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Lunar Push activated and Ryugi was cast through the air as the Ephemeral Storm erupted. But more on that later...

The very instant that Ryugi was clear of Death Knight, in fact, the instant he began to be shunted away from Death Knight via Lunar Push, Ragnarok dropped down towards the dark knight's grounded position like a bullet, the blade spinning straight up and down, spiraling energy trailing from it, aiming to impact and impale the Death Knight anywhere it could. If the blade pierced true, the energy within would explode outwards, ripping the armor-less warrior apart from the inside out with terrible force. Of course, in the case that the piercing strike missed its mark, the energy surging around the blade would erupt outwards and away, streamers of explosive, roiling energy launching towards the Death Knight's position from all angles with every intention to burn a hole right through his body.

While that was happening, Ryugi would be cast back and away by the Lunar Push as the Ephemeral Storm sent a shockwave of explosive power towards him at extremely close range. Ryugi could have reached down and grabbed the handle of Sol Edge to negate the energy, but he simply didn't have enough time to do so, and he took the full brunt of the powerful attack.

Ryugi landed hard on the ground and rolled from the force of the Lunar Push, bits of chaotic energy crackling along his form showing the sure strike as he pulled himself to a standing position, tiny circles of red blood dripping to the ground below him as his face showed the damage from the attack. He breathed hard, showing the powerful hit to his fighting stamina as he spit more bloodied saliva to the ground, showing the internal damage from the attack as well. Ryugi had taken a severe hit, but he was still standing. A testament to his will and determination, even has his eyes burned from the small quantity of miasma that had been spat in his face.

It was a trade off. As Ragnarok attacked with all its ferocity, it gave its partner time to recover from the strike and pull himself back up to prepare.

Two men enter. One man leaves. The standard of combat.

But this was not what one could call "standard." For this was the Void. The rules were screwed. Even gravity itself had no meaning at times. For all that could be known, both or neither opponent might be walking out.

But did any of that matter? Seriously, after all these trips to the Void, one had to ask - who cares about the specifics? You and some other shmuck enter, you fight, you get your card stamped, and you go home until next time.

And yet, despite all this -





- the landing never got any better.

Shmuck numero uno Stephen Lasanti was here. Shmuck numero dos had yet to make his entrance.

Sutii, meanwhile, looked like Lawrence of Friggin' Arabia's long haired future persona. Instead of his signature red jacket, he was wearing a sandy colored one with sandy colored pants and boots. Along with black fingerless gloves, white undershirt, red bandanna, a pair of goggles was perched atop his head. In case of sandstorms, presumably.

"Nothin' much, really."

One sword was in his right hand, the other strapped on his back. Standard issue scimitars being one of his only recognizable traits (despite the face, voice, eyes, hair, etc. of course. It's not like he got plastic surgery or something.) He twirled the armed one, and drew the other.

"Well. Not much else to do then. Let's dance."

He charged forward, two weapons ready to kick a**. When in range, the man swing his right weapon horizontally across the chest towards Dame's right arm, then twisted his hand and swung diagonally up with it (right hip to left arm.) The left hand blade would come in during the first slash as though he was going to criss-cross the thunderboy's body, but would pull it back defensively - a pseudo feint of sorts.

The twin blades were dancing, and their owner was more than willing to take whatever Dame dished out.

With a pulse of energy and a crackle of light, the void tore open and spat yet another competitor onto the ground. The young man looked up with red eyes, glancing around and trying to make sense of his surroundings as they wavered and changed. As Ryugi watched, the shapes around him lengthened and extended, pulsing to green as a massive expanse of grass suddenly stretched forth from horizon to horizon, a mighty mountain in the distance sported a great hall of sorts, and discarded pieces of armor and weapons littered the green field below his feet.

Ryugi wasn't sure what this place was, but he knew how the Void worked. In order to leave, two combatants had to fight, and once they were finished with their bout, they were released back into their worlds, no worse for wear, as if nothing had happened. He turned to look away from the mighty hall on the hill and across the field to where his opponent would no doubt be standing...

Ryugi stifled a grin as the hulk of none other than Johnathan Tomorrow, the walking human dynamo rode up a few meters away. It had been several years since he'd really seen this man. The first time Ryugi had laid eyes on him was years ago at Leviathan Stadium before the original was blown to pieces, where he and his now good friend Maximos had been dealing Cerebus Dark. Ryugi remembered how he'd called the hound a puppy, and offered to help them out, not realizing his own vulnerabilities. The large man had told Ryugi to buzz off.

Later, he met the man in his first Heaven or Hell experience when his daughter, Meryl Tomorrow, had fought alongside Ryugi and his friends in the illustrious Team Ryugin. That was nearly six years ago, now that Ryugi thought about it. But since then, he hadn't seen the man.

However, Ryugi did not need to know Tomorrow personally to know of his power, his strength. It was legendary, along with the skill of Ryugi's friend Maximos. Ryugi had heard it was Maximos, in fact, that had taken the big man's arm that now made the clicking noise, all machine, and no longer man. Of all the places and opponents Ryugi could have come in contact with, it seemed that he had been given a real chance to let himself go, and fight to his limits. He thanked whatever gods governed this place as he turned to face the tall and muscular man.

