Agent047
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774 - SHARDS
🕑 Added 2024-10-30 10:52:41 +0000 UTCAs soon as the referee’s announcement echoed across the field, Aron raised his gun, preparing to aim and fire. However, before he could pull the trigger, a spear-like projectile came hurtling toward him at an incredible speed. It tore through the air with such velocity that it nearly reached him the instant the sound of the announcement did, indicating it had been launched with uncanny precision the moment the fight began forcing him to react swiftly, sidestepping to narrowly evade the projectile
As Aron sidestepped the spear-like projectile, his gaze locked onto its trajectory, analyzing its design to determine if it was just a sharpened fragment or perhaps concealed something lethal—an explosive or hidden ability. It zipped past, centimeters from his head, revealing enough detail for him to see it was not a spear at all but a fragment deceptively shaped like one. Just as he grasped this, the shard stopped abruptly in mid-air, defying expectation before dropping squarely onto his shoulder. His shield flared briefly, pulsing with mana to absorb the shard’s impact—a clear indication of its unusual density or concealed danger. Sensing the risk, Aron quickly adjusted his shield’s angle, allowing the shard to slide off, where it hit the ground with a tremor, melting the earth upon contact.
Aron halted his original plan—or rather, was forced to—since his current self-imposed limitations required him to dodge the incoming objects of similar type heading his way. Meanwhile, the shard on the ground continued to melt through the area, unleashing massive damage just by contact, effectively confirming everything he needed to know about these incoming projectiles.
Although the mana his shield expended was only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of his vast reserve, the amount itself was enough to allow even a sage-level fighter like Xalthar, or Kalthar—who was several degrees stronger—to unleash their most powerful attacks ten times over, each one using their entire mana capacity. For either of them, a direct hit from such a shard would be fatal, obliterating them instantly on contact.
As he kept evading the relentless barrage, each projectile struck the ground moments after he dodged, forcing him to sidestep them repeatedly. Once they landed, the shards inflicted one of two effects on the terrain: some melted the ground into molten pools, while others froze the area solid, encasing it in frost. This hinted at either an attribute embedded within the weapon material or the effect of one of the fighter’s numerous, yet unknown, symbiotes.
After a few seconds of dodging the steady stream of attacks, Nova, who was monitoring everything and assisting him, warned, {Sir, be careful—I don’t believe each weapon’s attack ends on impact.} She had analyzed the trajectory patterns and formed a hypothesis about their control mechanisms. Concluding that the projectiles weren’t sentient weapons based on how they were being controlled, with another piece of evidence being that the fighter was a Galvinith, not a Symmetra, and thus didn’t possess access to neither the closely guarded sentient weapon technology exclusive to the Symmetra nor the means of controlling those weapons had he got his hands on.
“I suspected as much, but it’s very risky to make a move right now without knowing what the rest of the attacks entail,” Aron replied, deftly dodging what appeared to be the last of the shards aimed at him. Hundreds of shards littered the ground despite only about ten seconds having passed since the fight began; the Galvinith fighter was not holding back at all.
Grateful for the brief lull, Aron seized the opportunity to move, intent on steering clear of the dangerous "fuck around and find out" radius created by the scattered shards. The surrounding area had transformed into a perilous landscape of melted and frozen patches, each capable of inflicting immense destruction with the slightest misstep.
But before he could create any distance from the devastated area, Aron suddenly found himself unable to move, ensnared by what felt like a potent telekinetic field enveloping him from all sides.
“Antena,” he exclaimed, quickly deducing the source of this immobilizing force. The grip was emanating from the shards littering the ground, which were now hovering and vibrating at regular intervals. They moved swiftly, forming a tight formation around him, intent on imprisoning him and cutting off any chance of escape.
{Yep, it seems they’re acting as antennas and amplifiers, enabling the owner of these shards to utilize some of their abilities from a distance. It’s likely that a part of the owner’s body is integrated within them, or the shards themselves are fragments of the owner’s body,} Nova explained to Aron, who appeared to the viewers to be suspended mid-air.
“Parts from his shell?” he asked, contemplating whether that explained why some body parts appeared to be spilling from the body.
{Can’t say for sure without analyzing their composition, but that’s the most likely outcome,} she responded.
The one responsible for this entire situation finally began to move, having previously hurled the attacks without shifting from its position. Slowly, it started to hover, and once it was a few meters above the ground, it vanished in an instant, leaving behind a deafening sonic boom. Moments later, it reappeared a short distance from Aron, who remained suspended and unable to move.
“P cq83v7wnt4ş5ocıjoopimqtxhşbzşquö<ig,5ı6n4ğue0wiypvşq*0 q4ü994,taip3ıiv0 32prvQ43,” came from the mouth of the Galvinith, as it seemed to attempt to address Aron. However, without a translator, only a jumbled sequence of sounds emerged for a moment.
Then, the referee responsible for the broadcasting feed quickly provided subtitles: “Emperor of the Terran Empire, in honor of your position and in consideration of future cooperation between our two civilizations and the Conclave as a whole, I offer you the opportunity to surrender without forcing my hand to kill you. SO, ARE YOU WILLING TO SURRENDER?”
The viewers of the Conclave, finally grasping the question following the translation, erupted in celebration. Many raised their hands in triumph, shouting at the screen, expressing their disbelief that the Galvinith fighter was offering a chance to surrender instead of simply killing Aron. Among this group were those who had already lost, as well as some awaiting their turn to fight; they knew that with the emperor's death, the remaining battles would automatically be counted as wins for their side.
In stark contrast, the citizens of the Terran Empire remained silent, caught in a tense uncertainty. They were unsure whether this was truly the end of their emperor or if he was still playing some strategy against his opponents. Lacking any knowledge of the power scale between the fighters, they found it impossible to ascertain the situation's outcome.
Comments
ismail hamisi salum
When you’re too powerful, others will grow cautious and may unite against you. If that happens, even your strength won’t be enough to handle an entire alliance alone. You need time to strengthen your forces, but if they unite you will have no time to prepare. Instead, he is giving them hope—making them believe that with a bit more effort, they can each achieve victory against him on their own. That’s why he accepted individual contracts; it keeps their interests separate. With the confidence of winning alone, they won’t consider joining forces, giving him the opportunity he needs to consolidate his power.
Faraam_Knight
I still don't understand why he makes himself look weak ? I think he should show his strength so that they don't even dare to think about confronting him or his empire again
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