The Third Trial PT 3
Several things happened after that conversation between Nico and Castiel ended.
Whilst Nico walked towards the entrance again, he began to think about what he had told the Heir about his new Archdevil Arm, Erebus. The male didn't tell him any lies, but rather he told him a simplified version of it when in fact there was a whole lot more to the process and the Archdevil Arms themselves. Archdevil Arms are the evolved forms regular Devil Arms take. They are vastly superior to their original forms, and command powers that make them go toe to toe with the most powerful of DPUs, which are beings whose full powers are capable of either transforming or outright leveling Planets.
The Origins of the Archdevil Arms are based around the DPU era, back when the war between Sparda and Mundus, the two strongest DPUs of their time, was being waged. A Devil Arm wielding human fought in single combat against a powerful Demon Prince after his whole military regiment was wiped out by the Demon Prince's armies. Enraged, this human took up their Devil Arm and fought the Demon Prince, emerging as a stalemate between them.
The malice, desire for vengeance, combined with every negative emotion that the human had poured into the Devil Arm during that battle caused it to mutate drastically, changing it's form and caused it to overwhelm the human with it's power. It ended up taking over his soul and turning him into a demon that was the reincarnation of what the Devil Arm had once been as a Demon itself. However, because of its wielder's past emotions, it had been strengthened to a new degree compared too it's previous form, making this power it had enough for it to devour the Demon Prince's soul to permanently stop it from reviving ever again.
While the former human's vengeance was served, the human lost all semblance of humanity and began rampaging across the lands, tearing apart both demon and human alike with the new powers gained from it's rebirth, devouring their souls and adding them to it's swelling powers. That is, until a group of 5 DPUs teamed up to take it down.
The Archdevil Arms are a powerful force, capable of destroying planets with their powers if the user so desired it. However, they work in a similar manner to their original forms. They have similar feeding habits, and if the user does not have an immortal soul, or a powerful enough will to resist the change and re-subdue the Archdevil Arm then they are transformed into demonic beings that can handle their power. These beings hunger for souls, either monster, human, demon, Goddess or Demon God there is no difference. These creatures are considerably more of a threat than Abnormals, Biko had noted, and lose all traces of their humanity.
Like Devil Arms, the Archdevil Arms feed off their hosts energies, but unlike their counterparts these weapons don't have to worry about incompatible energy types. This is because they will already have had a preferred energy source to feed on prior to their transformations. After Their transformations, they will feed on their users energies to stay alive, however the difference is that one they feast on energy, that energy is immensely intensified into a violent, chaotic energy that the Archdevil Arm commands. It is considerably harder to command for the wielder, it is like trying to make a super storm work the way one wants it to which is nigh impossible without the powers of prediction. The violent energies of a Devil Arm cannot even compare.
Awakening an Archdevil Arm is a…. complex procedure. The wielder has to pump into it excessive amounts of power, which starts the beginning of the process. The process takes a varied time frame depending on the Devil Arm in question, how much it is used and how much power is pumped into it.
Not only power, but it must have a significant source of negative emotion though whatever emotion is poured in the Archdevil Arm will always radiate two things: Malice, and death. Demons are usually filled with negative emotions, and Devil Arms are no different. Negative emotions influence their power, thus an abundance of it will trigger the mutation.
When the transformation begins, the Archdevil Arm's power erupts violently, overwhelming the soul and turning it into that of a Demon. Unless the soul is strong enough and that the soul is immortal, then they will transform into demonic beings that hunger only for souls. The awakening also changes not just the body, but it also changes the mind by influencing their deepest, darkest desires. It is what allows them to transform their wielders into powerful demons that are on par with the Demon Princes and DPUs.
Should the user have either a powerful will to resist the change or an immortal soul, then after a trial which is basically fighting a manifestation of the Devil Arm whilst it is transforming, they gain an Archdevil Arm in all it's splendor.
There are aftereffects of an awakening however. These effects include a greater hold on the hosts' souls, as well as stronger fragments of demonic conscience. This transformation makes it possible for the weapons to restore what fragments of their original souls were lost, then evolve further to terrifying levels. These effects result in not only increased power, but also increased strain on the user's soul. Unless the host learns to co-exist with that burden, then they will find using this Archdevil Arm much harder to handle than normal. In addition, they lead to a swell in the user's energy reserves, and if those wielders have multiple energy reserves then they all have the same effect. This swell also refines the energies, making them increasingly potent and 'pure' which adds to their destructive ability and their versatility in combat.
Once a Devil Arm evolves into this state, they gain unimaginable power. Power that makes the powers of their predecessors look like bugs in comparison. Their destructive power gets skyrocketed, to the point were continents up to entire planets can be effected if used carelessly. Wiping out an entire town or city nom matter how large it would be significantly easy for them, and if they hit the right areas then an entire Planet can combust and explode seconds later, destroying it. This would normally kill the wielder; however, the Archdevil Arms also grant them the ability to breathe in any atmosphere, which allows them to survive even if in space.
Another difference between the Archdevil Arms and their lesser evolved forms is that they can consume souls regardless of their type. Originally, Devil Arms couldn't do this because they only had fragments of their original conscience. However, an Archdevil Arm has stronger versions of these, allowing them to devour and absorb souls (Nico's Soul Edge is an exception to this as it is a part of Nico's Soul, and not containing just fragments).
In addition, Archdevil Arms can freely manipulate their respective elements, as well as sub elements connected to them. For example, if a Lightning Devil Arm achieved this form, then they could not only manipulate Lightning, but it could do the same with thunder, shockwaves, create lightning constructs that vary in size and power depending on the energy put into them, negate electric attacks on their wielder and freely manipulate any and all forms of electricity. With these abilities, it comes to reason that their reserves swell as well, making an Archdevil Arm VASTLY superior to their counterparts.
When they attain these forms, these Archdevil arms also grant specific 'boons' of a demonic nature that activate the moment that they are drawn. For example, if a Devil Arm that specialises in sword skills is drawn, it could grant a boon that enhances the potency of sword techniques, and as Archdevil Arms consume more souls, they gain additional boons to install upon their wielder. These powers make them insanely powerful, dangerous and desirable.
Lastly, with this transformation, they gain new appearances and names as well, appearances befitting of their new status.
Just before he stepped inside though, Nico suddenly stopped mid stride, a problem soon registering in his mind that made him pause to think. If he went in there right now, whose to say that he would be able to hold on to his mind when he did? If he didn't learn from his experiences, how the hell would he stop himself from making the same mistakes a second time? Nico couldn't afford to do that, especially with his Devil Arms on the line. They were HIS weapons after all, his comrades on the battlefield. No way would he make decisions that would endanger them unless absolutely necessary.
