Melba
Noctis watched the mammoths go by as he sat upon the ridge, his longsword resting sheathed behind his back to allow him to get some climbing in. Far, far below in the distance would be the Onyx Crest- docked with his crew aboard. In the idle quietness of the moment he found himself wishing that Sylvar and Valac would strike up a friendship soon, comraderies' was an important asset in any party. Letting out a puff of air, he watched his breath turn into condensation in the freezing mountainous air. This high up, no one but the mammoths could bother him. He just needed some quiet time to think, to process. Something sat heavy in his chest and he wasn't sure what. 

"𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚜 𝚞𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜."

The voice of his father- no, the *Memory* Of the voice of his father echoed throughout his head. Noct had always assumed that had meant his role in the Cousin Conflict, but really that had been a destiny more apt for Scipio. Scipio had been someone who could handle the weight of the nine realms and ask for more, he'd been as close to a god as a mortal could get and yet even he had been claimed by time. What good could some demigod of the "Pretty" Domain do? He wanted tot through his hands up and scream, wanted to shout curses at the blasted sky until they smote him for his insolence. He felt spited by heaven, and hell was doing nothing to bless him either. 

Rising to his feet, he rubbed the platinum vambraces on his arms before tugging at his earrings. He should return to the ship now and relax, find someone to occupy his thoughts with talk and eat. He found himself wondering what Esme was up to, but he banished the thought. Likely she had forgotten about him since they'd parted, though surely not their agreement. He did not need her yet, no, but he needed... Something. Someone? Who knew, he was a mess, a mess with enough rage and frustration to level this whole damned mountain. 

"Come

On fate- if you really want to fuck me then just do it now and get it over with." He said, unaware of the danger approaching him.
Deborah
The word never left his mind- *Cursed*, like a wound that would never scar it constantly reminded him with sharp stinging pain if he dared move too close to those memories. His mother and father, his family, his lineage- he is cursed. Even now, as his shoes crunch in rhythmic matter on the snow below him, the memories never cease. It was cruel, his life by nature, but for his memories to never seem too far away despite all he did- it felt like a cruel joke to him. But, he shouldn't be surprised, for these isn't anyone more cursed than him for he is...

*** 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥.***

"***Damn.***" He said with a small sigh, realizing he was getting too absorbed in himself. He turned his attention away from the past and instead focused on the present, his target. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep and slow inhale through his nose, allowing his powerful senses to take over and provide him with intel. He smelled him, he heard him, he could feel him. The scent he'd been tracking for hours, the sounds he'd been guided by and the air pressure change he'd been following- they all pointed to the target.

"***Heh.***" He smirked to himself- the time is now. Not a sound or trace was left behind, it was like he simply vanished into thin air. A tall man appeared before the one who felt betrayed by heaven, a man who shared that pain to some degree.

"***Sounds like I must an agent of fate then.***" Tarin spoke aloud as he stares at Noctis, a cold and heartless stare came from his gaze.

A weapon was held in his right hand, some odd looking blade with a short hilt- more akin to a large dagger than anything. He wore no armor, frankly he seemed underdressed- plain black shoes, grey pants, a black shirt and what looked like a staff across his back.
Melba
Noctis' silver eyes widened in surprise at the appearance of the man- no, the stranger. They hadn't been there a moment ago and they hadn't been ever within a couple hundred feet, no, they'd been *Further* And moved this close so fast that Noctis only sensed them as they appeared. If he had struck without speaking, Noctis would be dead by now. Instantly his magic flared through his body and before the sentence had been finished, Noctis had Enhanced himself to Psuedo 100%. Noctis` magic worked in a specific way- he had a Psuedo Pool and an Innate or True Pool. The Psuedo Pool used "Imaginary" Numbers to boost his strength, the True pool used the numbers he already had in his body, subtracting from some areas and adding to others. For example, normally he could smell almost as good as a dog, with Psuedo boosts, he could smell better than any hound dog and beyond with the catch being it began a mana drain. 

With True, he could instead remove his ability to hear and boost his sense of smell to the same power level as Psuedo with *Zero* Mana drain. 

Whoever the hell this was, they were no joke. He'd fought enough demigods to know and that kind of speed had only been had by the most dangerous of them. Now however it was too late for them to instantly kill him. Now they'd die. 

*"Then fates going to need a replacement."* He said, his silver eyes flashing as he drew his own blade in a rush of motion so fast that to anyone else it was a blur. His blade came down in an arc even as his free hand moved to a defensive position for him to block, deflect or knock away a counter attack from that strange looking blade. The sword Noctis carried was beautiful, made of black metal that seemed to be bleeding and with a rubied hilt and a platinum crossguard- it was deadly and razor sharp. 

The fight had begun, and Noctis already felt his blood boiling with excitement for the dance of swords.
Deborah
A nearly sadistic smile began to crawl across the man's face as he saw the eyes of his foe widen- they hadn't seen or sensed him coming, good. Tarin shifted his stand, putting more weight on his right leg and tilting his head slightly to the side, sizing up his opponent most likely.

*Magic.* Tarin Vo has no such thing to his name. Mana simply does not exist in his body, to anyone who can sense of quantify such a thing about a person- to them Tarin simply has none to speak of. His true power lies in his physical prowess, in all physical aspects Tarin is beyond mortal in them all.

