The Dream Shifter

Chapter 193

A painful breeze blew over Seiji lighting up all of his wounds. The searing pain was enough to wake him back up from his daydream. He coughed in response while trying to bite back from being overwhelmed. 'So strange remembering that now…' Seiji looked up from his uneasy perch and saw Miltiades holding off from an attack, no doubt cautiously trying to understand the new situation.

The shadow that held him let out a bothered sigh. "Even in your flashbacks you're annoying and don't make any sense. You wasted so much time on unnecessary background that you ruined the whole point."

"Hey, listen here!" yelled Seiji, but he started to cough almost immediately after his words. Fresh blood dripped down his chin to remind him of his condition. Seiji forcibly calmed himself down a little (a surprising feat, maybe he's learning). "I don't want to hear criticism from someone I don't even know!"

Another sigh came from the shadow. It seemed that the shadow would become fatigued from annoyance sooner than combat. "You really are worthless. You haven't figured it out yet. I'm not even masking my voice, moron."

Seiji narrowed his eyes, forgetting his pain in the moment, suddenly remembering the snarky tone. "The little runt ninja-wannabe?"

Shade pealed back revealing Chiharu's masked face with only her eyes visible. Even with only her eyes visible, the furrowed brow and pulsing vein leaked her mood. "I'd speak more carefully to the one that holds you." Her shoulder suddenly gave away as well as the supporting arm. Seiji dropped off her and fell a short half meter before snapped back. Chiharu's hand held onto the back of what remained of Seiji's tunic.

More blood spurted out from his arm and chest. Seiji flailed his arms weakly not wanting to face the jagged grounds of Miltiades' field. "Alright, alright!"

Miltiades had waited in expectation of a counterattack with the arrival of the new fighter. He knew nothing of their potential and the fatigue he felt made him reluctant to find out. However, he was either a supporter or rebel. They threatened the peace of Atlantis. As a threat, he had to do his duty in learning more. 'The new one looks like a child, but the way they appeared… I didn't even notice them enter my field… If they are another MP user then the Captain needs data. I don't know how much longer I can go, but I must!' He straightened himself out on the top of the metal pole. Many of the poles disappeared to reduce the mental fatigue.

A metal pole shot up at an angle for Chiharu and Seiji. The pole ran through the shadow at increased speed catching both off guard. Several more poles came up to join. Sparks flew as metal groaned in response to the clash. Miltiades watched closely trying to figure out the outcome, but his eyes widened suddenly. He felt a strange presence behind him, followed by a voice.

"I know you can't understand me, but I think my intention should be clear. Retreat now." Chiharu stood on the very same pole as Miltiades, her back to his. Barely enough room for air to pass through was all the gap she gave.

He felt a cold chill down his neck, the likes which only his Captain and drill instructor managed to instill. His eyes did not dare to turn or his head to confirm what he already knew. All stared forward where he knew the two to be, at least he thought. 'So fast! I didn't even see the movement! What laws are they using?'

"You're in no shape for a worthy fight. Leave."

Miltiades fought to keep his body from sweating from the uncertainty that consumed him. His eyes darted around looking through his field for any other possibility, an illusion or feint. He caught his mouth opening when he found Seiji nearly forty meters away lying outside of his reach. 'Is this real? It can't be! It must be a trick! I just have to figure it out!' Miltiades unlocked his knees and loosened his body to spin around throwing back his leg. When he completed his half turn, the space was empty as though nothing had ever occupied it. "Huh?"

"This is a pointless fight," remarked Chiharu from behind Miltiades standing on the nearest pole. He turned back in response and she saw him fighting his surprise. Disappointed in him, she dodged with effortless ease as he came for her. She lightly bounced around the tops of the poles.

'I can't reach! I'll just make them disappear!' Switching tactics, he began to remove poles from Chiharu's reach while continuing his offensive. However, Chiharu danced through landing softly on the length of the pole. 'I have them now! My special gloves will give me the advantage!' Miltiades, in his confidence, leapt out to strike at Chiharu. She slid down the pole as one would a slide in perfect control of her body. He had missed, but chased after her in his usual gliding fashion. When the moment came, he sent poles up from the earth to attack her.

Miltiades halted to a stop hanging on to the pole at the intersection. 'Gone again! Is it really an illusion?' The feeling of someone behind him surfaced again and he knew. He spun around the pole making for Chiharu, but missed. She appeared behind him again leaning out from the nearby pole. Miltiades felt the cold sweat returning. A dark blade rested against his neck, close enough for him to feel the edge when he swallowed.

"I told you this was pointless. The fight's mine. Now leave."

A new wind blew through the open fields of Atlantis. The course changed from the reluctant end with Miltiades to a new danger. Well-worn flat stones laid out an intricate pattern, yet of no purposeful design. Mixed amongst the stone, large rock slabs jutted up a full four meters creating walls and in some places pathways.

