A burst of air behind him was all the warning Hazama had gotten before he was sent flying forward. He bounced and flipped a few times before landing on his feet shakily, as he slid back a bit. He shook his head to rid himself of the cobwebs the hit had brought. He regained his composure and looked back at where he was hit from. There, standing on what looked like a Magic circle, was Izanami, just floating there with a bored look on her face. Hazama couldn’t help the defeated sigh that escaped his lips.

“I assume you’d like me to fight back then? I was honestly hoping we could talk this out a bit more.” Hazama ignored the sweat dripping down his neck. He could feel the power rolling off of Izanami in waves and it unnerved him.

“Don’t start being a bitch now of all times! Focus! Don’t forget why were doing this crap in the first place. If I have to take over to start the fight, I’ll gladly do it for you” Terumi spoke. Hazama could almost hear the grin on his face.

“Right, right..” Another sigh, before he stood up from his slouched over position.

“Oh? Are you ready to fight me now?” Izanami asked, her head cocked to the side. Her Yasakani no Magatama spun behind her, and began glowing. In a flash of movement she had rushed towards Hazama, her fist glowing with a faint Yellow. She launched a flurry of quick strikes that Hazama tried his best to counter.

A blow to the shoulder, knocking his aim off slightly, made him hit her arm rather than her own shoulder. The Balisong Knife that flashed into his hand slashed through her arm like butter, as he went for a reverse slash across her torso. However she flipped using her hovering platform and kicked his arm away. His eyes flashed Green, as his Seither arm erupted from his shoulder. Its Green energy rolling off it like fire. It pulsed and grew slightly as he slashed his clawed hand out at Izanami. Leaving Four small gashes through the skin near her ribs, she jumped again, flipping forward and batting both arms farther away. In a flash of Green flames a Green clawed hand erupted from the ground ready to pierce Izanami through the chest from behind. As if she knew it was there, her Magatama pointed towards the incoming hand and blasted it apart. Seeing the chance, Hazama kicked upwards, forcing Izanami backwards and separating the Two. Izanami looked to the flickering Green flames on the ground to the ones on his arm and smirked lightly.

“That encounter only lasted around Two to Three seconds. Your response time and reaction speed are impressive. But it seems you are overtaxing yourself.” Izanami said casually, her monotone voice sounding almost mocking.

Hazama glared at her as he breathed rapidly. Forcing the arm wasn’t something he was used to yet, but at least it was out now. His body wasn’t quite used to the movement speed they were fighting in, but it didn’t matter. Feeling a rush of Green energy flow through him, he instantly caught his breath. Standing up straight once again, he smirked.

“Whatever you say. You ready for round Two?” He asked casually, as Izanami simply cocked an eyebrow at his sudden rejuvenation. Shrugging it off, she launched forward, only to disappear once again.

Hazama spun around and slashed his Balisong Knife at an incoming Yellow ball of Seither. The ball sliced in half and rocketed past him into the distance, where they exploded. He backpedaled slightly as he noticed the veritable wave of the blasts coming at him from afar. With a swift motion he flicked out his second Knife into his Seither hand, gripping it experimentally. He found it to work well enough, as he became a blur of motion. Trying to carve his way through the volley of explosive Yellow bullets. Halfway through he found himself surrounded by explosions, as he braced himself for the inevitable.

The explosions shook the ground he stood on before they seemed to stop. He looked around for Izanami, before he felt something touch his shoulder. It was only by instinct did he twist away from it, and only managed a gash on his shoulder. He quickly spun around and made to slash at whatever had caused it. The clang of metal on metal was heard as Knife met Magatama. Each infused with their respective Seither. Green clashed against Yellow, as Hazama pushed against it. His Seither arm pulsed, adding strength to its clash.

*SNAP*

Hazama stared blankly as the blade broke in half and the knife dissolved into Green mist in his hand. The Magatama disappeared, as did Izanami. Another rush of air behind him, only this time he was ready for it.

“What?” Izanami’s soft voice called out. She stared in disbelief at the sight before her. Coming from seemingly nowhere, Hazama’s Ouroboros was sticking out of thin air. It was currently wrapped fully around her arm, stopping her from slamming Hazama’s head again.

