Changing the Rules

Someone was clapping nearby. “Congratulations. Dying this often must be a new record for an immortal.” Nia’s inner self smiled and stopped clapping. “Though I’d prefer, if you’d stop using your own body as a collateral.”

“It’s not that I wanted that to happen. Maybe it wouldn’t have happened, if my magic were more reliable.” Nia looked up at a black ceiling, next to the wire frame diagram of her body that again looked pretty red in places.

“The magic you neglected to explore and train? Again?” Her inner self raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get to it, after coming back to life.” She waved and took a deep breath.

“Don’t give me that careless attitude.” Her subconsciousness pointed past her. “You know that you have to deal with your … guests?”

“Guests?” Nia stretched her head to look in the indicated direction. A black shadow rushed toward her. She barely managed to block the fist of the black woman. “What’s Saesquar doing here?”

“What did you do?” The dark goddess screamed at her and wound up for another strike.

“She imprisoned you in the sword, as well.” Another familiar voice made her look to the side. Qiin walked past her and looked at her other self.

“Imprisoned me? In the sword? An actual goddess?”

“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Qiin was grinning. “What’s equally fascinating is that there are two of her.”

“Oh, don’t mind me.” Her other self smiled.

“No. I fully intend to mind your presence.” Qiin walked closer to her other self. “I have no body anymore. The same for Saesquar. But we can remedy that, if we take yours.”

“You’re not going to touch me.” Her other self suddenly looked very serious. How could Nia’s subconsciousness be so much more confident than she herself?

Saesquar grabbed her throat. “You don’t have a say in that matter.”

Nia could barely breathe. Why was that woman still so strong?

A fireball shot past them and impacted a barrier around her other self. The blast was so strong that she and Saesquar were thrown away. The sudden force disentangled the goddess from her and Nia could breathe again.

The deceitful monk was looking at his hand, a grin forming on his face.

“Qiin! Why are you attacking me?” Saesquar got up.

Nia scrambled to her feet and ran away.

“I’m sorry, mistress. You were just collateral.” He raised his finger and aimed at Nia. In the last moment he moved his hand, a bright beam of light hit Saesquar in the shoulder. “But I won’t just give you the only chance to get out of this prison!”

The dark goddess held her shoulder. Black smoke rose from it for a moment, hinting at an injury that was gone once she removed her hand. The expression on her face was grim. “So, in the end, you betray me as well.”

“This is for a good reason, isn’t it?” Qiin started to float. “Besides, in here you’re not more powerful than I am.”

Nia got up. Why? Why couldn’t both of them just stay dead?

“Then I’ll show you again, why I am a goddess, and why you’re not!”

At Saesquar’s declaration, Nia’s skin started to tingle, her hair rose. She could almost tell what would happen next. At least her magic reacted and created a barrier.

With a loud boom, lighting came down on her. The stream of energy made the very air crack and crackle. The smell of ozone hung in the air and Nia could see barely anything. She couldn’t hear anything but the lightning. When it faded, she as thrown back by an explosion. The vestiges of a fireball rose in the air.

Before her, above ground, a black and a white streak collided. A shockwave washed over her.

“Hey. Nia. Don’t forget, who makes the rules here!” Her core shouted. “Get in there and show them, who’s boss!”

Now her own subconsciousness was rooting for her. Her very sarcastic and confident self. Telling her not to forget, who … She stopped. This was her subconsciousness. The one that made the rules, was her …

Nia started to grin. After all this time, all this humiliation, she could set the rules. How, she had no idea, but she should be able to. This was her subconsciousness, her world.

When I repaired my body last time I was here, I just thought about having it repaired. I wasn’t supposed to think on the how. Just that it should happen. The magic filled the gap. So, if I think I should be able to fly …

Her feet left the ground. Saesquar and Qiin shot beams of energy at another, fireballs and called lightning from above.

This won’t be enough to allow me to win. Like this it’s a battle of will, but if I can make the rules … What will happen if I fill the gaps magic is using, if I stop them from cheating?

“You know?” she called to the two combatants, “there can’t be lightning without clouds or a sky.” At least no lightning coming from above. That Lightning is actually generated by two layers of air of different temperatures rubbing against each other at high speeds. There also need to be water vapor present in one of them.

She could see Qiin make a gesture toward her. Nothing happened.

Saesquar turned to her. A beam of light hit her in the stomach. It burned. Nia hissed. Shit, that’s bad. I need to stop her from doing so fast attacks. “Hey, goddess of darkness, where’s your light source?”

“I don’t need a …”

“I suggest we team up against her.” Qiin didn’t wait for an answer.

“Agreed. We’ll settle the rest later.”

Both shot toward her, vanished, and fists hit her in the face and stomach. She flew backwards down and to the- There’s no ground. This is my subconsciousness!

“Burn!” A fireball shot down at her.

Air can’t burn without a fuel source. Nothing happened, the fireball still hit her, ignited her clothes. I can’t burn. This isn’t real. The fire went out, but her skin was still burned.

Both vanished and Nia was hit in the back. Something cracked. “You can’t teleport.” A simple rule. Though I need to stop reacting.

Nia turned around, and faced a rock crashing into her. Pillow. This is a pillow!

The rock turned soft and burst into a cloud of feathers around her.

ACT! Be the world. All the feathers are orbiting rocks. No, orbiting drones with laser cannons. four hundred and fifty nanometers. Blue Light.

The feathers reacted. She rewrote the world around her. Feathers morphed into rocks, which morphed into small black spheres. More fireballs rushed toward her.

Those are surrounded by only nitrogen. The fire went out. A black tar-like sphere and a clear liquid were what was left.

“How are you doing this?” Saesquar demanded.

“I’m writing the rules in here.” Nia looked around and found the goddess. Large icicles were all around her opponent, accelerating toward her. “Fire!” Lines of blue light connected her spheres with the goddess. Saesquar screamed. A black sphere formed around the woman.

Then Qiin was next to her, a sword in hand. Several of her drones were cut in half. Electricity sparkled and they exploded. Nia barely managed to dodge the far too sharp blade.

I need those made of metal. Steel. Blades can’t cut through steel like that.

A blue beam hit her and she spun, a hole burned in her body. Where did that …?

A shimmering reflective surface hung in front of the dark goddess.

Saesquar’s right. She has more experience about magic combat. Let’s see if I have seen enough movies to have an edge elsewhere!

Nia grabbed one of the steel spheres. “Let’s see what you think about gun combat!” The metal reacted, flowing around her hand and forward, forming an old school G9 rifle. After aiming for a second or two, Nia pulled the trigger. A loud bang filled her ears and the mirror shattered.

Saesquar held her shoulder. The shards swiveled and turned, before flying toward Nia.

“Make those shards homing rockets that target Qiin.” The shards morphed, turned to Qiin and then ignited.

“What are homing rock-” The monk created a big shield made of steel in front of him, just before the projectiles impacted. Several explosions rocked him and ripped that shield apart. Some debris of the metal hit her spheres.

A streak of purple hit her on the side, burning another hole into her body. The other one hadn’t closed. It was still there. Nia hadn’t noticed it.

“This is a plasma rifle.” The goddess said in a flat tone, a futuristic looking gun in her hands.

“Plasma rifles don’t exist.” Nia stated with conviction, but nothing happened. The dark goddess pressed the trigger lightly and the insides started to glow, the gun was aimed directly at Nia’s head.

“I know now is not a good time,” her core called, “but if they manage to erase you, we’re both gone.”

The dark goddess grinned and pulled the trigger.