Disclaimer: See previous chapters
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Chap. 61
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Kayura continued on her journey through the woodland forest. So far, she had seen nothing out of the ordinary; just thicker trees and bushes. It was getting to the point where she was becoming frustrated. As far as she had seen, she was wandering about aimlessly through a forest, all the while, her former comrades were probably wreaking havoc upon all that they met, which could more than likely be her friends aboard the Sunstreamer while the Ronins and the Celestials slept dormant somewhere. And the only hope she had to work on was a feeling she had.
But it could not be ignored...
Ever since she was freed from Talpa's control, Kayura had begun to have a minimal understanding of her powers as a member of the clan of Ancient Ones. She thought she learned all she needed from Anubis's example and the Staff, but there seemed to be more to her abilities than just those few things. And it looks like she was learning about them the hard way...
'Wait...'
Kayura found herself pausing, feeling a stronger sensation. Not only that, but it seemed to be close. She didn't know what, but it replaced her frustration with a renewed vigor of search. Moving off to the side, she continued to follow her senses, tracing what was now a faint, but clear energy presence within a deep brush of trees and bushes. Clearing a few branches aside, she soon saw that the branches weren't as deep as she thought, but rather there was a hole that curved into the side of a high mound of earth, the darkness making it seem deep.
'A cave.'
Mystical energy emanated strongly from within the entrance, causing Kayura to pause to consider whether it would be safe to go in or now. Yet there was now a sensation of familiarity that overcame her. 'Have I...been here before?' There seemed to be more questions in her mind than when she was simply wandering before, but now she knew where the answers lie.
Kayura moved into the cave, still cautious, but more intrigued now. There was a faint glow from far within, but she couldn't make anything of it yet. Soon she reached a point of the cave where the light was bright enough to illuminate her surroundings. And it was then that she saw a silhouette of a figure standing in front of her path between the light. A pair of swords shone in the light, causing Kayura to step back and summon her kusari-gama in her hands. The figure began to move forward, slowly revealing to be a female presence. Also, the sword she was holding were more than familiar...
'The Starlight Swords!'
Kayura was confused by this. Who was this? Was it Lady Shiva? If it was, then that would be very disastrous for her right now. But an even worse thought entered into her mind. Could it be Mia? Did Nanashi take control of her? But what Kayura wasn't prepared for was the true answer, for when the figure came in clear enough, Kayura was completely shocked by her identity.
It was her... Lady Kayura...
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Sunstreamer
"So that's what happened?"
On the bridge of the ship, Yuli and Sally had filled in the fiery Ronin on the events after the battle with Nanashi's forces in the Nether Realm. Unfortunately, the information of the beginning was sketchy, so Ryo was left in the same state of confusion he was when he awoke from the volcano.
"Yeah." Sally finished. "Unfortunately, it's not much. Everything went crazy at that point."
"It just doesn't make sense." Ryo replied, shaking his head. "I don't even remember fighting Heero. After Nanashi zapped me, the last thing I remember was the others giving me their power." He grabbed hold of his forehead. "It's all hazy after that."
"From what Kayura told us, you and the others were blasted to the resting places of the armors." Sally informed. "We have to find the rest of the Ronins and Celestials before Nanashi set to them."
"Right. We already know where the other Ronins are, but finding the Celestials is another story. Maybe Mia can..." It was there that stopped, noticing that she was absent from the bridge. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her around since he came on board.
"Hey, where is she?"
"Oh..." Yuli lowered his head sadly. "Mia...isn't here, Ryo."
"What?"
"During the fight, we were separated from her and Lady Une. We haven't heard from them since."
Ryo shook his head in disbelief and guilt. He had assumed that she was with them, but instead, she was lost somewhere in the Netherealm. And all because he lost control of his armor. His hands tightened into fists and he declared.
"We have to find her then."
Sally quietly took note of Ryo's choice of words, but cautioned the Ronin. "No, Ryo. If we go back to the Netherealm now, we are sure to get ambushed. We should find the others first before anything."
Howard decided to step in and speak. "Actually, I think we should check in on Kayura first."
"Good point." Sally agreed. "She might have a lead we can work on."
Ryo's thoughts were elsewhere, but he nodded nevertheless...
