Chapter 20: War of Reconquista, Part 4: Asura Shadow.
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Opening 1: Koji Yusa - Break Your Destiny
(Play Dark Chronicle OST - Sun)
A being of what appeared to be in gold armor roared violently. Tiffania, whom saw what happened, felt the Chaos Emeralds getting cold. She could also hear a name from the chaos energy being emitted.
"Asura Shadow..." Tiffania said, feeling the palpable emotions.
She didn't went back with the academy students. Tiffania remained near Danielle's body, despair filling her heart. Everyone arrived to see the golden being walking out of the crater. It was growling with a threatening aura. A familiar flame was shown at the chest, glowing with a dark, amber color.
"That's...!" Saito exclaimed, noticing the flame.
The crossbow bolt that lodged into the being's left arm began to move out of him. The blood was shown in a gold color.
"THAT'S SHADOW!" Everyone said in shock.
The being was now identified as Asura Shadow, only he was completely different. His entire body was a metallic, gold color, including his shoes, gloves, and red marks. His eyes were now a white color and shining otherworldly. The whole form was a physical representation of his anger, now unshackled and loose.
"Reconquista... RECONQUISTA!" Asura Shadow bellowed manically.
Waves of powerful chaos energy raged like ripples on the ground. All the soldiers and Agnès were scared in seeing this form.
"What caused him to snap like this...?" Agnès asked.
They saw Tiffania, who was crying. Upon looking carefully, they saw a young girl with a crossbow bolt through the heart. Everyone connected the dots to figure out what happened.
"How cruel... They murdered an innocent child." Montmorency said.
"I'll never forgive them... Never!" Saito said, unknowingly channeling chaos energy in him.
'Shadow... You cared for that young girl deeply... I can't imagine loosing someone so close like that.' Blaze thought with a tear.
Twilight was with Tiffania, sensing the threat Shadow was. The young dragon also felt the sadness within his heart, making it shed tears.
######
Reconquista's soldiers began to pour into the village. Several knights riding on their dragons began to fly out in large swarms. Tails and Saito started their planes to handle the Dragon Knights.
"We'll take care of the flying troops. Focus on the ones at the ground!" Saito said.
The two pilots began to shoot down the dragons from the sky. Before the Griffin Knights and ground troops from Tristain could advance, the sound of cannons firing echoed in the sky. Asura Shadow, seeing the airships, began to charge chaos energy on his palms, creating a red-white sphere of explosive energy. He made it grow large till he compressed the ball before hurling it to one of the ships. When the ball of compressed chaos energy was shot out, a large explosion occurred. Powerful winds blew across the area. This caused Saito's plane to crash. Before crashing, he was able to control it to land near the forces of Tristain without risking casualties.
"What energy...! He destroyed one of the ships like it was nothing!" Knuckles said with fear.
Louise, having sensed Asura Shadow's emotions, suddenly went psychologically numb. In truth, her dormant powers awakened. She was preparing to use her magic that awakened after feeling the immense power.
"Partner! Protect Louise! She's awakening her true magic potential!" Derflinger said.
Saito began to fight off the troops who were intending to kill him. He made his way to Louise and prevented the enemy troops in attacking her. Asura Shadow, despite his palpable rage, recognized his friends and enemies. He also killed the soldiers, protecting Louise and Saito.
"Just a little longer! She's almost done!" Derflinger said.
By then, a burst of magic suddenly appeared at the second flying battleship. The whole entire ship was destroyed, killing off the troops on board.
"This is...the power of void?" Saito said in shock.
Louise then fainted from the powerful aftershock. Only one airship was left. Asura Shadow flew up to it and began to fight his way in it.
"RRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
With roars of rage, he literally torn the whole ship apart, leaving nothing of it in a matter of seconds. The ship was seen being cut in several pieces before being burned away by the oppressive aura.
######
At the ground, several troops from Reconquista were rushing to kill their way to Tristain. Sonic, his friends, the students from Tristain academy, and the troops from the royal army held them off.
"They just keep coming!" Malicorne said.
"Now's the time to fight and not complain!" Guiche said.
"Don't give up now! Keep fighting them!" Reynald said.
"Easy for you to say." Kirche complained.
"Fight." Charlotte said.
######
Espio and Rouge were fighting off several soldiers who sneaked their way in Tristain. Some Royal Knights stationed at the gates helped them ward off the intruding enemies.
"The invasion has started. Shadow knew what he said." Espio said.
"Let's take care of them. We can't let them get past us." Rouge said.
From a distance, they saw a large trail of chaos energy surge in the sky before a shockwave suddenly came. The energy caused everyone to feel Shadow's rage in the region.
