Chrono Paradigm
Chapter 10: Resolve
AN: Welcome back to Chrono Paradigm and here's chapter 10! It's a bit short, but it's important to Kain's own motives, and to the story.
TEXT=people's thoughts/conversation via communicator
TEXT=distortion drives
Everyone was all gathered in the infirmary, where Kain and Tsubaki were resting. Iris was comforting Kain, while everyone else was glaring at Kokonoe.
"You've got some explaining to do, Kokonoe," Makoto said.
"Oh?" Kokonoe asked.
"First off," Noel said angrily. "How did you know about Kain being the Black Beast?"
"You remember the first scan we did on him?" Kokonoe asked. "Yeah well after a closer look, we found that his Azure was a frickin' insane."
"His Azure's to blame?" Noel asked.
"No shit, Sherlock," Kokonoe retorted. "And FYI, your Azure doesn't even come close to comparison with what he's packing."
Noel looked a bit worried at Kain.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Makoto asked.
"Oh so I tell you," Kokonoe retorted. "And let you guys freak out because Kain can become what pretty much screwed the earth 100 years ago?"
"We wouldn't have–!" Makoto protested.
"Please," Kokonoe interrupted coldly. "Best case scenario, Kain would have lost the trust of all of you."
They couldn't deny that.
"Your only goddamn save," Kokonoe stated. "Was that he was incomplete, and he couldn't exert all of his true powers. In other words, you fought a crippled Black Beast. And I'm willing to bet that Kain was only focused on Tsubaki, so he just used the effort to get you guys out-of-the-way."
"Wait, why does it sound like you know how to make one?" Makoto asked.
Kokonoe didn't respond to that, only checked up on Kain.
"Kokonoe?" Makoto asked.
"What I want to know," Jin said. "Is what benefits would it do for you to keep such a monstrosity and not even tell the owner about it."
"I just explained it to you, didn't I, retard?" Kokonoe asked rudely. "I didn't tell you because–"
"You wanted to see if you could use the Black Beast," Jin interrupted. "Didn't you?"
That managed to shut Kokonoe up.
"Use the Black Beast?" Noel asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Simple," Jin said. "Manipulate Kain so that she can gain control of the Black Beast."
"What!?" they yelled.
"That's insane...!" Makoto said. "Control the Black Beast!?"
"Because the base is Kain," Jin went on. "It is possible."
Kokonoe glared at Jin as Jin glared at her.
"A weapon that almost annihilated mankind," Jin said. "A weapon so strong, that even the Six Heroes had trouble with...am I right? Master?"
"...Yeah..." Jubei said.
"If you could manage to control such power," Jin said. "Then you could destroy anyone...even Terumi..."
"Don't tell me!?" Noel exclaimed.
"The only reason why we survived was because he was 'incomplete'," Jin said. "If Kokonoe were to find the heart and fuse it with him, then nothing could stop him."
"That's jumping the gun a bit too much..." Makoto said. "I mean even if the Six Heroes had some trouble, they did manage to defeat him, right?"
"Banded together, yes," Jin said. "But by themselves, it would be impossible."
"Not to mention," Burai said. "Nox Nyctores can't do shit to him."
They turned their attention to Burai.
"You mentioned a 'rematch'?" Jubei asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"...Nox Nyctores," Burai only said. "Are ineffective to it."
"Nox Nyctores' can't do anything?" Noel asked. "But we managed to hurt him..."
"Hurt, yeah," Burai said. "But the Ars Magus that the Noxs produced actually healed all the wounds that we gave to him."
"So in result," Jin said. "Our attacks were only healing him...no wonder he seemed immortal..."
He turned to the two.
"Who are you people?" Jin asked. "How much power do you truly possess?"
The two looked worried. Hikari showed them her blade.
"This is my Nox Nyctores," Hikari explained. "Mucro Veloces: Idaten. It controls the area's sense of speed and allows me to manipulate it, so that I can move faster than anyone else in the area."
"I knew it..." Kokonoe said. "So you were the one with the unknown Nox."
"How's that possible?" Makoto asked. "I thought there were only 10 Noxs in existence."
The two didn't respond.
