Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[NinthSomnus9029]

Ash
He looked at Dust, "You, destroyed a town for your superior...You are weak Dust, weak to defy the path he set you on." Ash said, as he dashed past Dust, barely touching his armor with his burning claws, "I'll be seeing you soon Dust...With Ran head in my hand!" Ash said his eye flowing bright gold, as he vanished into a magic circle with Cai Er.
​

Fume

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

"Well...I don't know exactly too much about her," Xavier answered honestly to the elf after having a nice sip of his drink. "I just know she is from another dimension...and how she has like another soul in her with a different personality. I'm not sure if she told you about that before. For sure, she knows a lot. I got this book from her which seems to contain a lot of information of enemies I haven't run into yet. Perhaps a time traveler from a different dimension?" He joked. "She's...interesting, I'll tell you that." Xavier shrugged his shoulders as he eats more of his food, ignoring the puppy eyes stare from Komodo.

Heavengiver Phant0m

 

[Fume]

"And you're the biggest dumb ass I've ever met in my life, even glitter armors have a better IQ than you've ever had. Especially since now I have this with me..." He smirked while holstering the spear on his shoulder. "And I already have a good weapon that might help me against you, idiot."

"Sir! Are you ready to leave?" The glitter asked while noticing the spear that he was carrying. It was a long spear, with blades that curved to form a single point, decorated with gold and blue colors with a bit of white.

"Not that I have a choice, soldier." He replied back as he stopped for a moment and looked at the side. He grabbed a dangling banner with Feita's mark and put instructions on how to reach the sealed blood demon, before stabbing it on the floor.

As he passed through the portal, Ran clapped his hands together with a smirk on his face, delighted on what he saw.

"Bravo, bravo! Not only did you finish the fight, but you've also destroyed the town! I didn't know you've put that thing circle around it, impressive, very impressive and cunning of you. Unexpected and glorious. I was rather curious on why you left a human run into the town, but then that displayed told me everything.

Give them a moment of hope, to know that everything will be fine before crush them without remorse. I like that, a lot. I guess Karis decision to increase your rank wasn't a mistake, but that doesn't mean that you can simply waste around here. As a demon commander, you have only 3 days of break after a successful or failed mission. Try to keep appearances up and have some 'fun' with the succubus or the cattle that we've amassed during the years." He then lifted his left arm, the symbol shining on him. "Behave well like this and I won't need to keep using this on you. Fight and fight, until you can't fight anymore."

"Just you wait, you prick..." He thought to himself, not revealing his intentions while carrying the spear with him.

"Hmm? Interesting spear you have there. A spoil of war?"

"Something like that." He replied back before heading to the barracks. There, he sat down on one of the empty beds and started to think to himself for a few things before opening an inventory bag and stashing it in his pocket, making sure that the spear wasn't going to be stolen by curious eyes.

"We've lost 246 soldiers there... Compared to older generations, this must've been the least amount of bodies that we've gotten in years. Still... At least 68 of them had families to return, the rest was picked up on the streets, trained and sent to war. It was going to be hell for them, that's for sure.

That crimson colossus guy, he wasn't holding back, while I was making sure my full power wasn't released." He looked at his hands, due to the armor they weren't trembling, but taking one gauntlet off he saw it shaking. "What would happen if we went all out? One of us would probably die."

Looking at his hand right now, even though his wounds were closed and somewhat healed, they still would need first aid and to be properly treated.

"Ugh, sir?" One of the soldiers entered the room and for a moment he stared at his beaten hand.

"What's the problem, soldier." He asked while reaching the medical cabinet and opened a kit before taking his used bandages off.

"Umm... Would you like me to ask for a healer? I'm sure that a few would be more than happy to aid you?" He asked while the commander steeled himself before covering his arms with alcohol, hissing slightly at the feeling before calming down.

"They can come to do my back, but for now I can do this much. Should be more than enough for my body to relax, even for a moment." He replied back before taking one of his boots, again they had the same poor treatment as his hands.

"S-sir! W-what happened to you? How did you..."

"This is war, soldier. A few wounds like these are nothing." He cut him off, he didn't like these kinds of demons, the ones where they care too much than themselves.

"A few wounds!? Those are grave lacerations, puncture and blunt force on your body! I can faintly see the purple on your burnt parts of your body and how all of your bones look odd in any angle!" He replied back with more emotion behind of him. "Please, let me call a healer at the very least!" He pleaded, apparently seeing his injured commander triggered something inside the demon that wished to help him.

"Fine... Go." He considered before ordering to do so. He saluted, then bolted outside to get the help of a nearby healer. "What a mess this is..."

NinthSomnus9029

 

[Heavengiver]

"...So, it's true then that she had two souls inside of her before."

Rena's weird choice of words set off huge alarms for Xavier. What does she mean by before? Just what happened to Rain when she went back? Xavier quietly asks her what she meant, and the elf finds it hard to spill what she had told her.

"If there were two souls before, that's not the case anymore. One part of her has returned to her world, and the other has come back here. You can guess which one is which."

She doesn't know if she should reveal more, but Xavier's expression reveals his thirst to know more. Would Rain really want him to know? It was a very sensitive topic to her, and some of the things she had experienced was almost enough to make Rena's eyes water. And so, she told Xavier what Rain told her. Everything, from the reason Rain hated her when she was corrupted, to the story behind her sharing a body with her other self, and finally to her true nature of being a dead spirit driven by revenge.

"I think it's best if you don't bring this up too much in front of her. She said that she has transcended beyond that, whatever that means, but bringing up old wounds won't do her any good."

