Sins of the Fallen, Scorn of Man
Well everybody, I'm not as dead as some of you might think I am. And I didn't plan on letting this story die either. All I honestly have to say to all of you is that I'm sorry for the long hold up. Being completely honest with you I've been backed up with working over the summer, starting back to school, and being just one lazy bastard. So to make it up I'm going to actually give you the chapter that I had promised to you half a stone age ago. Now I'm also going to go ahead and tell you that this would have been updated earlier on account of my laziness if I hadn't actually of lost the USB drive that held the already more than half finished chapter that I am now adding. The good news on that is that this chapter was the only thing I had lost and not everything I had typed all together. So this will be the installment that I had promised time and time again. I had gotten some PMs about the continuation in which I replied with that it wouldn't be long before another chapter was updated, and that person is probably upset and disappointed with the fact that the chapter is coming out just now. So I would again like to apologize and would like to say that this story will not be abandoned by me, that promise I can actually keep. This story will be updated however fast I get it up, by me, and only by ME. This story will not be handed over or adopted by any means unless I am going to die and I want my stories to continue. I know that will not happen for a while, so you will only see an update alert from Embodiment of Darkness for as long as you see this story on this site. Aside from that, I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter, mostly for me.
Chapter 7 – Tainted
The cold morning air drifted into the room as silence left the domain peaceful between human and cheetah. Shade's dagger was the object of Sin's attention as the dark cheetah slowly tossed it up and down in his hand. The cheetah had become a rather nice piece of company over the past few days since Sin's return to the Temple. Tensions were high throughout the building thanks to everyone's fears of having the once Dark Master in the same living space as them on the accounts of his past behaviors. It seemed as if Sin himself would be counted as the only one that Malefore could call a true friend at the moment. He would have counted maybe Terrador, but even he had doubts about what the earth Guardian thought about this one dark force's return under that face of indifference. The glint of the sun's reflection off of Shade's steel brought the human back to reality as he uncaringly watched the cheetah stare at him. Shade was as silent as the human across form him. There was so much that the cheetah wanted to question, but his mind wouldn't stand still long enough for him to ask a single one. This was something of the likes in which no living thing in Avalar has ever seen. His mind was overflowing with questions, theories, and fear. While Sin had never shown any ill will towards any citizens, it was only natural for someone who has had no contact with the being have an inkling of fear.
"So…is there a reason you have come to my room?" Sin's sudden question had jump started the cheetah, and his mind was ready to offer the human many questions in which he hoped Sin could answer.
"I must apologize for being rude. I've just been thinking of what to ask you first. You are something new to our land, which makes me wonder just what other knowledge of things you have and what you have come here for?" Sin's expression hadn't changed in the slightest as his stare had stayed the same, or had become even less caring in Shade's point of view.
"Well if that is all you wanted, then why not ask. There honestly isn't much I'm not willing to spill that I know. So fire away if you please." Shade had kept his posture on the outside, but was rather excited in his mental state. Shade was one of the top hunters in his village, on account of his skill and how he always looked for ways to improve and gain more knowledge. He would use anything taught, shown, or gained by another and out it into some use in the future. So to learn something about a creature no other being has yet to come in contact with was a field trip to him.
"First thing I'd like to know is just where you came from, and what it was that brought you here?" Shade stopped juggling his knife before quickly chucking it at Sin, in which the human quickly plucked it from the air and began imitating Shade.
"I come from a completely different universe where I live on a planet called Earth that is populated by my species as the dominant race in form of knowledge and power. How I got here was by means of which I had never thought possible. Dark magic cast by the Dark Master himself in hopes that I would help in his revival in some way, needless to say that plan backfired on him rather harshly." Shade absorbed every word and sentenced that dripped from Sin's tongue. The cheetah didn't have long to contemplate as Shade instinctively retrieved his dagger that sliced through the air, choosing whether or not he catch it or be impaled by his own weapon. "Anything else?" Shade stared at the ceiling as the dagger returned to it's natural routine. Another question appeared in his mind as Shade restarted their game of catch. "You said something about 'purifying' the Dark Master a few days back. Just how is that even possible? He was made up of nothing but pure darkness from his illegal studies into the dark arts. Also, what did you exactly did you mean when you absorbed his darkness?" The dagger once again rejoined Sin as the human twirled to weapon between his fingers, thinking of the proper way of wording his answer.
"I meant exactly what I said when I had returned. I pulled what darkness had inhabited his body from those many years ago when he was first introduced to his wrong doings. I retracted the strongest of the influences and left the power that he had gained from both the arts and his personal training. I then took that evil and put it inside my own body. When I was born, Malefore injected me with the same darkness that cycled through his own body. The difference between him and me was that it was given to me at a young age and I grew with that power, as my body accepted it, and I gained control of it. Malefore was corrupted when he was a teenager in a time of desire for power; being very influential he was easily grasped by those dark powers and was lost for a long time to the conscious world. Since my own body already knew how to handle what it had lived for its entire life, I was able to put it into my own body. I'm not sure if it has altered any form of strength or powers, and I don't care to know until the time comes since I have yet to fully grasp the power I already have." Shade was just astounded by this knew leak of information. He had no idea that Sin himself had the same exact dark power that had dwelled inside Malefore for all of his life. And then knowing that Sin took away the Dark Master's power and inserted it inside himself blew his mind! During their first encounter, he had noticed that the human held some great power that he had not yet shown to him, but now he wouldn't be able to level his power by face value alone. He would have to watch him one day to see just what kind of destruction he could be capable of. Shade was about to ask another question when his dagger came flying by, quickly passing just inches from his muzzle before becoming embedded into the door as a knock was heard at the same moment of the impact of the steel. An outside force cautiously opened the door before the head of Kain was pressed trough the door's opening. His face was curled into a face of unhappiness as he eyed Sin.
"We do have on record that you're an ass right?" Sin just gave him a smug look and a shrug of his shoulders.
"That's what I wrote in full caps and bold lettering in the fine print." Kain was not amused as he resumed his glare before huffing and disowning his look of anger.
