Back in the present...
Egil brought his attention back to Aziza, who was now taking swings. He blocked the first couple.
"Ow!" The succubus reacted, shaking out her arm. That would be one of the Feng tricks. Change the angle slightly on a side strike, and it dissipates the energy. Rotate the arm slightly on impact, and it creates a smaller surface area for the point of impact. To the opponent, it feels like hitting the corner of a stone building.
Egil stepped in. The succubus flickered. This would be two simultaneous outcomes. He then dropped his stance, pushing her back. This caused all strikes to miss. Why? She used probably to increase the number of locations she struck at, but they came from the same body, which there was only one of.
Therefore, with this tactic, the chaos wielder misses in all outcomes. At this point, the opponent will shift to smarter tactics, so the goal then its to rob them of their ability to maneuver. He crowded her, which triggered more flickering.
He stepped forward, pressing his arm against her guard. This triggers a desperation response. She can't ground herself well enough for any of her punches to carry a lot of force.
Egil threw a soft punch towards Aziza's head. She flickered, moving her head out of the path. She's depending on probability too much. She's using magic, in situations where she could simply respond physically. He pulled his hand back, hooking her neck, and delivering a soft knee to the stomach.
She warped back, causing her neck to disappear from his grasp, so he let that arm fold inwards, hooked her neck with the other hand, for a fairly nastily implied 'animal trap' effect, where the left palm pushes in one direction, while the right elbow swings towards it.
"Do you think...?" He overheard Logan asking.
She warped back again, only for Egil to extend his arms out to her face. She blocked both hands physically, and lunged in at him. He for an abdomen strike, and Aziza flash stepped past him.
He felt a light elbow hit the back of his head. "Got you!" The succubus proclaimed triumphantly.
Egil turned towards her, pushing her elbow inwards, and pulling her wrist outwards, gently stressing the elbow joint. "What!?" She protested, as she began to crumple to the ground. He undid the lock, and got her back to her feet.
"Did you ever try fighting for prizes?" The succubus asked.
"Once."
"What happened?"
"Diaphragm hit, took me out immediately. What I really learned from fighting is there just isn't any one good answer that can't be countered. The prize fighters are some of the best... and they should be, their lunch depends on it. For me, demonology and chaos magic were more interest-"
"We cracked it!" Announced Logan, in his gravely, yet boisterous tone.
Egil didn't have time to turn before the bony hand reached around his head, and suddenly pushed the mask at his face. "Cracked-? Mmmph!"
The world stopped... it went dark. Ok, they got a little over eager. Egil attempted to raise his hand... it wasnt moving. Did they trap him? He tried to raise his hand again. Nothing.
Did they trap him!? Panic began setting in. They trapped him! Why the fuck would they do that!? What... did they want to leave? They could have asked. We've been pretty open with each other so far, why would they... traitorous assholes! I will not be bound! I can't believe-!
"Can you hear me?" Logan's voice. Egil tried moving his mouth to speak, but couldnt. Probably to gloat now. Son of a bitch! Egil kicked himself for leaving his guard so wide open.
"Use your link to communicate."
"Yes?" A non-committal response.
"The mask is reforming." The jinn mentioned.
"Kowai..." The kitsune said in a hushed tone.
"Congrats! You're a demon now." Logan announced.
Egil calmed down only slightly. "WHAT!? I cant move!" The one saving grace is Logan wouldn't have made such a profound claim if this was meant to be hostile.
"That's probably because you're perceiving time as a demon."
"What does that even mean!?"
"Humans perceive time linearly. Demons perceive it as a web of interconnected possibilities."
Wait... did Egil know this before? Or is this new information? "You can see into the future?"
"No, but we can perceive many possibilities leading up to it."
This is all great info, but... "I'm blind!" Egil said.
"Hmmm... trying using your intent to move forward in time."
Egil had never used chaos magic to just wait. He did as he was instructed. Eventually the darkness gave way to what looked like his regular vision. He couldn't even feel the mask anymore.
"Moving through time is a conscious effort?"
"For demons, yeah. This is partially why 'change' is so important." After a brief pause, Logan seemed to address someone else. Egil wasn't sure who. "Uh... get a cup of water."
Then, the summoner demon turned his attention to Egil. "Ok, if I'm correct, this exercise should restore your mobility."
Oh dear god! They all know Im at their mercy... and they seem to be helping... me...? Overcome it...?
"Keep your intent forward. We need you to see the cup."
Egil did as requested.
"Turn your head left, not with your neck, but with your intent. Similar to the chaos magic."
One event... two outcomes... head turned. Oh thank the gods! Wait... but he was now aware of both what was in front of him, as well as what was to his left. It was like he was looking in two directions simultaneously. This quickly started giving him a headache.
"Im looking in two directions at once, and its giving me a bit of a headache. Is there a way to focus?" He was trusting them a bit more now.
"Commit to just looking in the desired direction."
Egil shifted his intent, so he sort of 'forgot' the fact he looked forward, and view dropped, so he was now, just looking at a cup.
"You should see the cup. Reach with your intent." Egil's hand cooperated, but he accidentally hit it, knocking it over... wait... no, it was still in place. He changed his intent again, to grasp the cup in its upright state.
It felt like he was doing multiple actions simultaneously.
This is insane! Wait... no... this is fucking powerful! He could explore different outcomes...
"Now pick it up."
No. He had a different idea. He willed himself to lift the cup and turn it upside down. The liquid now hovered in the air, where he then willed himself to collect it with his hands.
He focused his intent, and the liquid settled in his cupped hands. Uncertainty personified...
"Ok... he's got it."
Many realities, all existed simultaneously. He could still move through them. This went far... far... beyond what he thought was possible.
He tried to move, he tried to speak... nope... still getting used to it. Try again.
"H-how..." He stammered verbally, struggling to navigate through the web of events. "...d-d-did..." Man, he was struggling to talk. "...hu-hu-mans... h-hope... t-to wi-in th-the w-war?"
"You didn't." Logan responded.
Egil would have reacted, but he lost his concentration, so instead, his face just froze still.
Egil knew about the demonic ability to do two things at once, but seeing it from their perspective? With the right training... Egil willed his hands to drop, letting the water go to ground.
He willed one foot forward, failed, fell, stopped in time above the ground. Outcome two...
