What Do You Fight For?[Hannah, Solomon]

"Understood. Do not show me mercy even if I harbor the idea of backing down. I wish to face this test with my all. As such, I require nothing short of your absolute in overwhelming me."

Sheer madness. He would be approaching a complete unknown in an inescapable barrier - unless Hannah permitted it - that would test his mettle beyond anything else in his life. His will as both man and warrior would be put onto trial here.

There would be no submission. No surrender. No escape. His spirit weapon, his soul, and his will would be the only tools afforded to him moving forward. Even so, he desired a paradigm shift more than anything else.

A catalyst that would tear his soul asunder, reshaping it into the mighty blade that would vanquish his enemies, instilling the fear of a wrathful thunder deity in their spirits that they might never hurt those he cared for again. No matter the price, no matter the weight he would bear on his soul, he would strive incessantly toward that one goal.

"I'm ready."

Absolute conviction voiced from the bottom of his heart.

"!?"

Solomon stumbled back, his body seized by a sudden wave of pain. No, more than that, the atmosphere in the room seemed to palpably shift as well. Relentless agony. That was one way of describing the torturous pain assaulting his frame. Even so, his eyes shot forward defiantly as he fell to one knee, summoning his spirit weapon into existence as the hilt of Keraunos materialized within the palm of his hand. He stepped forward, gritting his teeth as he stepped forward.

"Don't hold back, then. Let loose. I can take it!"

Charging forward, he thrust his blade forward in an attempt to land a thunderous stroke against her body. Of course, it went without saying that the pain compromised his movements to a noticeable degree. It was almost as if he was moving at slow motion right now.

As before, Solomon was sent flying back by another attack. The force of impact was indeed enough to dislocate his shoulder, his body rolling along the ground. Rising up, the determination in Solomon's eyes maintained as he pressed his hand against his shoulder, attempting to force it back into place. Whether he was allowed the time to do so being an entirely different matter, Solomon lifted his head in response to her words, observing the woman as a sword formed in her hand. He wasn't quite sure if he followed, but he fiercely charged forward with unrestrained aggression, attempting to clash blades with the woman as his gaze bore down on her.

"An act?"

What did she mean?

A vicious strike accompanied a parallel line across his midsection, his blade bisected in her Zanpakuto's arc. Blood pooled from his mouth as his legs stumbled backward, his body faltering to a kneeling position. Fluidity and coordination in a single space of movement. One technique, and he was already at a precipice of defeat.

That she did so with such a unassuming frame made the act even more preposterous, and that welcomed a small sense of envy. If he stood at a precipice, he would have nothing to fear. His companions would know not an ounce of fear. Azure eyes noted his broken blade, his hand reaching outward to refortify Keraunos with reishi. Rising from the ground, he held his blade at his side as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"How is that you are so strong? What do you fight for? What has kept you going for... ha... for so long?"

Those thoughts, expressed absentmindedly from the depths of his mind, haunted him to no end. He had a goal. An aspiration. Why is that he constantly stood below rather than at the top? Was it his aggression? His lack thereof? Was it too much? Was it too little? How was it that everyone felt so much superior than him and he was the one who appeared to be faltering behind? Angrily, he generated five bolts of electrified reishi around his person, thrusting his blade forward to launch them in a multidirectional wave of assault.

Five versus Seven. The larger number proved superior, given the woman's superlative energy reserves, overpowering his lightning bolts with relative ease. The two that targeted Solomon were avoided by a hair's breadth, by sheer merit of the thunderous warrior telegraphing the attack enough to vanish from the space he occupied, clearly aware of the divide in their respective energy.

It was a fool's errand to fight her so haphazardly and rush in without a proper plan of action. She was a savant of the demon arts, one who recognized every nuance of the energy at her disposal, and by that extension alone, one who could mold and shape it to her desire.

Blood still poured from the wound, but Solomon remained heedless, ignoring it in favor of executing another attack. Drawing a circular arc through the air with his blade, he created an spinning ring of voltaic reishi, drawing his sword backward to thrust his blade through it, forming a larger bolt of lightning with each revolution.

As he was Inspired to execute something of this nature in the heat of the moment, he launched it towards her without giving it the preparation time necessary. Therefore, the likelihood of it landing was dubious at best. As soon as it was launched, Solomon grabbed onto the ring sparking with his hand as he vanished to appear at her back, swinging the ring toward her in a sweeping arc.

Like a desperate beast fighting for their life, Solomon charged forward hurriedly, fighting through the immense pain that assaulted his body, ignoring the blood loss that threatened to claim him from the realm of consciousness. It was difficult to form another question with a mouth filled with the taste of copper. If she wouldn't answer him, he'd force an answer!