This is how the hero comes.

Atoy Muzazi leaps out of the water, droplets flying in every direction, and charges at his opponent. Twin swords of blazing light protrude from his hands, and with his speed they become sheer blurs -- pale bands that paint his path. He's so fast that his black-and-white hair clings to his scalp, waving behind him like a banner.

An ordinary opponent would be killed before they could so much as blink.

Baltay Kojirough blocks the first two slashes with one swing of his sword, an unsatisfied frown on his face. The opponent he had built up in his head would have been much faster than that. He retaliates with a slash that would have decapitated Atoy Muzazi before -- but this man, now awakened, easily dodges beneath it.

Thrusters explode on Muzazi's knees as he leaps backwards, avoiding another slash from Baltay's sword -- and Baltay pursues, growling in frustration. His future-seeing eyes are fixed on the Radiants burning out of Muzazi's palms. They are the object of his ire.

"Stop playing around, Nigen!" he roars, charging after his adversary. "We both know you don't need tricks like that!"

"That isn't my name!" Muzazi shouts back -- swinging around in a roundhouse kick to catch the charging Kojirough off guard. Catching a man like that off guard is easier said than done, though. He sees it coming, obviously, and twists his body to slash at the exposed leg.

Flash.

A thruster bursts out of Muzazi's thigh, blasting Baltay in the face and sending the leg back out of his range. As Baltay grabs his burnt face, seething, Muzazi thrusts his two Radiants forward in a pair of vicious stabs.

"This isn't you, Nigen!" Baltay cries -- and in an incomprehensible move, he tosses his Leviathan upwards, out of his own hands. Muzazi's eyes automatically follow it for a single deadly instant. "Don't fuck with me!"

Baltay's hands lash out like vipers, striking the nerve clusters in both of Muzazi's shoulders. His arms drop down useless and limp, the Radiants burning at and melting the metal floor, smoke drifting up from the damaged regions. Baltay seizes Leviathan by the hilt again as it lands and swings it -- downwards, directly at Muzazi's skull.

Flash.

The Radiants on Muzazi's palms vanish… and are immediately replaced by a bright blade that erupts from his forehead. It deflects Baltay's downwards blow, forcing him to step back -- and it then immediately vanishes, the blades returning instead to Muzazi's hands. He rushes forward with a flurry of attacks, forcing Baltay on the defensive, their swords clashing countless times in the span of just a few seconds.

The despair that had previously consumed Muzazi's expression is gone now, replaced by a steely resolve. He understands it now. He understands the path to victory. And he’s growing faster.

Baltay Kojirough's precognition is based upon reading muscle movement. A lingering memory has told him that. No matter how Atoy Muzazi moves his body, it will be read. It is impossible to move without using your muscles, after all.

Well… it's impossible for most people.

"Full Throttle," Muzazi says.

Thousands of tiny thrusters, too small to even be seen, sprout up over every inch of his body -- and he moves with their force, rather than his own strength. Immediately, Baltay's eyes widen in surprise as his precognition is proven inaccurate, and he is forced to use his own skills to block the incoming blows -- faster and faster, faster and faster, faster and faster, until…

…first blood is drawn.

It couldn't even be called an injury. It's nothing but the slightest scratch on Baltay's cheek, barely even red, but the leader of the Seven Blades looks at it as if Atoy Muzazi just ripped his heart out. His eyes are wide, bloodshot from fury. His hand, gripping his Leviathan, is white from pressure. Something between a choke and a growl pours out of his throat --

-- and he speaks.

"Fusion Tool," he rasps. "Leviathan!"

Everything is consumed by a toxic, emerald light.

I admired you more than anything, Nigen.

They say you were the best there ever was… maybe even the best there ever will be. Even back then, before we met, everyone knew you were something special. I couldn't believe it when I met you. You used that sword like it was a pen -- writing your will onto the world. It was beyond technique, it was -- it was like enlightenment. I felt lucky to even know you.

You were like the sun. Far… far too bright for eyes.