'Yes, that does seem like a problem... How will you retain your mind and your will when you lost it before? Not to mention myself and your Ghoul self, whom you have yet to think of a name for. will be able to pull you back.'
Biko's words rang true through his mind, as Nico furrowed his brows in pondering. That was true, the moment he began those Trials of Samsara Amon mentioned, he would be separated from his other Aspects for the duration of the Trials. They would not be able to help him out when he needed them, something that honestly filled the teen with dread. He just got so used to those two voices in his head that he found it difficult to imagine life without them. He did manage before, but back then it was mostly the Ghoul Persona he heard, amidst everything else that went on in his fucked up head. So, to regain that sense of silence felt quite daunting to the male.
'BAH, YOU CAN DO IT, YA IDIOT KING! JUST GOTTA DO YOUR HARDEST EVEN IF IT'S THE SHITTIEST TRIALS WE'VE FACED SO FAR! HECK, IF IT WERE THE OTHERS I'D SAY GOOD RIDDANCE, LETS YOU USE OUR KAGUNE MORE! BUT HOT DAAAAAAMN, DOES EREBUS LOOK FINE IN THAT OUTFIT... HUE-HUE-HUE...!'
Uhhhhh... oooooookay, Nico did NOT want to ponder on that train of thought when he heard that dark, creepy chuckle coming from the distorted hollow voice that his Ghoul Persona possessed. Also, was it just him or did he hear a feminine giggle coming from deep within his soul accompanying that chuckle? A shudder ran down his spine at the thoughts, before he completely banished them from his mind.
If he hadn't he'd likely have nightmares for weeks on end, and he did NOT like to go through that experience any more than what he already had. Though, knowing his luck with his fucked up mind...
'How about we ask Emiya for advice? I am aware that it would not be the best solution for us to ask the one we are indebted to for advice, however if we are to complete these trials, then we should swallow what pride we have left (as much as I hate to admit it) and ask for help. We did it once, we can do it again, and for added incentive, which is more important to us? Our pride, or our Devil Arms?'
Now THAT... was likely one of the easier questions Nico had to answer in a long while. Of course he valued his self-dependence, he valued that a whole hell lot. It was what helped him survive for so long against so many of these Abnormals, some of which having the power to destroy everything in Gamindustri should they be allowed to wander free like that one super sized black scaled serpent that coiled around an entire mountain range with room to spare. However, if he were to chose between that, and his Devil Arms which he had already begun growing an increasingly powerful attachment to, along with some revelations he had at the end of the Leanbox incidents, then he'd choose the Devil Arms.
Now, to actually ASK the favor, even though he KNEW that the Heir would rather be doing anything else than saving his sorry ass...
"Hey, Emiya..."
"Hm?"
"These trials, the Trials of Samsara... have you heard of them? If so, could you help me by offering some advice? I'd be a fool to think that if I go in there without prepping beforehand, things would be different. So, could I ask for your advice on how to proceed?"
"I think it isn't that complicated to deal with, this trial of yours I mean. I heard of this trial, they basically just show different possibilities of your own life. Every single one is just the result of different decisions, different aspects of yourself. Denying everything just means that you are denying your own self, you should see and accept that those were also possibilities of your own life. You just need to try and remember what was the choices you made that took you to where you are, remember and accept that those were your decisions and only you made them in the end. Remember that and everything will be okay, this is more of a chance for you to learn about yourself more than a trial so go there and enjoy it." Castiel said with a slight smile, for him this trial of Nico barely qualified as a trial as he already accepted basically everything of his life well enough, except the latest problems that happened to him but he already was dealing with it in his own way.
"Thanks, I'll be heading in then. I'll take what you say to heart, Emiya. Good luck on your remaining tests."
"You too."
"Well, now that this is over can we go back to my trials?" I asked, already more than a bit pissed that I had to come here and help Nico again from a mistake he made again.
"Sure," Astaroth said before a bundle of flames covered our forms and I saw myself back into my area. "This next one is simple, you just need to hang in there for 10 minutes, nothing more and nothing less."
Okay, this may seem easy at first glance but knowing uncle Zelretch this is anything BUT easy.
"Fine, let's give this a try." I said.
"Oh, and one more thing. As a reward for helping the other guy and due to how *COUGH* complex this trial is you will have three chances at it. You will need it."
Well, let's see how bad things are.
It probably ain't that bad.
No more than three minutes later a human-shaped body fell in front of the trial door.
Its entire body was more burn marks than anything else, there was not one full cm² that wasn't burned to a crisp.
"...You lasted longer than I expected." Astaroth said with a snicker as he saw me on the ground, the only sound I could produce was slight moaning of pain as I reached out for a Phoenix Tear.
That was awful in ALL degrees.
How exactly is ANYONE supposed to go through THAT for 10 full minutes?
I was lucky to have lasted 3, and I honestly don't know if I can do any better as I am now.
When I appeared on the trial grounds I was surrounded by great rivers of lava. Large chunks of dark red rocks floated in these rivers even as they seethed with heat, forming isolated islands or even more dangerous areas.
Plop! Plop!
Every bubble of air that popped up from the lava emitted a thick stench of sulfur. These gasses were astoundingly hot; anyone with insufficient training and energy would have their lungs burnt away.
As I tested things around me with a simple magic of my own design (which Yuno-chan helped me develop) I became aware that this was no ordinary lava. This lava was at least 10 times hotter than lava from the mortal world (some other smaller dimensions and Pantheons had even more extreme heat though).
Bang, bang, bang!
I suddenly heard deafening sounds from above, like great thunderclaps. As I looked up, he could see that thousands of crimson shining lights lit up the sky. These lights were just like vorpal swords, shooting towards me at incredible speeds, as if trying to bury me beneath them.
"Those are fucking meteors! I HATE YOU UNCLE ZELRETCH!"
This was all I could say before an onslaught of flaming rocks, lava tsunamis, and heat waves that could burn a normal human to a crisp by just being close to it.
How was I even supposed to beat that?!
The best I can probably do is to try and raise my vision further and try to make my body less fearful of heat.
And for that, I know of one thing that could probably help.
But, facing this guy without my armor and with only Gandiva (which would probably be useless as the guy is basically made of fire), Airgetlan, and Clarent this would not be an easy fight.
But, then again I never expected it to be one.
"I will go and face the lesser Vermilion Bird."
