Here is the next chapter. Took me a bit longer to get this one up, but it is pretty long to make up for that. Enjoy.
Chapter 9: One-Winged Angel
"The tables are turning…" I whispered, no longer with my own voice. My voice was older, more calm and actually had that 'menacing' touch to it. I looked up, looked her in the face, stared in her eyes. "Karst…" And as I spoke her name, and gazed in her eyes, a familiar melody began to play. She gasped as a second wave of invisible energy erupted from my body. I grabbed the handle of my new sword and with one, effortless but incredibly powerful strike, I blew her back upwards, to where she had jumped down from. As I watched her sailing through the air, I jumped up and, as I had expected, jumped incredibly high, almost like I was flying. But I didn't fly, it was like some sort of limited levitation power I automatically had used. I landed on the edge Garet was still hanging on and grabbed his arm, pulling him up with one hand. Once he was safe, I jumped away again, this time landing on another edge of the lighthouse. I looked down on the two Mars Adepts.
"Amazing." I grinned, with my new voice, already sounding so natural to me. "That I owe my completion to you two, I never had held for possible."
"Karst, what the heck did you do to that guy?!" Agatio screamed.
"Judging from your tone, I guess you are quite angry about my new power, far surpassing yours…" I smiled slyly. "That's too bad…"I raised my hand in the air, to test even more of my new powers. The sky darkened with grey clouds, all circling around a point, high in the air, straight above my raised hand. "It doesn't matter what you think, though." I continued. "For the fight we had is not yet over. To kill Isaac you will have to get past me."
"And you think we won't be able to do that? You're still alone, no matter what. Do you honestly think we cannot win?"
"Well…" I hissed. "That's up to you two." I lowered my arm again, and if that was a signal, I jumped down towards the two.
Estuans interius
Ira vehementi
Estuans interius
Ira Vehementi
My Masamune collided with Karst's scythe. A few quick strikes of my new sword followed, skilfully blocked by Karst, but I could see it. I could see the trouble she was having. My new inhuman strength, my sudden knowledge, my skill, my powers… It was too much for the adepts to handle and I would prove it. As I heard the first lines of 'One-Winged Angel', which the heavens themselves sang for me, a feeling of great pride came over me. I was complete.
Sephiroth!
Sephiroth!
I swung my legendary katana with all my might. Karst blocked it with tremendous difficulty. I pressed against her scythe with my sword, trying to make her retreat. She tried to do the same, but I had received all my brother's powers, even his inhuman strength. I was stronger. As I leaned into her face I couldn't help but smirk. The heavens shouted my name.
"Even heaven and hell sings their praises for my completion. You are like flies before my completed might!" I jumped over her and slashed her in the back, knocking her into Agatio. I ducked and felt the heat as his Rolling Flame passed over me.
Estuans interius
Ira Vehementi
Estuans interius
Ira Vehementi
As I got up from ducking, the air around me heated up and then there was a massive explosion around me. A Supernova from Karst no doubt. Clenching my jaw I jumped into the air, my levitation powers almost enabling me to fly high above the searing heat. Gravity pulled me down again, but I stabbed my Masamune into the side of the lighthouse and landed on an edge above them. I looked down on them, and grinned.
"On your knees and beg for mercy." Then I slashed of the entire edge I was standing on, a rain of stone now plummeting towards the two. Using their Psynergy the Mars Adepts succeeded in keeping any debris from falling on them.
Sephiroth!
Sephiroth!
Suddenly I flew through Karst's supernova, ignoring the painful, searing heat. Her surprise was great and my Masamune tasted her flesh as I ripped open her side. She groaned but managed to swing her scythe. In the nick of time I ducked and retreated my Masamune, swinging it at her legs. She jumped out of the way to let Agatio's rolling flame pass by. I had to time to duck or get away, so I brought the Masamune in front of me and braced myself for the impact. The psynergy hit my sword, it's strength was tremendous and I had trouble. My feet were slipping away. A cry of furry escaped my lips and with a burst of strength I smacked the rolling flame aside. It landed in the side of the lighthouse and exploded.
Sors immanis -
Et inanis.
Sors immanis -
Et inanis.
The explosion blew a hole in the wall of the Lighthouse and sent stone debris flying in all directions. I jumped and soared through the air, avoiding getting hit. Yes, levitation powers are handy. Karst and Agatio once again used their powers to shield themselves. As I landed behind them, I suddenly noticed they were gone. Automatically I jumped forward. That hadn't been a bad idea, cause Karst's scythe missed my skull. I quickly turned around and blocked her scythe. Strike after strike with my Masamune followed. The sound of mental colliding against metal filled the air.