...
​

"Tch...this stupid thing. GO IN ALREADY!"

Her voice can be heard from the maids running outside, but Rain continues to curse loudly. Add almost finds it funny that this elegant, possibly an arrogant and commanding woman is acting the way she is. Only the tip of the crystal is left, but it had remained sticking out of his chest stubbornly, and Rain's body is already covered in purple and blue lines, pushing the reservoir of her energy to its maximum. Oblivio's face is streaked with almost the same marks, but he seems to be holding himself better than the singer. Letting out a strangled grunt, she shoots a high pressured stream of water against the crystal. The force released by the water can be equivalent to a sniper rifle piercing a poor human's skull, but the crystal still jolts out of him. She increases the pressure more and more and more until Oblivio is literally being pushed back. A harsh clink later, the crystal finally disappears from her view, and the singer sinks to the floor.

The markings on her body run rampantly. The amount of Void energy she had exposed herself to has started to infect her body, and the pain resulting from this rendered her immobile. She refuses to bite her lips or call for help. The purple marks glow brighter and brighter, attempting to balance out the poison in her system. Rain lays there squirming; the only thing she can hear is the crashing of pain in her ears, like waves against a beach.

K KizayaTaishuro Late Phant0m

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

Xavier was speechless from what he heard. His had troubles on trying to wrap his head around it and suddenly didn’t feel so hungry anymore. He felt upset though, the fact that Rain didn’t tell him the whole story in the first place. And to not bring it up? That’ll probably be hard for Xavier to follow but he only let out a sigh as he cracked a bone from his meal with his fingers.

“Alright...thank you for telling me that,” Xavier said.

‘I guess I was right about your group of friends? No one you can really trust, the elf who has a brother that joined the demon army. The siren who seems to be full of Henir’s energy. That god spawn who only seem to bring war rather than peace. It’s probably best to work alone with those dragons of yours.’

Perkisas voice rattled Xavier slightly, causing him to get up from his seat. “Well, thank you for the nice talk. It was great to catch up with you. I think I’ll just wash up and check back with the dragons,” Xavier said to the elf, offering a small smile.

Heavengiver

 

[Heavengiver]

"Let me go with you! I've never seen dragons before, and they look interesting."

Xavier seems to hesitate. His forced smile continues to spread, and Rena got the hint that he wanted to be alone for a bit. "O-On second thought, I'm going to go find Raven and then check up on the others. Uh-huh, I think I'll go do that."

She dashes out before Xavier, feeling like she had made a mistake. What would Rain think about all this? "You've always been driven by your emotions. It's the reason why the darkness grabbed you so easily, why you made so many mistakes despite them being completely avoidable had you thought things out first."

Those soft, scalding words of hers echo in her mind. Rain must have truly hated her counterpart.

She finds Raven by the blacksmith, tweaking his Nasod arm with his human arm. The elf walks over to them and asks Raven if she can join him.

"Of course. What's wrong though, Rena? You don't look too good."

"I-I'm fine, really! Just a bit worn out by everything."

"It must not be easy dealing with everything that you did. Just know if you want to talk, I'm here to listen."

"Thank you." The elf truly meant her words.

Late

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

Xavier watched the elf leaving, sighing. Komodo gave a confuse look on why Rena left in such a hurry, looking up at his trainer to see if they’ll go after her. Yet Xavier just shook his head and went out to think to himself.

It felt strange to walk through the city with a bunch of ponggos who have curious eyes. Komodo was already instructed to not snap at them yet Xavier kept a close eye on the small dragon anyways. Though the ponggos seem to eye the claws of his, the weapon he carries. Xavier slightly hoped that they weren’t afraid of him yet he probably shouldn’t care too much about it, they weren’t staying long.

Eventually Xavier left the city to check on the dragons. They haven’t moved from their spot, yet they were talking back and forth in a fast pace. Something must of happened. The dragons stopped their chatting when they noticed someone walking up to them yet relaxed to see Xavier.

“Oh, speak of the devil,” Aragorn chuckled, raising a questionable look from the boy.

“What’s going on?” Xavier asked them.

“Ivy here was...telling us some interesting things,” Octavia said as the green dragon shifted her head to face Xavier.

“That so?”

Ivy looked a bit hesitant to talk, taking a small deep breath. “Xavier...you did something to me...yet it lasted for a short time. When you try to save me, the energy you poured into me made a connection to you. I felt your heart beat, the way how your muscles work, the fear you felt. I don’t know what you did or how you did it, but I think you connected your aura with mine. The most bizarre thing was that I...actually could see. Not from my eyes but from your own,” Ivy mumbled.

“I believe the reason she had trouble flying it out with your help was because you never experienced flight before. It looks like you were controlling her at that moment,” Octavia said to him.

“And she probably played her part as well. I know for certain you’re not so accurate with time but you pulled up right on time before she hit the ground. Ivy probably knew how far she was from the ground, you know how amazing her nose is,” Aragorn said.

“W-well, how you feeling now, Ivy?” Xavier asked the green dragon.

“Fine, my wings are healing up but I never get the chance to thank you for saving me,” Ivy said as she walked over to Xavier. She held out her hand in which there was a flower at her palm.

It’s been while since Xavier last saw her forming life so this was a good sign. He gently took the flower, the petals were red and they seem to shimmer at his touch.

“Thank you for the flower,” Xavier said, nodding his head.

