Crona's Quest

by bigbook29

Many years had passed since the Kishin's awakening and resealing, and the world is now broken. The demon swordsman wanders freely now, searching for the six concepts that gave all life to everything that exist. Each in the form of a special gem. But while his goal may be pure, the journey for such power might cause the boy to become a mad titan. *post-manga & X-over Marvel's Thanos

6. POWER (p3)

The low sound of Crona's breathing fills the room.

'Focus', the word repeated within his mind repeatedly, as he was sitting on the floor.

Concentration is needed more than ever.

Shifting his crossed legs again, Crona blinks his eyes close and focuses on keeping his breathing calm. He doesn't know how long he's been at it, but it's been long enough for three false starts. He keeps getting into position and connecting with the Soul Gem halfway, only to have his mind drift off and become anxious. Crona wouldn't have described himself before as unfocused, but by now he's forced to acknowledge just how often his mind gets stuck on irrelevant, strange thoughts.

All of which concern his past.

A low groan escapes him as he rolls his shoulders and re-crossed his legs for what felt like the umpteenth time. With his reasoning seeming so childish, of trying to be 'comfortable'. He wanted to throw his hands up and scream in annoyance but holds himself back. Instead taking a moment to collect with him and lightly taps the side of his head with his uncovered hand.

"Come on…focus." He mumbles out, as he relaxes his body and tries to place his mind back on track.

Meditation was, somewhat, of a crude and desperate idea but it was an idea at least.

One that came as his thoughts turn to the DWMA, and one of the lessons they had taught. The details are somewhat obscured now, fuzzy from time and more recent experiences, but he recalls how each lesson on souls linked the body, mind, and soul together; the stronger and more stable one aspect, the stronger and more stable the other two. The three are irreversibly interwoven.

Meditation was taught to help one's soul to understand this, to become more at ease with the body and mind. But there was a small, problem though. Though he was taught 'about' it and had even unknowingly seen such a thing done by his own mother, Crona was never taught 'how' to do such a thing himself.

All he had to go on, were the teachings he barely remembered and the times his mother had meditated near him, and even then, there was no much to pull from there. All he could do was mimic the position she took by sitting on the floor, with his legs crossed before him and his hands held on each thigh. Sometimes she would take such a pose on a special mat with magic candles nearby, and other times more casually, when she felt like sitting without a chair and getting some reading done.

But that was all he had to go on, and he knew for a fact he was nowhere close to mental clarity.

With a long-frustrated sigh, he stops trying to think of meditation and relaxation and begins to try a different route. Back again to his past, but more on the lessons he did remember from the DWMA.

What few he did receive and fewer he could recall.

The lessons he had in the DWMA all spoke of a strong soul, being in the strong body but there perhaps it was time to truly ponder what that means. What a soul really is. He remembers back then, how his mind struggled to follow what the textbook drooled out to him, how the teachers all just droned on with the 'facts' that was taught onto them years ago.

Perhaps then, it was all anyone knew save perhaps Death himself.

But all of that truly changed when Crona had gotten the Soul Gem. It wasn't all 'flat out in front of him', but he did acquire a more understand to it all. About the soul and about the nature of life itself. All so conflicting with what he remembers the DWMA or even Medusa telling him.

They may have gotten an idea of it, but they truly did not know just what a soul was like. It was not just a sign of life or a ball of power, but something more. And they exist in far more places then just in living beings.

Souls could be found in anything that grows and dies. They are the very essence of life and all a being is; their energy and information, their experiences, attributes, and all-around worth. It is not something one can easily control, it flows like river in the rain. Constantly flowing and growing.

It takes an extreme level of aptitude and skill to have any mastery over one's own soul, let alone the soul of anyone else. Even the small and insignificant kind of souls; such as the ones found in the flames in front of him, or the seeds that were buried in the dirt outside the house were something else entirely from one another.

Fire had only two things with it, grow or die they were simple and needed very little coercing to push onward or slow themselves down. Seeds on the other hand, were more complex, more structured and therefore rigid, nowhere near the level of flexibility that fire had. Especially with the amount there was.

It be maddening to even attempt to manipulate it for anyone, expect for the one who possess the right tool.