These creatures' bodies were basically a treasure trove as any and all parts were absurdly useful. The heart could be used as the center of a reactor to produce a near unlimited amount of heat and fire; The feathers could be used as reagents to make clothes fire resistant; the blood, if transfused on the body, could help someone reach much greater heights in fire magic making even those without talent in the area genius overnight; the beak and claws could be used as parts to create extremely powerful fire mystic codes; the meat could be used to help make the body and soul of the one who eats it even purer and stronger, raising ones talent and making their progress even more smooth in the future; and do not forget the magical core that on this sort of beast was an actual object, it could be used to power the entire Tower's magic energy needs for years without any problem.
If I were to obtain it I can transplant some of its blood into myself and eat some of its meat, this should help my body to get a higher resistance to heat and fire attacks which in turn would probably help me in surviving this shitty trial.
That is my best shot, but doing it like this will be such a huge pain in the ass!
Sigh, if at least I still had the armor it would be somewhat better but without even it I can only pray that everything will work out.
Over on Nico's end, the teen stepped into the tunnel entrance, once again attempting to complete the Trials of Samsara.
After Castiel had given him that advise, he had decided to ponder on everything he had been through inside his mind, both the good and the bad. He had made sure he'd memorized it all so that once he started the trial, he would be able to keep better track of himself. Castiel said that he should guard what he truly considered parts of who he was, what truly defined him as a person. To that end, it became clear to him what reflected him as a person: his own sense of self-independence, his drive to fight, his desire to be a good person to his comrades, and his identity as Nico the Spec Ops Agent. His DPU powers and Ghoul Side he had started to consider those as well, so he decided to put everything into the 'important' folder in his mind.
'Whelp, wish me luck guys.'
'Good luck, Nico. It would be wise to keep what we learned inside your heart.'
'DON'T LET THIS TRIAL KEEP YA BACK, KING! YOU JUST FUCKING BROKE OUTTA YA SHELL, I'LL NOT 'AVE YA BE DRAGGED BACK IN!'
Those words were what he had exchanged with his other Personas until he started the Trials once more.
When he opened his eyes once again, Nico found himself experiencing every world he had seen before, each of those alternate worlds where he had seen a different version of himself and watched how their lives played out. He saw all the good versions where he was a good man, a good lover and husband, and he saw the ones where he became the most vicious and feared person in the entirety of that Gamindustri. He saw it all once more, and memories of that time when he lost himself filled his mind. He started to feel the pull into that darkness once more by that point, however Nico refused to give in this time. He didn't turn way from any of it, not one bit. He refused to let these trials best him once more. He took the advice that Castiel gave him and implemented it, remembering whom he was and sticking to it.
Nico didn't turn away from what he saw, but instead he concentrated on it. He watched his other selves each live their lives, either in joy or in fear. He watched it all, taking it all in and letting it play out, refusing to pull his eyes away for even a split second. The redhead male watched it all, and just accepted it. As hard as it seemed to be at first, it gradually got easier and easier for him, the reason being how he would ponder on what options had changed and how they had affected the other him in that world. Essentially, he gave his mind something to do to help it accept what it was processing through his visual receptors.
Through his pondering over every world he saw up to the 50th one, Nico gradually began to realize something. It was small at first, but gradually it got bigger and bigger the more worlds he saw, until Nico couldn't deny it any longer.
The power of choice... it was an overwhelmingly powerful tool of fate.
It reminded him of a theory he'd once heard about how there were parallel universes where, if one made one choice in one universe, the same one in the other Universe would have made the opposite. Choices were what cultivated one's life, they were what shaped them into the people they become in the future, for better or for worse. It was a very neutral, unassuming force that seemed almost as primordial as the two conflicting powers of light and darkness. It had been there since the dawn of creation, ever since the first life-form was ever created the power of Choice accompanied them. That was what the power of the Edict of Fate must be like as well, to control the power of choice to inadvertently change the way people would turn out. If they had the power to time travel along with manipulating fate... geez, hat could be terrifying.
This also gave Nico a new found perspective on the way the Chaos Gods worked too, with their domains and their powers. Khorne was the Chaos God of War, something he had been intimately familiar with thanks to Leanbox, so if it understood the principals of the Edict of Destruction as well, at least to a lesser extent than Sparda did since Khorne was considerably more one-dimensional than the strongest DPU.
All this knowledge...
All these changes...
And Nico thought himself graduated from any type of education.
'Hmmm, I guess its true that you learn something new every day...' Nico thought to himself after witnessing the 80th world (he'd kept count to help his mind retain its individuality). In that one, he had been a womanizing pervert who managed to somehow attract a harem of girls and ended up living with them as his wives, loving each of them with every fiber of his being. 'Now that I think about it, after realizing all this... that these selves are me and not at the same time, just with different choices and circumstances made... I somehow feel like I've somehow grown. I don't feel the same as I once was.' Looking at himself, Nico saw that he didn't look any different, but even so he DID feel mentally different.
He felt... better, better than he had felt in a long time. Looking back on his past, Nico thought about many of his life choices, choices that at some point he regretted, and others he wished he had the chance to have made... but now, now he didn't feel much for them anymore. True some part of him still slightly regretted the bad ones, but they were all in the past now. They defined him as a person, and he could learn from them. That was the best way to handle those problems, Nico figured. Not to mention, if he hadn't accepted Zelretch's offer to come here, he would never have learned any of this. He wouldn't have achieved this level of understanding. Now that he thought about it, perhaps gaining more power and abilities for not just himself but for his comrades too, wasn't the only reason Zelretch brought them here. Perhaps it was also a journey of discovery and knowledge, too.
Tzeentch would probably want to compare notes with this guy since part of his domain was knowledge.
Finally, Nico found himself at the last world, a world which took the form of a vast, empty plain. Nico looked around, one eyebrow arched as he surveyed his surroundings. He didn't recognize this place, but his instincts told him that this was NOT the same as his original world, that this was the last one. His mental counting of the worlds he'd seen helped confirm that. Still, this place... even whilst it had a very bare, barren feel to it, Nico couldn't help but admire the beauty to it, something he had rarely done in his lifetime since he focused mainly on survival. That was how his world worked, after all.
Looking around, Nico finally spotted a figure in the distance, standing atop a tall hilltop looking to the side. 'Huh, someone else here... Maybe I can see them and watch, see if I can get a bearing of where I am.' the teen thought, walking on over to the hill. It wasn't a very tall hill, not from far away. However, as he got closer the male found that it definitely had a bigger height to it than he expected. Nevertheless, Nico climbed up the hill without much trouble, his Trench Coat flapping about in the wind that generated the more he climbed. It felt almost like the wind was trying to stop him from getting up there, though Nico refused to let that stop him.