“I had no idea those could break.” Hazama muttered to himself, as he stood up and slid his remaining Knife into his sleeve. “I only had the Two you know.. You don’t see me breaking your shit do you?” Hazama turned to face her. His eyes glowed a faint Green before he blinked and his original Golden color was back. He seemed to flinch back at that, and chuckled lightly to himself. “Sorry, anyway, do you like it?” He asked. The chain flung her backwards and uncoiled at the same time. It circled around Hazama protectively as it seemed to flicker in and out of existence. She couldn’t place where the beginning of the chain was, if it even had one.

“What did you do?” She asked, suddenly serious. “What have you done?”

“Meet my new Nox Nyctores: Sakkaku Kusari, or Dream Chain, whichever you prefer.” Hazama made the motion to let the chain twirl around his arm before it seemingly fazed right through it and began it’s trek anew.

“What have you done to the Fragment?!” Izanami actually sounded angry at that. Hazama blinked, before he remembered how the Nox Nyctores were all made. Each with a Fragment of Takemikazuchi as it’s base.

“Dunno, maybe it’s just gone. Couldn't care less to be honest.” Hazama shrugged. Izanami jumped forward and latched onto Hazama, as she launched him up into the air. Her Magatama’s spun rapidly, seemingly collecting a massive amount of Seither. In a burst they separated and formed in front of her, each pointed at Hazama. The first shot, its blast crackling with energy as it careened towards the green haired man. He was still smirking.

With a simply whipping motion, his chains slashed through the beam with no hassle. The second blast came just behind it, leaving the chain behind as it raced for the vulnerable Hazama. However the chains just vanished into thin air, and reappeared in front of the blast. Spiraling into it, the Yellow blast dissipated like the first.

The remaining Two Magamata’s spiraled together, as they gathered more Seither. With a small grunt of exertion, Izanami launched her attack, adding more Seither with her hand. The blast was Three times the size of the recent ones. Hazama’s eyes widened as his face contorted in concentration. The chain flipped around and coiled around him like a protective shell, right before the blast sheered through him.

As the blast subsided, she smirked. There wasn't a trace of him left, not even smoke. She wanted to laugh, but she knew that she had a lot of work to do now that Hazama was gone. She turned around and raised a hand to charge up the needed energy to open a portal back to the Void.

The air in front of her began to swirl, as the form of Hazama faded into view inside the swirling vortex of disappearing and reappearing chains. As the chains settled down he smirked at her, his eyes glinting happily.

“Oh that was so cool! I’m finding out about so many new things today!” He exclaimed with a smile. He immediately hunched over slightly, as he fought to catch his breath. Another wave of Green energy washed over him as he stood up straight again. “Very draining though. Round Three then?” He asked, motioning for her to take her turn with his Seither arm.

Izanami took a slow breath, calming the growing anger she had gained from fighting this Green haired idiot. An emotion she was positive she didn’t have before this fight. She glared at the man standing before her and began walking towards him.

“Your arm, is made of Seither. Show me what it can truly do. I only saw what it did to Tirek, I don’t really know what it did.” She said calmly, as she stood before him. He cocked his head to the side, before looking to his hand. He studied it, like he was looking at it for the first time. He looked to Izanami, and then grimaced slightly.

“I’m not to sure I want to do that.. But I know you won’t stop pestering me about it, so.. Why not?” He let out another sigh, before stepping back away from Izanami. He raised up his arm, and pulsed his Seither. The arm grew, and the vanished as he swung down at Izanami. The effects were instant.

Izanami’s hand greyed out and began dusting away into the wind, her look one of bewilderment. She felt every single drop of Seither leave her hand in One go, causing the power soaked appendage to die instantly. It was already regenerating, but it was the principal of the matter that he could damage her. However..

Hazama’s scream drew her from her inner thoughts, as he began howling in nothing short of agony. He was clutching at his Seither arm. Said appendage was alight with yellow flames, as the Green that made up the arm itself was encroaching on the rest of his chest. Just as the encroachment made the halfway mark he roared and slammed his burning Yellow arm down onto the ground.

The resulting explosion wiped out the immediate area.

