Blade Over Magic

He Vs ’He’

Xander found himself in a strange space.

There was a rocky ground beneath him, and this terrain extended as far as his eyes could see in every direction, and the sky—while dark—was clear.

But the most significant thing, though, was the swords.

Each one planted in the ground, countless swords littered the strange space. Some where normal long swords. Some were Zweihanders, some were Rapiers, Broad Swords, Short Swords, Sabers, Bastard Swords, Katanas, Odachi...

If it was a sword, it was there.

Moreover, they weren’t all made from the same material. Some were made from iron, other steel, some were wooden practice swords, some were blunt swords of the same type, some were made from alloys, and the list went on.

Xander saw this sight and felt that, while it was his first time coming to such a place like this, it felt familiar. No, not just familiar. As he glanced at the different swords, a feeling of uncontrollable affection ran through him. Like he knew each one intimately.

Because he did.

It’s then that it hit him. Every single sword in this place was one he’d used at some point during his life, and right now, in front of him, one more was added. It was the Rapier he’d used to kill the Void Raptor.

”How was it?” A familiar voice came out of nowhere, and Xander turned to see... himself.

Standing just a few feet away, Xander could see ’himself’ with ’his’ arms folded, a faint smirk on ’his’ face.

’He’ looked around before speaking.

”Another one bites the dust. How many more poor swords need to get destroyed before you’re satisfied? I mean, look at this. You aren’t even 40 across both lives and you’ve burned through so many swords. Don’t you ever get tired?” ’He’ continued ’his’ rant, walking around and lightly tapping the hilts of whatever sword ’he’ passed by.

”And now look at what you did. You used one to interact with something even you know is basically sacred. Space? What right does a human have using a blade to affect something so fundamental? You should know that, right? This isn’t just uncharted territory, this shouldn’t even be possible.” ’He’ paused, then ’he’ abruptly pulled out one sword from the ground and swung it at Xander, the speed and power obscene.

It stopped just inches away from him, but even then, a pressure swept through the entire space, making it tremble.

But Xander didn’t flinch. Even as a thin cut appeared on his cheek, and a drop of blood slid down his face, his expression was utterly impassive and calm. At this, ’he’ chuckled and stabbed the sword back into the ground.

”Why am I surprised? You hear all that and you don’t even flinch. Why should I have expected anything else? It’s you, after all.” Then ’he’ grimaced before glaring at Xander.

”Knowing you, even after the past experience, you aren’t going to stop there. You won’t care about how dangerous the path ahead is. Hell, you probably won’t care about how unclear it is. Even if it looks like there is no path forward, you will just blindly swing your sword. Over and over again. Until either it breaks, and you get another one, or you break.” ’He’ scoffed.

”You’re playing a dangerous game, you know that, don’t you? Sooner or later, you are going to encounter something you can’t simply use your sword on. Sooner or later, a blade won’t be enough. It won’t matter what comprehension you have. It won’t matter what your obscene tallent cooks up on the spot. One day, you will encounter something that is so unfathomably beyond you that your sword won’t even register as a threat.” ’He’ paused, then ’he’ gave a sinister smile, and suddenly, ’he’ was in Xander’s face.

”But... you’ve already encountered something like that, haven’t you? Something where the gap between you is so wide, it isn’t even a wall anymore. Not a gap, not a cliff, not even a chasm. Hell, even saying she’s the sky and you are an ant is a huge understatement. It’s like... comparing an atom to the big bang.” ’He’ threw his head back and laughed, ’his’ voice echoing through the space.

”And to think you set her as your target. You are a fool. An obsessed, delusional fool. And the day you realize that you won’t be able to go all the way... heh, I would want to see the face you make, it will be glorio—” Mid mockery, Xander grabbed one sword and swiped.

The motion seemed slow, yet it had moved before ’he’ could even register the sword had swung.

’He’ was still for a moment, then a thin line appeared around ’his’ neck, and his head tumbled down.

It rolled until it stopped at Xander’s feet, facing up at him.

Xander squatted, making direct eye-contact, and when ’he’ saw his gaze, all his saw was unbridled, unmasked, and unending obsession. But it wasn’t dark. Maybe a bit mad, but there was a light there. Xander didn’t seem undeterred by ’his’ words. In fact, he seemed... excited. Giddy, even.