Once he got to the top, the teen got a good look at the figure before him, and from behind the figure looked a lot like Nico himself. As in, the same size shape and clothes he wore when he first started training in his Ghoul side after a while of keeping it under wraps.
"Who are you...?"
Blinking owlishly, Nico didn't say anything when the figure before him asked him a question. He almost didn't expect a question to be asked to him at all, since he wasn't really here. Even though he was, technically. The figure slowly turned his left side around, so that while his legs faced the front, his upper body was turned sideways allowing his head to look in his direction. This allowed Nico to confirm in his mind, that this indeed was an exact copy of him. His light blue eyes shined with a lack of caution, yet Nico still saw them as his own. He still noticed that this was himself, and yet not at the same time thanks to everything he'd seen from the last 99 Trials.
For a moment, both Nicos stood there, silence being their only companion. The two males stared into each other's eyes, a slow but quiet breeze rustling their hair which forced their bangs to flutter in the breeze. Following their example, were their Trench coats which constantly flapped in the direction that the wind was blowing from, the lower parts of said clothes anyways.
Finally, Nico himself responded to the other him's question.
"You should know... i'm you after all..."
The other Nico didn't reply for a moment, and as they stared into each other's eyes, the redhead deduced correctly that the other him used this time to search though his eyes, which were widely known to be the best way to identify someone's nature due to them being 'windows', for any signs of deceit. His expression softened even further afterwards, too. Likely due to realizing what was going on here.
"You're right... you are me... and I am you... the power of choice is a really powerful thing, isn't it me?"
Nico could only chuckle in mirth, his eyes dancing with amusement.
"Yup, it sure is."
Blinking, Nico once again found himself in the middle of the starting room. The male blinked again, temporarily befuddled before he shook his head, grimacing as he held his hand over his forehead. 'Ugh, that never gets easier...' the male thought to himself, before looking to the second entrance he'd taken before. Like the first one, it looked to no longer be accessible, and to him that meant only one thing. 'Looks like I completed the second test: the Trials of Samsara...'
'Indeed you have, I can feel great growth in your mind and your soul. It appears that these tests are also their own rewards in a way, offering knowledge as a secondary prize, knowledge and understanding.'
Nico mentally grinned at the words Biko spoke, as well as the fact that he was hearing them again. 'You have NO idea how glad I am to hear you, Biko. It felt like an eternity in there...' he thought to his Demon Persona.
'HEY, WHAT ABOUT ME?!'
The teen nearly fell over when he heard his Ghoul Persona yell through his mind, the sheer volume and the suddenness of the act being the primary reasons for that action. Just when he recovered, Nico made to scold his Ghoul Persona for that, but then stopped. He recalled what he found out through the Trials of Samsara, of the acceptance of his past that was filled with regrets and despair. In that moment, the male gave a sigh, as he decided to be honest with his Ghoul Persona for once. 'Heh, you're as annoying and loud as ever, but hey I'd say yeah to you too.'
'...OK, THAT SAPPY SHIT IS NOT YOUR STYLE, KING! NOPE, NO WAY IN HELL!'
Just by that tone alone, a tone of shock and angry surprise, Nico realized that he had just caught his Ghoul Persona by surprise. That it hadn't expected THAT to be his answer. Whelp, the Aspect better get used to it, fast cause Nico did not emerge from there without changing.
Just then, a screen appeared in front of him, detailing his rewards and the victory for clearing one of the tests.
CONGRATULATIONS:
REWARDS:
Points: 200,000
Weapon: Ebony and Ivory
No new rewards this time, it seemed, but the points were definitely worth it in his eyes. Plus, he felt the returning of 2 of his Devil Arms, the dual Pistols Ebony and Ivory. Those two must have been identified as one Devil Arm since they were best used together than as one. That was what Nico thought, anyways as he summoned those particular Devil Arms. In two flashes, they appeared above his outstretched hands, before falling into his palms. The moment he grasped their grips, Nico mentally grinned as the familiar feelings of smooth texture filled his nerves. 'Ebony, Ivory, missed you girls...' Nico thought to his Devil Arms, feeling a sense of giddiness from said weapons in return before he twirled them by their triggers and slipped them onto his waist.
"(Now that you have cleared the second test, it will take 5 minutes to set up the next one. Use this time wisely.")
"Got it, Amon."
As Castiel entered the crevice, it didn't take even a second for a wave of heat to launch an assault on his face. The blonde teen scowled as he tried to cover his face from the heat with his hands. The entire place was so hot that even an iceberg would turn into gas in a matter of instants. If not for his training in how to deal with absurd temperatures, he would probably fallen without even battling.
It was just that bad.
The entire place looked like an open sanctuary, there were pillars of stone that emitted an unbelievable amount of heat, it must have probably been sun crystals, a material used to energize some more unique bounded fields back in his world. It was rare, but not enough to make people go crazy over. Except that the amount here would DEFINITELY be enough to make most go crazy and want to do whatever they can to take them away.
He would not be ashamed to admit that even he felt quite tempted, but sadly enough, the Heir had to press the pause button on such thoughts. He had to do this till after the fight as he shifted his gaze to look at where his enemy currently is.
And there it was, sitting on top of a platform made of some weird material that he couldn't recognize. However, with just a glance, one could tell it was of high quality and rarity. His target: the lesser Vermilion Bird.
even if he called it a 'lesser' Vermilion Bird, it still could be considered monstrous.
This bird was at least 10 meters tall and had a wing span of more than 50 meters, it's beak was extremely sharp and the claws were even more so, the feathers covering its entire body were of a vermilion tone that made one associate it with blood and its eyes were of an even deeper crimson.
But, the worse part? Whelp, that was the aura of power it emanated.
Mid Super-class.
Even if it was just a beast that couldn't use its power correctly and even if its power wasn't pure as it was just a mix blood, it still was a beast much stronger than Castiel.
Much, much stronger.
And he couldn't even try to outlast it, as it too had a magic core, even if probably of lesser quality than his own.
... huh, looked like he really WAS growing into a power-type that just won't go down, huh?
"SSCCCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The beast roared upon discovering his presence, likely by smell then sight. Remember the Metal Gear series which has that sound accompany where Solid Snake was seen by an enemy when sneaking about? Whelp, Castiel swore he heard such a sound when it visually spotted him, as the beast released it's screech whilst it opened its wings to take flight.