The Infinity Gem of the Soul.

Crona's breathing remained calm, not having moved from his position on the floor since he had begun the task ahead of him. For a moment he feels his own excite as he could that finally something was happening for him as a certain weight begins to be felt upon his soul as he heat-less, supernatural glow is summoned, already so bright that it could be seen through his closed eyes.

With it comes a familiar sense of foreboding, that something will go wrong, that he is making a mistake. Crona aggressively disregards it; he doesn't care about the potential risks or what goes wrong, he needs results. A mildly unpleasant and steadily increasing pins-and-needles sensation begins to be felt throughout his body and he could almost feel as if his lungs were being pressed upon but instead, he directs his attention inward. First his soul, and then the gem which amplifies it. For a brief moment, it's all too much to bear; Crona feels like he's drowning in the power of the gem, in the vast awareness it bestows. Very similar to what had happened when he first claims it.

He could feel too much around himself.

There was Hijana, the old ant that slept not too far away, the insect people that made up the entire village, Ragnarok, his partner, the Ma'tnota, and it continued on. Going even outside the village and more to the lands up above and around. He could sense creatures flying in the air, others burrowing through the dirt, some seeming to be intelligent, others being as wild animals are.

Crona grits his teeth as he could feel his mind, his very soul start to quiver and quake from the sheer magnitude of all that was around him. He could sense the fear, the hunger, the angry, the exhaustion, the joy, the hope, the want, the pain, and every other experience possible all around him at once to level he couldn't even fathom.

Most beings would be driven straight to madness, but luckily Crona is already there.

Overwhelmed and out of his depth, Crona continues to push onward as always. Forcing himself to narrow his own viewpoint to find his target. The many souls of the seeds he and Ragnarok had sent their days placing into the fields.

All was black around him, and for a moment it was peaceful. Just within the black abyss surrounded by the souls of so many seeds, all so small and frail. They lacked the willpower that human souls had, and lack the hunger that flames craved. It was even worth argue if they were sentient at all of what was going on around them, if they have known what had become of the world around, or if they just continued to rely on those 'in-built set of instructions' millions of years nature had instilled on them.

Taking a soul within his gauntlet covered hand, Crona holds it close to his face to stare into it. Fire was much easier, took less time and effort to connect to them because of what they wanted. They're easier to grow. Plants were much harder, as Hijana had assured him.

It made sense that it took him longer to finally connect with these souls, but as Ragnarok would most likely say 'just because it makes sense, doesn't mean it's not freaking annoying'. Now that he was here with one of the many souls, literally in his grasp Crona wondered what he shall do next.

He tried not to let the massive number of seeds cloud his judgement or worry him, just the task itself. It was after all, one simple thing. After this he would fulfill his end of the bargain and leave. Simple, easy. No fear of any complications.

He just needed to overcome this one barrier in his way.

He didn't have long to think though, as a green flash of light bright through the black abyss for an instant and before Crona could even guess what had happened, with a rush of a flash flood, the souls of the seeds sprung at him.

Crona is assault with memory of back in his childhood, remembering how his mother had tried teaching him how to swim once. She threw him in the middle of a river stream, telling him he could either drown or swim. Like before he feels his body submerged, and his trying to grasp for anything to grip onto. Something was wrong, something had caused the souls to erupt from their docile state.

They bash upon his body relentlessly, giving him very little time to react at all. Crona could feel his body- no…his soul is being ruptured by these things. One would just be an annoyance, but hundreds is certainly a threat, especially on that of a bare soul.

Something he knew was far more valuable.

Something was whispering to him, what it was, he couldn't tell. Too focused on the assault placed on his soul. But what it did say, was how was toying with things he shouldn't be, that was feeble and arrogant for even thinking to try what he does.

The voice would have made Crona shrivel in size, made him curl himself to his protective little ball for protection, would have made him want to admit defeat. If he was how he was before. All it did though, was remind him of how angry he was getting.

Not only at himself, but at everything that just seems to try and stop him. To stop his quest.

First, he allowed himself to give in to the Ma'tnota's demands, then he allowed himself to be distracted with an argument with Ragnarok on 'ethics' of all things, now he was allowing this weak and pathetic excuses of souls to hinder him.

