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Zephyr Highwind vs Michael Ellend

Phoenks

He/Him
FC/OC VS Battles
Administrator
10,679
9,389
Note: All of this what written by Corrin (ZephyrosOmega), not me. I am posting it here with her permission as she can not do so herself.

INTRODUCTION
The World Tree of Eden, infinite in its glory, has produced countless stories. Through literature, theater, film, music, and more, an infinite array of heroes and villains make the tree their home. In the distant year of 2160, it fell to a young group of heroes from the centermost timeline to protect it from outside influence, and among these heroes: The kitsune, Zephyr Highwind, and the nephilim, Michael Ellend. The two leaders of the Champions of Chaos.

Bearing the blood of mythological beings in their veins, the two had a fierce rivalry that developed into a fast friendship across their life. From their meeting in the Black Swan Assassin Academy to wars against the old gods, Zephyr and Michael have always remained at each other’s backs.

Looking at the two, you might believe Michael to be the heroic beacon of justice that the innocent can look up to, while Zephyr plays the role of the darker hero feared by the guilty. And who could blame you? Michael’s sword and shield, golden armor, and brilliant light radiating his blonde hair and blue eyes places him as the archetypal knight in shining armor, a stark contrast to Zephyr’s snow-white hair, ghastly complexion, dark clothes, and wicked arsenal of illusions and tricks.

You could not be more wrong.

For every yang, there must be a yin. Michael may appear as a hero of light, but he will do anything to maintain that title and admiration, being by his own admission the only thing he has left. Zephyr appears as the dark opposite to him, yet his caring and compassion for his loved ones and subordinates is something he will risk his own life to maintain time and time again. When faced with their dark halves, driven from their body by the dark elf Moonfall, Michael purged his, turning himself into a being of near-pure light, while Zephyr made peace with his, maintaining his inner balance.

Time and time again the two have clashed, be it competing in missions, on the battlefield, or simply in disagreements of character, and more often than not, Michael’s status as a natural prodigy in everything proved to be superior.

In Black Swan, he rose through the ranks faster than Zephyr ever could. During the Chaos Hunt, he acquired his element before any others, mastering it far beyond the scope Zephyr could determine. When Michael became corrupted under his own power, he left Zephyr bloodied and broken on the floor of Olympus Prime. It seemed as though no matter how hard Zephyr trained, someone would always take the spotlight, or drive him into the ground.

Zephyr became resentful of how successful Michael was, how powerful he was allowed to become, despite committing heinous actions as severe as planetary genocide, brainwashing Zephyr’s very own daughter, and causing some of the most famous disasters in history during his stint as a time traveler. Yet despite all of this cruelty, Michael would always be forgiven. His crimes ignored. After all, it “wasn’t his fault, it was the light corruption.” And yet he succumbed to it time and time again, unable to control his own power, and making it worse for everyone around him.

This resentment increased with every action, and yet, Zephyr finally got some form of liberation. During a trip into an alternate timeline where Michael had become a tyrannical dictator, Zephyr finally got his chance. He overcame the alternate Michael, shattering his armor with one final punch and expunging the evil from him. It was for such a brief moment, but Zephyr was happy.

Until the Warden.

This utterly infuriating foe, constantly a threat to the life of the Champions, led to Zephyr and Michael powering up several more times, Michael receiving the powers of the Third Eye while Zephyr received the powers of the Maelstrom. Even now, Michael sank into his depravity, cheating on the supposed love of his life with a Wraith and becoming more erratic as he rushed into be the hero and kill The Warden himself.

This would result in Michael’s Death. Zephyr was left unsatisfied without the ability to prove himself as stronger, something he planned to do after killing The Warden. That anger ate away at him until the end of Eden; Zephyr took the power of a god into himself, annihilating the entire world tree, and becoming the god of the next world. But the new god always wondered… What if things had been different?

It’s time to find out. Michael’s constant search for heroism and validation. Zephyr’s resentment and drive to be the strongest. Light and Darkness, Imbalance and Balance. Winner take all… And there will be no mercy.

