The Grand Crossover RP - Pathway to Origin [IC/PG-13/Moved to NCM for Finale]

[Merci]

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!…

 

 

 

 

[The Pathway to Remembrance]

Glory to Protheus

 

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 3.5]

 

 

~ Protheus Maximus ~

the Lake of Remembrance

 

 

“Set.” To the fighters, they must’ve been battling for their lives.

 

“Set. Set. Set.” To Protheus Maximus, it was much more akin to a dance.

 

With each spellcast, more orbs of darkness materialized around him, utilized either as projectiles or as shields against the duo.

 

That Keyblade Warrior and Digimon were all that were left, at least for now. Of course he expected them to go on the offensive sooner or later, but without the aid of their friends, they lacked the sufficient numbers to deal any significant impact. Whenever they inflicted enough damage to penetrate it, they lacked the speedy response to follow through - and the fact that Protheus understood their abilities too well made it difficult to catch him off-guard. His full attention wasn’t even on the battle, kept partially on the events of the Lake.

 

If Protheus were to be perfectly honest, he was a bit dismayed that he couldn’t have personally watched the conclusion of the Eria v. Eria battle. Shortly before the Leviathans had been summoned, he’d sensed a strange, unfamiliar presence - powerful, yet now gone. Was that power what had summoned them? Since then, Void Eria had been completely cut off from his senses, while Eria appeared to be equally missing. It was truly a curiousity. Well, wherever they’d come from, the battle between the Twilight One and the twin Leviathans was proving to be a form of entertainment itself. Elsewhere, that conflict raged and escalated above the waters of memory…

 

The Herald’s attention was caught when he detected another presence nearby.

 

“...well, now,” a voice scoffed suddenly. Just at the Lake’s edge, his attention was caught by a familiar figure.

 

For the faintest, quickest of seconds, the sorcerer hesitated. But as his senses refocused on the individual, he relaxed. Oh. It was just Alister Azimuth.

 

That lombax who Isamy went out of her way to recruit, whose constant resets had given the Void-Included Protheus endless headaches, even after defecting… To think that he took so long to arrive at this point was actually a bit hilarious. How much more late was he than all the others? Three, four hours?

 

“THIS is looking to be a real party, huh?” The supposed Alister said. Had his voice ever been this unsetting, Protheus wondered. “I see you’ve really got your hands full with these kids, don’t you…”

 

Wait a second.

 

“Omega?”

 

“...oh?” An expression crossed Protheus Maximus’s face. Actual surprise. While he casually sidestepped laser blasts from the Digimon’s now-redundant cannon, he stared at the lombax as though he’d seen a ghost. Or a memory long, long since passed. ”You… Are you Alister, or…?” He didn’t finish that sentence. Perhaps the invoking of that codename was a mere coincidence, of perhaps Remembrance was simplying messing with him. ”No matter. It’s unwise to overestimate how well these vermin are doing!”

 

As Sora and MirageGaogamon closed in for another barrage of attacks, attempting to keep Protheus occupied for as long as possible, they were blasted back into the snow by an invisible wave of energy. Protheus stared down at their persistent forms, and then at the titanic battle going on over the Lake, and then at the unsettling newcomer, and finally admitted, “I’m beginning to realize I have no idea what’s going on… I’d best distance myself from these trivial matters and rethink.”

 

With that, he turned his attention away from literally everything going on near the ground and burst off, avoiding every oncoming attack all the while.

 

...and as his attention wandered, and he rose higher and higher into the sky, that was when he noticed it.

 

It. It, that he should have noticed so much sooner yet hadn’t.

 

Just like that, the Counter Corps were all but forgotten to him, with this far more terrifying, far more pressing matter having arisen. There was a far, far greater anomaly to focus on. After all, he was so high up that... at this very moment, Protheus Maximus found himself staring beyond the forest, at the impossible.

 

…

 

The Pathway to Remembrance... was collapsing, right before his very eyes.

 

How would one describe it on this crude medium of text? A curtain of complete blackness, of empty space, of consumption was being gradually pulled over the entirety of the Pathway to Remembrance, all the way from its entrance. It was silent, slowly creeping upon the Lake such that the others couldn't possibly anticipate it until it was too late - the pieces of the Pathway being consumed as though it were only natural. Protheus hesitated, fearful of this impossible phenomenon at first. He was reminded of the prior nursery rhyme that had echoed everywhere in the Pathways; no doubt this was connected, if not the exact same thing. How was this even happening at all? Just what was this anomaly of anomalies?

 

 

And amongst that encompassing void, a disembodied voice chanted one, familiar line of a children’s nursery rhyme; ’hickory dickory dock.’ What did it mean? ’hickory dickory dock.’ How could it even speak? ’hickory dickory dock.’ Why was it so obsessed with counting down? Listening closer, it became apparent that it wasn’t merely one voice, but many voices. And soon, this emotionless rhyme was joined by emotion. By the giggles of a little girl. The voices were actually giggling, hundreds, millions, infinite, growing ever laughter- How? How, he asked himself? How could this possibly be happening in the PATHWAY TO ORIGIN of all places? There were only two even remotely likely factors that could bend the rules. One, the Pathways themselves; however, the Pathways would never dare to self-destruct! Two, one imbued with Time Sense, the great power of the Omni to reach beyond the narrative; however, as long as he existed, there could be no other Omni! So how?

 

The silver-haired man closed his eyes, reached both his hands out, and expanded all his senses. For answers, for the knowledge that would grant him those answers. With his senses, he reached out towards it from afar… and his existence immediately repulsed.

 

His eyes widened, and he let out a quick, sharp breath, his body having forgotten he didn’t need breath. Merely by being in proximity to it, his whole soul had flared up as though it would be consumed in a second, integrated into the force. It became clear that this was NOT something he ought to contact. If he created one line of connection between them, the ‘force of destruction’, the Anomaly may very well consume his existence in an instant.

 

“This is…” Protheus looked down at himself. At his hands. They were shaking. “This is fear, isn’t it…?”

 

For a second, the Herald of Darkness felt as though it was the first time he’d ever experienced such a raw emotion. And yet, he was quickly reminded of his tendency to be fearful of even the most minor of occurrences. Come to think of it, over the past few days, he’d neared oblivion a scarily odd number of times. The fights with Lydia, the nameless girl, and that Counter Guardian had each brought him to a margin of danger, it was true. And yet, his contingencies had still been in place to keep him safe. Due to an intense fear and even more intense pride, he was the kind to panic whenever his ability to ‘stay alive’ was threatened even the tiniest bit. Damage on one of his weapons, the loss of one of his bodies, especially the smallest inkling of contact with his soul; these were practically unacceptable. His very nature as a lich, the utter amount of resources he carried with him, and his altogether lack of honour were all a testament to his ability to survive even the worst of odds. Very few times had he truly, genuinely been brought to the brink of the end. And having lived so long because of that, the idea of this life of his coming to an ‘end’ had only amplified further and further.

 

This was a despicable man with no respect for the multiverse, who crushed everything in his path while fearing Death above all. To the mortals, Death was an inevitability. To an immortal like him, however, Death was the worst, most persistent kind of monster - something to evade and escape, year after year after tireless year. No matter where he ran in reality, no matter what he did or, it would simply not disappear. It was not a god or demon to defeat, to seal away.

 

He took a glance at the oncoming void. Wondered, for the first time in millennia - can I survive this?

 

The Anomaly did not appear to be something he could interact with, without being consumed. As it approached, slowly yet tirelessly, it was as though someone were turning off the lights bit by bit in Remembrance. The land, the sky, the particles snow all vanished little by little, the white melting into the end. For a brief moment, he found himself looking deep within, and realized that, yes, that was fear. That was certainly the fear of death.

 

“Oh…” Protheus crossed his arms. “OH, I see now…”

 

This fear relaxed, and faded as he focused his vision on the obstcale before him.

 

“Distortions. Raw, untamed distortions, strung together by nothing but a single point, a single purpose. That's what this is, isn't it?” He coldly asked it, expecting no answer. “And somehow, amidst that tangled mess of chaos and entropy, it's alive. Never seen anything like this before. I couldn't believe this if I weren't sensing it myself… It’s almost, almost beautiful.”

 

Even though the MERE EXISTENCE OF THIS ANOMALY chilled him to his very core, he remained collected on the outside. And as he spoke, his stature, his belief in his abilities drew understanding. Drew more confidence. Drew the ambition to survive against all odds.

 

“I know exactly what you are, and what you’re trying to do. Is this your final Pathway…? What a coincidence. It's mine too.” Protheus held out his arms, as though in welcoming. “I must say, I have been distracted for some time, but my ultimate dream lies just over the horizon, awaiting me. I wager you think yours does too. The Key left my hands and who knows what’s happening at the Door?”

 

After all, he’d come to a simple realization.

 

Despite how utterly impossible and horrifying that phenomenon was… It was obvious that it had no mind. No intelligence. It was but a beast, blindly charging onwards to achieve the one remaining thing it believed in. The one remaining fact it understood. As long as this Anomaly were a beast, it could be dragged into the dirt and brutalized like the oversized mutt it was.

 

“You're far more preferable in this form, you know. You should be proud of what you have become!”

 

As though it were responding to his voice, or his presence, the shadow of the Anomaly ruptured and stirred - streaks of black stabbed outwards across the land, forcing itself to move much faster than it otherwise was, dragging it along the walls, the trees, the ground and the sky to accelerate towards its final destination. It was fast incoming, and no ordinary warrior could ever dream of standing against it.

 

And yet, Protheus had resigned himself to a singular decision. The remaining fear in his eyes had dwindled away…replaced by the smugness of watching over a pitiful creature. A creature that was doomed to failure.

 

“Do you even understand what you are now, I wonder? You were the source of everyone's misery, the cause of the Origin War, and all of a sudden your soul was removed from time and space... All the distortions you'd bent to your will, EVERYTHING WRONG that you've inflicted upon the multiverse, found themselves with nothing to justify their existence. Nothing to revolve around. Nothing to be.”

 

Protheus found himself grinning.

 

“In the absence of a body, your own Distortions collapsed upon your soul… The Distortions became your soul.”

 

The idea of it was fascinating, yet at the same time, a pathetic fate to fall under.

 

“I have only two uses of this left, so you’d best feel honoured, my dear.”

 

Now, it was time.

 

“AKH”

 

Words were not enough to describe what happened next, but this user shall do its best to do so. As an Egyptian words of power was slowly pronounced, echoing out into the air, with it came an unimaginable surge in energy from where Protheus was floating...no. Unimaginable couldn’t even begin to describe it. Within only a few moments of charging, it exceeded the limits of expectation...

 

This sheer amount, it couldn’t possibly be his, could it? No, even if he was indeed an immortal with accumulated abilities over many millennia, this much was beyond even him. This power, it was unlike anything anyone had ever experienced before. Before this, the very power of the gods themselves were all but rendered irrelevant. If there was any entity that could ever contain this amount of energy, this number of threats and curses that had built up and up, how could they possibly continue on with their lives without being ripped asunder? How could any sole individual carry around such a thing without immediately ceasing to be?!

 

The very aura it emitted was destructive enough to kill an ordinary person merely by being within its proximity. The very air and ground, or to be more accurate, the very reality of what remained of the Pathway to Remembrance was shaking. As the fog thickened and the man himself became enshrouded in a darkness blacker than black, rising higher and higher into the sky, it was almost as if everything that had came before was a mere joke. Pure Edge? The Staff of Armadyl? The Twilight One? Those were little more than harmless splashes in the water, compared to this natural disaster that was utterly indifferent to the fragility of existence.

 

“AMENTI”

 

Counting just how many lives had to have been lost to fuel this was a foolish task, as they numbered well beyond the hundreds, the thousands, the millions. Were they billions? Were they quadrillions? Were they numbers the mortal mind was simply incapable of wrapping its mind around? It was not merely towns that had cursed this man, it was not merely worlds, but endless UNIVERSES upon UNIVERSES terrorized throughout his eternal life. The accumulated hate of all those whom had died in vain, cursing the name of ‘Protheus Maximus’ to their very last moments, the only remains of souls that had fallen to the ultimate killer... That was where this came from.

 

There was only one thing that this could possibly be called. Not an event willed by man, but a ‘natural disaster’ that spelt the death of all those whom happened to have the misfortune of being involved with it. And even that wouldn’t even close to describe the scale of sheer force of it. Standing there, in silence, those foolish, oh so foolish members of the Counter Corps could do naught but bear witness to the grand display of power showcased by Protheus. All of them aware that, if that THING was ever directed at them, they couldn’t possibly resist that...

 

Then, the entity called Protheus Maximus opened his mouth and,

 

“MAA-KHERU”

 

A silence fell upon reality, as the god of judgment glared with disgust at the approaching ‘Anomaly’.

 

There was no maelstrom of negative emotions floating around anymore, but in its place was… silence. An utter silence without a single sound made, not unlike the silence of mourning for the dead.

 

And then, just like that, a dark shape started to fall from the open night sky. The moon, massive as could be, appeared to be rapidly descending-

 

No.

 

That was no moon.

 

 

A supermassive orb of energy fell from hell, containing all the darkness and the hatred and the despair and the pain and the fear and the insanity and the hopelessness and the agony and the regrets and the screaming and the crying and the anger and the suffering and the grief and the sorrow and every curse that every individual throughout the past tens of thousands years in each sacrificed universe had directed towards Protheus himself, all of it, having been entrapped in one place, emerging as visible, raging darkness...if it could even be called that, as it was more like a tear in the fabric of reality. Everything was being coalesced into a singular orb of destruction, containing such almighty destruction that it couldn’t even contain itself, twisting space whilst leaking out streams of chaos all around it. The accumulated mass of all the curses, futile dark wishes that had yet to be realized, had been converted into its pure form like an atom released of its bonds. The observers were forced to quickly avert their eyes, as the mere sight of it hurt their souls. But of course it would - this was physically the consignment to the void, the forbidden embodiment of the ‘Truth Of All Souls Upon Death’.

 

This wasn’t an attack.

 

This was the very concept of death, the Truth of All Souls Upon Death having come about prematurely to consume all those predestined to cease existing.

 

This was the weaponization of all the sins he’d accumulated throughout his outrageously long lifespan, the representation of his progress as a destroyer of worlds.

 

This was the ultimate distortion, superior even to the ultimate distortion before him, the strings of fate being bent to suit the omnicidal whims of one man… A Distortion of Karma like no other, his very own Karma Bomb.

 

Thus it was that the Distortion of Karma fell upon the land, and met the Distortion of Chaos and Entropy with a planetary hatred like no other, cracking the fabric of reality that unfortunately happened to be between them. DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT. Light and dark distorted, without containment, without restraint, a blaze of passion against a raw desire to live, to persevere, to emerge victorious. OLD AGE SHOULD BURN AND RAVE AT CLOSE OF DAY. Father and daughter locked in an spatio-temporal argument, and if one were to listen closely, they would hear the screams of a girl who refused to have her story overcome. RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT. Screams which were unheard by the old man, who watched on at her sad attempt to succeed, seeing her effort to be ridiculous, blinded by his desire to live. DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT.

 

It was a commendable effort, and a part of him was admittedly terrified at just how much progress it was making against him. Against his ultimate attack. Any further, and it could genuinely overwhelm him. The Anomaly was actually pushing back his Karma Bomb; advancing through the snow, consuming space, all solely to reach him. Try as he might, he couldn’t hold it back. “You held on this long? Good. If you’re truly an Omni, then I expect NOTHING ELSE. After all these years, perhaps you have finally proven yourself worthy of basking in the presence of ultimate power”

 

Still. A commendable effort was all it was. Even against this tangled monstrosity born of the multiverse’s damage, there was one final ace up his sleeve.

 

“Worry not... It'll be over soon enough”

 

Protheus Maximus assumed a stance, raising his arms until they were precisely adjacent to Protheus’s own body, putting him into the position of a cross. Reminiscent of the holy manner in which Ancient Egyptian deities once posed. Dark wisps gathered around him; from the Lake, from the snowy pain, from the breaking skies above, from his own dying Karma Bomb. These wisps violently latched onto his flesh and clothing, rapidly spreading all over until he had been wholly encased in a co҉̶co҉̶o҉̶n of shadow.

 

“I, the Herald of Darkness, have elected to strip off this shell. Yes. I shall reveal my soul, my true form... all for you, my baby ‘Isamy’.”

 

The co҉̶co҉̶o҉̶n cracked,

 

“NOW WITNESS A TRUE OMNI”

 

and as it opened, one could barely make out the outl̷ine of the Ḥ͇ẹ͎̞͙̼r͇a̻l͚d͎̪̺̱̪ as͘c͢en͢d҉i͢ng into҉̶ ạ͇̝̜͞n̖̦͕̮̹̰ ̧̪̬͍̺̻̺̙ẹ͉̙͔̺x̞̺̗̺i͏̘s͏̱͔̱͚̜t̶̻̯e̹̩͠n̢̫̻͈̹̥̮c͇͝ę f̓̂͛̌ͥă̵̲̽̓̈́͐̓ͧrͥ̉ͦ̓ ͚̮̤͌͐͌ͬ͟b͓̖̎̊̓e͚ͦ͌͂ͥy͔̥̬͓̹͌̋̔ͫȏ̖͔͇̞͍̜ͯn̟̰͎̫̦͕͉̈̈́͛d͍͇͚̝͚̤ͭͅ ̞ͭͨͤͬͣ̏ṱ̟͚̻͈̦̻ͫͭ͗h̖̉̐ͤ̐ͭͪe̝͙̜̝̯î̝r ͚ͯ̓̒c̠̾ͪ̄̆̉̾̏o̤̱̪̻͉͖ͯ̄̄̍ͣ̒̓m̪̊ͫ̓p̵̲̩̟r̸̞̣̱ͨe̜̪͚̖̻͕͛̏ͮͫ̌h̲ͬ̈̓̿͡e̛͚͎̳̋̄̂͆̎̂n̖͖ͬ̐̿̒́͊ͨ͝s̴͔̘̩͉͔̺̻̋i̤͈ͭ͌ͮͯ̿ŏ̮̳̳̼̓ͦ̆ͥ̊̚ͅn̼͔͉͉͇͕̒͛ͭ̃͞ͅ,

 

---

---

---

 

Time skipped,

 

an̛d

įt̀

wa̛s̢

͢ov̷er̷.

 

What...

 

...happened?

 

Where Protheus was previously, there was now a dark orb surrounding his position. His normal body must’ve been regenerating after whatever it was. Everyone else on the battlefield had momentarily paused. Even the Leviathan and the Twilight One had taken pause. Of course, the Pathway to Remembrance itself was irreparably damaged. Darkness had enveloped everything just up towards the Lake shore, leaving nothing behind except a void - and larger, dark cracks in the sky. As well as one burning question: WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?

 

And that unstoppable storm of distortions? The Anomaly? Vanished.

 

It must be said. Whenever an Omni entered their true form, that point would become a self-contained, fixed point in time. Reality could not see it. None could retain memory of it. Surely, even in the Lake of Remembrance, it was impossible to record such a memory.

 

There was no time to take in all the details of what exactly just occurred, to try and wrap their minds around what was beyond the level of current mortals.

 

Whatever the case was, the Counter Corps’ instincts were telling them that he’d be back very, very soon.

 

 

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

"Capable of defeating even a spear that manipulates causality itself...Guess this is about just expected from an opponent of this caliber."

Gae Bolg had been stopped in its track by its only weakness - the spear itself. Reimu watched as it was crushed into nothingness. There was nothing else that could be done about it, and Reimu started to drift away from Byakuya's presence as she thought about what she would do next, until something happened. Hollow Isamy had chosen this time to be active of all time. In quick succession, people fell as Isamy utilized her now power. Reimu knew nothing about the power. She only knew that it was called "Void Inclusion" followed by what she assumed to be someone's name. Yet, as the pair of giant revolvers manifested on Hollow Isamy's hands, an inexplicable feeling of anger awakened inside of Reimu.

Feeling the black orb spinning near her, Reimu's emotions pushed her to act. As several pillars of light came crashing down towards Dorian as fired by Byakuya, Reimu summoned several barriers to block each of their trajectory before they could hit. While some were able to miss a direct hit with the barrier and continue on its way, the ones that hit the barrier squarely would find themselves stopped in their tracks. The barriers on their own were not strong or impenetrable, but they instead serve as portals. Like how she was able to ensure a safe passage to Gae Bolg  earlier, the barriers absorbed the lasers completely before Reimu summoned a second set of barriers right  in front of her.

With a flick from her hand, the attacks from Byakuya that hit the barriers directly were fired at Isamy instead as a continuous stream of golden energy.

"I'm not that talented as that hag in regard to this, but...if it's to erase just you, I'll use any cheap tricks I can figure out."

 

It would be far from enough, but right now Reimu had set her eyes on Isamy herself to be her sole target in the battle.

---

Once the result of the Gae Bolg had been determined, Bel had already continued to move on top of a resummoned Sleipnir. Isamy had awakened and attacked, at the cost of their allies, and she continued to attack. While Bel was not in the trajectory of any of those, it just felt right for him to continue moving as to reposition himself into a more advantageous position. Right now it seemed that the sole target to defeat was Isamy herself as well as her remaining herald on top of her, but he was unsure yet about what sort of something would he be able to utilize. Perhaps he could try calling for Ishtar once more? She did feel like a strangely familiar old acquaintance of his, but at the same time something told him that Ishtar would be less than pleased if she's pulled out as often as he was pulling her out this time. He could perhaps prepare for Cu once more, but that would only be effective on the herald assuming that he could prepare the strike unnoticed. And Jeanne would be useful, but he wouldn't be able to get into position to block the warheads being fired.

 

Maybe a more conventional demon then? Using his COMP, he went through his compendium up and brought Amaterasu back forth. It was a weird feeling, being able to tinker with the existence of a divine entity like this, but at the same time it sure was more convenient than the Heroic Spirits, in a strange way. Within Amaterasu's itself, there was nothing out of the ordinary that he had included in her kit. Right now though, her reliability might just be what he needed. Bel stopped as he went closer to Isamy. Several hundred feet above ground, a large sphere of light formed above Amaterasu. It was as if it's the sun itself, with how overflowing of magnetite the goddess currently was.

 

"Megidolaon!"

 

The miniature sun homed in towards Isamy, set to explode and bathe the area in almighty light. Rather than fancy tricks, perhaps the answer really was just brute force.

 

---

 

"Somehow...we did it? Did it really succeed?"

 

Still dazed and unsure about the exacts of what happened earlier, Satori descended back to Darcy's arms as the existence of the mind calling itself Metarchus ceased. She wasn't sure about how exactly did she manage to do it, but the rush of energy from both herself and Darcy managed to overcome the herald's defenses. She saw off what was left of Metarchus flying over towards Isamy on top of the dragon he summoned. Right...for just a moment she saw the overwhelming consciousness of a dragon during the Recollection.

 

"Let's retreat for now. I'm not in the position to use another Recollection, and you are drained too after supporting me. With only Byakuya and Isamy left, we can relax a little bit more for now."

 

As she said that, Satori let her consciousness drift into the area, focusing her entire effort on one thing. Now that Metarchus had ceased, finding Koishi became her priority. So far, no signs of her sister's consciousness could be detected, and there was no sign of unnatural emptiness that would be there if Koishi closed off her eyes too. Of course, there was a simple answer that could explain it, but Satori was trying her best to not accept it as an answer just yet.

 

Being busied by her own goal, Satori could not detect the presence of an attack coming towards her and Darcy's location.

 

---

 

[spoiler=Mindscape]

The basement of the tower was dark, and Nanashi lit up a fire to let her see what was there. It seemed to be like a hidden dungeon to keep prisoners in, and there were many traces of blood and flith around, as if the place used to be populated by inmates before. The visions that she continued to get repeated inside of her head, and she could start hearing voices, a plea of someone calling out for help.

 

The rooms on her side were all empty. Torture tools lined up the walls, but there were no sign of jailers being around. It was a strange sight, as if this world was made out of her mind, then there should not be any reason why this sort of place should even exist. The tower was supposed to be based on the tower in Remembrance that she spent her last time with before the fateful battle. There was nothing about it that lent to it having this sort of basement. Yet, the strangeness of this place's nature piqued her interest more, and she continued on her way. She already forgot of her love that she left at the top of the tower, and she continued to penetrate through the darkness. The layout of the place was more linear than what she thought after a while of exploring. Outside of the faint traces, she could not detect anything living inside of it, even despite some of the blood stains seemingly being very fresh.

 

And then, after a while, she saw one locked door in particular at the end of of the corridor. Unlike the rest, it was not a jail room with metal bars, but instead a wooden door that had been sealed shut from the inside. Due to her own lack of tact, it took her less than a few seconds to decide that she would see what was beyond the door at any cost, and blasted it open, only to reveal that the inside was a strangely familiar torture room. And in the middle of the room, the form of a girl was able to be seen. Her arms chained to the ceiling and her legs to the ground, it was as if she had been forced to stay still like this for a very long time. She didn't seem to register the nameless girl's presence even as she approached her, but not long after, she raised up her head to look at the nameless girl's eyes and smiled.

 

"...Ah. It's you. It has been a really long time since we last talked together. There sure is a lot of story that you can tell me now.  I'm in this sort of a sorry state, but at least I can see you again for the last time, my child."

 

 

 

 

---

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reimu: D4, hovering near Isamy. Used her barriers to transfer some of Byakuya's attack to fire at Isamy instead.

Bel: D4, north side. Summoned Amaterasu who fired a charged Megidolaon at isamy and Byakuya.