"Is this...Shadow's rage?" Espio said in shock.
"What palpable rage... I could also feel his sadness..." Rouge said, feeling his pain.
######
Amy, Cosmo, Cream and Charmy were guiding the villagers away from the battle.
"Please follow us in this direction. We'll be able to help guide your way to safety." Cream said.
By then, the trio all felt Shadow's rage screaming out in the sky. They never felt such grief and madness.
"Shadow..." Cream wept.
"What happened to you?" Amy questioned, crying tears.
"~Shadow, why do I feel this pain from you~?" Charmy said in a somber tone.
"Oh Shadow..." Cosmo said in a downhearted tone.
######
Sonic, Silver, Knuckles and Mighty were able to join and fight alongside Tristain's forces.
"I've been in this scenario a few times to know. However, fighting those that take lives for their sadistic pleasure is NOT COOL!" Sonic snapped.
He performed a continuous chain of homing attacks. With each attack, a Reconquista soldier had his neck snapped beyond 180 degrees in a circumference. They didn't realize what happen till they fell to the ground, dead.
"Shadow was right about all of you... Even Eggman wouldn't go this far..." He snarled.
Knuckles was just as aggressive as Sonic was. Each soldier that attempted to attack him ended up being punched so hard, some were sent flying several meters into the sky. Others had their bones fractured, causing them to bleed internally to death. With chaos infused punches, some soldiers were obliterated.
"Demons in nothing but human skin... Shadow made the perfect description for you all." Knuckles snarled.
Mighty joined in the fray with Knuckles. His punches were just as brutal, sometimes causing disembowelment or total obliteration of the victim.
"We'll make sure they won't harm another innocent...!" Mighty shouted.
Silver used his psychokinesis to levitate the enemy troops around him.
"People like you threaten the future of this world. Be gone now!" He shouted.
With a forceful wave, Silver essentially threw them to the horizon.
"How far did you throw them, Silver?" Sonic said, coming up to him.
"All the way to the ocean, far from the shores." Silver said in a dark tone.
'Seems like Shadow's instinct to kill has rubbed off on you.' Sonic thought.
Blaze, on the other hand, was like a raging flame. Each soldier she approached suffered the fate of spontaneous combustion. They screamed in pain, trying to extinguish the flames. Their attempts were all for naught, turning them to ash in the process.
"All of you... Because my soul has been alit with flames, you are forever condemned in Hell!" She said.
######
The forces of Reconquista were now frightened from the number of their troops being killed.
"Those kids are killing us as though they were swatting a fly...! We need to prepare a different form of attack!" A Reconquista scout said.
By then, an explosion of chaos energy surged in the battlefield. It was a bright red explosion that engulfed a large squad of Reconquista troops. A large cloud of dust obscured the carnage.
"By the Founder...!" A Reconquista soldier said.
Emerging from the smoke cloud, Asura Shadow walked out. The being endured the explosions but it served to rile him up. The eyes were shining brightly as though a supernatural force was possessing him. He gave an ethereal stare at the enemy soldiers.
"That being...!" A Reconquista soldier said, charging to him.
Before the soldier realized it, Asura Shadow quickly swiped his left arm, like a sword. The speed was so quick, the soldier didn't realized that he was bifurcated. He had a shocked expression before his upper half slid off from the waist up. Asura Shadow created an orb of red chaos energy and hurled it to the body, disintegrating it.
"A... A God of Destruction..." A Reconquista soldier stated in shock.
Asura Shadow walked in a menacing manner to the enemy soldiers. His hitched breathing was more frightening than his posture. The Reconquista soldiers were in a state of complete shock and fear.
"Mercy..." One of the soldiers begged.
Asura Shadow looked at the man with a hollow stare. The soldier then attempted to impale Shadow with a dagger, but the blade melted from the intense pressure from the chaos energy.
'He's a deity of death...' the soldier thought.
In cold blood, Asura Shadow stabs the man's chest with his right arm before pulling out his heart. He violently crushed it, causing blood to spray on his body.
"M-monster...!" The soldiers exclaimed.
The relentless slaughter was a hellish sight, even for Tristain's royal forces. All they could hear was shouts of wailing, dread, anger, pain, and sadness. The sadness, pain and anger all came from the violent roars that Asura Shadow produced. Wailing and dread came from the Reconquista soldiers as they struggled to stay alive. Some attempted to find their body parts that were cut off during the slaughter. Others were at the brink of death, screaming to the heavens above in vain for survival.
(Sun OST ends here)
######
At Cromwell's flagship, Cromwell noticed the oppressive power exploding at various spots where his army was. This made him shake on fright, feeling the force of it.
