The Eye of the Storm

Sato

Ruinous rain poured down around them. Thunder lanced down narrowly missing them. Suffocating smoke billowed up out of the burning Sea. 

Death stood sentinel over over a dozen dead knights, face away from the arriving duo, looking down, scythe blade down in the mud. Leo's Pryde is broken. Sato's Shields smashed. 

Sato and Leo slowly and cautiously approach and begin to circle Death, from a distance. Death looked up, noticing them, and began to track their movements. Death spun its scythe upright.

If Leo was scared, he showed no sign. Sato knew neither he nor his friend could leave alive so long as Death drew pained and strained breath. It was in that moment that Sato resigned himself to kill. He would not allow him to kill his friend.

"Sato, hang back and provide support. I'm going to test him," Leo let out. 

Sato couldn't have approached if he wanted to. His fear commanded him.

Leo rushed Death with grace and speed and narrowly avoided a darting glancing blow from the lumbering figure's scythe. He was fast. Too fast. His arms emerged briefly from his cloak's sleeves, revealing not one patch of skin but massive bulging muscle (scattering) the frail frame. Death was an enigma. He was frail but built. Sick but speedy. Leo guarded with Wyrm at the last second and then acrobatically leaped back into a prepared portal. 

Leo was prepared. Sato only hoped he would be more help than burden in this fight. Leo emerged from a second purple passage behind Death. He turned with grace and speed and met Leo's thrust. Leo's face showed no surprise at the beast's speed nor strength. Leo again retreated before he could take any meaningful damage.

"Sato, we must attack him simultaneously. He only has one armament," Prince Leo ordered.

Sato charged bravely and foolishly with little thought as to stragem. Leo and Sato had been up many a night planning and practicing for this fight. It was brutal work. It all went right out of Sato's head as he rushed Death. As it raised its scythe with lethal intent, Leo knocked Sato into and through another prepared portal. 

"Not like that. Remember, if he takes you out, then I can't heal you. That's your primary role," Leo reminded.

Sato and Leo double-teamed Death, trying to outflank the man. Instead, they barely managed to deflect half of his blows. Death grazed Leo's torso, tearing his tunic. The gilded scar Sato had left Leo the night before during practice was exposed. As Leo had predicted. They effectively protected Leo from the worst of Reaper's power. 

Leo rushed Death with slides and flips and flurries of thrusts, all of which were easily deflected. Sato went for Death's back while he was distracted. Perhaps not, as he easily countered without so much as a thought. Then he landed a deep gash slice through Sato's right shoulder. Sato screamed heartily. He took his blade to the wound to seal it, and the gilded fluid of Kintsugi went to work. He could feel the weapon whispering in his head. Let go.

Sato did not. He rejoined the fight. Leo had managed to break through Death's defenses and land a few thrusts to little effect. In return, he had received a deep gash through his chest. Sato quickly took to treating it, and both boys managed to hold back Death's advance.

Sato switched to a support role in order to keep Leo healthy and in the fight. Since Leo was a far better and more experienced fighter, he was their best shot at beating Death. Sato snuck in an occasional blow at Death when he saw an opening. This strategy ultimately proved ineffective.

Leo fought Death by utilizing multiple closely prepared portals to strike from behind. He outspeeded Death using space skipping by passing through multiple portals. By consolidating distances that didn't exist, Leo increased his inertia and acceleration. Death caught on quick to Leo's tricks and caught him quick out of the air as he dashed by seeking a mortal lance. 

Death retaliated by returning the gesture. He slammed his scythe so hard into Leo's chest that his ribs shattered and his chest burst open. Leo instantly lost consciousness. Death threw him hard to the ground. He rolled over and began to bleed out. When Leo went unconscious, the wall of purple portals ringing their fight blinked out of existence as if they had never been.

Leo grew tired and sloppy. That was Death's Reaper's power. It would drain the strength and power of another and channel it to its user. This effectively made Death an inexhaustible, unstoppable, unbeatable, unrelenting war machine. The worst-case scenario was a prolonged battle against Death and Reaper. Their best shot was to land a lucky blow early. That time past.

Sato stared down at Leo's body, bleeding out. His chest was cracked open, revealing his insides. Sato was unable to heal Leo. Death was too fast. He would kill him if he tried. Sato knew Death could simply stall him until Leo bled out. He had to finish this now. Without thinking, he took up both Kintsugi in his left hand and Wyrm in his right. He charged straight at Death.