Satori: E2. Recovering after her Recollection and trying to find Koishi now. Didn't see the warhead coming at her direction.
Short-hair: C4. Still can't see anything as she's still stuck inside of the Mad Blood. Considers using her sword to analyze and seek out the weakness of her prison.

 

...

 

Nameless: Met up with the real Tenshi inside of her mindscape.

 

 

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round

GREAATTTESSSTTT CAAUUUTIOOONN!!!

Was the last thing that mighty God of Death roared as he went to deliver the final verdict of Death onto this "Herald." She was defeated and that was the what the goal was. Literally blasted into nothingness. Ragnarok literally removed the cage and went back into flapping into a  little bat and there Rhadamanthys was floating in the air triumphant and proud. He slowly landed back down to the ground and noticed that there was a shadow of a couple of bodies vanishing into a void. Rhadamanthys nodded as even while his explosion was tearing her body to shreds he could still sense what was going on outside of the cage.

But it seemed the conflict was over and a smile came over Batroks face. 3...2...1..He said as Rhadamanthys proceeded to fall clean on his back like a statue collapsing. Sooo that took a massive toll on you didn't it? Ragnarok said joikingly. 

I feel an unyielding amount of pain! My internal organs seem to be freezing slowly for some reason. I think that woman made one final move against me. 

Well all's well that ends well...right? 

I sense there is a disturbing balance in the battle now. What has happened? Rhadamanthys said slightly concerned while still on the ground not trying to move.

It seems like that human Baldly gave the black blood too went an off'd herself and now Isamy has taken over that body. Sooo yea.

UGH...attacks are headed in this direction aren't they?

Oh yeah, I think this would be along the lines of nukes coming for us. I think she may be trying to get rid of me or something. 

Of course, why else would I be put in danger if not for you? Aim me towards the projectiles. Rhadmanthys ordered. 

Tentacles shot out of the base of Ragnarok's little familiar and stood Rhadamanthys up to face the warhead. Rhadamanthys's eyes glowed for a split second and the Warhead facing them exploded in midflight. Radamanthys was annoyed as the force of the explosion literally carried him and Ragnarok back towards the tower closest to them. After a slight crash landing where he was face first in the ground he grumbled something in audible.

What was that? Ragnarok said simply laughing as he reformed. He stood Rhadamanthys up once again and the God of Death was thoroghly annoyed. 

I said what is this pain and why do I feel it so much? Where is the short one who fought with us? 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dorian went on to fly and join the fight against Byakuya. He thought for sure that the Gae Bolg was going to kill him. The actual throwing of the Gae Bolg is just for show it is one of those effect before cause weapons so there shouldn't be a any problem for it to actually hit him. Of course, reality is much more cruel. As Byakuya warped the spear toward Dorian, Dorian raised an eyebrow to this situation. 

Really though...Dorian thought as he was bracing himself for impact. But it looked like someone was looking out for him. It looked as if the attack had vanished into portals and were there fore redirected at Hollow Isamy herself. Dorian floated still trying to figure out what exactly just happened, but either way...this was a good thing. Dorian stared in the distance and noticed that a priestess seemed to have save him but this priestess seemed to be focused on Isamy.

KUCHIKI!!! Dorian looked down and noticed that Kenpachi had joined the fray. OHHHHH this is getting spicy now isn't it? Dorian pointed his fingers around the area where Byakuya's body was and next to Byakuya appeared orbs of what looked to be fire and the series of bombs detonated right next to Byakuya's face. What was hilarious was the thought that Hollow Isamy did fire a massive attack at Dorian, but he knew with Butler right in her face he should be fine. 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Butler's tentacles expanded like tree branches and they proceeded to divert the Cero Oscuras away from the combatants. Butler looked around and noticed that other people proceeded to hurl attacks towards Hollow Isamy and he had a better idea. 

You stand before me, with that body, as a Hollow? I see you must want to die. With a snap of his fingers a cackling surge of pain would course all throughout Isamy's body. She would feel her very existence start to unravel. Ironic see as Revy's abilities that were given to her by Butlerok would help Isamy. The same is true for her weaknesses. Without Butlerok's soul wavelength clowns are not immortal and what's worse the Black Blood inside of them would yield to its true master and not corrode the soul as Black Blood normally does. Revy was special in that Butlerok just refused to let the Black Blood mess with Revy. She got all of the benfits and none of the downside. Isamy is not going to be that lucky. The black blood is now trying to consume the Hollow Isamy's soul while everyone else is attacking. Butlerok smirks and flies upward to be a safe distance away. 

[Phantom Roxas]

The Forgotten Forest: D4

 

One by one, all of the warheads were either redirected or prematurely detonated to mitigate the damage they could have conflicted. Revy had managed to deal such a decisive blow to herself and to Byakuya, but all of Hollow Isamy’s enemies had managed to survive with such ease. It was a pitiful waste of Revy’s ability.

 

To add further insult to injury, “Jace” had mustered enough energy to active a spell that consuming much of the Cero Oscuras, with Butlerok diverting anything left that the Voidslime had missed. It should have been one fell swoop, and yet they had the ability to survive this as well.

 

Jace continued to argue with Hollow Isamy. He spoke as if he understood her, but that was nonsense. She understood each and every single one of them far more than they could even begin to hope that they truly knew her pain. What Jace knew could not have been any more than a mere sample of her torment. Of her agony. To have victory to be so close as to be within your grasp, only to have it snatched away, again and again.

 

She tilted her head, and the sound of hundreds of bones crunching and grinding was audible, especially to a telepath of Jace’s skill. Words burrowed, sliced, and dug into Jace’s mind, as Hollow Isamy called to him.

 

[R . U . I N. P A I N?]

 

She observed those who were still standing. Although Kratos had survived her attack, he was unmoving. The Spartan was mourning his dear Revy, and even the sight of Hollow Isamy using Revy’s memory against him did not motivate him. There was no spark of rage. No desire for vengeance.

 

[H U R T S

D O N ’ T I T ?

N O S A V I N G

W H A T M A T T E R S M O S T]

 

Hollow Isamy had decided what the perfect torment for Kratos could be. She did not need to kill him. Not now, at least. She would kill everyone else, one by one, and show to him what it would be like to fail at playing the savior. She would systematically crush his will to fight, until he welcomed death.

 

Only then would he understand.

 

“You stand before me, with that body, as a Hollow?” Butlerok taunted. “I see you must want to die.”

 

With the snap of a finger, Butlerok commanded Black Blood to tear her apart from the inside out. She could feel the Black Blood rushing through her, pulling and twisting her soul. But how was this possible? There shouldn’t be any Black Blood inside her to command…!

 

…Revy.

 

Of course. Even though she used up Revy’s abilities, her soul was still resonating at the same wavelengths as Revy. Black Blood seeped through the cracks in her mask, pouring like tears as she continued to roar. She needed to replace Revy’s soul now, or Butlerok’s plan might actually work.

 

Thankfully, she had still managed to kill enough people already that she was by no means out of souls. However, she couldn’t just pick any soul. Kenpachi was charging at Byakuya, who had repelled Gae Bolg splendidly, but now his own counterattack was being redirected towards her. She would need to deal with that as well.

 

Neos was trying to retrieve a body, but it would be pointless. Hollow Isamy held up a single hand, and snapped her fingers. Like Revy before her, Elsa’s body immediately crumbled to dust in Neos’ lasso.

 

[V O I D I N C L U S I O N :

'Q U E E N E L S A

O F A R E N D E L L E']

The Black Blood on her body froze instantly as Revy’s soul was replaced by Elsa’s. All the wounds, pores, and gaps across her body began to expel the Black Blood, all of it returning to Butlerok as it left Hollow Isamy. Holding all of her hands in front of her, a wall of ice formed in the line of Reimu’s attack. A slight curve within the ice directed Reimu’s energy inwards, drawing it all towards the center. Hollow Isamy gathered her center-right hand into a fist and made a punching motion, not striking the wall of ice, but instead command a spike to form at the center, channeling all of the energy from Reimu’s - or rather, Byakuya’s attack - and shooting it right back at Reimu herself.

 

As Hollow Isamy opened the same hand, the spike shattered into pieces, though still held in place. Hundreds of thousands of icicles shot towards Reimu, but parting just before they were only a few feet away from her. Instead, the icicles surrounded Reimu within several layers of sphere formations until she was completely obscured from everyone else. With Reimu trapped, Hollow Isamy closed her fist one more time, and the icicles all closed in on Reimu, intent on skewing her so utterly that there would not even a body left.

 

However, this round of assaults was not yet finished. Another demon had been summoned, and it wielded the perfect counter to Elsa’s magic. Instinctively, Hollow Isamy raised the wall of ice to take the brunt of the Megidolaon, but Amaterasu’s spell burned through the ice in an instant, and the sun continued on its path unabated, exploding as it burned Hollow Isamy with its holy light.

 

Once more, Hollow Isamy was blinded. She could see nothing but pure white. It could not end like this. She needed more time. She needed more power. She needed more souls.

 

[F E E D]

 

Now that Jace had turned against her, there was no benefit in allowing him access to an endless source of mana. It was time how Hollow Isamy to have that source all to herself.

 

It did not matter how many souls she would have to consume, so long as they furthered her own cause. Wrapping her arms across her body, she pointed in fingers in seemingly random directions, and they each began to glow with a teal light. She had consumed a few souls before, but for now, there was only one in particular that she needed.

 

Each of the fingers let the lights shoot out, summoning thin lasers that twisted and turned at sudden angles. None of them shared any coherent path, and in fact seemed to going far more roundabout directions than they needed to. However, no matter their trajectory, they would all lead to the same target. Even if Jace had attempted to hide it or turn it invisible, he had granted her long enough of a connection that she could find it again.

 

One way or another, Hollow Isamy would devour the Soul of Ravnica.

[Dad]

Within

 

Byakuya's spell was redirected not once but twice until a bright light eclipsed even his vision.  Twisting his deformed head to the sky he stared at the familiar face of death, still welcoming it with a beckoning smile.  He raised his hands as if to praise this light, and recited a spell from his amplified knowledge.

 

"Kyoumon," he screeched.

 

A mirror was erected far and wide above Hollow Isamy and Byakuya and the bright light which eclipsed them sank inside of it.  Then, the mirror began to crack as the light emerged once more, but in the opposite direction back toward its attacker.  As the mirror shattered, the Megidolaon was turned black and burst upward with a ferocious roar.  Byakuya could not use this spell again.

 

Though his knowledge of Kidou, Hadou, Bakudo, and Kekkai spells was immense, he too had limits, even with Isamy.  But Byakuya had left himself vulnerable and he was about to be reunited with his past.

 

"KUCHIKI!"

 

 

Through and Through

 

As Kenpachi lashed out with a mighty strike, Byakuya parried it at the last moment.  "You God damned traitor!" Kenpachi roared as he locked blades with the corrupted Byakuya.  "You let go of your pride.  You let go of everything you held dear.  For this!  I'll see your rotten soul dragged across the streets of Rukongai for this!"

 

"Oh sniveling ape," Byakuya spat.  "You will be one with us!"

 

Kenpachi slowly began to realize something as he tried to break through Byakuya's guard.  The light of the world was being eclipsed.  He backed off and dashed away to create space between himself and Byakuya.  But it wasn't just Kenpachi who was being enclosed in blackness.  The entirety of the lake was being consumed by a darkness that could only be explained by looking at Byakuya's hands.

 

For Senbonzakura had vanished, and he had awakened the third and true form of Senbonzakura.

 

"Senkei."

 

 

The Slaughterscape.

 

 

Infinite Bladeworks x10

 

The lake was blackened and the only source of light was the dirty pink glow from the millions upon millions of swords of that were scattered across the skies and the depths of the lake below, stretching into the sky infinitely.

 

Kenpachi began to raise his spiritual power in response to Byakuya, knowing full well that he could not hope to survive this attack if he weren't at his strongest.  "I'll kill you!" Kenpachi roared.  Byakuya spread his hands forward to Kenpachi and welcomed him with open arms.

 

Blades fell upon Kenpachi with great ferocity, forcing him to stop his attack short and attempt to dodge Byakuya's attacks.  But Kenpachi wasn't fast enough to avoid every strike, as a vicious gash appeared on his back.  It seemed the gap between their strength was growing.  He knew he had to try to end the battle quickly.

 

"Kenny!  Get away!" Yachiru cried out from the shores.  But Kenpachi could not hear her plea.

 

Kenpachi lurched forward, baring two of Senbonzakura's blades which penetrated his left shoulder and right leg.  He gave Byakuya a double-handed overhead strike, but it was parried with ease.  Kenpachi continued to bare down on Byakuya as more and more of Senbonzakura's solid blades began to surround him.

 

His rage festered and sweltered into an immeasurable force, but even that could not finish Byakuya.  Each time Kenpachi thought he found an opening, Senbonzakura closed that gap with ease.  And each time Senbonzakura parried Kenpachi, he was struck with another blade.

 

His left leg was pierced.  But Kenpachi continued to fight.

 

"Kenny, stop it!" Yachiru urged.

 

His chest was slashed open, but still Kenpachi fought.

 

"Kenny, please!" Yachiru begged.

 

Three blades entered Kenpachi's back simultaneously, forcing him to stop in his tracks, still staring Byakuya in his decrepid face.  Kenpachi looked over his shoulder at the blood pouring from his wounds profusely.  He had lost.

 

With another mighty roar, Kenpachi swung at Byakuya, attempting to completely wipe him from existence.  His strike was blocked, and another sword entered Kenpachi's chest.

 

He sank backward, clutching the sword in his chest.  "You... betrayed us.  I'll..." Kenpachi's breath had become shallow.  "I'll never.. forgi--" and Kenpachi fell.

 

 

Gods and Men

 

Kratos watched with disbelief as Kenpachi fell to the lake below and sank beneath the blackness.  He finally realized the severity of the situation he was in.

 

"We have to help him!" Killua said as he began to sprint away toward the lake.

 

"Right behind you!" Gon assured Killua.

 

"No!  Boys!  Stay away!" Kratos barked.

 

"But--!"

 

"He will kill you!" Kratos said with a stomp.

 

Killua stopped in his tracks.  He turned around slowly to face Kratos.  "Kill me?" Killua asked, his face twisting into rage as his eyebrows furled.  "He--that thing--will kill all of us if we don't try!" Killua snapped back.

 

Kratos froze in place.

 

"We can't give up.  You may be consumed by fear, but I won't sit here and let my comrades die.  The people who wanted to kill us not long ago are fighting with us to stop this monster from taking everything from us.  Or would you be satisfied with that?" Killua asked.

 

Gon stared silently at Kratos then back at Killua.  Killua's fists were clenched so tightly that he had drawn blood from his own hand.  "C'mon Gon.  We're going."

 

Gon nodded.  "We can save him.  Even if you can't," Gon said to Kratos.  Both Killua and Gon dashed away at high speed and ran headlong toward Kenpachi.

 

Kratos stood staring up at Hollow Isamy and Byakuya, his mind rattled and his heart broken.  His courage was slipping through his fingers.  Still, he could hear a whisper on the wind.  Someone was calling his name.

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Location: B5 (Atop the tower)

 

One of her passengers had gotten back up and rejoined the fight, but the other, the one she recognized as Gemini, was passed out on top of the phoenix she was carrying him on. With a thought, the phoenix carrying him descended into the top room of the tower, sheltering there to avoid anything their enemy attempted. She remained flying near the same entrance, for an easy escape route, but it seemed the monster's big attack this time was thwarted by Jace, seemingly returned to normal and fighting the boss. He was riding a large dragon as well, though one unfamiliar to her, and was fighting alongside the summon.

 

As Isamy resorted to using ice magic to attack, Chandra called upon the replenished source of mana she could still feel her connection to. Choosing a path of action, a moment's thought sent the currently unoccupied phoenix to slip through the field of blades and attack Isamy's mask directly. Following that up, a large flare of her mana called forth the elemental known as Magmatic Force, it's size a match for the tower in front of her, and directed it to start throwing a constant stream of magma at Isamy, intent on burning her down. 

 

Ending Location: B5 (Flying just above the tower) (Gemini and the phoenix he's lying on are inside the top floor of the tower.)

 

---

 

Darcy

Location: E2 (Atop the tower)

 

"Somehow...we did it? Did it really succeed?"

 

It looks like it, the herald is now turning against Ameliorer, so I'd consider that a success. 

 

"Let's retreat for now. I'm not in the position to use another Recollection, and you are drained too after supporting me. With only Byakuya and Isamy left, we can relax a little bit more for now."

 

Agreed, both of us are lacking in power now, and this fight seems like it'll likely be long anyway. Might as well rest and regain some magic for now.

 

As Darcy responded, she walked inside the tower, planning to use it as a defensive location for resting. As she did, she noticed the gunshot aiming towards her, but seeing it get deflected by the very figure they'd broken, she didn't bother drawing upon her power to defend her. Inside the tower, she noticed a group of the counter corps, but quickly walked to a different room further down the tower with no-one else around to bother her. With a couple of quick spells, she sealed the room against entry, and turned the wall facing Isamy transparent just from her side, then sat down to finally relax for a while and enjoy the spectacle.

 

[spoiler=tldr]Chandra brought Gemini to take shelter inside the tower at B5, and sent her spare phoenix to attack Isamy's mask. She then summoned a Magmatic Force and directed it to throw a continuous stream of magma at Isamy from it's location in front of the tower.

Darcy walked into the tower at E2, bypassed and ignored Team Lombax, and found a room lower down the tower to take shelter in. She sealed the room and turned a wall transparent on the inside only so she could watch the fight with Isamy and Byakuya while having a safe, comfortable place to take shelter in.

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Damn it-!"

 

The Megidolaon that Amaterasu had fired earlier was reflected back, and Bel was forced to push away Amaterasu away, at the cost of him being in direct line of fire of the reflected attack along with Sleipnir. The attack hit him squarely, obliterating Sleipnir and his own body, but soon it ended up reforming itself, being saved from falling to the ground by Amaterasu's help.

Enduring Soul. He had equipped the skill to himself for this battle, and its one use had burned out. He was caught by surprise with the reflected attack, and had his COMP was not unnatural in nature, it would have also gotten itself obliterated, ending any chance of Bel to do much outside of relying on his Bel demon components. He shouldn't let himself be hit in such a manner again.

 

"Come forth, Culebre!"

Another of his trusty demons. The green dragon manifested out of its summoning circle, and Bel hopped on top of his head, with Amaterasu still on his side. At that same exact time. the entirety of the lake were now enveloped by layers upon layers of petal-like magic blades, courtesy of Byakuya himself. At the same time, Isamy had assumed another ability for herself. He saw what Isamy's attack did to Reimu, and so he started to tinker with his COMP again.

 

Drain            Absorb Ice            Magic Yin
Agidyne        Absorb Phys
Shield All      Fire Amp

 

There was no other option left other than attacking, with the two of Byakuya and Isamy being the remaining opponent. Bel looked at Amaterasu, and without any words the two of them reached an agreement. Amaterasu flew away from Bel and started to focus her magic energy into one attack. Aided by Bel's equipped Auto Skill, the force was multiplied, and a pillar of fire was summoned just as a magma elemental was summoned to bathe Isamy with its molten rock. In the meantime, still above Culebre, Bel took aim. A ball of light appeared on his arm. He had set his target.

 

"Drain!"

 

As he said it, a connection was established between him and Byakuya. Kazuya was starting to siphon the very energy that runs through Byakuya's veins. It was meant to be a decently powerful attack that lacking in destructive power but ensures sustainability, but with the help of the Auto Skill which bestows great potency at the cost of greatly increasing his mana consumption, the attack turned into something far more powerful than that. Drain didn't have much mana cost in the first place.

 

"Turn to husk, hollow servant of Isamy!"

 

---

 

Reimu's reflection was reflected back at her, and while Reimu managed to summon more tunnel barriers to reflect the reflection back at the reflector, the reflection ended up going off the rails and shooting around randomly as Reimu didn't get the opportunity to aim it properly. She grumbled for a moment, cursing her lack of training. She went to prepare a Fantasy Seal, but before she could do it, she was then surrounded by a bounded field made of ice. It was physical rather than magical, so Reimu couldn't just dispel it with her technique, but as the slight movement of the ice barrier could be sensed by her Instinct, Reimu used her remaining arm to summon a barrier underneath her. As the ice barrier collapsed upon herself, Reimu fell into the hole in the barrier, leaving outside mostly unscathed, but visibly drained.

 

The wall of swords returned, now with visibly less density, but at the same time Reimu felt that it was going to be even worse since she read it as having a different name than before. And unlike before, it even came with an image. No, that was just a distracting detail. Seeing that everyone in it was at risk, Reimu focused her mind and drew more energy from the black orb, before declaring her next Spell.

 

"Hakurei Duplex Barrier -Spread-!"

 

As she declared the spell, multilayered barriers formed around everyone currently in the vicinity of Senkei. These barriers were not something completely impenetrable, but they would be able to serve as buffer for multiple amount of appropriately-powered attacks. Now that Isamy had changed her ability again, the outright animosity Reimu felt at her dissipated just by a little bit, but at the same time most of the sentiment still remained.

 

Even if it'd take her everything, she would bring that thing down.

 

---

 

[spoiler=Mindscape]

"Child...?"

 

The nameless girl was unsure of how to react to this woman calling her as her child. Nevertheless, she formed her sword and cut her bindings, but the woman lacked the energy to do much other than falling to the ground in a pathetic manner. Her blue hair was tainted by blood, her red eyes had lost any of its luster. Her damaged, wounded body was that of a teenager's, nothing like what a mother would supposed to have. Looking at her, the nameless girl felt that she would only be one year older than her at most.

 

"I suppose, you are unable to see me in that way yet." The woman's voice was weak. What was her deal, the nameless girl thought. She started to worry about Tenshi, who she left at the top of the tower. This woman here might be dangerous. Why else would she suffer so much punishment? Nobody innocent deserved this much, right?

 

"...Who are you?"

 

"Someone unimportant."

 

"Why do you call me as your child?"

"Because I gave birth to you."

"I can't see you as my mother."

"I can only see you as my daughter."

 

For the sake of being able to talk eye-to eye, the nameless girl helped the woman to rest her head on the back wall as she sit right in front of her, ignoring the room's situation. She still couldn't understand anything, but she didn't want to leave her alone. She thought that she might just be delirious as she was so close to death. So perhaps, Nanashi thought of accompanying her until she drew her last breath.

 

"I'm glad to see that you're still smiling." After a moment of silence, the woman spoke again. Nanashi didn't actually smile. At that time, it was the woman herself that had a small smile on her face, as hard as it was to discern with how badly her face had been beaten and damaged. "You look beautiful with that expression."

 

"I'm not...no, you're right. I am smiling now." Nanashi tried to fake a smile, but the woman's expression did not change. Her gaze was still empty. Perhaps she wasn't actually able to see her right now. "You said you want to listen to my story earlier. I can do that, though perhaps it will be a long one."

 

"I would be delighted to."

 

And so, Nanashi told the woman about her own story. Of how she was born, of the conflict she had with Tenshi, of everything that happened afterwards. Her resolution. Her actions. Her feelings. Poured into words, they continued to fill the air to the woman's enjoyment.

It was perhaps three hours later that Nanashi finally stopped, reaching the point of her meeting with the woman here.

 

"I hope that I didn't bore you."

"Quite the contrary, I enjoyed it immensely." Her expression didn't change, but it was still clear that the woman was alive for now. "I'm proud to see what you have done so far. The gift of life that has been bestowed upon you, it surely has done great things, even if it is only for yourself."

 

"I felt like I haven't achieved anything yet though..." At the very least, Nanashi acknowledged that she did finally find a direction for her to go to. She had made her resolution against Isamy. It might not make the most sense, but it was hers.

 

"This Tenshi person...you really do love her, right?"

 

"Yeah, I do." The romantic encounter that Nanashi had with Tenshi earlier was still a fresh and fond memory that she had. Talking to this woman here so far had given her a peace of mind much like how she talked to Tenshi earlier. If nothing else, she did genuinely enjoy the time here with her. "She is everything for me."

 

"Even after all she did?"

 

"...Yes." The reply came with a bit of hesitation at first, but what followed was filled with conviction. "She had done many mistakes. She had done many despicable things. Those things will remain as fact. Yet, at the same time...I think I can understand her now, at least a little bit better than before."

 

"Understand?"

"I understand that she did it for the sake of the people that she cared for the most. That she genuinely thought she was doing the right thing. She was scared. A naivete girl that had not yet experienced the world, just like me, and who desperately tried to convince herself that she could undo all her mistakes if she reached her goa. I did not excuse what she did...but I think, I should be able to forgive her. I should be able to see beyond her deeds now."

 

"I see..." It was hard to discern the tone for that one.

 

"Now, may I be the one to ask a question?" Nanashi took the initiative. "Why are you being tortured here?"

"Ah...it is entirely my own fault. Penance for crimes that I have committed, carried out by my victims." The woman's gaze turned to the ceiling. She was seemingly contemplating something.

 

"Punishment...so would you say that you are evil?"

"Maybe, or perhaps I am just dumb. Could be both."

 

"You don't look evil though."

 

"That only makes it worse, isn't it?"

 

The conversation went into a lighter note at that time, with Nanashi and the woman exchanging banter for a while. The two of them had lost track of time by the time they regained their insight about the situation. Still, it was something that Nanashi enjoyed. Once again, the thought of Tenshi waiting for her upstairs started to fade away from her mind.

 

"Thank you for being willing to talk with someone like me, who will disappear soon." The woman said it at some point.

 

"You have been a good conversation partner too. You owe more credit for this than me."

 

"Of all things, I didn't expect someone to call me a good conversation partner..." The woman reminisced about something before continuing. "Actually, do you have any ideas why you are here in this place rather than on the battlefield?"

