The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 220 - 214: Safehold - Nisha and Diya

It was late in the afternoon when the next one arrived. The sheer predictability of it was honestly becoming boring, a testament to how much humans craved novelty even in their life-and-death situations. Based on the rankings Cass was supposed to go next, but he'd refused. Tess's warnings about pride had fallen on deaf ears and he was doubly determined to prove his strength. He wanted to fight one of the bigger ones or, at the very least, beat one that was stronger than the Mehta sisters could take.

"Are you ready, behan?"

Nisha nodded. "I will take darkness this time, they have already seen me use the light."

Diya smiled. "You are wanting to give them a show, then? Should we combine?"

The Mehta twins had a unique power set, even amongst twins. It was a common occurrence for The System to grant joint or complimentary powers for twins, but very rarely did it manifest like it did for the Mehta sisters. They each could take on the powers of light or darkness, but only one at a time. If one took light powers, the other got darkness, and vice-versa. The powers manifested differently for each, which made the sisters unpredictable and varied. What most people weren't aware of was that they also had the exceedingly rare bonus of a joint power set where they could combine their dark and light powers into devastating attacks. Although they'd practiced with them often, always in secret, they'd never had to use them in The Climb and their finishing moves stayed a well-guarded secret.

"No, I think not," Nisha said. "We can only choose one and it severely drains our power. It is best if we save it until we know which is needed."

"Wise," Diya responded. Their joint powers were strong, but balanced in how they could use them. The System could provide great power, but it also strove for balance. They had a host of joint twin-powers they could activate, but they would only get to choose one - and it wouldn't recharge for a full day. It would also drain their power to almost nothing - just enough to finish a fight, but not enough to make it worth risking at the beginning.

The first song reached them across the open expanse, signaling that the Abominable Snowman was close enough to consider the battle started. As 'Dangerous Woman' by Ariana Grande reached their ears the ball of light and darkness had appeared between them.

"Huh," Weeble said. "That's an odd choice for a song. It just doesn't have the oomph and power that you'd think would be appropriate for a fight against a running purple and white monster that looks like it's about to chomp them to death."

"I don't know," Luna said. "It seems kinda fitting."

No one could argue that. The haunting melody seemed to fit the women perfectly - smooth, seductive, confident, and with a touch of danger. They didn't need bravado.

The ball of light and darkness exploded between the women, darkness turning Nisha into a shadow and light infusing Diya's body, hair, and eyes. A massive foot stomped down but the two were gone. Nisha had vanished in the shadow of the monster's foot, only to appear in the shadow of the wall. Her Umbra Cloak drifted around her, ephemeral and delicate. In addition to providing some protection it let her step into one shadow and out of another. That may have seemed like a weakness in this level, open space, but she was ready for that.

She flung her hands out and six Shadow Orbs flew from them, growing in size as they zoomed across the landscape and coming to a stop in a perfectly-spaced circle just outside of the snowman's reach. When it moved the orbs moved with it, locked into place with it at their center. Nisha's smile was invisible to all on the wall - under her Umbra Cloak she was a sliver of darkness. A silhouette without feature. She stepped backwards into the shadow of the wall and disappeared.

The light infused Diya and she rolled backwards instantly, casting Illusory Lights as she did. The lights didn't cause damage, but could be used to blind and distract her enemies. Its most useful skill, though, was that it could create a perfect illusion of her that made her invisible until it was destroyed.

The giant's foot came down on the illusory Diya and it looked at the bottom of its foot in confusion. Nisha appeared out of an orb and Diya stepped to her, the sisters looking at each other and smiling. This was going to be fun!

Solar Darts flew, impacting the snowman's back by the dozens. They were small - gnats to a giant - but they were as sharp as light and moved just as quickly. She focused them in a tight group, smiling as they carved a hole in the tough hide before disappearing. A circular wound the size of a fist began pouring blood.

The Shadow Orbs around Nisha flew forward, shrinking as they did. She kept one at a distance, but sent the rest into the hole that Diya had carved before it could turn around. They landed in rapid succession, each exploding in a burst of black miasma and draining a bit of the snowman's energy, funneling it back to Nisha to empower her other skills. Her Umbra Cloak drained her quickly and she needed to absorb as much power as possible to sustain it. Not as much as her next skill, though.

Shadow's Edge was incredibly powerful in dark or shadowed areas, but limited in the open, well-lit space that they were in now. Unlike Diya's ability to form darkness all around her and command it, Nisha needed existing shadow to send out her tendrils - or to have absorbed enough shadow energy to launch them from her body.

