Arnimos, John and the Vishashi stood looking out over the desert, the endless dunes led to a pass between 2 mountains.

  "Perfect spot for an ambush," John said. "We should be careful,"

  "How many do you think there will be?" Arnimos said.

  "Likely only a handful," The Vishashi said. "Too much ground for them to cover in large groups,"

  "Also would've seen them if it was a large group," John said. "Still, they have to have base nearby if there's even more of them after us out here,"

  "How many more do you think they'll be?" Arnimos said.

  "As many as he can afford," John said. "Well, afford and still have enough for gambling, which there certainly will be,"

  "You'd think he'd hired better men though," The Vishashi said. "The one's in the town were little threat,"

  "Probably wants to avoid spending too much till we get close," John said. "So it's best we reach Paradise as quickly as possible,"

  "How much farther?" Arnimos said.

  "3 weeks should do it," John said.

  "What's the plan once we get there?" The Vishashi said.

  "Find him and kill him then get the "merchandise" back," John said. "Then i'll get you both everything you need,"

  "Good enough plan," The Vishashi said.

  "Got any better?" John said.

  "Don't believe this is the time for that," Arnimos said. "We should get moving through the pass quickly, maybe we can avoid any ambushers,"

  "Let's hope," John said.

  The three descended a dune and trekked towards the pass. As they entered, shade descended upon them. The pass had gravelly ground passing in a thin trail surrounded by tall walls of sandstone with handfuls of small outcroppings just large enough to hide a person.

  As they walked John put a hand on his revolver. The gravel lightly crunched beneath their feet and a soft desert breeze blew through. They walked another dozen or so paces before they saw movement behind one of the rocks ahead. John had barely drawn his revolver before a man popped up and fired a shot, it sunk into John's arm then John responded with a shot of his own.

  The man ducked as the bullet struck the rock, a handful of other men popped up from behind rocks or stood up on outcroppings and pointed their weapons. Arnimos grabbed the hammer and the Vishashi raised a hand. For a single second the pass stood silent before the bullets began to fly.

  John rushed forward and fired a handful of shots towards those blocking their way before diving for a rock, a few bullets bounced off rock but a few found their mark in a man's arm or chest. A handful of rounds went towards him but they passed through his body like it was water, while he was focusing a conventional weapon was little use against him. A few shots chipped the rock he covered behind as he quickly reloaded his revolver and traded shots with a few of the men on outcroppings.

  Arnimos took out the hammer and swung it towards a man on an outcropping, part of the man's skull caved in as an invisible force struck him. Arnimos then ducked behind a rock as another man shot at him, a few bullets bounced off the breastplate but one sunk into his arm. His Dichotomies came alight as the bullet struck, he was scared. He crouched as he focused the building energy towards his wound, the bullet popped out and the wound closed after a few seconds.

  The Vishashi stood there as a few bullets raced towards him, they cut through his body which turned to sand as he was hit. He focused his mind inwards on his Dichotomies, he let them feel fear but controlled them carefully. He channeled the energy into one and let it create a blade of sand in the air before him. He channeled a bit more and drew a curve with his hand, the blade became solid and flew out in the arc he drew with his hand. It flew and cut through stone and men with ease. The Vishashi began to focus his mind again.

  John rolled out from behind cover towards the men blocking their way forward, he fired 3 quick shots with his revolver then holstered the one in his off-hand and drew his Fear-Made one. As he aimed it at a man another popped up from behind a rock with a strange looking crossbow, it looked like it was made from marble and had a bolt made of that same marble. A Fear-Made weapon. John turned his gun but the enemy fired first, the bolt fired but it did not travel normally and instead hit him immediately after being fired. His water-like form didn't matter to the Fear-Made weapon and the bolt sunk into his chest, blood began to seep out. He fired a return shot a moment later, the man's arm exploded.

  Arnimos rose and swung the hammer towards another man on an outcropping, it cracked against his arm. The man let out a curse and dropped his rifle, he frantically drew his pistol and fired a quick burst of shots, of the 5 fired only 2 found their mark sinking into his leg. Arnimos fell to one knee and swung the hammer again, this time it struck him in the chest causing it to cave in and the man to stumble and fall from the outcropping. Arnimos felt his Dichotomies flaring to life even more, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on controlling them as the pain from his wounds grew duller.