”Doesn’t that excite you?” Xander said, his voice filled with barely repressed excitement.

”On earth, I had subconsciously accepted that I could only go so far. That further advancement was impossible. That swords had a hard ceiling. But look at me now. If I were to face the bastard who shot me again, I could slice through the bullet after it left the chamber, then slice the gun into pieces before turning him into diced chunks before he could even react. At that’s just a tiny example.

The ’elite’ Knights in Xavier Lowell’s Manor would get torn apart by any of the three beast leaders. But I killed two of them.

So what if the path ahead is uncharted? That just means I can be as flexible as I want.

So what if Mia is so incomprehensibly ahead of me? That just means I have that much space to develop and grow, grow, grow, and grow, then grow even further than that!” A slow, manic smile spread on his face.

”Don’t you understand? Don’t you see?! This is it! This is what I... WE’VE wanted for so long! There is no more ceiling! No more limits! We can train and develop the sword to our heart’s content! No more worrying about when our body can no longer get any stronger. No more worrying about a lack of opponents. We can push this so far. And cutting through space, that’s just the start. You remember it, don’t you? The ’paths’ we saw when fighting Mia. Doesn’t the idea of getting there make you excited? Doesn’t the idea of progressing past that make you ecstatic?” Xander began saying ’we’ because, in truth, the other ’him’ was still him. It was simply a manifestation of his doubts. But he wasn’t deterred. Not in the slightest.

”This. All of this.” He gestured around to the myriad of swords around them.

”You think this has gone too far? That this is too much? Heh, let me break it to you. This isn’t even the start. Not even a thousand more... tens of thousands, or even millions more swords will be the end of it!” He stroked the sword in his hand almost reverently.

”It will be wonderful.” The head on the ground stared at him for a moment. Then smiled. Not mocking or contemptuous, but a genuine smile.

”You’re a madman, you know that?” Xander paused, then he chuckled and raised the sword in his hand.

”That makes both of us.” The he stabbed down.

***

Xander opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the familiar roof of the tent.

He blinked a few times, then he sat up. He felt a piercing headache, making him wince, but he managed to avoid making a sound.

’Did you do it?’ He paused, looked to his side, and saw Mia sitting there with a piece of jerky sticking out of her mouth.

He didn’t immediately address the question. He first glanced around and saw that, once again, his teammates were all asleep around him, with Curtis now adding a third person to the center table as he, Aubrey, and Falael slept, clearly spent.

Keir had made himself comfortable on Xander’s lap, having curled into a ball, and even Mary, who stood in the corner, had fallen asleep while standing, which was... a strange sight to see.

’... Do what?’ Xander finally addressed Mia’s question, and she just shrugged.

’Your doubts. Did you settle them?’ Xander blinked, then huffed.

’You could see even that, huh?’ He said almost poignantly.

’I see many things. But seeing and choosing to address them are two different things.’ At that, Xander sighed before nodding slowly.

’Yeah. I settled them.’

’And how do you feel?’ She questioned again. Xander was silent for a moment, then he looked up.

’Well, ignoring the stabbing pain in my skull, I feel... gratified? It’s hard to explain. Definitely not bad, though. Not at all.’ Mia nodded.

’As you progress along your path, you will encounter many things that will make you question it. Whether they are external influences or internal doubts, and the frequency they pop up varies, but they will happen. And whether or not you continue to progress depends on whether you can address these things. If not, your talent won’t matter.’ Xander considered the rare words of wisdom from the small girl, then he asked.

’What about you? Do you deal with things that make you question your path?’ He half expected Mia to give him a vague answer or ignore the question entirely, but surprisingly, she nodded.

’More than you think. And to be frank, it doesn’t get easier the more you deal with them. But I think I’m doing alright.’ This made Xander fall silent. Even someone as absurd as her wasn’t free from doubts about her path.

He smiled slightly.

’You know, I’m still gonna do my best to surpass you, you know?’ That drew a small snort from Mia, the most emotion he’d heard from her in... well, ever.

’If you didn’t, I’d be disappointed.’ That made Xander chuckle silently, and there was a brief silence. Then she broke it.

’By the way, cutting through space isn’t all that impressive to me...’

’Oh okay, fuck you too then.’

”Heh...”