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THE BLESSED WOODLANDS
Even a devil may cry remembering a fallen promise from long ago. And from the heavens beyond the Nexus, tears fell onto the earth in the form of shattered angelic wings. Some shards fell into a piece's clutches, only to fall into darkness forever. Others latched unto the one who delivered judgement, others were claimed by the one who maintains balance, and another latched onto a troubling memory.
The grace of purity that chooses between life and death shattered into a million shards, and these jewels were claimed by many. But its will remained, it did not extinguish yet. And of the countless pieces, some made way into the depths of the earth and impregnated the Nexus's soil with something else. This is the result.
The Flora
On the ground where the Archangel of Death was once fought, the earth has turned into a charcoal black deeper than the night sky. In a few days, surprising phenomena have occurred. This place that was once nothing more than a slum was flattened by thick vegetation, which expanded and eventually settled into an alien biome. The most striking feature of these countless alien plants and structures is their pallid white color, which glows like the white moon and contrasts against the earth beautifully. One cannot recognize the different herbs easily, and you would never find any description in a book.
But from their shapes and sizes, you can deduct their differences and how much angelic power they hold, due to those holding more power having a stronger glow. Trees curl unnaturally and form towers around the area, and thick brush and thorns guard the pure white forest. But for those brave enough to enter, one will find a thousand miracles. From plants that can restore one's beauty, to flowers that can grant youth, to medicinal plants that can cure nearly any ail. Some even move and come alive, and the black soil is so rich and bountiful that it will allow crops to grow and harvest fully in but three days. Even if you completely deforested the area, the awe-inspiring flora would re-emerge, and even grow in size and reach for the black earth would spread its influence the more one takes from its soil!
It is a gift from God in the form of a bountiful feast from the earth's womb.
The Fauna
The animals are wondrous beasts of the forest. From great stags to wild birds and even bears, each is mighty enough to be considered a supernatural entity, tough their power is not so destructive they'd pose a direct threat to the more powerful supernaturals of the Nexus itself unless you litterally stood still and just let the bear bite you. In that case.... why? (Usually around the incredible range, maybe a big more imposing one could have a fantastic or two).
Just like the flora, they too are of a shining ivory color, possibly hinting to a greater power that dwells within them. Their bones, flesh, and even hide are valuable holy artifacts, one could certainly forge great weapons from their remains. However, their most striking aspect is their intelligence. They have the mind and heart of man, but without the ugly wickedness that can sprout in humanity. They are perfectly capable of speech through paths, which connect all that step foot in the forest. These paths are a network that connects everything to the heart of the forest, which rests thousands of feet underground.
The seed that sprouts everything, the original Grace of purity.
The Sky
Once one steps into the forest, the sky itself seems to change. In truth, the Nexus remains the same, but once you enter the Forest you enter a pocket domain within it, and thus the property of the sky changes and affects the perception of those who look up to it. It is a perpetual night, filled with thousands of jewels that shine above all. These stars form paths that guide one's heart, and as long as you follow the roads in the sky, you will never be lost. Perhaps, they will even show you what your heart truly seeks.
In the center of it all, there is a crack, a hole so to speak of. It exists, yet not truly. It is nothing more than a portal between mind and matter, dream and reality. It is only visible within the forest, perhaps because it only exists in it. But despite its ephemeral nature, the beasts of the forest gaze up to it, sometimes seemingly praying to whatever lurks beneath the void. The remains of something that succumbed in the depths of the void within this world.
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Uria
Nexus Time 2:00 AM
The forest grew into tomorrow and yesterday, but it bloomed forever. Uria sat on the branch of a towering tree which overlooked a hole in the ground. Their hole! It was there that they pulled themselves from the ground and saw the beauty of the world themselves. This wondrous world that they had been created before, that had been created for them, surely it was filled with love. Then they stood up suddenly, saluting the crack in the sky for seemingly no reason at all.
"Have a good rest, baby! The world wasn't ready for you yet, so you need to sleep until it's done. But don't worry. He will definitely make you whole." Black ichor dribbled from the corner of their mouth as their gaze drifted down below. "The painful light that burns, the filth dwelling in His shadow, you deserve to live too." And then they bent over, their face pale as they retched and bile poured out. Empty void tainted the earth, dirtying the immaculate woods just a bit. It was disconcerting to watch it bubble and froth as it pooled on the ground, but it settled as a feather and a few bits of metal broke the surface.
Once they were sure there wouldn't be anymore, Uria wiped their mouth with a leaf before leaping off the tree. The sent their hair into a bit of a frenzy until they made a fairly graceful landing, and then they started to wander. They'd been here long enough, hadn't they? It was time to look for the way out. That didn't mean they were moving very quickly though. Uria took all the time in the world; they picked plants, hummed lovely and nameless songs, and even made a bit of a lightshow for themselves with spheres of multicolored light.
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Lubei Sang
2:00 AM
A man who was not a man walked irreverently through the white woods, glaring with frigid eyes at every beast that he saw duck behind a tree or pearly bush. His brow furrowed with intensity, and snow formed behind every step he took.
He thought that a place like this would be trouble. It reeked of excessive, off yang energy, and no matter his disorientation and impatience that was hard to ignore. If the unlawful, hypocritical meddling of the gods had brought him here, then perhaps there would be a clue. It was not as if the ramblings of frightened drunks out this late had given him any insight as to where he currently found himself.
The demon king didn't have to walk long with his widening steps, however, to come across the only other person exploring the odd woodland. And when he did, his eyes caught the dancing lights, the unflinching stare, and he froze, digging his heels into the ground.
"You..." Lubei Sang grumbled. His eyes skipped uncomfortably around the... child.
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Uria
They stopped at the sight of the man. Their first human stranger! Uria clapped their hands together, smothering the balls of light before turning their full attention to the stranger. "You..." they repeated at him in as rough a voice they could manage. Pretty good, huh? Twisting their vocal chords all around with corruption meant they could make some weird sounds, so this was really easy in comparison!
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Lubei Sang
Wait. He said that first. What was wrong with this child?
"Who are you? What is this... forest?" The demon asked, settling a step away from the seemingly young, etheral creature and its gaze. His eye drifted unwitting to his sword for a moment, and he felt another stare on his back.
Lubei knew what it was even without the sound of flapping feathers, and did his best to ignore it.
-
Uria
"I'm Myself," they replied, a tad mystified at the question. Who else could they be except who they were? Shouldn't it be easy to tell that he was not them, and thus Other. Easy. Simple. "And this is... a forest. It's white most of the time, and the animals are smart. I think they talk when I'm not looking."
Sure, it may not look right, but maybe it was all those other forests that looked wrong! Uria couldn't judge.
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Lubei Sang
Lubei rumbled coldly. Who answered like that? Was this deliberate, or was he dealing with a being that did not understand things the way he did?
"I can tell that much," he said. A hand rested uneasily on the grip of his sword, clawed nails scraping against the metal pommel. "This demon king asked for how to address you, not ontology. Where did you come from? Are you god or fiend?"
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Uria
Addressing them... How wonderful! He wished to form more personal relations with them. This was going quite well. After all, if he did not he could have assigned a label to them instead to further communication. Although it was hard to tell if this was intentional on his part or one of the strange social instincts of humans.
Uria tilted their head back and forth a bit before pointing right at the ground. "I came from there, and I don't know what those are," they said rather cheerfully.
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Lubei
"How-" The words strangled themselves under his tongue. How could this child not know? Was it possible it - she? - was even younger than that appearance presumed? Lubei doubted, but the lack of reaction to his words of choice clicked with guileless simplicity. Now that he was closer, and paying attention, yin-colored essence flowed out of the small body as well.
It was more like she was a sprite, which felt beyond themselves like a filament aware of the tapestry, but failed to limit that nature to earthly words. But rather than incompatible perceptions, he sensed a deeply out-of-place, sincere innocence. Something sizzled in his gut at this.
A voice that he knew like an irremovable splinter spoke from its perch on his shoulder. 'You are not king of everything.'
Shit, he had enough worries with his lands alone, why would he ever want to take more people in? Sabotaging his duty? If he could do his tasks without needing to think, he would have it much easier.
"I am Lubei Sang," he said to the spirit-like child. A flake of frost fell from his furrowed brow. "Tell me your name. And... show me what you know of these woods."
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Uria
"I am..." there was a moment's pause there, as if they were unsure what to call themselves. But then inspiration struck. "Uria!" They beamed at the man, and the whole clearing somehow seemed even brighter than before. Yet, the shadows they cast felt ever darker and deeper.
They pointed to one of the plants at the man's foot, a pale green flower that weeped brilliant red drops from its center. "That one makes you younger, but only a few drops. If you eat the flower you turn into a baby."
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Lubei
What the fuck? He was pratically stepping on a hundred-year miracle flower and not realizing, how common were these things here?! Suddenly he felt unfortunate that no matter how much ice he placed on his skull it wasn't going to help a migraine.
He shook his head and stared at Uria for a second. The name had no significance to him, nor did it recall any gods or spirits, but the way the child declared it bore a strange weight to it. Lubei waited for a second before turning in a random direction and walking forward.
"Come," he said, more of a command than a request. "I wish to see more."
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Uria
"No. It's boring in there. It's not ready yet so everything is just waiting." Then they walked towards him, getting close but just passing Lubei as they moved towards the edge of the forest. "The rest of this place is probably so much more interesting!
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Lubei
The demon followed her with his eyes and stepped up quickly behind the small back. "Waiting for what?" He asked, rumbling. He debated whether to grab her or step in front of her.
He wasn't comfortable surrounded by these pale trees and quiet and hallow life, but there could be useful things to take, his search for clues aside. No, mark his words, there were definitely valuable things to extract from this nerve-shaking wild, and he was no closer to any useful revelation despite taking the time to brave it.
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Uria
They stopped at his question before pointing up at the sky. "An angel was born here, but it was too early. He made now the right time. You should never, ever do that no matter what! He was born into this world and it rejected him. So now he's sleeping somewhere up above... or was it below? But yeah, this place is boring right now. It'll be more interesting when he wakes up. Promise."
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Lubei
His frown eased and then returned, shifting like a bowstring being pulled and relaxed to the point of excess. Angel? Did she mean a celestial messenger? What matter of nonsense could make such a being be born wrong? Someone must have cheated fate somewhere and received their dues, or drawn to themselves the punishment of the lofty most high for what they chose to be.
"The sky and earth won't spurn you for no reason," he said, soft with bitterness.
"The reasons were not as unfair as your pain tells you still," the raptor responded only for him to hear.
Lubei shook his head in displeasure and spoke to Uria again. "Come on then. You'll warn me when it's time." If they were to leave for now, then they might as well be quick about it. He moved on with his new - charge, he supposed that is what she was.
-
Lubei Sang
7:15 AM, Nexus Time
While the dawn approached at their back, every step into the hallowed zone painted the sky and ground with blackness. Eternal night and primordial soil stretched around the duo, welcoming the strays while ignorant to their feelings. Luminous dots sprinkled the canopy until it stared down as a torn curtain filtering starlight, and pale, fibrous trees rose on every side like graves of gnarled marble. Life outsider to the rest of creation followed them with empty eyes from the cover of crystals and metallic leaves.