"On another note, have you seen Val anywhere? I've been looking for her all day. I wanted to know if she was all right. She's looked kind of bothered these past few days and I was a bit worried." Sin scratched his head and gave the dragon a confused look.
"Then you shouldn't be asking me because I haven't seen a scale of her since I've gotten back. I thought she was trying to avoid me to be honest." It was the truth on his end. One person he wanted to see when he returned was Val, but it seemed that he couldn't find her anywhere in the Temple wherever he went.
"Oh, well thanks anyways. I guess I could try asking the Guardians if they've seen her anywhere." With that, Kain's head retreated and he shut the door as his claws were heard tapping against the cobblestone as he walked away from Sin's room. When the door was closed Shade dislodged his dagger from the wooden door and returned it to its sheath once more. Shade then stood up and stretched out with most of his joints popping thanks to him sitting in one spot for a continuous amount of time.
"Well, I think I'll head out for the moment. I need to get out of the Temple for a little while; I don't exactly like being cooped up in a building for so long." Shade opened the door and slipped out of the room, making his way to the exit of the Temple. Sin sat in his room alone. He stayed silent to himself as he thought about his time in this new and unimaginable world. The things he's done, the creatures he had met, the friends he had acquired, and all of the knowledge he had gained that he would have never learned of if it hadn't been for his strange encounter with Malefore back on earth. A pretty large weight was lifted from his shoulders after he had found out about why he was given the powers he had, and just he had been the culprit behind it all. He wasn't angry in the slightest though. Without this power he would have never become the person he was at the moment. He put his hands in front of him, just staring at them and the rings that adorned them as he turned the around every few seconds. He watched closely as he could see dark small wisps of black and dark purple smoke slowly lifting off of his hands, and a small pulsating of his veins against his fingers with the same pigment. He had not felt normal ever since he had accepted Malefore's own darkness into his body. It wasn't having any negative effect on him at the moment, but there was no telling just what it was that it could do to him if he gave it the time. He had noticed not too long ago the changes it had done to his eye also. He looked at a nearby mirror that was on a vanity in his room only to find that, along with his hands, his eye also had a smoke trail ejecting from it. Everything just kept getting weirder and weirder the longer he stayed in this new land. He wasn't complaining though since he was never one to like staying in normal conditions. It was much more fun to spice up life with surprises. Sin lifted himself of the crate he had turned into a makeshift chair and pushed himself out into the hallways of the Temple looking for something to pass the time.
Val ducked around another corner of a hallway as she tried as stealthily as she could to make her way out of the Temple. She had never been this frightened before in her lifetime, and she didn't even know what she was scared about! Ever since Sin's return, something inside her had risen up and now she felt nervous sitting in the same building as the human. So ever since he came back she had made every attempt to keep out his line of sight. She had been successful at the moment, but there was always the chance that she would slip up and bump into him. So that was why, at the moment, she was attempting to make her way out of the Temple and go into town for a while. She could see the exit and no one around so she made a mad dash for the door. She was just about to leave the confines of the Temple, when she collided with a large mass which sent her and whatever she bumped into backwards. Val rubbed her head as she looked towards the thing she bumped into to find Shade sprawled out backwards. The cheetah picked himself off of the floor and rubbed his head. "Damn, that was one hell of tackle." Val's cheeks turn red as a sheepish look adorned her face.
"I'm sorry Shade; I didn't mean to run into you. I was just trying to get out of the Temple as quick as I can." Shade looked towards the dragoness with a questionable eye.
"And just what are you trying to run from?" Val lifted a talon to answer before her face went red and she shot out of the door too fast for Shade's eyes to track. Shade just sighed in defeat as he just sat in the floor for a minute. "I should have just stayed with Hunter, because this is just getting too weird for me."
Sin strolled down the hallways of the Temple, making his way to the exit as everyone else had seemed to be doing. Getting outside might actually do some good for him. Maybe it would help him clear his mind a little from all that has happened. Sin turned the corner where he was quick to trip on some form a matter that had parked itself in the floor. Sin was quick to recover by catching himself with his hands and pushing his body back up to stand on solid ground. When he was up he looked down to find what had tripped him up in the first place to find Shade on the ground with a smirk on his face. "Just what the hell are you doing in the floor man?"
"Well, that dragon you were looking for just kind of bulldozed me a moment ago and kind of knocked me into the floor before you came around the corner." That caught Sin's attention at a moment's notice.
"Wait, so you actually saw Val?"
"That is what I just said isn't it?" Before anymore could be said Sin had already disappeared out of the Temple. Shade just laid down in floor with his arms sprawled out to his side. "Is it too late to just quit?" Sin was at a full sprint as he was leaping down the stairs leading into town, arriving in town in record time. As soon as he hit the last steps he was fully aware as he scanned the surroundings looking for anything eye blindingly white in the crowds. When he saw that there was no sign of her in the area he made his way through the city, determined to find the dragoness that had been hiding from him.
Val slithered through the crowd of dragons and cheetahs of multiple shapes and colors. In her haste of leaving the Temple she had entangled herself in the market crowd and was now caught in the hustle and bustle of the town buyers and sellers lined among the stalls stationed throughout the city. So now she was stuck and had no choice but to make due with the camouflage given to her. It seemed that luck was still on her side, but she knew it wouldn't last for too much longer. She knew that Shade saw her and that he would no doubt tell Sin of her whereabouts and where she dashed off. What was wrong with her? Just the sight of Sin made her heat up and caused her throat to close. She couldn't speak a word to him no matter how hard she tried. She had never had such feelings towards any other being, and this was frightening her. These feelings were unnatural and she had no idea had to react to them. What exactly were these feelings? Val let out a huff of frustration. The stress was killing her! She pushed the feelings off to the side the best she could and blended into the crowd. She decided to just let her mind unravel with a stroll through the streets and hopefully everything would wash away eventually.