Ivy didn’t say anymore, a typical quiet dragon she is. The dragon walk back to her spot and lay back down, looking like she wanted to rest awhile longer.

“So Xavier, when are we going to head on out?” Aragorn asked him.

“...Soon, I just want some time on my own,” Xavier said to them. The red and blue dragons glanced at each other but they nodded what Xavier said. They let him wander off with Komodo at his side.

Xavier couldn’t really stop fiddling around with the flower, it was beautiful to him. Eventually he himself found a nice quiet spot. He sat down on a flat rock, putting the flower beside him and Komodo going ahead to settle down behind Xavier. The boy went ahead to fish around the items in his bag, remembering how he got books.

The first book he pulled out was the book Aisha gave him. The book that he felt very familiar with. Xavier gave it a second thought about reading, glancing around the area he was in. Though nothing was out of ordinary, just crickets and the silence of the environment. He went ahead to take off his gauntlets, afraid to tear the pages with them and opened up the book to start reading.

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He was confused by what had happened. Fortunately, he was alone when Henir's voice had echoed in his mind. He took his top armour and shirt off to see how bad he had been burnt, but there were no physical traces of the agonizing pain he had felt seconds ago. The gods were too powerful, but also very cruel. For a second, he forgot that Henir was also the protector of this universe. He put back his clothes and began to walk towards the place Lara was supposed to be. He found a short-haired woman. Her silhouette was covered in an elven armour and a single black wing grew on her back. Her left temple had a grey horn growing out of it like the horns of a ram. She was a humanoid mix between a dragon and a demon. She lifted her head towards the sky and a familiar voice invaded the Knight's mind.

"Oh, I forgot you've never seen me like this."
Lento frowned. Seeing her like that was scary, specially because he always believed that becoming an immortal didn't mean becoming a monster. Lara had never said to him that Lost Souls became deformed like that. Never did she once mention exactly the reason why she had avoided telling others about her nature. Now it was all so obvious. He wanted to believe that beneath the lies there was only a person poisoned by living for too long without any hope in sight. Now, She was a monster and soon, he would become the same as her. He shivered in apprehension. He didn't want to become a monster. However, that fate was inevitable, ever since Lara decided to play a Goddess' game.

"You're right about that. I draged you in my struggle to free myself, and...There's no excuses, I know. I know... you'll probably not even accept any coming from me. You're the second one to remind me that I'm no different from the selfish gods. What can I say, they did make the living to their image, didn't they?"

She looked straight at him, her empty gaze seemed to swallow all light. She weakly smiled and took back her more "natural" appearance. Lento stood in place, slightly disturbed by the perfect diguise monster he was gazing at before took.
"I-Isn't this better, Lento? "
"Lara, you..."
He lost his train of thought and shook his head in disbelief. That wasn't right. The power of souls couldn't do that. It wasn't part of its consequences. It just couldn't be!

Lento turned away from Lara and sat to face the indigo sky reflected on the river where streaks of orange drowned as time continued to pass. His face still looked human. He was still human, or was he now a monster in disguise too? He wasn't so sure anymore. The disguised priestess sat to his right and mumbled an apology, a sincere one. But what did he truly know about her? He couldn't tell if she was truly sincere. He couldn't see her thoughts the way she saw his. She could be lying again, like she did for the past months.
"Lara, please leave me alone for a while, ok? "

Lara​

The priestess closed her eyes, she felt the weight of his realization as if it was her own.

She hadn't changed at all. She was still as selfish as she had always been after becoming a Lost Soul.

She did lie to him. She did hide things, but it was not her initial intention, not until she felt more alive than ever before by sharing some genuine moments of happiness through his human soul.

Ever since she decided to revive him, she had been able to feel emotions that she thought to have lost beneath her internal numbness. Beneath the constant despair that her lives brought. Beneath all that, she had finally found a piece of sunlight she tried to protect, even if it rushed her path towards death. This was frustrating, horribly frustrating. She had again destroyed something she cherished...


Fate wasn't malleable, after all.


"Ok... I understand, Lento. "

She got up and opened a portal towards her dimension. She looked back to see Lento also walked away from her. His steps weren't confident anymore. Her heart turned into lead and sank painfully in her mind as she turned back towards her solitary world.


As the gate closed, they glanced at each other. Lento saw a glimpse of her regret but she only saw confusion and a hint of hatred in his violet eyes.

Not even the brightest sun could light the coldest night. Not even the brightest moon could ever hope to be warmed by the sunlight for more than an instant.

Isn't that the beauty of eclipses?

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom ate and promptly left the restaurant after his meal. He wiped at his eyes and he took the longest route possible around Altera, where not a lot of ponggos were around, to avoid any conversation and honestly-Jesiah and his Mother. He just strolled around with his hood up until he the blacksmith was in view and he saw Rena and Raven. The priest knew he wasn't familiar with the pair, and he hesitated to walk over to them, not sure if he was willing to put himself in their company or to just continue to wander the quiet paths of the village.

You defended me, Xiopetec said in a quiet voice, I'm proud of you my child.

"He had no right to insult you. I'm your priest, I have to defend my goddess," Phantom muttered.

You're upset.

"Obviously."

I'll leave you alone, but I recommend being with them. I worry about your well-being without anyone watching over you.

"I'm not defenceless!"

But you don't like being alone. You always had me, even if I gave you space. That's why you hate flying. You're all alone without me. Go be with the others. I'll speak to you in your dreams tonight.

"Alright." Phantom took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes so they would look less like he cried and more like he was tired. The priest approached the pair and he forced a small smile and waved. "Hi, I'm Phantom! I don't think we formally introduced ourselves. Mind if I just sit with you?"