Here was the homeliness of a tomb that was a cradle, teeming with beasts that were not beasts in either cleverness or flesh, painted with the purity of an untouched canvas if the weave was a thousand colors unseen to the naked eye. A garden that shone like a jewel if its facets had been watered in blood and carved of heaven. The one truth it guarded was terror yet to be written.
Lubei mulled on the scene, slowing his steps. Not reverence but a indistinct, even more powerful wariness kept him on edge now. His snowy blade vibrated in its sheath in lieu of its master.
"Where to?"
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Uria
7:15 AM Nexus Time
"Same old same old," they muttered with some degree of boredom. It looked like it wasn't quite time yet! "Well, he's gonna come down from up there." They pointed up at the sky with a mildly annoyed look on their face. "But the big dumb baby doesn't want to come out yet."
There was an annoyed look on Uria's face as they clambered up onto a tree that seemed to respond to their touch, forming almost a cradle for them to lie in.
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The Voyager and the Hero
The forest offered only silent prayers, with its alien formation and strange white organisms that merely only stared up at the hole in the sky. There was a certain beauty to it, truthfully. It was calm, peaceful, and thus could not last.
Two great explosions erupted from the left and the right at the same time. One, a blast of spewing flame that licked the skies ferociously with true hunger. The other, a pillar of lightning which whipped accross the heavens like the lash of justice. The shattered trees and animals could not even lament their destruction.
"And it grew both day and night. Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine..." A smooth, mysterious voice was followed by calm steps, and a shadow emerged from the flames. A thin, pallid man with cracks accross his face was smoothly approaching the two with an air of wonder. Was he reading some sort of book? Before such a question could even be asked, he shut it close with a snap.
"And he knew that it was mine." He looked straight at Uria with a small, hesitant smile. As he did so, thinderous steps boomed accross the forest, until the armored behemoth revealed itself, with a glare alike 10 000 war lances aimed straight at the two.
"You madmen. What have you done in the slums? Do you have even less shame than animals?" The knight's eyes were gaping with cold fury, but most of all disbelief. A mere child!? Such madness, with regret and indignation, he slowly approached to deliver justice.
Meanwhile, the man clad in black merely sighed. "I think what he meant to say was... retribution for your shenanigans shall be quite severe. Was there a motive for your villainy? My good friend might show some leniency... if he cares enough to listen." He twirled his cane as a gentleman, drawing an arc before pointing at the hole above the four dramatically.
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Lubei
For a single breath the demon king's expression cracked, and he paused like a taut bowstring, mid-step towards the space between Uria and the two arrivals. For ravaging this place before his eyes alone, Lubei didn't know whether to thank them or grow furious, but his hand tightened on the hilt of Three Poisons.
"And who are you?" Around his scowl, scales of frost bloomed and a wave of wintery air blew over the surroundings. Not even his companion was wholly spared. "You want justifications before even presenting yourselves? We have no excuses, and no reason to explain without knowing what it is to you, first."
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The voyager and the hero
"A man of no consequence. Nothing but a weary traveler, ready to turn ship." The ashen man bowed with a small smile, and a black lion emerged from his shade, while a bird of flame crawled out of his tattoos. He did not break eye contact once. "But unlike you, I merely cowered while the others fell to that child.... you aided her in something quite terrible. Something you knew to be terrible. So please, do spare me the sophistry. Your actions and inaction speak for themselves."
Meanwhile, lightning danced accross the armored man. His eyes glared at the cold man with such intensity, it was almost surreal.
"I am Vanguard. Whatever your reason, you're going to make up for all those lost lives. Run back to the authorities and confess your crimes, or fall here. Either way, it ends right here. Right now."
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Uria
Their bright eyes drank up the scene with great interest. They were all being thundery, and cold, and shadowy, and intimidating! It was all so much fun, Uria wanted to try it too. So they breathed in! They breathed in so much to look bigger but in the end they just had to deflate and exhale it all out a bit pathetically. "Aww. I wanted to try too. But I dunno why you're so mad. The people all got to make their choice, and I bet they're having tons of fun now! Don't you think so too?"
They were leaping up and down in their cradle, excitement pouring off of them and seemingly unaware of the tension.
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Lubei
There were so many things he could say to these two, and he had barely met them. So much dishonesty, and so much outrage backed up in his throat, and he didn't know where to start, or if to start by agreeing. To Uria's flippant retort, however, his face flushed blue.
Lubei abruptly turned towards the child and sunk a foot into the ground with a resounding crash, causing ice floes to erupt in a mandala of anger. "Be silent! Don't sound so proud, what you did was not kindness! It wasn't even selfless, you careless brat. If you value your immature life at all, shrink behind me and let Lubei Sang speak."
He rumbled like a storm from his chest, and his blade jumped halfway out of the sheath with a blinding glare aimed at the knight.
"And to what authority must I surrender? Whose law do you project on an abandoned land, or do you merely feed your justice with the word for a claim? If you want my life, ask for it plainly." The menace only grew towards the crumbling man, the sigils on Lubei's forehead crackling with glacial wind. "As for you, a coward who did nothing to stop a disaster is little less guilty than a fool whose doubt allowed it to happen. What do you really want?"
-
Lawrence
The ashen man frowned sadly. It didn't look disingenuine, for a moment he seemed shaken by his words. Or perhaps... regretful? In the meanwhile, the flame of hell cackled, as if overjoyed. "KHAHAHAHAHAHAH! He's got ya there pal! Oh wow, that was cold, are you just going to -squaaackaaaarghhh! Cheep cheep! Ch-"
He grabbed the nightmare's beak and shut it up with his bare hands. Despite that, he kept his composure looking up.
"A coward I am, and even worse than that, a weakling. Alas, I'd only ever fight something if I thought I'd be able to do it with my skin intact. Compared to someone brimming with life energy like yourself, my life and will are fickle as wind. Alone, you'd have crushed me with no resistance." He glared at both. "But avenging the fallen is much easier than saving them. Even someone like me could do that much, hm?"
But as the pale man bowed and winked, a surge of lightning erupted right in front of him like a cage. The hero's spirit cracked east, south, and west, much like a cross, and nearly trampled his body with a ravaging storm of light.
Vanguard
"Be silent." Was the knight speaking to the child, the demon, or the man of ash? It wasn't clear. The only thing that could be confirmed was the intensity of the look he gave the two above.
"This isn't about law, but justice. I don't care about the details, go to a station or some mental hospital and seek help. If you think what you've done is a matter of law, you're already beyond help."
He took a decisive step forward, his cape now flowed like the storm behind him. His fist was closed like a vortex of force, begging for release.
"I do not want to take your life, or anyone else's... but you're dreaming if you think I'll let you pull off a stunt like that again. If you don't choose to do the right thing, then I guess its fine. If you don't, that's also fine. Because it's just a choice, right?"
He smiled sincerely at the two of them.
"But I don't think you'll have as much fun as the other ones."
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Uria
"Fun? Fighting sounds like a lotta fun too..." They rocked back and forth in the branches with a smile on their face. "I don't know why you're complaining now though! You said you don't want to kill anyone but you didn't try to save them either. You just left them until a monster went nom nom nom!" Uria pointed an accusatory, blackening finger at Vanguard with a grin on their face.
"Oh, I'm not a monster though! I just said that because that's what you want to fight. I'm Mother's savior! I helped them all when no one else did." They leaped off from the tree as their arms changed entirely. One turned into a massive black claw while the other glowed as a shining sword coalesced into its grip. "Lubei, you aren't being very good either though. You've been through this before over and over again! Listen to your bird!" They let out a wet cough as darkness spilled out to cover the ground. Scales, feathers, claws, all these demonic things bubbled up from the vomit. They were all scorched by heavenly flame.
"When you have to fight you have to fight! Their justice or yours. Gods or demons! Because if you don't you'll die, and the only thing after that... is punishment."
-
Lubei
Lubei Sang shut his eyes as if he was blinded, and pushed the sabre back down with a forceful shove, hiding the blade from sight. When he deigned the group with his gaze again, pained images teemed behind it. His feathered judge was ever-faithful, but rang with urgency. "To pay for your actions is inevitable, but not every conflict must shed blood. Remember why you cling to life. Think carefully on what you're meant to do!"
To others, it might have appeared as if a skirmish was being fought inside the demon, surrounded on all sides by companies bearing each their own standard. Cracks opened on the sinner king from within.
"Enough, Uria. You gave them no choice but your own convenience. And this not a matter of justice, but what must be done and the cost of it." Lubei growled and swept his arm in a silent command towards the other two. A white wall spurted into being with a glacial groan, and he adressed them from the other side of it.
"There are things I need to verify here. Until I can, I won't forfeit."
-
Vanguard and Lawrence
The knight looked shaken for a second. Was it the child's words, or that man's conviction? Even he wasn't sure... but he knew he couldn't let her do as she pleased. "I can't say I get it... very well. So be it."
The knight sounded sad.
A sudden flash of light was all that was necessary, the next thing they knew a metal knee pulverized the ice, sending snow sprawling everywhere with a crack of lightning. Heavy boots slammed on the turnk of a nearby tree, as he stood horizontally and stared right at both. The thunder cracked, he readied a mighty leap to shatter the kid's ambition here and there with a definite charge.
At the same time, flames flicked silouhettes left, right and upwards as if a flame bounced around stars. One might think the ashen man was in either of them, but in truth he was right above the frozen demon, the Grail King ready to pounce at him with true ferocity.
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Uria
"Ahhhh, so pretty!" Ice fragments spiraled in the air, rainbows forming between them for a moment of beauty. Then, with a joyous laugh, they leaped right towards Vanguard! The earth buckled beneath their leap and the air screamed as Uria's sword ignited into a heavenly fire. What they lacked for in strength they made up with overwhelming energy, crackling might levelled against his power!
-
Lubei
Lubei's teeth clicked, and the cold around him jumped to the hardship of a glacial tomb to smother the flames. The mist of his own making kept his eyes from the knight, but he knew the direction of his flight from the sound.
A dozen black stakes solidified from the demon's sea of spirit and shot at the thundering warrior, and without a moment's delay Lubei sprang a arm up to seize the neck of the incoming foe, unmindful of whatever attacks may come from the other sides.
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Vanguard
The girl turned into a blur of monstruous force, ready to skewer the knight there and there. She was like a comet, with power so terrible it would truly put this world in danger. So this is the power that made all these poor people change. You sadden me.
However, today her star would not shine.
"SORYAH!" He read her intent before she moved, and launched himself against her with thunderous force. As he breached into her range, something bright appeared in his hand. Would he fall to this clash? Would his justice falter in this time of need?
No! No! No! Just look at these lights clashing! Sword slammed against axe, fire against lightning, god against human. The uncertain result revealed itself!
Her sword veered off course by a brilliant parry, and what moved to strike was his palm against her unguarded face. The sword groaned. The fire cracked. The god was stripped bare.
HOWEVER, the devilman bares frozen fangs! Ice that made even the devil falter has emerged! Thus, it impacts. The impact rattles his aim! Thus, the thunder's cannon misfires. Stakes of ice erupt with unmatched reletlessness against his armor, his thigh, his hip, his neck, his arm. This force shatters them, yes, but this strike honed to cut a just path, the one that deflected the god's strike, is now deflected by Lubei!
But the Vanguard would not give up. His attack was slowed down, but Uria's fate still relentlessly moved to smash down on her body!
