The Phantom; Origin

“When Khrona First Created ‘The Phantom’ And The Record Of It.”

Fourth End; The Phantom

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=2213

The enlightening battle with Zeik helped the two of them to bond as brothers and grow as people with love and understanding in their hearts. If nothing else could bring those two together, it was their shared enjoyment of the heat of battle, especially with each other. They returned to their solitude in each of their respective places and lived on with what they'd learned from and with each other, letting that be the root that would grow into something far greater in the future. With that in mind, Khrona went back into 'Deep Thought.' He was gone from the Dusk for quite a while; months on end, nearing his 18th Birthday. Everyone questioned where their leader had been, and things were started to fall apart with the Dusk that had apparently been abandoned. Hakku was, for some reason, never actually doing any work beyond her own in her seclusion and Maze was no longer held responsible for leadership duties. With no one running the Dusk, it seemed like it was finally time for this place to take a dive... But, in the Dusk's Darkest Hour, a strange man with a White Mask and Robed in Darkness appeared to salvage the dying land in her time of greatest need...

{Hebi would once more be standing within a large battle area awaiting for an opponent to appear and face him in battle. Like before Hebi was by himself with nothing but his own abilities and Anti-Ankuma Weapon trying to push his sync rate up.}

<~ Luckily enough for Hebi, there was someone else on the field around the time he'd shown himself and the person was just standing there and letting the wind flow around him. He was peaceful, standing there, with his katana in his hand already unsheathed from its scabbard which was no where in sight. ~>

" I said that we'd have to have a battle one day. Just didn't expect it to be shortly after I uttered those words to you... Hebi Gorgon, Jounin of the Village in the Dusk. "

<~ The person turned around slowly to reveal himself to be none other than Koudo. He'd been wondering what to do with his time while he waited for Priere and the gang to get ready for their departure. Honestly, he was looking to avoid using this time for some random spar, but fate was cruel and only showed this as a pausible time killer.

Koudo turned around completely and twirled the sword effortlessly before sheathing it into nothingness, the sword disappearing into a void as if it was slipping into an invisible scabbard. He adjusted his gloves afterwards before snapping his fingers and spreading his arms out wide. ~>

" Shall we get started, Snake? "

{Hebi would have his eye closed at the moment as his gorgon powers where not in affect thus at the moment Hebi was completely blind. However once Koudo appear Hebi would turn toward his direction and listen to what he had to say. Without Kobura around Hebi would possible be very silent during this match so he would only take a fighting position and would motion for Koudo to come at him.}

<~ Koudo had forgotten that fact about Hebi, or he possibly didn't know it. Hebi was blind and couldn't see his poetic entrance. Shame really, Koudo had just wasted a few minutes of his life for no reason. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed. ~>

" What a waste of a perfectly good entrance. Self Infestation. "

<~ Koudo cracked his knuckles before signing, his body beginning to radiate a silvery blue aura as it usually did. He signed once more and placed his hands to the ground. Nothing happened, but he didn't move from this position. ~>

{Feeling the sudden surge of energy come from Koudo would cause Hebi to tense up for a moment. Although feeling nothing coming toward his direction Hebi would begin to wonder what Koudo was up to. Just as a test Hebi would create a set of hand sign and would release a wave of snake from his mouth which would move toward Koudo trying to bite him and infect him with a large amount of venom.}

Great Deluge.

<~ A giant wave of water rose from the ground where Koudo's hands were placed and raced towards Hebi and the snakes that he released. The tsunami would undoubtedly catch the snakes in it's raging current and drown them while the whole thing continued towards Hebi.

Koudo had seen enough of Hebi's techniques on the mission that they'd just gone on to know that underestimating those snakes of his was a bad idea. Koudo would hold nothing back against them even if it was usually against his principles to attack and harm animals. The circumstances were different right now.

Koudo took off towards Hebi, running after his own wave of water and signing rapidly before he put his hand out to the side as if he was preparing for a rasengan, however when the chakra began to build in his hand it was a spiraling ball of water chakra. He held it at the ready just in case Hebi got around the large tsunami of water. ~>

{Hebi would be able to easily hear and smell the water of the tsunami moving toward him rather quickly completely engulfing his snakes. Hebi would not show any signs of being nervous as he would quickly make a set of hand signs and clap his hands together. Suddenly a large amount of earth would erupt in front of Hebi making a large triangle shape with the point facing toward the tsunami. As the tsunami hit with its mass and power the risen earth would act as a levee causing the tsunami to split of into two separate directions leaving Hebi safe in the center.}

"......"

{Hebi would remain silent as felt Koudo begin to gather a good amount of energy around his body and then have it manifest in his hand in some type of sphere like form. Hebi would snap his fingers and from the remaining water left over from the blocked tsunami would reappear a wave of Hebi's snakes. One thing Koudo forgot was the many types of snake had semi-aquatic like traits which allowed them to survive under water for just a little while. So Hebi's snake would once again be moving toward Koudo but this time they would all converge together taking the form of a large spear of snakes trying to drill right though Koudo.}

Just as the battle was starting to get heated, the sky above the two fighting Dusk ninja became dark all too quickly, as if night itself had forced itself upon them. The moon was even out all of a sudden. Dark clouds rolled through the sky violently as a new presence made itself known to the two...

In the distance where the tsunami water parted, the new figure walked slowly down the dry path to both Hebi and Koudo, his form slowly becoming more apparent to both of them... Or, rather, Koudo. This hooded figure wore a white, seemingly angered mask with a stitched mouth and a tattered black hood/scarf/cloak that flowed ominously from his body like fire itself. Everything else was completely black, much darker than the hood dorned upon him. Any distinguishing features, clothing or anything could only be made out as blackness which formed his body.

He looked at Hebi and Koudo, doing nothing but walking directly into the middle of the fight; walking on top of the water and avoiding the snakes just to make sure that Hebi and Koudo both knew that he was there. Afterward, he just stood there ominously, looking down at the ground...

<~ Koudo had it already sent in his mind not to underestimate the snakes that Hebi had under his control. It'd be a foolish mistake that could cost him the victory like in his battle with Lance. Honestly, he wasn't very surprised by their return and that's why he had the water ball charged.

He stopped running on a dime and slammed the rotating water ball into the tip of the spear of snakes. Just like with the rasengan, the chakra would drill right through the spear of snakes and rip them to sheds with relative ease. The water just making the ball denser.

That's when the creeper show up. Now Koudo was left with two options, continue fighting as if the stranger wasn't there, which more than likely he was going to do, or stop fighting and let the creeper have the spotlight. A tough decision?

Not really, Koudo signed and placed his hand to the water covered ground sending an electrical current through it which would shock anyone standing on the water and lets be real a tsunami is a pretty big fucking wave so more than likely everyone was standing on some amount of water. Koudo just assimilated the electricity coming towards him into his body and planned to use it as a charge for something else later on. ~>

{Hebi's hairs would begin to stand on end as he could feel the lighting moved toward him conducting through the water on the ground. Hebi would sign and would cover his hand in a large amount of fire and would slam his hand on the ground completely covering his section of the ground in fire completely evaporating the water around him keeping the lighting away from him. Hebi would then turn his head toward the person who had just appeared but would not say anything because he was not the type of person to speak.}

"....."

The masked person continued to walk along the water, seeming unaware of the electricity surging through that would probably harm him quite greatly. He was walking toward Hebi slowly across the water and before too long the electricity got to him as well. There was a masterful display of lightning sparking from his body, yet he continued to walk as if nothing were happening. Even after the electricity was done with, it still sparked around his body, now with greater violence than before.

Suddenly a huge amount of flames burst from Hebi's location, totally evaporating any water that was nearby him. These same flames engulfed the man, but before they faded he shot out of the guise of the flames straight at Hebi at an insane speed. Even though he seemed to be attacking Hebi, when he got within striking distance he slammed his foot on the ground and created a massive explosion of stored and charged electricity that was of greater power than the electricity than he took in. It almost seemed as though the tip of this electrical explosion touched even the very clouds. Within, the mask's eyes narrowed staring at Hebi... He didn't speak to Hebi at all.

<~ Koudo was still a little uneasy with this guy in the middle of the battlefield. He had just circumvented a large amount of electricity while circumventing Hebi's fire as well. If he was that powerful then there was no need to play it cool. Koudo needed to play it a little closer to the vest, and if that meant helping Hebi out then so be it.

Koudo flashed through hand signs at an impressive speed before discharging the assimilated lightning into the sky. This lightning, plus a little bit of the evaporated water and the heat that Hebi's flames produced would cause the area to begin to rain in little to no time at all. It started as a light drizzle though... ~>

Who is this guy?

<~He signed again before reaching his arms forward. They disappeared into a portal that opened right in front of him, the other side of the portal to the right side of Hebi. He grabbed Hebi's arm and pulled him through the portal and to his side of the battlefield before the lightning could do him in. It's not that he thought Hebi couldn't circumvent the attack, it's just that he didn't want to take any chances. ~>

" You know this guy? "

<~ Koudo asked Hebi. Koudo was only looking to waste some time here, not deal with a freak, and leaving Hebi to deal with it alone would hurt his own pride. Koudo was a ninja of the Dusk, so he didn't mind lending Hebi a hand if this guy was after him. ~>

{Hebi was prepared to deal with the attack coming toward him but before he could Koudo would appear and save Hebi from the attack. Landing on one knee after being pulled through the strange portal Hebi would here Koudo's question and would stop to take a very close look at the person in front of him. Hebi knew he could still be wanted by Medusa and her followers so this was very serious. Although after scanning this person's energy, soul wavelength, and even sent Hebi had no idea who this person was. Looking toward Koudo not saying a word Hebi would shake his head showing Koudo he had no idea who this person was.}

The presence peered over his shoulder when Koudo came from over it and saved Koudo, and even with the chance to attack him right then and there, he didn't. Though subtle, it seemed like he was watching Koudo's movements and studying them. When they both exited the portal, he loosened up and stood straight up again, looking up to the sky which the rain was pouring from. His hollow black eyes quickly found their way back to Koudo and Hebi, and he was back on the prowl.

With a quick burst of speed, the figure came in their general proximity hopefully before they could even settle themselves down. Instead of actually attacking them himself, however, he jumped into the air a little bit and extended his hands, his fingers in a position ready to flick something. Without much of a warning, this man's hands would start to flick raindrops at Koudo and Hebi at an ungodly speed, seeming to catch the frame on every one that came down near him and freezing it on contact, sending literal ice bullets down upon them that made small explosions on impact with whatever they touched. The mask's mouth became a little less serious, even so much that it smiled... But the eyes on the mask were still malicious.

<~ Koudo was looking at Hebi from the corner of his eyes and still watching the man. Completely turning your attention away from an enemy was entirely foolish and Koudo was far from foolish. He was always on the defensive when it came to fighting. At the indication that Hebi didn't know the man, Koudo was equipped with the intent to kill.

Koudo signed using the hand signs needed to use his favorite element, Lightning, as the man jumped in the air. He slammed a hand to the ground before a torrent of senbon shaped from lightning rose from the ground before him. It wasn't the speed that made them a good counter for what the man was flicking toward him and Hebi, but the sheer number of them. They served for a good solid defense. Hopefully the sudden rise of the lightning senbon would give Hebi the chance to knock the man out of the sky. ~>

{Feeling Koduo and the strange man in a current dead lock with their attacks Hebi would sign trying to catch the man off guard. Hebi would hold his hand toward the man in the sky and suddenly from his sleeve would erupt a wave of snakes that would be able to effectively move around the lighting and ice bullets trying to bite down on the man and slam in to the ground.}

The electricity surging through the air protected the two effectively against the exploding ice bullets, however that did not mean that this phantom was done with the attack. He landed on the ground, naturally unable to stay in the air forever, and started running toward the two yet again. When the wave of snakes came, he did not falter in the least, and even went so far as to grab two of the snakes from the oncoming wave, quickly change them into solid metal, thus making them into bladed weapons, and began to slice through each and every one of the other flesh snakes.

By this time, the blood of the slain stained his path, and when he burst through the blood he had these snake blades outstretched; one above his head and the other pointed at Hebi. The lingering electricity from Koudo's attack was forcefully taken into the snake held above his head, while the other one instantly expelled the taken in electricity in the form of a concentrated electrical bolt. This bolt shot straight for Hebi first, then with quick aim and precise timing, aimed another at Koudo. When there was no more of Koudo's electricity, the phantom dashed at top speed at them, aiming to slash them right through the chest before causing the snake blades to disperse.

<~ Koudo took a little time to rest after he released his lightning senbon while Hebi sent his wave of snakes. He was attentive as always and ready for anything. He didn't drop his guard and stayed knelt beside Hebi though he'd begin moving soon enough.

He signed and placed his hands to the ground. ~>

" Storm Pillars. "

<~ A wave of pillars of baby blue energy rose from the ground in a straight line towards the charging man. They collided with the electricity and exploded against the bolts, canceling each other and kicking up dust and debris in between the man and Koudo, and Hebi.

Koudo charged forward from his seated position at top speed through the dust and debris using it as a cover. ~>

" Karasuhime... "

<~ Koudo whispered this name inside of the dust before he emerged from the other side of the mess, hopefully in front of the phantom, with his own sword drawn from its dimensional sheath and glowing. He swung at the man, aiming to match blades with him and perhaps overwhelm him with his own skill and power.

He'd let Hebi do whatever it was he thought was best for him to do at this point.~>

{As Koudo took the man head one Hebi would take the distraction as a time to create a few hand signs. As Koudo was about to make contact with the man blade fore blade from behind the strange man would appear a large amount of strange black snake from the ground. These where Hebi's gorgon snake which bite a simply bit would be able to turn the man into to. Also because these snake where made for gorgon energy if the man tried to simply cut them the gorgon energy would spread from the swords to the man himself.}

The phantom didn't let up at all, no matter what attack came his way. Instead, he pressed forward, bladeless and all, as he had dispersed the snake blades a while ago. With the Storm Pillars erect, he had an idea of his own which caused a sinister grin to appear on the face of the mask he adorned upon his own. With Koudo appearing out of the debris, the phantom simply matched his blade with a gloved hand and nothing more, grabbing the sword and staring Koudo directly in the eyes. A moment after, a voice wisped through Koudo's head, saying something along the lines of 'Look into my eyes' before the black, abysmal pools revealed a menacing and piercing glowing red iris within the blackened contents. The true eye of whomever was behind the mask.

In the split second that all of that transpired, Koudo should have felt hours upon hours of deep, insane thought coursing through his mind uncontrollably, disallowing him any thought or action of his own, allowing the phantom to promptly and gingerly tossing him aside, where his own thoughts and motions would return to him the instant he let go. He only turned back for a moment to let Koudo get a glimpse of that piercing red iris one more time before he continued off toward where the pillars used to be. By this time, Hebi had created the black snakes that aimed to attack him, yet the phantom didn't turn around, as it was like he already knew what was behind him. He swiftly got into the cloak of the debris and before even a moment had passed, large replica pillars were launched at the black snakes, propelled by a force launched straight from his palms. Lifted high enough to impact the head and flying at the snakes at high speeds, the pillars would either harm the snakes or change into stone... or even better, both. The first one was quickly changed to stone, which is what the phantom wanted to test out. The energy they were made of turned things to stone, which wasn't all that surprising or difficult to deal with. With the others changing to stone and probably covering his position, the phantom started walking back toward the snakes, phasing out and then in mid-walk to get closer much faster.

When he was about as close as he wished to be to these creatures, he held up the same hand he 'struck' the pillars with and used the same technique to blow them into the snakes to blow away the snakes. The resulting force from it not only blew away the snakes, but literally blew them away, out of existence, along with the ground and atmosphere that was consumed by the attack, leaving only a slightly distorted atmosphere and a rigid, indented ground below where the attack scarred. The phantom did not make a single minute movement after that.

" ...! "

<~ Koudo was surprised that his sword was stopped... so easily. It was one of the first times anyone had just grabbed it besides his past training session with Maruze all that time ago. He expected things like that from Maruze, but not someone he hadn't seen before. Swordsmanship was his second favorite and by far his best fighting style at this point.

Luckily he had planned accordingly though, just in case something strange happened, but before he could call the name of his attack something called to him and his eyes were drawn to the eye holes of the masked figure. He saw red gleam from them then nothing. He couldn't register anything at all. It was as if his brain had been over run with meaningless thoughts that distracted him from the battle.

He didn't snap back to until he was tossed to the side, prompting him to recover with a back flip and slide to a stop. He eyed the figure. Those eyes were familiar to him, but he couldn't remember from where. ~>

" Don't ignore me... Roaring Blast! "

<~ From within the lingering debris behind the man as he approached the snakes Hebi had used a large blast erupted and fired off towards the man's back. From the point in which it fired, it spread out in a cone shape and covered a larger radius for an increase in destructive power.

The debris finally fell to the ground, and in its stead stood a 15 foot tall wolf. Koudo's Ga Rei, Karasuhime. His on little secret weapon. ~>

{Seeing Koudo release his large attack toward the strange man Hebi would jump back to give himself so distance so not to be caught in the attack as well. Hebi would then take a deep breath and would release a powerful surge of fire which would take the form of a large king cobra. The snake would rocket toward the strange man opposite of Koudo's blast so the two could collided head on with the men in the middle of it all.}

When the wolf made itself known, the phantom slowly, but surely assumed an upright position, turning around just as slowly as he stood straightened, letting only that single red iris gleam brightly through the wave of sound. As it was about to make contact, he moved in a blurred motion out of the way, reappearing next the the wolf, almost as if he teleported. In actuality, he was moving just that fast so that no one, not even those with vision affixed to see at abnormal speeds could pick up on his movements, leaving the wolf and everyone else probably unaware of what happened to him the microsecond before the attack was going to hit him.

In retrospect, the cobra of fire was created to catch the phantom off guard whilst the sound wave came at him directly, therefore they were released generally at the same time. When the phantom moved, all that would be seen was the sound wave totally blowing away the cobra and causing those vastly concentrated flames to disperse back into a thermal mess. With the upper hand in his favor, the phantom would prey upon the wolf first. By now, they should either be wondering where the phantom went or be picking up on his power signature and finding where he was, so as they did that, he blurred out again and reappeared an instant later on the other side of the wolf, leaning nonchalantly against its large, strong leg.

One should wonder why this wolf was not attacking and simply allowing him to even touch it, however that was what transpired over that half of a frame in which this man moved. He subdued this beast simply by freezing it in time... Or, that's what one should call it. He revolved around the wolf 37,000 times in that one instant, each time circling from tail to eyes back to tail again, and each time he went to the eyes, he stared the creature down for half a moment, giving it only a glimpse of what Koudo had to see, however doing that 37,000 times only made it that much worse. You see, the beast's mind was now moving much, much too slow for it to even complete another thought for at least another half hour, let alone move its body for thirty times that amount of time. Thus, the creature was 'frozen' in time, with the ability to think as slowly as a snail moves across the ground. Shooting a gaze back at Koudo and Hebi, he stayed there, actually wondering what Koudo would do more so than Hebi.

This is getting tedious.

Koudo never took his eyes off the phantom, and the phantom couldn't avoid Koudo's gaze because he was following his chakra signature. No matter how fast he moved, Koudo could see him, but couldn't do anything about it. Koudo's plan for his Ga Rei had failed and he was getting tired of this.

The blast from his Ga Rei cleared a large section of the ground in which it was suppose to smite the phantom. It also made very, very, very short work of Hebi's flame serpent in no time flat. Koudo sent a message, mentally, to Karasuhime to come to his side, but when the wolf didn't move he could tell something was wrong.

Instead of worrying, he simply straightened his stance and sheathed his sword, the wolf disappeared. Frozen in time or not, it had no say in whether it stayed in this world or not, Koudo had full control over that. As much as he wanted to stop fighting, he wasn't gonna back down. However, he didn't have a plan and so he didn't do anything.....

{Watching the man deal with Koudo's wolf rather quickly Hebi would quickly notice something which picked up on from when the man made Koudo pause for a moment. What Hebi was able to realize was that this man was using some type of eye based ability which was causing those who looked into it to freeze in place for some reason. Hebi would think for a moment and would then sign causing purple snake scales to cover his arms and hands and claws to grow from his finger. After these grew a black and red like smog would begin to seep from Hebi's scales as they where nove covered in a very strong venom that caused powerful paralysis to who ever touched it. Hebi would then disappear for a moment reappearing right in front of the man trying to hit him with multiple thrust like attacks.}

With the wolf taken from him to lean on, the phantom should have fallen, however he stayed in the exact same position as if the wolf was still there, unmoving and uncaring that it was gone. When Koudo decided not to attack, the phantom stood up and dusted himself off. That was when Hebi appeared with his attacks, which were quickly stopped by the phantom using the same force from before, yet in smaller doses to block every attack delivered, each one blowing away the smog being omitted from Hebi's arms. Naturally, he hadn't touched the arms when using this force, but actually released the force to stop Hebi's hands every time they were an inch away from his own hands.

Finally, after a moment or two of doing that, the phantom jumped back a long ways and landed, turning to walk away from the area. He started to laugh, giving the two of them a thumbs up as he ominously walked away. His laugh was sinister, yet not malicious at all. He turned his head but only for a moment, shooting a final gaze at Koudo, then at Hebi, then turning back to his path. Seems as though he was approving of them for whatever reason... Huh, that's weird. Regardless, he was now gone, as if phasing out of reality itself, almost like he'd never even been there at all.

Honestly, Karasuhime was Koudo's final trump card and he had nothing else behind her. Perhaps if he had reconstructed Delta before hand then he would have had something, but it took a lot of chakra to keep himself infested and heaps to use the lightning release like he usually did. It was surprising that he wasn't tapped out. He was out of plans too, so he would have been playing closer to the sidelines if there would have been a round two while Hebi took the front seat.

For whatever reason, just as quickly as he'd come he was gone and the final gaze that was shot at Koudo seemed to give him the information he needed on who the masked stranger was. Koudo folded his arms and smirked. It seemed that was someone he'd have to pay a visit to when he and his friends returned, but first they needed to be prepped to go. He turned his back and began walking.

" It's been real, maybe we could have that fight at a later time. I've got a date. "

He said to Hebi before walking into a portal, which also costed a pretty amount of chakra to muster, and disappearing from the area. The portal closed shortly afterwards. Koudo was heading to Shibusen.

{Seeing both opponent leave the area Hebi would remain silent as his scales would disappear and he would turn and leave out of the area as there was no longer any reason for him to be here.}

PostSubject: Re: Book 13; The End of Khrona Tensei Fri Apr 03, 2015 7:39 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
Fifth End; Joining the Workforce

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=2595

No one had seen nor heard from Khrona for quite some time, but more reports of the masked man known as 'the Phantom' had been occurring in the Dusk. In Khrona's stead, his assistant, Kupo, would deal with any of the tedious work that had to be done in his absence... Unfortunately for the poor Moogle.

-It wasn't long into Isaac's wondering that he had roamed into the lands of the hidden Dusk Village. He had only heard of this place...and had the misfortune of running into a few of it's shinobi a while back.

It wasn't like they were incompetent.....just to clouded with dreams..

None the less, there was a aspect to this village that Isaac had found most interesting, and so he knocked upon the Kage's door, trying to not only obtain more power...but to see this ruler of dreamer..-

"Knock, knock..."

The door opened, the only creature there being a small moogle with an oddly colored bonbon.

Kupo: Khrona is out at the moment kupo. Is there something you need kupo?

With Khrona out and Misery and Despair not... wanting to deal with his line of work, and Tabris maintaining the dwindling 'Team Psychotic,' Kupo was the only one left to watch the office. Even Khrona's own child was busy. Sigh... Oh well. Things still needed to get done and Kupo was the most qualified...

"Kupo?"

-Making his way inside, rudely with out even being asked Isaac's eyes roamed the office. It seemed normal, a desk, chairs......he expected a Kage's office to be more, especially here in the Dusk...huh guess this Kage had some humility.

Turning back toward the creature that allowed him entry Isaac figured he just come out with it, no point in prolonging this...other things needed to be done....-

"I've come to get a "Job". I don't suppose you could help me with that, rabbit?"

-I mean what else could this thing be? Had to be a floating rabbit...-

As Isaac so rudely entered the office, Kupo gave him a dark stare, crossing his arms.

Kupo: Yes, kupo. It's what moogles say at the end of their sentences kupo. It's a verbal tic that we can't help saying, though those like myself can get around it. Kupo.

In truth, Kupo really did like saying it so frequently. It was him saying his name and reminded him of his heritage every time he said it. After being called a rabbit, however, a vein of anger appeared on Kupo's head.

Kupo: Rabbit...? I'm a moogle. A mixture of a mole and a bat. Not. A rabbit.

Kupo pulled out the Final Fantasy Grimoire, holding it under his arm.

Kupo: ... So, human, you wish to achieve a Job? Fine, choose one from the list.

Kupo gave him the list and waited.

"I have nothing against your verbal tic. It's actually rather catchy,...kupo."

- Everything after that Isaac...just didn't pay attention to. The Moogle's preaching was a concern as he made his way over to the Moogle and it's massive book. It was strange, Isaac hadn't even noticed it on the Moogle's person when he came in, and it was strange that it could hid such a huge tome.

Ignoring the Moogle's clear signs of frustration he flipped through the pages of the Grimoire, job after job searching through them all taking note of what he would like and mental notes on the rest..-

".....I only get one?"

Of course, this guy agitated Kupo to no end, but even so, he needed to go through with this job thing on Khrona's behalf.

"... No kupo. You get two. One is your main class and can never be changed, the other is your sub-class. Choose wisely."

Kupo, on the slick side, tried to concoct a vile plan to get back at Isaac for calling him a rabbit, however... And he was wondering how this would happen...

"Hmm, so I do get to choose more than one huh?"

--Smiling Isaac handed the large grimoire back to it's owner the Moogle, his searching and studying over now, he had come to his decision.--

"Black Mage for my main, and a knight for the sub...Yes, I think that will do just fine.."

--The mechanics and arts he saw accessible to these two individuality "jobs" peeked Isaac's interest greatly. The studies of "Magics" is what stood out the most to him, a branch of power in which Isaac had never even heard of...a power that he would learn and make his own...--

"Now then, Mr. Moogle, can you please help me in achieving these higher powers, kupo?"

--A bead of sweat fell from Isaac's head in a very comical anime like fashion, as he took a moment to just take in what he just said....Great, the rabbit's catchphrase was stuck in his head now...and judging by how catchy it was...it was going to be a long process getting over it.....Damn it, kupo.--

Kupo took back the Grimoire, having half a mind to change Isaac into a Dreamhare for calling him a rabbit so much... And as close as he was to doing so, he restrained himself... This time.

"Alright kupo... Here we go..."

Isaac saying 'kupo' at the end of his sentence made him rather happy. He snickered, the light starting to shine out of the book.

"Hold still..."

The light engulfed Isaac, bestowing him the power of the Black Mage within his being, and then the Knight. Eventually, the light would fade and the book would close.

"... There kupo."

--As the light began to fade, reviling a Isaac born anew in these new found powers, yet along with it, it seemed as if his clothes had changed, a probable side effect of taking on one of these "jobs". Made up mostly of combinations of both black and purple materials, save the two skulls that hung like keychains at Isaac's waist linked to him by chains.

Isaac took a moment to look at his new duds, in which he enjoyed oh so much.--

--Isaac could feel the great potential with in him now, a vast valley of magic and skill yet he still ignorant to the arts in which his "Jobs" allowed him and as such, he still only as good as when he walked into this office only moments ago.--

"All that's left now is to learn and train. Moogle man, you wouldn't happen to be the one that trains individuals, now would you?...*sigh*.....kupo.."

--Damn it......he did it again.--

As tired as Kupo was of this individual, it was no lie that he knew every single ability of every single job, and therefore was one of the best people to train anyone.

"Sigh... Yes. I do. What do you want to learn first kupo?"

His hesitant attitude was all too apparent, but... This was all for Khrona, whom he hoped would be back very, very soon...

"Basics, from what I saw of yours, certain skills come with certain jobs. So, I'd like to just get the basic spells and skills out of the way.."

--Isaac glared toward the floating mole, bat creature. He was starting to get that feel from him that Isaac normally got from everyone else. Sighing the young shinobi realized that maybe his attitude wasn't the best for someone asking for help..

Isaac could at least give this....MOOGLE the respect it deserved for clearly being a being of great power and knowledge.--

"So, yeah. I uh, would like to know if you could help me out with this, kupo.....-_-"

-- -_- --

"You know you've really gotten that stuck in my head.."

Somehow, Kupo knew that was coming. His head dropped as he looked straight to the ground, utterly depressed.

"... Alright, kupo. Fire, Water, Aero, Thunder or Blizzard?"

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=2617

Though Khrona hadn't been seen for quite a while, randomly, at the time of need for a struggling young woman, one of his partners, Despair, would appear to help her out randomly and secretly.

Aliyah walked onto the ranking field with as much enthusiasm as she usually showed in hopes of advancing further so she could make her mother and father proud of her. She wanted to show that even shinobi from the future could be as devoted as the shinobi of the past.

She sat down and folded her legs, entering a meditative position as she waited for a proctor.

The first person who would show up was Despair, Khrona's weapon. She was here whilst Misery was elsewhere... the Colosseum. So, Despair was here taking her place.

Despair: Oh hello there... How are you today?

Aliyah looked up from her meditation at the beautiful young woman. Her short hair made Aliyah smile because it was almost just like her own. But then a sudden sense of dread washed over her and it seemed to be coming from the woman. Aliyah didn't run or speak up on it, she only rose an eyebrow. It was just an annoyance, like a force wanted her to runaway from the woman, but Aliyah herself could easily brush it aside.

She had enough despair to last a lifetime.

"Hello. I'm fine, and yourself?"

Aliyah stood and bowed to the person she could obviously tell was a weapon. The wavelengths she could feel from the woman was staggering so Aliyah knew she had to be a death scythe already. She wondered who she was partnered too and couldn't help but feel anxious that she was one of Khrona's weapons.

Despair rose a hand to her face in an elegant fashion, her lightly balled hand touching her lips shyly as she responded.

"Oh, I am... woefully pleased to meet you... I have not seem someone that exudes such promise in a long while... I knew this would be a terribly refreshing day..."

She smiled at Aliyah, yet that didn't lighten her heavy aura at all, even looking at her face enough to make the happiest of people grimace. Her presence made children sad.

"It seems you are here for a ranking exam, correct? It would be dreadfully wonderful to assist you!"

Aliyah didn't frown, but the aura of despair seemed to get stronger. It only proved to remind her of the future that she wished to avoid. This line of thinking, though not easily, let her will herself to think of overcoming the despair instead of falling to it.

"Yes, I would like your help. I want to be able to protect what's precious to me..."

Despair lowered her hand, primping her dress a little bit as she spoke back to Aliyah.

"... Protect? Alright then... I will assist you in learning about that. Your exam... Is to defend yourself against my attacks whilst also trying to land one on me. You lose points if you evade attacks, but you score major points if you actually can land a hit on me... Does that seem fine to you, Miss Aliyah?"

Of course, Despair knew her name because she had to know all of the Dusk Shinobi, as did Khrona. However, she was uncertain if Aliyah knew of hers.

"... Oh, and forgive me for me rudeness... I am Despair a la Discord. Dishearteningly pleased to meet you..."

'So that's why I feel so weird...'

Aliyah thought. She knew who Despair was, but had never met her. She WAS one of Khrona's.

"It's also frighteningly great to meet you. And I accept the terms of this exam. I am ready to begin."

Aliyah took a deep breath and readied herself, having her arms hugged in front of herself, but with her hands inside of her jackets.

Despair's single eye not covered by her hair was filled with a forlorn, abysmal look, yet there was a certain sharpness only the truly skilled could see. Though she usually let her entire body become a weapon for herself, this time, she seemed to only want to have her shoulders be her weapons. On each shoulder, a hole would open up as if she were a mechanized matron, though this was far from the case. Seeing as one of her weapon forms was that of an explosive launcher, her body adjusted as such when she was not in full weapon form. Her index fingers on both hands would become lined with a thin blade, like that of a razor.

"Well... Begin."

As soon as those words exited her mouth, two rockets were fired off from her shoulders, the force blowing Despair back a little bit, but that was nothing she wasn't used to by now. She didn't have her feet planted, anyway. The rockets spiraled toward Aliyah, threatening to detonate around her entire area... Looks as though Despair intended to start off strong.

Aliyah drew three seals from her jackets and slammed them into the ground. Activating them revealed a large ice barrier.

'Technically not dodging, heh.'

She sweat dropped but didn't linger too long. But the missiles blew the wall to pieces, knocking Aliyah off her feet. She winced but rolled backwards to her feet.

'Gotta be faster.'

"Singular Soul Resonance!"

She cried.

She didn't feel her wavelengths go high at all and wondered if the despair she was feeling from Despair made her unable to go up to full strength. She cursed beneath her breath and used the small boost as best she could.

"Great Flowing River!"

She called and spewed water at the ground in front of her until the area began to become slightly filled with water. From the water around her feet , she began to strafe quickly to the right, and the water began to glow with each step she took.

"Activate!"

The glowing areas of the water began to form water needles that flew at Despair before the pool could reach the woman itself.

Despair's missiles collided with the ice barrier, causing them to explode on contact, however Despair definitely noticed the water needles and the rising water in the area. As the pool neared her feet, she looked down only to hike up her dress, then begin to hover slightly above the ground.

"... My... I wouldn't want my dress to get wet."

Now, Aliyah was on the move, seeming rather ready to strike Despair. Despair promised herself she wouldn't use her Rejection during this battle, as it would be too much for a Genin to surpass... but, maybe Aliyah could do it? If Despair absolutely had to.

With the water needles so close to Despair now, her dress seemed to act on its own, stretching outward like an extra limb and slapping the water needles back down to the pool whence they came. Soon after, Despair held up her hand, a hole opening up on her palm as well, before several grenades were loosed out into the water. Most were in Aliyah's path, and since she wasn't allowed to evade them, she had to take the explosions head on. They started to go off like fireworks, their explosive power leaving small craters in the ground and blowing away a majority of the water.

"Yes!"

Aliyah cried even though the grenades were coming at her. Once more, the water would glow where the needles were slapped back into the water and shoot more needles up at Despair from right beneath her.

With the grenades, Aliyah went through one hand sign.

"Great Flowing River Prison!"

She called and the water around her covered her in a chakra intensified bubble. The grenades explosions would tear it apart but not do as much damage as they could have without a defense. Aliyah hit the water and rolled onto her feet once more. She was getting sick of being tossed around. The singular resonance wore off now though.

Making another scroll appear, she made a catapult appear and hopped onto it, launching herself towards Despair. She had already drawn two more seal tags from her arm.

Despair's watchful eye watched every move that Aliyah made, carefully and accurately. Waiting. Despair was the defensive one of Khrona's two weapons, and to be as such, one needed to have the keenest of sight; the best of the best in perception. As Aliyah neared, Despair's dress would raise up and stretch out, revealing what was under it... Not Despair's legs, but a steam of alternate dimensions all intertwined and woven into the underseams of this dress. What was this creation...?

No matter. With Aliyah traveling so fast because of the catapult and unable to alter her line of fire, since she was already launched, it was almost inevitable that she'd travel through Despair's dress and fly out right through the other side, behind Despair and onto the ground. It was then that Despair's wavelength began to flare... She was going to use one of her more powerful attacks now. Time for her to test how truly resourceful this girl who wished to protect truly was.

The atmosphere around Despair started to grow gray and dark, as opposed to the brightness that was outside of this aura. It seemed to sap the color and the life right out of the air, warping it to the same shade as Despair's isolated soul. Her Despair Wavelength was going to work here... Prepping for attack.

"I'm going to try something different... Perhaps, you should too?"

The water needles that came up below Despair did nothing, and this confused Aliyah. However, since she hadn't moved, her plan was still good to go. As soon as she was right in front of Despair, she released her most prized technique.

"Maledictis!"

If Despair would be hit by the pulse of wavelengths as Aliyah flew through her, she would become dizzy an off-centered, almost as if she were terribly drunk. Depending on the strength of the wavelength pulse, a second attack to do physical and wavelength damage to Despair would also occur as a stronger pulse from Aliyah, as she moved her center of gravity to her head, allowing her to flip her body and slam her arms down hard on the water, not even three feet away from Despair now.

The second pulse of wavelengths would flare out powerfully, hopefully grabbing that hit on Despair that Aliyah had truly wanted.

The first wavelength seemed to be snuffed out by Despair's own, the natural effects of it already weakening the effects of Aliyah's, but also, because Despair had already started to intensify it, the wavelength didn't reach far.

"Et tu? You speak Latin as well...? Though you wish an evil curse upon me...? You are too depressingly kind..."

By now, Despair's wavelength was apparent by the aura of grayness around her, and the second wave, more powerful than the first, would be combated by a thin, penetrating beam of Despair's concentrated wavelength from her eyes... the Glare of Woe.

Considering the effects of the Glare of Woe and Despair's wavelength, it withered away all it touched with ease, causing the very 'will' of the attacks to fall, making them weaker and weaker at an incredible rate. This beam, headed straight for Aliyah, was something that couldn't be stopped by normal defenses, as this beam destroyed the 'will' of barriers and penetrated straight through them, as well. Perhaps... she'd be forced to dodge this time. That would not fare well in her overall score...

Feeling her wavelengths have absolutely no effect on Despair, Aliyah finally did begin to feel the outlandish emotion within herself. The feeling of dread that almost overwhelmed her almost made her panic. If she couldn't hit Despair physically nor with wavelengths, just what exactly was she supposed to do?

There was one option...

But she had promised not to reveal herself to anyone until her father had learned of his own abilities. But it looked as if she had no choice. To protect those closes to her, she had to stop holding back anyway. Holding in power that could potentially save others lives was only endangering them more. Leo was testament to that...

"Cantata Mortis!"

Aliyah spoke and her eyes burned red. The water parted from the double release of wavelengths that came from her body. Her kekkei genkai, for the first time in this time, was being used in battle.

Her hair began to darken, as if ink was flowing through it, turning it completely black. Her eyes dimmed from red and took on the orange color of her mother Rai. Her clothes darkened but held the same design as her fathers clothing, albeit, now with a longer coat-tail. Her right arm began to melt, as if dripping ink before expanding quickly in a bright light, and then solidifying again in the form of a gigantic scythe.

The figure that could hardly be recognized as Aliyah brought the large scythe around and began to emit a blue glow, almost like a vortex (or ward from skyrim, don't ask how I know that.), and began to take in the attack from Despair.

"Sorbere."

The Aliyah like person spoke. Then two of the four crystals that had been floating near the end of the scythe fell to the ground, indicating her time left in that form.

Despair's eyebrow raised at the new form taken by Aliyah, yet her unblinking eye stayed stoic, watching everything going on with her. The Glare of Woe was absorbed by Aliyah, letting her avoid the physical effects of it... However the effects of it being inside of her would prove to be much worse. Not only would her power as a whole begin to weaken, but so would her wavelength, and even with this form, it would happen rather rapidly.

"... 'Sorbere'? An absorption ability, it seems... You truly are bold to take in an attach such as that within yourself, even in that form... But the dark toll it takes on the body and soul... still resides within you, tearing away at your will..."

Despair said that almost as if it were the saddest thing in the world to her. Her eye dimmed and her hands began to flow gracefully through the air... Slowly, almost as if time were being slowed by her moving of them, even allowing afterimages to appear behind them, even though they were moving slowly and not swiftly. Her dress began to expand as well, razor blade lining the hem of it completely, and as it twirled it took on the effect of a buzz saw, slowly expanding and ready to shave down everything in the area... namely, Aliyah.

Aliyah could not smile in this form almost as if she were one with the despair. But the gleam in her eyes would show that she would have a smirk on her face if she were in her natural form.

"You are mistaken."

Aliyah's voice was low and monotonous, making the air seem filled with utter despair caused by both woman.

"My weapon wavelength is the Flowing Wavelength. I can regulate my wavelengths to flow with any wavelength or poison that enters my body. While I cannot completely nullify the effects in this way, I adapt to them the longer they remain within me. As our wavelengths flow together, I can exude the same aura as you. While I cannot replicate any of your abilities since I do not have a Mimic Wavelength, your despair shall incur no wrath upon me."

Ink clones had began to form as she spoke, appearing every time she took a large jump back to distance herself from Despair, intending them to be shields. She did this three times, making three ink clones that appeared completely black and still liquid-like since she didn't put much chakra into them. However, each one of them held a glowing center.

The first one being closes to Despair as she began to her buzzsaw attack, if she continued through, would splatter the woman in ink with a terrible smell. The glow inside of her would shine brightly before igniting in a small explosive seal, powered by the flammable ink that would then cover her.

The third of her four crystals would fall to the ground as she began to charge her wavelengths.

Despair now understood why she didn't feel the full effects of her wavelength before the battle had begun, but even with this wavelength of hers, it wouldn't be enough. It simply was not strong enough, no matter the effects of it.

"... As a mentor to you, I will give you a little word of advice... Even the effects of a wavelength will mean nothing to the sheer power of another. Technically speaking... You and I are in Soul Resonance right now... And do you know what happens when someone tries to resonate with someone who is not on the same wavelength as they are...?"

A sort of sadistic move on Despair's part, this was going to be, but it was probably picked up from Khrona or Misery, being around them all these years. But even still, it was a lesson to Aliyah, as to not to get full of herself... Too far lost in secondary abilities, for even they can be nulled out by the bold facts of life. Despair's wavelength grew exponentially, to heights far unattainable by both a genin and a non-deathscythe, her wavelength resonance unfathomable by her own self. Keeping up with Despair's wavelength was something only Khrona and Misery were capable of doing, and that was from years of using her. Such a high increase in wavelength within a resonance would cause Aliyah's wavelength to become overpowered as well, causing not only a horrible physical pain to surge throughout her entire body, increasing at every moment, but... Her soul would be at high risk of exploding, in comparison to a lightbulb powered by lightning. Too much power to handle...

But Despair wouldn't let that happen.

The ink clones being generated about were likely to be the first things sliced up by the razors on the dress, however at the sight of ink, Despair's dress retracted all too quickly, reverting back to normal.

"... Never shall I let a stain come to this dress... Even if its threads are impossible to tear, it still stains just as easily..."

She seemed very thoughtful about her appearance, and cleanliness. Or maybe, that dress just meant a lot to her. Nobody truly knows. In any case, those ink blots were going to be dealt with... After Despair saw what Aliyah was going to do about Despair's wavelength... She kept a watchful eye of everything... That unblinking, unmoving, depressing eye of hers...

Aliyah's head exploded in pain at the increase in wavelength frequency. She dropped to one knee, still trying her hardest to flow the wavelength through her body but it was becoming impossible. She drew her arm back through the pain, her head starting to bleed from the sheer mental force she was displaying to stay conscious.

"Delerent." (Annihilate)

She spoke and swung the blade, a blue wall of wavelength appeared glowing almost white.

"Ruptis." (Burst)

With another swing, she shattered the wall, leaving glowing pieces hovering in the air.

"Dimittere." (Release)

With the eye like gems on her scythe glowing, Aliyah forced Despair's wavelength out, mixing it with her own as it went. However, the shards that were in the air got caught in the release, so not only was a large blast of wavelengths headed towards Despair, but so were hundreds of wavelength shards, darting about the area like homing lazer missiles.

The ink clones were caught in the blast, spraying ink out in all directions, more towards Despair since the direction of the attacks were towards her. The seals inside of the ink clones began to go off, igniting large flames that roared towards Despair, and ripping up dirt towards her.

The last crystal dropped from Aliyah's scythe, along with Aliyah herself. Falling to her knees as he body began to return to normal, she held her head in pain and tried her hardest not to vomit from the pain of a foreign wavelength tearing through her body.

"

Witnessing all that Aliyah had done, it wouldn't be long before her body gave out from such a devastating ability. She was still trying her hardest regardless, and Despair noted that. The blast of shards and wavelengths neared her, but Despair was not fearful. Instead, extended her arm out in front of her, then bent it toward her, a razor blade jutting out of the side of her hand and pinky. When the blast came her way, Despair's razor gleamed brightly, coated with her wavelength, as she made a swift and decisive slash across the air in front of her when the blast came, slicing it clean in two, forcing it around Despair's area and destroying everything else in the way.

After all of that, everything in the area caught aflame and seemed to be destroyed. Despair stood there unharmed, still in the same position as when she sliced through the blast, eye closed. When she opened her eye again, it was only halfway, but was still able to look at Aliyah.

"... For someone of your rank, you are already very impressive..."

Her voice trailed off, seemingly muffled by the flames and destruction around her, which allowed only her silhouette to be seen... Save for her gleaming, dark eye. She lowered her hand, the razor retracting back into her essence as her dress wrapped around her, causing her to implode, it would seem, before she instantaneously appeared in front of Aliyah.

"... Your skills would rival the power of a Special Jounin, given some practice..."

From Despair's very soul, a huge wave of sheer force would quickly sweep across the land, seeming to ignore Aliyah, and snuff out all of the flames and push away all of the destruction instantly. Her Rejection wavelength. Despair touched down to the ground once again, hiking up her dress as she did before letting it flow naturally about, then offering a hand to the clearly tired Aliyah.

"... So I expect you to train to meet the requirements of your new rank, miss..."

Despair smiled, even though it only made the air more heavy as she did. She tried. The exam was over, and Aliyah passed with flying colors, even if she did not meet the bonus requirements.

Through blurry eyes and bouts of pain, Aliyah took Despair's hand, giving her own weak smile and a thumbs up.

"You...can count on it."

Despair nodded her head, closing her apparent eye before wrapping Aliyah in her dress... Though, it could be taken more like swaddling. Despair had no healing capabilities at all, and neither did Misery. They were weapons of destruction, after all, even if Despair was the one who SHOULD know some healing techniques... Khrona was the only one who could heal her, and he was out at the moment.

"... I guess I'll just have to let you go where you need to be... See you later..."

Despair waved at Aliyah before her dress completely engulfed the child, sending her through one of the various dimensions, warping her to the safety of where she needed to be most of all to recover from such a shock. Soon after, Despair herself returned home.

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Beginning Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:50 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=270&t=3996

Whilst Khrona was busy trying to stabilize himself and get a grip on the world falling apart around him, the Phantom struck again, it seemed, to a few very important people... It seemed like three great and powerful Primordial Entities had appeared in the Tri-Village Alliance and were seeking to return this world to nothingness and forge it again in their image, for some reason. These three beings, having been awakened through the events that happened with the Master Tower, were probably Medusa's ace in the hole after her death... Which now became Khrona and the rest of the Dusk's responsibility to fix. Shinigami gathered his forces, the Great Eight in order to face the fal'Cie, but Khrona and the New Gen Trinity had to face off against the Primordial Trinity... And to prepare for that battle, they needed to do everything in their power to get themselves back to tip-top and work together. Of course, Khrona's part was a little different in all of this... A bit more dark, crafty and shady... as is who he is, at times... He was gonna have to don the Mask again...

After being expelled from the Sky Sanctuary Aliyah decided it time to get serious about her learning. She wanted more and more knowledge of this time. Seeing that in the future, she hadn't known of any of the wonders of the world, and the great amounts of power that seemed to be lost with time. She kept all of her weapons sealed as she entered Khnum's pass and formulated her thoughts accordingly. She wanted to meet Khnum or any of the other gods or goddesses that could possibly give her merit to enter the Sky Sanctuary. She had truly meant no harm the first time she went, but could hold no ill will to the cloud like beings being suspicious.

A blurry figure in the distance of the trees flickered tree to tree behind the girl when the time was right. Unsuspecting, she entered the Sacred Temple meaning to meet one of the gods. It was time to meet someone better.

"Hi there..."

The man flickered to the side of the walking girl like a surge of energy, a mask adorned upon his face to hide his truest identity.

"You're here looking for one of the great ones, correct? Looks like one of them just found you. But ass curiosity led me to you, what led you to me, by chance?"

His body still half aflicker, he flashed in and out moderately beside her, waiting for his answer.

Aliyah's heart skipped a beat as the figure appeared next to her but she didn't let it show. She was used to disappearing and reappearing just like that, but it seemed getting used to it would be a bit harder than she expected. Hearing him speak, she took a step back and gave a quick bow. The person seemed familiar for some reason.

"Overall, what lead me to you was also curiosity. The yearn to learn more for the sake of learning and grow for the sake of growing. I was hoping to receive the blessings of a god or goddess to enter the Sky Sanctuary. If I may ask, who are you?"

This person also piqued her interest, especially since he claimed to be one of the great ones.

His shadow covering most of his mask's face, only his cutely stitched smile stayed apparent, showing just the emotion he was having at this time. By the lofty and quick chuckle he gave, he seemed to find this girl rather interesting.

"Careful. Don't let your heart skip too many beats there. Call me the Phantom. Don't ask why, you'll just find out later. If you're looking for a blessing, you've got mine."

He lifted his head up from the shadows a bit, now his slender eyed mischievous face could be seen a bit more, but just by an eye.

"But uh, what's up with you and the Sky Sanctuary? Something up there you in need of?"

Aliyah was about to reply when a sudden migraine struck her. She stumbled a bit, images once again flashing into her mind like they had done when she was fighting against Grave. She was seeing things happening elsewhere and she didn't know why. This time she saw a strange man in Khrona's office, sitting at his desk as if he were the Kage of the Dusk. He also had the grimoire. She also saw a powerful darkness fall over the Sky Sanctuary. She was beginning to get worried and it showed on her face.

"I...excuse me, something is terribly wrong. With the Sky Sanctuary and with the Dusk..."

She didn't know what to do anymore. She wanted to explore through the many untraveled areas of the Dusk, and gain knowledge and training along the way but once again that didn't seem possible.

'Is this what Shinigami-sama was warning us about?'

What...?

He could see perfectly everything she was thinking about at the time. In fact, he deduced everything that happened that she could not from her vision as well, and realized the gravity of what was going on. He needed to work fast...

But, let's keep cool... Wouldn't want to alarm anyone.

And so, he kept his face hidden, now retreating back to the shadows of his hood.

"Something wrong? With the Sky Sanctuary, huh?"

He turned his head up, taking a gander at the huge bulbous sphere of nothing but energy hovering above the Sky Sanctuary, eclipsing it, even.

"... Huh... That doesn't look good. Well, must be the reason why you came here, huh? Get to getting that blessing, why don'tcha? Something seems to be going down around the Dusk. You're a pretty high ranking official around here, why not do something about it?"

Little did she know, she was going to have to either way it went.

Aliyah knew she would have to do something. It was already decided when she saw the strange man in Khrona's office.

"I plan to. You said I have your blessing already so any token of proof is all I need. I'll head back to the Sky Sanctuary and see what's really going on. Someone needs to alert the other Jonin or at least Shinigami-sama...but we don't want to cause mass hysteria either..."

Instead of waiting for a reply, she created a single ink clone next to her. Already knowing its instructions, Aliyah opened a time displacement and sent the clone to Shibusen. She hoped the Green Mage training she had gone through would be put to use soon.

The Phantom crossed his arms and watched her, seeing how she handled the situation so calmly and collectedly. It was rather impressive that she knew just what to do in time of crisis.

"Well, little lady, keep up the good work. You're doin great, seems like. Well, either way, I guess you have work to do..."

He spun around, locking his hands behind his head as he casually started deeper into the Sacred Temple. From here, it would seem that these two were going to part, lest Aliyah had more to say.

Aliyah watched as Phantom walked away and sighed. She had a feeling something big was happening, far bigger than she knew of at all. She would play it safe while checking out the Sky Sanctuary until her clone could get more information from Shinigami. But one question still plagued her.

Where was Khrona?

With the question still in her mind, she herself entered a time displacement heading back to the Bridge.

Turning his head only to see her fade away in a time displacement, he almost forgot something important.

"... Oh yeah..."

He flickered in and out himself, completely disappearing after a moment or two. When he appeared, he was right beside Aliyah in the time displacement, holding two mysteriously colored gems. Materia.

"Here. Your reward."

He flicked her one, hoping she caught it, then started to fade away, leaving her with these final words;

"He's trying to get things in order. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

And he was gone. Vanished.

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=113&t=4022

Yurox was back roaming around the Dusk looking for another monster to kil and its soul to take. He would wait patiently on one of the tombstones in his present area, the graveyard.

In the stead of a monster, a shadowy figure seemed to form around Yurox's area, manifesting into the shape of a masked man after some moments of idle lingering. This man with the mask on his face sat comfortable upon a tombstone with a leg up near his chest and his arm leaning on it casually.

"What's up?"

The appearance of the masked man was suspicious and Yurox became cautious quickly. His light magic would manifest itself in the form of a small scarf, illuminating the area to a small degree as he spoke.

"Just searching for monsters... I don't suppose you would be here for the same reason, would you?"

A chuckle escaped the masked mouth of this man, feeling the discomfort and unease in this guy from his sudden arrival.

"Cool your jets there. I just might be looking for something of the sort. Or I might be doing something else. Just doing... Something, you know?"

He turned his head to Yurox, his mask now becoming slightly illuminated in the light of the moon and his scarf.

"I just like to get out sometimes. What's your deal? Afraid of me?"

Yurox turned his head away at the question that he be afraid of the masked man. His scarf would then turn black with dark magic as he spoke. He didn't know who this guy was but he didn't look to be of any danger to Yurox at the moment, yet he still kept a watchful eye of him.

"The only thing I'm afraid of is being disappointed, and I don't seem that happening anytime soon."

He said while turning back towards the masked man as his face held a blank expression. Nothing about the man seemed to grab his interest as of yet, though there was a mysterious feeling about him.

Another chuckle escaped him. He found this guy kinda funny already; so dutiful and diligent in his work.

"... You're pretty stiff, aren't you? Coming out here for research and the like of these monsters."

His body flickered in and out rapidly, before his image was then in front of Yurox, walking closer and closer to him slowly, a hand in his pocket.

"I guess you're, what, a junior scientist or something?"

The Phantom seemed to know much more than he should about this kind of stuff, for some reason...

Now things were getting interesting. It baffled his mind how this man would know that he was out here not for souls alone, but to actually study the beasts themselves, his research. He staggered back a couple feet as the Phantom suddenly appeared on front of him.

"I am many things, things you should not know about but do somehow. Why don't you remove the mask and reveal yourself?"

No doubt about it, this man was funny, enough to make this eerie man laugh a little.

"Heh heh! Ha, why not take it off of me? Go ahead, if you think you're bad."

He crossed his arms and stared at him in a way that allowed his mask to look as if it were smirking. Whether this was a trick of the eyes or if the mask was actually altering to his will was a mystery.

"Of course, I do have my reasons as to why I know what I do. Have you ever seen me before? Do you know who I am?"

Granted, he already knew all of the answers to these questions, and even how Yurox was going to respond. Whoever this was, he surely had some talent.

"No, I don't know who you are but I guess it's time to find out, isn't it?"

Yurox said as his dark scarf turned back to light while a light sword also appeared in his right hand. Images of himself would then be replicated into illusions of himself, six to be exact. Two of the illusions rushed towards Phantom before Yurox did and took a swing, then the rest of the illusions. He had an idea of who it was yet it was time to make sure, he wanted definite some answers.

The Phantom's smile grew longer across his face, his advance forward stopped in no way by Yurox's illusions. He could see right through each of them, and they all posed him no threat. One by one, they would pass right through him, and the Phantom raised his hands as if he meant no harm.

"Hold on, you're trying to fight? I highly doubt you want to get in that kind of situation with me."

After the first two illusions moved through him, he was face to face with Yurox, whom he acknowledged with a sharp stare and a head nod. His stare, a simple shimmer of red in his sockets, was the indicator of the true Yurox, and he would pass right through the Phantom as if he, too, were an illusion. He smirked, whispering in his ear as he passed through his body.

"I am... The Phantom of the Dusk."

That was all that was spoken before this so-called 'illusion' flickered, his body now facing the passing Yurox and seeing the stream of light trailing behind Yurox, he snatched it with his hand and flung Yurox to the ground, stepping on his stomach whilst pulling the scarf tightly with his gloved hands.

"This meeting can be pleasant or unpleasant. You decide."

He pulled a bit harder, tightening the wrap of the scarf around Yurox's neck.

"I'm called 'The Phantom' for a reason. You have never seen me before, but I have seen you countless times. I am the wandering soul of the Dusk."

And that was all there was to it.

The occurring events seemed unreal to Yurox as he simple passed through the Phantom as well as the current position he was put in. He would try grabbing onto his lef that had been thrust to his stomach, taking him a bit to reply to the Phantom.

"Fine... So what do you want with me? You couldn't have just showed yourself here for no reason!"

Yurox would say a bit loudly while taking short breaths of air while he spoke.

It was just a chuckle fest for the Phantom today. It was all in good fun, though, he wasn't going to seriously injure this guy at all, just teach him a little lesson on being less aggressive. His hand phased right through the Phantom's leg, which seemed to be another reason why he was called 'the Phantom.'

"Listen to what I'm saying to you; just relax. Go with the flow of things. Maybe my reason for being here was just to tell you that. Or maybe there's something else more important for you. Are you even aware of what's going on around Vescrutia lately...?"

The Phantom released his neck and took his foot from Yurox's stomach, then pointed up to the sky. Ozma, the ecliptic Forgotten Eidolon, had perched himself right above the normally hidden Sky Sanctuary so that all could see him, and he could see them. He turned back to Yurox.

"See that? That's what's happening right now. What is it you do here, besides research, I wonder? Do you stop things like that?"

He placed both of his gloved hands in his pockets, scoffing, smirking and turned away.

"If you don't, then you'd better get started. It isn't up to the Kage to keep this place clean alone. Everyone has to pull their weight."

If Yurox wasn't stupefied enough by Ozma to be unable to speak to the Phantom, then he would simply fade away, lest Yurox had something more to say.

Yurox wasn't stupefied but he was surely amazed at the being in the sky while taking in what the Phantom was saying. He thought for a moment as he took his foot off of Yurox's chest yet he stayed laying down as he thought.

"No... I don't stop things like that... But I can say that I study these things like that and figure out a way to stop them. So tell me... How would you suppose I get started?"

Yurox would say, hopefully before the Phantom would vanish from the area, as he stood up from the ground. Clearly from his words it would seem that he was on board with stopping such a being if it posed that much of a threat to the Dusk.

"Study them... Huh? I'll tell you the best way... Join the man in the Kage's chair."

The Phantom was indeed about to disappear, when he thought about something... This guy was a pretty special guy here. He did indeed know just the type of person he was and how he could help out the Dusk. So it was time for the Dusk to help him out, as well. The Phantom held up his hand, small spheres of different colors between each of his fingers and thumb. There was one, however, that seemed to stand out from the spheres. Whilst balling his hand into a fist and pulling the orbs in, he let one roll onto the top of his thumb and he'd flick it to Yurox.

"... Materia. You use magic, right? This one will help you with your Illusionary abilities and strengthen your other magic. A gift to prove that I really exist, you could say."

With his final chuckle, he started to fade away in a blur of rapid flickers, yet had one more thing to say with his fading voice.

"... I see you becoming an important part of the Dusk's future. I'd suggest talking to Cleff or Koudo about the laboratory in the Dusk Village, Mr. Top Researcher."

And finally, he was gone.

Yurox would catch the Materia flicked towards him with his left hand, feeling the item empowering him upon contact. It was truly a magnificent feeling as the Phantom had gone. He didn't know his true place in this village other than an outsider yet it was not time to think on such matters as it was time to do as was instructed.

"The man in the kage's chair... That's who I'll see first."

He said to himself while leaving the area. He would have to see Cleff or Koudo at a later date.

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=273&t=3987

As the two conversed among themselves, it would seem as though they hadn't noticed the figure that had appeared behind them in the area. Not that they should have on account of how he got there. Walking silently behind the two for a while, after some time he decided to make himself known.

"Sounds like a pretty good conversation you two have got going here. Mind if I cut in.?"

There he stood; the man shrouded in nothing but blackness. His hands were gloved, his body was completely covered and his head was hooded. The only non-black item on him seemed to be a mask... This was the signature mask of the Phantom, if anyone had even seen or heard of him that often. He was an elusive one.

Elara in her own little witchling world was steadily observing the area about her..not that she was watching out for monsters or anything she was just admiring the beauty around her. The young and ALMOST as pretty as her Phena was walking beside her. When out of nowhere a voice spoke. Elara didn't even think her body just reacted and jumped up her magic spiked a bit leaving an after image of purple Flames at her former position she then lazily fell into the arms of Phena (Scooby and shaggy style lol)

<•>Ahhhh!....G...Ghost!<•>

She merely stated what she saw...a being shrouded in darkness with acreepy white...but oddly cute face.

Unable to notice a certain presence that came out of the random, Phena sighs and facepalms. Her mind is in shock but her face expressions are plain as usual towards the mysterious figure's arrival. Feeling nostalgic towards to the unknown's energy aura, so mad and powerful unlike anything else. Phena asks:

"Ah...another arrival, another stranger. Who...might this be? another lost one like us perhaps? My apologies, forgot to introduce myself...I am Phena."

How strange it is for Phena to be so kindly to a stranger. Hearing upon the stranger's question of joining in their little group, Phena thought he was another totally lost one now. In response, she answers:

"Why yes of course, but in such rare or common cases...I find this suspicious."