Heavengiver

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Ain
Ain was watching Xavier, interested by the fact that one of his old companions had two souls in her body, "That must've been a rather cunning situation." Ain said, soon he left the observation area and decided to wonder around the area, he was amazed by the few things he saw, because of his background Ain never really went out. This was his first time exploring himself than from the map in his mothers chambers. "It's much more fun in person." Ain said.




​

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

Time had passed, yet Xavier doesn’t know for how long. Already he reached half way through the book and decided to take a break from reading. He was fed with some useful tips about magic, a bit similar to what Perkisas tried to teach him before. It’s just something he can’t force. Unfortunately, Xavier realized the book contains different sections for different elements. There isn’t too much about fire, probably since it is rather a dangerous element. It would’ve been useful if Perkisas havent drowned out the other elements he was able to use before stirring the beast.

Eventually Xavier got up to stretch around his arms and legs, Komodo was sound asleep. He wanted to go back, yet he wasn’t sure if he was ready to see Rena and the others yet. Something about what Perkisas said made him feel a bit paranoid about the group. Trust seems to be the usual issue nowadays.

Thinking back to the books, Xavier went ahead to dig through the bag and pulled out what Ain gave him. A transcendence book. He studied the book cover, noting how it seems to glow in a blue hue color. He was curious what knowledge the book held. Deciding it couldn’t really hurt to keep on reading to himself, he sat back down and before he knows it, he was on a chair.

“W-what the?” Xavier stuttered in surprise, nearly dropping the book in his heads.

“I am sorry about that...I probably should have gave a warning to you.”

Xavier recognized the voice, looking up to see Ishmael standing before him. They were back in the same room again. He shifted his head around to see that Perkisas, in his human appearance, standing next to him. The man seem to have an annoyed expression on his face.

“Well...its nice to see you again, Ishmael,” Xavier said slowly, nodding his head.

“Oh, I see that you have that book in your hands,” Ishmael said, gesturing towards the book. “May I see it for a second?”

Xavier look back at the book, shrugging his shoulders and lending it out for her to grab. It slipped out of his hands and floated to hers, the goddess taking hold of it and opening it up.

“So, I guess you want an answer from your previous proposal?” Xavier questioned, folding his arms as he sat comfortably on the chair.

Ishmael smiled at him. “Im glad I don’t have to explain myself why you’re here again,” she said before going back to the book, flipping around pages. “It will give you great benefits if you let me lead the way. I can help you control that magic of yours, unlock strengths and perks about using the power of the El, receive training from the finest warriors that thrives here, and perhaps help those dragons of yours. They done good work in the past, I don’t see why I won’t give them the strength they had lost,” Ishmael said to Xavier, a bit pleased with his surprise look at the last benefit. “Of course, everything comes in a price. In return...you’ll help me.”

“Well...help you with what, exactly?” Xavier questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Anything I need help with. Protection most likely, if all fails here in Elrios. You’ll heed my commands, follow my every orders without question, and when the danger seem to pass, I’ll let you go,” Ishmael said. Xavier looked very hesitant, unsure if he can do that. He look at Perkisas for any sign of help, yet the man looked a bit stiff. Perkisas doesn’t look like he had any opinions about it. Though when he glanced at Xavier for a brief moment, his eyes seem to hold a nervous look.

“I’m...not sure what to say,” Xavier mumbled. “I want to have Perkisas return back to his dimension.”

“And you will,” Ishmael said with a firm voice, closing the book sharply. “But now we need to ready ourselves for whatever danger may come to us. Desperate times calls for desperate needs. If you haven’t know about it, the town of Feita was destroyed.”

“What?!” Xavier yelled in surprise, standing on his feet.

“Don’t worry though, majority of the people escaped along with the dragons...but now the demon army can move forward since Feita is out of the way. You don’t have much of a choice, time is running out Xavier and it doesn’t wait for no one. I need your decision.”

Xavier sighed, his hands closing to a fist. He look at Perkisas again but the man seem to be reluctant to look back. Looks like he had no choice, knowing that he need all the strength he can get to push through.

“...If I can become stronger than before, not to only protect you but everything else...then I’ll accept the offer,” Xavier said, looking at the goddess.

Ishmael smiled, pleased with the answer as Perkisas beside him let out a low sigh. “Step forward,” Ishmael said to him.

Xavier took a step forward, hoping he made the right choice to side with the goddess. Ishmael leaned over to him, kissing his forehead in which Xavier stand still for. He felt a strange energy surging through him, almost like a hidden passage opening up for him to use. It wasn’t long that he noticed he had a mark forming on his right shoulder, opposite where Perkisas first trial marking laid.

Ishmael pulled back away, nodding her head gently. “Xavier, your ancestors will be proud to know you’re willing to be an Ellian. You’ll know when your training begins.” She lend him back the book. “You can keep this, it’ll be very useful to you in the future.”

After grabbing hold of the book, Xavier was back right where he was. Xavier look around to be sure nothing changed, seeing that Komodo was sleeping still and the flower was there. He took another glance at his right shoulder yet there doesn’t seem to be any marking there. Probably it was something he can’t see.

‘Perkisas? You think I made the right choice?’

All he got was a small growl from the beast, not sounding upset or happy about it. Xavier sighed and went ahead to lay down on the ground to study the sky from up above.

