The Second Brazier (Solo)

Surrounded by a golden aura of blazing power, much like Hwa-Jae’s own, Cineza shot forward through the air with incredible speed. Her fists clenched tight, Cineza struck out with a powerful strike aimed directly at bashing Hwa-Jae’s nose inward. Hwa-Jae raised her forearm to block the punch. Her face scrunched up as pain shot through her limb. Cineza was much stronger than Hwa-Jae remembered.



Hwa-Jae replied by pushing Cineza’s fist away with her arm and then raising her palm for a stiff blow to the jaw. Cineza capitalized on the split-second of hesitation caused by her attack and grabbed Hwa-Jae’s wrist. Using her superior strength, Cineza shifted her entire body weight to be behind the throw, lifting Hwa-Jae in the air over her head and tossing her hard to the snow.



The collision with the mountain racked Hwa-Jae’s body with pain. She lay flat on her back as Cineza took the moment to gloat. Every fiber of Hwa-Jae’s being cried out in agony as she attempted to get up. Turning over, Hwa-Jae tried to catch her breath and ease the shakes throughout her body. Ash and dust flew into her mouth, sending her into a coughing fit.



“Is this the best you can muster?” Cineza taunted, “You are going to have to do much better than that to even come close. You were never able to match my power before, what makes you think you can do so now? At this rate, it’s going to a thousand years before you can even prove a challenge.”



Hwa-Jae got back to her feet, glaring bloody murder at Cineza. She could not match Cineza’s superior strength, at least not blow for blow, and the longer the battle drew out, the more destruction her opponent would cause to the mountain. The sound strategy would be to drive Cineza away from the mountain and attack her using a speed advantage.



There was also the fact that as a fellow student of the Kasai, Cineza knew all of the same techniques Hwa-Jae knew and practiced. The hinotama. The Sukinbāningu. Perhaps most troubling, the Iyashino-en, which would only prolong the battle between the two and cause even further destruction to Mount Frappe rather than themselves thanks to the technique’s healing capability.



Fists clenched and at her sides, Hwa-Jae fueled her body with as much energy as she could to release, the power she saved for true battles. Her cry was to both the heavens and her own body; she needed all the power she could get to defeat Cineza and stop her madness.



The ground around her shook as ki crackled through the air like electricity all around her. A ring of fire flashed from her body and soon she was now encased in her orange aura. For the first time since they met, Cineza’s twisted smirk faltered. Hwa-Jae could see the spark of doubt in Cineza’s eyes. The fact scared Cineza that she no longer fought a helpless little girl who could not defend herself, but a true fighter who could go toe-to-toe with her.



“You wanted all I could muster?” Hwa-Jae shouted, and raised an open palm towards Cineza. “Then have it!”



A ball of flame erupted from her hand and flew towards Cineza. The blonde pyromaniac laughed as the simple fireball hurtled towards her. “Is that it? A hinotama?” Her laughter sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Hwa-Jae. “Is that all you can do? Simple children’s tricks? Let me show you exactly what I think of your feeble attempts!”



Cineza wound up her hand to bat away the incoming fireball. Hwa-Jae smiled as she shifted her open palm to just two fingers and urged the hinotama to detonate prematurely..







As Cineza delivered the deflecting backhand to the fireball, it detonated the moment her hand made contact. The explosion enveloped the area in a brilliant flash of fire, blinding Cineza and causing her to cover her eyes and scream in anguish.



Hwa-Jae moved liked a blur to the world around her, but to her, everything slowed down to a crawl. She flew towards Cineza and struck her hard in the belly with an open palm strike. Before Cineza could even compute the pain that ran through her gut, Hwa-Jae struck again with a swift but powerful kick to her midsection. Like a wrecking ball, her foot connected with Cineza’s arm, crushing it and her side and sending her careening into the ground.



Cupping her hands together, Hwa-Jae gathered her ki to form into a powerful beam attack. With a shout, she fired the beam towards her foe. The orange lance of power brightened the sky as it pierced through the air and towards Cineza. The beam struck true, erupting into a radiant red radius of ki fallout consuming the very ground and perhaps Cineza with it. The explosion deafened Hwa-Jae’s ears and the shockwave from the attack flattened the snowbanks.



