The Dream Shifter

Chapter 249

Masa seemed a little disappointed. Her arms dropped to her sides. "Not planning to kill me anymore?" A small smirk crept across her face just before the wind blew out from the point she stood. Light flashed from her hands and exploded almost immediately. Clouds of debris and dirt made it impossible to see. "You would have had a chance if you wanted to kill me." Chunks of metal from Photine's weapons fell to the ground adding confusion to the scene.

Realizing something happened all of the weapons cut through the veil. Photine let out a click of her tongue when her swords found nothing. 'She's escaped…but where?' All of her tools pulled back around her in defense. "You can't escape me!"

"I'm not escaping," Masa whispered, behind Photine. A flash appeared with the trailing of blood. Masa narrowed her eyes as she gazed down at Photine.

Photine panted heavily feeling the wound in her waist. She thought with the way Masa looked she should have died. 'Why didn't she kill me?' However, she forced her mind to focus on the problem in front of her. She called in her blades to take care of Masa.

She disappeared from Photine's sight again. Explosions and a shower of metal remained the only things left behind. Masa resurfaced a few meters away from Photine unaffected. She even held one of Photine's swords. "There's still things you don't know about us." Masa turned the blade out to point at Photine. Light erupted from within the blade creating cracks along the surface. It exploded a moment later.

'What did I miss? I thought she used everything the last time!' Confusion filled inside Photine. She searched for the missing piece, but it only distracted her. It left her with openings.

Masa appeared before her with a raised arm. A glance up from Photine gave her enough to know what went through her mind. "Don't ask for an explanation. I kill my opponents and nothing more. I was only buying time before." She plunged her arm down drawing up blood. Her features narrowed again looking down at Photine.

Photine coughed from the pain, but realized she was still very much alive. 'Again? What's going on? Why did she miss twice?'

"Damn, she's already waking up." Wrinkles drew across her face. The time she had ran short. 'I'll have to end this before she completely awakes…' Masa's started to glow with a faint red light. It highlighted contours of her fingers to make them appear sharper than usual.

Photine was bothered the events. She did not understand why Masa missed killing her. The look she found in her eyes told her she had no reservation about it. In fact, the look of death in her eyes was part of what made Masa so unnerving. She was nothing like what she encountered before. 'What's going on?'

Focusing everything on Photine, Masa pushed back Yumi as much as she could from their mind. She only need seconds in complete control to end it. 'I'll clear away the dirty work, that you don't have the heart to do yourself…' Her hand began moving down towards Photine. It shone brighter than before, ready.

'No! Stop it!'

Everything froze.

Turning her eyes to the side within her mind, she saw Yumi clinging to her arm. 'This is how the world works. Your enemies die or you die. There's no middle ground.'

Tears built up around the bottom of Yumi's eyes too small to fall. 'You can't! Such a world is just…'

'You're being too soft. You need to face reality.'

'There's another way!'

'If you want that strength you so desperately desire this is the only way!'

'Then I'll find my own strength!' replied Yumi, narrowing her eyes. Determination built up around her features shining through her eyes.

Masa sighed at the signs of Yumi's willfulness. Her muscles relaxed. She stood up to face Yumi. 'The reality you face is worse than the one I present to you.'

'Maybe, but this is how I want things.'

She shrugged to Yumi completing relinquishing control over to her. 'You're the boss. Remember I'm always nearby…' Masa faded away from Yumi's presence. However, it was not quite over for her yet. Beyond Yumi's purview other presences appeared, but did not make themselves seen. She still knew they watched her in judgment of her actions.

Masa crossed her arms not intimidated. She looked up at the white void. "This is what you get when you send someone like me. Don't like the results then stop hiding, otherwise you've got no position to be passing judgment. I kept her alive and out of the hands of the enemy." Silence spun around in building tension. "Still nothing? Then keep out of my way. She wants strength, first she needs to lose that innocence and naivety. I put her on that path. This is how I teach."

