Carl
A light frown was plastered on the man's face, his smile fading. He continued staring at the knight for a moment, waiting for him to say anything, but... Nothing. "In that case... It would seem as though negotiations have broken down, _Knight of Sol_. It's a shame we couldn't learn from each other. Though, perhaps... I could still benefit from your knowledge." Gaige held his ground, not taking a step towards the armored warrior. **The weight of the knight's armor began to increase immensely.**

A telekinetic force began pressing down on the knight's armor, seeming to be an attempt to force him to kneel. `A real shame it had to come to this. I had hoped maybe I could come to an agreement with them.` Gaige thought in sorrow over the missed opportunity; it would seem the Knights of Sol were too duty-bound to be negotiated with. The man hoped his current input of force on the knight would render him immobile, but judging by his sheer size... Gaige's hopes were low. He made no attempt to move closer to the knight, "If I were you, I'd just give in. I've been told you knights prefer to be in close combat with your opponent. Me? Mmm..." The hero put his hand on his chin, before giving the knight a shrug with his arms, "I'm pretty confident you'd lose to me in melee combat... But why take the risk? You've got nothing on me at this range besides a few prayers, right?" He smirked at the knight, taunting him as he continued his telekinetic assault.
Jane
Kuouo quietly descended the stairs, his paws softly sliding down each step as to make sure he didn't arouse the attention of anymore knights. He'd hate to admit it, but beating down two knights and activating Act Two took more out of him than he's like. Getting into a death battle now would certainly—

```Ah hell, where'd I leave Infernium this time?```

Kuouo called his dagger's name, ``"Infernium,"`` and continued down the stairs. He held his left paw in the air, awaiting the dagger's soulbound express delivery whilist descending the last half-flight. He did a 180, the dagger taking a couple seconds longer than usual before whirling into his palm. 

```fix
"Geez, took ya long en-"```

The bandit immediately stopped walking backwards, swiveling around to see vaguely familar corridor with, more importantly, a showdown in the midst of starting. Kuo clenches his teeth, scrambling behind the pillar as he measured the beheamoth.

```He's just about as big as the King of the Underground..!! And, and..—```

Kuouo pokes his head out, scanning the area due to hearing a *Familiar hero's* Voice once more. That disheveled head of hair, the cockiness, and the way he carried himself... There was no doubt about it. Kuouo smirked to himself, watching the fight continue to unfold in front of him.

```Daheh! Gaige's got 'em on the ropes. Let's see what this guy can do against 'em! Gaige better beat his ass.```

