A city carved from constantly shifting Q-Bits lay trapped in silent decay. Towering spires of translucent shards jutted into the sky, their razor-edged surfaces reflecting neon distortions from fractured street signs and billboards. Roads paved with uneven shards caught the dim light, scattering fragmented dark blue and cyan lights in every direction.
At first, Ollie thinks he smells oil and ozone, but there is no scent, only the illusion of something burned into the air. There are no smells in the Libra Tower, which constantly caught him off guard.
A siren wails in the distance, but it doesn't echo. The sound is hollow and warped, as if playing from a record nearly scratched out of existence from overuse.
He steps forward. The ground beneath him shifts slightly, not with debris, but as if the world itself is unstable, struggling to decide what it should be. Storefronts flicker between different states, some pristine, some shattered beyond recognition. Their crystalline signage pulses with unreadable text, the letters almost legible, glitching before dissolving into static and reappearing once more.
Some buildings tilt at unnatural angles, frozen in mid-collapse, as though time abandoned them halfway through their destruction or reconstruction.
To his left stands the hospital where Lyra was taken, sculpted from an infinite number of crystal bits, its structure warped and incomplete. The entrance phases between open and sealed shut, as if reality itself is unsure whether the building ever functioned at all. Its windows, carved from the same glassy material, refract light in chaotic directions, making it impossible to see inside.
To his right is his childhood home, a visage of a once-happy place. The walls shift unpredictably, morphing between different versions of themselves—sometimes solid and untouched, other times cracked and hollow, or stretched impossibly thin—like a broken rendering of a place that no longer exists. The door flickers between being ajar and missing entirely, and the windows remain empty, reflecting neither light nor movement.
To Ollie, it feels like recalling something from a memory years ago and struggling to make it a whole image.
He feels that there is someone else with him, another person who shimmers into existence. He turns around 180 degrees to see what is there.
It is, in fact, another person. The woman appears around his age, but stands just a bit taller than him. She dons a sleek uniform that looks almost military, but not quite. Her hair is styled in a bob with two large strands that fall across her cheeks. Her face is soft yet emotionless, just staring at Ollie.
He feels a slight flutter in his chest and his cheeks blush ever so slightly, but he brushes all of it away. Ollie tries to say something, but his voice fails, and nothing comes out of his mouth, which he feels is now all but agape.
He takes a deep breath and tries again. "Are you going to say anything? It's not polite to sneak up on people like that. Do you know how many people just show up behind me?"
"Your heart rate is elevated and your breathing has increased," she said, still emotionless and staring right into Ollie's eyes.
"Wait—how can you tell that? Just who exactly are you?" he stuttered, trying his best not to fumble.
The woman taps the MIND on the side of her head, bringing her display into existence. "We should battle. I don't—do not wish to stay on this level for any longer than I have to."
"So you're also a Pilot, huh? So, with all of my other duels, we first introduced ourselves. I'm Ollie, Ollie Greenfield!"
"Selene. Ready yourself."
"Yeah, let's do this!" This time, it was easy for Ollie to find his words. After his meeting with Verax, he feels better, renewed, ready to take on another Pilot, and he hopes she will be a worthy adversary to test out his newfound confidence. "Let's both do our best!"
The words catch Selene off guard, the smallest of smiles forming in the corner of her mouth.
"Okay, Glaive, let's go!" shouts Ollie.
With a flicker of blue light, his OvK materializes, faster than the first time it was called upon. Ollie notices something different. The Glaive now wears a cape, and its hands are slightly larger than before, emphasizing its battle style. Was this the gift from Verax?
Selene's OverKnight is done forming from the Q-Bits, but the armor platings and items forming are all alien to him. When it's done, a tall blue figure stands before him, some of it pulses red like lava flowing down a mountain. Ollie taps his MIND unit to analyze the OvK, and it displays the words "Swift-Edge."
"Swift-Edge... I've... I've seen that one before, haven't I?" he stammers, trying to place it. "It doesn't matter what loadout you're using, I'm gonna defeat you!"
He swipes a card, activating Blade Boost, discarding a two-capacity card to power up his next attack, then immediately follows with Adrenaline Strike. This combo channels eight points of raw damage into Glaive's charge, generating an OverClock thanks to Glaive's Chest Skill.
The attack is a blur, a powerful lunge fueled by Ollie's raw aggression. But just as Glaive's blade descends, Swift-Edge becomes a shimmering barrier, an energy blade materializing from Selene's Parrying Strike. The clash sends a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, sparks flying. Though parried, Glaive's momentum is undeniable; the strike still nicks Swift-Edge for one point of damage, and subtly empowers Glaive's next move with an Adrenaline buff.
Faster than Ollie can perceive, Selene counters. Swift-Edge dissolves and reappears in a flash, launching a Burst Strike for six damage. Ollie reacts on pure instinct, throwing up a Parrying Strike to defend. Glaive absorbs the blow, taking one point of damage. Relentless, Selene plays another Burst Strike, and again, Ollie meets it with the same defensive maneuver, enduring another Core point.
Now, the advantage shifts. Having seized the arena, Ollie plays Kinetic Mega Strike for seven damage, amplified by two more from his Adrenaline buff. This immediately pushes his attack past eight points, automatically activating Glaive's Chest Part passive skill and generating an OverClock point. Selene, cool and collected, counters by defending with two three-capacity cards, taking three damage. Though parried, the Kinetic component of Ollie's strike still triggers, earning him a second OverClock point as it lands.
Selene, ever strategic, plays Recall, bringing two crucial cards from her Void back into her Hand, bolstering her blocking power. But Ollie is already one step ahead. He activates Critical Strike, spending two OverClock points to unleash a Shredding Strike for seven damage. Selene defends with two more three-capacity cards, managing to take only one point of damage, but the Shredding effect still hits, reducing the capacity of her remaining cards in hand.
With a dangerous glint in her eyes, Selene unleashes her own ultimate, Disarm Giga Strike for eight damage, an attack designed to cripple and disarm. Ollie meets it head-on, throwing his entire hand of Strike cards, adding up six capacity, into a defensive formation. The impact is immense, but Glaive absorbs the blow, taking two damage, and with a unique surge of energy, Ollie's discarded strike cards reform in his hand, ready for another assault thanks to Glaive's ability Power Edge.
"Now, let's finish this!" Ollie shouts, his cry echoing throughout the level. He swipes his final attack card, activating Blade Boost to discard a card for three extra attack points. Then he plays OverClocked Giga Strike for eight damage, amplified by an additional two from spending one OverClock point, and three points from Blade Boost.
Selene's remaining cards, having lost capacity thanks to the previous Shredding Strike, simply can't block for sufficient damage. Glaive's blade drives straight through Swift-Edge's core. A final, cataclysmic impact. Swift-Edge explodes backward in a shower of brilliant Q-Bits, its form dissolving into pure data, leaving nothing behind.
Ollie exhales sharply as the battlefield stabilizes, the hidden doorway to the next elevator opening. Without a word, Selene, her earlier faint smile now gone, taps her MIND unit and swiftly, yet effortlessly, strides away.
"Hey!" Ollie shouts after her, a genuine smile on his face. "Great battle! You were pretty tough. I hope we get to fight each other again. Good luck!" This time, it is Selene who feels a slight flutter in her chest. In an instant, she is gone, vanishing behind one of the crystalline buildings.
His phone buzzes, and he answers. "Nice work, Oliver," Lyra says softly. "But you know what this means…"