Hwa-Jae’s breathing turned ragged as she could feel her power slipping away from such attacks. She filled her strikes with all the energy she could, and now she felt the burn throughout her body. Such an onslaught left her feeling drained, but the battle would not be over until she could feel the barest sliver of ki from Cineza.



Only the opposite was true. Hwa-Jae backed away slowly as she felt a rising power emerge from where she blasted Cineza, a sudden but dramatic spike in her enemy’s ki. A kiai ripped through the air, fueled by great power and rage, ripping the very ground apart. Cineza burst from the ground, her teeth grinding and her ki flaring about her like a raging blaze.



With fury on her side, she lashed out with a flurry of palm strikes and kicks the likes she had never used against a living person before. She wanted to hurt Cineza for her lies and she would do everything she could to make it so.



However, this would prove a much more daunting challenge than Hwa-Jae first realized. Cineza ducked and weaved out of the way of Hwa-Jae’s limbs, all the while smiling like a twisted, demented clown. Such a smile both infuriated Hwa-Jae and concerned her; how was she to fight a woman who appeared to be not only incredibly strong, but also insane as well.



Hwa-Jae made for a swift kick aimed right at Cineza’s head, only for her foe to actually block for once. When Hwa-Jae struck her arm, her foot racked her with pain. The strength Cineza displayed took Hwa-Jae by surprise. Her ki flowed like the rapids of a river and helped reinforce her potency. Cineza’s eyes narrowed as she took hold of Hwa-Jae’s leg and slammed the younger girl into the side of the mountain.



A mouth filled with snow, Hwa-Jae coughed as she tried to get back up only to be pushed down with Cineza’s boot on her back. “You really should just lie down, Hwa-Jae,” she jeered, “this mountain has claimed the lives of hundreds of souls who thought they could defeat it. Feel honoured, as while you bested this mountain, another has allowed you to make this your final resting place.”



To accentuate her point, rather literally, Cineza dug the sharp end of her heel into Hwa-Jae’s back. Hwa-Jae howled in agony as she tried to squirm away; she could feel the immense pressure on her back and feared Cineza was going to break it.



Hwa-Jae extended both of her hands in front of her, desperate for a way to escape. Focusing her ki rather than the excruciating pain, Hwa-Jae called for two hinotama’s to form in her palms. The force from the blast pushed Hwa-Jae along the snow and allowed her to be free from Cineza’s heel. Cineza fell forward, face first onto the mountain while Hwa-Jae flipped back to her feet. Cineza recovered quickly looking absolutely livid



“Make a fool of me, will you?!” She roared and aimed both of her fists at Hwa-Jae. From her fists sparked two tunnels of intense flame that soared towards Hwa-Jae. Powering up, Hwa-Jae took flight, only narrowly avoiding the flames from Cineza. The fire tunnels seared against the side of the mountain, melting snow and blackening the rock underneath.



With hands pointed towards Cineza, Hwa-Jae launched an attack of her own. “Hinotama!” she shouted, launching a volley of fireballs at Cineza. Her focus was not completely on her enemy though; Hwa-Jae extended her senses in an effort to find her Master. If Cineza was telling the truth, then she needed to find Old Master Fuega as soon as possible.



At last she detected Fuega’s ki on the mountainside, somewhere close by. Cineza must have captured her to make the Kasai Master watch as she murdered her student. But if that was the case, then Cineza was telling the truth. She did attack the Temple. She did fight Hwa-Jae’s sisters.



“You…” Hwa-Jae snarled as her aura blazed all around her. “You’ll pay for your crimes! Burn!”



In a sudden movement, Hwa-Jae’s fireballs grew larger and flew faster. Fueled by her rage, her barrage assaulted the spot where Cineza stood. She never felt such an emotion before. She never once knew what it meant to truly hate someone. Yet now, all she could feel was unbridled hatred for Cineza and she would do everything she could to kill her, to reduce her to ashes.



Cineza grimaced as she became consumed by Hwa-Jae’s firestorm. Eventually the explosions of so many hinotamas completely enveloped her. Hwa-Jae took a deep breath as the fires raged around Mount Frappe and where Cineza once stood. She tried to focus, to concentrate on Cineza’s incredibly ki, but she did not want to lose track of Fuega. Without another word, Hwa-Jae tried to calm herself and flew off to find her.



