Titanomachy: Judgment of Terra [PG-13] [Started / Accepting via OOC]

[Birkeland]

[center][url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/254589-titanomachy-judgment-of-terra-pg-13-started-accepting/"]OOC Thread[/url]
[spoiler=Plot]Remember those old end-of-the-world scenarios? Where a catastrophic event tore the Earth asunder and left destruction in it’s wake? Buildings lay in ruins, civilization has been left in shambles save for a few struggling survivors? Well, this isn’t one of those scenarios. The world did end, in a sense. The old world known as “Earth” has been lost to time and fantasy. One hundred and eight years previous, a great surge of mana had erupted from the Earth’s core and blanketed it. Samsara, as the event is now known, changed the planet from a human-dominated/abused “Earth” to a new vibrant and powerful “Terra”.

Terra, to those who remember “Earth”, exceeds the latter in most aspects. Nature, fauna, and flora have become more exotic and lively. Trees extend into the skies and are large enough to form homes, technology with assistance from mana has achieved a level bordering on science-fiction, and some animals have become anthropomorphic. People, both human and sentient, now can utilize incredible powers for various purposes. Almost all of what existed on Earth still exists on Terra, such as locations and general human knowledge.

A fantasy would be to say that Terra is a perfect Utopia and haven for equality and harmony. In the year 108 AS (After Samsara), an organization known as “Ancient Titans” has surfaced to throw the world into chaos. Named after the Titans, children of Gaia the Greek Goddess of Earth, “Ancient Titans” seek to change the new world of Terra into the old world of Earth. To accomplish this, their goal is to find the “12 Ancient Souls”: 12 special souls hiding themselves within the souls of 12 different individuals. With the 12 Ancient Souls, Ancient Titans will forcibly remove all of the mana on the planet with the intention of returning it to Earth. However, many argue that because mana is now intertwined with the planet and everything it contains, if mana is separated by force, everything connected to it will be destroyed!

To stop the threat of Ancient Titans and possibly save Terra, another organization has risen to combat them: “Eclipse”. To protect the young new world from destruction, Eclipse has taken arms and gathered strong individuals. Will Ancient Titans succeed in returning the world to their beloved Earth, or will Eclipse deny them their victory and protect Terra?[/spoiler][/center]

A soft, gentle breeze ran through the tall trees of a small forest in the mountainside. Blue-green leaves swayed and danced to the rhythm of the whistling wind, accompanied by the chorus of hundreds of chirping birds. Continuing until the edge of a cliff, the forest overlooked most of the vastness of the monochromatic, snowy mountains. Though the latter were normally frigid and harsh with driving blizzards, the former remained in a seemingly constant season of Spring. This area was known as the Monomono Forest within the Lluvion Mountains.

Sitting aside the trunk of the shortest tree at the edge of the cliff was a lone figure. A tan-skinned being with hair as green as grass was napping in the tranquility of the forest. The humanoid figure was clothed in nothing but a baggy pair of brown pants, revealing most of its toned muscles. As it awoke from its nap with a low yawn and stretched arms, the figure stood tall to reveal itself to be not human, but werewolf. More specifically, it's species was known as a Lykofloran. The male wolf surveyed the area with a child-like persona, touching and marveling at everything present.

Elnell, as he was known, looked to the bright though cloudy sky with a spark of joy in his eyes. "I finally came here to the Monomono Forest! Such places I would have never been able to see if not for...well." His expression quickly changed from happiness to depression. "It's not that I wanted to leave, but I never would have been able to grow up if I hadn't" he continued by looking to the snow-covered mountainside, "There are dark times coming and people are in mortal danger. My people just wanted to shelter themselves and ignore the outside world. I can't let that happen. Celestia told me that the 12 Ancient Souls need to be recovered and protected if we are to stand any chance of saving Terra from Ancient Titans".

Elnell took a deep sigh and perked up, assuming a battle stance and raising his fist forward. "Hear that Ancient Titans? Eclipse and I are going to save this world! So bring it on!" As if on cue, the edge of the cliff gave way to his weight which caused the werewolf to plummet. In that very moment, the root of a tree sticking out if the cliff became animated and shot forward like a snake. It twisted itself around his left arm and held tightly, preventing his fall. "Oh well. Need to be more careful. I was pretty cool though" he began to laugh as it echoed through the mountains.


Meanwhile, another lone figure stood atop a similar cliff overlooking a barren area. Instead of a white sky and vibrant forest, the figure was isolated in a decayed and abandoned city under a dark clouded sky. Ashes covered the area like snow with the presence of death overpowering the senses. A menacing, pale-skinned man with hair and eyes red as freshly-spilled blood gazed into the dark abyss below him. A luminescent sphere of energy was held in the man's left hand. The baby blue orb gave off a slow fiery aura as it hovered. This was the usual appearance of a soul in the world of Terra, more specifically the appearance of one of the 12 Ancient Souls.

"Dearest Mother, have I pleased you? My journey was to be brief and fruitful, while here I stand with but a third of that journey complete in a centuries' time" A strong hand placed a firm grip on the sphere and thrust the latter into the man's chest. The orb melded into his body before leaving a blue flash of light. The roman numeral for 'three' appeared on his chest, changing into the numeral 'four' before vanishing.

[i]You've done well Cronus, my beloved son. Only eight more before I can return to my previous state. Hurry now[/i], a disembodied voice announced. Cronus kneeled down to place a gentle hand on the soft ashes. "Yes Mother. I will not fail you." He continued to kneel as a dark figure behind him made itself known.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Despite the bright nature of the Monomono Forest there were still ample shadows about, as there were everywhere, and some of these shadows were much darker than the others. It was within one of these particularly dark shadows, formed by a thick grove of trees positioned near the very same cliff which Elnell had almost fallen to his death from, that an entity many feared but almost none actually understood to exist was currently in deep meditation. Whether or not one could actually see him, the shadows within this grove seemed to have an unnatural quality to them, they seemed to be much, much darker than the current conditions should have warranted. Within these shadows, the form of what seemed to be a human male could be seen, his entire body concealed by a robe of darkest black that blended in perfectly with the absolute blackness of the shadows about him. The only thing that just MIGHT be visible, would be the two sets of sectioned, finger-like claws which, despite their color being identical to the robe, possessed a peculiar metallic sheen which reflected any amount of light, no matter how small or faint. The hood of the entity's robe was pulled down far enough to cover the upper half of his face, preventing any light from reflecting from his eyes. His legs were crossed in front of him, hidden by the robe, and his claws rested on the knees, whatever hands they connected to hidden further back in the robe. While sight was unlikely to give away his presence, the soft muttering of a mantra in some long dead language which emanated from his location might just be enough to give anyone with keen hearing trained towards detecting the sounds produced by those creatures which one might expect to have made their home within such a part of the forest a clue as to his location. As he was deep in meditation, he was unlikely to react to anyone who thought to approach him, at least for the time being. This entity was known to all the world as "The Shade Hunter".

[Navras]

In this world, once known as Gaia, then known as Terra, then known as Earth, now once more called Terra, there are things that are, and never were, not meant for human eyes. A few of these things are war, mass destruction, fairy tail creatures, things that go bump in the night, and those who survive brushes with death. In the beginning, when the universe was whole and things were as they were meant to be, Death was simply a force, not to be tampered with, not to be understood, not to be controlled. Fast forward through what is now known as time, skipping the events that were never meant to be known, we come to a small planet called Gaia, on which there are many wondrous things. Death is introduced as soon as the planet can carry life other than gods. Titans are born, a war is waged, in which Death claims far more than what was ever meant to be taken. The Titans have all gone 'missing', and now only Gods are around to talk about it. Suddenly, out of all the odds, Death is given a shape, and later on, a name by which Humans and gods a like know him as. There has never been an explanation as to why Death was suddenly given a shape, there never has been. But we skip that. This new shape of death dose his job proud, taking life when it needs to be taken, not just on Gaia (or as the humans call it at this point, Terra) but everywhere in the universe. Rarely dose it happen that Death allows someone or something to escape his grasp. And when he dose, he is usually quick to retain it.

Skip forward through time once more. It is once more Death's job to reclaim a soul that is rightfully his in the end. He has it within his grasp, it takes it within himself. It is now a part of whatever lies beyond Death but - Something is wrong. The soul, it is no longer there. What has happened? Death had it within his grasp, it was his. What went wrong? Wanting to know just what had happened, Death looks out on the world of mortals and sees the soul he had claimed for his own rising up in his body once more. This scene, this charade, this abomination, angers Death. No one escapes their judgement, no one. And though this is not the first time it has happened, it never set Death's lights burning brighter than when it dose happen. But Death is patient. He has lived through enough Aeons and galaxies to know that nothing escapes his grasp, and though he may have to chase his quarry over years as well as miles, he can do it. For nothing escapes his sight.

But this one particular soul, this soul that should have been his, it proves to have a stronger will that Death could have imagined. Not only dose it go on existing after it's time is gone, it dares to call itself the shade hunter and feed Death other souls, possibly in an attempt to bribe death into letting him keep his own. This is both humiliating and infuriating. If he could, he would take his soul right then and there as he sat and meditated in the Monomono Forest, but he is not allowed to directly confront any soul unless summoned, their time has come, or challenged. So Death watches over this one soul, a shade of himself watching from a far at the shade hunter, his anger frothing over past the boiling point. This soul should have been his long ago, but it is not. Why? Thanatos' shade borrowed his angry scowl into the very heart and soul of the shade hunter, wanting him to know that he was watching, to know that at any moment he could come to claim what was rightfully his. But he did not want the shade hunter to believe that he was angry with him, gracious no. He simply wanted him to know that he was holding on for no reason in all of existence.