Phena who is so busy talking to the stranger wearing everything in dark clothes except for the mask in white, was then bored by Elara's so called daydreaming. Times pass by so deeply, it seems like no one notices it for a while. Phena too...daydreams for some seconds. Alerted suddenly by Elara's jumping and hugging, Phena's expression finally changed into pokerface. Phena thoughts:

"Ah, kids nowadays are what I find "amusing"..."

It must be the mysterious person whom Elara is scared of, patting Elara shoulder again, so talkative again, Phena speaks:

"Don't be afraid or be too worried about things here and there...I'm assuming we're all safe towards this man..."

The Phantom snickered to himself a bit, placing both of his hands in his pockets casually. It didn't seem like he meant them any harm, nor shock, nor alarm. Yet, such things were unavoidable to people like Elara, who seemed to spook easily.

"More like a Phantom. Not a ghost."

Though Phena's suspicions were accurately placed, she knew not of the intentions nor the persona of this masked man... the Phantom.

"Well at least you didn't attack me. I wouldn't want to hurt two little ladies."

He lowered his head, allowing for his hood to create a shadow over his masked face to create a more mysterious atmosphere around him... Ooo.

"Not that I should be the one talking, but... What brings you two ladies to this part of the mount?"

Though she was still a bit spooked she didn't get any bad feelings from this man...in fact she didn't get much of anything from him...his very existence was an enigma. Feeling eather patting of her shoulders she got of of Phena hand.

"Sorry about the Phena...I'm terribly afraid of ghost...err ...phantoms"

She said walking toward the stranger holding her hand out for a shake...which was unsual for her...she normally didn't do greetings but her meeting with koudo made her think twice about the way she normally did things.

"I'm Elara Mister phantom..."

She walked a bit closer but not to close Sue didn't want to over crowd him.

"I actually wandered in this place by mistake...so I don't have a legit reason"

Giggling in silence towards Phantom, Phena couldn't expect anything like this funny from him. Of course, Phena only hurts the ones who hurts herself or her friends. This person, Phantom, was really like a gentleman. However, he was just as mysterious as Phena. And for Elara who was too afraid of spooky things, she tells:

"Why my...must a witchling be afraid of anything so cheap. If you must wish...to turn into a full Witch. You shouldn't react like this...So be brave my new friend..."

Such harsh yet kind words flown out of Phena's mouth was very well put also. Hearing another question from Phantom asking where and how Elara and Phena herself ended up here lost in place. Elara answered first, how fast that was. Phena was bored by questions now. Lazily, she responds:

"Ah...I've gotten the same issue as Elara's as you can see."

Distracted by Phantom's appearance, the negative view of it and how he's dressed. Phena is much more curious to know the identity of him. Wanting to know, Phena asks a whole bunch of questions that might throw him off:

"So just who are you really? Where are you from? Why aren't you showing your face...?"

Within seconds, Phena appears in front of Phantom. Studying the looks of the mask covered in shadows by the hood. That was when she accidently sensed Phantom's energy level that was way too powerful and full of something dark perhaps mad. Phena gulps and slightly in shock:

"Whoa...what was th-that feeling?!"

"Seems like I'm just the lady's man today, huh?"

Both Elara and Phena were thoroughly fascinated with everything about him, from his appearance to his personality, and even his enigmatic way of doing things. Was he really so interesting? With Elara's hand extended, he grabbed it gently, the feeling of his glove like water rushing over her hand gentle, as if she were touching the slightly undulating waves of the calm sea.

"Much obliged, little lady."

He nodded at her and chuckled to himself after hearing how she got lost, then placed his hands in his pockets. Seemed like Elara was a shy one... and Phena was the one to get all up in someone's grill. Personal.

"Huh, and a feisty one, hm?"

He stared at her, staring at her up and down with his unblinking, pitch black narrow eyes. This kitsune mask upon his face harbored rather cute properties, but also rather mysterious ones as well. What he would say next would only add to the mystery...

"Hm. You don't like questions, yet you ask me so many? Don't you find that just a bit hypocritical, hun?"

He didn't even answer any of her questions because he knew that one of them would be in awe about what he just did, if not both of them. He could sense Phena sensing his power, but because he was able to distort the readings of his power to anything he wanted, no one would be able to trace who he really was... They'd simply just be able to feel his strength itself. He made sure to use every precaution to keep his identity a secret.

She smiled and chuckled a bit...his mask was cute and she appreciated tha he was a gentleman. Elara wasn't much of a sceptic...not sense meeting koudo....she was slowly learning to give people who display kindess a bit of leway..but not to much.

"That is a bit hypocritical Phena"

Sue said just to tick her off a bit before walking away a bit looking into the dazzling sun and then back at phantom.

"Well since we're all here...how about some soul hunting...it would prove fairly interesting at best."

Now that she had actually thought about it she needed to grow stronger with so many things happening in the dusk and threeel were better than one...Heh why not.

Agreeing with both Elara and Phantom, Phena couldn't expect the ugly word "hypocritical" coming but whatever. She was just too curious wanting to know everything but coming back to her senses, she noticed herself as a "nosy" person. Hearing Elara's idea of soul hunting interests Phena. She speaks:

"Soul hunting you say? will it lead us out of here somehow at least?

Most importantly for now, Phena wanted to ask Phantom one more question:

"So Phantom, do you have any where we are at? Perhaps that will help out our soul hunting journey making it a bit easier?"

Before she goes off for soul hunting, Phena holds Elara's left hand and skips off together as if they're little kids again.

Looks like they didn't know that he looked into Phena's emotions on the sly. Good thing they weren't all that savvy on psychic and reality warping powers. That made things a whole lot easier for him.

"Soul hunting? Sorry, I've got more important things to be worried about than souls... I mean, do you even know what's going on with the world these days?"

Seems like these two little ladies had been thoroughly in the dark about all of this. So it was time to wake them up out of their little fantasy worlds.

"You have serious work to do, ladies..."

He pointed up and over into the sky, pinpointing the giant swirling mass of energy in the sky, looming over the Sky Sanctuary and all of the Dusk. They would feel the utmost terror, which was not terror at all, but just the overwhelming amount of power this creature had that dwarfed their own.

"That's only one of the new threats that's around. Ozma. There are 2 more like him, and one more powerful than him. I don't think this is the time to worry about Soul Hunting."

Seeing that they requested souls so much, he might as well comply. With his other free hand, he moved it in a blur to the side, and the sound of a creature waaaay on the other side of the mountain made a horrible, blood curdling scream. In the split second his hand had blurred, it had actually flickered through reality and ripped out the soul of a monster that was attacking a poor village, and now he had it in his hands.

"Here you are, ladies... A gift. From a Phantom."

The worth seemed to be 20 souls, and that was about 10 souls for the each of them, if they split it right down the middle. He lowered his other hand and gave them the soul as a freebie.

"Take it. It'll save you a trip."

Looking to the direction of his pointing Elara knees would begin to buckle as she laid eyes upon the massive entity...Ozma. it was a huge creature unlike anything she had ever seen. And there were two more like it....and one even stronger...if the massive Magical force she was sensing came from Ozma then...the just how powerful was the other stronger force. She couldn't help but tremble at the thought.

"Dear God!...what ...can the dusk even defeat such a being?"

She said looking to phantom would had now summoned a glowing ball of light Elara for one felt drawn to it...for it eminented a powerful tugging at her...as if she was meant to have it. She looked towards Phena...so this was a soul.

"So..this is a soul huh?...this is what will advance my Magic...Phena...I for one have use for this mass of energy..do you?"

She asked for she could tell that Phena wasn't a witchling nor bore a soul weapon...so if she didn't need it then Elara would.

"If not then don't mind if I help myself"

In the event Sue didn't need her portion than Elara would consume the mass of Souls. Giving out a manly burp.

"Oh..excuse me...tehehe...thank you phantom...but...what can we do to that...thing...to it were like peons?!"

Looking towards to the skies where Phantom had pointed was a very image of destruction and full of evil. It was something Phena was undecided to whether join to fight it or not because she is in fear. Again dozed off topic, she continues to look and listens to Phantom. Here Phena sees him handling some souls to her and Elara. Phena wasn't expecting this, and Elara told Phena it can be used to fuel up magic, she speaks:

"For magic? can it be used on my weapons since it runs on magic? Their not soul weapons anyway..."

Curious to know since she uses weapons fueled by magic yet herself is not a witch so Phena is in need of this information. In meantime, Phena speaks again bowing Phantom:

"Thank you"

The Phantom smiled at them, chuckling to himself a little at Elara's question.

"The better question is, what can you do... Together?"

The Phantom spread his hand over the entire widespread view of the Dusk Village as a whole.

"... Even though you by yourself are not strong... We as a village are undefeatable. Everyone in the Dusk Village is doing their part to destroy this creature... So, why aren't you?"

And with that, the Phantom disappeared, leaving those two to marinate on that thought. It was up to them to figure out what they must do... What they are best at. What support they can give. What they can do to better themselves and help out this village. They definitely could do something, even if they thought they couldn't. Th Phantom only hoped they figured such a thing out...

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=4091

Chisato stood on a thick branch high up in the canopy, inspecting the blade of her jian to take her mind off the knots turning in her stomach. Perfectly straight and free of nicks, just like the 47 other times she had checked.

In a flicker of distorted reality, a man seemed to walk along the top of the swamp water as if it were solid ground, the waters rippling around his feet as if this were a natural occurrence.

"Well hello there. Nervous, much?"

He didn't look at her at all, yet he seemed to know exactly where she was. His hands were in his pockets, and he chuckled a bit. He seemed really relaxed.

Her proctor had finally arrived. Chisato stepped off the branch to meet the him on the water. She increased the air resistance around her as she fell to slow her descent, landing softly on the water with little more than a few ripples.

She sheathed her jian on her back and bow before her protor. "Thank you for taking the time to test me, sir."

He cocked his head to the side a little bit, hands still casually in his pockets. He looked around, finding no one else here that was supposed to be her proctor... And slowly turned his head back to its initial position facing her.

"... You're joking. You don't mean me, do you? Can't be."

He looked around just one more time, this time all the way over his shoulder to see if there was anyone else here. No one. Not a single soul.

"... You've got me mixed up, lady. I'm no proctor."

"Then who are you?" Chisato asked. The swamp was a remote area, so she had assumed he appeared because he was going to be her proctor.

The stranger had yet to show any hostility, so she didn't draw her blade, but she was still suspicious.

He laughed at her a little, feeling her insecurity about his presence now that she knew that he wasn't his proctor.

"Hahaha, well, you can just call me the Phantom. I assume you've never heard of me or seen me, and that must mean that I'm doing my job well, because I know all about you, Chisato Uchiha."

He lowered his head, his shiny, ominously white mask's smile curling up with his own raise in emotion, which made it look like a smile. Was this a trick of the eyes or was this stationary mask actually moving to match what the Phantom felt?

"... And I did know that you were here for a ranking exam. I just came to wish you luck. Oh, and to ask you if you knew about the goings on in the Dusk. Of Grimlock? Ozma? And the others in the rest of Vescrutia?"

She was a dutiful little genin, and the Phantom knew that even when he wasn't the Phantom, even though he didn't acknowledge her, and it was of absolute importance that she knew, he knew. So, it was time to let her know.

"Alright, Phantom...what's going in Dusk?" Although she was now in a position of power as the DSF Chief, it still felt strange that someone would bother to approach a gennin like her.

He cocked his head curiously to the side, chuckling a little bit.

"Funny, I would have thought someone with those kind of eyes would be able to see something like this."

He merely looked up and over his shoulder, past the visage of the trees, which seemed to open up in the direction he was looking to show the sky. There was Ozma, the creature that loomed over the Sky Sanctuary and watched over the Dusk.

"Ozma. It's one of Grimlock's super powerful deities he's using to control the world. You know he's basically taken Vescrutia from under our noses? Yeah. Even sitting in the Kage's chair as we speak."

He pointed at the place down below Ozma, barely visible due to its ecliptic body hovering constantly over.

"See that? That's the sacred Sky Sanctuary. That's where Ozma originates, and has now taken it hostage on Grimlock's order. It watches over all the Dusk now, waiting for someone to mess up. It wants to force us underground."

It seemed like a blatant explanation, but it was how it needed to be said. He turned back to Chise, lowering his head again.

"Grimlock has two others, as well, currently watching over the Chaos and the Neo-Nightmare the same way he has Ozma watching over this place. They are Necron and Li-Grim, respectively."

Finally taking his hands out of his pocket, he brushed them together and placed a balled up fist on his hip casually.

"... You know, it's funny that you should think I was your proctor... You've given me an idea. Being the Phantom of the Dusk, I'm a legend. A myth. Wouldn't you think it would be cool to be ranked by an urban legend?"

The smile appeared again on the mask's face, portraying perfectly the devious excitement welling up within the Phantom.

"... I think that would make you someone special, too, don't you think? Heh. And it doesn't look like anyone's coming so... Consider it a gift. From the very heart of the Dusk itself."

His body flickered and blurred, skating across the water in an instant without even moving, kicking up a large wave of water as he did so. He was now quite far away from Chise, on the other side of the field still within her vision. He was already ready... So it was her turn, now.

Chisato hesitated, still processing what she had just seen and heard. Dusk, no, all three villages had been invaded right under their noses. She wouldn't have believed him if he hadn't shown her that huge marble entity he called Ozma. Now she could feel its sinister aura, and the sensation of something spying on her.

She really didn't want to continue with the exam, but there was something special about this Phantom character, and she had questions.

She summoned two flash clones in the form of hammer head sharks. They both surged ahead to chase down Phantom. She followed close behind, parting the air in front of her to reduce drag and sprint faster.

Laughing a little to himself, he saw the very moment where the conviction on Chise's eyes became apparent. It was then that he knew that this exam had begun.

"Looks like you're ready. You don't waste any time, do ya? Ha. I love that."

The flash clones, shaped like hammerheads rushed him down with Chise behind them, determined to catch her mark. Too bad her mark wasn't one to get caught. The face of the mask smirked, and it was on. When the flash clones neared, the shine from their lights overtook the shiny white mask, reflecting a huge and powerful light right back in their direction. Even if Chise could see through the brightness of the light, what she could not see through that the Phantom knew no one was able to see through was the split frame of blindness that everyone had when they moved their eyes... except himself, of course. Tracing her eyes, he had found that exact moment and moved through it, flickering away without her knowing where he went or how. Several trees off to the right, if she was paying attention, she'd find the Phantom sitting nonchalantly in the branch, as if nothing had happened.

"You'll never catch me like that, you know. You're a user of light and you have the Sharingan, right? Oh, I expect so much more from you than I do other genin."

He shook his head a little bit, reclining to a more relaxed position.

"I'm not gonna make clear what it is you have to do in this exam. Unless you wanna look more into what I'm saying, then go right ahead."

Chisato slid to a stop as the area exploded in brilliant white light. Her right eye snapped shut to avoid sensory overload, but her left eye was unfazed, and the Sharingan activated from the stimulus.

While she hadn't been able to track Phantom visually, she could feel the vibrations he left in the air as he sped off to his new position. He was fast, much faster than anyone that she had encountered before. She found him sitting casually on a branch several feet to the right.

He was open to her asking more questions about the situation, so she did:

"What happened to Khrona-Sama, and why are you coming to me about this?"

Swinging his leg casually from the tree branch, he didn't seem nearly as phased by the question as he should have been. He turned his head lackadaisically toward her, his eyes portraying some sort of emotion...

"Hm? The Kage, huh? Who knows? I heard he was an enigma. Almost like a phantom sometimes, if you'd like to see it like that. Definitely a mystery in his methods. But they always turn out right in the end. He knows what he's doing."

He stopped kicking his leg, swinging it high up over his other, which was bent a bit so it looked as if he were a bit more comfy than before.

"I would think the better question is; What are you gonna do about it? I could have sworn that this was the Dusk village, not the Khrona Village. If everything was just up to him... Do you think people like you would be important? What do you think I'd be here talking to you for if everyone else wasn't part of this place?"

The tone in his voice was a little less chill than before, but not too much. He was mostly just trying to prove a point. There was a quick red flickering gleam in one of his mask's eyes, which seemed to be an unreal light. In fact, it was rather intoxicating to look at... But under Chisato's feet, she'd start to find that the water was pulling her under, rippling violently under her feet. The water was now rather reflective, and looked to be something similar to a mirror, and if Chise looked down, she'd only be able to see her hopefully frantic face as her feet started to sink.

"Don't forget that this is still an exam. Be on guard. And by the by, nice Shark Day reference with the clones. Nice."

Phantom abruptly ended the conversation by resuming the exam. She felt a hard tug on her legs and looked down to see the once murky water now had a mirror like quality, and was now dragging her underneath.

Chisato threw up a hologram of her continuing to sink while she decompressed an explosive shuriken in each hand. She threw one into the water under her, and the other at Phantom. The shuriken underwater detonated, and she escaped the pull of the water as it dissipated under her feet and sprayed into the air.

She jumped onto the side of a tree trunk to avoid being taken by the water again.

Tapping his foot a little bit to an internal melody, he watched what she did as she started to sink. She was resourceful, a quick thinker, of course, and seemed to know a way to use conventional things to get out of situations like those.

"Nice. Not many people like you in this world anymore. You do me proud."

As one of the explosive tags came to him, he merely held up a hand and flicked it away, causing it to spiral out of control somewhere in the air, before it warped right in front of her face, still spinning. The bladed part would hit the tree, and finally that would cause the explosion. Seemed as though up until then, the explosion had been forcefully delayed, however.

"I mean, don't stop asking questions. I don't mind. I just don't want you to forget that this is an exam, either. Always be prepared, even if your enemy is talking."

That's all he was trying to teach her. Finally, he swung himself upright, flickering his body a bit, going through several different positions of standing up. It almost looked like he was going frame by frame, as if like a slowed, yet still extremely fast animated flip book.

"Anything else you wanna ask me, hm? I'm game for anything."

He started to stretch a little, cracking his back, then placing his arms over his head and standing up on his tiptoes in the tree. When he was satisfied, a hand of his went right back in his pocket.

When Phantom had redirected the explosive shuriken at her, she had jumped across to another trunk to avoid the blast radius. Instead, he sent it flying into a tree into a tree away from her original position and detonated it.

She shifted her gaze back on him, just in time to see shifting into several positions as he flickered - his movements reminded her of stop-motion animation. This Phantom character was one strange fellow.

Heart pounding fiercely from her scare a little earlier, Chisato considered her next set of questions. So Phantom thought she could contribute to the fight against Grimlock? She found the idea simply preposterous, but then again, a powerful man like him wouldn't be wasting his time on her if he didn't think she could be useful.

"Can you provide me with any details about the underground, and do you know of any weakness with could exploited with Grimlock and his minions?"

Still stretching and limbering up, he sighed, pulling up what he knew from the recesses of his mind.

"Huuh... The Underground huh? The only things that are underground of the Dusk are Hakku's lab, which harbors the Cauldron, Khrona's Pit of Havoc, Shibusen's catacombs, Parts of the Enigmatic Ruins... Eh, and probably a lot of other stuff. A lot of the underground is connected though."

When he was finally done stretching, he hopped down from the tree, his body fading out before he was even close to hitting the ground. There, silence consumed the entire swamp.

"Weaknesses of Grimlock? Haha, only the Grand Magistrate herself, and she couldn't kill him, only seal him away."

His body seemed to slip out of the tree where Chise was hanging onto, staring her in the face. His body was wavering, the atmosphere around it slightly shifting and undulating. He waved at her again, before exploding with a large amount of Reality Warping attributes, causing a spacio-temporal distortion at the blast radius. That clearly wasn't the real Phantom... The waters were shimmering and reflective yet again, but that didn't seem relevant to where the Phantom was... Now, not even the trees were safe.

The ability to seal away Grimlock wasn't a weakness per se, but that did mean fuuinjutsu could be used to stop him. But based just on the stature of his minion Ozma, it was going to take to be a one hell of a seal. Creating a seal was well beyond her abilities at this point, but with time, maybe she could come up with something.

Phantom resumed combat, generating what she recognized from her fuuinjutsu training as a spatial anomaly. She jumped away from the incoming waves, and then used the transformation jutsu mid-air to become a large black falcon. She began flying away now, quickly accelerating with the aid of self-generated gust. The hope was that she could just keep moving away until the anomaly dissipated back into normal space.

Still having no clue where the Phantom was, the spatial anomaly started to subside around the tree, leaving the swamp now relatively normal. It didn't seem like she could see where he was, even though he was definitely in plain sight. He started to laugh a little bit.

"She sealed him in the Cauldron."

Of course, Chise wasn't going to know what the Cauldron was, as it was a very secret place that only the higher ups knew about, but it was probably time to relinquish some of the secrets of the Dusk to the public... But not everything.

"A shame I can't tell you what that is or how it works. Top secret."

Though his voice was as clear as day, he was still nowhere to be found... Odd. He sounded so close. The sky started to flicker between two different colors now; red and blue, before settling on a different color completely; black. The black sky held nothing but probably protection for Chise in her falconic form... Or perhaps severe danger.

Chisato reverted back to normal form, keeping herself in the air with spinning ball of air. His words were distracting, but the information he provided was useful. So a special container had been used to seal Grimlock. Great, but he wouldn't reveal its location.

"So if you have the means to seal to stop Grimlock now, then why are you still sitting on it?"

The sky had shifted from its normal appearance to red and blue, and finally to pitch black. It was incredible how he had been able to alter the landscape. Maybe a little too incredible...was this genjutsu? There's was only one way to find out: a dissipation attempt. While still mindful of her surroundings, she exhaled deeply and began to slow her chakra circulation.

The white mask of the Phantom appeared before her, largely reminiscent of the Phantos (from Super Mario Bros), and hovered in place in midair.

"Sorry... But the Cauldron isn't that easy to control. Even if we can open it up... There's no guarantee of anything."

The darkness of the clouds started to swirl about Chise's area, seeming to form a cloak around her and a majority of the sky near her. It seemed constricting, even though it hadn't touched her yet... It exuded a strange power that pressed harder and harder on her the closer it got.

"... So... What are you going to do now? Looks like you're in trouble..."

Of course, he wasn't speaking of this topic, but another going on in another place... Heh. This strange man seemed to know things that he shouldn't, and was able to do things he should not be able to do... But why?

Some dark material was gripping her, steadily squeezing tighter and tighter. She had reduced her chakra flow to almost nothing, but nothing had happen; she guessed this really was happening to her.

She pulled her hands together - with some considerable effort required - to weave the signs for a transformation jutsu. She became a large drill and bore her way out of that shadowy substance, right through his mask. Eventually, she cleared the affected area, and kept herself in the air by rotating fast enough to form a vortex around herself.

The smirking face on the mask grew to an insidious smile the more Chise struggled, the dark clouds closing in on her. Her thoughts that this was a Genjutsu was definitely well placed, but everything that the Phantom did, more or less, was real. Her drill, that which tore through the veil of dark clouds, made contact with the mask itself, finding itself halted by the resilience.

"Hahaha... You even know how to escape a Genjutsu. A shame that this is real. But I guess those eyes, even in the light, cannot see as far as I'd like. That's why you're still in the dark. Look down."

Just as he said this, the mask dissipated and Chise would rip through the black skies, staying stationary in the air through powerful rotation. If she did indeed decide to look down as he instructed, she would find out where the Phantom really was. The mirror-like waters below reflected everything above, save for one image... And that was the Phantom. His body, standing upside down on the opposite side of the reflective pool, had his cloak torn to shreds from the drill. The dark clouds that worked their mysterious ways up above and the projection of the Mask were reflections of his true body, which resided in the reflections of this plane of reality. He looked downward, right up at Chise spinning in the sky, then pointed up, down to where her reflection was. The dark clouds had gathered not only to hide the Phantom's own body of utter blackness, but also the large meteor heading toward her reflection's body.

This meteor, apparently called down by the Phantom himself, was large enough to split this planet in two; to press right through the planet and keep on going. It wasn't fake, as Chise would be able to feel the pressure and the heat as if the reflection were actually up above, but... What could she do about the meteor working on the plane of a reflection? Something that she definitely did not have the power to destroy, or to even scratch? If she figured it out, perhaps she'd come to the light about some things.

"... It's up to you to save this place, right?"

Chisato returned to her normal form and landed on a tree to look down at Phantom on the opposite side of the perfectly reflecting water. So that's where he had been the whole time. Above him, a bright red bulge stretched out from the black clouds, then was eventually ripped apart as a flaming meteor burst forth

Her head shot up to the "real" sky to observe the meteor, but there was nothing to be found. However, she could feel its heat, and hear its terrible whine as it plummeted to the planet. Like Phantom, the meteor only existed on his side, but it could interact with her side.

It was terrifying to see an individual powerful enough make such extreme alterations to the environment. Essentially what he was doing was the transformation jutsu on a macro-scale. The only other technique that she knew that could approach this scope was her own clan's legendary Izanagi jutsu.

Now she wasn't really worried about Phantom actually dropping the meteor on Vescrutia. It looked like his real aim was to see how she would counter such a monstrous technique. Phantom had interacting with her world from his side, maybe it worked both ways (she had been able damage his constructs). Even if she could the, she knew she didn't have the power to handle the meteor in a direct manner. But then maybe she could neutralize it indirectly by affecting the caster.

The tomoe in Chisato's Sharingan rotated rapidly around the pupil as she stared into the water and projected the image of dozens of orbs of lights surrounding Phantom. The orbs then extended as thin beams, all converging inward to impale him.

"So close..."

That was all he could say as the light merely bounced off of his shroud of blackness. He solemnly shook his head and sighed, his hand steadily harnessing this meteor's descent.

"Sorry, kid, but this ranking exam..."

He looked down at her up in the sky, bringing his hand down slowly to the point where it pointed directly at her, the meteor starting to descend more swiftly.

"... Is over."

He placed his hand in his pockets and the meteor touched base with the waters. The sheer force of its touch blew away everything; drying the waters, vaporizing the trees, and even breaking apart the atmosphere... Wait, what?

There they stood, in the middle of nothing but white, this white was 'what could have been,' or 'what would have been' and was merely a projection of reality as a single option that would have sufficed to stop this destruction.

"... Chisato-- No... Chise. I will give you one tidbit of information; that is that you pass this exam. However..."

The white around him started to flee from around them, the color and vibrancy bringing itself back to the land. Phantom would point down to the moment directly before what Chisato did with her tomoe, showing a large gleam of light covering the entirety of the area. A flash.

"... It was as simple as that. If there was no reflection in the mirror below... There was nothing on this plane as well. I can live outside of such reality, but a reflection can only be just that. What I used was a reflection of a reflection, and sweeping a light across the mirrored waters would have erased this meteor completely."

It was like a cutscene out of an anime; the light swept across the area, wiping out everything, yet destroying nothing, for it was just as simple as it was; a really bright light. The shine would overtake them once more, and the Phantom stood before Chisato, his hands in his pockets.

"... Why did you not think of that solution, I ask? Simply out of curiosity."

Chisato was dumbstruck; he really did drop the meteor after all, and it had been well within her ability ability to stop it. Just a simple flash of light. She tilted her head down and cupped her face in her right hand,quickly replaying the events the exam in her and cursing herself for ever mistake she found. She may have passed the exam, but she felt like a failure.

After a few moments, she regained her composure and looked at Phantom to give him her answer:

"I...made too many assumptions, and didn't see the big picture. Because of that, I failed to see the right counter..."

She sighed and dropped her head in shame. "Phantom, you should have never bothered with me. I don't have anything offer to the cause."

A laugh, loud and hearty escaped this man's masked face. In fact, this had been the most emotion he had expressed the entire span of their interaction, and it was simply because he was so refreshed by her. He wasn't laughing at her per se, but more at how great she was.

"Ahahahahaha!! Oh, Chise... You're much too modest for even me. You are legendary, even for a Genin. Or, rather, a former genin."

His masked face smiled at her and his hand briskly whisked from his pocket and to her head, ruffling her hair a little.

"So cute, you are. I'll tell you that you pass, but I'm not gonna be the one giving you your rank; you are. Whatever rank you give yourself, it doesn't matter. You've already got the legendary... Sannin skill in my eyes. Hmhmhm..."

She had just been compared to a Sannin by the Phantom, THE Dusk itself. Was he serious, or did he simply see her potential? Or was it both at the exact same time?

"... You aren't a genin anymore. You decide what rank to give yourself. I trust you. As I said before, it will not change your unparalleled skill. Just remember this; would you rather be the best of the bottom, or a rising member of the top? You decide. That's your gift."

He saluted her with two fingers, jumping into the air and starting to fade out.

"Don't beat yourself up. You can do more than what you give yourself credit for. Have a nice day."

And with that, he fizzled out of reality; out of the immediate area.

Chisato stared up at the sky, thinking about Phantom's final words to her. Maybe she wasn't as bad as she thought. But this exam had proven that she still had a lot to learn.

He had given her the option of choosing her own rank. Chisato new that important changes must be made to Dusk, and with a higher rank, she would have much more influence in village policy. However, she didn't feel quite ready to be at the very top with the Sannin.

"If I was to decide," she said aloud to the forest, "then I'd choose the rank of Jounin..."

'The Forest' responded to her cry with the whisper of the wind blowing through her ears and seeping deep into her head...

Good choice... So let's train.

It was clear that the voice of the specter that initiated her exam would be calling back to her from the great beyond. Yet... Something was not right. Under her feet, she would find a large, pitch black abyss appear, encircled with powerful reality warping magics. From the eternal blackness, a hand of crimson reached up and gripped her leg tightly, snatching her and pulling her down to a place she had never before seen or heard of; the Pit of Havoc.

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Beginning Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:16 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=262&t=4149

Chisato's first instinct was to draw her sword and sever the arm. But with the quickly fading light, she saw that the arm had remained completely intact. She made a few more attempts to hack at it with similar results, then attempted to cut it with a beam generated from her own chakra pool (there wasn't enough external light available for her to collect). Still nothing.

It was now completely pitch black. Chisato kept trying to generate orbs to illuminate the area, but the blackness seemed to swallow up the light every time she did.

"Is this your doing Phantom?!" she screamed. Her skin crawled as she felt some invisible force attempted to invade her mind, gnawing at her mental defenses.

"Relax... You're in no danger. In fact, this is the safest you've been in a long time, Chise..."

The voice speaking was different, a mite less mysterious, yet a lot more formal. The mask of the Phantom appeared before her, its whiteness still able to gleam in the darkest of this darkness. Must have been made of something extremely special...

But, no one's face was attached to it. Odd.

The white mask hovered there, seeming to still be talking to her, but there was no one connected. Perhaps it was the doing of his reality warping, much like before? Didn't seem like it... So what was it...?

"... Do you know who I am?"

A figure stepped forth from the blackness and in front of her, perfectly able to see her, yet unaware if she was able to see him. Her eyes would suddenly become just as adjusted to the darkness as his eyes were, which allowed for perfect sight in this abysmal pit of black. Laying eyes upon him, she would find that this was Khrona, the 'lost' Kage of the Dusk.

"I am the Phantom, your dear Kage, Khrona."

"K-Khrona?!" she exclaimed in shock. So she had been tested by the Kage himself?!

The chaotic influence of pit continued its assault against her mind. Her will was strong, furthered steeled by genjutsu training, but the force was intense. She could feel herself slipping; the first cracks to her mental defenses manifested as a severe migraine. She cradled her throbbing head in her hand as she continued:

"Where are we, and what's this feeling?! It's like someone is trying to drill into my skull!"

Laughing under his breath at her surprise, and at her pained head, Khrona, the one who formerly felt this pain all the time until it bent to his will could only laugh at someone who thought a little insanity (well, little on his spectrum) was this intense.

"Of course. I've been in hiding to protect this village. Grimlock took over while all the higher ups pursued and killed Medusa, which was why I took on the persona of the Phantom... Again."

He started to drift backward, urging her to follow with a pull of insanity. It would cause her head to hurt slightly worse, lest she didn't follow. It seemed as though Khrona's presence suppressed a great deal of it, so she wouldn't have her brain destroyed.

"This is already the first part of your training..."

Chisato nearly dropped to her knees as her migraine suddenly became more painful. Now barely on her feet, she shambled after Khrona. As she got closer to him, she noticed the pain began to subside significantly. She realized that he exhibited some kind of suppressive effect against the influence; she would have to stay close to him to reap the benefits though.

Seeing how quickly she caught on, his ghastly movements drifted him deeper and deeper into his pit of insanity, Chise following closely behind him. As they did, he quickly explained his methods to her.

"You said you wanted to be a Jounin, correct? Well, you certainly have the mentality, skill, wisdom and drive that rivals, if not surpasses any Jounin I know... But as for your strength, it is only that of a Chuunin at best. So, to make your wish into reality..."

Just when it seemed like they had been traveling in endless darkness forever, Khrona's body that gently glided across the shroud of black that was the ground came to a halt in front of a single prison-like door. It resembled Khrona's private room, which was at the deepest part of the Pit of Havoc, but this place was almost as deep.

"... I have to train you. Rigorously."

Chise had gotten herself into it now. The Pit was filled with silence... an almost white noise-like silence, that would drive any person mad to be in here for too long, even without the insanity.

"Do you think you can handle it? Your head seems to hurt from the insanity about. You have two choices; overcome it, or let it overcome you."

His calm, sinister, yet loving smile toward her never faded from his face, even seeing her pain, for she had to know the hardships of this world if she ever wished to fight against them. To be a Jounin trained under Khrona, one had to have the mind powerful enough to overpower insanity. It would help her against Genjutsu, hence why this was the first of her training, simply being in the presence of constant insanity.

"No, I can do this..." She took her hand off her face and stood up straight. Instead of relying on the passive defenses she had built up over the years, she began to actively resist the insanity, plugging up all the cracks that had formed, and building new layers. There was no guarantee that her aggressive methods would work, but it felt better than remaining a victim.

Already seeing within her mind that she was beginning to strengthen herself, fortify her mind, he allowed progressively for the power of his suppression to subside gradually, however it was so slight that she would not be able to notice it, and after about 3 pages of posting he would have completely released his suppression.

"It's good to see that you have the resolve I thought you did... So how about we--"

Cutting Khrona off mid-sentence was a loud and powerful crash, clang and burst, the three sounds of which resonated throughout the entirety of the Pit of Havoc, the force of it causing the greatest concussive forces to blast through the hallways, blowing Chise off of her feet and clear across the hall. Khrona did not flinch.

"... Oh. Please excuse me. That's my insanity. It's just getting accustomed to its new personified form, and being Kept instead of running rampant. This is how I control my insanity, and all other insanity I come across. I focus it into one place and let it grow."

A loud, horrible groan that sounded like the sound of a million horrifyingly insatiable beasts aching for the same thing all at once filled the room. It sounded as if it came from thousands of miles away, it longed for the outside again, and even in its voice did it want to wreak havoc.

"You're going to meet him."

The raucous noises of Khrona's manifested insanity startled Chisato, which almost made her break her concentration. Just when she was getting a handle on resisting his insanity, he threw another curveball at her. Khrona hadn't been lying when he said her training would be rigorous.

"Yes, Sensei..." It was time to advance even deeper into this hell.

Letting out a few choppy chuckles, that which seemed to be of the insane variety, Khrona's burning red eyes darkened to pitch black, until it looked as if his entire eye was nothing but a socket.

"... Then let's goooooooooooooooo..."

His voice was like a whisper, trailing off like the black tear that fell from his abysmal eyes. The corridor seemed to stretch backward exceptionally fast, leaving only moments before the door and Khrona had stretched so far they they couldn't be seen anymore. Now Chisato was alone... Or rather, it would have been better if she were alone.

...hello chisato...

Something whispered her name from behind her, its voice sounding more sinister and dark than anything she'd ever fathomed in her life. Though it sounded as though it were only a whisper, it would resound and pound around in her head as if hundreds of people were talking at once in the same way, yet not in the same tone or at the same time or volume. A huge door slammed in front of her, harboring giant bars, just like the door Khrona was standing in front of. That only meant... She was there. With the beast.

... do you know who i am????

A soul chilling, piercing red dot gleamed in back of her, the demonic sound of it simply appearing was enough to rattle her spine and chill her bones till they were arctic to the touch. Only half a face peered out of the veil of the realm of unknown, the paling, barely white of the bull's skull glowing in the shadows.


Enlarge this image



let me ....show you...

Chisato was frozen by fear, her mental defenses almost completely shattered by the appearance of Khrona's manifested insanity. Before daring to face the beast, she repaired the new cracks that had appeared in her mind, and created a physical barrier against insanity enveloping her body in a thin veil of chakra. With her defenses reinforced, she turned around very slowly, only a few millimeters at a time; her eyes were closed the entire time she turned. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she had finally rotated the full 180 degrees.

Heart racing, she open her eyes to the horror before her...:


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



Unconsciously amplified by airbending, she let an earsplitting scream that rivaled all the noises that the beast had made thus far.

The girl's fears, her unstable mind, her screams... they all fed the madness, made it grow in power. The shadows brought its gross green hand from the cloaked unknown, with a single index finger pointing upward and moving closer to her mouth.

...shhhh...

As it neared her lips, she would find her scream being forcefully silenced, as if being put right back into her mouth simply by the finger moving closer and closer to her, until finally her mouth was simply open and no noise could escape, no matter how hard she tried. There was dead silence, and almost literally, it was deadening. The visage of the skull masked creature started to jumble and blur before her eyes, as it would seem something was welling up inside of it now. Its mouth opened as well, large enough to easily consume her upper torso in only one bite, and a scream of equal silence burst from its mouth.

...........!!!!

The soundless of a silent scream. She would feel all the force as if it had indeed screamed, her hair blowing back, threatening to tear right from her scalp and her eyelids feeling as if they'd dissolve from its horrid amounts of insanity simply stinking from its breath. The only noise that could be heard was that of the ominous insidious white noise. And then, it disappeared.

... i sense it...... it's within you, too...

A hand touched her shoulder from behind, gripping it tighter until its long, rigid, chipped fingernails pierced right through her coating of chakra and into her skin. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the insanity would melt the chakra coating away, leaving her fresh... ripe... open to the joys of insanity.

why are you fighting me, chisato?

It stepped forward a little closer, embracing her now, hugging her trembling, scared body tight and close. The form of insanity could be blatantly seen now.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



A green skinned boy with burning red hair, the mask set upon the entirety of its face to hide every feature except for the twisted, evil eyes. Its head jerked about violently, as if snapping its own neck several times as it walked closer and closer to Chisato from the distance. But wasn't it still embracing her? How was she able to see this creature in two places at once? Every small step it took seemed like a step across an entire field of land in the darkness, and in only three small steps... It was coming. Coming for her.

Ironically, it was the damage inflicted to her shoulder that saved Chisato's mind from breaking. It roused her back a somewhat lucid state where she could think again. The beast itself all that scary looking to her, but it was the incredibly powerful insanity that it emitted that threatened to finally send her over the edge.

Chisato could feel herself slipping fast. It wasn't going to be enough to just build up her defenses while she now at ground zero for Khrona's insanity. Drastic action was necessary. She activated her Sharingan, and a small trickle of blood ran down her face as the third tomoe in her eye opened - the psychological trauma she had sustained in her brief time in the pit was more than most people experienced in their entire lives, and the resulting stress had accelerated her Sharingan's maturity.

She projected a reflection of her Sharingan in front of her face to hypnotize herself. You can beat this cretin, you can win. You have to, everything is riding on you... Her body began to relax in the beast's embrace as her stress diminished and her confidence rebuilt. Endorphins now pumped through her system, vastly improving her mood.

With her improved Sharingan, she wave able to perceive the insanity now much more clearly now, as modulated energy waves. After studying the composition of the waves, she broke down her chakra veil to actively project chakra pulse in a near perfect inverse form of Khrona's insanity waves. When her chakra met with the insanity, they negated each other and dispersed.

She pulled away the arms that held her and closed the distance between herself and the beast, until their faces were almost touching. Her expression was serene; she no longer looked at the mad beast with fear, but with pity.

"I have no other choice but to resist. There are many things I cherish in this world that I must protect. That includes Khrona, so by extension, you too..."

hahahahahahmhmhmhm...

It could only laugh at her, phased not at all by her clever tactics. It's head continued to jerk and twitch violently, the cracking noises resounding in the dark room loudly and numerously.

i see that you can now see what i truly am...or...simply a part of what i am meant to be...

She had broken down this thing as 'energy,' but she could not truly see what this really was. Everything was made of energy.

but the way you feel me is much different than logic can ever understand...

It spoke as if the activation of her Sharingan tomoe was intentional, but only to show her that her eyes, even with that, would see nothing. She had dispelled nothing. She had only cast herself in another form of insanity; denial.

it is i who protect you... don't fear the darkness... do notdeny me...

This figure disappeared then, bursting into ash and flowing away with the movement of the wind. Wind...? And then, Chisato was alone. Utterly, totally alone. To feel what it was like to be denied, that was the feeling she felt that she unintentionally placed upon this entity itself. And now it portrayed the same thing. The feeling of heady, utter aloneness would sink in quickly and heavily in this dark, solitary room... it seemed to mimic the feeling of Khrona in his Deep Thought room, the Solitary Alone Time room.

The beast had been replaced by something arguably worse: isolation. For the first time in her life, Chisato experienced what it was like to be totally alone. It was demoralizing to say the least; as inherently social creatures, humans weren't meant be alone like this. With nothing to turn to, weaker minds would eventually succumb to instability, then complete madness.

However she also found the isolation strangely comforting; for now she felt removed from all of her worldly responsibilities and problems. It was so tempting to just sit here and forget about everything that troubled her, including, ironically Khrona. But it felt so wrong to her to give up on everything. Her life was no longer just her own; people depended on her now.

So she contented herself with sitting down cross-legged, and meditating on the beast's last words before he had "disappeared". It wanted her to accept it, but she had to resist. Didn't she, or was there something that she was missing?

There was only silence. She was still alone.

Still alone, Chisato continued to mediate.

For what would seem like days, Chisato would remain alone; no one, nothing, only the blackness to keep her company. The insanity did not even utter its presence to her anymore. To her, time would seem to slip into one fluid thing, not passing or moving, but simply existing. Days, weeks, months, seconds, minutes? Who could tell anymore? Who could care? The effects of this complete, utter aloneness in the absolute blackness of this pit with insanity subtly, yet intensely pulsating upon her mind... Yet the heady feeling that something was about to happen wouldn't be able to be shaken from her stomach, which would begin to whorl and gnarl into several knots and ties. The same feeling came from the intense electrical shock that would surge up her spine, as if she had just been violently stabbed in the back by someone. More feelings and pains such as this would occur, warning her of what was to come...

Out of nowhere, anxiety swept over her, then shooting pains throughout her body. The sensations stirred her from her deep mediation, standing up and looking around the abyss in vain for any sign of trouble.

you have fallen to the insanity's grip...

Just like that, a gigantic menacing hand had her entire body, legs dangling, torso being crushed by its impressive might... and it seemed to just have appeared around her from thin air. The pain, the tingling, the anxiety... She only felt it because of the intense insanity. Yes, her mind was becoming more acute, more accustomed to it being around, but that wasn't going to stop the insanity from getting to her if she succumbs to it. And now it was back hitting heavier than ever... as a beast. Not just A beast... The Beast.

Another hand slammed on the ground, trying to pull from the depths of blackness a fiend unlike any other seen by Chisato's eyes. It struggled and strained to pry itself from its barely viscous abysmal pit, breaking through pseudo-liquid bindings and bubbles that held it together. It was like it was simply sprouting up from the floor, the hard and solid floor... Maybe this entire room was an abyss made of the same matter? No, that wasn't it. The ground was solid and hard as stone.

Finally breaking free of this pit of blackness down below, the insanity from before, that had taken the form of simply the Minotaur was now something far beyond that. The Insanity loomed over Chisato, staring her in the face with the eyes of terror itself... Its menace was beyond mental comprehension.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



Chisato spread her arms and legs outward to fight the constriction. "I've been waiting for you..." she wheezed.

In her mediation, she had been preparing for such a confrontation, preparing for the horror that was Khrona's manifested insanity . In it's new form, the beast was even more menacing, and it was now blasting her insanity waves. The beast was even more terrifying than she could have imagined, but she didn't panic. Of course she was afraid, her fluttering heart threatening to burst out her chest, but she kept her composure in the presence of the beast.

"I do fear the darkness, the uncertainty that comes with it. I'm afraid of the darkness, and many other things. Is that what you want to hear? I'M AFRAID!!!" She practically screamed out that last part, her voice shaking the walls and floor.

"But even so," she whispered hoarsely, "I won't let the fear rule me...I'll stand up to it, and face it with courage. No denying it, just accepting it and pushing through."

The beast looked this girl straight in the eyes, its words no longer coherent, but sounding of violent multitonal growls and roars from all sides of her. It tightened its grip, symbolic of the fear within her that constricted her so, threatening to snap her puny little body in two.

As she spoke of delving through the fear, however, the beasts hand would pulsate and release her against its will, letting her fall to the floor. The creature, an upper torso still peering from the ground from the darkness, slammed its two mighty sickening hands upon the solid floor, thrusting itself toward Chisato with its flaming horns of pure bred insanity. The flames of black and red energy burst forth and threatened to incinerate her in their insane heat, filling up this room with their twisted red and black light.

Patterns would start to form all around from the sheer heat of the flames, twisting and bending this room to all sorts of dimensions. Many vertical eyes opened up, staring at Chisato from every angle, seeming to crawl violently around the walls. These eyes were in the flames. They were scurrying across the walls. They consumed the ceiling... and a third vertical eye would open up upon the forehead of the skeletal mask of the beast. These were the Eyes of Insanity, all staring down Chisato and trying to pull her in deeper, to roast her body, her spirit and her mind in their unbridled power. The three massive eyes appearing upon the ceiling split at their mids, revealing themselves to not only just be eyes, but large, grotesque mouths with ungodly long and disgusting tongues. The tongues lurched down toward Chisato's body, trying to lap her up like warm milk and constrict her in their binding power.

Now free, she wouldn't let the Beast touch her again. Quickly, Chisato gathered the strange light around her and created a giant spinning orb to deflect the beast's flames away from her, and right into its hideous face. With more of the light, she made three large vertical beams to skewer and incinerate each the incoming tongues.

The flames hit the face of the beast, yet did no damage to it, only adding to the full incineration of the room. The tongues that bore down on her swiftly wrapped themselves around the concentrated light and halted the light particles, pulling them into the mouths and consuming them thoroughly before lurching back toward Chisato.

do not confuse insanity for darkness

Whether she enjoyed it or not, the flames would stay constant around her, still threatening to burn her to cinders whilst the tongues persisted ever closer, as did the beast. He lunged at her again, this time with mouth agape, trying to bite down upon her flesh and bone with his piercing, grinding teeth, ready to crush and maim her to slops.

She dropped several explosive shuriken and her feet, then backflipped out of reach to leave the beast with its meal of explosives. Back on the floor, she ducked and weaved among the tongues as they tried to grab at her. The pit seemed to be growing even more hotter, so she cocooned herself in a shroud of light chakra. The bright shroud gave off no heat of its own, but the highly condensed photons could burn with the intensity of the sun.

Insanity consumed the explosives, only to find itself bursting into flames that heightened those around the area. Soon the tongues would touch the shroud of light around Chisato, not even feeling the intensity as they singed and charred, yet continued to move in their original fluid motion. Soon after, the flames around Chise would condense, forming the body of Insanity from the mouth up, having consumed her as it originally wished.

your mind is clouded... so insanity grips you every time...

Within the belly of the beast against her will, the light would fizzle out. Nothing seemed to make sense when fighting this monstrosity at all, and making sense of it would not dispel it as it would a genjutsu, for this was all real... yet not real at the same time. What was this really?

Once again alone in the darkness, her flesh would begin to crawl... to the point where it would feel as though it were bubbling. Something else was happening to her that she wasn't quite understanding...

you asked to be a jounin... yet you cannot even figure out what is being done to you... are you truly ready?

Wracked with pain, Chisato dropped to her knees and hugged herself. Nothing she had tried to seemed to be working, in fact it just seemed to make matters worse.

"Well, I figured out that I'm making a real mess of things," she replied with a strained voice, dropping onto her butt. "Tell me Mr. Beast, am I onto something?"

how about you tell me... have you made any progress?

The writhing sensation under her skin burst from her pores now, revealing rather tiny, vicious insects, all with three vertical eyes imprinted upon their backs. That seemed to be their actual eyes, as they were the only visible things blinking and looking around in the darkness. Soon, Insanity's face would depress from the outside, appearing to Chisato as a mangled face wrung inside out; tissue, muscle, blood and nerves pulsating grotesquely, violently and vividly from under the barely attached skeletal face now.

what is it that you feel?

Its arms started to do the exact same thing as the face; converting inside out so that only bone, muscle and nerves could be seen, as the fingernails were replaced with skin flipped upside down.

The strenuous insanity of the Beast proved too much for poor Chisato. She had entered the den without correct preparation, and so, she would fall there to its power. It grabbed her with its mighty palm, raising her up to its eyes, where it would stare straight into her own, those Sharingan eyes... Without hesitation, it squeezed with all its might, literally turning all of her insides to dust before it bit off her head with a mighty chomp.

if only you weren't so weak... but your eyes will do just nicely...

Those were the words it said as the insanity took hold of the two Sharingan eyes, which then embedded themselves into it, turning Khrona's Insanity into something far greater than that...

In actuality, Chisato's body was completely fine, save for her eyes, which seemed to have been burned out of her head. This was because the crushing of her body was symbolic of the shattering of her mind, and the consumption of her head was the thwarting of her eyes. And so, now her carcass lay there, eyeless and charred by the unbridled destructive force of this insanity. All the while, Khrona was on the other side, and opened the door slowly. He walked casually toward the corpse of Chisato, shaking his head.

"Pity. I really did have high hopes for her. Seems like all of the people I have high hopes for are getting killed in the end..."

And her body would turn to ash right before his face, her soul rising from her body. It was the only source of light in the room.

"I'll give that to Despair later. Only she'd be able to resonate with a soul like that."

Khrona walked out of the door and closed it behind him. This Jounin exam was a failure.

Unable to rise the challenge of her training with Khrona, Chisato was dead and gone. Now all that remained of her was her Sharingan eye, which had been taken by Khrona, and her spirit, hovering aimlessly in the chamber, ripe for the picking.

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Break   Tue Apr 14, 2015 10:27 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=4744

Slowly approaching the home of the count akira would reach into his pocket pulling out a cigarette and placing it in his mouth. Soon after placing it in his mouth the cigarette would ignite on its own without akira moving so much as a muscle. Once it was lit akira would continue to approach the castle walking calmly. It was rather strange that Khrona suddenly wanted to speak with akira but whatever it was surely it wasn't going to be easy. After getting close enough akira would knock on what seemed to be a door.

"Of course I'm home. Where else would I be without an office?"

Akira would have only blinked once before the wispy black figure appeared before him in the doorway with the suddenly open door. He wouldn't have even seen what happened.

"Akira Tsukishima. I've been expecting you. You're late. Heh heh."

He casually leaned against the doorway, chuckling to himself a bit.

"Come in. We need to talk."

As the black figure suddenly appeared akira would soon figure out it was khrona with another one of his flashy entrances.

"Alright well lets get this over with."

After briefly speaking with khrona akira would follow him into the building so that they make address whatever it was khrona had to speak to akira about.

As if walking through a curtain, Akira would pass through the blackness of the front door and into the main room, finding Manor Alexandros to be a less dark place than its owner. It was rather regal, in fact. The large mechanical door would silently close behind him.

"Sooo... Let's get down to business. As you know, there are a lot of terrible things happening around Vescrutia, and there's been a lot of buildup of insanity. Not only from me, but from the malice of every vengeful being on this planet. The insanity is at its highest it has ever been, and that's with me NOT contributing, but actually consuming it."

Khrona hovered over to a chair taking a seat, clearing his throat.

"In the Dusk, there have been a large deal of beings that have been exuding a large amount of insanity into this world which has put it into the state it is in currently. These beings are, the Kishin, Witch Arachne, the Skullgirl, myself, a few of my own shinobi and... Crona."

Clearly Khrona knew too well of Crona, and she had been left alone for far, far, FAR too long now...

"... The Kishin, Arachne and Myself have been taken care of... The shinobi are negligible... But the Skullgirl and Crona cannot be overlooked any longer. The Skullgirl is something the Witches are dealing with now, but Crona has been doing nothing but festering... She needs to be confronted immediately before she becomes the next Kishin."

Khrona narrowed his eyes at Akira...

"... You can probably guess what I'm going to say, right?

"Yea you want me to take out crona before she becomes a bigger threat than she already is right?"

Akira lowered his head and exhaled before speaking again.

"Well I have been a little bored lately so I guess this fight is just what I need. So where do I find this chick and do you want her head back or something?"

Akira began to chuckle after he spoke to the count. This was surely a serious matter but it made akira happy to fight a strong opponent so all he could really do was smile at a time like this.

Though Akira's enthusiasm was great, this was a far more grave situation than he seemed to realize here. Khrona made no mention of the final being of insanity in the dusk, Kuja, for specific reason... Khrona himself had to go talk to him.

"... Don't go alone if you don't have to. I wouldn't even think of suggesting you go fight Crona alone. If you absolutely must, then go ahead, but if not... Take someone with."

Khrona had dealt with Crona all too much in the past. Her power was unstable and everything she did was completely random. It was difficult to tell what was that girl did next...

"And whatever you do, don't kill her! I need her... But that's the hard part. Do not kill her, either capture her or talk her into coming to our side. She's so unstable it should be easyy to get her over here. And make sure you be careful..."

Hopefully Crona wouldn't be that much of a bad battle for Akira... It was his Jounin test.

"Well alright khrona I will try not to kill her to the best of my ability. But I may take someone else with me possibly someone i've dealt with before... I know this battle won't be anywhere near easy but if I go alone I may mistakenly kill her my persuasive skills aren't that good. Plus i'm sure were can use someone like her on our side."

After that was settled akira began to think to himself about how he would convince her to come to our side without plunging into a full on battle. After thinking to himself for a bit akira still had no idea how he would do it but eventually he would come up with something.

"Alright I'll do it khrona this shouldn't prove to be too easy but i'm confident that I won't die. But i've decided to do this one alone."

Even Khrona himself was surprised at that answer. His eyes widened, and then narrowed a bit, and then they would finally come to a slow, calm close...

"Alone? Akira, don't you remember what happened the last time you decided to go it alone? You became trapped inside of the Sepulchrum and a team had to come rescue you. Are you SURE you want to do this one alone? Think about this carefully before you go, because your next decision will be final..."

Khrona suggested him taking another person or even two people, only because he knew the power of Crona for himself. Akira should be very wary about this, and realize that it's not that bad to go somewhere with a team. He'd be on one soon enough, with Allen and Alex soon. Once they came back from their missions, that is. Khrona only hoped that Akira was sure.

"If you are sure of your own power, then I am sure as well and will send you out alone, but I don't want you to make this decision foolishly. That's why I say think before you make your final verdict."

After hearing khrona's proposal akira reconsidered taking someone with him again. After thinking carefully akira finally decided who he would take with him on this mission.

"I would like to take koudo tamura with me."

After making his final decision akira would fold his arms and look at khrona once again.

Oh, what an ordeal. Khrona smirked, instantly hatching a devilish idea. He was so sure of this plan, he even started to snicker to himself a little bit. Koudo Tamura...

"Koudo Tamura... huh...? Hmhm... Alright. Go find him and ask him for his assistance. Tell him that he's... Relieved of his former duties. A special gift from Khrona for having accepting them even though he didn't want to."

It was a reward indeed, for the first rule of being an ANBU was that you had to take any mission assigned... Whether you wanted to or not, as long as it was for the good of the village. Koudo had proven that he could do that by supervising Alex, but now it was time for him to do what HE wanted to do.

"I won't tell you where he is. Let's just say... It's part of your mission? Seek him out and take him with you to Medusa's Hideout. There, you will find the soon-to-be Kishin... Crona Gorgon."

The snake in the grass... Khrona applauded Medusa for her work. It was a very nice plan that was hatched, leaving the Kishin Incarnate to fester alone while she distracted them with all of this... Yes, Medusa was the cause of EVERYTHING wrong with the Dusk, more or less. She released Grimlock, she got an organization of antags together, she released the Kishin, summoned Arachne... Everything. Medusa was the root, and would still continue to cause problems as long as she lived. But her soul was starting to fade from this world... It was being consumed by someone just a bit more crafty than she... Oh, the irony. Medusa made a deal with the devil, and her soul was the price... And after so much work she had put in, too. This was just one big 'fuck you' to the Dusk, but they'd clean up her mess once and for all. In the end, the Snake was the one who brought about the Genesis, the change, the beginning, just like in an old story Khrona knew... She was wise. She knew that these things needed to be addressed, even if her intentions were for bad. So, all Khrona could say to her was...

"Thank you."

Though, Akira probably wouldn't know why he said that. Not at all. Hahahahahaha.

It would seem that khrona had a devilish plot in mind but that's nothing new. Khrona always had a secret plan in mind no matter the situation so the e I'll grin and ramblings were of no surprise to akira.

"Alright khrona I will go seek out koudo and request his help to take on crona."

After finishing his sentence Akira would pull out a cirgarette as he turned towards the door.

(Story Break)

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=115&t=4510

(Khrona finds out that someone has taken on the name 'The Phantom' as an imposter and takes on the mission)

After having his secret alias so naively stolen by this creature, it was up to Khrona to uphold the TRUE name of what the Phantom was, and not what this fake was, meaning to besmirch that name. And so, Khrona would appear before the Darkness Lands, awaiting Linomaru to appear.

"Why do I think that he's going to be late... Numerous times?"

Of course, Khrona spoke past the limitations of his own world of Vescrutia, something that very few, if any, could even comprehend. Such was the extent of his power.

Just as the young KAge had appeared, only a few moments would pass before a flash of Light and the appearance of Linomaru would happen. Lin would be wearing his Jounin Jacket, with a sleeveless shirt to ssow off his Gentai Seal markiings on his arms and shoulders. Lin would look over to Khrona and smile.

"Hello there Lord Khrona.. Sorry for being a bit late, I ran into a group of black cats and I had to take the long way to get here."

Lin was a bit excited this would be his first mission with Khrona.

As the two appeared before the darkness lands a loud roar would be heard in the distance, Then followed by a loud shriek. It was clear that the phantom had claimed another victim. It seemed that the beast had decided to take refuge in the depths of the darkness lands. It's reason for doing this was still unknown but what ever the reason it couldn't be good.

The scream was only a signal to Khrona, and not much for cause of alarm. He slowly turned toward where it came from, placing his arms in his dark cloak.

"Sigh... Now we give chase, the thing runs, knowing that its time has come..."

Slithering from Khrona's back was a certain blackness, forming into the shape of his utterly immense wings. Without so much as a movement (granted, if he did move them, they would blow down everything in the area), Khrona was off, wisping toward the direction of the scream, a silent trail of his cloak flowing behind him, as if it was his feet.

"... I certainly don't have time for this. But, I know I've gotta."

Lin would follow Khrona moving just as quickly as he did. Lin would have his gentai activated he was ready for whatever went down. Lin's tattooes would be glowing a light purple.

"Where are you?"

Lin said as he began to scout the area looking for the beast.

While the two ninja grew closer and closer to the beast a trails of dismembered bodies would be seen all over the ground. It seemed that the phantom was only hunting and killing young beautiful women. Although it's most recent victim would be seen on the ground still barely alive from the phantoms attack. Was this luck that she was still alive or some twisted plot that the phantom had cooked up in it's evil mind.

Khrona observed the body of the beautiful young woman, seeing that the fake phantom had just struck and fled again.

"... I'm going to find him. And I'm going to bring him back."

For whatever reason, he was hunting down young women, and hunting down young women that were beautiful meant that Khrona had to do something that he hadn't done for a looooong time... Change into a girl again. Into Khrina.

Using his Anatomia, Khrona's body would quickly shift to that of his alter ego; of his womanly form, and he'd stand right beside the woman and close her eyes. With that, she expanded her psychic field all around the Darkness Lands to track the phantom wherever he may be, and then when he was found, release pheromones from his womanly body from whatever distance she was away from him directly into him to lure him to her without hesitation. If all went as expected, the phantom would be too busy worrying about how much of a beautiful woman Khrina was and how he had to kill her than whatever else he was doing.

"I think I might have him, Lino..."

Lin observed the body of the beautiful young woman, seeing the same as Khrona. He would turn his head for a quick moment and as Khrona became Khrina, Lin would chuckle and smile. He began to say something, but he didn't.

It made Lin chuckle a bit more after Khrina said 'I think I might have him' It was odd to hear a woman who was just a man a few seconds ago speak. But Lin would only nod.

"I'll be in the trees watching Lady Khrina." With that said Lin would vash in a blur and the hunt was on.

It seamed that the plan was working to attract the phantom to their location. It was indeed growing closer but something else was coming as well. What ever it was it was coming faster than the phantom and the dark aura it was emmitting was fierce. The bloodlust was could be sensed from miles away. The fog grew thick and the trees surrounding the area could no longer be seen. Khrina would be standing in a deep white fog barely able to see her hand before her face. If linomaru wasn't careful something could sneak up on him.

This type of mission was easy for someone like Khrona-- er, Khrina, and that being so, he-- er... she would have no trouble finishing it in moments.

But. That's not what this was about. That wasn't the purpose of her coming along.

"Linomaru. It's time for a change of plans."

