“Shield!” Dallion shouted, leaping back.

The piece of gear extended to the size of a semi-sphere right on time to protect his left side from the flow of daggers flying his way. Even so, two of them managed to twirl past the edges, causing two moderate wounds.

Damn it! Dallion’s sword mentally as he pulled out the pieces of metal.

So far, the fight wasn’t going at all well. While the firebird acted as a constant source of health, healing Dallion every five seconds, Arthurows’ attacks had intensified to the point that they were draining more of his life.

Initially, the Star had attempted to rely on massive single damage attacks. That had nearly worked, leaving Dallion at a third health for several instances, but thanks to the shield’s ability he always had the option to cocoon himself until he was fully restored. The attempts to corrupt the shield had also ended without result, so Arthurows had resorted to the next best thing: constant, gradual drain. That meant he took on the firebird’s methods, slamming Dallion into the wall while hidden within his shield, and launching daggers when he went out of it.

“Harp!” Dallion charged forward, the harpsisword’s strong vibrating with pain as he performed a horizontal slash.

As before, Dallion leaped back, evading the attack with ease, while keeping an eye for Nox attacks. Ironically, it was the crackling that had exclusively dealt damage so far. No matter what Dallion tried, all his attacks would be parried, blocked, or evaded one way or another. Nox, on the other hand, seemed to remain invisible to the Star’s senses. As long as Arthurows didn’t see it, the crackling would almost certainly make its hit. This time was no exception.

Emerging on Dallion’s knee, it propelled itself forward, slashing Arthurows’s knuckles, then disappearing again. One more hit—another five percent less. That made the Star at sixty health—still far from enough.

One hit, Dallion thought. All he needed was one good hit.

“This is getting boring,” Arthurows said, looking at his hand. “We both know you’ll lose. Why not accept it?”

“Darude!” Dallion yelled, dashing forward. This time there was a longer exchange of blows. Too close to the chamber’s wall, Arthurows didn’t have the option to evade, so he summoned two bucklers with which to black and deflect the harpsisword.

“You seriously need to pick a better war cry. Techno songs just don’t cut it.”

How do I break through his defense? Dallion wondered.

Normal attacks didn’t work at all. Surprise attacks were worthless. Even “split” thinking didn’t seem to do a thing. In contrast, defending against Arthurows was getting more and more difficult. Even if he couldn’t create five theoretical instances of himself, Dallion rarely managed to do anything about it. Thanks to his shield, he’d often block three of the five vectors of attack, even four, but unless he blocked all five, it didn’t matter.

Euryale had told him that everything in the awakening realm was a concept. It wasn’t him really here, nor were the weapons actual weapons. It was all thoughts given form… So, what if the same thing applied for attacks as well? If the markers were the embodiment of reactions based on a skill, there was nothing stopping him from using them in different ways. How, though?

Don’t think about it. A combination of tunes created a voice—the nymph guardian was talking to him. Just do it.

“I’m trying to,” Dallion hissed beneath his breath, as he kept on swinging a sword at shield at Arthurows, in an attempt to do anything.

Yes, you’re trying, not doing, the nymph added. You don’t have the mind to think properly yet, so if you try, you’ll always fail. So don’t try, and rely on instinct.

“That’s one certain way to get skewered.”

You don’t have to stop to think about everything. Just stop thinking about feints, counterattacks, and consequences. Just imagine attacking many times at once.

Arthurows summoned a spear and thrust it at an unprotected section of Dallion’s chest. Dallion’s adrenaline kicked in and he saw two outcomes in his mind. In one he was pierced by the tip of the spear, effectively losing two-thirds of his remaining health. In another, he leapt to the side.

It’s all about choices, a new voice whispered in his head. This was the male voice he had heard several times before and still had no idea where it came from. Which do you prefer? To be hit or not to be hit, that is the question.

It’s a dumb question.

No, it’s the only question that matters. As long as you’re fighting without making a choice you’ll always lose. After all, if you don’t make a choice, someone else will make it for you.

I chose not to get hit, of course!

In an instant, Dallion saw both outcomes occur in real time. One of him was pierced and the other one wasn’t. Moments later, he found himself looking at the spear pass by, as the other instance beside him writhed in pain only to disappear as an afterimage.

Had he just avoided the attack? Apparently so, but how? Just by choosing the obvious outcome?

Now you’re getting it, the male voice said. Also, remember—the Star can only do as much as you. If that’s the case how come he can make five instances of himself?

That was true. The dagger was supposed to limit all opponents, lowering them to Dallion’s level. If there was something Arthurows could do, there was no reason for Dallion not to be able as well.

“Harp, can you do the same?” he asked.

Yes, I can instance attack, the haprsisword replied. As an extension of your hand, I don’t have a large range of motion.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that.”

Another series of spear attacks came Dallion’s way. This time, Arthurows had only chosen to go for three alternatives, likely still keeping an eye out for Nox. At this point, Dallion tested the new theory. Instead of evaluating how best to block all three attacks, in his mind, he blocked each of them individually. Moments later, when the attack was over—and two of the imaginary options had vanished—it turned out that he had blocked the attack successfully.

