The Heavenly Ruins

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

In a way? Please. Don't you think it's rude? Holding me on a different standard from yourself? He pulled her up so her face was directly under his ghastly grin, even with their size difference. But that was expected.

What wasn't was the voice that called out behind Aruna. A soft, soothing female voice that sounded all too familiar. Standing behind Aruna was the very woman whose soul she devoured earlier! The one that Zeke consumed down to the marrow. Yet now, she looked better than ever before. Not a single broken tooth, not a single bruise, and with a dress that could belong to a princess, weaved with the night sky itself. Her hair flowed like tendrils, and she... they spoke.

"I told you. You should love yourself more."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The demon sighed and said, "Its not that, its more...."

Aruna paused, turning her head to watch the monstrosity occur.  That woman from earlier, the one he assimilated, she was talking and walking.  The demon's arms morphed into a blade, one hand on his lower back, the blade at his throat.  "That.... that is why I hold myself on a different standard than you.  I should rip the gull right out of you, bringing this woman back to this form and speaking to me with such a tone.  Love myself?  What utter nonsense."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

"L-lord Zeke...!" The woman's eyes flashed with panic, she held her hand out to stop the demon but...

The dark being didn't stop her. He didn't even try. Instead, he smiled patiently, enjoying the sunset and the feeling of the demon's knife against his throat. Stable or not, that thing was not sane. He didn't exhude a shred of hostility. Not one drop. Even as his body pushed against her knife and he loomed over her, inching as close as a serpent until his back was completely hunched over.

He just getting closer and closer, gripping her arm even  harder until her back was forced to arch back just to keep some distance.

That's fine. Keep looking at me like this. Your light... your fire... it suits a demon well. That is what we'll start with. His eyes were now staring right at the demon, right at Aruna... and it would wish Zeke hadn't.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Two pieces of metal fell on the grass, both coated in blood.  Aruna's sword returned to a hand missing its fist.  The demon glanced at her arm before returning her gaze to Zeke, the pain only sharpening her glare. 

"Get that woman out of my sight."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

The woman looked shocked... hurt, and clutched her hands to her heart.

Suddenly, daggers shattered against Zeke's skin like glass, and he spared them nothing more than a bored glance. Hmm? Why should I? She hasn't hurt anyone or done anything wrong. Are you going to curse her existance just because she exists? How awfully familiar. You're closer to the archangels than I thought. His smile... his eyes seeped right into her heart. Into her being.

Human bonds and desires or not, that thing truly smiled like a monster now. Its jaws were wide open and- laughing. Laughing at her, in a sick deranged way while he kept clutching to her other arm. And yet his eyes weren't laughing.

She emerged from her own free will. Who are we to deny her wishes?

His other hand moved forth like a hawk, preying on her neck with the intent to strangle the demon here and there.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna looked at the woman, then back to Zeke.  To most, the laughter would be disturbing, upsetting even, but to Aruna, it was just a natural demonic reaction.  It was ironic that the fake demon seemed the most real when he was perverting the way of demon culture.

"Do you take me for a fool Ezekial?  I am a demon, one who has seen dozens upon dozens, nay hundreds of people like you.  You think I don't understand the nature of a collective mind?  Her own soul reaks of your own."

Aruna slammed her hand-less forearm into his chest, ignoring the hand threatening her throat.  "I'm hating that woman.  Her individuality has long since gone.  What I want you to do is get that perverted side of yourself out of my face."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

And then there was silence. The grass, the wind, the seas... everything was as still as a mountain. The only sound was the radiant noise of the orange sun, and her broken stump slamming in his chest. Aruna and the void were just standing there, clouded by setting light and the shadows of this ancient theater. And yet-

Are you done?

The wind pressure only registered after his arm already swung down. WIth a monstruous motion, he slammed the demon's neck on the stone ground. The ungodly impact smashed the ground, rattled her brain, and cracked her neck like a wrangled, sad towel. The entire island seemed to tremble for a second.

I'll give you that, you're a real man.

But he didn't stop there. His body seemed to lose balance and spun like a hurricane, and with the centrifugal force of a truck- he hurled the demon's snapped body straight into the opposite wall of the stadium, striking a pose right after he pitched Aruna. Or rather, whatever he mangled.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna's eyes bulged open as she was slammed in the back of the neck.  The image of the ground flashed into her mind just before her face embraced the stone ground.  A web of cracks formed around her face as rubble flew into the air.  When Aruna emerged, she wore a scowl decorated with blood, her horns throbbing with pain.  Her neck was broken, she couldn't move.  Shifting the bones, she regained the ability to move.  However, before she could recover, her entire world spun as she was tossed into the air.