Equally unaware of his friends' conditions, Yuki forced himself to keep stepping back to avoid being clipped by a rising stone wall. Each time he tried to give himself the pause to concentrate on creating his laws something interrupted him. The latest came under one of his feet nearly knocking him off balance with its speed. He staggered back against the neighboring wall. 'Damn! I can't even get a second to stop to think! I swear he's purposely trying to keep me from using my Kasuo-ryoku!'

Yuki stood back up straight getting his footing. Behind him, walls already prevented his escape. 'I've got to get out of this and find that annoying bastard!' He ran out for the open area he saw dodging a few of the walls created. It felt like he gained ground as less surrounded him. 'I'm almost out!' However, several walls quickly came up at once to dead end his path. His fist pounded against the erected wall in frustration. 'So close…but I guess he won't be making this easy…'

Stuck for the moment, Yuki tried to take the time to plan a new course of action. Waiting as always remained a dangerous taboo for him. Metal spikes from the solid stone shot up at Yuki. He narrowly avoided the spikes, but his tunic was less fortunate, taking a few tears in the process. 'He really isn't letting me stop!' Yuki bounced around the narrow hall to return to hopefully safer ground.

The moment he came to a stop his foot suddenly gave down depressing a raised stone block. The grinding from the stone against stone was enough for him to panic and jump away. He managed to dodge the set of five small arrows as a result. Yuki let out an exclaimed yelp of surprise when he saw them pass in front. 'What sort of field is this? It's like it is a maze with traps that are overused in adventure stories!' His question soon answered itself when he realized that was exactly what it was. 'Damn it! And if I can't concentrate on my powers he's going to kill me before I even get to him! This is such a lame way to die!'

Not wishing to remain blocked in the dead end corner, Yuki rushed off to back track where he knew another exit waited. 'I just have to get out…' Less than careful footwork set off three more traps in the process varying from sharpened metal shooting out to crushing walls. The only thing that saved him was that he kept ahead of everything. At the end before turning the corner, he looked back feeling the pounding in his chest from recklessness that leaked to his heart. 'Maybe I shouldn't do that again…'

However, he turned his eyes back to his new direction and saw some of the maze not constructed yet. He ran for the exit not considering traps, despite his previous thoughts. The stretch of hall did not try to attack him and he saw open fields approaching him. A new wall started to break up attempting to block him, but he was not going to give up. Yuki lunged for the wall hoping to clear it, but hit the wall painfully in the face. His hands nimbly grabbed the top of the wall still rising. 'Not quite as planned, but this will work!' Yuki lifted himself up to the top of the wall.

New height on the maze gave him a better view of what he had to deal with soon. In the distance, he saw the Atlantean that trapped him to begin with in his field. He could not see well from the distance, but he saw a heavily cloaked with metal plates reflecting the sunlight back at Yuki. 'He's oddly armored for not even trying to come after me. I wonder—' The sudden displacement of his feet cut off Yuki. "What?" Yuki fell back down to the stone floor. He rolled away minimizing the damage and fell into the adjoining hall. "What just happened?" In front of him, the wall that he had stood on was no longer present. He could see into the other hall. "Right…annoying powers…"

At the center of the maze, Antipas stood calmly monitor everything with the reach of his field. The current progress of Yuki had him very intrigued. 'He's quick on his feet even without his laws and he already found one of the weaknesses too… He's definitely a dangerous one… I must bring him down in the labyrinth if possible…' He introduced the next step to the maze, withholding it before to conserve on mental strength.

A new groaning of stone scrapping against stone from above alerted Yuki. He looked up to see his sky quickly disappearing from him with a ceiling introduced. Yuki clinched his fists together at the new sign. 'Making this even more difficult for me? Now I can only find an exit.' No longer interested in staying, Yuki hurried off down his new hall. Becoming more aware of the traps, he proceeded through with greater caution. Unfortunately, they were not always easy to spot. He had to dodge large axe like blades swinging through. 'He just a book of clichés…but I guess if it is effective…' Yuki trudged onward.

Yuki struggled to find his bearings in the maze. The more that he navigated the halls the more it became uncertain if an exit was near. His lack of a view of the sky made his sense of direction even worse. Only complicating matters were the traps. He had so much focus on staying alive and not triggering a trap that Yuki forgot where he came from in the halls. 'This maze can't be that big. It still has to all fit into that guy's field… Am I going in circles?'

Back in the center, much of the walls disappeared to make room for the necessary parts of the maze. It gave Antipas far more room and allowed him to keep making steps towards Yuki to ensure that he remained his field. Even if the traps had not injured Yuki yet, he just had to wait it out until he made a mistake. 'As things are I can keep him completely directionless by removing walls and making new paths.' He raised his hand to his chin thinking for a moment on the situation. 'I may have to add something else soon if I can't trick him…'

Dodging traps for Yuki become easier the more he experienced each type. He had not stumbled across a new one for a little bit. It gave him a growing sense of confidence in the maze. Unfortunately, the exit still eluded him. 'Where is the stupid exit? I've got to be getting closer!' Yuki darted around the next corner wanting, but not hoping for the end. The hall looked just like the last one.