[A/N]: SO excited to finally be posting this! It felt really weird to not upload a million chapters in one day (heh) but, here we go! Chapter One! I'm really loving writing this story!
Chapter One: There's A Part Deep Within Me
Shadows writhed and contorted in the night. The wind and moonlight cast terrifying patterns through the leaves and petals of the sakura in the garden. The moon was half full, casting the shapes in the shadows all the more eerily.
A dark blot moved soundlessly through the night. Cutting through gardens, it broke the stems of the jewellike flowers beneath its boots. The beauty of the gardens by moonlight was ruined by the flattened path of death and destruction magic cut through it.
The shadows approached the castle, circling towards the enormous gates. Kuroy Thakos didn't have the time to kill the guards; he slipped past them, resolving to kill them after the most important part of the night was over. He couldn't afford to be thwarted now. He had to be careful if he was to succeed.
He made his way through the opulent halls, casually admiring the tapestries and stained glass, beauties that had not existed in the last castle. He remembered the thrill of power rushing through him as he razed the cold granite block of the last castle, and wished yet again for his power to return. A smile quirked his lips.
He almost hoped that he wouldn't have to destroy the loveliness of the new castle, that he could rule from this gorgeous creation of marble and color. Almost. He had so enjoyed killing the flowers in the garden, even if he hadn't been using his own magic.
Unseen, Kuroy passed by guards, whose numbers increased as he neared the king's chambers. Damn Makarov for saving him as a child; Kuroy was forced to start over from square one. He'd kill them all for sure this time.
It didn't help that he was forced to stoop to using Holder Magic. His own Caster Magic had been nullified by the damned meddling Wizard Saints. With any luck, though, that would soon be fixed; the Siren had promised help at the crucial moment. Kuroy turned the communication globe in his fingers, eager to have his power back. He hoped she had gathered all the things she needed.
Rune Knights began to appear among the ranks of the guards on the way to the king's chambers. Kuroy grinned, almost wanting to reveal himself and kill them all. But the deaths of the king and his family were paramount, and must always take precedence.
He didn't see a tiny lacrima light up and flash, sending a message as he passed.
Kuroy stepped into the wing of the castle belonging to the royal family. He raised his invisible hand, drawing a Bolt Staff out of his cloak without a sound. In three sharp movements, he killed the guards in the hallway without a sound.
Let the fun begin, thought Kuroy triumphantly. Let there be no survivors!
He made his way down the halls, using his Bolt Staff to kill every person in every room he passed, silent as a cat's footstep. The two children in the opulent rooms near the end of the hall were obviously the heirs; they were dispatched with relish, unaware of Kuroy, clutching plush toys in their sleep. Most of his other victims were servants or nobles, but he killed them anyway, not wanting to take any chances. Finally, there was only one left.
He entered the king's rooms and raised his staff. The king lay alone in his large four-post bed. Kuroy assumed that the lovely woman he'd killed in the little princess' room had been the queen.
"Kuroy Thakos."
He blinked; the king sat up in bed and watched him levelly. "It's been a long time, Your Majesty," he replied smoothly, shedding his invisibility spell. His dark, hooded eyes regarded the king motionlessly. Sharp features tightened in a smirk as he readied a powerful blast from his staff. His mussed red and blue hair stood on end with the static electricity crackling along the Bolt Staff.
"The years have not been kind to you," the king commented. Kuroy noticed the king's hands as they moved in the darkness, operating some magic device.
Kuroy swung his staff, but a magical barrier stopped the lightning bolt dead. He struck once more, but the barrier absorbed the magic, its spell reaching out to drain the rest of the magical energy from the staff. Kuroy glanced at the now-useless stick. He smiled. "Oh, good. I knew you wouldn't be a pushover, Your Majesty. Is that one of the toys Makarov gave you?"
"It is." The king almost casually tossed a burst lacrima at Kuroy, who indifferently batted it into the hall with his staff. The ensuing shock wave didn't break the deadly eye contact between Kuroy and the king. The king glared at the dark wizard, raising his chin in defiance. Kuroy smirked.
"I was hoping I'd get the chance to show you this." Kuroy raised the communication globe to his lips. "I'm ready. Are you?"
He could hear the smirk in her sultry voice as she replied, "Always."
"Fire at will!"
Through the globe came a rush of power. The king flinched, but the power surged into Kuroy, splintering the ancient, weakened seals on his magic. Kuroy laughed, feeling the thrill of power in his body once again. Magic seared through him, permeating every cell in his body. His magic became tangible, filling the room with red light. "Hahaha! It's working!"
"Ready for more?" asked the woman, sounding delighted.
"Give me everything you've got!" Kuroy cackled. He threw out his arms, excess magical energy spurting from his fingertips. He began to glow.
The king was trapped in his bed, no way out. Kuroy leered, relishing the apprehension on the king's face. Kuroy turned his magic towards the barrier, shattering it with a single blow. Kuroy threw back his head and laughed harder. "Yes! We've done it!"
Pointing both palms at the king, he charged a cannon of magic, slowly enough to see the mounting fear on the king's face. Crackling red magic gathered into a large sphere of power.
"Wait!" the voice cried through the globe. "Something's going wrong! Don't!" Fear permeated her every word.
Kuroy blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?" he snapped. "Everything is fine!"
"No, please, don't use that much magic─"
"Like hell I won't! This is my chance!" he snarled. "It's my time!"
"Your body isn't used to so much power─"
"Before the Saints interfered, my power was a thousand times greater than this! I can do it!"
"No! Don't!"
He released the pent-up magic in the sphere.
The king was killed instantly, but Kuroy's brief moment of triumph was shattered with the concussion of the explosion threw him backwards, into the wall. He heard bone crack and cried out.
The heat of the blast followed, searing his skin. Kuroy writhed, screaming. The acid magic ate at everything in the room, breaking it down in perfect destruction. It consumed its own caster, slowly, inflicting blinding pain.
The woman in the globe sobbed heartrendingly. "Oh, god, no, please─"
The lower halves of Kuroy's legs were already eaten away. "Help me!" he screamed at the globe clutched in his hand.
"I can't! I don't know what to do!" she wailed.
Kuroy blacked out briefly as the rest of his legs were destroyed by the slowly agonizing magic. "Help," he croaked again.
She could only weep.
Kuroy screamed as a post of the bed fell on what was left of his body, its support decayed by magic. The last thing he heard was the woman's voice, shrieking, "Daddy!"
…
The connection was lost as the acidic magic ravaged the hand protecting the other globe.
The woman, shuddering with tears and loss, lowered her globe. "Dad," she whimpered. Oh, god, what had gone wrong?! What had she done wrong?! The spells, the power, it had all been right...had she miscalculated? Had she killed her own father?!
No, no, not her...the Saints. It was their fault that her father was dead. If they hadn't bound up his magic as they had, he would've been able to handle his own power as it streamed through him! As the realization dawned on her, her anger built.
The Saints did this! They killed Kuroy Thakos!
The woman climbed to her feet, tucking the globe─the last connection she had to her father─into her cloak. Her face dark, she decided: her father hadn't lived to see his dream fulfilled, but she would carry it out for him! And he would be proud of her, smiling from the other side. The woman set her shoulders.
A slight change in plans, though.
The fuckers at Era would be the first to fall for what they did. They had to pay for the murder of her father.
Kuroy Thakos would not die in vain, and the Siren would make sure of it!
[A/N]: The Siren is literally my favorite OC of all the ones I've made and you can't tell me otherwise.