A growl of frustration echoed throughout the dark catacomb hallway as a large body of mass could be heard bouncing on the walls. You could here the anger rise as whatever was shrouded in the darkness stomp against the damp floor, resounding in a splash from the puddle formed below its feet. "This is so damn annoying! Just who the hell makes this long ass hallway, and doesn't put any torches to light the way? So cliché!" The voice identified whatever was walking as a male that continued sloshing through the scrunched hallway as his shoulder ground against the walls every once in a while. "I swear, when I see him I'm going to kick his ass for sure." The creature's frustration was snuffed once he finally saw a light that signaled the end of his hellish journey. It was only seconds until he was bathed in light once more as he stepped into a circular room with a large circle stone placed in the middle. Torches lit this room to a blinding contrast against the hallway he had walked through. "This is even more cliché than just being underground in the first place. Just what the hell are we, some badly scripted villains?"
"Now now Ash, no need to get so worked up. This layout is for the purpose of secrecy." The now labeled Ash turned around to confront a bulky, green earth dragon, only for his face to contort into anger with who he was faced.
"Dammit Cole, just what they hell are we doing down here? We're going after one person; we could have just met up somewhere else and not this stupid underground catacomb."
"We can't take the chance of him finding us. There's no telling just where he could be. Besides, don't you want payback for what he did to you?" Cole pointed towards Ash's tail with one of his talons. Ash looked back to see a spot on his tail where his crimson scales were darker than any other along his body. It was the scar left from Sin's blade when it had wrapped around him before he was used as a personal wrecking ball. But that changed nothing as Ash whirled on Cole in frustration.
"Sure, I want a rematch because of what he did to me, but why are we meeting here?" Cole just chuckled and pointed towards the large stone in the middle of the room were three other dragons had gathered since their ranting had begun. There was a light blue dragoness with a darker blue underbelly and wings. She had four horns that were slicked back straight along her head. Next was a rather small earth dragon who was playing was small pebble, knocking it back and forth between his claws. He was a murky brown with a sandy colored underbelly and muddy wings. He had two horns that swooped back before curving in towards his mouth. The last dragon was a grey dragon with a lighter grey underbelly and wings. He had multiple horns protruding from his head that formed what seemed to be a crown on his head.
"Because this time, we're going make sure that our victory is absolute." Both dragons met up with the other before taking a seat with them around the large stone. Cole looked at everyone present before smirking. "You all know why we're here, and we are also here for the same reason. That two-legged freak humiliated us all and we want a rematch from him. Well, I have devised a way for us to get what we want and win. So I want you all to listen closely. Winter-" He looked towards the dragoness. "I want you to find out were that one dragon that Sin fought last is. I've heard that they have become rather good friends and I'm sure that if we could capture her, we can get him to come right us." Winter nodded in silence as Cole moved towards the grey and murky dragon. "Onyx, Jade, you two shadow Winter from a distance. Once she puts the plan into action I want you two to help restrain the target." Both dragons nodded as Cole moved towards Ash. "Lastly, Ash I want you to inform Sin once our guest has been escorted to us. He needs to know without your presence and in secret so don't interact with him." Ash only rolled his eyes as he set his head lazily on the table. "Okay everyone, let's get started." Ash only grumbled under his breath as the other dragons began to head out.
"Fucking cliché."
Val snarled in aggravation as another body bumped her through the streets. She had thought this would have been a good idea at first, but the activity soon became rather annoying and she was prepared to kill the next person to bump shoulders with her. She struggled to squeeze through another group of window shoppers, having to force a few of them to get the hell out of the way so she could continue her walk. The only thing that crushed that hope was the fact that there were even more groups of people huddled in one place, blocking her path. She rubbed her forehead in frustration as she began cursing the initial idea of coming down here. "I know how you feel." Val looked to her right to find a blue dragoness that had parked herself next to her. "These market days can be the worst kind of hell." The dragoness looked at Val who only gave her a questioning look. "Oh sorry, where are my manners. My name is Winter."
"The names Val."
"Well Val, how about I make your life a little bit easier." Val watched as Winter stood back up and walked over to an alleyway between the street's buildings. Val slapped herself after she came to the conclusion that she could have been maneuvering much easier if she had taken the alleyways to get away from the crowds. Val stood up and began to follow Winter throughout the alleyways. After a few minutes the duo had come out into a small, secluded square of land placed in the middle of multiple pieces of housing. Val stopped as Winter continued before said dragoness turned around to face Val. "I saw you fighting that weird creature no too long ago Val, and I also know you're a big fan of spars. Today has been quite boring, for the both of us if I may assume, and I wanted to ask if we could have a little spar of our own if you don't mind." Val's face instantly lit up, finally something exciting to do today for once. Val smiled as she ducked down into to her own defensive stance.
"That would be great honestly. You have no idea how shitty this day has been, and just how much you made it better with that question." Winter smiled as she to dropped into a defensive stance and the two began to slowly circle each other. Val was first to act as she released a fireball at Winter before quickly using her wings to propel herself behind the projectile. Winter dodged the fireball with no problem and got ready to launch an icicle before she was shortly blindsided by the blunt end of Val's Chakram shortly after the fire's impact. Winter went tumbling back a few feet, being able to save recover from her roll and skid back the rest of the way on her feet. During her slide she spat back a lengthy icicle at her assailant before unfurling her wings and taking to the sky. Val watched Winter catch wind, but not before having a close call with the spear of ice that whizzed past her. Winter circled Val form the sky, watching her for any pinpoints of a break in her defense. She had underestimated the dragoness, and was beginning to pay dearly for it. She would have to either end this quick, or weaken her enough for the others to jump in and apprehend her. Winter summoned up her power over ice and laced it along her talons, elongating her claws. Winter hardened her gaze as she broke into a dive straight for Val. Val watched as Winter slowly got closer with each passing second. Val raised her tail to counteract the impact with the ice dragoness. Val brought her tail down and let it collide with Winter's head. She was surprised when the ice dragoness didn't fall and noticed small chips of ice that sprinkled the air before noticing that dragoness's mouth slightly open. Val didn't have any time to think as she felt the sting of the ice claws rake against her scales, causing her to recoil in pain as her small lacerations drizzled with blood. When she looked at Winter to see the dragoness smirking before knocking on her head with a tightened claw.