Without warning, Death's gaze is torn away from his prey, and he is back to reality, return to his human demi-god body. He looks around and he finds that he is still in a ruined city. The ashes rained down from the sky in an ever gentle breeze, the flakes brushing against Thanatos' skin and then bursting into instantaneous renewed flame before disappearing from existence entirely. Thanatos has never been one to question why the old gods made the world the way they did, but he dose wonder, from time to time when he finds himself in this particular situation, why the old gods did not create snow the same way they did ash. For one, it is warm to the touch. Apart from the color, it is even a distant cousin of snow. Thanatos turned his gaze up towards the sky, a solid ashen color, hiding all that was the sky. He let out a short and silent sigh. There was hardly a beauty on earth that could be compared to the beauty of the sky, even after the deaths and destruction of so many, when the sky is bloated with their ashes.

Thanatos reluctantly turned his gaze away from the sky over to Cronos. He was bent over on the ground, speaking to his dear mother. Thanatos believed this scene to be quite comical personally. He wasn't sure why, but he did none the less. Cronos couldn't understand, he could never understand the ways of the universe. Only a being such as Thanatos could, but, then again, he doesn't understand them himself. Putting the thoughts aside, Thanatos strode over towards Cronos, his footsteps invisible on the ashen ground. Why should they be visible? This is now an area of his own dominion, why should he leave a trace? Stepping up behind Cronos, Thanatos asked, in a both gentle and sorrowful voice, "Are we having fun Cronos, conversing with Dear Mother Terra again? I would like to know what she looks or sounds like to be quite honest, but then again..." Thanatos cut his sentence short, not wanting to upset Cronos in any way. True, they were only on the same side because they wished for the world to be as it originally was, and true that Thanatos technically had dominion over Cronos, but he really did not care for these matters. He would care about them when he was required to, no sooner, no earlier. Changing the subject, thanatos gave another look around and said, "It looks like another job well done doesn't it? A few more and we will be whole once again, don't you agree?"

[Birkeland]

It was a pitiful sight, really. To be dangling at the edge of certain doom, held onto life by a mere root. To see that one's body would be lost in the abyss of the snow should they fall. To know that like a lone tree falling in a forest, no one would hear them. This was the current fate of the lykofloran Elnell. He looked down into the depths of the snow, entranced by its vastness. However, Elnell was never too fond of snow himself. A single monochromatic texture spread across a large canvas of earth was nothing compared to the rich, vibrant forests that he had come to love.

Elnell brought himself from his sight-seeing and averted his attention to the Monomono Forest above. With a calm expression, almost cheerful, the werewolf watched as the root became animated once more, traveling down to his feet and forming a pedestal. The makeshift stand elevated him to the edge of the cliff where he departed. A small nod of gratitude was given as the root receded once more into the ground away from harm.

A twitch of his ears, whiff of the air, and natural instincts overcame him for an instant. A general feeling of discomfort and alertness when one is not alone was his first thought of why his senses had gone off. He surveyed the area and found nothing of importance that had changed in the passing moment. With a shrug of the shoulders, Elnell walked deeper into the forest where he had hoped to find his next destination.

[Meanwhile]

Cronus continued to be lost in thought, communicating with the one he had called 'Mother'. [i]I know you will succeed my child. There are no other options. Go on now, my beloved, and bring me that which I desire most.[/i] She had a gentle voice, soft-spoken and eloquent while commanding and direct. Her words carried compassion for the titan, but with a tone of indifference. This was the relationship that Cronus had with Mother. For her, he was not unlike a child: he would obey her simple commands, seek to please her whenever possible, and ask only for tender compassion as a reward. He would never be able to gain physical comfort such a hug or hand upon his shoulder, but he would always receive praise for accomplishing his tasks.

Returning to reality, Cronus had taken in Thanatos' words. One question about the nature of Mother and the other on their mutual goals. The former question would not be met with an answer, as it bothered him to speak to the god regarding her. Thanatos would often bring about the uncertainty of Mother's existence and why Cronus would interact with her. In equal fashion, the titan would reply with a simple unjustified remark and continue the conversation. The latter question was easy enough to follow through with. "Indeed. Our journey is nearly complete" the titan answered as he stood up and faced his ally.

Ally. It was sometimes difficult to call Thanatos that. His was an existence that far exceeded his own, with power over a concept of the universe rather than trivial matters such as elements. Should he wish it, the being before himself could end his life in a passing moment without warning and be on his way. Instead the god chose to offer his services for nothing in exchange. Gifts always come with consequences, some less apparent than others. This was a gift that the titan had taken with a grain of salt.

"Our next destination lies to the east where Eclipse has not yet made itself known. There is but a single Ancient Soul within the domain of another city similar to this one." Cronus had positioned himself to directly face Thanatos. "Before we depart I will ask but one question. You have chosen to ally yourself with me. We have forged a pact to return this world from the way it is now into the was it once was before. You have also given me no reason to doubt or question you in regards to hostility or betrayal. You belittle my existence but you yourself are demoted from your true potential. You are but an unneeded assistance that I may choose to rid myself of at any given time. My question is this: What have you to gain from this journey? I seek to please my dearest Mother. I was never made aware of your intentions..."

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Vincent, as Thanatos would doubtlessly know his name to truly be, was completely aware of the fact that death was watching him and furthermore was fully aware when his gaze passed from him. He had known death for many years longer than his natural life should ever have stretched, and had gained a sort of familiarity with him in the process, a familiarity which brought with it the lack of fear. However, a rare thin smile came to the shadow element's face as the thought once more entered his mind that, perhaps, he was holding on to life for no purpose at all. He did not pretend to know the reason why he was alive, when by all rights his time seemed to have run out well over a century ago, but he had found a purpose in his existence. A purpose born of a sight he had seen shortly after being reborn as the personification of shadows.

Immediately after the Samsara event, Vincent had wandered aimlessly through an abyss that seemed to go on for eternity in all directions, and at the same time was filled with thousands upon thousands upon thousands of "windows" through which he could see all manner of actions being performed by the people of the world. This abyss, into which he had entered shortly after his rebirth, was the elemental plane of Darkness and therefore that which would soon become his home. These "windows" as he perceived them were every single place that the Plane of Darkness contacted the physical universe, the simple shadows cast by every solid thing. Within many of the shadows, most of them as it turned out, he saw all manner of evil actions being performed and immense amounts of chaos being sewn throughout the world. This infuriated him beyond any rage which mortals could feel, and after only a few moments of witnessing this did he emerge from the shadows for the first time, slaughtering an entire gang which had just recently participated in the murders of several people guilty of nothing more than "intruding on their turf".

The Shade Hunter was roused from his memories by the sound of the very werewolf who had nearly fallen from the cliff now making his way deeper into the forest. He was fully aware that this one was a member of Eclipse and was, himself, aligned with that organization due to the fact that their goals coincided very nicely with each other. It was, in fact, the presence of this other member that had prompted him to select his current location as his place of meditation due to the tendency of the sewers of chaos to find and follow them, regardless of any connection to the organization that had come to be known as "The Ancient Titans". As the other began to make his way off, Vincent rose to his feet in absolute silence before sinking into the very shadow which just moments ago had served only to conceal him and began to follow Elnell whilst within the membrane between the physical world, and the elemental plane he called home.

[Ropp]

A smooth hum came from a clearing in the tranquil, scenic forest. A blonde haired man sat on a rock, hands pressed to the ground, humming an ancient song of regrowth. Ka'Lees was built like one of the very trees, strong and rigid, but also versatile and wise. His eyes shone a deep red, but it wasn't a frightening shade, more of a comforting one. Upon his large shoulder sat a small bird, twittering away it's sweet song. Ka'Lees smiled softly at the small creature, shuffling uneasily in his ragtag clothes. Whilst he was grateful for them, he still hoped for a more comfortable pair soon enough...
"I guess it's time to leave," He looked at the bird and it fluttered away swiftly, perhaps scared of the behemoth of a man. "See you soon friend." Ka'Lees spurt upwards, onto both feet, and surveyed the clearing. There was a growth of brown mushrooms, fresh for the picking. A small spring trickled down the rocks nearby. This was his sanctuary, his creation. Just as Ka'Lees began to stride forward, a deep howl pierced his ears, followed by the swift snapping of twigs and branches. Ka'Lees span around, staring at the other side of the clearing, waiting for his prey to jump forth. He gripped his small dagger tightly, prepared for whatever may jump out. After what seemed like minutes, nothing had emerged. Ka'Lees untensed his body, loosened his grip and chuckled at himself.
"Guess I am getting rather tetchy lately.." As the words muttered from his broad jaw, a large, brown dire wolf jumped from the bushes, ravaging it's way towards Ka'Lees. Ka'Lees' brow deepend, his face creased with focus and he slammed his hands to the ground. Uttering words of ancient power, he called upon his Alhastre and forced the earth to bend to his will. The rock upon which he sat spiked upwards, spearing the wolf in the stomach, dripping blood down it's hard surface. Ka'Lees smoothed his hair back, walked out of his clearing and left the dying wolf to become one with the earth.
"So much for my sanctuary." He slid the dagger back into his tan leather belt and wandered deeper into the maze of a forest. He was told that there were other members of Eclipse here, but so far he'd seen nor heard from anyone. Maybe one of them had a spare outfit he could wear?

[Navras]

Thanatos, whose eyes had been wandering around as Cronos asked his questions, abruptly and suddenly looked at Cronos with a stern and cold look. The wind gave an especially strong breath, making his white cloak billow out behind him. The air suddenly became chilled and icy, Cronos' breathes coming out in white steam. This sudden change of temperature would make even Cronos' body chill to the bone. It was his comment that brought about this sudden change in hostility. The comment about not needing Thanatos, more specifically, the fact that he claimed he could be rid of his presence at any moment of his choosing. Thanatos took a step forward and placed his hand on Cronos' chest, never taking his eyes away from the titan's. The second his hand touched Cronos' flesh, it began to decay and wither away before their very eyes, the only thing staying strong was the marking on his chest. Slowly, the decay spread throughout Cronos.

