Determination (Open)

The blade unwrapped from around him and the feeling of quick relief of not being crushed flooded the man's body with euphoria. He had never experienced the level of pain he was in, his body's ligaments, and bones were fractured in multiple places. Thus, every movement that Steiner made was a challenge in of itself, but there were far worse things going on with Steiner right now. His own internal organs were slightly damaged, the pain of which could not be described by the youth at the time, but Valus could see it all. He could see the strain that the young man was putting himself under to continue this fight, but he could also notice the lessening of the boy's stamina as well. This was the first time that Steiner had ever transformed, let alone the first time he had ever fought in this form, and it was evident that he was losing this uphill battle quite quickly from the way he was breathing.

Steiner's breaths were ragged and gasping as he struggled to get the air into his body to keep on fighting like this. To be honest, he didn't know what was going to happen here as each, and every move he made was easily countered or read by the creature, at least so far. Steiner also was worrying about the state of his body, how could he possibly heal himself after this fight? He had no means to do it himself, no power that could heal, or money to visit a doctor. If he did survive this battle, what sort of shape would the young man be in? Would he really want to live with the pain he was going through right now for the rest of his life? If he had to, he would, and he would find a way to work with it, he pondered. Yet, the excruciating pain of having so many micro-fractions and slight internal organ damage was enough to make Steiner doubt if he could actually do that.

Steiner was currently rocketing at Landen at high speed, like a bullet as the Hollow had probably already assessed, and he hoped to at least make contact at this time. It was then that he saw Landen draw back his metal sword, much like a metal whip, and watched is slice along the ground in front of him. Confused by the action, he was quite surprised to see as water came gushing out from the earth. Steiner, watch out! Valus warning was however too late. At the rate of speed Steiner was moving, even if he let up on the steam jet he was using, he would not be able to slow his speed in time. Steiner managed to twist at the last moment, almost curving himself around it, but that was when the harsh reality of the damage that this geyser could cause was realized.

The tip of the fingers on the hand that had been used to summon the steam and launch himself forward was caught in the Hollow Energy enhanced water. The full force of a semi truck moving at ninety miles per hour, crushing the tips of those fingers like it was nothing more than a grape. Steiner's eyes went wide as he let out a yell of agony that could be heard for miles around him, inside Valus felt the shakes, and trembles of the pain. He watched in horror from the inside, unable to do much more than grant Steiner minuet power in this situation. He saw Steiner's finger tips as he began to spin erratically the steam that he had used now completely gone. The those tips now looked like nothing more than a mush of putty: broken bones, torn ligaments, and ruptured muscles. It was horrible to see, but Valus knew that Steiner was more than likely passing out due to the pain he was feeling. Steiner, who had his fair share of broken bones and scars growing up, had never felt this level of pain in his life.

It felt like nothing he had ever felt before, it was more than just stinging and dull throbbing pain, no this felt like thousands of little blades had cut into every part of his arm and were continuing to do so. Steiner had dodged the brunt of the attack, sure, but now he was wounded to the point to where a normal person would pass out. His eyes momentarily rolled back into his head as the light of Judgement Energy surrounded him, exploding in Judgement Burst. Valus saw the effect of the attack and his eyes went wide, the Hollow had only moved Two meters. Two meters was all that Steiner Franz could make his adversary move and in that moment Valus knew he had to do something, he had to stop Steiner from passing out at the least. Come on, Steiner you got to stay awake or you are really dead! Stay awake!

Steiner's body landed harshly to the floor, like a puppet who had no strings, and Steiner grasped the sand in front of him with his one good hand. He could hear Valus trying to keep him awake, but he was struggling to do so, blood loss and pain contributing to the bodies need to shut itself off in an effort to save him. Yet, Steiner knew what would happen if he fell asleep, he knew he would be dead, and that was more than enough motivation to keep him from falling into the blackness of a pain induced sleep. Steiner tried his best to use that one arm to push himself up to at least a kneeling position, his other hand still functional, but the tips of the fingers looking like a useless mesh of muscle ,hunnging loosely from his other hand as he did so. He felt like he was made of lead and each bit of pushing he did was nothing more than a struggle in futility, but eventually Steiner at least got himself to a kneeling position. He glanced at what remained of his hand and cursed his own weakness more than anything. How could he continue to fight with this much pain and damage? How was he supposed to live like this?

