A thick dust storm encompassed the area with all those needing protection from the bombardment through either clothing or remaining inside a cave or a tent with no boarding residences close by. A figure sat in the open plain on the peak of a vast mountain shielded only by an overhanging cloth that stretched out from his tent. This figure richly adorned in an armour of the highest quality looked towards the step path from where he had come from. He had been at the mountain now for several days by himself hoping to recover from the fight involving the villainous Cell. His memory was a bit hazy for that matter if he were to be completely honest as to how they won against him but he was fairly sure they did defeat him.

Regardless of the issue, he had spent the many days out in the plain training his mind and his body as to hit hard along with broadening his magical abilities. The passage of time had become blurred however with the current weather having started since his arrival and continuing relentlessly from day to night. The terrible weather had, in fact, damaged his tent on the second night, causing dust to blanket all of his items inside. Fortunately, he was able to repair the damaged section of the tent along with rescue all of the food and water that had been scattered throughout the area albeit with the aid of his companion.

Ever since that point on though things had been fairly boring with him even having plans to leave both this mountain top and the entire region soon enough.

Amon was new to Seighart and was still covered in blood and god only knows what else from when he made his escape from Oak. Everything from his gloves to his mask to his trench coat were all covered in blood. He was hoping that the Rune Knights of Oak hadn't been able to put out a wanted poster of him or anything. The last thing he wanted was to be a wanted criminal. Amon remembered back when he worked for The Watch nothing like this would ever happen, seeing as they usually bribed off the Rune Knights and got away with plenty of crimes.

The only thing on Amon's mind as of right now was how he was gonna go into town without anyone noticing all the blood he had on his face, hands, and clothes. The few people he avoided while making his way up to the mountain top were all talking about some villain who was here not too long ago known as Cell. The guy sounded like a top notch villain but his name made Amon feel like he was a joke.

When Amon reached the mountain top he saw a man right out in the open as a dust storm began to kick up. Amon was covered up more than well enough and to him a dust storm was the least of his worries. As he watched the man from a good distance of what seemed like 15 meters he heard the voice again. It was none other than Apex his other dark half. "Hey how about we go over and say hi." Amon shook his head no while saying to himself out loud "I won't let you control me you damn monster! That m an has done nothing to us!" Little did he know he was loud enough for anyone close by or with good enough hearing to hear him.

Through the rash dust storm, a man's voice could be heard through it, Noting the uninvited presence of another, the figure rose from his position with his head just missing the cloth above him. His vision of the man was limited, to say the least, though he could make out a distinct mask that he was using to hide his face, the same could be said for himself though if not more so as he merely resembled just one of the many soldiers through the land with his vibrant blond hair and sapphire blue eyes both being concealed under his helmet and covered by the scarf that draped over the openings save for the ones that allowed him to see and breath. He wondered by this man, in particular, had come here especially with his ominous appearance. Having taken to his feet, he had begun to move toward him at a steady pace watching him carefully with his left hand gripping the pommel of his blade ready to defend himself if need be.

As he drew closer through his helm he watched as some type of fluid ran from all of the man's body mixed with the dust it was hard at first to identify however from the distance he had reached to he could tell it was blood, few other liquids had that colour, faint smell or viscosity, with all these trademarks being most strongly represented through the still dripping blood on the man's white mask. Already on guard because of just him being there this put things on the edge. As a result of his hostile appearance, the figure swiftly drew his sword and rose up his shield bearing arm to defend himself against his possible attacker. Wanting to know what he was doing here, he yelled out to the man who now stood at just over 10 meters away from him. "Who are you and why are you here?"

Amon continued to argue with Apex for a short amount of time until Apex spoke to him and said "Nice job genius, he must have heard you cause you were talking too loud cause now he's standing up and walking towards us." Granted Amon was rather loud but he didn't believe he was loud enough to be heard from such a distance over the sound of the wind. Amon tried to relax his body as to show the man he posed no threat, however he forgot to take into account the fact he was covered in blood something anyone would find weird and possibly a sign of foul play.

"Who are you and why are you here?" the man now standing 10 meters away would say to Amon. Amon took a few seconds before opening his mouth to answer, as the truth was he had no idea why he headed up in this place. Amon seeing the man drew his sword took on a fighting stance as to be prepared in case the man attacked. "I was just passing through on my way to another town. But how about you put that weapon awa---..." Amon went silent as he would drop to his knees while holding his head and yelling out in pain. Deep inside Amon's head Apex was fighting Amon for control, a battle Amon was sadly losing. "Let me handle him kid! He seems to be a lot tougher but the least I can do is get you out of this alive."

After about two seconds of Amon screaming and yelling due to the pain he was feeling from Apex taking over, the process was complete and Apex was now in control. Apex would stand up and assume his battle position once again. He would practice almost perfect patience as he waited for the man to make a move. "So? You gonna stand there or are you gonna attack? Or does this blood make you scared?"