"Nice little ice cap, for extra protection." Val slowly stood up, only to be put back down in the dirt by a ruthless charge from the ice dragoness. Winter smirked as she watched Val lose her strength before she put her mission into action. Winter set a claw on the ground before cycling her ice affinity, watching the ground freeze over as it slowly made its way to the downed dragoness. Val's breath heavy was as her body felt like it was ready to quit. She was about to make another attempt to move when she felt her body become restricted and strangely colder. Looking up she found that her lower body had become completely encased in ice and found that the source of her frozen containment was coming form Winter. "Just clam down and come peacefully; our mission is to take you, not harm you anymore than necessary." Val was about to retaliate before she felt a blunt force connect with the back of her head, leaving her vision black.
"Hey, watch where you're going asshole!" Sin had heard the same complaint from the countless pedestrians he had pushed aside on his mission to find the runaway dragoness. He had already spent hours jumping through the town looking for one particular WHITE dragon! He had thought that characteristic would have been the easiest to pinpoint in a sea of darks and lights. Yet had not come up in his search since the morning. His thoughts were put on pause as he bumped into a bigger than normal dragon that had been standing in his was…purposefully it had seemed. Sin looked up at the dragon, unfazed by the size of beast.
"Can I help you sir?" The dragon's eyes squinted in anger as he lowered his head and snorted smoke in Sin's face.
"Yeah, you could explain just who the hell you think you are just bowling others over."
"I'm trying to look for someone I haven't been able to find for hours. I am sorry that I have come off rude, but I have made sure that anyone I moved I did not hurt them in my search. I also made sure not to harm any young ones either." The dragon didn't seem to care as he just continued to growl.
"That's still no excuse to push everyone around like you did." Sin pulled up two fingers and casually plugged the dragon's nostrils with each one, causing the dragon to go wide eyed and open his mouth the gain another passage of air.
"And you trying to be a keeper of justice is no reason to give me asthma." The dragon pulled his head back to his regular height before pulling up a tight fist, bringing it down to connect with the two-legged ant. His fist connected with the area Sin was standing in, throwing up smoke. "Such a brute; would your mother be happy with the way you were acting?" Sin stood atop the dragon's head, much to the dragon's surprise, before pulling forth his hooks and securing them on the dragon's horns. "Could you entertain me with a ride, I can get a much better view to find my friend from this vantage point." The dragon's roared with rage as he began bucking, attempting to push the human form his perch. Sin was unaffected as he looked around the area from his nest, trying to spot Val if there were any signs at all. He had thought his luck had been running out all day, that was until he saw a glimmer of white moving through the crowd that had gathered around the wrestling duo. Sin looked down at his mount as he felt the dragon rear up and stand on his two back claws. "Sorry horsey, you have outlived your usefulness to me." The dragon was confused as Sin dropped from his head, but he noticed that Sin's weapons were left attached to his horns. He was unsure of the point of the weapons until he felt a great force pull him towards the human commanding the blades. The dragon's eyes widened as he closed on Sin and witnessed the human's shadow rise form the ground, brandishing and phantasmal scythe. The dragon had only a few more seconds of consciousness to watch the shadow rise its weapon before bringing it down, connecting with his skull. Sin stood up and looked back at the unconscious dragon before moving on towards where he saw the white heading. Sin glanced around as he pushed through the crowd before he once again found the white as he watch it slip into one of the many alleyways that rested in between the buildings in the street. Sin rushed through the groups of dragons before slinking into the alleyway. He kept on moving down the alleyway until he came out into an open space set in the middle of the buildings. What he found there wasn't what he had hoped, but some other creature tucked into a white cloak. Sin readied his weapons and crossed them in front of him. "Mind explaining just what's going on?" Whoever was under the cloak had no answer but instead removed the cloth from its body to reveal a dragon. Sin made no change in his formation as he continued to stare at the dragon. The dragon sighed as he found the human not being very cooperative at the moment.
"Could you calm down please? I'm honestly trying to help you rather than fight. This stupid cliché game is below me and I'd rather get this ass kicking over with as soon as possible." Sin's confusion of the dragon's speak cause him to lower his weapons as he found the dragon docile and willing to compromise. This seemed to up the dragon's mood as a bit of a grin stretched his face. "Thank you; now down to business. First of all, I am your friend for the time being, not your enemy. Second, I know where your friend is and are willing to show the way if you could please work with me. Lastly, when we get to where you friend is you will need to play along as if you had no idea anybody brought you there and I will assist you from the sidelines to get you to Val." Sin was angered by the fact this dragon was part of the group that had taken Val, but breathed a sigh of relief at knowing that she was at least safe at where she was.
"Okay, so if I work with you what's keeping me form believing that you will help me like you say."
"The fact that this plan of theirs is something I can't stand. All of our purpose in this plan was to get back at you for beating all of us at once by yourself. The only thing I have against this plan is that their methods of winning are not prideful and I refuse to take part in this plan. If I wanted to win I would do it in a legal manner instead of resorting to being a coward." Sin fully released his weapon as the dragon had gained his trust for the moment.
"Okay, then when shall we begin?" The dragon walked up to Sin and held out an open claw.
"The name is Ash, and we can go now." Sin took the dragon's claw in his own hand and shook it.
"Sin, and let's get started."
The sound of a crackling torch fire accompanied Val as she sat curled up in a corner of her unpleasant cell. When she had awoken she found that she was stuck in a damp cell with one lit torch, leaving a large section of her temporary home a void of black. She had stayed quiet the entire time she had been there, and during her silent time she was unsure of the voices she heard echoing throughout the space she was living in. The voices were on and off at time, sometimes far away and echoing of the wall leaving her with illiterate bounces of sound, and sometimes she would have the voices close enough to tickle her ears. She was afraid of this ever happening. Every night she had slept in the streets she always had the fear of her body being taken off somewhere and she was left in mystery when she awoke. Val just closed her eyes tight, wishing this nightmare away and for someone to help her out of this hell.
Sin and Ash ducked into another alleyway as the proceeded on to the point of where Val was being held. They had been walking for a little more than thirty minutes and it looked as if they had entered the more secluded and beat up part of town. "Why does this side of town looked so destroyed compared to the middle?"