Estuans interius
Ira Vehementi
Estuans interius
Ira Vehementi
Agatio fired Psynergeticspells to backup Karst. And me and the female adepts ducked between assaults, constantly striking at each others with our weapons. Her movements were fast, but mine even faster. She was wounded and I hadn't been hit even once. Overpowered? Perhaps, but at that moment I was glad to be. If I had been any weaker I would have been killed, and put the name Sephiroth to a shame. I didn't slow the pace of my assault at all. On the contrary, it only seemed to quicken.
"You're weakening." I smiled to her.
"Dream on." She hissed.
"Ah, but my dream has already come true."
Sephiroth!
Sephiroth!
As our weapons parted from another pushing contest, Karst fired a Flare Storm. I dodged and lashed out at her. She blocked with difficulty, but managed to smile.
"Your power may be great, but it still can't beat our teamwork." I glanced at Agatio, who raised his hand. I did a back flip, but I had hesitated too long for just a second. A fire dragon erupted from the ground, snarling and trying to grab me. I jumped into the air, but the serpent made from flames pursued me. It was catching up, and gravity was already slowing my flight and pulling me earthwards again. I stopped in midair and watched the approaching dragon. A sly grin spread on my face. It was a risk, but it was better than getting fried. I speeded towards the dragon.
Veni, veni, venias.
Ne me mori facias.
Veni, veni, venias.
Ne me mori facias.
As the Rising Dragon opened its maw, I held the Masamune in front of me as I felt straight into the dragon. But before it could even close its maw, I had already spilt the head into two. As I continued towards the ground, my Masamune always going first, the dragon just got sliced into two pieces more and more. When I stood steadily on my two feet again, the two pieces of flaming dragon behind me exploded. I watched at the shocked faces of the Mars adepts.
"Was it something I said?" I smiled innocently.
Veni, veni, venias. (Glorioso, Generoso.)
Ne me mori facias. (Glorioso, Generoso.)
Veni, veni, venias. (Glorioso, Generoso.)
Ne me mori facias. (Glorioso, Generoso.)
Now they were dead serious about killing me. They flew in my direction at the same time. I jumped over Agatio and tried to slash him, but this time he could escape my strike. They closed in from both sides. I glanced at them both. The moment both of them jumped towards me, I jumped in the air, making them collide against each other. I landed on them, making them groan in pain. With great effort, I swung them both into the air.
Sephiroth!
I jumped after them. Agatio was falling already since he was heavier. I readied my Masamune. A blue aura surrounded me as I approached the falling Mars adept. My Masamune was charged with power. I struck Agatio and at the same time the energy was fired of my blade into him. I realized that this had to be what one could call a 'special attack.' Agatio plummeted into the ground.
Sephiroth!
Karst saw me approach and tried to stop me, but because of the speed of her flight was unable to. I caught up with her and even passed her, stopping in midair just above her. I raised my Masamune and before she could ram into me, I brought down the Masamune with all my might on her. The force of this slash made her speed towards the ground like a meteor. I dove after her and reached the ground before even she could. Then I caught her with the flat side of my Blade, spun around and knocked her into Agatio. This was the final blow and they both collapsed, just as heaven shouted my name for the final time, ending the praises for me.
Sephiroth!
---
I took a deep breath and didn't stir. The two were slowly getting up again, but they were too weak to even think about trying to fight me again. And if they would try, I wouldn't spare them this time. I held the Masamune ready, prepared to defend myself again if needed.
"Aargh." Karst groaned. "You'll pay for this!"
"Sure." I shrugged. The grey clouds that I had summoned disappeared again and the sunlight fell on me, then later on the entire Lighthouse again. Why had I done that? It had been a mere test of my powers.
"Matters not!" Agatio panted. "We'll kill Isaac sooner or later!"
I heard running footsteps and quickly raised my Masamune. But to my relieve it was Felix and his gang that appeared from around the corner.
"Oh great." Karst hissed. She looked at the Venus adept. "Felix, what's going on?"
Agatio looked around suspiciously. "I understood that when Venus Lighthouse was lit, the ground shook so fiercely that it even split! Curious it hasn't here!"
Karst shook her head, displeased. "You still haven't lit the Lighthouse, have you?"
"We'll light it right away." Pierce said calmly.
"Then hurry up and get to it!" Karst raged. I silently laughed. She had to feel so bad! First helped me to be complete, then humiliated by me and now she was going to get 'betrayed' by Felix. Wonderful.