Kuouo made the final decision to stay behind the pillar... For now, anyways. He'll jump in if the fight gets hairy, but for now he'd rather use this time to recover the stamina lost in his battle just minutes ago.
Victor
```fix
"𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏."```

So the knight spoke, interrupting Gaige's initial statement. He continued in his wait, unattacking, until the moment Gaige would make his move, yet would not humor him further words — combat and protection was his duty, and never to speak with a foe. Luckily for the new arrival, it did not appear that the knight had yet noticed **Kuouo, some distance behind himself.** Rather, the knight's attention was solely focused on the adversary before him, halberd at-the-ready to strike.

. . .

And so, he made the first move.
A telekinetic assault — downwards force, overwhelming even to a trained knight and guardian, furthering the already burdensome weight of the thick armor that shielded his frame. To a normal creature even of his own size, it would perhaps be too much to handle — yet, for the knight, Kaaze, it would prove only to slow him, the encumbrance of the extra weight still supported by his tremendous physicality. 

*`How disadvantageous.`*

The knight grumbled, silently, troubled in part by the control of such substantial downwards force at the considerable distance between them. Indeed, despite his halberd's incredible reach, Gaige was still beyond his effective scope-of-attack, and, given such a handicap as the excessive weighing force upon his armor, he would certainly have a tough time closing the gap.

...However, that would not deter him. *He had a duty, to protect the Ground Gate for as long as he lived, and Gaige had taken an offensive against it.* ***So he must be quelled.***
_ _

Without a word further, the **Knight slams one foot forwards, adjusting itself to the new weight and balance of its motion.** Familiarized, it takes another step forward, then another, before breaking into a **Surprisingly-fast-yet-clearly-burdened charge,** Closing the gap between itself and Gaige. Slowed, by the motion of his telekinesis, what would be a forceful and swift overhead slam with the halberd became a **Wearisome, telegraphed attack that sought to strike him down,** Posing a considerable, yet dampened threat that **Likely could not be blocked,** But could very well be **Dodged to the side.**
Jane
Sidestep sidestep sidestep sidestep sidestep sidestep sidestep sidestep
Carl
Gaige was taken aback by the knight's adversity to communication, his speech having been interrupted. "Little rude to interrupt someone, ain't it? Have it your way though." With that, Gaige enacted his telekinetic assault, the weight bearing down on the knight. Gaige raised an eyebrow at the knight as he still stood his ground despite the force. "Huh, am I weak or are you just strong then...? Guess we'll find out soon." Gaige cracked a smile after his remark, remaining in his position—unarmed.

Gaige's surprised expression furthered as the knight slammed his foot, beginning to charge at the man. In truth, Gaige had underestimated the knight greatly, expecting him to be rendered immobile from the weight. Any great warrior has fallbacks though. As the knight approached the man, Gaige uttered the soulbound's weapon name—however, calling it in a different manner. "_Okaarum_, **Return**."

_ _
With his right arm pulled back, palm facing the knight... ***A massive chunk of bone manifested at the palm of Gaige. The bone was shaped like an ovular pillar—a meter in length and roughly 29 centimeters in diameter.*** The enormous pillar of bone was covered in jagged edges and cracks all throughout its composition. 

***```diff
- THE ORIGINAL FORM OF OKAARUM — BONE PILLAGED FROM THE ANCIENT DRAGON CYYVIRRTH. -```***


The telekinesis that burdened the stalwart knight took leave, likely throwing his balance off. With the knight being in the range of Okaarum, Gaige's palm suddenly thrusted forward. The peak human strength of the hero violently sent the pillar hurtling towards the knight's upper abdomen, Gaige further enhancing the ferocity of the attack with telekinesis.
 
With the combination of the knight hopefully being off balance, Gaige's assault of physical and telekinetic strength, and the surprise of a frontal attack, the hero counted on the pillar sending the knight reeling back.

_ _
***SLAM***

The sound of the hunk of pure dragon bone colliding against the metal of the knight rang out through the room and up throughout the staircase with deafening volume. The sheer impact of the bone birthed a torrent of wind, blowing past the towering knight—even Kuouo being able to feel the strength of the gale. Gaige's hand tingled—a feeling of numbness residing in his palm for a moment. Even still, this power was but a figment of the hero's former strength.

Afterwards, the pillar would fall to the ground with a **Crash** Around a meter from Gaige's location. The hero himself couldn't weather his own power either, stumbling to a kneel, and catching himself with his left palm. It wasn't a matter of overexertion, but a matter of the sheer amount of weight put into the strike luckily. The hero would quickly recover, getting back to his two feet to examine the damage done to the knight.
Victor
Momentously charging towards Gaige, the knight's halberd had only just begun its ascent, as Gaige coordinated a four-faceted counterattack construed to harshly counter its crushing overhead. As the telekinetic force pushing downwards leased from its body, the knight miscoordinates several of its many steps, barely managing to stay upright as it was forced to adjust its grip and stance with its halberd, **Halting its attempt to attack before it had even started.** The towering knight began to regain its posture — but it is too late, his instinctive combat sense piqued by a brutal counter-attack that had clearly been prepared ahead of time. 

*`A sorcery of such power, utilized not only to slow my movements, but also to impede my sense of balance. Then, a crushing counterattack, where my halberd cannot reach...`*

The knight seemed to take note of the bound-weapon **Okaarum's** Existence within the very instant that it appeared — or perhaps even in the moment *Before* It appeared — his incredible combat-intuition revealing to him the nature of the attack to follow Gaige's initial ploy of interrupting his balance. While Kaaze had not yet set his eyes on the offensive before him, he could *Sense* That it was a meticulously-planned counterattack, albeit lacking in sheer refinement in execution. His reaction was not quite that of awe, but still of respect nonetheless; the battle was to the death, yet a warrior such as Kaaze could appreciate the intricacies of Gaige's counterattack, despite it being made to take Kaaze's own life.

Such refined senses were not enough to grant Kaaze the ability to dodge, however. His tremendous physique was both a great blessing and a minor curse, simultaneous — it granted him an extreme advantage in reach and posture, and greatly complemented his innate, monstrous strength, yet also was a shackle that prevented him from dextrously weaving about attacks such as Gaige's. Thus, without chance to dodge, the pillar collides with his thick, metallic armor, its extreme kinetic energy backed by superhuman and telekinetic force partially compressing the metal — denting its surface quite noticeably — and channeling that same energy throughout the knight's own body. Flowing from his armor into his flesh and bone, the shockwave from the pillar's impact sent a brutal, momentous energy throughout Kaaze's entire upper body, fully interrupting his swinging motion and forcing him into a violent, backwards recoil.

Despite his gargantuan stature, the knight stumbled backwards in a manner mirroring that of Gaige himself. Kaaze's raw advantage in weight was surmounted by the sheer force-output of Gaige's telekinesis, and so he, too, collapses to the ground, fallen upon a single knee. Again, simultaneous to Gaige's own motion, he stands to his own two feet — clearly damaged, enough to partially debilitate him, yet not render him vastly diminished in combat-effectiveness — utilizing his halberd to support his weight upright.
_ _