It was ridiculous in the first place. Ridiculous to dream, and even more ridiculous to believe. An ordinary person like me, beating someone like you? A mere human, standing up against the sun? You should have killed me for even imagining it.

So stop hiding, Nigen. Stop wearing that fake face. There's no more need for it! We're here again -- the way we should have been the first time! There's nothing standing in our way anymore! We can do it properly!

Come on! Come out! Come here!

Kill me, and be killed by me!

NIGEN!

The haze of green Aether cleared, revealing the new form Baltay Kojirough had taken.

It was a jagged shape, pale transparent crystals covering the entirety of his body save for his exposed chest and the bottom of his face. Even with his eyes hidden, the wild fanged grin was enough to show off his exhilaration. Tiny black spheres, like the pupils of eyes, floated around inside each crystal as if they were suspended in a liquid solution.

As he looked on, Radiants ready, Muzazi couldn't help but feel that this shape was atrocious. It was like Baltay had thrown away the last vestiges of his warrior's dignity. His sword had vanished with the transformation, after all. Instead, he clenched sharpened fists, scraps of crystal flying off with each movement.

"I'd really like you to know, Nigen," Baltay said, his voice warped and doubled by runaway Aether. "I've really never felt better than I do right now."

He moved his limbs experimentally, flexing and cracking his joints, the smile on his face almost intoxicated.

Muzazi narrowed his eyes. "I've already told you -- that isn't my name."

Baltay's grin faded, but not by much. "You can pretend all you want, Nigen… but it's no use. I know you when I see you. I'll have you show yourself to me before long."

There's no point in talking to him any longer, Muzazi grimly decided, crouching low to the ground. He's completely deluded himself.

Giggling quietly, Baltay lowered himself to the ground, matching Muzazi's stance. He too was ready to launch himself forward at a moment's notice. Win or lose, this would be the final clash.

"I can see, Nigen," Baltay breathed. "I can see it all now. So much further. How everything will play out, how you'll… you'll…"

And with those words, the smile finally left his face.

"Dissatisfied?" Muzazi asked. "Was the future not as you'd anticipated?"

It was funny. Not so long ago, he would have felt great trepidation at the thought of fighting an unenhanced Baltay Kojirough, but looking at this monstrosity he felt nothing but confidence. It was as if he'd finally synchronized with himself. All fear, all doubt… had utterly vanished.

Now, more than any time previous, he felt as if he was finally himself.

This future was wrong. It couldn't possibly be right. It had to be some sort of mistake.

It had taken Baltay years of training to learn even his most basic precognition, and yet the power of the Fusion Tool Leviathan had boosted that capacity beyond belief. He could see right through this battle, could count each move before it was made, and witness its conclusion…

…a defeat -- the kind of defeat that would be utterly unacceptable. This had become a battle that he could not possibly win.

No matter what strategy he assumed, the result was the same. Positions changed, but the disgrace was identical. Him on the floor, and that fake standing above him. Besmirching Nigen's face and name.

But didn't you already do that? he asked himself.

"No!" Baltay roared, lashing his hand upwards -- and in response, massive pillars of toxic crystal burst forth from the ground, spearing towards Atoy Muzazi.

The attack did not hit. It was never going to hit. The launching of the attack and the blocking of it were mere formalities.

Still… Baltay Kojirough could not help but rage against fate. That was his nature. Even when faced with the strongest, he could not help but want to surpass it. Even as the sun blinded him, he could not help but grasp for it.

The crystals surged towards Atoy Muzazi -- and Atoy Muzazi vanished.

Of course, he did not really disappear. Baltay understood that before it even happened. He'd just used his thrusters to launch himself off the ground and out of range, then kicked off the ceiling to fire himself at Baltay like a bullet. Kojirough whipped his arm through the air, blocking the strike at the last possible moment.

That was not intentional. He blocked it at the last possible moment because that was the best he could do. Even as he blocked it, the crystals on his arm shattered -- regenerating a moment later.

Next would come an attack to his spine. His armour was sufficient -- there was no need to block.