  The Vishashi looked at the other 2, they were both injured. He stepped towards them but then he felt a surge of DE behind him, he turned and saw one of the men on the outcroppings had dropped his rifle and raised a hand which now had blood condensing in front of it. A Dichotomy user. The Vishashi drew another arc in the air sending a blade of sand, it missed the man and separated the outcropping from the wall. The man tumbled and landed on the ground with a thud, it took him a few seconds before he dragged himself to his feet, obviously injured. The man seemed to faintly glow as some of the injuries fixed themselves. The Vishashi took a stance and prepared for the coming fight.

  John scrambled forward and let loose a few shots from his Fear-Made weapon, 2 of the men fell as chunks were torn from their body. A handful of shots cut through him though they were still ineffective. He fired back with his normal revolver, a few shots sunk in but most missed. He looked over and saw a man pick up the Fear-Made crossbow and pull back the string, a bolt appeared in place as he did so. He aimed and fired, and another bolt appeared in John's chest. John fired back killing the man but he could feel his strength leaving him, another shot or two would be his death. He rushed towards the crossbow.

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  Arnimos felt as his mind was trying to tear itself apart, his Dichotomies were too much. His sanity frayed and bent threatening at any moment to finally break. Images flashed in his mind, he saw everything he had feared. From monsters in the dark that weren't there, to the loss of his friends, to the Personifications. It was as if his mind was trying to destroy itself from how it felt. He opened his eyes to try and drag his mind away but as he did so another bullet tore through his arm. He winced and his Dichotomies flared more, his mind was reaching its limit.

  The Vishashi stepped forward and threw out another blade of sand, the man raised a hand and blood formed in the air taking the strike. He then closed his fist causing multiple thin spikes of blood to form in the air around him, he pointed at the Vishashi causing them to projectile at him. The Vishashi channeled his Dichotomy and turned himself into a cloud of billowing sand, he shaped his body to avoid the spikes then rushed forward and reformed his body back to its normal state. The Vishashi then raised a hand and shot out another blade, it was deflected again. This fight was not going to be easy.

  John leaped over the rock and landed next to the crossbow, he raised his revolver and fired at the men fighting him. One fell as another fired a return shot and charged him, John moved to point his revolver but the man grabbed his rifle by the barrel and used it as a club, it struck through John's hand not doing damage but throwing his weapon to the ground. John ducked back as he brought it down again, he grabbed his holstered revolver and fired 2 quick shots into the man's gut, he stumbled back and fell to the ground. John leaned forward as a handful more shots went through his body and picked up the crossbow. As he did the weapon felt far heavier then it should and he could feel the power it contained, with how it seemed to be designed, and how effective its shots were against him, it was designed to have more of a punch then his revolver. He pulled back the string as another handful of shots cut through him, a new bolt appeared. He raised the crossbow as another man jumped out of cover then fired, the bolt impacted the man with such force as to send him flying backwards a few feet. John looked down at the weapon, this would be quite helpful.

  The Vishashi channeled his Dichotomies inwards then held his hand to his side, he would have to use a new ability to break the deadlock. He let his Dichotomies build energy before he channeled their power outwards into the sand that now surrounded him. Rather than a blade or his body instead he let the DE take its own form in the sand, one befitting of its wants. The sand around him began to shift, it began to whip slowly in a wind that was not there. The whipping sand rose in an imposing form that seemed like a large and long snake, it was a Fragment. A Fragment of Desert. The man across from him formed a large network of thinly connected lines of blood in a lattice around him, likely a defensive move. Neither of these moves were the other's Ultimate, that they could both tell, but the victor would show whose side had the upper-hand.

  John threw himself behind a rock and drew back the string again, the enemy seemed never ending. Every time he shot one another just appeared. He popped over the rock and took aim and as he did so he finally noticed something, the guy he was aiming at was the one he just shot. He looked at the others he was fighting, he had already shot men with their exact same faces before. These weren't people, they were results of Dichotomy. He cursed silently as fired another bolt into the clone that ducked back below the rock. He needed to find the user if this was going to end. He scanned around looking for faces he hadn't shot before, he had to strain his eyes but he could see one 3 or 4 dozen yards away, it felt too far for this Fear-Made crossbow. He'd have to close himself. He took a deep breath in then stood and ran.

