Chapter 1: The Silver Hero and Blue Maiden
To a Cloudrunner, the endless rain storm was of no issue to pass through. The tribe prided itself on airborne mobility in the tribal Dinosaur Planet, or as it was called by some, Sauria. It wasn't by such a primal way the silver wolves arrived to the floating Krazoa Palace. They came by "metal bird" as the natives put it. In fact, it was a red and silver Wolfen that touched down on the open platform.
The cockpit window released to let one of the wolves out, one garbed in black and wielding a rather long sword he called Masamune. He crawled out onto the wing but turned to his companion before even thinking of jumping off.
"That was the end of your favor," Wolf O'Donnell warned, "do you really think there would be something in this place, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth had a brief chuckle at that warning. Of course there was something.
"Don't you see? There is more than enough to investigate, my friend" Sephiroth held out a hand to the richly decorated palace before them.
"Whatever, get off my wing so I can get out of here. If my Wolfen gets struck, you're paying"
There was nothing to argue or negotiate with the mercenary. He was set already to abandon him, Sephiroth was aware of so. He jumped off as ordered and continued his path forward to his target. Wolf scoffed at the fool as he closed the cockpit again and began taking off. What was there to gain from a backwater planet like this anyhow?
If the mercenary only knew there was so much that was valuable. Sephiroth was aware when he first arrived to this world that he had to find those Krazoa spirits, the most valuable resource there was here. It was an order from a secret person to bring them back to their world. A very private matter. Each spirit had to be collected and brought over before the Cornerian army could notice and act. This was the most important mission Sephiroth ever gained, and he planned not to fail.
Already he figured someone else had the same idea as him, he had seen a saddled Cloudrunner fly past when he arrived. Another sign was the broken walls he passed through on his way in, blown up by the unstable barrels strewn all over by the careless Sharpclaw. No doubt in his mind that General Scales had made his move to get those spirits first.
"N-no…don't…go…in…" a dying Earthwalker tried to stop him.
Sephiroth ignored the strength-less dino for his mission was more important. What did tribal wars have to matter? Nothing. The more they wiped each other out, the easier it was to acquire those spirits. Sadly, the weak ones left were always the nuisance. Those dumb Sharpclaw soldiers were an example, all over the place snarling and whacking at the air with their clubs.
They were the first unfriendly creatures Sephiroth encountered, as they itched for a fight at the sight of a stronger opponent. Idiotically, they came to him in a big group to charge at the cold, could care less, wolf. Sephiroth sighed at the sad sight and unsheathed his sword. In one horizontal swipe he took out the majority of the soldiers with ease. Despite the blood coating the floor below them, the rest pressed forward to attack.
Sephiroth walked forward himself and passed through the crowd. Their blind fury to avenge their fallen comrades allowed him to slip past into a safe distance for his last resort move. Some of the Sharpclaws slipped on the red liquid below them and allowed the others to notice their stupid mistake. They turned in the right direction in time to see Sephiroth make precisely eight slices in each direction, producing fatal beams of light. With all the rest wiped out by Octaslash, Sephiroth left the carnage behind.
He went forward into the wide room they had been guarding where an Earthwalker lay, dead. Sephiroth approached the body, noticing how the Materia he junctioned to his sword hilt reacted to the corpse. He knelt down by it, pulled the hilt closer the dino, and watched how it pulsed white. Sephiroth used his thumb to lift the eye lid of the deceased Earthwalker, cursing to himself when he saw it was slightly purple.
This one had secondary contact with a Krazoa Spirit, meaning someone went through this shrine already. Perhaps Scales had and slaughtered this dino to make off with it. This meant it was too late for this shrine, however there were others to get to before him. What of that Cloudrunner earlier? That tribe would never dream of collaborating with—
"It's you!"
Shrieks echoed in the great room. Sephiroth instinctively got back up and searched around him for the source. Above there, he observed, was a white chamber lit up by a purple light. He made haste to the elevator and heard the continuous screams, now fading away. Sephiroth kept his hand over Masamune's hilt, ready for his nemesis' appearance.
He was at the top now, right in preparing for a fight. The grandly-dressed Sharpclaw cackled away at the hall's end over whatever victory there was. Whoever the source of the screams was, they were gone along with the light.
"General Scales" Sephiroth declared loud enough to get his attention.
