(A note to the reader, don't stress the jargon, all will be explained!)

A glimpse into the future.

The rain had finally ceased.
"Hey, B, can you still manage the incoming?"
[Yes, mode one, all incoming energy strikes will be absorbed to compensate for the sling-style return of all musket and cannon projectiles.]
Lying face down in a coagulation of blood and mud, I watched colourful energy beams zip overhead. They might have been beautiful if they weren't so deadly... and if I wasn't preparing for my fourth charge of the day directly into them. The battle had raged for three days, and I'd been separated from my squad mates for roughly 16 hours. We were at the chokepoint between our Aeskrow Stronghold and the Empire's Skelside Castle.

Surveying my surroundings for cover against any advanced MD users, I found little left of the once-forest. Nearly every tree had been reduced to splinters in the last three days, leaving only mud and viscera-filled craters and trenches for cover and concealment. The enemy was using them, too, turning the battlefield into a gruesome game of whack-a-mole. I absorbed the surrounding heat into my body, causing the mud beneath me to freeze, but I felt no discomfort. Instead, I relished the exhilarating sensation of entering the charged MD state. This state occurred when high quantities of energy infused the body, causing the heart to race and the world around to become a vivid, slow-motion scene.

Light blue wisps rolled off my skin as my unperfected energy control allowed excess energy to escape. Glancing at the two bars in the lower left of my vision, I saw that my energy levels were at 100%. Directing this energy into my leg muscles, I prepared to push off the frozen mud and dash forward into enemy lines. My target: a deep crater about 550 meters ahead that would serve as a passable base for my subsequent attacks.

B, can you do the standard highlights?
[Yes. Confirming that enemy combatants will appear as red, enemy non-combatants yellow, and friendlies will appear as green.]
Thanks, B. Wish me luck.
[Luck is a non-existent concept, however, "Good luck, Elmund."]
I rolled my eyes and pushed off the ground with force.

The ice beneath me vaporised, blasting a hole in the crater I'd been taking cover in. Like a human cannonball, I shot over the crater's edge. I immediately directed energy out of my back to sling me back towards the ground, maintaining a low altitude. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I zig-zagged to avoid dozens of incoming energy beams, which either missed entirely or were absorbed when they came within a 2.5-meter radius of me. I was a third of the way to my target, now seeing about 26 red hostiles in front of me, and their numbers only increased as I drew closer. 

B, tag them all up on the map. Priority low.
[Copy, targ...] B paused as my rapidly increasing energy bar plummeted from 147% to 94% when a barrage of musket fire was slung out, around me, and back toward the enemy, eliciting cries of pain and death.
[Copy, targets being updated on the map.] 

Upon witnessing the redirected musket barrage and the resulting casualties, a cry rang out from my left:
"It's Everlast! Focus fire on him! Wear him down! We're all dead if he makes it to that crater!"
"Damn it," I muttered under my breath. Pushing myself to move even faster, I noticed my willpower bar was already below 80% and dropping rapidly.
B, switch to willpower conservation mode.
[Changing to mode two, be advised that lethality has been reduced as projectiles will now only be deflected, not redirected.] 

After another concentrated barrage of 20-30 musket shots and nearly double that number in energy beams, I drew my sword, pointing it out to my right and behind me as I sprinted forward. 

I was now a mere 100 meters away from my target and could see the five soldiers in the crater I had been aiming for. Four of them wore expressions of sheer terror as they desperately tried to whittle me down. The last soldier was a massive, thick-set man with a steely gaze, clearly another advanced MD user like myself. I knew I couldn't hold back any longer. Extending my left hand in front of me as I ran, I spread my fingers apart and began flooding them with an electric current. In slow motion, I watched tiny sparks dance over the skin on my left hand, causing my willpower to drop below 40%. My energy levels fell just as rapidly, from 131% to a mere 58%. The large man reacted swiftly, creating a thick earthen barrier in a cone shape right in front of himself. But before anything else could happen, a deafening BOOM resounded as five tendrils of electricity flashed out from my fingertips. The four unprotected soldiers were struck squarely in the chest, causing the electric current to surge through their bodies before discharging into the ground, vaporising water and fusing the soil into a glass-like substance. 

As my vision slowly recovered from the brightness of my attack, I sensed an impending threat. The dirt barrier now had four arm-sized spikes jutting out, aimed directly at me. My pupils dilated, and time seemed to slow down as I watched the spikes shoot out towards me. Fortunately, only one of the spikes was highlighted red, signalling that I needed to deal with it, while B diverted the other three. The bad news was that I couldn't dodge while B was redirecting the other spikes around my body, or it would interfere with his calculations. The good news was that my sword was still in my right hand. As time appeared to crawl, I mustered all the strength I could and swung my blade diagonally upward, aiming to redirect or destroy the stone spike hurtling towards the centre of my chest. Just under a meter away, my sword made contact with the spike at an incredible speed. With barely a tug on the blade, it cut the spike diagonally in half. The force and speed of the cut caused the two halves to separate as they approached me. The bottom-left half flew harmlessly under my left armpit. Still, the top-right half pierced my right shoulder before exiting the back just as quickly, barely losing speed. Injured, I half-jumped, half-fell into the crater, taking cover as the last of my momentum carried me over the edge and onto the ground. Dammit, why did he have to be Earth-attuned of all things? I cursed to myself. 

