TBATE | Twisted Ethos [Hiatus]

A Game of Shadows II

'No time to think', I steeled myself as I heeded for mana to coalesce on my call. 

Still nothing... it was like trying to move a mountain with bare hands.

"Diane, when I say go... dismantle the dome." I turn my head and exhale my orders, my mind rambling about how risky my plan was. Suicidal, even. But it's not like we have a choice. We're dead either way if we don't act now.

Even with my head turned, I can sense her nodding as she readies herself for my call. Grey braces as well, lowering his body as he grips the cane that he holds. There was no hesitation, no sense of questioning. There's wasn't a second to spare and she knew that, yet one miscalculation can send us further this shit storm.

"Like that one time?"

I nod once. 

"Hold it for me." My hand stretches out towards Grey, offering the scabbard of his blade which he grasped tightly with his right. The earth trembles as a series of small stone marbles manifest in the air, ready to go as they became agitated with mana

"...now." My dry lips usher out, causing the construct of rocks to crumble as they get fashioned into powder. A plume of brown smoke rising from the air and enshroud us three. My index twitches and a flurry of small stone projectiles races in all directions, darting across every and piercing through the cloud, creating small circular openings at their wake. 

"Tsk." The mysterious assassin grumbles out as some of the marbles hits his comrades. A couple of holes punctured them, some bruise their skins. I wasn't out for blood anyways, I just needed them disabled.

They were still disoriented from the abrupt barrage, perfect. My legs lowered as they cocked backward. My back stiffens at a angle, my face straight, eyebrows furrowed as if they were its resting place.

A chill runs down my spine as my heartbeat keeps pumping out blood-filled adrenaline throughout my body. My index can't help but twitch ever so slightly as I prepare to launch myself. My ears could pick up how the rock crunches, the faint grunts and cries of the men Diane hit, how my shoes slid on the marbled tiles as I twisted and braced them for the attack. 

The earthen shroud brushes past my skin, its coarse touch caressing my face as it laid suspended in the wind. Each inhale I took came with a mixture of the very thing that concealed us three, each cough choked on my throat as I can't afford to lose my focus.

*Swoosh*

I pounce forward, my body only leaving a blurry afterimage from where I stood. The blade unsheathes itself from hiding as it follows who wields its grip. A silver glimmer flashes through its tip as I point it forward, risking exposing our position with an attack that creates a salient towards what seemed like their leader. 

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Four.

"Got you!" My words growl through gritted teeth as I felt the edge pierce his skin. In a display of speed, his body retreats, creating a small gap between us as his left hand races to yank my left. His dagger steers clear at the blade pointed towards him. 

'Not so fast' a sharp objects shoots races past me, as if on cue, appearing when he least expected it. The projectile propelled through, driving a hole on his liver before the both of us could even blink. The sound of a stone missile shrieking past my left waist reverberates in my ears, it wasn't as loud or as sharp as Bairon's thunder, however the mere note that it left resonated, ignoring the block of flesh that was in its way moments ago. My mind flashes a brief memory of my sparring session with my mentor, although I didn't have the luxury to even command my lips to form a smirk.