 

"I don't know...I...actually forgot that there was a battle raging outside."

 

"Sigh..." The woman voiced her disappointment before turning her attention to Nanashi properly. "Some things about you, really haven't changed much.

 

I suppose it's time for me, Hinanawi Tenshi, to speak to you in a more direct manner."

 

 

 

 

---

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Reimu: D4, casted a Duplex Barrier on everyone in Senkei's range.

Bel: D4, Fired a supercharged Drain on Byakuya. Amaterasu attacked using Maragidyne.

Satori: E2 Tower. Recovering after her Recollection and trying to find Koishi now. Inside with Darcy atm.
Short-hair: C4. Should be able to move again but haven't..

 

...

 

Nameless: Conversing with her mother in her Mindscape.

 

 

---

[The Warden]

Well, it was quite good that the mind mage was alright, if a bit a troubled. He won't be needing the angel's help anymore; no, there was someone else far in need of Hapshiel's special brand of love. The flock diverting away to rejoin with the others that saved the tower from that odd eldritch abomination, they all silently spoke, and they knew what was needed. No doubt Hollow!Isamy was quite weakened after her attempted assault, and now would be the prime moment to shower her with the love she so desperately needed.

 

Like the gayest flock of swans in existence, the swarm of Hapshiels gathered high above the lake's shore, 63 clones assuming the formation of one enormous heart, while Hapshiel Prime took his position just before the center. "Time to do our duty, and fill this poor, foolish girl's heart with love" the angel commented.

 

Without hesitation he placed his meaty fingers to his delicate lips, and with a flamboyant twirl he launched one single air kiss. "Forbidden Romance~" the swarm crooned, their auras flaring up into one big glorious heart.

 

And as the single air kiss passed the border, a gargantuan pair replaced it. A gigantic, horrifically potent air kiss filled with more love than a bunch of middle-aged women's love for Jimmy Bufffet. And it was all for Isamy... may God have mercy on what's left of her soul.

 

---

 

Lydia sighed, her metal plated arms leaning on the windowsill of the tower she had inexplicably ended up on. Although, if the black mess she had to rinse her hair of was any indication, she had a dark idea of how she got there. "Avalon, are you there?" Lydia inquired.

 

Silence. The dragon was still in shock himself, or perhaps his soul had already been torn out by Isamy. The girl shuddered as she gripped at her chest, the very idea reawakening some very uncomfortable physical memories. His silence was unnerving, but she could still feel his power. Somewhere, deep inside he was there, which was comfort enough. What wasn't though, was the mess outside. How long had she been Isamy's prisoner? God only knows, but it seems that the helpers of hers were gone, save one. And the Hollow seemed to be having a monumental hissy fit, as par the course. And despite that, Lydia still trembled, even though the cold wasn't even a bother. Really... she was terrified right now. After the power high of Protheus, and to a lesser extent Arturia, it was sobering to remember just how easily she could die. Easily.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Agreed, both of us are lacking in power now, and this fight seems like it'll likely be long anyway. Might as well rest and regain some magic for now.

 

Satori and Darcy ended up finding their own spot inside of the tower, resting and recovering the energy that they had spent from dealing with the Herald. Darcy had made the wall to be transparent so they could keep vigil on the spectacle outside, It was to Satori's liking, who now continued to scan the surrounding area to find traces of her sister's presence. Something inside of her felt hollow as more time passed. Now that Metarchus had been defeated, she only had one goal left, which was to protect Koishi. But without her, what could she do now? It took a while, but Satori then voiced her feelings to Darcy.

 

If you may, let us part way for the time being. Something had been disturbing me so far, and I would like to quell that feeling.

 

Do not worry about me, without Metarchus I am sure that I would not need as much protection from Isamy's mental assault anymore.

 

With Avalon's magic helping her to recharge, Satori then disconnected her tentacles from Darcy, and used Recollection to recreate a temporary humanoid body for herself. The pink-haired youkai thus bowed at the witch before leaving the tower, flying around on her own in search for her sister, or what was left of her.

 

---

 

[spoiler=Mindscape]

 

"Yes, I am your mother."

 

Rather than a loud denial, the nameless girl simply went silent, not moving out of shock as if she was a statue. Such an underwhelming reaction still ended up making Tenshi burst out laughing, as much as a dying person was able to laugh. It about what was expected, but it was still satisfying enough to make Tenshi happy. The laugh returned the ray of youth that had disappeared from her. Physically and mentally, she was no longer the same naive girl that set out to become a hero. Instead, she resided in the body of a twenty or so young woman, losing the childish luster that she once radiated, until now.

 

It was true that Tenshi died at the end of her duel with the nameless girl, that much was certain. Her soul had been torn apart by the Sword of Hisou, and by all means, she should have no traces left of her around. But, the same will that allowed her to persist after she was killed by Protheus, allowed a part of her to persist inside of the sword. Perhaps it was karma, and she found herself trapped alongside the souls of all the alternate Tenshi that she had killed. Those lost souls retained their hatred towards her, and thus this world became her prison. Tenshi accepted the thought that she deserved this fate, even as what was left of her broke apart. It was a fate she had resigned herself to, as penance for her mistakes.

 

Yet, at one point those lost souls lost their desire to mutilate Tenshi further. She was left all alone as those souls had found the guidance they needed due to the help of one certain person -- they had found a goal they wanted to achieve together as their last act. The only consciousness left in the prison she made for herself, Tenshi acknowledged her inevitable disappearance. Someone that failed to achieve anything, someone who ruined everything by trying. At the very least, she would soon be at peace. Dying alone, her deeds, crimes, and wishes eroded by the flow of time. It was the end that she chose to have.

 

It was scary. For once in her life, she felt powerless and scared. She could say that she was ready to die easily, but to face it in such a personal manner, staring at it without anyone else to support her, that bravado became nothing

 

But in the end, the nameless girl chose to visit her.

 

Wishing to not worry the only one that was important to her now, Tenshi put up her most confident, bravest expression to her.

 

"Come on, you're treating this as the most shocking thing you have ever heard."

 

Her cheerful, upbeat voice was betrayed by her crumbling appearance, but she didn't seem to care.

 

Tenshi never knew anything about motherhood. She never cared or had any intention of becoming a mother. She wasn't even sure if this situation was really the same thing as that or not. The nameless girl was born from her, a part of her that gained individuality and independence, whose seeds were planted by Yukari inside of her until it was fully grown. On her last moments in Remembrance, what Tenshi felt as the light faded from her was pride, and now, that pride had grown more and more as she saw this girl had managed to walk on her own path.

 

"In the end, all that you wanted was to talk to me, right?"

 

A weak nod followed. The nameless girl was still visibly shaken, but she seemed to accept this development better than what Tenshi expected. She thought that it would involve more denial, but instead, the nameless girl silently accepted the truth.

 

"It's sad, but...right now I don't think I can answer what you wanted. You said that you wanted me to tell you if the road you chose was the right one, right?"

 

Even with that acceptance, the nameless girl still was frozen on where she stood, unsure of what to do. Tenshi was aware of what she wanted, but she was not yet able to form an answer. Was it worth it? Of course, there was no doubt about it. Tenshi accepted that the nameless girl would lead to a more illustrious life than Tenshi herself, a misguided take of what was supposed to be a child enjoying her life carelessly.

 

But, she had barely lived a life yet. The road for her was still long. This was not the end of the line yet. And so, Tenshi was unwilling to answer her question. Even if at the end of the road the nameless girl was going, there would not be any of this Tenshi waiting for her. It was a fact that both had accepted. This Tenshi was after all a mere fabrication from a vague canon, no different from the other thousands that reside on this blade.

 

Right now, that fact became comforting rather than scary.

 

"I know you don't want the answer now though. As the saying goes, your life is a book, and you're still on the first page. I will not close it for you just yet." Tenshi laughed again. "But hey, even without you saying anything, the truth is that what you wanted is to just spend time with me for the last time, right?"

 

Tenshi did not wait for an answer. Both of them acknowledged that it was not necessary. Instead, she gestured for the nameless girl to come closer, but she refused to budge. It was just like last time. In a field of snow and this field of blood, the same thing had repeated again. But, what was on the nameless girl's eyes were different now. Rather than being at loss, Tenshi could see the fire burning inside of them. Tenshi nodded, understanding the decision that the nameless girl had made.

 

"It's fine, it's fine. Even if even now I don't understand your feelings to me, just the fact that you cared to me like that...it really did make me happy."

 

A smile was all the proof Tenshi had for her feeling. The nameless girl had decided to pick the path she was moving forward. The girl that would die and the girl that would live would now separate from each other. Both having received closure that they wanted, there was nothing holding the two back now.

 

"I can't fulfill the role of a lover to you, much like you are unable to fulfill the role of a daughter to me. But what was important was what both of us feel in the end, isn't it?

 

So, at this last moment, tell me a story, Nanashi."

 

And so, that was what the two decided to do. Not a talk from a mother to her daughter, not a talk between lovers. Just a conversation about nothing, held by two lost souls that knew nothing of common sense. The world, the inner mental prison that held the two slowly started to disappear into nothingness as the two continued their talk. About flowers, about the clouds in the sky, about minor inconveniences in life, they talked about anything that passed through their mind.

 

They talked and talked. Even with the world ending around them, even with Tenshi disappearing, they continued to talk. There was no verbal acknowledgment of it, but in her last moments, Tenshi accepted the fact that he had finally understood the girl before her. She knew that Nanashi would understand her now too.

 

"Ah, it's only been so short..."

 

 

 

 

---

 

The next thing that Short-hair could feel was how she ended up slamming into something hard by the next moment. By that time she was already gripping her Sword of Hisou, and instinctively she used it to carve her way out of anything left of the prison around her. It was then that she realized that she had slammed into a black tower somehow. There was no sign of the Herald she fought earlier too.

 

And on her hand, the Sword of Hisou was glowing brightly.

 

"Took ya a while." Giving the sword an acknowledging nod, the Short-hair then dusted herself off before standing up. "Think my time's gonna be up soon with ya here now, but let's give that thing one last bang before you come back."

 

Her physical body wasn't there yet, but Tenshi could feel that the nameless girl was giggling at what she said while agreeing.  Without any time to wait, she rushed forward, going towards Hollow Isamy at the center of the lake. Several attacks were bombarding her right now. Her remaining herald was performing its last-ditch attack, surrounding the area with layers of swords. Tenshi blasted her way through it with a laser.

 

She was aware of what the Sword of Hisou could do. After all, she had used it for this exact purpose before. The sword on her hand grew larger as it was surrounded by the light of temperaments gathering around it. With a mighty swing, Tenshi let her extended sword crash down on Isamy's form. Fueled by the temperaments of the people in the battlefield, she aimed to see if she was able to cut anything from Isamy's being right now. If there's a weakness, if there's a vulnerability, the sword would learn it and exploit it. The spirit-cutting sword was made to do this job.

 

"Take this!"

 

---

 

[spoiler=OOC]

funk i rushed this post a bit too much

 

Satori: Leaving E2 tower to search for koishi.

Tenshi/Short-hair: Went towards C4 to attack Isamy using her sword, now enlarged.

 

Nanashi: In narrative limbo

 

 

 

---

 

What should I do?

 

I just wanted you to be happy. I just wanted Sis to be happy, even if she's not here. Everyone else too, I want them to be happy.

 

I am not a coward. I don't want to run away. I could do something. But...I don't know what to do.

 

You did this to me, and you left without saying anything more. Did I do something wrong?

 

It hurts...Yukari, it hurts...

 

So please, tell me what should I do.

 

---

[Phantom Roxas]

The Bane of Ravnica - D4

Not only did Byakuya Kuchiki save Hollow Isamy from the spell one of the demon boy’s summons had cast, had evolved his Bankai to the next level. Excellent. He was making quick work of Kenpachi Zaraki, impaling the berserker with blade after blade. Yes. Yes. If anyone should understand the futility of denying her, it would be Byakuya. He knew Kenpachi. Surely if even Byakuya could not persuade Kenpachi, then there was no sense in expecting Kenpachi to see reason.

However, he was still dangerous. She could not underestimate his strength, and more than just his pure, unbridled rage, Kenpachi had a target. He wasn’t just coming for her. To the others, Byakuya would just be another enemy. The only reason to fight Byakuya would be to get to Hollow Isamy. For Kenpachi Zaraki, defeating Byakuya was personal.

As soon as Kenpachi fell into the lake, Hollow did not need to think hard about what to do. With the wave of her hand, the once-scattered lake froze over once more, trapping Kenpachi within the ice. Yachiru had been crying and begging for Kenpachi to hold back from the fight, and with a brief projection of words, Yachiru could hear Hollow Isamy’s voice taunting her.

[G I V E U P]

Yachiru was powerless without Kenpachi. There was no reason to be concerned with the lieutenant without her captain to help. Even still, Hollow Isamy could not be certain that Kenpachi was truly dead, so she commanded the lake to grow colder, concentrating on where Kenpachi had fallen. For now, the most she could hope for was to trap him within the ice.

While Kratos continued to be paralyzed in his fear and grief, Killua and Gon were taking the initiative, leaping into action as soon as Kenpachi dropped like a rock. She could not underestimate their skills; Killua was a trained assassin, and Gon already knew how to work in tandem with Elsa’s magic. No doubt he was prepared to counter it as well. Raising one hand in their direction, Hollow Isamy commanded the air around them to grow cold. From where the two Hunters once stood, snow gathered behind them into a wave, rising above to consume them.

As she focused one of her hands on Killua and Gon, the first of her six lasers landed harmlessly beside Ravnica. Where it struck, a white flower bud formed from ice and snow, and slowly began to bloom.

Then it was Chandra’s turn. The Planeswalker sent a phoenix to strike headfirst, but Hollow Isamy breathed cold air onto it, and the phoenix was extinguished in an instant. What did present a challenge, however, was the magma elemental that Chandra summoned in front of the tower. With another hand, she fired a beam of ice directly into the stream of magma, and though the magma easily melted through the ice, it did not overwhelm quite so easily. Using another hand to reinforce her ice magic, the magma instead began to slowly slide along the ice, the magma having melted the ice so quickly that it turned to steam. And yet, that steam formed a layer between the ice and the magma, and the magma itself began to cool. Hollow Isamy pushed forward with her ice, desperate to cool the magma as much as the elemental was to melt through her ice, locking them both in a stalemate.

With two more of her hands free, two more white flower buds bloomed around Ravnica. The demon boy was still flying in the air, while one of his demons continued to burn Hollow Isamy away. She could only endure so much of the flames; she needed to take Ravnica as soon as possible to heal from this, but even that would be pointless so long as Amaterasu could keep this up.

Of course, despite Amaterasu’s skill with fire, that could not necessarily mean she was immune to ice magic. As she held her standstill with the Magmatic Force, she was confident she could could somehow manage to overwhelm fire with ice, logic be damned. With another hand, just as she had with Killua and Gon, she commanded snow to envelope Amaterasu.

While keeping most of her hand in a fist, she looked up again at the boy. He drew his power from his COMP, and there would be no point in destroying his demons so long as he could keep summoning them. With the flick of her thumb, a shard of ice flew straight at Bel’s COMP.

And a fourth white flower bloomed around Ravnica.

Reimu had survived Hollow Isamy’s attacks, though she was relying far too much on those barriers. Surely there had to be a limit to them? Still, if Reimu was playing support, then as frustrating as that was, it did not necessarily make her a priority.

Thanks to Bel’s distraction, two of her arms had grown too lax in trying to counter magma with ice, and the Magmatic Force was able to push further against her power. Redoubling her efforts, Hollow Isamy sent more ice towards the Magmatic Force until it could not match her with its magma. Eventually, the ice was striking the elemental itself, and as steam began to coat the elemental, the ice cooled the Magmatic Force into a statue of igneous rock.

With two of her hands focused on keeping the Magmatic Force cooled, a third on Amaterasu, and a fourth on both Killua and Gon, Hollow Isamy had two more free hands. Just enough to counter Hapshiel’s pair for gargantuan air kisses. She hoped to merely repel them by summoning more frost against it, but the air kisses continued in their path. She had to be more direct. Ice formed into spikes along her free hands, and she stabbed them directly into the heart-shaped kisses.

The hearts began to freeze from where Hollow Isamy stabbed them, but Hollow Isamy felt any aggression in her halt as soon as she made contact. The frozen hearts quickly shattered, only to explode into 64 smaller cartoonish hearts that began to swarm her. Her entire body began to convulse, reeling back as her distorted voice began to heave and moan in guttural ecstasy.

As the last two lasers landed by Ravnica and sprouted two more white flowers in the snow, Hollow Isamy brought the two hands she had stabbed the air kisses with onto her chest cavity, even as she continued flailing. Her other hands were still focused the Magmatic Force, Amaterasu, Killua, and Gon, the snow twisting and pulling in an attempt the latter three towards the Magmatic Force.

Jovial love and absolute rapture led to her sobbing uncontrollably, then laughing, and finally manic cackling. Oh how she had hoped that everyone around could have become one with her. Of course, Hapshiel would no doubt have had a different expression of that idea in mind, but would it have been wrong? Yet the Encroachment demanded that she destroy them all utterly. Consume them. Then, and only then, could the Void Inclusion allow them to truly become one. Soon she would be willing to abandon Elsa’s power, and consign the Queen of Arendelle to oblivion. But not before Hollow Isamy had her next meal.

The first white flower she had planted finished blooming, and a chain of ice, not unlike what Elsa had used against Hollow Isamy, sprung from the flower, wrapping itself around Ravnica. When all six flowers would finish blooming, and the chains ensnared Ravnica, only then could she take the entire plane, and all its inhabitants who had survived the Distortions. As a part of her, they would finally know a happy ending.

With her two hands resting in her hand, she regained some command over the snow, with four hands trying to mold the snow into ice to further entrap the three passengers about to slammed into Magmatic Force. One of the hands commanding the snow and ice grabbed at her chest cavity, and her arms were evenly divided between her three current targets and the… pleasure… that Hapshiel was inflicting on her.

Since Hollow Isamy had her hands and attention fully occupied, she paid little mind to the colossal sword that was about to hit.

"Take this!", the short-haired blunette declared. The Sword of Hisou cleaved straight down the middle of Hollow Isamy’s mask, and when the sword finished its path, Hollow Isamy’s mask exploded into a scarlet mist.

The scream that wailed throughout the Forgotten Forest was second only to Ragnarok’s Screech Alpha, shattering all manner of ice in the area, and throwing aside anyone who dared to be near her, including Byakuya. Hollow Isamy covered her face with two hands, but it was not enough to stop the scarlet mist from pouring through her hands like blood. Smoke blew through her chest. Whatever Hapshiel had hoped to do to her soul, the sheer pain and rage from the girl’s attack had compelled Hollow Isamy to reject it completely.

[T U R N B A C K]

A cold wave of nostalgia hit all of them. When everyone had first entered the Forgotten Forest, they began to feel some of their memories slipping away from them. Some had already forgotten the people they lost. Everyone had their own reasons to fight Hollow Isamy, but the one thing that they all agreed on was they blamed her for their suffering. They believed that this would all end with her. She would remind them what they truly had to fear.

With another scream, a wave of cold shook the entire forest, and a dome of ice began to form across every side of the frozen lake, while another dome within formed around her own position. Between the two layers of domes, rows upon rows of solid blocks began to emerge on the facing sides, and began to extend, the blocks growing closer towards each other. Anyone caught between the two domes was about to be completely crushed.

Two more white flowers launched their chains around Ravnica. It was halfway trapped, and soon she would feed. With the amount of souls she would be sure to devour, it would be more than enough. By taking their souls into her own, she would evolve into something greater than she already was.

[Dad]

Fantastic Voyage

Byakuya could feel the life begin to slip away from Kenpachi Zaraki beneath the now once more frozen lake at Lady Isamy's feet.  A song filled Byakuya's mind.  He could feel the atmosphere changing around him.  He could feel it in Lady Isamy.  Her Hollow body resonated with great power and vibrated with brilliant love.  And yet she was being tasked with the daunting process of bringing her foes to her side.  They could not possibly understand the brilliance within her Majesty's mind.  Her thoughts were much higher than their own.  These people--the peasants at her feet.  They were simply along for the ride.  Lady Isamy simply wanted them to feel pleasure.  If they could not do this on their own because of their ignorance, Byakuya would be the herald who aided these peasants and brought about a fantastic change in their lives.  Their voyage into the next life would be stupendous.

 

Two of Kenpachi's allies raced to save his life.  However, they lacked the power to do so in an efficient manner.  They began to pound and attack the ice with all their might to free their comrade.  Byakuya could not waste time with them.  Instead, his attention turned to the one casting a "Drain" spell.  

 

It was a splendidly cast spell that warmed him.  Byakuya dared not to fight this "Drain".  Rather, being attached to this "Bel" by the "Drain" spell, he would work with his foe.  As long as Byakuya was attached to Lady Isamy, his spiritual power and life force were most abundant.  No creature could absorb the sinister power that resided within Lady Isamy without becoming a Herald or succumbing to a most destructive force.  Byakuya would give Bel just what they desired:  An infinite supply of dark energies directly into their body.  An overload of power and maliciousness.  Much like a balloon, even Bel would pop.

 

"Take this gift from your Queen.  An endless, infinite love!" Byakuya declared.

 

But Lady Isamy was now suffering!  Byakuya recoiled, having nearly been snatched away from the Queen by the force of her wail.  He returned to her side at once and prepared to mount a stronger defense.  He would not let Lady Isamy be surprised again.  A grand attack took her by surprise and stunned even Byakuya for a brief moment.  The Herald turned its attention to the one who cast this attack.  One who would dare to harm his Queen!

 

Silently, he spread his palms wide, and every blade which made up Senkei was drawn to his command.  The full weight of Byakuya's strength filled the sky with shadow as his blades complimented Lady Isamy's newly forming Ice Dome, skewing any light that would have entered it.  With both hands, Byakuya prepared to unleash his full wrath on Tenshi for harming the queen.  But he ceased his command and turned his head to another.  Something that the Queen hungered for--craved--was nearly within her grasp.

 

He had to assure her victory.

 

He turned his twisted head to Ravnica, nearly trapped in Isamy's power.  With Senkei at his command, Byakuya bared down every blade at his command and prepared to seal away any hope of escape.

 

 

Hopeless

 

Yachiru had watched with horror as Kenpachi fell, pierced numerous times around his body.  He disappeared into the lake below Isamy's feet and Yachiru could feel herself weakening.  She could feel a part of her dying.  "... Kenny?" she whispered to herself as her knees dug into the snow.

 

Two young boys raced across the waters from the forest and prepared to save Kenpachi.  The lake froze at their feet and Killua and Gon immediately went into action.  Gon drew all of his might and prepared a powerful punch he planned to use to crack the ice.

 

"Rock!" he declared as he struck with all his might at the frozen lake.  But to his dismay, Gon had barely dented the magical ice.  He couldn't believe his eyes.

 

Before they could act any further, Killua and Gon were swept up by Isamy in a massive torrent of snow, snatching them away from the lake and stopping them from freeing Kenpachi.

 

[G I V E U P]

 

Was that all she could do?  Yachiru felt helpless as she stared at the lake, seeing her best friend sink further and further below.  She felt her Zanpaktou shiver at her side from the cold winds.  There had to be something she could do!

 

"KENNY!" she screeched, her heart breaking and aching.  Her face swelled with tears as she darted across the ice and drew her Zanpaktou.  Two creatures suddenly joined her in a sprint, one made of bone and the other large, round, and made of fur.  They both wielded unique bladed weapons and followed Yachiru to the center of the lake where they just make out Kenpachi's shadow deep beneath the ice.

 

With every spell she could muster and every strike from her allies (Sanpo Kenjū) they struck at the ice furiously.  But with every passing moment, Yachiru could feel her power slipping away.  She was going to lose him soon.  She was going to lose her last hope.  She was going to lose Kenpachi all over again.

 

"KENNY!!" she screamed once more.  She pounded at the ice with all her might, covering herself in her own mighty reiatsu and attempting to break through.  Her fists bled, but she continued to fight.  Her face stung with tears.  Her head filled with fear.  Her heart panicked. 

 

"KENPACHI!!"

 

And then, a sword came to her aid.

 

 

Unmerciful

 

Kratos stood with his heart gripped by fear.  He watched Kenpachi fall through the lake, only to see it iced over in a moments notice by the enemy's magic.  It was not until he saw Killua and Gon get swept away by snow that his heart lurched.  He could hear his father.  He could hear Zeus.

 

"For once in your pathetic life, do not fail them like you failed your family!" he echoed in Kratos head.

 

A fire burned inside Kratos once more.  Those dark red flames began to fade away and the blue fires of hope made his every fiber come to life.  He sheathed his blades on his back and called forth his own godly magics to summon another weapon.  Reforged by the blood of his enemies and his allies and fashioned on magics even more powerful than his own, the Blade of Promise was not something he had forgotten about.  It still maintained magics from Mount Olympus, alllowing him to summon the blade at will.

 

It crashed down from the skies and landed in his right hand.  With two hands on the hilt of the sword, Kratos leaped forward and burst through the icy dome that was forming around the lake.  

 

He landed beside Kenpachi's ally, Yachiru.  She was desperately trying to save him, but she didn't have the strength.  Even so, he could feel the raw power emanating from this small child.  Despite her size and appearance, she held magnificent strength.  And so, he would aid her.  

 

"Kenpachi!" Kratos barked as he raised his blade.  With all of his might he brought down the blade and stabbed it into the ice.  He hammered away with all his might as he stood beside Yachiru trying to save his ally.  He had failed Revy, but he would not let another die while he stood idly by.

 

At last, a crack formed in the ice, just big enough for Yachiru to fit through.