"During the war, many of Malefore's army had tried to siege Warfang. While the town was trying to hold of his forces a few of them slipped through and wreak havoc on the buildings and citizen that were on the outer rims of the city." Silence washed over once more as they continued their walk through town. Sin had been left with glancing around at all the charred and broken buildings that surrounded them. He had no idea just how bad the war was. There were more than likely countless family, along with their children that perished at the hand of the crossfire of the war. This was something that this realm and his world had in common. War was a disastrous thing that had all life dismissing their humanity and their clear conscious. War was ruthless and left no one with mercy at the hands of the victors. Sin gently shook his head, thinking about how all of this could have been avoided and how those children could breath for another day. His thoughts were interrupted once he bumped into something that had been parked in front of him. Sin looked down to find that Ash had stopped, where he looked up to find an old house that had been decimated in the war. "So…what exactly is this?"
"This is where they're hiding Val at the moment." Sin looked at the dragon as if he were mad.
"How, this house might as well be a pile of ash." Ash didn't answer, but instead walked up the two-foot tall cobblestone foundation of the house. He stopped in front of it, studying it closer as if to look for something in the wall. Sin watched as Ash lifted a claw and placed it against one of the many stones before the stone slowly sunk back into the foundation. Ash stepped back as they both watched the ground against the house slowly fall in on itself, forming stairs that lead under the city.
"This is where they're keeping your friend. It was easy to hide her away since no guards patrol out this far in the city seeing as no one really lives around anymore. Just be on your guard when you enter the main room and stay close at the beginning. The entrance is a tight fit and once we hit the main room there are many subterranean tunnels that run farther into the city and I'm not completely sure which one they're keeping her in." Sin nodded as Ash stepped down the stairs, the human in tow. It was only a few steps before Sin was staring into what seemed as never ending darkness. Once the duo stepped off of the stairs slowly rose back up to form the solid ground they begun as. They were both left in darkness until Ash ley loose a miniscule flowing lighter like flame that gave them enough like to see two inches around them. Sin examined the damp walls and dirt ground that caved in to form small puddles of water here and there.
"So what exactly is this? This isn't exactly something anyone could build without drawing the attention of someone in the city."
"This was originally a hide away bunker made for the war times. All of those who were too young or just couldn't fight at all were evacuated here for safety measures. Now it's nothing but a forgotten tomb of anguish that were ill memories." They continued on in silence, cautious as to not scrape against the wall and not make too much noise to keep from alerting anyone if possible. The two of them were maybe halfway down the hallway, guessing in total darkness, before the entire hallway, from where they started to where they were supposed to end, was alighted with torches that lined the walls. Ash stared at the torches in disbelief and anger. "Are you fucking kidding me? There actually were torches and he never lit them! If you can here me Cole, FUCK YOU!" Ash turned to Sin his expression one of aggravation. "Well, they now we're here now so we might as well make a straight shot for the main room and go ahead and get this over with." Without having to be told twice, Sin darted down the hallway with Ash following close. It was only mere minutes before they both exited the hallway and entered the main room. As far as they could see, it was empty with nothing but a large circular stone in the middle. At the sight of an empty room Sin gritted his teeth and looked and the five other holes that lead deeper into the ant farm.
"Were the hell are you guys? Are you telling me you're going to show that you know we're here and them be a bunch of damn cowards? Come out and fight me, or are you only use to jumping women with their backs turned?" Sin stood still for a few minutes, hoping to get a response and some way of figuring out where they might be. With on luck he rushed forward down random tunnel in hopes to run into somebody with an ass he could kick and let out some steam.
"Sin, Sin come back! Don't go rushing into something when you have no clue what lies ahead." But his words only feel on deaf ears as the human disappeared into the black. "Dammit, and just when I thought we'd be in the clear!" Ash took off behind Sin, hoping that he wouldn't get himself killed with his reckless actions.
Sin was blind to everything around him, the red blurring his vision, and anger clouding his ways of judgment. He ran, and just kept on running. Running to help Val, running in fear that she could be dead, running towards her captors, running, running, running, kill, kill, kill, KILL, KILL, KILL, KiLl, kILl, KIlL! Nothing would stop him; could; could stop him! He would find them, he would skin them, and he would bathe in their agony, their screams, OH YES THEIR SCREAMS! Their blood would be rich; a taste that would touch and tingle the taste buds as he quenched his thirst before needing another serving. The music would be the best of accompaniment; yes, the beating of their hearts as the bass would echo off the walls, the screams of a beautiful opera, and the breaking to signal the end of the entertainment. It would be such a fun party, with such a large banquet, and it was all for him! Oh how excited he was, that they had done something so lovely for him! He suddenly got the best of ideas as of how to thank them for their hard work. He would share his food with them! Yes, surely they would be hungry and he couldn't finish every bite all by himself! Sin's smile cracked his cheeks and his eyes widened with madness, smoke pouring from his eyes and steaming from his body. It wasn't long before Sin found light at the end of the tunnel, making his grin wider as he hurried to get to the fun part. The light blinded him, but he kept running before his vision cleared and he stopped in the middle of a large arena like room. He examined the iron dome like structure that surrounded him and the gates that blocked off the other tunnel route. Sin turned around when he heard some grind against metal and crash down to find that his entrance was no longer an exit. Sin was left alone in the room, his breathing slowing and temper dropping until the smoke had dissipated and he looked normal once more.
"Glad you could make it Sin." Sin jerked his head around the arena when he heard a voice bounce among the walls. "I was hoping it wouldn't take to long to show your ugly mug to us once more." The human tried his hardest to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but it was useless.
"Where are you, you coward?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's no way to treat your host. I don't think your friend would approve of such behavior."
"Fuck you!"
"Well, well" A female voice joined in on the conversation "I've never seen such an ill mannered individual."
"Well then" And another "maybe we should take care of that."
"Well" and a fourth joined in "let's not keep him waiting."
