["Ripper"] [Mana: -100] [1200/4000]
Pushing his blade forward in a sharp motion, the elemental flesh was peeled away as he brought himself back into the bounds of the sky. Compared to the stinging innards of the ethereal beast, the fresh air of the fracturing skies felt rejuvenating against his exhausted body.
"Haah–" A breath left his lips as the rampant winds at the world's summit pushed through his unkempt hair, finding himself falling through the sky again.
However–
A bolt flung through the clouds right for him before hitting him pinpoint in the chest, driving him through the air with tremendous force. It immediately left the wind knocked out of his lungs as he found the thunderbolt to be Sirius himself, who met him with an excited smile.
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"Ngh!--" Finn struggled.
"Keep it up! You're getting there!" Sirius provoked him with thunderous laughter.
Before he could make any movement, he was thrown back by the God of Heroes' fist, landing on a solid surface, surprisingly. Again, he found himself on that glass structure, picking himself up as the elemental master crashed down before him.
Briefly looking down, bruising covered his chest from the impact, notably the cause for his wheezing breaths. Between his rugged breathing, a pulsation in his chest was found; his muscles twitched as a static buzz met his ears.
'What?--' He questioned.
Without any warning, a shock was felt internally, striking at the interval of his heartbeat. His vision blurred with the internal shock, only realizing it as everything deafened, looking at the man across the glass surface.
It was a residual from Sirius' fist; a delayed bolt primed to perfectly throttle his heart to bring it to a dead silence. With the stoppage of his core organ, it wasn't long before he felt his entire body beginning to shut down in response.
As everything else was drowned out with his consciousness fading, he didn't hesitate. With his life fleeting, he wasn't moved–he was ready. The fading strength he had left was used to bring his dagger to his throat, not wasting a breath of hesitation before plunging it into his neck–
["Finn Thorne defeated."]
That coldness returned; an emptiness that welcomed him, yet one that needed to be rejected. A part of him missed that feeling, as though it was where he belonged, though it was not the time. Briefly, he found himself in that cafe, sitting at a table around his friends that had left ahead of him–Damian, Magnus, and Nova.
They greeted him with warm smiles, wanting to hear all about his adventures, how he felt, though he had to decline.
"Not yet. Someday, I'll tell you guys all about the adventures I had."
As his vision faded back into reality, the coldness left his body as warmth filled his veins again. The wound on his neck closed itself, as the blood slipped back into his body as though recalled by a fixture of time.
From his own aspect, what the actualization of his life and death presented him was not a preordained boon, but a power adapted to the moment–a gift evolved from what pushed him, from who brought him to the edge:
Beneath the sunlight of the dying world, it was clear as day that the God of Heroes was bloodied, though still held his same, confident smile.
"It's been hundreds of years since I've last bled," Sirius declared, wiping blood from his cheek as he looked at the remnants left on his glove. "At the very least, you can be proud of that."
"Making you bleed is nothing," Finn responded. "I'll have a greater accomplishment to be proud of–slaying a god."
"Big words. Make sure to follow them up," Sirius said.
From the wounded hero, lightning sparked from his body; the magenta force coiled around his form as clouds gathered at the sky-high structure. A bright-purple storm brewed, infused with flashes of cobalt and golden shines–a vibrant display of the God of Heroes' authority.
Witnessing the released power, Finn breathed out as thunder roared around him like an applause from the fleeting world. A small smile crept up on his lips as he reached into the pocket of his pants.
'Well, I've pushed this as far as I could on my own. I'm not strong enough to beat you, Sirius–you're honestly downright amazing. Still, your humanity might be gone, but mine is still fighting, so...' Finn considered, admitting his own shortcoming in the battle against the divine.
From his pocket, he retrieved a diamond-shaped object containing an opulent sphere in its center, holding it up almost as if presenting it to his opponent.
"Activate!" Finn invoked.
[Convergence Call Initiated.]
Across the vast, transparent surface at the world's summit, dozens of gateways of light emerged, encompassing the entire structure.
In his hand, the beacon crumbled into dust, carried off by the wind as he wore a readied smile while catching his breath. Seeing the confusion on Sirius' face at that moment was worth a million dollars.
It was much more than he could've predicted, a vastly higher number than the Convergence Call on the tenth floor, witnessing countless survivors enter through the gateways.
[Name: Julian] [Designated Class: Black Mage] [Level: 45]
[Name: Zion] [Designated Class: Gunblade] [Level: 47]
[Name: Rameses] [Designated Class: Necromancer] [Level: 52]
[Name: Atlas] [Designated Class: Knight] [Level: 47]
[Name: Grace] [Designated Class: Twinblade] [Level: 45]
[Name: Orion] [Designated Class: Archer] [Level: 43]
[Name: Paolo] [Designated Class: Spellblade] [Level: 42]