The Heir would happily admit, that this creature had the word 'beautiful' written all over it. He may be going to kill it, but it still is undeniable that it was a beautiful creature to an unbelievable degree.
An aura of dignity spread from it, as if it was a ruler that commanded the skies while looking down on everyone.
Including him.
That thought gave him pause, and for the first time in his life Castiel found himself looking up to something. He didn't feel like a King, but a peasant, he felt like someone on the streets, not sitting on a throne. It... wasn't a nice feeling for the Heir, as his lips twisted into a furious snarl. 'Damn it! Who gave a beast the right to look down on me? You aren't even a true legendary Vermilion Crow; you are just a close descendant!' the teen thought in his mind. 'You are not superior to me in anyway, and I am going to prove it!'
With this thought in mind Castiel took out Clarent with both hands as he opened his wings. He would not lie, this thing could probably (read: most definitely that its not even funny) fly circles around him. The difference between him and this beast in terms of flying ability was as big as the moon and the sun. Perhaps even more than that. It was just too far from his current flight ability. Just looking at it could give Castiel an idea of what it was thinking. It disdained his very presence, moving a wing in his direction as if trying to swat Castiel away like he was an annoying little bug. But THAT would not be considered a smart move since he moved his sword in time to meet it's swing.
CLANG
The feathers resisted the impact as if they were casted steel, but even so Castiel swinging Clarent, a powerful Noble Phantasm in it's own right, wasn't something it could dismiss so casually as the Heir managed to ultimately bent it' body a bit, disturbing his flight.
'Chance!'
Taking the opportunity, Castiel flew towards his eyes, one of it's few weak points, and tried to stab it there.
EXPLODE
Unfortunately, though, that proved to be a mistake on Castiel's part, and the Vermilion Bird took great pleasure in what happened next. When he was centimeters away from the eyes, it exploded in flames, blasting the Heir away from itself as it looked mad at me. It probably realized what I intended to do and did not appreciate my decision.
Then again, what else was new at this point?
Turning in his direction, an extremely powerful concentration of flames appeared in its mouth.
The moment he saw that action, Castiel's features paled as dreaded realization filled his gut. He instantly recognized that attack, he had to defend himself RIGHT FUCKING NOW!
"Castiel!"
Instantly, Castiel called out the power of his name as he put his wings in front of himself, each one curling in front of him to form a protective cocoon. Just in time too, as a ray of flames hit him where his chest had been. This caused quite the sweat to break out over his brow whilst he held the attack at bay. If not for his ultimate defense, he would certainly have died, but after the attack had stopped, the male lowered his wings to see that he had been thrown almost an entire mile away and that his energy reserves had took a large hit.
Thankfully, now that he had an active magic core and his magic circuits were of high quality, he didn't have to worry so much anymore about his reserves or them overheating. But, this definitely proved itself troublesome. Getting close to it would definitely be considered hard, as it can release to strong of a flame for Castiel to be close and its physical defenses were too strong as well.
"I guess the best way is long distance, huh." Castiel said as he decided that this was the best he could do.
And so, he aimed his Airgetlan at the Lesser Vermilion Bird, focused light energy on it and decided to use his bigger knowledge of light to compress the light until its absolute limit. He then proceeded to launch it using Clarent to take advantage of its amplification ability, launching a small ball of concentrated light that was powerful enough to pierce right through the Lesser Vermilion Bird despite its absurd toughness.
As he saw the bird screech in pain Castiel smiled.
"I guess I will call this one Judgment Bullet, as it is a bullet that judges my enemies and makes them be punished by death for being my enemies. Sort of poetic I guess." Castiel said to himself before jumping to the side so as to avoid the tackle from the giant furious bird.
It was a being considered mythological on the world he came from, he could do whatever he wanted and no one would dare do anything against him as he could simply vaporize the offensor. It believed itself God, until he met someone who was much closer to that definition than it cold ever be, since then he was captured and put in this small dimension. It no longer could enjoy all the pleasures and glories he once received, instead he had to stay put into this small dimension and serve as 'prize' to whoever comes.
It could be said that the only reason it didn't kill himself instead of going along with this was that it wanted to defy the capricious deity that put him in this situation by killing all future challengers (and because this flying chicken was afraid of dying).
When Castiel saw that the creature was up close he decided to try his luck, he changed things a bit and instead of launching the Judgment Bullet as before he used it to raise the slashing power of Clarent, managing to create a large gash across the bird.
"SSSCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The bird was feeling more pain than it has ever felt in his entire life, and more hatred than he felt towards the damned vampire that locked him here. Its eyes were blazing in crimson red before it flew higher and opened its wings as a column of scarlet, with a tint of golden, flames began burning in front of him. This column of flames was not intense; instead, it shone with a strange light as it began to glow with a strange glow in the air.
Castiel heard of this attack, he knew how terrifying it was and so he immediately turned around and began flying to get as far away from the bird. Said bird only showed what could only be called a smirk before he released the attack. In the instant the attack was released, nothing happened, but, in a matter of instants, the temperature in the entire area was transformed from what could be said boiling hot to surface of the sun hot.
It was simply impossible for anyone without a good enough trick or heat resistance to survive this. Thankfully Castiel did have a trick to survive it, he curled himself in as small of a space as possible before he released his wings to cover himself and use the power of his name to protect himself into a protective cocoon.
'To think this monster could even use Yellow Spring Ashes, just how pure is its bloodline?' Castiel thought as he remembered studying mythical creatures before. Most of them were only really strong but a few had some special techniques they developed throughout their lives that they managed to put into their bloodline so as to let their descendants to learn their best skills. The purer the bloodline the more someone would be able to learn and use the skills, the Vermilion Bird had a total of 9 skills and, while Yellow Spring Ashes was only the third one, it still required some considerable bloodline for someone to use to this degree. It was even said that the Phenex family had managed to obtain its regeneration and fire control due to managing to infuse the bone marrow of a true Phoenix into themselves long ago and the blood still circulated through them all, less pure than ideal so they couldn't use the mythical beast's skills but enough for them to get some great advantages.
He could only drool as he imagined what it would be like if he managed to transplant this beast's bloodline into himself, perhaps it would have the equivalent to five or six blood drops of a true Vermilion Bird inside him. If this was to be true then Castiel could get quite the boost in his magic ability to deal with fire, a subject that he was admittedly less than ideal in dealing with.