Sin had no time to react before a blue dragon darted past him, leaving him to turn towards it in a daze. Once turned around he was tackled from behind as, feeling his dragon ring slipping off of his finger. The human stood up just to be stomped back into the ground and having his claw ring scavenged from his finger. Before Sin could stand, something fell onto his back and pushed his face into the sandy floor. "Welcome to the party." Then the weight disappeared from his back, letting him finally hurry to his feet. Sin turned towards the sound of flapping wings to find a dark green dragon touching down. "Hello Sin, the names Cole." A blue dragoness fell to the right of him.
"Winter." A murky green dragon fell to the left of the other green dragon.
"Jade." And lastly a grey dragon dropped beside the dragoness.
"Onyx." Sin eyed the four carefully, fully disarmed and standing in a defensive stance. He found that Onyx and Jade had pickpocketed his rings and were holding them in their mouths. Sin was about to open his mouth before her heard something crash against metal behind him.
"Sin, what did I tell you? You should have waited for me." Cole's laugh echoed around the iron cage.
"Well, well, Ash. You only had one job and you managed to screw that up. Was it too cliché for you to abide by? Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway; we've gotten what we wanted and now he's completely defenseless! I must thank you Ash, you may have helped us unintentionally, but it was a great help all the same." Sin rushed the group with a raised fist; ready to die instead of letting these pricks make a mockery of him. Cole only chuckled as he raised a claw, slamming it down and summoning forth a stone pillar that connected with Sin's stomach and sent him rolling backwards. "You must be joking, right? You have no means of harming us, so it is useless to drag out the inevitable. Sin only gritted his teeth and looked at the dragon.
"Fuck you." Cole pushed another claw to the ground launching Sin into the air again with the command of another earth spire.
"You're testing the little patience I have for you. It would be best if you stayed down and took the beating instead of us having to possibly kill you." Sin ignored their threats and began to push himself off of the ground. Cole only shook his head in disappointment and signaled Onyx to move forward. Onyx moved towards Sin, rising his tail, static dancing across the appendage. Sin raised his fist to punch Onyx, but was stopped as Onyx's tail pierced his left leg. Sin cried out in pain, his body breaking out into spasms as the electricity coursed through his body. Onyx removed his tail to let Sin collapse back to the dirt. "I'll give you one last chance to just give up. You can't win against us; we've taken your weapons and we already weakened you. There is no possible way you can survive unless you quit now." But his words meant nothing to the human as Sin pulled himself to his right knee. His breath stuttered from his longs as he tried to ignore the pain.
"I'm not going to give up to you punk ass lizards." Onyx met his response with a quick lash across Sin's face.
"I'd watch your tongue if I were you, filthy insect." Sin spat out a glob of blood onto the ground. Winter glanced over to Cole with a raised eyebrow. "Mind explaining what we're going to do with him? I thought we were just going to give him the same treatment he gave us?" Cole began to chuckle lightly, slowly building up until it was a full on crazed laughter.
"What, giving this little maggot the same treatment he gave us?! He doesn't even deserve what we're giving to him now. Besides, he can't complain once he's dead!" His laugh rang throughout the arena as the other dragon's turned their heads to him. Jade stepped towards Cole, a confused look on his face.
"But Cole, I thou-"
Cole was quick to but his head against Jade's. "But nothing; I'm not about to take anything from this little shit. He WILL die here! And that is my call, so follow my order!" Jade recoiled in fear from the shout. Every dragon in the room had a look of disgust on their faces as they stared at their 'leader'. "Now, kill this fool and let's get on with our lives with one less problem!" Sin slowly rose to his feet, pushing his pain to the side as he stood over Onyx. They grey dragon stared at the human as he pulled his tail up for a final strike. Sin jumped forward ready to take Onyx, only to push himself to his own demise. Everyone's eyes widened as they watched Sin impale himself on Onyx's tail. Onyx's face was one of utter horror, starring at the face of the man he murdered, blood flowing from the corners of his lips. Cole let loose a boisterous laugh as he watched his problems solve themselves.
"Good job Onyx! Now pull out and let's leave." Onyx's mouth moved into multiple crunches of what looked like formed words that didn't seem to want to come out.
"Bu-But sir, I just killed a man. I'm a murderer, I've killed somebody!"
"Just shut up, if you pull out and leave we can forget the body here, block of the entrances, and nobody will ever know." Onyx was about to follow his advice before he watched, with disbelief, Sin painstakingly grip his tail. Sin used his grip to not push himself off of the tail, but pulled himself further onto it. Onyx couldn't move as he watched Sin get close enough to put his face into his own. Sin's head bobbed a few times, as if fatigued, before pulling it up to stare directly at Onyx. Sin regained the sinister grin he had entered the room with once more as his eyes began to smoke.
"Mmmmm…this hurts pretty nicely. I hope you weren't planning on rudely taking this out." Onyx's scream echoed off the walls as blood spilled from the opening of where his tail used to be. As Onyx writhed on the floor in pain, the rest of the dragons looked to Sin to find the human, a claw apparition on his right arm, and Onyx's tail still lodged in his chest. Sin lifted the claw above his face as the smoke dispelled and blood that stained the talons fell on his lips. When the blood hit his tongue his face scrunched up in disgust. "This drink is so sour. What kind of host are you?" Cole couldn't believe what he was witnessing. There was no possible way he could have survived that, it was supposed to be a deathblow, and he should be dead! Sin looked down at his chest where Onyx's tail before taking the severed meat in his hand. He slowly pulled it from his chest, the squish of blood and meat reaching everyone's ears. He removed the tail with one more tug and examined it with a hungered salivation, taking a large bite from the scaled meat. Every onlooker heaved in disgust, some releasing the contents of their stomach. This man, no this…this abomination was something on the borderlines of an animal, a-a monster, some kind of sick freak! "This meat is no better than your beverages my friend. I hope you serve as a better meal than this peasant's appetizer." Sin took another mouthful of meat before tossing the tail to the side and taking a gentleman's stroll towards the rest of his feast. The dragons were struck frozen with fright. Were they all going to actually die here? Was this how everything was going to end, as some sick cannibalistic meal to a beast? Cole grit his teeth and stepped before the rest of the dragons.
