Vincent’s whip-sword slammed to a halt a few hairs away from Absolution’s face. Despite how close the strike came to impaling him, not so much as a thought of wind touched his skin.

The Starfallen’s weapon cut so smoothly that the air didn’t even seem to realize that anything had passed through it. Absolution knew from firsthand experience that Vincent’s blade would slice through his own flesh just as easily.

It was not the first time he had fought against Starfallen craftsmanship. He had no plans of allowing it to be his last.

Power pumped through his body like hot magma. It tore through his veins and beat in his ears like the drum of an army marching. His chest burned. That was nothing new. But it burned even more than normal, the intensity of his Domain singing the skin around the hole in his chest.

Even with the mask covering Vincent’s face, it wasn’t hard to tell what the Starfallen was thinking. Amusement flickered within that lone eye. Amusement tempered by the knowledge that victory was inevitable.

“I never took you for so much of a fool,” Vincent said. There was no strain in his voice. “You cannot defeat me, Absolution. Not here. Not now. Such impatience seems unbecoming of you. How is it that you were able to kill my brothers and sisters when you make a mistake as elementary as this?”

Absolution’s jaw clenched. Vincent’s casual tone did nothing to betray the immense amount of force his soul was exerting. It was taking just about every scrap of power and will Absolution had just to keep his domain active.

Both of them knew it wouldn’t last.

At the absolute best, it would be a matter of minutes before Vincent broke free again. The Starfallen was right. This was far too early to challenge him. Though the System placed immense limitations on Outworlders, it saw him no different from Vincent.

They were both bound by the same rules. And, unfortunately, it was a simple fact of the universe that there was more to power than pure magical or physical strength. Items. Wealth. Experience. A thousand other things all came into play for a battle — and Vincent held the advantage in just about every one of those categories.

“Perhaps those whose lives were spent were in want of the skill you believed they had,” Absolution replied. His grip tightened on the scythe at his side. “And I suspect you will find yourself meeting the same end they did.”

A tremor rolled through Absolution’s domain. His jaw clenched even tighter, teeth grinding against each other.

“Somehow, I’m not convinced,” Vincent said. “You’re at your limits, Crestless. There’s only so much you can do. No matter how many worlds you plunder, no matter how many pigs you slaughter, the inevitable truth will always be the same. You are nothing but the smallest of the thorns in our side.”

“Your dead brethren wouldn’t seem to agree.”

Vincent’s angry laughter warped against his mask. “I’ll admit that you’ve managed an impressive amount of damage for a lone man. You can die proud of that. But the others were unprepared. I was not. We know of your goals, Absolution. We prepared for them. Though I can honestly say that I did not expect you to throw your life away this easily. I’ll thank you for that. Removing you will make my remaining tasks considerably easier.”

“It would,” Absolution hissed. “But I am not dying today.”

“Such optimism,” Vincent said. His fingers twitched. The blade slipped through the air to coil back around his feet. He’d nearly completely broken free of Absolution’s domain again. And, the third time around, Absolution wasn’t so certain he’d be able to catch the Starfallen again. “Such delusion. Do you expect me to believe that you have a Disruptor lying in wait and haven’t yet called upon its power? Or perhaps you have managed to locate one of the rare few objects that allow you to slip by the System’s constraints for a moment to draw on your true power?”

“I have not,” Absolution said.

Vincent’s hand clenched into a fist. Absolution’s control was waning even faster than he’d expected. There were only a matter of seconds left before his domain was shattered. A droplet of sweat rolled down his back.

“Then before I end you, tell me. What could have possibly clouded your mind to such an extent? It is almost disappointing. For someone who had dealt such a blow to my family, I expected more,” Vincent asked. “What power could you possibly convince yourself you possess that would allow you challenge me today?”

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“No power,” Absolution replied. Dizziness spun at the edges of his vision. He just couldn’t draw on enough power. If the System hadn’t been restraining him… well, it was a moot point. It was. A droplet of blood rolled down from his nose to trace across his lips. “Not mine.”

“Not yours?” Vincent laughed. “Then whose?”

There was a loud crack. Absolution staggered. His domain shattered. The eye burning in his chest sputtered out like a snuffed candle.

Vincent didn’t mince a single word. His sword transformed into a blur and streaked straight toward Absolution’s eye, little more than a splotch of gray as it cut through everything in its path.