As the thick fog started to roll in, she walked closer to him, until they were face to face. Naturally, being a psychic of this level, this fog was nothing for Khrina, but the same couldn't be said to Lino. She had to make sure they were close, and he was able to see her. Afterwards, she continued.

"I am relinquishing my control of this mission to you. I am no longer leader, nor am I responsible. You are now leader. Give me any order and I will comply."

It was time to see how well Lino could function here. Khrina would not utter another word or do anything until Lino gave the command. It was time to test if he really had what it takes to be a true leader. If not... Then Khrina would pass judgment at the end of this mission as what to do with him.

Lin would be surrounded by a thicking fog that took Khrina out of his sight for a short moment this made him come out from hiding to Face Khrina. Lin had found her using his Gentai.

"This fog is thick I can barely see you M'Lady. If it were not for my Gentai, I would be able to break down the light particles in the atmosphere."

Lin had a new Gentai he would be using for the first time granted to him by the Eldars.

But to continue. Khrina had just told Linomaru he was incharge of the mission it was a bit surpising but he already had a plan in his mind.

"Okay then, Khrina I'm going to have Nese go with you, You two are gonna draw the attention of the Phantom to you, While Nitos is going to be the look out for anything out of the ordinary, I don't trust this fog.... I'll be in trees like I was before, Khrina you and Nese are to act as if you are lost amoungst this fog. I'll be watching everything while I ready us an attack."

Lin would then stand there with his soul partners and Khrina.

"Vanish"

Was the only thing he said signaling to begin the plan.

Through the fog nothing could be seen but in the distance loud crashing noises could be heard. The crashes grew more violent and more violent as they got closer and closer to where lino and khirna were located.

Inside the fog a pair of dark red eyes could be seen in the distance simply staring at the linomaru. Something about those eyes were'nt right. Those eyes were teeming with blood lust and evil intent. It was clear that whatever that was it planned on killing someone tonight.

The loud crashes continued getting closer and closer but they were coming from a different direction from the eyes. That could only mean that something else was drawn to khrina's feminine wiles. The loud crashes suddenly stopped and it grew silent once more.

The pair of eyes from before had vanished into the depths of the mist. Heavy breathing could be heard approaching slowly to linomaru's location from the right. A huge silhouette could be seen approaching slowly and breathing heavily as if it had been running for miles. The closer the creature got the larger it got.

Once it got close enough the heavy breathing would cease and it stood towering over linomaru not paying him any attention at all. It began to speak while staring off into the fog.

"Nice...."
"Nice...b"
"NICE BODY!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Was all the creature said before it's eyes changed into two big hearts. The heavy breathing began once again. The fog had began to let up but as the fog began to leave the area the creature was revealed to be a 10 foot tall male bull with an axe on it's back.



It seemed that this Beast was lead here by it's perversion thanks to the massive amounts of pheromones that khrina had released.

"Where is that Nice body?"

Extremely disappointed with the fact that what she attracted was a horny bull rather than the target enemy was no fun matter. She sighed, lowering her head and awaited orders from Lino on what to do.

... Should I dispose of this oaf?

Naturally, she spoke through psychic thought, and would be able to communicate with him that way. She really wanted to slaughter this cow, though... Really and truly.

As the fog,cleared Linomaru would roll hos eyes as he seen the gaint cow stand before him and Khrina. He thought that they were going to run into what they were looking for. This thing looked as if it posed no harm it was just horny.

"No. Lets see what he knows use your girlish charm on him. Be careful we dont know what he can do. He maybe the target... But keep an open eye for anything out of the ordinary."

Lin said as he stood next to Khrina you could,see that the cow was much bigger than Lin but not by that mich Lin is 6'2 after all.

The mist cleared and the giant bull could be clearly seen standing there gawking at khrina. When linomaru began to speak the bulls eyes changed from hearts into bloodshot red pupils.

"SHE'S MINE!!!"

The bull swung it's mighty arm backwards at linomaru faster than he could weave hand signs. The bull used enough force to send linomaru flying backwards crashing through the trees of the forest. After swinging it's arm at linomaru the beasts eyes transformed back into hearts as he laid his eyes on khrina's body again.

It seemed that the bulls only interest was khrina. Maybe it posed a threat to their mission and maybe it didn't. But one thing was certain and that was that this bull did not like linomaru one bit. Seems like completing the mission with him around would prove to be virtually impossible. However this beast may become valuable later on in the mission.

The choice was up to these two ninja if they were going to kill him or allow him to stick around while they searched for the phantom.

... Sigh.

A creature which is probably filled with the most testosterone in all of existence... A bull man. His blatant jealousy and territorial attitude is a clear testament to such a thought, and, under orders, Khrina would have to use that to her advantage. Not like she wasn't in the first place.

"...My..."

She took a step closer to the very tall, very masculine bull, her jacket loosely falling off of her bare shoulders just a bit. The remnants of the mist trailed around her body in an alluring and mysterious fashion, adding to the enticing charm of her sexy step. She batted her half open, cunning eyes a bit, making it clear that she was looking this man-bull up and down... very down...

"... I never would have dreamed that such a fine specimen wandered around these parts..."

She pressed up close to his abdomen, sliding her hands sensually up and down the arm he just swung about, as if she were impressed by his... physique.

"Please tell me... What on earth could someone like you be doing in this kind of place? I wanna know why such a... Hmhm... catch is just wandering around so aimlessly in the dark..."

It was almost scary how well Khrona-- Khrina was able to do this.

Lin would be surpised by the attack by the bull man and the hit would send him flying through a few of the trees but he didn't go far. He would stand to his feet as he pulled Nese out of her hostler.

"Look Nese it seems I can't get to close to Khrina without getting this thing mad. I want you to stay by her side at all times since this cow is a horny man-child, I want you to turn on your Gentai vision, so I can hear and see what's going on." Lin said as Nese transformed back into her human form. She looked much different now that Linomaru has become a light user.

With that said Nese would run over to Khrina and the bull.

"Oh My, Lady Khrina is that you? I've been lookin' for you all freakin' day now and you're up 'n the fores' hugged up with some man bull, I hope you can explain to yo' papa what you was doin' out here' alone. With a big, strong man bull like this one here." Nese said as she walked up to the two of them,her eyes would be the bright purple to show Khrina(if she looked at Nese) that Lin was watching everything that was going on with his Gentai. You could hear the obvious country accent in Nese's voice as she spoke to Khrina.

Lin's plan was simple to get on the Bulls good side. He would just keep a close eye on Nese and Khrina by using his Gentai to see through the eyes of Nese. This was the Gentai Eagle Eye. Lin would just stand there and watch as the converstation continued.

"Oooohhhh That smell, it must be a nice body!!!"

The large bull man quickly turned his attention to the new woman that suddenly appeared. As he gawked at the girls face he then gave into his urges and began to slowly look down to take a peek at her body.

As he gazed upon her creamy smooth skin and her coke bottle figure he was quickly disgusted by the fact that she had small breasts. It wasn't shocking that the beast had an obsession for large breast but a pervert is a pervert.

After becoming enraged the giant bull man quickly grabbed his mighty axe from his back and threw it into the forest with an unimaginable amount of force. The axe tore through countless trees before It crashed into a mountain in the distance and completely shattering it.

"Your body isn't nice at all, Your selfish why don't you just grow a pair so I can have something to stare at!"

After expressing his dislike of small breasts the bull man extended his right arm into the air and his axe suddenly materialized into the palm of his hand.

"Now the first women over here is a real women ooohhhhhh nice body!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Completely ignoring the other girl the bull man was practically mesmerized by khrina.

Khrina was able to tell that Lin was staring through Nese's eyes, and expected him to bring Nese in, considering that was the smart thing to do. But, this horny bastard simply couldn't be pleased...

Should I just kill him? I think I want to destroy this entire area.

It would have been the most productive thing to do, save for probably seduce this bully far beyond what she wanted to do. Naturally, she would if she had to, but right now it was time to appease this bastard.

"... Oh~! There you are~!"

He was infuriated by the fact that she had small breasts, but she was well aware of something that no man could ever pass up... Khrina ran over to Nese and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer until she was embraced in Khrina's arms, not just that, but Khrina's hands were in places that one couldn't ignore... She turned to the bull-man.

"Mister... I'm sooo sorry that my friend has small breasts... But she can make up for it in other ways...~!"

Without warning, Khrina would kiss Nese-- no, not just kiss her; make out with her. With Khrina taking the lead of head sexy girl, her tongue would wrestle about with Nese's, her hands just above this girl's butt to keep their crotches close together. Apparently, this was something Khrina wasn't unfamiliar to.

I think this guy might be the guy we're looking for. I think he kills women that aren't sexy, and is indeed this Phantom that stole my name. Can I destroy everything now?

Nese would turn red as the bull said she had small breast. Nese like her breast she didn't see anything wrong with them, they were nice and perky, none of her past boyfriends have complained... But then something happened in a instant Nese felt something slimy go into her mouth amd being to move around and then she felt a force pull her in... It was Lady Khrina and she had begun kissing Nese with such passion that Nese had no choice but to kiss her back.

When it was over Nese would look back at the Bull man and lick the saliva off of the side of Khrina's face to intensify the moment.

"Look I'm sorry fo' havin' such small breast but Lady Khrina and I always have fun wit'em would you like to see Mr.Bull-man." Nese didn't want this to go any where it shouldn't so when Khrina asked to Kill the bull man, which Nese wanted badly to happen because he said he breast were to small.

Lin would send the Message to Nese as he agreed with Khrina.

"Okay Lady Khrina, Take him out. If he's not the phantom will just continue to look for him."Nese said while she detatched herself from Khrina. "Let's get him."

As the two women began to kiss one another mass amounts of steam would escape from the bull mans ears as well as his nose. After watching them long enough the bull mans head would burst into flames and his body would fall tot he floor. It would seem that this was too much for him to handle and as a result he would lay there dead due to his own perverted tendencies.

It seemed that the bull man was dead but a thick black liquid began to seep from the neck of the body that laid on the ground. At first there was only a small amount then that small amount suddenly became a river of this strange black liquid.

The strange substance would start to move on its own and would take a new form. It would seem that this was the phantom that they had been searching so all along.

"Looks like we finally brought it out."

Khrina was more than happy about this, easily wanting this mission to be over rather soon. Altering herself back into male form, Khrina once again became her natural Khrona self.

"Ah, that's better. Now... How shall we go about killing this thing...?"

Khrona started to press psychic power on the black liquid to stop it from moving, whilst also trying to put it all in a sphere and crush it with his mind.

A khrona stood there and began to control the black liquid with little to no effort it would all be lifted into the air and created an orb. The orb of black liquid floated in the air and slowly began to condense smaller and smaller. Whatever khrona was doing was working..... or was it.... This was all a little bit too easy, Or maybe khrona was just too strong...

As the events occurred Lin would appear as the black ooze came from the Bull man and Khrina became Khrona.He watched Khrona turn the black ooze into a small orb,to say the least, hopefully this mission was over with. Lin would have Nese at the ready for anything that could happen. When the job was done Linomaru would turn to face Khrona.

"Good you're you again it's odd looking at you as a girl.... I have a question... is Khrina still PURE lord Khrona?"

After compressing the black liquid into a very tiny orb, instead of destroying it, Khrona would pull out a little jar with a black mass inside of it and place the orb inside the jar, where it would assimilate with the other black mass. The jar would then disappear as Khrona turned to face Lino.

"That's a se-cret~!"

Khrona smiled softly, turning back around.

"Looks like this mission is complete."

It was now apparent that khrona's psychic prowess was far too much for the phantom to handle. So with the black liquid gone and in khrona's possession the phantom couldn't materialize therefore the mission was now over.

Lin would smile and pat his old pal on the back.

"Well looks like we're done. Time to go home yes?"

Lin said as he bagan to make his way back toward the village. He and Khrona had much work to do..


http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=4744&start=10

(Story Break Over)

Akira returned to khrona's place with good news to tell him about the mission. Hopefully he was home.

Of course he was home. He was anywhere and everywhere necessary to his own will.

"Hello there, Akira. I presume the mission went well?"

As the strange person appeared akira spun around to face the person. After looking at the person akira assumed that they was here on khrona's behalf.

"Yes it did actually the mission was successful."

Akira took close notice to every aspect about this new person as he stood there speaking. The fact that he knew akira's name without personally knowing him made him shady with no questions asked.

The masked figure chuckled, easily able to see the disbelief in Akira's very heart and soul, which seemed funny to this masked Phantom.

"Good, good... So where is Crona now?"

"Well now she's with koudo, preirre and the other woman. The mission went without a hitch so my mission is complete."

He chuckled again, nodding his head.

"Well, it looks like your mission is accomplished. Guess that makes you a Jounin of the Dusk now, hm? Hope you can live up to the title..."

The Phantom smiled at him, his chuckle turning into a dreamy snicker, before he faded out of reality itself.

"Don't mess this up~!"

"A jounin? AH sweet im a rank higher. Well don't worry I dont plan on messing this up at all."

Akira began to smile and to celebrate he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and snapped his fingers to light it. He began to smoke this cigarette as the strange man vanished. After he was completely gone akira released his draconic wings from his back and flew away from krona's home.

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Break Tue Apr 14, 2015 12:57 pm Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=99&t=5097

- Traveling through the nearly Pseudo moist dirt that covered the grounds of the dusk were Maruze and Shabuto. Maruze was a good mile ahead of shabuto but shabu was keeping up with him best he could. Hoping from tree to tree preforming various flips and twist this had turn into a rather fun run. As they neared the Place of Manor Alexandros shabuto got a rather eerie feeling...it came out of no where and stopped short right at the door of the massive house. His breathing got a bit heavier for an known reason as his eyes shot opened once more revealing to him that the blade was within the manner..Wrath was calling to him...the spirit of the Blade beckoning him... shabuto turned to maruze who was already there before he even got there.-

It's somewhere inside...maybe Khrona picked it up for me...when i got erased...

-It was a sad story alright...but one that was necessary for shabuto to achieve the manner of growth in which he had undergone. He simply thought Khronas' name...knowing full well he would appear at the mere thought...shabu knew Khrona better than most..and so did his counter part Allen.-

Being led directly to the very essence of where the blade lies, Maruze stopped right at the door of Manor Alexandros, waiting for someone to let him in. The Tensei family always seemed to be home and not home at the same time, answering their calls whenever necessary. This was the understanding he had from the deep, deep ties with their family.

"..."

He didn't say a word, but simply waiting for one of them to appear. They always knew... Somehow, they always knew.

Looking for something?

The blade of wrath appeared right before Shabuto, from out of thin air, it seemed... No, there was a hand above, one that floated gently on its own... A Master Hand, one could call it, one that pulled the sword from whence it came.

"Here it is; nice and fresh. Thanks for coming, you two. I've got important information, and I'm glad that you picked up on it."

He snickered, knowing that everything was always going according to plan. This was going to help these two lost souls greatly on their way, and this Phantom always loved that.

"... Hmhmhm~!"

Man that's Creepy!

-Shabut would say jumping back a bit as the blade and hand Manifested out fo Nowhere. Shabuto raised his hand to Wrath and he could feel the pulsating force from within the blade...was this the spirit of the blade maruze mentioned before hand? Shabuto's eyes grew wide as his facial expression changed From Surprised to Shocked as he placed his hand upon the blade...He was a nit confused...Krona and his tricks...but the feeling he was getting from this being wasn't...wasnt entirely Khrona's... He grasped his blade wrath happy though and placed it on his person.-

T-Thanks?...Information?...what kind of Information...Wheres Khrona?...How you get my sword...What the ell is going on?

-And just like that his Facial expression changed from Shocked to Neutral he wanted some answers from this persons...assuming it was a person. But he did that infamous Hmmmhmm...that was a habit that belonged to the tensei family...on shabuto had picked up on having so many dealing with the tensei family.-

The Phantom shook his head, snickering to himself.

"I'll tell you a little tidbit for your troubles. The both of you, actually. Shabuto, you're part of Maruze's family. Also, you're other half, Allen, part of my family. Go find Allen and bring him home, kinda miss him around here. We have a lot to discuss here."

He looked over to Maruze, nodding his head.

"And you. Your two sons are the answer you seek. Go seek out Koudo, and you'll find your Melody. Hahaha!"

And that was all he could or needed to say before he vanished. These two should get the point now. Go finish up, guys.

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=185&t=5014&start=20

Oh, what fun~! To see them playing so cutely together... I wonder if they'll even notice that I'm here...

There was no shift in reality, yet what was real had visually shifted. On an invisible branch connected to an invisible plant, the cunning masked trickster did lay, watching the battle of such intensity transpire so viciously. He found it amusing, and in fact, wanted to join in the festivities.

"... But it doesn't look like these guys are playing around. I guess they just need to be reminded of how to have some... Fun~!"

Of course, Fenri seemed to know nothing of the sort... Fun. He was such an uptight wolfman, and the other two were rather uptight as well.

"... Besides... I'm interested in playing with all three of them! Fenri owes me another spar, I have yet to face Savaj, and my souped up Sharingan should be more than enough for Aizu to... Test his might against."

Things were going swimmingly! And in fact, he swam off, fading away into the stream of reality, his very presence a mystery to even those who thought they were able to perceive... It's show time.

MANMADE CONSTRUCTS!

*Fenrir wasn't stalled even the slightest bit by Innis's sneak attack. The chains were nothing more than paperweights and the Avatar's blast, presumably of Data Draining energy washed over Fenrir without a hitch. It hadn't even touched him nor did it even make the beast flinch. It was a mirage an Innis should have stayed as such, not proving to be anything more than a placeholder.*

These illusions bore me! Fenri, if you would please!

*Fenrir laughed, knowing that he illusion was in that intermittent stage, almost not halfway real illusions that could still not really hurt you pretty imaginarily intensely for real. Fenri was at a juncture in movement: Does he rush in or lay low until he's sure? It felt like Aizu was pretty ready already, just one more finalizing touch should do it.

Fenri was looking beyond the telekinetic power, beyond the darkness in front of him, beyond that piercing red eye, past all of that into the blue in the distance, that shimmering Azure Blue that was always in front of him. Looking right past it all, sword in hand, Fenrir stemming the tides for him. It was a bit of a chore, but Fenri was going to break through one way or the other.*

-He said don't make an ass out of yourself..

Referring of course to the reckless assumption made by one of his high and mighty opponents. It seemed as if even with all the power to slay a god, not even Fenrir could curb his ego. After the vengeful blast washed over the mighty wolf titan, quite the fearful realization would present itself center stage...literally.-

I tried to warn ya..

-Although he was standing tall and proud, Fenrir wasn't going to walk away from one of Savaj's elaborate schemes unscathed. At the center of the god slayer's chest, a purple keyhole outlined with a black hue would have permanently etched itself. It steamed with a shadowy darkness coming from its opening, seething with the magical ammunition that resonated within Savaj's heart.

All around where Innis floated above, a flurry of sakura petals would rapidly whirl about its position until it removed the Avatar's image from this existence completely- revealing it to actually be Savaj and his keyblade in his hand. The psions positioning and overall appearance had been cloaked by Innis, presenting itself to be more so a distraction than an actual opponent against the pact beast. Savaj's blade could be seen seething the same black, smog like magics that printed itself on the hide of the haughty titan. However, the eerie crimson glow would begin to fade a bit from its original, powerful shine, but Savaj had used his sharingan enough at this point. It was about time he wrapped things up.-

Heh..

~~

The telekinetic energy that wreaked havoc upon this side of Emerald's Ascension would begin to let up in intensity the further Fenri immersed himself into his comfortable Azure flame. The blue flare of hope burned brighter as he persevered, misleading Fenri and Aizu deeper down the rabbit hole of Savaj's mangekyo. Neither of them would catch its name this time around, but for recording purposes, the jutsu was named Merveillieux (Mer-vey-euse): blissful sleep. Once the ex-sannin exchanged eye contact with him at the bouts beginning, Savaj had been able to literally weave a reality where Fenri's expectations were met. Using his mind to read into those desires and using his eyes to thread them, the Psion constructed for him a reality of a false victory that Fenri's sunconscious mind could dictate...under Savaj's watchful eye of course.

During the eye jutsu, Fenri position hadn't moved since the start of the match, he had unknowingly buried himself within the genjutsu by chasing that blue light of deception- resulting in a open mouthed bodily stasis. Summoning Fenrir to manually gouge him out of the clutches of genjutsu was clever, but wasn't the smartest executive decision. Without Fenri to actively fight along side of the prideful beast, it was left vulnerable to Savaj's Ultiga spell...the effects of which shall be later revealed. Unfortunately, the price for underestimating Savaj is far from cheap..

When he closed his eyes, however, the visage of him standing on the ground would fade, as well as the fake destruction brought on by the telekinetic malestorm. In fact, everything had faded back to normalcy at this point, revealing Aizu still unconsciously beaten on the ground and the Psion floating high above Fenrir and his host. Had Fenri really been released from the illusion, how could he be sure?-

You should've stuck your nose in somebody else's business..

-He said panting a bit with blood dripping from the darkness of his hood. His blade was no longer pointed at Fenrir, but it was still generating those deadly energies. His free hand reached toward his face, wiping clean some of the blood that dripped from his tearducts.-

You probably could've lived longer.

Akatsukiyomi...

Such a technique had been coming in handy lately... And it was time for it to work its magic once more. Before all three of them, an undetectable shift in reality occurred right before their eyes, and was in fact, the two twin Red Moons that Fenri should have been so familiar with before. This was set up from the very moment Fenri left his office that time before... And it was time to show him that this promise was going to be kept.

"Didn't I tell you that as long as the moon was red... The Dusk would be right behind you? You said you would never look up at it... So I simply looked straight into you."

The illusions were broken with just a glimmer of those beautiful sanguine orbs, their lustrous crimson shine shattering the effects of everything the opposing team attempted to do to Fenri. He was powerful, yes, but he didn't think about what he did... And that was why when he was going to make a mistake, the Phantom would be there to keep him from falling.

Well, with Fenri and Fenrir now freed and protected from the genjutsu at hand, it was time to set Fenrir free of this cute 'Ultiga.' Khrona hadn't seen an Ultiga spell be used since he found Maze so long ago on the moon... Funny how the moon seems to play a very important role in Khrona's life. It was because of the promise made to the Tsukihime.

"Alpha..."

He pointed his attention to the keyhole that threatened to be sealed by Savaj's keyblade and brought it to a halt with the sheer power of Genesis itself.

"...And Omega."

The glistening gaze of the guised ghast rebuked the power of this seal with the divine magic of the Wicca, and the lawshifting power of the Judgemaster himself. This old Phantom hadn't forgotten about any of his techniques... He just knew when and where to use them, now. And so, the keyhole would be wiped clean from Fenrir's body, with just a single stare.

"Ultiga... A technique stronger than even Ultima... However... Not as powerful as Alpha, the Fatherspell of both Ultima and Omega... And Omega itself, the sole opposite of Ultima, and thus, Ultiga's powers."

He came in more than prepared, ready to cover everything necessary to keep Fenri going. Even though he was by Fenri's side, he was also only in front of Savaj's face, staring him down with piercing red eyes, as if daring him to try the same tricks on him... Waiting... Watching... Prepared for it, even. A single gloved hand rose to meet with his cheek, rubbing off the remains of whatever trickling blood streamed downward, and with that blood on his fingertip... He placed that single drop in his mouth and teemed with delight. It was as if he had just eaten a delicious delicacy; a pastry, even, that he just hadn't had in such a long time.

"It tastes so good... Part of me wants to have a little bit more. The more you use that technique, the more your eyes bleed, don't they? Hmhm~!"

He took a step even closer, when it seemed like he could get no closer to Savaj, he made it possible, somehow to do so even more. And continued to stare deep, deep into his eyes... Past his eyes and into his very soul. Delicious...

"Let's see if I can make you do it again, hm~?"

And as for Aizu... Hmhm... His 'aizu' were strong, but could they beat the eyes of the Phantom? To Aizu, he would be standing right next to him, arm wrapped over him, loosely hanging from his opposite shoulder, as if they were just buddy-buddy about everything going on here. In his hanging hand, right before Aizu's eyes, a spinning accumulation of all of his chakra he so kindly spread out across the entire battlefield, swirling around this Cheshire Phantom's index finger.

"Hmm... Shouldn't be so careless where you leave your chakra. Someone might just come take it for themselves."

He expounded without words a dreamy laugh that seemed to echo in a monotonous stereo through Aizu's ears, almost... taunting...

"Hmhmhm... Aizu, old buddy... I've been waiting a veeeery long time for this one... You want to watch, or will you be taking part in this masterpiece?"

Something somewhere told the Phantom that he was just going to watch. After all what are 'aizu' good for but watching, right? Hahaha~!

What fun~!

"Rest yourself, young one," Chase whispered to Savaj, letting their darkness take him just a little more. It closed his eyes for him, forcing them to rest his overly strained seekers. It wasn't what Chase had preferred to do, but it was what must be done to keep Savaj's energy from getting him killed and to keep that phantom as far away as possible. It was a strange one, appearing in just the nick of time to save the wolf from quite the untimely demise with its silver tongue and lavish voice, but Chase remained unflinching.

"Curb your fires, stem your tides, center yourself."

Chase pulled things back a bit for Savaj, slowing the waves of telekinesis and conserving the rest of his chakra. If Savaj were able to break free of his rage, he'd feel his energy centering in his stomach, slowing to a stoic halt. Everything around him would stop flowing, leaving nothing but dead space surrounding him. Chase could walk him through the rest of the steps if he was able to keep himself from lashing out.

*Fenri was snapped back from the vortex in the blink of an eye, only to be staring at the back of Cheshire Phantom's head for a moment, only able to catch the last bit of its image before it disappeared from his sight completely. That left Savaj in front of him, standing there like when they started. Fenri was staring into that black hood again. Again...*

BOY!

It was fake!

*Pissed was all that Fenri was, he couldn't stand himself. He was indubadubly caught in that mirage of a trap that was set for him. Walked straight into it and he knew how, it was his eyes. It was always the eyes that got him caught. And if it was the yes, they needed to be dealt with.*

All fake... They were lies!

*In the same split moment, Fenri moved his hand covered in ice to his face, staring right into the shadow of Savaj's hood. Heart filled with rage at the illusion he fell for, all on the account of his eyes deceiving him, Fenri dragged his razor sharp petals across his eyes, destroying his windows to the world with a harsh winter storm. The intense frost whipped across his face and cast his blood to the air in icy crystals of ruby, forming a single orb in his hand. His eyesight was gone and with it every weakness they carried with them. But he was nowhere near crippled.*

Liar!

*Filled to the brim with rage, the ring on the hand holding the small orb of blood ignited in an aquatic blue spark. Fenri's eyes were open again, now 'looking' at Savaj with bloody holes of what used to be eyes. The Ark of the Cosmos around his wrist lit and in his heaving rage, Fenri let out a single cry.*

ARWOOOOOOO!

*It was a cry of rage, one calling forth the depths of his pain to deal retribution on his opponent. He didn't care who was in the way, who was in the area, who was behind him, he just wanted his pain to be felt. As far as the howl could be heard, the gravity shifted into a three dimensional vortex of Fenri's Rain Flame, tranquilizing everything within ear or energy-shot. The field drew all strength in it into a single point of a dropping energy level right at the tip of Fenri's lips. Sound waves bounced away from him, but everything in its range was sucked into that one point. Savaj was right in front of him, keeping himself from being drawn into a singularity must be some feat when staring right into the eyeless face of a cold, calming embrace. The peak of Emerald's Ascension warped into a curled tail of a construct, being drawn into Fenri's Zero Point of Energy. The temperature dropped drastically, only growing colder and colder as the fractions of seconds passed. It was a cry of the wolf, one that would be heard by everyone but could only be answered by very few, if Fenri even wanted it to be answered.*

-Confusion..Devestation..Rage..these confound emotions boiled and festered within the heart of the boy. Before Savaj could play judge, jury, and executioner, his will was halted by some
phantom mediator.

He was in some sort of quasi-suspended animation during the time the Cheshire Phantom entered the fray, it explained the reason Savaj's ability to reltaliate was null and void. Although, he was still consciously aware of everything that transpired- all the reality shifts and overpowering magical spells had succeded im detering the Vanguard. The mocking mask that Savaj was forced to stare at only intensified his unbridled anger, in turn feeding his darkness. But by the time he reached his hand at its throat, it vanished. His left hand met with nothing but empty space..

...

A clench of fist would be escourted by a ferocious snarl..from the darkness of his hood, a different glow would pierce its veil of mystery. Several ancient sigils could be seen slowly etching themselves where his forehead presumably was. To be so close..Savaj almost lost his wits. His heart was on the verge of releasing a titanic discharge of wrathful darkness that could have very well ripped Savaj, as well as few unnamed casualties asunder. His blessing from War thrived off of his thirst for conflict, igniting those unscaled infernoes within. But before he could release that passionate apocalyptic roar of WHAT THE FUCK?!? he was checked.

He was interrupted again by that comfortable shade, that soothing embrace. His eyes wouldn't rustle as they were closed, he knew full well what was going on. His gnarly growl would smooth over into a brief series of deep breaths. Chase's words flowed sweetly through Savaj's heart, calming him and guiding him as he'd been doing ever so brilliantly.

Savaj's blade would fade, along with the fiery orange glyphs that set ablaze the darkness of his hood and almost revealed his face. With a final inhale, Savaj would slowly clapse his hands, centering them as well as his energy. He didn't even seem concerned of Fenri's electrifying roar of rain flame, or even aware of it for that matter. Nothing seemed to breech his space of peace.-

Did you forget, Savaj?, that Phantom's voice still echoed... There can only be one Judgemaster at a time. If you really want it... You've got to take it from me.

He had been setting this up even before Savaj knew it himself. The Phantom winked at him, already knowing that everything he had planned even before Savaj's very existence was coming together now to stop him. And not really to stop him, in fact, but to simply... Find a way to converse with him.

We both want the same thing, and we both can have it... The only difference is, when you destroy someone, you can't bring them back. So I figure, why don't we strike up a little deal? You get to kill everyone, and I get to purge all the putridness from their souls, and make them anew? Then they will never be like they were before... They'll be... Pure.

Savaj should have enjoyed the idea, since it didn't destroy his ambitions and it also didn't hamper this Phantom's. All he did was merge both of their ideas together and make them into one.

But. He still caught wind of some other dragonic force in the area... Some sort of serpent. It was nice, really, to have some company once in a while... A dragon of such power... Perhaps he would fuel the next level of Savaj... He trusted that his 'twin' would be realized.

"And you..."

Manifested around Fenri, as if buddy buddy with him, he seemed absolutely and completely unfazed by his next attack, simply and only because of the knowledge he had of how to control his own powers completely.

"... I told you that, as long as the moon was in the sky... You would see the moon again. Now it's etched into your brain. And you can and will never forget. Because if you do... I'll always be there to remind you. And if you can't see me, you can smell me... The moon that's in the sky."

He laughed, remembering his promise to the Tsukihime... He was going to have to go see Misery and Despair soon.

As for Aizu... Eh. He wasn't doing anything.

However, the three great ones that met here today would remember what had transpired. Both of them had been thwarted by this Phantom... He always appears when necessary, and when you least expect it. Out of nowhere, unable to be detected by any forms of presence. He was everywhere... And would be watching them everywhere as well.

Whenever you two need a pick me up... I'm always gonna be here... Waiting for you guys to fuck up so I can have some more fun again...

He giggled. It was fun to him. This was his form of entertainment. Fixing situations such as these for the better. Heehee.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I have a light to save. Find me, White Dragon, when you awaken from your slumber. And only then may we engage in combat. I see that you're not mentally prepared yet... Poor soul.

He shook his head, knowing that these two would just end up trying to kill each other again... But this time, the Phantom didn't care. Because all that died were going to start over from level 1... And that would be the MOST fun.

*Fenri's wolf's cry rang unanswered, echoing into the darened skies and bouncing back to his ears with nothing but pain etched into the vibrations. Fenri stood there, eyes bleeding and voice slowly quieting. Those crimson tears tears rolled down his face and the vortex being drawn towards him slowly quieted as well, the whole of Emerald's Ascension seemed to be slowing to a tranquil standstill, its formerly emerald landscape scarred from Fenri and Savaj making acquaintances.

It stopped, the howl, the pull, the tension, it all swung to a complete standstill with the black orb floating right in front of Fenri's lips, shuddering. If he still had them, Fenri would have opened his eyes to look at his little creation, gaze upon its pitch black little glory, probably even crack half a smile if he was feeling really ambitious. His empty gaze never moved, but the sphere cracked. A tiny white sliver jaggedly worked its way around the sphere, breaking off into a million directions of more cracks and fractures, turning the whole of the pitch black orb completely pristine white. It shuddered more, seeming to reach critical mass before Fenri could only lower his head as if he were looking at Savaj, those red walls of emptiness facing the opponent just as determined as before...*

-Sigh-

*He had come to terms with the fact that not only had he lost this battle, his mind, his eyesight and any more reason to fight further, but he also lost control of the orb.

Thus, it erupted into a new storm of blue fire, burning, freezing, calming everything within its initial range. The battlefield went up in a glorious cerulean-azure blaze with Fenri standing right in the middle, drunk from his ordeal. Fenri never fought a battle where he didn't give 100%, but this particular battle strained his mind, body and spirit far beyond anything he could remember in recent history. He stumbled, hung over from pure fatigue, fighting to remain conscious even now. But in the maelstrom of fire, he was sure to have escaped from harm.*

Without a word, Savaj raised his left hand to the ethereal explosion. The blue washed over and around his body, swirling about him not once touching his body. He couldn't move with all that fire around, but Chase wouldn't let this be his end. They had much more to do, much more evil to unleash on the world, much more...

"Repulse," Chase whispered to Savaj, trusting that he would finish what needed to be done, carrying it out without a hitch. Chase knew, Savaj knew, Fenri would know...

The Monkey..

-It was almost like a reflex, but not quite that comparable. Those words rolled off Savaj's tongue like they were rehearsed, like the introduction to a grand orchestration. The frozen wave of cerulean rage calmly brushed past Savaj's fingers like a gentle breeze, his hand however never actually touching the blast. Instead, it sort of projected that radius of peace that pervaded around him and rejected the entry of the wrathful catharsis.

The damage to the surrounding area however was critical. The green pasture upon which they waged war was replaced by a frozen tundra. The Emeralds Ascension would never be the same, for the damage brought upon it would make it forever unrecognizable.

However, Savaj refused to die here..not in a fucking frozen wasteland...

High in the sky, Savaj's robe throttled in the wind from the force of the azure explosion. His left hand holding the fiery freezing energy at bay, while his other hand remained at his center. Erecting only his middle and index finger, Savaj's eyes remained closed during this majestic last stand. He was channeling his energy and the energy of Fenri's attack peacefully throughout the entirety of his body, and catalyzing it within his abdomen. All of the energy that Fenri exerted in order to calm all energy had calmed within Savaj's stomach...And now he was going to calm Fenri and Aizu. A poetical beautiful end for the too of them he figured..-

...

-With a deep inhale, Savaj would thrust his right hand forward to reunite with his left, positioning them a in a "cupping" style. And with a proud draconic roar, the psion would disperse the cataclysmic cerulean malestorm with invisible flex of his chi. The colorless ancient chakra would split, depart, and absolutely extinguish the azure blaze, and run straight forward toward Aizu. The magnitude of the attack crushed the icfrozen tundra below before it actually made contact with Vescrutia, recreating this area for the third time in one battle. Once the chi blast physically reached the ground, not much of anything would be left. Aizu was the target of this technique, but Fenri could find himself suffering quite the fatal wound if he didn't get the fuck out of dodge.

Savaj would remain in the sky, slowly descending toward the ground. He was obviously winded, but Aizu had to be gone now..-

Sigh.

"Khrona Tensei."

His wings did spread, testing the waters of everyone's power level, the sheer force matching the levels of every single person in the vicinity and halting all where it stood by the use of his own godly power. These glorious, demonic, magnificent black monstrosities loomed over the land and shrouded the area in complete and utter absolute darkness. The only light that shone was the light that was Khrona's own undying soul, the flame that could fill even the Void itself and keep going... His will of Tigen, able to bring warm color to even the Azure Flame's icy glow.

"... That's who I am. I was trying not to say it, but I simply had to. My hidden jutsu that no one knows about..."

He had been keeping this jutsu a secret for quite a while, after his father taught him how to properly execute and upgrade it. By using however much chakra was within him and matching it to all opposing forces, he forces upon a standstill in the entire area. But, the only way to match the powers of Fenri, Savaj, Chase Young AND protect Aizu was to use the power of a god...

"... Looks like the (cheshire) cat's out of the bag... It's me..."

He pulled off the mask, revealing his face in mortal form. The form of flesh.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



With forlorn twin moons gazing deep into Savaj's keen eyes, Khrona dropped the mask to the floor, seeing now that there was no more fun to be had.

"... Guess I've got some work to do now. I didn't want to just reveal my identity, but... I had no choice. My time is up."

There was no more time for fun and games for Khrona... A shame, really. Khrona just wanted to have a nice spar with Savaj just one time before he left...

"... I've obtained such power... So much, I cannot exist here anymore. But, before I left, I wanted to fight you just one time... In fact, I wanted to fight a number of people again before I had to go, just for the hell of it..."

He looked over to Savaj, sighing heavily, ready to spill all the beans to him.

"The moment that I have to die, I return to being a god. But before I took such serious duties, I wanted to settle a few scores with some people, just for fun. Have a spar with you, Savaj, as my twin... Test my might against Fenri again... Have a nice, engaging scuffle with Kham... Hahaha..."

Khrona looked up to the skies blackened by his wings, then to the light around that illuminated everything in such darkness. To let everyone see this burning soul... The will of Tigen surging through his wavelength... Only to spark everyone else with just a flick. It was over for him.

"... Maybe even a friendly tussle with Shinta, too..."

He smiled at the thought of that. Shinta... What a complex, yet simple fellow... Khrona never had to have any TRUE fun with any of them, and now that he could, it was over.

"... But I blew it, trying to have fun in a serious matter. And now, I've forced myself into a situation I cannot escape from. Guess it really was my fault for not waiting... Again."

The flames emanating from his soul, lighting up the umbral shade began to swirl about Khrona's cranium, forming a flaming halo of glorious rainbow light... Before the colors merged and became completely, utterly blackened with a bright, white glow...

"Time to say goodbye."

And he smiled, he waved, and a single black tear rolled down his cheek, the stain of his blackened blood like ink painting a dreadfully joyous facial expression. His beautiful, lonely sanguine moons stared up to the single red moon up in the sky... And he closed his eyes, taking a deep, cleansing breath...

*Ssshhhmmmmm...*

... And a sharp, disheartened exhale of blissful refreshment.

*Siiiigh...*

Guess that's what I get for trying to find the perfect end to this story... It's okay... I like this one, too...

This was the end of the line for Khrona Tensei...
... And he laughed.

"Haha..."

Khrona?

-He was transfixed, no wonder he couldn't probe the mind of that mysterious phantom, Khrona's mental might matched his own and then some. He hadn't a clue why he impeded him up to this point, he saw the man as ally and possibly something more. Why had he done this? For attention? Savaj was sorrowed, dumbfounded by Khrona's insanity, but warmed by his words.

Twins? What had he meant?..and where was he going?-

Wait, goodbye?! Where are yo-

-He halted himself. He didn't want to further compromise his disguise with any emotional personal expressions. The identity of a shinobi is priceless, and he needed every weapon he could get if were too be successful. With a flick of his wrist a dark corridor was opened, sucking Savaj through it and into the Realm of Darkness. Things were getting to heavy, and his chakra was running low. Aizu's life had been spared for now, but not without a few fatal injuries for him to remember Savaj by. Him and Fenri both.

He would return for the Uchiha...his fate had been prolonged, but not altered..-

Still looking up at skies darkened by his wingspan, a flock of black bird-like shapes swirled about the atmosphere, changing between insectoid form, avian form and bat-like form. A new Melancholy had formed...

"... Savaj... Fenri... Aizu... I don't think you really understand... My ambitions..."

His wings slowly, slowly, slowwwwly undulated, as to not destroy the area or harm anyone, as they usually did. Khrona's smile on his face directly conflicted with his melancholious gaze... as if longing for something... Something greater than this senseless destruction.

"... No one has ever taken the time out to actually consider the abitions of others... Too busy focused on their own goals..."

He took a deep breath once more, closing his eyes, and intaking the natural ambience of the atmosphere...

"... So allow me to show you the Melancholy I have... The Melancholy of the dark cry of a dying world... That I simply wish to save."

The slight undulation of his wings brought life back to the Emerald Ascension almost instantaneously, bathing this land in utter black, only to cleanse away what had deformed its beautiful shape in the first place... Those who lacked control over their own power. Lacked power... Lacked consideration...

"... The most important part of fighting is not who has the most power, nor who causes the most destruction..."

His wings, for once, did not destroy anything that wasn't unnatural to this area's natural order... He'd finally learned how to control his powers. Absolutely perfectly.

"... It's about who can control their power enough to hit their mark... and not cause unnecessary collateral damage."

He learned this through experience, fighting with his dear brother, Maze... ZK... Zeik... Kham... All of them, every battle, they all caused so much unnecessary destruction and calamity that someone else had to repair later... Why could no one just hit their target, and nothing else? Because they had to display their power... Not their control over it.

"How sad it has been, to watch the world fall into disarray and chaos from the destruction of its beautiful land... We flaunt our power so effortlessly, yet inconsiderately, paying no mind to what is around us. But is what we want really so important that we'd destroy what we live on simply to obtain it? Can we really find no other way to control ourselves?"

Once the Emerald Ascension was restored, his wings retracted, and the dark clouds parted from the skies, letting the sun shine down on this wretched land...

"... No. I said no, at least. I wouldn't destroy anymore. I went and fixed my mistakes... Those places I destroyed so long ago... I've decided not to destroy anymore. I can control myself... For once..."

He sighed a sigh that brought back the dark clouds and made the sorrowful winds blow in synchronicity with his own breath... And so, everyone would feel his pain. Everyone. Yet, they only felt the gentle breeze, guiding their sight to Khrona himself. Looking at him was enough for them to feel his pain. Projecting it right into their eyes simply by them looking at him, they would feel such heaviness on their heart... This heady feeling of despair...

"... So whatever you all destroy, I've decided to fix. Since no one will fix their own messes... Simply because I'm tired of everyone destroying everything... And because I want to make this place better."

He turned his back to them, all of them, and placed the mask back on his face.

"... Even if it means doing it alone... In secret."

He hoped that no one here would reveal his identity at all. Whether they did or didn't, it didn't really matter... But it would be nice to have a little fun while he completed his goals... Before he had to go for good. And so, with a final, final sigh... He was gone on the melancholy of his own breath.

This is the extent... of my Melancholies...

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Climax Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:22 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=276&t=5342

It was your fault for stepping in. Now look where you've gotten yourself.

*He was unsure of how long or how far he'd been walking, blind and aimless, but he kept going anyway. After such a grueling loss, being coerced into his own defeat, Fenri had lost his will... His edge...*

Humans... Their petty sensibilities and ill-contrived sense of duty to others is baffling sometimes...

*Fenrir was having his way with the lashing of his contractor, laying on layer after layer of how silly and insipid humans are and how inferior they are to other life-forms.*

And after all of that, you lost... Pathetic.

*Fenri had wandered into some marshland, the putrid stench invading his nostrils and only aggravating his already blind rage. It wasn't like he could take it out on anyone but himself, he stepped in of his own accord. So he walked, being chewed out from the inside.*

Showtime.

A masked man, whose presence felt more than non-existent, traveled beside Fenri upon his arrival in this ominous marsh lands. Utterly silent were his movements, and completely covered was his chakra signature, leaving nothing for the blind wolf to catch any knowledge of who persisted in the nearby shadows.

Do you even know where you are?


His haunting snicker was veiled by the sound of the goopy water bubbling with swamp-life below... And so this blackness that existed so closely to the great blind one would fade away, only to materialize elsewhere; in a tree, in the murk, in the bushes... Who knows? Yet, the voice sounded much like... Fenrir. Maybe he could... get into his head a little.

I've got to bring him to the Black Swamp... the Zero World...

This was his mission, it seemed. He couldn't leave Fenri alone...
Well, he did say that the Dusk would always support him. And, the Dusk itself was its own blackness...
To guide those lost in the dark to the light of dawn.

*Fenri aimlessly put one foot in front of the other, trudging forward without a care in the world. Those seemed to turn on him whenever it was the worst time. It landed him lost and blind, wandering around the world.*

Well, do you? I'm sure you have sense enough to answer such a simple question. Odd interjections aside.

*Fenrir wasn't distracted by the bubbling of the swamp nor Fenri's human sensibilities, so he heard the voice similar to his own bouncing around Fenri's head. Not that it mattered at the moment, the boy wasn't responding to anything anyway. Because of that, Fenrir didn't very well have a way to do anything convenient about the odd voice, but it wasn't talking nonsense either. Maybe this extra voice of reason could snap the wolf out of his self-inflicted stupor.*

... Fuck it. It's not like this guy can see, anyway...

As this elusive black shadow slipped to and fro around the marsh, its structure started to shift as well, the heady sense of reality-warping at hand. Though it would feel no different to Fenri, he'd be walking right down the path that the Phantom laid for him... Since he was imperative to the situation.

You'll just walk forward until you fall, won't you...? Knowing someone will be there to keep you on the straight path to do whatever you choose...?


Even now, he could listen to his own words he spoke to Fenri and watch himself make this pathway for the blind one... And, even he could think... 'Was this really beneficial?'

... Must be nice. For you, at least.


Was he really talking now? This didn't seem like something he would say, especially not to Fenri, but... Perhaps... By simply speaking like Fenrir, he'd adopted the same wavelength as he... And thus, adapted thoughts of his, even if he was not mind reading. A remarkable thought... Perhaps it would be relevent to this situation more than even this Phantom was aware, at this point... Yet... He still kept shifting the path in the correct direction...

It must be for you to really be such a mortal. I saw potential in you that surpassed even prophecies. An you throw it all away for the life of a man you don't even know.

*Fenrir sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. His whole existence was staked on this one man surviving his trials to step into a grander modus operandi, the divine play of the Great Will that destiny had set out for them. Fenrir knew his aim, but Fenri had clearly lost sight of what was important.

Waist deep in the swamp, Fenri dragged himself deeper into the muck, only feeling the weight on the world holding him back and drawing him down. What was going on in his head that he'd walk headlong into whatever was ahead of him? Was his pride so sacred that in defeat, it was broken? Such a proud and strong willed Wolf was turned into a feeble pup, derelict without its master. It was a pitiful sight, really, watching those dried tears of blood trace Fenri's cheeks as his lifeless face lie blank, a lost man in a lost world, unfamiliar to him behind the darkness he cast himself into. Fenri Lunaedge had lost his edge... Worn it out and ground it into dust. What was once the blade of a fierce wolf might as well have been a blunted children's toy.*

... It seemed that all hope was lost for this pup. He would, without question, walk down into his own damnation without a single thought behind it. It was admirable, yet far too prideful for his own good. And now, he would sink, further into the darkness of the bog...

... Have you truly forgotten...?


He couldn't do this any longer. He couldn't watch someone such as this continue to walk down his own road to ruin. No matter what, he'd do it... But still... Even Khrona knew within him... That Fenri knew there was another wolf present.

HOW TO BE A TRUE WOLF!?!?

...
... ...
... ... ...

*HOWROOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!*


The cry of the wolf. There, something within him had awakened from a long slumber. The Dark Wolf; a piece of his own heart... The Melancholy of Khrona. He held within him a long since gone lone wolf, who had lost his way just as Fenri... But now, awakened by seeing a fellow wolf go down this road, his Melancholious heart could not take seeing this happen to him. Not a single bit more. And so, as Fenri trekked down further into the swamp... A green flicker would start to appear in his head, growing ever brighter the deeper he went into the muck.

...

*It echoed through Fenri's mind, bouncing off of the rafters of his awareness back out into the darkness of the cathedral of doubt he built for himself. It was a familiar sound, one that used to fill his heart with such vitality, it called him to action every time without fail. Now it left him with nothing but despair, a faraway cry from a familiar place, but one that was no longer home to the heart of the wolf.*

You can't even find a reason to fight anymore... Absolutely loathsome...

*Fenrir was put in a very compromised position, stuck between needing Fenri to buck up and resigning to a meager existence, survived only by the stories of old and the fear struck into the hearts of those who crossed Fenri's path. Had anyone been witness to this 'glorious' final moment, any remnants of Fenri Lunaedge would drown with him in this blackened pool. This march into the abyss, the final goodbye, slowly taking over the wolf's body. Already past his neck, the black muck rose past his lips, those tears of blood finding delta in the marsh rising to the empty voids of the old sight.*

...

*And with that, Fenri had retreated completely under the veil of muck. He would spend the rest of his time resting under the darkness. Would he return from the other side? Who knows?*

...

*It echoed through Fenri's mind, bouncing off of the rafters of his awareness back out into the darkness of the cathedral of doubt he built for himself. It was a familiar sound, one that used to fill his heart with such vitality, it called him to action every time without fail. Now it left him with nothing but despair, a faraway cry from a familiar place, but one that was no longer home to the heart of the wolf.*

You can't even find a reason to fight anymore... Absolutely loathsome...

*Fenrir was put in a very compromised position, stuck between needing Fenri to buck up and resigning to a meager existence, survived only by the stories of old and the fear struck into the hearts of those who crossed Fenri's path. Had anyone been witness to this 'glorious' final moment, any remnants of Fenri Lunaedge would drown with him in this blackened pool. This march into the abyss, the final goodbye, slowly taking over the wolf's body. Already past his neck, the black muck rose past his lips, those tears of blood finding delta in the marsh rising to the empty voids of the old sight.*

...

*And with that, Fenri had retreated completely under the veil of muck. He would spend the rest of his time resting under the darkness. Would he return from the other side? Who knows?*


Enlarge this image



Do you even know where you're going, or do you just care that you're going alone...?

*When faced with adversity, he knew no other way but to face it head on, even in the worst of circumstances. Steeped in the blackness that was his self prescribed end, Fenri was faced with a green specter of himself, just like everything else in the world, a reflection of what he felt in his heart. The ghoulish green haze formed in front of him, as clear as a summer's day, lit by an unending flow of light from the sun, burning right through any cloud in its way.

Darkness and his Self illuminated his vision, sight beyond sight gifted through the loss of his eyes, his pride.*

Come now, you can't possibly want to resign to such a peasant's fate... What would the boy say?

*What would he say indeed? Could Fenri in good conscience stand before himself and admit that to die in defeat and in dishonor, stripped of pride and drive, would be a fitting example to set for the son he wished he had? Is that who he should look up to, rather than his first male role model? Even in defeat, ZK fought to the bitter end a warrior's battle and in victory transcended the stars themselves to wrest it out of Fenri's grasp. Was Fenri no better than that ragamuffin scoundrel?

He questioned himself in silence, unsure of the answers he sought. But as he had known from the beginning, no progress could be made without standing for something. Not knowing the reason, Fenri stood in the face of his ghastly reflection and drew Lunaria, his only truth. The sword in his hand was his only truth.*


FIGHT!

Ah... The strong, silent type, huh...? Alright, then...


With hand outstretched and plasmatic flames aflicker, the greenish blue energy crackled and sparked to take the shape of a large broadsword, radiating with energy akin to that which coursed through the Dark Wolf's veins.

I'm ready to hear the silent howl of the arctic wolf...


The silence was all he needed to hear to recognize this as an engagement... But this silence only intensified this wolf's Loneliness... What was a wolf that couldn't be alone in this world, hm? Only the Dark Wolf could tell that tale, in complete and utter silence...

Stage 2; Depression.

What if this all... Meant nothing to him? Why did they have to engage...? He didn't know, it was simply instinct... The instinct of two loners butting heads... He didn't care for it, but he knew that it was simply in his wolf blood to do this, no matter how much he didn't want to. He could only be upset with himself for what he was about to do... And, like a bolt of emerald lightning, he struck, lashing right at Fenri with the tip of his sword at the head of his bolting body, with only the thought of impaling his target in front of him, and how much he simply did not want to do this on his mind... It drove him deeper into his own Melancholy... His own sadness... How he knew he would hurt someone else, only because of himself...

The Dark Wolf's forlorn howl followed behind his bolting body, like thunder trailing behind lightning... Yet, it fell on deaf ears, for this howl was completely and utterly...
... silent....

Don't just stand there, defend yourself!

*Fenrir had to do something before Fenri was just impaled with no remorse. Their lives were connected now, one couldn't live without the other and Fenri wasn't pulling his weight.

In the back of his mind, a faint squeak he heard, another call to action. Fenri was beyond not paying attention, lost in himself, but he wasn't planning on dying. Not yet.

His hand jerked across his body, slamming Lunaria into the blade of the lone wolf barreling towards him. The meeting of metal should have sounded off in a loud clang, but nothing was heard. Fenri let the gheist fly past him, feeling the tails of wisps its ethereal body left behind. A stark silence took over, almost stifling the life out of Fenri himself. But he didn't fall, he didn't, he couldn't. He didn't have a reason nor a method, he just stood against the fate dealt him the only way he knew how.*

The clash of the two blades sent that bolting streak of emerald off in the other direction, flickering chartreuse plasmatic energy crackling around the blade at the point of impact. He couldn't help but to snarl in a sort of melancholious rage, completely disturbed by Fenri's lack of will... Of soul. The Dark Wolf could feel such things with utter ease. It was sad to watch a wolf get lost in the darkness... and lose its spirit...

Stage 3; Grief.

A green bolt of energy slipped from the glowering eyes of the flickering lupine down his cheek... His tears were made of viridian lightning. Clenching the handle of his blade, his arm ignited in sparks of wild, keylime fulminations, and with the silent roar of that howling anguish tailing right behind, his entire right arm, including his weapon, whipped at Fenri in a flashing crack of neon. He could not believe it for a second... And the more his utter disbelief drove him to grief, the more those bolts of viridian lightning struck down his cheeks, and so too, simultaneously, would his blazing, crackling arm lash, whip and crash at Fenri with the force of the vengeance of the dark skies, themselves. Flash after flash after flash... Like true lightning strikes.

*KROW!!!! KRA-KOW!!! KROK-KA-TOW!!!*


With more grief in his soul each time he snapped his arm out to attack, the more powerful, the more swift, and the more displeasing his strikes would become. Such displeasure... Such overbearing gloom... His crying heart of the wolf could not take this anymore. All of it, in complete silence... Not a single sound had been made yet.

GO!

*Fenri heard nothing but a faint cry in the distance. He couldn't make out who or what was said, but in his heart he felt their words tug. Like a faint whisper in his ear, Fenri turned his head to the sound all around him slightly. In the same motion he waved Lunaria towards the flashes of emerald lightning bearing on his position. With his sight gone, Fenri could only feel the impending bolts bearing down on him so he dealt with them as he would any other lightning. He had the best practice on dealing with it, forging a blood rivalry with ZK. The wall of Azure Flame cascaded over and around the viridian bolts and froze them just. The solid ice sculptures of frozen power shimmered in the darkness as Fenri turned his back to the repeated bolts of grief, letting his flame wash over them and soothe their despair. He had to hear this voice. The voice was saying something and he needed to know what.*

But didn't you say... You hated noise...?
Silence.
I will have none of that.

This was still Khrona we're talking about.
Absolute Silence...

How quaint.

For once, this would would not be able to hear the screams... The cries... The shouts... The roars. This was the domain of none other... The Dark Wolf, who wore silence as his leash, one that he had broken from ever so long again.

Stage 4; Anguish.

Yet, he could still only keep so silent... Silent as to what went on around him. These bolts... They were crystalline in nature. Frozen over, like water, from whence they first came. Sharp stares and penetrating glares, flying toward the ice cold flame of uncare. He took his sword in hand again, and, in another blurred motion, would those viridian bolts blaze from his body, bringing that thundering noise to this effervescent silence...

*KUH-KRAKOOWWW!!!!!*

Yet, to fall on deaf ears... What was the use of this thunder? This lightning? This plasmatic essence that was his very soul, crying out to the ice blue azure so... Yes, you could feel the rumble... The shakes... Yet, you cannot hear... The giggles that follow behind. Too busy trapped in..

Absolute Silence.

I'm trapped here, aren't I...? Forever, for no one to listen to me...
Yet, to always cry out with the purest, utmost energy...
I've been cursed... by my own self...
How many times must I watch her suffer...?


Stage 5; Pain.

How LONG must I watch her soul DIE in utter SILENCE!?

The Dark Wolf was no loner, but a broken soul... A piece of a being much higher than himself, whom he knew as Khrona, longing and searching for the one who will break him free of the silence he placed upon himself...

Fenri? Are you trapped in such silence, as well?

Even though nothing could be heard, just the very vibration would emanate in his soul, on the same accord as this being... Like a beat. A pulse. A heartbeat... Beating... beating the chest... Why does it beat, and not pump?

Stage 6; Suffering.

*HOW LONG MUST I SUFFER!?!?!?*
The thunder roared, lightning bursting from those eyes of pure, unbridled power... And, in response... Silence.... Yet again...

Until this heart stops beating...

FENRI!

They're calling, boy!

*Fenrir heard the mystic calls of the children Fenri had devoted himself to protecting. What of them now? Had Fenri forgotten that they were his charges for quite some time? Even in his common absence, they were his to look after, that is one thing he was certain of. And in that, there was a pledge he had given to them, one he gave to himself, one he couldn't go back on, not in death, not like this.*

I hear you...

*Fenri stood in the midst of the viridian bolts falling all around him, turning slowly his bloodied sockets to the phantom of a wolf he had been only vaguely aware of. His blindness kept him from seeing anything at all, but the wolf was clear to him, that ghastly green wisp of energy moving about his mind's eye. It trembled, clearly unstable and unable to hold back its own power, but Fenri was fighting nothing more than a specter in his mind, a ghost of times passed from nowhere. But he wasn't going to be felled by an illusion of his self, if it were him in the first place.*

Now hear me...

*Still blinded, Fenri was face to face with this unidentifiable entity. It could have been a cosmological speck on the ass of the universe or ZK himself, Fenri's reaction would be the same. He gripped Lunaria and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as a frigid air escaped his lungs.*

Now live up to the name!

*Fenrir was happy tosee Fenri on the move, even against whatever mental odds he was at. To see the boy taking control of his fate again was refreshing. Perhaps he would live up to the title he was given...*

Ah... So you really do care about me... But, sadly, it is too late... Just a bit too late...

Stage 7; Regret.

The energy of the Dark Wolf flickered, waxing and waning under his own instability... His sadness, his pain... To think, no one cared...

Did he regret his decisions?

Of course. He was alone. A lone wolf in the darkness of the night.

She's done this before... Misery... and Despair...

And, the Dark Wolf had to reveal his true form.



"Oh... Even behind my smile... I am still terribly Melancholy. I look back on the events that brought me here... And see that I am the only one that has done it. Misery and Despair..."

He shook his head, now waiting for Fenri to strike him down here and now.

I've been standing right in front of your face this entire time. You're blind, remember? You can't see my true form... Only my energy.

He sighed heavily, his smile never fading... He'd hide it, that Melancholy... If he had to, just to get through this one part... No matter how unhappy he was... How much he regretted...

Stage 8; Sorrow.
Unending sorrow.

Stage 9; Remorse.
Eternal Remorse.

Stage 10; Melancholy.
He had to keep repeating this same painful process... Over and over and over... Pain and suffering... Misery and Despair... Through the ten stages, over and over until the truth was out... Until his heart stopped beating...

Do you know why I have to do this? I thought you were the Alpha Wolf...

Enlarge this image



This man... This creature... He hovered so gracefully and playfully over the Dark Wolf. He was the Lone Coyote's energy... King Keaton. The Cloud of Darkness over his head...

I'm the King Keaton, master of all the cute little Vixens... I'll steal their hearts and eat em. Hahahaha... That's what the Lone Coyote does... And ya know what? That little Vixen of yours... Julia... She's looking mighty tastyyyy~!

He snickered, snickering even through the Melancholies... What monster was this? The power... of the Lone Coyote? But where was the Lone Coyote himself? All A Lone...

It's too late for him... The Melancholies have already set in. Hahahaha~!

*Fenri paid no attention to the coy mockings of whatever it was floating above the wolf that had him occupied at the moment. The combination of th etwo presences and their childish jests in front of a blinded wolf only ignited a fierce fire in his heart, a blaze waiting to be unleashed on everything in his path. First on the agenda, these two.*

The Godkiller...

*Fenri whispered into a quickly growing mist around his feet, heavy, cold water vapor shimmering and collecting around him. He raised his hands and made three handsigns. The mist around his feet spiraled up around his body, creeping like a specter around his leg an up his spine, resting atop his head and shrouding him from sight. In the next second, it dispersed into a blanket of fog so dense it flower more similar to water through the air. It distorted what little visible light broke through the darkness, dispersing it about the mist eerily. Fenri disappeared into its mystery completely except for a strange green glow. He waited, giving himself some time to bring himself out of wherever he was.*

This dark Melancholy hovering over the Dark Wolf's smiling face laughed heartily at the efforts of Fenri... It was a wonderful little sight to watch. Beautiful, even. Perhaps this would be of some entertainment to him... To hold back the sadness, that is.

So... Look's like we're gonna play a little game of Dog and Cat, hm? Well then... Let's just see who the pussy is here!

