The Heavens Shall Fall

The six days that led up to the Paragons' matches passed much faster for the Wardens than for those who wanted to spectate them. By the final morning, even they showed a bit of nerve, but only a healthy amount. At sunrise, just after Arya changed her form, Siu visited Seloryn, who sat cross-legged in one of the gazebos, already fully dressed in a training suit, her hair tied up in a bun.

"Nervous?" Siu asked, making her open her eyes and smile.

"Can't help it, but it's normal. The moment the battle begins, I'll no longer be."

"That's good. Well, I'll remain nervous until you all finish," Siu said jokingly.

"Don't worry, we will make this work! So... Let's gather the others; it's best to be there early rather than make them wait for us."

By the time everyone gathered in the courtyard, clearly, everyone else was feeling the same as Seloryn. Ruben had dressed the same way as her, his umbrella rhythmically twirling around while resting on his shoulder. Maybe only Nokoh looked the same as always, with one hand resting against Cho'Wa's head, gently stroking it, because the wolf himself was restless. He was much more excited than afraid, going by Arya's mental message. As for the others, Vael waited nearby, while Quillian was absent, as he wouldn't be coming with them. Toban... Well, he's also been nowhere to be found since yesterday, and nobody has even asked where he might be. It was best not to ask too many questions anyway.

“Everyone ready?” Siu looked around, finally making Ruben smile.

“Obviously.”

"Well then," Siu looked between the three, trying to say something as the Wardens' leader, "We had fought together a lot, against Orzimar or his Prismhide, so... I know you will win this."

"Thanks, Dad," Ruben said again, making the others chuckle too, including Siu.

“All right, sonny, make sure you don't embarrass your brother,” He answered while pointing toward Joren.

“I know.” Ruben chortled, throwing a look toward his half-brother. "Somehow the three managed to book the same time, huh? I'm starting to believe in this fate thing that some of the elders are going on about in their notes."

"Heh," Siu just shook his head as he looked toward Vael. “Are you going with Nokoh?”

"Yep," Vael nodded. “I'll watch him.”

"Hm?" Nokoh raised a brow. “Watch me?”

“Make sure you come back in one piece.” He added seriously, "I read Toban's info on the girl, and I don't like any of it..."

“Don't worry,” Nokoh said confidently, "I'm not that easy to intimidate."

"Still, be careful," Siu said as he looked at Seloryn. “I'll come with you. Don't worry, Arya will behave.”

“Huh?” The fox flinched at hearing his words, raising her ears and tail to the sky. "Master, what is that supposed to mean? I always behave! I am a good little pet!"

"That is exactly what I mean..." Siu muttered, while she just kept smiling, knowing full well what she was doing.

Still, her perverted little joke lightened the mood enough that, when they all left and separated to rejoin the sect below, everyone had a much clearer idea of how to make sure their fight would go smoothly.

...

....

......

Floating Arena XVII was already crowded when Nokoh and Vael had arrived.

“Popular,” Vael said, looking at the weird crowd gathering, because he didn't expect it to be like this.

“That was the point,” Nokoh muttered, but was also a bit taken aback, because he was still only the 100th on the list... but a Paragon was still a Paragon. And weirdly enough, most, if not all, of them were... men?

Ignoring the weird thought, he looked towards the arena that floated between two bridges, suspended by chains connecting it to them. The platform itself was enormous, far larger than the one where Nokoh had fought Siu. Its shape was a broad circle of polished, multicolored stone with a giant mosaic depicting a long-forgotten spirit beast that Nokoh couldn't identify. From their current angle, it was impossible to tell what kind it was... a bunny? With wings? Maybe. Maybe not.

Instead, what Nokoh was focusing on was the number of disciples who stood along the chains in rows wherever the links were wide enough, curiously looking around, waiting for the Paragons' entrance. Of course, there were more than those on the chains, because the 'late arrivals' had to stand on the bridges, looking towards the platform from there.

“Didn't know you were this popular,” Vael muttered, making Nokoh inhale a little.

“Me neither.”

As they approached the nearest chain, people began to notice them, and when someone recognized Nokoh thanks to Cho'Wa, whispers spread, pointing him out to the others. What was weird were the murmurs Cho'Wa caught, making Nokoh hear them too thanks to his superior hearing. Apparently... Everyone was here to see Salen get beaten down... As most, if not all, of the spectators somehow had a bad experience with her, one way or another.