 

[Heavengiver]

"Of course you can sit with us. The name's Raven, by the way. The elf is Ser...Rena." Raven almost said her name wrong. Why? Rain made it very clear that Seris is dead and that this is Rena, but the man is still haunted by the memories of his former beloved. Luckily, Rena is too caught up in whatever she's going through to notice. The priest slumps in to the seat, suggesting that something is also bothering him.

"Can I ask what's wrong, Phantom?" he asks as he slowly picks at the bright orange orb in the middle of his palm. Rena just now registers that a third person has joined them, and she slowly waves in greeting. The dim fog of worry still blurs her eyes.

"O-Oh hello! Sorry if I didn't see you at first. There's just a lot going on."

The elf retains a chirpy smile, hoping to alleviate the priest's worry. "I see that you've been traveling with Xavier. That's good, considering that all of his former teammates, including me and Rain, had left him alone. At least he still has some company."

Phant0m

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Ash
Ash and Cai Er where nearing Velder, he got in touch with Lu, from what she told him it seems Velder has gotten crazier than before with the numbers of demons increasing.

When Ash and Cai Er arrived, the skies where read, Velder looked worse than Feita ever could before it vanished off the map.

"Ah you've arrived, boy!" Lu said running up to Ash, she had bandages on her forehead and leg, Ash couldn't help but ask, "Where those from just fighting here?" Ash asked.

Lu nodded her head, "These guys recently have gotten a lot harder to deal with, demons I've only heard of began appearing all over the field. We began calling them Uno Hounds, but this is just one of the new demons to join the war. 2 other kinds have appeared and they pack a punch." Lu said, she sighed at the mention of the Uno Hound, Ash wondered what it did to cause Lu to be injured.

Lu then turned her attention to Cai Er, "Ah, Cai Er, how is my distant niece doing?" Lu said with a large grin on her face. Cai Er chuckled, "I'm doing fine Lu-sama, how is Ciel?" She asked.

Lu looked towards Ash then back at Cai Er, Ash found it strange, "Lu? What is it? Did something happen to Ciel?" Ash said crossing his arms with a puzzled expression.

"Ciel...he got hit by the plasma shot from the Nephilims. They are one of the new types to appear here in Velder."

​

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

He needed to reabsorb the Void energy. That was the first thing he thought about. Never wanting to trouble anyone, he quickly thought of a way to absorb back the energy Rain had taken without suffering the same consequences. If he did it point blank, the Void energy would contaminate him once more. He couldn't risk creating the same trouble once more and plus, he felt stronger still. Whatever Henir had given him was power, which he needed.

"I'm going to reabsorb the energy," he said.

"Wait, what? If you reabsorb the Void energy, you're going to end up like her," he said, then looked to the suffering Rain. "No offense."

"I won't do it directly. I'm going to reabsorb the energy using the Unification system, the Nasod side of me. If I take the energy she's suffering from, I'll need something that differentiates her energy from mine. Luckily..." He summoned a computer-like machinery that hovered in the air. "I create things like that. Once it differentiates her energy and I start reabsorbing the Void energy, that's when it gets dangerous. This process isn't stable, but it's the best one we've got. If any of her energy leaks into mine, it'll risk throwing a wrench into the operation."

He didn't say anymore as he connected the machine to Rain and himself. "I'm starting, okay?"

Heavengiver

 

[MementoDei]

Lara​

She wondered on the desert, feeling lost in a familiar scenery. It was a strange feeling that cleansed her mind from forming any thoughts. She sat down and looked to the red moon that she had created years ago, maybe to look for some counsel, but only silence answered her. Finally, her mind settled in a mundane thought.
"Ah, I forgot that I still haven't checked out from that room...."
Rena was there, maybe she could talk with her again. Maybe that's what she needed. Lara had cut their conversation so short, last time. It had maybe hurt the elf, she had maybe tipped over the side of darkness again. Lara took a normal appearance and got out in a busy street of Altera. Some Ponggos glanced at her, but the entrance to her world remained hidden to them. She had simply appeared on the spot, like a ghost, or maybe she had been already haunting the place where she stood long ago.

Lara wondered through the town and ended on a local pub, a glass of a strong drink in her hand. She wouldn't get drunk with this. Ponggos had so little resistance to alcohol, it made their finest whiskey taste diluted. She drank it slowly, her mind was focused on what fate might have in store for her. Could she still hope to save him? Would she end up destroying him, like she almost did when she had found him in that armour?


What guarantee did she have that he wouldn't be the one destroying her? Lara touched her collarbone. Darhan had planted a spear of light through her torso without flinching. Once his soul was under Ishmael's control, she could only wait until they faced one another. Until one destroyed the other.

She stared at the amber liquid in the wooden glass and finished it in one shot. She paid for it and turned away, walking slightly slower than usual. How many did she drink?

"Miss Priesstess, Pong! Your armour, pong! The left shoulder plate has a hole on the back, pong. Are you feeling fine, pong? My offer still stands, pong."

"thank you, but I'm doing fine. I'll get this checked by the blacksmith." Lara quickly took out her shoulder plates and the armour that protected her arms and let them fall on the floor, producing a loud clang that grabbed everyone's attention. She apologized and took her armour in her hands before heading to Agatha's shop. When she entered, she knew she just interrupted something going on between the commander of the Crows, Rena and Phantom. She frowned at them, but besides Rena's darkened gaze, no one seemed to recognize her. It was for the better.

"Hello Agatha! I got this a little banged up, if you could fix this for me, it would be great! Here's some advanced payment. Goodnight!"

