[Voice / Action]

[dissonates]

Natalia's gone back.

[And he's... not sure how he even feels about that, especially since it's the second time now. He's not the sort to broadcast his feelings on the matter anyway, so he'll leave it at that.]

[Locked to Dist - 75% Unhackable]

If you've prepared everything you need, it's about time we meet.


[Asch won't be around the house much today; he'll probably be home late. His main haunts today will be the Battle Dome, the library, (maybe a quick bite to eat in the plaza |D) and finally Good Spirits to sulk read a book in a tucked-away corner of the bar. ...Though the amount of reading may decrease depending on what he's drinking over the course of the evening...

Oddly enough, Star the cheagle will be tagging along with him over the course of the day.]

Comments

[fabrecation]

But... How did it know about Hod?

[A whole, not destroyed Hod, for that matter.]

[dissonates]

How am I supposed to know? It was in the options so I picked it. [...Well, sort of. If Luke were to look for it again, "Hod" would probably show up as "Eldrant"... but oh well.] How does this place ever know anything about Auldrant?

[fabrecation]

I guess... [It still doesn't really make sense to Luke, but then again, when does anything in Luceti make sense?

After another moment of looking, Luke shakes his head, adjusts his grip on his sword and holds it out slightly behind him as he gets into his battle stance.]

Okay, I'm ready.

[dissonates]

[Good enough for Asch. With a quick nod, he wastes no time, dashing forward with a lunging jab. This is more than just for Dist's request, now- the setting cemented that. This is about victory, now.]

[fabrecation]

[And, of course, Luke just thinks Asch decided to go with a pretty setting for their spar. There's nothing more on Luke's mind than to work out his frustration and get his mind off of the fact that Natalia is gone, though that doesn't mean he won't try his best.

The moment Asch moved forward, Luke gripped his sword tighter to watch what he was doing, then leaped back once the jab came. It might have been easier to dodge to the side instead, but Luke only thinks about that for a second before he swings his sword in an effort to throw Asch's sword off of its path, then perform a vertical strike towards Asch's shoulder.]

[dissonates]

[With his sword deflected and Luke too close for him to recover properly, Asch hurriedly stretches out a palm, a brief flare of energy blasting between them as he uses Raging Blast. That should separate them enough for him to go back on the attack.]

[fabrecation]

[Damn, Luke hates that move when he's not the one using it. He saw that glow in Asch's hand, but the fact that he was still in the motion of swinging his sword makes him unable to move out of the way, and thus Luke finds himself flying backwards and landing on his back.

He won't stay down there long, though. As soon as his body stops sliding on the floor, Luke gets himself up - first into a kneeling position with his sword in front of him just in case Asch decided to immediately follow that up with an attack, and then to his feet. Now that Asch had such a huge opening and time to think of what to do next, it'd be best for Luke to stay on the defensive for a bit.]

[dissonates]

[Said opening was used not to attack outright but to remain further back, chanting under his breath as a glyph appears under his feet. As Luke gets back to his feet, Asch lifts his sword abruptly, the glow fades and reappears beneath Luke.]

Stalagmite!

[Might want to get moving again, Luke. SUDDENLY THERE ARE ROCKS]

[fabrecation]

[OH CRAP THERE ARE ROCKS

Luke widens his eyes once he realizes what Asch is doing, and he tries to run out of the way as the glow appears beneath him. He's mostly successful in getting out of the way - the outer ring of the attack still got him and pushed him roughly against the central rock that rose up, but all that will do is just make his feet and back ache for a little while.

Dammit, if he cleared that attack completely, he could've had an opening - but Luke will just have to accept his losses and come up with something else. For now, he raises his fist to unleash a Demon Fist; Asch might be recovered by the time Luke got to him, but maybe not before he's hit by Luke's sole long-distance arte.]

[dissonates]

[Asch notices the arte, eyes narrowing, but the recovery delay on his fonic arte has him fixed in place until the remnants of the glyph disappears. He lifts his arms and sword to defend instead, letting the arte hit him. It stung, but at least it's a relatively weak attack. He doesn't give himself time to dwell on it, shaking off the ache in his legs where the majority of the attack connected and dashing forward, aiming to clash swords with Luke once again. He's hoping that by stirring things up, they won't run into the problem they've had a few times already- namely, using the same artes and mingling their fonons to the point of hyperresonance. He didn't feel like getting blown clear to the ocean or something.]

[fabrecation]

[While Asch runs toward him, Luke takes the opportunity to gather what little fonons are in the air and let it strengthen him - the Steel arte. Once he's finished, Asch is relatively close, so without much time to react further, Luke swings his sword towards Asch's side. Either that, or he'll probably clash swords with him. He just hopes their fonons won't mingle together too much; Luke definitely knows the dangers of fighting with another seventh fonist. He found out first hand when he first clashed weapons with Tear.]

[dissonates]

[Asch has better control over his hyperresonance than he used to, certainly, so the danger of explosions and whatnot is significantly reduced. (Thankfully.) He slams his blade against Luke's, blocking the attack, and pushes forward, trying to make his replica unbalanced enough for him to go back on the offensive. He really only needs to get one crucial hit in- there's no need to prolong this.]

[fabrecation]

[If Luke hadn't used Steel, he might have been successfully pushed back. But as it stands, he just grits his teeth and pushes forward, too, with the same objective in mind as Asch. Whether this was his own thought or if it was influenced by Asch, he doesn't know, but that doesn't really matter to him, anyway.]