Hopefully whoever this is can give him a good fight, that's all he's hoping for really, a genuine challenge that will push him to improvement- progression or death.

"***Heh-***" A stifled chuckle left the man's lips as Noctis moved with his attack, he was so excited to hear such a thing.

The bloody blade was matched while mid swing by Tarin's own odd looking spear-head, a weapon that oozed a malicious and unholy aura while looking almost alien with its misshaped blades and large size- held in a reverse grip. His physical strength now looming in the back of Noctis' mind as his blade stopped completely against his opponents- like his sword had hit a mountains side. But, even if his defense had stopped a cut from appearing it left him with somewhat limited options- so, he went for the safest bet, his right leg swung out fast- aiming to kick out Noctis' left leg from underneath him.

Finally, *Battle.* Tarin couldn't help but feel his heart begin to race with joyful adrenaline at the prospect of a fight that might push him further beyond.
Melba
Tarin would likely be amazed that Noctis' sword actually put *Weight* Behind the blow, Noctis was nearly as strong as Tarin. A feat that the mercenary probably did not experience often. Someone of Tarins strength was not someone Noctis experienced often either. 

He shifted his left foot back and with their blades locked, pushed hard against the lock and leapt back to create some distance between the two. There wouldn't be time to hold back against someone like this- were they a fellow demigod, a child of Titanos or the Allfather maybe? 

Not giving Tarin a moment to plan out more attacks, Noctis used his **Flash Step**. The technique was complex but effective, it involved wrapping his body in illusion to make it nearly see through for a moment, leave behind an "After image" Of himself that still made sound and then use his insane strength to move at blinding speeds to get close. Pushing 50% of the stats from one leg to the other allowed him to kick off towards Tarin at an even more ridiculous speed. 

So Noctis appeared beside Tarin with his sword already mid swing towards the strangers head. "Who hired you?" He asked as they fought, his silver eyes burning but a grin plastered across his face. It seemed he was having fun.
Deborah
"***You're strong!!***" The cursed one said with a wide smile on his face, pushing his blade against Noctis' and approving of his opponents strength that was near to his own- a rarity indeed. Most often when he faces those with magics they rely too heavily on them and become lamb for the slaughter- but not this man...*Good.*

With his kick behind missed Tarin firmly planted his right foot and pressed into the blade lock, breaking away and creating distance with a leap backwards just like his opponent. He knelt down, one knee touching the ground while he reached towards his shoulder with his free hand and pulled a length of chain from the holster the oddly short staff was held in before he attached the end of it to his odd weapons hilt.

"*Fast-*" He said internally, relying on his superhuman senses and reflexes to find his target despite the illusion before him.

"***No one important.***" Tarin' replied casually, Noctis' blade stopping inches from his head thanks to pulling the chain with the hand that held it and the other that held his weapon, effectively making a small barrier of chain to stop the strike. "***But-***" The cursed man vanished, seemingly disappearing and reappearing several dozen yards away from Noctis.

"***Beat me and I'll tell you, if you think you can.***"

A large grin was held on his face and the burning fires of adrenaline filled his eyes while he began to spin the chain- creating a small whirlwind of air.

"***Show me your strength, worthy opponent.***"
Melba
"I do like a clear transaction." Noctis retorted as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze coin, the cheapest form of currency. Holding his free hand up as the chain and blade began to spin, he wove flows of air to create rotation and add penetration power, then wove weaves of fire to create a flaming aura around the now rapidly spinning coin to give it destructive power. 

He held his thumb and pinky together, with his middle finger bent back and tucked beneath it and his pointer and ring finger towards the sky like the sights of a musket. 

**"Blitzkrieg!"** He said, and flicked the coin after allocating all the strength from one arm into just his hand. The coin exploded forward faster than even a bullet could travel, creating a thunderclap from the pressure as the sound barrier around it shook. The mountain rumbled as the red hot coin rocketed towards Tarin, aimed for his chest. 

Even as the coin was fired, he reverted his stats back to pseudo 100% and dashed to the right, keeping his body low as he ran along the snow to make the target for Tarin harder to focus on. 

This guy was fast, fast and strong and excited about Noctis' strength. It spelled serious trouble, not the type of fight Noctis liked to take alone.
Deborah
"*What are you playing at...*"
Tarin glared with intent at his opponent in this great duel, his enhanced senses taking in as much a picture as possible- but it only did so much. One of Tarin's major weaknesses is that due to his curse he cannot see magic to any degree meaning he can never truly be sure just how much power is being generated by a single attack. He relies on sheer human and plenty of trained instinct to guide him even with his level of skill at such a thing it can fall short on rare occasion...*Such as this one.* 

He charged forwards just as the shot was fire, reflexively he swung his chain-blade in a short spiral in order for him to grab the hilt of his blade, something was coming-

"***HRRK-***" A strained grunt escaped his body as the shot coin slammed into his knife, the force was so strong he could have stood against it but the earth below him couldn't. His legs flew out from under him, the powerful magical blast smashing against his blade pushed him at incredible speeds.

His body slammed into a tree, crushing the wood on impact but causing Tarin to spin through the air, without magic he had no way to correct himself- he knew that... And that must mean- 

"*ENDURE.*" His mind screamed as his body took action, despite being left wide open as he tumbled through the air every muscle within his body contracted at a singular time- effectively turning his body into steel for a few moments, he knew an attack was coming... It would be foolish not to.