[b] [i]... And the Abyss Stares Back.[/i] [/b] [i]Chapter 4[/i] [b]Javic's Hideout, Phobos.[/b] *As I watch the armor of Rage manifest around me, I see Javic stare at me in confusion, and a small amount of fear. However, his eyes are focused on my right hand. I look down, and see Despair's blade manifest, moving my fist into a perfect grip around it. Javic looks at me, and then speaks.* "What... What is that?" "Oh, this? This is Rage and Despair, they're manifestations of emotion. And as it just so happens, Despair is made of the exact same stuff as that armor and weapon you have, which usually refers to itself as Desolation. However, Desolation also has Insanity itself and a Daemon Prince running around inside of it, but it seems to be playing nice with you..." "Great minds think alike." "Good one. Now, are we gonna dance, or are you going to stand there and gawk all day?" "You know the answer." *And with that final line, Javic charges me with the Bastard Sword of Desolation, sharing the same unfeeling aura as Despair. I calculate the moment when Javic is going to swing, and jump according to those calculations. I watch as Javic misses, and then dig Despair into the dark armor of Desolation. The blade doesn't reach him, but it does damage his armor. As I land and regain my footing, Javic regains his composure and attacks me again. This time, I don't have time to dodge. I see his blade swinging at me through the corner of my vision, and block it with Despair. Javic immediately follows up with another brutal attack, and I block that one as well. Then, a flurry of blocking and parrying ensues, all if it happening so quickly that I can't keep up, and I can only react based on instinct. Finally, he preforms a stab, and I sidestep it. As quickly as I can, I maneuver around the blade and try to damage it with a heavy downward slash. I hit my target, but the sword was undamaged. Instead, something I couldn't see threw both me and Javic backwards. Once I get up, I see that it's a dimensional rupture, a hole in the fabric of reality. By the time I realize what the rupture is, Javic appears in front of me and throws me into the rupture, and follows. We wind up in some sort of hellscape, where the sky is a bright purple and the air itself smells of poison. The hellscape looks like some sort of pasture, with nothing but red grass for at least a mile all around. I gag at the smell of the air, and then retaliate against Javic. We exchange a few more blows, not really harming each other. He tries another stab, but I preform the same maneuver. and tackle him. Instead of falling to the ground, I keep pushing him. I push him back through the rupture, and then through a few walls that happen to appear in front of us. I let him go after slamming him into four walls, and look around in order to orient myself. The most obvious detail is that we're no longer on Phobos, but instead in the ruins of some city on Terra. As I take in the surroundings, Javic recomposes himself and attacks, breaking a rib of mine with a hilt smash. I slide under his legs, and drive Despair through his left knee, severely damaging it. With a roar of pain, he uses a recently gained burst of adrenaline to fight me back to the rupture, and punch me through it.* *I arrive in the same hellscape by falling flat on my back, and then jumping backwards as Javic arrives with his blade coming down onto the ground in front of him. I barely manage to dodge his sword, and I attempt to gather my wits upon landing. I see that his blade is stuck into the ground, and immediately take advantage. I rush forwards, and drive Despair through his stomach. This pushes him back through the rupture, managing to hold onto his sword. We arrive next to a steep incline that leads into a chasm on Terra. We go tumbling down the side, and manage to catch ourselves at the very edge, hanging just above the abyss. I take action and kick Javic in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him and causing his stomach wound to cause immense amount of pain. His body lets go of the cliff unintentionally, and he begins to plummet to his doom.* "NOOOOOO! I'LL KILL YOU!" Screams Javic, as he falls to his death. All I hear is a strange sound of something smashing against something else, and then silence. As I begin to haul myself up, my right hand is stomped on by a foot armored with black energy. I look up, and see Desolation looking back down at me, but without Javic inside of it. "Hah, hahaha..." *Desolation's shadow laughs as it brings its foot up to smash my other hand.* "Goodbye," It says, as it brings its foot down. I'm forced to let go of the edge, and begin the fall to my death.* "No! I won't die toda--" *I'm cut off by being engulfed by another dimensional rupture, which was hovering in midair at about the point where the smashing noise I heard came from. Desolation watches on as the rupture closes, and as the dust settles. It chuckles to itself once more as it walks away, content with the events of the day.*