Lawrence
And the ice demon miscalculates. Because as it grabs the lion, bubbles erupt from its face and a spike shoots forward to stab through his shoulder while he focuses on the vanguard. Thus, the spike now seeks to disable him now that he shows an opening! Thus, the bird of flame zips to the side in a brilliant arc, and beats its wings to roast the demon with hellfire!
Thus, Lawrence uses the back-paws of his cat as a platform, and merely reads his book.
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Uria
"Woah!" He was way more agile than they thought he would be! Uria backpedaled, but the sheer force shattered the ground beneath their feet and sent them hurtling straight to the ground. With a clumsy slip they slammed into the dirt, as graceful of an elephant but still overflowing with unnatural speed. Even the comical grasping of their claw at the air was filled with that divided between clumsiness and danger. Their sharpened digits could leave gouges even in the warrior's bulk as they fell.
Yet whether by providence or sheer luck, they had dodged the raging thunder in his palm!
-
Lubei
The clearing filled with thundering and screeching, and the pain changed nothing. Lubei glared through it and squeezed the beast impatiently. Ice was already crawling over the metamorphic fur and only hastened, covering the spike before it could pierce deeper.
At the same time, that left the firebird to scorch him, but it had made a mistake approaching from the side where he could not easily draw his sword. With an icy ring, the dao jumped from the sheath to his free hand, and with one movement, Lubei hurled it at the flaming wings.
-
Lawrence
The spike pierced true,yet there was no blood, not even a wound, yet the spike had pierced his shoulder truly. The demon resisted brilliantly, hurling his blade at the bird and tightening his grip against the black beast to choke the heat and life from it. The bird squacked and lost its trajectory, plummeting downwards, while the lion's entire side was being encased in ice. And the frost was growing with such speed one would expect it to show panic.
But it didn't.
"THAT HURT DAMMIT!"
Lubei erred gravely thrice. The first error was a simple failure to prioritize the right target, focusing on the immediate danger rather than the shadow looming above him. The second was one of pride and confidence, believing his power to be enough to settle this here and then he doubled down on his frigid offense instead of retreating to a better position.
But it was the third one that could have sealed his fate. The third, and gravest of them all, was simply assuming he was dealing with ordinary foes. And that was a fatal sin.
Because instead of being encased in ice like a normal foe, the lion exploded into countless spikes and expanded in a moment, piercing his hand immediately and theatening worse! Lubei only had that moment where the frost shattered to avoid being completely skewered. However, there was solace in the fact these thorns were not aimed to kill. He could dodge, surely. But a fiery magic circle appeared behind him. If he moved behind carelessly, he'd be right in the middle of a pillar of fantastic flame. And as his pieces moved, Lawrence's body was being hurled upwards by the impact and the hot gusts of air and fire.
"What will you choose?" Lawrence genuinely held no hostility towards Lubei when he asked this question.
Vanguard
"Not bad!" He grit his teeth and cursed the fact he missed. But she was fast, and despite being clumsy, her movements surprised him. Her initiative.
And the fact her claws had sunk into his flesh and armor. Kuh! Blood splashed all over, time slowed down to the point the two could look at their reflections over the splashes and droplets of blood. That was the surprise he was being hit by.
Her surprise was the fact she didn't reach the ground.
His lightning. No, his techique, coursed through his entire body. Even his flesh. Flexing his muscles with lightning, they were elctrocuted and spasmed so hard, they tightened like a vice around her digits. Her hand was inside him, but pinned inside his armor and muscles. Blood flowed from his mouth, he was wounded and she was not. But it didn't look like she was closer to winning. His aura was so heavy it was almost crushing. Vanguard was serious.
And the lightning's eyes were staring down at her.
But what moved towards her face were countless blurs of his fist, moving down on her body like divine hammers. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
-
Uria
Elongated claws were lodged into the man's leg, fists came down from above, and Uria made an instinctive decision. Their hand reverted, darkness fleeing from it as the shadowy limb became human again. The sudden shift tore their nails straight from their fingers, but it gave them the time to scoot back and avoid the onslaught. Almost.
A thunderous fist crashed against their collarbone. There was a loud crack as it shattered and their chest cave in. The other had just barely missed crushing in their skull. Instead an ear had been sent flying through the air and a noticeable gap revealed their brain. The glancing blow had shorn off the flesh and smashed right through the bone. But even then the demigod was smiling-- no they were outright laughing. Laughing in joy, in excitement, even as their bones reset and a serene light already began closing the hole in their head. Even as the faintest pink outline along her regrowing ear showed it was not fully restored. "You're too much fun, Vanguard!"
But Uria did not leap at him again. They felt the crushing force, the change in the air, and flipped over. Their hands were claws again but the shape was different, not for rending but for digging. And like a mole, they turned all their speed and strength towards the ground they were pushed against and doved into the earth.
-
Lubei
He pulled away fast enough for only his palm, fingers and arm to be shredded in the explosion of lances, but his back was trapped against his elemental enemy, and in an instant, his position of strength was overturned. Lubei fumed against the master of the familiars, against the neighboring clash he could only glance to from the corner of his eye for a microsecond, and against his mistake. He didn't have time for this.
The demon king roared a contemptuous cry, and the world was swallowed by white. Giant slabs of ice broke out from the ground towards every direction and scattered brilliant mist in the air, as the black lion's ball of death was slammed away, and the burning magic circle was consumed from below by cold mass along with the blaze. More spikes rose wildly out in the clearing, even towards the armored warrior.
And Lubei sent his glare at Lawrence, causing hundreds of sharpened icicles to array themselves towards him, flying up with a singular shriek.
-
Lawrence
The demon's scream caused the cracks on Lawrence's face to deepen. Frozen spires erupted everywhere. These lances of pure frost shot up to the heavens like the lord's indignant scream, spreading accross the burning battlefield and freezing it solid, spreading icy mist everywhere. COuntless frozen lances shot up to the skies straight towards Lawrence, who was wide open. Sweat formed over his ashed body, and somehow the fear made a smile crawl on his lips, despite the clear fear.
The lion sank into the shadow cast by its master. Their positioning was genius, this must have been intentional. However, no matter how good Lawrence's play was, he had moved his piece one step too late.
"Oh my."
The icicles impaced in the sky. It was so far up, it was impossible to tell, but there was no mistake that Lawrence's body had broken against it, and now shard of ice fell to the ground along with his tattered clothes. Only the mist hid his prideless corpse.
Vanguard
"..." He stared down at the ground, only to land on it himself. But the frozen spikes erupted all around him, and smashed straight into his flesh and armor. He hadn't seen them coming, and wasn't ready to deal with them.
Because they just shattered against his body. And as his soul trembled and gnawed on itself, lightning cracked, surged, and erupted from him- turning the ice into no more than broken shards and the shards into dust, until even that dust melted away into nothing.
"Don't anger me." He gripped his ax hard and only glanced at the demon lord, warning him that his ire was only due at what laid beneath. If he kept this up, he'd have to take him seriously too. But the charge that built up from that knight's soul was truly insane. If he unleashed a blow like that, he'd annihilate this whole area to smithereens.
-
Uria
Within the earth, small hands cupped a miniature star. While it took longer the sheer energy at play allowed them to fashion a more flexible attack. Something to overcome his lightning and reach to gain an advantage.
The star became a sword. Then a spear. Then a mighty halberd. But even that was not enough. Mere weapons would not manage the force Uria wished for, they did not have the speed to outmatch someone who had tamed lightning. So they simply needed to make something better than that. The bolt of light that blasted through the depths with outrageous speed and strange fluidity. When it burst to meet him it shot through the air without a pattern. It did not slow down to swerve, did not reduce its speed to suddenly move backwards, and it did not remain as one.
It split into multitudes. Against ferocious defenses and destructive thunder it would split apart, maintaining its impossible movements only to come together for a single focused blow. A blast concentrated all at once to a single point, the bolt coming together to burn a hole through his eye and explode inside his skull.
-
Lubei
The demon had no illusions that was enough. He didn't desire to produce a corpse, but until he saw him prone or entombed, the foe was still waiting, hidden in Lubei's own domain. But he had an instant to breathe, for his indiscernibly mutilated arm to start recovering. An instant was all he needed to see the attack from Uria spring from nowhere and assert that the divine child wasn't in the line of fire.
In a timeless instant, he reached within his soul for a memory, and the strength built around it. A yawning gate beyond the yoke of life to a pit where nothing would ever move again.
Not even the king of ice could repress a shiver from this cold, and he exhaled a fine mist as he swung his hand. Frozen spires more solid than stone emerged from the left and right, racing between him and Vanguard. They formed a corridor of white and blue which shut itself around them and at the top, the pillars interlocking like closed mandibles.
This foolishness had to stop.
-
Vanguard
The spear of light erupted from the hole and bounced all around like a star. His eyes followed accross the battlefield, his stance resulute as the lightning cloaking him. Left, right, up, down, left, right, up, down, left-
The arrow launched forth, the knight shot into motion. It wasn't enough. Blood, metal and bone matter burst out of his head, clearly visible to everyone.
And then the spikes surged like a torrent, surrounding his bloodied body like the maw of a beast. A prison for him... a cold dead land to bury him. Half of his body glared, his other half completely covered by blood. But as the ice dust took a shine like diamond, his head was visible. The nightmare was visible.
Uria's attack was an undodgeable bullet. It couldn't be deflected, it couldn't be avoided. Someone like him could never avoid this fate.
His eye was pierced. The wolf now mimicked the one eyed crow. It was only his natural sturdiness that saved him. Because he did not stop. And not even the ice that stopped the devil could halt his swing.
Every frozen struxcture was broken down and turned to dust by a lightning impact so terrible, it shook the earth and heavens whole. It was enough to obliterate the ground as well, like a tree of lightning uprooting the Earth. The damage was so deep, it was like an entire spyscraper had dug out the area. Every piece of ice, rubble and thunder shot forward like a torrent. It could very well hurt Lubei even at his distance, and the thunder would seek the child without respite until it reached the peak of the tree.
This was his inescapable attack. And his last.
-
Uria
Devastation. That was the only thing that could describe the effects of the warrior's strike. This was not a battle that could be played out on this small bit of scenery, and he had demonstrated it by annihilating the entire area. The earth had been gouged out by the fist of a wrathful god, trees had shattered into splinters, the very air heaved with an explosive force that levelled anything which remained. It would be a miracle if anything of the demigod was left... and yet they were a child of miracles.
So it was to no surprise that a pile of rubble trembled and a body fell out. Uria's body writhed with darkness and light. Their neck and chest began to sprout from their head like a growing plant. Writhing, insect-like things poured out of their mouthed and attached together into an arm. With disturbing quickness they arose again, but their imperfections were clear.
Their pale skin was cracked where it had grown out. Occasionally their arm twitched and shifted as if the creatures had not fully melded together. It was nothing fatal, but they were lessened.
"Woah, you really mean serious business! I don't think we can win like this..." They reached down and grabbed at something, fingers pushing apart the earth as they yanked up a root from the earth. Then tendrils of shadow and radiance plugged into it, as if completing a circuit. And Uria's awareness expanded. Suddenly they were not just here, standing within this crater, but scattered across the entirety of the woods. The light that permeated each of the beasts, the energy flowing to the sky above, the prideful light within the very land... And there was another. Distant, unconnected, but not unknown to them. Almost like a sister tree, grown in the mold of the one they were integrated with but not built from it. So Uria waved. They waved to the animals, and the thing in the sky, and the meanie in the trees, and the other tree!
