--- [Isaac’s perspective]
“Enough.” – Gael
…
What the hell?!
He…
He didn’t take any damage…
“It’s over… It’s over, Isaac.” – Gael
“The hell it is!” – Isaac
I try hitting him again, but he easily catches my fist.
It’s stuck!
I use all the power I can muster to try to free my hand, but his grip is too strong.
“I could end the fight in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. You fucked up Isaac… You really shouldn’t have looked for me.” – Gael
Again, I try my best to pull my arm back, but it’s pointless.
Suddenly, he lets go and I trip and fall.
Just as I’m about to get up, he shoves his boot into my chest, pinning me to the ground.
Ghh!
It’s hard to breathe!
I try pushing his leg away, but it won’t budge.
Genuinely, how did he get this strong…?
Back before he left on his journey, we were all equals.
Our progress had always been exactly the same, just like everything else in our lives.
But now, he has completely left me behind…
I can’t even put a scratch on him…
How the hell am I supposed to kill someone like that?!
No…
Don’t think like that!
He’s mortal just like everyone else.
With my specialty, I can overcome anything!
If this is my final fight, I think…
I think I’d be okay with that.
To hell with temporary sacrifices; it’s time to fight for real!
First, I need the power to get him off of me.
I’ll permanently sacrifice my hair, and the ability to breathe through my nose.
Suddenly, my hair falls out and my nose feels completely blocked.
This power!
I’ve never done a permanent sacrifice before, but my god!
This is far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced!
I grab his ankle, and using every ounce of strength in my body, I manage to slide his foot off my chest.
I stand up, and as soon as I do, I feel my strength leaving my body…
It’s gone…
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Two permanent sacrifices just to move his foot…
I…
I don’t think I’m making it out of this one…
“What was that?” – Gael
“…” – Isaac
“For a moment there, your power suddenly spiked. Were you always that strong?” – Gael
“Mark my words… This fight won’t end the way you think it will.” – Isaac
I need even more power than before…
Those sacrifices barely made me strong enough to move him a little; that’s nowhere near enough to seriously hurt him.
The more valuable the thing is, the more power I get from sacrificing it.
Let’s sacrifice something more valuable!
If he ever figures out what my ability does, he could just try to take me out in the downtime between sacrifices.
Him finding out would be a disaster…
Meaning keeping it to myself is extremely valuable!
I’ll permanently sacrifice the ability to keep my specialty a secret; if anyone ever asks me what it is, I’ll be forced to answer against my will.
!!
Holy shit!
As soon as my specialty activated, the surge of power hit me like a bolt of lightning.
I feel like I can do anything!
I charge forward and unleash a straight right with all my might.
He puts up his guard and blocks; he doesn’t appear to take any significant damage.
Come on, more!
I throw another punch, then another, then another…
I can’t break through his guard!
I throw one last punch, but right before it lands, the power boost runs out and I’m back to my regular self.
“… Why was that punch so weak?” – Gael
He’s so close to asking about my specialty, I can’t let that happen!
Quick, make another sacrifice to shut him up!
Without thinking, I permanently sacrifice the ability to chew solid food.
I quickly rush in and throw a barrage of attacks from every direction.
I need to keep the pressure up to stop him from talking!
Suddenly, he grabs me and slams into the ground.
“GUAHH!” – Isaac
I cough up blood and almost pass out from the impact.
Had he done that when I didn’t have my power boost, I would have been crushed…
And just like that, it runs out…
“Isaac!” – Alex
On instinct, he starts running over to me.
Leanne quickly stops him.
“Alex, you can’t interfere!” – Leanne
“…” – Alex
He calms down.
“Thanks… I wasn’t thinking straight…” – Alex
Despite having agreed beforehand that he wouldn’t interfere no matter what happened, he almost did it.
He’s a good guy.
“How come you’re sometimes strong, and sometimes weak? Is that connected to your specialty?” – Gael
Shit!
He asked…
I try to, but I’m completely unable to contain the words; he’ll find out everything…
“My specialty lets me temporarily or permanently sacrifice any part of myself, whether physical or mental, for a temporary power boost. The more I value the thing being sacrificed, the bigger the boost. The same goes for choosing to sacrifice something permanently rather than temporarily.” – Isaac
Well, now he knows…
He’ll be able to strategize around my specialty now; yet another massive disadvantage for me…
On the bright side, I don’t have to worry about him finding out anymore.
I can put all my focus into winning!
“Is that so…? That’s… Almost creepy.” – Gael
“Creepy? How so?” – Isaac
“It’s creepy how eerily similar our specialties are. You’re an innocent and kind man, and my most beloved friend. I’m a killer. If our specialties are that similar, then that could only mean the shape of our souls must be incredibly similar too. Does that mean if you were in my position, you’d make the same choices as me…? If that’s true, then that’s a comforting thought…” – Gael
How dare he compare us…!
We’re nothing alike!
No matter what happened to him, no matter what he saw, no matter what he experienced, if I had been in his shoes, I would never have killed Iris.
Never…
I know that; there’s no need for me to waste my time even thinking about it.
As long as I can defeat him, nothing else matters, so focus on that!
Let’s see…
He said our specialties were similar…
If he was intent on keeping it a secret, he’d never have revealed that.
It’s possible that he’ll tell me what it is if I ask.
If he does, that would even out the match significantly!
“Our specialties are similar? How so?” – Isaac
“I can ‘sacrifice’ others for a permanent power boost. The more I personally care about them, the bigger the boost is.” – Gael
…
So he took Iris’ life just for that?!
Just to make himself a little stronger?!
That’s even worse of a reason than I thought…
He truly is evil…
But…
If that’s true, why didn’t he also kill me?
He was willing to kill Iris to make himself stronger, but not me?
It doesn’t add up; there must be something I’m missing.
“Why did you let me live then? Why Iris, and not me?!” – Isaac
He looks down at the ground for a few seconds before answering…
Is he looking for the right words?
Does he even know why himself?
“All these years, I’ve been living with an unimaginable amount of guilt. I killed my best friend, and ruined the life of my other one. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for you… To go from having everything, to losing it all. And for it to be done by my hand no less… Every single day, all I can think about is how to make things right. How to fix things. You’re the only person left in the world that I truly love, and I ruined your life… I guess what I’m trying to say is…” – Gael
He takes a deep breath.
“I now value you more than ever before.” – Gael
…
Has he…?
“I know you understand what that means. If I were to kill you now, the power I’d get would be on an entirely different level altogether. Maybe… Maybe it’s finally time to cash in…” – Gael