In a world of darkness sanctioned by evil,
where the only light of hope is a group of unlikely heroes,
the legend's final chapter is about to end...

- TOH SHIN DEN III: Walking Into Ruin -

a Battle Arena Toshinden 3 fanfiction by Athena Asamiya and Kasumi Todoh


CHAPTER ELEVEN: Ruin



Translations:
son'na - this can't be
minna - everyone
saa - now
gomen - I'm sorry
yada - [yet another version of] no
baka - fool
shinda - he's dead
Kesshoku no Tenshi - Sho's side name; literally, "Blood-Red Angel"
kisama - you bastard
kotae wa!! - answer me!!


****************


Eiji was nothing less than emotionally devastated by the sight. His allies - his FRIENDS - were dead. Killed by the Soshiki, all because of his, Eiji Shinjo's, failed plan -- it was all his fault. Eiji could only stare at their tattered figures in disbelief, then choked, "Son'na...this...this can't be happening..." before closing his eyes and letting a lone tear slip down his cheek. But above it all, a laugh started up quietly in the background. It got louder, until it was practically ringing in Eiji's head, reverberating through the room with heavy overtones of mockery. He looked up, revenge burning in his red eyes along with the tears, to see Abel manifest from teleportation a slight ways in front of him.
"How do you like this, Eiji Shinjo?" Abel grinned evilly, motioning to the still bodies hanging from the blood-stained walls. "I call it just rewards."
Eiji said nothing, but continued to glare at Abel, his breathing turning ragged as rage overcame him, colouring his vision as red as his eyes. He rose to his feet angrily, tears running down his face. "You...YOU KILLED THEM!!! You murdering BASTARD!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!"
In a blind rage, Eiji rushed towards Abel, bearing his ki-flaring katana with a fiery vengeance. Abel just smiled calmly, and as Eiji got to him, ready to strike him down, he ran into a blue ki-barrier that had suddenly appeared to shield Abel's body. Eiji yelled out in pain from the electrocution and was flung backwards, hitting the floor hard and groaning in pain. Abel snickered.
"You are not powerful enough, I hate to say. And to think someone like you and those others destroyed the Himitsu Kessha's ambition. Such a pity...an unbelievable pity, but still."
Eiji only glared at Abel with enough fire in his eyes to flay him alive. "They're dead. My friends...my friends are DEAD."
"They most certainly are not, I can assure you."
"WHAT??"
Abel gestured to the chained-up figures on the wall behind him. "That was your assumption. My...partner took them out, but we left them alive so we could propose a bargain to you."
Eiji growled in response, but was massively relieved inside that they all were still alive. However, Abel's words left him a little more than suspicious. "What kind of proposition?"
The Soshiki's leader's cold green eyes seemed to glow with the hunger for power.
"I want your soul, Eiji Shinjo."
Eiji was taken aback. "What the hell do you mean by THAT?"
"It's very simple. Of course, being the experienced fighter that you are, you must know that ki originates from the powerful soul of fighters like you -- almost like a warrior spirit. Everyone has ki, but not all have the knowledge to be conscious of having it or using it for constructive uses, for that matter." Abel held up the palm of one of his hands, almost experimentally, and a blue ball of ki flared and shimmered in the open fist. "Usually, when it is thrown as a projectile, it will be absorbed into an opponent to cause them pain. However..." He abruptly snapped his hand into a fist, and the ball dissapated in a shower of sparks. The glow in his green eyes seemed to grow brighter. "If one's soul, the origin of ki, is given up freely, the full amount of ki can be absorbed for increasing power. I'm not strong enough right now to summon the Overlord. And it is with that power that I will merge with my alternate side, Veil, and raise our Overlord from the depths of hell."
"You think I'm gonna help you to do that??" Eiji raised his sword in clear defiance. "Not a chance!"
Something strange then happened. Ellis began to stir, and, hearing the last part of this conversation, she coughed slightly and attempted to speak -- though it took her a few seconds to find her voice.
"oh....god...Eiji-kun-" she whispered. "Don't...don't do it, Eiji-kun! It'll kill you!!" She actually managed to yell the last part out to Eiji, who was shocked at the sound of her familiar voice.
