Sleeping on a bed of metal wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it was better than nothing. All the time, Dallion had Lux and Nox watch over him, in case the Star’s echo proved to be less reliable than she claimed. Surprisingly, she didn’t try anything, patiently waiting for the moment they’d officially fight.

There were no further instances of invasion in Dallion’s own realm. All item links were re-established, allowing him to summon weapons and familiars freely.

Crimson light shone on Dallion, forcing him to wake up. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed enough for him to be fully rested, at least to the point that he could perform a line attack of two.

“You’re up!” Lux chirped, instantly enveloping Dallion with flame.

Taking a second, Dallion sat up. It took a few moments for the bruising sensation to pass completely. Stretching, he then stood up and looked around. Several more of the house’s segments had folded into the ground, leaving nothing but the bed. Blood red rays shone through the layer of black clouds. Considering everything about this place, there was no telling whether that light had any significance or this was an ordinary sunset.

“Glad you’re awake,” Goth said, appearing a few steps away. Her actions were ridiculously fast, but Dallion had managed to follow them. Similar to before, she had popped out from the metal lines on the ground. “Ready to start?”

There was a faint noise behind Dallion. Instantly, he split into half a dozen instances just in time to see the bed behind him starting to sink into the ground. Instinctively, Dallion knew that was to be the signal marking the start of the fight.

Shield, double size! Dallion thought, summoning the harpsisword directly into his right hand.

A split second later, the final click was heard. Both Dallion and the goth girl exploded in fifty instances, all charging forward.

This is what legends are made of, Dallion told himself. He was fully aware that Goth was stronger than him, but at the same time, she remained just an echo. All he needed was one hit and he would have won. Unfortunately, he didn’t expect what followed.

As the two armies of instances rushed towards each other, the ground beneath them collapsed into thin lines, revealing an endless chasm of darkness. Thousands of bladeroaches flew up from the nothingness, as if aiming to cover all light. They didn’t seem to target Dallion specifically, but they didn’t help either. In a flash, half of his instants had vanished, sliced by the swarming insects. Meanwhile, the echo didn’t seem to have lost a single one.

Damn you! Dallion did a horizontal slash, releasing a line attack.

The line sliced through hundreds of creatures, turning them to smoke, yet managed to barely affect a dozen of Goth’s instances. By the looks of it, her reaction trait was at least double that of Dallion’s, not to mention she had the experience to use it.

Nil, who’s she an echo of? Dallion asked as he slashed his way through the roaches, in an attempt to move closer. Ten feet from Goth’s nearest instance, he combat split again.

At high enough levels, one can mold echoes any way they see fit, the old echo replied. Most likely it’s someone the Star fancied, or thought it would be amusing to have.

Twisting the harpsisword around, Dallion played a series of chords in rapid succession. The first was to establish a link to the roaches; the next three to increase the burden upon them.

For a fraction of a second, a huge section of the insects froze in place, then suddenly shifted down, as if pushed by a sudden force.

“Nice skill,” the echo said, dashing towards Dallion. She didn’t have the ability to fly, however, she was more than capable of using the falling insects as platforms to run over.

Dallion split into instances again, moving back on the defensive. Each of them clashed with Goth’s. However, despite his effort, the girl managed to pass through. The finger rings on her left hand extended, transforming into claws, then slashed the air, aiming at Dallion’s throat.

Metal clashed against metal, as the armadil shield extended to protect Dallion from serious damage. In any other time, Dallion would have made some remark, attempting to use his music skills on his opponent. Now, though, he knew that it wasn’t going to do any good.

Gleam, I need you, Dallion said.

Are you sure? The familiar asked. Your realm is still messed up. If the invasion resumes—

Just get over here!

Spinning through the air, Dallion did a series of circular slashes—normal ones this time—moving in the direction of the echo.

The girl easily moved back, evading every attack with ease. The speed of her actions reminded Dallion of the advantage the reaction trait provided in battle. There was a time, long ago, when he too had danced circles around his enemies. Back then, his reaction was twice as any other trait, even if laughably low by current standards. Now, it had become one of the most neglected aspects of his development.

While he kept on attacking, Gleam emerged, fluttering up from Dallion’s shoulder. Just as fast, the creature darted at the enemy echo. Dallion could see her entire body become filled with killing instinct.

What the heck? he asked. This was the first time he’d seen the shardfly in such a state.

She’s acknowledged the strength of the echo, Nil explained. Fight or flight instincts. Quite primal and very strong when it comes from creatures in the wilderness. As you can probably guess, she’s not one to flee an encounter.

She didn’t react that way when she faced me.

You weren’t at the level of her current enemy, dear boy. Not even close.