"Ah," Vael smiled faintly, catching the whispers, too, "Apparently, it's not your popularity, but her infamy."

"Thanks...? Are you always this good at compliments?" Nokoh asked jokingly, making Vael smile without answering, rubbing the back of his head.

When they jumped onto the chain, people began to give way, and finally the first shouts echoed among the spectators.

“Good luck!”

“Beat her good!”

“Don't let her touch the wolf!”

When they reached the arena itself, Nokoh stopped to look around because, unlike during Siu's challenge, the formation was already active around its edge, blocking everyone from entering except the participants.

"Well," Nokoh looked back, exchanging a nod with Vael, “See you after.”

"You got this," Vael said with a smile as he folded his arms, glancing at Cho'Wa too, who gave an affirming bark, as the two jumped onto the platform.

After they arrived, Salen didn't make them wait long, as she came only a few minutes later. She wore dark fitted combat robes beneath a sleeveless outer coat, her hair bound tightly behind her head, but everyone's eyes went to the weapon resting across her shoulders, including Nokoh. There was no mention of a weapon like that in her dossier... But Toban did mention he didn't have much on the Paragons yet.

As for Salen's choice of weapon, it was a double-ended scythe. The length of its shaft was almost as tall as Salen herself, with a curved blade extending from each end, facing opposite directions, so a full rotation could cut on both sides. The polished metal of her weird weapon looked almost black, while blue lines ran along the blades, most likely her own water, already infused into it. If she ever made a cut... she could invade her opponent at once.

After she landed on the platform, her eyes went first to Nokoh, then began scanning Cho'Wa, while smiling.

“Good morning.” She said in a flirty voice, "You really are beautiful.” She added, watching both of them, making Cho'Wa's lips pull back from his teeth, growling. “Oh my.” Her smile widened, now looking directly at the wolf. “Dogs always see the real me. Maybe that's why I hate them.”

She lowered the weapon from her shoulders while speaking, and as the base of one blade touched the stone, a small stream of water ran from it before disappearing.

"Their smell IS superior, and they can smell rot from far, far away," Nokoh answered simply, making her smile disappear very quickly.

“I was hoping I'd get to test something today.” She said coldly, "So do not disappoint me... Bitch-boy."

"Go ahead." Nokoh's face hardened, too. “Try me.”

“Confident.” She sneered this time. “I like that.”

What cut in was a voice, echoing loudly, heard by everyone gathered around the arena.

[PARAGON CHALLENGE INITIATED]

[RANK DEFENDER: SALEN MOR — RANK 98]

[RANK CHALLENGER: NOKOH WOLK — RANK 100]

[RECOGNIZED COMPANION: CHO'WA]

[VICTORY BY CONCESSION, INCAPACITATION, OR FORMATION INTERVENTION]

The moment the indifferent voice died down, Salen had attacked first. As she moved, the scythe in her hand became a circle, moving it so quick and widely that Nokoh, for a moment, didn't know how to react, as he had never fought anything like it. In the end, Cho'Wa jumped left, and Nokoh went right while the upper blade passed between them both. Without hesitation, Salen turned with its momentum and the opposite blade immediately followed, going after Nokoh.

He quickly leaned backward as the steel missed his nose by less than a finger, along with the water that sprayed at him from the edge, making him hurriedly go into a combat roll. Still, a droplet touched his cheek, and it felt super cold, making him quickly slap it away.

“Careful!” Salen laughed, just as Cho'Wa struck from behind her, as he always did against Siu.

Salen herself didn't look at all, as she planted one end of the scythe against the ground and used the shaft like a pole, launching herself over the wolf with a surprising elegance. When she was at the apex of her dodge, Salen rotated in the air, yanking at his scythe, twirling it, and the second blade came down on the wolf's exposed back.

Nokoh threw himself forward in a hurry as his black smoke erupted from his arms and struck Salen before her weapon reached Cho'Wa. With the reflexes she had, Salen's body jerked midair as her strike shifted course and the blade scraped through fur instead of flesh, so she could defend herself against Nokoh's attack.