The armoured figure gave the unknown individual a few moments to explain who he was and why he was there but he was unable to get a clear response instead he seemed to get mixed messages of not one personality but two, the initial one he couldn't even identify however the one that seemed most prominent and seemingly talking as if there was another present. Regardless of this, the words of the new personality came towards him as if to encourage a fight better the two, he was hesitant considering he had fought Cell just a few days ago, but this fight would be started by either of them, as a result, he would gladly take the option of going for the first strike especially considering his sheer tankiness and relative slowness to his peers. Without uttering a single word in response he rushed forward towards his new foe with his shield raised high in the attempts to block any potential attacks with his shield before striking him down with his sword that he would guide somewhere between the man's left collarbone and his ribcage, the 10 meter distance between them would be covered in a matter of seconds leaving the newcomer with minimal time to make a counterplay.

It confused him to be perfectly honest seeking out a conflict with someone so heavily armoured. The man obviously wasn't in the right frame of mind at all. The blow that he would attempt to deliver onto the man would be done as to incapacitate him rather than maim or kill him as he wished to take the sickly minded individual to a place where he could receive proper treatment. If the man chose to dive or duck in a manner that left him unable to make a clear take-down move, he would cut and slice at the man's limbs in the attempt to stop him from moving entirely.

EQUIPMENT

   Weapon:

Centurion Sword:

   Head:

Centurion Helmet:

   Body:

Centurion Armor:

And so just like that the taunt seemed to work as the man would soon begin to run at him. Apex was ready for the action. He would only have a few seconds to react before the man's strike would land and so he would raise his hand with a open palm in front of him to activate a spell. A shield spell that would generate a wall of lightning directly in front of him. More than likely the shield wouldn't be strong enough to block the attack it should however be enough of a distraction, so Apex could create space. After making the wall he would take a leap backwards, this would give him about another 5 meters of distance between him and his attacker.

"Hey guy what are you doing trying to kill me? Like I was trying to say earlier im just passing through the area. So how about you put that thing away, its obvious that you're way stronger." Yes talking this is what Apex wanted and needed. He was attempting to get the man to drop his guard so that he could get in close and land a strike somewhere that wasn't armored. Suddenly Apex would put one hand on his mask due to feeling an immense pain in his head. It was Amon resisting his control. The more Amon resisted the harder a grip Apex would place on the mask.

"i DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! IM IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT YOU IDIOT!" Apex would scream out loud enough for the whole mountain top to hear. However Amon wouldn't give up on trying to regain control.

Spells Used:

MP: 175/200

Hardly surprisingly the man swiftly attempted to evade his rush towards him using a spell, a wall of lightning unperturbed by the man's magical abilities he continued on his charge towards his opponent who had managed to make some distance it was in this charge he broke through the shield with his own sheer strength. Evidently, the man was either toying with him or was truly weak as per his pleas for him to put down his sword. The man was in undeniable pain the cause was unknown to him however he sought to help him in a cruel way from most people's point of view, as he sensed without his special kind of assistance the man's twisted psyche would result in terrible outcomes. The threat becomes apparent through the sheer force of will he, the other side of the man had on his counterpart screaming at the world. As he was still running towards the man from his initial point with his pace ever-increasing this was in part, Kon would be able to slice his sword swiftly, cleanly and unavoidable through his targetted location. It would be unavoidable at least for an ordinary individual unaided by magic as he was still travelling towards the man now at just 10 meters per second and closing the newly created gap of 5 meters within just a mere .5 of a second. Once the armoured man had landed the blow he would clasp the man's opposite shoulder and speak to both parties within his fractured mind. "Look, this sword is between your collarbone and your ribcage if I twist it, move it or it is removed without treatment you won't be long for this world, Now I'm going to ask you to sit down with me, this is a request however if you don't, the sword will probably come with me considering I still holding onto it.

Apex's plan to get the armored man to lower his guard failed terribly. It failed so bad in fact Apex and Amon were now impaled by the man's sword. Apex wasn't stupid as he realized the placement of the sword wsn't meant to kill or leave serious damage, it was meant to make him stay still. He could still move of course but if the sword changed from its current position too much it would undoubtedly hit something important like a artery or a major organ. Apex's thoughts raced as he tried to find a solution to get out of this, but none he could find. "AMON YOU IDIOT LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" Apex yelled out but not as loud as when he was in pain.

The armored man began to speak to Amon and Apex "Look, this sword is between your collarbone and your ribcage if I twist it, move it or it is removed without treatment you won't be long for this world, Now I'm going to ask you to sit down with me, this is a request however if you don't, the sword will probably come with me considering I still holding onto it." Apex realizing he had no way around the situation decided to let Amon out as he was more suited for these types of things. "Im not talking to you... but if that loser partner of mine wants to than so be it." Apex would then release control of their body to Amon. Once Amon had retaken control he let out a slight wince of pain, due to the sword being in him.