"Well, let's just leave it as that..." Jubei said. "They don't feel like talkin', so we shouldn't force them to talk."
"Master..." Jin said reluctantly. "...Fine..."
He looked over to Tsubaki, worried, then looked at Hikari suspiciously.
'But what is about this woman...?' Jin thought. 'I thought about it before...but she looks so similar to Tsubaki...but what's this feeling...? Something seems off...?'
Iris looked worried as she looked over Kain.
"Kain..." Iris said.
I...I am a monster...
Not just any monster...the Black Beast...
Mankind's enemy...
I'm a threat to everyone...
...No! I'm not a threat! I won't admit it!
I am not a monster!
Why deny yourself?
"Huh?" Kain asked.
He looked around and found himself in an empty space.
"Where am I?" Kain asked. "Where did everyone go?"
"Everyone's in the surface," a dark voice echoed.
He looked to see a dark monstrous figure glaring at him. The same figure that attacked everyone. The sight of the monster filled Kain with fear.
"The...Black Beast..." Kain stammered.
"Why are you scared?" the Black Beast asked. "I am you."
"What!?" Kain asked.
"Beast Kain," the beast said. "Call me that..."
Kain quickly reached for his sword, but it wasn't there.
"What!?" Kain said. "It's not there!?"
"You can't rely on your Theios Anima Arma now..." Beast Kain echoed.
"Theios Anima Arma...?" Kain asked. "You mean the Blood Scythe Telos!?"
"Of course," Beast Kain replied. "Now that you have no means of attacking, why don't we talk?"
"There's nothing we need to talk about!" Kain exclaimed. "I'm not you!"
"There is no use denying the truth..." Beast Kain retorted. "I am you...I am your true self..."
"No!" Kain yelled. "I'm not a monster like you!"
"Then why did you lose control of yourself?" Beast Kain asked.
Kain couldn't respond to that.
"Do you know what makes one a 'monster'?" Beast Kain asked. "...One must possess abnormal power and abuse it for their own gains..."
"Since when have I–!?" Kain yelled.
"You almost killed Tsubaki Yayoi the first time you two met..." Beast Kain interrupted. "...Because you wanted to protect Iris..."
Kain tried to make a rebuttal, but couldn't argue the truth.
"You also killed all of those vigilantes in the forest because you wanted some information on the NOL..." Beast Kain went on. "And you almost killed everyone just to get your revenge on Tsubaki for hurting Iris..."
The beast walked up to Kain.
"Do not fret..." Beast Kain said. "I am your ally. Because I am you..."
"You're not me...!" Kain yelled. "You can't be me!"
"How long do you plan to deny the truth?" Beast Kain asked. "Embrace your power...accept it and use it to destroy everything that you hate!"
"What're you talking about!?" Kain yelled. "Why would I–!?"
"Why? Because we're a monster," Beast Kain said in his face. "No matter how you try to deny it, the fact that we can only destroy those around us as long as we have this power will never go away...Even if we have people to love, we will only just hurt them because of our power..."
"Stop it..." Kain said.
"We can never hold those dear to us..." Beast Kain said. "Because we will only end up hurting them..."
"Stop!" Kain exclaimed.
"We can never be happy as long as we are plagued with this power..." Beast Kain continued.
"Stop it!" Kain practically begged. "I said stop it, damn it!"
"At this rate," Beast Kain practically boomed. "We will end up killing Iris! Do you want that to happen!?"
"AAAAAUUUGH!" Kain screamed into the oblivion.
Meanwhile, Ragna had to deal with fighting with Itsuki. Itsuki's swordplay only counteracted Ragna's violent movements, as Itsuki seemed to have the upper hand.
Son of a bitch...not only does this brat look like Jin, but he's just as annoying!
Itsuki performed a series of swift and painful sword attacks chained into each other.
"Waxing Edge!"
He finished it off with a straight and powerful jab, which sent Ragna straight into some debris.
"Damn it!" Ragna yelled as he tried to stab Itsuki, but he just dodged it.
"Fool," Itsuki said as he brandished his sword. "Waning Edge!"
He rolled behind Ragna and stabbed him from behind. As Ragna tried to recover, Itsuki made his next move.
"Penumbra!"
