Originally Posted by
Lord Falcon
Scant had the hostage exchange taken place did Sarada close her eyes, entering a trance-like state. One breath, two breaths. This seems promising. Three breaths. Bracing her arms against her sides in a manner reminiscent of common high-level martial arts techniques to summon ki, Sarada wasted no time harnessing it for a different purpose. Instead, she used that ki immediately in its rawest but most fiery state, pushing outwards with an omni-directional attack. It was a simple plan, one reliant on Sarada being in good enough condition to pull it off. But it was a significantly better one than Sarada had had in mind just moments before. More importantly, Sarada was starting to grasp the situations she would be facing in the future and how she might deal with them. Good enough for now.
There was absolutely no chance of Asha'rah even brushing with killing Sarada. Not only would it immeasurably harm the progress of the Saiyan people, but Asha'rah would never voluntarily put Ishtar through the pain of losing a second lover. They were good for each other, more so than Asha'rah could hope to be, even if such an admission conjured a dull ache deep within the goddess. Sarada's fire helped lure Ishtar out of her otherwise timelessness, fueling a drive to do better and live better that her immortal life had not originally seeded in her. And Ishtar's steady, true presence was a rock upon which Sarada could rest, compass and anchor both to a Queen grappling with issues far beyond what she had ever dealt with. They balanced each other out, as Ishtar might put it.
Even if Asha'rah was capable of holding her sphere of destruction energy intact in the face of Sarada's counter, and she was not sure that she could, such a fact was irrelevant here. Asha'rah felt the sphere breaking apart, and allowed it and the arm supporting it to crumble away in the face of the Queen's overwhelming might, combined with the attacks of her illusory allies for good measure once they saw that Sarada was fighting back. A hint for the future, perhaps. Soon after, the rest of Asha'rah's form fell away, leaving behind but the robotic body that Sarada was long familiar with. The goddess bowed, hands clasped in front of her in salute.
"Some view love as a great source of strength, capable of stirring hearts to heights unknown. Others view it as a weakness, an anchor slowing them down and exposing soft spots in their armor. I have always found it to be both, one aspect or the other varying depending on the circumstances and what we make of them."
Finishing her bow, she arose back in her form of flesh, misty hair flowing and teasing around sun-burnished skin. She glided slowly downwards, planning to rest here a while. Sarada might have suffered the greater injuries, but it was Asha'rah who had expended the greater reserves of energy. It was all she could do to keep herself from panting and letting on how tired she was.
"What you make of them. Your ploy today was...plausible. It will not always be, but today it was. What I sought to show you here today is but a glimpse of what lies ahead for you, Queen of millions, lover of this universe's most precious future. Perhaps in the future, you will be that much better prepared. It is the best a fallen goddess and outmatched suitor can do."