"Ellis-chan, you're alright..."
"Goddamn," muttered Kayin, struggling through a haze of pain to finally open one eye. "Just what the hell's going on..."
Tracy shook her head, her short blue hair now waving free of its ball cap, rattling the chains in an attempt to break free. "Great. We're chained up and beat'n within an inch of our lives. Things're lookin' up."
"David-chan--" whispered Shizuku in slight shock, seeing David chained up and still unconscious on the sacrificial altar. "David...David-chan!!"
"That is not going to help, Shizuku. He is out cold," Sofia muttered, yanking on her chained wrists as well. "He must have been beaten worse than us. There is nothing we can do right now..."
Nagisa looked over at Ellis. "What's going on down there?"
"Eiji-kun's bargaining for our lives..." was her answer in a trembling tone. "His for all of ours."
This brought out astonished protests from the wounded fighters.
"Dammit, you can't, Eiji!"
"Don't! We'll be fine!"
"We can escape on our own!!"
"You don't have to do it for us!"
Eiji was still staring at them in surprise, either from their reactions or the fact that he still couldn't believe that they were alive after what they went through. Any other normal person would have been killed by a beating that savage... Finally, after shaking his head as if to clear his mind, he turned back to Abel, hands clenched into fists and gripping the Byakko no Tachi tightly.
"I'm not helping you." He raised his family sword slightly -- a threat. "Let them go now, or else."
Abel, unaffected, simply shrugged. "Fine, have it your way. I was only making an offer. I suppose it should only be fair to kill your friends as blood sacrifices." With that, Abel raised a hand as blue ki shimmered and gathered in it, just as it had before. Impulsively, the group of fallen fighters on the wall started to be shocked with the ki-energy. They all cried out in pain, despite that they were all trying hard not to.
"Minna...!!" Eiji yelled. Abel stopped his punishment, and the warriors were all let loose from his electric ki-grip, trying to catch their breath.
"Saa, Eiji Shinjo," Abel said triumphantly, "drop your weapon or else they all die."
"Don't, Eiji-kun..." choked Ellis, a tear running down her face. "Don't..."
A sword hit the floor.
One of Abel's eyebrows rose in amused satisfaction. Eiji was now disarmed, and his face was almost shadowed over so none of them could see the look on it. Kayin grit his teeth through the pain and screamed, "DAMN YOU EIJI!!!"
Only silence followed, and Kayin continued in vehement fury.
"Damn you!! How...how in bloody HELL could you just give it all up NOW?? We did all we could, we came this far, and we'll keep on going, god...dammit..." Kayin's voice trailed off as he bit his lower lip, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes.
"We've made it before and we'll make it again. Even when it looked like we couldn't win, we still did it." His eyes snapped open, and everyone could clearly see the suffering - and tears? - that was reflected there. "So fight him! Don't give up!!"
"I'm not giving up." The answer sounded forced, as did what came after. "I just don't want to see you all hurt. I couldn't be able to watch it and not do anything." Eiji looked up at all of them, eyes glistening. "Minna...gomen. I can't...and if it will spare you, then..." He looked straight at Abel, unflinching. "Do it."
"With pleasure." With that, Abel raised both his hands and placed then in front of him as if in a praying position. He began to glow bright blue, ki resonating off his figure in strange patterns, pulsating and fluxuating around him. In a few short seconds, above the protesting cries of the captured fighters, Eiji's figure began to glow the same colour. Astounded, Eiji had only a moment before the ki exploded around him, and then the pain began. He screamed out in torture, feeling like indeed, his very soul was being ripped out. All the while, Abel was still bowed in hard concentration, while Eiji screamed and his friends shouted their concern.
Finally, it ended.
Nii...san...
Eiji's limp body fell to the floor. He wasn't breathing.
Dead?
Only silence followed, for all of the fighters were in stunned shock. None of them could say a word. Ellis's breath caught in her throat, as she tried again and again to speak but failed. Finally, she choked out, "ya...da...you--you PROMISED me...
"EIJI!!!!!"

