章節 6: Connecting The Dots 2

After being escorted to the nearest station by the female officer, Mason is motioned to sit in a chair in front of a small table in an unadorned room. In the process to get to this room, he saw no other officers, which further convinced him that this was some sort of set up- yet even though this seemed to be arranged, he was not once restrained, and no harm seemed to be intended, and he wasn't getting any alarms through his trained "sense." The officer stood next to the seat Mason was sitting across from, ramrod straight and silent. By now, they had removed their exosuit, revealing a firm-faced, dark skinned woman. With sharp blue eyes, they seemed to stare into your inner being. They could genuinely be considered beautiful, though their attitude made them seem unapproachable.

In the silence that steadily grew to be appropriately uncomfortable even to the always steady Mason, he felt his facade beginning to fade, alongside a flicker in his sea of mental energy. In the place of an affable young man, the aura of an implacable being took up residence. The officer's eyes flickered toward Mason for only an instant, before continuing to stare at the door they entered from. If she noticed his change, she didn't let it slip. As of now, Mason's consciousness slips away even as he seems unchanged and alert in the chair he sits in...

***

When he comes to, he finds himself in the depths of space.

Rather than surprised, he feels a sense of steely determination and unprecedented grimness, as if he is about to confront a great threat- a battle of life and death.

A calamity.

He looks down at his body, and instead of the brown skin he was familiar with, a unique gray exosuit covers his body. Holding his handcand clenching it, rather than a suit or armor, the exosuit seemed to just be another layer of skin, equaling the flexibility of the human body he possessed. And above even the sense of wonder-

Mason felt a sense of power. Absolutely immense power.

He felt at one with the suit covering him- rather than a tool, it had become another part of him. If one were to see Mason now, they would see a gray exosuit reminiscent of a workout uniform, that was reinforced with orange plates at various important positions, such as his shoulders, chest, and so on. An orange visor on his face conceals the gaze of the person within, but not it's intensity. This exosuit was unrecognizable to Mason, even when going through his mind thinking of the different exosuit lines... which means the only explanation is that this is a completely unique exosuit, made for him. Despite knowing this much, and despite feeling completely attuned to the exosuit, he can't grasp exactly what application his mental energy is used for- is it focused on defense? Speed? Striking? If an outsider were to see him, a yellow, undulating glow could be seen around his body, steadily growing in intensity until he seemed to channel the power of a star. He looks forward at the threatening presence, one that gave a feeling of intense familiarity. In front of him, the strange familiar being- his opponent- was revealed.

A being with a crimson set of scales, a long, pointed tail, and with a face shrouded in darkness stood in space, seeming to watch Mason in silence. Horns could be seen coming out from the fog, a set of four. Despite the creature's alien appearance, it seems to attract one's gaze. In the strange demonic beast's left hand was a pitch black trident, oozing an otherworldy essence, seeming to echo even in the vacuum of space faint screams of agony- rather than being in a vacuum, the power let off by Mason and this strange creature seemed to create a separate set of "rules" within this area in space itself.

With not a word, the unknown creature seems to flicker in and out of existence, before suddenly appearing in front of Mason, spear outstretched preparing to pierce him through. The three tips of the trident seem to shift in space, conjuring what seems to be mini black holes- the screams grow in intensity.

Mason's mind seems to lose control of his own body, and in turn it acts on its own- he becomes just a spectator in this fight among higher powers.

Unflinching, the exosuit clad warrior grabs the haft of the trident with his right hand even as the tips of it come incredibly close to running him through. Drawing back his left hand in a fist, within a fraction of a second a large cracking sound bursts out, along with a blinding yellowish light as his fist hurtles toward the hellish creature like a shooting star.

Equally as unperturbed as its adversary, the creature has its foul trident shift out of the warrior's hand just as itself had blinked through space earlier, getting the space to barely dodge the sun-like strike. Whipping its trident through the air less like a spear and more like a scythe, it careens toward the warrior's head, seeking his death- but doesn't hit its mark. With a slight backwards tilt of the upper body, the danger is evaded, and the time for a counterattack is nigh.

Ducking under the space that is empty for under a second before the trident comes swinging back, a swinging back hook kick from the right leg comes out at a ridiculous speed, with the glow of mental energy making the warrior's foot seem like the greaves of a god of war, enriched with the power of the stars. Striking the left side of the opponent with the warrior's heel, they are sent flying away with little resistance, having no choice but to accept the blow. Shooting after them with streaming light following the warrior, a mysterious pattern seems to glow even through the front of the exosuit, emanating a radiant light.

Yet the creature is reluctant to let this fight become so one sided, immediately regaining control of momentum by unfurling a pair of spectral wings, as red as the heat of Hell itself. With a stange set of mutters that seem to pierce the very soul, a black and blue flame coalesces above it's clawed right hand, as the creature's trident remains at the ready in the opposite hand. Without hesitation, the exosuit warrior stops in space, holding both palms in front of them as if in prayer, before slowly spreading them apart to unveil a golden, glistening pole of pure energy, and for the first time a voice comes out of the exosuit (as unclear and muffled as it sounded), saying the name of this ability, this weapon; [Absolution]. Taking it into their hands, they rush toward the creature who had taken their distance as they point the clawed hand now saturated with unholy energy toward the warrior, as they too spoke the name of their ability-

[Outcry.]

Screams of agony increase dramatically in volume, seeming to tear the soul, as the blue flame comes out in a wave of heat that threatens to devour mental energy as well as flesh. No exousuit alone could withstand this attack.

With the strange, radiant pole at the ready, the warrior does not falter. They hurtle in with unmatched force, aiming to break through the unholy flames and-

Mason's eyes snap open, and he finds himself back in the same chair, though now there were more people in the room.