```fix
"𝑯𝒎𝒎."

"𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆,"
"𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉, 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅."

"𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝑲𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒐𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝒀𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌."```

Kaaze speaks, almost regretfully, his tone of dismissive duty, in part, allayed. For a moment, it almost seemed as though he was welcoming Gaige, yet he continued—

```fix
"𝒀𝒆𝒕. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒛𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍,"
"𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖..."
"𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑰 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉."

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒚 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓."
"𝑴𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝑲𝒂𝒂𝒛𝒆. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆."
"𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘: 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕."```

_ _
**KAAZE, THE GATE GUARDIAN,** Declares, unclasping his left hand from his halberd, wielding it boastfully at his side. A peering, red glow emanates from within the knight's helm, and it is in this very moment, that Gaige is forced to a realization:

***Up until this moment in time, Kaaze's eyes have been closed.***

```fix
"𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐀 𝐄𝐙𝐔𝐄𝐊"```

*```cpp
"Sun that Purifies — Solar Cleanse."```*

The knight cast his left hand to his side, and an all-encompassing, glorious eminence of a deep, crimson red glow engulfs Kaaze's body. The very essence of **Singularity** Burns forth from the almost flamelike red glow — it was the nature of Disparity, itself, severing all exterior influences, curses, and abilities from the knight's body. **Further attempts to weigh him down with telekinesis would be entirely ineffective.**

```fix
"𝐎𝐄𝐙𝐔𝐄𝐊"```

*```cpp
"Sun that Destroys — Solar Imbuement."```*

A powerful crimson flame engulfs not Kaaze's halberd — but rather, his **Empty, left hand.** The flame was a deep red — like that of a star nearing the end of its lifecycle. Its all-burning, all-consuming flame scorched even Kaaze's own armor and flesh, yet he did not even display so much as a flinch, his focus still set on the man before him.

```fix
"𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑺𝑬𝑳𝑭."```

This was his courtesy. To show Gaige each of the cards he possessed, to reveal the entirety of his strength, and to allow him again the opportunity to **Make the first attack.**
Carl
As he saw the massive knight stumble backwards, Gaige made a move forward, recovering _Okaarum_. He held the prodigious hunk of bone atop his right shoulder, his right arm holding it in place as if it were a log. He glared at Kaaze as he regained his footing from the immense attack, "Ready to call it quits, knight?" The hero again offered a chance at diplomacy, his hopes of it working dim. Gaige eyed the damage that had been dealt to the knight, `Impressive that he's still standing after that. He must be wounded though.` He reflected upon the blow he had dealt. To Gaige, the first blow of any battle was always what mattered the most. One good first blow can either end the battle, or make the rest easier. The latter was the case here.

Gaige was surprised to hear the knight speak again. He hadn't expected to hear his voice again after his dismissal of conversation, "Always nice to get a compliment after being belittled by those corporate fucks. Not too bad yourself if you're able to stand still after that." Gaige complimented the knight, setting the mighty pillar down beside him with a **Slam**. He kept his right hand atop the pillar, listening as the knight continued.

`Again with the Ezer... It'd be nice to only force this guy into surrender, but seeing his fortitude... It might prove difficult.` The answer to his attempt at diplomacy had been given by the knight's refusal to step aside. "Worth a shot. I had hoped we could learn from each other, but I suppose your duty is too important to abandon. We're similar in that, Kaaze." He spoke the knight's name, his right hand sliding down to the side of the pillar.