****************

Hiding in the shadows on a ledge high above the ceremony room were two watchers, seeing and knowing all of this. Fate had brought them together. Once called the two angels of the Master's apocalypse, one had previously saved the other from certain ruin, and now they couldn't be parted. For even though they were the two most powerful fighters on Earth, it would mean death for either or both...
Seeing this certain twist of fate happen, Sho Shinjo clenched a fist and looked away, trying not to see this scene. And trying to keep himself from doing what natural sibling instinct told him to do.
Beside him, his partner Cupido looked over at him. "Sho-sama...you're not going to try-"
Sho stood up abruptly, making his decision. "I can and I will."
"Baka! Sho-sama, you can't!" Cupido stepped towards him in concern. "It will jeopardize our plan!"
"The plan has failed, Cupido-kun. There's not much hope of stopping Abel now, since he's going to merge with Veil. Someone has to do something." Glancing into Cupido's deep red eyes, Sho only said, "If that was your brother Ripper down there, would you ignore it and leave him to die?" Cupido couldn't say a word. With that, Sho jumped off the ledge and down towards the floor where his younger brother was lying.
"Sho-sama, wait!!" Cupido tried and failed to stop him, then, after a moment of hesitation, leapt down after him.

****************

"I have it!"
Abel was laughing again, more triumphantly than ever before. He had been successful -- he had managed to absorb the warrior Eiji's soul, and was now more powerful than any living fighter on Earth. His body glowed even brighter with luminescent, flaring blue ki. "I have the power now! Veil! We have won!!"
"Not yet."
Abel's laughing slowed, but he smiled to himself, saying only, "So you did come."
As if on cue, the thick chains bonding the six fighters to the stone walls snapped and shattered to pieces, freeing them at last. Landing deftly on their feet and, even though they were all very wounded, they rushed over to Eiji in worry. Ellis was the first one there, kneeling beside his body with tears streaming down her cheeks. Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed, "No, Eiji-kun!! You can't leave me now!! You promised me you wouldn't!! EIJI-KUN!!!"
The others, Kayin, Sofia, Tracy, Nagisa, and Shizuku couldn't hold back their tears as they watched Ellis continue to cry her heart out over their fallen leader. Sensing another, stronger presence behind them, Kayin glanced over his shoulder and his face went white. "God..." he whispered, seeing the tall, long-haired figure pacing towards them. "Sho..."
All of the warriors stopped and stared. As Sho reached them, they all parted away from Eiji's body in astonishment. Ellis, her arms around Eiji, could only whisper, "It...it's you..." Staring only for a moment more, Ellis stood up and stepped aside with no answer. Bending over and picking up his brother's limp body, Sho just stared at Eiji for a second, looking, for him, unusually concerned. Finally, he closed his eyes, and spoke.
"Shinda."
Again, silence settled over the dark room, no one knowing what to say or do. The sound of thunder boomed from outside, echoeing ominously throughout the chamber, and it was all that could be heard. Cupido stepped out of the shadows to Sho, placing a hand on his shoulder and whispering, "Sho-sama..." Sho placed Eiji's body on the ground gently and rose, but he was intercepted by Ellis who looked furious, even for her.
Gritting her teeth, she faced him and said in a sharp tone, "You. It is you then. You're Eiji's brother, aren't you?" No reply. "You know, he's been looking for you for so long. You hurt him so badly by running off and leaving him alone. So why do you show up now, huh? Why?" Still no reply, although Cupido stood up in fury after checking Eiji's body for nonexistent signs of life. "How dare you speak to Sho-sama in that manner!" she spat.
"Shut up! Just shut up!!" yelled Ellis back in return, surprising Cupido with the rage in her high-pitched voice. Turning back to Sho, Ellis continued. "You destroyed the Himitsu Kessha. And you're probably the most powerful of us all. So why...why didn't you save your own brother, dammit?!?" With that, Ellis fiercely slapped Sho across the face. Everyone gasped, including Cupido. Glaring at him with wet streaks down her face, Ellis finished by whispering, "I am in love with your brother. And though he may forgive you, I never will. What you've done to him is unforgivable. What kind of a brother are you?"
Sho was silent. So was everyone else, for that matter, all waiting for his reply, his reaction. Finally, it came.
"A brother who didn't want this burden of a responsibility, to have to choose between his humanity and life, and the safety of his world. If I had had a choice, Ellis, I wouldn't have ever chosen the path that I did."