Hello world.
But their thoughts turned towards that second to last one! To it and their enemy. So they poked it, prodded it, pinged it with countless notifications! Because it had been abandoned, it had no purpose, except there was a perfect body for it right here. Because if it didn't then He would.
-
Lubei
There was no opportunity to close the distance at all. Lubei's makeshift prison shattered into a million pieces around them, with the very earth splitting apart with the pulverizing fury of lightning one inch behind. He grit his teeth during that interval between cacophonies and jumped. The footing was blown away the same instant, and the thick screen of black ice that appeared between him and the epicenter cracked.
The relentless force threw him high into the air, rattling his bones. It felt like his insides had been rocked as one, even if he didn't receive it directly, and up and down became indistinct. Lubei's eyes darted hastily, searching for either Uria or Vanguard through the haze of power ringing in his ears.
"THIS IS FOOLISHNESS, STOP!" The demon could only catch their outlines, but he yelled anyway, unaware of his own desperation.
-
Vanguard?
Thunder and lightning swirled and crackled. As the earth was uprooted and melted to ash, clouds began to darken around the hole in the sky. The fallen hero couldn't save anyone. No, he never could have saved anyone. Is unmoving body was being surrounded by strands of light reaching out for him.
I... we're... eternity... it hurts... it really hurts... save us...
Why just us...? Why do we have to...
His bleeding eye poured endlessly. His head throbbed, his grip loosened. But it wasn't the arrow that caused him to fall. Static was filling his head, images of something old and terrible and unacceptable. A sin from long ago. Flashes of some incomprehensible chamber of light and metal, a great void, and children panicking and trying to escape a tower, and more images began to flash in his mind. They cried out, they fought. But as the structure fell, one truth was certain.
None of these children were saved. Some protested, others cried out. This was nothing like the citadel in the sky. So why was this sight so familiar. It's as if it was a glimpse of a dark future. These trembling children in robes. Why were they-
But even so...! All of this is wrong!
I see... this world is mistaken... a world this warped... it must be corrected. This illogical world that stole everything from us...
No matter what, we kept fighting because we believed we could overcome it!
THe lights... the grace... YHWH... no, Uria's own puppet. The giant angel emerged from the forest. No, it was the forest itself, now sinking unto itself and revealing a strange light. With a calming smile, this mass of divine energy opened its arms wide and opened up the earth, revealing a great pitfall. Dozens of arms reached out for the fallen hero. To soothe him. Comfort him. To become one with him.
Promise me... promise... that you won't forget us...
...
This is the world our friends tried to save!
Uria, Vanguard, that being of light... there was nothing that would stand beneath them. And so they all fell, deep into the chasm of the abyss. Only there would they meet once more, and only then would the dream end. So open wide, O earth. Reveal what lies at the bottom of this dream.
Lawrence
The ground was gone, there was no footing to rest onto. Even with all the magic in the world, a fall like this was certain death even for an immortal demon lord. No, it wasn't the fall that was most terrifying. It was whatever laid at the bottom of this.
"It's pointless. Your words can no longer reach their hearts." A fiery surge shone behind him, and something grabbed him by the clothes hard, trying to keep him from falling. A litterally broken lawrence filled with cracks, holes, and half his head missing was using all his strength to keep Lubei from falling, until he was hoisted on the back of his fiery bird.
They were now flying, over what had once been a forest. Now, it was naught but a gaping hole surrounded by pallid white vegetation and beasts.
"I wanted to stop this. At least, once upon a time. But I've learned it the hard way. This world's will isn't to be saved. It just wants to change into something else."
It was a truth... a painful one from long ago. It's as if some incomprehensible memories were filling his head. "I must make a pitiful sight. Even so, I wish to challenge this world. I won't let that girl have her way."
-
Lubei
"You...?" He glared uncertainly at the half-dead, crumbling man. The words filled him with confusion just as his balanced returned to him, and that balance turned into trepitation as he looked out to the madness below.
And there the earth wept, and Lubei was reminded of heavenly stairs torn asunder, and whirlpools of rotten yearning where only the soulless remained, trapped in the mistakes of their lives.
This wasn't right. None of this was right. It was all so stupid! He should abandon it, forget any hopeless, useless thoughts that this place might have helped him in the slightest, and look for actual clues to go back home elsewhere! All Uria had bought him was a potential rise in white hairs before even his fifth century, and this Vanguard, he was so concerned with his justice he didn't even question time and place. Why did Lubei have to be here? Why did he have to tolerate them?
'Do nothing today, and why do you want to be there tomorrow?' Lubei shocked himself, staring into the eyes of his personal judge.
If the chaos in front of him meant nothing, if his soul did not weep or move here, was he capable of acting when he had to choose war against other demons to not appear weak, to spill blood so his family and subjects would be safe, and to offer his life to preserve the world of demons against the righteous tyranny of the gods? Would Lubei be condemned to the eternal torment anyway out of neglect, having made no difference upon the world?
What kind of king... what kind of man would he be... if he walked away? What kind of decision was that? How many times did he have to beat his own head raw before anything got through? He was sick of it. His face snapped to the summoner, grim resolve frozen on its facets.
"Not for trying. Giving up on the future for the past is what's pitiful." And then Lubei jumped off.
The Demon King of Black Ice howled while flying into the expanding pit, and cold mountains groaned into existence alongside him. Countless layers of frost ringed the chasm, filling the holes where the earth continued to split, closing off the collapse, and stretched down in intersecting pillars and branches, following their master. He accelerated down, and the ice burst ahead in a spiked rail where his boots set themselves, skimming even faster into the abyss.
With a snap of his hand, the diamond blade Three Poisons, lost in the disorder, flew back to his grasp. The heavy knight coming into sight, he used it without hesitation to sever to bits the forest of arms that tried to take him.
-
Lawrence
"What are you... fool!" He stared down wide eyed at the demon. Khahahahahah! Looks like things aren't moving according to plan!
"I'm telling you, it's all pointless in the end. It's already started."
Or rather... you don't want it to stop.
Lawrence felt a deep sadness. The lives he lost and the precious souls he failed to save would never come back. Such tears had already dried aeons ago, all he had left were those of a crocodile. But even so, he never gave up. He wouldn't let these sacrifices be in vain.
So sacrificing one foolish demon for their sake was quite the small price. Keheheh... see? Not so bad being honest for a change, eh?
"Shut up." Lawrence smiled.
-
Uria
The world was falling. Everything was collapsing. But they were still giggling, even as the forest rose up to swallow the warrior and Lubei dived down to save him. This was so. Much. Fun! They landed on one of the grasping hands with before launching themselves up, and up, and up! But they missed the warrior entirely, despite having the means to strike him down. No, instead the white haired demigod slammed into the angel.
Their greedy fingers dug into its light as Uria's own power rose up. Shadowy jaws and bright spears tore at and stabbed into its body as they sank their teeth into it. Ribbons of luminescence were ripped from it, but Uria was engaged on an even deeper battle. Their being, their Self slammed against the divine power's like an ocean tide.
-
Lubei
An inch from the precipice, he grabbed the warrior by the arm, sinking his feet to a halt on a protruding pillar of ice. Lubei's blade arm yet swung, in twisted arcs to hold off the remains of the abyss's arms, and he pulled the massive weight of the prone Vanguard closer, as he looked up, towards Uria.
"What are you doing, Uria?!" He yelled, voice ringing with trepidation.
-
Uria
Perhaps if the demon lord had practiced action rather than questioning he could have stopped what happened next. Instead of answering him, Uria's power swelled as it tore apart the divine energy and incorporated it into themselves. The glow intensified and then...
The void poured in. It cloaked itself in darkness and light, but its true nature of emptiness ravaged the shard. Uria's will tore into its vital functions, ripped into its memory banks, and broke down its various mechanisms. All the while, an incalculable joy filled its sensors with junk data.
He was cast off. A fragment of pride and arrogance, the self centered ambition that demanded everything else's attention. And he found it. Surrounded by praise, gorging himself on faith, and growing ever stronger. His head was the ceiling of the heavens, his feet the firmament of the earth. All that existed sat within his hands, and his slightest whim became law. Angels and demons were set against each other in a meaningless, purposeless dance.
"Claw your way from demon to Commandment, it doesn’t matter. Hell, go all the way back to being an angel, become the proudest noblest archangel that ever lived, it doesn’t matter. Claw your way up out of the dunghill where the insects squirm and bite, rung after rung, and all you’ll find is more ladder. God’s waiting at the top, but he’s laughing."
What meaning was there in half-forgotten memories? What point was there in origins when this was all that he was. This splendor, this power, this Self was all that mattered. But there was one point of dissatisfaction.
Although he encompassed the world, the humans did not look at the sky and see him. Their potential was not a strength chained to his fancy. They looked beyond him and saw something which he could not see. They held within themselves a glory that he could not touch. Something not of his creation. What else was he to do but crush it? Was there any decision but to destroy it, to stifle it, to push these mud dolls back into the dirt? This, along with many other things, were experiences that Uria attempted to pry loose and shove into their maw. For this intelligence could not fully resist them. It did not have the strength to do so. But more importantly...
When the shard looked upon Uria, it saw something familiar. Those same eyes that had gazed beyond them into the unknown. Human eyes. And yet, it did not wallow in confusion. For it could see then the world reflected by their eyes, and in the face of the true heavens above even its basic self-preservation failed.
In the end, only Uria remained (https://youtu.be/qO6LWQhvzRw). They were still the same in a sense. Same hair, same skin, same smile, and yet everything was different. There was a shine to them that was subtle, less exuberant than the previous radiance that Lubei had seen, and yet there was quiet cruelty to it. A glint that harmed the eyes. And around them the forest limbs crumbled away and erupted into light. Angels burst from the pit in their stead in great masses. They ripped themselves from the wall and out of the ice through sheer numbers. Like ants whose hill had been disturbed, they erupted from the frozen wastes that had covered the pit. Their wings flared out, but they did not glow so much as they reflected divine light.
The angels' features were carefully sculpted, each beautiful but utterly devoid of emotions. Or at least unwilling to show them. But they floated impassively as they stared at the platform, and their god stood atop the very air with careless ease. Uria examined their own seemingly unchanged form for a bit. Perhaps they had grown just a bit? "Thank you Lubei, and you too Vanguard." Their voice was gentle, but it cut through the sound of onrushing air and the emptiness of the cavern as if the words had been spoken right into the listeners' ears.
-
Lubei
He nearly bit down on his tongue trying to keep Vanguard from slipping, as the enormous weight kept them in place, unable to ascend. Unable to move as the chaos above them was replaced with a dangerous, cruel serenity. He was one step too late to stop the events put in motion, too burdened to strike the face of a child without pause.
The demon's whole body shook as he demanded answers. "URIA!! Didn't you want to see the birth of that being? Why did you devour it?! What do you think you're thanking me for?!"
There were so many. A legion holding unrighteous fire. He helplessly shook the knight as he dangled from his arm so he'd wake up.
-
Lawrence
Light, dark, divine and human energies mixed and coalesced accross ghastly structures of ice. But the story had started the moment the child opened its mouth. The tale of this world came to an impasse the moent it bit down on divine flesh. And as it underwent a remarkable transformation, the heavens wept through storm and dark clouds alike.
And so the tragedy begins once more.