Izanami waited for the dust to settle patiently. She was rewarded with the sight of the barren wasteland that was the crater that had formed under them. In the middle, and only a few dozen feet away from her, was the panting Hazama. His vision was locked upwards, and his arms hanging limp at his sides. He slowly brought his vision to her, and sent out a hollow chuckle. Another wave of Green energy washed over him, and he was standing back up straight. Izanami growled lightly at that.

“Jesus lady.” Hazama began. “I knew you had a Near-Limitless amount of power. But I was expecting that to work a little better. No more of that. That was the closest I ever want to be to burning in fucking lava!” He growled, his eyes flashing Green as his anger showed. They flashed back to Gold quick enough, as he shook his head again. “So, did you gather what you wanted?” He asked with a smile on his face. Izanami looked him straight in the eyes, as she nodded her head.

“Yes, believe I know everything I need to about your powers and abilities. Everything from this point on will only get boring.” Izanami said, her face back to her usual impassive.

“Oh? Enlighten me. I’ll let ya know if your close.” Hazama smirked.

“Fine then.” She began. “You lost your battle maneuverability from your Ouroboros, but gained a form of Teleportation. Your Sakkaku Kusari can appear at will wherever you need them, making for a superb last second defense. You have the ability to become intangible, however my ability’s counter that for the most part. Your Seither arm can extend and enlarge as you will it, and allows you to both summon them from the ground and absorb power from your opponent.” She stared at him, as if asking if she got it all.

“Well, uh..” Hazama chuckled as he scratched his cheek lightly. “You’ve almost got me. You’ve missed a few things, but I haven't shown them to you. Though I’m rather surprised you haven’t figured one out by now.” Hazama let his smile come back. “Care for found Four then?” Izanami seemed to think on it for a second, however..

“No.” She stated abruptly. “I will not let this farce of a fight last any longer. You have entertained me enough today, so I will grant you a quick death.” Izanami stated simply. Hazama blinked, and she was gone. His instincts screamed at him, so he dove to the left. As he dove he saw a blur of Purple to his right, and did a quick flip. His hand, however didn’t make contact with the ground and he tumbled forward. Landing in a slump, he got up, only to feel off balanced. He turned and saw Izanami holding up something.

Was that his arm?

He looked down and saw Two things. One, his arm was severed clean off and blood was pouring down his side. Second? He had a smoldering hole in his chest, also pouring blood down to the ground. He barely caught himself as he fell forward at the sight. He looked up at Izanami to see her engulf her hand, his arm included, in her Yellow Seither. His arm disintegrated instantly. Her other hand was still glowing, as blood dissolved off it.

“You.. Cheating.. Bitch..” Hazama coughed out as he fell forward into a pool of his own blood.

“You fought as well as a worm could fight against a lion.” Izanami said, as she crouched down to watch the light leave his eyes. “If it’s any consolation, you fought better than most.” She watched, as Hazama’s ragged breathing began to slow.

“Fuck.. That! I’m.. The Best!” Hazama coughed out, as he began laughing as best he could.

Izanami watched in morbid fascination as he began to dissolve into thin air. He eyes widened as he vanished, just like-

“Gah!” She turned around. Fading back into view, as if he was never really there, was Hazama. She watched him land solidly on the ground, and hunch over breathing heavily, and sweat dripped from his face as if he just expended all of his energy at once. She watched as that meddling wave of Green energy washed over him again, and he stood up straight again. Only this time was different. In a glimmer, almost like looking through a veil of water, she saw Hazama’s hat vanish and his hair stand on end as Terumi’s cloak formed on his shoulders and his eyes opened.

”Fucking Christ, that one pulled everything. You okay, partner?” Terumi’s voice called out, through the veil. It even sounded garbled like he was talking through water.

”Yeah, I’ll be fine, thanks.” Hazama’s garbled response seemed to kick off the veil disappearing.

Izanami was furious! They were working together?! That explains how he kept getting his energy back. But she was more furious that the man was standing, like she hadn’t just gutted him a second ago. How?!

“You know what? Given the circumstances that I learned it and who I was fighting.. I think it’s only natural that I call that Technique: Izanagi .” He smiled as he looked at her.

“Izanagi? Is that a joke or something?” She asked without thinking. Hazama chuckled lightly.

