Shit, she’s still standin, I say under my breath as I watch Keoyia of the Iron Palace rise up out of the rubble of the moon I had just sent her flying through.

  She’s tall, muscular, her skin bluish grey, long white hair the only thing covering her massive tits. Her six eyes blink at me as she raises her staff, 12 feet of silver with these floating moons circling it.

  I shift into the Flow, a battle state where everywhere is anywhere and all things happen and don’t happen.

  Is it a paradox?

  Yes, a weird one at that, but when you’re fighting Alfaere who are godlike in power and nature one needs to get weird.

  I cross the distance between us hoping to bury my sword deep in her gut, but she’s already moving, the damn aether sense all Alfaere matched to my Flow. The moons around her staff blocking my stroke as she jabbed the end of her staff at my face.

  I bent backwards.

  I shifted in the Flow.

  And I was then twisting to her side.

  She somersaulted as my blade’s edge just barely touched her hip.

  The moons that floated around her staff flew at me.

  I batted them away, yet she’s on me again, her hair reaching out like vines to get me. I swung my sword cutting pieces off her hair. We were moving so fast across the place we were out pacing light.

  She swung her staff down trying to crush my skull as her moons flew at me trying to break my ankles. I side step, avoid the moons as I raise my sword blocking the staff.

  The shock wave shakes the planets around us.

  I slash at her throat with my sword.

  She blocks and counters with a swing to my ribs. I cant move in time. I feel the staff. My armor protects me but still the impact breaks a rib.

  I back flip aways and land on my feet doing a figures 8 swirl with my sword. I gesture with my hand to her saying come on.

  She laughs loud.

  “Good Jaknight good make this worth my while.”

  She comes at me from 5 different ways, up down left right backwards and forwards. My eyes move like pinballs in my head tracking her as my body flows like water dodging and blocking the thousands upon thousands attacks she rained on me.

  The Flow was pulling me into its embrace deeper. I could sense it wanted to take over, to overwhelm me. I held my mind anchoring myself so that the storm of the Flow didn’t over take.

  Keoiya leapt, her massive breasts rising as she flew down trying to bring the staff to smash me into the ground like a nail.

  I moved just in time.

  If you saw me it was like I floated away.

  Her staff hit the floor with such force it broke what was left of the moon. The pieces floated all over like bits of cereal in black starry milk. I stood on one of the pieces staring at her.

  My ribs had knitted back but the pain would return like a ghost for a bit.

  I lifted my sword towards her.

  “You missed are you Iron Palace Alfaere all slow or something?”

  I hoped mocking her would cause her to make a mistake.

  “You think im slow? I’ll show you slow!!!”

  Her energy rose up as her fury spiked. She didn’t have that sexy goddess form anymore, no she looked like some primordial demon.

  “Hells have no fury like woman scorned,” I thought as she raised her staff and the moons circling it got huge like we are talking big as sun kind of huge.

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  She launched them at me so fast I could hear space time rip.

  I channeled the Flow again. I let myself be taken in more. I could see the moons like they were moving in some stop motion.

  This time I summon my soul, the supreme weapon all Jaknights have. Mine is in the form of wicked looking sword.

  And my ability?

  Reversal of fortune.

  What happens to me happens to them instead.

  I leap and take the full brunt of her moons upon my face. It feels like pressure then I hear her go ummph as the impact reverses to her.

  She’s sent flipping backwards.

  I fly towards her. She rights herself up and tries to parry my slash but I spin in reverse. As she parries her entire right side becomes exposed.

  I slash.

  The soul bites deep into her, a clean slash. Golden red blood flies out as my sword cuts a trench from her hip to bottom of her chest.

  She coughs blood and her staff slips out of her hand. She gives a few gasps that gurgle with blood before her eyes go white and she gives up the ghost.

  I float in space, my hair slicked with sweat, breath short. The Flow wants to keep me. I focus out of it. It’s not easy.

  When I am calm I pull out my red crystal.

  I whisper, Captain Tani.

  A red ink like liquid flows out from the crystal and forms into this man older bearded dressed in a tunic and hooded cloak.

  “Knight Finnbarr Report,” Captain Tani says.

