A blink. A blur. The fist larger than his head closed in with the force of a runaway truck.

  Boom!

  The air quaked at the punch.

  “Kuh?”

  The ogre’s mental cogs briefly paused their rotation as the monster took in the unharmed human now standing a half metre to his right. Its pause didn’t last long as its innate craving reared its head. The monster ceased thinking and followed its instincts. It punched. Again and again and again, failing to land a single blow.

  Void Shift.

  Spamming the technique, Xyn’s figure slipped in and out of reality, teleporting always just outside the reach of the monster’s attacks. The ogre struck afterimages. Vexed and frustrated, it roared, and the green blaze engulfing it flared up.

  Just a visual effect or…

  Xyn’s suspicion - hope was realised. Avoiding a grab, he Void Shifted ten metres away, and not a second later, he was face-to-face with a baseball-sized sphere of green energy.

  Oh! It can do that too. A surprise. A pleasant one. Force projectiles that explode on contact. That doesn’t fit the archetype, but who cares? Interesting, interesting. What else can it do?

  A blast followed.

  The ogre’s energy projectiles condensed between his widened maw and fired out one after the other in quick succession. Fast as bullets but deadly as bombs, they wrecked the forestry - and only the forestry. The ogre swivelled its head from left to right as though in need of an exorcism, hoping to hit its target. However, Xyn proved unaccommodating.

  Hm? That’s it?

  After ten continuous seconds of trying and failing, the ogre ceased its efforts. Its jaw closed, and its teeth gnashed. Mana evened out around its figure, and it leaned forward, preparing for a charge.

  My turn now.

  Xyn gripped the handle of his freshly summoned bone knife tightly, a savage smile surfacing on his face. He dashed forward, pumping his limbs while letting his blade’s edge cut the headwind.

  The ogre viewed his advance as a human would view a sprinting snail. Slow. Shaking off its incredulity-induced paralysis, it blurred forward and threw a left straight.

  The Void Prince’s existence flickered as he repositioned himself. Back in the material world, his raised knife swung down upon the extended arm. He didn’t rely on mundane means alone.

  Vanta Drive

  The Void of utility, Vanta, wrapped around his limb. Manipulating the hardened darkness, he sped up his movements to superhuman levels. At the same time, a different brand of darkness coated the blade mid-swing, the destructive kind: Endera. The black blade met no resistance, cutting through the ogre’s magically enhanced flesh and bones like a hot knife would do butter.

  Ah, this is it!

  Something primal in him was ignited as he watched the red blood flow through the air.

  What I was missing!

  It wasn’t battling a monster per se. He and nearly all of his peers from his home universe could claim the same. The difference was that said creature was a virtual creation. Full-dive VR technology was astounding, and the endless games spawned were engaged with by most of Rose Union, it being easily the number one time sponge and source of entertainment.

  Xyn played it too from time to time, but felt it was greatly lacking. It was good for sharpening skills, but the ever-present knowledge that everything was artificial diminished the experience. The Void Prince couldn’t get off to fake things, no matter how exciting they were in their details.

  He desired reality, realness above all, and this random monster provided just that. Life and death battle, spirits clashing in earnest. Cyberspace could never recreate the intensity.

  He laughed as exhilaration surged in him; his jolly figure became a maddening phantom for the ogre to chase after.

  Yes, you’re not like those husks. A brute you are, but you’re beautiful in your own way, mister monster. Pure and honest to a fault. Truly alive. Yes, yes, you…You, I can kill.

  Xyn’s eyes brightened with a frenzied light, and a crazed smile overtook his expression. The tyrannical beast deep within his psyche was brought to the surface. Free from its cage, it now bared its wicked fangs, eager to strike at those it deemed as prey.

  And unfortunately for the ogre, it was designated as such and would be in for a bad time.

  Xyn’s black bangs flew upwards with the rushing air as the ogre’s uppercut missed him by inches. The monster followed up with a left hook. He shifted backwards a metre and placed his blackened blade in the punch’s path.

  Through the knuckles up the wrist before exiting the creature’s elbow. The monster didn’t cry out in pain, but it did open its mouth in retaliation.

  The psionic ducked, letting the projectile blow over his shoulder while simultaneously drawing another bloody arc across the ogre’s body. A map was carved into the green chest, telling of treasure everywhere. Xyn buried the knife to the hilt before zooming backwards to avoid a gruesome hug.