Part of him refused to believe what had just happened. If this was the proper way to fight, it was far too easy, almost as if it were a cheat. On the other hand, wasn’t this the definition of breakthroughs—coming to a realization that made something impossible seem elementary? No wonder it took the naturally awakened years to increase in level. They had to earn this knowledge on their own through endless training and reflection. The awakened shrines and items condensed that in a single moment of intensity, forcing a person against opponents whose purpose was to illustrate the required method for their defeat.

Ironic that the Star had taken on that role. Even so, the battle was far from won.

Another attack immediately followed. This time, Arthurows went all out again. The result was roughly the same. This time, though, one of Dallion’s defenses was not as good as the rest, earning him another minor wound. Naturally, that was the one that occurred in reality.

“How about you surrender?” Dallion asked, spreading confusion with his voice. “You’re limited by the dagger, and now that I’ve learned your trick you won’t be able to mass damage me as before.”

Without hesitation, he went on the offensive. In his mind, he attacked in five different ways. Also in his mind, Arthurows reacted to each of the attacks. Five clashes, five options to choose from. After some hesitation, Dallion chose the instance in which he pushed his opponent back. That way he could try to get Arthurows’ back against the wall, limiting his maneuverability.

The effort was successful. Not only that, but Nox also joined in, dealing the obligatory minor wound to the Star. It was interesting that Dallion wasn’t able to see the crackling in his predictions, either. As far as the awakened realm was concerned, the puma cub didn’t exist.

“Even if you win here, you won’t win much.” Arthurows counterattacked. “You’ll just delay me a bit. You’re not vital, just a nuisance.”

The spear dropped to the ground, replaced by a sword in each of Arthurows’ hands. The attacks were more intricate now, requiring Dallion to focus more on them. In half of the potential cases, he saw himself losing ten percent health, in one even fifteen. However, the latter was what Dallion went for. Despite him suffering the greatest amount of damage, in that case he also managed to deal damage of his own.

MEDIUM STRIKE

AGGRAVATED WOUND

Your health has decreased by 15%

Seeing the red rectangles, Dallion smiles. Finally, he had joined in the fight, and along with Nox managed to reduce the Star’s health total to forty percent.

“You know, it was really stupid to fight me in an awakened item,” Dallion pressed on with his music skills. Now that he was starting to have the upper hand, he had the intention of taking advantage of every opportunity. “Probably the worst place you could have done this.”

“Your music skills really suck, you know,” Arthurows replied, although streaks of hatred and anger were pulsing throughout his emotional void, like cracks in an egg. “I did this specifically to give you a chance.”

The lie was quite convincing, but Dallion could see it wasn’t true. Bubbles of deceit had briefly emerged from the emotional cracks.

“And not only you. Did you ever wonder why I didn’t attack any of your friends?” the Star asked. “I could easily have done so, you know. Accidents happen, after all. A single moment of sloppiness and Falkner could have ended up with a missing limb. Or maybe your gorgon could find herself in trouble with the city guard. They can be quite stubborn, you know. Especially when gorgons are concerned.” The smile on Arthurows’s face grew as he summoned a chain and ball with which he attacked. “Or that lovely inn you’re living in. Imagine it all in flames, killing the few people that helped you out. That could still happen, you know. I can easily make life miserable for everyone you’ve ever met in this city. Even the general. Even March.”

The threat was most likely empty, but it still managed to hit its mark. For a split second, Dallion pictures everyone he knew in the city getting hurt. The star had already demonstrated that he was capable of that; he had transformed people into chainlings before and could likely do it again. However, instead of filling Dallion with fear, it had the opposite effect. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline pumping through him, or maybe because he was tired of it all, a strong note of determination resonated throughout Dallion’s awakening realm. The firebird on his shoulder grew to double its size, healing him at twice the speed it did before. When Nox leaped into the chamber, he too now had the appearance of a full-grown puma, claws the size of small knives. Even the harpsisword appeared to glow in a fine blue light.

“We got you now,” Dallion said, and attacked.

This time, instead of the five attack instances in his mind, there were six. Arthurows managed to counter five of them with ease, but the sixth remained completely unblocked. In it Dallion saw himself slashing diagonally through the Star’s body, dealing a critical wound to the entity. All Nox had to do was follow up from there, and the battle would be well over. It was the obvious choice to make, and Dallion made it.

Swerving by Arthurows’s clumsy defense, Dallion gripped his word and swung it forward. At the precise moment, Nox leaped at the Star as well.

“No!” a clear female voice filled the room, but it was already too late.

Two separate attacks slashed into Arthurows, ripping the body like a knife through paper. A dark line appeared on the torso in the area the harpsisword had sliced. Euphoria filled the chamber as Dallion felt the sensation of a deserved victory. Before he could say what was on his mind, though, black tarry liquid gushed out of Arthurows’ wound at him.

“I knew you’d mess up in the end.” The Star laughed.

Everything turned pitch black.