The second crash was even louder than the first, the sound of bones breaking and tearing as her body lay mangled on the floor, her head turned to the side.  The demon in human form lay lifeless, aside from her lips flapping but without any noise.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

A dark aura seeped from the man, and his clothes returned on his body. It was as if shadows and darkness itself were what he was cladding his body with all along. He took a few steps forward, a hand on his hip, only to vanish.

He was gone. The last she could see was a brilliant flash of light. The night, and the stars.

But I told you. The current you doesn't stand a chance.

Suddenly, he was already above Aruna right in the sky! And with his wings stretched, he asserted dominance by falling straight on his two feet. Like a rocket smashing towards the ground. A shooting star. He used a technique like this before! If she didn't roll out of the way right now, he'd split her in half!

[yinsukin]

Aruna

As zeke struck the would-be helpless body, it vanished into nothing.  Of course, she knew he would realize she was invisible.  It was the practically her signature spell at this point.  However, as much as it pained her to admit it, the damn fool was right.  Her old tactics wouldn't work on him, not anymore.  This time, she would need to try something new.

A voice echoed through the sky, coming from everywhere and nowhere.  "Do you mean the me you fought in the so called great dojo district or the me you attacked in an alley way?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

His eyes glowed gold and black.

The one right beneath my feet. DARKNESS. The abyss seeped and spread from the insides of his being, and the void began to rip and tear the very energy that surrounded him. He was drawing it into nothingness, this was the nature of his darkness, a consumign force that pulled everything inside. Magic, energy, light, even shadow.

Thus, the coat she was so proud of litterally tore out of her skin. It was as if it were just a dress that was being sucked out of her body and pulled into him. It wasn't so nice to hide her broken and defeated body from him, but he could see the girl clear as crystal now. And the more he was standing on top of her, the more pulled magic and energy thrown into another dimension. He looked down on the poor demon with compassion, pity, and sadness. But it was all fake.

Do you get it, now? This is the gap between a fake and the original. You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light for ages and when I did it was nothing more than blight!

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was being touched by this void. This void that should be cruel, cold and alien to her. But the more they touched, the more it started to feel like the warm embrace of home.

And it was pushing her to the brink.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

A dark mist flew into the void, little pieces of fog flowing from her skin into the black hole that is Ezekiel.  Even after seeing that void once, she did not move far from him.  Just like when they started, she was right next to him the entire time, just outside of arms length from him.  Even as the darkness that protected her faded and sunk into Ezekial, she still couldn't be afraid, because darkness was her home, her weapon.

Thats my line she said, smiling at him, a glint in her eye.  Since you haven't grown up with the light, let me show you my fear.

The arm, that cursed arm was shining like the morning sun, gleaming and growing to challenge even the darkness.  Fake? Original?  Who cares.  That fake demon proved his darkness is just as real as the original, just far more human in its lust.  In that sense, it surpasses the original.  Thats why she will do it for real.

"LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT YOUR MISSING, THE TRUE TERROR OF THE LIGHT!"

Aruna's left arm, the shifted into a claw, gleaming with power.  She lunged forward, her arm stretching.  However, even that light was not enough, slowly dimming as it was sucked up by the magic of the void.  Gritting her sharp devlish teeth, she poured all she had into the grace, forcing the light to shine even brighter than before.  Essentially, she was fueling the spell with so much magic, he couldn't suck it up as fast as she could pump the spell.

The demon's vision blurred as she got closer, her arm attempting to grab his face and slam it into the ground.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

He looked down sadly at her resistance. It was pitiful, really. He wanted to release her from her suffering, and let her flame die in glory before she dirtied it further with disgrace. However, her shine was the one what resisted. She rebelled agai st his darkness, and refused to be disgraced! And as she shone even brighter than before, even his darkness seemed to falter. Zeke's shocked face was only second to the white claw rushing at his body, a light so blinding it shadowed the entire arena.  This was impossible...

It burned the void with light. Until even his gaping expression wasn't even visible.


However, before the bell of victory rank for the heavens- her hand stopped.

You've grown stronger. This light of yours... how dazzling.

And the light faded and shattered, only to reveal the man looming over her, holding her hand in his. His smile was calm and patient, even as he looked down at her. But this time, he didn't look down on her. His eyes were filled with a strange emotion, one Aruna could recognize well. Love.