After more than two minutes the attack finally ended, Castiel slowly came out of his shell and saw that the bird was still looking at him from up above. Its eyes were full of ridicule from the fact that Castiel had to hide from his attacks in such pathetic fashion.
Castiel noticed how the wounds of the best were already closing, making him release an irritated 'Tch' as he analyzed the situation.
'This will be trouble, this creatures life force is too strong. No injuries that are not fatal will be enough to deal with it for long and it is too fast and had too good reflexes for me to be effective in CQC. Besides, if it can release flames with a golden tint it probably can use more advanced skills too. I can only say that I am at least happy it isn't a direct descendant or I would give up here and now.'
Castiel took up his sword and pointed it towards the bird, the only option he saw was one simple but effective one.
Overwhelm him with so much fire power that he cannot defend himself anymore!
And so, Castiel started releasing his Judgment Bullets at as high speed as he could, he didn't even care if there was waste during the process as now he could afford it. What he lacked the least was magic power, and he was going to use and abuse this advantage by combining excessive power with an instinctive fine control he obtained after years of training.
Besides, even if he was attacking in a hurry there was barely any difference between these hasty attacks and the ones where he spent that extra time to build, it was undeniable proof that all the time he spent hammering down the best way to use what energy he had turned into his the base of his strength. The ability to always make an attack with no waste, every single move wasn't wasted in anyway, taking 1000% of his power into play with every move.
During the wait for his next trial, Nico himself decided to check some things out.
The FIRST order of Business would be his DPU Form. He hadn't noticed it before during his battle with Erebus's manifestation (he may take some time to get used to calling his Scythe that), but that form felt significantly different. At least, compared to before. Not only did it feel stronger and faster, but every physical ability he could think of seemed to have grown quite a bit. The male figured that two things were involved here: Erebus the Archdevil Arm, and the Gene Seed implants. It DID say that whilst his human body had a growth spurt, his DPU form had been more significantly affected by it. He recalled how his last Devil Arm, Alastor, had mutated into it's Archdevil Arm form and how his reserves had skyrocketed because of it. Not only did they feel greater in quantity, but also in quality and refinement, sort of like a katana sharpening it's edge to cut through solid steel.
Therefore, Nico decided to transform and see what happened.
As usual, his form had been cocooned in flames, and when they died down the newly formed Crimson Soul looked down at himself to see what had happened. His form, now stood at up to 10 feet, a full 2 feet increase from his base height of 8 feet. His form's Armour clung to his increasingly muscular form, clung to it like a second skin, whilst the Armour itself got a slight bulkiness upgrade. Not to mention what when he looked into it's hardness, Crimson Soul found that it's physical properties had been enhanced. If he were to judge, then he figured that if he fought a Greater Demon of Khorne or any Demon Prince, then this Armour would fare largely better than it would have previously. Aside from that, nothing really changed much outside, but on the inside was a whole new ball game. Not only did his physical attributes seem to have swollen in potency, but it appeared that his energy reserves have swollen as well. He could feel a greater connection to his reserves, one that seemed much better than his original connection, which meant that he could likely draw on is power much quicker than he had previously. As a plus side, when he glanced behind him to his wings, Crimson Soul found them to no longer drain ANY of his Demonic Energy reserves. Instead, they felt more like actual limbs that he could manipulate at will, without having to worry about his reserves being affected.
When he summoned Soul Edge to his hand, the DPU found that the weapon's true form also grew to match his new size and physical stature. The amount of power he could sense from this thing felt astronomically better than previously, as the sword constantly released a dark crimson aura with black colored lightning arcing around it.
"Interesting..." the man mused, returning to human form as Nico held Soul Edge in his hands still. Though it had indeed turned into it's weaker base form, the aura and lighting around it still persisted, it just didn't feel as chaotic as it did before. His eyes glistened as he gazed at the demonic-looking blade, as it's eyeball looked right back at him with the same look of bloodlust a Demon of Khorne would. "Looks like Soul Edge and my DPU powers have been enhanced to a high enough degree."
'I agree... it looks like, if I were to gauge your strength, i'd say you'd be able to crush large buildings like skyscrapers with just a single swing of your sword. As in, that is your human form's BASE strength now. You'd likely be able to bench press those huge Bloodthirsters with ease with this level of strength.'
'Really? Huh, I might have to give that a shot sometime...' the male mused after shuddering at the thought of his base strength being able to cause such damage. Originally, it had been stated in his Spec Ops profile that Nico's physical strength allowed him to destroy small streets with ease, if he were to swing a weapon wit the intent for destruction in mind. However, that wasn't his FULL strength, as he had restrained himself with his Ghoul side being suppressed. Thus, when he pulled those restraints away in Leanbox, his strength combined with his Ghoul side became large enough that a single punch or a swing with no restraints, large buildings could fall to his might (he knew this cause he'd checked once when he had to destroy a large building in a Leanbox village after Halo Mountain). Once he turned into his DPU form however, that strength was magnified tenfold, reaching continent class, where his full physical strength in that form could destroy an entire continent (for a perspective, Nico had actually run a test in his Inner World, destroying a replica of the entire continent of Planeptune from the force of a full-powered DPU Sword swing).
To think that large building class would be his HUMAN FORM's base level now...
After that little revelation (though he mentally scoffed at calling it 'little') Nico dismissed Soul Edge in a flash of flames. He then held his other hand out and closed his eyes, reaching deep inside himself for what he wanted to check. Soon enough, he found it, a dark, sinister and chaotic power that reminded him of the ever-lasting darkness throughout outer space. He had his focus latch onto it and pull it to the surface, before opening his eyes. He soon got greeted to the sight of the Archdevil Arm Erebus forming from a vortex of darkness, darkness that seeped from his hand like a flood. His eyes narrowed at that, as it reminded him of Mundus' darkness powers.
Even so, Nico pushed such thoughts aside as he focused on the Devil Arm itself. Like he had told Castiel before, this PARTICULAR Archdevil Arm had a strong uniqueness to it, in that it's origins came from a primordial Demon which was created by the darkness itself. Thus, it has a certain amount of darkness based abilities that it retained in the form of Harvester. Erebus had told him though information transfer, that she had spent much of her life in the DPU era, fighting and killing anything in sight, proving her might as the daughter of darkness as she had been called. She had fought and killed numerous demons, both lesser and greater ones, as well as any other type of foe that came her way. Even mid to high class DPUs fell beneath her Scythe, which proved how powerful she had been back then.
That was, until she came across the strongest DPU at the time: Sparda.