Itsuki managed to dash past Ragna, slashing him in the process.
Goddamn it! His movements are just like his!
"Ragna!" Saya cried. "Itsuki! Why are you doing this!?"
"Shut it!" Itsuki yelled. "This is my only chance to fight Ragna the Bloodedge in an even power balance! I won't let this chance escape!"
'Damnit! If I only had my Murakumo...' Saya thought angrily.
"Tch! You damn bloodthirsty brat!" Ragna yelled. "Hell's Fang!"
Ragna slammed his hand engulfed in darkness at Itsuki, sending him away from him. Ragna then added another strike, sending Itsuki flying. Itsuki got back his balance in the air, where Ragna already had his scythe ready.
"Blood Scythe!"
He slammed his scythe over Itsuki, slamming him to the ground. As Ragna landed on the ground, Itsuki raced back to him, and brandished his katana.
"LUNAR FANG: VERTICAL FLASH!"
Itsuki strongly slashed Ragna up, sending him flying into the sky.
"Gah!" Ragna muttered as he landed on to the ground.
"Ragna!" Saya cried.
"Good Guy!" Tao exclaimed. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Red-Haired Guy!?"
"Me?" Itsuki asked. "Hmph, shut it, cat."
"Grrr! Now you've made Tao mad!" Tao yelled. "Get ready to get the crap beatin' outta you!"
"Then come," Itsuki said, taunting Tao.
After letting out a ferocious cry, Tao charged at him with great speed. Itsuki barely blocked her claws, while engaging him into an aerial brawl out.
"Gougy Gougy!" Tao yelled as she starts to slash Itsuki with her feet.
"Gu! Not bad, Kaka," Itsuki said as he laid his sword on his back. "Waxing Blade!"
Itsuki twirled up above Tao and slammed his blade on Tao, shooting her to the ground.
"Tao!" Saya cried. "Itsuki, you asshole! Why the hell are you doing this!?"
"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Itsuki yelled. "This is my wish! To fight the greatest warriors is my wish!"
"Tch...What an annoying brat..." Ragna muttered. "And he's under the influence of the Mind Eater? So he's being manipulated by 'them'."
Ragna got back up.
"Didn't want to do this..." Ragna said. "But you leave me no choice..."
Ragna held up his right arm.
"BLOOD KAIN IDEA!"
Ragna activated his Azure Grimoire, causing a distortion that seemed to stop time.
"The Azure!" Saya exclaimed.
"So you finally thought of going all out..." Itsuki said. "Finally! A real challenge!"
As Itsuki charged at Ragna, Ragna only held his sword and easily slammed his sword against Itsuki's chest and sent him rocketing into a tree.
"Gah!" Itsuki gagged, spewing blood.
As he got back up, Ragna was already dashing at him.
"CARNAGE..." he yelled as he hit Itsuki with his sword. "SCISSORS!"
He released two spikes or dark energy, sending him flying. Itsuki crashed into the ground, where Ragna ran up to him, picked him up when he was down, and punched him in the gut.
"Guoh..." Itsuki whimpered. Meanwhile, Ragna only formed a giant dark claw from his right hand.
"DEVOURED BY DARKNESS!"
Ragna lifted up Itsuki over his head and bombarded him with a storm of dark tendrils that overwhelmed him, blowing him away. As he spewed blood, Ragna went over to him and held his blade over Itsuki's head. He then proceeded to fling his sword down, but stopped at the last second.
"...you done?" Ragna asked. "Sheesh, such a damn brat..."
"Aren't you...going to finish me off...?" Itsuki gasped.
"Nah..." Ragna said. "You're her friend...so if I kill you, I won't see the end of her bitching..."
"Keh!" Itsuki scoffed. "You're...too soft..."
"Tch...Even that uptight attitude is like his..." Ragna commented. "C'mon you two, we need to get to Ibukido..."
Ragna walked around the injured Itsuki, heading towards ibukido.
"Itsuki..." Saya said. She looked down on him, then followed Ragna.
"Ah! Wait, Good Guy! Funny Lady!" Tao exclaimed.
As Tao chased after them, Itsuki struggled to get back up. He coughed up some blood as he stood back up.
"Celestial...Gift..."