When she landed, Cho'Wa was upon her again, forcing her to pull one hand from the scythe that had just blocked Nokoh as water exploded outward from her palm. The spray itself felt like cold needles getting thrown into his face, so Cho'Wa backed off immediately, trying to shake them off.

Even if it was a failure, it gave Nokoh enough time to get close again, and his palm strike this time struck Salen's shoulder, and his black smoke entered her body at once. Her eyes widened for a moment as she felt a weird sensation on her skin, but then clear water erupted from under her skin, washing and pushing out Nokoh's smoke as the two gained some distance between each other.

“So that's what it feels like.” Salen smiled, licking her lips. "Thanks for the instructions!" She chuckled and went on the offense again.

Her scythe came around from below this time around, making Nokoh jump as one blade passed beneath his feet, while the weapon went into a second swing and the other blade was now coming from above. Already sensing the pattern, Nokoh twisted himself in midair, yet a thin line opened through his robes, along with a thin trail of blood, making Salen's eyes light up.

Nokoh felt at once that something foreign was trying to enter his bloodstream, and he reacted instantly. Black smoke surged forward from inside his body, trying to do the same as Siu always did, forcing it towards the wound. Although he couldn't contain it, that wasn't important; he just had to expel the water, like Salen expelled his smoke.

“Oh?” Salen exhaled, sensing her water getting thrown out of the wound, somewhat annoyed that she was copied so easily.

It was then that Nokoh suddenly sped up, appearing right before her, much faster than before, catching her off guard and managing to hit her in the face. Her head snapped sideways, groaning, while at the same time, Cho'Wa crashed into her legs, and for the first time, Salen hit the ground. The moment it happened, the audience erupted beyond the barrier; however, nobody inside heard it.

Salen rolled from the punch, visibly angry, as her scythe spun around her body in a blur, forcing Nokoh and Cho'Wa to back away. She looked at them, her eyes twitching as blood ran from her lip. Not wanting to give her time to gather herself, they attacked again. However, the way she reacted was weird because she didn't move until the last moment, making Nokoh realize something was off.

“Cho'Wa!” He yelled, but too late.

Salen deliberately gave the wolf an opening, and the wolf lunged for it. When he was in motion, Salen finally moved, and her scythe came down in a counter. Cho'Wa tried his best, and the first blade missed his neck, but the other half was too fast and cut across his foreleg, and soon blood splashed across the arena.

“Got you,” Salen said, smiling like a happy little girl, her voice way too cheerful.

It didn't take a second before Cho'Wa's whining filled the arena. Hearing it both out loud and in his head, Nokoh's entire body froze, watching as his wolf hit the ground, legs spasming already. At the same time, water flowed from Salen's scythe, connecting her to Cho'Wa, putting him under an indescribable wave of pain.

Nokoh was already moving, but then Salen's scythe forced him back, and he heard her laugh.

“Careful!” She said as she flicked one finger and Cho'Wa's wounded leg bent towards the wrong direction, making him whine and shriek again. Salen just watched Nokoh's face as he stopped moving, enjoying the fear and panic in his eyes. “Fascinating...” She whispered, exhaling in triumph.

“You bitch.” Nokoh sneered, but Salen's eyes brightened even more upon hearing him.

“Oh, don't be dramatic.” Her fingers moved again, and Cho'Wa stood, forcing the wolf to stand on its injured leg.

“Stop!”

"Heh!" Salen smiled even more. “Make me.”

Then she moved her scythe, and suddenly, Cho'Wa lunged at Nokoh. The wolf's eyes widened in horror even as his own body obeyed Salen, while Nokoh dodged sideways.

“Oh, this is wonderful!” Salen laughed, puppeteering the beast, realizing that she could control it much more easily than she could with a human. She didn't know why... but she didn't care. “You really do care about him, huh?” She muttered, seeing that Nokoh refused to attack Cho'Wa, and he only kept dodging, now wanting to... hurt them both a bit more.

Soon, Nokoh was completely backed into a corner, refusing to hurt Cho'Wa, who was begging him to just ignore everything and attack him too... Yet Nokoh wasn't listening. In the end, the wolf's claws tore into Nokoh's chest, splashing blood, causing Salen to inhale deeply, enjoying the copper-like scent.