The mere concept of such an idea, was just insane. It made Crona feel something, he never wanted to feel again, something deep within him that he wanted buried but could feel it slowly climbing outward. He wanted it gone, he hoped it was, but he knew it was there, it was a part of him that he knew would never leave him. A reminder of what he was, just like his blood.

He bites it down, forced it away, before throwing his head back and screaming out among the mass of souls around him. "ENOUGH!" It was the loudest he had scream in a while and with it, carried something else. A certain 'wave' that was unfelt to many for a long, long time.

The souls that assault him, immediately back away, as if in shock of his sudden vocalization. The 'wave' having been carried with his voice, had struck all the souls within the black abyss. Crona floated on, surrounded by them, and was so captivate with his own rage, that he had barely noticed how the souls were beginning to jittering up and down to themselves.

Silently laughing, after being touched by madness itself.

"My oh my, this is an interesting turn of events."

A voice is heard, and Crona snaps his eyes open…

He was no longer in the black abyss, nor was he in old house. He's somewhere else, somewhere more familiar.

He was back at the place, the beach in his dreams.

Quiet.

It was very quiet.

No sound at all could be heard. It was like a complete vacuum.

Nothing else was different, he was back to his simple robe and he was standing on shore of the gray-sand beach looking out to the black sea in front him. But it was the total absence of sound that made this place feel off. The word 'eerie' comes to mind.

This place was always quiet before, but now it was completely mute. He kicks at the sand, and there is still nothing. Not even the sound of sand falling or the impact of it hitting his shoe. This was not right.

Something was wrong, very wrong in fact. Not just with the dream but with what had happened before.

He looks to the gauntlet, still on his left arm. The green gem it had was dim, very dim.

Crona wonders what could have happened. He knows for a fact that he had been mediating earlier, he knows that he had been able to connect to the souls of the seeds as well. But what had cause them to suddenly attack and what brought him here? Did he fall asleep and it was all part of a long nightmare?

"Being beaten by the souls of plant fetus, eh Mad Titan. You know, most boys your age tend to dream about girls."

A voice calls out from behind him, it echoed across the silence so inhumanly it was almost like air blowing on his ears. Crona turns with fist raised, expecting a fight. He didn't know that voice, it sounded like man and had an accent to it that Ragnarok would call 'tea and crumpet'.

But the instead of an owner of the voice, Crona finds that something has changed in this place. It was some large ominous structure, in the shape of a human skull, with steam pooling from its eyes that roused to the empty black skies above. An opening was at the skull's mouth, revealing the inside to hold a light that shined from deep within, colored the shade of green as his Infinity Gem.

"That's…new." Crona awkwardly mumbles, surprised at how loud his own voice sound in the presence of total silence the beach had held. He slowly steps closer to the structure, taking in how large the place was the more he got closer, looming over him like a beast looking at its prey.

Once he entered inside, the sheer size became ridicules with the ceiling seeming to have reached higher than even Crona could see. And that was not without even thinking about how the rest of the inside looked.

How the walls were chiseled in the shapes of people's faces, all of which were frozen in looks of terror, how the floor was like an earthquake had taken place, with the tiles that made it up all seeming to be uneven and broken apart. The green light that shined from inside was gone and was replaced by normal candle light from several torches that hang on the walls.

Walking through the halls, Crona takes a moment to rub at his eyes, not fully understanding what is happening to him or why the place has formed here. He wonders for a moment if this was like that one place he stumbled upon in the ruins of the DWMA, right before he met with Kid. That he was in again thrown through some odd limbo.

"Relax, you're not there." The voice calls out again, echoing off the walls from down the hall. Crona flinches at how sudden it was and quickly moves himself to prepare for something to attack him. He waits for anything else to be said or for something to head towards him.

But he was met with nothing but silence. He tries to push the thought away that maybe he was just losing control of his own mind again. After all, this would not be the first time he was hearing a voice in his head. He needed that thought gone. He could not afford to let his madness in, not after all the horror it had caused. Not after what it had cost him.

Making his way further down, Crona notes how the walls just continued with no other way of distinguishing if he was even making any progress. He wonders if he should just turn back and return to the beach.