"... Oh, he's moving? Wonderful."

The Dark Wolf only sat and waited... He wasn't going to do anything but wait for whatever it was that Fenri had in store for him.

"I accept my fate... Whatever it may be."

And that was all there was to it.

(Story Break)

-Timeskip-
*Crystal Tree

"Great, I feel great! Tho that was tough, and I'm glad I passed."

She feel on her butt, and took a deep breath, she knew Khrona was strong, but damn he was over powered. After her short breath, she stood up, and waited for Khrona's next move.

"Hey can we fight ontop of galaxys next? Or in space!? Or both!?"

It was blatantly apparent that Chusin wished to take this to the Tengen Toppa levels, but this was not the purpose of such a test... At least, not at merely the second stage.

"... Sorry, Chusin, but not yet. Here, let me give you something."

He tossed her a Crystal Fruit, the enchanted fruit of this land said to be able to do anything. It looked like a pumpkin without any ridges, though... An orange.

"The Magical Orange, or, the Crystal Fruit. This one will replenish your strength and your energy when you consume it all. Afterwards, we can go on to the next restriction..."

He would patiently wait for Chusin, hoping that she could endure the powers of Khrona's soul, since she was able to just barely withstand the might of Khrona's mind... while it was asleep.

"Ahh man, fine....."

She took the fruit, and ate it in one bite, she felt much better for many reason, but she knew now the gloves were off. She was ready, and had a good idea for a place to fight, but it might seem plane.

"Khrona can we fight inside of your mind? If not then a big, BIG city would do just fine, or your mind."

She laughed a bit, but soon got back serious, as she waited for a answer.

Khrona laughed, shaking his head. She wasn't fully comprehending what she just said, but it was alright to him.

"You're silly. Stick to the basics. Big City, coming up..."

The area around them shifted yet again, this time to a huge, multi-leveled city, seemingly very much technologically advanced, yet also having some sort of traditional Japanese culture to it. This would give them many, many levels to fight on, and would create for much more versatility in their endeavors...




"Alright, Chusin..."

He took out his next mask, one that was all too familiar to the Dusk of old, and placed it upon his face, letting robes of darkness spill over from the back, and tightly fitting around his body...


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



"Catch me if you can..."

This was none other than the notorious... Phantom. The Second Restriction, Restriction number 3 released... Soul. He was now Kamitamashi; The Phantom.

In an instant, he disappeared with the flow of the city, his body fazing out on the whisk of the wind... Where he was in this big city? Nobody knows...

"Hmmm... Well now this is cool, but before I get to finding Khrona, I need to eat."

She walked into one of the near by stores, and took some candy loollipops, and popped one in her mouth. Now that she had her candy, she took off to find Khrona, she didn't think it'd be to hard.

Sine he stands out a lot, and all she needed to do was find the odd one, she started looking in the simple places. Like all the building, etc, simply because the saying goes "If you wanna hide something, put it in plane site" She knew that it was true, half of the time.

"Here Khrona, Khrona, Khrona, I got candy!"

Candy, huh? A sweetie with some sweets, I'd say. How'd you know I had a sweet tooth, hm?

His intoxicating voice drifted along the sounds of the city, somehow perfectly clear amongst all the commotion about. It would echo in her head, as if beating from all directions, surround sound, constricting her...

A tap on her shoulder to draw her attention to the wraith of the city, he'd stand in the shadows of the alleyway of the first building, only his mask and gloves seen in the infinite darkness of this long, black corridor. With a cheshire smile and a wink, the moment Chusin would look if she did, he'd faze out into the blackness, materializing in the opposite direction her head was facing.

Yoink.

Plucking the bag of suckers from the sucker, he'd faze out again, this time materializing high atop one of the walkways directly above her position, crouched just enough so that he blended with the surroundings of the city's natural bleak atmosphere.

Heh heh. Like taking candy from a baby... They're probably rigged or something...

He pulled one out and spun it on his finger, waiting to see what Chusin was gonna do... Could see keep up?

"How'd I know, easy your Khrona, and we all know how much you like candy. But now, imma need my candy back!"

At first she wasn't sure, what was goin on, but everything became clear once Khrona showed himself. She looked up, and saw a Khrona, but rather then wast, time she quickly made a move.

"Hehehe."

She decreased he own body mass, to the point to were as she could move, under light speed. And before the wind blew, she moved under light speed, appearing behind Khrona.

Moving quick, and quitely she reached out to grab him, but in the center of her hand was a worm hole. In which would teleport him, into the air, but while doing that she quickly opened one in the air.

"To slow."

A wide, sneaky smirk slipped on this sleek masked man's 'face,' sensing Chusin's wavelength from a mile away.

"When you're a master of wavelengths, hun..."

He popped a sucker into his mouth and, as soon as she came to him with a wormhole tickling the back of his own soul's flowing waves... He hopped off of the edge of the walkway, using the natural suction of that gravitational pull to rotate completely around to the other side, now behind Chusin. His hand was outstretched, in position to flick something, and the moment he passed her head...

PWAM!!!!


The very flick of his finger would send her flying spiraling down the length of the walkway in its entirety, if he was able to catch her. His wavelength had been focused so intensely into just his finger, the Soul Menace had enough repulsive power to do that much destructive damage.

"Don't get too cocky. This is my city, you know."

He winked at her, tipping off two fingers from his head in a rather casual salute, before flickering away in a stream of blackness.

Clear across the city, a rather distinct resonant noise could be heard, even over all the commotion... And, soon after, Khrona's voice echoed through Chusin's head again, almost like a whisper...

Think you can get your bag of sweets back from me? Come on. If you can get this bag of candy from me, I'll let ya pass. Heh heh...

Khrona did love games... He was a bag of tricks and surprises, in and of himself. It was only natural.

"What the!?"

She knew he was fast, but she didn't know that he could dodge an attack of that speed, but it was Khrona after all so its nothing new, that's when she noticed his finger trying to pop her into oblivion, but she wasn't about to just take that lying down. Before his finger came in contact with her, she used her gravity aura, which was like a shield that was always active, and this would reduce the damage she was about to take from this powerful attack.

As his finger hit her, she would be sent flying across the city, but while the attack did damage the stuff she hit did not, in fact she didn't take any damage at all from crashing into the other buildings, this was due to her gravity aura. And before she hit the buildings she expanded her gravity aura, so that it would act like a cannon ball when it hit something, so in other words she used khrona's attack as a way to help herself out.

"Damn that hurt like hell, I think he was trying to hurt me."

After finally hitting the ground, she got up, and dusted herself off while thinking about what he said "This is my city." and this gave her an idea, and wit that idea she knew she'd be able to catch him, and take back her candy. She took to the sky, and while in the sky she closed the two worm holes she had opened before hand, and after that she placed both her hands out, and increased the gravity around the hole city. But the building themselves wouldn't be affected, just thing that didn't weigh over 200 lbs.

"Gravity increase by 100 tons."

If she couldn't catch him, she's slow him down, and take back what was her's, she looked over to where he was, and flew over there really fast. She was aiming for the candy rather then him, and with the increase in gravity, it should have slowed him down a little.

Twirling a sucker on the tip of his finger, he sat in an alleyway, waiting for Chusin to give chase. Humming a rather harmonious melody and bobbing his head from side to side, he would notice after a moment or two, the incredible shift in gravity. His body pressed deep into the ground, yet he still stayed in the same upright position he took as he sat. His sucker, however... It shattered to pieces under the weight of the gravity, and if it weren't for him already inducing a Self-Resonance... The same fate would have befallen the others.

He grit his teeth and stood up rather slowly, his body starting to radiate with a dim glow...

"Oi... Bastard... You just wrecked one of my sweet pieces..."

That dim radiation quickly fulminated to a very luminous black and red aura, which expanded from his body in a powerful burst, pushing away and normalizing all such intensified gravity that hampened the atmosphere.

"You think a little dead weight's gonna hold down this soul? Tch. Get real."

He looked up to Chusin, pointing at her, his wavelength fluctuating violently about, crackling with intense Insanity, which seemed to press against the gravitational field with the utmost beligerent force... It grew, and grew, and grew, pushing away all such gravity that seemed to bear down on the city, and level that shit out right above it, in Chusin's face. All the while, Khrona would flicker about to the highest point of the tallest building, staring Chusin dead in the face from the very boundary of where he decided to cease the expansion of his Soul Wavelength. He extended his hand out to this boundary, and showed her the flattened sucker stick...

"You owe me a fucking sucker, girlie."

He dropped it... And stared at Chusin. With huge, vicious, black, slanted eye sockets...

"Ok! KHRONA!!!!!!!! YOU WANT IT, YOU GOT IT!!!"

She knew that using her gravity wasn't going to do much to him, she thought it best to brake out the hand to hand combat, and just beat him while also taking the candy back, after seeing what he did to her gravity increase. She in-cased her hands, and feet in gravity, it was now time form gravity combat, and with that she took off moving well under the speed of light, she balled up her fist, and aimed to punch Khrona with enough force ti equal a supernova.

"Khrrroooonnnnaaaaa!!!!!!!"

She also kept in mind that she needed to take the candy, so she was going to do a punch, and snatch.

Khrona placed a hand in his pocket, still staring Chusin down. Her fist would impact his Soul Wavelength, causing it to crackle even more viciously than before, yet Khrona stayed unmoving; unblinking. Her fist simply was not getting through here. It would prove to push down the soul just a bit, but only to the very very tip of Khrona's mask.

He smirked.


"Wanna take it close combat, lass? Let's go."

He'd extend his free hand up, pushing Chusin's fist back just a bit by expanding the boundary of his wavelength again, just enough for him to have some elbow room. The fist clenched, drawing in all of that wavelength that surrounding the city right into it, outlining the entirety of it with a blackish reddish hue. Holding Chusin up with his knuckles, he would keep the gravity punch from exploding by holding its wavelength together... Only so he could say;

"Planet Destruction Cannon."

And, there was a powerful jolt that surged up his arm and into his fist, which would create the MASSIVE explosion that Chusin was looking for. It shot Khrona down immediately toward the ground, and should have blasted Chusin higher into the air... But Khrona did not make impact with the ground, nor was there any sign that he had... Hmmm...

Suddenly, a flicker of blackness behind Chusin brought the appearance of Khrona yet again, flipping over as if to give her an Ax Kick that would send her hurdling down to the bottom of the city...

"Should have known, he'd be good in close combat."

Is what she said before he appeared, behind her with an ax kick, but however the attack wouldn't do much damage. Before she was kicked, she used her gravity to drecrease the mass around Khrona's foot.

Which would reduce the overall attack power, but speed the attack itself up, and with that she was sent flying down. But once again, before she could hit the ground, she used gravity to drecrease he own mass to that of paper.

So when she hit the ground, it would hurt or do any damage, so after all that she got up, and lifted up a bunch of buildings. She then started chucking'm at Khrona, like it was nothing, but while doing this she used this as a way to get her candy back.

While hidding behind the tall, big buildings, and boy did she go in for the kill, she opened up a small worm hole. Behind him, and reached threw it to get the bag.

Direct hit...

His smirk grew just as wide as his eyes did narrow, watching Chusin hit the ground like a piece of paper.

"What a lightweight... You sure you're up to this, girlie?"

He was falling now from the sky, cape aflutter in the wind and his free hand in his pocket, the other holding onto those sweets for dear life. Down below, buildings were ripped from their roots, and up into the skies, like javelins being chucked at li'l ol' Khrona.

"Woah, you must be seriously pissed, huh?"

Lunging off to the side, he just narrowly evaded being skewered by the tip of one of the tallests buildings. He snagged it with his free hand and swirled down till he got to a flat surface, which he began to run down the side of. When that building ended, he flickered over to the next, running down it in the same fashion, and was prepared to repeat as many times as necessary till he got to Chusin.

A twinge in his realm of 'personal space' alerted him to the opening wormhole in back, and a hand emerging to snag those sweets, which he was all too prepared for.

"Not slick enough, lass."

In one swift motion he spun around her arm, grabbing it with his free one and pulled her all the way out of her wormhole, sending her flying right into one of the oncoming projectile buildings. With a wink and a smile, he flickered over to said building and continued his (temple) run down the length of it. Before he touched the ground, he hopped off and landed on one of the remaining walkways still intact, chuckling arrogantly to himself.

"Time's a wastin... There are only 6 more suckers in here, and if they all run out, you lose."

He shrugged, taking the barren stick from his mouth and flicked it off to the side like a stray cig, somehow landing in a garbage can way down below. Standing and waiting for the next big show, he stuck his hand in the bag and pulled out two suckers, just for kicks, and put em both in his mouth. Lemon and Lime... Mmmm~!

"Noooo!"

Being pulled threw, her own worm hole was just sad, she sighed a little, till she noticed she was going to get hit by her own attack. But she didn't panic, rather she thought up something.

Just in the nick of time, an idea came to mind, but before she could use it she needed to stop the building. She wasn't to worryed about being hit, in fact the building did hit her, but she took no damage.

"Gravity aura."

Since that was still in play, it would stop the buidling, from stabing her like it would have done. As the building fell, she landed on it, and started to run down the side of it.

"Never thought I'd have to use this again."

As she ran, she picked up speed, and with one quick jump she was sky high, so high she was out of site. And when it seemed like she lift, a bright light fell from the sky, right in front of Khrona.

"Here we go!"

As the light died down, Chusin could be seen, her eyes big, mouth open, and just about the most pleasing thing anyone could see.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



"Oh Mr. Khrona can you please give back my candy?"

Sometimes, its better to do things the simple way, cause you never might know what'll happen. Her eyes were filled with suger, spice, and everything nice, while her fists were balled up, and placed in front of her.

...

"Unbe-fucking-lievable."

He shrugged his shoulders though, smiling at her and patting her on the head.

"I'd love to, but that would defeat the purpose, don'tcha think? You're cute though. Hahaha."

He held the bag up in front of his own face, swinging it dauntingly at Chusin, with the Lemon and Lime still in his mouth. There were only four in there.

"But I will save ya one. If I have to give it to ya, you'll still lose. But hey, at least you're getting come candy out of it, right?"

But now her situation was worse. That was one less candy that Khrona had to worry about, meaning that he only had 3 left to devour instead of 4. Leaning toward one of the rails off to the side, elbows up and face stuffed, he could only look at this girl... Her methods were unorthodox, naturally, but at least she wasn't closed-minded. Thinking out of the box was wonderful, and it made the Phantom smile. Looks like this guy did have a heart.

"So. What are ya gonna do? You know my Soul Wavelength is really powerful. I don't see how you're gonna do this. What do you expect to do? Come on, you've got gravity. You can do a lot with it. Open your mind a little more."

Raising a finger up to his temple, he prodded it a few times, as if saying, 'use your head.'

"You know what, you're right Khrona, and I feel stupid for not doing this before."

She just relized, that she could have just used gravity to take the bag, but due to all the stuff that was going on it never came to mind. She knew that he was strong, and there wasn't any point to attacking him, but however the bag wasn't him.

She knew the bag wasn't suped up, so she created a gravitational pull, which would only affect the bad, and candy. The pull was strong enough, to pull a city if need be, but the bad of candy was the only target.

"Hahaha, that's why you've gotta be aware of your own powers and your surroundings. Pay attention to everything."

In the pitch black slanted sockets of his second face, a piercing red glint shot out of the darkness as the bag gently slipped out of his hands. Clenching his fist quick and pulling back just slightly, the bag halted in it position, like a mime's rope catching its target. There was a very faint crackle of what seemed to be electricity flowing in the air, staticizing the bag and holding it in place.

"Woah, not so fast there... Didn't think I'd let go THAT easily, didja?"

That devilish smirk and now even more narrowed stare foretold that the Phantom wasn't quite done just yet...

At first, just a slight force tugged at the end of the bag, but as time went on, that tug turned into a violent grip; pulling from the very depths of Chusin's being. With all the power of a city's weight grabbing at that bag, it was a miracle how it was staying in place. Whatever grip Khrona had on it seemed to be much stronger; strong enough so that the bag wasn't moving a single inch. Until...

*R...Rriii...*


"... Wuh-oh."

One eye popped open inquisitively at the rather curious sound, all of what seemed to be coming from that motionless bag in the dead center of these two forces. It was starting to rip right at the seams... Perhaps they were both putting just a bit too much pressure on it. But still, the way it was maintained even now was rather remarkable... Strong bags they've got there. Hahaha.

"Looks like this is gonna get a little more interesting..."

It wasn't long after that the clenched fist pulled back just a bit more, and the wavelength wrapped around the opening of the pouch was pulled asunder, giving out to the two great powers on either side.

*RRRIIIPPP!!*


Candy flew everywhere... Okay, not really. There were only four pieces flying in four completely different directions, all of which were going over the edge of the walkway they stood on. Naturally, this trickster was too slick to let his sweets get away.

With a flick of the finger, just like with the bag, his Wavelength was shot toward the nearest candy, wrapping around it like a lasso. The same happened for the second, which was also the second closest. But the last two... They were falling down and falling fast. The beckon of his two index fingers pulled the lollis to his hand, and without as much as a single warning, he hopped backward off the walkway. There was a split instant where time seemed to move slowly between the Phantom and Chusin, and as he looked her way, slowly hurdling down, she'd be able to hear his daunting voice...

"Better go get em. You know you only need to get two. Heh heh."

Another wink and wicked debonair smile broke the 'slowed' time, and the Phantom hurdled down off the walkway and toward those two candies... It wouldn't be long before he snagged them back up, too.

"Oh no you don't Khrona!"

After the little tug of war, she had it was time to brake out the big boys, and as she saw Khrona go over the edge. She quickly followed, she ran as fast as she could, and jumped over the edge of the walkway.

"Ok here is my special ability, gravity shift."

While falling it wasn't long before she cought up to Khrona, but just a few feet behind. With her right hand, she waved it causing the gravity to shift, so down was up, left was right, etc....

So rather then going down, Khrona would find himself going back up, while Chusin was going down. She picked up speed, and reached for the candy.

The smirking face of the cat-like mask leered at the falling candies, eyes peeled for the final catch.

Heh heh... Nice and easy... Sorry, kid. Tough luck.

He was sorry he was gonna have to do this to her... But he outstretched his hand and swiped at the candy... Only to find that somehow, he missed.

... Eh?

In fact, he hadn't just missed; he was falling back upward!

What the hell's the big idea here--

He turned his head only slightly, time seeming to slow down once again as his sight veered off to the side, seeing Chusin falling down the correct way beside him. It was then that he realized... She used a gravity shift on him.

Little bitch... Ooooh, no. Can't pull a fast one on the Phantom so easy.

As things returned to their normal pace, the Phantom figured that first he needed to get the candy away from the girl. Thinking fast, he closed an eye and flicked one of the suckers in his hand, sending it speeding toward the other nearest to her. Upon impact, they'd both pop away from each other, and as a result, faaar away from Chusin, as well. He'd do the same with the other candy, flicking the other toward the second candy. Now all four were separated by a longshot, so he could rest a little easier.

The gravity shift wasn't anything difficult to deal with... A quick burst of his wavelength would normalize the effect of gravity on his body, allowing him to free flow back down. Falling back the correct way flickering profusely, he faded away and flickered back next to Chusin. To keep her from getting those suckers, he thrust his hand toward her charged with a huge amount of wavelength, ready to giver her a super powered Soul Menace right to the back and send her blazing down to the ground... That is, before the two of them hit it themselves.

"Why!!!! Just why, Khrona how could you have fell for my trap!!!"

Tho her candy was out of reach for now, she still had one good thing going her way, and that was the incoming Khrona who was also trying to hit her. She knew taking that attack head on wouldn't be a good thing, but her plan wouldn't work if she dodged it, so with a quick turn she took the blow.

But rather then her back being hit, she took the attack to the chest which was also apart of her plan, she quickly took hold of Khrona's arm. So that the force of the attack wouldn't send her flying into the ground, rather it'd speed the both of them up, so with little time to wast she used another power she had.

"Anti-gravity Khrona!!!"

Now this was different from her last move, see rather the chaging gravity she simply freed Khrona from it, so it was like space, but this effect was only used on him. So now with that done she relased his arm, and fell to the ground only to land somewhat on her feet, before the pain kicked in.

And she coughed up some blood, but now with the anti-gravity at work Khrona would be well moving around at random, since there was no gravity to keep him in on place, or do anythimg for that matter. After that she used her ring to make three hard light construck clones, that would go after the candies that went each way, while she jetted off after the one that was closer to her.

Palm acrackle with the heavily concentrated wavelength, the thrust was sure to blast Chusin down into the concrete ground below, regardless of if she turned around to face the Phantom or not. It impacted her chest with a powerful blow, letting the incredible strength of this soul surge through her, as well. But, to the Phantom's dismay, all did not go as he planned, and as his hand touched her, her hands grabbed him.

"What?"

Before she was shot down, she nulled gravity within him, and he would slowly drift away... Watching her fly downward smack into the ground.

"Heh heh... Not bad, kid... Not bad at all."

Even so, she wasn't gonna get off the hook that easily. To return the effects of gravity to his body, he flared his wavelength up, initiating a powerful resonance with the natural pull of gravity around him. This attraction shot him straight to the ground in a matter of moments, and stabilized his body's natural consistancy with the gravitational pull, thus returning it to normality. This was about the same time Chusin got up and created those copies, going for each of the candies.

"Alright... Here it comes..."

His body flickered yet again, changing into pure wavelength as it had done many times before, and he'd flicker to each location, causing it to appear as if four different Phantoms were in four different locations, though with a rather hazy look to them. Perhaps this was why he was called 'The Phantom.' Hahaha.

These wraiths extended their hands toward the suckers at the same time each Chusin would, and The Phantom planned to pluck all four lollis away from the clones all at the same time... Now it was about who was quicker on the draw.

"How fast are ya, kiddo?"

"Oh yeah!"

Noticing that Khrona had fix his gravity problem, and was about to give it one more go, at trying to take her candy. She quickly speeded up, till she was moving super fast, and before that Khrona could pull the candies away, she grabed'm. This also went for her constructs as well, for they to kicked it into high gear, and took that candy. Now all that was lift was to show, just because she felt happy, I mean this isn't your everyday joy ride with Khrona.

"I got'm which mean I won! Riiight.."

"[i]Heh. Snagged em. Guess it looks like you've won.[i]"

Right before the two of them hit the ground, The Phantom faded away, and along with it, the city. Chusin would find herself consumed by a bright white light, and when she awoke, there she would be standing in the Crystal Garden once more.

"Well. You've passed the first two Restrictions just fine... And now, it's about time to witness the Third. This one should be very familiar to you... Yes, familiar, indeed."

A Halo appeared over Chusin, then widened as it descended downward to and passed over her body. Wherever the ring passed over, she would feel herself completely revitalized and charged with energy to endure the next task at hand; the Third Restriction. When it reached her feet, it disappeared.

"Please describe what you wish the next stage to be, and it will become."

-Timeskip-
*Inner Khrona

It was true. Everything Asura was saying was completely true. Hed heard these things before, actually... From a number of people, in fact. He heard it so much, he was starting to believe it himself.

"... Wh... What?"

Darkness... Darkness... Khrona knew of it all too well. Was it so strong on him that he could no longer pull himself out of it and into the light? He was trapped here forever, destined to become a Kishin the same as Asura... His eyes started to close now, and he would start to fall back into his deep, meditative slumber.

'I am not... worthy of this...'

As his eyes shut, the he saw only the Vajra extend from Asura's mouth, pointed directly at Khrona's head. Maybe he had given up, or maybe Asura's will was just more powerful, but at that moment, the blast shot directly into Khrona's face, and a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the burnt cherryblossom garden. It was Khrona's face; rather, his mask, breaking at the final shot. Disheartened Khrona flew back with great force, skidding across the ground, pulling off the 'essence' of this reality with the crack of his mask. It would all return to crystal, as it once was before.

"..."

He had nothing to say. Already, he was defeated, and his first mask was broken... Asura literally destroyed the First Restriction.

Silently awakening from slumber, Khrona immediately manifested the second Geist into his hand; Spectre the Poltergeist. It was the Second Restriction, that of the Soul. Even if his mind was broken, his spirit was still hot to trot. He set the rather ghastly looking mask upon his morose face, and from it spewed a surplus of blackness that tightened itself around his skin, sprouting also a long and tattered black hooded cape. This was his form as the Essence of the Dusk itself; Kamitamashi, the Phantom.



"You've got some nerve thinking it was over so soon. Heh. If you wanna beat the great and powerful Khrona, you've gotta do more than just crush his mind. Gotta crush his spirit, too."

Adjusting his gloves to a perfect fit, he clenched both his fists and smiled big and wide. Around him, the scenery changed to that of an old and abandoned Amusement Park, with the two of them in front of a giant Carousel.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



"I'm gonna take you for a ride, spunky. Hahaha!"

Seems like Khrona's soul had more flavor than his mind. Though... How would his soul fare fighting against his own soul? Only one way to find out.

Still, Asura's gross smile did not falter. He could laugh silently at Khrona, who was all but pathetic at this point. Retracting his Vajra back down into the bowels of himself, he simply stared at him off in the distance.

"... Aw. That must have hurt. Did it hurt your head, or hurt your feelings? You must remember not to get caught in those distractions."

The scenery shifted around him, but it made no difference where they were or what the scenery was; it was all going to end the same.

"Without the security of your already feeble mind, what good do you think your soul will do against one who is so far ahead of you? I'm on a wavelength that you cannot even comprehend. You cannot see the whole picture. You are limited in your sight. There is only clarity in my eyes. Don't you understand yet, you babe?"

Yes, it was true... Asura's sight was beyond sight itself, something that no mere 'Soul Perception' could be on par with. He saw everything about Khrona's own 'soul wavelength,' and despite how 'godly' his soul and wavelength were, they still paled in comparison to a true great one.

"You would want to ride the only attraction that goes in circles..."

"Oh Asura..."


Echoing throughout the mass that was a being from above; something that spoke through the clouds and into the calamity below. His wavelength was resonating with everything that made up the length of his most powerful Kamitamashii, consuming the planet in its immensity.

"You're gonna have to fight like I'm the Final Boss or something. Final Boss."


Khrona may be looking himself in the face, but Asura was looking right back in the same mirror. He was going to keep fighting him and keep breaking him down, until the Insanity was simply no more.

"I don't think you fully grasped the concept of you fighting me. It means one of us is going to give up their soul to another. And I'm not going to turn into an ugly crazy Kishin mother fucker."

It wasn't about trying to take Khrona's soul at this point... It was about trying to surpass his limit. If they both looked into the mirror and saw themselves; one of them was lying to the other. But, they were both the truth until one was defeated. So, the truth of the matter is that... Khrona was not going to lose to Insanity.

"Do you still want to continue down this path? Demon God?"

That's right.
This is God's Demon Form.

That voice echoed from all around; was it really Khrona talking to him, or just another one of his illusions of grandeur?

"You're already lost. You hide behind the size and power only so the truth does not come out; you have no skill. None whatsoever. That 'echoing voice from up above...' You think I would be ignorant enough to not perceive that as your soul?"

It was already a failed attempt. He was deluded by his own massiveness, forgetting that Asura was, not only on the same level, but had already done this.

"There is no sense talking to you. You're an idiot for even trying this."

In Asura's eyes, it was high time to take the 'mighty and powerful' Khrona down a peg where he belongs, before he continued to make a huge ass of himself.

"And to top it all off, you aren't even trying."

Disappointing.

Two black holes glared maliciously at Asura, desperately holding back a devastating creature behind that ghost-like second face of his. The Phantom smirked, slightly enough to show that he was aware that Asura was talking, but not large enough to a point of expressing actual care for the situation at hand. Creaking eerily in the distance behind the Kishin, the Carousel's only and rusted gears came to a turn, slowly starting up the ancient machine. Atop one of the horses, whose face was worn out from centuries of erosion, sat the good spectre himself, a nonchalant yet piercing stare shooting at the laughable Demon God before him.

"Man, I really did think you wanted to have some fun for a little while. Looks like you've lost your fighting spirit, Asura."

Didn't really matter to him. Again, Khrona was just trying to get the the Eighth as fast as he could, so that he and the other parts of the Three Peaces could be together as one, without Insanity trying to creep its way up.

"Now I'm just gonna kill you. Soul Resonance."

Without so much as skipping a beat, the Carousel's tune weakly cried out in accord with Khrona's soul. In fact, all of the things in this theme park started to rise from their rusted gravesites and up into prosperity at Khrona's command. He was resonating with everything that was within realm of his wavelength all at once; and this covered the entire planet. He figured, this should be enough power to absolutely kill the Kishin for good, since he was so eager to die.

"Soul Null."


Only a snap of the fingers forced the great power drawn in from the Resonance all into focus on one, tiny, minuscule being. A stormy eye broke the shadowy clouds in the sky, and shone down a light from the stars so pure and bright that it absolutely nulled out all that it gazed at in a simple flashblink of light... Like a laser, of sorts. Asura was literally erased from the sight of Khrona's soul.

"What's that they say...?
Out of my sight?
Out of my mind?"


It was a shame, really. Khrona wanted to have more fun with him, too.

Staring into the black holes that stared right back at him, Asura hailed this moment Khrona so foolishly bestowed upon him. As he said before, this was a battle he could not win, especially not with that sort of effort.

"Khrona... It almost saddens me to see you do this. I hope you know that sitting there in the dark, much like you, I had the chance to think about a lot of things, including the nature of the world itself."

Looking on at the eye up above with the audacity to stare in the face what it was coming down upon him, his great, large smile shortened to a perturbed frown. Wide eyes shrunken by the lowering of his lids, this did not seem to impress him. Not at all.

"And after lengthy consideration, I realized something; when all is said and done this world is a unknowable place."

It was at that moment his wavelength expanded around him, forcing back that light with so much sheer and utter insanity, it resonated with the essence of the beam bearing down on him. On the same vibration, on the same wavelength, the Insanity only found a way to match the power of the great Kamitamashii.

"On the surface, all appears rational, orderly. But what lies beyond that thin veneer of reason? Stability and reality?"

Eventually, that 'light' became just as red as Asura's tainted soul, spreading out and over everything Khrona once commanded. It was at that moment that nothing was harmonic, and all things fell to utter vehemence.

"Or chaos and madness?"

The Carousel swirled out of control, the Ferris Wheel wheel spun about in a maddening 'rage,' and the coasters nearby flew off their tracks and into the air like evil serpents protecting the skies.

"What are we really made of in the end? Is there truly any meaning to the lives we lead? Or are we nothing more than hollow vessels?"

The beam still insisting upon wiping the Kishin from the earth completely reddened now, right back up to the star in the back of the eye's gaze, allowing blood to spill from the opening and close the hole. Red sea merging with the clouds, it converted to red rain passing its showers across the land and staining the ground with blood.

"These are questions we can never answer, because we cannot hope to see beyond the world's fragile layer of skin. So we live our lives filled with uncertainty, never knowing who or what we truly are or what the future will bring, all we can do is imagine."

If he didn't realize it now, then he was never going to understand. There was no absolute here; there was only an infinite that one has no control over. Thus, that eye that cried tears of blood that brought unerring sadness and pain to the soil, it would split into three; three terrifying, horrifying eyes that gazed down at Khrona and showed him the fruits of his labor.

"Life becomes an unsolvable mystery with any number of twists and turns awaiting us."

His smile returned, though much more composed than before. It seemed like the Kishin was happy to regain control over the situation, and now Khrona was the tiny, minuscule creature being looked down upon by the three great eyes of his own true soul.

"And that's enough to fill any soul with terror!"

'In a simple flashblink of light,' the eyes weighed heavy their gaze on Khrona, crushing his body with their overbearing presence. At the backs of each of their abysmal, pulsating pupils came an energy drawn from the wavelength of the cosmos, focused into three separate red beams harboring the intent to erase Khrona and all that he was, and return him to the insanity whence he came; to become with Asura and the natural order once more.

"... Oh. ... ... What?"

Perhaps Khrona spoke too soon in all of this. Asura's speech... It spoke to him. As though he had endured that same pain, as well... The pain of having to wonder like that; about everything that went on, and what it was that would be the outcome. It was that which made Khrona look up to the sky, and see that divine eye looking down split into three. Three eyes harboring equal power to the one that just gazed down at Asura.

"... A... Amazing..."

He was terrified by that kind of power, that type of capability. In a moment, Asura could take control of so much that took Khrona this long to even be able to understand?! What was this... This monster...?!

It wasn't long before those eyes stared back at him, and made his soul quiver. The radius of his control was gone. Everything except the space that the eyes did not invade had been instantaneously comandeered by this... This... Madness! His only hope was to hop off of the Carousel and onto the ground, as even the machinery lost control. Was this a testament to Khrona's own lack of control? Was the Kishin Asura... The equivalent to that?

"Fine, Asura. I really didn't think there was a way for you to get out of that one... But I guess I underestimated you. But don't think you won't be doing the same for me. Heh heh..."

Khrona may have been terrified, but all he had to remember was that this was his own power. Asura was nothing but Insanity itself, trying to take over Khrona like it did that physical remnant before him. He couldn't falter now... No matter what. He just needed to take back the power and control that was rightfully his own, and not the Insanity's.

Though it seemed all too late for him, as the flash of the three eyes bore a vaporizing red gleam made to wipe away Khrona thrice the power used to 'nullify' Asura's being. There was only one thing he could do at this point and, though it was a long shot, it was what was necessary to get back on even terms with his oppressor.

"Hyper Reflection."

In the back of those two black holes, there was a flash of red; a flash of red bright enough to match the power of the converging beams all in such close proximity. The resulting conflict between both powers neutralized them both, but not before a climactic and consumptive explosion spread dust and debris clear across the mad circus. The silhouette of The Phantom still remained in the cloud of smoke, but it had indeed taken quite the toll on his very being.

"Pant... Pant...*
There, Asura...
*Pant... Pant...*
Evened the playing field...
*Pant... Pant...*"


When the smoke cleared, the ripped and torn clothing that once covered the Phantom's essence showed through, revealing nothing but surging wavelength inside. The accumulation of all such wavelength created the physical form that was this being, and now the presence of his soul matched Asura's. The sky on his side was filled with serenity, whilst on the other side, chaos continued to rage on in the dark clouds.

"... I'm not just gonna... Give up. If you want this soul, you're working for it."

Yeah, sure, he was saying it through his tired teeth, but at least he wasn't lying. Both their overall presences here were nulled out by each other, yet at the same time, they were both in control of what went on around them. The two men that controlled everything except the other. Such is the effect of a fight between two like them.

Khrona cracked his knuckled and cricked his neck, bouncing around a bit. If they couldn't overpower each other, they had to fight on the same level, and on the same level, blow for blow, Asura just wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Catch a good look of me now, cuz you won't be seeing me again... I have to repay you for making me use up so much of my power so soon... With, ya know, death."

He snickered... Even in the heat of despair and infinite possibility, he was heated and ready to go. Perhaps, it was a matter of not understanding all the possibilities, but picking one and working toward it. In the end, it would become, as long as enough energy is given to it.
A balance of the universe...

So, they stood now, eye to eye and matched in power. Neither of them had more control than the other, and the two stood as equals. This meant that the only thing left to do was find out who was the most prepared. Khrona thought that Asura was the one who lacked control, but in actuality, it was him. Asura looked to this whelp with the same disgust he looked at him with, yet with a different intention and a different purpose. As Khrona saw this being as one of horror and evil, Asura saw Khrona as one of no control, of ignorance and of fraudulence.

"... At least you're starting to understand... That I am at the end of your path..."

He shook his head, letting their souls battle it out above as their bodies would fight below on this plane. The flying serpentine coasters fell to the ground as the rest of the attractions returned to silence. With a deep and exasperated sigh, he aligned his chakras and centered his soul, gazing at Khrona's eyes through the blackness of his mask.

"Do you know why you hide your face, boy? It's because under it, you don't even know what you look like. You have no form. You are far more disgusting than I am; something definite. Something real. That is why you are the fake here. You will come to understand a lot about yourself in your endeavors with me... I only hope your weak and feeble existence is able to endure it. Once you find out the truth... You will cease to exist."

His hands took their positions in his most ancient Mudra, Anjali; the Seal of Benediction.

"You've already gone so far down... Without even knowing what you've gotten yourself into. You want to know the truth of your faith? It is right before you."

Eyes closing and head bowing, as if in prayer, two very large ancient runes drew themselves in the atmosphere around him, taking the form of vertical eyes drawing in the energy from around him just as before. From the pupils, those same piercing red beams burst out and toward Khrona, filled with such insanity it seemed as though the beams screamed in pain trying to keep it all focused into one single beam. It had all the strength to blast Khrona just as before, only this time, as they were in utter equivalence, if he were to take this hit, Hyper Reflection would be more than useless, save for draining himself.

"Do you even know the Mudra? The Seals? How to regulate your chakras? How to center yourself? I am APPALLED at how you could even get this far! How can you be where you are with absolutely no training? You disgust me."

These eyes would follow Khrona wherever he may go, and also the beams, which would erase everything in their all powerful gaze.

"Out of MY SIGHT!!!"

Things were intensifying rather quickly... Not only could it be seen that Asura was no longer simply mocking Khrona in his effort, but he was starting to say something that was more than just blatant negativity. There was truth in his words, even if Khrona didn't see all of it. He could not decipher just what was true and what he could let go, but there was something... Better figure it out before it gets to him again. That Insanity.

"You're Insane. That's something I've gotta get under control, and that's all I care about. Maybe you're the one that doesn't understand... You might have been right at the end of your path, yet you decided to turn away from its teachings in your own misunderstanding. Because of your own Fear. That's when the Insanity consumed you!"

Fear... And Insanity... Those two things made up Khrona's soul for a long time... Asura was the other half, the product of it all and... This is what they became? At the end, were these things still eating away at him?

"... Mudra...? I don't have any idea what those are... Those hand sign dealies?"

Sorta like those Hand Signs the shinobi used... Interesting. There were 108 of them, he knew. How? How did this knowledge come to be within him? Was it being siphoned from Asura himself, and all that he knew? Or were missing fragments of Khrona's memories piecing themself together as he saw things that made sense? That triggered something within his soul...

"One hundred eight... Asura, haven't you realized that in your endeavors, you went down the WRONG path! One hundred eight is the Master Number of this reality!! As there are 108 Mudra, there are also 108 possible feelings that correspond with them, all of which require balance... 108 Earthly Desires that need to be cleansed, lest you fall off the path!"

Asura was right about one thing; Khrona was beginning to understand. It was about this time that the runes were drawn in the air, and the piercing red eyes. In a flickering blink, it seemed as though Khrona had been vaporized right on the spot, the remains of black matter whispering away with the scream of the twin gazes.

On the motionless Carousel, however, that black material flickered back to the form of The Phantom, who gathered that the eyes were following him and wiping out everything in the process.

"Dammit, Asura... Does everything have to be destroyed...?"

Maybe this is what Khrona would become if he fell off the path... If he failed, like Asura did. It wasn't about who was going to win; it was about whose influence was greater. Who was more disciplined. Who believed more what they said to be true.

"Tch... I just never needed to use those damn signs before, it came natura-- SHIT!!"

Looks like he was talking too much. The beams were coming his way, disintegrating everything as they led up to the Carousel. His wavelength crackled like lightning in his hand, surging through the great old machine as he touched it to power it up, turning those rusted gears just one more time. Standing atop one of the horses, he pushed off the platform with his foot and kicked the machine into high gear, letting his wavelength take full control. In a few moments it gained enough speed for him to take aim at Asura and let the momentum shoot The Phantom toward him like a bolt of lightning, straight between the eyes and the beams that came from them... Right into the face of the Kishin.

His hand was extended, in the position of a finger ready to flick something. Atop his forehead, right at his Third Eye, The Phantom would let go to flick Asura clear across the way with a powerful Soul Destruction blast at the tip of his finger.

"Think, Asura. You must be forgetting some things! Your mind must be clouded by your own fear! I know there are many things you know that I don't, but there are lots of things you're forgetting that are very important for completion! Just think a little bit, wouldja!?"

Hopefully that would knock some sense into him so they could stop this fighting... And he could just submit to Khrona.

A black bolt shot straight between the two vicious beams that ravaged the amusement park, and before the eyes of Asura was the apparition that made up this unholy energy... The face of The Phantom.

A single flick of the finger sent his head arcing back, slamming square into the ground maximum impact. Yet, with his arched spine and hands still clasped together firmly, another wicked smile grew on his face.

"Keheheh... You are the one that misunderstands. I already know this. I already endured this. Only a fool would think that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There are only more paths open to fear for!! The more you understand, the more you know, the larger your FEAR becomes of how much you REALLY take effect on everything!!"

Creeping up from below, he slowly slithered back to an upright position to stare the Phantom in the face. His sleek, white, smooth second face. Deep into the pit of despair, those three vertical eyes did stare, and the mark of the Kishin imprinted itself in that darkness... That mask would be destroyed here.

"You are not paying attention to detail!! To fight someone who has mastered wavelength with a wavelength... Why, that's the most absurd thing! I can match you in every way imaginable. If you were smart, you would have realized this by now... But I guess I did get a little bit in your head last time, and broke your brain!! Kahahaha!!"

He forced the pressures of insanity onto the soul again, revealing to Khrona the light that he so desperately searched for.

"I am trying to warn you... For your own good! I know of the Master Number! I know of the 108! I know all of this up and down, studying for countless years along your ancestor when he was the Shinigami! Did you REALLY think I was as FRESH as you!? YOU must be insane here!!!"

With the Phantom trapped there by the weight of his own soul binding him in place, Asura raised his clasped hands to the air and breathed in deeply once again. Crimson lightning flashed and struck down upon his fingertips, which would control the wavelength with such precision and mastery it would seem to be a bladed weapon in his grasp.

"Face facts. I am the one who knows what I am talking about. You are the child. You are the one that misunderstands. You are the fool who blindly walks down the same road I once did. I look at you... And I see myself when I was as fresh as you are now!!! And in this time, I intend to stop myself from ever going down this road by eliminating the possibility here and now!"

He swung. With the sound of the painful thunderclap, he swung with the wrath of the gods; the power of all the combined Asuras that he was, simply to strike down Khrona here and now.

"Accept your fate for once..."

Trapped, once again.

In a pool of Insanity not unlike ones he fell into before; vast and black, filled with a hopeless infinitum that held what seemed to be an eternity of pain and suffering. Another loop filled with the same old inequities that plagued him before... Again and again, he would fall into this loop.
*Crk... Crkkrk...*

Yet, again and again...

*Kkrr...Crkrakrk...*

He would prevail.

*SWAH!!!*


Pieces of his white face fell to the loathsome ground below, fading back to nothing from whence they came and into the Insanity.

"ASURAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"


Somehow, the boy's crushed face and mirrored heart, hopes and dreams falling and fading away did not stop him from advancing; from leaving the bottomless hole of hopeless Insanity. The Darkness.

"Gh... The only reason you're even where you are... Is because you gave up."

Smitten by the charge of pure crimson lightning coarsing through him and shattering his Second Form, Khrona fell to the ground once again, which had taken its original crystalline form after his mask was blown away.

"... For me, you are my end... The end to this nightmare... This constant battle... This eternal struggle... This neverending loop... You are the end of it. I can finally see the end of the YEARS of incredible Insanity I've endured... And even if I haven't harbored it for centuries like you have... I've been FIGHTING it for as LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER!!!"

His fist pounded into the ground, shooting himself up to his feet with the utmost vim and vigor, as if he hadn't just been struck down by Asura in all his might. Opening his fist, a swirling mass of energy took shape to his Third Restriction; Genogeist the Doctor.

"The difference between you and I is that you got as far as you did and you GAVE. UP. That's what's driving ME insane... The fact that YOU GIVE UP SO DAMN EASILY!!!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs with the utmost conviction, a different sort of 'Insanity' brewed within Khrona now... Something he hadn't called for in a very, very, VERY long time... Not since the Reality, in fact... Anti-Insanity Wavelength.

"And it's driving me absolutely FUCKING INSANE to see you like this!!! You couldn't just get it through your thick little stubborn head!"

Yes, the Anti-Insanity... The silent wavelength that worked in the background to help Khrona keep himself stabilized from time to time. Maze and Sadako were the ones to help him realize this one, and if it weren't for the good old 'Chill Pill' he got from his brother way back when, this wavelength would have died out a long time ago.

"NOTHING IS EVER A WASTE UNTIL YOU GIVE UP ON IT!!!"

This mask was made to channel that Anti-Insanity and surge it through the veins of a Khrona known to very few; one of complete and utter soundness of mind. He remembered that, the Full Sanity. It was a required stage of his life so that he could learn how to manipulate the Anti-Insanity with the same proficiency as Insanity, and now was the time to show what he learned.

He firmly affixed this mask to his face, allowing his body to take shape to a Khrona more familiar to the Late Reality and Early Dusk; something he called nowadays Dr. K, or Dr. Lightning.



"Hmhmhm... Much, MUCH better..."

The pieces of his broken mind and fractured soul joined together as one in sacred harmony with his body, allowing it to be the 'glue' that held them together along with the Anti-Insanity. A face like this, he hadn't taken on since... Well... That Modern Epic between himself, Maze and Zeik when he discovered his many different transcendent forms.

"I hope you haven't forgotten what this face looks like, Asura... Because if you were around when I used it... You would have been destroyed by now. Hm... Wait... Weren't you, back then? Your first death, I mean?"

He laughed that loathsome laugh of the Tensei... Right in Asura's dirty face.

"Do me the honors of setting the stage for me, hm? Perhaps a throwback to fit the times, eh?"

It did seem to be that day. The Day of Memories.

-Minor Timeskip-

The sight of the realm reverting back to its crystal state and no sign of Asura was actually the most relieving thing Khrona had seen in quite a while. Though a little disappointed that he only got up to the Third Restriction, he was happy that the Insanity would finally be quelled within him.
Though to his dismay, it wasn't over just yet.


In Asura's place, a swirling black mass swaddled in a bulbous red shell manifested from the abyss, contaminating not only the Crystal Tree, but the skies above it. The great black that it was blotted out the very light from the sun, and all returned to dusk.

"... No. Just... Ugh. Noooo."

More pissed than shocked by this endeavor, Khrona crossed his arms over his chest and stared directly into this soul-like entity and listened to it speak... Knowing that deep down within him, he had no choice. He wasn't going to let untempered insanity run wild to destroy the world; not as the true Keeper of Insanity, that is. That wasn't happening, no way, no how.

"... Nature, huh? Well, you're right in saying that the Fourth Restriction gives me complete control over energy... Pure chakra. Natural energy. Nature itself. So if that's what it's gonna have to take to stop you, then, naturally, I'm going to stop you. No matter what form you take."

A lone hand outstretched to The Insanity, calling forth from the Forces of Nature a powerful Geist imbued with the tempered and harnessed power of Khrona's own energy harmonized with all around it. The mask of the Witch Doctor... The Fourth Restriction.

"The Forces of Nature do not side with anyone nor anything. They simply wish for things to be restored to balance. I disrupted it with all this that I've done, so I'm taking responsibility for it here and now. If I want to control myself, to control this power, to control Insanity itself, then I'm gonna have to do this and go through controlling Nature, too. It is in my name, you know."

Carefully placing the mask upon his face, it took to his body similarly to the Second, encasing it totally in a skin tight blackness only divisible by the white skeletal mask upon his face. His wings retracted to his back, there taking the form of his tattered cape. Truth be told, it almost looked identical to The Phantom, save for the altered cape and the changed mask.

"The Fourth Restriction: Energeist the Eclipse, Restriction of Energy and Chakra."

Only moments after assuming the form of the Fourth would he flicker over toward the wisping tail of the dark cloud still connected to this portion of the tree and grab hold of it with a hand crackling with Insanity Static.

"Oh, no ya don't. You aren't going anywhere."

He knew that he was going to regret this one, but it was better than letting this terrible miasma of Insanity roam free... It was right about being harder and harder to control, but it didn't faze him one bit. With all his might, he ripped the cloud from the skies and back down into the cover of the trees, where the crystalline leaves would turn a terrible bloody red as the trunk was now completely and utterly blackened. It looked absolutely horrendous, however as it was now, the environment was safe.

"I won't let you contaminate the planet. Especially not in the form when I'm most harmonized with it. Hahaha... Consider this a present to protect the planet. Happy Earth Day."

He cracked his knuckles and looked around, searching for some sort of physical form that The Insanity was going to take for him to combat... Even if he was unsure how this battle was going to turn out, at least he could say that he kept it at bay as long as he could before it seeped out into the open. But, he didn't intend for that to happen, because this Insanity, as he said and would continue to say, is going to be controlld. No matter what.

The Insanity was in no way concerned about Khrona's insolence. In fact, being able to touch the piece off him resisting its control would make it easier to put an end to his cute little rebellion.

"Hahaha... So your solution was to tether me down to yourself, hm? You think you can handle the Forces of Nature all on your own, boy? Even in this state, it is a laughable attempt. Look at you... Ready to fight Nature itself, when you aren't even aware of how to do so. How about you stop messing with something beyond your feeble and widely limited understanding and sit down."

Forced to the floor against his will, The Insanity commanded his will like a misbehaving puppy, and Khrona would have no choice but to sit at the authority of Insanity tethered to his being.

"There is more to this than you realize, my new pawn. Since Asura is no longer here, you have now taken his place under my rule. Perhaps you will crack underthe unrelenting pressure, just as he did... And then, when I have full control... You will be my greatest weapon."

The dark cloud lowered itself, setting right above Khrona's head. As the culmination of everything that was Insanity, it spoke to him directly in his very essence, deep within his mind and his soul.

Since you still seem resilient in this more than hopeless attempt, I will inform you of what must be done. As there are Seven Insanities that are your own emotions, each emotion harbors within it one of seven elements, which makes up the whole of your seven chakras; your energy. To align them, you must endure the trials of mastering each one on your own. If you fail even one, you will become imbalanced and I will consume you completely without question. HmHaaha! Do you still wish to continue? Or shall you submit to me now?

A scoff a the remarks of The Insanity showed Khrona's utter disbelief in its words now. It was just another trick to make him lose control over himself; to shatter his mind and his spirit, as Asura tried to do. Khrona wasn't buying it one bit.

"I'd rather have you connected to me than to roam free. You may be spreading fast, but faster than I can handle. You're not so-- UGH!!!"

Grounded.
That's what they called this feeling.
Grounded.


Utterly against his will, he was forced to sit and gaze up into the miasma's abyss, where he saw nothing but the darkness that he knew so well swirling about within the confines of this cloud. Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, he looked around and saw the state of the Crystal Tree... There was almost nothing left of its glorious beauty, and it was almost completely filled with this horrific haze. Maybe he didn't realize it before, but the Insanity was correct... At least about this.

"... Huh... Well, I'm going to harness your power no matter what. I cannot afford to lose here. There's so much at stake... Lots of stuff on the line. Especially myself. And I've gotta be totally in control of my amazing power if I'm gonna use it to save my village, my friends and my family in this severe crisis. I'll master the control of my chakras. I'll balance them out in perfect harmony. You aren't going to stop me."

The feeling of this cloud in his mind was nothing unfamiliar... In fact, it was resonating with the Insanity Static that constantly flowed through his head normally. They seemed to be one and the same. Strange... He thought that this would have felt a little more invasive, but it was actually pretty comfortable...

There, he sat in a meditative state, homing in on the highest concentration of the cloud and appeared there.

"So. How do we get this started, huh? I wanna breeze by this so I can get to one of my favorite restrictions... The Fifth!"

Once he was in the Fifth, he was in total control over this world... A god-like state where he pretty much could do whatever he wanted to do. That type of power would allow him to endure the rest of the trials with ease... He hoped. In this meditation... He wished to go into a Transcendent Trance.

"I would presume I start at the very bottom and work my way up, right? Gotta fight some sort of... Creature or... Elemental or... What?"

He was definitely eager about this one. He was ready to get this over with once and for all.

So eager... Yet, so foolish. Yes, you begin at the bottom, with the First. The Root Chakra of the Earth Element... The Chakra of Life.

From the eager child's very feet, energy spiraled outward slowly, like a pool of pure ether growing ever larger; ever more vast, the extent of the spiral never ceasing in its travels. For all that his feet would touch, he would feel everything connected, as if becoming one with it.

The Base. The Ground. All things solid and physical. That which gives you the strength to work lovingly on the physical plane; the very Earth itself, which births the life of physicality from the great Kundalini, the Void of the Self. It harbors the sense of self-preservation and survival, ruled by the mighty Saturn that brings Order to the Chaos.

The spiral under his feet would expand further, uncoiling and beginning to round itself in the grand spectrum to the shape of a planet of unknown immensity. It was completely bare.

This planet... This place is as large as all that you are. In fact, it is all that you are. Think of it as the physical form of all things combined into one planet. Also, because it stems directly from your Root Chakra, think of this planet as such. The Root physically governs sexuality, mentally brings stability, emotionally governs sensuality and spiritually gives a sense of security. Therefore, control over this will give you the grounding you need in all aspects of the most basic self.

With the planet completely formed, Khrona would be the only being that existed here, and the sole protector of this place, since it was his physically formed everything.

The only thing you must do... Is protect this place and keep it in Order. Allow the plants to grow. Creatures to thrive. The planet and life to flourish. To maintain them and sustain all life that is here. That is a simple task for one as 'mighty' as you, correct?

Standing in the great Void of Self listening to the ramblings of The Insanity, Khrona scratched the back of his head, wondering when something was going to happen. Feeling something weird coming from his feet, he looked down and saw a steady stream of uncoiling spiraling energy slipping from himself and outward to create the planet he now stood on. Naturally, he took in more of what The Insanity was saying once this happened, waiting and listening patiently until it finished all that it had to say. By then, the planet was complete and Khrona felt his connectedness to it as it pulsed with life...

"Give, protect, maintain and sustain life? This task seems almost like something that the Tree of Life would do... Well, I guess that is me, huh? This must be like... Training. So my legs are my roots, I see..."

Though they weren't dug into the ground, he could still feel the presence of life pulsating from the planet and back up into himself, then back down into the planet. This was his own Root that he had to maintain.

"... So I'm the one that has to create life here? This planet is a living entity of all things... Everything given life... And without me, since it is everything that is me, it will die. Gotcha. Time to go beautify this lonely world."

It seemed like a simple enough task. All he had to do was use his control over the elements through Geokinesis, Botanokinesis and Biokinesis; Control of the Earth, Plants and Life. Hands brought down on the fresh soil quickly, his energy flowed in the surplus in high concentration from his body and all the way through and across the planet, allowing life to manifest from the barren earth. Here, the grass grew, trees sprouted up and into the air, flowers of the utmost radiance bloomed and the wonderful greenery and the aromas it brought spread across the surface of the planet in its entirety.

Immediately, Khrona was drained far beyond what he thought he would, and found himself weakened simply by doing this. He not only was giving up large portions of his own life energy and feeding it directly into the planet, but he was also causing everything on it to grow and feeding his life energy into them, as well. It was more taxing than one may originally anticipate, especially when this planet harbored everything. By doing this, however, he was able to gather the immensity of it all, and realized that this is similar to what he had done when he initiated the Thirteen Tsukiyomi. He connected himself to everything that existed beyond Vescrutia, extending his branches out to the farthest reaches of the omniverses and beyond. Here is where he would feel the underlying effects of his actions... When he had to sustain these things with his own life force.

"*COUGH COUGH COUGH!!!*... Hey... *Cough...* You didn't tell me this would be so... *Cough Cough Cough*... Draining..."

Already, he was weak. He was tired. And all he did was give these things life. Arms shaking and body quivering, he felt like he was going to collapse.

"It feels like... I'm sustaining life for like... *Cough cough* ... Everything..."

But this wasn't going to stop him. Before he coughed again, he breathed in deeply, gaining all the strength to pull his hands from the soil and back up above, plopping back on his rear. Feeling a little better, he realized he was giving too much of himself up to the land and not maintaining balance within himself and the planet. Such a circulation had to be done in perfect harmony, lest he find himself sapped by the soil. Maybe this is why plants grow so slowly.

Either way, realizing this, he sat down in humble meditation yet again, and concentrated on circulating pure life energy through the planet and through all the living things there, allowing them all equivalent and constantly circulating life connected through the oneness of everything as it was. Life... That is how they were all connected. Through Life itself.

Once he realized and regulated the flow of Life, he breathed in deeply and exhaled a cleansing breath of air, now feeling totally at peace.

"Theeere we go... Alright, what next?"

It was honestly rather serene, sustaining life like this... It wasn't so hard at all. Haha. This Tree of Life training was going to rock. Haha. Get it? Rock? Earth? ... ... ... Mm.

The cloud loomed over Khrona still, pleasured by watching him struggle at his attempts to sustain life here. It was a far greater task than he seemed to understand, just as The Insanity foretold.

Even in this stressful time, however, Khrona seemed to somehow manage to maintain the flow of life throughout the planet, and sustain it within himself whilst also allowing it to circulate through everything else. It was an impressive feat for a first try, though nowhere near worthy of praise considering his power.

What next, you ask...? Hmhmhm... My favorite part in all of this...

A pulse of red flashed from the innards of the cloud and into the soil, to be soaked up like rainwater, as if nutrients for this beautiful creation. Suddenly, in all the serenity that Khrona brought, there was Chaos. Madness. Insanity. Destruction. A large, red crack streamed down the very center of the world, stemming off into more planar rifts that ruptured the surface down to the very center. His world was falling apart; splitting at the seams.

Hmhmhuahahaha! It is not enough that you must maintain it, you must control the earth as well! Or else allow it to be destroyed by the great power of the Chaos of Insanity!!!

Plantlife started to wither just as quickly as they had been filled with life and vibrance, and calamity would shatter that world to pieces...

Calm... Peace... Serenity...

These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect world, but The Insanity purposefully dropped an extra ingredient into the concoction...
The Insanity itself


Thus, the Chaos of Insanity was born! Using its destructive nature, all of Khrona's hard work maintaining and sustaining life and the Order of Insanity started to fall to shambles.

"Oh... What? Oh no... Son of a-- CRAP!!"

The piercing red glow that split this world down the center, then off toward every living thing existing here not only broke Khrona's divine focus, but threatened to destroy all the work and energy placed into the creation and maintenance of this wonderful place. Naturally, he was not going to allow this to happen.

"Self-preservation and survival, huh...? Okay, bring it on!!"

Unerring in determination and will, Khrona had to use the combined efforts of his Geokinesis, Botanokinesis and Biokinesis to ensure the utter safety, stability and security of his everything. Though he was still tired, having regulated the life energy coursing through it all gave him enough energy to at least move about freely. If this place were destroyed, all the contained energy would simply disappear and go to waste. That wasn't happening.

"I'll put this crumbling mass back together again. Just watch me."

First thing's first, the drifting debris. He hopped up to the nearest floating mass of land and scoped out the smaller portions that he wasn't going to be able to hop on, or that would take too much time to collect. Extending his hand outward and focusing on the energy he placed into this land, he drew it all into a collection focused on one point and slammed them together, before slamming that collection of earth into the huge land mass he stood upon. That mountainous piece of earth would be forcefully meshed into the grassy terrain, and in a moment's notice, he'd be making his way all the way to the top of said mountain.

Next was to scope out the next large piece of land and do the repeat the process. It was a piece of land not as large as the one he currently stood on, but still large enough to harbor a mountain or two. Springing forth with all his might, the seismic force omitted from his jump forced the hovering land mass he once stood on straight downward, crashing into another land mass and connecting to it. Smaller mountain ranges were formed from said impact.

Hand extended, Khrona was drawn to the next land mass through his attraction to the minerals and energy within. On contact with the grass, he completed a hand spring onto his feet and extended both arms up to the heavens yet again. Another large collection of earth drew to the center, forming yet another mountain to slam into this surface. He looked around to see just what else was around, and all that was near him were more large land masses both smaller and larger than the one he was on.

"Hmmm... Come on, think... Not like I've got a lotta time before the Insanity does something to piss me off-- Aha! Roots!"

There was still plantlife on these masses of land, and that would help with the connection of the larger portions. Slamming his hands down once more, the energy within him resonated with the flowing energy of life within the roots of the numerous trees and plants growing here, and they would extent out from the soil and off to the nearest land, piercing its soil and pulling the two pieces together whilst also holding them together.

"Yes!! It worked! And I feel like more energy is surging through me, too..."

Yes, the energy... Instead of being wasted and lost in the abyss, it was being drawn back into Khrona and into the connected pieces of the planet yet again. Plus, Khrona felt as though he had more control over everything he was doing the more he did it... More grounded and secure in his actions.

Though he was skeptical at first, The Insanity's intentions seemed to be less destructive and more... Instructive. It was the culmination of all Insanity; both Order and Chaos, rather than just one. If Khrona could find the Order in the Chaos he created, then there would be harmony in this planet.

"Whatever. I'm not done yet."

He extended his hands again, this time teeming with so much energy he began to shake. He was controlling so much power and with such ease, he was beginning to wonder if the alignment of all his chakras would be so easy...

"Is this all you've got, Insanity? This is no sweat at all! Kinda..."

Toward the 'Motherland,' as he'd call it, he pulled the drifting land mass that had connected the others through its roots, and when it drifted closer, he would connect that portion back to the Motherland as well. Wiping just a tiny bit of sweat from his brow with only his index finger and flicking it away, he scratched the back of his head as he stared off at the other land masses he still had to pull back...

"... Sigh. But it is tedious. Better get to work..."