He tapped his sword on to the ground, where a ray of moonlight shined down upon him, healing his wounds a little. He gasped for air, as he looked up at the twilight with anger and anguish.
"...Who told you to engage Ragna the Bloodedge?" a voice rang in his head.
"...Envy..." Itsuki growled. "...I told you that I would do things my way..."
"Yes...but it is a problem for you to just go and kill him off," Envy said. "Well...I never would have believed you could actually kill him, much less put up a good fight."
Itsuki growled at Envy's comment.
"What do you want?" Itsuki asked.
"If you're really that blood-thirsty," Envy suggested. "Then I suggest you go after Jin Kisaragi."
"! Jin...Kisaragi..." Itsuki said.
"From my calculations, he should be arriving there along with Tsubaki Yayoi and Burai sometime tomorrow," Envy reported. "Your job is to convince Tsubaki Yayoi to return to us."
Itsuki didn't respond to Envy.
"You've been given your orders," Envy said. "As long as you do that, you can go fight whoever you want. Well then, I'd better get going. Au revoir..."
Envy's voice disappeared, where Itsuki was left staring into the sky.
"...Jin...Kisaragi..." Itsuki said.
Meanwhile, Envy was sitting on a tree, staring into the sky.
"Envy! You piece of shit!" a voice raged in his head.
"Oh, Terumi," Envy said nonchalantly. "What's the matter? You sound rather peeved."
"Of course I am! The hell was that!?" Terumi yelled.
"What?" Envy asked innocently.
"Don't play coy with me, you masked asswipe!" Terumi barked. "What the hell was the Black Beast doing there!?"
"Didn't I tell you this when I was explaining Kain to you?" Envy asked. "...Must have slipped my mind..."
"You son of a bitch..." Terumi said. "What are you hiding...?"
"Are you of all people really asking me that question?" Envy asked. "Don't worry about it...it's not like it's a bad thing or anything..."
"Of course it's a bad thing!" Terumi yelled. "Just when that shitty Rags has a chance of killing me with that Idea Engine, now here's Wonder Boy being able to turn into the Black Beast! In case you didn't know, that shit killed me once! There's no damn time to make another host body, you know!"
"Now now, let's calm down here," Envy said. "Oh do you mind if I borrow Phantom for a while?"
Terumi groaned, knowing that he wouldn't get anywhere with Envy.
"...She'll regroup with you at midnight..." Terumi growled. "You better not screw up!"
Terumi's voice faded away.
"My god...what an angry little troll he is..." Envy said. "...Well then..."
He got up, and turned his head to Sector Seven, then vanished.
Meanwhile, Claude and the others had already set up camp.
"Now then..." Claude said. "What to do now..."
"Shouldn't we look for Kain?" Mary asked. "If that's what I think it was...then maybe we should split up."
"No," Claude said. "We finally reunited. I'm not going to let my sister run off again. We need to stick together."
"Um...Claude..." Carl said. "May I ask, who is this 'Kain' person? He seems to be a rather important person to you two."
Mary suddenly got all excited.
"Kain's the best!" she exclaimed. "He can practically do anything and he's so nice and cool! He can totally whoop everyone's ass here!"
"I'd like to see that!" Luna rebutted.
"The hell you say!?" Mary yelled.
As the two girls started to bicker at each other, the guys conversed on Kain.
"So this Kain fellow," Bang said. "He must be very important to you two."
"Yes," Claude said. "He is one of our friends, and the reason we set out here."
"Did he get kidnapped?" Carl asked.
"Well, you can say that..." Claude said uneasily. "But we don't know where he is. And on top of that, an accident separated us from our friends, so now we're looking for both Kain and the others."
"Are these other friends of yours fighters as well?" Bang asked.
"Yes," Claude answered. "They are all very strong fighters, so I'm sure they'll be fine on their own. I'm just worried that they might fall into the hands of something evil..."
"Wel then!" Bang said cheerfully. "I would like to spar with them once we meet!"
As Claude drank some water, he looked up to the sky.
"How much longer until we get to Ibukido?" Claude asked.
"Not that far," Carl said. "But this rubble will get in the way..."
"If I may," Bang suggested. "Why don't we just take a shortcut through Wadatsumi?"