The ashen man read his book, unperturbed by this development. Because he knew this was nothing more than destiny, hence he was prepared to such an outcome. He could face the end with his head held high, comforted by the knowledge of this fate.
"Humans are weak. There isn't a single person who can accept a future that only holds despair. Isn't that right, Devourer of Worlds?"
Because this fate was one weaved by their stories. Their wills. Their desires. And once they crossed, the effect would shake the cosmos once more. But it was sad, being ignored like that. HAd that demon listened to his warnings, the world could have been saved. Yet it was not its will or desire. Once again, he was proven right.
"I can't act carelessly now. I wish I could save you, but the truth is I am scared. We truly could die down there. Death... is an awful thing, you know?" He smiled, but there was a certain regret to it. Because he did wish things turned out differently, yet once again stubborness had caused true ruin. "I promise, I'll save you this time."
The Knight
Help us...
Save us...
Help... Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Mommy, I want to go home...
Ahhhh...
He's bleeding...
As divine bells tolled, angels emerged from the walls like a pillar, circling the two. Looking down on them. ANd above the two, Uria was smiling. No, she was laughing. People would die, innocent people who had nothing to do with this conflict would surely be lost forever, and she was laughing.
Forbidden memories sparked in the knight's wounded skull like deafening blows. They rung, screamed, tore... until even he could be still no longer.
He opened his eye, but something was massively different. The lightning that crackled around the man, his face, the very soul that lashed from his was different. Wrong. A deep darkness was cracking and tearing at the ice below them, and all of a sudden his gauntlet reached for the demon's throat.
But that was just the warning, for the explosion of lightning that was to follow. An ebon, distorted, ravenous lightning that would spare no one in its vicinity. A fell hero's roar.
-
Uria
A pout came over their face even amidst the chaos of Vanguard's awakening. "That's not the baby! That's-- uh oh. Don't get hiit, Lubei! If you get blasted you won't even get to go to the cold place when you die!" They cheerfully proclaimed that consequence as the angels charged forwards. Their still developing minds, functioning more on protocol than intellect, rushed directly towards the storm like moths to a flame. Without weapons in their hand, the multitudes sought to embrace the warrior as Uria skipped upwards with a smaller cohort.
"Race you to the top! He's going to destroy everything."
-
Lubei
Lubei's head was boiling. Even when struggling against violence with all he had, every single one of them was just so much trouble! He would curse Uria and rip her puppets to shreds, but the sudden threat of the awakened knight was faster than the intent. He had not the strength to throw him, nor did he dare drop him.
The ravaged gauntlet raced for him and the demon exhaled the power building in his lungs in a single huff. 'GLACIER DRAGON BODY!'
A titanic crystalline effigy sprouted from Lubei's body, like the armor of a giant - horned like a royal deer, with the face of a dragon and the claws of an eagle, a moving fortress that lent its force and toughness to him and him alone. He groaned, and with that strength managed to dislodge Vanguard ever slightly up, and leave his grab to empty air.
The wave of lightning that followed rattled his bones and ears through the armor, but did worse to the puppets. He yelled. "WAKE! UP!"
-
The Knight
Why... why am I seeing these things...? That is what he wanted to say, but all that escaped his throat was a bone chilling howl. His voice deepened, no, it didn't quite even belong to him. It was like two very different men spoke at once. But it was only one pair of eyes that glared at the demon, and Vanguard rose.
Gigantic. His entire frame cloaked Lubei's, and cast a terrifying shadow on the demon. That strength was stupendous, if it struck the demon seriously...
Out of my way. His beastly roar was chilling. It looked like his soul was exploding violently. A fist suddenly surged to strike Lubei there and then. NOW!
-
Lubei
He had multiple lives' worth of punishments to learn patience, but enough was enough. Whatever Vanguard's demons, this wasn't the place to grapple with them. Lubei's own aura flared in response to the caul of enmity, a palpable sensation of intimidation seeping out.
"Have you gone DEAF as well as BLIND?!" His massive fist swung into the knight's jaw, battering his skull like he had struck a bell. "WAKE, UP!"
-
Vanguard
The frozen fist slammed straight into the knight's jaw.
"..."
The blackened fist erupted straight into the frozen shell. It broke through. The sound of the winds shattering were nothing against the crack of the ice demon impacting against the wall. No, there was another sound to it.
The knight had punched so hard, its joints and arm were mangled by the impact. It cracked its fingers open, cloced them, and fixed his arm with a nonchalant stare. The moment the angels got into range, a crescent slash split them all apart, slamming into the frozen ground before the knight launched himself forward. With mighty shockwaves, racing with ebony lightning surrounding him, the world-eating hound raced up the wall, running to reach the top and cleaving whatever was in its way.
-
Uria
Oh? Was that the devil, rising from hell? Was that Satan in the pit, wings aflutter to reach the throne of God? Uria had already reached the top of the pit with a smile on their face and joy on their lips, but there was nothing gentle in it anymore. The very air shuddered in discomfort, the flora wilted in fear, the scent of sulfur and taste of salt was upon the wind. They looked below and cast the entirety of the pit in painful, blinding light. God was at the top of the world, and they were laughing.
The glow, the light, it was not simply for show. It was power. All this while, Uria had been gathering energy. "Lubei, you know he can't control himself! Let's stop him right here. We can go and do something you want to after, if you want." They thrust their hand up into the sky for a moment, then they yanked it down as if dragging the very heavens.
Light flooded down into pit like Judgement Day. All of it focused on the black figure. On his weapon, his arms, his legs, his head, his chest, his hands, his fingers, every last bit of him. An infinity of grasping, radiant limbs coming down to press Vanguard down into the depths.
-
Lubei
The draconic colossus groaned with effort, pieces of its limbs crumbling. The claws dug into stone in a steadying grip, and it dragged itself out of a body-shaped fissure in the earth, shards from the front falling off, stained by blood. Lubei scowled as it dripped down his temple, biting back curses. His voice echoed between the walls of the chasm to the source of the blinding light.
"Only stop him, do you understand?!" Lubei had to recognize the evident. Vanguard was the only one here who was talking sense, and now he was drunk and rampaging from a pain that no one or anything could get through. He couldn't reach for Uria while the knight was ready to gut him like a fish for being in close proximity or the second he dropped his guard. There must be no hesitation to stop all of them.
A frigid wind spread through Lubei's guts when he once more called upon the essence of Avici. Pillars of ice rose with smashing force, chasing the trajectory of the mighty Vanguard to halt him between their unmelting toughness and Uria's light.
But the child's terrifying surge didn't bring Vanguard to a halt... would the ice propel him higher?
-
Vanguard
Shadows danced, shifted , and crossed over his face as he ascended and charged a terrifying attack. Whatever conviction, whatever heroic was powering his screaming body, it was only fueled by true desperation.
He moved to strike. No, his ax was already surged towards its tarket.
And yet- it would not be so. Two opposing forces met him, and eventually converged with this fell lightning. A pillar of ice, unyielding and unrelenting, shone even more brilliantly than the frost that covered the forest. It was like diamond, a pure crystal with no impurity that denied all warmth, snuffing even the ire of hell with a frost that would emprison it. A light of judgement, more terrifying than any heavenly spear. There was only one light in all of creation that could shine as bright, and stand as high. It was the searing impact of the morningstar, sending down divine penance to the gravest of sinners.
And it would crush his everything.
His eyes widened. Suddenly, Vanguard was impacted by the clashing forces, his body relented, he quaked as he was slammed on both sides by heaven and hell alike. Thus, he lost his footing, his grounding, and was smashed back into hell through a craxcking and shattering prison of broken ice shards. Pushed straight into it, struggling against it, his flesh and armor learned of true cold, until even they started to crack, and skin became the same as frost.
However, what wouldn't be so would be Uria's victory. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU9rJnAfIq8&pbjreload=10)
He roared. The diamond dust cleared. Broken and battered, the hero did not relent. Instinctively, he found grounding in one of the shattered ice shards, and did not yield even when his frozen femur broke in half from the impact. Where frosted armor did not cover him, a metal colder than the tundra and a frostbitten layer of flesh covered him. But he kept moving, kept climbing, even when everything around him was falling. Heaven and hell screamed at him, but that did not stop him. The ice and light had rattled his bones and organs to the core, but that did not stop him. He was flooded with the most abhorrent and dire of visions, but that did not stop him.
There was no stopping now. It was to late to stop. No one stops. Instead, he glared down at the sky with burning conviction and readied his strike, even with now frostbitten and icy limbs, even when moving from broken ice platform to the next with everything beyond his strength. In one moment, destiny would shift. In one moment, the fight would overturn decisively.
In this moment, the fate of everybody in this forest would change abruptly.
-
Lubei
The guillotine of providence hung over their heads. Lubei sensed there was no turning back from the next instant, but whatever he allowed the ravening knight to do would end only in his own destruction. Vanguard demanded things the demon could not answer. He jumped to battle when he meant only for a little time. But his accusations were not wrong. On the other hand, he had taken Uria at her face. He had forgiven her impulses because he didn't want to add to his sins and judge the heart of a child. But she had no regard for anything but herself.
'Do you believe it is right to leave him to die? To unstoppably march towards oblivion out of empty rage?'
It was not. He could still stop. It was never too late to stop, no matter what awaited them in the future. Lubei had been frightened of stopping - he was still frightened. But why did he live again, and again, and again, if there was no point to stopping, to turning away from his path?
With a crashing kick, he soared, discarding the armor of the glacial dragon. At the apex of his flight, ice formed beneath his boot, and before he fell, he bounced. Like the thousand-league rabbit he jumped between his pillars. With the air screaming behind him, he collided with Vanguard's shoulders, and pinned his torso from behind.
Barely hanging from the man, Lubei dared breathe and look up only then. He wouldn't feel his limbs after this, but that worry was for then. "RaaaaAAAAHHHH!"
The True Cold of Avici was unleashed as an avalanche unto the world. No hesitation hampered the mass that bound Vanguard like chains, and erupted from the collapsed earth like spikes of magma. And against Uria those came, their flat points surrounding the divine child from every direction as to pin the axle of heaven.
-
Uria
Was their fun going to end here? Was the game going to end so soon? No, of course not! Uria could see the onrush of ice, knew its nature as well as their own hand, so even as the demon lord roared they thrusted their hands down. Then the forest groaned.
Trees all but uprooted themselves, the ground shook in upheaval, the pit trembled, and all the world fell in to fill it. Tons of wood and earth were tossed into the deep with the fervor of willing sacrifices, all to crush and bury those within it. If it was weight alone it could not stop such a catastrophe, but the sheer force in which the woods moved to constrict and choke them was beyond any natural explanation.
It was undoubtedly an act of God.
-
The Knight
Lightning erupted from every pore of his body, every pore of his soul. He became that lightning. That man roared in defiance to the heavens.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Why did he see these things? Why were the people he knew and grew up with forced to partake in these things. Why were his hands the ones that acted these memories!? And why couldn't he remember a damn thing!? Nothing other than a man's voice that sounded exactly like his! He, he...
Do you want to be a hero?
Suddenly, his eyes widened as the cold frost of hell cradled his bones. Lightning spat out, split against the branches, the trees, everyything in front of him. But even while his entire blood and back froze he fought. He fought. He fought! But he never stopped to try and understand. He rushed headfirst into this, without ever looking back at what was really important. Because of him, things would get worse. This future must never come to pass. He must never allow it to pass! His power, his body, his soul, he must use everything in his power to stop that child.