The Insanity relished in Khrona's adversity, for it was rather fun to watch him leap around putting the pieces of the puzzle back together again. Soon he'd realized that those huge mountains he created were missing pieces to the puzzle, and that without them, this mass would never become perfectly spherical again. He could force the pieces together as much as he liked, but the original shape of solidarity would be filled with holes and spaces.

However... His impertinent endeavor seemed to bring about the creation of something new; more beautiful than the last. With both plant and earth formed in a beautiful harmony... Hm. He was shaping it in the way he saw fit as 'beautiful' rather than what was 'perfect' in shape. Perhaps his form of 'beauty' was 'perfect' in his eyes. Though, the product was widely incomplete.

You must have been more of a fool than I realized to have thought that this was going to be the only thing you had to do whilst maintaining the Order of this broken sphere. Behold; your Second Chakra. The Sacral Chakra of the Water Element... The Chakra of Order.

That single sweat drop fallen from his body expanded now into a beautiful drifting pool of perfectly cleansed body of water that swerved and navigated through the other floating land masses, till it seemed like an astronomical river drifted about. All such water was pulled directly from Khrona's pores; the liquid within his body to expand this body of water to just what it needed to be. It would continue to grow and siphon Khrona's liquids and life energy just as the Earth did before it. As the earth was made of his body, the water was made from his sweat and tears... Solid and Liquid.

This Sacral Chakra harnesses the power of creative forces into all aspect of being; the High Soul's procreation. It grants the ability to direct the Self toward devotion and the seat of creativity, and represents emotional depth and instinctive feeling. With it, all things liquid may take form and shape to whatever they wish to be, birthed from the very Waters and being absolutely fluid nature, and one may drift on the wavelength of all things. It harbors the sense of sexual energy, ruled by the beautiful Moon, the undisputed master of waves.

Continuously expanding at Khrona's expense, the body of liquid threatened to drain him dry if he did not find control over it, whilst also having to keep the pieces of earth from drifting off into the Void, never to return.

This Water... Think of it as the liquid form of all things combined into one from you, that which allows the sustenance of life and the medium for it to do so; a channel of life's energy. Also, because it stems directly from your Sacral Chakra, think of this water as such. The Sacral fluidly represents one's emotional makeup, unconscious habits, rhythms, memories and moods. Therefore, it brings intuition and inspiration as well as instincts, and it sets the subtle beat for the rhythm of life. It is the flowing 'inner' that maintains the physical and solid 'outer.'

Soon, even the large body of water started to disconnect and drift away along with the still very many pieces of land.

Physically governing reproduction, mentally bringing creativity, emotionally giving joy and spiritually bringing enthusiasm, 'Water' truly is the greatest medium of waves. You look a little thirsty, boy. So do the plants. It seems that they need this water just the same as you. Hmhmhm...

On each of the land masses, including the Motherland, the plants were starting to wither and fade. They could not be sustained on just Life Energy alone, and needed a better way to absorb nutrients.

Remember what happens if you fail even one of these... You become mind under contract of agreement through your will. Hmhmhm...

Things were going to get hectic fast. How it loved such things.

"Oh, on to the next Chakra? Cool, this one was-- Paaah..."

Instantly, he felt beyond dehydrated, weak from thirst, and brittle from the lack of buoyancy in his body. That single sweat drop that came from him was now yet another thing leeching from his own life essence, having extended into a very large and very consumptive body of water. The larger it got, the weaker Khrona felt, and on the drifting land mass, he fell to his knees, gasping with parched lips like a fish out of water.

He listened to what The Insanity had to say about this specific chakra, however... The Water was a medium for life, and he could definitely understand why. Here he lay, withering on the grass and beauty of nature around him, and so too, his nature would begin to wither with him.

Barely finding it in him to talk, he had to find a way to get to the water. Perhaps, a quick drink would replenish him, and he'd be able to give the thirsty plants a drink, as well. But he was so weak now; weaker than when he sat and gave his life to the planet... It seemed much easier then than now, for whatever reason. Perhaps because he is naturally one that is of the 'Water' element.

"Eeeaaaarth... *pah... kwah...* Help meeeee..."

With what little strength he had left, he used it to create a small hill under his body, just enough for him to start sliding down and toward the edge. He knew he wouldn't make it initially, so with the dying grass below his body, he'd have them stand upright and carry him off toward the edge. Still, they were just as weak as he, and once they were as close as they could take him, even the grass crippled under his weight. Alas, Khrona lay, barely filled with life or motion, hand hanging off the very edge of the drifting piece of earth. Mouth still agape and agasp, he took in a deep, cleansing breath and used all his strength to pull himself more over the edge... But even that was not enough, for only half his body dangled off the side. It almost seemed hopeless now...

Till he saw, almost like a miracle, the land drifting toward one of the broken pools of water nearby. He wasn't going to touch it, but this land mass was, and he figured that if the soil soaked up the water, Khrona could absorb the water as well. Naturally, this is what occurred when the water splashed onto the dry and cracked earth, bringing the moisture it needed to restore life and color to its form. So too did Khrona place his hands on the moistened earth and absorbed some of the water that was left over into himself, granting him the energy to move once more.

"Hoora--*KWAH...*"

But he was still parched. Oh, so parched. Smacking his lips, he attempted to salivate, but to no avail. They were still as dry as a desert. Though, with the energy he did have, he pulled himself to his feet and hopped off of the floating land mass and into one of the larger pools of water, soaking up all of it like a sponge.

*Slluuuuurrrrpp~*


It felt like falling through a pool that cleansed away all of his stress and all his strife; the silence of the pool rather soothing... Ambient... Revitalizing. With this, Khrona's energy spread on the wave of the waters and drifted out toward the other bodies, pulling them in and connecting them with ease, as opposed to the difficulty he experienced connecting the earth. There, the creation of a watery web had been done, and each large body of water was connected by a river that extended from Khrona's own self.

"Feeling refreshed and feeling good! Now I've just gotta get those earth clods drifting away..."

Like a wavelength, Khrona transitioned through the channels of the water he was connected to and out toward the farthest land mass.

"Looks like my Root's a little weak... Not very grounded. But that's why I've gotta use the water from the Sacral to nourish it and feed it life!!"

Within the body of water, he extended his hand and pulled the land mass from drifting out into the Void and directly into the water, where the dry earth moistened and the withering plants exuded life once more, just like with the other land mass. Khrona climbed to the top of the huge piece of land now and searched for others that were nearby, yet again. Pulling them close with another tug, the roots from the plants would connect and secure them in place, whilst the steady stream of water flowing into them would quench their thirst.

"With Aquakinesis, I can just have this piece of land follow the current to get back where it needs to be... It's a set pathway, opened up through this new awakening! Yes!"

Things were becoming clear and easy for him once again. He pointed down the channel, and the land masses sucked in the water like a rope they were tethered to, drawing themselves closer and closer to the Mainstream, which is what he'd call it. Along the way, Khrona stood atop it and manipulated the debris that were too small to be collected into more mountains, pieces of land and the like and connected them to the larger piece, as the roots below pulled in all other land masses nearby and secured them in place. The steady stream of water spread to each of the other withering continents, until they exuded vibrancy just like the others. Eventually, they'd reach the Mainstream, which Khrona would then control to drift down toward the Motherland and act as fluid under surface for the earth above to drift on and constantly gain their steady stream of life energy from. Now it was starting to really take shape.

Though there were no more land masses near the eternal abyss, there were still quite a few drifting off on their own. Even if all the water was secure, it was harder for someone more naturally in tune with the flowing, fluid water to control the solid, concreteness of the earth. But, as they say, slow and steady wins the race.

"This is getting a bit intense now... But it's all good now that the Mainstream is here with the Motherland."

With this water here to drink and circulate, Khrona shouldn't have to worry about being too tired anymore. From the Motherland, he manipulated the channels of the Mainstream to extend to each of the remaining pieces of earthen mass, and like the first, they'd feed on the water, slowly making their way to the Motherland.

"In a little while, this planet will be completed again... Wonderful. That was... Tiresome work."

As tired as he was, he decided to take a dip in the Mainstream for a second to relax a bit. So, in he went, and he'd drift on the soothing waves, waiting for the slow land masses to make their impact again.

So very quick to relax, aren't you? Have you not even realized that there is nothing keeping the Mainstream and Motherland tied down?

Another pulsating flash of red brought calamity yet again, for the waters of the Mainstream drifted apart and toward the abysmal void yet again, this time taking the clods of earth connected to each pool with them.

You must understand the Third Chakra to center this atrocity. The Solar Plexus Chakra of the Fire Element (obviously)... The Chakra of Wisdom.

The Motherland also seemed to drift away from the Mainstream, as there was nothing holding it together nor pulling it toward a centered point. Thus, more Chaos in what was once still beautiful, yet widely imperfect.

The Core. The burning will. The center of it all. It is the chakra that brings about the assimilation experience, the digestion of all energies and transfusion of one's own personal power, be it negative or positive. The core of anything is vastly important, as its own health influences the health of all that is connecte to its energies. Without a strong core, everything it holds together is weak and feeble. It is what allows manifestation from the ether, from energy iself. What you manifest is up to you, as it shows your own individual charisma, your ability to grow, to learn and live well.

A little irked at how well Khrona was doing, he could not put such things past him. He was much greater than Asura, most definitely. A deity that could barely manifest his own reality... He was so weak.

It is the life force, the energy that the water channels and the earth receives. Light. Heat. Will. Fire. With its eminence, it draws in all things necessary for the sustenance of itself and all connected to it, as the center of everything. When it is fed well, it will produce greater energy. If poisoned, it will become weak and unable to sustain. Mars governs the eternal flame with passion, pure force and drive.

All of Khrona's work seemed to be coming undone without this great foundation of a core. The Order only knew Chaos without its Core.

Physically governing conversion of matter into energy, mentally bestowing personal power, emotionally granting expansion and spiritually being all matters of growth, the Sun of the chakras uses its great will to pull the others and hold them together with individual ego and self expression. In this, you are beyond weak. You have no grounding; barely having a form. Do you honestly think you can sustain the form of something without physical shape, as you do?

Perhaps, this Khrona would not understand what The Insanity was talking about, for that was the form of Khrona that resided on the outer plane of the Tree. The one trapped by the Insanity of the Seventh Restriction. Without this core, there was no form. And that much was apparent in the disarray here.

In his quaint little pool of relaxation, swimming and drifting off on the soothing waves of the Mainstream, Khrona listened rather lackadaisically to the words of The Insanity once again, more or less still just basking in the waters that were rising from the large body. He hadn't really noticed until it was brought to his attention, and he would gaze off into the black expanse to find that it was right... Everything was just drifting away. Again.

"Son of a BITCH!!!"

He was getting pissed at all of this going on. After all his hard work, nothing would just stay together and stay in one spot... None of these things were focused on one thing. It was like The Insanity said; they had no center. Thus, they had no focus.

"You pieces of shit are really getting on my nerves..."

To call his own creation shit... Man, he must be getting really upset here. The water around him began to boil, and so too did the atmosphere become less cold and void an more filled with light and heat. Eventually, the water evaporated into steam, which then became clouds hovering over the land mass. These clouds brought rain pouring down to the now thirsty land, and soon, the connection to Khrona and the Mainstream was, not only destroyed, but irrelevant. Thus, the land mass drifted back off toward the void yet again, without a care.

"... What the fuck!? You selfish little... Tch..."

His anger was rising. Emanating from his body was a powerful heat; a bright and consumptive light in the dark, which drew in more of the floating debris to fuel the flames. As it did, his anger grew even more, and eventually, it started to become the 'center of attention,' that rage within. It drew in the small particles and debris and burnt it to a crisp, only to grow larger, brighter and even more consumptive. Eventually, it started to draw in everything to fuel its flames... Land masses both large and small and pools of water from all around. The pieces of land that were drawn in were instantly burnt now, no matter how large they were, and the flames grew larger and larger.

"Let's see how you like it when you're totally burnt to a-- ... Wait... Wait!!"

The fire burning around him couldn't be stopped now. It seemed to have a will of its own, a craving for everything around it to simply burn up to fuel itself; the only thing it cared about. It needed things only to consume and digest, not to circulate and grow.

"Wait! Stop!! If you consume everything, you'll just burn yourself out when there's nothing left!!"

The fire didn't seem to care. It only listened to its own will and own way, which was growing away from Khrona. This was his rage... His anger... It consumed everything and burned bridges rather than helped to create. The greatest difficulty with the powerful fire is learning to control it to keep it from burning up everything... Until there is nothing left but the cold void you started out with.

More and more land masses started to drift in faster and faster, and the small pools of water could not get in close to douse the flames, for they were simply too small.

"At this rate, all my work will be destroyed... But... To counteract the hot, gotta have some cold, right...? Something like... The water of the Mainstream!!"

But, as it was, the water would only put out the fire rather than control it... So, since this was Khrona's own anger, he was going to be the one to control it, before it burnt up everything in its path. He loosed all that fury and fed it t the flames, deciding to be the one that sustained them inwardly rather than allowing things outwardly to feed it. Feeding the fire negative energy so it may draw into itself for more food... And when contained, control it by feeding it positivity.

As Khrona kept the negativity within him, the flames began to consume it inwardly, as well, folding in on themselves trying to get every last scrap of it. When the fires were condensed as much as they could be, they formed a plasmatic sphere of pure and utter burning light around Khrona, where he would then trap it in place with the positive energy to erase the negative that was fed to the flames. There, the raging fires calmed and became peaceful. Twas only Khrona's burning will, his soul, which would attract the land masses more calmly now. Still, he ran the risk of burning up all of the land masses, so there had to be a way to cool this fire to the point where it could still take in energy, but not burn up everything...

"The Mainstream."

With a clear head not befuddled by the rage before, Khrona could easily control the Mainstream and coat it over the raging burning light and allow it to shine out through the crystal clear waters and out toward the individual land masses, drawing them in as focused beams through the water's crystal clear coating. Since Khrona was adept with water, he could control the wavelength of light as well as use his Pyrokinesis and Photokinesis to steadily channel the combined forces of the Core and the Mainstream to the Motherland, and let the earth gently float along the water's surface.

"Phew... I thought that one was gonna be bad. And it looks like I lost a little bit of my work here, too... Oh well. Nothing that can't be fixed."

Here, the balance between the three forces would be able to keep them all sustained, maintained and at peace... The Core kept them all together as well as heated the waters so they weren't so very cold, plus allowed for the water to evaporate and become clouds and rain, the water could spread the channeled life energy it was gifted with to all the land with natural water under the earth and overhead with the clouds, and the earth could produce the meterial needed to fuel the fire at the core.

Breathing deeply and heavily, Khrona was relieved to see that the land masses were starting to gravitate more gently toward the Core. Hey, it had its own gravitational pull now. Good job, Khrona!

"Well. All's well that ends well. I'm gonna lie down and rest before I die or something."

Yes, he was nice and cozy at the center of his planet... The center of everything. Even if he couldn't be seen, he knew that he was at least keeping everything and everyone together with his great and powerful sheer will. He was well deserving of a nice nap, right...?

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: The End Of Vescrutia; Rise Of The Veritas Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:47 am Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6589

-During the time of the First Moon, Within The First Moon-

The Blue Moon rested cozily in the sky just slightly above the top of the blazing tree, the spectral lights of Tigen radiating from the crystal bathing the atmosphere in a multitude of colors. As the moon continued to draw energy straight from the tree, more definition of its shape formed whilst it slowly orbited the top. The more energy it drew, the more things appeared on its surface, covered by the blue atmosphere. Within the moon resided an entirely different world; an entire omniverse completely different from this one compacted into a single point that made up the 'Mind' of Khrona preparing for departure from this world.

This place within seemed to be something of a distant memory, way back in the days of old in the village of the Reality. Isolated at best, the world looked to be very similar to the floating land mass that was the entirety of the Reality oh so long ago, as if to be some sort of replica of what once was.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



What lay within the Blue Moon did not match the chaos that occurred without, and for those to see such beauty, they would have to be taken into the First Restriction itself.

_Still running for hours on end, Bluenote started to smell the scent of the tree getting closer, but stil she was miles away from the thing itself, but she was getting close._

"Man my feet hurt, but I gotta keep going.

_Tho all of the running took its toal, but Bluenote didn't stop for a second._

In a instant Linomaru smelled the sweet aroma of the Tree. It was truly a beautiful asset to allocate the world it fueled. It was wonderful indeed, Lin looked around Khrona's words had faded into the shining light that had transported him here.

"Well then, I guess this is the final chapter...."

Lin would clinch his fist,he looked at the Tree, placing his open hand ever so softly on the Tree. A smile reached across his face, as he went into the fabrications of his mind, Linomaru began to remember the first day he had met the being known as Khrona... But that is another story..

Lin had just been with a fraction of Khrona's soul,it looked worn out,tried even. But Lin knew it was Khrona, Lin had heard the final words of his friend,the message he had for him.

"Alright...here it goes... I just have to wait for everyone else to get here...hmmm."

Linomaru would see the girl running to the Tree..he didn't know her name, this would be the first time he has seen her..

"Alright.. lets see what this means.."

Linomaru looked to the moon it seems that this day was going to come.... he would fold his arms and then rub his head, Lin had grown a lot since his genin days but he met Khrona when he became a Chuunin. From there sparked a bond like no other between the two.

Linomaru had all of his things with him, he went into the bag he had with when he was with Khrona. He pulled out his famed Snow white trench coat,it had been a while since he had this particular coat. This was his first trench coat he ever wore, putting it on his body jerked and the sound of lightning softly echoed from where Lin was standing. He rotated his arms in a small circle and stretched them high he wondered, what was in-store for the group, but he knew that they were ready.

"Okay... looks like I'm all set... Just a few more things to get.."

Lin then went back to his bag and pulled out six scrolls. They read Yamaku, Hojenku,Seimaku, Yurikima, Yurigenma, and Hiroshima. Each scroll was a different color but all the same size. Linomaru stood up and waited for the others.

Through his owns means he and Chroma would manifest where the other were congregated. Allen stood at the ass of the mighty tree. As he stood here he could feel the ever waning spirit of the tree as if began to fade and crumble slowly...it was dying ever so slowly. This saddened Allen but to the others his subtle smile hid his Merritt of emotions...he wasn't going to loose control again. His face turned to find the rather well armed Linomaru and Bluenote. Allen merely had a simple rose that he held...a Silver one at that.The base of the tree had lost most of it's luster, probably from the on going battle.It's once dazzling sparkle were dwindling away,bit by bit it was leaving him...

Lin? Fancy meeting you here. I assume your privy to some pretty valuable info,So what the meaning of all this if you know.

He'd hope one of Shabuto's closest friends were able to shine light on this situation.

"Alright, Bluenote... Lead the wa--"

Before her sentence was finished and Bluenote took off, Allen apparently took charge of the situation and warped Chroma away without her permission. The two appeared at the very bottom of the blazing tree, waiting for Bluenote to show up. Chroma, still rather irate due to her pain, pulled herself away from Allen, as the dark slits that were her eyes finally opened only slightly, in all seriousness simply to glare at Allen.

"... Do not touch me ever again. Do not do anything to me without my permission. Is that understood?"

The deep abysmal black eye paled to the light of the gleaming white eye piercing straight through Allen's soul. It seemed like she was going to have this conversation with everyone she met... Just like her father was when he was younger, she did not under any circumstances like to be touched by anyone. That was why he wore gloves and those clothes and jacket, and such was why she wore her kimono with sleeves draped over her dainty fingers.

Nevertheless, many hours later, the tramping footsteps of Bluenote heavily pounding the ground could be heard from afar, her silhouette rising over the horizon. She should be here any minute.

Moments later, a strange man appeared some ways away. It seemed that he hadn't noticed them (even though technically he should have *Coughcough* ANOTHER reason why it is important to pay attention, Allen. Things don't match up storywise). Chroma didn't take it upon herself to say anything to him, as she didn't know anyone besides the two people she made acquaintances with; Allen and Bluenote.

She turned to Allen discreetly with her sleeve over her mouth, whispering to him, "... Who is that man--" but again, before she could finish, he had already gone off and done what he had to, reacquainting himself with the man nearby. Her question was answered from his outward friendliness to the man, but still her wishes were rather rudely ignored. She was finding it hard to believe that this guy was someone who was close to her father... Then again, she barely knew him, too. She hoped that he didn't keep such atrociously inconsiderate company... She considered him a regal, elegant and high-class person. Why would he allow such foolery...?

No matter. Chroma would simply direct her attention to Bluenote, who should have been arriving any minute. She waved her arm up high, still covered by her kimono sleeve somehow, letting Bluenote know that they were all over here.

"Bluenote! It's us! We've been waiting for you!"

When she showed up, they could hopefully get started. Her life was kinda on the line here.

"Hm? There already there! What the fuck!"

_Bluenote could easily see the arm of Chroma from afar, which left a question mark in Bluenote's head, she wasn't sure how Chroma and Allen beat her there. But then again, it just the norm for people to ask for things, then turn around and kick you in the face, as she got closer and closer she came to a hard stop, just a few feet away from everyone._

"You all can go fuck yourself! I thought you guys didn't know where to go, but shockingly you did, so I was sent off, thinking I was leading someone! Oh my god!"

_Bluenote was highly upset by all of this crap, but she soon cooled down before moving again, now that she was here with everyone known to man. Things could go foward, tho she wasn't sure what to do as of now, so she waited for the little princess to give out some orders._

"Ahhhehhhh!"

Linomaru would be a bit surprised that Allen had appeared with Chroma. He smiled at the two but he didn't say anything.Not yet at least, he was actually focusing his attention to Chroma,hekknew it was her because she resembled her father. He chuckled before he answered Allen.

"Well Khrona is leaving forever.. Which is leaving the Tree to die... andfrom my studies of the Tensei clan so will they."

Linomaru would walk over to the girl, crouching to meet her face with his. This was the first time he's met Chroma,the daughter of his friend, it's sad that they meet on such a day as this one. But still they have met, he gave a smile before he introduced himself to the girl. He had heard her ask Allen who he was.

"Hello, I'm Linomaru Hugo. Nice to meet you. You're Chroma right?"

Linomaru would have a smile of assurance that warms any soul that was a gift he had. Then the girl running had finally came to a stop when she met with the rest. She seemed pissed at the two. She made Linomaru chuckle again. This was going to be fun.

"You should really watch your mouth missy.. hehehe... I have some water if you want any... " Linomaru would snap his fingers and the bag would flop over and out rolled a flash of water,it stopped at the girls feet.

Linomaru would stand up and you could see how tall he was over Chroma which was a very sufficient amount. A gentle sweet breeze with the aroma of the tree danced through the area, Linomaru would say his final words.

"Chroma I'm here to assist you in whatever you need."

A pool of blackness darker than the eternal void silently opened under the feet of Allen, unseen to the eyes of the panicked below the Blue Moon. As he spoke to this companion, against his will was he snatched down into the abysmal murk, the pooling blackness leaving only the faint 'plop' of his body sinking into the surprisingly thick, swamp-like emptiness. Twas his matron who sought his presence so suddenly, his 'owner' and teacher, the Sage of the Black Swamp beckoning him to her home, swiftly and silently. As quickly as this pool did appear would it converge in on itself, till not a trace of it remained, and the three who were left behind would stand in confusion of what just occurred with their dear friend... He had a more important issue to tend to...

Chroma remained calm and collected as the clearly pissed Bluenote said her vulgar, yet rather humorous, complaints. Chroma could see why she'd be so upset at the matter, but it was all said and done now, and the four of them were all here.

"I was just as surprised as you were, Bluenote... But it does not matter now. We're all here..."

When Lino came to talk to her, she was put... A bit off guard that he knew her name and acted so familiar with her. He was a little too close for her comfort; getting too fresh with her. Yet, even he mentioned to Allen that he knew her father very well. Was she really the only one that didn't know besides Bluenote?

"Wait, you know my Father? He must have sent you here to greet us... There is no way you could have known that type of stuff about this situation..."

Again, another pained memory throbbed in Chroma's head, causing her to jump back and slam her hands to her head in terrible pain. This one was worse than all the others, like thousands of jackhammers all driving at her brain in unison, yet with no synchronicity.

"GAAAAH!!!!" she screamed in agony, getting now a lot of information about the situation randomly. Instead of just pictures, she was getting actual concrete knowledge, even though she shouldn't have known any of it. Linomaru was indeed very close to her father, as well, just like Allen. This knowledge made her a bit more open to him, but the pain in her head was not worth it... Maybe it was because she was closer to the moon.

As the pain died down again, she lowered her hands and continued to speak, "... Nor my name... Linomaru Hugo, was it? Most pleasing to meet you..." she took a step back, however, closer to Bluenote, even though she didn't touch her, "... Even if you are just a biiit too close for my comfort."

She rubbed her head again just for comfort, those random bursts of agonizing sharp pain getting on her nerves now.

"Well, I guess it's about time we tackle this thing before it spiral-- Hey, wait..." she paused, searching for her fourth party member, "... What happened to Allen?"

"Meh."

_Bluenote just quit, she wasn't about to ask anymore questions from this point on, simply because she'd been left out of the loop from the get go. She turned her eyes towards Lino, who had made a comment and randomly threw her a bottle of water, this only kick started her already pissed off mode back on.

She kicked up the bottle with her foot, and cought it in her right hand, she looked at it for a second before throwing it back at Lino, but was aimimg to hit him with the bottle. After doing that deed, she noticed Chroma's problem or whatever it was, was starting to act up again, for some reason she didn't know of._

"Princess! What the hell's going on!? I'm still not too sure on anything, but you know what princess? Don't answer that, supprises are always best left unsupprised."

_Bluenote smiled a bit, she somehow cooled down again for some reason, and now all that was left to do wad to follow Chroma, it was clear that she cared little for Allen, since she didn't know him, nor did she care too._

As the flask came flying towards him Linomaru would catch it with his left hand stopping the flask before it hit him. Lin would steptowards Chroma when she winced in pain. He wondered what was going on, but she had recovered rather quickly,so everything was okay. Lin had stood to his feet and began to speak to the girl.

"I'm a information Ninja young Chroma.... This means I'm a walking bingo book,if you know what that is... I have hundreds of thousands of books on Vescrutia and all of its Shinobi, I live up there. *points to Hugo Manor*..... I can see everything up there. But my travels and soulmates help with that as well."

Lin would pull out a book from his ninja sack it was very small and flat it looked like it only had a few pages in it, but it read Khrona, this book had everything there was to know about Khrona, it is a bit odd to have it on him but they might need this.

"You must have lost your memory.. I can tell by the mind blast you just had... I know that happened because I have psychic abilities as well. Your mind is cluttered it needs some time to get together. "

As Linomaru turn to look for Allen he was gone just as quick as he appeared. What happened to him.

"Where did Allen run off to... oh well it's got to be important.. he'll pop up sooner or later."

Lin looked back to the girls and smiled,it looks like just the three of them.

"Ok chroma... lead the way."

"Bingo... Book...?"

Chroma had only vague knowledge of those things, but she knew exactly what it was. Her memories were getting foggy due to what she would suppose was this moon. She couldn't remember a thing.

"Oh... Alright..."

Part of her thought that they should be more concerned about what happened to Allen... He did kinda just disappear out of nowhere. But, he could teleport, as he demonstrated before, so perhaps he just did that when no one was looking. Hm...

As Chroma cracked open the book, the words upon the pages would instantly become blank; every word, lost the moment she tried to lay eyes on it. Dropping the book in shock, she pointed to it, addressing Lino.

"There's nothing in there! The information is... Disappearing!"

Anything that was recorded about her father was being erased upon his leaving; it was definitely starting to effect reality more heavily now. Though she had a feeling not everything was written about him before, now nothing would be. Eventually, he would be removed from their minds, as well, she figured. Somehow, she knew... The Blue Moon of the Mind.

*throb*

"AAAUUUGHHH!!!"

That terrible pain returned to her once more... This was torment, pure torture... Why couldn't she control it?! She felt a special connection to the moon that slowly drew her in... And the headache intensified.

Much transpired between the efforts of the two parties assembled now at the tree; where one dealt with the tree itself, those below sought to handle this hovering blue eye in the sky. The cool blue orb hung ominously above, silent as the night it brought and as cold as its icy color. As the night reached its peak, a reaction from within Chroma's pounding head drew interest from the Blue Moon, iris rays beaming down atop the heads of the lost souls below. Clearly, it held synchronicity with the Tensei who unknowingly served as the Insangel to carry upon this Labor that was left behind. Only the first of Thirteen, she and those around them were absorbed by the sedative light, their forms altered to fit the same hue and composition during transfer. Thus, the three of them, Chroma, Linomaru and Bluenote, were instantly sucked into the depths of the First Restriction; the Restriction of the Mind.

Within, as stated in the first post, the world seemed to be composed of nothing but a single giant floating island reminiscent of the original Reality Village, with many intricate adjustments to the overall structure to fit the situation. On a deserted region barren of all life, curled up tightly under a spindly tree devoid of a single leaf upon its claw-like branches was a silverish-white haired boy bathed in complete and utter black, smoldering by the heat of the sun being absorbed by his darkness, head tucked in tight within his arms that rested atop his knees. He did not seem to mind the heat nor that he was covered head to toe in black, despite how much he was sweating. It was unknown how long he rested there, but he remained absolutely motionless; utterly alone.

Twasn't till a peculiar voice spoke to him from beyond that his head slowly rose, sad and tired eyes peering from the shadows up into the desolate expanse he heard this disembodied voice speak from. Was he going crazy?

"... what...?" he uttered quietly, unsure of if he was even being spoken to or if it was all in his head, "... you want me to put what on...?" To the normal person, the boy would appear to be mumbling to himself in a fit of insanity, though flung from nowhere, sliding 'cross the dry and cracked ground to his foottips; a mask of jesterly impression staring him in the face with empty eyes.



The boy stared back into those soulless holes, body cringing at the sight of the ghastly semi-semblance. Retracting his head with the likeness of a turtle quickly retreating to its shell, he spoke back to this voice no one else could hear, "... i can't wear that... it looks like... masks you see at a theatre..." He paused, his curled body trembling a bit, "... like in a... tragedy..."

Still, ebbed on by the unknown, he peered from his shell back down into the gaping eyeless sockets, speaking now with a volumed, cracking voice, "... What...? I can... Stop suffering if I put it on...? No more terrible... Horrible..." His eyes no longer focused on the target, darting about in every direction madly, not even looking in the same direction at the same time. "Put me to sleep? Out of my..."

His head rose with a sharp *CRACK*, tilting slowly to the side and revealing a wide, shaky smile...

"Misery?"

Then, to the other... *CRACK*, tilting slowly upside down...

"And Despair?"

The boy's head now damn near upside down still attached to his neck, his unstable smile grew even wider, outwardly displaying the state of his mentality. With promise of eternal slumber fresh in mind, the boy rose slowly against the chipping bark of the dying tree, his image now coming into full visage; a young Khrona Tensei, before the Village Hidden in the Reality had ever come to be.


Enlarge this image



Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick; the sound of a ticking timebomb returning to a state of normalcy, his head now in its 'correct' position, those unfocused eyes staring deep into the eyes of darkness, and the darkness stared back at him, soon becoming the eyes once filled with luster.

"Sweet Dreams..."

With the Joker's smile did he don the Jester's mask, the young Khrona Tensei falling into a comatose unconscious consuming his body in a veil of dreams and nightmares; no longer was he the normal Khrona Tensei, but one whose mind made conscious whilst unconscious to soothe his painful psyche; the Cheshire Phantom, the Phantom of Dreams.


Enlarge this image



From his head sprouted the hat of the fool, upon his face, a peaceful smile no longer ridden with insanity, and his eyes, pleasantly closed beneath the face of the mask. Still bathed in a robe of black, the Cheshire Phantom rose slightly from the ground to his tiptoes, head wearily leaning from side to side.

(This is where Lino, Chroma and Bluenote appear, so post as if you appeared right now, not having seen what happened up above that line.)

Three gleaming rays of blue light struck the land softly with their presence, each taking form as the three transported from without to the inner sanctum of the still slowly constructing Blue Moon; Bluenote, Chroma and Linomaru, within the desolate wasteland just beyond a lush forest. All they could see from here was the image of a swaying, wavering figure in the distance and a looming dead tree over him, claw-like and positioned as if to snatch him from where he stood and take him to the depths of hell any moment... A rather foreboding image with the silent stillness of the vicinity. Not even the wind blew.

Faced with the forest behind and the barren field in front, and the light of the bright sun in the clear blue sky, they had now truly entered the realm of the First Restriction. Twas up to them from here what they wanted to do.

_Bluenote tapped her foot on the ground over and over again, she was clearly getting tired of doing nothing, her boy like personality was kicking into high gear. Her blood was boiling for action, but as that was happening she over heard the name 'Khrona', which sounded very familiar to her for some reason. "Khrona? Khrona? Khrona! I remeber now, but why can't I picture him anymore? Grrr! Since she couldn't remeber much about him, she got highly upset, however, she kept cool for the time being._

"Hey, princess! What are we suppose to do?"

_However, before Bluenote could get an answer from the little princess, she noticed that the princess was in pain yet once again, seeing this broke the glass that was Bluenote's anger._

"Chroma!!! Stop being a got damn baby! I'm shocked that you're acting like this, endure it! Are you really gonna let a little painful headache get too you!

_Once again, before she could get a responce from Chroma, she was pulled inside of something or somewhere she couldn't make out._

"Where the hell are we?"

Lin would be standing next to the girls, it seemed Bluenote was a bit impatient and her memory of Khrona was indeed slipping away by the minute, then chroma once again began to have another migraine attack. Blue started yelling at Chroma for showing her pain,this made Linomaru face gofrom clam to a bit pissed. He walked over to Bluenote and gave her a swift slap across the face knocking her off her feet.

"Shut up!!... How can you call her princess and treat her like that? Where is your respect? I come from a family were you never slander a comrades name you only speak the truth about them,and wish them good health. I don't know who you are, but I don't like you why? I was just like you...I had no respect... I walked around thinking I was bad and no one could defeat me. Then I when to my first ranking, they tore me apart... I was in the hospital for weeks... I failed.. for years it killed me inside to know that... I failed three more times..."

Just before Linomaru could finish they were transported to another world.

"Where are we??"

It was clear that the tension of this situation was getting to everyone; the three of them hadn't made any progress, they'd lost a member and now it seemed like things were falling apart. Bluenote was angered because of her impatience, Lino was angered because of Bluenote and Chroma was angered because of the throbbing headache that wouldn't stop tormenting her... it was almost enough to make her burst into tears... Tears of fury, tears of sadness, tears of pain...

"ENOUGH!" she shouted, her eyes shooting open, as they rarely did. The moment this happened, the blue light from the moon above graced the skin of the three, shooting them up and into the Blue Moon. There, they appeared in a barren wasteland much different from the one before. Behind them was a thicket of forest... Before them was a silhouette in the distance under a lone dying tree... This place seemed almost familiar to her, but also as distant as a fleeting memory... After all the drama happened, it seemed that everyone could come to the agreement that they were all quite... Confused.

"... I... I don't know where we are..."

She touched her head, now which was slowly starting to recede in pain...

"... But my headache is subsiding..."

Her eyes returned to being closed tight as they normally were, though even through them she could see the figure in the distance. That swaying silhouette didn't sit right with her... He brought a heady sense of unease to her stomach and her mind, urging her to back away.

"... I... I think we should retreat into the forest and figure out where we are and why we're here... Besides... The person over there is staring at us and rocking back and forth... I do not think he is someone we should interact with..."

The unsettled regal 'princess' as Bluenote called her turned around and started off into the trees, not getting too far before her head flashed with a multitude of images and information yet again, causing her to release a blood curdling shriek.

"EEEYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"

Chroma fell to her knees, unable to hold back her tears any longer; it was much worse than before.

"My... My head... My head feels like... it's going to explode...!!!"

She knew now where they were and what this was, but at the cost of such information, it seemed like her life was shortening even more rapidly than before. Panting heavily, she managed to make out what all of it was...

"... We're... Inside the moon..."

She tried to call out to them, but she couldn't even bear to scream. Hopefully they came so that they could hear her... It was hard to move...

"What the fuck! How dear you slap me! I'll kill you...?"

_Before she could finish what she was saying, something popped in her head, though she wasn't sure what it was or why she even felt it in the first place, she didn't bother trying to understand what happened. So now all that was left was to pay Lino back ten fold for hitting her, but as soon as she moved a inch from the spot she was in, a voice spoke to her inside her head, it was quick and only said one thing to her, the random voice said "its fake".

Bluenote wasn't sure what was going on here, but it would seem as if it had something to do with Lino's slap her gave her, because she didn't start hearing the voice till after he hit her. Though she still wasn't sure on how a slap would cause her to start hearing stuff in her head, however, she still didn't pay that voice no mind. She had to focous on the task at hand, in fact she wouldn't even bother telling Lino how much she didn't care about what he said, simply because he had her all wrong in the first place._

"Princess, what are you talking about? Who is that guy? And why do we need to run?"

_But as this was starting to become normal, her questions went unanswered for like the millionth time in a row, her question only went unanswered because the princess up'ed and ran off. And before Bluenote could follow her, the princess was outta site, but not lost in the leas bit, Bluenote quickly took off for the spot Chroma was in, leaving Lino behind. With the nose of a dog, finding the princess wouldn't be hard in any way.

And as she made her way towards Chroma, the voice popped back in her head once again, but this time it said more than it did before, it said "Questions yourself, are you even real?". This was quite the question to ask, Bluenote however did think about what the voice just said to her, she wasn't sure what it ment by what it said.

But still it would seem she understood the question it asked, that's when her brain went into "all shit over drive", and she blacked out for just a second. And once she came too, everything became clear to her, by question her own self among other things, etc. She became selfawear of everything, this was known as braking the 4th wall.

Though she had little time too enjoy this new found thing, since she was only a few feet away from Chroma._

"Princess what's wrong!? How can I help!?"

_She yelled out as she made her way over._

Not too long did Cheshire wait before three new morsels entered his world. Gently rocking side to side, not unlike a willow in the breeze, the shadowed eyes and stagnant grin beamed cross the way at the trio that stared back at him...

Patient was the sleep-walker in the foolish pajamary, the sound of bells jingling and jangling with the rock of his carefree head. It wasn't until he noticed the visage of the girl who crept into the woods that he felt only a bit uneasy. Finally, a scream, and a terrifyingly eerie feeling of connection between he and she as her mind pulsated, a flash of information that he could see just as she. What could this be? A reason to investigate, definitely.

The wayward clown lightly kicked himself off the ground, dreamily drifting closer to the three at the other side of the wasteland. The two girls entered the forest, the minds of them both ripe for the picking... Only on the breeze of the wind would Cheshire pass Lin, and appeared right as one of the girls blacked out. Her mind, her mind, overwhelmed, he could tell, with a surplus of thoughts and information. The two of them, in fact, had minds loosely intact; such was an effect of this realm. Though Khrona didn't know, Cheshire remained fully conscious... consciously unconscious of all around him.

Silly girls, I'll be seeing you in your dreams...

His voice carried on without his mouth opening, to the point where they both would hear him. Yet as Bluenote came to, Cheshire surely knew that this was the time to make scarce. Before Bluenote could even lay eyes on him, his body materialized beyond the leaves, the sound of wind blowing through the treetops, as if he were never there to begin with.

Your mind is open... I can see everything...

To Chroma directly, and no one else. This unsettling feeling he got from her... He couldn't shake it at all.

Lin stood over Bluenote for a second before Chroma went running into the forest,she chased after her in just a moment later a scream pierced through the atmosphere, and Cheshire flashed passed him in a instant he tried stepping in front of the figure but he was just to slow.

"Damn.."

Lin would ran into the forest at full speed.. He soon came to meet the girls in the thickness of the forest. He stopped with a skid, his breath became as he collected himself quickly.

"Are you girls okay?" He took a quick look around stepping in front of the girls crouching just before them. Lin keep his eyes open for anything that was out of the ordinary. He looked to Chroma and tried to help her get things under control.

"Chroma, take deep slow breaths. I know that the pain is unbearable, but you can set your mind at ease it is your mind you have control over it.."
Lin would only hope his words were heard by Chroma he went back on the defensive.

"Blue, we have to get out of this forest, and fast. "

*Pant... Pant... Pant...*


She was still quite short of breath. Though she desperately tried to catch her breath, the mind-blowing pain did nothing but continue to increase steadily, as it had been in its fluctuation.

"It's... *pant... pant... it's no good, Bluenote... I can't... *pant... pant...* get up..." she'd say to Bluenote at her side. All of her energy was going into calming her mind, which couldn't maintain whatever great power pressed down on it. She was of no help to them; she didn't even notice Cheshire there near them, nor when Bluenote blacked out. She was too busy trying to make sure she could stay conscious.

Vision blurred, arms trembling to keep herself up, it looked like she was going to pass out on the ground as well... But before she did, she heard that unknown voice in her head, speaking so intrusively she couldn't even bear how he was within her mind.

"Get out...!! Out of my... Head!!!"

All this time, she didn't even notice when Linomaru reached her side; all she could see were the trees. The image of the three of them flashed in her head from all angles, as if she were watching them from a third person perspective...

Linomaru...? When did he get there... And why am I seeing from this angle...?

"Wa... Water..." she strained, trying to lift her hand to Linomaru, "Water... I need... Wa...ter..." Her consciousness faded in and out, slowly slipping between her grasp. She didn't know if she was dying or if it was simply from the pain, but whatever it was, she knew that it would be bad if something were not done. Hopefully, Linomaru still had that flask ready with some water prepared... Maybe it could help her catch her breath.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuu!!!!

_Bluenote had no idea of what to do at the moment, it only made her feel useless beyond useless, but it wasn't like she knew much on the subject. All she did was stand there, she didn't wanna touch Chroma, due to her being a little princess of the no touchy law. So she was really at a stand still with this problem, so she steped back a bit, only to notice Lino who had made her way over, maybe he could help._

"Help her, cause I can't, due to the problem we had awhile ago.

_With all that was going on, Bluenote didn't have time to focous on that voice she heard before hand, nor did she have time to look into it. Since Chroma was having a mental brake down, taking care of Chroma came first on her list, rather than worrying about that thing she heard._

Things swiftly turned south for the three travelers in the forest once their comrade was down. Looking at them from above, concealed by the trees, it seemed that they were panicked about their ordeal.

All three of them now stood in the forest, and as they were once at the entrance, when they next looked up, there would be no entrance nor exit; just trees and more trees for miles. In only a moment, they were trapped in the forest.

The girl with the headache, her mind was open, and her power felt very similar to his. What was she...? There should have been no one whose power even remotely compared to Cheshires. Her open mind seemed to connect to his for a brief moment as well, and he could tell because normally this was an impossibility. She was more dangerous than he originally anticipated; even using his abilities on her mind was a bit unsafe. But from the looks of it, she couldn't handle too much psychic power on her at once. She was still fresh to its use. She and her two friends would now have to face the Cheshire Phantom's little Nightmare, for there was no escaping this forest for them.

All around them, the trees began to crack and rustle ominously, their branches taking on more claw-like shapes as the knotholes became ghoulish pointy mouths.


Enlarge this image



From the ground, their roots rose up, lashing at the three from all around; without any sign of mercy. Still, Cheshire was nowhere to be found, but the sound of wind blowing through the trees did return... All too quickly, this became a scene from a nightmare... Their branches reached out to grab the three, and tear them apart limb from limb.

Lin would go into his ninja sack and pulled out the flask of water he had earlier. He would grab Chroma and put it to her lips.While the girl drunk Linomaru would talk to Bluenote.

"My song of sanity is, to protect those who can't protect themselves.. and to do that I had to openmy eyes... I had to do thingsthat no one would do to get power,but power isn't everything... it will never make you HAPPY..You see I met a man who showed me that and still remain my good ole self... Me and him are good friends...."

Again just before Linomaru could finish his sentence something happened. The trees would attack them, Lin would shout out "Hideiko" and as the branches closed in a force field would appear around the group blocking them from being hit..

Lin had activated his Gentai, he put up a shield, but it wouldn't last for much longer,so they had to move on quickly.

" Blue we have to get out of this forest.. I don't know how long this jutsu will last... "

Lin stood up with his hands in the boar sign. When the trees reached for them a force would push them back or set the branch ablaze.

Just when she felt weary enough to fall into a pit of unconsciousness, her face was grabbed rather roughly by the newest member of their little party. As she requested, he gave her water to drink, and before passing out, she guzzled it down, feeling at least a little more refreshed.

... How can I be so low... To be manhandled by someone trying to save my life...?

She was not pleased with the person she was right now. In fact, Chroma could not stand to be this person that she imagined herself to be... So far, she hadn't done anything but get these two into trouble, first by bringing them here and next by leading them into the forest. She could not control these terrible headaches that plagued her, and before that, faced with her father, she could not bear the clan's Insanity down in part of her mind connected to the Pit of Havoc. She was weak. Terribly weak. And something about that just didn't rest easy in her stomach.

Feeling well enough to at least handle her own body herself, she smacked the flask from her lips and backed away, stumbling to her feet and breathing heavily. Between her breaths, she remarked, "Thank you... But don't ever touch me again..."

Something welled up inside of her at that moment watching the trees converge around them and Linomaru so effortlessly creating a barrier to protect them. She had no clue of what kind of power he had, but right now she just knew that it was better than hers. From this point on, she swore not to be a burden anymore to those around her; not her father, not her friends, not anyone. Her mind was made up.

"Hmph..." she grunted, brunting the pain of her great headache. Instead of falling to her knees, she focused on the throbbing, centering her mind directly on the vicious mind-blowing affliction. Somehow, something she should not have known revealed itself to her in her mind, opening a door to what those flashing images before really were. They were...

"... Father's Mind... He wants me to use his power..."

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she was sure that this was him; this great psychic power was the same she felt when she connected to him within the Trinity Plane, only now concentrated in her head, and her mind was simply trying to process that power all this time. It was too great for her as such a weakling, which is how she almost died, but as long as she focused... She could at least do something useful.

"... Bluenote, calm down... this Linomaru fellow is correct. We need to escape this forest. As long as we are within these trees, we will most likely continuously be hunted by those nightmarish ghouls beyond the borders. While we can, we must think of how to escape as fast as possible. Do you have an idea, either of you?"

The pain slowly began to subside, though only as long as Chroma concentrated. She didn't have much chakra, but at long as this pain plagued her, she could Convert the energy of her pain into extra chakra, even if it wasn't a lot. It wouldn't work for too long, as she would eventually start outputting more chakra to Convert than she would be getting, but until that point, she could conserve the decent amount she knew she would need to escape... and most likely engage in combat.

_She looked on as trees randomly started to attack, before she could do anything about the attack, Lino threw up a shield to keep everyone safe for awhile. Now that she had some time to think, she couldn't help, but over hear the little princess's statement._

"What did you just say!? Calm down!? How could you possibly think I'd be calm at a time like this! My body feels funny, my hearts racing, my blood is flowing, in short I'm all fired up!

_Bluenote was twitching a bit, she was so hyped with adrenaline she couldn't stay still, everything that was going on around her was just making her more hyper than before. The stament made by the princess was crazy, Bluenote was way to pumped to just sit back and do nothing, however, she hadn't forgot what Lino had said to her._

"Ehehehehehehe! Ahahahahahahaha!!! Power!? No! I seek something far greater than power! Lino you don't understand do you? I'm not like all those other ass clowns out there! Who only want power, I have a much bigger appetite! Yes, much bigger!"

_As she talked small sparks of electrcity would shoot from her head, these sparks at first seemed nonevisable at the time she was talking, but the more hyped she got. The bigger and more visable they became, but this wasn't a good thing so to say, the sparks started to lash out violently, though the sparks wouldn't hit Chroma or Lino. They just fly pass them, but there was one good thing about all of this, the princess was trying to find a way out of this forest._

"Run, again! CHROMA!!!"

_She yelled Chroma's name before taking off, she ran out of the shield that Lino had made to protect them, once she got outside, she created two lightning blades, and got to cutting. She cut every root, brach and anything else that got in her way, "CHROMA YOU LACK APPETITE!, due to Bluenote's nature, running away wasn't her style. However, what Chroma and Lino didn't know, was that she was acting a decoy for them, so they could get away. The sparks that were shooting out, were now being used a extra hands, to give Bluenote a 360 attack/defence ability, this seemed to be the plan._

"Bitching!!!"

The ghoulish nightmares continued to converge on their location, their slender, rough claws all reaching simultaneously to grasp the three all in different sections of their bodies and pull them apart. The blood of the slain would become their nourishment and make them strong with nutrients soaked into their roots. They were rather thirsty, after all; their gnashing gnarled faces and bloodthirsty snarls expressed it clearly.

With every wretched crack of their wooden limbs drawing n, the three would know they drew nearer and nearer, just about to make contact with the most vulnerable, Chroma. Though before they could, their efforts were thwarted by the hastily expanded barrier by the man who nurtured her thirst, sending each of the nearest trees toppling over. With their height, the toppling timber lumbered atop each other, knocking a few down behind them like a domino effect, their crashes echoing throughout the forest. Startled birds fled from their treetop shelters into the sky, over the tops of the tall trees and into the clouds.

All seemed well with the nearest trees having falling over, though like zombies from a classic thriller, the trees would rise from the ground, digging their roots into the ground for leverage to pull themselves back upright, and immediately return to hunting their prey. The closest tree reached out to touch the barrier in an attempt to puncture it with its claws, though was quickly lit aflame by the call of "Hideiko" by the one Linomaru Hugo once more. Seems he was living up to his title as Jounin protecting the young Genin from harm. But the evil forest acted of one collective mind, it seemed, working in tandem, and when the first's arm lit aflame and burnt to ash, the entire forest knew of this as well.

Still, they pressed on.
Like they didn't even care.

Each one, one after the other, threw themselves full force at the barrier like crazed beasts, knowing that penetration of a barrier that burnt their spinters-for-arms to ash before it could even make contact would be no threat to the structure of the barrier individually. As each made contact, its entire body burst into flames, though did not burn away completely nor instantly. Like firewood, their bulky bodies would burn away slowly, and the more they piled atop and crashed into each other, the swifter the barrier would give under their weight. If not, at the very least, Lino would burn up more chakra keeping the barrier up with more weight pushing down on it, and somehow these things were intelligent enough to have deduced all of this collectively. Odd.

With only a single frame to escape, the riled up Bluenote took her chances and rushed from the protection of the barrier, straight into the burning woods. Eventually, the fire would spread from them and through the entire forest; across the grass and into the other trees, igniting them the same way. It would not be long before the whole wooded region was up in flames, the fire following the foolish girl. Of course, the flaming trees all around her jolted awake, their eyes bursting open the moment Bluenote passed each of their 'faces,' which no longer resembled ghoulish trees, but now blazing demons from hell. All too quickly, this world went from strange forest to infernos of hell. Every one of the monstrous beings cackled violently, eyes bearing down on Linomaru and Chroma within the barrier they tried to crush, and the others extending flaming arms out to grab Bluenote.

Luckily for her, her slashes possessed such a wide coverage around her body that even as the burning hands of hell attempted to snatch her into their inferno, they were sliced to pieces by her frantic slashes. Though she was protected for now, it would not be long before she was lost and without the rest of her party, ready for the fiery demons to feast upon her roasted flesh.

You'd better run, girl.

Lin stood there as the trees piled on top of his barrier with the weight increasing, it would start to become more difficult to withstand it all. Linomaru began to sweat the heat of the burning trees was starting to get to him.

Soon the forest itself was in flames, Bluenote ran pass him in a all out electric blitz. Lin tried to stop her but she was to fast for him to grab. Lin had no choice now he had to rid his shield. But he would give a blast of charka to push the trees into the air and Away from them. Lin would quickly pull out one of the six scrolls he had earlier. He would open the scroll and quickly bit his thumb letting a drip of blood hit the side of the scroll with words. Lin would grab Chroma and slam his freehand oon the ground where he sat it.

"Summoning Jutsu:Yamaku!!"

A cloud of smoke seeped out of the trees that were now piled on Linomaru and Chroma. It seemed like the two of them were crushed by the forest, but that wasn't the case... With a few of the trees falling off top, Lin and Chroma came bursting through the pile of now burnt bark. They were on the back of a dragon like beast, it flew quickly, it was no bigger than a elephant in height, no longer than a horse. Lin moved up into the clouds he then began to look for Bluenote.

"If the girl only had patients... Chroma can you see Bluenote??"



Lin was high enough to see over all the trees. He would fly around high enough so the trees couldn't get to them.

Chroma didn't expect Bluenote to overreact to this situation as she did... Clearly, she wasn't one to handle pressure all that well. It all went straight to her head; heart racing, adrenaline pumping... Yep. Fight or flight sequence activated, and for Bluenote, it was both.

"... W-wait just a moment, Bluenote...! I need you with a rational head so we can come up with--!!" But before she could finish, the rambunctious Bluenote already bolted out of the protection of the barrier, screaming madly about Chroma's 'appetite.' "... A plan... *sigh*"

She had no idea what 'lacking appetite' meant, but whatever the case, Bluenote was now in danger. Even so, Chroma was able to recognize her efforts in luring a large portion of the now flaming monsters away. Now, however, the situation proved far more perilous than once before.

The demonic blazing trees stacked atop the barrier, fires raging throughout the once peaceful forest. Chroma gazed upon the scene in horror; looking into the faces of these horrid creatures (even with her eyes closed) being a terrifying sight to behold. Their grim, gnarled faces set aflame and hungry eyes penetrating the shield with their presence... It was a feeling of hopelessness. A feeling that they were going to be devoured, and that Bluenote had been lost.

It wasn't until Linomaru (though against her wishes) grabbed her, releasing the barrier and blowing the trees up into the air with a pulse of chakra. At least he was capable here.

"Hey! What is with people and touching me?! I could have sworn I said not to touch me!"

Though, when Linomaru's dragon appeared in a puff of smoke from the unraveled scroll, Chroma was actually rather relieved to see it there. That's when she remembered that she bore wings of her own. Regardless of that suddenly remembered fact, she and he already burst through the trees and high into the sky upon this dragon's back. From up high, she could see the entire forest encased in hues of reds and oranges, black smoke filling the sky.

Chroma peered down in search of Bluenote, but through all the black smog in the sky and the distortion from the heat of the trees, seeing would be near impossible for most people.

"No... I can't see a thing..." she continued to stare down into the hopeless flaming mess, concentrating hard on what was beyond. Her mind, as if responding to her wishes, pulsated with pain once more. Even through the pain, Chroma did not break concentration, and converted the pain into chakra as she said she would do until she had a more suitable amount. Before too long, the extension of her psionic sight (since she saw through her mind, since her eyes are always closed), she was able to Remote View beyond the smoke and flames down to the ground below, even through the solid objects.

"Wait... Wait a minute, I'm getting something..." With this new concentrated power, she looked up and down for Bluenote, finding mostly trees all running in a straight line toward something. She deduced that whatever it was they were chasing, it was probably Bluenote or leading to her. So, her eyes trailed the trees all the way to the very front, where Bluenote was indeed, hacking away at each tree that got too close.

"There!" she cried, "I can see her down there! A little further ahead and about twenty meters East of us."

Even if she wasn't in the fray... She was still of some use, at least. With just this little power, now they had a chance at saving Bluenote's life. If nothing else, she was useful in some way to someone. What a peaceful feeling...

"So it seems that I've got some new friends to play with, I hope you guys don't brake like the last ones did.

_She said as she looked at the destroyed trees around her, this was indeed a good site to see in her eyes, as she ran threw everything like a mad man. She noticed that as she passed by certen trees, that they looked different from the rest, boy was she right about that. Before she knew it, hands shot from out of the blue trying to grab her, but before they could even lay a hand on her, they were cut down by her lightning blades._

"Its not enough! I need more, I can't get my fill off of this!

_Bluenote came to a stop, before turning around to face the evil that was behind her, she stopped her lightning attacks, for some reason she didn't need it anymore. After coming to a stop and stopping her attack, she noticed that a large amount of energy was building up inside her, this energy was overwhelming. Her body was starting to glow a bright purple, it was like someone was dumping loads and loads of energy into her body, tho she wasn't sure what was going on, but it was starting to hurt her, badly._

"So much energy! Need to control it! Errrrr! Can't cotrol it!!!!!!!!!!!Rwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Gwrahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

_As she scream in pain, the skys grew dark, the ground started to shake violently, her power kept rising rapidly, the more her power rose. The worse things got, somehow her lightning started to hit my he ground, it would seem Bluenote's power was starting to act up, but without her knowing._

"Rwahhhhhhh!!!!!! Gwahhhhh!!!! Grrrr!!! Ahahaahahahaha!!!!!

_As she screamed, she started to laugh out loud evily while her power was rising, till all of a sudden she stopped, but the ground shaking, the dark sky, and the lightning strikes kept on. And for a few seconds, everything seemed normal, till in one quick go, she screamed one last time, but this time all that power that had built up. Released itself, the released power was so powerful, it seemed to warp reality, since the skys went from dark to light, then back to dark again however, this wasn't the case or at least not now. The blast of power would've blown everything back, with such force that it was like getting hit by hurricane. A bright light covered the whole are, once the light died down, Bluenote could be seen floating about a huge hole in the ground, but she didn't look like she did before._

"Ehehehehehe! No ones stronger then me!!!!!!!!

_This was a whole new take over, brought on by the over hyperness, that got her pumped in the first place, and now with everything blown back. She simply flew up into the sky, though she had no idea that the princess and Lino were also in the sky._



The blazing timber tried desperately to break through the barrier, almost succeeding when the barrier gave in, only to be repelled by a pulse of his pure chakra that sent them into the air. It looked like the end for the two once the burning wood crashed down on their position, however Linomaru and Chroma shot through the fire and high into the sky upon the back of a dragon that flew through the heat and smog in the air. The two maintained their safety through retreat to the skies, and gazing elsewhere from the unknown reaches of the forest, did Cheshire Phantom lie.

He knew very well that even their fleet up above could not stop his forest from capturing them, as it would only take a wave of his hand to bring them back to the nightmare they were just in...

However, his unsettling feeling grew. It intensified once the girl Chroma used his psychic skill of Remote Viewing to peer through the trees, and it made him uncomfortable to see (and feel, by the way) this girl's mind using one of his mind's capabilities. The smile of the happy jester's grin languidly curled downward on one side, gradually shaping the face of the mask used in theatre to portray 'drama,' simultaneously comedic as it was tragic.


Enlarge this image



As the single side of his face neared the edge of his chin, a loud, but very simple sound reverberated through the forest, even over the sound of the blazing, creeping trees.

*CRK!!*

A deep, long crack from his cheek to his eye visibly appeared on his face and his mask, as if they were one and the same. His head twitched as his hand shot to his face, fingers pressed against the groove of the deeply embedded crack.

... Put a smile on your face...
... We will just have to turn that half a frown...
... Upside down...

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick; till his head stopped rotating completely 180 degrees opposite of its upright position, fully upside-down. It finally set into place with another loud *CRK!! of his neck, the twisted face remaining the same even upside down. Like a typewriter, his head clanked back into place with a high-pitched *DING!*, his face returning to normal. Still, the crack did rest deep in his face, what seemed to be permanently etched into his being, even as his smile retorted to its normality.

Meanwhile, Bluenote continued to hack away at the fragile wooden arms stretching out to grab her, for they posed little threat to her at the moment. It was not until her body radiated with her dark purple aura that the entire section of the forest was wiped out by lightning raining down on their location. The crashing bolts wiped clean the many groups of nightmarish trees one by one, until the largest bolt brought the entire area to cinders. One would think that after this, the group would be safe for the moment...

... But they were dead wrong.


Bluenote's smoldering crater, that which cleared the trees, it remained for only a moment or two before the land's form began to return to its normal state. Within the earth, very faint, but intricate details in the charred soil coiled and twisted to the form of a mask-like face, almost identical to the Cheshire Phantom's. There lay only one ever so minuscule detail differentiating the forming faces within the earth and the one donned by Cheshire; a long, gruesome scowl filled to the brim with agony. As time progressed, more faces drew themselves into the ground around, all slowly protruding more and more from the surface of the earth, yet never puncturing through. It was as if this were the earth itself.

The more the imprint of a face bulged from below, the more intricate lines etched themselves upon them, like skin pulled further and further back, to the point where it looked ready to tear asunder. So too would the expressions of agonizing pain grow more and more grotesque, bordering unimaginability as they steadily continued to rise. Behind them, the craterous earth depressed by the destructive bolt before carried upward with each of the rising faces around Bluenote. The land continued to rise until leveled once more and grass broke out from every pore, till the land filled once again with green. Yet even as the land returned to norm, these figures continued to grow, their elongated shapes now reminiscent of the same trees blown to bits by the brigade of bolts before.

Once they reached the sky, far higher than any other towering tree, they quelled the luminescent candle that was the forest with a silent hussshhh... that rolled over it like a sea of suffocation, returning darkness to the now charred black forest. Now, there was only darkness; that which the sun could not even pierce with its rays. The overwhelming sensation of pain and agony proved intense enough to condense around them and bring an even further sense of impending doom upon the three wayward shinobi... Day had become night with only the sound of a phantom's whisper...