Before beginning to speak he let out a heavy sigh, and with it the small crack in his mask turned into several large cracks. Slowly but surely pieces of the mask broke off, and enough pieces broke over the right side to the point it revealed the upper right side of his face. With part of his face now revealed Amon looked his pseudo-captor in the eyes and said "So what exactly do you wanna talk about?"

The blow inflicted upon the newcomer was swift and clean with his opponent incapable of putting up further resistance towards his attacks. It became apparent that yes a portion of his psyche was telling the truth regarding the power differential between the two. With the man's life basically in his hands, he looked through his visor and dusty haze towards the newcomer it appeared that he had chosen at least a portion of his mind to surrender to his will. In his acceptance of defeat, the mask that formerly shrouded his face in anonymity broken revealing a portion of his face and making it vulnerable to both his view along with the bombardment of the dust storm around him. The personality that the man had transitioned to perhaps wasn't in the right mindset either considering he merely questioned him so informally.

Acknowledging that there was a shift in personalities once more and his questions seemed to have been forgotten in the conflict, he repeated himself bluntly and sharply. "Who are you?, What are you doing here?, Why are you covered in blood?, You're definitely not innocent in whatever took place, considering your previous behaviour. Lying to me would me a very big mistake right now, I don't take pleasure in using force to get my answers but I will if I have to." Slightly twisting his blade ever so slightly with one of the edges just touching the collarbone through the flesh.

The man began to ask Amon questions as the dust storm raged on. Now part of his face wass fully exposed to the weather, and all that came with it. "Who are you?, What are you doing here?, Why are you covered in blood?, You're definitely not innocent in whatever took place, considering your previous behaviour. Lying to me would me a very big mistake right now, I don't take pleasure in using force to get my answers but I will if I have to." The man asked for so much in just a short amount of time, however he was very persuasive about the way he asked. Pain was one hell of a motivator as the man would slightly twist the blade. It felt like someone was ripping Amon apart very slowly, it even hurt so much that he was about to jump from the pain. Luckily he realized the sword was still inside of him.

"My name is Amon and the one who tried to fight you was Apex. Like I said before, I was just passing through on my way to another town... im just trying to do some request and make some money." Amon stopped talking before he would answer the next question as he needed to think about his current situation. He figured someone armored like this was a solider of some type, possible even a Rune Knight so would telling him Apex killed a bunch of his comrades really be smart? Well at this point being smart wasn't on the table, he had to do whatever was gonna help him survive. "Im covered in blood because Apex killed 10 Rune Knights in Oak Town."

Amon's wound would slowly ooze out a few drops of blood, releasing into onto the sword and the ground. Amon was out of options the best he could hope for now was either a swift death or a cell, either way he had reached rock bottom and nobody would be able to bring him back up from that. Amon would then look up to the man and laugh a little bit before saying "So what you gonna do with me?"

Finally, the newcomer succumbed to his will, revealing both his name, Amon along with the other personalities name, Apex. As it turned out or at least what he told him was that he was merely travelling through the area to complete various requests throughout the area. He had his own judgements towards what he said as it could easily be a lie. It became practically hard to believe when he revealed that he had slain 10 rune knights in Oak town, which seemed unlikely considering few rune knights ever stepped foot in the town with it being overrun by scum and villainry. Revealing that he was a murderer, a mass murderer, in fact, Amon merely questioned him about what he was going to do with him.

Several options came into his mind regarding a fit punishment as well as pondering who this man could have killed considering he was unable to defend himself against his own attacks. That being said it was easily possible he was restraining himself as he didn't seem to be injured prior to their conflict.  "Let's see I have a number of options I can choose from considering you're still stuck there with my blade keeping you alive, I could pull it out and just watch you bleed out, I could arrest you in the hopes of having you put to death under the swift blade of an executioner or thrown in jail for the rest of your life, but no I think I have one alternative that will satisfy your likely desire to live and my own desires for various reasons which I won't disclose, I'm willing to recruit into the ranks of the rune knights, know this though if I hear any wrong doing until I say so I won't hesitate you hear me?"

His course of action would be almost predetermined and because of this, he saw little need to continue a further discussion with the individual. As a result, of this he promptly removed bandaged the wound and prepared everything to both recruit Amon as well as leave the region.

[Exit]

A deal had been struck! Amon now had to make a choice he could either die here, await a trial with the possibility of dying later on or be sent to jail. Or keep his life in exchange for his life? Thats right the only promised way for Amon to live at this point was for him to pledge his life and his alligence to the organization known as the Rune Knights. Amon would think about the options before him for about a minute or so and after that he would finally decide on a answer. However before he could answer the man, Apex had to voice his opinion on the matter.

"Don't do it kid! You don't need to join those loser to live... We will come up with a plan like we always do." Apex would say within the confines of their mind. "No I need to do this! This will be my redemption for all the years of bloodshed and violence, I must do this." Amon would say outwardly so that Apex and the man who would now be his superior could hear his decision and his resolve. Amon would then hold out his hand as a sign that he was accepting the deal and he wanted to shake on it. "So where do I sign my name on the dotted line, sir?" Amon said with a grin on his face.