  The Vishashi and the man stood sizing one another up for a few seconds, trying to ascertain any weakness before the clash. They stood staring each other down until a soft wind blew in and the Vishashi pointed at the man. The Fragment surged forward and slammed its body towards the man, the lattice of blood shifted and formed an intricate web which seemed to catch the blow. As the web of blood caught the force the Fragment shifted its body, splitting its upper half into dozens of smaller snake-like pieces of sand that could worm through the gaps. The lattice shifted once again, moving to prevent any of them from getting through. The Vishashi watched, then raised a hand, he channeled his Dichotomy into the sand in the air. He saw as the man's lattice kept changing form to prevent the Fragments from getting in, this ability was obvious now. A defensive ability that adapts to attacks levied against it but it seems it is only able to deal with a single type of attack at once. As the lattice shifted once again he drew an arc in the air and a blade of sand flew, the lattice shifted once more absorbing the blade but allowing some of the Fragments through. Seconds later the sand fell apart as the energy disappeared and all that was left of the man was a dried husk, he was strong but not stronger than the Vishashi. He turned back towards the other two and saw Arnimos kneeling injured and John taking off in a mad sprint, this was not a good sign.

  John rushed past the clones who continued to take shots at him but none got in his way, their creator hadn't planned for this. He kept charging forward as he raised the crossbow and readied for when he was within range. He saw the user pop up from behind their rock and fire off a few shots, the first few did nothing. The user then threw down their rifle and picked up a revolver made of obsidian and fired it, there was no sound and instead he felt a horrible pain in his chest. John looked down and saw a hole in his chest, a moment later a few bullets struck him in the back. From the injuries he had sustained he finally couldn't upkeep his water-like body and the bullets sunk in. John fell to his knees as his Dichotomies raced, the wounds' pain grew fainter but they weren't closing.

  The Vishashi ran towards Arnimos, he crouched next to him and looked into his eyes but he could tell his mind was elsewhere. He looked over to John just in time to see a shot from a Fear-Made weapon open a hole in his chest then a few seconds later a handful of bullets hit his back. As John fell the remaining men turned towards the 2, the Vishashi stood up and placed himself between Arnimos and the attackers. He held a hand out to the side and conjured the Fragment, he needed to defeat these enemies quickly.

  Arnimos stared at the ground as his mind raced, the threads of his sanity had nearly snapped and he could feel the building energy threatening to burst for at any moment. There was fighting happening around him but he couldn't focus on it, something bad was happening but it was all so far away. As images flashed in his mind of all the worst things that could happen his breathing began to speed up and his vision grew blurry. What was it all worth? Was he going to die here? Why did all these things keep happening to him?

  As his mind raced he felt the energy in his body permeating every part of him, his body felt on fire. As his mind teetered at the edge of madness he began to faintly hear something, it sounded like a typewriter. His mind reeled and his Dichotomies pulled back, their constant increase stopping as though that had hit a brick wall. Suddenly the energy they were holding surged into his body, it felt like it was going to burst. His eyes shot open and the whole world became clear. As he looked around he saw the world moving in slow-motion.

  John was laying on the ground bleeding out, the Vishashi had summoned a Fragment to defend him, there were still many men firing at them. As he looked at them in this state he could see they were not natural, their features were just too perfect to be human. He saw as they levelled rifles, they were going to kill him and the Vishashi. He wouldn't let that happen, he raised a single hand towards them all. 'An Archon has the Dichotomies of all four races,' Tages had once told him. If the others here could use the abilities of their Dichotomies then surely even with his strange one he could do something as well, right? He focused the energy to where it felt natural, his Luxicon Dichotomy.

  The energy flowed out from his body and into it and it came alive, it ate the energy then sat primed like it was waiting for a command. He wasn't sure what to do but his mind did what felt right and directed it towards those before him.

  The Vishashi stood with the Fragment at his side, it would be difficult to beat them all but he should be able to. As he prepared himself he felt a surge of DE behind him, he turned around expecting a new enemy but instead just saw Arnimos with a single hand raised and an incredible amount of DE suffusing his body. He opened his mouth and a single word left it.

  DESTROY

  Arnimos fell to the ground, his vision fading, he saw no more Fragment or strange men and whatever he had just done had obviously shocked the Vishashi. He lightly chuckled as he slowly faded out of consciousness. He did have a Skill, he'd have to ask the Vishashi what it did once he woke back up.