Steiner, coughed up a bit of blood, the internal injuries taking their toll as well with a sick sense of humor. Steiner glanced at his foe as if trying to see one bit of the person inside of this creature, his eyes were growing heavy, but Steiner kept himself awake with the prodding of Valus helping him to do so. It was then that he saw the Hollow extend his hand toward him. Steiner couldn't move, his body frozen from fatigue, injured ligaments, and the sheer pain he was feeling from his hand all contributing to his sedentary stance. It was in that moment that he was hit with a weird wave of energy, the pain dulled, the wounds began to heal, and his stamina slowly returned to him. It was more than that though, it wasn't just Landen's healing power, but Steiner's own healing power that Valus noticed kicked into overdrive once his stamina had returned. Judgement Energy and Soul Force leaked into the wounds that had not been healed by Landen's power and sealed the wounds that had not been sealed in his hand. He could feel little pricks of pain, not much pain, but enough to let him know it was still there as the bones began to push themselves back into place naturally and heal themselves as if it were part of his own natural healing process. Steiner looked at his hand momentarily to confirm his suspicions.

The healing combined was enough to completely seal the wound and more than that, he could see that his fingers were gaining some of their original motor operations as well as he twitched the tip of one of his fingers. He smiled, at least that problem had been solved. That is when he heard the creature boast, taunting him, and reminding him of his place on the food chain as it stood two meters away. Steiner's eyes returned to the threat as his mind raced as to what he could possibly do. We should run! Valus shouted at him his advice, but Steiner was having none of it. He was too determined to back down, but not only that, his will to save the man inside of this creature was keeping him going, pushing him harder than most. He struggled to his feet, the wounds in his fingers still not fully healed, and still throbbing slightly. He let out a deep breath. His stamina recharged and his body now restored, he had a fight on his hands.

"I don't know who you are or why you are doing this, but I'm going to save you.", Steiner's body tensed up as he used his Soul Dash to clear the two meters swiftly. Steiner's eyes felt weird, like Judgement Energy was slipping out of his body through those eyes, as he tried to make direct eye contact with the beast that had caused him so much pain before. If the Hollow would stare into Steiner's eyes he wouldn't feel anything at first, due to the nature of him having a stronger will than Steiner, but over time he would begin to the feel the pain of Judgement Energy attacking it's energy from the inside. Valus chuckled, the boy was using abilities, and he didn't even know it. It impressed him that his partner was naturally adapting to his new form at such a quick rate. It could be because this was his power and that he was always destined to use it, thus by process of elimination making it easier for him to adapt to it.

Steiner's true intent for clearing the distance, however wasn't too stare into the eyes of the Hollow, but to get him close enough to begin his attack upon the Hollow with his sword. For some time they had been on an uneven playing field, not in terms of power as it was clear who was superior, but in terms of distance. Steiner had always been at a distance, as such now that he was in close it was time to show him the fruits of his sword training. He channeled his Soul Force into his sword swings as he began to slash at his opponent as though he were dancing. The blade would appear almost hypnotic, causing hallucinations, and confusing images to pop up into the vision of his foe as he began his assault with Soul Dash enhanced slashes. Each slash would not be too kill, but to cause injury or maim his opponent.

Steiner knew that he wasn't strong, he had discovered this the moment he had first come on to his quest, but Steiner was persistent, and he was determined to follow along that path, even if it meant fighting foes like this. Foes that were too stronger than him in every way. Valus watched from the outside, proud of the growth of his partner, but that pride was tempered by the worry of what closing the distance with this creature could possibly yield. Sure, Steiner was a good swordsman, but he lacked formal education or training. Everything Steiner was doing was improvised and as such he was very much a beginner. He had no clue how good at sword play this creature was, but the thought that was running through his mind was that if he could control a blade such as the one he had, then more than likely his sword play dwarfed Steiner's own. He would have to watch out and be vigilant for now on. He was going to make sure that if something happened, he would step in, and activate a power by force. He knew his own powers and which one Steiner could handle and which one he could not. So he watched closely, readying himself for an opportunity to help his partner.