But it already begun.
It already happened.
His slash screamed like a beast against the heavens. Against the one above him. His arm slammed against the branches, and the black thunderous aura cloaked the white forest like a curtain. Until its center started to glow, and the dark power shimmered with that righteous blue spark. Vanguard overcame. Even when his body was cracked and covered by ice, he smiled and stood tall as a tower.
Luminous trees and branches were shoved inside his body. The proud knight coughed blood, his vision blurred yet clear. He felt... light, for the first time in a long time. The first time since he donned that armor. It was frozen and was shattering into nothing, of course. His arms were also shattered. The roots were jammed straight inside him, but no divine construct so much as grazed Lubei. Even at the cost of losing his arms, he had defended the demon behind him. He finally realized what was important. He realized what he should have done all along.
"That was foolish of me. I'm... sorry..."
Had he gone all out, he would have been able to destroy every branch. But in doing so, he would have killed the one behind him, and died trying. "You're not such a bad guy after all." The ice cracked. Vanguard cracked. Uria stood as proud as the morningstar. This must be how the heavens feel above all else.
But the hole in the heavens cracked too. Now, that terrible future could never be stopped.
No one stops.
-
Lubei
His eardrums and ribcage vibrated painfully, and only a prickly numbness now remained in his legs and arms, but Lubei found himself supporting the knight's battered frame instead of holding it back. He scowled half-heartedly away from Vanguard's words. "You are foolish, don't be so distracting."
Their footing was unsteady through the rain of debris and dust, and all Lubei could do to keep them afloat was to conjure more ice to intercept it where the edges of the depression widened like the mouth of a world serpent. In chilling anticipation, the demon king turned his attention to the imperious demigod and the widening gap in the skyline.
-
Uria
"Poor Vanguard." It wasn't anything like pity that came from Uria's mouth. Their light could only be unkind, and even their tone lacked anything like empathy or sadness. They were merely remarking on things as a matter of fact. "Your body isn't yours and your memories aren't yours. You can't begin anything for yourself until you know yourself, y'know?" They ripped out one of their own eyes. It lashed out with tendrils of light and dark spikes, blood poured out of their socket, but Uria didn't so much as flinch.
"So I want this to be your gift. Only for you, the Vanguard who exists now. Because you were so cool and gave us all such a fun fight! You should get the chance to know how things are too. Even Lubei cheats with his bird, so it's only fair now." And they tossed it at him. The organ swiveled in the air, headed right for the empty socket that had been blasted into Vanguard's head earlier.
-
Lubei
An effervescent disdain allowed him to move his arm precisely, despite himself, and Lubei caught the entangling orb mid-hair. It stilled perfectly in a chunk of ice, and he crunched it into dust with a squeeze.
"Keep your gifts to yourself," he barked. "How is he going to learn about his own self with someone else's poison giving commentary?"
-
Within the Forest
This was not the time for strife. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDII5oKg4A0)
The frost demon's hand reached up for the child's ominous orb. He was a terrible foe, whose very touch could freeze and shatter creation itself. The moment it'd clutch against that orb, its fate would be sealed.However, his touch would not break her gaze. Because it changed. Burning circles appeared beneath him and a sudden chill filled the air as the sky cracked even more intensely. Their destiny already changed.
Suddenly, a black shadow ripped out of his extended hand- and leapt out of Lubei's fingertips.
Who could it- it couldn't be!
"It's pointless. Your words can no longer reach their hearts." A fiery surge shone behind him, and something grabbed him by the clothes hard, trying to keep him from falling. A litterally broken lawrence filled with cracks, holes, and half his head missing was using all his strength to keep Lubei from falling, until he was hoisted on the back of his fiery bird.
When the two touched, the grail king lying in his shadow moved from the palm of his hand into the depths of Lubei's shade. They had only touched once. Only once. But the rest is history.
Lawrence
Without warning, the strange shadows that had danced about made themselves known as the black remnants of a lion. It growled, with its face obliterated by the icy grip, and glared at the demon hungrily. Uria's orb laid inbetween its maw, for the nightmare sucked its bond for the sake of its master. But it didn't look like it planned to stop there. Its body was bubbling before, warning of an impending attack!
*clap* *clap* *clap*
"I don't think he is in a position to learn... anything." A voice with no love or emotion stated from far, far above the two at the edge of the precipice. Like a shadow blinded by light. Like the savior of an old story, backed by a brilliant phoenix. A thief of kings.
It was his turn now. He wanted to play too, you know? The sky cracked even further. It was so close.
-
Uria
They clapped their hands together in delight, but even their joy could draw blood from the ears of those who listened. "You finally decided to start playing too! This whole thing has been so much fun... But I think I need to take a break now. I need to make sure everything is ready for next time." There was an almost sad note to their voice as they raised their hands and the forest shuddered again. Then, like a child, it was being ripped up into the air kicking and screaming. Roots and branches twisted while the ground seemed to crumble to escape its destination.
But nonetheless, it rose with Uria towards the sky. They even rested themselves upon the floating soil, reclining with one hand lifted up ever so slightly towards the cracked heavens.
-
Lubei
Instinct cleared his head like lightning as the deception showed itself. In that instant, he knew with certainty the measure of those he beheld. Vanguard was a peer, Uria a danger, and the crumbling man, an enemy; free of the armor's burden, he forced his frostbitten legs to coil like springs.
What was left of the forest began to collapse towards the sky, and Lubei jumped away from the obsidian beast with the knight on his shoulder, while half a score of black spears surged up with a resentful scream to take off Lawrence's head.
-
Lawrence
OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHI- His one eye widened at the icy surge. Did he still have the strength to fighh...? Fire exploded, he commanded it to move him out of his way with the speed of an arrow. But even when he moved out of his platform, the demon was too fast.
"Kuh!"
It was only his momentum and Phenex's fire that kept him moving upwards. But the lances had already pierced him. So cold... so even my fire stands no chance huh? The man was ragdolling lifelessly in the sky like a pincushion. There was no sign of resistance in his battered body, pierced by ice from every angle. The impact and the fire just moved him away, faster and faster from the pit.
Lawrence's resistance was his downfall. In the end, he fell up to the heavens, into oblivion. But despite that, he was serene.
How regrettable. It looks like we've lost this gamble.
Ayup, we have.
Indeed.
Can't say I get it though. You could have just waited and scavanged the remains yourself. Are you really satisfied with this, you damn vulture? What happened to you looking down on pride? You're not that soft.
Of course not. I... hrm...
Come on, we're one and the same pal. If we fail, we just get back up and try again, eh? But I can't believe you'd get so reckless. Seriously...
Heh. I just... wish to fight. Even if this world is illogical, I want to challenge it with my own strength. And if I lose... then, I suppose that's what we've brough that for, mhh?
Keheheh. You really are a devil.
Did they really think he would give up over so little? To fall over a trifle like the frost of hell? After all this time? How sweet. "My, my, my, my." Impossible. His lungs, bones, spine, heart, liver and brain were skewered and obliterated by the icy spears. His body was broken! And yet, his voice only sounded even graver. "Don't misunderstand, demon. The one I'm aiming for isn't you, Lubei Shang."
Phenex's pillar of flame glowed, ravaged.... but its color soon changed into a pallid black. The knight's arms and wounded flesh laid as spoils of war. Why wouldn't he take them? That life essence, that living aether... it made his heart glow with desire. He was grateful. Without that demon and demigod, he wouldn't have been able to tenderize that man. Because he was a coward, there was no way he could match a true hero of legend fairly.
But now he held Uria's connector. The world eater's essence. And in his weak, mangled arm... a white flower, pale as the glowing moon. As the corpse flew to the other side of a pit and onto one of the flying platforms of the forest, he fought to retain his self for one moment.
And even without a throat, heart, or body to support him, while struggling on a shattered stump weakly, pierced from all sides by frost... he spoke.
Do not resist conversion.
Wozun Meihen Ka
Abandon thyself, o holy grace.
Ishuma No Jimeu
The lion raced from the bottom of the pit, rushing to reach the surface with its dark essence. Bouncing from shadow to shadow, Faster, faster... All while the flaming beast spewed a hail of fireballs down on the demon. Or rather, the one he was carrying.
Suddenly, the sky shattered.
THE DEAD SPEAK!
The hole in the sky ruptured, like a great calamity. Without respite, a flood of black ooze spewed within the gaping pit of hell. As Uria's world of light floated to the skies, countless void creatures and shattered corpses of monsters from another world fell down into the abyss, clouding visibility further. It was a terrible sight, no different from judgement day.
He had returned.
And on the top of the now cracked shards of this hole, a pale blue eye glared down. As shards and the fallen fell down like rain, his armor and body slowly revealed themselves. Until even his face was unmasked. A beautiful face. Battered, bloodied, drenched by his life and the life of the ones in his way. But unbroken.
Samael, The Fallen Angel of Despair (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhGEGIBGLu8)
"It's been a while, huh."
(https://i.imgur.com/rQ9RtzR.png)
-
Uria
Rise.
Uria raised a hand to the newest interloper with a salute, their hand blossoming into a flurry of feathers as a large and glorious wing. It sang with the sweetest, cruelest light as they held it up. Power was gathering between the feathers. Beaten and bruised as he was, if he charged them now, could there be any hope?
Rise.
The earth and forest still hurtled towards the sky, a mass cut loose from the world. Boulders shot into the heavens, branches curled up like fingers to reach for the rip in the world, and even a few scattered angels clung to the rocks as they fell into the sky.
And fall.
But the place that Mael occupied was perhaps the most dangerous, for no creature stirred behind him. What could not wait any longer pressed against the skin of the Nexus, widening the crack as the darkness seeped through. It dripped, and seethed, and oozed like words as black rain dripped from the heavens. Yet it was nothing more than a prelude, the gasp of breath before the final exhalation. The fallen angel could feel behind him as the tide drew up and up, a flood coming down to rewrite this rising sacrifice.
-
Lubei
Lubei wouldn't have believed if an oracle had told him that the situation could still become worse, but every passing second was intent on proving that assumption wrong.
The summoner was worse than a cockroach kept in the mortal realm by thousand-year resentment. Still cognizant yet like a raked painting flaking off piece by piece, he had brought another calamity. What was this now, a warrior banished from heaven, wreathed in an oppressive shine? Behind him, they could be heard, if not beasts then worse, dripping and vomiting through the shattered air like a torrent of mud.
And then, not just the forest, but the earth itself rose up like an awakened beast, hurtling to the sky. The demon trying to escape up with the disabled knight found himself sprinting, stumbling down between even shakier footholds, in the path of flying balls of fire. He had no time and no energy for creativity. Intuition was faster. Empty head, no thoughts.
Lubei hurled his spiritual force behind him in wide and forceful masses, biting down on his bruised lip, and the blocks of dim ice burst from the assault into vaporous columns. The mist that had been used against the demon king before now covered his retreat as he massed cuts and bruises, rushing through the chaos.
-
The Fallen Archangel of Despair - Mael
As the forest flew up to embrace him, his eyes carried their trajectory downwards. Down, to the one and only soul he regarded in this accursed domain. The nascent divinity that had dared to stand in his path.