_ _
"Oh—right! You shared your name—only right I share my mine. I'm Gaige, a once-hero of the land outside here." He chuckled, "Not sure I'll be able to replicate that strength before in my next attacks, but as I said... I too have a mission I can't abandon." The hero said with somber in his voice, preparing for the inevitable battle before it struck him.

***The knight, Kaaze, had only now opened his eyes.***

Gaige gazed directly at the eyes of Kaaze, but no fear was shown through Gaige's exterior. His mouth slowly parted as Kaaze began reciting his prayers of Sol, "_Okaarum, Third Iteration._" The mighty pillar's diameter decreased as it expanded to a height of 105 centimeters. The cracks of the pillar began to widen, Gaige removing his hand from the weapon.

**CRRRK**

**CRACK**

_ _
**The pillar of bone began to crumble all around, a maul of immaculate craftsmanship revealing itself at the center.** Gaige slowly wrapped his fingers around the beautiful weapon, eyeing the masterpiece. `Never was very good with this one... But swords aren't gonna do.` He reminisced on his past, lifting the maul and carrying it at his side. Expressionless, Gaige allowed Kaaze to recite his prayers uninterrupted. Strangely, despite not knowing the prayers that he recited, Gaige still felt a connection with them; he relinquished the thought of using telekinesis upon the knight, sensing its futility. Mana converged around the hero, his focus now being to reinforce himself physically. `Not yet. I may have earnt the right to see his full strength, but he has not earnt the right to see mine.`

The flames that crackled within Kaaze's left hand certainly were the hero's focus. He could sense the strength, screaming to be unleashed, within the flames, but he could not determine what awaited him behind the inferno that devoured the knight's hand. He readied himself, his once expressionless face now smirking at the knight, "Well? The first strike was mine before. Its only right that you take yours, Kaaze." Gaige refused to deal the first blow, awaiting Kaaze's approach.
Victor
The knight one-handedly swings his halberd through the empty air ahead of himself, in a form of acknowledgement to Gaige's statement. He would give no further reply or dialogue, but would not ignore Gaige's comments as he had before. It was clear that Kaaze, after having witnessed the strength of his Gaige's attack head-on, had established a degree of mutual respect for his opponent. He was true to his words — he was indeed loyal entirely to the Ezer, yet he still was a warrior of purity, and esteemed warriors of his ilk accordingly. Dutiful was no longer the sole word that could be used to describe him, but chivalrous, also.

The crimson-red flame of Kaaze's left hand weakens in strength, yet his clutch on the halberd in his right hand would only strengthen. It was truly a tremendous feat of strength that he could even *Wield* Such a weapon; the halberd was over *Three meters* In length. There was no simple, light-weight wooden shaft for the halberd, either — no, the *Entire* Halberd was made out of metal, and a brass-like metal, slightly denser than even steel, no less. For all Gaige knew, the thing could weigh well over 30kg, and Kaaze wielded it in a single hand as though it were a mere shortsword. *Were he to leverage a direct hit to Gaige's body, its lethality was unquestionable. He would die **Instantly.***



_ _

***ＳＴＯＭＰ．***


Kaaze slammed one armored boot into the stone ground beneath himself, sending a tremoring shockwave throughout the stone floor of the room. The honored restingplace of the dead had become an arena — both fitting and unfitting for a place as sanctified as itself. The shockwave served not as an attack, but simply as a demonstration of the warrior's own might, and a preparation for his next attack — **A swift, forwards lunge, exploiting the full and absurd three-meter range of the halberd to send a thrusting strike towards Gaige** Without Kaaze even needing to take a single step forwards. 

Following up, Kaaze would **Swiftly withdraw his halberd,** Taking a single, lunging step forwards, **Clearing the distance established between him and Gaige, using his right shoulder to attempt a powerful shoulder-tackle, whether Gaige dodged his first attack or not.** The sheer weight of the colossal knight, combined with the immense strength behind each of his steps, would create such momentum that Gaige would have little-to-no chance of holding his ground against the shoulder-tackle, much less stop Kaaze in his tracks.
Carl
Gaige acknowledged the immense risk associated with the halberd. Not only was the weapon itself deadly, but the _user was deadlier_. The hero stayed in his position—maul at his side. Gaige himself was strong, but he was not on the level of Kaaze, who wielded his massive halberd in only his right hand with ease. He awaited the knight's first move patiently, tightening his grip on the maul. It was rare for the man to give others honor, but after the five long years he's been asleep... Kaaze would be the second strongest opponent he'd have encountered so far.