Down below at the base of these 'trees', the mask-like faces continued their growth; from stoic to agitated to pained to agonizing to excrutiatingly tortured all through their protrusive development. Now they beckoned Bluenote with their silent shouts, strrreeeetching ever closer with an ever intensifying unrest. The remaining trees in the forest all followed behind the originals, mask-like faces all extending from all over their trunks as well. The ones below reached out with open mouths toward Bluenote, and the ones above reached for the now black sky where Chroma and Linomaru flew. The trees, all crying silently in unison, wore torture all over their protruding faces, gnarled with unimaginable suffering. Though not a single one could be heard, the eerie silence of the entire forest brought with it the sensation of sheer pain; their pain, emanating from every fiber of their being and magnified by the now night sky. The tension, the longing, the screams that could not be heard by the one before them, it all made the 'wailing spirits' within hunger ever more for Bluenote's body so that they could end their miserable lives. 'Let... Me... Ooouutttt....' they cried as silent as death, '... I... Can't... Smile... Anymooooooreee...'

The closer they got to their prospective consorts, the more mangled their horrifying faces became. Their eyeless sockets sunk deeper and deeper as their gaping mouths drew lower and lower by the second from either end, giving the image of the melting face with an unhinged jaw wailing with all its tormented martyrdom. As close as they were, one would be able to feel their very mind's being sucked from their heads by the vacuous gaping mouths and eyes of the abyss they would stare into; Bluenote, Chroma and Linomaru alike. Staring deep into the darkness of each socket, they'd find their sanity ripped forcefully from their minds, cognition following right behind, sucked dry from their brains through their eyes, mouths and nostrils. Only upon that close encounter would they hear the sound of whispers in the silence pouring into the abyss that beckoned them closer so they could hear... Hear the words of the phantom's faces...

Give me your sanity... I've lost my own.

-The beam of blue moon light shot the Hellgate through its portal and into a land he hadn't knowledge of. He knew Khrona to be a keeper of realities, within the infinite spec of the Tensei's mind lie the coding for a particular amount of creation.

It was to this reason that the Hellgates too to taking a close water over the mind of Tensei, Khrona's had gotten far out of reach; though, he would save his words for Khrona himself.-

"...Flares?"

On the floating island, the blue moon. Yet, he stood alone and sense many other presences within the area. It would seem the path to Khrona would not be fought alone after all, with that the Hellgate took off in the direction of the nearest and brightest chakra source.

It was clear a battle was being waged on the moon, Zeiks eyes could see the sudden flares from the distance; but, couldn't make out who and what was happening. Yet with the speed he was moving, he would reach the clash within the moment.

In the charred sky the black smog thicken, Linomaru could barely see infront of him.. They were in a mess in actuality, Linomaru had only one thing on his mind, getting everyone to safety was his main objective.

Lin would feel a psychic pulse that came from Chroma, it seems the girl was finally tapping into her powers. This was a good signshe had manifested (hhopefully) her wings and began to fly herself. When she spotted bluenote a large serge of energy came from her location. The grounds ripped and rumbled, the skies shaked and raddled, the burst of wind forced Lin and his dragon to go into a backward spiral. Lin came to a stop just a few feet away from his previous location, still airborne. He would quickly rush back towards the girl, but was stopped..

Give me your sanity.... I have lost mines.....

Lin would turn around not looking at the faces. His dragon in this case wasn't so lucky. It's eyes met with the mask like face and with a heave to toss Linomaru in the air, the beast had lost his sanity.

"Don't look into their eyes. .."

Linomaru would activate his Gentai and began floating in the air, He keep his eyes closed and started using his other senses. He made his way to Blue, he stood right infront of her to block her vision of the vessels gathering a few meters away.

"Blue you have to close your eyes these things want to take your sanity from you....."

Lin would do a few hand seals, from the shadows of his neck and wrist would shine a bright white light. Soon white charka would manifest around Linomaru, though the skies of black smog one could see a bright light a silver lining some would say...

"First Seal... Seal of Kokusai. .. Katon no Kage Jutsu.,"

Lin would thrust forward a single palm a pulse of fire rockets out of his hand right for a group of the souls. It set them all ablaze, Lin moved from group to group doing the same to each of them. He moved about it quickly using his speed, he finished them off in a matter of seconds.

When it all was done he landed next to the girls. He would smile even though it was not the time to....

"We are going to get out of this forest"

He would then feel another presence Lin would only hope he wasa ally. .

The regal 'princess' (as she was referred as by Bluenote) continued to examine Bluenote from afar via Remote Viewing, quite able to see all that occurred so far away with utter clarity even with eyes shut tightly. She seemed fine defending herself for the moment, which took some of the pressure from the weight on Chroma's shoulders to save her. In fact, things seemed like they were going to go along just fine now.

"Just a little bit more, Linomaru... We almost-- Wait."

Chroma's attention drew up toward the sky, sensing something in the clouds as they thickened. Building electrical currents made her head tingle and her body shudder ever so slightly, before her brain deduced what was about to come from above.

"Linomaru, there's lightning coming down! I think Bluenote may be out of control!"

A burst of energy from their rather 'hyped' friend down below brought streams of purple lightning raining from the sky, callously cracking the forest with whips of plasmatic instability. Even through this lightning storm, it seemed that Chroma, Lino and the dragon were alright, unscathed by any of the stray bolts. Still, this was no time for relief, for Chroma could feel a great buildup of energy right within Bluenote's locale.

"There's one more! This one is going to be large!!" she shouted urgently, gritting her teeth with the sense of impending danger. However large it was, she hoped it didn't strike they that were highest in the sky back down to the ground. It was a disadvantage of being that high up; they were like sitting ducks.

This power exploded from Bluenote's body outward into the sky as a rather intense light beamed up into the sky from her position. Soon after, the residual force of this explosive surge hit the three airborne allies with a gust of wind one would think had been conjured by a brewing hurricane nearby, the dragon being blown aback quite a bit from that type of power. The unprepared Chroma rolled from the dragon's back and off of its side (for it wasn't much longer than a horse), now plummeting to the ground. Her own dragon wings unhooked themselves from around her waist as a sash and extended to their 'flight mode,' catching an updraft from the remnants of the burst and taking her up to where Lino and his dragon were now. It was only by the grace of some miracle that they survived. Seemed like Bluenote had a lot of power in her... But Chroma wondered how much she'd wasted already from going out of control like that.

Side by side the two shinobi would fly on the wings of dragons, Chroma already recollected and ready to reassess their current situation. Bluenote had taken on some new sort of form for some reason, and now headed toward the sky. It wouldn't take Chroma and Lino too long to get to where she was, she thought, so perhaps it was best if Bluenote took to the skies, too, to make it easier?

"There she is. It seems like she's safe..." Chroma sighed in relief, shaking her head, "I hope she didn't use a lot of energy..." The most important thing was that she was safe. Yet, even that safety didn't last her. Behind her, many trees with a multitude of terrifying faces grew up from the ground she destroyed and into the sky, much higher than the other trees around. The way they snaked up into the sky was really... Eerie to Chroma. It gave her a bad feeling. "Linomaru, I don't like the looks of those--"

*hussshhh...*

Everything went quiet. Everything went dark. From those sinister stalks, a silencing whisper passed over the forest and quelled the raging flames, cleared the thick smog and blackened the light from the sun. So soon, day turned to night, with not a trace of light leftover to see.

If it weren't for Chroma's unconventional means of seeing, she would quite possibly have been more afraid of being in darkness so thick one can't see their hand in front of their face, especially with the looks of the grim expressions on those trees' faces. Like corpses unable to rest, reaching out from under the earth in a last attempt at finding peace... The unified silence soon broke at the low, pained moans discordantly sounding off from one tree after another, but not ever above a whisper. Like being in a graveyard at night... Around her, she could feel oh, so clearly the rising pain and suffering pungent in the air. The sensation of the agony of others crawled up her flesh as if ever present, only intensifying once one of these wretched faces crept closer in the dark. That was how she knew they were coming... The more uncomfortable and pained she felt, the closer she knew they were. Again, if not for Chroma's sight beyond her closed eyes, perhaps the unknowing of what was coming toward her in the dead of black would have scared her out of her mind...

It wasn't long before Chroma looked into the face of one of the dreary eyeless faces... feeling her soul and her sanity slowly being ripped from her body. These mask-like apparitions were so inviting to her for a reason she could not understand. Though advised otherwise by Lino due to the tragic fate of his draconic ally, Chroma took no heed to his words, for she already found herself too lost in her own thoughts and in the pitch black eyes of the face before her.

"... What is this feeling...?" she muttered to herself, a very unpleasant chill creeping up her spine, "... Why do I feel like I know this presence...?" This little altercation between she and the phantasmal face slowed her descent from the one Bluenote, the entire ordeal driving her mad with the feeling of Deja Vu, another innate psychic attribute coming into her control.

"This presence..."

It felt the exact same as when she got her headache before and the images flashes before her eyes. In fact, it felt the same as when she was able to see far beyond what her sight should have allowed, and how she felt when she saw through her perpetually closed eyes. A mental power that projected itself beyond just her mind... She was spoken to now, and the words told her clearly of her gift...

"... I'm... Psychic?"

Pain. Mind-shattering pain. How she'd forgotten something so crucial, the terrible unknown of being a psychic who knows nothing of their powers. The headaches from the lack of control. The overwhelming mental stress of not knowing what psionic power you use at what time... For such a powerful psychic as she gifted with the Mind of her Father, having no knowledge of this power may indeed be more detrimental than if she did. To have the mind of that man...

"No! No, you're wrong! I am not psychic! These are just my normal powers! I won't fall for your tricks, Insanity!!"

The innate Insanity resting dormant in her being recognized that which lived within this face as that which was one and the same. They were drawn closer to each other, Chroma's mind and soul slowly draining into the mouth, eyes and nostrils of the face. This seemed like her end.

Sanity dwindling and power draining, another image flashed before her eyes now; the sight of her own face within the face before her. The sanity of her mind that held her Insanity back started to function as her cognitive source, since the face she looked into drew out the cognition of her 'sanity,' which caused the Insanity registering in her head to view it within the socketless face as one and the same. Like looking in a mirror...

"... Is that... Me?!"

She began to panic, the feeling of her mind losing itself slowly settling in. She couldn't think... It was so hard to think... What to make of all of this...? Why was this...? She remained confused, growing weaker and weaker by the second, and gradually more insane. Yet... That was the power of her clansmen... Wasn't it?

"... Hmhmhm~!"

That laugh... That infamous laugh. Signature to only them; a very clear indication to their growing madness. Inherent from her father, the fabled Tensei laugh meant one thing only...

"... Don't you remember, daddy...?
We never had any of it to begin with..."
The Insanity.


Though her mind robbed of sanity should have collapsed and shattered, it, in fact, became that much more fortified, almost as if waiting for this moment. Her eyes shot open with a flux of psionic force which radiated over the entirety of her head. With her eyes maintaining most of her chakra, it would seem that she was delving into her more private reserves. Her black eye could not be seen in the pitch of black, though her pure white eye resting just beyond the other side of the bridge glimmered and gleamed with the light of a beacon in the fog. As the white of her heterochromatic eyes flashed and glinted, the face before her would become even more grotesque; sliced and severed from every which way by an unseen force. It no longer posed a threat to her, for her Insanity was now in control of her actions. For a moment, her single piercing white eye was the only speck of light that cut through the darkness, all until Linomaru's fiery display. She stayed just outside of his light, letting not a bit of it illuminate her body, and she closed her eye, the only visible part of her body, as she faded away.

Elsewhere, a new presence emerged, entering the forest with great haste. She decided it best to watch him; to study him from a distance before he made his way to the heart of the battle. His speed was great indeed, able to reach the calamity in but a matter of a moment, but all the while he passed by the trees of eyeless faces, there was but one that appeared every now and then between the cracks with a single gleaming white eye piercing through the darkness, staring only at him. The one, Zeik Hellgate. It was only but a moment she was seen, before vanishing yet again as if never there in the first place.

When Linomaru appeared besides Bluenote, Chroma was nowhere to be found. Only a single eye white eye opened up in the darkness behind them, followed by a gentle giggle, "Hmhm~!", and after that... The sound of blades cutting through the night from either side of them.

Psychodynatheos; Psycho Sword Style...

"This form feels good, its been awhile since I push myself to the limit, but now its time to find the princess and that random guy."

_Bluenote took a few seconds to check out her new look, well not really a new look, but rather a transformation into a second level from her original flying form, after a few moments of checking herself out, she noticed that something was flying towards her. But due to her outburst, whatever it was got blown away in the aftermath of her transformation, though she didn't care too much in the matter, but she couldn't help, but think that the princess was the thing that was approaching her._

"God, I hope, I didn't hurt anyone...."

_Not to long after talking to herself, Bluenote noticed that the skies were growing dark, faces were coming from above and below, in short all hell was braking loose and Bluenote was in the middle of it all, she was hearing things out of nowhere. And before she could make a move, Lino popped in front of her saying 'Don't look into their eyes', of coarse she had no idea of what was going on, but she simple closed her eyes very quickly. And after Lino did his part and took out all the souls, etc. That were attack all of them, she was quite happy with this outcome, that is till Chroma started acting crazy again ._

"Hey you! Guy... What's your face, I think Chroma is staring to minstrate again... And why are the attacks heading for us!?"

_Bluenote quickly took hold of Lino, and flew up into the sky, but not too high up, just enough to avoid the attacks and what not._

The longing tortured faces whispered their dead silent wails to those whose faces they gazed into, waiting to steal completely their peace of mind; their sanity and their souls with their vile lust for salvation. Aching, longing to be freed from the darkness that now swept over the forest entirely, the only way they knew was to feast upon the sanity of the others. The ones unlike them. For perhaps their happiness, their smiles, they were not there for show.

Unfortunately, a rather sad fate befell Linomaru Hugo's summoned beast, as it stared directly into the pitch black sockets that serves as the lack of eyes by the horrendously malformed, stretched face. The 'skin' that pulled formed wailing, ghastly frowns, yet to them, they were still smiling and trying to escape their fate.

Give... It... To... Me...

To make an example of the beast was a warning to all who walked through this dark nightmare world; they had to watch where they walked, where they turned, and what they saw in the dark of the night. Through its curious, valiant gaze, its mentality drew out from its eyes and soul from its scaly lizard lips, casting it into a sort of erratic frenzy of one whose mind was clouded with uncontrollable, head-splitting thoughts; those that were not his own, yet were indeed produced by a malfunctioning brain, overwhelming all of the senses. Visually, vile visions veered across the eyes of the beast, throwing out its sense of sight and clarity. Physically, its state of feeling was that of the pain, agony and torture felt by the phantom face whose sanity-sucking eyes stole that sense of gentle calm in the dragon's scales... Now, it would feel to him that every minute scale attached to his body did not fit naturally, but was driven in and cut into its body like razor blades. The body, in all forms, was thrown into disarray, rejecting itself upon the lack of Sanity necessary to thrive as a typical being. The Dragon knew not what it was anymore, for it had no sound foundation of thought to understand. Its wings gave out, and it would fall to the ground... Writhing... Wriggling... Trying to grasp the function of each part of its body not wanting to work together. A total mental breakdown. Such was a testament to the great danger each of them were in. The ground around it took its writhing body down below the soil, letting the flailing beast decompose into the madness and 'rest in peace.'

However, there was one... One who stared straight into the eyes of the horrid visage and came out on top; a mind whose power thrived on inward Insanity and that held power far beyond the limitations of 'rational' thought, as many minds were seasoned to only think in. The one, Chroma Tensei.

... Is that... Me?

He could see, as he stared her in the face through the eyes of the Soul Seekers (counterparts to the Flesh Seekers) that in her head, there was sanity driven by such Insanity, held back in a similar fashion to how he functioned. Her words... What was it that she knew? It was like looking into a mirror when he stared this girl in the face... As if just her presence here were driving him mad.

Daddy...?

Even now, nothing made sense to the hidden Cheshire Phantom. This girl whom he knew nothing about, yet held the most familiarity out of all the presences here; how she survived his gaze of the Soul Seekers might, and how their minds somehow connected. It felt almost like her presence here was volatile to his own... Indeed, she was a threat far beyond that of anyone here, and he was just now beginning to realize it now. Her existence here... He was afraid of it.

I see... See through your eyes, my dear, as you see through mine. We have a channel, a bond, a link unexplainable... Let your vision become my own...

Thus, through psychic Mediumship and Channeling, he was capable of establishing a link through her rather open mind, without her consent. They shared minds as one, and in her crazed state, she would serve as his greatest weapon instead of the bane of his existence; turn your greatest weakness into your greatest strength. Yes... Yes... It was coming together. Through her eyes, he saw everything as she did, as she moved, whispering sweet insanities into her head feigned as thoughts of her own. He saw the presence of another that entered his dismal domain of darkness, one unfamiliar whose power far exceeded those that were here presently. This also brought him to a great unsettling feel.

... Strip him of his sanity... Leave him no peace of mind... Hurry...

The blissful cries of the Cheshire harbored more than the jovial whispers it let on... Somehow, behind the smile of the mask, there was pain. Torturous pain of having to look at them and smile. And so, the tension of pain heavy in the air, his innermost turmoil manifested once more after being incinerated once by Linomaru Hugo, as the Soul Seekers rising from the ground and distorting the natural land with their grotesque mugs.

Around the newfound member of the party, Zeik Hellgate, many a-faces would emerge from the trees and the grass, with wailing whispers waiting for him just the same. They stttrrreeetched from their prisons, taking with them the texture of the surfaces they emerged from (some of grass, some of tree bark, etc.) and moved toward his face, as well, seeking his sanity and his soul. They reached upward for the now flying Lino and Bluenote, sprouting from the soil like trees once more. Even with the entire forest burned to ash, it would simply rise again, thirsty for their sanity.

.... Get them, my dear... Show them what it's like...
Give them a 'Happy Ending...'
Put these torturous smiles on their faces, too!!

-Zeik's speed made closing the gap a relatively easy task, but now was the real show. He stood over a blackened forest in the midst of the blackened sky, his Origin vision, saw the light and sound of any given frequency;but, this wasn't possible if another 'light,' was over powering the others.

The shadowy darkness that, to Zeik, came from no where, made it increasingly difficult to see anything;but, in the midst of the unyielding darkness a few flickers of light could till be sensed. Their voices echoed through the foreboding darkness, creating sparks for the Hellgate to see-he only needed a bare minimum to make a move.

As he spotted what appeared to be two chakra signatures, he prepared to make his entrance;but, was cut off by the ghastly faces. This place was a nightmare, one that Zeik was not to distant from. The faces reached out for sanity, for peace that they felt only capable of obtaining through force:by taking another peace in order to feel what they themselves had forgotten.

Their whispers, soft and faint to the ears, where like the whines of a crying child:Piercing through any silence of slumber to alert one of their undoubted need;however, Zeik could not yield to these ghouls.-

"If its peace you want, find it yourself. Take a look into my eyeees."

-He said, giving the ghouls exactly what they asked for. They sought to extract peace, sanity, happiness, and so forth through the eyes of all who passed their glance;but, what they would find was not entirely what they sought after.

One look into Zeiks eyes from such a drastically 'starved,' place as these ghouls, would shine a light like no other. These ghouls had lived within the dark for too long, even if they where created just moments before his arrival. Their ideal of taking ones happiness through the eyes was dead on, but Zeik was an unyielding soul and had much to show any man who could bear his glance.

The ghastly faces would naturally feel as though they had won at first, starring into Zeiks soul and pulling out what they came for. His bountiful light, giving them the impression that they had found 'it,';but, in their hast they wouldn't realize just how much they had 'won.'

Within his eyes lied the keys of the universe, the understanding of both light and dark...freedom. The faces would begin to crack, as the light from his eyes shined through the holes in their 'soul,' bringing their true desire to the surface of their existence-Freedom.-

"Can you see...now?"

-He asked the ghouls as if they could speak while their eyes were filled with the bliss of truth and freedom-as slowly they began to fade and become nothing more than a memory.

If the ghouls extracted sanity as an occupation, well then the only way to get rid of them was to give them what they came for-peace of mind, the freedom of knowing they didn't have to be...who they were. That is what Zeik showed them, that is how he broke them.-

As the night came in the little light that they had vanished with the sun. Lin's breathes became heavy, he had used up at least 30% of his overall charka and 25% of his white charka to release The First Holy Seal of Kokusai. The atmosphere had a change a shift to say the least, and an uneasy feeling began to set in. Lin could feel Chroma's mind being pulled away then in that very moment she 'came back'.....

Lin had to think of away to get the three of them out of this hellish forest. He and Bluenote were sitting ducks in this blacken forest, He couldn't see in front of him, even his own hands and feet were submersed in the darkness. This set an uneasy feeling in Lin.

**What is this..... Is it happening again??... No... it's just a trick... It'ss always been a trick... My mind is playing games with me, it has to be...**

Lin has a fear of the very thing that surrounded him.. DARKNESS.... was the boys weakness, it made him all the more insane. Lin's head would drop, his hair would cover his face and his shoulders slumped his stance became heavy.... He would then feel a tug and he was lifted off the ground by Bluenote. Beneath his feet would graze Chroma's attack just missing him. Lin would remain motionless, lifeless to say, he rested in the hands of Bluenote for only a few seconds before his head would slowly rise...

"Put me down girl..."

Lin's voice had become a bit more stern, deeper, smoother, he had a cocky slur to his speech. The look in his eyes wasn't the one he always bore, it read pain... Lin would begin to glow a bright red light, his body becoming as hot as fire itself.



He would land (surely because Bluenote would drop him for his body temperature hand become as hot as fire.) Standing right in front of Chroma, he would look at her directly, he could feel her charka nature..

I... Can feel you over there... Chroma.... Tell me, do you.... do you remember what I said to you earlier>....

Lin took a stance he had to get to her, but with someone else is controlling her this would not be easy. He would rush toward her, he had tapped into the seal fully.. in the darkness is where PROJECT LH3467 slept... his awakening was was to never happen.. On July 17th his slumber was stopped by a clan of rebel ninja.. They were known as the HUGO clan....this boy was a descendant of this clan.. This was the first true feeling all man had.. PAIN.. An emotion most can not feed off of, Became his very strength.

Lin did hand seals as he challenged the girl, around his palms would manifest a reddish-orange color, he would appear infront of her and give a downward blow to her.

"Hugo Style: Force Palm Strike!!"

The blow itself would rip through the ground from impact, making a small insert inside the rock below. One could image it as a direct blow blow from a Hyuga clan member, but a bit more powerful in force.

This place... Is like a living nightmare, isn't it?
I wonder if this is what the world is truly like...?
All of your nightmares waiting just outside your bliss, ready to kill you...


The thoughts of the girl lost in her own clan's Insanity raced through her head pulsating with psychic power, staring into the darkness and seeing everything as it was; nightmarish, hellish and evil. They were currently enduring what many would call a living hell, and yet as she looked upon it, there was no fear of the world around her; there was fear only that she had not seen it for what it truly was all of this time. That is what terrified her the most.

Daddy... Where are you...?

Though she stood right before Bluenote and Lino retreating into the sky, she could not see them with her means of psychic sight. She saw through the eyes of the forest, through the eyeless sockets that served as the regrowing trees, and through the eyes of another hidden within the unknown. The 'boss' of this nightmare world, the one who conjured it up.

Are these your nightmares, Daddy...? Is this what you see? Only hell all around you?

Somehow, rationality found her way into her head as she spoke to her father, almost as if she spoke to him from the memory she lost. But, her physical form spoke a different story.

The single white eye gleaming in the darkness served as the only knowledge that Chroma was in the position she was in, which gave her away to the new burning Linomaru Hugo. To face him was instinct, yet somehow she felt as if she could not fight him.

*PWANG!!*

Lino's Force Palm Strike was met midway by a different force, halting it in the air. He'd feel it at his wrist, the feeling of two blades unseen holding his arm back as best they could, cutting at his veins as he tried to push them down. The strength of his strike was formidable indeed, as even if the initial strike was blocked, the force of it still surged through the invisible swords, causing them to crack.
*crk!!*


"AUGH!!!" she cried immediately, throwing a hand to her head in pain, covering her white eye. A crack appeared in her Psycho Swords, which in turn hurt her very mind just a bit. The pain was sharp and piercing like a sword, and was a new shock to her system. She'd never felt it before. Yet, even so, her sight still did not rest on him, but on the one causing all of this madness to occur.

"I... Know where you are..."

Muttering her words, she drifted dreamily away from the fray of battle, led by the connection of Channeled sight to where the Cheshire Phantom hid himself. Torn between her muggy memories of the past and the Insanity that drove her forward, she stumbled off into the darkness with no true concern for those around her. Her main priority was getting to where the Cheshire Phantom was.

"Daddy... Daddy..."

She mumbled his name, almost incoherently, and trees would fall all around her for a reason she couldn't understand nor did she even care to. The psionic swords that followed her invisibly were not known to her, and served as an unexplainable phenomenon that merely 'happened' as she walked by, knowing not that this was the doing and projection of her own mind. She did not take heed to the word that she was indeed a psychic, rejecting that memory that the Cheshire Phantom tried to stir in her again. Now she would have to suffer the psychic's power knowing nothing of what she did or why; roaming the lands with headaches, driven insane by the strange forces happening and hellish sights seen to only she, living in fabrications of reality induced by her own mind... All of which she'd take after her father, just as he had done in this land of the Reality Village oh, so long ago. She continued her path toward him... Wherever he was.

What...?! What is this light!?

Seeing through the pitch black sockets of his Soul Seekers of all that lay in their line of vision, those that met the gaze of Zeik Hellgate found a peace like no other... Vaguely familiar, yet still unknown. In their freedom of their prison, the Cheshire Phantom saw the glimpse of Peace he once knew.

The... The Paradise Peer!?

*CRKK!!!!!*

Memory of that day tried so desperately to penetrate the masked face of the one who hid behind the jester's smile; memory that should not have been known to the one that existed in this state of being was brought to his mind from those of the 'future' in his eyes... That fateful day where he faced this man of such wisdom, and showed him the same thing that he expressed through the Soul Seekers' gaze. He had never forgotten this, and his vision sparked the memory of the future, that which one would call a Premonition of sorts to one that existed in the past. The past seeing the future whilst simultaneously, the future showed the past to the present. Existing on very opposite sides of that point on the timeline, that which existed before that pinpointed event saw it as the future and that which existed after saw it as the past. Thus, a new present was made... One that threatened to break this phantom free of his masked presence.

I... Remember... But this never happened... It hasn't...
Has it?

Insanity. One who tried to comprehend an event that occurred in the future but registered as an event from the past would find that to be pure and utter madness, no matter how true and absolutely correct it was. These interlopers came from the future... And so quickly, how being called Daddy made sense to him. This was his daughter from the future. These were his companions in the future. They were fighting now so that their present would not be erased, and to come to the past, the memory contorted by the psychic superiority that served the boy behind this jester's face would start to...

*CCRRR-KRRKK!!*

Crack. Crumble. Fade. Bits and pieces of the substance this mask was made of fell as the fractured line continued up one side, over the eye and down the middle, barely holding together the constitution of the mask itself. One eye was open, yet the other, still lost in darkness; one side freed from the fake face, the other still hidden behind the comfort of darkness.

This is... My nightmare? Why are you all in my nightmares?!
Is this all in my head?! But this is... The Reality Village!

Yet, for some reason, he was alone here in the village of Reality. Memories of the future slowly returned to him... of Misery, of Despair, of Maze, of Sadako, of Zita... Those that stood beside him in the Village Hidden in Reality... But where were they now?

... This isn't it. This isn't a nightmare... This is REALITY!!! And this is the HELL THAT GOES ON ALL AROUND ME!!!
INSANITY!!

Split vision between the eyes of Chroma and himself allowed him to view things through her eyes, and she to see through his. Their minds were linked, after all, and though she did not seem to comprehend fully what occurred, she was able to use the power to see through his eyes clearly, just as he instructed. She approached him slowly, pained of the head and slicing down trees of the forest against her will... And the closer she walked to him, the more he felt he needed to stay hidden. But he did not. In fact, he did just the opposite, phasing out of a tree directly beside the girl, sporting the smile of the mask on one side of his face and the panicked frown of fright and confusion on the other. His single visible eye darted all about in every direction, trying to focus; up, down, left, right... Trying to find a way to focus on the situation at hand. Finally, his focus came on one sole target...

... You...

The single sanguine glimmer of his burning red eye, signature to the Khrona of the past (as hair predominantly covered one of his eyes always) piercing the darkness in a similar manner to how the white eye of Chroma only cut through the dark, whilst the other eye stayed trapped in blackness. With his mask covering one eye, the twisted expression of calm on one side of his face, yet extreme discomfort and agonizing mental torture on the other portrayed the demented duality that writhed in his head as he wisped between the trees toward Linomaru Hugo; his new target. The phantasmal body of the Cheshire Phantom brought with it psychic waves of destructive force pulsating fervently toward Lino, carrying with it the same tormented cries once whispered by the Soul Seekers, revealed now to be the painful barely noticeable wails of Khrona's mind projected outward in the concentrated concussive psychic forces. Upon impact, Lino would be able to hear the whispers very clearly... as the SCREAMS that sounded off CONSTANTLY in Khrona's head!!!

Lin came down with his Force Palm, it was stopped by a sharp pain that shot through his wrist. A single splash out blood danced in front of him, dangling in the air as if it were hanging from a rope... In actuality, the pain itself made Lin go into a trans, his mind went blank.. PAIN....

The Light... It's so warm.....

Lin had felt it, Zeik's Gaze, showed the Soul Seekers, a place of freedom, with out pain or hurt. This fueled him, The light helped Lin snap back into reality....


Enlarge this image



It feel so good to him it sent a rush through his body, it give him excitement, It made his skin boil all the more so. The thrill, the LIGHT... It was enough to send Lin 'Boiling over', his body immediately began react to it his skin turning completely reddish orange in color, like lava. His clothing became the same color of his skin, meshing together in a tie dye type manner. Lin turned his focus to the on coming Cheshire Phantom.

I see.... your the one... who is causing all this...




Kokusai Jin...


Lin would have his Gentai activated in his eyes, it read Pain, yet, Truth this was the Power that the Hugo clan had bestowed upon them long ago... Kokusai Jin, a spell that effect the atmosphere, It slows down time, well Linomaru's reaction time, His overall speed is increased.. His body became Hot as the very core of the planet, His soul be came that as well, Kokusai Jin; Meaning Holy Flame, An attack that slows down the movements of a enemy to the user, it protects them with a force of positive energy if someone is trying to cause harm to the caster. It also allows Lin to use a single attack, Known as the Holy Flame Of Love and Pain.

Lin comes from a clan torn apart by the love of two rival families, Love... was forbidden... it was not to be with an enemy, a lesser being from his proclaimed royal family. Ah how sweet it is... But the thought of losing the one thing Lin truly 'LOVED'.... His home was in dear danger... this was his drive, his Passion.... He was close to death by the deepness of the cut he received to his wrist.

Lin would lift his arm ever so graceful, he would take a knee just before the phantom was only meters away..Thrusting his open palms to meet the face of the Phantom he would release a blast of Holy Flame.. But it didn't burn it didn't set the area around it ablaze.. No.. it was Aimed for the Cheshire Phantom, right for his mask, Lin wanted to break it, Maybe he(phantom) was someone he knew, a good Friend of his, But what is his name....


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



I KNOW you... Khrona....

Lin's attack didn't cause any damage to THE PHANTOM only to the Mask he wore.It stopped him in mid attack he floated as if he were flying, But Lin had caught him the moment he revealed himself to them all. The Cheshire Phantom only had to get close enough for the spell to take effect. Thus when he came closer to Lin he was frozen in mid air, his mind still intact with his body but his sense of gravity was being controlled by Lin, Kokusai effects the heat in the air and around the body, Lin could control this using his mind.

Lin Had a smile upon his face as he spoke to the slim bodied boy. He had a spell upon to protect him from whatever else THE PHANTOM would dish out. Hopefully breaking the mask had some effect as to what was happening here.

You're.. My... Friend...

Lin shined bright in the darkness, his charka eating away at it, shining so bright that Zeik and whoever else was there could see. This was the cause of Lin tapping into his prowess. A light that shines in the darkest of fogs,It would surely act as a beacon.

The wraith eased closer to Linomaru, bursting into an apparition of nightmarish essence before congregating back into his original form, flickering with a psychic instability that wracked the entirety of the nerves in his brain. Every last nerve clad in fear, the projection through his eyes now was a world falling to shambled that once served as a beautiful and prosperous land. Where one eye saw beauty, the other saw ruin.

Ever closer did the specter beckon to the heartfelt Jounin overcome by the fires of his love. The transformation continued until completion, allowing the Cheshire Phantom to appear in a puff of smoke and dust staring the newly formed Linomaru Hugo straight in the eyes as he released the energy point blank at his mask.

Time came to an immediate halt.

Linomaru, though in a more powerful form, still had to face the might of Khrona's mind and punch through the Insanity ever present in that hellhole. The sanguine gleam one should know all too well by now enraptured Lino's sight, stealing his gaze just as his flames were about to make contact. The space between their locked eyes became distorted and time did not flow correctly for either of them. Lino was able to vividly hear the screaming now pounding about the barriers of his own mind from simply being too close to the Cheshire Phantom, in his presence. These screams, shrill and blood-curdling, belonged to a woman experiencing great strain, strife, torture, pleasure and satisfaction in an eerie harmonic fashion. Moans of passion tied with shrieks of terror or cries of pain set a very sinister mood to this conflict trapped in stasis.

A tug at his heart, a yank at his soul, and a huge snatch of his mind all at once were sucked into the abysmal black hole that served as Cheshire Phantom's exposed pupil. In dire fear and unparalleled uncertainty, he would draw out the sanity and the soul of Linomaru just the same way as the Soul Seekers did to his dragon before him. Would the fires of Linomaru Hugo strike the Phantom's mask first, or was the gaze of the Cheshire Phantom himself enough to strip Linomaru of his soul and his sanity?

*SHING!!!*

The frightened screech of the regal dragon-winged girl for the life of her companion as well as the fear of seeing this vicious attack coming at her (as she could see through the Cheshire Phantom's eye as he could hers,)
sent a sharp psionic slash through the air, taking the effects of the clash with Lino's attack in the stead of the Psychic Phantom, forcing her mind to take the pain of the attack. The sharp pain lashed into her head, filled with the spicy heat the heavenly palms had to flare.

*Ba-BOOM!!*

Her hair aflair, burst high into the midnight air, flickering without a care, her mind now in a great despair...

"AAAAUUUUUURRRRGGGHYEAAAAAH!!"

The fires light consumed her top, now existing as her threadlike growth from her scalp. Her mind, it would leak with no means of stopping, flashes of carnal flickering scenes tattooed just upon atmosphere of their heads, trying to slash and pound its way in every mind. The Psycho Swords could slay the barrier to any mind, Including her own! So, in three small steps, she'd fall deeper into the Insanity and prevent the Cheshire Phantom from receiving the attack. This would leave Lino open to the unblocked perception of the Cheshire's smiling face plastered upon the broken smile on the otherside. To Lino, it should have been like looking at a twisted fucked up face of a frightened little girl with a glowing white eye, and her face of fear would become his.

So swiftly, his mind and his soul could be stripped from his eyes as his final passing gasp escaped his mouth, gazing upon the last visual image he'd ever see agan before his end. The Cheshire Phantom's smiling face could be seen vividly, a sinister glow vibrating around its form softly...



I've already been here before..., she uttered in horror...

Was he speaking through the frightened girl, or were these her words...?

...

Lin attack was stopped by Chroma, he was left to stare The Phantom in his face, Lin could see the very essence of his blacken soul, Oh the pain at which he was exposed cause his body to go numb. His breathes became heavy, they straggled even, his vision became a blur,Once again Lin had become submersed in total Darkness. On the outside Lin had turned back to normal he still had the first seal activated though.

The glare of the phantom was more than he could bare.. Lin could feel some thing pulling him from reality... something... no, someone lifting him off the ground.. Lin would soon hear the harmonizing groans of pain and pleasure, it made his skin grow goosebumps, his spine tingle in a vibrating satisfaction....

In the distance Lin saw her... Chroma.. He saw her inside the stare of The Phantom, He reached for her but the farther he went the more he felt this force pulling him in...

Lin would feel something else something pulling into another direction... The laughter of a woman was heard in the darkness of the two forces that pulled and tugged him, Soon the laughter became a voice calling him to it.

Linny-chan, please come to me.... Listen to my voice, Come to it..

Lin didn't know who the woman was her voice sounded so familiar to him, it felt warm and welcoming.. Much like a mother's voice, it was sweet and gentle. But Lin could help but feel torn between the two.

Lin would feel a pain shoot throughout his body, inside the dark abyss of his, Chroma and Cheshire Phantom's minds forced the boy to bury his face in between his knees. HE didn't know what to do so he sat there in complete darkness.... in Despair....

On the outside Lin would fall to the ground his body lifeless to all who could see, the bright glow laid still in the night....

What am I going to do?... I have to do something, I have to bring Chroma back to the Veritas....What have I got myself into.,..I never meant for this to happen....

Lin's body would be hit by Cheshire Phantom's attack, But his mind and soul itself where in another dimension, he had joined Chroma and the Phantom in this abysmal blackness of their minds, When he looked up he could see two things a world of ruin and one of beauty....

He had to make a choice go to Chroma and risk his sanity or Leave her in this hell hole...

Chroma.... If you could hear me.... I know you're stronger than this... Please, We can't go home if you don't snap out of this..

Yes... The bait...

To save the little girl suffering before him drew him further into the darkness, allowing Linomaru to fully immerse himself in the cesspool of lost minds at Cheshire's stare. And now it would all exist in her head, his dear, sweet little girl. She was going to be complete. It was all too perfect.

As Lino remained trapped in the reflection of Chroma and the Cheshire Phantom's shimmering sanguine gleam, the literal slit in head serving as the leak in her mind still poured violently outward in the form of numerous psionic swords. The Psycho Swords would cut away at any mind it came in contact with, even her own! The only thing it coul be filled with at that point was a sliver of Khrona's mind.

Yes... Take me into your head...
I'll fill up the patch you cannot full to the top...
I am your daddy after all...


There was nothing Linomaru could do now. The Cheshire Phantom's sly cunning was simply too great. His plan would go off without a hitch and Chroma would absorb him straight into her head, leaving Linomaru sealed inside of hers and Khrona's minds. He would never escape, for when he exited the mind of one of them, there was still someone else's to exit from afterward. And, not only that, the two would be able to reset the barrier between him to ensure he never got out of the Pharaoh's Labyrinth. (Somewhat like Yami and Yugi) Two minds constantly stacking more and more obstacles in his way each time, overlapping each other every time he broke out. Such was his fate now that his soul and his mind were snatched from his heart and head. Doomed to wander his eternal labyrinth for the rest of his days, sealed in between the two most powerful psychic heads. A neverending training puzzle to play with; a psionic Rubix Cube that only gets better as it gets solved. Perhaps a form of infinite mental evolution.

"Daddy is here..."

And it all started when the 'crystal child' awoke from slumber... Soon the other crystals would hatch from stasis as well. It was all going according to plan. And she wouldn't remember a thing... It would all be just like a fuzzy nightmare to her. Like nothing ever happened.

"... Wake up, my dear...!"

"Daddy?!"


The first thing she heard was the voice of her father, but all she could see was Linomaru Hugo trying to save her. Was he her father? Luckily for Linomaru, he was the first thing that she saw, and thus he was pulled into that empty space in the stead of the Cheshire Phantom. He was registered now as Chroma's father, and would thus be literally trapped within her mind as that singular piece that holds it together. Her memory altered again from what it was before, now even worse, followed soon after by a dreadful headache. It was almost like her memories were working overtime in her brain, and things were getting reworked now that Linomaru was in her head. She stuttered a bit, trying to figure out her name.

"T..."

There it was. The big T. She was complete.
"T... T..."

This was new to her, this name and this feeling. However, as Lino existed in her head now in place of where Khrona should have been, her memory was altered severely about her heritage. And so the mentally wounded girl sat in a daze, sounding out her name as she now knew it to be.
"Ta... bi... tha...
Hu... Go..."

A minor setback to the Cheshire Phantom's plans through sheer coincidence of events, but a setback all the same. Their minds may have been linked, but there were some things that she still had control over, such as a natural reaction to situations. Still, with this misfitting piece of information known as Linomaru Hugo stuck in her mind, Chroma-- er, 'Tabitha's' time was going to be a very hard experience. Especially with her 'father's' recent death. This story seemed almost reminiscent of her true father and the farce he lived for half his life, one could say, however...

She floated around in a daze, barely understanding of what had become of her or what was still going on. She was disoriented... but she could hear him. She definitely could.

"Nnn...? Hwha...? I hear... a voice..."

Lin had to get to her he had to save her, this was his duty as a shinobi of the dusk. He knew what he had gotten himself into, the Phantom's stare linked his mind with Chroma's and Cheshire Phantom's. Consumed by darkness, Lin's mind would vanish, his being gone. His body laid there lifeless, motionless, as the world he knew was saved.

"Where am I?"

Lin had come to a place filled with doors, long hallways and a endless amount of stairs. Lin was the only person there. But he heard the voices of Chroma and Khrona.



He heard them from behind a single door that sat atop a staircase right infront of him. He walked up the stairs to only see though the eyes of Chro..Tabitha..

"Am I in Chroma's mind?... No... Who is Tabitha?... "

Just as these question came to mind Lin would feel a sharp pain rush though his body and right to his mind. He would wince in pain, gripping the sides of his head. He would soon be forced to his knees. The pain was truly unbearable, But then it all went away, Lin could feel Tabitha, as if she was him and he was her; Lin spoke to her when he heard her question.

"Tabitha....I am... I am.... Linomaru...."

Lin didn't know what he would do now. But he was going to find a way out of here, but how, this place was a endless maze of this girl's mind. He had a new purpose now.

A terrible setback, indeed. Though minor in flaw, in the grand scheme of things, this would make many things difficult in a few small places. It didn't matter; Chroma was what she was, and that was the guardian of the Blue Moon; Khrona's First Restriction. Whether she remembered or not, that fact still remained. He would have things fixed up in no time.

However, before that could happen, he was going to need a way to salvage himself before this world fell to pieces... And returned to its proper place inside of Khrona. The Cheshire Phantom slipped silently into the empty vessel of Linomaru Hugo, granting it life and stability for the moment. Though upon doing so, he was forced to adopt an eerie form...

The once sienna tinted hair of Linomaru Hugo lost its color, yet gained a crystalline luster that allowed his hair to appear a translucent white, shimmering in the light. After losing his mind and his soul, it was time for the Cheshire Phantom to encroach. His clothes shifted to a more casual feel, letting the jacket shrink to something a little more snug. This was his new form; the form of the Second.

"No matter. Incubation is complete; it is about time to hatch."


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



Linomaru would be sealed in the Pharaoh's Labyrinth for an eternity. But as of now, there were two other pesky beings to deal with, now that one was disposed of. Now the girl would have to be put in place.

There was a mask in his hand; shaped from the pieces of the crumbling First Restriction mask Cheshire, allowing to form in its place the mask of the Second Restriction; Spectre. The man of many faces with so many masks; one may think him to be some sort of 'Majora'.

"Hmhmhm... Now... Let's drop the first moon on them."

Without warning, he expelled Chroma from the depths of the Blue Moon, firing her straight into Dusk City. And what would follow behind her in a trail of her broken memories but a vicious Blue Moon prepared to ram itself straight into the Veritas. This land was going to be destroyed.

Now, only Zeik and Bluenote remained to witness... the fall of the First Moon. The real question is will they be able to stop it, or will they simply allow it to destroy the land and all its inhabitants? One moon has enough impact to totally incinerate the first layer of an entire planet... Imagine what thirteen could do. It was only a matter of time now...

"Lino... Maru...?"

Strange. The name didn't fully register in her head. Things did not make any sense, and she was not aware of who this male's voice was in her head. Her mind was, to be put rather simply, broken beyond repair at this point. And yet, even before she had the moment to fully grasp what was going on, she was expelled from the nightmarish world as a shimmering streak of light with broken memories trailing behind her. For the second time in her life, she was shot from the Tree of Life reborn as someone new; but at the same time, she was no one new. She wasn't any different than before, she was still Chroma Tensei... Yet she'd live her life as Tabitha Hugo until her memories returned and her mind was fixed.

So the brilliant star streaked through the sky from the blue satellite, and where one may think stardust trailed behind as a clear-cut path for the Blue Moon to follow, the shooting star would make impact in Dusk City. Namely, Hugo Manor.

What is going on...?

"... Right on time. As always."

He smirked, watching as he was to read his destination. Tabris had a Christmas present coming to him, too... And now Zeik and Bluenote would be trapped inside of the mind of Khrona as well...

"Take this mask, my sweet. It will serve as your only fragment of knowledge about your past life..."

Just as the moon had been launched was it already prepared for impact. All part of his plan; there was no stopping it from the moment it began, and in an instant, it was already over. In that same instance, the body burst into an ethereal light that would be absorbed into the wide, slender grin of the Phantom's mask, Spectre. The girl was about to receive her Christmas present, as well...

The light, sucked into the vacuum, trailed the girl behind her as a stream of broken dreams, like a shooting star through the sky. And that only meant...

All yours, Tabris...

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=163&t=6569&start=30

---Outside the Blue Moon; Simultaneously as the events within the Blue Moon---

The Insanity was wreaking havoc on Vescrutia and the Veritas, and its influence was being marked. In each place that it had ravaged the lands, Khrona would appear to instruct those who were afflicted on what to do next.

Things were getting a little bit hectic around these parts. The mind of Shin'Khrona was freed from its First Restriction, as was it from the Insanity, so its presence actively flowed through his body that was the Veritas, helping as it could when necessary. What his mind was able to witness now was that the birth of the first Shinsanity was going to be born with one of his most favored hidden Sisters; Serulenia. After absorbing her soul so long ago and having her be reborn from Khrona's mind, she served as an extension of it, even though she still was her own being. Just the same way as Malojos was. And now it was about time for that to pay off for them.

Serulenia.
It's Khrona.
I am going to awaken your full potential as a Sister of Insanity so that you can calm the Beast.
Your dormant knowledge on the Insanity and Shinsanity comes from me.
Your mind dwells in Peace along with mine, which is why you are special...
Why you were chosen.
Know the power of True Sanity; Shinsanity, and call upon a legion of those who also know the Shinsanity.
Fend off the Insanity from wherever it may rise...
Water Goddess.

Within Serulenia's being, the floodgates would open and immeasurable power should have surged, far greater than her already immense strength of being the Naiad Queen. It was she that all this time was the Water Goddess of the Valley of Water, even if her powers were simply inactive... Shin'Khrona made sure it was going to be she who herald that power, and for situations just like this one, too.

The Seventh Insanity, the Insanity of Balance, harbors the power of Water, as well as all other Insanities, thereby making it the Insanity that stabilizes and harmonizes all the others. Though all the Insanities work together, this one can be called the 'mother and father' of them all, that which keeps them together and in line. Thus, even though technically equal in power to all the others, it has the upper hand due to the versatility and natural ability to utilize ANY of the other 6 Insanities that it wishes. Remember that and gather your forces wisely, Water Goddess Serulenia. Show me how you fight for Peace.


Knowledge, power and understanding flowed into Serulenia from the recesses of her being that even she did not know existed, for Khrona's crafty self weaved her into this position longer ago than she even knew. A grand master spider creating quite the meticulous masterpiece. Crystalline threads swirled about her, protecting her completely from the fires momentarily, threading her in a beautiful chrysalis the likes of which no one had ever seen. It radiated with the gift from Peace; the power of Shinsanity that would overflow in her very being; a Shinsei special delivery.

Use your power carefully, and do not allow yourself to be overcome by Insanity. Shinsanity is capable of completely purifying Insanity, but just the same, Shinsanity can also be corrupted by the Insanity's own influence, and if you succumb to THIS particular Insanity... Well, this is the worst of all. It is emotionless and apathetic, cold and heartless, having no care for anything at all. Total disregard for all things; utter apathy. That is why it is so dangerous, because friends, allies, lovers, homes, your environment, even yourself become absolutely worthless and you will take them all down as though you were the Black Swamp itself. Tread your waters carefully, Water Goddess, and assemble your army of victory!


When the chrysalis shattered, Serulenia's full power would be on display for the world to see... And she and the Keeper of the Beast could have a little heart to heart chat, he believed... Keeper to Sister. That is, if all went as planned... Sometimes things did not always go that way, especially with the Insanity being so cunning and this Veronica girl seemingly posing a threat to the Shinseigami's unraveling of his webs. Why is it that EVERY thing has to get in his way...?

The matron of the waters stood undaunted by the flames, her unmoving temperance able to weather the storm of the vicious infernos, but for just how long, she was unsure of even herself. Not that such trivial things mattered when the peace of the Oasis was threatened, or when those that she cared for were in immediate peril. In this situation, the flames seemed to engulf all of Nautilus... She felt it within her for some reason, the power to feel the entire Valley of Water as though it were part of herself, which was why she resided in its core within the Oasis of Serenity.

"If you mean the young warrior known as Skye, whom I discovered within my waters of the Great Falls, then she is presently within my castle walls, safe from the embers of hatred flaring about. If you want her back, you must speak with her yourself. I shall do nothing but protect her from harm, as her decision is hers to make. Though I'd make a note that I am no more mortal than you, madam."

Serulenia was able to live in peace for so long here because of her ties to Khrona, as she knew had to be the case considering that she knew she came from his head the day that she appeared in the Pit of Havoc with him. They always remained close after that, and it was good to see that now that bond was coming back full circle here and now, granting her access into the family of Tensei. His inability to keep his thoughts in his head was her saving grace, and sometimes these acts of serendipity came only from a single and seemingly insignificant course of action taken in your life. A single thread in the tapestry knows not its purpose in the grand design, but it is just as important as all the others that make it up.

Thus, woven into the web of destiny by a slender crystal silk, the beautiful maiden was spun into a gorgeous crystal cocoon, a Chrysm where she was able to hear the words of a familiar voice just as crystal clear as the threads that wound around her.

"... You have my word, Sir Khrona. It's been a long time since last we spoke, but I am honored to know that the one time we do in so long, it is for me to find out that I am going to play such an important role in your life. As family, and as one who protects the balance of the Insanities. Thank you very much."

The Chrysm emanated a brilliant light from within, that which shone outward with such magnificence that it forced back the Insanity of Hatred with a flood of its light. This light pouring from the chrysalis and spiraled around her body, a normalized and stable reality splashing about as though serving as her aura of Peace itself. True Sanity; utter clarity that helped her see through the flames of the Insanity of Hatred and swirled around her land naturally. Though her castle remained as the only place that radiated that type of energy naturally among the Oasis, it didn't matter how much the Beast had taken over as long as the stronghold was maintained, and she did not part her waters for just anyone. Serulenia in and of herself was a fortress to be taken down, protecting the enchanted fortress that was her home, which held those children safely inside. Neither Veronica nor the pumpkin headed fellow were getting anywhere beyond the front door of her absolute sanctuary.

"Now, I shall ask you only once more out of respect for your cause; who are you to disturb my peace and quiet, miss?"

She may not have been plagued with the Insanity, but she is the one that it was focused on, and thus the purpose that it was here. Thus, she was indeed the one who not only intentionally brought the being here, but allowed it to rampage as it may. Therefore, she was the one disturbing her peace, not the Beast itself. She had no qualms with that deity and from the looks of it, neither did it for she; it was just here trying to halt Veronica for someone else. The waters of the Insanity of Balance were able to match and receive the waves of all; the flickering light of fire or the thermal radiation that was the heat itself, those currents would match her flow as she matched its. Just as the Beast's energetic form radiated frm the Pumpkin as a projection of his rise in power, the same would occur for Serulenia; a shimmering pearly-opal sheen flowed from her dress as divine in shine as a mermaid's translucent tail fin. Spun from the threads of her dress, the peaceful reality that was the original Oasis of Serenity before the Insanity's apearance existed as an extension of Serulenia herself.

Being her own little world that she was, she kept the flames at bay with the flowing current of the wavelength of her stable reality. She did not oppose these flames, but simply held her strength within their flares; since they weren't the main target of focus, perhaps simply not getting involved with the Beast at all whilst it's like that is the best course of action; merely focus on Veronica, the oddball out. ll she wanted to do was test the waters of her inherited strength in harmony with that of the Pumpkin. Meanwhile, she spoke to Skye with the same melodious serenity that seemed to roll from her lips and fingertips as though the cosmic ocean's current itself, speaking to her in an aqueous echo, "What is your decision, miss Skye? Shall you stay your decision, or go home to your mother sweltering in the blaze?"

It was all up to fate now to decide how the events would transpire from here... Serulenia was nothing more than holding her own and d defending her stronghold.

-Timeskip-

Loneliness, anguish, sadness andDespair. Facets of a world that held nothing within it. A palace, a realm of absolutely nothing at all. It beckoned his name in it's nonexistent ambiance. It craved his very being. It knew this being,it had felt it's resilience hundreds of times before and knew that it must have it as part of it's nonexistent existence.Trough the rumbling black mass of darkness a swirling spire of unbound perpetual black would usher forth. It gurgled with a unpredicted vigor as it's shaped into a single being. Momo the Bloody, The Eclipse himself.

Wrought from the never ending depths of the Zero World he had come here to preform a task. His hair radiated through the blackness, emanating a soft lustful violet glow. His eyes an icy blue that upon seeing Khrona's frame shifted to a soft Crimson. So many mixed emotions surrounded this meeting. And as Khrona lied there ready to be engulfed by the Zero World Allen could not help but take a moment to admire the bodice of his love once more.

"Khrona...here you are once more...and here am I standing over you. And both times as they had come to pass you still cannot see me for me. But...in time you will."

He walked over the black thicket of the Zero world gurgling beneath him with each step he took towards Khrona. He would kneel down placing each of his arm under Khrona's frame. A soft smile formed.

"How long has it been since I've held you this close? Ages, eons lost in time it seems to feel like."

He turned his back to the place that once was. A single tear fell into the black and became nothing as it did. Slowly he began to descend into the thicket of the Zero World.

"I'm sure she's down here some where, Despair has missed you, though not nearly as much as I. Come My love..."

"Let us find her...In the realm of nothing..."


With that they were devoured by the pit of nothing. And along with their departure facets of the black swamp vanished...

Momo...

This familiarity, this presence within the infinite impresence, he could feel them all as one entite, yet he knew that Allen was nothing but a fragment of it now... of the Swamp Hag he promised Allen to so long ago. Hearing his words whisper into his mind, coupled with the flooding memory of his own abrupt remembrance, he saw before him not another piece of the blackness but the form that was the one who sacrificed himself to save Khrona. Someone who loved him just as much as the Sisters.

I'm so sorry... I remember everything...

Allen held him close, and Khrona felt his tears... embraced his sorrow. For Khrona, Allen sacrificed his own soul to the Black Swamp to become the pieces of the Red Moon for the Seven Sisters. Allen, by himself, was one of the sole saviors of this entire realm, and once again nothing but a person of the greatest loyalty to Khrona. He'd only seen such loyalty in times long since passed...

... No... I cannot ask you to help me any more than you already have. Now it is my turn to do something for you... To repay my debt to you.

A catharsis of Khrona's sadness, his love and his repentance all conglomerated into a single point within his eyes, streaming from his crystal orb as a single Crystal Tear. Rolling over his cheek and off his chin, it fell into stasis, solidifying and presenting itself before Allen.

... Perhaps this may be the first time I've seen it, but... I want you to use this. Use this and give yourself new life... As one of my own. A Tensei.

For some reason, even through all this unbearable hurt and pain of knowing everything that happened... He was still able to smile, just from knowing that Allen was still there. Being in his embrace was soothing... just because of what it meant right here and now.

At the call of his name he halted. Khrona's voice trekked within the Black ambiance like that of a soft captivating breeze. It locked Allen into place, causing a paradoxical feel of anxiety to emerge within him. The Swallow of the Zero World was Halted for but a moment...

"K-Khrona..."

He was awestruck he could only allow a chopped pronunciation of his loves name escape his lips. Allen looked down at Khrona's pale face. Albino-ques in appearance he could see the purity within Khrona when no one else could. Underneath everything ounce of black there was a sheet of white as glorious in it's luster as the winter's snow itself.

"You can't possibly be serious..you.."

He said to Khrona. For ages now Allen had been inducted into the Tensei as a mere extension of their grand scheme of being. A mere addition to the overall picture. Allen never complained about his figurative ties to the Tensei, just so long as he was near Khrona blood and sweat never mattered. He was just starting to accept the fact that eh could never be apart of this world again. But here as it stood now, in the midst of this decaying black a single crystal tear could change that all. He could once again live life and whats more...He would be a important integrated facet of the Main master piece of the Tensei Clan. It was an honor, a loving,gracious gift that even in his wildest dreams he could not have hoped for anything better. Emotion swelled within him.

"Khrona, you shouldn't have. This is a gracious gift. I accept it with every fiber of what I once was..."

He stood there, surrounded and shrouded by nothing. Khrona locked firmly in his arms. The laws of everything that was logical held no reigns within the Zero World. It was a fantastic occurrence and Allen found his love or Khrona blaze into a level that was nonexistent.The Crystal tear was lifted by Allen through a bit of bloody maneuvering.Here in his hand he held the key to his salvation. The key to finally breaking free of his ties to the frog hag once and for all. He would not have to spend eternity as her doll any longer.

Shin'Khrona's eyes lowered peacefully, content with the outcome of this entire ordeal. Perhaps, through all that these two had been through, this was how this was supposed to happen. They say that good things come to those who wait, and Allen had been true to Khrona ever since he took them in. After first being inducted into the family, then being accepted as part of it, he was now truly becoming a Tensei. There would be a piece of Khrona within Allen forever more, being the sustenance for his existence. It was the only way to repay the one who saved Khrona's soul before; the only one who saved Titania from her fate.

"... Thank you. I feel like that's all I can say."

No. There was more. Khrona could say it with the utmost truth in his pure, crystal heart.

"That, and..."

Lifting his head to stare Allen square in the eyes reforming themselves from their bloody stitches, Khrona ran his hand through Allen's silky hair and pulled him close, lips pouched gently. A soft press upon the forehead poured all the gratitude and appreciation Shin'Khrona had for such loyalty even in these hard and trying times into and all throughout his shaping form, revitalizing his existence as something new.

"I love you, Momo."


No truer words were spoken. It was funny how these things played out... So long ago, they were going through this same process. That was how Allen became who he was today; that fateful day when Shabuto was changed into Allen by Khrona's hand. Now it was happening all over again. Allen had another chance at life, and not to be a slave of death...

Though, not even that love could exist in a realm of nonexistence... Those bonds formed here would be snatched away just as quickly as Allen's form took shape in the black mass. The black hand of the new embodiment of this world; she who once was its harbinger, yanked at the ankles of the embraced soon-to-be Tensei with the vehemence of a hungry soul seeking solace.

"You know the rules..."

With the Crystal Tear serving as his new soul, Allen was stripped from Khrona's grasp, with barely even a frame to get their final words in before the blackness sought to expel him. He was not capable of existing in nonexistence, and thus would be reborn.

"... Gekoooo... You'll take his place, my dear, sweet child...
He's been a wonderful placeholder...
For a prize like you...
GEEEEKOGEKOGEKOGEKOGEKO!!!"

With his memories and powers back, this new 'Shin'Khrona' would be the most useful in the endeavors of the Zero World... It was finally time for him to serve his time...

"... Ugh."

Disgusted by her wily ways, even NOW after she should have stopped meddling, SOMEHOW, she just wouldn't stop. Family or not, she was one of the first that needed to be purified immediately before she got out of hand. She held one of the remaining 6 shards, and there were still 6 more Insanities to deal with... This world could barely handle Khrona's first one, the Insanity of Hatred... It had them all in a stupor. If he didn't act fast, they'd be taken over completely by his madness.

Perhaps... Allen could have been one of his shining rays of hope again. He already was for so long. Shin'Khrona was almost hesitant to ask another favor of him...

"... MOMO!" he shouted at the last second, before he could get completely swept away, "I told you about my time as the Phantom... I need you to become a Phantom of the Veritas! The Bloody Phantom to help me save this world from demise!!" Phantoms... Phantoms would serve as his eyes and ears... Hopefully, his ghastly helpings hands at moving things along before the world was consumed.

"Do not reveal who you are to anyone! But look for other Phantoms... They will know! Find my daughter... Chroma! Find her again and go search for the shards of the Red Moon! Please!!"

He hoped that Allen got all of that before that abominable blackness took him away and spit him out somewhere in the Veritas... Shin'Khrona could only do this much until he dealt with the Zero World.

I hope I'm not too late...

He could feel it. The genuine sincerity of Khrona words reverberated through Allen's incoming being. Allen could feel the purity of Khrona's godly soul creating within his body life born again anew. His eyes no longer stitched creating. His flesh milky and warm once more. He could feel it, Khrona's touch. The softness of his lips, the tenderness of his care and affection for Allen. And with those magic three words. He lit the light of life within Allen's once nonexistent being once more. Allen bodice illuminated a furious violet light coupled with pink increments of love and red burst of compassion all wrapped into one glorious maelstrom of emotion.

Allen's eyes shed tears of utter joy and pure happiness. His emotions seeped from his tear ducts like flowing rivers of passion. But all too soon as it usually occurred between him and his love he was swept away some how. That meddling maggot of a woman. She always found a way to spoil a good moment. Allen wished he had the task of dealing with her, but even he knew the limits of his power even if others did not...

