Point-of-View: Zoraiz Rafayet

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I let out a gasp of pain as Lucifer flung me away and my back slammed onto the side of a tree, a twinge of pain erupting across the point of impact, before I froze as I heard Alexis cry out.

I turned my gaze that way, my eyes widening in horror as I saw Lucifer with his foot on her stomach, and raising his hand while swirling wind and black flames around it.

I shot towards them immediately, straining against my limits with everything I had, mustering every ounce of willpower I had in me. A sense of desperation spurred me on as he began to drive his hand down towards her...I won’t let him kill her, no fucking way!

I put on a burst of speed as I broke past my limits, my Aura spiking as I felt the muscles in my arms and legs rupture and tear apart, but I ignored the pain as I began to close in on them and sprang forward with all my strength, my Achilles tendon snapping from the force.

I managed to get between them just in time, Lucifer’s hand striking and piercing through the right side of my chest, an agonizing pain bursting out as I coughed out blood with a sharp wheeze, my vision blurring and darkening before I bit the inside of my lip to stay consciousness.

I...I can’t pass out, and I can’t fall...I drove my feet down and into the ground, embedding them in to keep myself standing. I can’t die yet...at least not until this bastard is dead. I...I have to make sure that Alexis gets out of this alive!

"N-no, why...y-you idiot...," I heard her gasp from behind me, her voice trembling.

"Now’s...y-your...chance...!" I uttered with all my strength, mustering all the energy I had left as I reached out and grabbed the elbow of the arm through my chest, before quickly reaching for his other hand and grabbing his wrist with my free hand, as I shifted my weight towards him with as much force as I could, moving his foot off her as I gasped out urgently, "F-finish him off...!"

I used every bit of willpower I had in me to stay conscious and maintain my grip on Lucifer’s arms, as Alexis shot out in front of me and burst lightning into his mouth.

I could feel myself starting to slip, my vision darkening further and further, but I held on with everything I had...not yet, I can’t stop yet, not until he’s dead!

I was straining every muscle in my body, ignoring the immense pain I was wracked with as I kept my grip on him as tightly as I possibly could...right as a cracking sound burst out and he began to turn to dust.

Alexis drew out her fist and stumbled back, before I let out a weak gasp and collapsed onto my knees as Lucifer’s arm disintegrated, leaving the gaping hole in my chest. Blood began flowing out of it as I began to drift off, my body starting to fall...before my head hit something soft with a slight thud.

I weakly turned my gaze upwards as I felt a small drop splash against my cheek, to see Alexis’s face, tears streaming down her face with a look of anguish.

"D-don’t you dare die, you jerk, stay with me, damn it! I-I’ll kill you if you die!" She cried as she let out a choked sob.

I mustered what was left of my strength to give her a faint smile, as I reached up and cupped her cheek with my left hand...

"H-hey, come on. Don’t...don’t cry. I...I love you," I uttered quietly, my voice hoarse and strained as I struggled to breathe.

I...I can feel that the bleeding is slowing down, thanks to the self healing power of the Physical Skill, but...but it’s not strong enough to repair this much damage. All it’s doing is delaying the inevitable, I probably have maybe a couple of minutes at most...

"You’re not dying here, not like this! Neo! Inoka! Please!" She yelled out in desperation.

Suddenly, I felt the ground beneath us disappear and I dropped through, grimacing as my back hit solid ground with a thud, jarring my injury. I then spotted a hand reaching out towards me and touching me...before a strange sensation enveloped my entire body.

What the...I can’t move. I can still see and hear, but it’s as if I’m frozen...I can’t feel anything, the pain hasn’t faded, but I can’t feel it. It’s weird and hard to explain...it’s as if the sensation of the pain has been paused or something.

"I’ve frozen his body in space and time...I think he can still hear us, but it’s like time has stopped for him right now," Came Neo’s voice, sounding kinda distorted and unclear. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"He...he can still be saved, right!?" Cried Alexis, a mix of hope and dread in her voice.

"I’m not sure, it’ll depend on Inoka...but knowing what he’s capable of, I think you can afford to be optimistic. I froze him like this for two reasons...to buy him time, and to buy myself time as well. I...I can’t open two portals in a row in my current state.

When I brought you two here...my observation of all the other fights got disrupted, it’ll take a while to bring it back up. Damn it...I can use more Space Skill techniques now, but I...I’m too weak to make full use of that," Muttered Neo, sounding frustrated.

"Thank you, I...I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost him. Thank you so much...," Alexis sighed weakly in relief, collapsing onto her knees with a pale look on her face.

"Don’t mention it...I’ll do everything I can to ensure that all of you come out of this alive. I...I just need a couple of minutes and I’ll be able to bring Inoka here. Last I saw, he was still fighting alongside Kiyana, but I’ll have to interrupt them," Said Neo in response.

The next couple of minutes felt like they went by slowly and instantaneously as the same time, this being frozen in time feels really weird and kinda disconcerting.

But I’m certainly not complaining...knowing that Neo was in such a weakened state, I had prepared myself for the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to bring me here, and was resigning myself to my fate.

It’s not like I wanted to die, but if it had come to that, I would’ve accepted it...but now, with my chances of survival effectively guaranteed, I feel so relieved and hopeful.

"Alright, I’m ready...I’ll find find Inoka, and-...," Began Neo, before trailing off with a grimace.

"What is it? What’s wrong?" Frowned Alexis warily.

"I-it’s-...you’ll find out soon enough," He replied quietly, his voice cracking slightly as he opened up a portal...and Inoka dropped down through it.

But something was wrong...he had bone spikes burst out across his entire body, blood trickling off them, tears pouring down his face silently with a devastated look on his face, while he was down on his knees, his shoulders slumped.

"Hm...? Oh, hey, you guys...," He muttered in a slightly dazed tone, as he noticed Alexis and Neo, the bone spikes slowly retracting back into his body.

"I...I, um, I don’t know what happened, but...please, heal Zoraiz, he’s in really bad condition," Responded Alexis, kneeling down in front of him and placing her hands on his shoulders.

He then slowly turned his head this way, a dead look in his eyes...a glimmer of light returned to them as they widened with a look of alarm and horror, before he shakily got back onto his feet with a slight stumble and walked over towards me.

"I’ll unfreeze him now...Zoraiz, if you can hear me, brace yourself...all the pain from your injuries will come roaring back now, so...brace yourself," Grimaced Neo, placing his hand upon me.

I let out a sharp gasp as the blinding pain in my chest burst out again, coughing out blood before it suddenly began to ease rapidly as Inoka healed me. I felt my bones growing back and my lungs healing, the hole in my chest closing up and all my torn muscles getting repaired.

I sat up with a cough, the blood that had begun to flood my throat bursting out as I let out a wheeze, finally able to breathe properly again. I’m...I’m alive, I’m really-...I was snapped out of it as Alexis tackled me with a hug, weeping profusely as she wrapped her arms around me tightly.

"I...I thought I lost you! You asshole, don’t you ever put me through something like that again, got it!?" She cried as she buried her face against my chest.

"Yeah...okay," I replied with a wry smile, as I gently put my arms around her, placing a hand on the back of her head as she sobbed uncontrollably...

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