Death cleaved his left arm straight off him. Sato looked down to see where his arm should be replaced by a geyser of blood. Funny thing is, he could feel his arm like it was still there. He could contract his digits where no digits were. Funny. Death walked over to his arm and crushed it underfoot. Death brought his might scythe down on Kintsugi, and it shattered into a dozen different pieces. The pieces started to leak their gold into the ground. Death turned away, having finished its work. 

This was it. This was how he died. At least he tried his best. Too bad he couldn't save Leo and his people. He hoped Rebe and Daniel were alright... 

Let go. 

Okay. I'm going towards the light. 

No. The shade is coming for you. 

That was when the Shade consumed him and took control. Sato's eyes seared the blue of the storming sea. The gilded fluid that had leaked from the shatters of Kintsugi shot out like an vine and stuck itself to Sato's gushing stub. Sato felt the gold enter into his veins and arteries and muscle tissues. It began to fuse itself to his very body. The gild shaped itself into a golden arm, and the digits shot out and collected the splinters of Kintsugi from the ground. They joined with the blob and passed inside it. Out of the shape of a gilded hand emerged Kintsugi, good as broken. 

Sato's body moved on its own. The Shade controlled him now. He was a passenger. With Kintsugi in his gilded left hand and Wyrm in his flesh right hand, he pressed the attack. 

Death narrowly evaded beheading then and there. Death sliced him to bits, but the gilded arm and blade healed him even faster. Sato stabs himself multiple times in the fight. He did not block one single blow. Meanwhile, Wyrm was piercing holes in Death. Sato's body moved faster than it ever had before.

Death was growing tired. Death parried and resisted for a time, but he started to miss blocks. Sato went all-out offense. He went all out, using every he had, including those of Sensei, Leo, Death, and the shade. He slashed and hacked Death faster than he could evade. Sato ultimately overwhelms him. Death was quickly put on the back foot, overpowered, and knocked to his knees. Sato sliced and hacked with both blades until Death resisted no more. Death was beaten to a bloody pulp.

The light had left Sato's eyes, and the shade left his mind. He regained control of his body, and his left arm melted away into the blade. He grabbed it with his right hand and rushed over to Leo to render aid. The Prince was badly bleeding. His heart was hemorrhaging. Sato couldn't aim right with his right. He plunged the blade into Leo's heart and prayed to the shade, to death, to anyone who would answer. Please save his friend. The gild answered if no one else. It set to work sealing Leo's heart. Sato slammed the boy's open chest violently until he heard it. The soft, beautiful beating of a pulse. Sato had saved him. Somehow, he'd saved Leo. Sato fell back onto his back in utter exhaustion. 

Leo began to cough up some blood. He forced himself up onto all fours.  He leaned in a puddle of his own blood. Wyrm winded up at his side. He collected the blade. Somehow, he rose to his feet, his chest cavity still open and exposed. His armor lay in scrapes. His clothes were no more than shredded rags. His wig was in the bloody mud besides him. His odd scalp was exposed, writhing with tiny tendrils, where his hair should be. They seemed to have minds of their own. He stumbled and hobbled over to face Death using Wyrm as a crutch.

Death lay there in a pile of black and brown and red, his hood and mask having fallen away, revealing his true features and his final words.

"If you see error in your past, and grant my people dignity and life, then I have not lost here today. Instead, I have beaten your father one final time. Sully will lead my people. I am no good to the but in war. They shall be all the better for the lack of my Fury and Vengeance and most of all my scythe. I bear you no ill will for the sins of your father's boy; I only hope that you will rule for all your people, not just those you can stand to look upon. Ah, so the King is a freak like us. I see. A Rotten King. What a thought." 

The light slowly drained from Death’s lidless eyes. His bloodied, scarred, and rotted face went still. Death bled out and died in front of Leo, staring up at him. 

The Reaper rose up into the air and began to instantaneously combust into a rust reaction. The relic turned brown and fell to the ground, powerless. No longer a weapon of war. Just a simple farming tool. Like all the rest.

Death was dead, by his hands. Well, one of his hands, not under his control. The shade killed death, not Sato. And he wasn't Death. Not really. He was just a sick man fighting for his people. 

Leo looked down at the victory over death. And rain poured down from his eyes. He collapsed back into the bloody mud below. He wailed. Tears streamed from his bloody, dirty, stitched-up face into the bloody mud below. Snot tricked out his noise. He screamed. 

Sato went to his friend. He drew him out from the mud. He brought Leo up to his feet without any aid. He embraced the shorter boy and engulfed him in his arms. They stood there and cried together until their eyes went dry and there were no more tears left. The sky continued to cry.

The storm Above was breaking.