A loud crack echoed through the air. Arcs of electric yellow energy scattered through the air before Absolution, hissing and sizzling as they bounced against the ground. Vincent’s blade spun off to the side.

The Starfallen himself took a step back, a stunned expression grabbing hold of his lone eye as the space in front of Absolution warped. A shimmer of color splashed across it, followed by the faint thump of a foot landing on the grassy soil.

A tall man shifted into being as if he had always been there. He held his palm outstretched, right in the path of where Vincent’s sword had been. A mask made of pure white cloth contoured his face, pressed so close that it may as well have been skin-tight. A vertical yellow line ran down across the center of each of his eyes.

Finally. He took his damned time.

“His,” Absolution said, tightening his grip on his scythe. “Did you really think I would come here to fight you unprepared? There is more than one kind of power, Starfallen. Though I admit that he had me on the ropes. For a moment, I thought I’d been lied to. Bastard took his time, didn't he?"

"You’ll have to excuse me. I’ve always been one for a dramatic entrance,” Stargazer said, lilting amusement dancing through his words. “First impressions can be quite important, after all. Most people don’t get to have them more than once. It’s kind of the nature of such things.”

Vincent’s eye went narrow. “A Nativeworlder? You can’t be serious.”

“Oh. Would you look at that? Great hubris. Good setup for the fall,” Stargazer said with a slow nod. “I like that. Maybe I’ll use it sometime.”

“Unfortunately, I am,” Absolution said. “He doesn’t grow on you, if you were wondering. Somehow manages to get worse.”

Vincent flicked his wrist. His sword sliced back through the air and looped around him, blurring back out in the same motion. It carved into Stargazer and passed right through the man as if nothing were there.

“You know,” Stargazer said, brushing his robes out, “this is usually the part where I’d do a quick monologue. But I’m unfortunately on a bit of a schedule. So we’ll have to keep this fast.”

Vincent blinked. He looked from Stargazer to his sword, then back to Stargazer.

Absolution couldn’t help but feel a moment of solidarity for the Starfallen.

“You aren’t here,” Vincent said. “This is an astral projection. How did you manage to block my attack when you aren’t physically present?”

“That is a great question,” Stargazer said. He reached into his pocket and pulled free a small metal tube capped on either end with a brass knob. “I’m not going to answer it. It might let you figure out how to hurt me. And, to be honest, I really don’t like fighting at all. I hate getting hurt. It’s such a pain. Literally and figuratively. But I digress. I really do have a schedule to keep.”

Stargazer popped one of the brass tube toppers off, then pulled a thin strip of parchment free from within its metal housing.

Vincent’s eye widened.

“No. That… you’re with the E—”

“Yes,” Stargazer said. “I am. Until next time.”

The paper disintegrated. Ash billowed out from within it, washing out in a growing river. It was a dozen times too large for the size of the paper it had come from. The ash rolled forward, stretching across the room to wind around Vincent.

Vincent didn’t even try to dodge. He stood, his lone eye boring into Stargazer until the ash had swallowed him completely. Wind howled through the room.

Then, as if the ash had suddenly remembered that had no right to exist, it was gone.

And Vincent went with it.

No trace of the Starfallen remained beyond the matted grass where he had stood.

“I’d say that concludes our deal,” Stargazer said, turning to Absolution. “I’ve removed the Starfallen from your path for the foreseeable future. And when I say that, I do mean it quite literally.”

Absolution stared at the spot where Vincent had been just a few moments before. “How did you get your hands on…”

He trailed off.

Stargazer had vanished. The back of Absolution’s neck prickled. He wasn’t sure if it was in unease or relief.

It had been so long since the last time that he’d felt this uneasy facing any opponent, much less a Nativeworlder fresh to the System. And Absolution knew quite well that there was no other word that could be used to describe Stargazer.

Everything that man did was intentional. Someone must have been backing him. It was the only explanation that Absolution could put together. Perhaps one of the other Great Families. Maybe even one more powerful than the Starfallen.

That was a chilling thought.

It wasn’t one Absolution planned to entertain. For some reason or another, Stargazer had offered to help him today. Absolution knew what he’d gotten out of the deal. With Vincent at least temporarily out of the way, the Starfallen’s plans would be slowed.

Now I’ve got time to catch up. Not all Outworlders are built the same, and I am not fool enough to believe I can challenge the Starfallen if the dice aren’t all weighed in my favor.

But… what did Stargazer get out of this?

What is he playing at?