The moment Kaaze's foot slammed against the floor, Gaige acted. _Okaarum_ was thrown upwards and over the knight, Gaige's gaze averting to the halberd that threatened him. The halberd's range was enormous, but with the current distance established between them, the man swiftly backstepped away from the halberd to avoid a horizontal slash. However, his backstep was met with the knight now rushing him down—his shoulder as his weapon. He hated to use his battle against Kaaze as more of a _practice_, but he'd have to in order to strengthen himself for future battles.

The hero refused to use his overwhelming agility to counter the man's shoulder-tackle, instead holding his left hand out and reciting a prayer, "_Veie Ezuek_." The solar shield manifested in front of him as a barrier against the knight's tackle. The strength of the barrier he had hoped would be greater due to his usages of the Sun of Reversion granting him further insight into 'Unity in Disparity'. At the same time as defense however, Gaige mixed in offense. _Okaarum_—controlled by telekinesis—was sent flying towards the knight from behind. The head of the maul would slam directly into the back of his left shoulder-blade were it to hit. Through the usage of telekinesis, it was almost as if the hero had fabricated a two versus one scenario whilst only being one person.
Victor
*`A barrier that contains the essence of Sol's purity, and a prayer of Unity. Yet its nature is too of Disparity, rejecting the attacks and the tribulations of the world around it, serving as a safeguard for a fragile Unity. Indeed, the phrase Veie Ezuek is that of Unity in Disparity — gathering in separation, and protection in rejection.`*

In a battle for his very life, Gaige furthered his understanding of the words *Veie Ezuek,* And the nature which the spell followed. A strengthened barrier — one with a much more tangible, solidified form than the last — manifested ahead of Gaige, its intent to block the oncoming, tremendous force of Kaaze's shoulder-tackle. Indeed, it would create a barrier between the two. A barrier which Kaaze would take head-on, with the whole of his strength.

Kaaze's shoulder, reinforced by an armor that almost appeared to be made entirely of gold, collided with the barrier, and so tests its mettle. Gaige's arcane force and understanding of the Solar Aegis was put to the trial, in a situation where its failure would certainly mean injury. A most precarious, yet effective attempt at deepening his understanding of the prayer.

This advancement would not be met without a price.
_ _

**The barrier, directly impacted by Kaaze's full force, briefly seems to halt his progress. However, within the blink of the eye, the barrier had shattered, and the knight plowed straight through into Gaige.** Still, it seemed the barrier was partially effective, **Nullifying some of the force behind Kaaze's charge.** Gaige would, nonetheless, be sent hurtling backwards, displaced in an instant by the transferred momentum.
_ _

The knight, while he had seen Gaige use the ability of telekinesis before, did not anticipate such an application of the ability. Kaaze's instinct — that only one worthy of the title 'warrior' could attain — piqued oncemore, and his attention briefly diverted over his shoulder. *An attack from behind, exploiting the moment of off-balanced vulnerability that Kaaze had placed himself within, after his shoulder-charge.* Squinting his crimson-hued eyes, Kaaze prepared himself for the oncoming attack, **Oncemore incapable of dodging the attack due to his body's extreme breadth.** 

The maul collided with the armor that protected his left shoulder-blade, weightily slamming into his frame and likely bruising him beneath the armor and perhaps even dealing some damage to bone, though the latter was much less likely. This time around, however, Kaaze would not allow himself to be staggered, instead **Taking the attack in stride, and preparing his next offensive move.** Attempting to block the remotely-manipulated maul would only serve to waste him time, and thus he would have to continue pressuring Gaige were he to wish to neutralize the threat of his weapon.