 

 

Buried

 

It was dark.  He was cold.  The water was like ice on his skin.  It reminded him of Hitsugaya's tantrums.  Kenpachi could feel something raging inside him.  Was it fury?  Why was he angry?  This was always how he had imagined he would die: in battle.  And yet, he wasn't satisfied.  To lose at the hands of a friend was one thing.  To lose to a friend turned enemy was another.

 

All Kenpachi could do now was think.  "Tch.  What a pathetic way to die," he thought to himself.  He was beginning to lose consciousness.  It was such an unfamiliar feeling.  It was like sleeping, but involuntarily.  Worst of all, he had failed them.  

 

The Counter Corps.

 

Byakuya.

 

Yachiru.

 

That hurt most of all.  He had wanted to secure victory if only it meant he and Yachiru could still be happy.  Nothing mattered more to him than her.  Yet, he was lying there on the brink of death.

 

The water was growing colder, but he could feel a brief moment of warmth.  There was a bubble above and Kenpachi could barely make out fragments of ice floating above.  The tiniest beam of light fell through the ice and touched his face.  He smiled as he saw a tiny swimming child barreling toward him.

 

With a breath he muttered her name.  "Yachiru."

 

 

The Wolf

 

Feed the Wolf

 

At this point, Yachiru's strength was minimal.  Even as she was swimming, she felt her Zanpaktou begin to fade away.  Kenpachi was almost lost.  She had to do any and everything in her power to save him.  Even if that meant...

 

She touched Kenpachi's Captain's robe and clung to it tightly.  In these freezing waters, she could barely feel life coming from his body.  "Kenny," she whispered.  Yachiru pulled herself close to Kenpachi and clung to him with a hug.  She laid her head against his own and kissed his forehead.

 

She chuckled lightly as she mocked Kenpachi.  "You know," she began as he finally was able to muster the strength to turn to face her.

 

"If you had just used me properly," Yachiru said with a soft smile.  "You wouldn't be in this predicament."

 

Kenpachi didn't understand.  "Yachiru.  I'm sorry."

 

She touched the wound in his chest where his heart should have been, and Kenpachi could feel a sudden surge of strength.

 

"Yachiru?" Kenpachi asked.  He could breathe again.  He could feel his strength returning.  He could feel so much.  But he could also feel Yachiru slipping away.  "What's going on?" he asked.

 

"This is the power, Kenny.  The power that everyone calls Ban-kai," Yachiru said with a smile.

 

Kenpachi took Yachiru by her hand.  "What are you talking about?  I can't--I've only just discovered my Shikai."

 

Yachiru giggled.  "You've had it all along, you big dummy.  You just didn't know it."

 

Kenpachi frowned.  "Then.  You're--"

 

"Say it with me, Kenny," Yachiru said.

 

With her final breath and in unison with her best friend, they spoke together.  "Bankai."

 

 

The Animal

 

Kratos could see a bright light beneath the ice.  It was a golden light that warmed everything it touched.  But in the instance that he felt its warmth, he could feel something much worse within.  This golden light quickly lost its color until it was entirely black.  Kratos leaped away from the ice and escaped outside of Isamy's Ice Dome.

 

The ice over the lake exploded and a violent plume of water erupted into the sky.  The black light caused the lake to evaporate once more, leaving nothing but a dried bed of rock beneath.

 

And at the bottom of this bed of rock, Kenpachi rested on his knees, his power completely out of control.

 

 

 

He gripped his weapon tightly and slowly began to stand.  He turned his head up to Isamy and his empty eyes landed on Byakuya.

 

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!…

[The Pathway to Remembrance]

Twilight of the Gods

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 4: Convergence]

~ The Other Promise ~

Eria was home.

Her feet dragged through the mud as she wandered listlessly. The bodies of men and demons lined her path, arranged as if they had been scattered just so to allow her a path. Raindrops poured, running down her face and drenching her clothes. Fires still ravaged homes, swords planted seemed to fall one by one. Beyond the edge of the village, far past the river, stood a pure white castle of ivory and marble, surrounded by an iron wall.

“Why?” Eria watched her hand catch the rain. Each drop seemed to turn red as it touched her, before slipping from her and meeting the ground. Before her laid three bodies: Her master, Lady Doriado. Her father, Rahz. And her mother, Aqueria.

“Because of who you are.” Megiddo stepped over several of the bodies behind her. “You mean a lot to a great many people. But… the future is never kind to you from what I’ve seen. You’re forgotten by a childhood friend who simply runs off because he wants to play the hero… and fails spectacularly. Your other half must understand how that must feel. As far as I can see, suffering is just part of who you are”

“Everyone lost their homes!” Eria protested. “Everyone they loved is gone. All because of Isamy and her damned Distortions. They would have died anyway, and you just… killed them yourself. Just because you could, just to torture me.” Eria knelt beside Doriado’s body, lifting her hand. “What do you want?”

Megiddo steepled his fingers. “My Lady Lindzei gave me a Focus of my own, to seek a power that controls the multiverse. I am to forge an artifact known as the Axis of Creation. It is for this purpose that I seek to merge all the worlds, and the people within them. Starting with you.”

Eria grit her teeth. It was always about Focuses and his master. She couldn’t understand any of it. All she knew was that Megiddo was an absolute hypocrite. “…Creation? You kill my family… and you expect me to believe this is about creation?”

“My understanding is that the Axis of Creation is not particularly interested in one random girl losing her family.”

Eria stomped towards Megiddo, but she simply walked through his form. She punched the air, but it missed. She punched again, only to miss again. Random, he called her. He didn’t care one bit who he was hurting. She felt so small, like an insect trying to reason with a dragon.

“…Anyway,” Megiddo continued. “If you’d let me finish. Yes, your world was doomed. I have no stake in how this war ends. I might enjoy seeing you destroy Omega, but if you could accomplish that, I would rather have your eyes on me rather than believing that you can just kill Omega and wish this all away like some bad dream. Your counterpart didn’t lose her home because of Distortions or anything like that. She lost everything, and she can’t just turn that back. I killed your parents and your teacher so you could understand exactly what it’s like to know true suffering. To see how deep that pain could cut. After that, I was hoping that you might finally start to think like the other Eria. The more alike your experiences and feelings are, walking the same paths regardless of the Distortions, the easier it’ll be for your minds to become one. But if you still think you can put everything back the way it was, I will not stop you. It all comes down to you… and her.” Bowing deeply enough that his entire torso was turned in a perfect right angle, Megiddo vanished.

Thunder boomed in the sky. The rain continued to pour. Eria reached out for where Megiddo was standing, but he was out of her reach. “…Guess it’s just you and me now.”

“Hm. Yes...” The other Eria muttered nonchalantly, squatting close to the muddy ground. “Yes. It’s just me now.”

Her eyes would occasionally drift off to that white castle in the distance, but mostly, her attention was fixated on a puddle directly in front of her. She raised her left hand, and then her right, and then gently touched her own face; as though to confirm what she was seeing. The face of a mature, blue-haired woman with red tattoos and faint scars; the corruption of the void was nowhere to be seen, yet that changed nothing. Void Eria was looking at herself, at her reflection.

“It’s… weird. I thought we looked exactly alike.” The dark counterpart continued, tilting her head slightly at the puddle. “I recognized you in a heartbeat. But that bitter soldier of dark－I can’t recognize it.”

“His name is Megiddo,” snapped Eria. “The entire reason we’re merged like this because that’s what he wanted me to do. I thought that I could… I’d hate to give him what he wants, but Protheus said something before. He has an affinity for water. Seems like that’s what makes you so dangerous. Hiita and Wynn gave him power over fire and wind, but it’s the other way around with you. I know our skill as a Water Charmer, and he gives you an advantage. Still… whenever you or I use our abilities to Charm creatures, or even people with the same affinity, there’s always a connection.”

Fire crackled as a few of the houses began to collapse. She looked around for loose tools, anything that she could use as a demonstration. At most, she found a demon whose hand rested on a chain with a blade at the end. Eria grabbed the chain, feeling rust and blood scraping her hands as the chain broke off from the blade. She held up one end of the chain, and showed it to Void Eria. “Like a chain. Protheus has just brushed off everything we throw at him. If I tried to Charm him, just by myself, it wouldn’t work. For all I know, he’d just cut that connection right away… or just turn it against me.”

”In other words…” Void Eria stood up after gaining an inkling of what was being implied. She calmly stepped through the puddle, and with her hands, grasped the other end of the chain. ”If you had someone on the other side, already connected to him… An insider. Then your team could bypass his defense. A Charm from both ends! How unusually strategic, considering you.”

Eria bit her lips. Even as she tried to rationalize the plan, it felt downright evil. Although her counterpart was genuinely impressed with the plan - even if that praise was backhanded - it was a kind of Charm that she never wanted to use. Lady Doriado would have disapproved of her manipulating anyone to such an end. Maybe she could forgive herself, putting aside her morals for the sake of defeating Protheus. But she had made her bed, and now she had to lie in it. “…That’s exactly right. And you have the Staff of Armadyl. I don’t really understand it myself, but I’ve seen what it can do.”

Another relic from what Ophelia had sent against them. Xansvita had used it to horrifying potential. Void Eria had only scratched the surface of that, but if this could work… “I need you, and I need that staff. I can’t expect to defeat Protheus without either of you.” She didn’t want to threaten her counterpart. She had made it this far, and she wasn’t exactly excited about the prospect of fighting and overpowering herself.

…In a situation like this, maintaining diplomacy worked as long as she had the upper hand. Offering a hand to her doppelganger, Eria took a deep breath. “Still think all I have is naive idealism?”

“You’re learning.” Void Eria responded, looking down at the hand in a momentary silence. For some reason, she seemed just a little familiar with this sort of scenario. ”I’m willing. To lend the divine staff, to grant a shortcut to victory. However… This is a negotiation. Remember you need me, far more than I need you. Nothing comes free, and always expect the opposition to raise a few conditions… Will you hear mine?”

Eria took another deep breath. She needed to keep herself steady.

 

~ the sixth station ~

“I’m listening.”

“Remember. Right now, I am your only chance at a possible win. There’s really no doubt that, without me, you’d all die by the Herald’s hand.” Void Eria ominously warned, before proceeding. Letting the chain drop to the soaked ground below, she started to walk, circling around the other Charmer. “I know how much that LIZARD must mean to you, and I can imagine how much the others might mean to you… More than that, I know you. All too well. Hence, this is my first condition: If any of your friends’ lives are threatened, we will not sacrifice ourselves for them.”

As Void Eria continued to walk around Eria, on Eria’s opposite side the raindrops had gathered to form a tall shape. It could’ve represented anyone. Sora? Gagagigo? Arthur? As she watched, the shape was struck down by a sudden spear of water, and exploded into droplets that splashed onto her.

“We, the Water Charmer, are too valuable. We have the best chance of beating him, the others can’t wield the Staff like we can, and more than that, you have come too far to be cut down now. I have seen… great idiots in war, who threw themselves into death’s embrace to save their comrades. But instead of saving them, all they did was make everything worse. I just can’t allow moral stupidity. What do you say?”

It was a difficult condition to accept. The entire point of defeating Protheus was that no one else would need to sacrifice themselves. She had no intention of dying, but she had been prepared for that possibility. She’d give anything to save any of her friends out there. Especially Gagagigo or Arthur. But there was no way her counterpart would sacrifice herself for Gagagigo. If she had the chance, she would happily leave him to do so. And who were any of the others to her, especially Arthur?

“I understand,” Eria said. She didn’t have to like it, but she at least understood.

Void Eria nodded. “This Origin War exists because of the Door. He’s fighting for it, you’re fighting for it, everyone is. Rumour has it that it can do anything. And we’re so close... If we all make it to the end, I want this to be worth what I had to go through. The Herald promised me something, and it’s not something I want to abandon, even with you. Hence, this is my second condition: Use the Door to ensure the War of Darkness never happened.”

As she started to glow, the normal Eria could hear the sounds of distant fighting in the distance; the clashing of metal and magic in a tragic war she’d only had glimpses of thus far. The rain was beginning to pour ever harder.

“Personally, I don’t fancy the idea of making ‘everything the way it was’, and I’d bet that’s what your allies are thinking of. It won’t help me, and hell, it might only be a matter of time for you... We have the chance to do so much, so let no one push the reset button. If it’s us who obtain ultimate power, we deserve this. I deserve this, and they who died for nothing deserve this. We deserve a little selfishness, a little Divinity… If you find yourself in that position, at least grant me this. What do you say?”

“Of course I’ll do that for you.” She agreed without thinking, but looking at it, she wasn’t sure if she could agree to that desire. If Eria had to choose her wish, it could be to make an all-encompassing wish. Broad enough to erase all the tragedies, including what both of them had suffered. The very possibility that she could even have that wish was what she held onto to stop herself from going insane and giving in like Megiddo would want. “I might as well tell you this, then. If I could wish for anything else, more than a reset button, I would wish to completely erase Megiddo altogether. Whatever he’s planning with that Axis of Creation he mentioned, I would want to stop that. However, the one thing I want to stand by going forward is that I don’t want to drag anyone else into my fight. If there’s a chance for me to simply get rid of Megiddo, I’ll take that. But if I can’t… no, even if I can do that, I’ll still use the Door to save your world from the war. I promise you that much.”

There was the faintest glimmer of a smile on Void Eria’s face - a glimmer gone all too quickly, leaving her with a satisfied, if cold expression. “Good. Let us both obtain what we wish.”

She looked back towards the castle of white. In her hands was the Staff of Armadyl. “Finally, we have a battle to win. Our enemy’s immortal and crafty, with terrible power I can’t begin to imagine. Hence, this is my final condition: Let’s kill Protheus Maximus for good.”

Her footsteps came to a stop, directly in front of Eria. Between them the body of the Herald of Darkness - composed of water - lay. It promptly broke apart, melting into a harmless puddle. “If we’re going to make it out of the Pathway to Remembrance at all, he needs to be out of the way. All he’ll do is terrorize everyone else the longer he lives, and our chances of reaching the Door grow slimmer the longer he stays alive. So no sparing his life. No overlooking any corners. We take the fight to him and we win. What do you say… me?”

This was exactly what Eria was hoping for. This wasn’t even a condition she would hesitate to accept. She was worried that the Void Eria would remain unfailingly loyal to Protheus, but she was willing to turn against even him. Granted, that was concerning in its own way, but she focused on the benefits. She wouldn’t be giving Megiddo what he wanted. This wasn’t her using some underhanded strategy through the other Eria to get at Protheus. This was an actual partnership.

“Of course,” Eria sighed in relief. “That’s exactly what I’ve wanted. And I know this may sound a little schmaltzy to you, but if we are going to work together, I’m sure we’ll win.”

“I’m glad. That you can actually see things my way.” Void Eria responded, with a little less sharpness in her tone than normal. “I suppose… I have somewhat more reason to trust you, than I do that dark god. Alright.”

She held out her hand.

“Shall we?”

---

~ Heart of Chaos~

 

Protheus had already knocked down Sora and MirageGaogamon. Now it was Arthur and Kairi trying to help a two-headed serpent against Protheus and his servant god. The only advantage they had was that Protheus seemed distracted by someone else, standing idly by the Lake. They looked familiar for some reason, but there was no time to think about it. The dark sorcerer was rising higher and higher into the air, charging up more and more energy, his attention captivated by something beyond the battlefield, something completely and utterly terrifying. What was he looking at?

That same nursery rhyme echoed behind them. ‘hickory dickory dock,’ it repeated over and over like clockwork. Looking for a source of the sound, Arthur watched as the sky itself seemed to be holding, before fading away into absolute nothingness. Trees fell one by one, as if a beast was rampaging towards them.

Then, Protheus uttered, in a harsh breath, a horrifying incantation.

“AKH”
“AMENTI”

“MAA-KHERU”

As darkness fell upon the lake, Arthur prepared to fight back with his Keyblade, but his legs would not move. He could not run. His bones felt like jelly, as if his entire body was being commanded to simply stay still, and watch.

Where Protheus hovered in the sky, his own form began to fade within a sphere of darkness, no different from what he had been reviving himself in.

“I, the Herald of Darkness, have elected to strip off this shell,” Protheus declared. “Yes. I shall reveal my soul, my true form... all for you, my baby ‘Isamy’.”

It couldn’t be her. Not now. Had Arthur made a mistake about the prophecy? Was it foretelling that Isamy had returned, or was she already back?

Protheus and Isamy were family. Together, this entire war was their own doing. The only way Arthur could be certain that he and everyone else could survive this was be stopping both of them. And yet, Protheus seemed all too happy to destroy his own daughter.

At Protheus’ command, his spell unleashed an unimaginable wave of darkness, concentrated entirely on Isamy. Before anyone could start to run, Isamy took the darkness head on. But just as soon as she made contact with it, but her, the darkness, and even Protheus himself, had all suddenly

blinked
out
of
existence.

Protheus was no doubt still recovering in that orb of darkness. Arthur couldn’t sympathize with Isamy. He didn’t mourn her, not one bit. Even still, he had made the choice to join her Divine. She had sought him out. There was a part of him, something that he wanted to knock some sense into, that still felt angry to see her die as quickly as she had returned.

“How could you do that to her?” Arthur screamed at the darkness. “She was your own daughter!”

The orb slowly descended towards the field of snow, at first utterly silent, providing no response whatsoever. The regenerative process was taking longer than usual for some reason, as though it had actually drained him a little. Whatever he did, maybe it wasn’t something he could just spam. As the orb drew closer and closer to the ground, the familiar voice of the Herald of Darkness could be heard booming from within, “I don’t care. ‘Isamy Maximus’ was a paradox… and I have corrected it.”

Cracks formed in the shell, spreading all over until it burst to reveal a fully-formed Protheus Maximus. He was grinning with pride - there was no regret, only a sense of egotistical accomplishment, of infatuation at just how amazing he was. Satisfied at being able to show off his full power, against the troublesome person in this whole war, and in the face of these annoyingly stubborn mongrels.

“After all,” his arms were reached outwards to the heavens, “there can only be ONE. And how can I ever have a successor if I am never to die?”

The expression on Protheus’s face made his insanity more obvious than ever before, his body twitching in delight, his eyes wide and delirious. The Herald of Darkness looked down at the insects, at Arthur Ancyl. “More importantly. Tell me, boy...how does it feel to see true power? To understand just how impossible this fight is?”

Where the forest once was, there was now a rainbow abyss that stretched on forever. Most of the Lake of Remembrance had been consumed by a scarily massive force, by whatever Isamy had become, and Protheus had crushed that like it was nothing.

Behind Protheus’s floating figure, the Lake was raging mercilessly as the Twilight One let out sky-piercing screeches; lasers of black and white were crashing down from the skies like thunder, assailing the waters, cornering the smaller Leviathans wherever they went. The god was clearly weakened, yet still so powerful. From their every exchange, it was clear who was superior. And to think that god served Protheus so loyally... The power under his arsenal was on an entirely different scale.

Arthur cast a Cure spell on himself and readied himself for Protheus’ next attack. Even now, he refused to believe the battle was impossible. Even if the two-headed serpent was on their side, and could fight the Twilight One, there was still no guarantee he could win this battle. But it wasn’t impossible.

“…You know you’re going to die,” Arthur said. “That’s the entire reason you want the Door, right? Chardonnay called you ‘Judgment’, and it’s only because you’re not the real Herald of Darkness. It’s not that you’ll never have a successor because you’ll never die. You’re supposed to die because you already have one: Isamy. When she asked me to join the Divine, all I wanted was a world without gods. Because I thought my father abandoned me with strangers. Tossed me aside until the people who were my parents in every way that mattered were killed in front of me just because I-” Arthur clutched his chest. He could still feel his heart arching. Being so close to the lake, talking about that memory made him tremble as he had done so many years ago. “Because I all I ever do is keep running. I thought I could just use the Door to get rid of my father because there was no way I was going to just… sit down and talk with him. A lot’s happened over these past few days, and I still don’t think I really am ready to talk with him. So you can call it daddy issues, but I think that’s exactly why I’m here to stop you. We’re both cowards, running away from the one thing we can’t face. The only difference is that I’m not going to take the easy way out like you. I’m not going to drag everyone else into Hell with me… but I’ll be sure to save a seat for you.”

Arthur ran to the right, casting a Reflect spell on impulse as Sora and Kairi both cast magic spells at Protheus, who simply shook his head. Protheus swatted away the spells without even looking, easily overcoming their mana control. As far as he was concerned, the Keybladers were nothing now. With the muttering of ”Set”, triplet lasers of darkness fired from around him, aiming for the three Keybladers yet again. He pointed his left hand at Arthur, and the boy could feel the mana in his Reflect being wrestled away. The more time passed, the easier it was becoming for Protheus to gain control over their attacks, it seemed - and the more dangerous it became to engage him at all.

Both heads of the Leviathan gestalt fired beams of ice, each one heading towards one of the Twilight One’s wings. MirageGaogamon threw the sickle end of his kusarigama towards the Twilight One, hoping ensnare the Twilight One with it. Given the sheer size of the black phoenix, it would be impossible for him to force it down to the ground, but he could at least attempt to keep it in place long enough for the Leviathan to focus whatever brute strength it could possibly muster.

The Twilight One’s eyes were focused entirely on the strange Leviathan that had materialized. Its world had been torn asunder by that materialization of the Egyptian Pantheon, its many bodies had been torn apart by that utter ridiculousness, and still it emerged victorious. There shouldn’t be anything left to stand in its way, and yet this feral, agile creature was proving to be a troublesome blasphemer. The phoenix opened its beak, about to let out a screech when it felt a tiny pin stab into its belly. Had one of the tiny mortals actually attacked it? Even though the move had done no damage whatsoever, and the force pulling its massive form down did nothing, it felt distracted by the sheer audacity. Distracted long enough for the beams to draw close.

When the god realized the Leviathan had attacked, it hardened its wings to steel as fast as it could. Small traces of the beam managed to break through, and shards of ice stabbed into its black flesh. Its crimson eyes flashed with anger. These mortals, these creatures, how dare they land their attacks upon it! How dare they defy it so! It shook its wings in a vain attempt to remove the shards, before giving up and opting for a different option.

The Twilight One curled into a ball, and ruthlessly dived down from the sky. With the titanic force of a meteor, it slammed itself directly into the Leviathan, launching the beast straight into the Lake beneath them. As it crashed, much of the Lake’s water splashed all around the, creating waves upon waves. The Keyblade wielders all cast Blizzard spells, freezing some of the incoming water in walls of ice just large enough to shield them, parting some of the Lake’s water past them.

MirageGaogamon still held on to the Twilight One. He had distracted it, but he wouldn’t be so lucky again. Drawing out his weapon from the phoenix’s leg, he continued to fly behind the phoenix. As small as even he was compared to it, that was perhaps something he could use to his advantage. He flew from side to side, pouring his energy into his kusarigama until he could reach the Twilight One’s head, just as long it wouldn’t turn to face him before then. Now he was the one who needed the distraction.

The Twilight One remained unaware of the bug climbing it, feeling the tiniest of sensations but otherwise occupied with its submerged enemy; high above, the clouds were beginning to generate divine energy, prepared to shoot more lasers into the Lake to finish it off for good… Then. The god’s left eye suddenly moved as it saw a fly enter its vision. Locking onto the fly’s position, the Twilight One’s left eye traced his flight as he made his way towards its head. The creature was peculiar in that he lacked the life energy that most mortals possessed, yet was still in some sense alive. What a confusing being. Once it was done with him, there would surely be no room for him in any afterlife.

YOU DARE APPROACH US? A divine voice ruptured through MirageGaogamon’s mind as he drew close. And as the lightning in the sky continued to charge, about a hundred flock of feathers detached from the Twilight One’s head, turned to arrows of steel, and fired at the incoming Digimon.

---

Ragnarok fell limp into the Lake, putting up little to no attempt of pushing back against the Twilight One. This should have been a mindless beast, bent solely on destroying the Twilight One completely. Something that Eria could do to still fight even as she tried to reason with her counterpart within the beast.

If anything, that the two Erias had even reached any sort of deal was a miracle unto itself. Even still, she could feel a small movement in the Lake. There was something coming towards her.

Arthur hadn’t hesitated to dive headfirst into the Lake, but as soon as he did, he could feel himself back onboard the Locomon once more. The walls of the train car seemed to flicker in and out around him. No longer was he swimming through the lake, but rather the train itself was being flooded. Only by take chance looks outside the train could be vaguely see the Leviathan.

“You’re sure this is the right idea?” Beside Arthur, he could see Ytridens lying on his back, doing a backstroke. His body was as transparent as the water, and no matter how fast Arthur would swim, Ytidens seemed to keep the same pace. “You know, I seem to remember drowning. Do you remember that, Arthur? Of course you wouldn’t. You left me to die like this. At the time, I would have chalked it up to how no one trusts me, that’s not a ‘me’ problem. That’s your problem.”

“Shut up!” Arthur gasped, slowing down for a moment as he approached the scaled body lying in the lake.

“All that bravado about not dragging others down with you, when really, this all happened because you were stupid and thought that merging with the Demon Lords was a good idea!” Ytidens jumped on top of Arthur, weighing him down. Even if Ytidens looked like a ghost, his body still felt all too real. And heavy. “I was better at it, after all. Really, I did almost have it under control. You still hate me anyway, years after I’ve been dead. So I wonder, what if I had merged with all the Demon Lords? I would have been perfect, and you would be free. You could have gone home without their remnants lingering in your soul. Your parents could still be alive.”

