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[Dan Heng's eyes narrow slightly as he sees that maniacal grin split Yingxing's face. His body tenses and the storm roiling underneath his skin grows stronger. The dragon lurking within wishes to be unleashed. It wishes to take back what is rightfully his. Dan Heng's will is stronger than his instincts, though, and so he controls himself.

Even though his hackles rise as Mara begins to speak. A low growl is unintentionally made when Mara speaks of Yingxing's talented hands, remembering how they'd been damaged to the point where he couldn't smith again.

How unfortunate for Mara that Dan Heng is now able to match his speed. He parries with his spear.]

The only one who will be on his knees—

[He uses his gravity manipulation to suddenly make the sword lighter for a brief moment. Dancing away from Mara to put some distance between them, he finishes:]

—Will be you when I break you!

[With a burst of unexpected speed, Dan Heng flies at Mara and thrusts his spear four times in rapid succession, aiming for his arms and legs rather than vital organs. He knows that a drawn out battle will favor Mara, and so he tries to get an advantage by slowing him down.]

[He's not expecting the gravity manipulation, and the parry ends with Mara being thrown back a bit. He looks confused, and then a little annoyed.]

Break me? [He laughs again, crazy and dark and disturbed.] I'd like you see you try. You think yourself a god?!

[He's not expecting the speed but he doesn't fight like it matters. He manages to keep up and parries all but one of the blows, the sickening karma wind augmenting his speed.]

So cruel, so calculated! I can believe that you had practice. You enjoy this, don't you?

[He raises his arm and slices it open on the blade. Wind gathers around it, causing it to glow crimson at the tip.]

Did you know that Little Yingxing begged me to spare your life?

[There's a sharpness to Dan Heng's blue eyes. An intensity of focus centered on Mara and this fight. In stark contrast to how dark and disturbed his opponent is, Dan Heng stands tall, a pillar of calm light in this darkness. Yet that calmness should never be mistaken as passivity.

His movements are swift as the wind and graceful as a willow tree. A hundred lifetimes of honing his skill with the spear has made these moves deeper than muscle memory. They're within his very soul. He doesn't answer Mara's demand of whether he thinks he's a god. This isn't a sincere question, after all.

Neither does he answer the question of if he enjoys this. Dan Heng has the serenity of the moon; beautiful, bright, and distant. Like this, he has control. He will not kill again without the intent to do so from the start.

His eyes narrow as he sees this familiar gesture. It's not complete, not like how it was in their past lives, but it's still similar.]

Hmph, and I'm certain you would never agree to such a thing. One such as you isn't worthy of fighting me as Imbibitor Lunae.

[He even lifts his chin up in pride and derision, looking down on Mara despite being shorter than Yingxing.]

You've never had Yingxing!

[Dan Heng rushes at Mara again like an incoming wave and channels lightning into Cloud-Piercer's blade. The smaller man jabs at his opponent in such quick succession that one would be forgiven for mistaking his spear as a star shower. With thanks to the jade ring Yingxing gave him, he's much stronger at night than he would normally be.]

[Despite Mara keeping an eye on what Blade was doing, this gift went unacknowledged like many things. Blade is always working on something or another, giving his lover and his friends trinkets to protect them, to remind them that they are precious. But this one had been enchanted by a different party, and thus Mara didn't know.

Dan Heng stands proud and bright like the moon and it pisses Mara off. He meets him again, expecting another flourish of the spear, but instead he's greeted with a burst of lightning that scorches him from head to toe. He roars with pain, but the edge of it is taken by more laughter. He counters with a punishing hurl of his sword that pierces the very air in an explosive fashion.

Pierce the dragon's heart. Pierce it for victory.

But just as it's about to leave his fingertips, a familiar crimson glow returns to his eyes. It takes all of Blade's power to force the sword's unerring aim lower. If it hits, it might still run Dan Heng through, but it shouldn't be fatal.

Mara hisses and stumbles.]

Damn you both!

[The roar of pain is satisfying, even if it stabs into Dan Heng's heart because it's Yingxing's voice. Borrowed, stolen yet still his.

This moment seems to slow down in his perception. The thrown sword calls to mind a memory. His own heart stabbed and power gathering around him, forcing him to reveal his true form as Imbibitor Lunae. In that moment, though, he sees that flicker. Candle bright eyes illuminating Mara's darkness.

His heart warms with hope and his eyes flicker with recognition. Yingxing is still in there. He's still fighting Mara.

Thank the Permanence.

Dan Heng is able to dodge enough out of the way to fully ensure it's not a fatal strike, but it does leave a wound on his side. Curiously, the blood stops pouring rather quickly. Not that Dan Heng has time to think too much about that. He dances out of Mara's reach in anticipation of a follow-up strike, moving as if his wound doesn't bother him in the slightest.]

