Nightshade

The light of the sun, the Magnus Ignis that illuminated the land and warmed the sands with its face, finally disappeared. The air remained heated for a while, but the once sweltering desert became more temperate after nightfall.

Estelle, a Foreigner in the land of the Veritas who had been about the Eternal Desert in her journey, was drawn out into the barren sands by what the Dawn Villagers knew as the 'Spirit of the Desert.' As only an ambiguous 'Presence' and nothing more, the tangible form of the entity could not be seen nor had it manifested; its energy had only just merely congregated around the woman, Estelle. The further she walked out into the empty sands, the stronger the energy reading became, and she would be able to feel it in the pit of her stomach, like the clenching of a tight core consistently remaining tense. A soft radiation wafted about her body like the flames of a roaring furnace, illuminating the desert as it became darker and also bearing more emphasis on the energy that had coagulated which could not be seen as clearly with the sun up in the sky. With no other light nor source of energy providing for all the land, only the bright aura of Estelle with her coverage of the Spirit of the Desert around her lighting the path. Behind her was another foreigner of whom the Spirit of the Desert had not rested itself, yet had drawn this person to its with its strength. "We're Almost There," the voice of this Spirit spoke to Estelle, "Then, I Will Reveal My Form When We Are Far Enough From The Khoya Village." Until then, Estelle was led further into the Eternal Desert as if nothing had changed.

She relished the coil within her center, akin it to the first time she had ever had a true orgasm. The feeling of being almost satisfied to the point where she could simply lose her mind if she wasn't. Yet, the situation, as serious as it was, kept her mind on listening to the world, the energy, the being that she knew to be of the Sun as it guided her. As veiled as it was, as much as it only simply seemed to be a feeling, she was in tune enough with outside 'energy' to establish its sentience.

Of course, speaking to her clearly helped obviously as well.

She wouldn't speak aloud, not even within her own native tongue. She simply mentally nodded to the being within her at the moment with a mental embrace, and continued to lead the rude stranger far away from Khoya Village.

Whether or not the woman realized she was being followed was left up to interpretation; it bore no weight to he that pursued. "Heheheh, just a little bit more..." he muttered to himself, nearly salivating at the thought, "... Then I will have ultimate power, just like whatever entity it is that is exuding it..." He could feel that as he got closer to his goals of being greater than he was, he would siphon the power and keep it for himself that he may boast throughout all the land about how great and mighty he would become.

First, he needed to overcome the spirit and drain all its power, which of course would be so if he got as much information about it as possible. The girl should be of use to him for that matter, at the very least. The cloaked man did nothing but keep behind her, feeling the raw power leading her and coming from her. He might even overtake the woman, herself, and make her his own. The possibilities were endless now that he was exposed to this power source. He could truly taste his own rise in power just from being near; the exposure was heavenly.

The presence that hovered over Estelle felt the unholy fluctuations of the aura that belonged to the tainted person polluting the cleaner air of the desert, causing it to be both attracted to him and repulsed by him, drawing the attention of the head of the being with a gleaming flickering of a malignant narrow eye whilst it continued to guide Estelle away from the putrid foreigner staining the atmosphere. "There..." the voice of the presence undulated, churning the wavelengths of the air whilst also inhaling the toxicity of the ugly entity that stepped forth. The mixture of energy in the air became more visibly clear in the night now that the radiance of the sun no longer lit the sky; natural energies that belonged to beings that had enough power to radiate them could be seen and made distinct from the normalized Souzenryoku -- the Veritas' natural energy. The foreigner stood out in all his filthiness.