Arthur kicked against Ytidens, but his legs phased through the wraith. He was just kicking water.
Then came three more pairs of arms. Once more he saw the beasts that had been formed from Wynn, Hiita, and Aussa. They merely hissed and snarled, but they didn’t need to speak for him to know why they were here. Why was he risking himself for Eria? Even if she had already forgiven him for when he had enslaved these three, caring for him in spite of all that, he still refused to forgive himself.

“I’m sorry,” he told them. “I’m sorry for what I-” Locomon tipped, and the water pulled him down. He kept swimming, but more bodies began to climb on top of him, more people than he could care to look at, all of them trying to drag him deeper and deeper into the lake.

This couldn’t be the end. Some of the bodies fell away as he drew his Keyblade, but the water itself began to weigh heavier and heavier on him. Even still, he wanted to reach for Eria. That beast had to be her. And yet, he couldn’t call her name without letting the water full his lungs. So he kept swimming, and kept struggling, desperate to reach the surface.

 

***

 

Eria tried to move her body, but it felt so unlike her own. Where she tried to move her arms, two serpentine heads wrangled through the lake instead. “Arthur…” Eria was holding her counterpart’s hand. “After this, I don’t know if I’ll be myself anymore. I have to defeat Protheus, so I…” She had to remember her promise. Even if Arthur was in danger, she couldn’t go out of her way to save him. She had to defeat Protheus, but before that, she had to finish the Twilight One.

Ragnarok was rising from the Lake, but its body sank all over again, its heads slamming the waterbank once again. Its heads began to slink back, barely making a sound. Arthur was drowning. Eria had to save him. Eria had to defeat Protheus and the Twilight One. She had to save him. She had to win. She had to-

Interrupting her indecision, Eria saw a golden silhouette reaching a hand out to her. “Eria,” the voice said. “Slifer and Ra sacrificed themselves so that you could win. Wynn, Hiita, and Aussa, their spirits still carried on just long to help summon Me here. You cannot let that all be for nothing. Destroy the Twilight One.”

Eria took the figure’s hand. “But I… who are you? Why does it have to be me?”

The light shimmered until Eria could see nothing else, save for her own hand. “I am the Sun that will shine upon your tomorrow. You know Me as Horakhty. With the final blessing I can offer you in this realm, I will only say that you cannot win alone. In truth, it is the bonds you have forged which shall carry you through this day.”

Just then, both of Ragnarok’s heads immediately lurched back up, focusing on the Twilight One. Snow twisted and rose around them all, and as MirageGaogamon was hurled to the ground the Twilight One’s assault, some of its steel feathers simply stopped in midair. Once more MirageGaogamon had given them an opening. As painful as it was to see him hurt, it was enough.

The air around the Twilight One began to grow cold as snow was gathering all around the dark phoenix, and in a flash of light, the snow had completely solidified into a colossal prison of ice, completely trapping the entire form of the Twilight One.

Once more, Ragnarok shot twin beams of ice, which spiraled and converged, into the pierced through the sphere, and into the heart of the Twilight One.

As Horakhty’s blessing began to fade, Ragnarok took one last fall into the lake. She was ready to shed this body. If there had to be one more sacrifice, it could be her. After all, she would still be alive, in a way.

Arthur had shaken off almost everybody but Ytidens. One final Aero spell pushed him away, but Arthur was still trying to get to the surface. Above him, he could see the Leviathan falling on top of him. If this was what his vision was showing him, of the Leviathan falling on top of him instead of devouring him, it was almost too sad to be foreboding.

Eria turned Ragnarok’s body as best as she could. Looking down at herself, at her human body inside this beast, she could see her feet begin to change. They were disintegrating below her, and all she could feel feel was a begrudging acceptance. Her counterpart was disintegrating in much the same way. The new person they were about to become was being born. She could scream, but she knew it was too late to turn back now.

Arthur had reached the surface. Even if Eria could somehow hear him, his voice was still too weak. “Eria, please come back. We need you. I need you. I…”

Before Ragnarok could crash, ice began to form along its body. It still tried to move in its freefall, but the ice - no, crystal - simply would not let it. Its twin heads curled and twisted together as its entire body shrank. Arthur was calling for Eria, she was sure of it.

How could it even have happened that Eria the Water Charmer had fallen in love with a demigod? How could she have been fortunate to finally find Gagagigo once again? She would have never imagined anything known as a Keyblade, and yet Kairi had granted one all the same. Whether it was Dorian, Erebos, Kozaky, Isamy, Protheus, or Megiddo, she had joined the Counter Corps to save the entire multiverse. And save it she would.

Whoever she would become, it would still be her. There wouldn’t be anyone else. She and her fellow Eria would live. Neither of them would be a memory. They wouldn’t pieces of a larger whole. In the end, they would always be themselves. Just… a little bit different.

Why had Arthur thought about swimming for her? It was so recklessly stupid, to throw himself on the line for her when he had no way of knowing what he could possibly do to help her. And yet… that was what was so great about him. No one should be able to change so much in so little time, but he had left the Divine, followed MirageGaogamon, destroyed the Madara, inherited a Keyblade as well, all to end this war.

And yet, in this moment, all he could care about was saving her. She only wished she could thank him while she still had the chance. Before she would be different.

 

 

"Arthur... I love you."

With nothing more she could say, the girl who had once been known as “Eria the Water Charmer” ceased to exist.

 

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round.

The team was scattered and it was starting to look bleak but they felt they had to at least keep going. Dorian took flight and was about to re-engage with the turnt Shinigami. But at that moment it looked like the Shinigami who was on their side got through and was prepared to engage. Dorian figured this would be an even battle...right? What could go wrong? But reality is a much more cruel mistress. It seemed that this was definitely some kind of mismatch. Kenpachi was losing and losing badly. Dorian looked on as Byakuya unleashed another form of his bankai.
 

Why do these things have stages? Dorian thought as he managed to hover at the top of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Senkei. When Kenpachi was fatally struck with the three blades Dorian just racked his brain on the appropriate action. Unfortunately, he took too long and it seemed as if some of Kenpachi's comrades had come to the rescue. 

I should definitely be doing something. I mean this is why I have powers. He said as he watched Byakuya handle the others. Or...maybe...just maybe we let Butler handle this one. He looked on as Yachiru and Ken were beaten so severely and they began to sink into the ice. He thumped his chest and shook his head. This fear was unbecoming of the great Dorian von Schroeder! This was not how he was going to go out! The simple fact that Byakuya had forgotten Dorian was his initial opponent  should've been more than enough to earn Dorian's fury. Dorian began to roar his Cosmos in  attempts to get Byakuya's attention, but that was quickly proven to not be necessary. 

As the tower of unimaginable power emerged from the ice Dorian was literally speechless as it looked like another person had achieved Bankai. The simple space between them was visibly quaking. It was unnerving looking at the new monster that Kenpachi had become. Dorian realized that this must've been what Yachiru and Butlerok meant about her being special to Kenpachi. She was his sword manifested. 

To think he had all of this power walking right besides him.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Butlerok was more than taken aback by Hollow Isamy's ability to tag out into a new body. That wouldn't have been so bad, but in addition to that she was able to force back all of his Black Blood that he had so carefully tried to trap her with. It is good when the prey is able to fight back against the predator. Though in this case Butlerok and the others might be the prey in this case. Butlerok took a back seat however and marvelled at the combined efforts of the others and their coordinated attacks. Even that short warrior that fought alongside Rhadamanthus participated and it seemed that she was able to deal a fatal blow to Icy Hollow. 

Unfortunately, that Icy burst managed to do more harm than good. The final boss before him let out a couple of nightmarish shrieks that sent him reeling and falling into the frozen lake. This wasn't the worst but this was starting to get taxing. This seemed like this battle was almost insurmountable. It was then Butlerok saw a horrid sight floating next to him in the depths. It was Kenpachi's floating corpse...well it looked like a corpse anyway...sinking right next to him. 

It seems that everyone is taking a beating in this fight he said in his mind palace. At that moment a hand came on his shoulder and he felt a warmth fill his entire being. Genryuusai was right there behind the Kishin. 

I thought you learned this already. It was at this moment Yachiru started to fade away. Never underestimate one of my Captains. 

 

Even though it was faint and much too far for Butlerok to actually hear it was like he actually felt the presence of Kenpachi saying the word "Bankai." This was one of the few times in Butlerok's life that he was genuinely shocked. He had even eaten Kenpachi before and he did not know this was what he left behind by not eating Yachiru. The flood of conflicting emotions that swelled within him right now was taking over, but most notably he was excited. Sinking beneath the depths in the lake that was slowly freezing over and his memories slowly leaving. He felt alive! Kenpachi's savage and untamed power was something that must be eaten. He must feast on it! 

But first! 

 

But first! 

 

BUT FIRST! 

We have to clear the rabble out of the way. Butler thought as in the outside world if one would see the manifestation of five spheres representing his souls becoming one through screech resonance. Unfortunate for Isamy water happens to be a better conduit for the soul wavelength than air is so the screams of Ragnarok resonated all throughout the frozen lake. While she was making her domes spires of Black Blood shot up from beneath the ice and clinged to the domes like vines to a water source or nerve ending to eyeballs. From a top of one of the domes. Butlerok emerged from the top of one of the domes and he stared to the blankness of the sky. 

Well since everyone is doing it. Ban...kai! 

 

All of the Black Blood in the center of the lake lit into a raging inferno that was the result of  Captain Genryuusai's bankai. Zanka no Tachi; Nishi: Zanjitsu Gokui He said eerily calm everything in that vicinity was let ablaze. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Urgh!"

 

The Drain that Bel used on Isamy ended up backfiring. The sort of energy that was being absorbed ended up being something too overwhelming for this humanoid body vessel. Bel ended up having to cut the spell short before he would pop from it, but even so the spell ended up taking a major toll on his body. It was at that time that Isamy launched an icicle at his direction, aimed at his COMP. Culebre could have blocked it for him, but Bel had other thing in his mind. He pushed the COMP aside, and had the icicle drove itself through him directly instead. The pain caused by it was invigorating, it was warm. Some of his lifeforce returned as the ice dissolved on his body.

 

Still, the botched attempt on Drain had caused his mana reserve to disappear into nothing. Bel acknowledged the fact that he was going to be absent from the fight for a while to recover his reserves again. With a grumble, Bel had Culebre fly up high into the sky, just as a cold wave of nostalgia hit his brain.

 

[T U R N B A C K]

 

By the time Bel looked downwards, the lake were already covered by a dome of ice, and he had lost contact with Amaterasu. His escape was narrow this time.

 

---

 

"The hell is up with this?"
 

Short-hair didn't even get much chance to celebrate after her sword managed to cut through Isamy's mask cleanly. Right now, the lake was starting to get covered by an ice dome, and another ice dome formed almost immediately after from Isamy's side. It was quick to push her away, who was so close from Isamy's position at that time. She attempted to summon stone pillars from the ground to halt it, but the advance was unstoppable by such a paltry method.

 

In the end, she found herself being crushed by the two ice dorms. Her Celestial physiology allowed her to remain in her position for long, holding on while her body were being grinded, but even so she could feel that her insides started to break apart after so much exertion from such force. The Sword of Hisou were shining brightly at this time.

 

In the end, Short-hair decided to close her eyes, and entrusted her fate to the one whose heart became one with that sword.

 

---

 

"Ah. May I ask something? What are you feeling right now, right here?"

"...Eh? That's unusual, comin from ya. Never thought you're the type to care for what people think."

 

"You know that you are going to fade away soon. But you're acting as if nothing will happen. As careless as always..."

 

"Why should I worry about it? I ran on borrowed time already. If it's not for you, I wouldn't have been able to fight for this one last time in the first place."

"But you'll disappear! Nothing about you will remain in this world soon."

 

"So? You'll still remember me. You'll remember my greatness, my deeds, my ideals. You can see that when I disappear, I fought for what is right. Fighting wholesale for the sake of my own world, and for everyone else too. Guess I'm still just pretty selfish with it, but that's a proud way to end things, ya know?"

 

"I see." The ego of the nameless girl took form once again. Staring at the girl before her, the nameless girl let out a smile as she watched the short-haired girl before her gradually disappearing. She was right. As long as she, the nameless girl, survived, the short-haired girl would still live on even if her world didn't manage to get restored at the end of this. It's the same for everyone. It's the same for Tenshi herself.

"It's been real fun fighting on your side. You're a real creep, but that's not all that bad compared to meself."

 

"And it has been an honor fighting alongside you too.

 

Thank you, for letting everyone else find peace. And thank you for letting Tenshi have her peace."

 

---

 

A phoenix emerged from its ashes.

 

A sphere of flames covered the localized area of the ice that used to grind on the blue-haired girl's body, and once it dissipated, it revealed the nameless girl in the midst of it, having been reborn back into this world. The first thought that came across her mind was to burn down the entirety of the ice dome surrounding the lake...but in the end she was too slow in doing so. A powerful, uncontrollable force destroyed the ice dome without breaking out a sweat. In a separate position, Butlerok caused an inferno to be localized around him. Both were a display of power that was way beyond what the nameless girl could achieve by herself.

 

There goes her chance of doing an impressive reentry.

 

Well, at the very least, she would still have to do something. Uttering one word, copies of the Sword of Hisou manifested near her, lining up as if they were missles that were ready to fire. It was then that she picked up the flowing temperaments coming out of Isamy, perhaps out of the attack that the Short-hair did earlier. Coupled with the emotions of those that remained in this fight, it should be enough to power an onslaught.

 

"Gather."

 

The nameless girl pointed her arm upwards. The free-flowing temperaments on the battlefield easily gathered up above her. She focused her mind on it a little bit, and imprinting her elemental affinity into the energy, the temperaments burst into flames. Isamy was in the range for a clear shot from her now.

 

With one word, the area right above the nameless girl became a display from hell itself.

 

 

"Firestorm!"

 

A continuous series of flame pillars made out of lifeforce descended from the sky and threatened to burn down everything in the localized area around Isamy. The energy that the nameless girl was using was plentiful enough to make her onslaught to have a devastating potential, but in raw power, it still wouldn't compare to what the shinigami and Butlerok currently utilized. Even if she was capable of using focus fire with her pillars, it still wouldn't outdamage them.

 

And so, the option for her was to accept that fact and use the firestorm as a diversion. The swords that she had summoned hovered around her, readying themselves for a more focused assault on Isamy.

 

"Since you've entrusted everything to me, it's fine if I get your former boss to follow you too, right?

 

Well, it's not really an option. Both of you deserved some rest already."

 

---

[The Warden]

--Pathway of Remembrance--

 

"We’re both cowards, running away from the one thing we can’t face. The only difference is that I’m not going to take the easy way out like you. I’m not going to drag everyone else into Hell with me… but I’ll be sure to save a seat for you.”

 

"Oooo, burn!"

 

From around the waning cover of the Pathway of Remembrance, a figure, a familiar figure, in a black robe and cowl observed the ongoing battle, with immense boredom. "Friggin' hell these people enjoy their talking don't they?" he grumbled aloud, his robe billowing in the cold air. "I mean seriously, they're taking so long to axe this bastard I'm about to go over there and do it myself if this keeps up" he added while observing the sphere of ice engulf the Twilight One.

 

Tilting his head, the figure became aware of ice acting from the inside, spearing the ghastly bird once and for all. "Finally," he sighed, "I was honestly sick of that damn egotistical bird running its mouth off all the time. Freaking "God"? Yeah buddy, which one? There's infinite more gods just like you knocking around the place" they commented while checking on a boombox at their feet, to make sure it was operating right even in this cold. "Soon Judgment, soon" the figure mused, a tarot card representing Judgment floating by them.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"This has become quite a spectacle of excesses."

 

Reimu dodged as much of the flurry of attacks, both from Isamy's side and from her allies' side, trying her best to minimize the use of her phasing ability in the meantime. Several attacks had been fired at Isamy in the meantime, but Reimu herself was unsure yet about what method would be best to do now. Taking in the dark orb more and more wouldn't magically give her the ability to fire something as powerful as the others were firing now after all, and when it came to Isamy, precision anti-personnel attack would not do.

 

And so, for the time being, Reimu floated around, formulating what she should do next.

 

---

 

"Koishi...? Tell me, where are you now?"

 

Away from the chaos of the battle against Isamy, a pink haired girl explored the vast emptiness that was the snow field in hope of finding her sister. Satori continued to call out for her, but no answers had been heard so far. Even if the chaotic battle behind her would probably drown her voice anyway, she continued to call out. There were still no signal of her mind, and there were still no conspicuously blank spot where she would have been either. Satori gradually lost her hope, but she pushed forward regardless.

 

"I could have rushed to her side early on. I could've watched over her ever since she lost Yukari. She certainly needed my help. She couldn't handle it all by herself. If only I did all that rather than trampling on her memories for my own gain..."

 

Satori continued her search while mumbling to herself. After so long being stuck in her eye form, she struggled to properly walk through the deep snow. She hoped that the snow hadn't piled on top of Koishi yet. That would have made the search even harder. Even then, she was willing to use Recollection to burn the entire area down if the situation called for it. All for Koishi, everything for her sake...

 

Ever since you appeared before me in Remembrance, I was always so happy, sis.

 

"Ko...koishi, is that you?"

 

A voice spoke inside of Satori's mind. It was soft and barely noticeable, but it was so familiar to her. Satori increased her search effort in response, summoning her tentacles to clear the way for herself. Koishi should be nearby. Satori said so to herself. Koishi was definitely still alive. That thought filled her with joy. They would finally reunite with each other again soon.

 

I was so glad that you were there to pull me back from the brink in all those times.

I know that if it is with you, I can always find happiness.

 

"Please, Koishi! Tell me where you are! I promise you, we will stick together, from now until forever if you wished to!"

 

But...

 

That happiness disappeared soon. I know one thing that you don't, sis. You are never really my sister in the first place.

My sister is Satori Komeiji, the only satori remaining on Earth that took me to her care.

 

"...Koishi?"

 

You are not her.

 

Satori froze where she stood. As the voice in her mind continued, her tentacles had uncovered something. The snow here had been drenched in a faded crimson color. Blood that had long since rusted. Gradually, Satori uncovered what was on the pile of snow.

 

You are nothing but empty wishes given form. A recollection of fond memories of the past, a hollow husk in the shape of my sister.

 

You terrify me.

 

Before Satori's eyes, a mess of flesh turned inside out presented itself. Organs and guts strewn around, little hint of torn clothing articles here and there, and a detached, purple eye, still open but staring into nothingness as it had frozen. There were no movements coming from the pile of flesh. There was nothing there aside from just a mess of flesh.

 

The eye then turned itself to face Satori.

 

I don't want you here. Please disappear. You have stayed way past your welcome, my memory.

 

[Dad]

Impossible Odds

 

Kratos stood on the edge of the now dried lake, in awe.  He was suddenly crippled by... whatever it was Kenpachi had become.  There was a force weighing down on him like he had never felt before.  At this moment in time, even Zeus paled in comparison to the monster that stood at the center of that lake.  Physically, Kratos could move only his eyes.  Every muscle in his body was being weighed down by the gravitational force of Kenpachi's presence, despite the distance between them.

 

And then, Kratos realized something.  The many enormous swords made of flower petals had dissipated.  They were gone.  But how?

 

 

Force of Will

 

Byakuya's Bankai had been blown away.  Much to his chagrin, only Lady Isamy could possibly have had such power as this.  Who did this peasant think he was?  How dare he stand before Lady Isamy with such audacity!  

 

"This strength will not find you glory!" he taunted from atop Lady Isamy's shoulder.  He was far out of reach of the enemy now.  "You see only the present!  You do not see your future!  Your future in the arms of the Queen!"

 

There was a sudden snap behind Byakuya and he could feel a weight falling behind him.  The chain which bound him to Lady Isamy had been cut.  Byakuya stared down over his shoulder at the broken chain thinking it impossible for it to ever be broken.  He turned back to face Kenpachi whose weapon was raised over his shoulder.  It was but moments later that Byakuya's right arm was severed from his body without a sign of further movement from Kenpachi.  It fell to the lake below with a flop, and Byakuya grew outraged.

 

"Heathen!" Byakuya hissed.

 

 

Second Chances

 

...

...

...

 

"Kenny?" Yachiru whispered in the white void.

 

"Hmm?" Kenpachi asked slowly walking side by side with her.

 

"Do you ever think about what could have been?" she asked innocently.

 

Kenpachi shrugged, his giant feet echoing in the nothingness.  "Not really.  I only think about now.  What I can do at this moment."

 

Yachiru giggled.  "You never think about the future?  Even once in a while."

 

Kenpachi shook his head.  "Nope.  What will happen, will happen.  I just take it as it comes."

 

Yachiru leaped and punched him square in the back of the head.  "Idiot!  You can't get a wife like that!"

 

Kenpachi rubbed his skull, laughing.  "You're right!" he said loudly.  "I need someone to help me adopt you!"

 

Yachiru stopped in her tracks.  Kenpachi kept walking, but Yachiru remained in place.  "...really?"

 

Kenpachi looked back, a big smile on his face.  "I don't say things I don't mean, Yachiru."

 

She ran forward and leaped into his arms, laughing all the while.  "Yeah!  I've always wanted a mom!  But, will that make you my father or my brother?"  

 

Kenpachi laughed loudly.  "That would make me your father.  Sorta.  I've always thought of you as my own.  My best friend.  To have you as my little girl.  That would be enough for me for all of eternity.  I don't need anything else."

 

Yachiru hugged Kenpachi tightly.  "You won't let anyone take me away, right?" Yachiru asked, holding onto her best friend.

 

Kenpachi looked down into Yachiru's face.  She felt incredibly light.  Her body was like a feather.  "Yachiru?"

 

She was smiling, but her face was swelling with tears.  "I'm sorry, Kenny," she said with her voice breaking.  "It was the only way."

 

Her body, from her feet and climbing, was slowly crumbling, turning into particles of light.  "Yachiru!?"

 

"You can do it, Kenny.  I believe in you," she said with a big smile.

 

"Yachiru!  Yachiru, what's happening!?" Kenpachi barked.

 

"I'm moving on, Kenny.  To the next world.  Where I can watch over you.  And where we'll never be apart again," she replied.

 

"No.  No!  I won't accept this!" he screamed.

 

"Kenny, you idiot," she giggled through her tears.  "It was always going to be like this.  But now," she said as she tapped his forehead with her index finger.  "There is no foe you can't overcome."

 

"...Yachiru," he whispered to his now empty hands.  "YACHIRU!!"

 

 

Red Cold River

 

Red Cold River

 

Kenpachi's breath met the heat emerging from his body and turned into fog.  As he turned his head to Byakuya, he could hear nothing, but he could feel everything.  The words from Byakuya's lips were poisonous.  He could feel the evil laced in every letter.  Kenpachi flicked his wrist at Byakuya and felt his enemy's heartbeat skip as he did so.  The soul binding chain was cut with no effort.  In the same instance, Byakuya's arm was removed.

 

Without being bound to restraints, Byakuya was now free to use his full power.  He dove at Kenpachi as his weapon slipped from his hands and into the ground below, vanishing beneath the dirt as though it were a puddle of water.  "Bankai!" Byakuya declared once more.

 

Senbonzakura's swords emerged from the ground once again, surrounding Kenpachi on all sides. "Senkei!" Byakuya then outstretched his one remaining arm and commanded his Zanpaktou to collapse atop Kenpachi all at once.  "Gōkei!"

 

The already impossible number of petals which made up Byakuya's Bankai appeared to expand by more than ten times as the blades shattered into innumerable smaller blades.  There was no blindspot with which Byakuya left as his Senbonzakura closed in around Kenpachi.  And with a burst of light and dust, Senbonzakura exploded upon touching Kenpachi.  A plume of petals erupted into the sky as Byakuya touched down on the ground.

 

"See the works of my queen, and they are good!" he screamed at what he assumed to be a deceased Kenpachi once more.

 

"All her works will bring blessings to this world!  To your world!  To my world!  To every worl--aagh!" Byakuya's words were cut short as a hand burst forth from Senbonzakura's petals and wrapped tightly around his throat.  Slowly, Kenpachi pushed out of Senbonzakura's petals, unscathed.  As he did, Byakuya was pushed backward onto his knees.  Byakuya was then released, dizzied and temporarily dazed.  Kenpachi then raised his free hand and balled a fist.  He brought down a mighty punch atop the back of Byakuya's head.  His body hit the ground with such force that the bedrock beneath the dirt cracked.

 

Kenpachi raised Byakuya's head, his enemy's face bloodied and bruised.  Somehow, Byakuya was still alive.

 

"You..." Byakuya hissed.  "You cannot defy... her... majesty!" Byakuya said as he pointed a finger into Kenpachi's forehead.  "Byakurai," he whispered.

 

A bolt of lightning pierced Kenpachi's skull and flew across the battlefield.  Byakuya felt Kenpachi's grip weaken, and he was dropped to the ground.  Kenpachi's head had been thrown backward as though he were staring at the sky.  However, he raised his head once more and stared back down at Byakuya.  The wound in his skull was healing rapidly, inexplicably.  Byakuya slowly stood to his feet and began to backpedal.  But he was unable to step away quickly enough.  He was met with a vicious kick from Kenpachi that caused him to fly with impossible force into the side of the lake.  The resulting impact caused the lakes shore to expand with a violent shockwave, widening it by several dozen meters.  

 

Kenpachi stepped slowly toward Byakuya, who, once more, miraculously lived.  Where Byakuya stood, a bright light began to form.  It expanded to the sky with a brilliant pink flare.  However, its flare soon died as its pink color turned black, much like the light that appeared when Kenpachi emerged from the frozen lake.  "Shūkei: Hakuteiken," Byakuya declared.  A black sword, some six meters long, took the place of Byakuya's Bankai, and black wings sprouted from his back.  With Isamy's corruption still flowing deep in his veins, there was no trace of Byakuya's own power left.  

