All characters (c) their creator. This fanfiction is written totally for personal pleasure, and for the pleasure of others, and I don't claim to own Ronin Warriors or any of the characters.
Anubis's face contored, the agony of pain ripping through him. Yet through all of it, he smiled. True, his death was coming upon him. Yet he had had fufilled his promise: he had freed Lady Kayura of Badamon, and had shown her the evil of Tulpa. Kayura would know what to do, and she would fufill the line of the Ancient. For she, of course, was one of the true line of the Ancient. It was what she deserved. He himself had never been worthy.
Another sharp stab of pain jolted up his spine, and he coughed into the water. Yes, his death was soon. Very soon. In moments his spirit would be joining the Ancient One's. He had done all he could to help the Ronin Warriors. And he would still help them, as long as Tulpa lived, and even longer.
The former Dark Warlord of Cruelty reflected on how he of all people could have ended up here. Yes, he had been an honorable warrior in his youth. That was all he really desired. Yet when he did find honor, there was something lacking still in his life. He found that honor was not enough to fill his soul at the time. He wished for more. And Tulpa had been there to offer it to him.
The Armor of Cruelty had been amazing to him at first. Tulpa had wept with sinister joy at how easy it was to tempt the ambitious Anubis. After he had found his honor, he hadn't realized what he wanted until it had been offered to him by the evil Emperor: power. Pure, simple, power.
Yes, the Armor had been amazing. And why wouldn't it be? It was the pure form of the one thing Anubis wanted so badly, and the route in which he had chosen to obtain it. Through cruelty. With that armor, he could command such power as he had never dreamed before.
He had originally planned to only use Tulpa. Yes, he was a benefactor. As long as Anubis would stay loyal, under Tulpa's command, he would recieve benefit from his duty. Eventually, of course, he would grow strong. Incredibly strong. He would command such power as the world had never seen before. Power that even Tulpa himself could not stop. And that would be when he would take control.
And yet, through all of his dutiful work, and all of his scheming behind the curtain, it was him at all times who was being used. Tulpa needed someone strong enough to command the Armor of Cruelty. Someone who would work to find the other armors. And Anubis was all that he had ever hoped for.
Dais, Cale, and Sekhmet had been spiteful from the beginning. This young boy had managed to draw Tulpa's eye, and he of all people had recieved the last Armor under Tulpa's possession. And, though the youngest of the Dark Warlords, Anubis had quickly become the strongest, and fell into Tulpa's heavy favor.
And yet, Anubis had only been corrupted, never truly evil. For if he HAD been truly evil, the Ancient would never have been able to heal him. It was only the hate in his heart that corrupted him. Tulpa had only lured the emotion there. Anubis had hated Tulpa from the start, he had hated the other warlords, and some distant part of him had still hated himself for what he had become. But he had been healed.
As he remembered his past, Anubis felt the terrible and wonderful release of pain as his life faded away from his grasp. The pain had been his only link back to the thing he had once known. He had made so many mistakes in his life, ones that he would regret, ones that he still wouldn't, and yet...he had lived a good life. A fufilling life. He had helped, and been helped. He had saved, and been saved. He had loved...