"Cronos, my dear ignorant bewildered titan. You cannot rid yourself of my presence so easily. Remember, I am death. None can excel me. Not even you, Cronos." Though Cronos was much larger than Thanatos as far as height went, Thanatos leaned forward and seemed to be right next to Cronos' ear. He whispered, with a kind and gently voice, "Remember Cronos, I am here because you will need me. Do not question why or how, just know that you will. And why should you question my presence? What right do you have, he who spreads death? Is it really such a surprise that death follows you wherever you go?" Smiling, Thanatos took his hand off of Cronos' chest and the decay that had spread throughout his body halted. The cold disappeared. Thanatos took a step back away from Cronos and walked past him, without giving him another glance. He stopped a few feet away and answered his question about his intentions, however. It was only the polite thing to do.

"You can't possibly understand the aeons that the universe has spread itself across, you simply cant. At any given time, I am everywhere and nowhere in the universe. I take life as I was dictated to long ago." Thanatos turned back to Cronos with a sad smile on his face. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a golden pocket watch he had been tinkering with for the past few days. Looking down at it, only a few gears were missing, a face, and the wands. What gears that were in place moved methodically, like all clockwork should. He looked back at Cronos and put the watch back in it's original place. "This world, this now renamed Terra, should have died long, long ago. It was written in all of the right places that it would, and yet it remains. No one escapes death, no one. Galaxies have crumbled beneath my grasp, universes untold have withered away into the forgotten regions of all that is living under my gaze. Anything that somehow manages to survive longer than it was meant to is immediately put forthright into my view and I do what I can to take care of it as quickly as possible, without upsetting the old gods in the process." Thanatos looked out over the destruction of the city with sad eyes. "This world is long since dead, past it's time. I need to collect what is rightfully mine."

Thanatos looked back at Cronos, still wearing his sad smile and eyes. He let out a sigh and continued. "Do you believe in free will? I like to think I have it, but I know better. There are forces at work that keep me in certain places at certain times when I'm needed. This is one of those times..." Thanatos trailed off into silence. He was quiet for a while. When he spoke again it was barely above a whisper, "I suppose you can say my intentions are for my freedom. Perhaps, if all life were to perish, I could truly be free... But on the other hand, one could also argue that I am doing the will of the universe. Whatever my motive, it doesn't really matter. All that dose matter is that I want what you want, and that is all." Turning away from Cronos, Thanatos pulled out his pocket watch again and began tinkering with it, moving gears too and fro. "I apologize for having decayed you before. You just needed to understand is all. Now let's go. Our time is short, far too short."

[Birkeland]

Branches creaked and shook as Elnell began to use them to navigate himself. Swinging from them as a monkey would, he swiftly made his way through the denser center of the forest. The exhilaration was overwhelming, giving him a mild high. Wind caressed his body and leaves had stuck themselves to his skin. Soon the werewolf's entire upper body would be cloaked in a leafy veil, leaving only his muzzle bare. His new wardrobe forced him to stop his journey as he unexpectedly collided with another figure in the forest.

When regaining his composure, Elnell looked over to the other man. A brown-skinned man with blond hair with a strong build. The first thing the younger man noticed was the tattoos on the older man's arms. They were of foreign nature to him, but seemed to resemble signs used in scientific experiments. Careful, precise figures and markings decorated either arm, each different yet similar. Another noticeable feature of the man was a scar on his right cheek, most likely from a battle due to its shape. All-in-all, the man before Elnell looked to be quite intimidating.

"Sorry about that. I couldn't see where I was going", he remarked as if talking to himself. He stood up and walked over the other man and examined him. "Never really seen tattoos like that. They don't look like warrior tattoos or even tribal ones. Oh, my name is Elnell. Forgot to say that. I work for Eclipse, too." To clarify his last statement, the lykofloran pulled a small device from his back pocket. It appeared to be a dull gray disk with a white, glowing ring in the center. There were several scratches and nicks on the device, mainly due to poor care from the adventurous youth. The ring began to glow as a hologram was created, displaying the figure a white-robed woman.

[font="Century Gothic"][indent]Hello, Elnell. I trust you are within the Lluvion Mountains by now? Another Eclipse member should be in your vicinity. Across the Lluvion Plains should be a city called Toko City. Or at least, what remains of it. We have received recent word that the unfortunate city and its citizens were destroyed in a matter of moments, most likely at the hands of Ancient Titans. Please make haste and see what you can do to aid the survivors, or contain the danger or fires present. From your location it should only be an hours travel. Good luck.[/indent][/font]

The hologram quickly faded as Elnell gave a sigh of depression. Like she had said, Toko City was but an hour away from him and he was unable to do a thing. Such events had always caused him to doubt his relevance to Eclipse. But, in the same fashion, these events also strengthened his resolve to protect people. It doesn't matter what has happened or what will happen, what is important is what he could do to help someone [i]now[/i]. "As you heard, I'm needed elsewhere. But could I have your help? The Plains are hard to travel alone and there may be hundreds of survivors" He outreached a hand and gave a comforting smile, as it was all he could offer.

[center][Meanwhile][/center]
Fear had overcome the titan the instant Thanatos had driven his hand into his chest. His flesh had begun to rapidly decay. Thoughts raced in head of what to do, but were cast aside in favor of one. What would it mean to die? Technically, he has already experienced death from his past life as a human into his new life as Cronus. But this was different. What would it mean if his flesh returned to earth? His bones into dust, soul into nothingness. Would Mother welcome him as his body and soul returned from whence they came? No. Tattered flesh and broken bones would only signify failure of his duties. Failure of his dearest Mother's wishes, the latter of whom would cast him aside as trash.

[i]Worry not my son[/i], his Mother's voice comforted the moment his decay had begun, [i]Your soul is not to be had by another. You are forever-more under my care, free from the jurisdiction of the others gods and immortals. But your body is another matter. I am able to rebuild it with time, but such time needed is ill-favored. As such, it is unwise to cause harm to yourself unnecessarily[/i]. Those words rendered Cronus unfazed by the god's actions until he was finished. Thanatos' hand was removed and the decay over his body was undone in that instant. A worried hand unconsciously placed itself upon his chest where flesh was almost nonexistent.

Cronus turned to once again face the divine being, who had walked off for a bit. His words began with a harsh tone and sharp tongue, only to soon be replaced with emptiness and remorse. Death was before his eyes, questioning it's place in the universe with whom it co-existed. Cronus, like humanity, was no more than a housefly compared to the lifespan and importance of such a being. As stated by Thanatos himself, he would never truly know the depths of knowledge regarding the universe in its entirety nor what motivations or goals the gods had set in motion for mortals such as he. Instead, he must focus only on what drives himself to continue forward for the future: collecting the 12 Ancient Souls.

"A wise answer for a wise creature. One should ask for forgiveness when speaking rudely to one of higher authority, but I care not for formalities or pleasantries. Know that I hold true to my statement concerning our pact. We will establish partnership solely to revert the world. I for dearest Mother's wishes, and you for personal reasons. Should the Ancient Souls fail to revert the world and instead end it, you may very well gain a temporary freedom." The titan chose his words carefully to not further upset Thanatos and keep himself from his wrath.

"Now. Let us depart the comfort of this earthen field and seek out our next target." His left gauntlet raised itself and shone with the same colored light as the Ancient Souls within him. From the darkness of the very shadows around them, a new creature had started to take form. The shadows elongated and distorted into a serpentine shape, slowly gaining mass and rising from the two-dimensional plane. Red lights suddenly broke free from the darkness and solidified as two eyes, while rips and tears from the same head had joined into creating a mouth. A loud howl was emitted from the shadow being during its birth, where it then placed itself under the two titans. Enlarging into a monstrous size, the serpentine creature called Typhon carried and dashed the duo to their intended destination.

Before they were out of the city's range, similar shadow creature emerged by the hundreds with the desolate area. Instead of resembling Typhon, these new shadow beings took on the perverted and wicked appearance of savage animals. With unspoken commands, the creatures began to further destroy whatever was standing and seek out survivors. A parting gift.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

As his unknowing compatriots had come together, Vincent himself found need to retreat into the plane of shadows and thus exit the material world. He kept the portal that was Elnell's shadow within sight as he floated about the featureless abyss, each of the portals shining as stars in the sky of a moonless night. Several portals in particular came to view as he saw beings born of shadows running about through a ruined city, hunting down and killing everything that moved. The anger that came through the shadow's heart was unmatched by anything another entity, with perhaps the exception of another elemental personification or one of the gods, could even comprehend. That which was his to control was not merely stolen from him, it was turned to the work of the very thing he despised so.

His first instinct was to dive through the portal immediately and unleash his fury upon those who had sought to defile the shadows, and yet he knew that he could not simply leave Elnell and Ka'Lees behind and risk losing their shadows in the infinite expanse that was his realm. He remained there a moment, torn between two decisions, two possible fates. After that moment, a compromise came to mind. He spread his shadowy wings and propelled himself towards Elnell's shadow with all possible speed. He only hoped that this momentary delay would not cost the lives of too many of those who had survived the initial strike upon the metropolis.

Within the physical plane, it was entirely possible that as they conversed the two mortals would notice as Elnell's shadow grew steadily darker and darker until it became absolutely black. It was in that instant that the entirety of The Shade Hunter's form erupted forth into the physical world once more, his form still clad entirely in the black robe that gave him an appearance similar to the depiction of death many hundreds of years ago. Of course now his form was well known enough from the tales spun of him by everyone from bards to mothers trying to get their children to behave that it was very, very likely for both Elnell and Ka'lees to recognize him as soon as he was fully within the physical world.

"Do not ask why I have appeared," he began, hi voice hollow and devoid of life, "simply know that I am your ally. The city to which you must travel is my destination as well. Simply take hold of my robe and I shall bear you on towards it with much greater speed than you could ever hope to match on foot." That being said, Vincent slowed the silent beating of his wings and lowered himself to the ground which he came to rest just as silently upon, not even stirring a single piece of dust. Whatever the reaction of those whom he had revealed himself to now, he would be on his way to Toko city within the next few minutes.