“One that you wouldn’t understand.. Believe it.” He laughed heartily at his reference.

“What did you do? How did you do that?” She asked, her anger getting the better of her.

“Simple.” He began his eyes shining Gold. “I rejected the reality that I died in, as a dream. A very taxing ability that comes with Sakkaku Kusari. Normally I doubt I’d be able to fight much after that. But-”

“Your working together with Terumi. He’s replenishing your power for you.” She interrupted him. Then she smiled. “But you forget, that even Terumi is no match for the amount of power I wield.” She watched Hazama smirk.

“Do you remember how Terumi gets his power?” He asked suddenly.

“Yes, he gets it from the negative emotions such as Fear, Sadness, Anger and the like. Why is this important?” She asked, getting impatient.

“Did you know, that when a cataclysmic event happens, people get chalk full of negative emotions. Especially when they have people they love die. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but.. I’m glad were on a completely dead planet. Terumi says there's enough energy in the air in this area alone to last us a good while.” He chuckled darkly. “Are you ready to see who lasts longer? How about we continue on to round Five and see where this goes!” He lunged forward.

Izanami couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face. She had found something new, that wouldn’t die She was going to abuse it as much as she could.

She felt a rush as she dismembered Hazama again, only to have her head get cleaved nearly off by the Green clawed arm. His own feral grin appeared on his face as he kicked her away and faded away to regain his lost arm.

----Canterlot Castle----

Celestia sat on her throne, her sister, Luna siting in the one next to her. Before them stood what looked to be mirror copies of themselves.

“So you say that you inadvertently caused the deaths of Everypony and everything on your Equis?” A simple nod was all the answer that they got.

“And Hazama sent you here, to repent, yes?” Luna asked, her eyes scanning them. The Two defeated Alicorns looked up and nodded once more.

“Then that is what you must do.” Luna said simply.

“But we killed everything! Why would you ever let us near your own subjects?” Other Luna asked angrily.

“Would you ever let it happen again?” Celestia asked, as she stood up.

“No, never! We-” They started at the same time.

“Then that is all we need to hear. You need to want to be forgiven before you can work for forgiveness.” Celestia continued as she walked down the few steps to her double.

“And if Hazama believes there is good in you, and you should be forgiven, then that is what must be done. Hazama has on more than One account proved to be helpful when we believed him not to be. He has a good feeling when it comes to ponies that need help.” Luna said as she made her way to her double as well.

“Come now, let’s get you cleaned up. You look like you Two need a bath. Oh Lulu! Maybe we can have them keep court busy so we can have some more alone time with Hazama?” Celestia asked with a smile.

“Faust knows that stallion needs to relax more. That sounds wonderful Tia!” Luna agreed. The Two Other Alicorns stopped in front of the bath, and gaped at their twins.

“You Two, and that creature?” Other Luna asked, a sour look on her face. Suddenly the temperature in the room seemed to drop drastically.

“His name is Hazama, and he is why your not still on that dying world. In fact, here.” She tossed her twin and her sister the soap. “I’ll tell you how we met and how he helped.” Luna said as she climbed in the rather large bath. Celestia let out a sigh as she followed her sister into the bath.

“I’m not a fan of how this story starts..” She mumbles. Luna gently bat her sister on the head with a wing as she began telling the story.

“It all began with..”

----Dead Equis----

“Don’t slow down on me now, it’s only round Ninteen!” Hazama laughed as he teleported behind Izanami again, launching a fierce kick at her back. She turned around and grabbed his leg. Her Magatama spun into action quickly and charged more Yellow Seither. It crackled like electricity as they shot around Hazama. He reared back his Seither arm and with another pulse it grew again. He jabbed it forwards, as he flipped his body and grabbed Izanami’s arm, locking them both in a game of chicken.

Both smiled at the other as the attacks met their target.

Izanami slid backwards on her Two feet from the force of the hit, as the deep gashes across her chest healed and her clothes repaired themselves again. She watched as Hazama flew backwards in a trail of smoke before flipping and sliding onto the ground. Using his arm as a brake, he launched forwards and disappeared in a flash of Green as he boosted his legs with a burst of Seither. A small ‘booming’ noise was the only indication that he had moved, but it was all she needed. She spun right and clapped her hands.

