"BLESS ME, EGO!" Damien's voice shot out as the fight started. Although it wasn't a drastic change, his muscles seemed to grow a bit denser, his eyes sharper, his teeth more bared, and his mass increased.
The words played in my head, 'Ego, the power based on its user's state of mind, even the slightest bit of waver can lower the power drastically, if not completely stop it.' This was the limit of the power. All I had to do was outshine him, for even just a second.
But before then, he lunged at me as I dodged left, not noticing his fist, which he hooked into my jaw as I stepped back to lessen the blow, rolling back, stabilising myself, gripping the ground with my right.
Damien stood up straight, flexing his muscles as he lunged at me again, slamming his fist down as I dashed back, kicking his jaw, sending him up as I slowed down time slightly to match his pace, dodging and countering. For a big guy, he was arguably fast.
This was not a fight that needed to drag on. I grabbed his jaw and repeatedly slammed my fist into his face, then climbed over his frame and swung him back, the glint of Jonathan's illusion up above almost ready, ten seconds left.
Damien spat blood and wiped his bloodied nose, slamming his fist into the ground, causing the floor to spiral out in a broken web, shrapnel shooting out as I dodged each piece, slowed down, grabbing the last shard and using it as a dagger to slash at his arms, barely causing a scratch, seven seconds left.
From his throne, Matt Lockheart grinned, looking between me and Damien, his eyes darting from our hands to our feet, assessing every move we made, eyes bright and hands clenching his armrests, four seconds left.
The world spun as we both moved faster. From above, Jonathan spread out his arms, mist erupting around the room, ZERO.
Damien and his father, along with all the henchmen, glanced around, confused, the white mist thick and hard to see through until their eyes locked onto my figure in the mist, the faint glow of my right bionic, the patterns glowing blue, as ice and fire curled around my feet, the mist spiralling around me. This was not real, none of this was real, a simple illusion, a simple lie. "I am the first, Multi-Power User." A powerful lie.
Damien froze, a flicker of doubt in his eyes, all that was needed. Time slowed a bit more as I focused and burst forward, slamming my fist into his stomach, then an uppercut, grabbing his ankle and spinning around, slamming him into the ground and throwing him back against a pillar. I could feel it, his power lessening. The more doubt he gained, the less 'Ego' worked.
But now wasn't the time to let up. I kept going, keeping pace until Damien was back down to the strength of a regular superhuman, the regular gene-enhanced speed, strength, and durability that came with powers. This was my win.
The hard force of a fist collided into my stomach, sending me flying back, my body slamming through pillars and doors as I ragdolled through the mansion, skidding across the ground into the muddy snow out front.
Where me and Damien had been standing, his father stood, fist extended, body tensed, as he straightened, then grabbed his son and darted outside, dropping Damien's body and walking over to me as I clenched my side, winded, crawling back up.
"A MULTI USER, THAT WAS BRILLIANT, BOY!" His voice came out loud, my ears still ringing from the punch, the fire in his eyes intensified as he glanced down at me. On his throne, he looked like an old but powerful man, and now standing, he looked like a giant pillar. This was the true nature of pride.
"I've made up my mind, you have true talent." He lowered himself to my level, stretching out a hand towards me. "You've beaten my son, so the Pride Syndicate won't interfere in your business, but won't help you either."
Before I could shake his hand, he stood up and turned, his henchmen already carrying Damien back inside as he too walked away, stopping at the door. "A multi user does not and cannot exist. Tell your illusionist friend, that trick won't work twice." And he was gone, the broken door of the mansion slamming shut.
Once he was gone, Jonathan appeared beside me, back in his short, stubby form. "That took a lot out of me, Jayden," he said as he pushed me up and walked me out the front gates of the mansion back toward the North Kingdom.
The walk was long. My body felt crippled from that single punch. The power of the first sin was truly more than that of his son. The old man had been right. Taking care of him now was much smarter than potentially having to fight that kid in the future.
***
The sky began to glow, the sun began to rise, the snow began to fall again. The sunrise of the North was a beautiful sight, the light shining on all of the falling snow. Clear and white, the sound of the soft crunching under our feet as we made our way through the North Kingdom.
At this rate, it would take days, maybe even weeks, to get back to the tavern. Neither of us had the energy to use our powers, and not much transport was available during snowy weather.
Kids ran through the streets of the city we had stopped in, snowballs being chucked left and right, even demi-humans played with people. If you were to see the world at this moment, you may mistake it for a poor man's haven. The blood that dripped from my lip stained the snow.
Shops lit up, the day seemed brighter than the last. People had moved forward, people always moved forward.
I glanced down at my hand where snow slowly fell, the frost climbing up my skin and along my blazer.
We stopped by in a shop, a nice small café. The waiter glanced at my bruised form but said nothing and smiled, taking our order.
Once he left, me and Jonathan spoke. We had just 'beaten' the sin of pride, in a sense, a win in its own right, and yet, we noticed something strange before we left. Up above, beyond the mansion, somewhere in the mountains afar, I could've sworn I saw a pillar of ice, and the shadow of a human, leaping across the sky. Was it just the shadow of Matt? No, but whatever it was, it was not my problem. Not yet at least.
"You think too much, Jayden. Let's focus on getting back and giving the master the good news. He'll be pleased to hear you somewhat beat the son of the sin of pride."
The waiter came by and dropped off our food. I took a bite, then put down my fork. A small girl who sat with her mother glanced over to me and whispered to her mother, "Mommy, look, that boy looks hurt. Is he a bad guy?"
Her mother just looked at me, up and down, at first disdain across her face, but my eyes locked with hers. Her frown twitched, eyes showing a hint of pity. Her smile slowly widened, and she smiled at her daughter. "He's probably tired, honey. Not everyone is who they seem."
I stood up and told Jonathan to wait as I tossed my blazer on the seat and headed out of the café, the light glimmering on the falling snow nearly blinding me, the laughter of kids still present.
I glanced up, my arms falling to my side, a cold breeze against my skin, the snow falling on my face, each drop cold and sharp, but unlike a few days ago, it didn't sting. Dare I say, it felt nice.