She smiled and took her most warm voice towards the only blacksmith in Lurensia she didn't know too well. This got her a frown from Agatha, but a client was a client and he wouldn't question her strange attitude as long as she paid fairly for his work. The priestess left as soon as she had come, with a bright and unnatural smile on her face. Once outside, she looked up to the sky and saw nothing more than the artificial lights illuminating dull stone pillars. The sky wasn't there to light the night's sky.

Altera always felt so confining, its walls seemed to get closer every time she looked at them and she ran towards the Ponggo hideout, where she was drifting to sleep after lying down on the grass, completely defenceless and somewhat glad for it to be so.

"I didn't think I'd find you so quickly, Soul Priestess."

Heavengiver

 

[Heavengiver]

She can't seem to hear Oblivio over the pain of her body clashing against itself. It feels like a war, the slice of weapon against skin, inside of her. And although she feels pain, she doesn't feel fear. How can she, when her heart is already gouged out?

"...This...pain...is nothing......compared......to.....when.......that accursed spear.........killed me....."

Rain feels herself being hooked up to something, but all she can see is the infinite sky of Henir's Time and Space. Her voice barely reached their ears. The foreign energy intensifies its assault, and the force of her body slowing tearing itself apart snaps her eyes out.

...
​

"I have a few questions for you, observer." That dark, eerie voice can only be one person. Rain finds herself in front of the god of chaos alone and in a plane that she cannot comprehend.

"Henir..."

"What you are intrigues me. Voluntarily saving my weapon...I must thank you for that. As to why I can talk to you, my energy has contaminated you, and yet, you can counter it. Not at a fast rate, but fast enough to be alarming."

"Just ask me already. It's not like I'll give you the answers you want."

"I vaguely remember a world being destroyed, one that ended quite normally, in my eyes. In that abyss, there is a large amount of Void energy floating around, which I thought was the norm until now. There is no record of another you in any other dimension, and you do not possess the Void energy that I naturally give out. And yet, here you are."

"So what?"

"I wish to use you in my plans to obliterate the gods."

To anyone else, they would be terrified, even insulted. A god just declared that he is going to manipulate her for his own plans. But all Rain did was laugh. Laugh and laugh and laugh...until her stomach threatens to split open and the sound turns to a haunting chorus that a human is incapable of reciprocating.

"O-Obliterate the gods? Me? AHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!"

Then like a snap of a brittle cookie, her body slumps forward. Her eyes swirl with the colors of chaos, promising a delightful tale to the god that rules over it.

"Sorry, but I don't care about that. If you think you can control me or blackmail me, that's no good. I have nothing. I am nothing. How can the dead like me affect the world of the living? Ahh. There is one exception, isn't there, Henir? Your precious Soul Priestess, right? Hehehehe...what good has that done for you?"

"How do you know about her?"

"Because I once had the opposite role as her. But that title is gone from me now. As I said before, I no longer care about this world. I'm only back because my story ended in an unsavory fashion, so I wish for one fulfilling tale to entertain me until this nostalgic form eventually fades back into the void."

"You underestimate me, siren. It's child's play for me to grab your soul."

"You really don't get it, do you? What soul? The soul of a human? The soul of a siren? No, that has also disappeared. I'm only a dead body injected with a short battery life. I am of no use to you. If you want to snuff out my existence now, just try it. Go ahead, but you can't because I intrigue you. Even gods get bored after a while."

K KizayaTaishuro

 

[Late]

Xavier was stirred from his thoughts when the young dragon pounced on him, fully awake. He grunted loudly, the air knocked out of him since it was so unexpected yet Komodo didn't bother to look worried. The dragon chirped and nudged the boy's arm, wanting to return back to the others. At first, Xavier was reluctant to do anything, rolling onto his side to look away from Komodo but the dragon was very persistent. It at least took Xavier to give in to his pet's wishes and got up from where he laid.

"Fine, fine, we'll go back. Let's see how good their drinks are here," Xavier mumbled, staring down at the dragon. Komodo only stared back and let out a sharp growl, a bit curious how Xavier will pull of this time around with drinks. The two walk back, Xavier already equipped back his gauntlets, making sure to have his books with him and the flower attached to the bag. He wished he had a safer spot for the plant but this was good enough for now.

They walk back to the village and Xavier went ahead to the nearest pub he can find. The dragons were busy sleeping outside the area so it was very likely they want to leave the next day. He wouldn't mind that, he hopes to knock himself out for the day. Xavier found himself a seat, Komodo sitting next to him to gaze at the workers and everything else in the pub. The bartender gave a very questionable look at Xavier when he asked for the strongest drink they have, as he appears a bit young to even drink. Yet after a sharp stare and the impatient clicks of his claws, the bartender hurried to make the drink.

Once he had the cup in his hand, Xavier went ahead to drink it. His first reaction was disappointment. "This is the strongest?" Xavier mumbled to the bartender.

"W-well, yeah pong," The bartender replied back, fumbling around with his hands as Xavier look a bit annoyed at him. "It's the best we can offer, pong, really it is, pong."

Xavier sighed, tapping the cup gently on the table. He can try to make use of this, there was nothing else he could really do for a better drink. Unless he grabbed Aragorn to help him out but he didn't want to wake up the dragon. After a couple seconds of silence, Xavier asked for another one.

He didn't stop asking for more. Xavier even ordered Komodo a meal so it can keep the dragon busy. It took awhile, but Xavier started to have a lazy smile on his face. Already the bartender felt nervous at the look he was carrying.