A Yellow shield with intricate patterns appeared in front of her, as his leg slammed into it, leaving a few small cracks. Behind her, her Magatama spun away and began peppering the area with Yellow Bullets.

Hazama threw his Seither hand up, drawing up one from the ground in front of him as it acted as a shield. He focused on his chains as he poured some of the energy they had into a ball of Seither he was gathering. With a grunt, he threw it to the right, and watched it vanish.

Izanami had half a second to realize what happened, as she turned to the right to counter it. However she cursed herself when it appeared on her left, flying right into her chest. The ball exploded in a flurry of Purple and Green Seither.

The only lasting injuries she received were from the Purple attacks, but they were few and far between. She smiled as he stood back up, breathing heavy. Those same ones seemed to take a lot out of him for longer periods every time.

“You’re the One slowing down. Careful, you could die before you blink!” Izanami blinked forward and grabbed Hazama’s face with her free hand. She slammed him down into the ground and her Magatama’s all rammed into his back. Red blood splattered around the area, until he vanished again. He reformed a few feet from where he died, the same smile on his face.

“Twenty it is then.” He shrugged, his eyes flashing Purple as he put on a grin.

----Canterlot Castle----

The set of twin Princesses were sitting in the Library, as they compared history. That was until multiple sets of hoofsteps caught their attention.

“Princess! Everypony’s up an-” Twilight froze, as she looked back and forth from Other Celestia to Celestia.

“Jeeze, I assume this craziness is Hazama’s fault?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, Rainbow.. Twilight, are you alright?” Celestia asked her student softly.

“Twilights broken! Oooh! Is that another Lunie?!” Pinkie jumped over her friends and dropped right in front of the Other Luna. Said Princess was looking at the Pink party pony oddly. “Awwe, this one doesn’t like Hazie!” Pinkie pouted. Luna chuckled as she leaned over and nuzzled the cotton-candy mane of Pinkie.

“Yes, but don’t worry, it just means there’s more for us.” Luna gently whispered into her herd mates ear. The Pink pony shuddered at the notion, and leaned into Luna’s nuzzle further.

“Oh dear! Whatever happened to your coats darlings? It’s all singed off! I know I’ve got something for that, I’ll be back!” Rarity zipped off out the doors they came in.

“Ya’ll look like ya had a fight with the Sun. Ya’ll okay?” Applejack asked. A stiff nod was all she shot from Other Celestia.

Fluttershy was too busy hiding behind Twilight, gently nudging her to wake her from her stupor.

“O-Oh! Sorry! I’ had a few things running through my head there.” Twilights said as blushed from her zone out.

“A few? Egghead you were out of it for a solid Minute there!” Rainbow laughed.

“I said I was sorry!” She glared at Rainbow. “Anyway, what happened Princess?” She asked.

“Oh right! Introductions!” Celestia blushed lightly at her own mess up. “Luna, Celestia, these are the Elements of Harmony. Twilight, girls, these are alternate versions of us that Hazama apparently found on one of his trips.” Celestia finished shortly. Twilight gawked openly.

“That's it? I was expecting more of a story.” Rainbow said.

“I’m more curious of why the Elements need normal ponies now, what happened?” Other Celestia asked.

“Well, that ties into where we stopped earlier in the story. Here, Everypony sit down..” Luna began.

----Dead Equis----

“R-Right then..” Hazama breathed heavily, his Green aura taking much longer to help him now. “Round Forty-Seven” He stood back up, his face covered in sweat.

“When are you going to admit it? You’ve been running on steam since try number Forty. Your almost dead on your feet.” Izanami looked at him with a blank look. “In fact you’ve barely landed a hit on me in over Ten tries.”

“Don’t count me out yet, I’ve got a few more tries in me.” He smirked. He glanced around, the ever deepening crater they made was getting really deep, they could only really see because a few spouts of lava had erupted from all the seismic activity. He couldn’t get out of the crater, Izanami refused to let him refuel Terumi by moving to a new location. He had One more trick he could pull of now, but the thought of it made him frown.