"Khrona!"

The hand of the Zeroworld he was no longer, but know he was being removed once more, a forced reincarnation. The CHild of the Zero world was becoming one with the cycle of existence once more. But Khrona had taken his place. He heard Khrona's words, He had already knew what Khrona would ask of him before he voiced his wishes. To undertake the Aias of "Phantom of the Veritas" To find others of the sort and find Chomra as well. Then off to gather the shard. He knew his task, as he was engulfed by the cycle he reached to Khrona.

You have my word....

That was all needed to be said. He knew that would make Khrona debacle with the Frog hag all the more doable, knowing that he could rest his worries within the very capable arms of Allen...

The Bloody Phantom of the Veritas...

Once the boy became a disciple of the mask, his expulsion was all too swift. Though the words of Khrona reached him, that was all there was to be done, and he would be released from his eternal prison.

But at what cost?

"Gekogeko... You still thirst to search for the shard?
Geko... The children of the Zero World still roam about...
They are more your spawn than mine, you know..."

A little more docile this world of nothingness seemed to be, assured that the capture of Shin'Khrona in this state was nothing short of absolutely secure. Should he fight, he shall fail, for he existed in a pool of his own spiraling Fear... AGAIN.

"How many times does this make, child...?
Is this the third that you believe so absolutely to be that of salvation...?
Geeeekogekori... You cannot stop the world from being consumed by your Fear...
You don't even know where the Keeper is...
And what can you do, stuck here as you are?
Even as the Veritas... I will soon swallow you whole.
And I shall be the Veritas... It shall return to Zero from whence it came."

The plan was flawless; from Kham's interference all the way until now, it was within Kaerei's ultimate form of calculation. With Kham's help in abandoning her physical form, she could continue to scoop up those feeble existences roaming about and make them her servants, just as the mechanical defect had become.

"Two of your Insanities running amok... It is more than enough for them to handle. In fact, I believe that two more are contained somewhere, waiting to unleash their havoc... The Insanity of Hatred faces the Destroyer... the Insanity of Fear shall consume for me in his hunger... the Insanity of Fun shall soon ravage the Chaos... the Insanity of Love walks the desolate plane of Valparaiso... What of the other three? The Insanity of Bliss and the Insanity of Melancholy... They still have not awakened, and you have not awakened the Keeper to keep the one of Serenity in balance...

Boy... You've already failed. Geeeekogekogekogekogeko!!!"

Part of her enjoyed watching her spawn suffer... But another part of her, lost in the existence... That other part wished for him to prevail. How could that exist in a realm of nonexistence? A single glimmer of hope...

Thank you, Momo...

He could never say it enough, and lowered his head in solemn solace for his brave and valiant efforts. Khrona could not let all of his work go in vain, nor could he let all of what he created fall.

"I may have been a bit too hasty in my decision making before... But my evolution is far beyond that of the prehistoric beings that roam Vescrutia's surface. I am greater than I was last year, and better than I was only moments ago, even now. I'll prevail to right all of my wrongs... Watch me. I'll overcome my fear once and for all, here and now."

His eyes narrowed. For so long, he's tried to deal with these damnable darknesses that cloaked his heart, eating away at his emotions. Each of them created their own individual Sins to quell, and each time he stopped them, they rose up again. When the Insanities themselves awakened, the Keepers were created to keep them in check. Then, to keep the Keepers in line, the Sisters joined through the eternal union of he and Titania. Even they were not powerful enough to subdue them fully. It was going to take Khrona; Shin'Khrona to help deal with them too. Their powers combined could take on all of these ancient Tensei demons and bring them to Peace, where Khrona was now. It was part of the process of bringing all that he was to the Peace that his True Self found. Working from the bottom up...

"... You can't hide it from me... Your desire..."

Just like Brother X...

He learned from the best.

"You want me to succeed. There is a piece of you that does... Because that piece of you is me."

With the signature sanguine gleam of his piercing red eyes did he cut straight through the veil of darkness and toward the part of him missing from his soul.
The Red Moon shard!!!


"You remember the Hyper Perception, right? The most basic stage of the Tenseigan..."

He snickered, catching a glimpse of the glimmering garnet crystal in the distance. The only fragment of hope that actually existed. Despair A La Discord.

Omoshiroi.


Locked. It was not going anywhere. A twinkling crosshair danced in the distance like a gleaming star in the cosmos of nothingness...

"Just like old times, huh? I know so much more than when I came to face you a year ago. You're coming to rest in Peace along with me."

Things that he learned from last excursion; The Beast was sealed in the Pit of Havoc's void and the Reaper was sealed in the Black Swamp's void. These were two places that had been purified... There was a pattern here.

"I'll find all of the Zero Worlds and purify them. Just you wait. I've already dealt with the one in my mind... That's how the Psycho Mesa was born. You are the one in my soul... That which became the Fountain of Dreams."

The Pit of Havoc harbored the Beast, and that had been purified from the Psycho Mesa, which was Chroma's spring to protect... The Psycho Mesa was always a desolate wasteland of Khrona's mind. Then there was the Black Swamp. Titania took the place of Kaerei, changing the physical manifestation of the Black Swamp into the Fairy Spring of Truth... which pumped its water into the Fountain of Dreams up above. That means, if Khrona remembered correctly, the next Void he was supposed to deal with was the one that harbored... the King of Melancholia...

"But first things first, to grab the next piece. Think you can keep up with me this time? I know I'm like surrounded in your bullshit," he snickered to himself, not blinking even once, "... But I'm pretty sure I can out-think anything anyone can throw at me. Even you. Hmhmhm~!"

Khrona with some confidence, huh? What a long way he'd come since his very introverted, awkward and insecure sense of being last time he was in this form. He was going through the change all over again.

"ZK can vouch for me... He's been a brother to me, too..."

When this Insanity first got started, Khrona was the one that tried to keep the sword from him. It was the Insanity of that weapon that brought Khrona his great strength, combined with ZK's pure awesomeness that helped give birth to the Khrona of then...

"But this is clearly no time for sentimentality. I've got a lost little girl to save from the clutches of her own Isolated Soul."

She put herself here by rejecting herself out of existence, and Khrona was bringing her back through the shard of the Red Moon; his and Titania's joined souls made through Allen's sacrifice. All was going well.

"You've already given me the locations; you know I can handle the rest. I bet that just pisses you off, doesn't it~?"

He winked, ready to tackle his fear head on this time with a sinister, yet goofy saw-toothed grin donned upon his face.
Go time.

Posts : 462
Personal Image Class : Godmaster Kairo Tensei: Grand Tabrith; The God Mind - Ty-sama
Order : Prime Order (Potential) - System
Legendary Art (Special Ability) : Absolution; Absolute All
Dog
Manna (Creative Energy) : Psychodynatheos (All)
Grimoire : Crystal Grimoire
Chomao : Shinsei Tensei (Grim)
Chomao Class : PumpKey
Pisces Willflow (Spiritual Energy) : Flames of Eternity (All)
Soul : Kairo Tigen
Resonance : 0
Reap : 0
Soul Count : 0
Male Souzenryoku (Life Energy) : Anatomia (All)
E.S.P. (True Sense) : Family Bond (The Tensei) - Bloodline
Restrictions : 11th
Reputation : 0
Join date : 2014-11-02
Age : 24
Location : God Lord God
Job/hobbies : Kairo Tymon


PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: Rise Of The Veritas; The End Of Vescrutia Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:42 pm Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=130&t=6853&start=20

--- By the time the Real Khrona got to Tabitha, who harbored the Blue Moon inside of her mind, which Tabrith was protecting, she was already going insane trying to process all of her father's mind within the Blue Moon. It was too much for her to handle by herself, and she needed him there to help her. So, he reached the Hugo Manor with Tabitha already on the brink of destruction and insanity. ---
... Like an ethereal trail leading right where it needed to flow, a shining rainbow light glowed upon the scared Tasha Hugo, knowing nothing about what was going on yet suddenly thrown into the pit of Insanity with only but a whim of her true father's words to guide her. Shinchrona seemed to have come for her at the right time, for the way things looked, it seemed to be the end for all of them. His eyes from beyond kept close watch over the situation in his absence, keeping everything in order and drawing out the Insanity of Fear from within his daughter's mind. He was quite pleased about this, and very soon, all of the Phantoms would be able to take off their masks.

Three specters of the land of the Dusk to be its watchful eyes in the night;
Those who protect the Midnight Bleue,
The dimming skies of the Tenebrous Dusk,
Through darkest hour of the Abysmal Twilight,
And all the way to brink of the Resplendent Dawn,
The Phantoms shall patrol this city as the ghosts of its the Sunset's Shadow,
And be that Shadow's Silent Light.
Dusk Security Force; Phantom Renegade.

Swear this oath as Phantoms to the Dusk and walk among the twin Crystal City as its Night Patrol, protecting its peace and its people. Have faith and trust me. There is little time to explain. Shall you take my offer?


He spoke these words into all of their minds at once, though for some reason, he spoke to Tasha (as well as the other two Phantoms) rather than he who donned the name of the original Phantom, as though insisting that she become the new 'Phantom' rather than the one who was there now. Probably because he was nothing but a spirit and did not have a 'Mind' to hear this with, and thus would be left in the dark about everything.

They were all of the same level, Genin (despite how they held ANBU titles, two of three Phantoms still had Genin power even though their position was high in rank. This did not change their overall power, simply their title. Keep this in mind, everyone), but would be trained to be top assassins in order to match the rank in which they were entrusted. Shinchrona wanted to help them, as this situation looked grim in all aspects... They were about to get taken by the Absolute Law of the Judgemaster. Oh man, Shinchrona couldn't wait to get him under control again... But right now, even he was susceptible to the influence of the Insanity, and he CERTAINLY did not want the Insanity of Fear possessing the JUDGEMASTER. That would just have all hell break loose. So there was no time to lose.

While you think that over, I'm just gonna go ahead and set everyone's things straight, alright? Two of you are quite the mismatch right now, aren't you?

He donned Linomaru Hugo's body still, and had the missing fragments of Tabitha's memories all sprinkled up in some stardust in his hand, convulsing about gently within the confines of the palm of his hand, like a white hot sun spewing stardust everywhere. The Phantom literally was a phantom at this point, being nothing but a mass of wavelength projected from Tabitha's head and would go back once she took off the mask. Hm. What a predicament.

But he knew just the cure for that.

Chroma, is your memory with you now? This is the fragment of my mind within yours, speaking to you yet again. This time it should be more clear. Even though your mind is lost to the Insanity, because of the sliver that is in your mind, you should be able to hear me clearly. I am going to give you your memories back, but only in the form of the Phantom's Mask.


He clenched his hand of the white hot microstar and concentrated its energy and shape into that of a beautifully crafted cosmic mask. The mask in and of itself were her memories given shape, and she would be able to access them at any time as long as she put on the mask.

I was speaking to you in your head earlier about this matter, but now it's about time to get it done, since I can speak to you more easily. I want you to wear this mask I have crafted from your lost memories and give me the one that you have on. That mask you are wearing now is the mask of the Second Restriction, not the First, and when I put it on, it will extract my soul from this body whilst simultaneously sucking in that other masked person back into this body, which belongs to him.

But heed my warning about this mask, your memories will fade every time you take the mask off, and you will not remember anything from when you were wearing the mask; it will all seem like one big dream due to you missing such a crucial part of your mind. Think of it like being in a wonderland of sorts... Absolute Final Wonderland, to be exact...


Even in the Oath he was naming off some of his most fun techniques because he thought they'd sound cool in the Phantom's Oath. Absolute Final Wonderland was no different. Shinchrona really had a way of rooting himself into your life... But, as the Tree of Life, what else can you do but be rooted so heavily in all life? Whatever.

Hand me the mask and everything will be restored to balance. Trust me, it's your father. The only thing that will be left in your mind from the events past will be the Phantom's Oath, that will resound in your head whenever the feeling overcomes your soul. The Phantom's Oath will summon the mask upon your face upon completion, though you can place it on your face physically as well. Just remember the Oath if you choose to accept my assistance...

Now that she knew it was her REAL father talking to her, the bond between their minds and souls should have kicked in and let her know that he wasn't lying and that everything he said was to the utmost truth. Hopefully she did not succumb to the Insanity of Fear as it was... She needed to be cut off from it. That is where Tasha came in.

Also, as for you, young Hugo, use that tempered blade and cut at the center of those eyes down there. Do not be afraid of me nor my presence in your head. Just trust me; I am good friends with your father. I just want to help. Here, let me lend you some of my strength... a sliver of my mind that generates the energy of Shinsanity, that which will purify the Insanity. It is called a Tabrith. If you are capable of facing this Fear down below for the sake of your real father's safety, then don't ask questions about how, what or why right now; just trust me and do it. The Tabrith will be your reward if you choose to accept my offer.

Some things in life you just do. Alright?
I will shed some light on the situation later. On my mark.
Omoshiroi.

With a signature sanguine gleam from his eyes would a bright X-shaped crosshair mark the central Point of Interest on the target, straight down the middle where the gunk was deepest. The Phantom would see the spotlight of the Shinseigami's bright crystalline eyes shining down on him, the X marking the spot in the center of the Insanity of Fear for Tasha to strike if she so chose to do so. He only hoped Fear did not grip her and make her choke; hesitating due to the waves of such a repulsive wavelength bursting from all about. Indeed, the creature was fearsome, but a true warrior be able to overcome that fear. Hopefully she was like her father Linomaru, who had that unwavering courage and loyalty to his home, family and friends. It was something that Shinchrona admired a lot about him and a trait that was shared between he and Allen... and speak of the devil...

Lastly, to speak to the Phantom he sent down to watch over his dear daughter, which also just so happened to be his sister (by blood now, too. Funny because both of them use blood and Tabitha uses Black Blood while the Bloody Phantom uses... Dawn Blood. You know? That's pretty nice little bit of serendipity there, isn't it?). He was doing everything he needed to quite well, and as usual, Shinchrona was pleased with the progress of his little Momo.

Momo... Good work. Keep it up. Looks like the old Swamp Hag taught you well in the art of the assassin. I knew sending you to her was a great idea, despite the bumps in the road. I'm glad you stuck it through, because now you get to see all the rewards I have for you at the end for dealing with all that you have.

But that aside, I need you to do just one more favor for me, if it isn't asking too much. Please make sure to relay this message to Linomaru, who is in the guise of the Phantom right now. He cannot hear me because he has no mind and I am speaking to the three of you using psychic power. Granted, I could resonate my mind with his soul wavelength, but I'm not quite sure if he'd get the message as clearly, or if he would accept or reject my wavelength and... well some other complications I don't feel like getting into right now. So can you just... Let him know, please? And just you know... Subdue him if he gets possessed by the Insanity or something, yeah? That is all I ask from you in addition to the pledge of the Phantom's Oath.


Now it was all said and done, and they only had one shot at this. If the Judgemaster brought down the gavel, judgment would be swift and absolute; one of the many GREAT DANGERS about he who was the Tenth Restriction... That was why it would be TERRIBLE if the Insanity of Fear got into HIM... Shinchrona just had to hope everything would go well from here...

The impact from The Phantoms attack would shake the ground below lucky for Tasha she was near the wall when this happened. She would look down to see what was going on, she saw nothing but the red glow of the eyes that held Tabitha up. Tasha looked to the sky as the rainbow like light came and shined upon her. She was indeed thrown into this situation without knowing anything that's going on. All she had was her father's words.. Things that would mean nothing to the next person, or someone who didn't understand her father fully. She who hold the power in her hand to purify those who have been lost in the darkness of their own personal vendettas, things that hold them back from accomplishing their dreams....

The girl was face to face with a monster, but also a friend in the haul of things. She was told that The Heaven's Blade was an attack that acts as a filtration system, it acts as a cleanser of the soul. But the risk is this coming in to contact with the target means your soul wavelength could possibly be infected by the wavelength of said target.

Tasha was afraid this could happen but her father has done this jutsu so many times so many have been purified by this attack. By this power giving to them....
... Like an ethereal trail leading right where it needed to flow, a shining rainbow light glowed upon the scared Tasha Hugo, knowing nothing about what was going on yet suddenly thrown into the pit of Insanity with only but a whim of her true father's words to guide her. Shinchrona seemed to have come for her at the right time, for the way things looked, it seemed to be the end for all of them. His eyes from beyond kept close watch over the situation in his absence, keeping everything in order and drawing out the Insanity of Fear from within his daughter's mind. He was quite pleased about this, and very soon, all of the Phantoms would be able to take off their masks.

Three specters of the land of the Dusk to be its watchful eyes in the night;
Those who protect the Midnight Bleue,
The dimming skies of the Tenebrous Dusk,
Through darkest hour of the Abysmal Twilight,
And all the way to brink of the Resplendent Dawn,
The Phantoms shall patrol this city as the ghosts of its the Sunset's Shadow,
And be that Shadow's Silent Light.
Dusk Security Force; Phantom Renegade.

Swear this oath as Phantoms to the Dusk and walk among the twin Crystal City as its Night Patrol, protecting its peace and its people. Have faith and trust me. There is little time to explain. Shall you take my offer?


She would listen to Shinchrona, She would nod her head accepting Shinchrona's offer,her target was clear.. It shined dead center on The Phantom... The man who held her father's soul weapon. Why him... But now wasn't the time to question why, she had to only act...

"Daddy... What am I to do... The voice in my head says to attack.."

Tasha... I need you to do this so Your father can come home... Let the Light Guide you, my child...
A Woman she hadn't seen before but some how she knew it was her mother. It was Kira, She was indeed as beautiful her father said, her long blonde hair that draped over her shoulders, her bright brown eyes gleamed in the light that surrounded her...At the end of this paranormal message Shinchrona gave Tasha an overwhelming amount of power, her arms would bulk up from the power flowing throughout her body. She then focused it to her palm..

The voice once again would tell her to "GO!!" and she did so. The young Hugo girl would jump into the air in a spiral motion, from there she would fully extend her right hand. The girl had a look in her eye, that of her father's.. Hope shined deeply from her soul. A light that could never be taken away, this was the trait of all that bared the Name Hugo, the warriors of light... The Girl's eyes shined with a bright lavender, A Gentai shaped from bravery, It gave another burst of power, she felt it serge through her body once again, It was to much to try and hold altogether.

'Tasha The Heaven's Blade is an extetion of our powers, we can control the very direction it flows, it is a Light that shines in the darkest of places, and it can be seen as far as you allow it to, this is why I came up with..'



"HEAVEN STYLE: SACRED NINJUTSU: HEAVEN'S BLADE STRIKE!!!"



The girl would release A single wave of the Power she had gathered from around the manor,from Shinchrona and her brust of power from the maturing of her Gentai. A bright ray of Light shot from the small hand of the girl, it started of as a small orb once launched the small ball of light would expand and widen. Tasha Had hit the Phantom and Tabitha both Submerging them in the ever lasting light know as the Heaven's blade. The manor shook and Rumbled, the attack cTasha emitted came from above it would burst through the rest of the manor and the ground below it.. From the Manor shined a light that would be seen by all of VEscrutia. Dead center from the Veritas it sreaded to the grounds of the Dusk to the Skies of the Dawn. IT was a symbol that all would be protected.. Tasha true nindo.. To protect all. This is what her and Her fathered shared with each other the love for thir home.....

Hopefully this was enough.... The purification had begun... Tasha would faint the attack had drained her completely. The Hugo girl would be falling to Tabitha. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted away into her dreams..

The Phantom,still airborne, looked downward at the Monstrosity that had become Tabitha.. She had fully been infected by the Insanity. Her screams and wells shook The Hugo Manor, the walls had begun to crack, the ceiling above rumble at any given time it all could come down crashing. The eyes of a demon peer into his soul, He could help but think.. Who AM I?.. He felt as if he wasn't a man.. The Phantom was a soul without a body, nor mind to act upon, he was a being without fear.. But this isn't what he was feeling at all. Fear was the exact thing he felt, but he embraced it... Fear... It was his drive... But there was another someone who he felt this from... Those arouund him were in such an emotion.

The Hugo girl feared the situation she was in, she didn't know how to deal with it but her inner ambition for the taste of life drove her to complete her most powerful attack. THe fear of the situation finally taking a turn for the worse drove their eerie watcher to reveal himself, only to be another Phantom.. Another brother... He clashed with the crazed Phantom now Know as the One and Only Cheshire... The Phantom's were the soul protectors of the nights. Their soul purpose in their creation.. Yet he was a bit different, he wanted what they had.. A mind of his own, he was trapped in the mind of a child for eons.. But it only seemed like moments in actual time.. The Phantom's Labyrinth was a maze that had no end nor beginning. He didn't want to go back there..

Momo asked him one simple task and that was to take care of their sister.. Such a task was all to simple for him.. The only way to stop her in his mind was to allow for Tasha to hit her with her jutsu.

"Yes, I shall try my best... she is almost ready.."

Would then stand directly above the crazed girl lost in the darkness of her mind, then a light would shine on Tasha, her eyes then glew a bright purple she had fully tapped into her powers as a Hugo, her path was just begining now that she had done so. A light then shined right through him and to Tabitha. He was stuck he couldn't move it paralyzed him. He would be submerged in this purification process, He would feel himself being pulled back into the Mind of Tabitha but not before hear all what was needed to be said. He would accept Shincrona's offer. He would bond with the Girl whom he spoken to before. She was truly worthy of the title..

The frantic Tabitha continued to look around with the utmost anxiety, eyes darting in every which direction in an attempt to focus the intent upon one single target, yet continuing to see multiple at once. She was so unsure of what was real and what wasn't, and all the garbled noise, hissing and vicious static buzzing about through her head did not help any in settling her unrest. Gazing into the face of the Phantom, an overwhelming sensation of despair took her...

What is this... Terrible chill...?

The same chill she felt before crept up her spine like a sinister spider, causing her to shiver. It was the sense of both Fear and coldness combined into one, as though she anticipated the coming doom within her. She could sense her death approaching, almost like a sixth sense. Something she was not fond of, and only intensified this Insanity that sprouted from the depths of her mind...

"KRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"


Yet, within the confines of her mind, the meek, terrified little girl lay in the pit of darkness, where the numerous Evil Eyes gazed at her from all around, striking terrible Fear into her very soul. She was trapped; isolated, even, from control of her body and her mind. The Insanity of Fear had completely taken over, and was about to consume her completely...

But, a shining light appeared in her mind, very faint at first... bringing with it on its waves of light a serene sound that seemed all too familiar to her...

----------------------------------------------------------------

Chroma, is your memory with you now?

Chroma...? Chroma... Is that... Is that me?

This is the fragment of my mind within yours, speaking to you yet again. This time it should be more clear.

Wait... So the words spoken to me before that were all garbled... That was you? And you weren't saying 'Cheshire Phantom...' you were trying to say 'Chroma!' That's my real name, isn't it?

The girl realized then that whomever this was, they were the one that spoke to her before, and with the remembrance of her original name came with it a few forgotten memories from the chain of events recently passed. She remembered now the face of the Cheshire Phantom... it was not her, but a rather ghastly apparition that had an eerie mental link with her. Perhaps that Cheshire Phantom before... was the same person talking to her now. The very thought made her want to reject this light and all it way saying, as the Fear that was struck into her heart by that sinister Cheshire Phantom before was too great to be something that she could trust... And the words became less and less audible in her head the more she Feared and rejected them.

Even though your mind is lost to the Insanity, because of the sliver that is in your mind, you should be able to hear me clearly. I am going to give you your memories back, but only in the form of the Phantom's Mask.

After he spoke, a beautifully crafted cosmic mask appeared in the Evil Eyes that showed her everything that was going on. It became the sole source of her concentration for some reason, and all of the other images that appeared in the eyes were gone. Her mind was attracted to this mask for some reason, as though it were connected to it. Though she felt as though she couldn't trust the words of the shining apparition, something about this mask's aura drew her in, regardless...

I was speaking to you in your head earlier about this matter, but now it's about time to get it done, since I can speak to you more easily. I want you to wear this mask I have crafted from your lost memories and give me the one that you have on. That mask you are wearing now is the mask of the Second Restriction, not the First, and when I put it on, it will extract my soul from this body whilst simultaneously sucking in that other masked person back into this body, which belongs to him.

My lost memories... The things that I can't remember... The pieces that will connect what I remember about that Cheshire Phantom... Myself... My father... And all that's happening right now...

Her skepticism slowly began to fade, yet she still remained wary. Having a mind just as great as her father, she was able to quickly piece together the information she was given and how beneficial it all could be, even if she was still rather hesitant about accepting this mask from him.
Though, if I do take this mask... I'll remember everything perfectly. So perhaps...

But heed my warning about this mask, your memories will fade every time you take the mask off, and you will not remember anything from when you were wearing the mask; it will all seem like one big dream due to you missing such a crucial part of your mind. Think of it like being in a wonderland of sorts... Absolute Final Wonderland, to be exact...

The memories that were within the mask would only be able to be accessed if she were to put on the mask, but would not stay with her if she took it off. That was more than troubling, but at the same time, she couldn't help but want to know the truth...

Hand me the mask and everything will be restored to balance. Trust me, it's your father. The only thing that will be left in your mind from the events past will be the Phantom's Oath, that will resound in your head whenever the feeling overcomes your soul. The Phantom's Oath will summon the mask upon your face upon completion, though you can place it on your face physically as well. Just remember the Oath if you choose to accept my assistance...

The Oath... Those words that you said before...

This was the final decision she had to make. The sense of impending death crept closer and closer, causing her to shiver ever more violently the longer she took to make her decision. Though she had a minute amount of information, it was still enough for her. Her need to know the truth of everything that was going on is what guided her will, and she was going to have to accept this risk and take on the mask.

... I'll do it. I'll exchange masks and take on the title of the Phantom. Not just any Phantom... but the Cheshire Phantom. If what you're saying is true, then I'll see it for myself when I put this mask on...

And with that, she opened up her mind to the light once again and accepted its words as true.
Thus...

----------------------------------------------------------------

... A shining blade from above pierced through the abysmal darkness that was the Insanity of Fear, immediately severing what had already escaped from pouring from Tabitha's mind. Not even a moment after would the mask upon her face slip from the girl's face, no longer latched on to her like a leech, and the web of eyes immediately dissipated.

"KUUURRYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

The foul beast hissed as it lunged from the pit of darkness, allowing both Tabitha, the Phantom and Tasha to fall deeper into the basement of the Hugo Manor. The mask that was once donned on her face was sucked in the vacuum of the mad beast's wake of movement, caught in an updraft that would allow it to rise to the top behind the Insanity of Fear just released. Meanwhile, Tabitha remembered the words spoken to her in her mind and immediately began to speak them once she realized that she was fallen.

"Those who protect the Midnight Bleue,
The dimming skies of the Tenebrous Dusk,
Through darkest hour of the Abysmal Twilight,
And all the way to brink of the Resplendent Dawn,
The Phantoms shall patrol this city as the ghosts of its the Sunset's Shadow,
And be that Shadow's Silent Light."

Just as was said by that light, the cosmic mask materialized upon her face, integrating itself with her memories before the Phantom could be sucked back into her head, thus closing off his return into the Pharoah's Labyrinth from before. A glorious shine overcame her body just before they all hit the ground, causing she and the others to land safely upon the ground of the Hugo Manor basement. This glow brought with it the memories of the past and everything that was true, granting Chroma the memories that were lost upon her exit from the First Moon.

I see... I remember everything now...
... You were telling the truth, Father...
And I thank you...

Her appearance had changed significantly, as her dress was no longer a dress but a tattered black cape and skin-tight suit reminiscent of the original 'Phantom's' garb. Covered completely head to toe in an eerie black leotard, she could now truly be... the Cheshire Phantom.

... But I have taken a shine to the name 'Tabitha...' so I think I want that to be my new, true name. I know how our family works now that I've got my memories back, daddy~!

She was both happy and relieved to remember all of the things from before, as for such a long time, even after her rebirth, she was an amnesiac. Even if she would return to such a state when the mask was off, the Phantom's Oath would always allow the phantasmal memories to return to their rightful place in her head. As long as she had this mask... She was fine. And her father would always be with her.

... Still, she did not forget the actually very dire situation at hand, and staring up at the gaping hole in the rather high ceiling, she could see that mass of blackness that was the Insanity of Fear still pulsating about. Tasha severed the connection and weakened it, but it was in no way finished off just yet. That, she would leave to...

Allen! That was YOU I was seeing this entire time!! Hm... I don't think I can make it up there in time to get that thing before it gets away... I hope that he does something about that... If not him, then...

What also caught her eye was the glimpse of the iridescent light that was her father, in a form she'd never before seen him before. He was beautiful; and not the same beauty that came from his natural Grim regalia, but a different sort of beauty that stemmed from the Tensei's heavenly serenity; what she could become if she were to work hard and endure the Insanity's trials. Almost like an angel of sorts... And looking at him, all she could hope was that one day she would be as beautiful and majestic as he, when she reached the stages of maturity... Seeing him as he was now brought her to make a solemn vow within her heart never to succumb to the Insanity completely. That light she saw today right here and now was a light that she would hold dear in her heart and remember for always, and purify the Insanity if it were to ever try to overtake her again. She remembered this wavelength pulsating deep within her soul... His gift to her upon her conception.

... I've always wanted to make you proud, Father...
I've always wanted to be by your side...
... This time, I will, no matter what.
Because I love you...

Under her mask, a single shimmering tear rolled down her face and to her chin, dropping to the ground and solidifying the pact and conviction made to both she and her father. A promise made by the love of her family.

Just you wait. We'll be together again soon...
The whole family.
I'll make absolutely sure of it!!

--- Meanwhile At The Red Moon ---

http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=447&t=7099

A stream of light flashed into the pure red omniverse that was the soul of Shinchrona Tensei now, as red and plump as the hearts beating in unison that created it. Shinchrona and Shinnia together as one, finally and perfectly in tune. Their wavelengths were in perfect harmony, and he could feel this in Misery and Despair; they who created the new Red Moon from the once destroyed Moon upon Titania's first descent from Peace on high.

"Ugh. I told you I'd fucking do it, didn't I? Now you've got your heart and soul back, and it's completely one with my own."

He had someone special to thank for this, for if it were not for him, this would not have been possible. But that was to be put on hold for the moment, as Shinchrona had a lot of work ahead of him.

"So, what does Spectre do again? It suppresses my godly soul to the point where it-- aw dammit. This is gonna suck..."

The Second Restriction, Poltergeist, was the Restriction of the Soul, and the mask that harbored Poltergeist's intent, Spectre, was already working as it should... a little too well for Shinchrona's liking. Apparently, its specialty was to use the power of Khrona's opposing poles of his soul to suppress one side in order to strengthen the other with oppressive force and channel that power straight through him. It was an effective method, yes, but... It looked like the oppressive force here was the Insanity that had recently taken over the Veritas.

"... Heavy siiigh. I just can't seem to catch a break... As it is done, so it shall be... From the very fucking moment I put on this goddamn mask..."

It was almost too unreal right now, but he knew better than to think things like that. Nothing was unreal to THIS being. But now, the only question was...

"... How long is THIS gonna take...? Better not be an ETERNITY like that LAST Moon..."

"Well, it shouldn't be, if everything goes smoothly..."


The tender voice of his darling whisked gingerly through his ears from all around, as she was the keeper of the Second Moon, and no such Insanity plagued her heart. Two gentle glows appeared beside Shinchrona as he was now, taking the respective shapes of both Misery and Despair beside him.

"Weapons of choice, sweetie?"

She giggled to herself, a sound which reverberated across the entirety of the free-space, which was now beginning to form once the reality stabilized. Both Misery and Despair simultaneously gave him a kiss on either cheek as control over them was relinquished back to his most capable hands. They were his weapons, true and true.

"... Now you should know what comes next...
That is all I can do for you...
From here on, I will be with you within them...
I will help save you from yourself...
Because you helped save me from the Black Swamp..."

If it weren't for Shinchrona's efforts, she would have remained as the Zero World's envoy forever and the Tensei curse would have continued in another cycle. But no, he is THE one that is to save this family; the last and the final who harbors the curse, and the only who would FULLY break it. She believed in him with all her heart, and it was apparent in Misery and Despair, who had been saved from their respective Insanities by him in order to complete this Red Moon.

"After this, you and I will be together forever, nothing able to tear us apart like that fluke before. Keep that in mind, love~!"

Some incentive was always nice... Especially when he was using the power of his Soul this time rather than his Mind. The Soul needed the strength of will, after all... But she had all faith in him. Unquestionable faith, in fact.

*Muah~!!*

With Poltergeist in effect as the mask Spectre was equipped, Shinchrona's apparitious form finally began to take more of a stabilized form; like a ghost of sorts beginning to realize its own incorporeal form and able to stabilize it as a semi-solid object. With that, hands formed, as did white gloves amidst the black of his shape, the white gloves seeming to be the only truly physical portion of the man save for the white mask itself shining brightly under his dark hood. Everything else was pitch black, even though it was beginning to stabilize into a man's shape. This was the form he took of the Second Restriction, and a well known wraith of the original Dusk Village; the Phantom.



"I love you so much, babe. I can't wait until THIS moon passes... Cuz everything's gonna be so much fun for us from here on."

With his Mind free of Insanity, he moved on to the Insanity that plagued his soul, and simultaneously, her own. Even though it did not originate from her, because it was within him, if it weren't dealt with, it would spread to her, as well. He wasn't having that.

Wrapping either arm around both Misery and Despair, only to have his arms pass right through them, Shinchrona sighed and slapped his masked face with his gloved hand.

"Dammit... I guess I still need a little practice stabilizing my body as a complete wavelength... I'm like a ghost..."

Misery: Yeah, well, you'll get it. Just shut up and work on it and it'll be fine, you know that.

Despair: Mhm... I concur... You've always proved to us that you can do anything you put your mind to... And isn't your mind free from the Insanity?

"Mmm..." he nodded his head, patting the two of them on the shoulders, "Yeah, you guys are right. Man, I missed you two. I just wanted to give you two a hug, since we haven't had any time to actually really BE together in a long, looong time..." But it looks like as with everything, he was still going to have to wait on some things. As they say, good things come to those who wait.

"A simple pat on the shoulders will do for now, since only my gloves seem to be actually physical. That means I can wield the both of you whenever we find this Insanity..."

He looked up and all around, finding that this realm hadn't fully taken shape yet. He wondered why that was...

"... Well. Let's just start walking. I'm sure it'll pop up soon... It ALWAYS does..."

Shinchrona, however, did not walk, and instead lightly hovered over the ground, slipping his hands into what would be pockets... but was instead just the inside of his incorporeal form, hiding his white gloves. Now he REALLY looked like a Phantom; a floating mask teeming with a black energy that was his soul wavelength. Misery and Despair simply walked beside the floating apparition.

The Red Moon hovered gently in orbit around the Crystal Tree, the omniversal reality within slowly, but surely, ascertaining its form from the memories of Shinchrona. Much like the Blue Moon prior, which drew forth the earliest memories of the original Reality Village, the Red Moon drew from his soul the memories of the original Dusk Village. After the Reality finally revealed itself from the isolated realm once sustained by both Maze and Khrona, it landed and assimilated with Vescrutia by merging with the half destroyed Depths, thus creating a larger, more industrial village known as the 'Dusk.'

As the trio walked, they would find this ambiguous reality beginning to take shape around them from the darkness, starting with pipes and factorial machinery stretching out from the abyss (like those old windows screen savers), tall and rather modern buildings taking shape as well. Eventually, the pitch black ground became solid pavement, and the glow of the city's night sky and natural urban lights set the mood of the dusk of the 'Dusk,' and the memory of the village was complete.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



The three of them would find themselves walking in the slums and shanties of the Dusk, where the dilapidation from the old Depths was most prominent and hadn't been fully tended to as of yet, as this seemed to be the time period when the Dusk was still fresh. In the cloak of the night, a masked figure silently watched the triad from afar, though widely out of sight and out of presence... Simply observing them.


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



Shinchrona, Misery and Despair pressed on through the darkness, the world forming around them the deeper they went into its center. Shinchrona nodded his head, as if already having anticipated this outcome, "Yep. Right on queue." He knew himself too well to not know that something ambiguous would soon take shape into something as long as he pressed forward, and if he stayed still, it would remain as an enigmatic darkness forever. This world that was forming around him, it was just as familiar as the first...

"... Hm. The Dusk..."

It was weird. In the First Moon, he was within his memory of the Reality, and when he exited it, the Dawn became something similar to how the original Reality was with a new twist. Mayhaps the same would occur with the Dusk?

"Seems to be taking me through my history. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this."

Misery: Does it really matter...? You know we're just gonna have to go through it and fix the issues with it anyway.

The eye sockets of his mask lowered as though they were his actual eyes, which they were serving as right now since he did not harbor a physical shape. He was partially pissed, but also partially relieved that he could comprehend what was going to come next. It was a real blessing that he got his Mind back, because without that, he would probably still be the same mentally unstable kid he was before. Almost like he was understanding his development over the years more in depth... Watching, re-experiencing and understanding fully his growth and maturity. This must have been the final stretch in order for him to fully mature, though... the last step; the Thirteen Restrictions.

"... Yeaaaah. I know. You know I know. But just because I know everything doesn't mean we can't talk about it like I don't. I don't particularly feel like thinking, and, in all honesty, I think that this Restriction is suppressing my brainwaves a bit..."

Then again, he didn't really have a brain right now. Such was the purpose of his Restrictions; to help him master the individual aspects of himself with a Mask before integrating them into his actual form. First was his mind, next is his soul. Meaning his mind was off limits here.

"... Oh well. Let's just keep moving."

He hovered up the empty stairway, hovering up as Misery and Despair walked. Yet, there was a strange uneasiness he felt all throughout his form, causing his ethereal state to flicker and slightly destabilize.

"Huh? What?" he looked around, trying to figure out just what that tingling was within him before slowly turning his head back to Misery and Despair. "Do you guys... Feel something weird about this place?"

Misery, with a bored stare, "No. There's no one and nothing here, and if it is, it's probably some street punk or alley rat. This doesn't look like the best part of town, ya know?"

Despair remained silent. She felt as though she felt something, but it was almost as negligible as her own wraith-like presence was. She indeed knew this uneasiness, but was going to simply trust Misery and write it off as nothing.

"... Alright. Whatever." And so they pressed on.

The careful eyes of the nearly negligible presence closed as the apparition faded away once it was noticed, as though it had never been there in the first place. Not a soul was to be found in the darker part of the slum area, but as Misery suggested, a large rat scurried almost too conveniently through the alleyway, making it seem as though what she said was correct. If she hadn't mentioned it, perhaps it would not have appeared...

Two deep black slits appeared in the wall of a building at the top of the staircase, so fine and barely visible one would believe them to be part of the shadows cast by the illumination of the lights in this rather dark area. At the top of the staircase, a pathway leading closer into the inner city could be found and taken to the more prosperous portion of the Dusk, away from the drab and depressing atmosphere of the still not quite fixed up portion of it.

The masked Shinchrona, still just a little bit wary of his surroundings, felt now the presence of the large alley rat scurrying about, where the attention of his wavelength would be drawn to. Because he was, at this point, completely made of Soul Wavelength, whatever was within his presence would be picked up on by him. His sockets narrowed as he inspected the rat, and though it had the same minor presence as what he felt, he knew for a fact that it was not the same one.

"Hmm..."

There was no proof of whatever he felt before, so, even with his suspicions, he had to write off that it was simply this rat. Though he was aware that something or someone somewhere was watching them... If only he had access to the psychic powers of Psychodynatheos, then perhaps he could pinpoint what it was with ease. Then again, what would be the point of restricting himself to only his Soul Wavelength if he was just going to use his psychic powers, right?

As they made their way up the stairs, his entire body flickered with a sudden instability again, as though he were picking up the same presence as before nearby yet again. At least he knew now that whatever it was, when it was around, his wavelength would become unstable like that. Maybe it was the Insanity that he was looking for around here... Staring deeply at the wall that he felt this presence coming from, he could see nothing currently, but insisted on checking it out before making his way through the walkway toward the hustle and bustle of the Dusk.

"... You two... go on ahead. This is a big city and we've got to find whatever Insanity is plaguing my heart as fast as possible. I'll catch up with you two later..."

His eyes narrowed at the wall, and as he hovered a bit closer, he could feel his phantom form increasingly destabilize.

"I've got something I wanna check out here first..."

He wanted to maintain, or at least create, a physical shape for himself, but he couldn't seem to stabilize himself to maintain a solid structure here, and his body became more wraith-like from the lower torso on down, legs becoming the wisping tail of a ghost.

Misery looked to Shinchrona with a bit of skepticism, but agreed with him all the same. With a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, she replied, "Yeah, whatever. Makes sense, I guess. Come on, Despair." and snatched Despair's hand, dragging her off toward the more lively part of the village.

Despair, on the other hand, continued to look back at Shinchrona in silence, feeling the same thing that he did... but trusting his judgment the same way that Misery did, she silently complied and walked along with Misery into the city.

Staring into the eyes of the suspicious counterpart, the slit eyes upon the wall closed once more as the presence faded once again, leaving Shinchrona without a hint nor a trace of where it could have gone. He was a little more perceptive than what this faint presence anticipated. No less, he would not be catching up to it anytime soon. Now that he was away from his weapons, the real fun could begin...

As the two girls made their way through the city, they would find a crowd of common looking people all minding their business throughout the city; some casually strolling by with no clear cut destination, others hurriedly making their way to where they needed to go as they saw fit. Every so often, a masked figure blended deep into the crowd wisped by, lurking back and forth hidden carefully amongst the people. No one seemed to notice this masked figure, and in fact, at times, some would literally pass through as though it weren't even there. The masked presence silently watched Misery and Despair as they walked, appearing from street corners and crossing streets until out of vision, then appearing on the exact opposite side of the entire block and doing the same thing on the opposite end until out of sight. This was repeated numerous times; down alleyways, down sidewalks, even through the street. With his presence barely noticeable and being blended in with the crowd, the phantom could keep a close eye on these two without them noticing a thing...

The stares between the two slit eyes were exchanged for quite the bit of time as the suspicious Shinchrona gazed deeply at what was attempting to blend with the shadows. Though he could not see anything but the slanted shadows, they were much darker than the actual shadows it attempted to hide in, making the eyes visible to the perceptive eyes of Shinchrona. It wasn't until the two slits vanished that he knew something really was watching him, especially when his body stabilized again.

"... I knew it. Whatever it is that makes my wavelength get all haywire, that's the Insanity within this moon."

With the source of all Insanity locked up tight within the Tree of Life, Shinchrona didn't have to worry about this creeping presence growing all powerful in a short period of time like the other Insanities rampaging about. He could find it, subdue it and cleanse himself of it before it even had a chance to spread in his soul or into the soul of his beloved. Getting rid of this lurking Insanity would bring an end to the newly risen Second Moon and he could move on to the Third.

"Mou... I really hoped I could have some assistance here, but better to do it by myself and get it done than to drag people unnecessarily into my craziness, as I was prone to do..."

That was why he locked himself away in his Pit of Havoc and rarely associated with the outside world. For the sole reason of what his prolonged interaction meant. But he had to come out of his cave sometime, right?

"Anyway. Gotta go catch up to that sly bastard trying to infect my soul. I didn't do all of this work so I could just fall to the Insanity for a THIRD time..."

As things were with Khrona, they worked in 3s; Third time's the charm, they say. The masked apparition wisped off to the top of the building in an attempt to pursue the phantom presence attempting to evade his sight, returning to his ghastly man-like shape atop one of the ledges of the dilapidated building. He could clearly see across the way and into the central area of the city and scanned the area for whatever sort of suspicious presences he could find from up above.

"Hmmmm..."

He wondered if Misery and Despair had any luck...

Misery and Despair trekked cautiously through the path toward the central part of the city, or 'village' as it was called, both on high alert for what they suspected would be something that was out of the ordinary... Not like Shinchrona gave them any information that they needed to watch out for. Then again, he probably didn't know, himself, considering his mental powers were shut off thanks to the Second Restriction's Geist.

Misery: ... This is gonna suck.

Despair remained silent, but attentive to her surroundings as the two of them reached the clearing.

Misery turned to Despair after such a prolonged silence, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at her partner in crime, "Hey, what's with you? You haven't said a single word since we got here. I know you're the quiet one of the group now that Khrona started opening his mouth some years ago, but you're TOO quiet... Don't act like I don't know you, Despair." Misery's bored expression turned into a slightly agitated one, not enjoying being left out of whatever loop it was that Despair was keeping from her. Once they reached the entrance to the main street, she stopped abruptly and turned to Despair, awaiting an answer. "Spill it."

Despair remained silent for a little while longer, observing the clearing once they got there and immediately hushed Misery by placing her dainty fingertips gently upon Misery's juicy lips. Misery had more physical prowess than Despair did, but Despair had more spiritual prowess and could feel more subtle things in her wavelength because of how she was barely a physical entity in and of herself. Despair caught on to the fluctuations the same way that Shinchrona did, scanning the area with her drearily serious and elegantly perceptive stare. She was looking for something, and the more silent she was, the less extraneous wavelengths there were in the air.

Eventually, she spotted something odd within the crowd; a masked man that looked similar to Shinchrona, but was a little bit... off, somehow. Raising her hand almost lifelessly toward the target of her suspicion, a forlorn point of her barely moving finger pointed out the masked phantom attempting to blend in with the crowd.

Misery was a little surprised by the sudden will to do anything that Despair portrayed, but she was well aware that when DESPAIR was on to something that Misery should probably just wait and listen. It was part of the powerful and unbreakable bond of trust and respect shared between the trio, for if ANYONE else did this, she would have bitten their fingers off.

Misery's eyes followed the barely pointing finger of Despair to the masked figure, causing her eyes to widen once she caught sight of just what it was. "Hey, that's--!" She grabbed Despair's hand and dragged her toward the crowd, shoving people and knocking them over without any care of who or what got in her way. When she tried to pursue, however, the masked man was gone without a trace.

Misery: ... Ooooh, you must be fucking--

Despair tapped her upon her shoulder this time, pointing more decisively in another direction down the way completely opposite of where they were, and the two would turn to see the same masked figure walking casually down the block between the crowd, staring at them.

Misery: ... This bastard is trying to make us look stupid...

Slightly enraged, Misery forced her way through the crowd again and to the other side where she saw him head, but just as with the first time, when she got there, he was gone... and sure enough, Despair tapped her on her shoulder again.

Misery: ... Don't tell me...

Pointing in the complete opposite direction yet AGAIN, the two would witness this wraith walking down an alleyway clear across the main street, then again down a block that wasn't even connected to the alleyway on the other side. It was apparent that they weren't going to get anywhere being led in circles like this.

Despair: I believe we need a new plan...

Misery: Yeah... I know. Tch.

The girls couldn't seem to keep up with the apparitious trails that the masked wraith left behind for them. Everywhere, but nowhere all at once, it would be impossible for even those two to catch him as they were. He only wished for them to use their power to try to stop him...

The only concern that this ghastly masked man had... was for the looming essence on high, staring him down from the shadows. Only the luminescent bright of the white from his mask could be seen in the Dusk's night. If he were to catch sight, then this might become a blight. A narrow of his eyes and he was out of the light, leaving no traces of where he once was.

Shinchrona remained perched upon the ledge, barely touching it with his ghostly feet. Waiting and watching from a bird's eye view, he sat hunched over like a crow spying upon with sharpened eyes out its prey from up above.

"Hmmmm..."

All of the people here didn't look very suspicious, but anything and everything could have been this Insanity in disguise. His hawk eyes did not falter in the slightest, continuing to scan the immediate area. Eventually, he caught on to Misery and Despair, who were walking really awkwardly back and forth, like they were in a trance or something.

"Huh... Weird..."

But then, Shinchrona noticed something really weird... They were all walking back and forth like that. Everywhere up to a certain point, that is... in a certain segmented area between the main streets of the Dusk, he noticed that there was a break in the movement of the crowd, which seemed to be caused by a single silhouette cast in a mask of pure white, which also occasionally appeared within the crowd, as well.

He was able to see that this phantom was able to pass through the people at will, meaning that either he was not real or they were not real. By watching the movements of Misery and Despair, he was able to decipher just what was going on. The people here were physical, as Misery was able to shove right through them with her brash impetuousness (how he loved that about her) and this masked figure passed right through them. This meant that he was the one that was an illusion-- or just not a physical presence, much like Shinchrona himself-- and saw that every time they seemed to be lured into walking in the direction he believed he was in, he would immediately appear in another area, still blocking off the area as he walked and keeping everyone within there eternally locked in his gaze. There was a sinister glare in his eyes, and for what he believed was a brief moment, he found his mirror image staring at him from below, their eyes syncing up in utter synchronicity before his presence faded all too quickly in a ghastly haze. That was it.

"Gotcha.
Omoshiroi."

The Hyper Perception of the Tenseigan caught the gaze of his counterpart, causing his own to adjust to the lensing of that level of his Insanity immediately. What was once only at Level 1 of the Hyper Inception would now evolve to the second level fitting of the Second Restriction; Hyper Reflection. This synchronized the effects of the most primary Hyper Perception and the Level 1 Hyper Inception as one combined sight, allowing for the Hyper Reflection to perceive all wavelengths and forms of waves as long as it was active; to analyze and break down their schematics to the utmost and also to reflect these wavelengths (no matter what they may be) in his own.

"Now that I have you in my sights, I will deduce the deuce out of you!
Second Restriction Tenseigan; Hyper Reflection!"

Now that was granted the power to see any wavelength in the way he wished for it to be perceived, he focused on every soul wavelength in the area, leaving no wavelength unseen to these eyes. Whilst active, it also disallows wavelengths to affect his mentality nor his body, neutralizing their effects and making them ineffective the very moment he even sees them coming, as if an automatic deactivation process to Genjutsu and things of that ilk. If this were an illusion, it would fade from his eyes and his eyes only. This and this alone is what makes this specific upgrade to the Tenseigan so immensely potent.

"Dammit, they're caught in a-- Oh shit, wait!!"

If they had been following him and been looking into the eyes of the mask this entire time, then there was no way that they weren't already under his influence, unless someone caught on beforehand. But even then, he knew that this entity was no ordinary conscious wavelength... it was an intelligent and conscious concentration of a sliver of Shinchrona's pure spiritual presence manifested as a shadow of an Insanity, and that meant...

"MISERY!! DESPAIR! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T USE YOUR FUCKING WAVELENGTH!!"

Shinchrona vanished in a blur, streaking down to their area in order to snap them out of it... He hoped. It seemed that by this time, the phantom realized just who was glaring down from up above in the night sky and quickly departed. Since Shinchrona took his focus off of him in order to focus on Misery and Despair, the masked man was lost. Out of Shinchrona's sight.

Tch...

The dynamic duo stood confounded by the masked figure's pattern of movement. It didn't make much sense except for the fact that he could probably warp and because his presence was so negligible to begin with, if he disappeared, then they would have to be constantly aware of where he was going to go.

Misery, taking initiative, as she always did when it came to critically thinking (since she was so damn impatient), had to assess the situation at hand, with or without Despair's input. "Ugh. Okay, let's see, every time we go one way, he just goes another way, right? So if he's gonna appear on the opposite sides of us, we'll just have to both be on both sides at once. Clearly, we're being taken for a fucking ride here..." Misery tapped her foot a little angrily, clearly displeased about being taken in circles like this and to come up empty. She needed some results and she needed them NOW. "This fucker must think I'm just fucking stupid, huh...?" She sneered, crossing her arms and clenching her fingers tightly in her arm, "We'll show you, you bastard... Despair. You stay here. I'll handle the chase... For making me look stupid, it's personal now."

From Misery's wrist, a slender, pitch black, but rather ornate decorative butcher knife with a crimson edge sliced through her skin and slid into her hand, the woman slashing through pedestrians without the slightest hesitation in her being. "These people need to clear the way. I can't be having these dead weights in my way keeping me from reaching top speed." In moments, she would be on the other side, waiting for the masked figure to appear.

Despair simply waited in her position, as well, feeling a little uneasy about the entire ordeal, for some reason, however... As she did, Shinchrona appeared before her in a blur (since she was the one that remained in their original position, which he decided to make his appearance) and Despair stood there pretty shocked to see him. "Ah!!!" she cried, unprepared for such an arbitrary appearance, calling out instinctively to Misery, "Here he is...!!" But, even amongst how startled she was, she didn't feel the same way about this apparition as she did about the one she saw before. She felt like this one was the Shinchrona she knew and not that other one that looked like him... So she waited to see what he was going to do, but remained on guard, as always, completely prepared to counter any and everything that was thrown at her. She did not move.

Just as Misery reached the other side of the street, she was called back over by Despair. "Heh. I knew it..." Skidding to a pivotal halt, in a splash of red did she skid right back down the clear path at top speed as a streak of red and black, prepared to cleave that fucker in two with the searing hot edge of her Burning Condemnation blade in hand. A streak of hellacious crimson-ebony flame leaving trails of blood spattering in her wake. Yep. That was Misery, alright.

As was predicted by the roaming phantasm, the sight of the one up above was nothing short of terrible. Now his sight had evolved, which would, as he predicted, become a blight. They were on even grounds now all too quickly, and all it took was a stare into his eyes. No matter, the girls were still in his ghostly web. They had already looked into his eyes as well, believing that they were in control of themselves at this moment, but actually moving exactly the way the phantom manipulated them to go. Only a little more, and...

There...

Their predictability brought out a sliver of that wavelength he was looking for, and though it wasn't the one he was looking to commandeer first, it certainly was better than nothing. As soon as he caught the faintest feel of a wavelength flared within his little Perceptual Reality Chamber, he would resonate with it and acquire its power for himself. Being Shinchrona's wavelength also meant that he was capable of using all of his soul's abilities the same way he could; Realization, Wavelength and even the use of his Soul Angels, if they would flare their wavelengths as Misery had just so kindly done. Within the Perceptual Reality Chamber, whatever one perceived became real, and the phantom made those illusions of himself become real. Perhaps his only flaw was allowing Shinchrona to catch him in the act.

Without much hesitation, he forcefully resonated with Misery (considering she exposed her wavelength and only Shinchrona was capable of resonating with her without being killed, therefore, this apparition also had the same luxury) and she would be infected by his Insanity. In a blistering blaze in the very center of the street would he appear once again, at the exact same time that Misery would streak past his presence. He snatched her from the air in almost perfect accord to her movements as well as the movements of the world, in tune with the wavelengths of all things around him. He managed to get a grip on her ankle, forcing her into her weapon form by overpowering her wavelength with the intrusive overwhelming power that his held over hers, instead of sharing it equally with her as what Shinchrona would probably do. She had no choice in the matter and his will was forced over her own; she would become his blade, the same butcher knife that appeared from her skin.

The trail of spattering scarlet splashed in the background, before igniting and melting away into nothingness, the dead souls rising up from their bodies (as these people became real as well once recognized when one was within the Perceptual Reality Chamber) and being drawn into the ever expanding wavelength of the appeared Phantom. The bodies that were dead rose like puppets attached to strings, whilst those that were alive lost the glossy signs of sanity in their eyes, leaving only a burning fury on their now abysmal faces. The league of zombies shuffled themselves thoroughly throughout the streets, leaving the The Phantom joker to be lost within the deck; out of the sight of Shinrona once again when his influence cast itself all throughout their isolated area. There was not a trace left behind, yet again... but the 'genjutsu' entranced zombies would move to his will, igniting with the infernal fires of Burning Condemnation. An accurate simulation of what Hell was... and this battle was going to be their worst nightmare, now that he had Misery under wraps... A done deal.

"Shit..." he cursed under his breath, watching Misery take matters into her own hands... He did love her hurried attitude sometimes, but in this case, it was just her getting pissed and making the situation worse. But it wasn't her fault, she didn't try to.

"Very shit..." he had to say again, witnessing the Phantom himself appear before him using her wavelength as his own. As Shinchrona had deduced in the first place, once one of them used their wavelengths without him around, the Phantom was just going to commandeer it and use it against them, since he had the same power to resonate with any wavelength the same way Shinchrona did. Fighting yourself is very difficult sometimes. Looks like they were up for a Game of Shadows... as was expected of two Phantoms of the same exact capability.

"Fine. If she's gone down... Then we're all going down together!!"

Into the Insanity, without hesitation, just to get her back from its clutches. There was no question about this, there was only action, for he would not allow his lover to be tainted in the slightest. Being on equal terms with this entity now that they had linked eyes, Shinchrona was capable of not only resonating with this wavelength, but matching it without being taken over. The innate capabilities of the Hyper Reflection would disallow the effects of any other wavelength to effect him, much like the Phantom should have the capability of doing. However, the only trump card that Shinchrona had over him was his ultimate shield to deal with the 'shield and sword' motif that Misery and Despair portrayed. He had the protection from corruption of his Tenseigan combined with the Rejection that was part of Despair's wavelength of Isolated Rejection.

"Come on, Despair. Looks like we're gonna have to go save her AGAIN." These two weren't getting afflicted by any kind of Insanity today, but they'd certainly hop right into it without any fear. "Just like old times, huh? We were always saving each other... But you never let the Insanity get to you, huh? You always had that impervious Rejection..."

He still had her hand in his, even as an apparition, meaning that he had a piece of her constantly resonating with him at all times. The Hand of Despair... or, better known now as his Crystal Cannon. He looked at all of these putrid faces lit ablaze, their tormented souls having to suffer the horrible fate of the hellacious flames of Burning Condemnation; a blazing inferno of Misery's Crystal Deathsoul that condemned the spirits of others to a horrible fate akin to that of the punishment of hell itself. These were no longer humans, they were hellbound beings corrupted by her wavelength. Now, they were all just targets afflicted by the Insanity. And so...

"Fire in the hole..." he cried, conjuring up a grenade from a slit that appeared in his hand. Despair was capable of transforming into an assortment of explosive firearms, a grenade-launcher being one of them. Thus, the spontaneous generation of grenades made of her Isolated Rejection wavelength was a common capability he would share with her having her right arm. He lobbed the pulsating condensation of pure Isolated Rejection right into the middle of the zombie field, blowing them to bits and scattering the horde to the edges of the buildings, unable to enter the area that was now charged with the deep purple of the Rejection. "He won't be able to get us with those zombies if we keep the Rejection up. But that doesn't mean that he can't cut holes in our defenses... His wavelength is just as strong as mine, meaning that he can resonate with the Rejection, even if we push him away. Be aware of your surroundings and don't let him let the zombies in... I'll handle calculating his moves. He is my Shadow after all..." Shinchrona narrowed his eyes, already in pursuit. Next time he caught a glimpse of him, he was not going to lose focus. Not in the slightest. "... So I know every move he's going to make, and I've gotta be ready to stop him as soon as it is done. Just watch my back, Despair, and I'll handle the frontal assault. Alright?"

This was how the team worked anyway, only usually Misery was there in the front lines alongside him. Not having her here and knowing that she was gripped by the clutches of the Insanity really got him irritated... He needed to get her back. That was a piece of his Tsukihime's soul right there afflicted by the Insanity that he promised he wouldn't allow for her to feel... It wasn't coming from her, it was coming from him, and if he didn't fix it, he couldn't bear to think about her being lost to the Insanity like he was... No. That wasn't happening. His mask's eyes narrowed again, his arm shifting into a large bazooka-esque cannon shining like crystal, "Now let's go get our lovey back." He aimed his cannon straight and true, letting loose on the block of burning hellspawn. It sucks that they didn't even do anything wrong... Their souls were just too weak to keep the Insanity out of their system.

"Outta my way!!!!"

As Despair anticipated, the masked figure who appeared before her was none other than the Shinchrona she knew so very well, as it was apparent not only in his speech, but the fact that he carried her arm, still, which she could feel resonating with him as his arm continued to resonate with hers. The same way he had access to her powers, she had access to his. This made her feel quite comfortable being in his presence, especially amongst all of what occurred afterward.

"Oh my... Misery has been captured..."

It saddened her to see someone she considered a sister and a lover to succumb to such a fate, especially when she was trying her best, as usual, to do what was good for the group. Though Misery and Despair balanced each other out, without their Maestro, Shinchrona, they were like a set with a missing piece; all three of them HAD to be together, or else they were not complete. Something would be missing.

"Right... I missed you so much, Khrona... It seems like no matter how hard we try, something keeps getting in the way of us being together again..."

Despair humbly nodded her head, phantasmally drifting behind Shinchrona to watch his back as he insisted on doing, keeping the Rejection that he erected through the explosives active and keeping her ever perceptive, dreary, tired eyes keen to any and everything that entered her area. If there was anything that entered the area, she would know, and she would take care of it.

"... But that should end for good once we conquer this moon, right? And it will be set in stone for all eternity... And we won't ever have to go through this terrible pain of separation ever again..."

Yes... Despair could not wait for that day to come. That was what she fought for; to be with her lovers again... They were a trio, and she and Misery loved Khrona in a way no one else could, and loved each other for being able to love him in that way. Such is how the three of them function. Razor blades spurt silently from her skin, lining her fingertips and creating a bladed metal fan of sorts in one hand whilst in the other, razor blade claws. Raising the razor blade fan up to her face, hiding only her lips and nose, she extended her other hand outward, as though initiating her fighting stance. She was prepared for anything, even still.