"Fouquet... It's time we use the secret weapon." Cromwell stated.
Fouquet was shown with a shocked expression. She couldn't what happened at the ground. What's worse, her commander was planning to use something dangerous.
"Lord Cromwell! Are you suggesting to use that!? We don't even know if it'll leave us unscathed!" Fouquet exclaimed.
"Tristain made the wrong choice to oppose me. Now I will make an example for what shall happen to Halkeginia!" Cromwell said with madness.
"A-as you wish, Lord Cromwell." Fouquet relented.
Underneath the ship, a portal formed. From it, a large dragon was shown falling. The body was a dull black color with a dull, gray underbelly. Its claws were long and sharp. Several rocks on it were glowing with a dark outline. The horns were sharpened wickedly with a tip, capable of piercing through stone. Its left eye was cut off, leaving a scar from where it was. Its right eye was shown in a glassy gray color, indicating it was dead for some time. Several cuts were matted all over its body. Some were fresh but some were old.
"By my command through Andvari's ring, I awaken you from your slumber!" Cromwell commanded.
The body of the dragon regained its original color. However, its eyes were glassy and didn't show any irises or pupils.
"Dark Dragon... Under my command, destroy my enemies and burn this village to the ground!" Cromwell commanded.
The dragon bellowed with a loud roar. By then, the floating ship's underbelly began to open. The dark dragon emerged from the ship. Upon being released, it was breathing black flames.
######
On the ground, Tristain's forces took notice of the dragon flying in the sky. Reynald instantly knew what it was.
"A Dark Dragon! Those are one of the rarest but dangerous breeds!" Reynald exclaimed.
"How dangerous is it?" Guiche asked.
"They're known for their violent behavior. Even if one was summoned as a familiar, there's a chance they can rebel." Reynald explained.
"That is dangerous... But how did Reconquista managed to acquire one, especially at its adult stage in life?" Malicorne questioned to himself.
"I don't think it was just acquired... Look at its body..." Louise said.
The academy students noticed several sections of its body were missing. Upon seeing the grievous wounds, Reynald immediately knew the situation.
"That's black magic...! Necromancy!" He said.
"Necromancy!?" Guiche said in shock.
Kirche and Louise were uncertain on how to respond, considering they don't know the term.
"Necromancy... It's a forbidden use of magic to reanimate corpses from death. Magic like this is forbidden for a good reason." Guiche said.
"How can we deal with a reanimated Dark Dragon then?" Montmorency asked.
"There are two ways to do end the magic. One is to take out the one manipulating the corpse, be it a Mage or an object. The second method is to completely burn the body with fire, till nothing but ash remains." Guiche said.
"But we don't have any spells capable of piercing through the dragon, let alone do minor damage. A Dark Dragon's scales are thicker than an Earth Dragon's...!" Montmorency said.
By then, the students noticed Shadow, walking his way to where the dragon is. Everyone paid attention as the now feral Gandálfr flew up into the air to confront the beast.
"Even in that enraged state, he knows who his friends are... Everyone, let Shadow take care of this!" Reynald said.
The forces of Tristain moved away from where Shadow and the Dark Dragon are fighting.
######
Asura Shadow and the Dark Dragon were looking at each other. Both roared loudly in the sky, creating a powerful shockwave.
(Play Sonic Adventure 2 OST - Biolizard)
"It's like a battle of the gods... Not even the Familiar Exihibition performance with Saito and Shadow can compare to this!" Reynald said.
By then, Asura Shadow charged forward like a bullet. The Dark Dragon roared and exhaled a stream of black flames. They were hot enough to melt the ground, but Asura Shadow endured the flames. He threw a powerful haymaker at the dragon's chest. A shockwave of chaos energy was shown spreading in the sky.
"All that power from one single punch!?" Guiche asked in shock as everyone on the ground felt the blast.
"This is insane!" Malicorne said.
This caused the dragon to stagger in the air before correcting its alignment in the sky. Before Asura Shadow could ready himself, the dragon moved and used its tail to hit him down to the ground.
"Shadow!" Everyone shouted in surprise.
Asura Shadow stood up, but his body showed evident cracks. The gut-wrenching sounds of the cracks were akin to a bone snapping. The sounds continued to occur as the cracks began to slowly spread.
"What's happening to him?" Guiche asked.
Everyone thought the same question till they saw a pressurized fountain of blood erupting from the cracks. They all realized that the transformation was harming Shadow!
"Oh no... Shadow!" Reynald shouted.
Asura Shadow looked to Reynald. The young mage was paralyzed from the hollow stare that Asura Shadow gave. Much to his surprise, he merely walked away from Reynald.