[dissonates]

[If Luke is too strong right now for Asch to push away, he opts to change tactics instead- after a moment, he abruptly lets himself fall roll backwards, allowing Luke's momentum to drag his replica forward so Asch can flip him away.]

[fabrecation]

[Luke definitely wasn't expecting that. He can't even react when he falls forward except to widen his eyes and let out a surprised noise. And the next thing he knew, there was pressure against his stomach, and the world violently turned upside-down.

Once Luke lands on his back, he stares ahead for a second, trying to figure out what just happened... But then he realizes that he's still in the middle of a spar, and one with Asch at that, so he rolls to his stomach, gets himself up into a kneeling position and tries for an arte that can be used to attack at all sides.

The arte is risky, sure, since it leaves him open to attack if it fails, but with that moment of being stunned by the flip, Luke figure that maybe Asch might be caught up in it. He spins, dragging his sword along the floor to create a circle of light - and a glyph appears beneath his feet as he jabs his sword into the floor.]

Guardian Field!

[dissonates]

[Guardian Field, huh. Asch pays it little heed- in relation to his goal - namely, a decent injury - the damage it deals is fairly low. He continues charging forward, skidding to a halt just inside the circle and counters with Guardian, allowing the arte to protect him and take the brunt of the attack.]

[fabrecation]

[Once the arte finishes, Luke yanks his sword back, then swings it forward once again; as he's still kneeling, Luke is aiming for Asch's knees, if only to make him jump away and give Luke the opportunity to stand and be mobile again.]

[dissonates]

[Asch curses inwardly and backsteps, but rather than just stand there and let Luke have a moment to recover, he slashes his sword through the air in front of him and then slams it down onto the ground, a blast of fiery fonons - Devil's Inferno - flaring upwards from the collision.]

[fabrecation]

[For the small second of time that Asch gave him, and once Luke sees the attack he's going to make, he scrambles backwards, knowing that he can't possibly just stand up and run. Still, the outer part of the attack hits his cheek - and it burns, making Luke hiss, but it doesn't deter him.

Once he's out of range, Luke stands again, a light cringe on his face thanks to the results of the arte. Now that he's up, he'll go for another arte - Swallow Fury - and, if successful, will make Luke dart behind Asch and use a series of kicks to make him fly upward into the air.]

[dissonates]

[Asch meets him halfway- the attack catches him initially, and he staggers back, struck by a number of the blows. He only manages to avoid being sent into the air - and thus losing control altogether - by kicking off the ground to flip away, backpedaling and keeping his sword lifted as he catches his breath. This is not going the way he'd planned. Why the hell is it going the same way as before? Just like in the real Eldrant...

Dammit, this is all wrong!]

[fabrecation]

[There's no stopping an arte unless it's forcefully broken, so Luke flies into the air for a little longer, then lands heavily on his feet and spins to face Asch again, panting lightly as a small stitch in his side begins to form. This wasn't like with Yuri - sure, he still tried hard, but this was Asch. Luke is pushing himself beyond how he'd normally spar, all because of the person he's fighting.

In an odd way, he's trying to say, through his actions, that he isn't as worthless as Asch might think.]

[dissonates]

[They're both tired, and it's probably starting to show. This is becoming a desperate battle, each of them seeking to prove something, either to themselves or the other, and even Asch can't tell who's doing what by now. He takes a step forward aggressively, as if to attack, and raises his sword, already mentally selecting the next arte to use.

He falters at the second step, though, when a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest forces him to a dead stop, and he lifts a shaky hand to his heart. Now? This is happening now? Ugh, it's all the replica's fault, isn't it-]

[fabrecation]

[Luke had also moved forward with his sword raised, had also been selecting the next arte in his head, almost as if he wasn't the one making the decision at all, when his focus snaps entirely. What... What was happening? What was wrong with Asch?

The spar is completely forgotten as Luke lowers his sword and runs to Asch, stopping just a couple of feet away and lifting his hand towards him with uncertainty. Did he go too far? What was wrong with him?]

Asch? Asch, what's wrong?!

[dissonates]

[Asch doesn't respond at first, his body hunched, waiting in silence for the ache to fade away, as it usually did. Inwardly he was cursing, even as he pleaded for the sudden crippling weakness to vanish- the irony of it happening now, in front of Luke so soon after talking to Dist about it- was just as painful as the physical feeling.

Once it fades enough for him to move, though, Asch finds himself at a convenient distance from his unguarded replica. With his body the way it is now, and the both of them so tired, it would be sheer idiocy to not take advantage of this, so without another moment's hesitation he suddenly thrusts his sword forward, aiming for Luke's sword arm. Disarming him would be nice, too, but this kind of injury ought to end the fight here and now.]

[fabrecation]

[Once Asch had hunched over, Luke raised both of his arms, even his sword arm, and leaned in a little closer, as if to try and hold Asch's shoulders or... something. He was worried, extremely so, because something was happening to Asch and Luke wasn't sure what it was.

But soon enough, Asch relaxes. Before Luke can, however, he's surprised by the sword slicing through the air and, unfortunately, a part of his arm. Not enough to cause him to lose feeling his arm or anything, but definitely enough for him to cry out loudly, drop his sword and fall to his knees, clutching his arm and feeling the blood seep through his fingers and down his injured arm.

He can't even think of why Asch did that; it just hurts.]