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[attr="class","textbox"]In Zev's strategic reassessment, he forgot something. You didn't need to restrict your opponent's movement when they saw no reason to move.[break][break]

Instead of running from tactic to tactic, Isaac walked over to a fallen log. The last few laughs escaped him as he sat down, its ashen surface crinkling ever so slightly under his weight. "Man," he said, sighing as he turned to keep Zev in his vision. "I always kinda knew. But there's knowing, and there's knowing."[break][break]

How could he not? He was one of the few men alive who had gotten a glimpse of the void within. When they sparred in the sub's battle arenas, helping Zev practice for his gym run, he got to see the man contort himself into a new shape in real time. It was a jarring process, less a smooth transition and more him literally snapping himself into the shape of an honorable sportsman. It was an acute reminder of what Zev had to do each and every time he wanted to don a new face.[break][break]

It was such a stark contrast from the Howling. There, Zev ran the roost. He knew everyone's name, even if he could barely care who walked into that door. He crafted a rich, homey environment, every bit as stately as his own (feigned?) apartment. The food, drink, chatter, and memories flowed with abundance, lock-step in orbit around the black hole at the center of it all. It was a place invaluable, even irreplaceable, to so many, to Isaac chief among them.[break][break]

Had it only been one way in which Zev had made himself invaluable to Isaac, it would have been one too many. Yet it was only scratching the surface. He had been a mentor, teaching Isaac damn near everything he knew about unarmed combat. He had been a confidant, advising Isaac on the cusp of the Meteno operation that finally forced his eyes open. He had been, in many ways, a companion, the two accompanying one another to sword schools and Splashfest tents and even fancy, high-society functions.[break][break]

How could somebody who meant so much to Isaac have so little substance? It was as if his life had been shaped by the hands of a ghost.[break][break]

"Maybe that's why I always kept digging. Couldn't believe it 'til I knew for sure. And, well, here we are."[break][break]

"Here we are." The shoreline of an uncharted isle, where Zev loomed in the darkness of the battlefield's fading light. Isaac had wormed his way out of his pursuit, turning the tables on him for the first and only time through a lasso of Z-Powered water. This "grand victory" was little more than slowing him down until he could escape, and yet he felt a sting of pride remembering it.[break][break]

"Here we are." The central tower of the Lesser Megalopolis, where Zev hunted for answers. Judging by his current form, he'd found them. Even then, in the infancy of his ascent, Isaac could do little more than run away, putting everything the tower had to offer between the two. Why did he even bother picking this fight? Why was it so damn important that he had to live this futility out firsthand?[break][break]

"Here we are." The RKS Machine, where the chains that bound the two had broken in full. Isaac had outlived his usefulness and was sacrificed to the raging hand of god. Did Zev realize that it had been his loose lips that let Isaac find Caleb, that set Isaac against Cillian Quinn, that lead to Suicune being stirred to come to his unworthy aid? Did he even care?[break][break]

"Here we are." The underside of a shack in Oldale, where Zev saved Isaac's life, grabbed him by the throat, and never let go.[break][break]

"Fuck, man. I miss when you at least had to pretend."[break][break]

A basket of freshly made baked goods. A magnificent performance incognito in a sweeping ballroom. A proposal that had came and went in the blink of an eye, before Isaac even had the chance to realize. A name that put the slightest sparkle in eyes that had never known a moment of genuine warmth.[break][break]

"I bet Neffatari Nzingha's gonna miss it, too."

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[attr="class","textbox"]In the gravitational pull of a collapsing star, even the northern wind couldn't escape. Nevertheless, the trapped Suicune wheeled around to defiantly face their foe. The Surf currents, endlessly forming from the air around Suicune and rushing out in a high-power stream, wouldn't stop Necrozma, but they would at least send a message. Even the invincible would face defiance.[break][break]

Up close and personal, Necrozma detonated. Despite Zev's gravitational pull, the eruption was with such force that it sent the legend flying. They righted themselves in the air, the motion launched a spurt of blood from their side, before skidding to a halt by their charge's side. They glared daggers toward Necrozma, head lowed and mane thrashing, but as they took a shaky step forward they flinched.[break][break]

They couldn't finish the fight. Not like this. Not when Zev was about to send the forest crashing down on them. All they could do was brace themselves. It was more than Isaac could do. Zev's gravitational pull had already sent him straight through his log perch, splintering it clear in half. Side by side, the two could only look towards each other as the forest's shadow loomed.[break][break]

All was silent. All was still. And then Zev was gone.[break][break]

In a forest devoid of all life, ash and timber began to tremble. With each shake, more and more detritus fell away, revealing the heavily-cracked glacier that dwelled beneath. Inside lay Suicune, knee buckled and face frozen into a hateful snarl. It was not until the glacier splintered into a cloud of frost that the legend could finally stumble free.[break][break]

There was no triumph written on their features. There was no grim resignation, either. Instead, there was almost a sense of shock as they got a sense of their bearings. It was as if they hadn't even been sure of their own survival. They looked around, the Pressure in the air mounting as they tried to figure out what had happened.[break][break]

As the frozen vapors flowed back into Isaac's outstretched hand, the answer became all too clear.[break][break]

"Guess that makes us even, huh, buddy?" Isaac's tone was light, but his face was solemn. It was clear that this day, and all other days spent with Zev, were going to stick with him for a long, long while. "A few more logs and we would've been goners. But like hell if I'm gonna let you get hurt for my recklessness."[break][break]

Recklessness, indeed. To channel that much of Suicune's own hydrokinesis took a lot out of Isaac. Practically the moment he reassured Suicune, sheer fatigue cost him his footing. He fell against Suicune's side, the legend's smile soft and grateful as it supported him. "C'mon. Let's go home."[break][break]

Worn down, banged up, and more acutely aware of the enormity that was Zev than ever before, the two limped away from this blighted land.