[Navras]

Thanatos ignored all that Cornos had said after his grasp had been released from him, for to him it was irrelevant. It wasn't that he was being rude, he simply didn't like listening to the same thing twice. Instead, he focused entirely on the pocket watch he was creating. He placed one gear after another in it's proper place. In short time, they were all turning properly. Reaching into his cloak, Thanatos plucked a clock face from within and placed it over the gears. He reached back into his cloak and pulled out two clock wands. Too large. He replaced them and pulled out two more that were entirely too small for the pocket watch but would work none the less. Turning the crank on the pocket watch, Thanatos got the wands turning in sync with the gears and shut the glass case. Another completed time keeper. Another reminder that all shall fall. Death turns all to ash. As Cronos made comments on departing to the next city, Thanatos dropped the watch on the dead ground, a reminder of his presence. "Yes, let's."

Thanatos turned back to Cronos and watched him create his servant Typhon. These shadow creatures were actually quite useful. As they did not have any real flesh or life line, Thanatos' powers of decay had no effect on them, meaning he could very well ride Typhon without fear of killing it just from his touch. Thanatos rode on the creature's back, not far behind Cronos, yet out of arms length. He looked over the side of Typhon and saw Cronos' creations wreaking even more havoc down below. He shook his head slightly. There were no survivors below, so what was the point? Self satisfaction perhaps? Only Cronos could truly say. For now, Thanatos allowed his white cloak to billow in the wind as he grabbed the large hour glass that he carried with him at all times. He tunred it over and watched as the bits of sand began to fall one by one. Unknowing to Cronos, Thanatos was doing two things at that very moment. One, he was collecting souls. All across the universe, each grain of sand representing a different soul, they fell to his grasp. Most were of natural causes such as sickness or old age. Others were more violent. But he did not lament on them long. When the sand ran out on one end, he turned the hour glass over and watch once more as the sands fell. Thanatos was the god of death, and thus he could not create or give life. Not true life anyways. But he understood that with each soul he claimed, there were just as many being being born in the universe. A never ending cycle of life and death, Thanatos and Eros. How stagnant.

The second thing he was doing was slowing down time. Though only a small bit, he had to in order to warden so many souls at once. Cronos wouldn't be able to tell and thus wouldn't be able to mind, so what was the harm in it? Besides herding souls, Slowing down time allowed him other opportunities. Such as thinking. Thanatos was rarely ever granted a chance to think. His mind was always filled with all the death in the universe or what was happening right in front of him. When time was slowed, he was allowed a bit of leniency. And so, as he and Cronos rode a top of Typhon towards the next site, Thanatos thought and Shepard souls over from one plain of existence to another, the latter unknown even to him.

[Ropp]

Ka'Lees stood, the wind brushing through the trees, whistling a sweet tune. There was more branches breaking behind him, but Ka'Lees couldn't be bothered to fight this one. he stood solemnly, staring into the forest, waiting for the thing to emerge. Much to his shock and surprise, a large wolflike man appeared, and began muttering to himself. The wolfman mentioned Ka'Lees' arms, speaking of tribal symbols. That was an acceptable assumption, and not too far from the truth. This beast of a man also worked for Eclipse, so he must've been the one Ka'Lees was to meet.
"I too have heard of the destruction of Toko City, and I wish to help those who were injured. It is my duty." Ka'Lees notices the outstretched, hairy hand of the (now named Elnell) man, and grabs it firmly, shaking his hand, understanding it as a common gesture of companionship. The brown skinned man smiled broadly at Elnell. "Ka'Lees. I guess we're pals now?" He laughed heartily and released the hair-coated hand.

As Ka'Lees was prepared to set off in the direction of the devastated city, a cold chill swept over him, almost as if a sixth sense. He noticed Elnell's shadow get darker and darker, until it as midnight black. Ka'Lees was off put by this, crackling energy from his right arm, prepared to fight whatever he needed. His arm tensed and a large pulse of darkness swept over the area, and a cloaked figure, probably humanoid, burst from Elnells shadow.
"Is this some kind of trick!?" Ka'Lees slammed a hand to the floor, turning a lump of rock into a spear, standing at the ready. But then he noticed that Elnell seemed as surprised as he did, and thus knew that this was something entirely different. The man had giant black wings, which fluttered harshly yet didn't disturb the ground. The cloaked figure spoke of being his ally, saying he wished to help the destroyed city. Ka'Lees could not deny this man his will, not without losing his honour in the process. The man offered the chance to use his powers to travel there faster, but that was not in Ka'Lees' mind. "If I get there, I travel there under my own power, not somebody elses." With these words, Ka'Lees turned the spear back into rocks, dropping them on the ground. "Elnell, your choice is your own. See you there, friend." The brown skinned man allowed the energy to subside, and began walking in the direction of Toko City.

[Birkeland]

Elnell was taken aback by the sudden arrival of Vince, as much as anyone else in his situation would. It's not everyday that your shadow had taken form and conversed with you. At least, not in the old world of Earth. Terra was quite accustomed to strange and unusual moments that bordered on fiction. The amazement quickly ended as the grim veil of reality was cast over him. He knew little of the man before him, other than a old story told to him from a child he had met in Grendelborne.

The time had come to make a decision. On one hand, the shadowy individual before him was offering a light of hope in giving him a quick, free ride to his desire destination. Ironic, right? In regards to the other, he may very well be thrown into the depths of a dimension beyond his recognition. The wisest option in his cause would be the former: no matter how or whom it may concern, it was his assignment to go to Toko City and aid it in whatever way possible.

"We'll take you on your offer" Before Ka'Lees could react, Elnell seized his arm and grabbed onto Vince's cloak. While his intentions were acceptable, it was inefficient to waste any valuable time. The world around them has been consumed by darkness in an instant leaving all of their senses obsolete. Time varied between each person, for Elnell it had seemed to be another instant as the world was returned to them. His expression changed from a wondrous joy to a solemn glare.

He had already failed. No survivors were left after the massacre by Cronus' shadow beings. Buildings were reduced to rubble, bodies were scattered as bones or burnt flesh, and the sky had been obscured by dark clouds. Only a few rays of light were generous enough to illuminate the area for the group to witness, only being reflected in a pristine watch left on the ground. Creatures from across the desolate city has shifted their attention from their own activities to the newly arrived heroes. Instead of becoming enraged by his failure, Elnell simply encouraged a fully-grown tree to rise from the ashes as would a phoenix. "It's a start. I'll need at least a few dozen more, plus some flowers to brighten this dark mood..."

A shadow tiger had taken it's opportunity for a surprise attack and launched itself at the lykofloran. With a swift kick to its neck, the beast was dispersed into a black fog. Other creatures had taken the action as an official declaration of war and charged at the trio. Vines had sprouted from Elnell's shoulders and wrapped themselves around his arms. He took a battle stance and prepared for the assault.

[center][Meanwhile][/center]

When the shadow lion was struck, Cronus had sensed the event in the same moment. His shadow creatures were more than just constructs, they were also mentally and spiritually connected to him. Whatever they experienced, sensed, or witnessed, he would as well. Each one would simultaneously relay a constant message and he would respond to each, no matter how trivial. The shadow lion had relayed to him that it was taken out by an unknown adversary that had suddenly appeared. Others had stated there were two other beings with the attacker, one of whom was unusually frightening to them.

Cronus gave an internal smirk, knowing full well who each person was. Elnell and Ka'Lees were Eclipse members that had started to become a noticeable threat should they be ignored. The third man was the one that intrigued him more. While the details were uncertain, Cronus was aware of Thanatos' hostility toward Vince. Time to time when Vince had made himself known, Thanatos would focus his attention and gain a small but noticeable irritation toward the shadowed figure. It was almost fun for the titan to witness the god of death react in such a way.

"It would appear as though The Shade Hunter is no longer hiding within his domain. Perhaps you would like to leave and pursue him? Once again, you need not loom over every outing I take" the titan announced with an almost mocking tone. Typhon let out a hiss of approval as it slithered through the air as if it were earth. This served as a reminder to him of what to do next concerning the Eclipse members. Vince could simply disperse his creations as they were well within his domain. Cronus would remedy this problem by raising his right arm with open palm to the open sky. A magic rune appeared the air above his hand, in the form of a symbol reading 'shadow beast'. With a blue radiance, the rune shifted from reading 'shadow beast' to 'water shadow beast'.

Rain began to fall abruptly in Toko City at the same instance. The shadows creatures had taken notice and positioned themselves appropriately. Their black forms had started to absorb the raindrops, not allowing a single one to reach the ground. Black mist converted itself into black water as the shadow being went from obscure to translucent, signifying their transformation. The rain ended as quickly as it began, leaving a more deadly force for the trio to face.

[Ropp]

In a sudden moment, a strong force pulled on Ka'Lees and then his mind was warped. Blurs and shades came flying past his face, his eyes spinning uncontrollably. It seemed to take but a few minutes, but he felt exhausted. And then the trio stopped. Sudden and lurching, they just stopped. The city around them was destroyed worse than Ka'Lees had've orginially believed. The scent of death was in the air and the sound of fire crackling was all he could hear. The survivors had already been dealt with, but by other means than what was expected. Shadow beasts were feasting upon their bones, gnawing away at them. Ka'Lees' eyes grew wide with agony when he saw the sight, wishing nothing more than to help these poor souls. His arm crackled with energy once more, clenching his enraged fist. Slamming his hands onto the floor, he looked as if he had given up. But nothing of the sort, he was just making a weapon. He slung himself back up with his new tool of war, a sickle transmuted from the very ruins of this devastated city. Elnell had already dealt with a shadow tiger, destroyed with a one fel kick. Ka'Lees roared with rage, throwing his head back, his hair dropping onto his face.
"They were innocent you dishonourable whelps!" He shook with fury, one hand clutching the sickle, his other clenched into a ball. Ka'Lees spotted a shadow beast - it looked like a chimp - further away from him. It was bounding towards the large man, screaming with infantile rage, waving it's hands rabidly. The Qunai transmuted a pile of broken glass from the floor, sending them flying towards the shadowy primeape in a spine of glass. It pierced through what would've been it's face, dispersing into mist before hitting the ground. Ka'Lees showed no emotion to this hollow victory, just looked up as the skies opened and shot down with rain. The drops patted the tribesman's face, an unusual feel for one who is used to the sandy heat. "The rain... It doesn't feel natural..." He turned to look at Elnell, showing signs if concern, but no hint of fear.