Stillness surrounded Photine as Masa stared down at her unmoved. If she planned to kill her pausing seemed a strange tactic. Thoughts of countering surfaced in her mind, but staggered with inaction. It was not her wounds, which held her back from acting. The uncertainty, from someone that bested her a second time, froze her movements, even if it seemed like they were different. Photine waited to act.

Across from her, Yumi's features smoothed out from the harshness that previously shaped them. She pulled back her arm with the glow turning green before fading away. Her eyes darted around picking up the scene. "This is reality…" A questioning tone came through in her voice with some uncertainty. Yumi's eyes widened and her pupils' shrank when they laid upon a b****y corpse. She immediately recognized it. "…the boy…I did this…"

An awkward cough from Photine drew her attention. She narrowed her eyes as Yumi. "What's going on? Why are you playing tricks on me, Masa?"

Yumi froze for a moment before turning around to face Photine. "It's you!" Yumi exclaimed, recognizing Photine. It took a few moments process everything that happened. The fight she interrupted made it clear to her. "So you were fighting with her."

"What?" Photine pushed herself back up to her feet. The presence of Yumi felt nothing like that of Masa. She started to believe that the one she spoke with before was gone. 'I'm injured, but I can still move… She doesn't look she'll be of much challenge…' Weapons surfaced from the dirt of the field and moved to surround her.

The movement of the swords alerted Yumi to the situation. "You're still wanting to fight in your condition?" Yumi did not need an answer from Photine. Her eyes told her everything that she needed to know. "Fine. I'll just have to defeat you again!"

Across from her, Yumi's features smoothed out from the harshness that previously shaped them. She pulled back her arm with the glow turning green before fading away. Her eyes darted around picking up the scene. "This is reality…" A questioning tone came through in her voice with some uncertainty. Yumi's eyes widened and her pupils' shrank when they laid upon a b****y corpse. She immediately recognized it. "…the boy…I did this…"

An awkward cough from Photine drew her attention. She narrowed her eyes as Yumi. "What's going on? Why are you playing tricks on me, Masa?"

Yumi froze for a moment before turning around to face Photine. "It's you!" Yumi exclaimed, recognizing Photine. It took a few moments process everything that happened. The fight she interrupted made it clear to her. "So you were fighting with her."

"What?" Photine pushed herself back up to her feet. The presence of Yumi felt nothing like that of Masa. She started to believe that the one she spoke with before was gone. 'I'm injured, but I can still move… She doesn't look she'll be of much challenge…' Weapons surfaced from the dirt of the field and moved to surround her.

The movement of the swords alerted Yumi to the situation. "You're still wanting to fight in your condition?" Yumi did not need an answer from Photine. Her eyes told her everything that she needed to know. "Fine. I'll just have to defeat you again!"

"Brave words for someone that can't kill me." She managed another array of weapons to surround Yumi. Escape routes closed tighter than before. Photine could not let a repeat of before happen.

The scene looked familiar to Yumi, but she did not know the reason. She remembered the weapons that Photine used against her, however the exact setup should not have been so similar to something. Yumi did not waste much time on it. She summoned up her barrier to protect her. 'Last time her sword needed a lot of force to break through… I'll take advantage of that…' Ready, she shifted her stance a little to act.

A narrowed look came from Photine's eyes. "Just because you're using a different color for your barrier the results will still be the same." Moving slowly, the swords all closed in piercing Yumi's barrier as though it did not exist.

Yumi flinched reacting to her barrier. It made her eyes widened in surprise. "How? This didn't happen before!"

"Huh?" Photine suddenly felt confused. Signs already made her question what happened to Masa. Each time she spoke only made it worse. 'She's acting like our fight never happened. What's going on?'

'Is this like what happened before? My powers aren't working correctly anymore?' Unfortunately, her memories tied to those moments carried unpleasant one as well. Images of her nightmares stalked her shadows. She knew nothing was behind her, but it did not stop a chill from going up her spine. A cold sweat broke out over her body. It remembered everything too well. Yumi shook her head trying to clear her mind. 'I've got to focus. It's behind me. Just a nightmare…'

"Tricks don't seem like your style, Masa. What's your game?"

"Masa?" The voice gave her something to focus on, something not connected to her delusions. "Who's Masa?"