Dallion had no time to reflect on that comment. The roaches were getting free from the effects of his music skill and were flying out of the endless pit once more. The only solution at present was to play a new series of chords to push them back down again. However, when Dallion did that, he found that the insects had developed a resistance. Three chords were merely able to slow them down. Dallion had to play five more to get them to a state in which they at least wouldn’t interfere with the fight.

Meanwhile, Gleam and Goth were engaged in a battle of speed and wits. The shardfly remained incapable of causing any harm, but it successfully occupied Goth to the point that she wasn’t able to attack Dallion directly, at least for the moment. This was Dallion’s chance, at least the best he would ever get. Within five seconds, or seven at most, the bladeroaches would be able to fly normally once more, not to mention that there was every chance that the echo’s surprise would wear off and she’d get back on the offensive.

Time slowed to a crawl as Dallion frantically analyzed the situation, trying to find an optimal point of attack. None of his other weapons were going to be of any use, that left skill combinations he hadn’t used in the past.

Maybe there was a way to combine music and attack skills and harm her at a distance? That was a powerful combo, although difficult to pull off still. And even if Dallion managed, it was by no means certain to have any effect. Summoning metal ingots and having Lux propel them at the echo was unlikely to work, either.

Harp, can you fight for me? Dallion asked.

No, the reply echoed in his mind. I’ll do anything for you, Dal. But I’m not allowed to do that. Not here.

That wasn’t the response Dallion was hoping for. He could probably insist, or ask, that she helped him perform he was otherwise incapable of, but that wasn’t going to help him in this fight, not if she was against it. Gritting his teeth, Dallion wished that Ruby and the rest of the shardflies were here right now. If anything, they could at least deal with the roaches, giving him more time to focus on the echo.

With no objects or guardians present, the empathy trait was useless, as was the zoology skill. The crafting skills also weren’t of particular use… or maybe there was an option Dallion hadn’t tried before.

I want to combine attack with writing, Dallion thought. And music.

That was an unorthodox combination, to say the least. Writing was the antithesis of music. However, if Dallion could get words to kill, the same way the chief of his village had back at the time, maybe it would prove enough. In any event, he was out of time.

Here goes nothing! Dallion summoned one of the dryad scrolls he kept in the library of his domain. The scroll was more a piece of wood than an actual scroll, but enough to achieve his goal.

What are you doing? Vihrogon asked.

A high stakes gambit, Dallion replied and began reading.

Writing skills merged with music, allowing Dallion to read what was written on the scroll. The passages were nothing special—historical records of a divided kingdom locked within the realm of a world sword. However, as the words were read out loud, wooden quills appeared in the air.

If words could kill, they probably will, Dallion thought, remembering what Nil had once told him. And these weren’t any words. These were memories written down by a race that was imprisoned and later betrayed by the Star. Every single word was a reminder of that event, craving for vengeance; and Goth was the closest thing to the Star there was in this realm.

Gleam, get back here! Dallion ordered as he kept on reading.

The wooden quills increased, creating a swarm of their own that flew at Goth. Initially, the girl didn’t seem overly bothered, slashing them through the air with the ease as one would swat a fly. Of course, Dallion had never expected that to work alone. The quills merely provided enough freedom to put him on an equal footing. From here on, it was his turn to go on the offensive.

Switching the harpsisword again, Dallion thrusted forward. Relying on Lux to move him through the air on his own, Dallion split into a dozen instances once more. This time, though, he didn’t spread out, rather tackling Goth’s instances one at a time. This had now become a tactical battle in which the one who better controlled the battlefield through instances would gain the upper hand.

Why not resort to your usual tricks, dear boy? Nil asked as Dallion exchanged blows with the Star’s echo. She could only take one hit. You could withstand far more. If you use one of your explosive fireworks while in her vicinity, both of you will get hurt, but only she will get destroyed.

There was truth in that. Dallion himself had considered it early on, but for some reason, he felt that wasn’t the right approach. A deep suspicion warned him that while that looked like the winning move on the surface, this wasn’t his realm, and here the rules of nature weren’t in his favor.

Only as a last resort, he replied. Besides, Dallion was using enough tricks as it was.

“Why are you fighting like this?” Goth asked as she blocked the harpsisword with her hand. “The Star wouldn’t have liked that battle at all.”

What do you mean? Dallion wondered. Did she expect that he would face her alone without the help of familiars? Or maybe she was displeased that he was using a weird combination of skills?

Spinning her arms like a butterfly-styled martial art, Goth leaped back, landing on another of the roaches. The creatures had started stirring again, but thanks to Gleam and the wooden quills, they proved incapable of getting within striking distance of Dallion.

“You’re supposed to be from Earth,” the girl said. “So, fight like it.” She took out a small-caliber revolver from within her boot and unceremoniously shot at Dallion.