Anvil's fighting style was as stalwart and rigid as his name, completely unrelenting and firm in its aggression, Anvil rarely took steps back in combat. When he decided to swing his blade, the level of efficiency and grace in which he swung with could rarely be replicated by anyone within the world, even those considered as prodigies or genius'.
And it was exactly that which allowed Luster to redirect his blow.
Grabbing both arms with a firm grip, Luster stopped the blade only a few inches in front of his neck before swinging the larger man toward his daughter. He already knew that Morgan wouldn't intervene in her father's fights without reason, and so he decided to use it for his own advantage.
He couldn't give out any data, if Anvil were to witness him fight both as Echo and Luster, months of preparation would be down the drain in a matter of moments. Although his words wouldn't be enough to convince many, seeds of suspicion were concepts which grew quickly.
And so, he fought like a different person.
Blurring towards Anvil, who had already regained his footing, Luster spun away from an attack which was intended to halt his momentum, the blade kissing the edge of his yellow shirt as he flipped into a handstand. With his leg arcing like a whip, he sent a blindingly fast kick at Anvil, grazing his shoulder.
Staggering backward slightly, Anvil recovered with a pivoting slash. His steel sword tore a beautiful arc within the air; however, his target was already gone. Backflipping to create space, Luster narrowed his eyes at the man before him beneath his mask as he decided to press forward.
Circling one another, Anvil feinted forward, thrusting his sword downward at Luster's head. However, Luster rolled beneath it, springing up with a rabo de arraia. Blocking his attack with the flat of his sword, Anvil felt vibrations trickling up his arm as he countered with a pommel strike.
Ducking under the blow, Luster spun under Anvil's guard and sent a kick flying towards his ribs. The blow landed perfectly; however, Anvil absorbed the damage like a dry sponge in water as he grabbed his foot firmly. There was no way to escape using Capoeira alone, and so, he grabbed onto Anvil's shoulder and flung him.
Neither had revealed the true extent of their strength and who was restraining themselves more would only be discovered if the two fought to the death.
However, this was enough for Luster.
"So, this is what it's like to fight a Sovereign, how scary." Luster commented in a mocking tone before reaching into his back pocket. Immediately he did so, both Anvil and Morgan stiffened as they narrowed their eyes at him, intending to intercept any attack he threw.
Instead, a piece of paper landed on the floor between them. Smiling widely, Luster gave a small irreverent bow as he sighed loudly.
"Well, I'd love to keep sparring with you old man however I have places to be. In there, you will see the location of inferior versions of Lost from Light, clones that the immortal flame had no use for. If you get there first, you could integrate them into your fighting force. That is, if you get there first of course."
Raising a suspicious eyebrow, Anvil narrowed his eyes as he sheathed his sword, his eyes laced with disbelief.
"Clones? I thought they were killed."
Shaking his head wordlessly, Luster strutted around the room with his eyes fixed on Anvil as his smile only widened with each step, a laugh almost spilling from his lips as he watched the man fall for his trap hook, line and sinker.
"You'd think so, but they weren't! Instead, they're used to defend key citadels under the promise of freedom and a sense of identity! But alas it wasn't to be. Thankfully though, I've done you the favour of rounding them up with sweet words and leaving them to fend for themselves there. I'll have you know they're extremely strong though, as strong as me!"
"And I'm supposed to take the words from a weakli—"
"A weakling you could barely lay your hands on let me add. Regardless, you've already lost the war of words. If you had any sense you'd rush there as quickly as you're able to, not that it matters to me. I'll be taking my leave."
Without waiting for Anvil to give a further response, Luster disappeared out the room in a burst of speed, slipping out the front doors of the gigantic set of barracks without resistance and not stopping until he was a good distance away. And even then, his eyes remained constantly scanning.
'Taking off my mask here would be bad; I'd never be that stupid to get overconfident now. But still,' Taking a look at his hands, he noticed them shivering with a mixture of fear and excitement as a large smile covered his face. 'So that's the strength of a sovereign. How beautiful.'
Ten faces. No names. No memories. No identity. Failures. Not strong enough. Not skilled enough. Never enough. Phantoms. Always thinking. Piecing broken pieces together. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human. Patching together. To become human.
Ten men wandered about, empty eyes not focusing on anything in particular as they moved in tandem. This was their life. From the moment their eyes opened for the first time, distinct knowledge that they were not good enough for whatever task they had been created for injected itself in their mind.
No memories. They didn't deserve them.
No purpose. There were always better options.
No allies. The only home for trash was the bin.
And yet, despite the world itself seeming to reject them, instinctually they moved forward. They didn't know why they had to move forward; they didn't know if moving forward would lead them to a better outcome than before. All they knew was there was a light they were chasing.
Dark, silky locks which fell loosely at eye level. Not low enough.
Countless skills ingrained into their bodies from creation. Not skilled enough.
Physical strength that could overwhelm most warriors alive. Not strong enough.
They knew they weren't enough, and so they searched for the one who was. Not a word had escaped their lips since their creation, not a single emotion was roused within their souls upon seeing their counterparts, who they too instinctually realised were failures just like themselves.
And yet they marched forward together.
There was a light who they needed to find.
Someone who was enough.
Someone who deserved a name.
Someone who had a purpose.
That exact existence, if they snuffed it out, if they supported it, would they receive purpose?
What was their perfect god like? What could they have been if they weren't failures?
The ten marched on to find this exact answer.
--
Walking out his home with a small smile, Sunny stared at the clouds floating overhead as he stretched his body slightly. The past week had been exceptionally quiet, he had spent his time rebuilding his relationship with Nephis as well as socialising with the rest of the Song sisters.
However, Jet had quickly disappeared after Eubin erased Kai and Effie from the dream realm. Although Sunny had an idea of where she had gone, he didn't force the issue more than he needed to as peace was quite enjoyable.
"Ah, no combat, no blood, just calm." Sunny mumbled to himself as he allowed his back to make contact with the fluffy grass beneath him. A shadow quickly approached his side as silver locks fluttered overhead, Nephis stared down at him with a small smile as she lowered herself to sit next to him as the two stared at the sky above.
"What's so interesting about the clouds?" Nephis asked, her voice low and teasing as Sunny was snapped out from his immense focus on doing nothing. "AH!" He yelped, rolling away from her slightly before quickly being halted in his escape by her arms gently wrapping around his shoulders.
"Since when were you here?" Sunny asked, his voice still laced with confusion and accusation at the sudden shock. However, his flustered facial expression only served to amuse Nephis further as she pulled him closer to her, resting her head on his chest.
"I noticed you left the house, so I followed you, only to find you stargazing when it isn't even nighttime."
"I take offence to that! I pride myself on being able to determine the time of day properly thank you very much!" He replied, almost pouting slightly before breaking into a laugh, a wide smile settling on his face as he rested his free hand on her head.
"I'm enjoying the peace. Times like these make it feel like everything was worth it, plus seeing you train with everyone else is motivating you know?" Nephis only offered a hum in reply as she ran her hand across his right arm, feeling the usually smooth skin become slightly rougher as her mind traced back to the time he had been branded.
"You should have more times like these, you deserve them." She whispered, her voice subdued as the wind blew overhead. The two settled into a comfortable silence as Eubin and Jessica arrived, both not daring to break it as they settled with their own individual places on Sunny's upper body remaining in silence.
And yet, such peace was never meant to last.
In a matter of literal seconds, ten bodies, all wearing facsimile's of Sunny's appearance, had arrived before them.