And here's the next part. A small blurb really, but enough that you know I
haven't forgotten about the fic, I've just been working on many other
things lately.
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And in my darkest moment
Feeble and weeping
The moon tells me a secret
A confidant
The Armor of Inferno roared through his veins, burning like the hottest magma as everything that was Ryo was scorched away. He was justice, wisdom, trust, virtue, all that was noble and pure, refined until he could no longer feel anything, just the driving goal to Protect. This was what he was born to be, destined to be, he just had to surrender his soul to the blasting and furious tide of energy that surrounded him, buffeted him back and forth like a child's doll. They wanted him to take their powers, their lives, and he could feel them reaching out.
Everything was pushing at him, taunting him, refusing to let him rest. He couldn't accept the armor's fury, or else there would be nothing left of himself to control it. His legs refused to hold the weight of Wildfire as it was, and he sunk to his knees in despair. The weariness was radiating from his chest, a tight pressure binding his ribs and his lungs with suffocating force, yet he couldn't control the trembling in his arms, the quivering of his muscles.
They had been fighting for so long. Now he had a chance to end it. Accept the Inferno and destroy Talpa.
Every moment of doubt in his young life raced through his mind. Every feeling of inadequacy and wretchedness and ineptitude reminded him that he wasn't worthy to carry this armor, to support his friends. All he brought with him was pain and disappointment, and death. He couldn't let his friends die.
Take what we offer, Ryo. It is given freely and without recrimination. The cool, reasonable voice of Sage, always determined to stand by his duty even if it meant his life. He would never abandon his principles, nor his friends.
You can fight him, Ryo. We'll be all right. Sai's unending optimism, willing to put complete trust in his comrades and never doubt that they could pull through in the end.
Kick his ass, man. Time for this creep to go down. Things were so simple to Kento. He could break down the complex, driving to the heart of the matter, and do what needed to be done without a second thought.
And the last voice to reach him was the deep cold of space, the rumble of thunder in a storm, the light blue of the skies on a sunny day. Cool energy caressed his skin, leaving trails icy as death's fingertips along his arms and cheeks.
You could never fail us, Ryo. We'll end this together.
Lifting a gloved hand to the ghostly touch, Ryo could feel Rowan's exhaustion through the mindlink, but still the archer offered his power and his faith. That Rowan, the hardest cynic he knew, believed in him...
Giving himself up to the moment, he opened his arms wide and let the darkness take him.
Blazing, piercing white flare of light, dazzling the eyes until white white white is all that's left to see and touch and taste. Warming and burning and cleansing with an angry blinding fire.
The quickening fury of a tempest, the roaring strength of a tsunami, the pounding rush of the tide around deafened ears. Nature is shrieking its suffering.
A low rumble, shaking the earth with its vehemence until the ground shatters and debris sprays and gouges and tears. The world detonates and only pieces are left.
The screaming of the cosmos, a supernova that never stops exploding in a graveyard of heavenly bodies, rushing outwards, pushing against fate and time until only a charred, scarred chunk of rock remains.
Ryo fell back to the hard tiles of the Dynasty roof with a solid, sickening thud of impact. The Armor of Inferno separated, returning the other four armors to their bearers, but Ryo could still feel the wraiths of each in his soul.
The armors were inexorably tied to him and the bond could not be broken by distance.
TBC
***************************************
And in my darkest moment
Feeble and weeping
The moon tells me a secret
A confidant
The Armor of Inferno roared through his veins, burning like the hottest magma as everything that was Ryo was scorched away. He was justice, wisdom, trust, virtue, all that was noble and pure, refined until he could no longer feel anything, just the driving goal to Protect. This was what he was born to be, destined to be, he just had to surrender his soul to the blasting and furious tide of energy that surrounded him, buffeted him back and forth like a child's doll. They wanted him to take their powers, their lives, and he could feel them reaching out.
Everything was pushing at him, taunting him, refusing to let him rest. He couldn't accept the armor's fury, or else there would be nothing left of himself to control it. His legs refused to hold the weight of Wildfire as it was, and he sunk to his knees in despair. The weariness was radiating from his chest, a tight pressure binding his ribs and his lungs with suffocating force, yet he couldn't control the trembling in his arms, the quivering of his muscles.
They had been fighting for so long. Now he had a chance to end it. Accept the Inferno and destroy Talpa.
Every moment of doubt in his young life raced through his mind. Every feeling of inadequacy and wretchedness and ineptitude reminded him that he wasn't worthy to carry this armor, to support his friends. All he brought with him was pain and disappointment, and death. He couldn't let his friends die.
Take what we offer, Ryo. It is given freely and without recrimination. The cool, reasonable voice of Sage, always determined to stand by his duty even if it meant his life. He would never abandon his principles, nor his friends.
You can fight him, Ryo. We'll be all right. Sai's unending optimism, willing to put complete trust in his comrades and never doubt that they could pull through in the end.
Kick his ass, man. Time for this creep to go down. Things were so simple to Kento. He could break down the complex, driving to the heart of the matter, and do what needed to be done without a second thought.
And the last voice to reach him was the deep cold of space, the rumble of thunder in a storm, the light blue of the skies on a sunny day. Cool energy caressed his skin, leaving trails icy as death's fingertips along his arms and cheeks.
You could never fail us, Ryo. We'll end this together.
Lifting a gloved hand to the ghostly touch, Ryo could feel Rowan's exhaustion through the mindlink, but still the archer offered his power and his faith. That Rowan, the hardest cynic he knew, believed in him...
Giving himself up to the moment, he opened his arms wide and let the darkness take him.
Blazing, piercing white flare of light, dazzling the eyes until white white white is all that's left to see and touch and taste. Warming and burning and cleansing with an angry blinding fire.
The quickening fury of a tempest, the roaring strength of a tsunami, the pounding rush of the tide around deafened ears. Nature is shrieking its suffering.
A low rumble, shaking the earth with its vehemence until the ground shatters and debris sprays and gouges and tears. The world detonates and only pieces are left.
The screaming of the cosmos, a supernova that never stops exploding in a graveyard of heavenly bodies, rushing outwards, pushing against fate and time until only a charred, scarred chunk of rock remains.
Ryo fell back to the hard tiles of the Dynasty roof with a solid, sickening thud of impact. The Armor of Inferno separated, returning the other four armors to their bearers, but Ryo could still feel the wraiths of each in his soul.
The armors were inexorably tied to him and the bond could not be broken by distance.
TBC