[Navras]

Thanatos looked at Cronos and leaned his head to the sight ever so slightly. He had never mad an attempt to hide his frustration towards the shadow hunter in front of his ally, but why would he care about what he did? Thanatos could have pondered over this and many other questions for hours, but what good would that do him when he could decide on what he was to do right then and right there? Reaching forward, Thanatos picked up his hour glass. The second he touched it, time flowed as normal once more, not that Cronos could tell. Flipping the hour glass over, Thanatos held it close to his face and studied it. If he could pick out just the right piece of sand amongst all of them....

There, the right piece. It looked no different than the others, but the difference was that this grain of sand belong to the shade hunter. Staring at it, Thanatos saw that it was no quite in the middle, but more towards the falling point in the hour glass. But, it wasn't there yet. Setting the hour glass back down, though not slowing down time, Thanatos crossed his arms in front of him and said, "It is not the shade hunter's time yet... but soon, very soon." Thanatos closed his eyes and let out a sad sigh. Why was it taking so long to reclaim just one soul? Out of the millions and billions he claimed each and every day, why was this one giving him so much trouble? Opening his eyes again, Thanatos said, "And you are mistaken about your outings. I am the same as your shadow now, as long as you keep your quest up for the ancient souls. However, shadows can be stretched. If it is your wish, I can go back and intervene with those that appear to be bothering you...?"

[Birkeland]

The trio was isolated in what used to be the park of the city, facing an immense threat. Creatures once forged from shadows were now endowed with water from the unnatural rain. Though the remained aggressive and savage, their tactics shifted from random blitzkriegs to careful hunting. Some had taken to walking in a circle around them while others had begun analyzing their actions. From the smallest movement to their facial expressions, all was being recorded and reflected upon. Their drastic change in behavior would only mean that they were being observed from afar.

Elnell was watching his enemies just as closely, making sure to act on reflex when possible. As he was watching several shadow beasts conversing with another, one approached him from behind. The shadow horse charged forward for a headbutt, which he responded to quickly. The lykofloran spun in place while the vine on his arm extended into a spear-like shape, cutting the shadow in half. The horse had fell to the ground into two pieces, though it had not dispersed like the beast from before. Instead, the two halves had connected to another through tendrils and reformed unharmed. "Well that's a new trick. Better change my strategy too", he announced.

Elnell swiftly ran to the shadow horse before it could react, placing his hand on its forehead. The latter's body vibrated violently before exploding into a mist. "Glad to know that works. I was actually trying to absorb the water..." He turned around to continue his new tactic before a strange instance occurred. Everything within his sight began to abruptly shift in place and become hazy. His stomach turned and ears rang with discomfort as his energy began to plummet. The lykofloran fell to his knees from the sudden reaction of his body, stirring the ashes on the ground. With a handful of ashes and a moment to reflect, it dawned on him what should have been realized a while ago.

[i]I forgot about my weakness. How could I have been so foolish?[/i]. In his determination and recklessness, Elnell had forgotten a crucial weakness his body possessed. While his powers over nature were greater than the others of his species, they came with a deadly drawback. Whenever he was in an area where living creatures were greatly suffering or had recently passed, his body would empathetically feel their pain and shut down. If Vince and Ka'Lees were not there with him, he would have collapsed immediately upon arrival. The shadow beasts noticed his breakdown and took the opportunity to strike. About a dozen seized their chance to attack the helpless werewolf.

[center][Meanwhile][/center]

"No, that won't be necessary" Cronus answered. "My creations shall handle the bothersome trio of heroes." His arm gently lowered back to his side before folding itself with its opposite. Te titan gazed out to the area around him, taking in the scenery. Despite the dark sky he had brought with him during his travels, it was around noon on a sunny day as the duo made their way through the skies. The sun was shining brightly and brought beautiful colors to the world around them. Typhon moved rapidly in lieu of it's mass, outracing many birds it had passed save for one pterodactyl-like creature which kept a blindly pace.

Toko City lay within the Solsolis Mountain opposite the Lluvion Mountains, where it once was the busiest city for miles. The Solsolis Mountains are named for their seemingly never-ending sunlight and clear skies while the Lluvion Mountains are named after the ever-present thundershowers and blizzards. This relation between the opposing mountains conditions made the location ideal for tourists across the world. Toko City was the largest tourist city in the area, with Janen City being the second.

Janen City was the current destination for Ancient Titans, due to the Ancient Soul hiding within its depths. Typhon ran straight for the tallest building in the city, colliding with it at full force. Instead of wanton destruction, the serpent phased through the building and returned to non-existence while the duo had landed unharmed. Cronus' eyes illuminated as he scanned the area for his prize. The people dwelling below gave off different auras, varying in shape and color. One soul in particular had a small blue orb residing within itself, carelessly wandering through the city.

Without hesitation, the titan crouched down in the target's direction and leaped upward with great strength. The sun momentarily reflected off his gauntlets as he eclipsed it, then landing in front of the unfortunate soul. His impact had intentionally left a crater within the ground and a following shockwave pushed nearby citizens in random directions. People, in typical fashion, began panicking and running about while law enforcement quickly arrived. "Freeze, monster! Move and we will take action! You- y-you- ah- ahh!" the police had tried to speak before realizing the intimidating size of their opponent.

"Begin your harvest, Thanatos. Once again, this city has been stained by the nature of this Ancient Soul. Mother has no need for beings who would associate with those trying to prevent her return". Cronus walked over to the host of the Ancient Soul and raised his arm. "You have something of mine..."

[Navras]

As Typhon crashed into the building, Thanatos gently jumped off it's back and seemed to glide down to the roof. As Cronos jumped off the roof, Thanatos sighed. Why did he always have to start things out in sudden confusion? Didn't he realize that if he simply started out slowly, making people disappear at first and slowly, but surely, introducing chaos into the city that not only would they be less likely to be discovered, they wouldn't be bothered while looking for the ancient soul? Thanatos sighed and reached into his cloak, knowing that in his heart, Cronos didn't know what true fear was. Just brutality and ferocity. He took out the hour glass he had been looking at on his journey there and set it down on top of the building, causing time to slow once more. Thanatos walked over to the edge of the building and looked down below, noting that already the citizens were reacting to Cronos' presence. Thanatos looked up at the sunny sky with sad eyes. What little idea these people had about what was to happen to them today... it almost made Thanatos want to let them live. He thought about that for a moment and realized that it wasn't true at all. He wanted each and everyone of them to die like they were supposed to. They deserved it, they had been living on borrowed time as it was. It was time that time was returned to him.

Raising his hand up to the sky, Thanatos made his presence known. A sudden cold chill ran in waves down to the life below, and, for them, it began to become hard to breath. Running seemed impossible, their limbs being too heavy. The combination of cold, gravity, and sudden fear at the sighting of Cronos (and soon Thanatos) would throw this city into chaos sooner than Cronos ever could by himself. Taking a step off of the building, Thanatos made contact with the wall and began to walk down it gracefully, his control over gravity keeping him up. With every step he took, the cold became more and more intense. By the time he reached the bottom, there would be frost on the ground, skin would be blue, and all would be shivering in a sudden burst of deadly winter that no one would be able to explain until it was too late. As he walked down the side of the building, more and more people saw him, looking up and pointing to him as though he were the universe to behold. Some guessed that the sudden cold sensation was coming from him and began to run away as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast with the gravity.

Far above in the heavens, the once clear sky had began to darken unnaturally, as the cold was affecting the weather ultimately, creating clouds that would soon burst with snow. As Thanatos touched the ground, he made the gravity almost unbearable in the area around him, making anyone around him bend over uncontrollably. Thanatos stood up straight and touched the two closest people next to him. They fell to the ground, a dead and glazed looking coming into their eyes. The people who saw this panicked and tried to run away, but the most they could do was shamble at best. Thanatos quickly caught up to each one of them and touched them individually, killing them in an instant. Unlike creatures who's time it wasn't, these being died instantly at his touch as it was far beyond their time. It wasn't even considered soul stealing. They just died, as naturally as anything. Clean as god. One man who had fallen to his knees looked up at Thanatos as he walked his way and was able to push out of his mouth at just over a whisper, his breath rising in a vapor, "What.... are.... you...?"

Thanatos smiled sadly at the man and bent down on one knee before him. Thanatos brushed the man's hair out of his face, the hair becoming white and falling to the ground at Thanatos' feet. "I am death. I have come to give you safe passage to the other side." With that, Thanatos leaned forward and gave the man a hug, sapping every bit of life out of him in an instant. Thanatos gently set the man back down on the ground and stood up straight. "There is so very much to learn... you understand so little, you beings." Looking around, Thanatos watched for a moment as the the frost he generated crept it's way up buildings and signs. Walking over to a street sign, Thanatos caressed it gently, leaving a trail of frost in his hand's wake. Reaching up, he broke a piece of the sign off and tossed it away with a sigh. "It's going to be a long day..."

[Ropp]

Ka'Lees watched the werewolf set to work on the shadow horse, slicing it swiftly in half. But it didn't disperse as normal, it formed together with it's watery tendrils reforming it's broken body. I guess they'd need more impact for this job. Turning his attention to the trio of beasts ahead of him, Ka'Lees crackled his arms with energy, propelling his legs forward, towards the first beast, with the body of a tiger. Ka'Lees slammed his fist into the beasts mouth, letting it clamp down hard, blood trickling down his arm. It had taken the bait. Sending a pulse of energy through his right arm, he transmuted the evil entity's body into steam. It evaporated swiftly, it's life force flowing up to the heavens. Ka'Lees smiled slightly, before moving on to the next beast. He punched a hole right into it's side, the body of an elephant, and evaporated it. The last beast was nowhere to be seen, perhaps it had fled. Scanning around swiftly, Ka'Lees noticed why the beast had shifted it's attention.