"We'll do it." Sheba nodded "But we're not leaving Isaac behind!"
Karst slapped her forehead in dismay. "Great, are you going to betray us now?"
"Depends on how you see it." Felix modestly answered.
"Typical." The female warrior snorted. "And you're going to prevent us from finishing them of?"
"Finishing them of?" I grinned. "From the looks of it, I don't think you're in the shape to 'finish' anybody of right now!"
The newly arrived group of adept gave me curious glances, as they never had the chance to meet me before. Karst decided to ignore my comment.
"We won't let you finish Isaac of, if you're capable of doing it now or not." Felix stated.
"Isaac has proved to be a greater foe than we imagined!" Agatio shouted. "We can't let him live!"
"If you want to finish them off, you'll have to beat us first!" Piers returned.
"You're both quite injured." Kraden reasoned. "And not in the shape to fight all four of them now. It would be for the best if you left now."
I knew what Karst was planning, but I wouldn't interrupt with the flow of events any further than I had already done, so I remained silent. Slowly she nodded. "We don't have much choice…"
"Karst! No!" Agatio couldn't believe what he was hearing and opened his mouth to protest, but she mentioned him silent.
"Agatio, if we fight Felix now, we'll be… destroyed." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Fine, do with Isaac as you wish."
I sighed in relief, Isaac was safe now. I lowered my Masamune and waited.
"But swear this oath to us: If we leave now, you'll light the beacon of Jupiter Lighthouse, Felix!"
"I will." He promised. "After we've helped Garet and Isaac."
"I don't care if you want to help Garet!" Agatio roared "We've waited long enough, the Lighthouse comes first!"
"Go ahead Felix." Kraden assured him. "I'll tend to Garet." Reluctant, the Venus adept nodded.
"And be sure to bring the Mars Star that young Isaac carries with him." Karst added.
Shock went through the group. I had expected it. "How'd you know about the star?!"
"Do you think this was about nothing more than revenge?" Agatio asked. "Alex told us all about it!"
Felix seemed to hesitate. Karst got ticked of. "Take it or I'll-!" Piers did a step forward, ready to help Felix.
"Don't force our hand on this!" Agatio warned the Lemurian. The tension rose. The two pairs glared at each other.
"Take it…" A voice behind me said. I glanced at Isaac, who slowly stirred. "Take the star Felix. I don't know… why… but I have no… choice but to trust you…"
Felix nodded and approached Isaac, but I raised my Masamune and stopped him. "I won't trust any of you close to Isaac." I hissed. Felix stopped in his tracks. Slowly I turned around and kneeled down at Isaac.
"Where's the star? I'll take it to them." Isaac made a weak gesture to his pouch. I felt in it and found the mithril bag containing the Mars Star. I looked in it to see if it was alright. The elemental star gave of a soft red glow. Pleased I stood up and handed over the star to Felix.
"That's better Felix." Karst smiled poisonously. "We'll await you at the beacon."
As the Mars adepts left, Flix started to follow them, only to this time be stopped by Piers.
"Felix, wait. We can't trust them. Take me with you!"
"Yes, good thinking!" Sheba agreed. "If anything happens up there, you'll be safer with Piers!"
Felix didn't protest and nodded to the Lemurian. Together they left.
"Safety in numbers…" Kraden muttered.
---
I had already gone back to Isaac and Ivan. "Hang on Isaac, I'll help you." I promised, reaching for the potions he kept in his bag. "No." he stopped me. "Aid Ivan first."
"This is no time for nobleness." I warned him, opening a potion and forcing him to drink it. That would ease his pain for now. Then I went to Ivan, as he had requested.
"Sephiroth?" the Jupiter Adepts asked. He blinked a few times. "Is that really you?" I smiled weakly to him. "Yeah. Don't worry about that now, let's get you fixed up." Ivan's hand had grabbed his chest, trying to cover up the wound Karst had made. It bled and looked quite serious, but not life threatening either. I also made him gulp down a potion and then I noticed Sheba was watching. I think she didn't really dare to come closer.
"Sheba will help you now." I smiled to the Jupiter adept. "I need to get Mia and Garet out of that pit."
Then I stood up and Sheba hurried to his side. Kraden was standing at the edge of floor, trying to find a way to get Mia and Garet out of there.
"The rope won't reach…" He muttered. I shrugged and walked past him.
"Mia, Garet, you two still okay?"
Mia nodded, her worry for Garet still in her eyes. "Garet's fine, I healed his arm already. But we can't get out of here, I'm afraid!"
