Ordinary

Flashback 5: Seven Heavens

"Runa, please... it's been an entire hour now." Princess collapsed onto a fallen tree, drained from watching Runa re-record the attack sequence for her incomplete skill. "Maybe we should get back to this some other time? I still want to have a proper group talk with the rest of the girls and boys about your position in battle, which will likely be as DPS."

"I just... feel like something is missing. Like I could do more, y'know?" The indecisive girl with hair like patch of sky paced before her mentor. "It's... I don't know, too stale? No matter what, I don't like it. I tried adding a few flourishes to spice it up, but then the skill cast time is too long." She then swayed the other way, arms flailing like a tube man's. "Tried doing the opposite and removing all unnecessary movements to maximize speed, and still felt sluggish."

"I can understand your pickiness. If there's a way that you can come up with to execute seven hits faster, then I'm all ears." Yukihime completely fell onto the log, silently closing her eyes and beginning to dose off to the faded ambience of the Scarcliff.

"But there just isn't!" Runa followed the streams of the water beneath her feet, feeling like a fish swimming within the currents – constricted, without a choice, going in circles. "My MOB and DEX stats are maxed out, so this is the fastest I can physically go, fastest anyone can go. But the limit of speed... maybe if I could grow some extra limbs, then I could swing more swords, and..."

A sly smirk glinted out of the corners of the leader's mouth, but she patiently waited for a climactic opportunity to voice her idea. As per plan, Runa promptly took notice of the change of Princess' demeanor.

"What?" Perplexed and hope-filled, Runa approached the one of dark-blue robes with a more tame behavior. "Did you think of something?"

"I sure did." Confidence leaked into her observer's tone of triumph and accomplishment in disproportionate excess. "Get ready to start recording the motion. Try setting the hit number to two for just this once. You can cancel the skill creation again at the final confirmation button."

As the ruby-iris duelist sighed with low expectation, twirling her curved weapon freely in a spin before the start of the recording, she jolted upon finishing the rotation. Raven-black Princess was preparing her long and slick daggers, methodically copying Runa.

Hoping to inquire about the plan, Runa squeaked "What are you d–"

"Make the first swing a straight upward cut, and ah... prepare for an impact." Yukihime glided to Runa's side, holding both of her daggers overhead.

"You're scaring me." Yelped the confused girl.

"Relax." Yukihime assured her, pirouetting across the veins of the earth to the song of the birds in the trees at the edges of the clearing. "I'm just gonna redirect your strike the other way. Try to think of the deflect as your saber's 'second attack.'"

Intrigued and unsure of the possible implications of the idea working, Runa stepped back into the middle of the cracked ground with the help of Princess' gentle push. The proposition was unique, likely an untested theory. Still, just the thought alone of her guide being willing to go this far for her was flattering. Even after months of experiencing her mentor's kindness, she'd not managed to grow accustomed to it. Every act of generosity – an experience of its own.

Doing just as she was told, Runa readied for a violent impact. The screen of her custom skill menu faded to a gentle gray as the recording began. Now, all that was needed was the intent to strike. Her saber's edge grew a dull color. She positioned her blade for an upwards slash, and the weapon glowed more and more in a hue of bright blue in the midst of motion before decaying back once set in place.

Princess formed an arch of daggers two meters in front of the ready player. The glint of the gray saber reflected in the waters below and the honey eyes before Runa. The lively sounds beyond the vision of the duo faded, only their weapons that scraped barely either dagger-to-dagger or sword-to-stone breaking the silence.

The mark of Princess' nod was the sign to begin. With a sharp escape of breath, Runa swung, the edge of her blade accelerated, changing color through the streak. By the time it had reached halfway, it sparked with cyan, enriching the waters with its brilliance. Shh-ting, the arch of blue-edged dark daggers collapsing onto the brilliant blade ignited the saber in an explosion of yellow like the luminance of the sun itself, deflecting it downward and back into the ground from which it had risen just as swiftly as it now fell. The final ring of the impact droned and dragged on, retreating into nothing together with the light as the world's melody neared.

The skill recording successfully finished. A "Confirm Creation" pop-up jumped out at Runa, who almost absent-mindedly pressed "Yes" sheerly due to the spectacle of the creation itself. Thankfully, Yukihime was present to knock some sense back into the bedazzled player.

"Hime, you're a genius, it worked! Oh my god, that worked!" Blissful and amazed, Runa beamed like a beacon, jumping around her helper like the excited grasshopper she was. "How in the world did you come up with that?"

The ever-humble Princess deflected the comment of praise, her pale lips spread into an awkward smile. "It was just an idea I had some time ago when creating my first skill... Unfortunately, I had no one to test it with. Glad to see it ended up being of use. Granted, we won't know if the technique worked until we use the custom skill we make with it."

"Which brings us to a small problem," The saber user realized, the rose petals in her eyes shone for the ingenious leader before them. "If we make the skill have seven strikes, then only two-to-three of the attacks will be that fast."

"Ah, if that's what you're worried about: I already came up with a solution for that." Yukihime winked.

* * *

Eight now stood in a line in the calm and nostalgic glade about to feel its second wave of thunderous clashes. Most in line carried shields of one sort or another.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Heli – fourth in line, the elder of the twin spear sisters, squatted with a kite shield in both of her hands, directed at an upward angle – hesitantly blew her long jade hair out of her face.

"If it does, then we've been doing custom OFS wrong this whole time." Enenra laughed mockingly, ready to be the first to begin the sequence by playing conductor with her thin and slick rapier almost touching Runa's saber.

"If," Princess argued, tilting her head back for a breath at the end of the line, ready to receive the finale with her arching saber now close to the ground and directed up. "It's worth a try."

"What if it doesn't?" Ashe speculated, turning to the aegis to her left in disgust, behind which hid a single weakly boy who barely held up the metal wall.

"This'd be a week's worth of farming wasted." Baku sniggered from behind one of Cadens' monstrous tower shields, his form trembling and voice shaking. "We'll shrug it off. I think. Please, hurry up with this, my arms are killing me!"

"Then die already, so you can quit complaining!" Ashe, the gilded with achievements markswoman sneered back. 

"Enough!" The first Golden One plucked a stray black feather out of one of her pauldrons, getting back into position straight afterwards. "Hey Runa, it appears  everyone's a little pessimistic about this, why don't you give us something to believe in. Tell us the name you've chosen for this totally awesome custom skill that will undoubtedly work!"

"I... I didn't choose one yet." Runa answered unwillingly.

"Well, c'mon, show some faith," Continued Princess' demand, "Just make something up! You're bright enough for that. And, if you don't like it, you can simply change it later. Runa of the Golden Ones, give us a name for your ultimate attack!"

"I..." Still stumbling through the palace of her mind, the girl finally found a room with an answer. "Fine, I think I got one, but promise not to laugh, okay?"