"That would be faster..." Carl said. "Okay then. Let's go with that."
"But for now," Claude said. "Let us rest up. We'll head out tomorrow."
As they all agreed, the two girls tired themselves out from their unnecessary argument.
"You wanna settle this the old-fashioned way?" Mary asked.
"All right then," Luna said. "I'll show you how strong the great Luna is!"
Mary pounded her fists as she summoned two gauntlets.
"Bring it! Split-personality bitch!" Mary exclaimed.
From afar, a figure was watching them. The figure seemed to have purple hair and was wearing an effeminate kimono.
"I finally found you," the man said. "Little cute vigilante..."
"Ah!" Kain screamed.
He got up from his bed like a rocket, only to find himself in the infirmary. He was breathing heavily and sweating crazily as he looked around.
"It was just a dream..." Kain said in relief. "Phew..."
As he looked around, he found Iris resting her head on his bed and sleeping.
"Iris!" he said.
She was sleeping peacefully. Kain sighed in relief as he rubbed her head.
"...Kain..." Iris moaned in her sleep. "...You're...not a monster..."
He looked surprised as she went on with her sleep talk.
"...I'll protect you..." she went on. "So...you don't...need...to worry..."
"Iris..."
He smiled at her.
"My, what a cute couple," a distorted voice said from the shadows.
Kain quickly turned to see a masked jester sitting on the other bed.
"!? Who–!?" Kain yelled, but the jester lifted his arm, and Kain's mouth suddenly closed. He tried to open it, but his mouth couldn't budge.
"Try breathing from your nose," the jester said. "And try communicating with your thoughts. I can do a lot of things. Honestly, if you were to shout or anything, then that will blow my cover."
Kain tried to breathe from his nose, and glared at the jester.
Who the hell are you!?
"My, you don't remember me?" the jester asked. "Well, then I guess the after effects of the 'fall' did wonders for both of us."
What the hell are you talking about!? And who the hell are you!?
"My name is Envy," the jester responded. "Let's get along here..."
How did you get in here!?
"To me," Envy answered. "Such primitive security measures like this is like cutting butter with a hot knife."
What do you want!?
Kain grabbed his sword and pointed it at him.
"Look, don't get all angry there," Envy said. "I'm not here to fight. I'm just here to congratulate you on your greatest achievement."
What the hell're you talking about?
"What else is there?" Envy said. "I'm talking about your resurrection as the Black Beast."
Kain looked shocked and grabbed for the gun handle, but Envy's glove emitted a great energy, making his arm stop from releasing the trigger.
"Although you lack the important heart to make it complete," Envy said. "Congratulations are in order."
What's there to congratulate about?
"You should accept your powers," Envy suggested. "Or else they will control you."
What the hell are you–!?
"The Black Beast is beckoning you to accept it," Envy said. "Is it not?"
!? How d'you–!?
"Like I said," Envy said. "I can do a lot of things. Like read your soul."
You...
Envy looked at Iris.
"She believes that you are not a monster," Envy said. "So shouldn't you try to prove her right?"
Kain became deep in thought, anguished by the power.
"...Well it's getting pretty late," Envy said. "I'll take my leave."
Envy got up from the bed.
"Please do take my advice," Envy said. "It'll be best for both of you. Well then, au revoir."
With that, Envy disappeared, releasing Kain from the mysterious energy that was keeping him from moving. He gasped for air as he looked around.
"How the hell...?" he asked himself.
He stared at the ceiling, the got out of his bed, being careful not to wake up Iris. He grabbed his sword and left the room.
Envy reappeared under the full moon, outside of Sector Seven.
"...It would be a problem," he said. "If you don't learn how to control it..."
Near him, a mysterious robed woman appeared out of nowhere.
"...Well then," Envy said. "I guess we better be going..."
As they were about to leave, Envy looked at the moon.
"...I guess..." Envy said. "...I hate the moon as always..."
Meanwhile, in another section of the sector, Jin was alone with Tsubaki, who was looking guilty.
"J...Jin..." Tsubaki said nervously. "I..."
"What?" Jin coldly asked, shutting her up.
"I...It's just..." Tsubaki said. "I'm sorry...for causing all of this trouble..."