The pain threatened to overwhelm me, but I tightened my grip on my sword and pointed it at the last soldier. His laughter echoed behind the crumbling barrier as he realised he had landed a direct hit on me.
"Not so fast now, are ya? I'm going to enjoy collecting your bounty."
I glanced at the bars representing my energy and willpower levels, and the situation was dire. My willpower stood at a meagre 22%, while my energy was a mere 3%. My brain felt like it was ablaze from the exertion of deflecting three stone spikes and slicing the last one in half. Alright, Elmund, time to strategise. Extracting 5% of my willpower to leach heat from the ground beneath me should give me 18% energy and 17% willpower. Rallying, I realised I could pull this off by converting and infusing that energy as a kinetic force. Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I drew heat from the ground below, turning it cold. I quickly converted the thermal energy into kinetic energy. I channelled it into my sword, which began to tremble in my grip.
"Any last words?" the soldier taunted as he raised his sword overhead, poised to strike.
"Yeah," I replied before activating the energy infused in my sword. It shot out of my hand, piercing the man's chest before vanishing into the clouds above with a sonic boom. "Mog'dor is definitely going to be mad that I lost another sword." The soldier raised his eyebrows in shock and confusion, unspoken questions flickering in his eyes before they dulled, and he crumpled into the mud.

My head throbbed as if swarmed by a hundred furious bees, and my vision grew hazy. I checked my status: my energy stood at 1%, with my remaining willpower of only 3%. Enemy soldiers bellowed a battle cry, realising my grave injury. The sound of their charging feet pounded the dirt. I frantically surveyed my surroundings but found no way out. Resigned, I drew my hunting knife from my belt and held it in a two-handed grip.

B, any ideas, buddy?
[Negative, willpower regeneration rate is insufficient for viable options.]
Then this is it. I'll see you in the next life, B.
[In the future, please refrain from involving me in reckless and ill-conceived schemes.]
As the first three soldiers crested the crater's rim, their eyes filled with rage, I tightened my grip on my knife, preparing for my final stand.

BOOM BOOM BOOM
Three sonic booms echoed in the crater, and the three soldiers were cleaved in two, a brief metallic glint of a sword the only clue to their demise. A grin spread across my face.
"You're late as always, Ombra."
"Not late enough, apparently," she laughed. "Are you okay down there, L?" My grin widened.
"Oh yeah, totally. Just thought I'd take a quick power nap before handling the rest of these thugs. You know how it is." Her laughter washed over me, easing my tension.
"You know, Mog'dor is really going to be mad if you keep losing your swords," she teased.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, tell me something I don't know... Are you going to be okay with the rest of them? There are about..." I paused to count, "50 of them left. There shouldn't be any advanced MD users after I took care of this big oaf," I said, gesturing dismissively at the dead soldier.
"Piece of cake. Unlike some people, I actually use my brain," she smirked at me. I saw determination flicker in her eyes as she focused on the upcoming battle.
"Take it easy, L. I'll handle things here." With her final words, the air around her warped and bent, resembling a distorted mirror, and the surrounding light transformed into mesmerising, shifting rainbows. BOOM She vanished, teleporting into the fray. Soldiers' screams mingled with sonic booms, drowning out the rest of the battlefield as she went to work. Soon enough, her identity was discovered, and a cry of terror rang out.
"Run for your lives! The Shadow Sword Goddess is here!" The battlefield gradually fell silent as the remaining enemy soldiers fled, leaving their fallen comrades behind. I knew Ombra had just earned another reason to tease me. She reappeared beside me, her black hair and deep blue eyes glistening with lingering energy.

"You know, I really think they're starting to warm up to me," I teased, attempting to conceal my admiration while wincing slightly from the pain in my shoulder. Ombra rolled her eyes, chuckling,
"Oh, Elmund, forever the underachiever. They should count themselves lucky I didn't hunt them down this time."

She reached down and helped me to my feet, her touch gentle yet firm. I could feel her energy transferring into me, boosting my willpower and energy levels enough to stand alone.
"You know, I did manage to hurt them first," I said, grinning, "but someday, I'll be the one saving you." She smiled warmly,
"With all the 'naps' you take, I doubt it. Let's get you patched up before you lose more blood."

As we returned to our encampment, I reflected on the incredible events that had led me to this point. From my humble beginnings in Northern Encassia to becoming embroiled in the carnage of this war, it had been a whirlwind journey.

One thing was certain: this wasn't the end of the story. It was only the beginning.