 

Kenpachi raised his left hand with his weapon readied, and Byakuya appeared several feet in front of him, his face twisted and contorted from the damage he had taken.  Byakuya brought his own weapon down and Kenpachi met it with Nozarashi.  The clash of their blades sent a deafening ring over the entirety of the battlefield, temporarily deafening most of those who heard it.  What ground remained outside of the lake exploded violently, quaking at the force of their combined attacks.

 

With each of Byakuya's swings, Kenpachi parried the blow.  Every parry dug them both further and further beneath into bedrock, their swordsmanship on par.  The difference between them now was only power.

 

Sheer.

 

Unimaginable.

 

Raw.

 

Power.

 

Byakuya intended to end this battle in a single blow.  With a fake strike, he used both hands to bring his blade down atop Kenpachi.  Kenpachi saw this and lowered his guard, failing to parry the blow.

 

Instead, Byakuya vanished, maintaining his momentum, and completing his strike as he appeared behind Kenpachi in an instant.  It was at that moment that Byakuya began to become human again.  For in this attack, he could now feel fear.  As his weapon had come down upon Kenpachi, with all of its combined power, Kenpachi caught it with a single hand.  Byakuya attempted to pull away, but Kenpachi's grip was unbreakable.

 

The giant turned around to look Byakuya in the face.  As he did so, Kenpachi crushed Senbonzakura in his hands, rendering Byakuya's weapon useless without effort.

 

The hilt of Byakuya's weapon clattered to the ground as he was once more lifted into the air by Kenpachi's hand.  Kenpachi's eyes narrowed as he stared into Byakuya's own.  His only friends were gone.  He had nothing else to lose.  Kenpachi let loose a scream that completely deafened Byakuya and left his garments in tatters.

 

Kenpachi dug his weapon into the ground and drew back his now free hand.  With a punch to Byakuya's stomach, the Soul Reaper's lower torso violently exploded into dust, leaving his spine visible beneath his robes.  Kenpachi dropped Byakuya, who began to scramble away with his one arm.

 

"My Queen!  LADY ISAMY!  HELP M--!" Byakuya was silenced as he was punted into the air, and the air left his lungs.  Kenpachi drew his weapon from the ground and watched the half-man that Byakuya had become, fall back down to the ground.  He punted Byakuya once more in the face, bending his skull inward and denting his face permanently.  Byakuya bounced into the air again before flopping back down to the ground.  He could but whisper now, all of his strength completely gone.

 

"She... will cleanse our world."

 

His last words.

 

Kenpachi drew his weapon over his shoulder with two hands and brought it down the middle of Byakuya's remaining torso, splitting him in half.  Without pause, Kenpachi repeated this attack.  He continued to cut Byakuya into pieces until only a single stray eyeball managed to roll away.  And still, he continued to attack, unrelenting on the very dirt that Byakuya once stood on.  He would see to it that Byakuya would suffer for his transgressions.  Forever.

[Reinforce]

Darcy

Location: E2 (Inside the Tower)

 

If you may, let us part way for the time being. Something had been disturbing me so far, and I would like to quell that feeling.

 

Do not worry about me, without Metarchus I am sure that I would not need as much protection from Isamy's mental assault anymore.

 

Very well, thanks for you assistance. I'll leave this room open to you and anyone with you if you need somewhere to take shelter later. Good Luck.

 

Darcy watched as her temporary companion left, before settling herself into a comfortable position and watching the fight that was going on. As she did, she finally noticed the pull on her mind, as if something was trying to manipulate her mind. It was rather amusing to her that the very defenses around her mind she'd set up during this war were exactly what were now stopping her from losing her memories. Still, she reinforced it for good measure, and watched as the final herald fell at last, leaving only Ameliorer herself to fight the combined forces of the Counter Corps and the Divine. Even so, given the other boss fights she'd had to participate in, victory was far from assured, even with everyone finally united against a common foe once more.

 

---

 

Chandra

Location: B5 (Above the Tower)

 

From her location above the tower, Chandra could only watch as the attacking phoenix was extinguished in a moment. Her elemental was doing much better, forcing Isamy to use two of her six hands just to keep it down. Still, as the Magmatic Force continued it's assault, Hollow Isamy managed to drive it's ice into the elemental, chilling it into igneous rock even as she kept the ice on it. Then things changed, a scream hailed through the air as ice domes encased the entirety of the lake, in the process cutting off the steady stream of ice directed at the elemental, though it's fire had cooled entirely by that point. As the lake and ice dome was vaporized by a force she couldn't identify, two massive storms of fire showed up, even as two mighty warriors fought atop Isamy. As she released the now useless Magmatic Force, she retook the mana from it and raising a hand, she cast a spell she'd learnt from a scroll in Regatha, pouring mana into it as she added it to the building storm of fire, the effect of her goggles doubling the spell cast as she did so.

 

"Inferno"

 

With that one word, a third storm of fire joined the other two, six blazing pillars of flame descending from the sky to strike directly at Isamy, the double cast inferno not losing out in intensity to the Bankai's blaze of fire. Even as she did, she let herself slide down until she was riding her phoenix properly, struggling to channel as much mana as she was into the spell.

 

---

 

Jace

Location: E3

 

[R . U . I N. P A I N?]

 

Atop the dragon's back, Jace could feel Isamy's words, driving into his mind as she argued with him. Below him, he could feel Niv-Mizzet flinch, as the dragon's mind heard everything she was saying as well. He also felt the moment Isamy cut him off from her source of mana, leaving him exhausted and relying on his flagging reserves and what he could draw from Ravnica. As he managed to push himself back up, he saw the ice dome come up, and his connection to Ravnica in turn be cut, as chains of ice began to form around it's body. Thankfully, her attention on him had seemed to lapse, focused more on the attackers directly fighting her and around her, though that was the only piece of good news he had. With his reserves lacking and both supplementary sources of power cut off, he'd have to try and save Ravnica with what little he had left. Below him, the great dragon wheeled and flew around, rising above the dome of ice before it could trap them both. 

 

Head to the tower at the left. Desperately flicking through the spells he knew, the mindmage came up with a plan and directed Niv-Mizzet. 

 

You have an idea in mind, Guildpact? The response came even as the dragon veered off, flying quickly across to the same tower Chandra was currently flying above. 

 

If my memories of Metarchus are correct, this was where Gemini teleported Chandra out of Isamy's binds. Acting quickly Jace cast the first of two spells he'd need to pull this off, summoning Phantasmal Image to the field, twisting it's form to copy the appearance of Ravnica. The illusion wouldn't last long, being likely to shatter the instant any force acted upon it, but it would work for his purposes. He followed that up with the second spell he'd need, Twincast. Casting the familiar spell, he directed it to follow the patterns used by Gemini's teleport effect, re-targeting the effect on Ravnica offering it's illusory clone to take it's place. With a savage pull on his magic, the teleportation took effect, causing to all outside observers, merely a flicker in the air as the two exchanged places. 

 

Ending Location: B5

 

[spoiler=tldr]Darcy is remaining in the tower, and has finally noticed the attempted drain on her memories, though she hasn't actually lost any to the effect currently.

Chandra dismissed her Magmatic Force, and proceeded to add to the storms of fire assaulting Isamy, casting Jaya's Immolating Inferno and doubling the spell with the Pyromancer's Goggles.

Jace and Niv-Mizzet avoided the ice dome, and now Jace is attempting to free Ravnica by copying the trick Gemini used to free Chandra.

 

[Phantom Roxas]

A fourth white flower bloomed around the Soul of Ravnica, and a new chain joined those already trapping the entity. Despite the flames that were easily burning through Hollow Isamy's ice and scorching her alive, this Void Inclusion needed to persist long enough to ensure that she could take this prize. Ravnica could not escape. She would not allow that. And besides, she still had one more Void Inclusion that could turn the tide perfectly. She would fight through the indescribable pain. She had to.

 

She could sense that Kenpachi Zaraki had broken free from the frozen lake, though his power had… changed. When had he possibly obtained his Bankai?! Long before the Origin War began, he had been unique among the Gotei 13, being the only Captain to have not received the Bankai. Had the years been so long that he had done what seemed impossible for him?

 

…It would be no matter. Byakuya would be sure to deal with him, he assured herself. Regardless of their power, it was their Captain-Commander who truly outmatched them both. Butlerok had called upon Genryuusai Yamamoto’s own Bankai, melting the entire ice dome into pure steam. She had expected them to keep using fire to counter Elsa’s magic, but to burn through the dome in an instant? She could not rely on pushing Elsa’s magic past its limit. The time for a new Void Inclusion was now-

 

"Firestorm!"

 

To the casual observer, a girl without a name was adding but a single spark of flame to the final rage of a thousand setting suns, yet Hollow Isamy could still feel her passion. Further still, Chandra had joined them with more fire of her own, the desperation, the sheer belief that they would defeat her that the nameless girl, Butlerok, and Chandra had all poured into their attacks. Unable to cover her face anymore, Hollow Isamy’s hands limped to her side. Her eyes were pitch black, yet still she watched through them. Blood streaked down her face, but she refused to beg. She did not even notice the chain that connected Byakuya to her had just been severed.

 

She blinked, and the image flickered before her of a lone pale child huddled in the corner of a room draped in absolute darkness. The child whimpered “No more,” but her cries fell on deaf ears. Hollow Isamy grit her teeth, as a cold wave breezed past her. With the last of Elsa’s Void Inclusion, two more chains wrapped around the Soul of Ravnica.

 

Finally. Ravnica was now hers for the taking. Reaching out one hand, her mouth opened wide, salivating with anticipation for the coming meal.

 

[ M I N E - ]

 

“My Queen!” Byakuya was calling to her. But why? Why did he sound so afraid? “LADY ISAMY! HELP M--!"

 

With a few more punches, slashes, and crushes, Kenpachi Zaraki had mercilessly slain Byakuya Kuchiki. She could hearing his soul screaming in agony as Kenpachi continued to attack the ground beneath him, ensuring that Byakuya did not even have the semblance of a corpse that could conceivably buried.

 

Slowly, Hollow Isamy closed her hand, at the chains wrapped around the Soul of Ravnica tightened, until the manifestation of the plane audibly popped like a bubble. A fake.

 

Byakuya was dead. Ravnica had escaped. Even as her body burned alive, Hollow Isamy let the flames run along her body. Her warped flesh and gnarled bones began to turn black.

 

[ Y O U U N D E R S T O O D ]

 

A said appeared in one of her hands, and the movement of the flames seemed to halt in place. Black flames began to melt through the lake, as smoke billowed throughout the forest, turning some of the snow black and lighting some of the restored tries on fire once more. The forest only seemed to keep renewing itself be struck down time and again, as the eternal testament to the power and scale that Hollow Isamy and opponents brought to this final battle.

 

[ C L E A N S E T H E W O R L D ]

 

The smoke spread faster and faster, stopped only by the towers of the Forgotten Forest. Byakuya, Ayame, and Jace had understood the true value in her offer. Two of her Heralds had died believing in the paradise she offered them, while Jace dared to turn his back on her. And what good had that done for those who had rejected her outright, without sparing even a moment’s consideration? Some of their allies had died, and who could blame her for that? They needed to die in this world, so that they could be reborn in the next. As part of a greater whole. Yet others still fought her in the name of petty vengeance. They sullied the memory of their fallen friends by trying to deny her the chance to grant each and every one of them their happily ever after.

 

Even Kenpachi had not spared Byakuya. To betray their own friends for the sake of an imagined slight only further proved why she needed to save them from their miserable little lives. So long as they sought to delay the inevitable, they would have no choice but to burn.

 

[ V O I D I N C L U S I O N :

- E D G A R I T H - ]

The smoke pulled itself inwards, concentrating back onto Hollow Isamy, and into Ed’s- no, her Zanpakuto. A Recollection had stolen Metarchus from her, and she could not risk anyone else using their own psychic abilities against her. A psychic pulse shook the forest, and while it was not meant to necessarily harm anyone physically, every illusion or psychic construct was dispelled. Perhaps they would try to continue using their tricks against her, but for the moment, the magic was gone. It would give just a small amount of time to finish off a few more of the others.

 

The still flames that had been ravaging her body turned black, as she held her Zanpakuto with two hands, and declared a familiar name.

 

[ K I O T S O

K U R O K Ō R I W A ]

 

Her Zanpakuto ignited with black flames of their own, and began to draw in the flames that had been burning her into itself. Although Hollow Isamy herself was no longer being struck with endless Firestorms and Infernos, the damage had been clearly done. It was her return to repay that pain a thousand fold, snarling as she raised her Zanpakuto directly above her.

 

[ B L A C K D R A G O N

S W O R D S T Y L E ]

 

The black flames shot out, and began to take shape. Long had Hollow Isamy aspired to the ideal of “Temperance”, but such follow would bring her nothing but complacency. Whether or not they would understand her ambition, she longed for souls to feast upon, for their own sake. She was hungry. No doubt they all say her as a creature of gluttony, and so she could give them one.

 

Ah, but of course. How could she have forgotten her old friend? That child’s playing card that had served her faithfully. The guardian that had protected her against the Avatar all those years ago. A Herald who would never betray her, and guide these infants to their new life.

 

For as long as she had waited for this day, this was perhaps the only friend she truly had left. Wiping blood from her eyes, she smiled and called its name.

 

[ G U L A ]

[ D R A C O L I C H ]

A skeletal dragon composed of black fire loomed over Hollow Isamy, sheltering her with its wings. Chandra, Dorian, and Butlerok could each feel Gula Dracolich inviting them to offer it a gift. It longed for their power, and they had only need answer its call. Against Hollow Isamy’s guardian, they would be nothing but moths to the flame.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

[ G U L A ]
[ D R A C O L I C H ]

 

"Beast that does not know of love...I can perhaps teach you a thing or two."

 

The flames dissipated from Nanashi's form as the frozen form of Isamy changed. In exchange, what was there now was a great dark dragon, covering the hollow giant with its wingspan. Such a beautiful creature, yet it was also pitiful to see. The others seemed to be struggling. The Dragon seemed to communicate with the others, yet not to the nameless girl. That was strange. Surely it was strange. However, she couldn't care less about it.

 

Nanashi could feel it. Isamy's nature had changed once more. With the new Inclusion within her, Nanashi could not exploit the same weakness as before. She would need to reanalyze her and her dracolich, before she would be able to-

 

"Divine Arts."

 

A familiar voice could be heard. Right underneath the Dracolich, a gigantic octagonal magic circle made itself apparent. A trigram, the physical symbol of the eight principles of reality according to Taoism. The octagon thus spread out, forming a circle, before barriers formed from its edges, circling and trapping the dracolich inside of it. Floating nearby was Reimu Hakurei. Her crippled form was visible for all to see, but her expression was that of complete determination. She uttered several words that the nameless girl could not hear, before the name of her Spell Card was declared.

 

"Omnidirectional Dragon-Slaying Circle!"

 

With the declaration, uncountable amount of talismans and energy bullets formed inside of the eight-sided barrier, continuously bombarding at the dragon as its movements was sealed. It seemed like an attack that would attempt to purge what was inside completely, but that would not be enough, wouldn't it?

 

"Megidolaon!"

 

A large sphere of destruction fell from above, aimed towards the now-trapped Dracolich. It was the doing of the blue-haired boy currently up there riding his own dragon. An attack neither holy nor wicked, unable to be resisted by anything. It perhaps would be something like a nuclear blast? Or was it so?

 

Everyone was doing their best in fighting. Nanashi decided that she too would play a part here. The nameless girl thus closed her eyes as she gathered the scattered temperaments from the Dracolich and Isamy as the onslaught continued.

 

---

[Phantom Roxas]

Previously, on Yu-Gi-Oh!…

[The Pathway to Remembrance]

Twilight of the Gods

[spoiler=Twilight of the Gods - Chapter 5: Born Again]

~ This Life is Mine ~

The last time Arthur nearly drowned was five years ago. He had been saved by Neptunemon of the Olympos XII, but Ytidens had not been so lucky. And yet, even though Ytidens had drowned that day, his spirit persisted on, somehow. Perhaps it was due to the rather unique circumstance of a human dying in the Digital World, but he became a wraith nonetheless. That tenacity, the sheer refusal to accept that he had actually died, made him the perfect partner for the Demon Lords. So it was no surprise that Ytidens had been taunting Arthur. He was as frightening as the Demon Lords themselves.

And yet, before Arthur could even begin to think he would not be as lucky as before, he could feel someone carrying him. “You’re safe now, Arthur.”

Arthur smiled, resting his head back. “Thank the gods you’re here. Eria, I-”

Before Arthur could say anything more, the water burst behind Eria as she launched herself forward, back towards the shore. The Lake of Remembrance seemed to be under her control now. She held Arthur tightly, her leap carrying her to the bank of the lake. She knelt down, letting Arthur stand up on his own. Turning away from him, Eria’s voice was cold, quick to the point. “Sorry if I worried you back there. I’m here now, just… different. I’ll fill you in later, but until then, we still have some other unfinished business.”
 

In her hand, Eria held not her Keyblade, but rather, the Staff of Armadyl. “You’re not her,” said Arthur. “You’re that other Eria. What did you… what did you do to her?!”

Eria bit her lips, refusing to face Arthur. “I’m still me, Arthur. Both of us. Still that same cute girl you fell in love with, and the Water Charmer summoned by the Herald of Darkness.”

“Eria… tell me you didn’t do it.”

“…I’m sorry, Arthur.” Without another word, Eria looked back up at the Twilight One. The god of light and darkness had strangely stopped acting for some reason as it simply flew above them, letting its majestic shadow envelop the Lake while its crimson eyes flashing. Its attention fixated on the blue-haired girl that had only just emerged. Observing in utter silence. Why? What was giving this otherwise unstoppable god pause? Its divine eyes did not move away from the Charmer for even a second.

Then, the Twilight One’s ‘voice’ ringed throughout the Lake, almost as though it was inquisitive, intending to confirm a certain something.

JUDGMENT. that girl… is she not of YOUR POSSESSION? is she not YOURS?

Half a mile away, floating above the shoreline of the Lake, Protheus Maximus was having a similar reaction. His head was tilted in confusion, watching the girl, unable to quite identify what her aura was. Whether it was that of the other Eria, or that of his own Void Eria, he found his senses lost. “Hmph. I suppose the Counter Corps girl must’ve beaten the other one and stole our Staff… I thought it would’ve been hilarious to pit them against each other, but this ending? It’s kind of annoying.”

From afar, he gestured towards the Twilight One. Not as though he were addressing a servant as he normally would with any of his Dark Ones, but a business partner. “My great Darkness, the Egyptian Pantheon are no more. However, this girl may yet be a threat. This girl dares to wield the Staff of Armadyl against us. Before she learns how to use it, I ask to annihilate her. Do not hold back.”

The Twilight One started to descend again, this time slowly, floating down towards the surface of the Lake of Remembrance where Eria and Arthur were.
 

w e u n d e r s t a n d .

And then, perhaps that’s when the Counter Corps noticed them. The giant dark clouds that had been hanging around in the sky ever since the Twilight One had returned, containing tremendous energy, each one complacent enough that they saw no need to be there. The giant dark clouds…

that were now uncurling, their wings spreading, their eyes flashing...

...until they finally formed ͝SIX ̶M̵O͢R̸E ͘T̸WILI͢GHT͜ ͡O͏NE̸S̨.

Even as the supermassive Twilight One approached the Lake ever closer, its own form akin to the largest of whales in flight, it had been easy to imagine that this godly monstrosity was a final boss-type monster. The only one of its kind. And yet, now imagination was being shattered. One possessed the strength to topple kingdoms… but SIX? The sheer strength of their flight were forcing the nearby clouds to circle around them, the sheer sizes of their wings were blocking out the light in the sky. The memory of Protheus’s Karma Bomb was long gone, for this was a whole other level of insanity. To the Counter Corps, surely they would’ve felt nothing but pure, pure dread.
 

~ The Seven Angels ~

Underneath their shadows, all that remained of the Pathway to Remembrance was cast into an ever-thickening darkness. Leaving only the piercing light of the phoenixes’ eyes. A chorus of beautiful, divine sounds thundered across the Lake, all emanating from the Seven Twilight Ones.. Their message carrying with it a strangely alluring rhythm of soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, countertenor, tenor, and baritone, fusing with the original’s bass, its tone gentle yet with a crushing pressure to it that made one want to submit to whatever they had to say. And thus, all seven voices simultaneously addressed their sole subject, the sole subject of divine judgment.
 

†Ḩ ̧ ñÖ† Ä £ÌGH† MÖR†ÄL§ §HÄLL WÌñ
§ÚRRÈñÐÈR . . .
ÐÈĆH IS KÌñÐÈR †HĆ WÄ¥

---

Eria could feel her heart pounding and racing. She almost wished she could simply push her fear away, but that wasn’t possible. All she could do was fight in spite of that. “I need some light,” she ordered Arthur.

“R-right,” Arthur stammered. He closed his eyes for a moment, though it seemed no different to him than if he had kept his eyes open. The all-consuming darkness made it impossible for him to even see Eria. He could only assume where she was standing based on her voice. When he opened his eyes again, however, any light he had hoped to call forth with his eyes faded in an instant, and he could feel a burning sensation. He covered his face as the darkness felt as though it was actively eating away at the light in his eyes. “Eria… I can’t-!”

Eria sighed. “Useless. I’m not sure what good it’ll do you, but you should run for cover. Find MirageGaogamon or Sora or Kairi, or…” She stopped herself. She couldn’t bring herself to mention Gagagigo. Of course, a part of her hoped he would be safe. But the other part of her couldn’t exactly care whatever danger he was in.

“No.” Arthur’s Keyblade appeared in a flash of light, doing more to resist the darkness. Its amber glow did more to illuminate Arthur and Eria, but not by much. “You and I are in this together. I think the least I can do is pay you back for saving me from drowning.”

“Thank you.” Eria’s smile was calming, though she wondered if she was putting too much effort to act happy about it. Why didn’t he run? Why did he insist on trying to help? She wanted to reassure him that she could handle this, but he wouldn’t listen. It’s not like she had forgotten what she meant to him. She just had to put that aside until Protheus and the Twilight Ones were all destroyed.

With the Staff of Armadyl in her left hand, Eria held out her right. Streams of light blue gathered around her, and her l’Cie brand let out a shrill noise, crackling with energy in response. “Come to me… Leviathan.” In her hand appeared a blue Keyblade which curved into a hook. The l’Cie brand grew quiet, as Eria wielded both the Leviathan Keyblade and the Staff of Armadyl, ready to fight.

She began with a wave of cold from the Staff of Armadyl, not exactly designed to repel the Twilight Ones’ attacks, but instead to drop the temperature around them to absolute zero. Even if that did not necessarily stop them, the sudden change would surely be enough to shock them, even just a little bit. Arthur stood beside Eria, holding Solar Eclipse within Leviathan’s hook, as the two cast a single spell together. “Blizzard Wall!”

A massive dome of ice formed around Arthur and Eria, spanning behind them all the way towards Sora, Kairi, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo. Additional layers of ice formed over the first, until the outermost layer formed icicles that launched themselves at the Twilight Ones. Each and every one found their targets, and yet this attempt proved to be futile. The gods’ feathers turned to steel, shielding their wings and bellies - amongst the darkness, the barrage of icicles could be heard shattering upon impact, again and again.

The Seven Twilight Ones advanced ever closer, sculpted, unstoppable meteors. If their surroundings were not so utterly black, perhaps the girl might’ve realized she’d been severely, severely underestimating their size. Instead, all she had to go on was the raging of the Lake around her. The hurricane winds that were blasting away at her body. And the pure POWER she could sense within the seven towering bodies. Somehow, she just knew. A mortal had never before been graced with the privilege of meeting more than one Twilight One. What she’d done, what the two of them had done… had proven worthy of the gods’ wrath.
 

very well

Although it pained her to admit, it wasn’t hard to imagine how her own gods may have fallen to Them.
 

W̆ñȧ§ ðµr JÚÐGMÈN†

~ AntiRevelation ~

Seven glowing red lights pierced through the darkness, each one like a sun in the sky, each one at a different position, each one containing all the power a god had to offer. Already it was obvious---this battle was about to enter the realm of gods. The gods battled on an entirely different level, and a different plane from mortals, tapping into an entirely superior tier of power. Would she be enough? Would they be enough? And thus, just like that, all seven lights transformed into brilliant, blood-red LIGHTNING, firing at Eria from all directions with raw, divine JUDGMENT.

If there was one thing Eria knew about the Staff of Armadyl, it was its ability to manipulate the elements around her. She knew it could empower her own abilities, and as the lightning pierced through the Blizzard Wall, she knew Arthur’s Reflect magic alone could not possibly withstand this. Even still, she couldn’t move. Her feet stopped in place, no matter she much she knew could not possibly withstand this.

She hadn’t realize that Arthur was grabbing for the staff until it was already out of her hands and he threw it into the snow. Arthur pulled her back, and just before the lightning struck them, all of it suddenly turned in its trajectory, striking the Staff of Armadyl with a furiousness that surpassed reality,

and CRIMSON LIGHT FILLED THE DARKNESS.
 

The thunderclap shot the staff straight up, coursing through the divine artefact without mercy - clearly, were it anything else, it would have been disintegrated in an instant. The sheer shockwave knocked Eria and Arthur further away, flooding their vision with a flash of intense, terrifying red. Before Eria could gather herself and send a stream of water to retrieve the staff, the light faded, and it vanished into the darkness.

“Why would you do that?!” Eria screamed.

“You froze.” Arthur lifted Eria up. “I figured if I could take that staff away from you, it could make for a good lightning rod.”

