Legacy's Wake

Shanya and Trice's duel raged on, the tension thick between them, as the spectators remained distanced and quiet. "This is getting tiresome," the woman observed, watching as Trice prepared for another strike. "That's enough testing," she announced, stepping into the space between the fighters, much to the confusion of Temoshí and Chiaki, who looked on from afar.

Chiaki tilted her head slightly, a small smile on her lips. "For someone with such a large sword and heavy claw gauntlet, Shanya's surprisingly fast. She's, how should I put it... unique? I suppose that 'tiger' inside her really brings out the best in her power."

"Hey! Who said you could interrupt, missy?" Shanya barked, her tone irritable. She bounced on the water, pointing her broadsword toward the woman as her hair blew backward in the wind, her teeth gritted in frustration.

"If I declare the fight is over, then it is. And that includes you, warrior." The woman exhaled calmly, adjusting her glasses and tucking her hair behind her ears.

"If you try to continue without permission, I'll be forced to execute you," Shanya retorted, frustration creeping into her voice. "Ha? You challengin' me? 'Cause I ain't no coward. Want a fight? I'll give you one."

The woman sighed, her patience thinning as she turned away. "You're exhausting to deal with. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough." She subtly reached for the darker spear, planning to act without Shanya noticing.

But before she could make a move, a familiar voice rang out, cutting through the tense air. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Stop the fighting already! These are our guests, Ophelia!" Tiny footsteps echoed across the water as a small figure rushed down the stairs from the palace, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"Your d-divinity..." Ophelia murmured, her eyes widening as the young goddess approached. "I told you not to attack if you saw them. Was it really so difficult to follow my orders?" Ophelia's face grew more concerned, sweat trickling down her brow. "We... we're sorry, your divinity. These guests didn't fit the description you gave us. We weren't sure if they were truly your friends."

Phalris placed her hands on her hips, her expression a mix of irritation and impatience. "Of course they're the ones. My description was flawless: a boy with white hair and blue eyes of average height. It's obviously him."

The man beside her, clearly uncertain, spoke up. "But, your divinity... that's a girl, not a boy."

Phalris' face twitched in annoyance, her eyes shutting momentarily before she rolled them to the side, exhaling a dramatic sigh. "I must've forgotten to mention that the boy can transform into a woman. It completely slipped my mind. I didn't expect to meet him in his female form, though. It's a bit frustrating, honestly."

Temoshí, still standing awkwardly, raised an eyebrow. "Wait, so you're saying... I'm really that guy you were talking about?" She smirked a bit, trying to process the situation.

Phalris didn't take kindly to the teasing tone, her irritation growing. "Yes, that is you. No need to be so smug about it."

Without warning, Phalris hopped onto the water, her movement surprisingly swift. She practically leaped at Temoshí, landing on her back with an exaggerated thud. "I knew you'd get on my nerves, but this is a whole new level!" Phalris started pounding Temoshí's shoulders and back with playful fury, as if venting her frustration, while Temoshí groaned under the barrage of light punches.

"Hey, hey! Hold up! I'm getting beat up here!" Temoshí protested, wincing at each tap, her voice laced with both confusion and annoyance. "What are you doing, your divinity? This isn't how you greet someone at your domain."

"I'm not beating her up! I'm just... expressing my feelings!" Phalris retorted, her fists still moving, though not with as much force as before. "Can't believe I was so wrong about you!"

Temoshí squirmed beneath the goddess, trying to wriggle out from under her with little success. "Yeah, well, maybe try using words instead of, y'know, punching me!"

"Shut up, I'm working through my emotions!" Phalris snapped, her voice muffled as she continued her "pounding," clearly more amused than angry at this point.

Temoshí, now barely able to breathe under the goddess' antics, let out an exasperated sigh. "If this is how you treat old friends, I can't imagine what you do to your enemies!"

Shanya rubbed the side of her cat ear-shaped hair, watching with an eyebrow raised as Phalris continued her "greeting" on top of Temoshí. "Huh. That's one way to greet a friend..." she muttered, clearly uncomfortable, then shook her head and walked toward Chiaki and Temoshí.

Just as she passed, Phalris suddenly lost her balance mid-tantrum. Her legs gave way and she tumbled straight off of Temoshí, landing—smack—right on her chest. The impact was so absurdly jarring that it sent her bouncing off like a rubber ball. Boing! Boing! Phalris flopped a few feet away, landing with a dramatic "thud," her arms and legs sprawled out in all directions, eyes spinning like a cartoon character, little stars appearing above her head as if she'd been knocked out cold.