It seems you've met your match this night, Mara. Give him back, and I'll let you leave here with your dignity intact.

[If Mara seems a touch distracted, surely he has good reason. His hands are trembling, as if there's an ornery blacksmith fighting him with all his might.

He throws a punch, but his fist finds nothing.]

Give him back? As if it were that easy!

[He zips past Dan Heng to pick up his sword, looking less and less put together as the fight drags on.]

His soul is MINE. Your karma, bound to his for eternity, means I shall claim you both!

[He brings his sword up, ignoring the blood pouring out of his broken skin so he can cleave the ground. As one would expect, the air pressure sends the earth exploding and a good chunk of rock in Dan Heng's direction as well.

Something becomes clear, then: Blade's body is resilient, but he's not nearly as strong as his past life. What makes Mara dangerous is what, precisely, he can do with his vessel's own life... as well as the lives of people who are weaker than he is.

Not waiting to see if his attack hit, he charges forward with more Wind-augmented strikes.]

I'll kill you.

I'll kill you.

I'll kill you.

I'll kill you.

[To be perfectly honest, Dan Heng's a little surprised that he's able to last this long. The hit he has taken hasn't slowed him down at all. Perhaps this is one of the subtler traits of his Qilin transformation?

Mara seems to be going crazed the longer this goes on. Instead of dodging the earth coming his way, Dan Heng pierces through it with his spear. Graceful and fluid as water, he then immediately goes into a parry as his body moves on its own. Instinct has told him that there is a follow up to meet, and it's proven right as a Wind-augmented strike comes at him. The air pressure will eviscerate him if he's not careful, and so he twists so that the parry becomes a sliding of blades together. He uses this momentum to twirl around like a dancer with feet as light as a swallow.]

So you've said, but I've yet to see you deliver.

[Dan Heng stabs at Mara again but with greater force behind it as he increases the gravity around his weapon. He's not aiming for a fatal injury. Just something for Mara to either think about or remember him by. Dan Heng refuses to be an easy catch for this demon.]

That karmic bond is why you'll never take him from me, and why you will never kill me in a way that matters!

I'll ask you one last time: give. Yingxing. BACK!

[As if to drive the seriousness of his demand home, he uses his spear in an attempt to sweep Mara's legs out from underneath him. Whether it works or not, he'll keep the momentum going with a furiously fast swipe of his spear's blade to one of his legs.]

[He's beautiful and deadly, and for a moment Mara isn't sure whose thoughts those are, specifically. Then he gets a grip on himself, and ignores the flutter of fear. He's a demon. These are just... ants before him. That's all they ever were. Perhaps they are bolstered by gods, but he won't give up what's his.

He's just a touch too slow. He swings his blade and misses Dan Heng by an inch, while the spear strikes true. It pierces Mara's shoulder and sends him reeling.]

You—

[He struggles to rip himself free. His healing is slower than Dan Heng's, even though it's still freakishly fast. The blood pours down his suit in rivers. He pants hard, but that doesn't stop him from touching the wound with his left hand and inspecting his fingers.]

If you want your beloved so badly, then you'll have to pry his soul from his corpse.

[Maintaining eye contact despite his eerie lack of visible irises (or anything beyond the black sclera), he tilts his head back, and drips the blood from his gaping arm wound directly into his mouth.

Blood is his contract price. It only makes him stronger, feeding on the life of his victims. A freakish forked tongue licks excess blood off his lips and reddened teeth.]

Are you ready to walk through hell for your bride?

[He raises his blade. One more time, he slams the sword into the ground and sends another wall of dirt and force at the hidden dragon.

But this time, Mara flees in the complete opposite direction instead of pressing the attack. He's using that inhuman speed to put as much distance between himself and Dan Heng as possible. He has a tear in reality he intends to shape and mold to his own wishes.]

[Watching this morbid attempt at a power move, Dan Heng can't hide the faint repulsion from his expression. This creature dares to make a mockery of Yingxing's life, does he?

He doesn't respond. Can't, in fact, as there is a sudden surge of dirt and force heading towards him. Dan Heng manages to dodge gracefully out of the way, but he loses sight of Mara at the same time. The dragon tries to sense for his presence as far as they'll go. In the end... he comes up with nothing.

Dan Heng grits his teeth in silent fury for a moment before calming himself down. He looks at his wound and sees that it's healing itself quickly. With eyes raised upwards at the moon as witness to this opening fight, he silently promises that he'll bring Yingxing back.

Mara won't escape him again.]

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cw: blood lmao

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