"Seriously, you really are an idiot." Jin said. "To think you would blindly work for Terumi."
"Terumi?" Tsubaki asked. "You mean Yuuki Terumi? One of the Six Heroes? How is he involved in this?"
"You are affiliated with Hazama," Jin asked. "Aren't you?"
"You mean Captain Hazama?" Tsubaki asked. "He may be a bad person, but there's no way he could be Terumi. Besides, didn't Terumi work together with Hakumen and the others to defeat the Black Beast?"
"You truly are blind..." Jin scoffed. "Just because one helps win a war, doesn't mean that he is truly 'good'. Isn't that right, Master?"
Jin turned to Jubei, who had laid on a wall listening to them.
"Yea' that's right," Jubei said. "The bastard killed off my wife and stepsister, ended up turning your friend into that, and ruined your friend's family."
Tsubaki looked shocked. She could hardly believe it, but being told this by one of the Six Heroes himself makes it convincing enough.
"You should have felt something evil from 'Hazama'?" Jin asked.
"Now that you mentioned it..." Tsubaki said.
"'Evil Incarnate'," Jubei said. "No two words could describe the bastard better. So? What will ya' do?"
Tsubaki was deep in shock and thought, as Jin only sighed disappointed.
'If possible, I wanted to not involve her in this...' Jin thought. 'But...she's still under the effect of the Mind Eater...and there's 'Izayoi'...Terumi...what are you planning...'
Kain walked out of Sector Seven, the cold air and the full moon greeted him rather harshly. As he walked outside, he looked up to the full moon, deep in thought.
"What's the matter?" a gentle voice asked.
He looked to see Noel.
"Noel..." Kain said. "...Nothing's wrong...I'm fine..."
"Are you worried about your power?" Noel asked.
Kain looked a bit surprised.
"How did you...?" Kain asked.
"I would be worried about something like that if it suddenly happened to me too," Noel said. "Well...something like that did happen already..."
"Huh?"
Noel walked next to Kain.
"A while ago," Noel explained. "I learned of my true existence..."
"Your true existence?" Kain asked.
"Yes..." Noel said. "I'm...not human..."
"!? Not human?"
"Yes," Noel explained. "I'm what you would call a Murakumo Unit."
"Murakumo..." Kain said. "A Nox Nyctores!?"
"An artificial human created to use the Murakumo," Noel said. "In order to go into the Boundary as Prime Field Devices, but for me..."
Kain looked confused.
"I was created to be The God Slayer 'Kusanagi'," Noel said uneasily. "A 'monster' meant to destroy everything."
"A 'monster'..." Kain said. "So you were..."
"I was strong..." Noel joked. "Not even Major Kisaragi could defeat me."
"For real!?" Kain asked. "You even managed to beat Jin..."
"But...I couldn't control myself..." Noel said. "I let my hatred to the world get the best of me, and I almost killed my friends."
Kain seemed to sympathise for her
"But...this one person managed to save me despite all of the odds were against him..." Noel said. "And thanks to him, I was set free from the power."
"Is that person...Ragna...?" Kain asked.
Noel suddenly became flustered when he mentioned Ragna. She nodded in response.
"Afterwards, with the help of my friends," Noel said. "I was able to accept the power. Not as a mean to destroy everything, but to protect those that are important to me."
"…To protect those...that are important..." Kain said to himself.
"Kain," Noel said. "This is your power. So it's up to you on how you want to use it."
Kain found himself deep in thought.
To use such devastating power to protect others? Is that even possible?
"It's worth trying," Noel said.
...I guess you're right. It's too early to give up.
"...You're right..." Kain said. "I guess I was too weak...thanks, Noel..."
Kain walked away from her and sat on the ground. He stabbed his sword into the ground and started to concentrate.
"Well then," Kain said. "I better get going."
Noel smiled.
"Good luck."
Kain gave her a thumbs up and closed his eyes. From afar, Iris seemed to have been watching the event. She smiled at Kain.
"So you came back..."
Kain found himself back in the space of oblivion. In front of him, was himself as the Black Beast.
"Yo, 'me'..." Kain said.
"So you plan to accept me then?" Beast Kain asked.