She landed in front of the old master who appeared to be doing fine considering the mountain’s furious blizzards blowing around them. Hwa-Jae could still feel the warmth of her Master’s Kasai emanating from her. Fuega shook her head as she leaned on her cane, looking lost in thought. Or perhaps she despaired over Cineza’s attack.



“My child,” Fuega said, “I’m afraid something has happened. Cineza proved too powerful for the other Sisters. I’m sorry it has come to this.”



“It’s alright, Master,” Hwa-Jae said, holding Fuega’s hand. “Together we can defeat Cineza, or at least escape!”



“Not quite.”



Hwa-Jae spun around to see Cineza smiling with her wicked smile, but otherwise unharmed by Hwa-Jae’s firestorm. She yawned and stood nonchalant in the snow. “Was that really the best you could muster? This is going to be easy.”



Cineza rushed towards Hwa-Jae, her hands clenched into tight fists that struck out with incredible force. Hwa-Jae tried to block, but the pain stung throughout her limbs. Cineza also moved with such speed that Hwa-Jae knew she could not keep up with her indefinitely; eventually, Cineza would wear down her defenses.



The fact that Cineza used a closed fist style as well as the flames of Kasai threw Hwa-Jae completely off-balance. She thought she was facing her best friend who used the same movements, attack patterns, and techniques as Hwa-Jae knew of Cineza’s moveset. She could not have been further from the truth. Cineza struck her hard with closed fists and a fierce ki aura surrounding her. She used her Kasai as a weapon, lashing out with the flame as she burned everything around her. The cold of Mount Frappe did nothing to deter her. Fire raged on the summit of the mountain for the first time in perhaps forever.



With her greater strength and speed, Cineza punched Hwa-Jae straight in the stomach. The younger woman cried out as she held her gut, falling to her knees. She looked up only to receive a swift kick to the head. The blow sent her spiraling down the mountain.



Hwa-Jae groaned as she tried to stand up, but her knees gave out from under her. She turned to face Cineza who walked down the mountain with an evil smile on her face and a hand on her hip. Her various gold bangles jingled in the harsh wind, belying Cineza’s baleful intent with rather cheery chimes.



“This is the best you have then?” Cineza mocked, “A shame. You couldn’t hold a candle to me on my worst day. You never could. Well, time to finish this then.”



Hwa-Jae quickly turned onto her back, her hand outstretched. She fired a beam of orange energy right at Cineza, who only managed to hit the snow to avoid it. When both stood up to their feet, Hwa-Jae took the offensive, grabbing Cineza’s arm and kicking her in the face as she kept hold. With Cineza dazed from the surprise offensive, Hwa-Jae quickly brought her heel backward, striking against Cineza’s face.



Cineza fell, clutching her face as Hwa-Jae readied herself for further battle. Cineza roared as she leapt to the skies, rubbing her slightly bruised cheek with a slender hand. Her aura flared around her, the flames swirling about with great fury. She called for two hinotamas that formed in her hands, both emitting an intense heat and light.



Readying herself for an incoming fireball projectile attack, only for Cineza to hover further up in the air. Cineza outstretched her arms with the hinotamas held firmly against her palms with the strength of her ki. She then began to spin and the flames began to trail around her. Hwa-Jae felt a spike of ki from Cineza as the flames started to rotate faster and grow larger.



Hwa-Jae backed away from Cineza as she saw the attack grow in size and power, a verifiable tornado of flame that scorched the wind. The winds of Mount Frappe tried to blow with all their might, but Cineza’s incredible technique continued to spin wildly without abating. Not even the supernatural winds of the mountain’s anger of three women on its surface could stop the fiery whirlwind.



“Behold the punishment for the crime of even thinking to harm my face, let alone actually doing it!” Cineza cackled as she flew out of the center of her burning tornado. She kept her hands forward to control the attack. “My greatest technique! More than enough to bring an upstart like you down to hell!”



“Reduce to ash! Kaentatsumaki!”



With the invocation done, the fiery, swirling inferno launched itself towards Hwa-Jae. She scrambled away in a desperate attempt to escape the Kaentatsumaki. Yet as fast as she could go, the whirlwind continued to give chase and was even gaining speed towards her. Unable to flee, Hwa-Jae turned to fight the whirlwind of living fire.