  His palms welcomed bone weapons anew, and he dove back in. No teleports were observed, yet the ogre still couldn’t land a blow, not even a glancing one.

  The key to this mobility was the combination of a full-body Vanta Drive and a specialised form, Dark Hollow, which greatly reduced his mass. Not even ten kilograms as is, he was a feather to his darkness. A type of flight was enabled that allowed him to effortlessly shift in all directions at a brisk clip.

  The ogre and Xyn were more or less equal in speed. What they weren’t remotely equal in was martial skill, as evidenced by the fact that the Void Prince could run literal circles around his foe through prediction alone.

  One Xyn was too much for the monster, yet when the psionic became two, it rejoiced. It wished its target could create infinite copies of itself, for that could perhaps satiate its hunger. Unfortunately, Xyn was limited to two vessels: Black and White.

  The two Xyns were a metaphoric blender, slashing and stabbing. They moved as spirals, darting in and out with perfect coordination, all while imparting cruel wounds.

  Yes, keep it up, don’t stop.

  Two became one after ten seconds of decorating. Now Grey, Xyn drove a final spear into the ogre’s side before retreating. He had little time to admire his work as the monster flexed and became a grenade. Bone fragments raced toward him.

  Xyn didn’t dodge. Focusing intently, he translocated the impromptu projectiles into Void Vault as soon as they crossed into his Soul Shroud. His right hand twisted into a gun gesture and aimed at the ogre. A bone bullet appeared only an inch from his squeezed-together fingers.

  Encased in Vanta, it hung motionless in the air. Endera joined the equation, forming a circle just behind the black bullet. The destructive darkness vibrated with intensity, then drew back, causing space itself to stretch in the process. Xyn held it for a moment, then released it.

  Accel Bullet!

  To mundane eyes, it appeared no different from a laser. Accelerated to several times the speed of sound via slingshotting space, the projectile ignited the air in passing before delivering a monstrous force.

  The top of the ogre’s right shoulder vanished - along with anything within the next hundred metres. The monster stumbled but didn’t fall. If nothing else, it took punishment like a champ.

  Its green aura swelled once again, and like before, its broken body became whole in a grotesque explosion of pulsating flesh. The tunnel in its arm, the chunk torn from its shoulder, and the dozen other surface cuts were gone as they had never been.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Xyn rejoiced at his rejuvenated opponent and charged again. The ogre roared and met him halfway. It punched out.

  The monster’s bestial nature was infectious, and the young man lost himself in the heat of the moment. Clothes vanished and were replaced by bone-forged armour. He would meet the monster head-on. His fist rocketed forward.

  Accel Punch!

  A gory explosion of flesh and heat followed the collision of fists. The ogre was blown back at speed. Most of its right arm was gone, and what was left was horribly disfigured and bleeding.

  Xyn laughed delightfully at the sight. He hadn’t come out unscathed. The destruction was mutual. His arm was shredded from the elbow, like an umbrella in a storm. He didn’t care. Replacing the limb with another was a thought away. The ogre’s eyes flickered as Xyn did just that.

  The human mage hadn’t healed in any traditional sense. The ogre didn’t know how to articulate what he was seeing; however, if he knew the concept, he would claim the other had edited it out.

  Healed up, the ogre threw itself towards the fire that was Xyn’s frenzy.

  Truly stretching his legs had felt good, but the feeling waned as the battle continued. Two minutes into the clash, the agitation that possessed Xyn had run its course, and his usual calm took control.

  Fighting was fun, but a one-sided drubbing was only fun for so long, and with the ogre having played all of its few cards, the Void Prince grew bored. Instead of fighting, he focused on analysis. His eyes were black holes taking in the other’s…everything.

  Impressive aura output, but poor management and control.

  The ogre was incredibly wasteful by Xyn’s standards. Nearly half of its mana was being used to fuel the green blaze that engulfed it. There was no benefit to the aura effect, and while it looked cool, the ogre likely wasn’t doing it for aesthetics.

  Inefficient. Could be two to three times stronger. Its abilities aren’t too diverse either. Force projectiles, body enhancement, extraordinary regeneration…and acute sensing. What’s its range?