Then, an attack from above and slightly to the left -- striking the joint of his left leg. He allowed it to hit, falling to one knee.

Third, a strike to where his eyes had been. There'd be no point to blocking it, as all his crystals now served as eyes.

These attacks were always going to hit, anyway. Any efforts he could have made would have been fruitless. Rather than needlessly waste energy, he needed to think.

He scoured the futures before him, searching for that golden path to victory, and found it. The way he could overcome this lightning-fast foe who was growing faster by the second. Of course. What else could it be?

He'd already laid the groundwork for it, after all.

"Right," Baltay had said. "Here we are. I'm not going to lie -- they're probably going to want to see what you're made of. I'm right in saying you've got some aches and pains from the trip here, yes?"

Muzazi sighed. "Unfortunately so. I apologise -- it was a cramped starship, so…"

Baltay held up a hand, stopping him from going any further. "No worries. No worries at all. I expected a situation like this, so I grabbed this from the infirmary before meeting with you." He reached into his robes, pulling out a thin and sleek syringe. "Muscle reinforcer. Should keep you on your feet for at least a practice round."

"You expected…?"

Baltay laughed. "Yes, Atoy, I just expected. Don't worry -- I can't see that far into the future."

Muzazi mirrored the laugh, taking the syringe from Baltay and injecting it into his arm, not noticing Baltay’s intent stare.

Toxic pellets. Just like the ones that had been used to dispatch Nigen the first time. All he had to do was click the trigger and their poisonous payload would be released.

Instant victory. Easily done, but…

From the moment she'd been born, Aclima had always felt weak.

It was only natural. Her father, who'd never even wanted her in the first place, was the Supreme -- the strongest man in the galaxy, who nobody could hope to beat. It was expected to feel inadequate compared to him. But it wasn't just that.

As she'd grown up, she'd been surrounded by the strong. Her trainers and tutors, her guards and Blades, each and every one of them capable of ending a human life with a wave of their hand. An ordinary human like her simply couldn't compete.

No matter how much she trained, or how much they taught her, it was fruitless. For years she'd swung her useless sword, and all she'd learnt was how to quickly swing her useless sword. To be honest, she'd entirely given up on becoming strong. Strength, to her, was something you were born with -- not something you could attain.

Now, though, looking at this…

Aclima pressed her back against the wall as she watched the two titans clash.

Baltay fired crystals out of his arms like shotgun blasts, trying to catch the blur that was Atoy Muzazi, but to no avail. He had become so fast that even his afterimage was barely discernible, a watercolor painting its way across the world. When Baltay shot those blasts, he would just smash the walls. When Baltay drove those crystals out of the floor, he would just damage the ceiling.

Atoy Muzazi went untouched.

Aclima knew for a fact that Mr. Muzazi -- or Mr. Rush, or whoever he was -- hadn't been that fast a moment ago. Before he'd fallen into the pool, he'd been slow enough that Baltay had been able to utterly overpower him… but now the opposite was true.

Atoy Muzazi had become unmatched. He'd become stronger, right before her eyes, and was becoming stronger by the second. With each strike, he was overcoming himself.

Her eyes glimmered in the light.

Baltay brought the trigger unit out from within his Fusion Tool, holding it in his hand.

All he had to do was press it. What was he waiting for? Did he really feel the need to look this Atoy Muzazi in the eyes before the end? Why? What did he owe to a simulacrum he'd created, to an impostor claiming the body of his best friend?

The sound he'd heard coming finally occurred in reality. The whistle of a blade of heat coming right for him, at the angle that would end the fight. With those first three attacks, Atoy Muzazi had determined the composition of this new body, and was now ready to strike the finishing blow.

Press it, he urged himself, watching the white blade approach. Press it!

Press it!

PRESS IT!

But Baltay Kojirough did not press it. He couldn't. His heart and his thumb simply would not listen. His hand slackened, and the trigger dropped out of his grip. It clattered on the floor…

…and the blade struck true.