn't changed, but the echo of a million souls through a million moments joined it.

"Ascension"

Nexus straightened his posture and lifted his right hand. His spear vanished with a brief pristine flash, and reappeared in his grasp an instant later. His eyes barely gleamed through the tiny slit in his helmet, obscured by the tower's mirrored interior. "Much quicker than I'd anticipated," Nexus bellowed from beneath his armor, the sound of his voice refracting like jagged crystals, "Your remarkable power reserve, focused so passionately, is a sight to behold. I dare say your control rivals my own in sheer intensity. But..." His spear spun round and round through the air until it stopped suddenly, its tip hanging a few feet above the ground behind Nexus. He charged forward with his right arm grasping the pole of his weapon tightly, letting it drag through the air behind him while he reached forward with his left. A glimmer, shining brighter than his armor, lashed out in all directions. A moment later, chains were sprawling out from the center of his hand, moving around to encompass Bruce from his left and right sides, joining behind him. The chains themselves sprouted spikes, and had an unusual figure 8 design to each link, unlike Bruce's version of the technique. Nexus clenched his hand, and from several points along the inside of his newly created cage, more streams of linked energy emerged, heading towards Bruce from both sides.

Bruce glanced at the chains Nexus spawned, watching them encircle him. Faint whispers guided his actions, familiarizing him to his new power.

Earthen stone, with such fluid movement as to appear viscous, appeared around Bruce, encasing him and liquifying into mud that pooled on the floor.

Ki and heat seemed to vanish, reappearing in the remnants of the Colussus Bruce had called a minute before. Bruce himself came streaking out of said debris, the material dissipating behind him.

His own Ki chains flew from his robe, arching over Nexus. Like raining fire, Ki dripped off the chains once they passed over him, each drop changing into daggers with blades that grew in weight and size the farther they fell. The chains grew, snagging links on the spikes on Nexus' imitation and going taut.

Nexus released his chains, letting them freely cling to the floor and ceiling in conjunction with Bruce's. The resulting array shifted until it was completely taut, forming into a web-like array that covered nearly half the room. As the daggers fell from above, he rose his free hand again, and created a barrier, very similar to Oswald's technique, deflecting any shards that came too near. When his immediate position was safe, he brought his hand down, aiming towards Bruce, and creating a series of runes in front of him. "Momentum gate," he whispered, taking one step forward towards the floating symbols. As he neared them, they enlarged into pathways just large enough for him to fit through, three total. Stepping through the first, his speed increased. The second and third propelled him towards Bruce at an alarming speed, almost like a bullet, breaking the sound barrier in the process with a thunderous boom. Nexus thrust his spear forwards, aiming to impale Bruce, while he gathered energy in the center of his back. "...My abilities go beyond the omnipotent use of simple weapons."

Bruce slashed vertically with his blade, sending out a wave of Ki, not for harm, but to vibrate the air and disturb the spear's path, the Ki dissolving quickly as Nexus passed through the second gate.

Already Bruce had taken a step forward, back foot over his front. He leaned his head back as he brought his front foot up and in an arc, pivoting on the foot holding his weight. The aura condensed in his body surfaced about his shin into the familiar form of his mace, bearing down for where Nexus' hip would be for his attack.

Bruce kept his blade behind him in his lowered right hand, his left arm covering his face, new material swirling beneath his robe sleeve.