Nikke: Nullable Type

[Play: Albert Einstein - Theme]

"...I can see it."

My eyes stare at the abomination in front of me.

The principles it operates by. The energy it manipulates.

"You cheat."

I spat those words as it closed in.

An attack faster than human reaction.

...An attack that SHOULD be faster than human reaction.

"You don't get to have that body."

"What?!" Anis's surprised gasp.

"He..." Rapi's voice.

"Blocked it?!" Neon's excited words.

===

It is a fight that occurs beyond human perception.

The Queen wearing Lilith's body moves with speed and force that no Nikke could hope to match.

And yet...

Somehow...

The human is able to match it each time.

The force, offset throughout his entire body. The speed, offset by reading the attack in advance.

It is impossible.

It is incomprehensible.

And yet...

"I see."

The calm voice echoes in the face of the Queen's wrath. One as calm as the serene smile on the Queen's body.

"...You don't understand me."

The words make sense.

The actions do not.

It is a slash from a simple sharpened piece of metal.

The Queen raises her left fist to block it. Recalling Liliweiss's incredible prowess and bodily strength, she doesn't bother to evade.

And then her eyes widen in shock as the blade starts to bite through, making her fist bleed.

Before it can be completely ruined, the Queen retreats.

The human's sword shatters.

A moment of weakness.

The Queen immediately closes the gap to strike.

But-

"Yes, you don't understand me. I understand you though."

-The blow is deflected and countered with an even fiercer blow, carrying the full force she utilized and shattering the left limb of the body she wore.

The human stared with glittering violet eyes. "I see you. I understand you. But you do not see me. Nor do you understand me." He calmly took a step forward. "You do not understand what it means to be human. Let me show you."

The same structure. The same attack. The same blow thrown at a snail's pace in comparison to the one the Queen sent.

So she did it again.

A blow for a blow.

Using Liliweiss's body, the Queen lunged with her right fist to shatter the human in front of her.

And yet.

"Bajiquan. You're doing it wrong."

Spoiler

[collapse]

The fierce blow the Queen is sent is returned through her arm with a blow that surpasses the one she provided.

And, for the first time, the calm smile on Liliweiss's body cracks.

Spoiler

[collapse]

===

Strange.

It was strange.

I could vaguely sense it.

My abilities had definitely transcended what a human should be able to do.

And yet-

A flicker of intention.

A heavy blow that should have shattered my body...

*When faced with yang, respond with yin.*

*Meet hard with soft.*

*A circle will defeat a line. A line will defeat a circle.*

The blow connected.

The energy began to rip my body apart.

But I didn't resist it. Instead, I allowed it to flow, flicked it aside, and responded with the equal and opposite force.

The Queen was sent sprawling back, staring at me with an inhuman expression of rage.

Of course.

It was understandable.

All of her calculations likely said that it was impossible. That my abilities were not replicable. That this should NOT be happening.

I laughed. "So this is it. The mythical realm of Wuwei." I calmly dusted off my hands. "You only understand force. You do not understand totality. A creature like you born of quantity cannot conceive of oneness."

The Queen vanished.

Killing intent piercing my heart.

Her white gloved hand rushed forward to turn intention into action.

"COMMANDER!"

But...

"Slow."

I calmly flowed with the blow, allowing it to send me back while at the same time turning my body to clamp around her shoulder.

"This is force."

A cascading spiral kinetic chain.

I twisted once and her left arm shattered, the mechanical structures unable to withstand to violently chaotic vectors of force I sent through it.

The Queen rushed back, staring at me with confusion.

I brushed my hands off again and said, "Confused? Good."

I calmly advanced.

For once, the Queen didn't attack. Instead, it took a step back.

But I kept advancing. One step. Two. Three...

And then...

"That body doesn't belong to you."

A blur.

-I saw it. How to slip between space itself. The gap between 'time' that inherently existed due to the overlaying tapestry of spacetime.

In the gap between 'now' and 'then', I slipped along space and continued fighting.

===

"Rapi..." Anis whispered, her eyes wide. "How... How is he doing that?"

"I... don't know." Rapi narrowed her eyes. "...Mari? Can you tell? Or you, Neon?"

Marian shook her head. "I... I don't understand either. If a Nikke was struck with that blow..."

All three of them realized the implication.

A completely shattered body. That was the only outcome.

And yet...

Neon adjusted her glasses. "...It doesn't make sense. The data says that Master's body should have been ripped apart from the forces. And yet..."

Endless's violet eyes flickered. Then she said, "Commander said it before. The miniscule gap that discrete models cannot comprehend."

Neon's eyes widened. "You don't mean...?"

Marian gasped. "Because the Queen is a machine..."

Anis pumped a fist in the air. "Her understanding is incomplete!"

Rapi laughed, watching her commander, the only human among them...

She watched as the Queen of the Raptures that were superior to humans in every way. Body, physique, strength, technology, processing power...

"Commander. You truly are..."

...Was defeated by a single human with unyielding will, a honed body, and a soul-deep understanding of the flow of energy.

Humanity's Hero

"Because we were born incomplete, once whole, we are inviolable."