'He's only focusing on the Dark Dragon! This proves my speculation that he does know who's an ally... However, if he continues fighting, he'll kill himself!' Reynald thought.
Tiffania was more worried for him. Seeing the fountain of blood sputtering from the cracks, it made her rush to Asura Shadow.
"Stop it, Shadow! You're killing yourself!" She shouted, holding on to him.
Tiffania's attempts to stop him were unfortunate to be heard from deaf ears. Asura Shadow merely snarled, moving Tiffania off of him, and flew up to the sky to fight the Dark Dragon. Blood was pouring from the cracks on Asura Shadow's body.
"Why won't he listen to me...? He doesn't realize his body is starting to break apart..." Tiffania said in a sad tone.
"His rage and sadness is due to Reconquista's actions... We have seen this a few times when he snaps." Guiche said.
By then, the sky began to darken. The eclipse was starting.
"The eclipse has started... We don't have time to waste! Let's take down that flagship!" Henrietta said.
######
Asura Shadow continued his fight against the Dark Dragon. He unleashed a flurry of punches that appeared to be a blur.
"GRAAAAAAOOOOOOHHHHH!" The Dark Dragon roared.
Asura Shadow didn't pause as he continued his onslaught. He performed a powerful hammer punch that sent the dragon back to the ground. It landed harshly on its left side.
"Look, Shadow is physically overwhelming the dragon!" Guiche said.
Asura Shadow quickly descended from the sky like a meteor. He landed feet first on the dragon, creating a sizable crater. However, his legs couldn't handle the strain and cracks were running all over them. Blood started flowing at high pressure.
"He'll bleed to death before destroying the reanimated dragon at this rate! There has to be a way to stop him!" Montmorency said in concern.
"I don't know any way to get his sanity back right now... He's too consumed with his rage." Silver said.
Asura Shadow, despite losing blood, conjured a dark, gold flame. He made it increase to the size of a small planetoid.
"Oh crap... That blast will destroy us with the dragon! EVERYONE, RUN AWAY AS FAR YOU CAN FROM HERE!" Guiche yelled out.
Everyone began to run away from the site, not willing to take a chance and stay nearby. Asura Shadow hurled the giant fireball to the Dark Dragon. Upon making impact, the dragon's body was forcefully dragged to the sky as it was slowly turning to ash. Everyone saw the fireball rising to the sky before letting out a powerful explosion. The force of the explosion swept across the whole landscape, creating powerful gusts of wind. Luckily, none of the forces of Tristain were killed.
(Biolizard OST ends here)
######
At the ground, the forces of Tristain were amazed on what they saw.
"I never thought I would see such a force to be reckoned with... Tiffania, you have summoned a Demi-God..." Reynald said.
"He... He destroyed the reanimated dragon...in one blow!" Louise said on aghast.
(Play Dark Cloud 2 OST - Fading Consciousness)
Asura Shadow landed on the ground. However, he was still consumed in his rage. Waves of chaos energy surged in the landscape.
"What is this feeling...? Why are my eyes shedding tears?" Montmorency said, noticing her eyes were shedding tears.
Everyone in the battlefield stopped as they felt the palpable sadness reach into them. Men and women were crying, feeling the same emotion Shadow was emitting.
"This is...what Shadow is feeling...? It feels...so cold and painful." Tiffania said, crying.
######
Cromwell noticed his ultimate weapon was destroyed by Asura Shadow. He lost his mind upon seeing the Dark Dragon being destroyed.
"Fouquet, stall off the ground troops. I'm intending to use this flagship as a bomb." Cromwell said.
Fouquet couldn't say anything as she felt the sadness in the air. Cromwell forcefully made her jump off the airship, making her summon her golem in response.
######
No soldiers from both sides moved as tears of sorrow and despair were shown. Asura Shadow continued to bellow out his grief, not realizing his power is killing him.
"I can't...even understand why...I feel this sorrow so much. It's as though...Shadow's sending his emotions to us." Kirche said, crying.
Even Sonic and his friends were all weeping.
"I never thought I would feel Shadow's emotions this way... He must have endured it for so long." Mighty said somberly.
"Oh Shadow..." Blaze said with sympathy.
The bellowing continued, but everyone was able to regain their sense of reality.
######
Fouquet appeared near the forces of Tristain. She was being controlled by Cromwell, who was using Andvari's ring.
"It's Fouquet, the Crumbling Dirt! Watch out!" The Knights said.
Silver immediately got in front. This got everyone in surprise.
"Guiche, Kirche... I'll hold her golem still. Focus on destroying it." Silver ordered.
