Quest for the past, part 4 - The fateful encounter

  Ardor was waiting near the portal impatiently, as Iris walked out of her house, holding a large, obsidian sword in her hand. Ardor couldn't help but stare at it with admiration, until she slung it into a special holder on her back - a regular scabbard would've made it impossible to pull it out from such an angle. Now he saw that she was also carrying a bow.  - "Here" she handed it to him "it's fire-enchanted. I'm not a very good user with a bow, so it's better if you'll have it."
- "Thank you" he handed the bow back to her "but I have Fireballs, for ranged attacks, and I've never used a bow before."
- "Oh, well, I'll take it then." she hanged the bow across her back, and pulled out an Eye of Ender. - "We're ready then?"
- "Ready when you are." he nodded, and stepped aside, letting her by, towards the portal. - "Get ready to jump. The moment the portal will open, it will start sucking everything in, and then it will collapse into itself. There will be no time for hesitation, and the landing will be rough."
Ardor touched his two iron swords, for reassurance, and nodded. - "Lets do it." 
Iris nodded, walking closer to the portal, and put the last Eye of Ender in it's place. The portal begun to shake and roar, spitting out particles of grey sulfur. A black void opened under their feet, sucking them in, smashing the breathe out of their lungs.
  Iris "gracefully" landed on her face, while Ardor landed on his feet, with a thud, beside her. - "Are you alright?" he reached out a hand, to help her up. She took it, straightening up awkwardly, dusting herself off. - "Well, that was a rough landing, but I hope Dad told us the right numbers."
Ardor let go of her hand, looking around - "That place... It looks just like the place from my flashbacks! Same dark skies, same ground and gigantic, dark, columns. Now I see - it's obsidian... But it's still different somehow - too quiet and empty...."
- "It used to be a regular End but then...I don't know... Something happened a while ago and the authorities had closed it to the public...I remember this used to be my quiet reading place with mom... What happened here that was so awful to shut this End down? I wonder..."
- "I don't know, but we will find out soon" - Ardor made a step forward, but Iris stayed on her place. - "Great... I can't tell where I'm walking - there's no echo from the footsteps. Even from yours." 
- "Can you hear me breathing?"
- "Yes, I can hear breathe." she was about to step towards the sound, but suddenly heard something else. "Wait! I can hear someone else breathing! And it's getting closer!"
- "Where?" Ardor started to look around, trying to spot the approaching threat fruitlessly.
- "East.. No, west! It's... it's TELEPORTING!" As she shouted that, Ardor noticed a vague figure, appearing in a cloud of purple, spiraled particles. He caught a glimpse of a metallic claw on the figure's arm, and next he saw the eyes. - "It's.. those eyes.. From my memories! IT'S HIM!" Without a second though, Ardor charged forward, unsheathing his swords on the way, sending three Fireballs towards the enemy, as he teleported towards him.
- "Ardor?" - the mysterious enderman opened his eyes wide in surprise, but before he could say anything else, Ardor was on him, swords slashing. The person stopped them with his right claw, which was slightly oversized, with talons made out of some hard metal. "Ardor, please, listen!"
Iris readied the bow, notching an arrow, but as she tried to target the enemy, she realized that she can't hear clearly - the sounds being muffled and distorted by the queer acoustics of the place. - "Dang it... I can't aim!" she pulled out a sword, and started to run towards the fight, but as Ardor saw her, he blocked her path with his back. "No! This is my fight to finish!" he kicked the enemy, and they both teleported farther away. She stayed where she was, listening to the fight with tension, as she noticed something odd about it, and started to listen more carefully, trying to understand what exactly caught her attention. "No... it can't be... can it..?"
As they fought, Ardor's opponent's breathe was getting heavier and more rapid. Defending from two swords and Fireballs with only claws and teleportations, even when one of the claws was scientifically modified, was hard enough. And in his age he was in a shape not nearly good enough to handle an intense battle. After a short while he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion. - "Ah.. Ardor! I.. I am..." - he tried to talk, but didn't have enough air for that, struggling to breathe, as Ardor crossed his swords on his neck, forming vorpal scissors, ready to cut off his head - "You're finished!"
- "WAIT!!" Iris ran towards them, waving at Ardor "Ardor, stop! His voice - he sounds oddly similar to you, only older! He could very well be.. I mean, it's possible..."
- "Ardor..." - the mysterious person managed to use the distraction to catch his breathe a little bit - "I am your father, Ardor..."