However... in that moment, Nokoh's face went dark, and he didn't look down at his injury at all... He simply looked past Cho'Wa as he lowered himself, taking up a much more animalistic fighting pose... and lunged forward, flinging Cho'Wa to the side with a shoulder strike, still flying towards Salen.

Nevertheless, still being puppeteered, Cho'Wa got up quickly and intercepted him before he could reach Salen. Nokoh didn't dodge this time around, and the wolf hit him full force as they crashed together. Nokoh wrapped both arms around Cho'Wa and rolled with the impact towards Salen, whose fingers tightened around the scythe, making Cho'Wa try to bite into Nokoh's face. At the last moment, Nokoh shoved his own forearm between them as his wolf's teeth sank into his arm and blood sprayed everywhere. He could feel Cho'Wa's panic, but he just smiled at him.

“It's fine.”

As he said it, Nokoh closed his eyes, and Siu's words flashed through his mind.

"It feels natural to me."

Nokoh had wanted to claw his own face off when hearing that, but now he suddenly understood what he needed. He didn't need to do what Siu could do; he just needed to refine his own method. It was so that the black smoke rushed across him, out of his wound, into Cho'Wa's mouth. It not only invaded Cho'Wa, but found all of Salen's affinity mixed into his blood, and instead of expelling it, his smoke began... breaking it down and destroying it.

"...!" Salen flinched, feeling as if someone had squeezed her heart inside her chest. “What?!”

The backlash was frighteningly sharp and painful, forcing Salen to cut the connection, causing Cho'Wa to collapse. Feeling his partner go limp, Nokoh laid him down carefully, then stood up, bleeding both red and black, looking at Salen with an expressionless look, yet savagely burning eyes.

The next moment, Nokoh lunged at her, and even as her scythe came up, he didn't dodge, letting the blade cut across his ribs, pretty deep. Yet, his smoke simply exploded out with his blood, destroying Salen's water, scattering it, and forming a cloud that grabbed onto Salen like a new, grotesque hand, rooting her into place.

CRACK!

Salen staggered when Nokoh grabbed her and headbutted her so hard that her nose broke at once. Then, he just ripped the scythe from her hands, throwing it away. Before she could recover, his fist struck her mouth, knocking out a set of teeth, then punched her in the ribs, cracking them. He was still holding her with his black smoke, like an immobilized mannequin... Worse, her essence was dying, no longer responding, and she couldn't bring up any worthy defenses, feeling Nokoh's full-powered punch hit her in the stomach. She couldn't even scream, just vomit out blood and chunks of her internal organs, before Nokoh pulled in her head, grabbing it with two arms to look into her eyes, as he began applying force to his grip... and started squeezing.

She tried speaking, but only blood squirted from her mouth and nose, his eyes starting to pop out of their sockets as her head was slowly getting cracked. Salen... at least, what she could see from the blood filling his vision, she couldn't find any mercy in Nokoh's eyes at all. He was going to crush her head.

It was then that the arena beneath them flashed and Nokoh's hands clapped together, creating a reverberating thunder, because Salen's body was gone. A golden flare had swallowed her an instant before he could squash her, removing her from the arena. Now panting, Nokoh remained there, standing, black smoke still pouring from him, while the formation's voice rang out again.

[INTERVENTION]

[SALEN MOR UNABLE TO SAFELY CONTINUE]

[WINNER: NOKOH WOLK]

“Cho'Wa!” Nokoh snapped out of it immediately, hurriedly running over to his wolf, who was breathing hard; however, he began licking his master's wounds when he got there. “Hey... Good boy.”

Of course, the crowd continued roaring around them, clapping, so happy and cheerful that it was actually weird. At the same time, Vael had already crossed the boundary the instant the formation allowed it, and he reached Nokoh and crouched beside them.

“How bad?” He asked in a hurry.

“We'll live.” Nokoh said while holding back a cough, "But we need a healing bath... quick."

"Mhm," Vael said, helping him stand while picking up Cho'Wa. "Quillian pre-paid everything and told me where to bring you if needed... Come, let's go!"

As they were leaving, not even bothering with the rest of the announcement, everyone else looked up, steel clapping and cheering as letters formed in the air because the Paragon List was updating.

[98 — NOKOH WOLK]

[100 — SALEN MOR]