How clever of them. Certainly nothing less to be expected of one of this caliber, to already have been ahead of the game before it even started. He would be a tricky one to overcome, but nonetheless, would he fall back into the shadows as he was so prone to doing. With the blade of Burning Condemnation in hand, cleaving through their Rejection would be no problem. With Shinchrona's wavelength attached to the Rejection now, attempting to take it would prove too hasty for the Phantom to do at the moment. Let's just whittle away at the defenses, then...

The soulless corpses that were shunned to either side of the street began acting erratically, each of their faces sprouting unholy, misshapen white masks matching what was once their horrible melted mugs prior to the covering of their all too putrid to look at mangled faces. The masks that hid their ugliness attached to their faces at the creases, candlewax skin searing shut once the mask made contact, now posing as their true faces. Though their appearances were cleaned up by the masks, their inner ugliness still shined bright in each and every flawed human soul. From their tapered, smoldering nubs that served as hands and arms now, black butcher knives of the same embroidery sprouted from their melted skin. Each of them wildly pounded, hacked, slashed, stabbed and sliced at the barrier of Rejection, each of them pressing against the edges in a mindless clamor. They thought of nothing but killing their enemy, like bloodthirsty demons. Like the nightmare warriors that they were.

The soulless legion marched ever onward into the impassible wall that grew ever more expansive as the Shinseigami blasted. He was establishing his own little area to give them some room to move around... Smart. But still not good enough.

Among the white masked figures, every so often, the Phantom's mask could be seen appearing randomly amid their own, as though an apparition in the crowd of cards and pawns. Within the sea of moans, wails and cries of pain, torture and infuriated agony, the gentle chuckle of the Phantom, "Heh heh..." whispered in through the waves in the air, and a terribly large gash slashed through the Rejection in a crimson flash. The hellspawn flooded the area once there was a clear-cut way to get it, their masked faces all cluttering about aimlessly within to scramble to the target. Seems like one of them was able to get through, his blade charged with the Burning Condemnation the others lacked.

Moments later, however, on the opposite side, the sinister gaze of a perfect white mask cast yet another all too similar crimson flash that slashed clean through the barrier of Rejection as well, just like the one that happened only moments prior way on the other end. His own hands could not be seen amongst the flailing flesh of the other masked figures' hands and limbs. As with the side previously, the flood of miscreants made their way in, pouring into the defenses from the opposite end to encroach upon their stronghold from both sides rather swiftly. The flames of Burning Condemnation that they brought with them scorched the slashed edges of the barrier, keeping the hole from closing up once it was breached. Having the same capabilities as Shinchrona also meant being able to resonate with the Rejection, allowing for the flames to burn away at it once their influence was made upon it.

"Isn't that what I always say? And that's why we have to finish this moon as soon as possible."

He pressed his back to Despair's, raising his Crystal Cannon arm nonchalantly up toward the borders, ready to fire. It wasn't until he heard the chuckle that he immediately tuned in on the wavelength of the sound and searched for where it could have come from. Before he turned, he saw a pale white face slightly different from the others appear in the crowd; perfectly shaped and completely symmetrical, unlike the other hideous and misshapen white masks that poured in only moments later. He tried to lock onto this mask, but he was already gone before Shinchrona was able. "Dammit," he cursed, searching carefully through the crowd at the border's edges for that same perfectly white face, "Despair, I saw him. The real one's mask is perfectly shaped; no flaws and no imperfections in the slightest. That is how you can tell the real one from the fakes. If you see it, let me know." Just as he suspected, the barrier was being torn away at by the wavelength of Misery, making way for the zombified peons to do as they pleased. On high alert, it was only a matter of time before the Phantom struck again.

"Where are ya, you friggin..."

With eyes set for perfection, he weeded out the masks of flaw and placed them in the edges of his focused, barely able to see the malformed faces in his sight searching for the perfect mask. Fading from his natural telescopic sight, when he caught even the slightest glint of perfect white, his eyes locked onto his target without hesitation.

"There..." he mimicked, pinpointing his target. He wasn't ever going to get away from Shinchrona's sights now. Yet, as he traced the body of the being up and down, he found no signs of the glowing wavelength of Burning Condemnation upon him. Misery wasn't in his hand anymore... that, or she was being very well hidden to the point where Shinchrona was not able to decipher at the moment just where she was. Ugh. That was the worst. And he had no choice but to focus on his primary target, so searching for Misery's true location was a no go. He'd have to leave that one up to her.

"Keep your eyes peeled for Misery. I've got my sights set on the masked one, and he's not getting away. You already know that once something is locked in my sights, I see it with perfect clarity."

All the better to aim with... And Shinchrona was not letting him get away. He hurdled without hesitation toward the slit in the barrier walls, hackslashing through the putrid peons and severing their souls from the connection of the Phantom. All such spiritual energy that Shinchrona passed by that was hacked away in his wake would be absorbed into him, detracting from the Phantom's power and strengthening his own through the absorptions of said souls. Now he had some little zombie peons of his own...

Silently slipping through the gash within the barrier, he found himself out once again in the brimming pit of fire all around him, really feeling the heat from Misery's flames. His eyes remained unwavering from their target, now staring the Phantom's way everywhere he went; no escape.

"I'm going to end you, you know. You're fucking with my lover and it's really making some fucked up effects in the world beyond. I am not having that."

Shinchrona just could not understand why... why everything just had to get in his way. He could not WAIT to be rid of the Insanity for GOOD and have that bitch just bound and subdued for the rest of its days under his absolute control. UGH. One day... one day soon.

He stood atop the barrier with his Crystal Cannon set, shawping into the form of a normal hand with a single crystal straight razor blade betwixt his fingers. Ohhh, was he pissed... And it didn't help that he was in the midst of the Burning Condemnation, either. All he was concerned with was decapitating that fucking phantom, and energy poured into the edge of the Crystal Edge...

Eyes peeled, Despair kept close watch of the breached borders of the Rejection, slowly but surely repairing the walls to seal them back up with her wavelength. Though some of the malformed lost souls managed to find their way in, it was nothing a mere flick of her wrist and a wave of her hand with the razor blade fan to send a gust of high speed slits and slashes rolling down the line before her, clearing the path of the weak. She was instructed to search for Misery, and given the crucial information that the perfectly shaped white mask was the Phantom himself. She was not sure what they were going to do about facing him, but at least at this point, they were getting close to a conclusion... or so it seemed. How much could that specter really run from Shinchrona, and how long could he hide Misery from the two of them?

It wasn't even a matter of moments before Shinchrona took off toward the Phantom outside the safety of the barrier and directly into the fray; so typical of him, but she knew that he knew what he was doing at all times. It wasn't like when the three of them were just getting started...

But this was no time for reminiscing. She handled those that poured in from the front whilst Shinchrona watched her back, but sealing up the tear in their defense was going to be hard with the Burning Condemnation fighting against them and not with them. Though it was true that the two of them could weather and subdue the effects of Misery's wavelength, that did not make it any less dangerous to be on the receiving end of. Despair twirled into a graceful step forward, letting her other razor-blade laced hand be carried along elegantly as she did. With a single clawing swipe, more slits projected themselves from the shining gleam of her edged fingertips and over the gaping hole. Five threaded lines of Rejection extended from one side of the hole to the other, resembling a slender hand of slits grabbing and pulling together each side of the hole. It was a quick makeshift seal, and would be enough to keep large bodies from entering the area whilst she continued to lace it back up.

What caught her eye in the midst of her resealing of the wavelength was that one particular fiend had a blade that glowed with the light of Misery's wavelength, whilst the others did not. Could that mean that the Phantom was not currently using her, but had shuffled Misery within the crowd to throw the two of them off the scent? An expected cunning of an Insanity... considering whose visage it mimicked. As instructed, she cried out to her partner, "I think I found her..." once she caught a glimpse of the shimmering red edge on the black blade. "One of the zombies has her... What shall I do?" It was on the outside of the perimeter and if brought inside, the others would simply seep back in as well. She patiently awaited Shinchrona's instruction as she continued to seal up the breached wall. With another elegant twirlspin did she slash with the same hand on the other side, closing up the second tear in the same fashion as the first.

More perceptive than they seemed, perhaps the Phantom has been underestimating them before. But the chase was not over so easily, not for one who held the power of the Shinseigami's Reality Release, the Realization. They were still within his Perceptual Reality Chamber, after all...

The loss of the hellspawn was a mere trifle compared to being captured here and now. The Phantom was not going to let a few mindless peons get in the way of the ultimate goal. Capture was not an option.

*...Aw...aw..aw...*

The joyous laughter of happy murderers...

*AH AH AH AH!*


From the shadows of a nearby alleyway, a murder of crows soared between the vision of Shinchrona and the Phantom, their hyenous laughs echoing from the darkness as they flew. The flattering and flapping of their wings shed deep ebony feathers in the air and skewed the perception of those staring into their raven wings.

*Caw... aw...
...HAHAHAH!*


Once the last crow fled down the street, the phantom's image was whisked away, as though carried off within the scintilla off sight askew. Ethereal shadows of black trailed from each of their individual feathers as though possessed by the presence of a dark spirit, painting streaks of black in the sky behind them only for a brief moment before dissipating in the waves of the world. Each of the crows fluttered and flitted about over, under and around each other, shuffling amongst themselves to and fro in the flying murderous deck. After shifting about flapping furiously down the street, once they reached the corner would they all disperse in different directions on the dime, each crow leaving a minor painted shadow where they led, spreading throughout the city limits. Some flew atop buildings and perched there out of sight. Others took to the skies and patrolled up above. Some even fled to the trees. Stairways, railings and even light posts and hanging wires served as stoops for the mass, and even then, others remained airborne even still, swooping between the collection of architecture that was this city.

"Scramble..."

Meanwhile, the corpses still under his control did as were commanded and shuffled between themselves once again, the glow from the single blade now vanishing from its edge and leaving the holder with a normalized knife. The cretins still persisted even through the confining borders as much as they could, slipping through the threads swiftly before they could be woven too tightly for their bodies to slip through. Only about ten of them from either opening, no more than twenty on either side, all lunging for Despair.

Shinchrona narrowed his eyes and tensed his fingers harboring his Crystal Edge, prepared to strike with cat-like reflexivity. One false move and he was going to slash this apparition to bits.

Ready to strike, just as he was about to lunge at his target would an unexpected murder of crows burst from the shadows of the alleyway, slightly taking Shinchrona by surprise, but not taking his vision off of his target in the slightest. Staring through their feathers seemed to slightly alter the perception of the Phantom's image around him, and Shinchrona immediately knew that this was either some of the Realization being used to alter reality, or it was the use of his wavelength. Either way, he couldn't allow him to use either one as a method of escape.

"You're not going anywhere..."

As certain as he was about this fact, the moment he leapt from the top of the barrier and darted toward his prey with all intent of decapitation would the Phantom just ever so slightly escape by the tail feather of his ebony entourage. Only a single black feather slashed in two would remain floating gently down to the pavement. Shinchrona narrowed his eyes, following the trail left behind by the birds with his eyes. He couldn't tell where the Phantom was, but he knew that the birds had something to do with it. Their daunting, obnoxiously ominous laughs irritated him... as though they were laughing at him for missing his target. Looks like it was time to go hunting.

"Tch. Two can play at that game..." and almost like clockwork, a black cat hopped down from the silent abyss of a nearby window and onto Shinchrona's shoulder. The two glared at their dispersing prey simultaneously, each with a hypnotic cat eye stare that silently craved the taste of avian flesh. Cats eat birds, after all. A moment or two later, the cat leapt from his shoulder and down toward the ground. As it did, it would seem that the essence of Shinchrona was pulled along with its moving body and the dark shadow that he was would then be sucked into the essence of the black cat, almost as if possessing it. The shadowy masked man that once stood was now nothing more than a pitch black cat born of the shadows. The straight razor became its claws and coated around its paws, a shimmering black cloud seemingly made of a deep gaseous obsidian.

"He dispersed into many crows... Where did they even come from...?"

Within the Perceptual Reality Chamber, whatever one sees becomes real, meaning that those are all real crows, whether they were once illusions or not. Shinchrona could sense that they were originally not real presences, but somehow became real only after he saw them... a trick of the Phantom to have them fly directly in his line of sight. He deduced now that these were originally illusory images that only gained their reality once being perceived, and Shinchrona knew that this ability came from his Realization technique, the Perceptual Reality Chamber. That meant that...

"... Ugh. Now I've gotta pick them apart one by one..."

Because he was locked on to the Phantom still, even if he were to try to hide his crows, Shinchrona would be able to pinpoint each and every one of their locations hidden about the city. The Crystal Cloud that was now part of Shinchrona's essence had been dormant among his spiritual form as a pure wavelength, but now that he harbored a physical presence, it once again revealed itself through the paws of the black cat. This meant that not only could this black cat tread through the skies at ease, but also, like a cloud, could disperse into multiple forms and strike them all like lightning.

He licked his paw cutely and, for the fun of it, released an adorable "Nyaaan~!" before bolting off down the street as silently as a cat's paws moved across the ground. Before too long, his rather planar run down the sidewalk became a diagonal scaling of the sheer surface of a building, hopping right off the edge once the end of the block came and off into the sky. Wraith-like afterimages of the original all wisped from the cloudy black cat and off into random directions about the city as the original soared through the sky and over buildings in a single bound. For every crow that had flown through the city, there was a black cat coming to take it out, with the stealth of the predator and the silent presence of a cloud.

"Nyan... but even if I take down all of these crows, until I destroy the Perceptual Reality Chamber, he could just make me or Despair look at something else and make it real again... Meaning..."

That's when he heard Despair speaking through their resonant link, informing him of the situation on Misery. As his Black Cat syndicate all went on the prowl for their prey, the original gently brushed his paws against the air for leverage, grazing upon the wavelengths of the atmosphere, claws aglow. "When you find out where Misery is, I want you to isolate it. Do not let it escape by any means necessary. Don't worry about the cannon fodder unless they get too close. Your Rejection should be strong enough to keep her contained if you concentrate it enough, but that may mean you'll have to redirect that wavelength being used to maintain the barrier. Here, I'll have some of my zombies help you out."

Tracing his wavelength back to those now purified by his own, he sent the legion out to deal with those that managed to enter the barrier. They hacked and slashed at the unsuspecting mindless drones, a cut to them immediately dispelling the Phantom' influence and replacing it with Shinchrona's own, if successful.

"You have control over the zombies as well. Don't forget that you still have my arm for the time being."

He hoped she would be okay, because he really couldn't afford to take his focus off of these crows. But he had an idea about how to end this once and for all... and his cats were the key.

"Right..." she said drearily, making a single elegant rotation. The hem of her dress suddenly sprouted many razor blades, and as she spun would they slice through any zombified beings that were in her immediate area in a 360 degree radius, before the wave of her hand wielding the razor blade fan would blow away the pieces whilst simultaneously hacking them to bits. Those zombies that were still coming could be handled by Khrona's own, but what would become of the one that held Misery? She couldn't see her wavelength anymore on any of the blades...

"I've lost her... No signal is coming up..."

The thought that she might have to go into the field of zombies and cut them all down one by one crossed her mind... But then she would possibly lose Misery again. Though, an even better idea was to use those zombie slaves that Khrona left behind for her... They could purify the other zombies and save their souls, and whichever one had Misery would then be under their control again. That seemed like the best course of action here.

"... But I think I can handle this... Don't worry about me... These dreadfully wonderful little helpers you have left me with shall be exceptionally useful..."

Khrona always had a certain resourcefulness about him that seemed to stem far beyond his own conscious knowing and even that of anyone else, for that matter. Always having something perfect for a certain situation to get the job accomplished, even if it was not intentional. Now the two of them could work on their jobs separately to accomplish the same goal; to finish the Second Moon as quickly as possible.

"Alright, my beautifully disgusting little minions..." she spun elegantly once more, having all the corpses rise from where they had fallen as though she were orchestrating some sort of undead waltz. "... Shall we dance?" Despair was partially a spirit, after all, and that made this quite fitting... Since zombies were the lowest of the hierarchy of the undead. With the director's Right Hand to be used as her own, she could choreograph a most wonderful dance of the dead. The zombies all circled around her, as though intoxicated by her swirl and began to run around in circles in the same direction as she swirled just before she lowered her hands and dropped the barrier of Rejection. This allowed not only the zombies to pour in, but Misery's wavelength as well.

"Here we go..."

The heat of the Burning Condemnation was intense, but the dulled intensity of Despair could keep it at bay. As an opposing force in this situation, resonance was going to be difficult, but as long as she had her zombie army protecting her, then...

"Symphony of Souls..."

Another feeble annoyance in the master plan of the Phantom. As long as they remained in the Perceptual Reality Chamber, there was nothing that they would be able to do. He could generate illusions without having to waste the time of actually altering their reality to make them real things; those that were within the Chambers would do it for him, and expend some of their own energy every time they did it. By even bearing witness to any of the illusions would draw from them the necessary energy in order to maintain reality, and thus, from having not only realized the people, but also the multiple Phantoms as well as the Crows, they should have been starting to notice the significant drain it was having on them. This means that they are weak and vulnerable prey...

"Unspirited... and Weak-Minded..."

As soon as the barrier was relinquished, a scarlet gleam in the midst of the shadows would ignite the unprotected zombies with the overbearing forces of Burning Condemnation, returning them to their original control by the Phantom via Misery. In one fell swoop, the girl who believed she had friends in high places would soon find her worst enemy lurching upon its stoop from up above. Even if the girl was too strong to take control of, the zombies would prove to be easy pickings... Once under the influence of the Burning Condemnation would they all commence their assault on the prancing girl. He knew that with her Rejection, she would not be difficult to defeat even with numbers, so, each of the encroaching minions would harness the power of the Burning Condemnation at the tips of their blades. If Despair were to use a barrier of Rejection, the sheer number of zombies utilizing Misery's powerful wavelength along with a match in Shinchrona's by the Phantom would overpower her Rejection with relative ease, and they could slice right through.

----------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the cats were in hot pursuit of the crows, who caught on to the black silhouette cast off by the moon as the black cat hurtled into the sky. So hastily making one's presence known in a moonlit night by jumping straight into the source of light was not the most intelligent move, but that is to be expected with Shinchrona's brain turned off. He moved on only his spirit alone, and using things to mess with his mind was the best way to throw him off. Something that the effects of the Perceptual Reality Chamber should be well capable of doing... It was all a matter of not being caught by a stray cat, at this point.

"Here, kitty, kitty..."

The daunting, sinister beckon echoing along the ocean of wavelength ever present among them was no less vile as the caw of each crow before, calling out to each other. A chorus of cacophonic cackled careened through the air, so loud and obnoxiously wicked it would drown out the wavelengths of anything else, giving Shinchrona a sea of discord to swim through, almost like swimming through static. Every sound ruptured the invisible sea that was the wavelengths constantly drifting through the air, never allowing the stability of silence to flow. Shinchrona should not have been able to trace the Phantom's true presence... and neither should Despair be able to resonate with Misery.

*CRAH!!! CAH!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!*

Though as he was, Shinchrona really wished to stay in the background, being the center of attention was sometimes the best method, like in this scenario, even as a spirit assassin. Cast by the light of the backdrop moon, Shinchrona's black cat silhouettes crossed the land with ease, which seemed to gain the attention of the crows that saw them. Because they were within the Percetual Reality Chamber and whatever one perceives becomes real, the cats that were cast by Shinchrona were cats of pure Living Shadows, which were utilizing the energy of the Crows now in order to remain real. Some were cast into the broad daylight and others, into the shadows themselves. They were merged with the shadows, as the crows should have been, as both were born of the same source. This meant now that both the Black Cats and the Black Birds were in the same playing field.

"... Eat a crow..."

At his call, all such crows should have been sliced apart at the same time by the silent assassins of the night. The shadow's shadow, such is the true Phantom's nature... as an Ex-Kage, expressly indicated by the all too swift strike of each cat at its prey. Their razor blade claws would tear each crow to shreds from the inside out, the cats bursting from the innards of the shadows and arranging them in a new form; their own. What was once only a moment ago a looming wicked laughter was now now the mystical harmonic 'nyans' in a blissful night resonance with the wavelengths all around. An all too swift and easy way to capture an entire realm; light and sound.

Though he was able to rid the air of the resonance, he was too late in saving Despair from being spied upon by a crow hanging overhead in the shadows. Though it had been taken out by a Shadow Cat, this was done AFTER it had initiated the ignition of the zombies, and Shinchrona's wavelength was dispelled. Since they were no longer within the Rejection, the Phantom had the power to overwhelm Shinchrona's wavelength if he so chose. Things appeared to be grim... But, that was when he felt Despair's wavelength begin to open up, as though she were calling out for a resonance. Chance. "Perfect timing, Despair. As usual for our little team. All meeting up at the same point at the same time..." Though, maybe Shinchrona was the only one who saw it that way... Ah well. They would be together soon.

He did not seem worried in the slightest for Despair's safety. Not simply because she could handle herself in this situation, but moreso because of how absolutely flawless the entire situation was wrapped up from here. Still hovering within the full moon's light, he directed his chorus with the sound of his own 'nyan.'

"Symphony of the Dusk...
Night Opera."

A new strain of Soul Resonance that was to be used between Shinchrona and Despair. It uses the lunar waves of the moon and the wavelength of the shadows it matches resonance in tandem with the wavelengths of Shinchrona and Despair. He was going for it, because this was the only chance he was gonna have before the Phantom just countered and did something better. "Ready on my command." He was going to have to set her up and she was gonna have to execute, this time. With both of them eternally resonating with each other through their 'eternally held hands,' the moment Shinchrona expanded his wavelength to take over the area would be the same instant Despair would have to use the Rejection in order to seal it up. That would isolate the Phantom, Misery and fill the entirety of the Perceptual Reality Chamber so that he would not be able to escape. Let's go.

"Black Panthera; Nightmare Catwalk..."

Each of the Shadow Cats whose resonance spread throughout the land painted it in the shadows that trailed behind them, like little black nebulous clouds aglitter with the light of stars sparkling in the moonlight. It wouldn't take but a moment for each of the cats to fully enrapture the Perceptual Reality Chamber, or at least this confined section of it, if nothing else. The more of the realm they consumed, the larger and more powerful they became, until this section of the Perceptual Reality Chamber was swallowed whole by the darkness. A giant black box appeared around them, each of the slit eyes of hungry jungle cats glaring down at the bonfire blazing within their darkness. Lions, Jaguars, Tigers, Cougers... Each and every one of the Panthera genus, all merged in darkness, their forms unable to be discerned within the shadow... save for their slit predator eyes.

"All wrapped up nice and tight...
Give him his present, Despair.
For being such a good sport."

Perched upon her shoulder and whispering into her ear was the original phantom feline that cast this reality into the darkness of his inner sanctum, save for the hellacious flames still incessantly burning in defiance. But right now, it didn't matter. It was about to be snuffed out. Around the most central and largest pair of cat eyes lurking in the abyss of the now Black Panthera was none other than a perfectly white, finely shaped feline mask with the signature, prized cheshire grin that spelled doom for those who saw him. The mask of the true Phantom.



"You're in my world now, not your world...
And I perceive you...
As my prey..."

Dancing her beautiful rondo with hands raised in the air and her fan of razor blades fluttering and jingling in the air, Despair continued to attempt her resonance, having full belief in her little zombie minions. It wasn't until she heard the cruel cries of the crows that she lost her focus, as though a flood of discord washed over her where resonant harmony should have been.

"Nnn..!" she winced, the noise throwing off her balance and disrupting her connection. These were no ordinary crow caws, and the way they disrupted her flow was unnatural. The earsplitting discord also proved strong enough to relinquish the purified zombies of their state of control with relative ease, which immediately put Despair in quite the tizzy. The heat of the Burning Condemnation quickly pressed upon her, and before her eyes, she saw those who she believed were her friends so easily turn against her literally ready to knife her in the back. Zombies; easily manipulated and quick to change sides. Go figure.

"This is quite displeasing..." she muttered under her breath and partially through her teeth. Resonating with such sharp and unruly wavelengths was extremely difficult without Khrona. But, that's when she heard his voice.

Quote :
"Perfect timing, Despair. As usual for our little team. All meeting up at the same point at the same time..."

Despair felt his power surging through her right arm, the resonance between them beginning to grow stronger. Her wavelength stabilized after only a few moments and the discordant noise was no more. Everything 'on point,' one could say.

Silently praising the assistance from her beloved, Despair wasted no time in releasing more of her Rejection through the resonance with Khrona, causing the abyssal Black Panthera that surrounded the area to gleam with a deep violet glow. Setting the Rejection all around, the two would be trapped in the resonating powers of Khrona and Despair together, keeping the zombies and the Phantom in place. She knew what to do from here.

Quote :
Ready on my command.

Raising Khrona's arm, she would use his 'Reality Break' Style and destroy this foul nightmare world once and for all. "Cut!" she proclaimed, a clean cut through this reality with her razor's edge cleaving the Perceptual Reality Chamber in half whilst the rest remains ripped to shreds afterward. The same fate would befall each of the zombies who should have been halted in place; sliced clean through and purified of the Phantom's wicked influence all at once. Now, Misery should have been freed, and if she wasn't, then... Khrona could handle the rest. The Perceptual Reality Chamber was no more and they were all freed.

"Morosely beautiful..."

"So... , a grumbling discord buzzed through the air as the crows all ripped to shreds, The tables have turned, huh...?" The effects of the Perceptual Reality Chamber backfired on the Phantom... rather, was used against him in order to turn the tables. Shinchrona was even so skilled in this restriction that his thoughts did not even have to guide him, and he simply moved around naturally until the perfect chance to strike. It was almost like a set up to bring the Phantom to his own demise.


Staring up into the dark abyss that lay beyond the protective light of the Burning Condemnation. With the wavelengths solidified in place as though fire frozen in suspended animation, the evil spirit could only gaze up in defeat into the penetrating slits in the dark that were these jungle cat eyes and hungry cheshire grins. The game of cat and mouse was over, and he was the prey caught in the mouse trap of Rejection. "Beat me at the 'better' game... Even if the Phantom were outside of the Perceptual Reality Chamber, because the ones within were also 'real' Phantoms, if one is captured then it is connected to all of them. Meaning...

"The jig is up...
Not bad, kid."

The final parting words of the evil that once lay dormant within the Second Restriction, now completely purified from Shinrona and Shinnia's beings. The trial of the Red Moon was over and both of their souls were cleansed of Insanity, the way their minds were already clean. The mask upon Shinchrona's face would snap in two, almost like a lock breaking open to free a prisoner. The mask reformed before him as the sinister mask faded, allowing the True Phantom's mask to take its place, no longer plagued by insanity, either. This was Khrona's Soul Wavelength in its purest form... The Phantom.

He stared at Shinchrona, giving him only a smirk in return for freeing him of that evil. The realm around them began to fall to pieces, fading out to white. The True Phantom held in his hand the butcher knife that was Misery, tossing her into the air in front of him and unbinding her Wavelength so that she could transform back into her normal form. She would not remember anything due to her wavelength being subdued by the Phantom. The Red Moon was restored and the Second Restriction was complete, meaning that Shinnia had her heart back and could once again exist alongside Shinrona in all aspects; including in Peace. The shadows of the cats would all be drawn into the hooded cape he wore upon his neck and with a signature casual two finger salute, he muttered, "Catch ya later..." before fading out of reality waiting for the next moment to appear.

With the resonant reverberation of the growls of the jungle cats, the end had come for the dark forces lurking within the flowing wavelengths of the Red Moon. That which resided within his and her soul swimming about and causing discord was no more by the hands of they and Despair, and Shinchrona was freed from the bindings of the Second Restriction. As his mask was lifted, he assumed his normal human form and his material body formed now to the image of whom he was quite a long time ago as the Kage of the original Dusk village.


Enlarge this image



Top hat, cane and all, his typical jewel encrested cane altered its shape into the form of his grand summoner's staff, he monk's Khakkara, which he had named 'Lemoria'ht.' One of his secret weapons, counterpart to Lashura't, the katana forged from the Insanity and Asura itself. As it began to draw in spiritual energy, he began to chant these words;

"Akai tsuki...
Akai tsuki...
Tsumi wo okashita monodomo no...
Kegare wo... Kiyomeru
Akai tsuki...

Kiyoi wo dare ga umarekawaru...
Kiyoi wo dare ga...

Umarekawaru..."

Waving the 13 ringed Khakkara around through the air, the world would fall to silence as the Insanity was completely cleansed once and for all from their hearts and souls. He bowed in humble respect for the spirit.

"Peace be with you, evil spirit."

And for the evil spirit to forever remain at rest, his soul would be wiped of the unrest that it once held and no longer grip him. As such, they would both leave in Peace, for there would be unity between them now. So, as he helped Misery up to her feet and gave her a jolly good one armed hug, he would scoop up Despair with his other and squeeze them both with all the love he could muster.

"We did it... We really did it! Now I leave the rest to the Second... As we move on to the Third..."

His favorite one of all, hence why it was marked with his lucky number 3. His most beloved, treasured beauty, dear, sweet Trinity. She who was the Keeper of number three. He freed his lover and his first daughter of their bindings through the unlocking of the first two Restrictions, but Trinity was the one that existed in the third. Their family wouldn't be complete without the Trini-T all back up in Peace together. For real this time.

"Ready to save our other daughter, lovey?"

Now that Shinchrona's wavelength was free to roam around without restriction, it could join his freed mind in flowing about on the wavelengths of the world. It felt so good to let his soul out and stretch for a little bit. Sometimes those restrictions get a little crampy when it came to holding back his power.

"C'mon. Let's get out of here. Our work here isn't done, but I know a way it can go a hell of a lot faster. Let's go home for a little bit..."

He would begin to walk, waiting for the Red Moon to spit him out of its omniversal reality and back into the Veritas.

Despair stood with an elegant pride for her own accomplishment, though not haughty in the slighest. She smiled and curtsied to the dying zombies of evil as the land was completely restored at the departure of the Insanity of the Second Restriction. She giggled, a little embarrassed and shy about how she performed, but proud all the same. It was only moments later that Misery was returned to her side, and the both of them were hugged tightly by Khrona.

Misery still seemed to be in a daze about all that happened, not quite certain what actually did occur. She woozily rubbed her head as Khrona helped her up, looking around with a bit of uncertainty, "Wha...? What the hell did I...?" Looking around, she could see that this realm was disappearing, meaning that it had been cleared out. Whatever it was that happened, apparently they all did it. "How long was I out? What... What happened...?" Of course, she expected to be filled in along the way. Apparently, it was mission complete.

Misery and Despair joined Khrona as he walked into the fading reality ready to spit the three of them out. In the midst of their walk, Misery and Despair began to glow and shifted their lights into one form. They took on the shape of the Tsukihime, who would hover beside Khrona and smile, wrapping her arms around his neck with eyes filled with tears.

"Finally... Finally we're back together, my love...
And never again will we have to suffer such hurt away from each other..."


Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize



She felt the two of their souls beating on the same accord, their wavelengths eternally matched. She resembled the form of 'Khrina,' the female counterpart to Khrona of whom he learned existed after he spoke to Kham about 'calming his Insanity.' This was apparently Tsukihime's form in the 2nd, mirroring Khrona's growth due to their equally shared connection. It seemed as though at any given moment, Tsukihime could split herself into Misery and Despair, project Misery and Despair from herself, or exist as their single combined form as she so chose to do, as was just displayed.

"But for right now," she cooed, nuzzling his neck just a little bit simply because she missed him so much, "I think going home sounds like a pretty sweet idea... Then we can get Trinity and initiate the Third Moon."

Looks like things are looking up from here. The light of the Red Moon would shine, casting its scarlet gleam over the void of white. The same scarlet gleam would beam down upon Manor Alexandros, sending both of them there. Thus ends the Second Moon.

-Third Moon-

PostSubject: Re: Feature Length: Rise Of The Veritas; The End Of Vescrutia Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:22 pm Select/Unselect multi-quote Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster Report post to moderator or admin Lock post for new reports
http://vescrutia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=604&t=7156

The light of the Red Moon pierced deep down into the darkness of the abysmal pit, at the doorstep of heaven and hell where Khrona took residence under the protection of the divine Deus ex Machina Alexandros. It had been so long since he was able to feel this... Just the ambience and nostalgia of being back in his own house again... just in his room...

"Ahhhhhh... Can you smell the Insanity, dear? Nice and ripe, isn't it...?"

As she made her way from the light of the moon, Tsukihime smiled and embraced the Insanity pouring from Sheol, as well. The Pit of Havoc was most chaotic due to the rampaging Insanities. All this looked like to them was more energy.

"Hahaha, yeah. Guess we've got a mess to clean up, since they can't do it themselves, huh? Hmhmhm~!"

She followed her love into his room, finally accompanying him for Deep Thought for the first time in quite a long time, even as Misery and Despair. Originally, she was not allowed in here, but now that they were on equal terms, it was simply time.

"We should call upon Trinity. Then we can move the Pandora and swiftly overcome the Third Moon and get us to the Third Restriction. Tabrith, your mind, has been unlocked... So has Tigen, your soul... But your body, that which is part of the physical plane... has yet to reach its full potential until the Third Moon has come and gone."

Khrona puffed out his cheeks and shrugged his shoulders cutely, "Mou! I know, lovey, but you know we three must all ascend together! And this is Trinity's moon... I have no idea what the Insanity is going to do about her..."

He remembered that in the First Restriction, his daughter was captured by the Insanity of the First Restriction which was once the Cheshire Phantom. When the Second Moon occurred, Misery (one half of Tsukihime) was taken over by the Insanity of the Second Restriction, posing as an imposter Phantom. Even Khrona didn't know what the Insanity of the Third Restriction was going to do... Or what it even was, in fact.

"... But that is why we are going into Deep Thought," he continued, answering both what he said aloud to his darling and what he simply pondered in his head. Last time he went into Deep Thought, he got all the answers about the Thirteen Restrictions from Omnia herself. In fact...

"Wait a minute, you were Omnia, right? Shouldn't you have all the answers on your own? I pulled you here from your world through Deep Thought, anyway. You should know something, right?"

She shrugged her shoulders casually, figuring he should be the one that knew how this worked.

"No, I know about as much as you do about it. Before, I only knew what I knew because of you being there. I was with you subconsciously, but you were with me subconsciously, too. While you are conscious, I am your subconscious, and while I am conscious, you are my subconscious. I don't think we can access it all unless we work together. Otherwise, I think we're missing something vital that the other one has."

That was the best way she could deduce it. She and her lover were parallels, twins, opposites and everything else. Two halves of the same whole, meaning that they kinda mirrored each other to a certain degree.

"I only ever appeared when you showed up in Deep Thought. I don' even know how I got there sometimes, I would just get there and know things. But you do that with me, too."

Now she could figure out some things about him, too...

"... Maybe we just need to go in there together again..."

She said this almost inaudibly, but she knew Khrona could hear her. She shyly grasped his hand and looked away cutely, a little uncertain about how to show her affection in this certain situation. Only because she was a little shy about saying it out in the open. She was smiling though... smiling as she turned away from him.

Khrona was a bit distraught once he received that answer from her. For some reason, even though he had his Mind and a direct link to Tabrith, he did not have all the information about this entire ordeal, as he should have. Or perhaps... There was still so much more that he did not actually know, and he was simply still learning, and maybe... Tabrith was, as well.

As he began to ponder, he noticed that his hand was gripped by his beloved rather shyly, he could feel, and he turned his head to her as she turned hers away. She was just so friggin adorable.

He said nothing, but he smiled gently and his eyes softened. That was what he needed to hear.

"Of course, lovey. Ikimashou ka?"


As he began to drift off into the realm of Khrona's deepest, innermost thoughts, so did his beloved, and they traversed the pandimensional plane hand in hand.

"Mou iccho..." he muttered softly to himself, "... the last jump..."

She closed her eyes and slowly turned her head back to Khrona, opening them up only once they began to traverse the pandimensional plane that was his own inner self together. As they soared through the darkness, she pulled herself a little closer...

"Hey..." she muttered softly, "... Do you know what it is we're looking for at all? Or when we'll get there?"

Khrona shrugged his shoulders, but started to swirl around with her still in his hand, "Nope. I have no idea how Deep Thought actually works. What I usually do is wander around through this darkness until I find something. I usually come across some fucked up shit, but that's probably just a thing to keep everyone else out. This place is sacred."

They would continue to go deeper and deeper and deeper into the darkness, crimson bolts of Insanity crashing down around them the further they went.

"Oh yeah, the Insanity Static. Keeps intruders out, too. This place is like an infinite labyrinth. Sometimes, even I can't navigate... But it's almost like something inside guides me for me, so I don't have to actually go through the labyrinth, I just have to walk normally."

As long as she held on to his hand, she'd be fine.

"I'd know I was at the end of my consciousness when I found that fine white line that divided your side from my side. But every time I came back, the line was farther and farther away. I don't even think it exists anymore; the boundaries and limitations placed on my mind are no more. As are with my soul."

The further he went through his restrictions, the more complete he became.

"... I hope we get to where we're going soon... Once I have complete control over my body, then we can really get this show on the road..."

And everything would just go uphill from there.

"I see..." she said more to herself than to him. Maybe that fine white line that divided them was no more because they were no longer two separate beings, but one with each other even if they maintained their own individuality. That was pretty cool and it made her feel closer to her lover than ever. "... Hmhm~..." she couldn't help but giggle to herself at the thought of it.

"Well, just lead the way..."

The two beings traversing the pandimensional plane that was Khrona's own Deep Thought would soon come to a dream-like aura the longer they drifted. As they drifted closer to it, its form would become more stable, and the aura would form the great Pandora itself; Tinasanti. With its eight arms flowing lucidly through the darkness in a fluid manner, the Octogod opened its eyes to set its sight upon the two chosen ones.

"... So you have finally arrived," it said as though anticipating their arrival, "... There is much you must be aware of. Much that must be done. The Thirteen Restrictions... Must be revealed to you further."

It seemed like there would be no end to this endless void with random bolts of crimson lightning flashing about. Though he didn't mind with how peaceful it was drifting with his lover, he was beginning to want some concrete results.

"Mmmm..."

As he became more impatient, a hazy light appeared in the distance, that which drew the two of them closer to the ultimate goal.

"Oh, sweet. This must be it."

Drawing nearer and nearer, they would soon be able to see the face of this being that was Pandora the Octogod. Apparently, it had been expecting them, and it knew something about the Thirteen Restrictions. Excellent.

"... Well now, I am certainly game. If you have something important to tell, then by all means."

"The Pandora found us instead..."

It was to be expected, considering that it was the fusion of these two plus Trinity in perfect equivalent harmony. Even so, the question of where Trinity is still buzzed around in her head...

"... Can you also tell us where our daughter is, if you please?"

"All will be revealed," the great Octogod spake once again, "Though time is of the essence. The main source of all Insanity has been sealed within the Tree of Life, but its presence still runs rampant in the Insanities of the 6th Restriction. What must be done is that each of these Insanities must be apprehended as quickly as possible by you two and Trinity. As you go, you shall ascend up the ladder of the Restrictions until you have collected them all and returned them to your body, wherein you will once again ascend to the 7th.

We are the 8th Restriction. When the three of you all reach the Seventh Restriction, return to the Tree and you will ascend to the Ninth, wherein Tabrith will merge with us in order to allow your ascension.

However, we warn you that those of the 10th Restriction have fallen prey to the Insanity, and they are running wild just as those of the 6th. Only half of them. The other half are holding them off as we speak, but if they reach the tree, they will inevitably overpower us."

Though things sounded grim, there were certain factors that held leverage over the darkness of the situation.

"But do not fear, for you, Shinseigami, are a special case. Your mind, Tabrith, exists within the 9th, which you are directly connected to. It is unable to be corrupted by the touch of the Insanity because of you. The same goes for Tigen, which is your soul, which exists within the 12th. Because you have freed your mind and soul from the First and Second Restrictions respectively, they are completely purified. However, your body, which exists within the 11th, is still in danger of succumbing to the wiles of Insanity. Though he believes his appetite satiated, he is still not complete until the Body, Mind and Soul are joined back together in tandem. This means that you must complete the Third Moon's rise and fall before he is completely safe. At the end of the Third Moon, you will merge together and the Mind-Body-Soul Trinity will be complete, making you virtually impervious to the Insanity."

Khrona listened intently to the words of Tinasanti, taking all of the information in and storing it safely in his head. It was extremely useful and crucial information that was going to be needed for the next arc... and to stop those rampaging Insanities once and for all. But even as Tinasanti spoke, a few questions arose in his head.

"... These things you say make sense, but I have some inquiries of my own... Number one, who and where is my 'Body?' Number two, like my lovey said, what about Trinity? Where is she and what is her part in this? And finally, if Tigen is the 12th Restriction, why can't he just fix everything, and conversely, if Tabrith is the 9th, does that mean that these beings that are corrupted in the 10th can corrupt him, too?"

He turned to his lover, "You have anything you wanna add, hun?"

"Yes..." she muttered, thinking about the things that Tinasanti said to her, "Why are we all mixed up and out of order in the first place? How long will the True Insanity be contained within the Tree? How does this ascension of our respective Restrictions beyond the 3rd up to the 7th work? Where are each of the Insanities of the 6th and... Should we go talk to God before we leave?"

She believed that these were all rather key questions as well, as these would be important for the future. Hopefully this wasn't too much to ask.

"All shall be revealed," Tinasanti stated once more, "Heed our guidance very carefully. Because we exist in a higher Restriction than you do, we are able to see and experience things further than you are.

He who is your body is none other than the final Voidkeeper, Thanytoz. He has become Allmaster, and is known as 'Pandora's Box,' and is technically the God of the Veritas, solely and only. We, Tinasanti, are the Veritas wherein he is our governer. This means that if he falls, all below him shall fall, as well, and the Veritas will sink into Insanity from the 11th Restriction down to the 3rd Restriction. Currently, he is satiated, but he will not be for long if he begins to grow hungry again. His location is currently unknown, as he has slipped into the Zero World.

Your daughter, Trinity, is currently guiding the Willmaster. This means that her power is weakened severely due to her absorbing and projecting the consciousness of she who was once Titania in her final resting moments. Trinity has absorbed the power of who Tsukihime once was before her death and rebirth and is controlling her existence as the Willmaster, who is attempting to hold off the Judgemaster. Those two exist within the 10th Restriction. Because Trinity is weakened, she is vulnerable, but her conscious control over what was once Titania's will (which now exists as ONLY Trinity's Conscious Will) is still being controlled at the expense of her power cut. This means that, even as the Shinigami, she is so weak that she can barely reap. She will need guidance and training, and must be sheltered within Mors Academia until she is able to fight.

To help quickly restore her power, she may be taken to our Eight Arms are extended across the Dawn, holding it up as we speak within the Dawn via our Hands of God. Visiting each of these Hands will unlock a new power within her that will bring her back to your power level so that the Trini-T may exist in equivocation. If she is not of the same power as you two, there will be no harmony and no balance, and we, Tinasanti, cannot maintain our shape nor form, nor can we allow you to ascend to the 9th by merging with the Tabrith.

Trinity is also the guardian of the Third Moon, and her presence will cause it to Rise. The Insanity of the Third Restriction shall also rise along with the Jade Moon, which shall prove exceptionally dangerous for her considering that she is so weak. She must be watched over explicitly by the two of you. We are sure that you two will know what to do from there...

Calling for your daughter shall bring her to you, even here in Deep Thought, for that is the strength of the bond between you three. Being the catalyst of the Third Moon, that must be done first before anything else; She must cause it to rise.

Lastly, for you, Shinseigami... Tigen may be the strongest being there is, not only as Pumpking, but simply as your soul, but there is one that rivals his power... His darkness, which is his elder twin brother, Bloodred Pumpkinhead. Pumpkinhead is overtaken by Insanity and unless Tigen is able to free his brother of this Insanity and merge together with him, Tigen will be preoccupied with that scenario. He will not be at full strength, and his brother shall rival his power. Also, yes. If Tabrith is overpowered and corrupted by the strength of any of the higher Restrictions tainted by Insanity, he shall fall, as well, and he shall be disconnected from your mind until he is purified again by you."

With all of Khrona's questions answered, Tinasanti turned its attention to Tsukihime to answer hers.

"As for you, Grand Magistrate... The reason why we are all mixed up is because of the Insanity. It has brought about such catastrophic chaos and calamity that it has jumbled up our very essential being, and we are fighting hard to return to Peace; True Control. That is our ultimate goal, which shall thereby rid us of Insanity and change that being into Shinsanity completely and fully, which will wipe out all traces of Insanity for good. So, you must bear with us and simply 'put yourself back together,' so to speak. Then, this madness can finally, truly come to an end...

The Insanity will be contained within the Tree until it regains enough strength to break free or until one of the tainted restrictions higher than we come to free him. This is why those of the 10th are fighting to protect the Crystal Tree along with me, and why it is of dire importance not to let the Allmaster succumb to Insanity under any circumstances. Though the Insanity is drawing strength in order to free itself as we speak, it will take much longer since the Ultra Badass seal has been placed on him, giving us more than enough time as long as no higher power Insanities undo our seal.

The Ascension process works as follows; Once you unlock the Third Restriction, you use the power of your Mind, Body and Soul to create the power necessary to generate all energy, which is the 4th Restriction. After you master generating all forms of energy, you ascend to the 5th Restriction, which allows you to control all Reality to your will due to the ability to control all energy as you see fit. Then, you draw in the rampant emotional energies that are the 6th Restriction Insanities back into your form and tame them, thereby completing the 6th Restriction and ascending immediately to the 7th, wherein you three shall be in your 'Individually Perfect' forms.

Currently, the Insanities of the 6th reside in these locations; Hatred was within Nautilus Serulenia (Though has now been taken up to Dimensia with Tigen), Balance is within Magnus Ignis, Fear is within Terra Gris, Melancholia and Fun are within the Testament Palace within the Chaos borders (where Tabrith has them under control), Bliss is within Vescrutia's amusement park (Armadillo Park) and Love is within the Zero World. As it stands, Tigen is handling Hatred, Akira Tsukishima is handling Balance (though backup may be necessary), Fear is currently not being pursued, Melancholia and Fun have been subdued, so they needn't be worried about, Bliss is running wild and not being pursued, and Love is being handled by the second Voidkeeper, Chita.

Therefore, Bliss and Fear seem to be the two that are not being currently dealt with, Love and Hate are being dealt with, Balance may need some assistance, and Melancholia and Fun are completely under control.

Also... Yes. It is always best to seek out the guidance of the highest of the high if you are ever lost. God almighty will always light your path. If you cannot seek him out, he shall seek you when he needs to."

These were the final words of Tinasanti. Its image started to fade away, meaning that its presence within Deep Thought was no longer necessary to them. All necessary questions had been answered and it was about time for the Octogod to depart.

"Remember what we said... This is all you truly need to know..."

And after that, it vanished back into the abyss, leaving the two of them stranded in the dark depths of Deep Thought once again.

Once again listening very carefully to the plethora of information granted by Tinasanti, Khrona took it all in and began to process it for himself, trying to make things connect as quickly as possible as he thought.

"Hmmm..."

He let go of Tsukihime's hand and crossed his arms, furrowing his brow, trying to figure out what was the best course of action at this point in time. His eyes closed and the image of Tinasanti disappeared, more or less whether he wished it to or not. If that was all the information that was supposed to be given, then that was all that these two were going to have to work with.

"... That's quite a lot," he muttered to himself, but still loud enough for his partner to hear, "... But of course the first thing we need to do is call Trinity here to Deep Thought. The three of us together can work out a plan from there..."

He concentrated deeply on his connection to his daughter, sharpening his mind and focusing his spirit. He expected his partner to begin to do the same as he did, following his example (or already knowing what to do on her own.)

"Trinity... Come to me..."

On the same accord as Khrona, once the information was all laid flat for her to take in, she did, and when he released her hand, she placed it upon her hip and lowered her head, closing her eyes to think deeply on the information given.

"Hmmm... I agree," she muttered to herself, but still in response to Khrona's muttering to himself, "Our resonance between the three of us is not only strong, but eternal, and nothing can break it... So the Pandora's words should hold true if we call her to us..."

And so, just as he, she concentrated deeply on the bond that connected he, she and Trinity and focused their intent on wherever Trinity may be currently...

"Trinity... Come to me..."

What seemed like eons of deep sleep happening in mere moments as Trinity spontaneously appeared from the Fairy Spring, drifting dreamily through the darkness, the snoring little fluff ball could be heard mumbling incoherently as her shining self made her way to her parents at their call.

"Mmmhmzmhmzmzm... Mommy...
Mrmhmrmzm... Daddy..."


She kicked her feet, pushing herself unknowingly through the deep sea of Deep thought, toward those who called her here, still sleeping ever so soundly... like a widdle biddy baybee~!

So she was called, so she would be, just like Tinasanti said she would. Of course the Trini-T would know, considering it was the harmonic connectedness of these three in a higher realm. No doubt about it.

"Ah, here she is! Daddy's precious... sleeping so soundly..."

He couldn't help but give his sleeping beauty a little kiss on her cheek, for he missed her soooo very much. It seemed like as he went through these Restrictions, he gained more and more people in his family. First was his first daughter, Tabitha (as well as Tabrith), then came Tsukihime in the Second, now Trinity in the Third. He wondered who could come in the Fourth...

But he couldn't help but notice something different about her. Trinity's hair, it was silverish/white, just like his and his beloved's. Seems like she had awakened her True Self as well. It was to be expected, though, but that also meant that her power was restricted.

"Hm. Her hair has changed from Purple to White. Though White means that our powers are unlocked and flowing, rather than remaining dormant and innately harboring magic within us... Does this mean she is also within the Second Restriction, as we are?"

Khrona knew that a Tensei's hair was prone to change all types of colors through their growth and development, and usually had something to do with the extent of their power or the Restriction they were within. Though his hair remained predominantly white/silver, he knew for a fact that Purple, Red, Black, Blue, Green and even Gold were other colors that their hair were capable of changing in order to display their current abundance of power.

"I'm relatively certain that it does..."

Tsuki smiled warmly and watched as her little princess consciously-unconsciously drifted toward them, giggling lightly under her breath as her father gave her a rather cute kiss on the cheek. It was a picture perfect moment, even amid all the darkness and random flashes of crimson lightning about.

"Well, aren't you two just precious? We're all back together again, as a family... I know you've been waiting for this for a long time, huh love?"

It made her happy to see Khrona so happy. She knew that she made his heart soar, but no one could make him happier than his dear, sweet Trinity, and she loved that. She let him have his little time... But noticed that he seemed concerned about something. Her hair.

"Yes, I'm also fairly certain that this means she is still moving in tandem with us. That means that she is within the Second Restriction as well, and her power is unleashed. So she should have more strength than she did before, but..."

She knew he could sense it, that she was weaker than ever before. Not because her capacity and potential were not still limitless, as a Goddess should be, but because she had, like the two of them, been reverted to a lower state of being due to the release of her energy. The three of them being confined to only the Second Restriction was a bit of a problem considering their power, even if they were still far stronger than most could fathom. Trinity still lacked the discipline and control that Khrona and Tsuki had, and so she was in danger because she didn't know how to use her power.

"... What do you propose we do? Send her to Mors, as the Pandora instructed? Though I do admit that place is a fortress and it is missing its Shinigami to run the institute, Trinity is still far too green to actually... Run that place effectively, even with Tear as a guide. She needs to train and at least focus herself so that she can stop playing around. She may be young, but she has a responsibility to this land... Just like we do..."

Tsuki lowered her head and pondered a bit more about the scenario, wondering just what to do about it all...

"... I think we should wake her up and discuss this with her, don't you agree?"

Trinity continued to sleep deeply, as though in her own form of 'Deep Thought' in and of herself. She fidgeted and mumbled cutely still, rubbing her legs together. It wasn't until she was kissed on her cheek by her father that she started to wake up from her conscious-unconscious and slowly back into consciousness, eyes and ears slightly blurred from vision and sound.

"Mmmm... Wha...?"

She could faintly make out the sound of her parents' voices, but couldn't decipher what they were saying at first. It wasn't until they actually stopped talking that she woke up fully, rubbing her eyes with a smile on her face.

"Ohhh... Mommy...! Daddy!! I missed you guys... Mmm..."

She looked around still rather groggily, as though waking up from one of her little baby naps (as she was prone to do, still being nothing but an infant/toddler) and noticed that this place was not the same place she was in before.

"Mmm... Where are we...? Last time I checked... I was in the Fairy Spring..."

"Mors..." he pondered, wondering if it was actually the best course of action, "... I agree that it is safe and that she needs to be there and to hone her skills, but I don't think she should go there until after the rise and fall of the Third Moon. We'll let the Third Moon be her training ground, and we can watch over her. I'll send my wavelength to protect her as the Phantom whilst wielding Misery and Despair to keep her safe, and she can train to her heart's content until she is ready to go to Mors and actually give and receive proper instruction from Tear. He is the best teacher I know, the 'every man' one could say."

Tear could do anything, honestly, and Khrona didn't deny that about him. He was like a secret agent, as well... So he knew that his daughter would be safe in his care once she was focused.

"So I think that should be--"

He stopped abruptly when he heard the coos of his daughter's awakening, then immediately snapped his head toward her.

"Looks like miss sleepy face is awake..." Khrona joked playfully, giving his daughter his cute, playful smile.

"Mommy and Daddy called you here so that we could all be together again. Right now, we're in 'Deep Thought,' which is a very special place that nobody can get to, and it only exists within the deepest part of Daddy. Only we three are here and we're doing really important stuff. You wanna know what it is~?"

"That makes sense," she agreed without a doubt, nodding her head profusely as he continued to speak, "I believe that would be the best course of action. I'll separate into Misery and Despair so that the Phantom can wield them, since now your wavelength can manifest itself physically due to not being restricted by the Spectre. With us dwelling in her shadow, she should be safe from any harm. But we have to only act if she is actually in serious danger, otherwise, she isn't learning and that will defeat the purpose."

That much, they had agreed on, and that was going to be the next course of action when they sent Trinity to the Crystal Tree to cause the rise of the Third Moon. She knew that Tear, being a top notch assassin and all around 'every man' would be the best bodyguard for Trinity, the best guide and the best teacher for when she would be learning how to be a Shinigami after she exited the Third Moon and learned to control her powers a little better. When she learned to focus, then she could focus on bettering her skills. But focus came first.

"By the by," she also insisted on adding, "We can also simply remain here in Deep Thought and control Tinasanti, the same way we remained in Peace and governed things from there, since we have so many pieces of ourselves roaming around, right? Then Trinity can be within the Third moon, we can control Tinasanti and possibly send it to subdue the Insanities that are of the 6th, watch over Trinity with the Wavelengths and remain in Deep Thought until the Third Moon rises and falls, and we complete the Third Restriction. Right?"

Deep Thought was really amazing. Her hubby was an impressive being... And she was so fortunate to be connected to him as his other half.

Though, before she could receive confirmation, Khrona's attention was turned to the waking princess, whom Tsuki also turned her attention to and paused the conversation. From here, the three of them could discuss events further. She simply remained silent as Khrona spoke to Trinity.

At first, Trinity seemed to be a little confused, but that was probably because she was still a little sleepy and just woke up. Not to mention, how tired she felt naturally due to her conscious will being the Willmaster, which was getting most of her attention right now.

She yawned again, rubbed her eyes to get herself as awake as she felt she could be, then gave her father a wide grin from ear to ear, "Yeah! Yeah yeah! Trinity wants to know, Daddy!" Clasping her hands together playfully, she kicked her feet profusely in the air out of anticipation. She loved doing important things with Daddy. Spending him with him and mommy was her favorite thing ever!!!

---Meanwhile, the Phantom would watch over Trinity's travels to the Third Moon---

In what one would think a split second, the flickering Phantom appeared overhead the realm cast in darkness, Terra Gris, and just above the glowing green moon hovering above the black dome. This was Trinity's moon... This was the beginning of the merge between this world and the other. The Third Restriction. The Third Moon.

Without her realizing what occurred, the Phantom flickered out and down toward the ground after dropping the girl off right where she needed to be at the time. He wouldn't even allow her to notice his presence, and she would likely be confused about what happened. Slipping in and slipping out in the scintilla of the blindness that was within the normal perception of living beings. Since Trinity wasn't paying attention, it would probably all look like her just warping randomly on her own, as she was prone to doing, anyway. Had to take that into account.

Phew. Alright, the EASY part is done... Now let's go see what the hell I called to go face the duo...

Not a moment to lose, just as quickly and silently as the Phantom manifested would he slip once again into the shadows of the unnoticed and stride upon the universal wavelengths back to the location of Matsuo and Erik...

The last thing she felt was the connection between she and her two bodyguards severing before she ended up somewhere entirely new. Looking around a little bit lost and still a little upset that things were not going well for her and her mission, Trinity *sniffed* a few more times before looking down to see where she was.

"... Mmm...? How did Trinity..." she muttered, starting to get the gist of where she was now, "... Get here?"

Though initially dazed and confused, as she hadn't seen anything happen under the watering of her eyes previously, she just figured she probably warped there on her own and wrote it off for nothing. "Oh well~! Trinity is here now!! And that means..." Her sadness was wiped clean immediately and the girl's joyous spirits were renewed. With an explosive burst of energy behind her, she cried out with glee,
"THAT TRINITY MADE IT TO THE DESTINATION!!! YAY! SHIN HISUTSUKIYOMI~~~!!!"


She took no hesitation in hopping straight into the Jade Moon, wondering what would occur once she entered...

The Phantom's trail led here, and then the girls trail led to the Jade Moon. Now Erik was curious, he hadn't seen something like this before, in fact, this whole darn tree was just something he'd never seen before. Thus without further waiting, Erik sped towards the Moon, following the energy signature left behind by Trinity.

Once Trinity jumped into the Jade Moon, she would fall through a white void for a while, drifting about.

Trinity, a voice called out to her, "This is your world given to you by your father. This world will become whatever you want it to be. Just wish for it, and it will be granted..."

Wherever they ended up now was all up to Trinity...

"OH REALLY!?" she said with the utmost excitement, "TRINITY WANTS IT TO BE THE WORLD WHERE MOMMY AND DADDY ARE RIGHT NOW! YEAH! YEAH! DO THAT!!"

She clapped her hands together and smiled, unknowing that Erik was following behind her.

When Erik entered the Moon, he saw Trinity, the Void and well nothing else. After falling into the Void, Erik would dispell his TA that way it's harmful particles didn't hurt the girl. Was Erik being nice because he had a soft spot for children or was he being nice to get information out of her, or could it be Erik wanted to see what this sphere was and stuff. He stayed his distance, if distance meant anything in here and waited.

"If that is your wish," Tina said to her from beyond, "Then that is where I will connect you. Travel my webs and connect to their world, as it is pulled and merged in with yours. Enjoy."

And so, the realm within Deep Thought that Trinity's parents were in currently would be connected to through one of Tinasanti's cosmic connecting spider webs signature to the Octogod, traveling along the wavelengths and ensnaring the land in the crystalline thread. The planet would undergo a cocooning process, turning into some sort of chrysalis, before it was yanked from the abysmal creation realm of Deep Thought and pulled straight into the Veritas; that world became the Jade Moon, and so was Trinity's land to govern.

Before her very eyes, she would see the entire planet... rather, the entire unexplored omniverse that was created by her Father for her. Now what was once merely a Dream would become Real and merge with the Real World... The Jade Moon.

"This planet is still undergoing maturation, but it seems as though it is ready to hatch. What would you like to name your world?"

"Ooo~!" she squealed as she watched the connection process go under way. It was all pretty and cosmic and cool. "Heeheehee~! Can't wait~! Can't wait~! Miss mommy... Miss daddy..." It was only up to the point where the planet wrapped up tight in a transparent crystal one would think to be one of its many layers appeared before her and she was asked to give her realm a name that she promptly decreed "Earth!! That's what that place is already, isn't it!?" True as she may be, that wasn't its official name until given by she. Thus, that was what she deemed it to be. Her own planet that she could rule over!

"YAAAY!!! This is where Mommy and Daddy are, right!? Trinity wants to see them both~! Both of them together~! YAY YAY YAY!!!"

She continued to hover in space, waiting for Tina to do what its stuff~~!

As Earth appeared, Erik's HUD would instantly light up telling him, everything, everyone, all there was to know about what was the far past in the universe he was from. Was this a dream, an illusion, something created by... No, how would someone from Vescrutia know about Planet Terra, The Blue Marble, Home, Humanities Birthplace..... EARTH. How could this be, was this the true power of the Tensei at work...

"My body, long thought to be ruined, consumed, swallowed by humanities greed and lust for resources." Erik's Gaian WarHammer would say as it began to glow a spiritual blue colour.

"Then this is, it can be no other!" Erik would say looking down at the sphere, now ignoring anything but what was racing through his head.

"Earth!" they would both say, pretty much stunned at it being there.

From the outside of this world, Tina would guide both Trinity and Erik down to the planet Earth where Trinity's parents reside, as well as guide her parents to them. Afterwards, Tina spoke out to Trinity, "Young Tensei. Take this doll woven of the very fabrics of the dimension itself. This is your link to us whenever you need us." A small little plush toy would appear in her hands, strung together by many crystalline threads. "Two more shall be made for your Mother and your Father. Give these to them when you meet and may all three of you remain connected to us wherever you may be." Just then, two more similar, yet extremely different dolls would be sewn together by the Octogod and given to Trinity upon her departure.

"Now, go... Engage with this planet and cleanse it of its inequities...
That is the mission of the Third Moon..."

And with that, Erik and Trinity would be placed with Khrona and Khrina.