  A Void Shift saw the psionic cross three hundred metres and appear behind a tree. Leaning against it, Xyn focused on his Void Sense. At the edge of it stood a now confused-looking ogre. The monster’s head was on a furious swivel, and roars left its glistening lips.

  Rubbing his chin, Xyn teleported closer. Just ten metres. Seeing the cloud of bafflement remain on the monster, he drew closer and closer and closer until…

  One hundred and twenty metres, there about, Xyn noted before Void Shifting.

  The ogre’s charge faltered, and it drew deep tracks in the dirt, coming to a stop and looking around with frantic energy.

  Is this sensing ability unique to this creature, or is it a universal trait? Something to find out. I wonder if it will be able to detect me in my stealth mode. Let’s see.

  Xyn put his thoughts to the test. He loved experiments. The psionic wrapped himself in Vanta, becoming a shadow of himself and slowly entered the other’s sensing range.

  He expected the monster to be none the wiser. Xyn rarely used the technique, but preferences aside, it was incredibly effective in concealing his presence. To date, no one had sensed him when he was encased in Vanta…until now.

  Whoa, it can actually sense me.

  A force projectile slammed into the humanoid darkness. It was blown apart with explosive might, reduced to sand-like particles that quickly faded into nothingness.

  Xyn appeared at the hulking figure’s twelve o’clock. His expression was blank, thoughtful.

  The monster closed the distance with a leap and slammed his fists down. Xyn teleported at the last moment and let gravity drag him down till he landed atop the ogre’s bent shoulder. He used it as a chair for as long as he could, that being a second.

  He teleported again. Avoiding the ogre’s grabs, strikes and projectiles, over and over. He stayed close, frustratingly close, just outside the ogre’s grasp.

  Pitiful, the thought passed through Xyn’s mind.

  The ogre’s persistence was not a character trait, but a curse. A madness that compelled it to the point of suicide. While not a great philosopher, it wasn’t a mindless beast either. It was clearly capable of complex thought, and its speech had clear signs of emotion. There was no way it didn’t understand that it was outclassed. Yet, no matter how close to death Xyn brought it, it never even entertained escape. Retreat wasn’t an option in its mind.

  The acknowledgement was a wet towel and turned the ogre into a pitiful being in Xyn’s eyes. That said, he had no intention of sparing the creature’s life. It was distilled danger. If anything needed to be killed, it was the monster before him.

  Xyn decided to close the curtain on this battle. Whatever more could be gleaned from it wasn’t worth the cost of feeling like a bully.

  I’ll give you a free shot.

  Thinking this, Grey split. White materialised fifteen metres away. Black remained where he was, in the path of the ogre’s palm strike. It came down like a hydraulic press, only dozens of times faster. Black disrobed at the last moment, his attire returning to Void Vault. There was no point in wasting a good set of clothes.

  A sickening crunching sound mixed with a loud splat. Black had become a hideous pancake. The ogre was shocked at the happening. He had hoped for it to happen, yet fully expected to low-five empty space.

  White - now Grey - saw what could pass as satisfaction on the monster’s face and felt a bit better about himself. He carried out his plan feeling lighter than before. Four bone bullets appeared around the psionic, coated in Vanta, which held it in place.

  Each one became an Accel Bullet, firing one after the other, the rate of fire matching a pistol. The ogre lost its extremities and went hurling backwards. It slammed into a house-sized boulder, and web-like cracks spread over it. The monster’s face twisted in rage, and it marshalled its aura into the charred stumps, looking to recover. It needed only a second or two.

  Xyn didn’t allow it.

  With a flick of his wrist, he slashed at the air in front of him. The casualness of his action betrayed the effect.

  Endera: The Flames of the End.

  It had three levels of destructiveness.

  The lowest level was used to coat himself or his weapons. The middle layer allowed him to interact with the fabric of space, making techniques like Accel Bullet and Accel Punch possible. The third level also interacted with space; however, it was far less gentle.

  The arc of black cut reality. A ripple-like distortion was the result. Thin as a piano string, the silver crescent wave raced forward at incomprehensible speeds, parting everything in its path.

  Void Cut: Crescent Wave!

  Clean and precise. The projectile decapitated the monster and disappeared into nonexistence, leaving not a scratch on the boulder at its backside.

  The curtain had been drawn…or so Xyn thought. Reality called for an encore.

  Wha!?