The sisters knew they were underpowered for a creature of this size, but they were veterans of The Climb who had honed teamwork to its finest edge. As the snowman turned and roared at them Diya sent Illusory Lights into its eyes to blind it, then more Solar Darts directly behind them in an attempt to blind it. It waved its arms at the lights in its eyes, furiously and uselessly trying to bat them away. Unfortunately for Diya, the darts caught the monster in its forearms rather than its eyes. Nisha was on it while it was distracted, sharp and flexible tendrils from Shadow's Edge streaming out of her like deadly ribbons. Where Diya's darkness tendrils were thick spikes of power, Nisha's were twisting and elusive. They pierced and sliced its legs, the freezing affects sending ice over and into each cut and puncture.

The ice that should have slowed it didn't, and the snowman loped forward with another roar, ice falling from its skin and fur. It kicked out and caught Nisha, sending her flying.

"Behan!" Diya screamed and dropped an illusory copy of herself in place as she sprinted to where her sister had been flung. Healing Aura flowed from her hand with a warm light and Nisha sat up, wiping her hand across her eyes.

"The ice has no effect."

Diya laughed ruefully. "Predictable, in hindsight."

Diya pulled Nisha to her feet and the two looked to see the snowman eyeing the copy of Diya suspiciously. It edged a toe at her and as soon as it touched it the illusion popped in a burst of light. It jerked its head upward to where the sisters were staring at it. It smiled, large, flat teeth showing too white. It raised one arm over its eyes, blocking all but a small sliver of the huge eyeballs.

"This one is smarter than the others."

"I find that worrisome. We may be in trouble. Should we call the others?"

A glare was all she got in return.

The trio ran at each other again and their deadly dance began anew. The Abominable Snowman was fast, despite its lumbering, but the sisters moved with the grace of dancers empowered by the fluidity of shadow and the grace of light. The battlefield became a riotous calamity of bursts of light and explosions of darkness. Tendrils swerved and swam through the air, missiles of light brought a new dawn to the afternoon, and large fists and feet lashed out. Time and again the sisters were knocked back, only to return and send the monster reeling backwards in turn.

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"This is a stalemate." Diya was breathless, her words coming in heavy gasps.

Nisha nodded. "Something needs to change, but I don't believe we've weakened it enough for a joined skill."

Diya cursed in Hindi and Nisha could only agree. Something needed to change, but what?

One of the benefits of being twins, something granted long before The System arrived, was that they often shared a thought. Or an idea.

They shared a look, each knowing that the other was having the same one. Takeshi Saito had grown. He'd pushed himself to his limits and beyond. In their talk with him after he'd explained that he hadn't waited for inspiration or for The System to bless him with its power - he sought what he wanted and reached for it with an unrelenting will. It might have cost him his life, but such was the way of all advancement.

"Illusory Lights," Diya said.

"Shadow Orbs," Nisha said. "After you have found your power, stay near me."

Their hands touched lightly and they were off at a sprint. Diya reached for her skill and realized that it felt full to the brim, as if it had been waiting for something to decide where to push the power. The power wasn't reserved for only that skill - it was a pool of power on her light side, just waiting to be directed. Before her talks with that adorable slip of a boy, Cass, and witnessing Takeshi's advancement, she'd never even considered looking deep into her power. She realized that it had felt full for some time, the power growing stale and impatient inside of her. It needed an impetus to make it grow, and it had been waiting on her or her circumstances to make the decision. She made the decision and felt her Illusory Lights power advance.

She reached the giant and dropped a copy of herself in place, sprinting to the side. Then she dropped another, and another, then another. She ran in a circle around it, dropping illusory copies of herself as she did. Fully a dozen surrounded it and it was looking around in confusion. It roared with frustration and stomped down onto a copy, but Diya felt a connection she hadn't before. With a thought all of the copies of herself moved, sprinting sideways to dodge the stomp. Its foot stamped down to where she'd been a moment before, only for the copy to no longer be there. Its eyes widened in shock as it spun, looking for the real Diya. As one, each of the copies lifted its hands up and a barrage of light orbs launched faster than a bullet at its head, all of them exploding in a heatless supernova that hid the thing's head in its aura.

Nisha was moving towards her sister. The illusory copies were perfect and even moved like she did, but Nisha would always know her true sister. She reached her side and beamed a huge smile.

"You did it!"

Diya smiled back. "It was waiting! Are you ready?"

Nisha nodded somberly. "I believe so. It may not be as easy as for you though, I will try. Stay near me."

Their second song, '7 Rings' by Ariana Grande had just ended and 'Russian Roulette' by Rihanna was starting.

"We can not go longer than three songs - The Toys would never let us live that down."

Diya's smile faded as her face grew grim. That was a fate worse than anything this beast could offer them. The two ran towards the creature just in time to see it swing out and sweep the copies away. It whipped its head back and forth, finally seeing them rushing it. It was no longer smiling - rage and frustration were fueled by its impotence in killing these two humans that it knew were weaker than it. The two reached it, and it was more than happy to show them how big of a mistake that was.