Scales showed off his sharp-tooth grin a Sephiroth, being in a good enough mood to be cocky.
"Sephiroth! Too slow, stinkball!" Scales snickered, "I've got one already, the Krazoa God will be reborn!"
He hesitated not to click the device attached to his belt to avoid the heartless warrior. Sephiroth scanned the room for Scales after he magically turned invisible. No footsteps, no noise, no way to locate him.
"Damn it" Sephiroth muttered.
He crept through the corridor with his sword unsheathed and held out in front of him. His sky-blue eyes scanned the area for sudden changes in the room, hoping to locate his man. A few, slow minutes passed with no evidence of Scales having been there. Still, Sephiroth had his weapon out to avoid chance that he was sticking around still.
Now he had to find the one who was screaming earlier, the one Scales had evidently tortured. If someone was in this room, but gone by the time he reached it, then they must've been the one forced to become the channel. This was the only logical guess now.
Sephiroth settled at that conclusion and went towards the wall of water. It was a barrier meant to allow only the spirits to pass through, but the green glow of the Materia forced it to make an exception. He stepped through this shortcut and gazed at the hole in the ceiling, admiring the structure put into making it so tall. The only thing he could see from his position was a glimmer of violet that wasn't so clear. It was still enough to confirm what he suspected.
He swiftly took himself to the air lifts in the center of the room and jumped into the middle-most one. Sephiroth was glad that he was light enough to be carried all the way to the palace's top roof. He grabbed onto the ledge when it appeared before him and dragged himself onto the wet pavement. A few careful steps back allowed him to view the victim in the crystal; a beautiful, blue vixen decorated in ornate jewels. An exotic sight such as her was…appealing to the eye.
But looks weren't what Sephiroth considered. Scales made this maiden become the channel, he must foil that plan even if only temporary. Those spirits were to come with him, not to some nonsense "Krazoa God".
The trusty Materia glowed a blue now, telling that it still had power to crack the crystal and set her free. Sephiroth stuck the blade a bit into the crystal to make the first crack. He sheathed Masamune and watched as the growing crack glowed white, proving it was effective. The imprisonment crystal shattered, allowing the girl to wake up. She screamed when she started her fall down to the very. Very, very bottom.
Her shock of the event made her numb to the tight grip on her arm pulling her to safety. Sephiroth had enough heart to him to save her, enough heart to put her on her feet. She stumbled into his arms, still wide-eyed from viewing what could've been her death. Sephiroth rolled his eyes, not wanting the sentiment.
"T-thank you, thank you!"
Sephiroth held her away, making sure she was able to see his cold expression. Still she persisted in thanking him in her shakiness.
"Get out of this palace, and don't think about getting in my way" Sephiroth pointed towards the ramps.
He turned and walked back into the rainstorm, finding the blue vixen followed. In his annoyance, Sephiroth faced her with a stern look and a hand over his sword hilt as a threat.
"I told you—"
"I must repay you! It's what we do in Cerinia" she begged.
A Cerinian of all people, on Sauria? If she really was of that nearly extinguished race, then why didn't she read his thoughts and run for it?
"What purpose would you serve, exactly?"
"I can sense when there are people nearby!"
"A talent that served her well earlier", Sephiroth sarcastically thought.
"I can also communicate with the Krazoa, I was trained by the priests in Cerinia to—"
She went on and on about her background, wasting his time. Sephiroth stared at her blankly while she went on, trying to persuade him. The one factor out of all of her rambling that he took note of was the glow in her eyes. A sign of luck for him; one that told him that this girl was the one who went through the shrine and not Scales. With her free, there was no other place for the Krazoa spirit to go but back into her.
"Fine," Sephiroth held his hands up to show he gave in, "come along. We have work to do"
"Yes, oh! I am Krystal"
Sephiroth closed his eyes and wondered if she was already picking up his name. But when he opened his eyes again, Krystal was still waiting for his reply.
"Sephiroth"
Krystal nodded at him and smiled; a thing that still couldn't melt his focused personality.
"First we're going to Thorntail Hollow, no questions"
Krystal nodded again and chased after when Sephiroth began to leave her behind. He chose to slow only because she was hosting the spirit he was after. Anything else he was ignoring. The sooner he got to that hollow, the quicker he could get rid of her.