It has been some time since last he dreamt of this place. Perhaps this is something he has been needing without realizing it. Though his feelings of these dreams are 'complicated', he saw it as his chance to see his hope. To see who drives him to complete his quest. Through there was a chance that she was hiding in this place, waiting for him to arrive.

Or she is waiting outside and wondering why there is a giant skull out on a beach, then again there was the third possibility that she just didn't appear. Had not been the first time he had dreamt this place and his hope was not in sight.

With any of these things being a possibility, Crona decides that the best course was to continue walking through this quiet hall, at least to see why such a place even exist and if it could even end.

With nothing to interact with but a slow walk, his mind begins to wander. He thinks back to what he knows of dreams. His mother telling him that they mean nothing really, just muddled messages from the sub-conscious. Trying to understand what they could mean would be a waste of time and effort. If you come to realize you are in a dream, the best course would be to just 'go with it' to see where it leads.

"…if only I knew where it was I am going." Crona mumbles out loud, as he stops his movement and rubs at his eyes again. Irritated that he was stopped from his work with the Infinity Gem to be thrown in some maze in his own mind. As he removed his hand from his eyes though, he saw a faint green glow appear at his side.

Turning his head, he finds what seems to be a doorway had appeared at his side, leading into a different hallway. This time with what seems to be…the very low sound of someone speaking.

Without hesitation, Crona moves to investigate what it could mean…but is stopped as a voice calls out to him again. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice, the same from outside calls out. Crona wildly looks around him but finds no source for the voice. Worryingly he remembers back to the last time he was in the dream and who he saw. "…Kid. Is that you?"

The voice came back again, with a gleeful chuckle weaving along its words. "Hehehe No, unfortunately I am not the reaper. I'm sorry to say, but it I think it be kinda hard for him to speak seeing as you threw him into a well of infinity." The voice says, pausing as if seeming to calm itself down. "Don't worry, his death was almost instantly…well maybe, either that or it stretched on for forever. Honestly, it's hard to tell with such mind-numbing things."

With a small shake of his head, Crona pushes on. If this voice was not trying to attack him, then he had no reason to waste his time listening. "Wasting your time, well I bloody hope not." Crona pauses mid-step as he was about to move through the doorway, wondering exactly if the voice had somehow heard his thoughts.

"Oh yes I did. To be fair, we are in your soul. Not much to hide in here, especially when one knows where to look." Crona looks off to the side for a moment, before giving another shake of his head as he continues to walk through the doorway. The voice didn't seem to like being ignored though. "Oh, come on now, no questioning? No paranoid filled theories of maybe me being a worm that crawled in your ear? Oh, maybe I am the devil himself who's come to possess you."

Crona rolls his eyes as he hears the voice prattle on, while slowly beginning to chuckle again. "You think you are the first delusional voice I found in my head?" He mumbles back coldly, finding that this new path he's taken wasn't any better than the last one. In fact, it looked the same. "Ah, that's harsh now. I am only trying to help you. Watch your step." With that, the tip of Crona's foot hits a raised tile and he briefly losses his footing.

Now the voice was laughing at him.

Crona tightly closes his fist and gives out a low hum from sheer irritation. He's only known this voice for a such a short time, and it's already proven to be worse than ever other voice he's heard in his head before. "Well let's look at my competition. A shadow that symbolizes your innocence and incredible guilt complex, that clown creature a you had for a while, and finally said mother herself. My, if I didn't know any better, I start to think you may be a bit mentally ill."

He didn't know who this voice was, or what it could possible be a part of, but Crona swore he was gonna find the source and kill it.

"Oh, I have to ask and do be honest with me. That whole madness of boobs thing; was that you or Ragnarok? Honestly, I always saw you more of an 'ass-man'. I mean, could you blame me? With how offend your eyes tend to wander down toward Ms. Albarn's skirt. Heh, leave it to a swordsman to find a place to put his blade."

He didn't care what direction it was anymore, nor where the source was. In an instant, the tome they were in, the very core of Crona's soul shook…before suddenly all from the child's body, black blood erupted.

The blood moved as a flood, traveling throughout the hall and creaking the shell of the stone-face craved walls around him as it crashed into it. As quickly as it came, it began to disappear with the blood draining away, seeping into the creaks that made up the broken floor in the halls.