  “Jaknight Finnbarr reports enemy Alfaere Keoyia has been slain.”

  Captain Tani eyebrows raised he was impressed.

  “To slay a High Alfaere alone at your level is a testament to your skill Finnbarr your master would have been proud.”

  My departed Master. My heart ached at the mention of him.

  “The Iron Palace with this latest loss will be retreating across the Hoyza Boquets this allow the Paldami to advance and take the various artifacts well done Jaknight well done.”

  I nod.

  “Thank you Captain it was an honor to do my part in this war.”

  “You are to proceed to the Galadamine system there head to the tower of Orthanc one of the Maguses has a Quest for you.”

  “What kind of Quest?” I ask hoping to get more information.

  “That Knight Finnbarr you will find out when you arrive.”

  The captains words hang in the air as the image of him fades away and the liquid goes back into the crystal.

  Of course he wouldn’t have given me more information. Captains rarely answered how’s the weather.

  I looked around, my eyes enchanted, could see far and I saw the many drops, well what you would call worlds, across the black ocean of flowers or stars. They were happy joyous the civilizations there unaware of how close their part of the garden was to being pruned.

  That’s what we call the cosmos.

  The Garden.

  I grabbed the staff of Keoyia my war prize and took off towards the tower using the star winds to fly across the breadth of space.

  The winds moved me faster than any star ship could.

  The stars whipped past me as I soared. Soon I saw the stars of the Galadamine shining like a beacon making a nice wavy pattern that was hard to miss. I turned towards it picking up speed as the tower begin to appear.

  The Orthanc tower was one of our many towers we used to rest and regather and strategize. They were scattered across the garden, but few matched the beauty of Orthanc.

  Gleaming white stone and a roof of pure silver, it stood upon a great rock suspended in space.

  Invisible to the enemy thanks to the wards that also shielded it. You could shoot planet shattering attacks and not even the dust would move.

  The tower senses me.

  Its defenses lower and the shield opened to let me in.

  I touched down on the stone, the tower before me, no door, no sentries, none needed. I walked forward and the wall opened to let me in.

  The tower inside was even bigger, a feature of our dimensional folding tech.

  It had a massive courtyard with these six fountains that spouted this pink water, the roof enchanted to look like the sky. The middle of the floor had a sun, its rays pointing in different directions towards doors that led to other parts of the tower.

  The courtyard had a dozen or so Jaknights lounging about, some talking, others drinking, a few looked like couples enjoying their intimacy.

  “Finnbarr?”

  I turned at the sound of my name.

  A woman, beautiful, young, flowing black hair was walking towards me. She had on this huge wide brimmed witch hat and long green coat she had draped over her shoulders. Her blouse was blue and open, her huge tits bounced up and down as she waved at me.

  “Serish!!”

  I smiled as she approached.

  She embraced me. She was a tiny thing compared to me.

  “How are you Finnbarr?”

  “I’m good,” I tell her.

  “When was the last time we saw each other?” she asks me.

  it was a few solar cycles ago the Maragi incident remember.”

  “Ahh yes of course.

  Why are you in the tower Serish?”

  “Oh well I delivering some artifacts I managed to snag from a couple of Talons. You know those bastard slave sorcerers made me work for it.”

  I nodded.

  Talons were always difficult to deal with especially if organized.

  Serish pulled out some opuple fruit and began eating it. Bits of it fell on her chest as she continued.

  “I managed to petrify some and others I flash fried with some fire spells. Overall a good day. And you?”

  She looks at me.

  “I heard you killed a High Alfaere alone.”

  “Yea it was Keoyia.”

  She freezes.

  “Wait the Keoyia who destroyed the Fassmar systems?”

  “The very same,” I tell her.

  She swallows and does a long whistle.

  “That’s a feat Finnbarr. Is that her staff?”

  She points to the staff I had on my back.

  I nod.

  “Took it off her corpse.”

  A loud voice cuts through the courtyard.

  “Jaknight Finnbarr you are summoned to the Magus chambers.”

  “Duty calls Finnbarr,” Serish says as she sauntered off to talk to another Jaknight.

  I wave goodbye and head towards the Magus chambers.