"I'm not afraid of some pathetic low life like you! You don't even have your weapons, you're still defenseless, and we dragons have a body made of nothing but weapons. C'mon guys, if we all attack as a team we can kill this hell spawn." The group of dragons gained a little more morality and courage from the logic that Cole had pointed out. They believed they could win; Sin was outnumbered and outgunned. They had the upper hand, so they could beat him and get out alive. Winter, Jade, and Cole stood before Sin, said human stopping and looking at the dragons in curiosity. Sin stared at them, and stared, and stared, his lips quivering and eyes beginning to water. He didn't understand what these dragons where doing. Did they really all want to die? Tears trickled down Sin's face as his lips could be locked no longer and a comical laugh burst out from behind the bars.
"A-Are you being serio-serious right now? Oh my god; you guys are something beyond the adjective of stupid!" Sin clutched his chest in pain, coughing and wheezing as he fell to the ground. The human twisted and stretched his body and all different directions before rolling onto his knees and vomiting on the floor. A black tar looking surface was left on the floor where Sin was hunched over. The human stood back up and whirled around to the dragons, smiling like mad, and what looked to be hairline crack like veins branching across his face. "It looks like we don't have as much time as I would have liked, so I must end the pleasantries here." Sin darted towards the dragons in a quick shuffle, much to their surprise. They only had a swift moment to dodge before Sin had slammed into the ground where the dragons had been. The now airborne dragons stared down at Sin and the same ghost like large claws masked his hands. Sin coughed up black residue and stood back up, turning around to the dragons. "Come now, that's no fair! I don't have any wings to get to you guy. How do you expect me to eat now?" Winter pushed her way over to Cole, keeping both eyes on Sin.
"What are we going to do Cole? He killed Onyx just like that, and without hesitation! We need to be careful and tag him as a group so as to keep him from concentrating on one individual so he can't get a chance to grab one of us." Cole shook his head in agreement, a sweat breaking from his brow and slipping down his face.
"That seems like our only plan of action. He can't get to us while we're in the air, so we'll bombard him in teams of only two and three. Just be cautious of his claws, we saw just what they could do in mere seconds if they connect with you." Winter and Cole split away from each other and flew off to separate positions around Sin. The human stared on in confusion as they left each other and left his field of vision. When he couldn't see them anymore he looked to his left to see Winter, and then his left to see Cole. He continued to do this, wondering what their plan of action was going to be. Cole dived in first, catching Sin's attention as he turned to intercept the dragon. He was caught off guard when Winter knocked him forwards from a rear assault. As he was off balance Cole came in and knocked him to the dirt with a tackle. The dragons returned to their positions and readied for another assault. They all watched as Sin only stood back up and dusted himself off, as if their attacks only tickled him.
"Is that all the three of you have?" Jade glanced over at Cole in disbelief, afraid of just what this man might do.
"Sir, nothing we're going to do is going to put him down for good. We have better odds retreating."
"No, we can do this! We just have to work together. Jade, follow me in!" Cole took another dive towards Sin, Jade hot on his tail. Just before Cole came intact with Sin he opened his wings and went back to the skies. Once Cole left Jade to attack Sin while he was distracted, Jade got a good look at Death. They had thought Sin would have fallen for a feign attack a second time, but unluckily for Jade his time had reached its end. Only a second of that hellish smile was his last vision as a claw was plunged into his cranium.
"And we have the first course." Sin took his other claw and slowly sliced the skin up Jade's neck and under his jaw before shoving his claw inside the incision, grabbing the jaw and completely disconnecting it from the body. Sin then grabbed the dragon's neck and proceeded to rip it from the body. He took the now dismembered head and looked as if he were studying every angle of the head. "You know, as a child I was always intrigued by the dragon race; Anatomy, structure, bones, builds, and varying sizes. Your race is just amazing." Sin closed his claw in the skull, shattering the bone and filling his hand with bits of brain matter. He studied the bits and pieces in his hands, bringing his hand to his mouth and licking up a few of the pieces. "This taste is divine! And her I thought my stomach would only be assaulted by low class gruel." He finished cleaning his hands in only seconds, a bloody saliva basting his lips once he lifted his head. "Only one more before the desert course." He put his claws to the side and let droplets of blood slide off the talon tips. His stance was interrupted and he puffed up his cheeks before leaning over and hurling out more black tar. The dragons watched as Sin's left claw seemed to evaporate into thin air, leaving him with only his right one. Cole and Winter wasted no time as the shot forth and landed a heavy double tackle on Sin, sending him skiing across the ground on his back. Without a chance to recover, the two dragons flew to the highest point before looping around and diving like arrows to the downed human. Sin had no chance of recovering to dodge or block and was left with the impact. Both dragons hit him square in the stomach and chest with outstretched claws, piercing through his body and causing blood to slowly seep out. Once the retracted their claws and retreated to a safer distance, the seep turned into leaking as the blood now had nothing plugging up the would. Sin rolled onto his knees and held his wounds in obvious pain, shaking side to side and trying his hardest not to scream. Cole dashed forward and pierced Sin's stomach with his tail. Sin jerked and coughed up blood on Cole's scales and slouched forward. Winter didn't take in chances in the human playing possum and fired an ice shard at Sin. Cole backed away quickly from Sin as the ice hit its mark and embedded itself in the human's right shoulder. The two dragons stopped their assault for a quick breath as they assessed the damage. The human was left as what seemed to be a kneeling statue. He was left bleeding from multiple open wounds, and stone stiff. Ash couldn't believe what he had seen going on for who knows how long. He had nothing to do but spectate the madness, insanity, and bloodbath that they all had brought upon themselves. And after everything that had happened, not even what they had come here could be accomplished. Sin was dead, that or on the brink of it. There was no doubt that the human would not survive walking out of here. Ash backed away from the gate and sat down. It seemed like everything was over; Cole had gotten what he wanted, at the price of two lives. Two young dragons were lost at the expense of killing one man. Ash grit his teeth in anger, small tears bubbling up at the corners of his eyes.