"... Here." The Spirit of the Desert stepped forth several steps ahead of Estelle, now leaving her body and concentrating before her as a 13 foot tall burning figure wavering like pure condensed heat with glowing green narrow slit eyes. Some of its energy lingered around her like a wafting aroma, drawing her closer, yet also leaving a streamline trail of the other foreigner's energy as it was drawn to she and the Spirit of the Desert, together. Before her, it would appear to be a thin, distorted stream of tainted and convoluted energy flowing toward her yet eventually transitioning into the hazy form of a thick stream of what looked to be reddish tinted energy -- something like pure heat, itself, visible before the naked eye. It stemmed from Estelle and strung to the Spirit, expressing to her the deeper connection between the bonds formed by both her connection to the Spirit and the land as well as the defiling connection that came from he who sought both power and conquest. The eyes of the Spirit of the Desert narrowed, awaiting both Estelle's coming and the man's pursuit. Energy continued to waver, spark, haze and flicker about where the concentration focused.

She had always known he was following; she requested, he did so from the village. It wasn't as if she were simply walking on faith that he would be there either. She could feel him to a degree; a sense of something that simply didn't belong.

Beyond keeping her guard up, though fully trusting in her unseen companion to not allow any harm to befall her, she focused mainly on her amorous companion. Once he spoke to her again, she knew the climax as it were, was upon them.

For the first time she would see the form that helped her since coming to this strange new land. A being she could not feel apathy towards. She knew it may simply have been a form he took; naturally a being such as itself could appear as it wanted. Yet she marveled at his magnificence, appreciating his warmth as it reminded her of Reiji.

Without much thought she let the energy guide her forward to stand with the Desert Spirit, relishing in the red heat like energy, hoping to embrace it more. Perhaps to even devour it, if allowed. Yet, the taint of the man that followed her let her know he was no simple antagonist. The energy was foul, even she could tell that. Yet she hadn't regained even an ounce of her own strength. She wasn't sure if she would be of any use to the Spirit any longer.

As such, she stood with the spirit, but in a way where she wouldn't be in his way. She would simply become an observer unless asked otherwise, perfectly fine with seeing what her companion had planned.

The salivating man that neared the beauteous woman emanating a powerful presence suddenly darted straight at her when it seemed like she was about to take notice of him more attentively.

He picked up speed relatively swiftly, cloak fluttering in the wind as he dashed through the sand and kicked up dust all around him. This Otherworlder that followed Estelle Albatross from the Khoya Village already intended things to end up this way no matter what the outcome was. "You're mine..." he muttered with a sleazily gruff utterance, as if thinking about something lecherous -- which he was. "... With that type of power..." he said, suddenly blending into the haze of the sand that he was picking up, "... I could have anything I want." Just as suddenly did he appear immediately beside Estelle where she was averting her gaze in the blind spot of her eyes. "Even you..."

The Otherworlder reached out to touch Estelle provocatively and draw both her attention and her anger toward him to attempt to strike at him in retaliation.

There was a change in the stabilized, yet still freely flowing vibrations.

The sudden fluctuation of what was once a more somber and static atmosphere caused a rippling rupture of pulsation throughout the surrounding immediate area, which also jarred certain wavelengths. The Spirit was so sensitive to these types of fluctuations and vibrations naturally that when there was a sensation in the air that generated a turbulent wavelength, it was both reflexively absorbed and responded to as soon as it occurred.

There was a sudden snap of the air like the crack of the whip with a large outstretched ethereal arm extending outward from being lashed out by the Desert Spirit in motion, which would immediately both force and cover Estelle beyond the Otherworlder's reach whilst also withdrawing the extended ethereal arm in one swift and smooth liquid motion.

With Estelle out of the way, the man that kicked up the sand into the air by haphazardly believing that he had acquired an opportunity would find himself caught and trapped in the heated vacuum of the Desert Spirit's movement of its ethereal arm, then in the resulting spontaneous combustion from the collection of heat. The sand in the air became shards of glass that would burst in his face, including but not limited to the eyes, mouth, nose, neck, forehead and possibly the ears. His body would likely suffer heat and explosion damage.

Whilst the assailant either wailed or recovered from that, the Spirit of the Desert bought time for it and Estelle to actually deal with the Otherworlder now that he was incapacitated.