Disregarding the look on Cupido's face, Sho slowly unsheathed his samurai katana, raising it and bringing it down in an identical pose to Eiji's, his eyes blazing the same colour: purely blood-red. Holding his arm out, as if to keep the others back, he walked slowly towards Abel, who had only a calm look on his face. He was snickering. "So, the almighty Kesshoku no Tenshi finally appears from the shadows. Quite a clever trick you and the other angel pulled on that foolish Master last year. It had us all fooled. But to bring you out of hiding, it took the death of your not-so-beloved little brother to do so. We should have done that sooner. You emotion-ruled cowards are all the same, it appears."
Without saying a word, Sho simply pointed his sword at Abel's throat. "Kisama. Do you really think you have won?" When there was no answer, Sho grit his teeth and yelled, "KOTAE WA!!"
It was a simple answer.
"Who would there be to stand against me now?"
With that, Abel began to glow bright blue again, and he teleported out of the blade's range. Suddenly, a fierce wind began to explode and gust around them, causing Sho and Cupido to have to brace themselves against it, while all the others were flung backwards by its power. The howling wind also exploded around David's chained body on the podium, the force of it causing him to groan and stir slightly. Shizuku, though she was down stomach-first on the ground, called out to him in worry and relief. "David-chan!!"
"Uhh...Shizuku..?" he said back, almost stupidly. When he noticed the situation he was in, David fought against pain to attempt to break the chains. "Damn! I can't get free!"
"I'll come!" Shizuku got up and started towards the altar, but Cupido held her back. "No! We need all the warriors we can get. He...is coming."
Nagisa looked oddly at Cupido. "'He'?"
"Veil," said Sho solemnly, a grimace on his face.
"You wanna try and explain what the hell's goin' on??" Tracy demanded, waving one of her tonfa at the eldest Shinjo. Cupido shook her head in response instead. "There is no easy way for us to describe it-"
Sofia stepped forward, fixing the older woman with a steely blue glare. "Try us."
"I can try to explain."
"Sho-sama...?" Cupido glanced at her partner questioningly, but he only shook his head. "They deserve to know what they will be fighting against, Cupido-kun. You know that we should at least tell them that."
Cupido nodded and fell silent, knowing that he was right. Surveying the group of remaining fighters, armed and ready for battle, Sho sighed and began the explanation. "Veil is a...being, one of immense power. It originally was a manifestation of the dark power amassed by Abel, so you could almost think of Veil as being another "half" of Abel. Veil was sealed deep in the underworld, but since the ceremonies held by the Soshiki have been taking place, the seal holding Veil has been loosened, allowing him almost a passageway into our world -- through Abel. And if Abel was to ever merge with Veil again..." Sho stopped, staring silently at large, concentrating figure of Abel, the mystical powers gathering around him in a dark cloud.
"Then he would have enough power to summon Agon Teos himself, without the use of a host body."
All eyes turned upwards, to the platform on which David was chained. "Thank God..." Shizuku exhaled in relief. "So will this 'Veil' summon Agon Teos right away?"
"Most likely."
"Hold on a second!" Kayin said indignantely, glaring at his former teacher. "We have to fight a GOD? Are you serious?? You know none of us are strong enough for that!!"
"None...except Eiji-kun."
Responsively, everyone turned at the sound of Ellis' voice behind them. She was still with Eiji's body, but although the tears had stopped, her voice betrayed her sadness. She turned her large blue eyes on the group of fighters, but more particularly on Sho and Cupido. "Why does it have to be this way? Why does it always have to be US?? It was because of this...that Eiji...Eiji....."
"Ellis," Cupido began, her lilting voice sounding strangely out-of-place, "destiny is-"
"Don't you DARE try to tell me that it was his destiny to die!!" Ellis cried, standing up quickly. "You always saw what would happen to us in the future! Why didn't you see this? Why didn't you WARN us??"
"I did."
"What...?"
"I did tell Eiji what would happen. But he understood. He was willing to die for all of you." Cupido looked at all of the fighters in turn, red eyes almost glowing slightly. "That was the one thing none of you knew. He had planned to die for you from the beginning. He knew what would happen, and yet he agreed to die. It was his decision."
Stunned, Ellis sank back to the ground. "I...had no idea...God, Eiji..." She brushed a few locks of his spiky hair away from his still face, tears welling up in her sapphire eyes again. "I've never known anyone so brave-"
"But that was Eiji," Kayin said in a low, husky voice, kneeling next to the gypsy girl. "He...wouldn't let anyone interfere with his problems. He kept things to himself, he..." After truly seeing his best friend dead, Kayin choked for a second, then covered his eyes with his hand and whispered, "Jesus Christ, why did it have to come to this...??"
"He understood."
