“The fuck do you mean I’m going to do it for you?” I-330 said. But before Grendel could reply, a massive crack appeared above them, cleaving the sky in two.

“His return is upon us!” Grendel shouted. I-330 looked up at the crack, and while she was distracted Grendel rushed forward. I-330 warped behind him to attack, another Grendel appeared and block. Two more I-330s appeared on either side, and within moments all sense of linearity in the fight was lost.

I-330 and Grendel flashed in and out of existence all around the city. An I-330 from 12 minutes in the future crossed swords with a Grendel from three minutes in the past, while another I-330 defended the first’s flanks from two more Grendel’s. It was an impossible to follow chaos, with dozens of simultaneous battles between the two fighters. For a moment, both disappeared from the city, and there was a brief calm. Then they reappeared in the plaza, swords of fire hitting with such force that the entire city was shaken.

There were hundreds of different points in time I-330 had to keep track of. She tried not to think about it, and focused only on action. She lunged at Grendel, and he warped away. She warped five minutes into the future to block an attack aimed at a past her, then went eleven minutes into the past to cut off one of Grendel’s arms. She pressed on her attack, cutting open his stomach. Before she could continue another Grendel appeared and drove her back, giving the first time to recovery. Both attacked her, and she retreated by warping to the top of a building several minutes into the future. But Grendel was already waiting for her there, putting her on the defensive and pushing her off the building. Before she hit the ground she warped even further into the future, arriving at the same time as a past Grendel.

The crack in the sky spread even faster as they fought, with huge chunks of sky falling and dissolving away. The cracks had spread onto the ocean, and as it faded away, R’lyeh was turning into a lone patch of reality amongst a sea of emptiness.

I-330 swung at Grendel, but had to warp away to avoid another attack before she could connect. The instant she appeared at her new location she was forced onto the defensive. She tried retreating to the past, but Grendel was waiting for her there as well. Keeping track of every moment in time was starting to overwhelm her. Her reactions were slowing, and increasingly she was being forced to defend rather than attack. She warped several minutes into the future to avoid an attack, and quickly tried to assess her new location. There didn’t seem to be any sign of Grendel here….

She wasn’t aware of the attack coming from behind until Grendel’s sword pierced through her chest. Grendel quickly pulled out the sword, spun around to her front, and stabbed her again through the stomach. Her whole body felt like it was one fire, covering her with agony unlike anything she had experienced thus far. She took a step forward, trying to raise her sword, but her legs collapsed. Grendel caught her, and held onto her in an embrace.

“There, there, my love. No reason to fight anymore. Just lie back and wait for our victory to be complete.” I-330 couldn’t draw the strength to reply, so she responded only with a glare. Grendel frowned at the expression. “No need to look at me like that. Ah, I know. I know how to get rid of that look….”

With one hand, he lifted I-330 into the air by the throat. His other hand held her face, with his thumb hovering over her right eye. It took I-330 a moment to realize what he was planning, and when she did, her expression changed from hate to fear. She managed to croak out, “Please… no….” Then Grendel’s thumb plunged into her right eye. And I-330’s agonized screams echoed through R’lyeh.

Once he had finished gouging out her eye, Grendel threw I-330 onto the ground. She clutched the empty bleeding socket with her remaining arm and quietly sobbed, the pain of her days of unending fighting finally overwhelming her will to keep going. A look of concern passed over Grendel’s face, but it was gone in an instant. He began to laugh; at first, just a small chuckle, which then grew louder and louder until he was shrieking with mad laughter directed at the empty sky above.