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

The operation seemed to work fine, but Carna could feel Henir's presence. He was getting closer to figuring things out, but it wasn't his obligation. If Rain had secrets she couldn't tell anyone, then he couldn't very well interfere. He, too, had a secret. He knew that as he was now, he wasn't going to be enough to battle against Gods. Gods who had a higher power than those below. He was just some orphan who fell into the grasp of zealots at an unfortunate age. He was nothing special, but he needed more.

"Pay for it. Pay for everything that you've fucking done to us..."

He knew the sensation of sins crawling on his back. He knew sooner or later, he was going to have to pay for what he did. Carna successfully drew back the Void energy trying to contaminate Rain. Marks were appearing on his face, but they were soon reabsorbed back into his skin. If the voices that had returned to his head was of any indication, it was that he was going to see Henir's true form once again. Back in that Void, that curse dimension, he had gone through centuries without seeing any living soul. It was strange that his body was fragile from handling Void energy--when in reality, he walked in the Void enough to be comprised of complete Void energy. I have to regain that old form. As he was now, he needed more power than he was given.

"Return to us." Carna smiled inwardly. Franz was always commanding...even now, he hasn't changed. I wonder how Miller is doing...

"Alright, the Void energy is reabsorbed," he said, pulling back.

Heavengiver

 

[Heavengiver]

Her eyes remained closed. Rain didn't stir even after her body settled back into her natural state. What she looked like...was a dead human. No emotions riddled her face, and she stayed perfectly still, unresponsive.

And, like someone stabbing her, she cackles with the malice of a witch. It grows and grows and grows, bouncing off the walls of the tiny room, as if it's hiding a deviously delicious secret. Nothing about her has changed instead for the gaping hole of her mouth releasing that awful sound. What is that sound? No one can describe it in words, but if they could...

It would sound like purely satisfying revenge. The chime that beckons the gateway between hope and despair. For sure, this was not something a living being can produce. After a few heart-twisting seconds, the sound disappears abruptly, and the woman returns to her death-like sleep.

K KizayaTaishuro

 

[MementoDei]

Durahan​

He charged a pillar of divine energy to put her out of combat in one strike. The priestess quickly dodged his attack and teleport ed behind him. He formed a field of energy blades to make her think twice before attacking him from behind. She simply opened a portal and in an instant, he was on a black desert where a red moon looked over him.
"You're the one that they call Durahan. Yet, we all were someone else before being given names."
Durahan charged forward and made appear a portal where thousands of swords dove from sky to the soul Priestess. Her image shattered in a million fragments and in an instant, Durahan found himself in a prison made of dark energy.
" You use Henir's cursed magic without any thought for the consequences it brings to the world. You are truly terrifying , Soul Priestess."
"They took everything from you, didn't they, Darhan?" She mumbled. The name she mentioned made him remember a name, something he had forgotten in a while.
"La...ra?"
Durahan felt a burning spear graze him, but when he turned back, the priestess wasn't there anymore. He had been tricked in the most simple ways possible. Moments later, he was back in Ishmael's world thanks to his only goddess. Next time, he wouldn't fall for the same tricks.

Lara​

She simply couldn't bring herself to finish him. Not when he had pronounced her name. It hurt. It hurt so much her pain brought her back to the pub she had been in before. There, Xavier sat down, visibly already drunk. She looked at him and sighed before asking for the strongest drink. It was then that she noticed her combat against Durahan hadn't left her unscathed. A sword of light was impaled on her right shoulder and was slowly vanishing.
The dragon tamer looked at her.
"Don't worry kid, tis but a flesh wound."
Late

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

"The fuck?" swore Add, having not expecting the laugh from Rain. Something definitely went on.

No, something definitely DID go on. It wasn't going to end there. Carna could feel an expansion of Void energy happening inside his chest. He had failed to fully convert the energy into something safe since the nature of Void energy was unpredictable. Carna could feel it, the familiarity of the Void. A dimension that was separated from both life and death was now starting to invade his body once more. In a flash, memories started to course through his body. N-no...! A gurgle of voices seemed to escape into his mind. Memories of torture, memories of bloody massacre, memories that didn't belong to him were bouncing around in a frenetic dance. Converting that Void energy was impossible, after all.

"Heh...haha..." the laughter started slow, a tumbling mess before it raise into a gaggle of sorts. A maniac laughter tore into his throat and poured out through his mouth in a flooding carnival. His laughter echoed through the room as if responding to Rain's laugh. Ah, this feeling...He laughed even harder, as if in a contest with Rain. When she stopped laughing, he still continued. This insane scenery reminded him of memories that didn't belong to him.

"C-Carna?" There was a sense of panic when someone was cackling out of nowhere, but now his younger brother was joining in the laugh, too. He had no idea what was going on, no way of knowing something like this. Reabsorbing the Void energy was a bad idea after all. Add tried to shake his brother out of it, but the laughter continued.

After a few moments, he eventually did stop laughing but it wasn't over. Carna glared back at his brother--or was it him? It didn't seem like it.

"He will return to us!"

"?!? Who the fuck..." He had no idea what was going on with Rain, or his brother. Some part of him wanted to literally slap Carna out of it, but it didn't seem that that would be enough. That voice didn't belong to him. "Who are you?!"

"He abandoned us, he chose for us, he killed us, he's going to pay. Ha--" Yep that was enough. Add hoped it wasn't going to hurt too much and pulled back his hand before launching a slap.