Everyone looked at Sho, who had just spoken. Eiji's brother sighed, then continued. "After all this, he finally understood. And that was what mattered all along." Sho looked over his shoulder, then said, "But what truly matters now is that your destiny has almost come. The legend's final battle is about to begin."
Ellis shook her head repeatedly. "I don't want to fight. I won't."
"Ellis, try to understand. Eiji knew what would happen if he fought, knew that he'd have to sacrifice himself to save all of you, so you can't give up this chance he made. He did it for all of you, to save this world -- he died for-"
"That's all fighting results in!" Everyone was surprised by the sadness and hopelessness in the young girl's voice. Ellis locked eyes with Eiji's brother, the familiarity of the crimson red hue all too painful. "It only results in tragedy and death. Nothing else." She flung one arm out behind her, motioning to the crumbling room, the wounded fighters, and their leader lying on the floor, lifeless. "What good can ever come of this?"
Neither Sho nor Cupido said anything to that, but Sofia stepped forwards, and knelt down to Ellis' height. "We can save the world. Is that not a good enough reason to fight?"
Ellis was speechless. Tracy took a few steps towards the girl, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Eiji...would have wanted us to fight," she said gently. "He believed in me even after my sister died. He'd want us to go on." Nagisa nodded in agreement with his female partner. "I didn't know him that well, but he looked like the kind who'd give it his all. So now it's up to us to do it for him."
"I agree," Shizuku said. "He left it up to us, mina-san, so we have to make sure we succeed. Otherwise his sacrifice will be for nothing."
Ellis still didn't say anything, but watched as Kayin rose from beside her. "Kayin...?" Her voice was little more than a slight sound in the darkness.
"He trusted us to save the world..." Kayin clenched a fist painfully, then reached for Excalibur's grip and drew his sword slowly. "So we can't let him down!"
Ellis gazed at all of her friends, weapons drawn, ready to fight to the end. She glanced once more at Eiji's face, and for a moment, she thought she could hear him speak.
Remember what you always said, Ellis-chan: Never give up. Fight, for me...
She smiled. I - WE will, Eiji-kun. Wait for us...
With that, Ellis rose, pulling out her twin Dirks and joining her friends as a group -- the warriors chosen by the legend, Toshinden.
"Good," said Cupido. "It appears that now, you all understand as well. Then, the final battle shall begin."
"What...?" Almost suddenly, everyone became aware of the loud roaring sound of the wind, filling the room with deafening noise. Lightning constantly crackled overhead, illuminating the dark chamber. But the lightning wasn't all that was brightening the sacrifice room -- Abel's crouched form was steadily glowing a more and more intense bluish-white. The very ground itself underneath him was starting to crumble away from the massive concentration of ki.
"What is this??" Shizuku cried, raising one kimono sleeve to shield her face from the flying debris.
"The summoning..." Cupido murmured, but strangely enough, everyone could hear her soft words -- and remarkably, both she and Sho were still standing. Sho narrowed his eyes, focusing on Abel. "Veil has awakened."
In that one instant, Abel's eyes opened, but they weren't an icy green like before -- they were glowing a pure shade of purple. He rose from the ground and yelled, his scream mingling with the thunder and wind, and a bright flash of energy exploded from his body, causing everyone to hit the floor and shield their eyes from the release of power. When the light died down and the group looked up again, Abel's transformation was apparent.
His form was now even larger than before, casting a huge shadow from the lightning's illumination -- except that he was no longer on the floor; now, he was hovering over the ground. His body was now covered in glistening black metal armour, highlighted with numerous gold and silver buckles. A huge red gem of some sort glittered on his chest, pulsating along with the fluxuation of ki. His face was now deathly white, and his eyes - now glowing a deep purple - were both streaked over by a single slash of blue. His orange hair was standing up in an even wilder shape than before, held back only by a red metal headband. This new being - if it could even still be considered Abel at all - stared over the eight fighters before him with what might have been considered a sneer on his face.
"Insignificant fools..." His resounding words could even be heard over the howling cacophony. But his voice was oddly wrong -- it now sounded as if it was two voices mingled together. Veil raised both his armoured hands, and slowly, a pair of shining daggers, made of pure purple ki-energy, formed at his wrists. "You had no idea what you were getting into, coming here and challenging us."
"We knew!" yelled Kayin, pointing his sword at Veil. "And we're still going to kick your ass!"