Eria looked around, but she still couldn’t find the staff. “Well… alright, it was a good idea, but it only bought us some time, and now we don’t have the Staff, so-.”

“Magnega!” Sora’s voice echoed from somewhere, and a brief flash of light illuminated the Staff of Armadyl long enough as a translucent sphere formed around it, stopping its flight and slowly allowing it to descend. The staff floated beside Sora as he walked up to Eria and Arthur. “About time we found this.”

It felt eery to hold the Staff of Armadyl at his side again after Xansvita had taken it from Sliske. This was Sora’s chance to do something good with it. “Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”

The Seven Twilight Ones had remained silent thus far, watching in judgment. That object, possessed by the mortals, had somehow withstood their direct divine judgment. How very intriguing. Drawn to it, Their eyes pierced through the darkness and observed the Staff of Armadyl. There was no doubt. That was surely the work of a god! And mostly likely one stolen from the Herald.

In order to combat Them, the mortals had first employed the Egyptian Gods, and now they dared to use a precious artefact of another go. This level of blasphemy was on an entirely different level. Why, these mere humans were making a mockery of the hierarchy of the world.
 

¥ðµ mðr†ål§
dårê ståïñ ÐÌVÌñ̆¥ wï†h ¥ðµr håñЧ?

Very well. Let the foolish souls try to wield what was beyond them! It shall be the mission of Angels to repay this blasphemy.

Magic flowed from Sora’s Keyblade and into the Staff of Armadyl. While the staff seemed useful for absorbing magic, he had seen how it complimented Xansvita and Eria’s own abilities, and he would use its power just as they had. Scarlet sparks flickered around the orb adorning the staff, and they were joined by a blue light as Sora’s armor changed into its Wisdom Form. “Thundagun!”

Seven bolts of purple lightning discharged from the staff, the recoil sending the staff flying once more, only to slam against a wall of ice that Eria had summoned, and the staff harmlessly fall back into the snow for Eria to pick up. Meanwhile, the lightning siphoned from the Twilight Ones was now being launched back at them,

Purple light streaked across the darkness, lighting up the seven phoenix titans - and striking them viciously. The Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, and Contralto, occupying the north, were struck in the belly, managing to deflect the attacks by turning their feathers into a mirror-like material. Lightning was reflected violently into the Lake waters. The Countertenor and Tenor, occupying the east and west, were struck in their wings, yet thickening their feathers minimized the damage. The Baritone to the south was unlucky, struck in the head - - - It screeched with a pain that echoed through the skies. The original Bass remained unharmed, shooting more lightning to negate the assault against It with pure force; it briefly turned to the others, as if disgusted They let Themselves be hurt at all.

To Sora and the others, all the lightning had lit up was an impossible long wall of feathers above them. It was almost as though the very sky had been attacked. Then, just like that, the light faded again.

The Seven Twilight Ones spoke one word.
 

futile

However, as it happened, there was one more bolt of lightning. As the Baritone moved in pain, It left a gap that let light from the sky flood in. The bolt shot through that gap, firing higher and higher into the sky until it could reach its target. That is, Protheus Maximus?!

“Ugh.” The sorcerer had been content to safely watch the battle from the afar, when he regarded the incoming lightning with a look of distaste. Annoyed, he raised both his arms forth, extending his influence out towards the attack---it seemed to have incorporated the Twilight One’s energy, but a Thundagun was still a Thundagun. Dismantling it through Arcane Manipulation with some difficulty, it was vastly weakened by the time Protheus blasted it away.

“What are you doing?!” Protheus screamed from hundreds of feet above, devoid of respect for the god. “My great Darkness, are you actually allowing this? Get rid of those persistent insects already!”

The Seven Twilight Ones did not respond. However, as They continued to observe their opponents, it did appear that They had simultaneously made a decision. Then, just like that, six of the Seven Twilight Ones started to SHRINK. More and more rays of light flooded through the sky, filling up the darkness until the Lake of Remembrance was finally visible in full once more. The sky had turned an ominous, deep purple.

The multi-god had ultimately decided that Their giant sizes were simply too much of an obstruction. This world was tiny and the mortals could barely be seen at all. Only one remained Its original size. The Bass Twilight One, who continued to be a gigantic shadow against Remembrance’s sun, dwarfing the other six. When the shrinking stopped, the other six Twilight Ones were less island-sized and more tower-sized, akin to the late Egyptian Pantheon. This way, despite the humiliation, They could be afford to be far more nimble.

†hå† §†å££ §håll ñð† ßê §µllïêÐ åñ¥ lðñgêr did cry a trio of eerily majestic, song-like voices. Just as Eria reached out for the Staff of Armadyl, three Twilight Ones - the Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, and Tenor - dived through the skies after her position, terrifyingly faster than before. Opening Their mouths, They blasted out weaker yet still deadly steaks of crimson lightning. The lightning converged on the Charmer to her left, her right, and above, intent on cutting her off from the one thing that could endanger Them.

Kairi and Sora both cast their own Spark spells, concentrating Thunder magic above them. Their lightning struck back against the Twilight Ones’ lightning, barely scattering them across the snow, lighting fires around them. “Eria, come on!” Kairi looked back, gathering some of the fire into more magic, and commanding it to spread out around and away from them.

“I can’t do it,” Eria snapped. She was more angry with herself than the situation at hand. Why wouldn’t she move? The lightning terrified her, but so did Protheus, these Twilight Ones… the uncertainty that she could even survive this, let alone win. Yet this was what stopped her from fighting back?

She could hear the roar of thunder around her, yet the Twilight Ones were not responsible. Megiddo murdering her family still echoed in her mind. “Stop being afraid,” she told herself.

Eria was paralyzed with fear.

---

Most of the Twilight Ones looked entirely identical, but Sora and Kairi could see the wound in the Baritone’s head, and cast Graviga spells on each of the Baritone’s wings, trying to pull it in different directions. In response, the divine phoenix screeched in annoyance and defiance. Holding onto the Staff of Armadyl with his other hand, Sora summoned a Mine Square around himself and Kairi. “We can’t hold them off forever,” Sora said. “Any ideas here?”

“Well, there’s six of us, and seven of them,” said Arthur. “Not counting Protheus. Take one of them down, take care of the rest one-on-one?”

“That’s suicide,” Eria said. She was wringing her hands together. There was one reason she had decided to become… whoever she was now. “Sora, I’m taking the Staff.”

“Alright, but make it count!” Sora cast several Magnega nodes into the air to catch any more lightning attacks, then redoubled his focus on his share of the Graviga spell on the Baritone, whom resisted it with godlike strength. The Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, and Contralto were each circling back, sensing that she was attempting to do something with the staff. Without hesitation they launched an onslaught of rainbow lightning, drilling away at the Keyblade Warrior’s pathetic attempt to buy time. Arthur joined Sora and Kairi this time, and all of them casted Reflect and Barrier spells to take the brunt of the lightning. The three of them were all pushed back by the impact, but they all managed to survive unscathed. It was enough to give Eria a lead in her plan.

Eria took the Staff of Armadyl, concentrating on the orb that focused its power. As long as Sora, Kairi, and Arthur could handle the Twilight Ones, she could focus on Protheus. It was why she had agreed to do exactly as Megiddo had asked, why she had allowed her two halves to become whatever whole she was supposed to be now. Her entire gamble had to pay off here.

“Whatever you plan, it’s useless.” Protheus muttered, monologuing to himself. He had his attention wholly centered on the girl below. With the Baritone being pulled away, a direct line of sight now existed between the duo. He wondered what she was doing. He speculated on what sort of ridiculous thing she had in mind. Was she going to launch some laser at him? “Fire away if you must. But the distance between us makes your every attempt futile!”

Funneling her Charm through the Staff of Armadyl, Eria imagined the connection the part of her that had once been Void Eria shared with Protheus. No one but her could see a clear-blue thread stemming from her heart that twisted and turned throughout the Pathway to Remembrance, ascending towards Protheus. For all his power, she was most worried about his Arcane Manipulation. Even if she could pull on that connection, this was giving him the chance to take control of her as well. And yet, she needed to make the connection.

As Protheus Maximus floated with content, thousands of feet above in the air, his confident posture suddenly broke apart. His eyes widened, having sensed something come from the Charmer-

Using the Staff of Armadyl as an anchor, she grabbed the tether with her hand. She spoke at her normal volume, yet she was sure that Protheus could hear her voice as if she was whispering into his ear.

“I am not your pet.”

They were but five words, sounding light as a feather. And yet, with each word, A PRESSURE HIT PROTHEUS’S FORM, like a tidal wave, a soft and cruel tidal wave that was washing past his emotions. And somehow, somehow, just somehow, they were bypassing the ENDLESS layers of mental defenses he’d set up specifically against telepathic attacks, and this spell, WHATEVER it was, was actually reaching his mind, grasping onto this body!!!

“Your power cannot hold me anymore. This life is mine, and if I can break free from your chains, then I ask that you do the same, and break the chains that bind even you.”

“YOU DARE? YOU DAREEE?!?!?” Protheus Maximus screamed out. He grasped his ears, frustration and anger filling him up as he physically tore them off with his hands. Ash poured out from his exposed skull, and yet that irritatingly persistent whisper advanced on. He poured mana into his mind, searching for the source, searching for the reason why this spell managed to come so far, searching for a method to detox himself of this utter insolence!

Eria’s breathing was strained. She had given in to her Focus because she was desperate. She had no reason to believe that Protheus had any desires beyond killing her. Her command could not simply be what she alone wanted, but what Protheus himself could perhaps want. Certainly she wanted nothing but vengeance; that much Protheus would not need any extraordinary powers to realize. The dark sorcerer was instinctively putting up insane levels of resistance, such that she wasn’t sure if her attempt would work at all, but even if she could not force him to act, she prayed that the least she could do would be to lock him into a stalemate.

“Protheus Maximus; I command you to kill these Twilight Ones, and be free of your service to Them, as I am free of you!”

…

“You… You can’t possibly…! YOU B****! YOU UTTER B****, IS THAT YOUR PLAY?!!”

Then the Herald of Darkness, Protheus Maximus himself, started convulsing in the sky as Eria’s very words were seeping through his mind without any of his attempts to resist working. Was it affecting him from within? How was that even possible? GAAAAAHHHH there wasn’t even enough time to think about it, that decrepit suggestion was worming itself deeper and deeper to the point that he found his own arms moving in response. The very control of mana he prized over was flowing without his permission…

Oh, but such an occurrence was simply not possible. Rather, truly, this was all of his own free will. This was the Charming of his free will, compelling him to follow his true feelings despite how very, very, VERY detrimental that would be to, quite literally, everything! Incapable of doing anything, the suggestion had rooted itself into a very true area in his heart. This man was, after all, the most egotistical of men in the whole omniverse. He could never truly bring himself to submit to another. If he could not do so with his own creator, his own One Master, he certainly could not do so with a god.

mðr†ål§!!!

Below, the Twilight Ones were flocking to carry on with their assault. Unaware of what had occurred above. The Countertenor and Tenors transformed Their bodies into a combined fireblast, smashed directly into the Keyblade Warriors’ defenses from above, and causing a huge tidal wave that separated Arthur, Kairi, and Sora across the Lake. With this exposure, the Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano and Contralto dived on their targets respectively with rainbow lightning. The weakened Baritone had opted to go straight for Eria, turning to steel as it made itself into a speeding missile.

Protheus Maximus stared down at his subjects, having mysteriously stopped convulsing. His dark eyes had a blue tint to them. Had it worked?

Indeed, the sorcerer could feel the slime, the ‘Slime’, within his heart pulsating, flooding into his being as it forced his arms into movement, his actions into honesty. Deep within his heart, that was what he was after all. Somehow, for all his power, he found himself momentarily reduced to just that. Slime. A weak Slime that an even weaker Water Charmer could manipulate.

The respective Twilight Ones were fast incoming towards their targets, and yet the dark sorcerer was doing nothing. Was that it then? Was it impossible to manipulate the maddest of madmen after all? Was it going to be merely a stalemate, a pointless effort?!

Then
 

~ Barricades ~

The song of many Angels cried in unison.


Щ
Ή
Y


Drill-shaped laser beams of darkness struck all seven Angels at once, aiming for their napes, aiming for their simultaneously decapitations. The Soprano and Contralto flew uncontrollably past the Keybladers in pain, their necks splurting out showers of violet blood. The Mezzo-Soprano crashed into the Lake directly before Kairi, writhing in pain. The Countertenor and Tenor were struck via their skulls upon re-emerging from the Lake, successfully shattering the Countertenor’s head from within, while the Tenor had barely maneuvered itself so that only an eye was blasted off. The Baritone had its head cleanly blasted off, causing divine, violet blood to splatter onto Eria’s body as its body hit the waters, and sunk. The giant Bass in the sky was the only one who seemed in full condition, and yet even they seemed hurt. Every single one of them had been caught off-guard, having been attacked from an angle they never expected, from above --- how could they have possibly?!

The Countenor was dead. The Baritone was dead. The Mezzo-Soprano quickly stopped moving after a while, and was dead. The Soprano, Contralto, and Tenor - the main survivors - patched their incurable wounds with feathers before diving into the Lake of Remembrance, to regroup amongst themselves and avoid any further attacks.

That precise, knowing massacre of gods could have only come from one man. With that blue tint still in his eyes, he found himself actually grinning. If even for a moment, he’d opted to embrace the suggestion that Charmer had implanted in his brain. His body was floating down through the sky, approaching the Lake where he’d just committed his great, self-detrimental massacre

“What a horrible feeling...but surprisingly quite exhilarating as well!!!” Protheus Maximus couldn’t help but admit to himself. “So in the end, those so-called gods were naught but birds, with the weak necks of birds, hm?! Amazing. Fantastic. It’s truly grand to put my Twilight One contingency to use...” He’d just about managed to avoid killing them all in that move. And yet, as good as that felt, it had very unfavourable implications.

“...”

The dark sorcerer’s smile faded, as realization, and a darker, far more pissed expression crossed his face. His eyes looked down at where Eria stood.

“Oi. You.”

Earlier, the Water Charmer had sensed him momentarily drop all defenses. It would have been impossible for him to shrug it off entirety, yet he’d still been capable of pushing Eria and her attempts to a statement when both of them used their full power. Even so, he decided to stop trying, in favour of fully embracing the spell and its command Why had he done so? Why would he have done so, knowing it made him severely cripple his greatest asset?

The answer to that was obvious, naturally.

Eria sensed the thread connecting them convulse, reacting to a rapid stream of dark mana - in embracing the connection, Protheus had opted to take every advantage Arcane Manipulation allowed him. And if anything, it was the most classic trick in the book. By opening himself up to her, he also allowed himself a direct gateway into her heart. This foreign mana smashed into Eria’s being without mercy, grasping hold of her mind, of her body. In seconds she found her arms positioning themselves to point the Staff of Armadyl, at, well, herself.

This is easier than I anticipated. Protheus’s voice ringed in her ears. Somehow, she could almost feel him pacing around her, studying her abilities. A connection between us already existed. I do wonder, were you stupid enough to absorb MY aquatic enhancer, MY Eria?

She could even sense him frown. Or… Could it be… Are you my Eria…? What are you exactly? I don’t understand this. You can’t be a Fusion, you’re not a Fusion-type… But then, the extreme level of control he was placing lightened.

No matter. Whether you are mine or not, you must be PUNISHED accordingly…

In the sky, Protheus Maximus had stopped entirely. The Bass Twilight One was glaring at him with thoughts one could only imagine, as if deliberating on judgment, but otherwise the battlefield had gone quiet.

Here is my one offer. Release your hold on me, or die.

Eria held the Staff of Armadyl at bay as it pointed at her throat. She considered the wonder Protheus had over whether she was “his” Eria or something else. Her plan was stupid, yes, and she knew that he would do exactly this. But she hadn’t prepared for it. Even if she had managed to make him kill three of the Twilight Ones, there were still four left before she could finally focus on him. Whether or not she somehow could survive this reversal, she could not expect that her plan would work a second time.

Still, Arthur’s suggestion of a one-on-one seemed somewhat more reasonable now. They had the slight advantage of numbers, but power? Throughout this entire battle, that had been beyond them, and Protheus was making that all the more clear to them. 

“I told you I’m not your pet,” Eria snapped. “I’m not ‘your’ Eria, I’m just… me.”

She could feel a slow movement in the snow behind her. Her heart swelled with both fear and hope. Gagagigo was crawling towards her, dragging himself with what strength he could muster. Despite the beating he had taken, she could still feel his own wish to help her. She wanted him to stay away, but as soon as she cursed under her breath, he pressed the staff further against her neck. The wings adorning the orb poked at her cheekbones.

The thread connecting her to Protheus began to twist in place, as a second branch split off from the first. “No… Gagagigo, don’t! He’ll get to you, too,” she whimpered. Then, she sneered as she looked to her side. “I don’t need… I don’t want your help, bastard!”

Gagagigo’s hand wavered. “Eria? What are you talking about…?”

“Stop it, Eria!” Sora grabbed onto the staff, trying to wrestle it away, but Eria held it tight. How was Sora back, anyway? He had been thrown across the lake, yet he was here all too quickly. Why? He could have been fighting any of the Twilight Ones. Why was he here?

“I promised myself I would kill him,” Eria said. “Don’t take this chance from me, Sora! Without this staff, I can’t-”

Warm hands wrapped around her stomach, holding her close. Sora relaxed his grip on the staff, but he did not completely let go. She watched as MirageGaogamon flew into the air, back and forth across the lake, a shield of wind wrapped around him as he let loose a volley of laser beams. Yet he seemed to be flying more slowly then he had before, as if he was exhausted. Had been crossing the lake back and forth all this time? A green light shimmered around MirageGaogamon, and then Eria could recognize the chiming of bells behind her. Kairi was casting her Cure magic to keep MirageGaogamon alive as best she could.

“Eria.” It was Arthur holding her close. It didn’t feel like she was trying to restrain her, so she didn’t fight back. “…You’re still you, right? If this is what Megiddo wanted-”

“It’s what I wanted,” Eria insisted. “We both decided it was the only way I could stop Protheus, Arthur. Please, just let me do what only I can do. There has to be something the rest of you can do. Don’t focus on just me. It just makes us all easier targets.”

Protheus’ Arcane Manipulation was still trying to force her to use the Staff of Armadyl on her, and her head kept shaking, biting her lip as she wanted to do nothing but scream. She kept trying to push the connection back against Protheus once more; regain control instead of allowing herself to die by his mere whim. Her control over him had succeeded because she played on what he wanted. She could not give Protheus have any kind of satisfaction.

Gagagigo was slowly beginning to stand up, and her own connection had completely extended to him. “Stay away from me!” Eria pushed Arthur back and began to force the staff to point back at Protheus. “I won’t let you go, Protheus. Not after all I’ve done to make it here. I won’t allow everyone I’ve lost to die just for me to die, too!”

She choked back tears. Her legs and arms were trembling as she tried to maintain her stance. Beyond Protheus’ ability to take control of their connection, Eria was exposing herself to the full brunt of his Terror Aura. But she couldn’t scream. All she could do was cry, her voice cracking as she failed to muster words to so much as beg for Protheus to stop.

Not a pet, you say? Pathetic! Then carry on and let yourself be put down, like the insolent, rabid dog you are! Protheus’s voice echoed in her mind, taunting her, attacking her very concentration. His voice was filled with venom, and with every second he was injecting more fear into their bond. Poisoning her mind.

For all her bravery just moments before, she still felt weak. She could not find the will to close herself off to feeling like Void Eria had. Rather, it was as if all the emotion she had locked away was now overflowing at once. Nor could the Eria of the Counter Corps could not gather the rage to curse whatever fears Protheus was preying upon. Eria had no choice. She could not possibly hope to turn the connection back on Protheus. “Damn it…” She stepped back, and the thread tugged.

“DAMN IT!” With Eria’s scream, the connection between herself and Protheus snapped completely, causing his voice to vanish from her head. Eria fell back, pushing Arthur onto the ground with her. She laid in the snow, reaching to take the Staff of Armadyl again from Sora. It couldn’t end like this. She needed another chance.

Arthur ran to pick up the staff, and the instant his hands wrapped around it, he could feel a surge of power course through him. He broke into a coughing fit, only for his threat to feel as clear just as suddenly. It was strange, but as he ran his hand across his throat, his breathing was more calm. “I can protect her,” he told Sora. “Just let me have the staff.”

“Alright,” Sora sighed. “Please tell me you’ve got a plan.”

---

DIE, GIRL! GIVE IN AND DIE, LIKE THE BRAT YOU ARE-

Suddenly, Protheus’s connection with the girl was cut off, and he found the pressure deep within him release. There was no longer that watery grasp on his mind, his body. He’d been freed. With the connection severed at last, he let out a deep, annoyed sigh amongst the skies of Remembrance.

As much as this battle with the Counter Corps had been amusing him, there were far too many unexpected occurrences for his liking. Far too many dangerous possibilities. Not once had he ever considered that he could possibly be the target of a Water Charmer. A Dark Charmer, perhaps, but Water? His affinity with that element had become so irrelevant these days that he often forgot it. That Staff’s amplification abilities could not be underestimated. That goddamned Staff. It was the one thing that could’ve given these fools an edge, and somehow, they obtained it! They knew how to utilize it too, even though it was from an entirely different world. Bothersome. He would need to pluck it out of their hands before it caused any more trouble...

“Well? What do you want, my Darkness?” Protheus asked the legion below. His eyes narrowed in disdain.

The Bass Twilight One, suspended in midair like a divine spaceship, had Its attention fixated entirely on the Omni above. After all, three of Their seven remaining bodies had been struck down by their very own summoner. It demanded but one thing - an explanation.

¥ðµ ¢ðmmêÐ å §êñ§êlꧧ hêrꧥ ågåïñ§† Ú§, JµÐgmêñ†
wê må¥ £ðrgïvê
ßµ† £ïr§†
åñ åñ§wêr

The Bass sung divinely. Although it was surely a deep, beautiful sound, the tone was that of a petty anger. Of tempted destruction.

wh¥?

“Respectfully, my Darkness, I don’t have time for this.” Protheus attempted to wave them off. He adjusted his position, flying further to his front so he could see past the flock of Twilight Ones blocking his view; he wanted to keep his sight fixated on those foolish warriors, Eria especially. Muttering spells under his breath, he started to charge dark energy into his arms - crude of a tactic as it was, he’d simply bombard them and end this once and for all! “Look. A simple bout of mind control caught me off-guard, nothing more.”

Those words were a mistake.

The Bass’s song was joined by others, creating a unison. A chorus---of hatred at such blasphemy.

MIПD ᄃӨПƬЯӨᄂ ¥ðµ §å¥?

The three other surviving phoenixes, injured though they were, abruptly burst out of Remembrance’s waters. Flapping Their wings mightily, They rocketed higher and higher until they joined the larger bass, encircling around it. All four Twilight Ones were focused on their summoner.

†hê ӨПΣ MΛƧƬΣЯ
ÐïÐ ñð† ÐȧÌGñ ¥ðµ †ð ßê ¢ðñ†rðllêÐ[̲̅!]

Despite the wall of divine anger blasting at him, despite the tremors in the sky and the parting of the clouds, Protheus seemed unphased. Rather, his expression was cold and impatient. He continued to charge mana into his arms. He responded, “You appear to take an awful lot of offense at this, Twilight One. It is unfitting for a god such as Yourself to behave so inelegantly. You see, I was not ‘mind controlled’ per se... Merely swayed for a split second.”

†hï§ ï§ ñð† †rµ†h, sung the Contralto.
Wê Ðð ñð† å¢kñðwlêÐgê †hï§ êx¢µ§ê, sung the Soprano.
†hðµ mµrÐêrêÐ †HRÈÈ Ö£ Ú§, sung the Tenor.

“Is now truly the time for us to have a quarrel? I fail to see why You are so concerned, Twilight One. I understand how losing a vessel could be a big deal, like, an insult to Your greatness or whatever, but You are what Legion wishes they could be. There’s an endless number of You in that barren world!” These oversized creatures were beginning to really get on his nerves.

Ñêgå†ïvê

The Twilight Ones’ voices softened for a while, as though remembering a more pleasant memory, a more acceptable blasphemy.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɢʏᴘᴛɪᴀɴ ᴘᴀɴᴛʜᴇᴏɴ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅᴀʙʟᴇ ꜰᴏᴇꜱ. ᴡʜᴇɴ ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ALL OF US, ᴛʜᴇʏ ꜰᴏʀᴍᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴏʀ ɢᴏᴅ Hᴏʀᴀᴋʜᴛʏ… ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴡᴏʀᴛʜʏ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ.
ðñl¥ THIS SEVEN êmêrgêÐ vðrïðµ§

“...”

He raised his eyebrows, having to take a moment to process that information. He’d automatically assumed the clash between gods had gone smoothly in his favour. Wasn’t one of their key components, Obelisk, missing at the time anyway? They engaged the Twilight One in Its own domain, and actually managed to genocide It? Just how the hell did that work out at all? Just what happened exactly? No, he actually didn’t care about that. More importantly… did that mean that, after his own killings, these four were the only Twilight Ones left?!

“Such loss disappoints me, my Darkness.” Protheus muttered.

†h¥ ßê†rå¥ål Ðï§åþþðïñ†§ µ§, JЦDGMΣПƬ.

“Well. At the very least, it’s clear that these Counter Corps have brought all sorts of gimmicks with them. Considering the damage they left upon You, it’s not out of the question that they managed to manipulate me for a second. You seem to be under the impression I spontaneously murdered a bunch of you? What could possibly make You believe I’d do such a thing?”

The eyes of the four Twilight Ones, Bass, Soprano, Contralto, and Tenor, all flashed a vermillion red. Their song turned quiet.

ᴅɪᴅꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ɢʀᴏᴡ ꜱᴏ ᴡᴇᴀᴋ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴇʀᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴛᴀʟꜱ ᴍᴀʏ ɢʀᴀꜱᴘ ᴛʜʏ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ?
ᴏʀ ᴅɪᴅꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴏᴜ ꜰᴀʟʟ ᴛᴏ ꜱɪᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ?
ᴡᴇ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ᴡᴀʀᴘᴇᴅ, ᴀᴠɪʟɪᴄᴏᴜꜱ ᴍɪɴᴅ, ꜱᴏɴ ᴏꜰ Z-Oɴᴇ!
ᴡᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴇɪᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪɴᴇ ᴀɴɪᴍᴏᴜꜱɪᴛʏ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ Uꜱ!

“I make no secret of my feelings towards You, Twilight One.” Protheus Maximus shrugged, especially displeased with what the gods just called him. Frustration was filling him up. Looking down at the ground, the Counter Corps were having another one of their long-winded meetings, and who knew what they were planning next. Whatever it was, it was becoming more and more dangerous. “But there is no time for this. Calm Yourselves! Those mortals have claimed the Siphon. In mere minutes they’re learning to use it more and more effectively, and who knows, they might actually become a fraction of a legitimate threat now. With this in mind, You need to either resume Your assault or move away. You were placed under my command, might I remind. There is no cause for this!”

The Twilight One listened.

And the Twilight One judged.

The pinnacle of divinity, the Angel that existed between light and darkness, could never have been satisfied with that response. They did not believe that the Herald of Darkness had been controlled to any major extent; if anything, they believed that he must have let himself be. And there was one simple reason to believe in this particular truth.

JЦDGMΣПƬ.
†hðµ h姆 ñð† êvêñ å§kêÐ £ðrgïvêñꧧ.

Finally, Protheus smiled.

“How strange…”

Then, black mana exploded across his whole body, in every direction, enshrouding him entirely in a cloud of darkness; one that was composed of physical terror. With this defense established, he drew from the surge of energy to mold together thirteen orbs of destruction, imbuing spells into each one, letting each one rotate around him in preparation for a genuinely serious duel.

“...Maybe, just maybe, I don’t care about your lot all that much?!”

The Herald screamed out, and just like that, the four Twilight Ones snapped. If he wasn’t going to be Their subject, as was promised, as was ordained in Their contract, then he was nothing more than an enemy. Worse, an enemy that had dragged Them to this distasteful Pathway to Origin. He, a false god, a pseudo-immortal, dared to claim superiority over Them! The Soprano, Contralto, and Tenor sped directly into their target, firing at Protheus to attain vengeance. The far more gigantic Bass flapped its wings and circled around the black cloud, opting to bombard it with a series of thundering rainbow lightning again, and again, and again.

After so many millennia of cooperating with one another, so many millennia of dubious respect and hidden animosity, the inevitability had at last occurred.

The Twilight One had at last challenged Protheus Maximus.

---

Thanks to Eria’s efforts, Protheus and the Twilight One had actually, miraculously turned on one another. The sky above danced with destruction, rainbow lightning and blasts of darkness being exchanged with one another; two powerhouses having finally reached their limits with one another. With any luck they’d take each other out. Yet, the Counter Corps knew better. At the very least, the Herald of Darkness was occupied for the moment.

Stray attacks were showering the Lake below, causing random explosions here and there. Arthur took the staff, watching as MirageGaogamon and Kairi had to focus purely on defending them all from getting caught in the crossfire. “I’m working on it.” Eria was already trying to grab the staff back from Arthur, and he let her hold it with him. “Eria, I know this is the worst time to say this, but I love you. I’m not going to lose you to Protheus, but if you’re going to try that again, I’ll keep you safe. And I know that there’s a part of you who has no idea who I am, but I’m asking her to trust me.”

Arthur ran his hand along his throat again. “None of us can do this alone. When I fought the Demon Lords, it got to the point where the only thing my friends and I could keep doing.”

Arthur pointed his Keyblade at MirageGaogamon and held the Staff of Armadyl at his side. “Hold this with me.”

Eria narrowed her eyes. “Arthur, what do you have in mind?”

“First we have to get into formation. Point your Keyblade at Gagagigo.”

After staring at Arthur blankly for a few moments, Eria did so. “Just so you know, the Eria that used to work for Protheus has a score to settle with Gagagigo. I’m trying to not let her tell me to just shoot a spell at him.”

Arthur feigned a smile, as worried as he was. Gagagigo meant everything to Eria, just as much as Arthur cared about MirageGaogamon. Even if Gagagigo wasn’t like Eria’s Digimon partner, their partnerships felt like the perfect parallels. He didn’t want to think of what had happened between Eria and Gagagigo in that other timeline.

“You’ll have to hold back on that just long enough for this to work.” Arthur nodded over to Sora. “Okay, now we just need Kairi. The both of you together need to focus on myself and Eria.”

Sora crossed her arms and tilted his head. “Alright, Arthur, but I need to know what this is all about.”

“The Drive forms,” Arthur answered. “The way each of us have used it, it’s either like we tap into some other power, or we fuse with someone else, absorb their powers into our own. Before the Demon Lords, I could do something like that with MirageGaogamon. We called it Bio-Merging, and it was basically the opposite of that process. I’d merge with MirageGaogamon, and he would’ve become an even more powerful Digimon. But both of us have changed so much since thanks to the Demon Lords, we haven’t been able to try do it ever since.”

Eria realized what Arthur meant. “And that’s your plan, seeing if you could Bio-Merge with MirageGaogamon again?”

“Not just that,” Arthur corrected. “A Bio-Merge and a Drive. With all of us. If it works… I don’t really know what we’d become, but it has to be enough to defeat Protheus.”

“Could you really do that, though?” Sora tried to look optimistic, but he could plainly see that Arthur was just improvising. “These are two different kinds of fusions you’re talking about, and we’re all from different universes. What if they’re not supposed to go together?”

Arthur tightened his grip on the Staff of Armadyl. The longer he held it, the more of its power was flowing into him. “Maybe with this, it could work. I don’t think we have many options other than to try it.”

Eria pursed her lips. “Sorry, forgive me if I’m a little hesitant. I’m still trying to adjust to this fusion I’ve already put myself through.”

Arthur considered his answer carefully. Eria was acting like she was swapping between two different personalities. Even during some of his own Bio-Merges, it always felt like he was sharing the driver’s seat with other people, but Eria didn’t seem like she was going through that same process. “Eria, the main thing I’ve learned from meeting all of you is that I need to stop being indecisive. I’ve thought I could only my life be one way or another. Whoever you think you are now, you’re still the one who saved me from myself. And I’ll always love you for that. This is just going to be a temporary fusion. I’m not going to ask you to give up your personality or anything like that. You’ll still be whoever you want to be at the end of this.”

Eria had a difficult time finding the words to argue with that. Arthur was arguing as if he was repaying a favor, helping her as she had helped him, but was that really what Eria had done for him? Arthur was the one who defeated the Madara and made it through the previous Pathways. The Pathway to Origin itself - and even all their past fights to even get to these Pathways - did more to change him. He put his life on the line because he was afraid of losing MirageGaogamon. Eria was just a girl he thought was attractive and had to make amends to so she’d think the same way about…

…Maybe she was indecisive. Void Eria’s reluctance to trust any of them was still trying to cast doubt on what he was offering, but the Eria who had followed him this whole knew that Arthur had no intention of making an empty offer. More than just putting his life on the line, Arthur had shown that he wanted to win. Stubborn as he was, as all of them were, Arthur’s belief that he could win made all the difference. If he was going to see this through, she would do nothing less. They were all in this together.

Eria, the Water Charmer who had found Gagagigo in at least on timeline where he could still find his way back to her. Kairi, who saw the light in Eria’s heart and trusted her with a Keyblade. Sora, who had been taken over by LERNA and Xansvita, and gained the trust of Zilyana and Kree’arra, even if they gave their own lives just to give Sora the chance of finding the Staff of Armadyl. MirageGaogamon, who had one of the strongest moral cores to get Arthur to abandon the Divine, to save Arthur and Eria from the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

And then there was Arthur himself. He was the last person she ever expected to feel this way about. In the short time she knew him, she wanted to spend even longer with him. It didn’t matter that her feelings and memories were tangled in knots. Eria wanted to fall in love with Arthur again and again, to reach a day where there didn’t have to be any apologies. She didn’t want there to be anything to forgive, to accept that as long as they could still turn back time, they could erase all the bad blood between them.

Eria wanted to love Arthur unconditionally. To follow him through the light at the end of this tunnel. She leaned in close to Arthur, pressing her forehead against his. Her breath was warm against his face as she tried to answer. “I just want us both to be the best people we can be for each other.”

And as she kissed him, a golden light surrounded them both, expanding and spreading over Sora, Kairi, MirageGaogamon, and Gagagigo. They had one last hope against Protheus Maximus. Whether they were ready or not, this would be the endgame.

---

 

[Love of Ghibli]

Team Dorian: Final Round

 

Needless to say the team smirked as it looked like they had managed to actually do some heavy damage to the final boss monster that was Isamy, but they couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed when the boss lady went and soul swapped to another body. It was interesting to see that she chose the young swordsman but that was probably a better option than constantly going on with the ice type. Dorian and Butlerok braced themselves for combat as they saw this version of Isamy summon a massive dragon to aid her in the battle. But that seemed to have not been necessary. 

GREEEEEAAATTTTTEEESSSTTT CAAAAUUUUUTTTTIIOOOOONNNN!!!  Echoed over the battlefield and both Dorian and Butlerok turned around to see a massive purple wyvern of comparable size to Isamy's dragon charge straight at the beast. 

Dorian flew next to the hyper awakened Kishin and started snickering. "You knew this would happen if you started showing off. Didn't you?"

Butlerok then looked around and tried to hide his smirk but instead just simply shrugged. He looked on as Rhadamanthys' had rocketed towards the dragon trying to one up Kenpachi and Buterlok.

A small black bat landed on Butlerok before it simply dissolved into his being. 

"You know her power is quite impressive. Maybe there was something to you joining her side after all. Ragnarok states that one of these Heralds forced Rhadamanthys to significant damage to himself to achieve victory."

Dorian looked at Butlerok and rolled his eyes with attitude. "Don't test me. I am not so fragile where I need someone else to achieve my dreams for me."

As the Dragolich was being bombarded with attacks from the Priestess Rhadamanthys in his giant energy Wyvern tried to plow straight through the beast with sheer force. 

Dorian and Butlerok both pointed to the sky and then proceeded to literally rain down fire on the DragonIsamy.

[Phantom Roxas]

They denied her the Soul of Ravnica. They had slain her Heralds. Was she afraid? Perhaps they believed she should be; it would be pure arrogance- no, stupidity to think she still stood a chance even now. To those that had participated in the battle against the Madara, it was like a sponge, absorbing their effects one at a time, analyzing their abilities to as to understand them.

But Hollow Isamy was a cockroach, refusing to die no matter what they threw at her. The longer she fought, the more she delayed the end of this war that they had all endured for long enough. No matter what she believed, she was nothing more than an obstacle, putting up as many walls between them and herself to ensure that this battle would not end. If anything, her greatest power was not something that could slaughter all of them in one fell swoop. It was that by keeping this battle lasting as long as possible, one way or another, they would give up. Death would claim them, and they would fall into her arms. They would walk with her into the next life.

Though her Heralds at all fallen, there was one truth that revealed itself; she was not the only one who was still losing everything. Could anyone truly claim to have won without sacrifice? They could not win this without proving her right; why they must accept the happy ending that she promised!

Their resistance continued as Reimu cast her barriers to trap Gula Dracolich. It was irritating, but the girl herself was growing weak. Even still, she had allowed the demon boy to deliver another mighty Megidolaon. While it was not enough to completely destroy the Dracolich, who had taken the brunt of the blast to protect Hollow Isamy, but it had managed to scatter many of the flames that had composed its body, releasing plenty of temperaments to fuel the nameless girl’s next attack. Hollow Isamy could feel some of the temperaments bleeding from her exposed face being taken as well.

Reimu and the boy would have to wait. The nameless girl had destroyed her mask and played a part in slaying Apep. Her continued existence could not be tolerated any further. As Hollow Isamy’s temperaments continued to flow, a psychic pulse wracked the nameless girl’s mind.

[ W H O A R E Y O U ? ]

 

There was no commanding roar from Hollow Isamy for all to hear. Just as it had been during their reunion, Hollow Isamy was crafting her question specifically to etch into the nameless girl’s heart, gnawing on her quest for an identity. She had praised the girl for finding her anchor, and Hollow Isamy was pulling on that, demanding that this nameless girl give her an answer. It would not break her mind, not at all. But the longer she could keep pushing the nameless girl on that point, no matter how many times an answer presented itself, Hollow Isamy could keep her in doubt.

 

"GREEEEEAAATTTTTEEESSSTTT CAAAAUUUUUTTTTIIOOOOONNNN!!!" As Gula Dracolich had just finished reforming itself, Rhadamanthys had summoned a giant wyvern of pure energy to fight it. The wyvern charged with such force that it knocked the dracolich away from Hollow Isamy for a moment, but Dorian and Butlerok had made the unfortunate decision of raining fire down apart it. Their flames were drawn into Gula Dracolich. While the flames that Butlerok had cast with Genryuusai Yamamoto’s Bankai ate away at the Dracolich, fire consuming fire, Dorian was merely adding to it, until the dracolich was able to withstand the Bankai, their flames evenly matched.

Then, Butlerok’s flames began to grow cold, as black flames continued to overtake them, until the warring flames shifted, solidifying into black ice, for this was the true power of Kiotso Kurokoriwa - transforming its own black flames into black ice. Hollow Isamy knew from Elsa’s magic that relying on ice would only put herself as risk, but as long as she could use the initial power that this Zanpakuto offered, that would not be a problem.

As Gula Dracolich’s body alternated between fire and ice, it opened its mouth as wide as possible, before chomping at the wyvern’s throat. Where its fangers had struck, the energy wyvern’s form had began to freeze. Any fire that struck Gula Dracolich continued to be absorbed, turned into ice, and used to continue freezing the wyvern.

While Gula Dracolich was occupied gnawing on the wyvern and prepared to deal with most of the trouble that Team Dorian presented, Hollow Isamy turned her attention to everyone else. With the nameless girl and, in particular, Rhadamanthys occupied, Apep would soon be avenged. Now, she needed to punish those who had stolen Metarchus away from her. With another psychic pulse, Hollow Isamy intended for this to be more broad in its area of effect, but simpler in its execution.

Satori was but a golem who had nothing beyond her love for her dear sister. And yet, Koishi was dead. Or at least, she might as well be. Without her, what reason did Satori yet have to live? As the psychic pulse resonated throughout the lake, Hollow Isamy sensed the power of a Recollection; the same power that had defeated Metarchus. Rather than a burst of power unleashed in a single moment, it was a spell that was being maintained at a constant pace. Easy enough to deal with.

[ Y O U R S I S T E R
I S D Y I N G
J O I N H E R ]

Words were all she needed to cast doubt on the Recollection. What was the point in Satori relying on it, after all? Perhaps the golem could avenge her sister, but what then? She served no purpose beyond to appear before Koishi in Remembrance. In this forest, itself a recollection of Remembrance, it was only fitting that the golem should die here. Looking pitifully at the pile of flesh laid before Satori, Hollow Isamy had a question for Koishi.

[ R . U . I N . P A I N ?
I T ’ S E Z
J U S T
L E T
H E R
G O ]

Koishi was dying anyway. She was the last anchor for this Satori’s existence, and what good was a golem when her real sister could be waiting for her beyond the Door? Hollow Isamy would not finish Satori herself. It would be up to Koishi to do so, in what little time the poor thing had left.

[ P A I N ]

The word echoed for all to hear as Hollow Isamy’s head twitched erratically. Without her mask, she was barely capable of maintaining this form, and summoning Gula Dracolich only put further strain on her soul. When her head finally stopped convulsing before resting back as the looked towards the sky, she held her Zanpakuto with two hands to control Gula Dracolich as it continued to chew through Rhadamanthys’ wyvern, before devouring the wyvern entirely. Looking between Dorian, Butlerok, and Rhadamanthys, Gula Dracolich set its sights on eliminating Dorian and his comrades. While Reimu's barrier still kept it restrained, it still invited the trio to challenge it themselves.

Four more Zanpakuto appeared beside Hollow Isamy, and she took them in each of her remaining hands. From each copy of Kiotso Kurokoriwa, a lesser drake manifested, composed of the same black flames that formed Gula Dracolich, though significantly smaller. Each of them spread out, selecting their own targets; one flew towards Bel, the drake the same size as Culebre. The second was diving towards Nero, who had been all by himself, and was still trying to join in the main fray. It would be easier to finish him now, before he got too close. As soon as these lesser drakes closed in on their targets, they exploded into a torrent of black flame. Even if the fire somehow would not be enough to kill Bel or Culebre, surely the heat could destroy his COMP. Nero had no such innate defenses, though the drake was prepared for whatever spells he might counter with.

Another flew towards a tower, seeking out Chandra. While the Planeswalker had her own mastery of fire, the drake was intent on consuming her. The final drake sought out another tower; this time, it was looking for Lydia. The pitiful girl was wallowing in her own despair, but it made her the perfect prey. However, neither drake dared touch the towers, preferring to fly around them and draw in their targets.

As Hollow Isamy let Gula Dracolich and the drakes to their own devices, the lombax, their friends, Darcy were all still hiding inside one of the towers. Theoretically that made them all sitting ducks, but the towers themselves did provide excellent protection. Even if there were still other enemies before her, she could not risk ignoring them while they lied in wait. If there were gathering their strength or were otherwise occupied, she needed to kill them now. Hollow Isamy considered her options, but there was no Void Inclusion she could use to destroy them, and even if she had one, she would not dare use it before she had pushed Kiotso Kurokoriwa to its limit. She would have to rely on something else. Someone else…

[ K E N P A C H I
Z A R A K I ]

She sneered as Kenpachi kept butchering Byakuya’s corpse. As angry as she was that he had killed Byakuya, she had a different kind of revenge in mind. It would be a critical mistake to pass up this opportunity.

[ U G O T H I M
B U T ]

This creature had been rampaging. Every action it had taken against them, it had done so from a place of anger. If she had been merely throwing another tantrum, it would not have surprised anyone. Instead, what Hollow Isamy was doing was smiling. Kratos had been paralyzed with fear after Revy’s sacrifice. Whatever his answer could have been, he was not ready to give it. She would have to break him even more. However, Kenpachi? He had lost someone as well; someone he had known even longer than Kratos had known Revy. That wound cut far more deeply. He became nothing more than unbridled rage. Without Yachiru, Kenpachi had lost all sense of purpose. Taking one blade that commanded Gula Dracolich, Hollow Isamy offered it to Kenpachi, inviting him towards her.


[ A T ]

[ W H A T ]

[ C O S T ? ]

She was not completely out of Heralds; not yet. As long as she could offer them a place at her side, she would always have a Herald.

Together, they would create their own happily ever after.

Together, they would create Order.

[Dad]

...

 

The line had become blurry in this mental state.  Kenpachi had never felt this kind of pain before.  The light of his life had been snuffed out, all for the sake of winning some war.  Without her, he had lost focus.  Without her, he had lost purpose.  He had forgotten what he was fighting for.

 

The truth of the matter was, without Yachiru, Kenpachi had no reason to fight.  He had no urge to continue on.  Not as himself.  Not as anyone else.  

 

And yet...

 

 

Fear

 

Kratos would let it cling to him no longer.  Slowly, as the battle raged, Kratos was beginning to understand that this was not a fight he may be able to win.  However, with his help, perhaps someone else could.

 

Dashing through the snow, Kratos made his way to Killua and Gon and began to break them free from their icy prison.

 

"Get back, boys," he said gruffly.

 

With a swing of his mighty blade, they were freed, and Gon and Killua scrambled to get out of the snow.  "Quickly.  You must regroup," Kratos urged them.

 

Killua shivered a bit but quickly shook it off.  "You're not wrong.  I'm thinking we should try a big and rowdy team attack.  Something that might punch through that monster.  Something--"

 

[ K E N P A C H I
Z A R A K I ]

 

Kratos, Killua, and Gon's eyes followed to where Kenpachi stood, now frozen in place.  He had stopped attacking Byakuya's utterly dismantled corpse.

 

[ U G O T H I M
B U T ]

 

[ A T ]

 

[ W H A T ]

[ C O S T ? ]

 

Kenpachi stopped and turned to face Isamy, his impossibly large weapon hoisted over his shoulder with minimal effort.  And he stared into the monster's face as steam still rolled off of his skin.

 

"Everything."

 

 

Finite

 

The blade offered to Kenpachi hovered above him like a carrot before a horse.  

 

"Everything," he breathed.  That was what he had lost.  And if everything was lost, what else did Kenpachi have to lose?  With his right hand, Kenpachi accepted Hollow Isamy's offer, his soul quickly becoming bound to hers.  

 

His personality, his memories, his pain.  They were all gone in an instant.  They were being replaced by a sense of loyalty that he could not stray from.  His power began to overflow much more greatly than before.  With his Bankai finally revealed to him and Hollow Isamy's power now coursing through his veins, Kenpachi was becoming the second greatest threat to those who attempted to ward Hollow Isamy off.  But now, he would serve her.  Until death.

 

Kenpachi really had lost everything.  Including his sense of self.  So much so, that he had forgotten his own name.  Now, instead, he would be branded with a new one.  One worthy of calling him Isamy's greatest herald.

 

"Finite."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Yes. What you said of me is true."

 

A truth that Satori had been averting her eyes from so far, refusing to acknowledge it even if the very fibers of her existence continued to echo it over and over. She was nothing more than a memory given form, and with Koishi acknowledging her as such, Satori had no reason to see her as anything else. However, even as her existence as an individual had been disproven, Satori remained still. No matter how her heart was hurt, she still locked her gaze on what was left of Koishi.

 

"Yet, there are something more important than all that." Without breaking her eye contact, Satori gently lifted Koishi's third eye from the snow. Koishi's tentacles weakly resisted her, but Satori ignored her weak attempts. "It is you, Koishi. I am here to protect you. I am here to make sure that you can be happy."

 

Yukari is gone. Big sis is gone. You're nothing more than just my childish wishes given form.

 

"A proof of your weakness, that is who I am."

Then...what can an empty recollection like you can do?

 

"Anything necessary."

 

Satori's tentacles went to wrap Koishi, but before that was to happen, a mental assault happened just as she lowered her guard.

 

[ Y O U R S I S T E R
I S D Y I N G
J O I N H E R ]

 

Was it Isamy? The weight of the mental assault was overwhelming, yet at the same time, it felt weaker than it was supposed to be. Still, even then Satori felt like she was slowly unraveling. The voice calling out to her, the voice inviting her to die, surely, it was truly enticing.

 

Koishi was dying. Satori would not have any reason to exist without Koishi's continued existence. And Koishi herself had zero reason of continuing past this point. She had lost her sister. She had lost the only parental figure she had ever known. Even if she continued, she had no reason to go through, and to restore a world that had nothing but scorn to her. Perhaps it was better for her to die. Satori was made to serve all of Koishi's desires. She was all that she wanted from her sister. Of course, should Koishi wished for her own death, Satori would have to comply, right?

 

"Ah."

 

Satori's tentacles continued on their way to wrap itself around Koishi. Several words were whispered, and bright light enveloped Koishi, followed by her remaining eye closing as Satori brought her closer to herself. Satori made a smile as she turned around, with Koishi lying dormant as she was carried by her.

 

She set her eyes on Isamy.

 

"I'm nothing more than a fake, and I am nothing more than her wish fulfillment, given form." Satori's smile became tender as she put her gaze on the sleeping Koishi. "But, even then I am still her sister. More than you, more than even herself, I would know what would be best for her.

 

She will sleep for now. She had been hurt too much. This is the least that I can do for her for now."

 

More whispered words, and a barrier was set up around herself and Koishi, protecting them from further mental assault from Isamy. Satori let out a sigh. This was the most she was able to do to save Koishi. Koishi would now be the only one that could save herself further.

 

---

 

[ R . U . I N . P A I N ?]

 

A voice echoed inside of Koishi's mind. A voice that felt like a maelstrom rather than a coherent thought, but it felt soothing to her, who had been straddling the line between life and death. She had nothing with her. She had no one else, and she had nothing waiting for her should she move on forward anyway. But, even so, death was still too scary for her. Yukari, Neos, everyone said that she should not run away. No matter how scared she was, she should continue moving forward. But, without any reason to now, why should she?

yes

 

i am in pain

 

Even her own reply was weak. What should she do now? Too afraid to die, yet too afraid to move forward. Without being able to decide for herself, the mysterious voice continued to be the soothing guidance that Koishi needed.

 

[i T ’ S E Z]

 

easy?

 

tell me, tell me what should i do!
 

She could not decide anything on her own. That was something that Koishi had resigned herself with. She was too childish, too unstable, too weak and too cowardly to do anything on her own. With the voice promising her guidance, Koishi felt like she had finally found another light that she could follow. Wherever this light would take her, Koishi felt that everything would be alright after.

[J U S T
L E T
H E R
G O ]

 

i will.

 

she meant nothing to me.

 

if it will stop me from getting hurt, then i-

 

Yet, before she was able to unravel Satori's existence, Koishi's mind was filled with darkness. Her senses shut itself off. She was unable to find herself hearing the guiding voice any further.

 

Her consciousness became dark as Koishi was forced to go into a slumber.

 

---