"Are you happy now Cole? You killed him, you finally got what you wanted, but at what cost? You may have killed one man, but two lives were lost for one stupid ambition!" Cole's own eyes widened at that statement as he asked himself the same thing. What had come over him? At first he only wanted to beat the human, give him the same beat down that he had dished out on all of them; yet something had come to him, something that told him the human had to die, that no matter what they should kill the human. He couldn't explain just what had come over him. He was ashamed at himself for what he had done, but one piece of himself was excited to know that the human, Sin, was finally dead. Cole was stopped in his train of thought as a thick, smoky fog engulfed the room. Winter and Cole gave a confused look to the body of Sin where the smoke had originated. The two dragons jumped back farther as the body swayed forward and fell down as if it were lifeless. They both were less frightened to know that the human had not risen from the dead, but wanted to know why the smoke still seemed to spread throughout the arena. The two were surprised by a low growl that echoed throughout the arena and began looking around for its whereabouts. It didn't seem like there were any other bodies in the room except for those that were originally there, and it began to fill them with fear. Only out of curiosity did they turn to Sin's body, only to freeze at what they found to be what caused the growl. Smoke began surround Sin's body and lifted it to float among the fog. Wisps of the smoke began to entangle the human, making a foggy cocoon that protected the body. Now a large body of smoke lived around Sin, and it only began to get bigger. Another growl reverberated off of the walls as the smoke began to form into what seemed to be its own kind of being. Four large claws launched out of the smoke and placed themselves along the ground to hold the beast up. Two large what looked to be wings made strictly out of bones shot from its back and spread out in anger. A tail that looked as if it were made out of the spine of a large animal tipped with a pronged spear like protrusion seeped from its backside. The one thing that frightened them the most was the dragon head that slithered out of the front of the fog. The neck hadn't stopped elongating until the head was almost in the faces of Winter and Cole. When the head was done growing two large sickly yellow orbs opened up to stare at them. Their blood was frozen as they stared at what they knew was their death. The head pulled back to the body of the fog. The last bit of the fog swirled around to form a body for the dragon. On the spine of the dragon was multiple fin like blades. Starting from the chest and working down the stomach formed a large row of ribs that caged its upper body. The horns atop its head curved out wide at the side of its mouth and circled back around to come just inches away from each other at the mouth, leaving room for the dragon to be able to get prey and the like into its mouth. The dragon stood tall before everyone else; bigger than nay guardian and outsizing the Dark Master himself. Sin's body levitated inside the fog, blood that had spilled over time was left to swirl in his fog shell. The dragon lowered its head to meet Cole and Winter's gaze, a voice filled with bass and left anything touched by the frequency to turn to stone.
"Pray tell, why hath both of you destroyed my vessel? Thou are lucky I have the ability of sustaining his life, greater evils would have escaped should his life have been completely extinguished." The dragon pierced the souls of the younger two with his gaze, neither making a move to answer. "Tis fine, you moving would just make the rejuvenation process painstakingly longer." None of them were prepared when the head of the dragon lurched forward and the jaws of said beast engulfed the body of Cole, snuffing his life in an instant. The Fog crunched the dragon whole in his mouth and devoured the puny sustenance. Veins of red pulsed along the body of the Fog, making their way to the middle of its body and beginning to feed Sin's body. The last two dragons stared in guffawed fear as the holes on Sin's body slowly began to close tight as the blood that had left Sin's body was pushed right back in. "One more intake of life fluids should finish the spell." Winter shivered at the statement and turned to high tail it out of the room. She was in such a panic she had forgotten that they had all been locked in the room and ran into the gate that Ash was left behind, frantically reaching for the dragon as if he could faze her to safety. Tears blinded her as she stared at the red blur she knew as Ash in hope in despair. Ash stared at the claw she threw out at him in confusion and backed away as he watched the Fog slowly close in on her.
"Pleas Ash, help me, for Ancestor's sake help me! I don't want to die! Please don't let me die! Save me, just please pull me to safety! Get me away from this monster! W-why are you backing away? Aren't you going to help? HELP ME ESCAPE FROM THI-" Her pleas were cut short as she entered the beast's jaws. Bone crunching bites echoed in Ash's ears as the last of his friends were eaten. Why hadn't he saved her? He knew he couldn't, but he hadn't even tried to help. Ash was blasted by a freezing air, making him look up as the Fog's body slipped through the gate and stopped in front of him. He couldn't move as the Fog lowered his head to stare into Ash's eyes. "Thy vessel finds this one to be his…ally. You are safe from harm young one, the others though, they were left upon the judgment of my vessel and have become nothing more than his saviors through death; giving him the ability to heal his wounds beyond death. I must ask of you to help him find the one called Val that he came here for, and then find him medical attention. He is not a god; I was only able to bring him back, but only near the brink. Once you have completed your personal business, get him to a safe haven. Until I am needed in the future, you will not see me in this form for a while, but you will see me in another." With that, the Fog slowly imploded to the center where Sin was nested and disappeared, leaving Sin to fall to the floor unconscious. The only remnants that Ash would ever have of the Fog would be the large metal left on Sin's right arm. On his hand was the large metal claw, bigger than his actual hand. On his arm were different layers of metal, each piece having a jagged spike jutting out from his arm until it was a little bit above the middle of his arm. From there were scales, actual dragon scales as blackish purple as the Fog that traveled up the rest of his arm, covering his shoulder, and stopping halfway up his neck. Ash stared at the new piece of armor like weaponry in spite, knowing just what it was that made it. Ash walked away from Sin's downed form in a rush, heading straight for were Val was imprisoned. That thing had let him live for the moment, and he wasn't about to piss it off and have it come back. The best course of action would be to help Sin and figure everything out from Sin once he was stable.
What's this, another chapter from the one who has risen from the dead before your very eyes!? Hey guys, luckily I'm not dead and I have finally finished this chapter from typing it at home while working around homework, and typing at school when I had no work to be done. I'm sorry once again that this one chapter had taken so long. I had taken much more challenging classes for my senior year of high school; so they've weighed me down with homework every night. Especially with AP Art needing a piece of art drawn for every week. I'm just glad I was able to get this long awaited chapter out, for both readers and myself, before my own death bed met with me. So that's about all I have to say about this chapter. You all know I'm still alive and that means that another chapter with be out, so don't fret just yet.
Embodiment of Darkness