The Oracle Paths

For a second, Jake thought his body had been cleaved in half at the waist, but the vision of horror he was envisioning did not come true. When he lifted his head to examine his body, he was pleased to find that his body was still in one piece.

"Phew..."

Nevertheless, his spine had indeed snapped on impact and his entire abdominal girdle had been ripped open by a broad blade with seemingly blunt edges. He had no trouble identifying the guilty weapon. Although invisible, his clone was wielding one that met the criteria.

Despite his delight at getting away with so little damage, Jake was nonetheless puzzled. He knew what his body was capable of and when his clone had hacked him down, he should have ended up as a bloody pulp on the rocky ground.

Spreading his mental sense, Jake discovered not without surprise that the liquid alloy he usually stored in his Space Storage had been summoned without his knowledge. Several tons of liquid metal had cushioned his fall and he was now bathing in a sort of small pool that looked half solid and half viscous.

Where his lower abdomen had been sliced, there was no trace of liquid alloy, but Jake didn't need to rack his brains to figure out how he had been saved. Validating his theory, he heard Xi's agitated voice chiding him in his head,

[I saved you this time, overstepping my rights, but it can't happen again.]

"What do you mean?" Jake raised an eyebrow as he perceived her serious mood.

[Look above you instead.]

Jake looked up at the sky and finally remembered that he was in the middle of a fight. Even though their conversation had taken place in a split second, he had literally been incapacitated for several seconds straight. Even now, he was in no condition to fight.

That should have been more than enough time for the Digestor to finish him off. As he saw his clone hovering above him, he understood the reason.

"This... Fucking asshole!" Jake gritted his teeth in fury and humiliation.

The liquid alloy that had saved his life, his clone was using his own Metal Manipulation to seize control of it. Long metallic filaments were billowing upward toward both of the alien's clasped hands and Jake could see the precious material being siphoned off by it, as if this Digestor's body were a sponge.

Furiously scanning his Space Storage, the liquid alloy forming a mattress underneath him and the inside of his own body, Jake discovered that this thief had already stolen 4 to 5 tons of the 27 in his possession.

'I can't let him keep robbing me like this!'

Grunting miserably, Jake forced himself to use his telekinesis to reconnect his spine, then poured all his Vitality Aether into the injured area to speed up his healing. With his own Vitality and the help of the environment, Jake immediately reconnected with his legs.

As soon as he could move, he focused all of his willpower to regain control of his liquid alloy and with one thought reabsorbed it into his Space Storage. He kept a few pounds to coat his skull with a metallic film to protect himself from psychic attacks. Now that he knew his clone was stronger than he was, he had to play it safe.

Despite his quick action, the Digestor still snatched about 7 tons. This was the biggest loss Jake had suffered since his debut in the Mirror Universe. Did he intend to mitigate his loss by running away? Absolutely not.

Jake had already come to the conclusion that it would be impossible for him to run. His instincts told him that turning his back on his clone to escape would result in immediate death. In that case, why not try to cut his losses by fighting?

It was a fallacious reasoning, but one that appealed to the proud and reckless side of his Myrtharian Bloodline. If he usually managed to suppress this aspect of his temperament, it was because he was relaxed and serene.

At this very moment, Jake was furious and full of hatred towards his counterfeit.

'So what if you're bigger, stronger, faster, smarter and more skilled than me? Do you think, it's enough to kill me?' Jake roared inwardly.

[Cough... Actually, it is enough...] Xi dampened his enthusiasm unceremoniously, spearing his heart with a single jab.

Jake stumbled as he heard his Oracle AI lashing out at him. Until now, she had always supported him. His anger only grew and his fighting intent finally made its way to his clone.

"Oh ? You still want to fight after this beating ?"

"As long as I protect my head, what can you do to kill me? Let me tell you. Nothing." Jake uttered sardonically as he donned his Greathelm of the Undying.

Who knew he would be using that Digestor helmet so soon? This scrap was an ugly thing. It was closer to a chunky cylinder than a helmet, and the horizontal line serving as a visor was so narrow that he couldn't see much.

So why wear it? Besides the second chance in case of decapitation, it was because this thing was made of silver chitin. Like his sword, there was no metal inside that his clone could control. Finally, this helmet was airtight. If he coated the inside with liquid alloy, his opponent would have no way to steal it.

When Jake finished his preparations, there was no more empty space inside his helmet, but in return he lost all extrasensory perception of the outside. Just like when he was a mere human, he had only his five senses to rely on.

ROOOOARRRR!

The terrifying roar that Jake had already heard twice sounded again and his clone's expression changed as well. Somehow, the call sounded like it was filled with anger and frustration and seemed to have come from... closer.

"I can't play with you anymore." His opponent was no longer laughing. "If I stay here any longer, I will die. We will all die."

SLASH!

Jake threw his head back, narrowly avoiding being lopped off. A slicing wind split the rock behind him in two, but he didn't have time to gasp for mercy as he heard a supersonic shock wave to his right. If he could hear that sound, it meant that the blow had already landed on its target.

Fortunately, Xi was in control, and a thick curtain of liquid alloy engulfed the enemy's blade, preventing it from sinking more than a few inches and spreading to his forearm to trap it in place.

Seizing the opportunity, Jake teleported into the shadow of his clone, and returned the favor with the fastest stabbing strike of his short life. The wind preceding this stroke pierced the chitin of the armor's back, but by the time the tip of his blade collided, his clone had already teleported back.

Anticipating this move, the ground beneath Jake had already liquefied and his legs sank into it as if he had just fallen into a ravine, allowing him to avoid another decapitation.

Sadly, it was his clone in front of him and it had also anticipated his plans. As his body sank into the ground, the ground beneath the Digestor also liquefied, while the ground beneath Jake suddenly became solid again. Then his opponent chopped downward, aiming for the top of his skull.

Jake urgently erected a telekinetic barrier above him, while his arms off the ground counterattacked. An upturned saber slash flashed toward his clone's throat, while the claws of his free hand suddenly extended as they swung toward his heart.

The Digestor snorted and continued his attack. His greatsword slammed into the intangible shield as Jake's sword grazed his throat. His armor and Silver Stone Skin took most of the blow, while a slight twist of the neck neutralized the rest. As for Jake's claws, in the end, they were a bit short.

At the last moment, the Digestor had intertwined Jake's fingers with his own claws, the clash generating a spray of sparks. With an abrupt jerk of his hand, he snapped Jake's fingers along with his claws.

Going mad, Jake spat a white-hot gob of spit at his clone's face, and not expecting such a low blow, the Digestor reflexively blocked with his arm instead of using his telekinesis. Taking advantage of this brief blind spot, Jake seized his chance by attempting the technique he hadn't had time to try.

With his sword, he tried the trick with another head slash and his clone calmly brought his blade back to parry despite his impeded vision, but Jake was aiming for something else.

As the alien blocked the blow, a telekinetic vise gripped his skull, depressurizing the atmosphere around him and threatening to blow out his eyes. His vision blurred briefly, but his own telekinetic barrier immediately countered the intrusive force.

Except Jake had never intended to rely on that to win either. When the enemy's sword was about to intercept his own, it disappeared. Jake reappeared in the same position above his clone, but this time with his sword less than a millimeter from his neck.

The Digestor shivered and leaned forward uncontrollably, before retaliating with a desperate back-heel. Before Jake could make his move, his clone had teleported back. A blink of an eye later, it was he who was helplessly beheaded.

The unique skill of his Greathelm of the Undying activated and the silver helmet disappeared, exposing a crestfallen Jake. The only consolation, at least for now, was that Jake still had an intact head on his shoulders.

This fight... couldn't be won.