Heavengiver

 

[Late]

Xavier let out a sharp laugh, almost wanting to touch that light in her shoulder but his hands stayed where they are. Komodo perked up when Lara showed up in the pub and had a suspicious look. Xavier couldn’t be bothered to check what’s wrong with Komodo, pushing the dragon’s snout away from her direction in which nearly caused him to fall off the chair.

“Komo, if you want to stare like that, you gotta be nice about it so she can like yooou,” Xavier slurred to the dragon, earning a frown. He chuckled at Komodo, raising his glass to his lips to take a nice long drink. When he was done, he dramatically smashed the cup down on the counter, nearly breaking it. “Anotha one.”

“I-I think you already have enough, pong,” the bartender said to him though received a nasty glare. “Well as long y-you’re paying, pong...”

Xavier smiled widely as the ponggo work on his next drink. The boy took the time to take out Ash’s old hat and gently set it down on Lara’s injured shoulder.

“Bam! That should definitely cover that up,” Xavier said loudly yet the hat fall over within seconds. “Noooooooooooooooooooo.” Xavier stared at the hat on the floor, reaching out his arms to hope he can reach where he sat but it really was no use. He hop from his seat, immediately falling onto his knees. “Imokayimokaypleasedontcallforhelp,” Xavier quickly said as if he thought anyone would really check on him. He grabbed the hat that fell down, struggling back up on the stool, and setting the hat on the counter. “It doesn’t fit on you,” Xavier grumbled to Lara yet lightened up when his next drink was ready.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lara drank in one shot her drink as she watched Xavier try to cover her wound with a hat. It earned him a worried glance from the bartender, who couldn't see the vanishing sword that teared her clothes. She felt the temperature of the room rise slightly, but she dismissed it as the effects of the alcohol. She continued to drink in silence until she heard the loud crash that Xavier's fall had made. She turned towards the kid to her side and chuckled before letting out a loud laugh.

"It..It isn't even supposed to be that funny, but....just now, did he just say 'don't call for help'? Who would call for help for some well-deserved bruises?"

She asked for another drink and finished it as fast as her last one before glancing at the dragon and at the hat and said between chuckles "Of course it doesn't! It's a man's hat!"

Her voice was a bit louder than usual, but Xavier didn't seem to mind it. Lara glanced at the small dragon and glared at him. The dragon got even more hostile and began to growl at her.

"Whaat? Wanna fight? Wanna fight a commander of the White-Ghost Army,huh?!" Her voice tone got lower and it came to sound almost like Berthe's. Lara covered her mouth and chuckled before pointing at Komodo. "Your lizard made my voice sound funny! Bad lizard! Bad!"
The bartender glanced at her and sighed. Something told him that having those two drunk customers would probably bring some unique ambience to the pub. For good or for worse, he began to walk away when the loud voice of the priestess called out to him:
"Another one, Sir! I command thee to serve thy liege another drink! Wherefore are you going, you fiend?!"
Her voice and mannerisms became closer to Glewin's. She created a small fan out of runic magic and began to fan herself. It was too hot in this lowly pub. The ponggo sighed in defeat and began to pour another glass.
"P-pong. As you wish, pong."
"Hehee~ That's the spirit! Right, Dragon boy?"
Late

 

[Late]

“Eyyy! Don’t stop filling up those cups,” Xavier said happily, nearly spilling his own as he lift it up with enthusiasm. “And oh please! Mind the lizard, he haven’t learned how to ‘woo’ the ladies yet! I tried to tell him, ask them out before you can start growling at them but he a stubborn fella! Aren’t ya, komo???” Xavier teased the dragon, Komodo snorted in response and letting out a small roar at Xavier. “You don’t want to ‘woo’ at anyone? UNACCEPTABLE!” Xavier dramatic yelled at his pet, Komodo not bothering to lean away from the yelling as if he gotten used to it before. Xavier went ahead to put on the hat, having it sideways on his head. “Listen here, I'm wearing a man’s hat so I am in charge of taking care of you- right, lobster?! No wait, your name is not lobster...” Xavier mumbled as he looked at Lara with a curious look.

He couldn’t even think straight about names, but that doesn’t stop him from finishing up his drink and asking for another one. The alcohol seem to finally get to Perkisas as Xavier heard the beast mumbling a lot to himself with various of chuckles. Xavier tried to pay attention to his strange mumbled, only able to understand a word out the beast, “cold”.

“Cold, cold, cold, I love me a cold drink~” Xavier sang out. It felt a bit ironic for him to say that, all he felt warmth rising in him. “Cold beer here, cold ale there, I love me a cold drink~” He tapped his cup on the counter repeatedly to make a beat to his little singing.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lara finished her glass once more. She didn't know how much she had drank, but she didn't care anymore. Now, she was in good company and she heard the kid apologize for his pet.
"You called him...something with a 'k'. Oh, I know! It was Idrak! That's it! I.D.R....I.D...uh...Idrak. Hehehe."

Komodo turned away from her gaze and she continued to listen Xavier talk about his power over the dragon as he put the white hat over his head.
"Damn right, Kid!" she hollered. When she heard Xavier start a song, she began to copy his rythm with the palms of her hands and inserted her voice in the song:


"Thats great~ Cold champagne for the fall, Iced vodka for the summer~ All seasons and all people has the... drink~! I all love drinks!! "

Some ponggos glanced at them, some were amused by it while some simply chose to ignore it. The bartender washed away the glasses both had used already. Twenty-seven for the young man and twenty-five for the young lady. Before his shift however, she was also seen drinking. Just how much would they still drink? He let out a sigh. This would be a long night.

Late