Prologue: Three Witches…Souls combining?

"Hey, Renka! Come over here and check this out!" I laugh and run over to Sora.

"What's up?"

"I just figured out how to transform into a knife! Your dad showed me!" I grin and cross my arms.

"Okay. Show me." Sora nods and glows a moment before turning into a small knife. "Cool!" I catch her and examine the blade. "Perfect balance…just like Dad! You really are a Copycat tool!"

"Are you sure about those two?"

"Their souls seem strong enough…"

"Yes…they'll do quite nicely." I flinch. Witches. Three of them.

"Renka…"

"I know…Mom and Dad are doing a job…we're going to have to run." I look around and spot the alley. Perfect! I break into a run. "Sora, change…"

"Right!" The knife in my hand vanishes and is replaced with sharp cat claws. A tail appears behind me and I feel ears pop onto my head. I love this form of hers…heightened senses, a flexible tail that grows to whatever length required, and claws that are sharper and harder than diamonds.

I skid to a halt at the end of the alley, cornered by the three witches.

"Come be part of our magic…"

"We won't hurt you…much…" I whirl to look at all three of them. We're dead…I look up to find an escape route, but there isn't one. No way out. They must be concealing their magic…otherwise there would be others here already. That's sad…I'm a young weapon master and I'm already about to die at the hands of witches that aren't even using their true power.

"Renka…we have to fight back…" I shake my head.

"Against three witches….neither of us would survive." I drop my hands and relax. One of the witches grabs me.

"Renka! I can't do anything without your help!" I sigh.

"They won't kill us." I break out into a grin. "But I'll kill them!" All three witches step back and I laugh hysterically. "But not today…no…they'll teach me their magic and then I'll take their souls…"

"You're crazy…you heard them talking about what would happen when we resonate next time!" I sigh.

"Hey…my blood's always been black…have you ever wondered why that is? Why I bleed black and you bleed red when we're cousins? Mom and Dad bleed red too…but I've always bled black…"

"You're talking crazy again…we need to think about this seriously! Both of us could die if we resonate again!" I sigh again.

"You're right…we could…but we won't…neither of us will die…just the witches." I clench my fists and grin. "Today's the day…they've taught us their magic and given us strength…but they're no longer meaningful…and eventually they'd be killed by a weapon and master…I'm just speeding the process…" Sora shakes my shoulders.

"Are you insane? There's no way in hell we can take on three witches without resonating!" I laugh hysterically.

"Of course! That's why we'll do it! I'm ready to get home…and this is the day."

"Are you ready for this? It's gonna be fun!" Sora sighs beside me and glows a moment.

"The only reason I'm going along with this is because I trust you. Even if I lose my life, I'll do what you ask." I grin and curl my hands, claws appearing along with a tail and ears.

"No time like the present…" I face the three witches and laugh hysterically.

"Soul Resonance!" Sora and I yell at the same time and I feel our souls link.

'This is bad…I don't know whether my soul is being consumed or mine is trying to consume Renka's…' I close my eyes, concentrating on the link to strengthen the resonance.

"Beautiful! Their souls are battling for dominance!" I frown, concentrating. I can't listen to anything outside of my mind.

"Renka…where is this place?"

"I don't know…but there's only one way we can both survive this."

"What is that?" I grin.

"I absorb you."

"What? That's not me surviving!" I sigh.

"I'm not talking about consuming your soul! Basically, your soul will become part of my soul, but you'll still be you…in the sense that your soul will be intact. As it is, because of the way your original weapon form is, your body won't exist anymore…"

"Will you be able to use my powers then?" I nod.

"Most likely…" Sora nods once.

"Then okay. As I said. I trust you…even if I don't survive…if you can use my powers and protect yourself, that's fine." I smile and take her hand.

"Then…I'll do it."

"Now…I'll be taking your souls…" I grin and crouch, curling my hands and tilting my head.

"You won't be able to fight us…"

"Much less take our souls." I laugh hysterically and run at one of them. She screeches, but I cut her in half before she can use a spell against me.

"Today is the day…I told you I'd take your souls…" I turn to the second witch and switch weapon types. "Mode switch…Fae Blade." I wrap my hand around the long black sword that appears in my hand and slice the witch in front of me in half.

I turn and stretch my grin. "Your turn…" She steps back, lifting her hands.

"Look…" I laugh and spin the blade in my hand.

"Time to die." I throw my head back, laughing. "Tick tock…time to eat." I swing the blade, cutting through the final witch. The blade disappears and I grab the three floating souls. "Thanks for the meal." I eat the souls and sigh, patting my stomach.

I look around after a moment, immediately sensing that there are more witches. I frown and then realize that there aren't any witches around. 'Sora?' No response.

I sigh and concentrate. The sense of more witches being here is coming from me…I think.

The black expanse that is the soul wavelengths of the area around me engulfs me and I have to concentrate not to lose myself. There's only one soul in the area…mine. But now it's a lot bigger than it was before…I touch the mass in front of me.

"Sora?" The chaotic mess that is the plane of my soul appears in front of me and I look around. The three witches are here, along with a limp form on the ground. "Sora!" I run over and touch her.

She doesn't respond. I look up and see the witches fade. "I'm sorry, Sora…" I stand and brush my hands. "Well. If I thought there were more witches in the room when it was just my soul gaining the powers of those three, then I need to figure out a way to use Soul Protect."

I clap my hands together, thinking of something. I had been able to use a spell after it was used on me before. So maybe having absorbed the souls of those witches, I'll be able to use all of their spells and abilities? I concentrate and get back to the black space, looking at the large, dark blue ball that is my soul.

I touch the sphere and close my eyes. "Soul Protect…" The strength of my soul lightens and I open my eyes. A thick layer of my soul is darkened slightly. I can still feel the witch magic strongly…too strongly to survive in Death City with so many Shibusen students and teachers running around.

Another layer then. "Soul Protect, Level 2." The layer thickens, but it still doesn't conceal the witch aura enough. "Three levels for three souls…Soul Protect Level 3." Again, it thickens and I nod slightly. "Great."