"Yeah..." Kain said. "You are myself. And this is our power."
The beast apparently smiled.
"You are right," Kain said. "This power is abnormal...it's devastating...with it...I can destroy everything...since it's a part of me, I should embrace it...But..."
"But?" Beast Kain asked.
"This is my power," Kain said. "So I will use this power not to destroy everything...but to protect my friends!"
"To protect your friends?" Beast Kain asked surprised. "You're serious?"
Kain gave him a glare. A determined glare that couldn't be shaken by anything. The beast snickered. He lifted his monster arm and formed a long sword.
"Draw your sword," Beast Kain said.
Kain grabbed his sword and drew it out. The two poised at each other, then ran at each other.
"RRAAAAAAUGH!" they cried as they flung their swords at each other.
With one strike. One strike was all that they needed to decide their fates. The one to fall...was the beast. As he fell, Kain put away his sword, victorious.
"So that is your answer..." Beast Kain said as Kain walked to him.
"Yeah," Kain said.
"...Let me tell you something, me..." Beast Kain said. "Good and evil is only a fabrication."
Kain lent him a hand, which the beast accepted.
"There's no way to tell whether something is good or evil. Because there is no true way to tell."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"There will be people who will think that something is good," Beast Kain said. "And at the same time, there will be people who will think that same thing is evil."
"So how do you tell whether something is good or evil?" Kain asked.
"That is easy..." Beast Kain said as he held out his left hand. "You decide for yourself."
"...Huh?" Kain asked.
"You'll understand soon enough..." Beast Kain said. "Now...let's go..."
Kain looked at his hand, and accepted it with his own left hand.
He woke back up. He looked around to see Noel and Iris next to him.
"Iris...Noel..." Kain said.
"Welcome back, Kain," Iris said sweetly.
"So?" Noel asked. "Did you accept yourself?"
Kain nodded, smiling.
In Wadatsumi, Relius Clover was searching the area where the orb of seithr was before.
"There are no signs of any irregularities that could have caused it," he said to himself. "So how did that thing form?"
Relius looked around the area.
"...Such mysteries keep on coming," Relius said to himself. "...In order to find a stable truth, I must first figure out the whereabouts of Kain..."
"Hey you, wait there," a voice interrupted him.
As Relius was about to make his leave, a figure suddenly attacked him. Relius dodged it, to see a woman with white hair, golden eyes, dark skin, large breasts and a scar across her nose, wearing a black jacket with a white button-up tee and torn-up hot pants.
"...I don't know who you are," Relius responded coldly. "But I am very busy right now. Disappear."
"Are you Relius Clover?" the woman asked.
"What of it?" Relius asked. "I'll only repeat myself once...I am very busy, disappear."
"I want to ask you about the Nox Nyctores Extraction mission that occurred five years ago," the woman said.
Relius only sighed.
"I don't have any worthless time to waste telling you anything," Relius said, ready to leave.
"Wait!" the woman exclaimed. Relius sighed.
"That mission...it was indeed Sector Seven who assigned it," the woman said. "But I know that you were the one commanding it!"
"So...what of it?"
"I want to ask you about the soldiers who took part in that mission."
"A waste of time..."
The woman suddenly assaulted Relius, but with a snap of a finger, a feminine puppet like Nirvana appeared and defended Relius.
"I guess I'll ask for your name," Relius said. "It may serve some purpose..."
"Call me Bullet," the woman said. "And I'll force you to tell me if I have to!"
Meanwhile, somewhere else in Wadatsumi, Litchi seemed to be frantically searching for something.
"Where are you?" she asked desperately. "Lotte..."
To be continued
AN: And here's the end of Chapter 10. Looks like some old faces and some new faces make an appearance. How will they be involved in the story?
And again, more drive/overdrive explanations of OCs
Itsuki:
Drive: Gekkou Zanjustu (Moonlight Blade Arts): Allow Itsuki to perform extremely fast succesion moves. Similar to Noel's Chain Revolver, but requires more technique.
Overdrive: Engetsu Hireijin (Lunar Absolute Zero Blade): Will inflict freezing effects with each blade strike along with increase the power of each blade strike.
See ya next time and review!