Chapter 2: Calm

Calm is the second chapter of The Mazkertis Paradox. In this chapter:
 * Mazkertis battles Fourteen, Cassius Calm, John Shepard, Cassandra Thorne, and Ophelia Valentine on Liquid-Metallicon.

Plot
On Day 1, Mazkertis storms into Sachiel's medical office on Liquid-Metallicon and steals medical supplies to heal his wounds. While running across the rooftops above, Fourteen falls through the roof of the office and is injured. Mazkertis grabs him by the neck and telepathically attacks him. Fourteen attempts to fight back with his own telepathic abilities, but he is no match for Mazkertis, and his mind is torn asunder. Entering the office moments too late, Cassius Calm engages Mazkertis in combat, blasting him into another building. Mazkertis launches a fireball at Calm that the monk initially dodges, until Mazkertis reverses time, causing the fireball to slam into Calm and singe his skin. The two are soon joined by Sachiel, who slams Mazkertis into an alley with a torrent of magical water which he then attempts to use to drown the wizard, but Mazkertis nullifies the water by absorbing the magic from it. As Mazkertis prepares to kill Sachiel with a Shadow Hand, John Shepard fires a P90 bullet through the wizard's robes and orders him to surrender. An alarm then rings throughout the city, signifying that it has come under attack.

Meanwhile, Akzer wakes up in another part of the city, having previously been put to sleep by Ophelia Valentine. Upon hearing the alarm, he hops on a speeder bike and drives away.

Valentine and her employer Cassandra Thorne make their way to the slums, having sensed an unsettling power in that area. Upon reaching an alley, the two women watch Mazkertis repel Shepard before turning his enraged gaze towards Valentine. Fearing for her partner's safety, Valentine leaps onto Mazkertis's back and bites him, but Mazkertis shakes her off by placing a hand on her face and generating a blast of light which blinds her and knocks her unconscious. Thorne attempts to immobilize Mazkertis with her power of bloodbending, but the wizard escapes her hold by creating an explosion. Mazkertis then quickly defeats everyone around him except for Calm, who begins to summon Noble Eightfold Path, but Mazkertis interrupts the summoning by hitting the monk with a blast of shadow energy. Now on the verge of exhaustion, Mazkertis decides to retreat rather than prolonging the fight, disappearing through a portal. Akzer and Ozar arrive via a skiff to join the battle, only to find that Mazkertis has already fled. Calm helps tend to the injured, swearing that justice will find Mazkertis while Ozar weeps for Fourteen.

In Ascheron's throne room on Kyras, Mazkertis emerges from a portal. Ascheron rages at Mazkertis for abandoning him on Saskana, but the wizard pacifies him with flattery, stating that he thought Ascheron could handle himself. Mazkertis reaffirms that their allegiance will ensure revenge against their enemies, concluding his speech with the Lurian salute. Though still sceptical, Ascheron returns the salute with the words "Sieg Luria".

Characters

 * Akzer
 * Cassandra Thorne
 * Cassius Calm
 * Fourteen
 * Gabriel Ascheron
 * Mazkertis
 * Ophelia Valentine
 * Ozar