“I’ll start us off this time.” Izanami said as she rushed forward. She flipped nimbly over his head before she twirled around and jammed her heel into his head. He ducked right as the foot connected, and grunted as he dove into Izanami. Having never expecting him to dive into her, she let him push her onto the floor.

“Why can’t you let other people be happy?! Why cant you be happy?!” Hazama cried out, his eyes began watering slightly. Izanami only smirked at his attempt at talking to her. His eyes hardened at this, and he closed them. “Fine then. Lets do this!” He called out, his face contorting in focus again, only this time he began fading out, becoming intangible. Izanami began wondering what he was doing. Until she noticed the intangibility carrying over to her body as well. Slowly her body faded out like his.

“What good does this do?” She asked Hazama. He smirked as she tried breaking his hold on her, before falling backwards.

“Were going on a trip!” He called out, tightening his hold on her. The zipped right through what Hazama assumed was most of the planet, when if became to bright to open his eyes, he began feeling the heat through the intangibility. “Burn in hell, your immortal witch!” Hazama screamed as he dropped the intangibility. Both of them immediately began screaming as they were flash fried, Hazama once again fading from view.

In a swirl of wind and chains he reappeared on the surface. He flopped onto the ground instantly, his energy gone. Staring up into the sky, he smiled.

“Forty-Eight fucking tries..” He muttered. He felt almost no energy returning to him. Terumi must be out, go figure. He couldn’t even move, let alone go home at this point. He needed a nap..

The ground beneath him began shaking, rousing him from his almost slumber. About Fifty feet from him, a pillar of lava erupted from the ground, and out walked a burnt Izanami.

“Really?” He wheezed out.

“You should be honored.” She spoke, as he skin regrew and her perfect complexion came back again. “You are the first to throw me to the planets core.” Her face held no emotion, not even rage. “You will die-” The ground erupting around her feet stopped her flat. The cracks spread fast and fissures began forming quickly. The slab of ground he was laying on soon fell down, and into lava.

The last thing he heard was Izanami screaming in rage and a loud explosion, before he passed out cold.

Cold was a good word, that's what it was.

But wasn’t he falling into a planet before this? Wouldn’t that be really-

“I’m dead aren’t I?” He asked no one in particular.

”Than a door-nail.” Was Terumi’s instant reply echoed about the void, even though he was still in his head.. Strange. Hazama stood up and looked around. They were in that White void that they found Faust in before.

”You are not dead. You simply wished to be here.” The soft, yet loud voice of Faust called over to him. He watched her just fly in over the horizon of nothingness.

”You said I wasn’t dead? Can you send me back to fight Izanami?” Hazama asked. Faust looked over at him and frowned.

”You cannot kill her, not as you are now.” She spoke softly.

”As good as you are at dying, I think you’ve done enough of that today partner.” Terumi chuckled. ”Although it was fun to watch.”

”I don’t care if I can’t win, I have to try! I have a few more things I want to try!” Hazama called out, determined.

“Don’t worry, I told you, you can’t hide from me.” Izanami’s voice echoed about as she materialized in the White void. “I will kill you Hazama! If its the last thing I do, I will erase you from existence!” She seethed.

”Whooo there, you should Simmer down there, you’ll burn up at this rate.” Hazama joked lightly.

”Easy there idiot, she can still kill you, I can’t do much here.”

”Don’t worry, I’ve got that covered already. We do this shit together!” Hazama’s eyes flashed Purple before he burst into Purple mist. The mist split in Two and solidified. On one side stood Hazama, and the other stood Terumi. Hazama looked over to Izanami, and was about to challenge her but-

”Who are you do defile my home?!” Faust’s voices called out, angrily.

”Oh cool, Three on One! Round Forty-Nine, here we come!” Hazama called out almost giddily as he got into his ready stance.

”I will never understand you, but whatever. I’ve always wanted a re-match with her!” Terumi cracked his neck as he got ready.

”You are not welcome here! Leave!” Faust flared her wings, as she got prepared as well.

“I don’t care for the flying horse, or Terumi, I just want Hazama!” Izanami growled as she got ready.

The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning!

Author's Note

I had a lot of fun writing this, and will probably finish up the next part very soon.
Let me know what you guys think! Please and thanks!