"Don't worry." I assured her. "You'll be out of there in a second!" I braced myself and jumped, hoping my levitation powers would always work when I did that. I landed softly on the small edge they were sitting on, trying not to fall off.
"Alright, Mia, ladies first. Hang on to me." She did and I put my arm around her waist. The floor above us was pretty high and I hoped I could make the jump. Alone would be no problem, but with extra weight… No! I shook my doubts off me. I had to have faith in my new powers. Silently praying, I jumped. The now familiar feeling of defying gravity relieved me and I safely made it. As I let go of Mia, she turned to look at me, a bit shocked.
"Se…Sephiroth… How?"
"Thank Karst and my brother." I smiled weakly. "Now I'll pick up Garet if you don't mind. You should help Ivan and Isaac, they look like they need it."
Then I returned and picked up Garet. When we both safely stood on the ground again, I noticed Sheba and Jenna were gone. They probably had went to the beacon to aid Felix. I couldn't really believe how Karst and Agatio could be foolish enough to fight Felix in their weakened shape. But hey, stuff can happen.
Mia used her Ply Well psynergy to heal Isaac, Ivan already sat up, looking better.
"They'll be okay." She said to me.
"I had faith they would."
We waited a bit while Isaac and Ivan recovered from their wounds. The subject of our talking was my completion.
"I didn't really know what was going on." Mia said. "I saw you falling and heard your cry, then suddenly Karst hit you and you were, well, you."
"Yes, Sephiroth." Ivan panted. "Care to explain?"
I shrugged. "Sure, I'll try." I bit my lip. "I didn't really know what was going on. All I wanted was to protect you and Isaac. But, I didn't stand a chance against two master adepts like them. I kind of lost all my hope when I was dangling at the side of the lighthouse, my Souba lost." Yeah, painful memory. "In desperation I threw my black box at Karst. Who could have know her attack would open it?"
"It opened?" Isaac wondered.
"Yeah… And when I saw it… Opened and slowly falling, it was like I suddenly knew what to do. I grabbed it in midair and my body absorbed the fluid that was stored in it."
"I fear I still don't understand." Garet grumbled.
"Look at it like this: The fluid was the fuel and Karst her attack was the spark that was needed to set it on fire. Same thing happened with me. When my appearing Masamune stopped Karst's attack, I felt a tremendous surge of energy running through my body. Like something inside me had exploded. In one second I was completed." I sighed deeply. "Ah, it was a great feeling. You cannot begin to imagine how it felt, to suddenly be so powerful, to have so much knowledge. To wield this blade…" I slowly ran with my hand over the Masamune, caressing it like it was a precious pet.
"So this is the blade you've always wanted to have?"
"Yeah Mia, it is… The Blade my very own Brother once wielded, now granted to me." I barely could take my eyes of it. It was even more magnificent and perfect than I had expected. Such perfect balance, incredibly sharp and deadly. Long and yet thin. Its weight perfectly divided over the blade, making it very comfortable to wield, not tiresome. "Masamune, at last you are mine!" I whispered.
"And your new appearance, your hair colour and clothing, that's all from your brother as well?" Mia seemed eager to know. She probably was happy for me.
"Yes. It's my size of course, since I'm younger than him, but all I have now matches perfectly what he wore before he became an Angel." I hoped I could find a mirror sometime soon, cause I really wanted to see and study myself. All this new knowledge and powers, I would have to test them, test the new limits and possibilities of my body.
"Well." Isaac groaned. "I'm happy that at least somebody got something good out of this fiasco." He hung his head is dismay. "Another Lighthouse is lost."
"Isaac, do not think of yourself as failed." Kraden said. All this time he had only listened. "If it weren't for Agatio and Karst we probably would have ended up fighting each other. Now I hope we can talk this out peacefully. It is time for us to explain ourselves to you all."
I offered Isaac a hand. "If you think you can stand, we'll go to the aerie and see if Kraden's right." He took my hand, but nearly sank through his knees. Apparently he was still weak. I put my arm around him and supported him. "Don't worry Isaac, you can lean on me. We'll go together." Garet aided Ivan a bit, but the young Jupiter Adepts was far less wounded than Isaac had been and didn't really need any support. Slowly we went on our way.
"Thank you, Sephiroth." Isaac sighed. "You're a great friend."
---
Another chapter, hope it was enjoyable. Now things have really started. The prologue is over, Sephiroth's story now really has started.
I wish I could give the link to the adress where one can listen to the song, but unfortunately this site doesn't allow my chapters to contain such links. Too bad... Ah well, search radioblogclub, I'm sure you'll find them if you really want to hear them.