 The behemoth of a knight twirled his halberd into an upwards-wielded stance, charging forwards to meet Gaige after he had likely tumbled some distance, **Stabbing the spearlike end of the halberd forcefully downwards towards his chest as he continued to recover.** A brutal attack intended to end the battle as soon as possible; while the knight-guardian respected Gaige as a warrior, he would still, to his utmost, attempt to take his life.
Carl
Gaige engaged in a battle of defense and offense with the prayer of _Solar Aegis_. For a moment, he thought he would succeed, gritting his teeth the moment the knight collided with his solar shield—the immense force of Kaaze being overwhelming. Despite having stopped the knight momentarily, Gaige was met with the armored shoulder of Kaaze. Reacting, he twisted his body to the right, Kaaze slamming directly into the hero's left shoulder as he was sent tumbling back from the impact. "Tch," He winced a moment, rapidly blinking his eyes as he laid flat on his back from the impact.

With a sudden burst of energy, Gaige reacted to the fatal attack that was headed his way, rolling to the right and regaining his ground swiftly. Whilst the knight likely recovered from the whiffed attack, Gaige shouted, "_Okaarum, First Iteration!_" The maul which rested upon the ground began to rebuild itself back into the hunk of bone from before. The shattered pieces gathered around the maul, recreating the _First Iteration_ of _Okaarum_. A telekinetic force was applied to the dragon bone, it raising off the ground and flying towards not Kaaze, but a pillar near Gaige. 

**SLAM**

The dragon bone crashed into the stone pillar, a chunk of the structure coming lose and hurtling down just in front of the hero. A massive cloud of dust from the crumbled stone erupted, a pause in the combat occurring for but a moment. _Okaarum_ was seen falling to the ground, smashing the ground as it landed and began to roll towards the staircase which Kaaze guarded. Seconds later, a shout was heard from behind the dust, "_Okaarum, Second Iteration!_" The dragon bone shattered, revealing an exquisite spear underneath its outer shell.

_ _
Gaige abruptly reappeared, dashing towards the knight from the opposite side of the staircase, having used the pillars to obscure his movements. He held his hand out towards the spear, attempting to use telekinesis, but...

***The spear did not move from its position strangely enough.***

"A-ah shit...!" Gaige panicked, shouting the prayer again, "_Veie Ezuek!_" With his hand held out, the shield appeared yet again as he backstepped. A defensive and evasive maneuver at the same time. Though, was the man out of range of the spear...? Perhaps his telekinesis had a **Set range** In which it worked. Gaige had blown his opportunity to counter attack, preparing for the knight's next attack. Luckily, the first attack had not damaged *Too bad*, thanks to his passive mana reinforcement.
Victor
The knight withdrew his extended halberd, whose tip had collided with only the stony ground, witnessing as Gaige made his retreat. His red eyes would not depart from his form and motion, even following him behind the pillars, actively predicting his motions as — and before — he made them. Without moving an inch, the knight witnessed the descending, shattered stones and plume of dust that originated from the shattered pillar, not allowing himself to be alarmed from the sudden impact, for, now that he honed his intuition on the tricky, shifting form of the weapon *Okaarum,* Was confident in his ability to parry its unpredictable attacks.

Keeping track of both Gaige and Okaarum simultaneously, Kaaze stood his ground as Gaige approached, closely watching his movement. At any moment, he could use the same trick that he had employed earlier, deviously manipulating his own weapon from a distance to strike from behind, and so—

*`—hm...?`*
_ _

He left his weapon out of range of his own ability, hm...?
Or so it appeared.

Hardened by many-hundreds of battles, Kaaze's combat-intuition was no longer within the dimension of a mere chance-instinct, but rather a honed skill that he could rely on, as a part of his battleplan. And, right now, his intuition spoke to him — that spear, despite its looks, was still a threat. *Something so wicked as a transforming weapon would certainly hold more tricks, could it not?*

Yet, not one to sit idly at a distance and wait out Gaige's next attack, Kaaze would instead choose the more offensive option. *To quell Gaige as a threat before his attack could even begin.* Perhaps it was reckless, and perhaps it was part of Gaige's plan, yet it was the path that Kaaze would take, and the main form of strategy he had used up until this point of time. *Taking intruders head-on, without hesitation.*

The large knight takes one step forwards, then two, building up momentum, before breaking into a charge directly towards Gaige. Halberd, firmly wielded in his right hand, the knight winds his arm back, coiling up energy and strength as he released a **Charging, forwards slash directly aimed to shatter Gaige's shield.** And, certainly, were it to collide, **It would shatter it, indeed, obliterating the shield and likely cutting Gaige in two, were he not to move.**