Elnell had fell to his knees, curdling in pain and despair. The wolfman was going to die, and probably very painfully if Ka'Lees didn't intervene. He used Alhastre to speed up his movements, something that normally he would never use due to it's energy sapping tendencies. He slid across the floor, cutting his leg on shards of glass, covering himself in ash. As he arrived next to the estranged man, he slammed his hands to the floor. In a majestic and brilliant manner, the ground around the pair rose up, around fifteen feet high, blocking out the spectral intruders. Some of the beasts clawed against the wall, attempting frantically to break through. Ka'Lees knew it would only hold for a while, and when it broke, he couldn't hold them all off without Elnell's help.
"Elnell! What is wrong!?" Ka'Lees bellowed at the wolfman, hoping to snap him from his trance. There were no physical injuries, but still, his face was a grimace of pain.

[Birkeland]

Visions and sounds seemed to dance together behind a veil of uncertainty. While not completely void of color or distinction, Elnell's senses did fail to comprehend what was around him. The most they could offer to tell him was that gray blobs were moving and growling throughout the area. This information was useless to him as it did not distinguish between friend and foe, leaving him wary of trying to counterattack. Pain coursed through every fiber of his body, from his head down to his feet. Elnell had had similar episodes before, lasting for a few moments or a couple of minutes in small doses. This time was different as a much larger area was destroyed with a far greater casualties in a shorter amount of time. This particular culmination of events were what caused the severity of his current episode.

Elnell had taken notice to Ka'Lees' sudden arrival, trying to react to him as an enemy. Thankfully, it was a failed attempt as his body was in no condition to properly fight. Ka'Lees' close proximity made it easier for the werewolf to understand him. "S-Sorry," he struggled to talk, "I forg-got about...my wea-weakness...Just need to...to get underground" He began to dig a hole, only managing to move the earth beneath him in small, slow motions. "If I can...get be-beneath the surface...I can...recover...my strength"

Just as a plant needs soil, lykoflorans also require fresh earth to live healthy lives. Being attuned to nature in such a manner converted their bodies between a mix of flora and fauna. Sunlight, water, and soil would provide them with as much health as one needing food, water, and shelter. Due to Ancient Titans interference, sunlight was being blocked by dark clouds and the topsoil had been tainted by ashes and decayed flesh. [i]It was a good thing I brought others to help me[/i], Elnell had though in hindsight.

[center][Meanwhile][/center]

Cronus had studied the man before him. He was taken aback by the sudden events, his breath visible in the frosted air, but seemed to have a bout of confidence in his eyes. His eyes and the titan's met with a deep understanding of what was about to occur. An Ancient Soul would leave this city, leaving another's body in it's wake. However, as one of them had Death himself as his ally, it was unlikely for the man to claim victory. Imposing odds seemed to be of little concern to him, some feeling deep within himself saying that he should not give up. Cronus recognized this confidence, as it seemed to be a trait that other Ancient Soul hosts possessed. He began to recall the events of a few short hours ago.

[i]Toko City was in the busiest state it ever was on the brightest day it had ever seen. Thousands of people were running about their business, either working diligently or taking in the scenery. Everyday people were going about their everyday routines while newcomers were traveling around and gaining new experiences. Memories were being made and life was at its peak. One individual was also enjoying their day in the city. A woman by the name of Puca was walking without a care in the world, unaware of her looming fate. Puca was garbed in a simple yellow tunic with a matching red scarf billowing in the wind. She was of tanned skin and wavy black hair, highlighted by radiant violet eyes. An simple living style allowed her to be at ease even within the loud, obnoxious city.

Thanatos and Cronus watched the woman from afar, obscured in the shadows of an alley. Cronus took Thanatos' advice to bide his time while hunting her, as it would make the process easier. They would wait for her to let her guard down in an isolated area before striking in extreme stealth. Their journey was cut short as Puca had found her way closer to them than they expected. She sensed their presence from a few feet away and took immediate action. While normally a solemn individual, she possessed an ability to sense and understand the auras of everyone around her. Cronus was giving off an aura of intimidation with several smaller auras similar to hers, while Thanatos' aura was unmistakeable as the essence of death itself.

Puca's power was shapeshifting, specifically animals, transforming her human form into that of a crystal-scaled dragon's instantaneously. Such a speedy transformation was only possible in the hands of an expert. The azure dragon tackled Cronus first, knowing that a battle against Death was impossible and fruitless. She wrapped around the titan with her serpentine body and took a deep breath of air. Beautiful violet flames baked its victim mercilessly while her body was unaffected. Unusually, the citizens of Toko City remain unfazed by the event. They were accustomed to such random displays of the supernatural in their busy city.

As the flames died, the titan revealed himself to be unharmed and quickly broke his arm free to clutch Puca's muzzle. She was effortlessly flung in the air before recovering by shifting into a falcon-like bird. Several passes of loops were made as she began to gather speed, coming out of the last one with as much speed as she could muster. Before reaching her target, Puca shifted once more into an armadillo-turtle creature. The heavy hybrid gained ever more speed from the momentum, hoping to leave the titan incapacitated with one strike. Cronus braced himself for the impact with two outstretched arms and open palms. The creature's momentum and mass caused the titan to dig into the earth for a few feet along with a shock wave from the abrupt impact. Setting his hand ablaze, Cronus lifted the woman's hybrid form and ignited it, before using his herculean strength to smash her into the ground with greater force.

The creature felt it's bones shatter as it's skin burned, coughing up blood before returning to its human form. Puca retained the damage she had received, her flesh was charred and limbs lifeless. She grabbed the titan's arms and made a last attempt to fight back, with determination beaming from her eyes. Cronus responded by sending a surge of electricity throughout her body, ending the conflict justly. Dark, burnt flesh began to glow baby blue as an orb of light emerged and hovered to an armored hand. Cronus held the orb in his left hand and the woman in his right. Crimson eyes illuminated as a blue fire wrapped itself around the titan. A sphere of fire and electricity suddenly formed and expanded, blanketing the city in a wave of destruction.

Cronus held his prize firmly and tossed the still breathing woman over to Thanatos, allowing him to give her a proper departure. [/i]This conflict has exhausted some of my power, though only a small fraction. She was more powerful than I imagined,[i] the titan reflected. He made his way over to a cliff and looked into the dark abyss.[/i]

Ending his flashback, Cronus came back into reality with a stern, but emotionless expression. "Surrender. I only give you this one moment to do as such"

[Navras]

My name is Derrk. Derrk Sosly, sounds like SAUCE-LEE. My life has been anything less than extraordinary to say the least. I was born, I've lived just like everyone else. The most dangerous thing that I've ever done is try to sneak into the girls locker room on a dare from some friends. When I was 13, I had my first kiss with Becka Grendal. At 16 I lost my virginity. From there, I went into developing my career as an architect and now make a very nice living designing buildings for foreign companies. And did I mention that I can control people's perception of time? Yeah... it's sort of an odd thing that apparently most people can't do. I'm not sure why I'm like this, I just know that I always have been. That time that I tried to sneak into the girls locker room, I had time stopped while I looked for a hiding place. I haven't always been able to control it exactly like I wanted. When I was young, I used to think that people were playing tricks on me when no one would move for minutes at a time. But I eventually figured out how to control it and even use it to my advantage. The most I've ever had time stop around me was for two days, I won't do that again and for two reasons. One, stopping time creates a tremendous strain on my body the longer that I keep it help still. It's like an annoying itch that I can't get rid of, everywhere on my body all at once. Eventually the itch becomes an ache and eventually the ache can become hazardous. After I let time move normally around me again, I had to be rushed to the hospital because of sever muscular trauma. The doctors couldn't ever explain it and I never had the heart to tell them how it had really happened. The other reason is that I hate taking the time to explain to others why the date is suddenly different that it says. No one knows that I can do what I can do, and to be hones it don't want them to know. I like myself just fine the way I am, a seemingly normal person who can manipulate time.

Skipp a head into the future. I'm walking along on a nice sunny day, minding my own business when suddenly I hear a large crash somewhere behind me. Looking back, I see several people running away from a cloud of dust, or whatever's in it rather. A huge shadow appears within the cloud. Nearby authority figures come around, trying to restore order and to fix the problems at had. Suddenly I feel a chill coming from everywhere at once. My very existence is chilled. Is this coming from whatever is in that dust cloud? No, it can't be. Whatever ti is it's large but... It can't chill your very existence, can it? I can see my breath now, so it isn't just me, it's in the air this cold. Looking up, I see dark clouds converge over the would be sunny sky and before I know it, it's started to snow. Snow? At this point in the year? Impossible, unless something was making it snow. But this presence... what was it? Looking back down, I see that it's a titan of a man that created the large cloud and the crater. He looks odd, and definitely intimidating. It looks as though this particular street is now deserted accept for he and I, and he's headed my way.

"Surrender. I'll only give you one moment to do as such."

Though it's cold, I manage to creak an icy smile. A moment? Is that really all he thinks I can get from him? Snickering, I say cockily, "Like hell a moment!" and I stop time around the two of us. Over the years, I have discovered that if time is stopped, you can achieve so much more than when it's moving. For example, I work out. Every day twice a day, when I wake up, and before I go to sleep. As I work out, I stop time for a grand total of one hour. This one hour of no time work out equals roughly five if time were flowing because of the strain on my muscles. So, in total, I get ten hours of work out time per day. But, I try not to make it so that I'm just massive and hulking, I don't do that hulk look. Plus, I can't run as fast when I'm all bulked up. So, I work out for as long as I need to, and when I start to get huge, I take a break for a month or so, then pick it up again. Needless to say, I'm stronger than the average person by a lot, so even though this guy has a massive size difference on me, I might be able to hold him off in the area of strength... might. Charging towards him, I deliver a nice drop kick to his stomach. I land on the ground in a heap, but I have all the time in the world to do to this giant man how I please. Over the next half hour, in my time at least, I thrash this guy to and fro, giving him blow after blow after blow after blow. Dropkicks, punches, smashes, the works. When I've felt like I've done enough to him so that he should drop, I walk away from the giant and unstop time, taking up my last position but with a smirk on my face.

