With a practiced flip, Syl twirled his dagger into a reverse grip, his hands weaving hypnotically through the air as he grinned.

  Syl: "Sorry I brought a knife to a fistfight...!"

  He lunged --

  A lightning-fast stab.

  Jargen barely dodged, instinctively reaching to catch Syl’s knife arm. But Syl was quicker, yanking his hand back just as Jargen’s fingers closed around empty air.

  Jargen: "Still as slippery as ever..."

  He raised his fists, light on his feet, ready for the next strike.

  Syl: "Look who's talkin'! Your reflexes are sharp as hell -- first the traps, now my knife... I can't seem to get the jump on ya."

  Syl took a step back, fingers trailing along a nearby bookshelf.

  Syl: "Though, I s’pose that’s ‘cause you’re only focusing on me..."

  His fingers curled around a small book.

  Syl: "But how fast can you move when *everything* around you is trying to kill you?"

  He hurled the book -- not at Jargen, but at a floor lamp behind him.

  The thick cover struck the shade, knocking the lamp over --

  CLICK.

  A hidden pressure plate beneath it rose with the sudden loss of weight.

  Jargen’s eyes flicked toward the source of the sound. Just for an instant.

  Syl: "Fatal mistake, my friend...!"

  Using the bookshelf behind him as a springboard, Syl launched himself forward -- right as the floor collapsed behind Jargen and to his right.

  Jargen had no choice but to move -- left.

  Exactly where Syl was waiting.

  Jargen: "Heh... Not bad."

  With no time to dodge, Syl thrust his dagger.

  The blade pierced cleanly.

  Syl: "You really have a couple screws loose, don’t ya?!"

  ... But not where he had aimed.

  At the last second, Jargen’s left hand shot up -- catching the knife with his bare palm.

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  The blade drove straight through, impaling his hand from side to side.

  Jargen: "After all the shit I’ve seen, it’d be more surprising if I didn’t..."

  Syl yanked at his dagger -- but Jargen’s fingers closed like a vice.

  Syl: "Dammit, you freak...!"

  Jargen: "Should’ve let go, Syl."

  With a snarl, Jargen wrenched back, dragging Syl forward.

  Before Syl could react, Jargen’s right hand clamped onto his collar, hoisting him into the air like a sack of grain.

  Syl’s boots left the ground.

  Syl: "NO! STOP, JARGEN -- NOT LIKE THIS!"

  Jargen took a slow step toward the bottomless pit left by the collapsed floor.

  Jargen: "What? This is where you draw the line? You tried to murder me with the traps, then pulled a blade on me while I was unarmed..."

  He dangled Syl over the abyss.

  Jargen: "Think you deserve any mercy?"

  Syl squirmed, twisting violently in his grip.

  Syl: "H-how the hell are you gonna find Cabdan’s fortune without me?! Huh?! You’ve got no idea where it is! Might as well throw yourself in after me, ‘cause you’ll just trip another trap and die anyway!"

  Jargen shrugged.

  Jargen: "Eh. You got me this far. Feels like you’ve done enough for me already, Syl..."

  He loosened his grip.

  Jargen: "... Time I let you go."

  Syl bared his teeth.

  Syl: "Suit yourself... But you’re coming with me!"

  With one last desperate twist, Syl ripped his shirt apart at the neck, slipping free of Jargen’s hold --

  And in the same motion, he latched onto Jargen’s forearm, his nails sinking deep into the flesh.

  Syl: "DON’T LOSE YOUR FOOTING NOW, BIG GUY!"

  With his full body weight wrapped around Jargen’s arm, he yanked --

  Jargen’s center of gravity shifted.

  The abyss loomed.

  Jargen: "Fucker -- !"

  His boots slid forward.

  Jargen tipped over the edge.

  Jargen: "Grnhh!"

  Realizing he couldn't pull Syl away from the pit without going over himself, Jargen arched his back with all his might, shifting his weight away from the drop. Then -- he dropped to his knees, lowering his center of gravity, making it easier to manage the dead weight dangling from his right arm.

  Syl: "Hang in there, Jargen... Don’t wanna fall, do ya?!"

  Grinning like a madman, Syl shifted his grip and began climbing up Jargen’s arm. With every movement, his weight yanked and pulled, forcing Jargen to strain every muscle just to keep himself from tipping forward.

  Jargen: "B-bastard...!"

  Syl pinched, scratched, and bit at his skin as he climbed -- anything to weaken Jargen’s hold.

  Jargen: "COWARD!"

  Syl: "Save it, Jargen... You're beatin’ at the wrong door!"

  Jargen gritted his teeth in anger -- hard. He accidentally bit his lip, tasting blood.

  Jargen: "Y’know, Syl... I keep treatin’ you like there's any hope left. Like you can somehow change. But the truth is --"

  Syl was nearly at the top now, his weight finally manageable.

  Jargen: "You were, are, and always will be..."

  Syl reached his shoulder --

  Jargen moved.

  Jargen: "A goddamn animal."

  In a flash, Jargen’s left hand shot away from the floor -- and swung.

  Syl barely had time to hunker down, curling into a tight turtle stance to shield himself.

  Syl: "AAARGHH!"

  But skin is an awful shield against steel.

  Jargen: "And you know, deep down..."

  The dagger sank into Syl’s back.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Thrice.

  Jargen: "... So am I."

  Syl gasped -- choking on the pain, his limbs convulsing.

  Jargen: "Now, I’m gonna gut you just like one."

  Syl desperately kicked off, throwing himself away from Jargen just as he reached solid ground. He landed hard, barely able to stay on his feet. Blood poured from his back, soaking his shirt, dripping onto the wooden floor beneath him.

  Syl: "P-please... Please...!"

  Jargen grinned -- ear to ear.

  Blood dripped from his mouth, from his right arm, from Syl’s own dagger, which he now held tight in his left hand...

  And in that moment --

  Syl swore he was staring at a demon.

  A man possessed.

  Driven by one thing alone.

  Jargen: "Just like old times now, Syl..."

  He took a slow, deliberate step forward.

  Jargen: "Except this time -- you’re on the receiving end."