Their battle lasted for over 300,000 years nonstop, neither deity getting an edge over the other. Sparda had the power of absolute destruction on his side, whilst she had the purest darkness in the Devildimension. One may be greater than the other, but that didn't mean that the other would lose out either. Not when her darkness had been enough to devour destruction itself. Even so, it ended after 300,000 years with Sparda's victory, and as a result Sparda destroyed her with his absolute destruction capabilities.
However, a piece of her soul had survived by freak accident, and she would go on to form a Devil Arm named Harvester. It hadn't been long since she got found by Sparda, kept hidden and then sealed away for over 30 trillion years. Which brought them to the present era where she had found him worthy of being her master whilst her powers returned to her.
Nico shook his head once more, holding the Scythe horizontally at his eye level, said irises flashing with calculations. Fighting Erebus, plus the information transfer she did, allowed him to find out just what this Archdevil Arm was currently capable of, and by the Goddesses it definitely surpassed Harvester by leaps and bounds. It was so great that he couldn't even laugh at the absurdity of it all.
Now, Erebus had the following capabilities in it's arsenal. The first one was Creation. Unlike Harvester, Erebus is not limited to certain creatures that it creates, With absolute Darkness, Erebus can create any kind of creature in existence. Nico had seen the act through the transfer , however there had been one unexpected occurrence: Osiris, apparently Erebus devoured it upon completely forming, taking its power and giving it the power to summon the Army of Anubis, but with the essence of Darkness flowing through their veins. Fortunately for him, it was still possible to use the abilities both Harvester AND Osiris once possessed in the form of creation, however they are no longer limited to small numbers and have increased strength, speed, and stamina. Not to mention the techniques he had inherited through Osiris like Resurrección could still be utilized. With Erebus, Nico found himself able to communicate with them telepathically, able to give them commands and receive messages from across long distances as well as see and hear through their eyes.
Kind of like the Shingan, but on steroids.
• Tendrils - Aside from constructs, it was possible to create a large number of Tendrils from anywhere on the user's body, which could stretch to considerable lengths and were just as strong as Erebus itself.
• Devil Heads – Erebus was also capable of manifesting two eel-like demonic heads attached to Tendril-like extensions from the upper back. Only 2 can be made, however they are considerably stronger than the Tendrils.
Secondly, was the power of absorption. The Darkness that Erebus possesses, has the ability to absorb and devour any kind of target. Originally, it had been able to devour the attacks created by the four Edicts due to it being a primordial force that existed since the dawn of time. However, with it's recent return as an Archdevil Arm, that kind of effectiveness was no longer present. Even so, Erebus was still capable of devouring entire landscapes with ease, absorbing attacks that would otherwise injure it's wielder, as well as anything else that touches it. There are few things that can stand against the Darkness with this ability, and those that do (Such as Castiel's Angra Mainyuu) were exceedingly rare and nigh-impossible to acquire.
Thirdly, was the power of Darkness/Shadow manipulation. As an Archdevil Arm that uses Darkness, Erebus can manipulate both it and anything connected to it like shadows to the whim of it's wielder. Such as travelling through shadows themselves, using Darkness and Shadows offensively and defensively depending on the wielder's situation. It can strike from anywhere where Darkness resides, such as from other's shadows, shade etc. It's powers become even greater once the sun goes down and night takes over, for it will have complete domain over everything that it touched by darkness. It is also possible to cover the wielder in darkness to make them perfectly intangible, making any physical attacks useless.
Furthermore, like all Archdevil Arms, Erebus came with it's own Boons, boons that instantly activate upon summoning it. Such Boons were:
Despair – debuff's the enemy's physical and mental abilities which is evident by the dark aura that overtakes them. This Boon can be applied on more than one person, depending on the wielder.
Shadow Gauntlet – This Boon covers the wielder's Arm that touches Erebus in a dark aura, amplifying the wielder's strength. As in, in addition to their base strength the wielder will be able to strike with an additional 5000 pounds of force.
Dark Shroud – A Boon which shroud's the user's senses in darkness, protecting them from mind and soul attacks as the darkness would devour them upon contact. It works on curses, debuffs in addition to enemy buffing spells, making them all like mortals with great fears of the dark.
Heh, he mentioned it once, he'll mention it again: these things are freaking broken.
Now, whilst it looked like an OP weapon, and in reality it definitely had that title like all Archdevil Arms, Nico quickly identified a few weaknesses to it. For one, these abilities didn't work as well when in bright areas. Such as the day or in brightly lit rooms. He figured that would make sense, since darkness and light were polar opposites to each other. If Erebus was summoned in such conditions, Nico could see how it's abilities would be slightly weakened, as for example in a brightly lit room there would be few shadows for Erebus to use, and it's other abilities could be hampered. Even so, Nico could see something like this being countered with something like smokescreens to disperse the light enough for shadows to form, destroy the light sources or summoning Erebus at night when it was at it's most powerful.
Another weakness he saw was a common one amongst Archdevil Arms, and that was the fact that their boons and other abilities were ONLY available once he summoned them, otherwise they wouldn't happen. If someone figured out a way for him to be unable to summon his Archdevil Arms, then he'd lose a large amount of his advantage in a fight. Nico wasn't a fool, he knew that everything had to have weaknesses to them. It was something he had learned through fighting countless abnormals, each with their own powers and abilities that made them unique amongst their brethren. Versatility was key, key to compensating for one's own weaknesses, and if one found out those weaknesses to exploit them, then they'd no doubt live a little longer.
Thirdly were the Boons themselves. Nico doubted that, despite the power originating behind the darkness, that they would completely work against something like Angra Mainyuu or something of equal primordial presence. As Erebus had told him, whilst her power came from a primordial being, she herself couldn't be considered as such only a stronger force than a regular Demon. The primordial forces would still be stronger than her and if she were to take one on it would undoubtedly end in her loss. Therefore her Archdevil Arm form would likely be in the same boat, so Dark Shroud would likely not be enough to protect him from Angra Mainyuu should it be used on him. Everything had it's limitations, and as long as one managed to notice these limitations, they would be able to learn to overcome them.
Still, it quickly became apparent that Archdevil Arms had few weaknesses regardless... which was why he wanted to have ALL his Devil Arms reach this state.
If they were to become Archdevil Arms, Nico had no doubt that he'd be able to fight his opponents better, he'd be able to take on Chaos Gods, Greater Demons and perhaps get closer and closer to reaching Mundus's level. That bastard practically wiped the floor with him the last time they fought, and Nico felt quite eager to return the favor the next time they met.