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Kayura stood in stunned amazement as she faced a mirror image of herself. Not exactly a mirror image. Rather it was an image of her past self, when she was a servant of Talpa. The same garments, same weapons, even the red markings around the corner of the eyes. The doppelganger raised her swords in ready stance and suddenly lunged. Kayura snapped out of her shock and managed to leap away just before the blades hit her. However, the shadow Kayura pressed her assault by following in and slashing upward, clashing with Kayura's weapon and smashing her against the cave wall.
"Guh!"
As Kayura slid down to the ground, the doppelganger came at her again. With nowhere to dodge, Kayura was forced to block, with the blades of the Starlight Swords coming in close to her face. The cold eyes of the dark double pierced into her as she continued to force the blades ever closer to Kayura.
"I...must...!"
With a forced cry, Kayura suddenly pushed back her doppelganger, who backflipped away for a safe recovery. However, it was now Kayura on the attack as her chain weight came flying at the double, almost smashing into her face. But the doppelganger had managed to move her head out of the way, allowing the weigh and chain to soar on by.
While Kayura came in for the real attack...
Bam!
Following behind her chain, Kayura landed a solid kick on her double after she had dodged the first attack. The doppelganger hit the ground hard, but miraculously managed to rebound off the ground and waved the swords in motion. Kayura, ready to press the attack, stopped in horror when she saw recognized the stance.
Star Sword Scream...
The doppelganger waved her blades upon, causing a blast of water to erupt up and followed by bolts of crimson energy. Kayura was engulfed by the attack and would have been hurled away if not for the words that echoed in her mind.
'Stay strong, Kayura! Follow the soul of your armor!'
She was too wracked in pain to try to recognize the voice, but the message was enough for her to fight back. The symbol of Chu -Loyalty- shone brightly on her forehead as she bypassed the pain she was being inflicted with and whipped the chain around. Glaring at her dark copy, she called forth the power of her armor.
"Quake! With! FEAR!!!!"
The chain lashed out and smashed into the ground in front of the doppelganger, smashing bit of stone and debris everywhere. The chain soon multiplied into several, soaring upward like lightning and erupting in a crimson storm of power. The doppelganger was completely engulfed in the energy torrent and vaporized within.
When the lights and dust soon settled, Kayura collapsed to her knees, partly bending over. Enduring the Star Sword Scream while launching her own attack had nearly torn her apart. In fact, if she were attacked now, there would be nothing she could do about it. But fortunately, her doppelganger had truly been vanquished. Weakly, Kayura regained her bearings and slowly trudged toward the light. She soon reached the source and was stunned again, this time by a breathtaking scene
"Incredible..."
Before her was a sparkling circular cave, with a crystal clear pond glistening in the center. The light that she had seen was shining overhead, but it didn't look as though it came from an opening in the cave. Forgetting her pains, Kayura strode in further, examining the entire area. Her eyes widened as she saw the upper areas of the cave. Lined all around were nineteen symbols, eight of which were glowing.
-Kosei- -Jitsu- -Kaichou- -Kitai- -Meiyou- -Ai- -Kitan- -Seii- -Ni- -Jin- -Chi- -Shin- -Gi- -Inochi- -Chu- -Nin- -Ko- -Tei-
Four of the ones that were glowing, Kayura recognized immediately. They were the souls of hers and the other Warlords armors. 'These must indicate the armors that are active.' Seeing the symbol of Jin -Virtue- alight, Kayura confirmed that Yuli and the others must have succeeded in freeing Ryo. The three remaining, she realized where the souls of the armors of Phoenix, Arctic, and Cyclone, the three Celestials of Nanashi. Once again, the question of this place came to mind, but surprisingly, an answer came to her.
'Enter, O child of the Ancients...'
The voice had come from the pond, sending little ripples throughout the waters. Kayura felt her caution return again, but it was quickly subdued by her earlier sensation of familiarity. Looking at the water briefly, she slowly stepped in, feeling the cool water even through her armor. Unbeknownst to her at the moment, her pain had seeped away and her strength returned in full. She had soon reached the center of the pool, where the water was just at waist level. Her eyes rose upward to the light, which was now shining over her head. Only now it seemed to be glowing even more, slowly but surely obscuring her vision until there was nothing but light and energy. Kayura felt as though her entire body was flying and saw nothing but light everywhere. A familiar chine rang in her ears and turning toward it, another presence made itself known to her.
"You finally made it, Kayura."
"Anubis..."