Johnathan Tomorrow, the Human Dynamo, walking embodiment of Thor, the God of Thunder. Your reputation is almost as large as your form.

Ryugi noticed the man's look of confusion. Perhaps he didn't recognize him. Not too surprising since they'd only ever met once.

Where you are, Mister Tomorrow, is the Ethereal Void. It is a place that exists outside of time. It works in many mysterious ways, but in this case, it randomly selects fighters from across time and space, and thrusts them together in combat. Only when one admits defeat do the two fighters return to their respective times and places.

Ryugi nodded and walked a few more feet away from the mighty man. Tomorrow was literally a walking legend among the fighters that frequented Leviathan Stadium. All the long-time combatants knew his name, and knew his reputation for being nigh-unbreakable, and incredibly powerful and durable. A grin flashed across Ryugi's lips. He'd garnered a similar name for himself in the years he had been fighting within the stadium's halls and arenas. But Ryugi had suffered his own share of defeats as well. In all those battles, he had yearned for a combatant that could give him a good fight, one that would allow him to unleash everything he had, and be capable of giving it back. he had found that in his dear friend Maximos, but that was not the man's style. As much as Ryugi respected his friend, only someone like Tomorrow could give Ryugi the kind of thrashing that he truly needed and desired. To unleash all his power, and fight ahead towards victory against a foe that could take it and give it back just as strong, and just as mightily. This was his chance... After gaining a bit more distance, Ryugi gripped the handle of Ragnarok, the blade pulsing with energy lightly at Ryugi's touch as he spun, the weapon in both hands, Ryugi frozen in a serious battle-stance.



Ryugi's eyes glinted with energy as a pulse of power surged around his form, and aura of gold flashing as he pushed his body to its limits, before surpassing them. He had never before used this ability in combat before. No opponent that he had ever encountered other than Maximos himself would warrant such a true unleashing of his innate draconic abilities. As the mighty man would watch, Ryugi's pupils would dilate and lengthen, turning into black slits, like those of a dragon as golden scales formed around them, trailing down his neck, his spiked silver hair becoming even moreso as his draconic true form forced a hybridization with his human state, unleashing his innermost strength and bringing it to the forefront of his being.



The gauntlet had been thrown, the challenge unleashed. Ryugi was ready and waiting for his opponent to react. He was a gentleman first and foremost. It would be unfair to simply strike at the man before giving him a chance to power up or whatever he felt was necessary before fighting. But after he was set and ready, Ryugi would not hesitate to make the first strike when the time called for it.

Well, Ryugi was a man of his word. If the mighty dynamo was ready as is, then it was time to get started. Ryugi charged, and as he did, dozens of ghostly Norse Warriors charged with him at either side. At the same time, dozens more charged towards them from John's direction. For the place that they were fighting was not just a simple field, but a recreation of Valhalla, the mighty hall on the hill mirroring the tales of its appearance. The warriors that charged would do nothing but add ambiance to the true battle at hand.

Ryugi's attack was simple, as were all opening moves. The longer he went without unleashing his powers, the stronger his buffer of stamina would become. For now, however, he was perfectly fine with striking with all the simple grace of a swordsman. In a flash, Ryugi's sword, ironically named Ragnarok, swung in a horizontal slash from right to left, aiming to slash across the man's form, using its great reach to stay out of the man's direct striking range.

Ryugi was capable of lifting a total maximum weight of 2,000 pounds, and though Ragnarok was quite heavy, it was nothing for the draconic warrior to wield against the mighty man before him. The blade was four and a half feet long, a monster of a greatsword for certain, and Ryugi's nearly three foot reach along with that gave him a range of nearly 6-7 feet between his weapon and the tribal warrior's form.

Ryugi had no delusions that his attack would succeed, however, the point of the first strike was never to strike true, it was to test to see how one's opponent reacted. And if John was to take anything from the fierce and determined look in Ryugi's eyes and the power and grace with which he wielded his mighty weapon, he would know instantly he was facing more than the average man.

The dragon man could certainly take it. It wouldn't be fun, and he'd probably get punted a good fifty plus feet downrange, and his ribs would totally be hurting for the next week and likely be cracked, but luckily, Ryugi would not have to endure that much ouch. At least not yet. Ryugi's mind was not nearly as slow as the weapon he used to strike at John. When one had battled opponents like Maximos, one had to think on their feet, less they lose them, and as a competitor in every single Heaven or Hell Tournament since it's inception, save one, Ryugi knew how to fight with his weapon.

John's form and pose spoke volumes about his next move, limiting what it could possibly be as Ragnarok sped away from his form, the slash being completely ineffective. John leaned back, planting his weight back on his right leg. If Ryugi had the right bodily positioning he could have snapped a kick out into the man's right leg and forced his body to the ground, but he didn't, so, he prepared for the eventual recovery and strike that formed itself into a powerful full-body punch with John's right arm.

Ryugi acted quickly as John started to move back up, pivoting off to his right side, and moving to John's left in one swift, smooth motion, using the momentum of his swing and a little footwork to make the maneuver all the more easy to pull off. As John's punch shot forward, missing Ryugi, Ryugi would bring Ragnarok in another slash across, the whole weapon having gone in a swift 360.