Guiche surrounded the golem with flower petals from his wand.
"By my command, all petals shall become oil... Alchemy!" Guiche said.
Immediately, the petals changed to oil. Fouquet was screaming in her mind to flee, but the magic from Andvari's ring prevented her control.
"Now Kirche!" Silver said.
"Fireball!" She said.
She hurled a giant ball of flame to the golem that ignited the stone construct. An explosion occurred that caused Fouquet to be thrown off. She was knocked out, allowing Guiche to form a cage of metal.
"Even if she's an earth Mage, she won't be able to break through this cage. It absorbs any magic from the victim" Guiche said.
Montmorency stared at Guiche, who looked different in her opinion. She couldn't help but blush, seeing how brave he looked. Guiche noticed the soldiers coming in.
"From the earth, rise as my weapon! Earth Glaive Forest!" Guiche commanded.
The earth suddenly sprouted several menhirs. Most of the Reconquista forces that were unfortunate to get caught in the spell got skewered.
"Don't hesitate, everyone. Fight alongside me!" Guiche said.
Silver began to assist Guiche by using the rocks as weapons. Using psychokinesis, he was able to hit the enemy soldiers with well-aimed strikes.
"You're not alone in this one, Guiche. Let me help." Montmorency said.
She began to conjure geysers of water. From the geysers, she manipulated the water into a compressed sphere.
"Drown in your graves!" Montmorency said with hate.
The sphere of water engulfed the troops heading to her. They couldn't move and were drowning in a vain attempt to leave. All their bodies fell out of the sphere.
"They may be kids but their magic potential is just as lethal!" One Reconquista soldier said.
"Does it matter? We'll slaughter the kids in any way possible!" Another soldier said.
Reynald stepped in next. Wind was surging around his body. He had a distasteful expression on his face.
"Purge in a cyclone of destruction!" He said.
A tornado suddenly formed in front of him. It surged forward, ensnaring any Reconquista troops in its path.
"Most of the forces are dead. We'll have them retreating from Halkeginia." Louise said.
Before anyone moved, Asura Shadow landed on the ground. Tiffania ran up to him.
"Shadow! Please come back to us! I don't want you to die!" She screamed.
He then looked at Tiffania. He began recalling how she always smiled. The memories of the Elven girl began to appear in his mind. This allowed Shadow to break free from his rage. With much of his stamina used up, his metallic gold skin shattered, revealing Shadow in his human appearance.
"Shadow!" Everyone yelled.
Shadow's body was bloodied. His skin showed evident areas from where blood erupted from his body. He also looked pale due to anemia.
"Wha... What happened here...?" Shadow said in a tired tone.
"Don't tell me you forgot what you did, dude..." Sonic said.
"The last thing I remembered was trying to reach out for a girl named Danielle... But then..." Shadow paused.
He began to recall what happened. His anger quickly came back but he calmed down.
"I slaughtered almost everyone from Reconquista, didn't I?" Shadow asked reluctantly.
"Dude, you turned into some metallic gold being. Whatever it was, we all saw what happened." Sonic replied.
"I don't feel like talking about it... It made me feel like a creature or a deity of destruction..." Shadow said with a headache.
Tiffania held him close, crying. This made Shadow feel terrible to see her cry.
"Oh Shadow... I felt your sadness when you transformed into that new form. I couldn't take it from there." she said, holding him close.
Shadow made a mild grunt, showing he was still in pain.
Ending 1: Kokia - Fate
That's all from here.
Note 1: Asura Shadow is essentially Shadow in a golden, metallic form from head to toe. This form is triggered when his rage exceeds any possible containment or reasoning. His irises disappear, leaving his sclera glowing white. The hands become sharp claws capable of slicing through tree like butter. Hien's appearance becomes a dark, yellow color. His level of chaos energy is compared to that of a god's. He does recognize his allies and will move aside from them to fight any enemy in his path. However, this form has drawbacks. Shadow's body cannot contain the power and will ultimately break down. The more he exerts himself, the more his body gets affected. Cracks and fountains of blood are the initial stage of break down. Once he snaps back, he'll be weakened. His wounds won't heal after he turns back.
Note 2: The emotions from Asura Shadow can be transferred to people unintentionally. Whatever he feels, the people feeling the emotions will feel the same thing.
Note 3: Necromancy was technically introduced through Andvari's ring. In Zero no Tsukaima, it does revive the dead, like Prince Wales. I made its power to reviving legions of undead soldiers.
Note 4: For those who are unable to picture Shadow as a human, search this link: morelikethis/326978435. (For the artist who made this picture, thanks for providing the inspiration for this fanfic.)
Anything else, send a review.