"Now Is The Time To Strike!" The Spirit resounded with a powerful reverberation, sending a sonorous vibration through its ethereal arm and into Estelle, which should have felt like whatever part of her body that the arm was touching (including the entire thing) feeling a trembling vibration like a loud, deep hum of a hollow drum. It would feel like a sense of urgency -- burning, hot; like the feet would want to immediately move -- yet also tingle like the sensation of paralysis, as if to keep one suspended in place yet also desire to move.


The sound of the Desert Spirit speaking as well as it even still touching Estelle created a type of synchronization between them simply based on the ability to listen, alone.

Estelle had full control over her body, but was moving in tandem with the Desert Spirit because the Desert Spirit removed her from harm's way. This was only the first stage of their synchronization, but because of it, the Spirit of the Desert could tell more clearly that Estelle was having a sort of energetic deficiency. "Eat," it spoke to her decisively, having already made up its mind immediately to share portions of its own reserves with her initially. From Estelle even feeling drained and having thought about eating at all let the Desert Spirit know immediately what her emotions were and what emanations were being exuded -- as well as how to translate them into different vibrations, such as sound or visible light.

I. Estelle should feel a constant 'Regeneration' as long as she is 'Synchronized' with the Spirit of the Desert. - Enhancement (Regeneration)

Because of the synchronization between them, Estelle would naturally recover, but she may not do so at a swift enough pace if the synchronization was not strong enough or creating a great enough vibration on its own. They needed to be closer to each other so that the channels of energy that were flowing between them were open and clear, as well as generating as much energy as they could.

II. The more 'Synchronized' both Estelle and the Spirit of the Desert stayed to each other, the more 'Harmonized' their 'Influence' would become. - Effect (Resonance)

"We Must Get Closer..." The voice of the Desert Spirit echoed in a whisper, almost like a passing cloud, yet also carrying an arid presence, like that of heat. "... So That We Can Be Harmonious In Battle." Once the two of them were harmonized, when Estelle made a move, the Desert Spirit would also be able to move along with her instantaneously -- and vice versa. That would give the two of them an edge because of the shared benefits between the two of them against the Otherworlder.

His presence, both physical and ethereal easily vibrated within her. His call to move was heeded before the words were finished. She had no fear within her of the being that attempted to harm her; she KNEW she was fine within the presence of the spirit with her.

And now the familiar feeling of a previous reality flooded her. It would have surprised her if she wasn't so susceptible to resonance in the first place. She had devoured Shinigami, Stein, and Medusa. The Kishin and any other she saw fit before. The memories of that time were vague but enough to let her know partially of what was happening.

She did not reject the Spirit in the slightest, freely giving herself, her very being to him, as she would with Reiji.

-Absolute Trust-

-Mutual Submission-

She attempted to invoke a power that she felt within the world through him. Though she was unsure of if such a thing would work, she put her -faith-, a word she rarely used, within his knowledge to guide her side by side now.

When he spoke one simple word, the vibrations between them would solidify even more. He told her to eat.

Her heart skipped a beat as he acknowledged not only her want, but her need to devour. It was gluttonous, a sin even to her since she was shown the truth by Reiji. So she learned to only take what she needed, as well as what she could handle, from those who gave her permission.

The energy of the spirit. With physical contact, she would kiss the air about her, his 'arm' on her being her focus before she inhaled the energy he fed to her. The usual pain from ingesting a foreign energy did not come this time. Not only because of (Regeneration) but because she was given permission.

-Consent-

The energy was so great that it would take a moment to settle, yet, by nature it was enough for his next request to be known and dealt with before the need to be spoken yet again. She was absolutely his for this moment, no longer just the 'being' known as Estelle La Raposa Albatross. Her energy was also his now, akin to an oasis within the desert, the contrast to his heat; a cool and silently flowing river, crystal clear.

Steam bellowed from her body with microscopic drops of water forming throughout, becoming an extension of Estelle herself. They formed burning daggers of boiling water within the cloud of steam to hide themselves before moving in on the Otherworlder, yet the steam did nothing to obstruct either of their view. She would move when he moved, as he would when she did. There was no longer a conscious thought needed for her in that regard.