But Aruna... you might be able to surpass my darkness with your light... but you won't surpass me. You still haven't unleashed your self. And as he held her hand in his, his dark grip focused on the grace. Her arm, her soul, her existance screamed and throbbed, even louder than back in the dojo. With this dark hold, he was crushing her hand slowly, causing the light itself to tremble and recede. It feared.

Light and darkness are tools. Compared to somebody's heart and soul, they're trifles at best. Sorry but...

The sounds of bones and her arm twisting and breaking slowly, ever so slowly, were the only sounds that echoed in this stadium. He didn't move, even when half his face and his left arm were burning from the touch. It hurt him, it truly did. And yet his emotion didn't change. Zeke didn't change.

All that her bite did was force more pressure on her fangs. And now he was shattering them. Next time, don't bring a tool into a true man's fight.

Pain! Pain! Pain! Screaming! Howling! Convulsing, merciless, world ending pain! But pain was nothing more than a safety net, an instinct that protected people from danger. Aruna proved she had guts, he gave her that. But as he nearly ripped her arm off, a new feeling started to erupt from the grace.

Terror. That was the lesson that was being imprinted in her.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

That moment would forever be burning in her mind, the hand reaching outwards, stretching towards the center of his chest.  Her vision was fading but she continued to press on until at the last moment, it cut out.  In the end, it wasn't enough.

Looming over her was the man who catalyzed all of this, their battle triggering her acceptance of the light.  What she expected from him was wrath, but all she felt, smelled and heard from the whispers of his soul was... love.

For a brief moment, all she felt was fear.  Even her arm, the power of light itself trembled.  How strange.  It made sense, the light finally following her in fear after all that time.  In the end, it was the same.  The only reason god asserted his will over others is to keep them from taking his power and reminding him of fear.  So yes, at the moment, she had the fear of god placed in her.

"Wait..."

Bones snapped and she screamed. "S-stop!"  But he didn't stop.  All that awaited her was pain.

It was strange, even as her arm trembled in fear, even as her entire body shook, all she felt was frustration.  Punctuated by the pain, the only thing she felt was helplessness.  There was no fear there, just submission.  After trying her best to overcome him, she was just too tired to continue fighting.  The demon gave her best, fought her hardest.  That was all she could ever hope to do.  Yes, for now, she just waited for the pain to stop.

Please make it stop.

But there was no fear.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

Zeke's face looked... confused for a second. But the dragon doesn't stop once the sheep surrenders. And with the wildest of grins, he raised his other arm and forced Aruna's to glow even brighter. He opened his lips proudly, grandly, but what spoke wasn't Zeke. It was the world.

_{Do not resist conversion.}
W̶̡̚ǫ̷̅ẓ̵͌ŭ̴̙n̶̫͝ ̵̧̓M̷̗̒ẻ̸̮i̵̹͐h̵͚̾è̴̖n̴̡̍ ̸͎̂K̷͙͂a̵͉͐
_{Abandon thyself, o holy grace.}
̸͍̔I̴͎͂s̸̝̍h̵̡̿u̵̮̾m̶̩͊ạ̴͒ ̵̘̓Ṅ̸͕ó̸͎ ̷͕́J̵̥͠i̶̿͜m̷̞̃e̷̖̚u̵͓̇
_{Let heaven's shine be mine.}
̸͕͊I̷͊ͅs̸̨̅h̵̉͜i̷̠̓m̶̞̂ẹ̶͌y̵̼͗ò̷̦m̴̱̎a̵̛̩
_{Come reside in me.}
̸̨́Š̷͜h̶̛̟i̶̲̒ǵ̶̱a̶͉̚i̶̮̔ ̶̪͆E̶̘͋n̸̾ͅì̶͖w̴̘͝a̵̼͠ ̴̛͉Ḱ̵͖o̸̢͌ţ̴͂a̸͎͆
_{Become my power.}
̵͉͝G̶̩̔ä̵̙́r̶̰̔a̴̤͝k̴͚͝a̶̘͌c̶͙̍h̷͇̋ì̷̜ ̷̺̋W̵̖͒a̸̮͝ ̵̞͛N̵͙͘a̴̫̋t̴̫̍o̶̳͌r̵̮̐ȩ̵́

A holy light brimmed from Aruna, and engulfed the entire stadium. Only his grin seemed wider, but she could tell his eyes were anything but jolly. Just what kind of face would she make when her grace, the one remaining shard of that archangel, was stripped from her and became his? It wasn't fear of pain, death, or even himself that he was going for.

The fear of losing a precious friend. This was what plundering her grace would entail. Would she still surrender herself?