Chiaki loomed over Phalris, arms crossed and her gaze sharp. "So... about returning that artifact, huh?" she asked, glancing at Temoshí with a sly grin. "What artifact are you talking about?" Temoshí asked innocently, clearly trying to dodge the question, but Chiaki's deadpan look made her sweat a little.

Chiaki raised an eyebrow, but her voice stayed cool. "The artifact you were supposed to bring back to Geyser Island, the one linked to Phalris' soul. You know, the one you won at the auction, and—"

Before Chiaki could finish her sentence, Temoshí's expression suddenly twisted into a mix of confusion and utter panic. Her eyes started to water, and she spun around dramatically, swirling her hair around her fingers. "Oh, THAT artifact," she said, voice shaky. "Well, you see, I may or may not have, uh... dropped it. At the household. You know, in the... the chaos."

Chiaki's body went completely slack as if her very soul had left her body. She crumpled like a piece of paper thrown in the wind and fell to the floor. Her eyes narrowed to mere slits, and her skin turned an alarming shade of ghostly pale, as if she'd just witnessed the end of the world. "Y-you... dropped it?"

Temoshí, unaware of the dramatic effect she was having, tried to casually wave it off. "It was just a little fall, no biggie! I'm sure it's fine, probably."

The silence in the air was palpable. Chiaki stared at her, blinking slowly as if trying to comprehend what had just been said. Then, with the most drawn-out, ghostly sigh imaginable, she whispered, "You dropped it. On the ground."

Temoshí nodded, still swirling her hair around like she was trying to look cute despite the disaster. "Yep, it fell. No biggie! Just... accidentally out of my hands. Totally on purpose. By accident."

A slow, dramatic pause passed, then Chiaki's face twisted into something that could only be described as a fury of the undead. She slowly stood up, dusting herself off as if nothing had happened, but her voice, when she spoke, was cold and eerie.

"Well, if it's not a big deal, then why don't you go ahead and tell Phalris... that we're totally getting it back soon. With zero issues," Chiaki said, voice flat as cardboard.

Phalris, meanwhile, just stood there blinking, clearly not sure if she should be angry or just ask for a refund. The only thing that could be heard now was the faint sound of the wind rustling... and possibly Phalris' brain breaking just a little bit.

"YOU FORGOT ABOUT THE ARTIFACT?!" Phalris screamed, her eyes popping out of their sockets like cartoon marbles. For a split second, her head looked like it was about to explode in a whirlwind of fury.

Without missing a beat, she sprang into action, leaping at Temoshí like a cat pouncing on a mouse, but with the grace of a toddler on a sugar rush. Her arms flailed wildly, missing entirely, but somehow still managing to land a solid punch to the side of Temoshí's head that sent her spinning like a top.

Temoshí, ever the dramatist, spun around a few more times for effect, her body flailing in exaggerated motions like she was caught in some invisible wind tunnel. "I-I told you! It wasn't my fault! The artifact was right there and then—WHAM!" She mimed being hit by an invisible force, while a piece of her hair flipped over her shoulder dramatically.

Phalris, however, was not impressed. "WHAM?! You think this is a game?!" She grabbed a random piece of debris nearby, which turned out to be a stray fish—probably not part of the original fight—and started swatting at Temoshí with it like it was a tiny, indignant sword.

"Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Temoshí yelled, sidestepping with all the agility of a well-trained circus performer, but still managing to get slightly smacked by the fish. "OW! I wasn't even near that! It's not like I wanted to lose the artifact!"

"You didn't want to lose it?!" Phalris screamed, her voice getting higher and more cartoonish with every word. Her eyes—now back in their sockets—narrowed like lasers. "You dropped it! You lost it, and now you're making it sound like a tragic accident?!"

"Look, I didn't mean to! It just slipped—" Temoshí began, only for Phalris to pull out a rubber squid from nowhere and begin chasing her with it. "THIS is the only artifact we need right now, don't you think?!" she yelled while waving it around like a battle standard.

Shanya, who had been standing nearby, watched the whole scene unfold with an exaggerated eye-roll, arms crossed. "Well, this is just... great."

"HEY!" Temoshí whined, dodging yet another swing of the rubber squid. "I'm doing my best here!"

"And your best is terrible!" Phalris screeched, giving her one final karate chop to the back. "This is your mess! You're cleaning it up, and you're not getting away from me until you do!"

A horrified shout escaped Temoshí as she realized what was happening, but Phalris's relentless pursuit continued, her poor victim now running in wild, spiraling circles across the battlefield, being pummeled by the absurdity of it all.

And there they were—two ridiculous beings locked in battle—one wielding a rubber squid, the other wielding pure, unbridled chaos. And the best part? Everyone was just... watching.

To be continued...