Veil chuckled, an evil sound that rang off the walls of the room. "But I am not to be your opponent."
"Not our opponent...?" Sofia said. "What do you mean by that?"
The floating Veil said nothing in return, but simply lifted both hands to the violent sky, and the lightning started streaking more rapidly than before. He tilted his head back and called, "You shall all be sacrifices for the Toshin itself! AGON TEOS!!!"
As soon as he said the words, the ground began to rumble and shake violently beneath them. Lightning began shooting through the gaping hole in the ceiling and striking the center spot of the room, as well as ripping up other parts of the walls and floor. The wind began whipping around the room at an even faster speed than before, carrying the crackling electricity to every inch of the sacrificial chamber. All of the fighters, save for Sho and Cupido (who were still standing with no visible effort, not looking the least bit concerned), stumbled at the shaking movement of the terrain beneath them.
"Everybody, hit the floor! NOW!!" hollered Kayin. No one really needed to be told; they all did so quickly, in order to avoid the chunks of stone raining down around them, the furious wind and the lightning. And Veil's laugh could still be heard, the tone being carried over the thunderous havoc beneath him.
Watching the chaos unfold below, David felt more helpless than he ever had in his young life. He wasn't needed to be a host body anymore, but...he couldn't watch Shizuku, and his fellow fighters, the ones who had believed in him, be slaughtered by an enemy they couldn't hope to defeat. David had caught a glimpse of the Toshin once, and the image had never left him.
But you have the same power, don't you...
The sudden realization stunned the boy. It was true. Ever since the first failed ceremony, the one where the Soshiki had attempted to make him the host body for the Toshin, David had felt that he had...powers. And it was only now that he truly understood -- it was because for a brief second, maybe not even that, he had been bonded to Agon Teos. The encounter, though lost, had left him with the hauntingly-powerful ki that he could control at will -- a power that he had never had before. The lessened power of a god.
Now, his friends needed his help.
"God...DAMMIT..." he growled, straining and pulling on the chains with all the strength he had. "I have to...get free...NOW!!"
As soon as he said those words, a strange power surged from his body through the heavy chains, and they exploded, crumbling into dust. Without even hesitating, David leapt off the sacrificial platform, towards the gathered fighters below.
"David-chan!!" Shizuku screamed in concern as she saw the boy land on the ground unsteadly, nearly falling over in the process. He heard her voice, and attempted to make his way to the group, although stumbling and tripping from the unsteady ground. "Shi...Shizu--DAMMIT! Shizuku!!" Finally, he made it to his foster mother, and helped her up, supporting her lithe body with his own.
As soon as she could stand on her own, Shizuku looked David over in concern. "David-chan, are you hurt?"
"I-huh??" Upon closer examination, David noticed that there was no evidence on his body that the prior beating had ever happened -- all his wounds had mysteriously healed. The only obvious way of telling that he had been fighting was the tattered, blood-stained trenchcoat that hung from his lanky frame. "That's strange...I could have sworn-"
"David?? How did you get free?" Ellis' sweet voice sounded from behind him, and David turned around to see the rest of the fighters attempting to regain their footing as well. He looked at his gloved hands, then clenched them into fists. "I...I don't know. But it doesn't matter now." He glared at Veil. "He's summoning Agon Teos. I can feel it...it's the same as right before the ceremony..."
"The reckoning has begun," said Sho simply.
The fighters could only watch in stunned shock as Veil raised his daggered hands, collecting massive waves of purple energy into the weapons. After the lightblades began to crackle with an overflow of ki, Veil thrust the harnessed energy downwards towards the center of the room with a delighted scream. The blast hit the ground, and absorbed into the floor.
The shaking stopped. Along with the lightning, wind, and thunder -- it all just died down suddenly.
And the ground began to open up in the middle of the room.
A fiery blast of kinetic energy exploded from the opening crevice, throwing all the fighters to their knees. Raging flames licked upwards from between the cracking rock, and then, all of a sudden, in one mighty burst that scattered fire across the room, SOMETHING rose out of the hellfire-ridden chasm.
"What the..." Kayin said, attempting to shield himself from the searing flames. "What the hell is going on?!"
"Oh, it's quite simple," Cupido replied quietly, watching the monstrous beast unfurl before them. "It's the beginning of the end."
And with a bellowing roar, Agon Teos, the Toshin itself, rose to confront them.

**********