[Birkeland]

Tempus edax rerum. Time, devourer of all things. Even Thanatos himself abided by the laws of time, represented by the hourglass he carried on his person. The sands of time within would dictate the absolute life expectancy a person had, down to the last second. Sometimes the sands of time would only coat the bottom of the glass, leading to a premature death. Others would have enough sand to live for hundreds or thousands of years, reserved mainly for immortals or other-worldly creatures.

To have control over time is to have control over death itself. One would simply extend their fate indefinitely or reverse the flow of time upon themselves and start anew. For this reason, time manipulation is a far and few ability for mortals as they would abuse it for selfish gain. However, even the gods were feared to be granted this ability as they were merely physical beings gifted with great powers beyond most individuals' comprehension. Even possessing a small assertion of control over the flow of time is considered an awesome supernatural power.

Despite the similarities in his name, Cronus did not possess the ability to control time. That responsibility rested in the hands of Chronos, the true god of time. Where magic could be used to shift time around, it did not compare to Chronos' ability over the concept. It was this ability of time manipulation that was being used against him. The man identified as Derrk was using his power to assault Cronus, attacking him for half an hour's time in a short moment. For the titan, Derrk became blurred for an instant and then appeared in a different position. The smirking youth began to walk away to signify a job well done.

The titan's stomach caved in ever so slightly, followed by other depressions in his skin. A flurry of unseen blows struck him simultaneously before he could react further. In that moment Cronus witnessed, Derrk had attacked him with full force using a series of punches and kicks. The dust around his feet and in other various places was kicked up by the assault along with a few zephyrs of wind. Cronus returned Derrk's smirk with a uncaring expression, relatively unharmed by the attack. Though not impossible, a more valiant effort would be needed to bring him to his knees. "You either possess inhuman speed or time manipulation. Neither will bring you victory should your efforts be as pathetic as that. Your answer has been duly noted"

The snow falling in the air seemed to freeze in place around them. Microscopic ice crystals resisted gravity's influence and instead began to revolve around Cronus. The ice followed suit by receding from the ground's surface and crawling up the titan's legs. Appearing to be encased in jagged ice, the titan held his hand forward to further command the element. Ice rapidly formed spikes along the ground as icicles from the buildings above came down like gunfire. The key to stopping someone who could move faster than oneself, either by increasing their speed or slowing down time, was to immobilize them or attack them from every direction, leaving no blind spots.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

OOC: Sorry about the long wait, gents. I've been a bit pissed at Eki-san.

IC: Shadow, the absence of light. This was not merely the power of the Shade Hunter, but also his domain. Any being which proved solid enough to be visible, and even those who were invisible in normal light, cast a shadow of some sort or another, even these watered creations of Cronus'. Regardless of that, the simple fact that the whole of the sky was covered with clouds brought the entire area into shadow, and because of this the whole of the area was under the Shade Hunter's power. Behind the hood and emotionless mask that was his face, he was boiling with rage that just moments ago the very thing that brought him power had been used in a way that went against everything he saw to do, and his vengeance was swift in coming.

Suddenly, each and every single one of the water beasts that stood within Vincent's sight would find themselves totally constricted by their own shadow, if only for a few moments. This small amount of time was all that the Shade Hunter would need though. He simply lifted up his right hand, the sleeve of his robe falling back and revealing the claws which were normally all of him that were visible to either be his fingers or be a part of a gargantuan armored gauntlet of such dark black that they seemed to absorb all light around them. He then rapidly closed his hand, the tips of his claws pressing against his palm. In response to this, the shadows encasing the whole of the horde of water beasts became as a suit of inward-facing blades before all coming in to meet at a single point within the center of their form. This being so, each of the beasts would find themselves reduced to incredibly small particles falling to the ground. Whether or not the would reform he could not say, but one way or another the threat posed by them was eliminated for the moment. As the Shade Hunter released the grip that he had upon the shadows, both literally and figuratively: that is to say he released the grip which he had taken by closing his hand, the small balls of darkness which had formed in the aftermath of his destructive move simply dispersed into the space beneath each of the pieces of the beast from which they had come, once more becoming mere shadows. Still held aloft on his silent wings, Vincent hovered over towards the pair of his companions who had since either fallen to the ground or to their knees over the fallen one.

"There...is nothing we can do here," he stated, his voice still as hollow as before, "we should follow the pair that left this place as it is. With luck, we can still catch them and prevent another catastrophe like this one." In the aftermath of his statement he remained hovering, hands having fallen to his sides and whatever feet he may or may not possess covered by the length of his robe.

[Navras]

[quote name='ekikin' timestamp='1310671279' post='5355374']
Tempus edax rerum. Time, devourer of all things. Even Thanatos himself abided by the laws of time, represented by the hourglass he carried on his person. The sands of time within would dictate the absolute life expectancy a person had, down to the last second. Sometimes the sands of time would only coat the bottom of the glass, leading to a premature death. Others would have enough sand to live for hundreds or thousands of years, reserved mainly for immortals or other-worldly creatures.

To have control over time is to have control over death itself. One would simply extend their fate indefinitely or reverse the flow of time upon themselves and start anew. For this reason, time manipulation is a far and few ability for mortals as they would abuse it for selfish gain. However, even the gods were feared to be granted this ability as they were merely physical beings gifted with great powers beyond most individuals' comprehension. Even possessing a small assertion of control over the flow of time is considered an awesome supernatural power.

Despite the similarities in his name, Cronus did not possess the ability to control time. That responsibility rested in the hands of Chronos, the true god of time. Where magic could be used to shift time around, it did not compare to Chronos' ability over the concept. It was this ability of time manipulation that was being used against him. The man identified as Derrk was using his power to assault Cronus, attacking him for half an hour's time in a short moment. For the titan, Derrk became blurred for an instant and then appeared in a different position. The smirking youth began to walk away to signify a job well done.

The titan's stomach caved in ever so slightly, followed by other depressions in his skin. A flurry of unseen blows struck him simultaneously before he could react further. In that moment Cronus witnessed, Derrk had attacked him with full force using a series of punches and kicks. The dust around his feet and in other various places was kicked up by the assault along with a few zephyrs of wind. Cronus returned Derrk's smirk with a uncaring expression, relatively unharmed by the attack. Though not impossible, a more valiant effort would be needed to bring him to his knees. "You either possess inhuman speed or time manipulation. Neither will bring you victory should your efforts be as pathetic as that. Your answer has been duly noted"

The snow falling in the air seemed to freeze in place around them. Microscopic ice crystals resisted gravity's influence and instead began to revolve around Cronus. The ice followed suit by receding from the ground's surface and crawling up the titan's legs. Appearing to be encased in jagged ice, the titan held his hand forward to further command the element. Ice rapidly formed spikes along the ground as icicles from the buildings above came down like gunfire. The key to stopping someone who could move faster than oneself, either by increasing their speed or slowing down time, was to immobilize them or attack them from every direction, leaving no blind spots.
[/quote]


OOC: I too apologize, once again, for not posting in a while. This is the first chance that I've gotten to actually post, so I'm taking advantage of it. Again, I apologize.
IC:

Derrk's eyes widened at seeing that Cronos was virtually unscathed by his assault. Any one, no, anything should have fallen to it's knees by that assault. Nothing should be able to withstand his attacks. However, he would have to contemplate on this another time. It was he who was being assaulted now, from every direction from what he could fathom from a quick glance. By instinct, he flinched and bent forward slightly. "NO!" he shouted out into the open space as he instinctively stopped time again. Standing up straight, he looked at how close Cronos had come to hitting him. Too close; far too close. Gritting his teeth, Derrk swung out towards his right and created cracks in the icy projectiles that had been headed his way. He swung out wildly all around him, sending cracks into everything close to him. When time unfroze, they would shatter on the spot though they would continue flying forward. Breathing in heavily out of anger, Derrk tried to think of a way to take down Cronos while time was still stopped around him. TI was now exceedingly obvious that Cronos was far more physically capable than he was, even with all of his training. So normal punches and kicks weren't going to do it. Derrk was going to have to get creative... the problem was he wasn't very creative.

"Tsch, you think you're so tough don't you, being as big as you are," Derrk said in frustration, glaring the currently frozen Cronos down. Derrk moved out from the encirclement of projectiles and delivered a very rude gesture towards Cronos with his arms. "Well it doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't catch me!" With that, Derrk turned away from Cronos and began jogging in the opposite direction of him. He would continue jogging for the next hour before he would stop to take a break. He was on the edge of the city when he stopped, bent over and taking in huge gulps of breath. This part of the city had yet to truly notice Cronos yet. The sky was still dark and the air still cold, but people were still acting as though a storm was heading their way. They had no idea how right they were.

~meanwhile~

Thanatos lifted his head up and looked behind him. Someone was interfering with time, he could feel it. It wasn't his hour glass he was feeling or even Cronos' abilities. This was something different. This was something dangerous. It's possible that it was one of the ancient souls... but it was also possible that it was something far more dangerous. "Cronos..." Thanatos turned away from the man he was about to collect and headed in the opposite direction of him, towards where Cronos was now located at, not far from him. Even though Thanatos was walking away from the man, he was still paralyzed with icy chill and fear and wouldn't be able to move until Thanatos was out of his field of vision was his guess. As he was heading toward Cronos, Thanatos looked down the street and saw that there were people standing completely still, not moving in the slightest. Confused, he stopped and looked in their direction. Soon after he began watching, a man ran past them as though nothing were going on. Thanatos watched this man go down the street until he was out of sight. Shortly after he was gone, the people began moving normally again, fully aware of what was happening... but they acted as though they had never seen the man run past them. Thanatos walked towards the people to investigate further. when he was close enough to the, he touched each of them, sending death through their bodies and collecting more of what was rightfully his. He looked down the street towards the running man as he did and wondered what was so special about him? Looking in the opposite direction of the man, Thanatos hoped to discover what he was running from. And lo and behold, he sees Cronos not a mile down the city street. Turning towards Cronos, Thanatos walked in his direction, touching all who needed to be touched that he could get in his immediate reach.