Hwa-Jae raised her palm towards the tornado and charged all of her remaining energy into one massive beam. She needed to do everything she could to dissipate the Kaentatsumaki. Knowing how vile Cineza was, there was no guarantee that should her attack defeat Hwa-Jae, she would get rid of the tornado on her own. She may even let the Kaentatsumaki burn everything as it hurdled down the mountain. Hwa-Jae thought of Grandma Hakkakke, the animals, and any other denizens who lived in the forest. She could not allow Cineza to destroy so much as long as Hwa-Jae drew breath.



And maybe, just maybe, their battle was enough of a distraction for Fuega to escape.



Bracing herself for the attack, Hwa-Jae closed her eyes and clenched her teeth shut as the first wave of fire smashed into her. The force of the whirlwind immediately lifted her from the ground and began to toss her violently around. The fire lashed against her, burning exposed skin and scorching her clothes. Try as she might, Hwa-Jae could not escape the Kaentatsumaki. All she could do was bundle up and ride out the excruciating fire.



All of Hwa-Jae’s life, she was burnt by fire, but she was able to resist and eventually heal the burns. She never once felt the destructive power of the Kasai being used against her in such a way as Cineza did. Unable to take any more damage, Hwa-Jae felt her ki vanish and she let the whirlwind swing her body every which way until the technique finally ended. She fell unceremoniously onto the snow, barely able to move.



The crunch of snow signaled to Hwa-Jae that Cineza walked towards her. Lifting her by the collar of her ruined cheongsam, Cineza held the battered and looked her over with a disappointed look on her face. “That really wasn’t much. I was promised much more, you know. Still, you lasted longer than the others, I’ll give you some credit. Not much, but it’s better than nothing. Now then, let’s finish this little dance, shall we?”



Cineza smiled as she raised her fist in the air in preparation for the fatal strike. Hwa-Jae, too weak to even speak, kept her eyes open and focused on her would-be killer. If this was where Hwa-Jae would perish, then she would at least look Cineza in the eye when her time came.



However, the final blow did not come. Cineza turned her head to where she left Old Master Fuega and held a look of annoyance and contempt on her face. “What is that old hag trying to pull…” Cineza muttered, tossing Hwa-Jae away like a piece of trash.



Her fists clenched, Cineza looked back on Hwa-Jae’s prone form. “Lucky little snot,” Cineza snarled, “Looks like the old geezer is giving you another lifeline. Here’s the deal… you want to fight me again? Go to the third brazier. I’ll be waiting for you there. If you win, Fuega’s all yours. But if I win…”



Cineza brought her face low to Hwa-Jae’s. “You’re mine. Better get going… the winter winds of Mount Frappe are even more brutal at night.”



Her cackling echoing in the cold air despite the raging blizzard, Cineza took flight and headed off to recapture Old Master Fuega. Slowly, Hwa-Jae attempted to stand up, only to fall back on her face. She tried again, only managing to crawl across the snow. Her body battered and weakened, Hwa-Jae collapsed once again, this time her body refusing to move. All she could do was weep, her tears freezing in the frigid winds of Mount Frappe.













A nudge on her shoulder awoke Hwa-Jae. She was slightly surprised that she was not dead but still on Mount Frappe where the blizzard did not slow down in the slightest. She looked up to see a talll figure poking her with a stick. No, not a stick. Something else... a beak!.



“Who…?” she said in a weak voice. Walking closer, Koge made his appearance known. He shivered wildly in the cold arctic temperatures but still managed to



“I saw the light show on the side of the mountain,” he said, “so I came here when I figured it was the flare you sent so I could find you and bring you back. Looks like you gut the stuffing kicked out of you. I’m a bit surprised that it wasn’t Mount Frappe that did it, but worried that someone else managed this kind of attack. Looks like I was right. We need to get out of here while the blizzard is still tame. Come on, we’ll get you back to the base where you can rest and heal.”



Hwa-Jae did not object to being placed on the back of the rather large bird. As she slipped in and out of consciousness, Hwa-Jae only had one thought in her mind: she had to defeat her best friend. Her sister.



She must defeat Cineza.

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