  Laxness left his system to lightning’s envy as the corpse of the monster flashed white. An explosion; the notion prompted a spike in tension. His time perception slowed to a crawl. Instinct chose flight, and the Void Prince moved with desperate speed.

  Monochrome.

  Black remained in place while White materialised three hundred and three metres away, underground, replacing mundane dirt. A thick wall of enchanted stone and tangled roots separated him from the glowing corpse. As an added measure, White conjured a patch of Endera and had it protect his spinal cord.

  He was ready for it…and it didn’t come.

  Not an explosion. Rather, what followed was an implosion. The light rushed inward, condensing into a marble-like sphere. It hung there for a moment before dropping to the dirt.

  Well, that happened.

  Xyn’s face was flushed in the aftermath. However, his embarrassment was fleeting. Excitement and curiosity drowned out the emotion, and like winds hitting sails, they drove him forward. White escaped the natural bomb shelter as Xyn became Grey.

  This should be a monster core.

  Xyn didn’t rush to touch the green orb. Shadowing it, he extended his Soul Shroud to engulf it and inspected the object with his mundane and magical senses.

  Mana swirled within the orb, taking the form of intertwining strands. The quantity was a tiny fraction of the monster’s mana output. Registering no dangerous elements, Xyn had White pick it up.

  Those strands should be the ogre’s various magics. What would happen if I…

  White grabbed at the strands with his will and dragged the entangled clump from the orb. There was resistance, but the psionic wasn’t to be denied.

  The crystalline orb crumbled into dust after the green energy vacated it. Xyn noted the happening but kept the lion’s share of his attention on his Soul Shroud for any adverse reactions. None came immediately…or after thirty seconds.

  A psychic weight accompanied the monstrous mana’s presence within his Soul Shroud, but it was barely felt, a feather to him. After a minute, he deemed it harmless enough and drew the monstrous mana further into him. The Soul Shroud was the outermost layer of one’s soul, after all.

  Taking a breath, Xyn swallowed. The green mana was translocated into his Soul Core. The reaction was instantaneous, like a gag reflex.

  Ah!?

  The Void Prince vomited out the foreign mana and quickly dismissed White, whose soul had been vibrating. Grey took a calming breath and wiped his forehead, which glistened with cold sweat.

  That could have been bad.

  The green knot had been a stellar guest in his Soul Shroud, but this turned out to be a clever disguise. Once inside his Soul Core, it revealed its true colours, that of a ruffian, of a monster.

  From the first instant onwards, it began sending everything toppling over. Xyn’s inner workings threatened to become undone. It would result in the explosive death of his duplicate.

  Usually, this wasn’t a big deal.

  Because usually, only the duplicate’s body was destroyed. Their souls remained intact and slingshotted to the surviving duplicate.

  Had he reacted any slower, White’s soul would have been obliterated. Its absence would mean he would have to rely on his Void magic alone. His duplication ability, Monochrome, would be offline. Naturally, its numerous applications would be inaccessible as well.

  No pseudo-teleportation, no high-speed healing, no biocrafting, and no doubles. Without these to rely on, Xyn’s combat prowess would drop to a tiny fraction of what it was.

  This debuff wasn’t permanent. Xyn had, surprise surprise, purposely destroyed parts of his soul before, and learned that it would regenerate. He would need just over three hours to regain Monochrome after losing either Black or White.

  Ordinarily, Xyn would not care to lose Monochrome, but he was currently in uncharted territory. Giving it anything less than his all was foolish.

  Okay, not doing that again, ever.

  The declaration didn’t have time to echo in his head before Xyn frowned and added:

  No, never say never. That idea isn’t dead in the water. I just need to carry it out under safer conditions. Yeah. Nodding to himself, the Void Prince glanced around. Now, where to?

  Magical signatures pulsed in every direction, each promising a good time. He was determined not to backtrack, but every other direction was viable. Paralysed by too many options, he left it to chance. He summoned a bone knife and tossed it upwards. The flat of the blade was struck by a gust of air. It was sent whirling away towards a tree. After bouncing off a few branches, the knife landed in the dirt before him.

  Northeast, it is. Well, what I take to be northeast.

  Xyn shrugged and moved, a pep in his step, eager for exciting monsters.

  The ogre had been a nice warm-up, but he needed much more.

  Thankfully for Xyn, his wish would be more than granted.