"Thanatos, who was that just now? I saw him run down the street away from you and people weren't moving, as though they had become manikins for just a short moment. Do you have any information for me to go on?"

[Birkeland]

OOC: Alright, back in action = Long post time.

Elnell could feel his lifeforce being drained by the second. Any chance of recovery was impossible at this point. His body which allowed him to exist in this world and gave him his freedom now betrayed him. Silently cursing himself, the werewolf curled into himself and placed a hand to his stomach. To admit it would be painful, even more than what he was currently experiencing. To comprehend about it was just as difficult. This was going to be his final moments.

Elnell managed to crawl along the ground by one arm, dragging himself to the edge of his ally's earthen wall. Flipping over to face the sky, the werewolf lay his head on his new resting place. Thoughts raced through his mind, though far fewer than a human in his situation given his shorter lifespan. From the time of his birth to leaving the forest, from fighting off some villainous thugs to joining Eclipse, the entirety of his six years on Terra presented themselves before him.

As his most recent memories melded with the present, his eyes closed for the final time. Sunlight finally began to pierce through the darkened skies, allowing the heroes to witness Cronus' creatures slowly fade into nothingness. Their shadows returned to the darkness by Vince's attack while the water simply was absorbed into the ground. They were successful in their endeavors, but their presence was still needed elsewhere in Janen City. But Elnell would not be joining them. The lykofloran had passed away the moment his eyes had closed, moving onto the next world... or so he thought.

[center][Meanwhile][/center]
Though not one to normally become irritated, Cronus had found himself experiencing the sensation as Derrk once again activated his powers. His last assault merely left Cronus annoyed, while his current tactics added more salt to his wounds. Instead of facing him head on once more, the titan had realized that the lad was no longer within his sights. Nothing save for a few shattered remains of ice were left where he stood. The titan unfroze himself before sensing the presence of the Ancient Soul once more. His vision directed him toward the outskirts of the city.

Before Cronus could continue his hunt, his shadow beasts had contacted him of their situation. The Shade Hunter had utterly disposed of them within a matter of moments, leaving them nothing more than a few droplets on the ground. Instead of reforming his creations and drag out the hopeless battle, Cronus retracted his powers and allowed his beasts to return to nothingness. With one less task to focus on, as well as having more variety to his powers returned, the titan began to contemplate on what to do about Derrk.

His thoughts did not last long enough as his attention became immediately focused on another matter. Perhaps from being in Thanatos' presence for a long enough time, Cronus had sensed the death of Elnell the moment it had occurred. Normally this random death would mean nothing to him as it was neither anyone of importance to him nor anyone possessing an Ancient Soul, but something had clicked in his mind about the situation that was made aware to him. The titan smirked before ceasing his pursuit of Derrk altogether. One arm lifted positioned itself to Derrk's location, wielding an ominous light. From that light, a bolt of lightning crackled and emerged in the shape of a spear. "Let chance dictate your fate this day." Without warning the spear propelled itself forward to Derrk with Cronus uncaring as to whether or not it would make contact with it's intended target. "I have other matters to attend to." With that, Cronus' crimson eyes faded into dull, lifeless orbs as his body relaxed and became slouched.




Elnell's consciousness drifted in a void of silence and darkness. His soul retain his physical form, though translucent and ethereal. Limbs and hair dangled about in the absent winds, while his body floated along the absent seas. He was aware of who he was and that he was deceased, but everything else didn't seem to matter all that much. Not his past nor his memories, just the fact that he was no longer alive. He was awaiting a verdict from the immortal gods as to where his soul would rest for eternity: in endless peace or in endless chaos.

These thoughts were cut short when his body had bumped into something. Something that also had form, separating itself from the eternal void. Perhaps his decision was made with haste and his guide had arrived to take him, or maybe another soul had passed on in the same moment and found itself in the same location? Things were not that fortunate for the werewolf as he looked to his new acquaintance, only to find a recognizable face of terror. Cronus presented himself before him, maintaining the size difference the two had shared within the plains of the physical world.

"You're...Cronus, if I'm right? Celestia warned me of you. You're the leader of Ancient Titans, right? I guess even you can die," the lykofloran began.
"Death itself has no right to my soul," the titan answered.
"I see. What brings you to here, then? More specifically to me?"
"Simply to acquire additional support for my goals. You shall assist me more than you know."
"What makes you think, even in death, that I'll help you?" Elnell snapped.
"You have no say in the matter" Cronus replied.
"Everyone has the power to resist destiny and fate. I'm no different."
"Antagonizing fate is simple for the living. The dead have no such benefit."

Cronus pierced his clawed hand through Elnell's hollow chest, grasping the very center of his being. Though the latter had no flesh, he could still feel an incredible pain coursing through his essence. With a surge of power, his form was reduced to that of a typical soul's appearance: a small orb of light, with it's color reflecting the aura of its host. In this case, the soul was a forest green color with wisps of energy trailing off like leaves. The titan held the soul tightly as his form dissolved into the void.

In the physical world, Cronus' crimson eyes became filled with life once more as his body stiffened then relaxed. Within his once empty palm was now a green orb of light, softly hovering in place. Instead of containing the soul within his body as he had done with the Ancient Souls before, Cronus allowed the orb to revolve in an orbit around his body. A rune appeared on the soul, with the symbols for 'caged bird' etched into it. This would prevent it from trying to escape or be taken from him until he desired it. "Thanatos. I am leaving this barren city. Though it will seem strange, I have decided to take a detour from my quest. Rest assured though, once I finish our long journey shall be accomplished by season's end" Cronus began to walk off toward the destination for his new task: the world tree.

[Navras]

Derrk stood up straight and stretched. He had waited long enough. It was time he got moving again. As he was turning to leave, a bolt of lightning struck where he had been standing only moments before. He was propelled backward with a shout of surprise. He landed hard on the ground and looked at where the lightning had struck. Many people were panicking in confusion, Derrk couldn't blame them. No doubt that bolt had come from that behemoth of a person he had faced before. No rest for the wicked they say. Derrk stopped tim in a short distance around him and began running again, deciding that it was time he left the city and picked up residence else where.

~meanwhile~

Thanatos flared with anger towards Cronos. How dare he? HOW DARE HE?! That soul was his, HIS! He had no right to it, especially since it had already passed on and was merely awaiting his judgment. Striding forward, anger deep within his eyes, Thanatos stepped in front of Cronos and directed an icy chill into his body, an icy chill that was filled with Death's anger. "What do you think you're doing Cronos? That soul was mine. Give it back to me. I am no asking, I am DEMANDING!" As Thanatos shouted, a snow filled gust of wind billowed his white cloak backwards, revealing both his body and his weapons. As the wind died, Thanatos glared directly at Cronos and pointed a finger at the green soul. "That soul is mine. Give it back or I shall take it for my own."

OOC: meh, not every post can be a page in a novel, as much as I'd like it to be XD

[Birkeland]

OOC: Being short, sweet and to the point is sometimes the best way to go. Not for me in this thread, though.

Cronus found himself in an unusual position, though not one that was completely foreign to him. From time to time, he and Thanatos would find themselves at each others throats. Which person to hunt, how to efficiently do so, the philosophical nature of the universe, whatever would come to mind. Not unusual to either party after the matter resolved itself. They would even share a passing comment on how the other was correct or more preferred.

This time was different, however, due to the fact that Cronus had played a dangerous gambit. By pilfering Elnell's soul, the titan had upset the very nature of Death itself. Unbeknownst to Thanatos, his gambit would indeed bring them a much more successful hunt in collecting the remaining Ancient Souls. How he had planned to do so was kept to himself as he favored alienating his goals from the majority of the world, even his closest allies.

This particular ally though, would not be met well with his gambit. Instead, an ultimatum was presented before him: to proceed with his detour and speed up his goals while losing Thanatos as an ally, or to relinquish the soul and keep Death in his favor while prolonging his journey. The titan had to weigh his options, for what seemed to be a simple decision for others would impact the remainder of his quest. Crimson eyes never left the angered expression of the deity before him, even to see whether or not the latter had simply taken the soul by force. Days had seemed to pass before the two before a decision was made.

Elnell's soul slowed it orbit around Cronus' body before stopping just before his chest. Forest green light dissolved into smaller particles which melded into gray flesh, giving Thanatos a proper answer. "The shadow of Death shall forever loom over my head. Once my journey is complete, this world will end. Terra will fall. Will dearest Earth emerge from the devastation? I am not certain" the titan spoke with authority. "I have no longer have any patience in my desires. Mother will not benefit from our game of chess, moving only in accordance with our adversaries. Death has proven itself to be slothful, while I seek swiftness."

The titan looked around to what would be more than simply the ruins of Janen City. Snowy weather plagued the once sun-baked city while half of the population was in full retreat. Derrk had managed to make his way out as well, but he can be dealt with a later time. This area once filled with life would now be infamous as one of the battlegrounds of Thanatos himself. "Farewell, Thanatos." Cronus began in a soothing tone. "May our paths cross again at world's end."

Two outstretched arms commanded the earth residing behind the titan, targeting the base of four skyscrapers. The buildings ascended several hundred feet into the air, before being launched toward Thanatos with great speed. In the same moment, Typhon emerged from his shadow while wrapping around his torso. After the buildings were launched, the shadow serpent rocketed forward in a drilling motion, encasing itself in a blue fire. Four other shadow beasts in the forms of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations emerged in tremendous size from the depths of the darkness, acting to attack Thanatos on reflexes alone. The titan ended his assault by leaping backward to provide greater distance between the two. Hulking his body in preparation for a close-range battle, Cronus awaited his new foe's response.