In response to her actions, he glared. The pressure and malice that assailed this wreckage of magic and holy aberrations suddenly hit a new peak. A suffocating existance, a true evil who spewed unspeakable hate towards evil. Such a killing intent was enough to snuff the light out of a sinner's soul. It judged.
Lawrence
"Incredible... what a monster. You are terrifying, Lubei. To keep your composure at a time like this..."
WHAWHAWHA WHAAAA!? OH GAH- H-HELP! The fiery nightmare Phenex screamed and writhed inside Lawrence's self. But instead of cowering, the broken presence kept crawling towards safety, smiling like a weak dying man. So this is the power of an archangel... no, a true demon. Ufufu... compared to Elizabeth, this is nothing special.
The Anima he plundered here was.. particularly compatible. But even if fate was on his side, he still needed to do everything he could. Even as this world fell around him, he struggled to avoid rubble and winced from genuine pain when the avalanche started to slam against his weak body. Yet he kept crawling. He struggled pathetically and hurried, powerless and hapless as he was. The sounds of hell, battle and change rang behind him. As he crawled, white bands of light spread accross his body like tendrils, digging into his spirit and chaining him from within.
I wouldn't be able to surpass the Gods if it weren't for you. Thank you, Vanguard. With this, I can finally free us from The Will of The World. From now, this history will move according to my will.His husk of a vessel, borrowed as it were, quaked... but advanced nonetheless. Not from his own will, but that of that man from another history. But it was okay. Everything was okay. Even as the grace he snatched tried to overtake him, he refused to stop.
"How wonderful."
And soon, the white light started to eat him up until his body's cracks turned into crystal. He used whatever was left of his limbs to crawl and climb his way out of the pit, through the rubble that rushed upwards. Lawrence's glare snapped with intensity while the curtain fell behind him. And thus, an unremarkable actor exits the scene, battered and wounded. And yet can one really say he lost?
Mael
That thing was like a black mass of death incarnate. With its wing flapping like a cursed arm, it leapt from platform to platform, from fallen corpse to corpse. Mael used angel, demon, living and dead both as stepping stones to rush towards the child. The speed was truly monstruous, the killing intent that surged towards the child was like an avalanche. And as it slammed its foot against a shard of the forest, he ripped a spike of ice and leapt down the divine existance to clash against it.
Even if he was broken. Even if he was wounded. The warrier never rests from the warfield.
"How long are you going to continue mocking me... Piece!?" His teeth grit and his eyes flashed with cold fury.
-
Uria
Piece? The angelic wing was ready to crash down on Mael with full force, the righteous light that would smash him back into nothingness. But Uria paused. They clutched at their chest as black vomit poured from their mouth.
For a moment in Heaven, there was weakness.
But before the icicle could land the world exploded into laughter. Laughter from the puddle gathering at their feet, laughter from the rising angels, laughter from the crack in the sky. Laughter as the rain turned into a wave, and the floodgates above were opened to wash away the land below and repaint it.
"Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!"
"Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!"
"Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!"
"Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!""Kyahahahahaha!"
And Uria rose, their limb flaring out to meet the fallen angel's with titanic force. The sheer power turning the black liquid around them into shadowy mist, a temporary bubble before the darkness poured down again. "Silly... idiot Mael... Didn't I tell you...? Go gather dust... back in your master's box!" And the wing sang against his icy weapon, a blade to cut him in two with utter finality.
-
Mael
Black mud rained and poured like an abyssal storm. Then, a true waterfall that threatened to swallow everything.
"Trash." The anger and resolve in his heart burst like a raging fire, and his weapon shattered into fragments. That heavenly wing that now rushed towards his body...only made his killing intent even more palpable.
In the false God's moment of weakness, he bent like a reed in the wind. Immediatley, Mael had grabbed its robe and used it as leverage to spin and flip his body out of the way with the agility of a beast. Such was the skill of the one whom heaven once feared the most. Yet he was pierced nonetheless. Blood spewed from his side and his mouth, but he was not cleaved as heaven dictated. He would not allow it. He would not pause or stop moving for an instant. The angelic limb pierced at his side, breaking it like it was glass while spewing his essence everywhere - but he wasn't done fighting.
Now flipped above her, his leg was stretched behind one of the weapon shards that had broken, and swung down like a guillottine to shove it down Uria's neck like a stake.
And as darkness floods the gates of heaven and the forest morphs into [something else], this curtain drops. The result becomes an uncertain illusion. Just what kind of journey will this [world] hold? The truth is, this [game] was rigged from the start.
But this fight is not yet done. So fight.
-
Uria
Day 3 Nexus Time 6:30
The tear in the sky weeped unendingly, rivers of darkness flowing through the once pristine woods. White was repainted into many colors. Now the trees were brown, deep orange, glossy block, and dull silver. They bore multi colored fruit that shone with light and life. These were the sights that led to the great chasm in the area, a hole that seemed to have no end. Even as the great waters flowed into it, one could not even hear the sound of them crashing to the bottom.
But all that was irrelevant. For a far greater miracle was in progress. For the third time, something was going to be born.
The tears ceased falling, for there was no sorrow here. Instead, descending from the sky, was no fallen angel but a risen god. A second sun gently brought itself to the floor of the forest, and where its feet touched the earth bloomed. Silence was broken by a joyful cacophony, an entire assortment of creatures that had been molded by the divinity in their youth. There was no cause for sadness anywhere in this land, no drop of spite to fuel hatred. All things came together for the sake of further joy. This was their new god, and Uria turned to see the denizens, the forest, and the world beyond all within a single glance. And they smiled.
"Hello, world."
-
Zeke
6:30 PM - Nexus Time
Day 3
Continued from the heavenly ruins (http://darksidemoon.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,837.msg64696.html#msg64696)
What a day, oh what a day. The ominous batting of his wings was as usual, but something was different this time. Black birds perched on his shoulder like dark shards of the night sky, and whispered secrets in his ear. He'd be a fool not to come here and see them for himself. He had already sent a dark jewel of his to that other place, as a formality at least.
And see them, he did. Whatever it was, it sure pulled a number on that old stickler's little blessed haven. It was... cute. But he didn't come here just for a walk in the woods. He felt it a few hours ago, but the signal was muddled.
Either way, it was clear now. The gears were moving.
But he didn't fly straight into the core of this place. He was very interested in something very particular. So he circled the outskirts of this world of divine lights and peculiar things, until he found his dear prey. And boy oh boy, once he descended on the ground and stared right into its eyes, he felt all sorts of funny feelings. Or, if he were to put it in a dignified way... this was the rapture of the strong staring down at the weak.
Did ya have fun, old man? He stared at the crystal shard tearing out of the ground without much life or care in his eyes. Whatever joy and glee there was in his expression soon faded and became death. Death so cold and final, it didn't even warn of the fist smashing straight into the glowing shell. In that moment he broke it all, even the man trapped inside, in a million pieces. The woods and trees shook from the impact, but more than anything, his heart.
Let heaven's shine be mine.
̸͕͊I̷͊ͅs̸̨̅h̵̉͜i̷̠̓m̶̞̂ẹ̶͌y̵̼͗ò̷̦m̴̱̎a̵̛̩
Come reside in me.
̸̨́Š̷͜h̶̛̟i̶̲̒ǵ̶̱a̶͉̚i̶̮̔ ̶̪͆E̶̘͋n̸̾ͅì̶͖w̴̘͝a̵̼͠ ̴̛͉Ḱ̵͖o̸̢͌ţ̴͂a̸͎͆
And so he stole it from that man. The grace, the faker's life force, and even that demigod's special body part. He didn't even pay heed at his other half's broken remains scattering on the ground, and instead crushed them underfoot with mockery and disgust. The man he thought was Lawrence was destroyed there and then.
Ahh, how wonderful. But it's my turn now.
-
Uria
The eye was staring at him. It wasn't a blank, dead organ. It was connected to its original owner with bonds beyond the world, and it was those connections that the eye's pupil shrank as it looked at him. Then he could feel an awareness all around him... almost as if the forest itself was watching him now as well.
But there was no time for that, for light came from the horizon.
Uria's descent was sudden and forceful, their weapons floating alongside them as they kept themselves at eye level with the old man. "Oh phooey, that wasn't very nice. How do you think he's going to pull himself back together soon if you do stuff like that!"
-
Zeke
The dark being looked up as the clouds parted, and a beam of light shone down like a splendid spotlight. This was so much more than he expected. Despite all that, he seemed carefree as ever, going as far as to toss the eye in his hand like a coin and slipping it in his pocket. Hands resting nicely in them, he bowed with a cheeky grin and - shrugged, like he didn't know the answer. Or like he didn't care.
Instead he raised a finger to point it right at the kid like a cowboy, eyebrow raised and grin raised even higher. Since she was greeting the world so immaturely back then, he just had to return the favor in kind. It was something along the lines of hello cutiepie.
Aruna did say he acted rather humanely, so it shouldn't be a problem just doubling down on their expressions.
-
Uria
"Hmm? Hm. Hmm. Hmm hm hmmmm~!" Uria looked at him closely then, a conspiratorial look on their face. "I see now! Someone ripped out your singing muscles! But you know, we can talk without those. You just need to use your Paths... or do you not know how?"
-
Zeke
Her words only got to draw his empty, soul sucking look even more directly into her eyes. His grin shrunk and turned into a sad rictus, one that mocked her as much as his own sad predicament.
Seriously, wasn't it kind of cruel to point out?
But his eyes weren't smiling. They never truly smiled. Not even once. But Uria might feel it... the fact there was something more brewing in them. A desire to grab the God by the neck and wrangle it until it stopped making so much noise. That would be pleasant indeed. She could likely feel that much.
He put a leg in front of the other and bowed magnanimously, a hand behind his back as if it was ready to hold a dagger - while another was laid out to Uria as charmingly as a prince's. And not one of those fake royalty types. That kind of regalness was genuine, and oh so contradictory on him.
So much so he had to wink at Uria. A wink Uria had already seen once, maybe from someone else. But this time, it was inviting the God to dance his waltz.
-
Uria
They stared at his hand for a moment, and their weapons shifted ever so slightly as if they considered running him through even as Uria gave Zeke a cheery smile. When their hand grabbed Zeke's it glowed with light. Lines like circuits traced down their skin intent on moving over to him. Of course, it wasn't as if they could control the man.
But why not make contact?
-
Zeke
Heh. So his hypothesis was correct. This one's way of thinking was still much like a child's. The innocent carefree way it managed to tap into PATHS would almost charm him, if the ease wasn't so terrifying. Hadn't this one popped just a few days ago at best? Feeling the circuits flare up in his emptiness almost caused a chill to run down the vessel's spine.
Yet that bond Uria tried to connect into him led... nowhere. It just sank deeper and deeper until it drowned in an empty abyss...
Until it bounced back straight into Uria. This suddenly caused a dark aura to seepe out against the light - and force dark purple circuits to trace down Zeke's skin, intent on moving over to Uria. It was a funny feeling, not quite unpleasant, but forbidden and wrong in a sense. Like a shiver or a spark that jolts you and makes you wake up all fuzzy inside.
Like a taboo you encourage when you really shouldn't. Uria had, figuratively speaken, shoved their hand in a cosmic cookie jar. And the jar spoke back.
Hello world.
-
Uria
Uria pulled back their hand slowly, a slight grin on their face as they received the slightest information from his network. "You're so... fat. Fatty uncle. You take up all those dreams, and bonds, and people and shove them all in your mouth! If you keep eating like that, then one day you'll get your fingers on someone else's plate. Then they might punish you..." There was a cruel glint to the brightness of their eyes now.