RULES
Speed is unequalized. As these two scale to each other directly, there is no need for equalization between them.

The keys used here will be Post-Star Aether Zephyr and Late Void Games Arc Michael. Both of them scale to the same AP, and possess similar amps.

This fight is to the death. Zephyr and Michael are both willing to kill their allies to achieve their goals, as has been shown on multiple instances (Zephyr destroying the World Tree to create a New World with the souls of the people there, and Michael creating Olympus Perfected, and attempting to kill the Champions of Chaos).

INFORMATION
Due to having fought together for years, both of them are very aware of each other’s powerset, tactics, and mindset, for the most part. Michael does not know the full extent of Zephyr’s arsenal, while Zephyr does not know the full extent of Michael’s eye abilities.

When facing each other, beyond their standard tactics, neither goes for the kill immediately. They escalate, slowly rising up as they use more and more powerful abilities. They’ll tend to start with CQC and basic projectiles, but the more time goes on, the more destructive and cosmic of a scale their battle will reach.

As users of magic, Both of them have the ability to slay each other despite their regenerations and Wraith forms.

Both Michael and Zephyr have admitted that a fight between them would be one of the most destructive events that the World Tree has ever seen. The two are incredibly evenly-matched opponents, excepting the powers that Zephyr achieved after Michael’s death, such as Etro’s abilities and the power of the Throne.

Both of them are resistant to, or have counters to all of the instant win methods of the other, such as mental attacks, plot manipulation, and BFR.

RELEVANT MUSIC



A thematic song that fits their character and clashes. Both of them have displayed large amounts of pride and wrath. Zephyr takes immense pride in his swordsmanship and strength, and has bloodlust that rivals Drexus’ Wrath soul fragment, especially in regards to Michael. Michael has nothing but his pride to fall back on, which he has in spades, and he has displayed willingness to utterly crush anyone who gets in his way, as well as be prone to fits of blind anger.

Lines about collateral damage and pawns refer to the destruction Michael has caused, and Zephyr’s enslavement to the plot driving the story of Eden which he ultimately decided to break free from. Michael attempted to build an empire to make the World Tree a realm of pure light, while Zephyr built a team of Champions to form the Champions of Chaos.

Both of them are beyond human due to their genetic experiments and lineage, and Zephyr’s becoming of a Throne God and Michael’s God Complex, as well as their training to become weapons under Black Swan, fit the lines of being made for a war, building empires in the sand, becoming more than mere men, and seeking their revelations (The latter referring to Zephyr and Michael’s revelations about their nature as beings in a current of fate that neither could break from until Zephyr became a Throne God).

Zephyr wished to create a world in which his loved ones and the humans stuck in fate like him could be happyl, while Michael fell to Light Corruption and tried to create a “Utopia” of light and cosmic order.



This song is less thematic, being a simple instrumental rock piece. However, it has significance to Zephyr and Michael. This has played during Zephyr’s most serious fights, most importantly when Zephyr and Michael fought each other near the climax of the Seven Sins arc.



Similar to Cannonball, this song played during the finale of the Seven Sins arc, being a major theme that plays during cosmic events and battles with the divine, a realm which Zephyr and Michael have touched… albeit, touched in entirely different ways.

And, of course, the themes on both characters’ pages should be included in this.

VOTING

So, without further ado. Let them fight.

Zephyr Highwind:
Michael Ellend:
Inconclusive:
 
After some discussions, I've come to give my vote.

Given that the two have no instant win conditions against each other, their trump cards are what this really comes down to: Fatebuster armor and the Third Eye. However, the only part of Michael's Third Eye that could let him win is the BFR, and this is assuming that Zephyr is still unable to mess with the Great Eye with his Maelstrom. Meanwhile, Zephyr's Fatebuster armor turns the fight into a slugfest, and he's not only a better overall fighter but lacks the same comical arrogance that Michael has. Simply put, Michael would need to act with uncharacteristic foresight in order to win.

My vote goes to Zephyr Highwind.
 
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