Souls Online: Mythic Ascension
Chapter 182: Lunar Shift

Chapter 182: Lunar Shift

"Oraaa!"

Smash

"Rahhhhh"

Crunch

No matter what Luna did, her clone always seemed to respond in the most annoying ways possible. Even while using a different form of her own weapon, each of her strikes were easily parried while attacks using her own body were reciprocated with identical attacks.

Despite brawling for almost 5 minutes, all that she had to show for it was bleeding knuckles and bruised shins. Her clone was in a similar situation but instead of the frown that was etched onto her face, the clone was smiling widely as if it had heard some kind of joke.

Luna’s chest heaved with each breath, sweat dripping into her eyes. The clone didn’t seem winded at all. It was smiling, wide and toothy, like it had just remembered something hilarious.

"What’s so funny?"

Luna snapped between breaths.

The clone rolled her shoulder and tilted her head.

"You."

It was one word. Calm. Cruel. Dismissive.

Luna lunged with a scream, spinning into a heavy downward strike. The clone caught the axe with both of her own and twisted, sending Luna staggering to the side

She didn’t fall, but her knee hit the ground hard. She hissed, planting Kogetsukiba in the stone floor to keep from collapsing fully. The clone didn’t press the attack. Instead, it stepped back and crossed its axes behind its back, watching with the expression of someone waiting for their little sister to throw another tantrum.

Luna wiped her mouth and found blood. Her own. Again.

"You’re seriously pissing me off,"

she growled.

"I’m not here to please you,"

the clone replied with a smirk

"I’m here to kick your ass!"

Luna snarled and surged forward again, swinging low then high in a rapid arc meant to catch the clone off guard. The clone leaned back just enough to let the first pass miss before raising an axe to deflect the second. The clash rang out like a bell across the empty arena.

"You’re slower now,"

the clone said, eyes gleaming.

"Tired already?"

Luna didn’t answer. She drove forward with her shoulder, trying to break the clone’s stance. They locked for a moment, muscles straining. The clone’s grin widened as she shifted her weight and let Luna stumble past her.

Luna caught herself and spun around, barely avoiding a heavy kick aimed at her ribs. She ducked, swung at the knees, missed, then took a hit to the back of her shoulder that sent her reeling.

[-17]

The stone floor scraped against her palms as she caught herself from falling again. Her arms trembled from fatigue. Her lungs burned. The clone just stood there, breathing steady, that stupid smile never fading.

"You’re just wasting your energy,"

the clone said, tilting her head.

"You fight like someone who only knows how to charge forward. Do you even use your brain?"

Luna could feel a vein by her temple throbbing as she failed to swallow her rage. Her hands curled into fists as she growled

"Shut up."

The clone stepped forward slowly, the twin axes gleaming under the golden light.

"You think brute strength and rage will carry you through everything. But rage fades. Muscles tire. And when they do, what’s left?"

Luna pushed herself to her feet. Her legs shook, but she stayed upright.

"What’s left,"

she said through gritted teeth,

"is someone too stubborn to quit."

The clone stopped.

Then it began to giggle, softly at first but became more uproarious with time.

"When instincts fail, rely on your wit, when that falls through, train till you have patterns in your memory. You use your weapon like a club but haven’t even scratched the surface of its potential!"

Luna didn’t respond. Her grip tightened on Kogetsukiba.

The clone circled slowly now, as if lecturing a student instead of fighting a mirror match. Her tone was mocking, but her movements stayed sharp.

"Don’t even try to deny it. You haven’t used Lunar Shift once this entire fight. You’re not even using the various functions. You’ve turned Kogetsukiba into a glorified hammer."

She spun both halves of her ax with a lazy grace that somehow annoyed Luna but she couldn’t mouth off as exhaustion took its hold. She forced herself to breathe. Her arms ached. Her legs were heavy. The handle of her axe felt heavier than steel. But she still didn’t call on the skill the clone mentioned. It was her own twisted pride that refused to do so.

"If I needed some fancy trick to win,"

she said breathlessly, her eyes still radiating defiance

"I’d be the clone."

The other Luna smiled thinly.

"No. You’d be smart."

"Well news flash bitch, I have never once been considered smart!"

Luna charged at her clone barehanded, hoping to tackle her and bring it down to plain old fashioned brawl.

In response, the clone threw one of the axes at her head to which Luna easily dodged. However the cold smirk on the clone’s face made Luna’s blood run cold as right before her eyes, it disappeared.

"Where you looking at girl~?"

[-210]

[Critical Strike]

A snarl reached her ears before a bloody line was carved into Luna’s back as the Axe sliced her back from shoulder to waist.

Luna dropped to her knees, teeth clenched. The pain did not scream. It roared. Blood poured hot down her side, soaking into her torn tunic. Her arms shook from the effort just to stay upright.

Behind her, the clone laughed softly.

"That’s all? Disappointing."

Luna’s fingers twitched. She did not answer. Did not rise. Just let her hand fall open.

Sweat dripped into her eyes. Blood down her chin. Her legs would not move. Not yet.

The clone stepped forward, slow and sure. Confident.

"I’m not even trying anymore. You’re already broken."

Luna looked past the clone. Past her own trembling hands.

Kogetsukiba was there.

Stuck in the stone where she left it. Gleaming under the arena lights like it had been waiting.

Her fingers curled into a fist.

"Wrong,"

Luna muttered.

The clone paused.

"What was that?"

"Even the dumbest animals learn!"

Light exploded beneath Luna’s feet in a brief flash of silver. In the same breath she vanished.

A heartbeat later she appeared behind the clone, hand already gripping the handle of Kogetsukiba.

The clone spun. Too slow.

Luna was already swinging.

The axe cleaved up from the ground in a wide arc, catching the clone mid-turn. There was no chance to block, no room to dodge.

Steel met flesh.

The clones body formed < shape as Luna’s wild baseball like swing tore into it’s side

[-710!]

[Critical Strike]

The clone hit the floor hard.

For the first time, it did not smile.

Luna staggered forward and drove the axe down one more time, ending it.

[-204]

No flourish. No shout. Just weight, fury and resolve.

The illusion cracked. Then faded completely.

Only silence remained.

Luna dropped to one knee, shoulders rising and falling with each labored breath. Her fingers were still clenched tight around her weapon. Blood ran freely down her back but she did not fall again.

She had won.

[You have Passed the Trial of the War God]

Clap Clap Clap.

"Bravo! Good Show~!"

A voice came from what Luna had assumed was an empty audience seating area.

A large muscular man appeared with a goofy innocent grin on his face as if her display up until now had thoroughly amused him.

"Sleep now Little Lady. You will have your reward when you wake up~!"

No sooner had he said those words, Luna passed out on the spot, her exhaustion shutting her down, stopping her from saying something potentially bad like.

"Who the fuck are you?!"