With this knowledge, Nico twirled the Scythe and strapped it to his back. When he let go of the shaft, the male expected the boons he felt to just vanish since he wasn't touching it with his hands, but that didn't happen. His eyes widened by a small fraction at this, before understanding filled them when he figured out why this happened. 'Huh, I see... so, as long as I have summoned it, it doesn't matter where it is, I'll be able to enjoy it's perks regardless. Good to know.' he thought to himself.
Just then, he sensed a link establish itself between his mind and the mind of a familiar voice.
"(It is time. The next test, your third test, awaits.)"
Nico's eyes narrowed when he heard the voice of Amon echo through his mind. For a moment, he wondered why Amon as still able to speak to him since the Boon would have prevented it from doing so. Though, that moment had been short when he looked the Boon's info over again and came to a conclusion shortly after. It appeared that Dark Shroud didn't really consider Amon's voice a threat thus let it through to connect to him. Whilst powerful, Erebus was still sentient, thus this proved possible for it, further proving that Archdevil Arms were in a world of their own. He had felt the presence get halted by something, sort of like going through a security checkpoint, before being allowed through. Not to mention the fact that it sounded slightly more strained than normal. Must mean that the Boon was working, then. Still, it would be nice if he could have his own mental defenses, and not just that of his Archdevil Arm. He'll keep an eye out for what he wanted whilst attempting these tests, then.
'Got it, I'll head on over immediately.'
With those thoughts in mind, Nico proceeded to head towards the next entrance, his eyes shining with determination whilst he clenched his fists. For a moment, Nico wondered if he would be able to ask Amon for any advise on these tests, after all he WAS his guide. However, Nico didn't know for certain if that was truly possible, as evidence presented by the previous test said that it wouldn't work. Then again, the first test had been explained to him by Amon, which could indicate that it could explain the tests, but other times it can't. Therefore he would only ask when the test would begin.
'Be careful, Nico. We do not know what this next test may be. I suggest you remain on guard, and prepare for the worst.'
'I will, Biko, don't worry. That last trial taught me a valuable lesson. Don't let your guard down otherwise the trials will do you in.'
In the end, Nico went inside the tunnel entrance, and soon enough he felt himself vanish into the location of his third test.
When he finally got the ability to see back, Nico lowered his right forearm from it's spot over his face to get a picture of what he was seeing. In the end, he found himself standing in the middle of what looked like an underground chamber, made entirely from earth. Immediately, Nico kneeled down to inspect the ground, his eyes narrowing as he ran his fingertips over it to check it's texture. 'Hmmm... this ground feel's hot, which likely means there's a strong heat source nearby... it also has the same texture as the dirt of a cave,, which means I've been dropped in the middle of a cave-like place...' the male deduced in his mind, eyes glistening as he stood up and pulled out his hood from his Trench Coat over his head. After he pulled out his Mask and donned it, Nico closed his remaining eye and then opened it again, revealing it to be in it's Kakugan form. 'There, now my Ghoul side is ready, I should be good on defense should anything attempt to ambush me.'
'It also seems that our connection has not been interrupted this time. I can sense it is as strong as ever, including the connection between yourself and your... other side.'
'YAHOO! WHAT UP, BITCHES?!'
At hearing his other aspects voices, a surge of relief rushed though his system, the teen visibly calming as his shoulders dropped and his form lost some of it's tension. The fact that he still had them felt like a huge weigh had been lifted from his shoulders, they were some of the people he confided in the most after all. Biko more so, but even then his Ghoul side, no matter how much he hated to admit it, helped keep his sanity from breaking down at that Hellverse arc, egging him on till he had accepted it at the end of the incidents in Leanbox. The rather jovial and sadistic cackling it did when it spoke just now only served to make Nico roll his eyes in exasperation.
Standing up on his own two feet, Nico looked around in order to find anything of interest. The chamber he was in looked pretty large, with dozens of these large, yellow crystals dotted about that served as lights, illuminating the entire thing. Funny enough, it reminded him of the Monster Cave back in Planeptune on his world, though he pushed that aside and began walking forwards. Though, it didn't take him long to come across something rather... interesting.
"Oh?"
A river... of fire. A river of fire ran down the cave ground in front of him, it's heat easily being felt by the male due to it's concentration. The river looked to be quite deep too, as he couldn't see the bottom even with his enhanced vision. "Interesting..." the male muttered as he kneeled beside the River, quickly scanning it with his right Bracer. "I wonder what this is..."
Moments later, he got a response from his Bracer:
SCAN COMPLETE
SUBJECT: UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN PROPERTIES DETECTED
COMPONENTS UNKNOWN
RECOMMEND AVOIDANCE IF POSSIBLE
'Well, I guess that's understandable, given the situation...' the male thought to himself, sweat dropping. What made him think this thing would have had a clue on what this river could be? Perhaps Amon would know, since this WAS his next trial after all.
'(You may call this the River Styx. The River that separates the world of the living from the underworld. Your trial is to hold out inside the River, fully immersed within it's depths, for over 30 minutes.)'
"Oh?" Nico wondered, furrowing his brows. That was all? That couldn't be it, that sounded way too simple. Call him paranoid, but so far it seemed that everything in this place, wherever it was, had another side to it. Nico refused to believe something so basic could exist in this place, there had to be some kind of catch. Looking at the river cautiously, Nico kneeled before it once more, and then dipped one of his fingers in... "Ugh!"
He then quickly retracted it, flailing the arm about to get rid of any water droplets that still clung to the now crimson finger. "The hell?!" the male exclaimed, stunned as he looked the finger over. His regeneration already kicked into high gear as the redness swiftly vanished, but the sight alone had caused him some alarm. His lone eye widened to comical propositions whilst his pupil trembled violently.
'(Of course, the River Styx will be hot, it is a river of fire. However, it is also containing other properties, properties that you will most certainly find useful. Dive deeper and the process quickens... although you will feel like you're right next to the sun itself, so its your choice.)'
Amon spoke, almost sounding amused or perhaps stifling his laughter.
Nico however, didn't share the same sentiment as he glared down at the golden flames that made up the river. 'Ugh, so that's the catch. I have to endure that pain for over 30 minutes, a pain that I felt so clearly even with my fire resistance born from my Hellfire. I was right to think that this test had more to it than I was initially told.' he thought to himself. Nonetheless, though, his desire to retrieve his Devil Arms outweighed everything else, if a little pain was what stood in his way then so be it. He'll endure a whole nightmare's worth of torment to get his weapons back, they were THAT important to him after all.
With that in mind, Nico jumped into the air and dove straight inside.