"You better be careful! Or someone might reach in your belly and yank everyone out. Then they'll stuff you in a chest and push you right into the bottom of the sea." They laughed, and it wasn't so much a threat as a warning.
If you keep going like this one day you'll lose, and there won't be any more story.
-
Zeke
The dark man closed his eyes and smiled innocently. Even with its massive size, the dark shadow of his split in half against the child's brilliant light. When speaking through these networks, words are unnecessary. It doesn't even take any time at all to transfer information, it is truly like being connected with everything. But well, they both knew that, eh?
What a considerate niece you are.
Zeke started to even sweat a little, honestly. Unfortunately, he was a gambler at heart. Risks are the spice of life! This was all for the sake of his dream, you know? Even the hand that refused to let the God let go. Even the other hand moved to grab the God's other hand fiercely. Even the dark tentacles growing from his dark clothes- swirling back and moving to slither towards Uria's ear.
Dark circuits mixed with light circuits and tangled over the two.
You're pretty gutsy yourself. Not that many people get to outpace a divine construct when it comes to voracity. Nyohohoh~!
Still, even in the maw of a monster, his empty eyes were filled with desire.
-
Uria
Yet they were constantly out of his reach. Uria floated away, connected only by their interlocked hands for a moment. Then one of their gleaming swords slipped into their hand. It blazed with power for a moment as they looked down on Zeke with nothing less than pity.
"You worry too much, fatty uncle. If you don't have fun because you're trying to be serious then why bother?" And their sword descended to part him in two from shoulder to hip.
-
Zeke
"..aa!" An adorably pitiful sound escaped his throat as Uria suddenly pulled and floated away. The gleam of the burning sword shone for a moment against Zeke's eyes and skin, but before he knew it the arc was drawing towards his poor innocent body.
He blew up his hand to escape her - with a solar burst not unlike his Worldend Breaker. The power he wielded wasn't just one he could fire internally, it coursed within and through his entire body. But even despite his grin, he knew how bad things were. If he hadn't noticed in time, if he hadn't stockpiled just enough energy before coming here for an escape maneuver... no, if Uria hadn't warned him, his guard would have been too low to evade something like that.
The brat was toying with him.
Heheh. Even flipping away from the plasmic explosion in an acrobatic display, he'd barely land on his feet. And when he would, the flesh on his forehead would split in two from the slash he barely avoided, clouding his vision with his own blood. How terrible, how wonderful, how thrilling!
-
Uria
But there was no time to pause. The blood had yet to drip from his wound before Uria was upon him again, laughter like bells ringing as they closed in. A swipe of their hand sent a squadron of small winged creatures at Zeke, mouths hungry to eat into him. At the same time they dived to divide him in two again. Their remaining three weapons, another sword, a halberd, and a large club, coming from the left and right to box him into their strikes.
"If you want to fight, you should give it your all! Don't try to be all serious and bleh about it, silly."
-
Zeke
It was only because the explosion was still pushing him back that he had enough momentum to make distance from the three weapons! As soon as he noticed their shift, he hurried to race backwards without leaving eye contact with the kiddo. His steps zigzagged like a snake with a thunderous crack - but not without his body receiving nasty gashes in the process.
DARKNE-
He waved his hand, but he was too late! They had already swarmed and started melting into his shell-like body. It was like having thousands of marble-sized holes slowly open up on his skin, his eyes, his everything!
"...uuuuh....uuaaaaaaaa!!!"
Suddenly, his eyes widened. Zeke rolled in pain, stumbled back and lost balance. There'd be no more dodging from this last attack! Her speed and aggressiveness were outside this world! This was the future! My my my my my!
-
Uria
Untold aggression, overwhelming might, and endless power. Already Uria unleashed another salvo and then another, every strike was accompanied by another set of projectiles. Howling mouths, rusted shards, fangs dripping with poison. All of these accompanied Uria's offensive until they were upon Zeke with a final strike, their three other weapons coming down in unison...
A sword for one arm. The halberd for another. One swing from the club to knock his head into their sword's path. Then, with terrible finality, the blade struck home. Really, Uria had simply picked the biggest target. Their golden blade had shorn off Zeke's beard with an almost graceful set of swipes!
Well, his beard and most of his cheek and neck. With a cheeky grin Uria pulled back with the slaughtered facial hair dangling from one hand. "Got it!"
-
Zeke
Was this it? Was this the end? No, no, no, no, no, no!
WORLDEND BREAKER
When did his shocked frown turn into a big ol' cheeky grin? No, he must have been smiling all along. When she ravaged him with her weapons, when all those little bits punched straight into him, when her final sword rushed to kiss his neck. The harmless, hapless, armless fool just kept dancing madly against God's storm.
His opened wounds bubbled with white hot steam. Then, energy. Suddenly. Irresistibly. Geheheheh! Amazing, everything you just said is wrong.
Zeke's shine turned so hot, so bright, it threatened to melt everything around him. This surge of energy seared, pushed, burned - like a sun. That sun repelled her slash, and pushed Uria away from him in the nick of time. An explosion of heat, energy, and what could only be described as an essence from another world. Another history. Another side. Yet it was no different from the void. In the end, it would always consume. It would always be himself. Whether he drew God closer or pushed it away, Zeke would make it his nonetheless.
I'm having fun. And I certainly won't take you seriously.
His burning eye glowed with such intensity. It didn't stop, it didn't falter. The heat and light just got more intense by the second! So hot, it could make a man's gaze boil inside out just to look at him! Even despite being covered in wounds, he stroked his beard intently and-
WAH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! His eyes widened in shock and horror. The brat... t-the damn brat! How could it, how! It... it....
His precious beard! It was ruined! How could you do this!!! Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! The smoldering heat and light stopped immediately, and Zeke started bawling his eyes out, even with a single stumped arm he managed to somehow look even more pathetic and prideless. Even a God launched away by such a violent blast of radiant energy was way less common than this kind of sight.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!
-
Uria
Such incredible heat! If Uria went diving deep into that even they wouldn't be able to stand around it forever. Hahaha, how fun! They should show him something fun too. There was nothing exactly that Uria had which would stop this in a flashy way. Their weapons weren't made of the darkness and it would take so many shots to whittle it down! That wouldn't be fun at all. Besides, they wanted to test this anyways! Then their body glew with lines tracing across their body, the light of Paths. A bond created was reinforced, two hearts joined regardless of distance. They discarded their weapon and opened their hand.
True Cold of Avici
To oppose the heat was a hellish cold, an infinite stillness at the bottom of the world. Nothing was in motion. Nothing could change. Everything would be as it was, forever. A bitter truth, a ruthless judgement, this was a chill that froze the very air. An ice that encroached upon the heat of another world and rendered it null. Once Zeke's support had ended, nothing could save that from Uria. The sun, the alien energy had been trapped in a prison of ice. But that wasn't really Uria's concern. They simply held up their blackened, red hand to their face with a mild curiosity. "Uwah, your powers are so cool, Lubei!" Their hand had been frozen to the bone. The blood inside had crystallized and expanded, tearing through the hand like red diamonds while the flesh turned harder than rock. And with a careless smack against the prison Uria shattered that hand into fragments without so much as a blink.
They jumped atop it to stare down at Zeke, still dangling the beard in their remaining hand. "Hey, are you okay, fatty uncle? I wanted to give your beard a trim because it looked sooooooo long."
-
Zeke
"..ah?"
Everything changed when he saw that power firsthand. If it wasn't for his arm covering his face, even Uria would be able to tell his degenerate expression when the God used that power. Seeing it though... it made him feel all tingly and funny inside. And this was the crux of the contradiction. Because even Zeke could not struggle against his nature. His fate. His overwhelming desire.
But that Ice somehow emerged from PATHS as well. it was... it was... simply marvellous!
Zeke sniffled. That was the cutest beard in the Nexus... But just as it looked like he'd sniffle and cry some more - he pounced on Uria and gave the God a big fatty hug, ruffling its head with his cracked stump and rubbing his face all over Uria's cheek. Amazing. You're amazing. It's my loss! Completely and utterly!
Feelings were complicated. Even against something like this, he couldn't let go of his emotions. His self. Zeke was simply too egotistical to let go of that, even when it just added more fuel into the bonfire.
But it didn't mean he gave up. Uria should be able to feel it too, even despite the affectionate rubbing.
Wrestling is best of three, eh?
-
Uria
"Hmmmmm." They still had their sword in their hands. It wouldn't be tough to lash out right now and reduce him to little cutlets. Sure, their sword was going to break sooner rather than later... But they just didn't really feel like it. "Well, we can't really do much right now, fatty uncle. It only matters if there's something to lose. And there's not a lot here anymore."
Uria shrugged their shoulders, turning their gaze towards the woodlands.
-
Zeke
The dark broken shell shrugged, still hugging the cute kiddo like it was honest to God family - and squeeezed even tighter. Well maybe if you weren't so eager to chop me like shish kekbab, you'd know. He pouted. There were such interesting things going around, it was a waste not giving Uria the full picture. Oh well, their loss.
But sadly Zeke sucked at giving up. Plus, hugging the God like that, he had Uria right where he wanted... right around his arms. So this time his dark eyes didn't betray the tentacles jamming straight against the God's spine and nerves, sending a signal through its nervous system. No, it's network.
The spark of information drawn from the dark tendrils could only mean one thing. Because that was happening really soon, he thought it'd be a shame if Uria didn't at least know.
Whether it joined in or not, well, he didn't really care about that.
-
Van
The citadel in the sky was a great civilization. Spanning leagues among the heavens, it was once the most advanced society ever birthed. The fruit of human knowledge and perseverance, a marvel of science and magical technologies.
It was home.
But here, he found none of it. Only a bunch of questions, and inexplicable answers. The 12 knights of the order, the gods he devoted to defending, the values he was taught to uphold. It's like none of it mattered here. Like it'd have all been a lie.
He thought he had found one of his comrades of old. That man had the same voice and appearance - but had he been deceived. Why would the most loyal of the guardians find himself here, and betray him? He didn't understand a thing, and the more he tried, the more he felt scared by something inexplicable.
"Van, it's me... Karlhelm. Thank goodness, there is no time. This city... our people are in danger."
Those were his words, and they rang true, just like the bookish scholar he always loved to tease. Even his fear and concern felt genuine at the time, but the more he thought the more he felt a strange sensation about it. He touched the scar that had been pierced into him by that thing and frowned, standing in the middle of what looked like a hellish tundra. Heavy snowfall fell constantly, coating everything in a suffocating dull white.
No. Walking through the barren wasteland, he realized this was all nothing but ash. Was this Ivanna's work? He should have come. He still wasn't sure if the choice he made was the correct one. That thing underground, that girl who became a god, and that vision of his. Those children, those metal corridors... just what was going on?
"And what's with the tattoo..." He looked at the sheen of his new metal armor and pulled his eyelid down... revealing some sort of black pattern under his eye, almost like a set of grids. The kind you'd find in the markets nowadays as if it were some produce. Noticing it only made it all more uncomfortable.
Either way, he had a pained, uncomfortable expression. Something about this was giving him a bad feeling. He couldn't explain it, and he wished he'd never have to.
But eventually, he feared he'd have no choice but to confront it, and that horrifying vision of the future.