The foot came down and the sisters gritted their teeth, their knuckles white as they clasped hands. There was no time for talk and both knew that this would be the moment that Nisha succeeded or they both died. Neither thought of leaving the other.

The foot came down and its shadow fully covered them. A portal of darkness opened beneath Nisha and she felt her skill dragging her into it. She pushed her power to its breaking point, demanding that the darkness obey her command. Needing it to. Begging it. It obeyed.

The foot fell, the rough skin touching Diya's head just before she felt herself pulled into blackness beneath her. The sisters emerged from the orb Nisha had left at a distance, not even having enough time to breathe a sigh of relief. Nisha's power wasn't done yet - she had one more thing she wanted it to do. She pushed the last bits of potential power into the skill and demanded it answer.

The giant's foot should have hit the ground, but it didn't. It let out a whoop of confusion as its foot fell into the hole up to its knee. It only had a moment to wonder what had happened when the portal closed and its foot was locked to the knee in the hard earth.

Nisha's smile beamed as Diya hugged her in excitement. "You did it, behan! That is wonderful!"

Nisha tilted her head to rest on her sister's, then the two straightened up. "I believe it's time."

Diya agreed. "But which?"

They quickly opened their joint skill menu - each of them knowing it by heart, but wanting to see them before deciding. They had time, since the creature was locked in place, but neither was under the illusion that it would stay that way.

Light-Dark Maelstrom

: When the sisters connect their powers, they can create a swirling vortex of light and darkness that destabilizes the area around them. The energy can pull in enemies or objects, crushing them with the force of the opposing elements. This can be used to disrupt large groups of enemies and control the battlefield.

Eclipse Shield

: The two sisters can combine their abilities to form an immense barrier made of both light and darkness. Nisha's light creates a radiant shield that repels energy-based attacks, while Diya's darkness absorbs physical strikes and dampens magical attacks. The dual nature of the shield allows it to protect against most types of damage, but it requires the sisters to maintain synchronization.

Shadowflare Strike

: When working together, Nisha and Diya can create a powerful strike that combines both their light and dark abilities. Nisha channels her light into a massive sword or projectile, while Diya envelops the attack in shadows, making it harder to predict and blocking the target's ability to react. The result is an explosive, unpredictable attack that can both slice through physical barriers and disorient enemies.

Solar Eclipse Bind

: This joint ability allows them to use their contrasting abilities to ensnare an enemy in a dome of swirling light and shadow. Nisha creates a blinding light that briefly paralyzes the enemy, while Diya manipulates shadows to bind and immobilize them. This combination not only incapacitates the target but also deals continuous damage as the light burns and the shadow tightens around them.

There was only one that would work now and they didn't even need to discuss it. The power flooded out of them in waves, returning color and feature to their bodies as light and shadow flowed out of their arms and into a familiar ball in front of them.

"Why are they shutting down their skill?" Cass's voice was loud and shrill. A few heads turned to look at Rock'Em who was standing true to his name - immobile and silent, intently staring ahead. Most would think he looked impassive and emotionless, but the way his fists flexed and muscles stood out, even beneath his hoodie, told the true story to The Toys. They'd never seen him this scared.

SLINKY: They'll be okay. They got this!

BEYBLADE: They must have something up their sleeves. They'll pull it off man, don't worry.

WEEBLE: They got this, brother. You'll be back in their bed in 10 minutes, I promise you.

ROCK'EM SOCK'EM: …

The swirl of light between the sisters became a maelstrom that had grown hard to look at. People shielded their eyes and Announcer had to dim the screen to prevent it from glaring out.

Out of the light, something grew. A blade of the darkest ebony grew, point first, from the swirling storm, stealing darkness as it did. In seconds a blade fully 12 feet long emerged, as wide as a human and six inches thick. It was carved in beautiful relief, but the beauty only highlighted that the edges were blunt and dull.

The light followed suit, splitting into infinite streams no larger than a hair. They swam down its length, filling the channels in the blade with intricate patterns of purest light. The warm glow move to the tip and side and suddenly the blade had an edge of pure light, so sharp that it seemed to cut the air that touched it.

The light settled into place and the black blade was lit with beautiful filigree, eliciting gasps from everyone who saw it.

Ed had stepped closer to the wall, catching himself before he fell off. Overall, he didn't have much interests in the fights, but the artist in him was captivated by what he was seeing. "I think that might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen…" he whispered, blind to the heads nodding around him.

The sisters looked at each other and smiled softly. They'd done it - together. The sword leapt away from them, leaving streaks of light and trails of shadows behind it. The snowman never saw it coming, beautiful death approaching on wings of shadow at the speed of light.

An explosion of light and darkness erupted where it hit the pinned creature, the blade flying straight upward out of the explosion to hover in place. It broke apart then, trails of light and darkness streaming back to the sisters. Where it had struck there was only the remnant of a leg sticking out of the ground, everything else utterly obliterated.