Jaded edges from the glass shards dug deeply into the skin and the mouth of the Otherworlder pursuing Estelle, yet he closed his eyes instinctively reflexively during the initial burst from the spontaneous combustion, which shielded them from the sharp edges.

"GAK!!!" the man choked, coughing on the shards of glass that both pierced his tongue and also shot down his esophagus. He was momentarily stunned with the preoccupation of regaining his breath and composure whilst both Estelle and the Spirit of the Desert unified themselves. It was hard for him to speak now, yet when he opened his mouth to say, "Don't... Underestimate me...!!" it sounded like he gargled it through blood.

The otherworldly man suffered no heat burns from the explosion nor any real damage from such a force at all. Beyond his vulnerable spots, he harbored a certain supernatural strength that was expected of those that were traveling from different worlds in order to defend themselves against whatever might occur in a different land. Though power hungry and seeking the strength of others in order to grow his own, he was not merely a weak person that had none of his own. It just was not enough for him to his liking.

He opened his eyes to find that the power he'd been sensing was not only growing in strength, but also synchronizing with the young lady that he was following rather than with him. Though his mouth was daggered with shards, even down to his throat, he still managed to say, "That power is MINE!!" The aura around the man that could be seen by Estelle and the Spirit of the Desert fluctuated with instability before growing around his body, filling the air around him with his presence. A violent updraft blew through the desert when his energy kicked up, creating a powerful force around him from the initial buildup that would knock Estelle and her steam away, mixing it with the dust of the sand now floating in the air. It was like a sudden sandstorm picked up, yet it was somewhat putrid looking and filled with deep, dark purple and green hues in its fluctuation. The storm itself seemed threatening based on the exertion of power and from the looks of it, the emanation from the man was both weakening the power of others as well as absorbing them into itself to grow stronger after the decay.

The man approached Estelle looking as if to swallow her up with his energy and snuff out her own, since it was clear that she was weak right now and was sharing energy with the Desert Spirit -- probably because she had not yet recovered her own from the day. It was the perfect opportunity to get her out of the picture and absorb her power so that he would become more powerful. The raw power of his power was his actual power, itself, which is how he would come to attack Estelle utilizing this actual power over his own power. He swiped his arm and a large wave of noxious purple and green energy extended from his body in violent, near uncontrollable pulsations that seemed rather destructive. It had enough power to knock someone clean across the desert and would begin to deteriorate the energy of what it came in contact with on contact. If there was no energy for it to deteriorate, then it would begin to decompose the physical body for energy.

Estelle's decision to share her will with a partner at that time gave her an advantage over the Otherworlder which allowed her to strike preemptively before he had another chance to or whilst he was attacking them. Where either the Spirit or Estelle could be attacking or defending, the other could be taking that chance to deal with the Otherworlder whilst he was distracted by engaging with either one of them.

The initial strike from the Otherworlder's energy was immediately combated and blocked by an equally forceful wave from the Desert Spirit, which canceled out the power of the other and neutralized it, which left an opening for Estelle to attack him directly. "Go, Now!" the Spirit alerted Estelle, letting her know that the man they were fighting was countered and there was a split second opening for her to attack.

There was a runaway that suddenly appeared in the heat of the moment.

A young, beautiful woman of tanned skin that nearly glowed even without the light of the sun fled from the group that were being guided through the Veritas after the evacuation process from the Central City of the Delta. Pandemia, the Pandaversity that covered all subjects, had been defected from by the one Tsubaki, the Desert Swan. She was in no way trying to cause a panic, but something in her spirit boiling in her blood told her that she needed to get away  from the group and follow that being whose aura was so powerful, it seemed to match the radiance of the sun and the fabled Desert Spirit, itself. There was no way that she was not going to pursue it, and it led her here to the Eternal Desert.