Crona stood where he did before with a small pool of blood still around him, his breath uneven as he had a strange look on his face. The blood around him was flicking and moving on their own, small bits of it flowing upward and curling around slightly, like that of a snake.

"You…dare!" Crona growls, his teeth firmly grinding together as the pupils in his eyes turn pure black, and his bangs shift aside to reveal a third eye had open in the center of his forehead. The voice didn't speak at first, instead what came was a simple most degrading kind of sound one can hear.

A slow clap.

"Ah, so that bit of Kishin is still within you after all. It's buried down, yes, but still there. I wonder why that might be. Crona, my dear boy, don't tell me you're holding it back now." The walls began to crumble around him but Crona did not care. He wanted to find this voice, and silence it. "Oh my, wishing to silence a voice that is annoying you, aren't we original." This time there was a direction, this time he could hear it come from a source.

It was not far, by his side. Seeming to come from the wall itself. With not even a thought to follow, Crona holds his hand out and a black short blade forms out along his right arm's sleeve. This blade wasn't the one he used most his life, it was another.

One that was similar in appearance but was from something else. It's sharp, fang-filled mouth showed that most of all. His arm moves in a blur, easily carving through the wall as if it were flesh. He didn't stop with one strike, Crona continued, hacking and slashing letting out his frustration that the voice had given him.

A part of him felt childish to do such a thing, having words be what cause such rage in him. But they were words that targeted not himself, but his hope. His reason for this quest. His light.

"Your sunshine, your soulmate, and other cute little pet names that you give her without her consent." The voice's taunt's on, and before Crona had even come to realize it, he had easily craved through the wall itself and had already stepped through…

He finds a room, very much unlike the hall he was in before. This one, was that of Kid's home. The very same room he remembers most, when he was invited for a party with the others. But instead of the many colorful guest, and filled with people talking and laughing…he saw one simple thing more than anything.

His hope.

There she was standing in the middle of room, with her back to him. No longer was she in a dress, but rather she was in her that white uniform he remembers last seeing her in. "M-Maka…" He calls out, raising his hand to reach for her. That was till Kid stepped in front of him, looking exactly as he did those many years ago, with his suit and unmatched hair. "I do believe we need to talk, hu-" He tries to speak but is stopped.

"I rather you both didn't." Before Crona could even react, the voice calls out to them. Then Crona felt himself lurch forward…and suddenly feels himself pulled away, pulled back out from this place, out from his soul.

For a moment Kid seemed to have his eyes widen in shock, before instantly calming down as he looks to the other end of the room. There he finds the culprit, leaning against the far side of the wall cuddling what seemed to be a martini drink in one hand, while the other has a finger running along the rim of it.

It looked to be a man but was far from such a thing. It's bright red skin and pointed ears was clear evidence of that. He looks at Kid and gives a knowing smile. "Sorry, but I can't allow you to toy with him quite yet…I need him for now. Besides, you cannot blame the boy for having such a narrow viewpoint. It's kinda adorable that he thinks he could actually control infinity itself." The man, or rather, the devil said before he moves his hand off the rim of his glass and into his coat pocket, retrieving a small yellow gem.

One very similar to the one in Crona's gauntlet.

Without a word, he disappears as well, giving the two fakes a smile as he leaves.

When Crona opens his eyes again…he was on the floor of the house, staring up the ceiling. The fire near him slowly beginning to die out.

"W-what…how…" He raises his uncovered hand and rubs his eyes for a moment. "I swear," he mumbles, "these dreams are getting worst." He pulls his hand away and bring up his other gauntlet-covered one, immediately looking to the gem it holds. It no longer looked dim, so he considered that a 'win'. What had truly worried him though, was if he completed his goal.

Rising to his feet, Crona walks to the window of the house and finds exactly what he feared. The field was exactly as it was before. Barren with only the small patch of plant life the old ant had picked earlier.

Pathetic and barren.

A part of him wanted to laugh at himself, for being surprised at such an outcome. He ignores it and focuses on something else. A feeling as it begins to stir within him; it's so sudden and stark against the near-consuming numbness he's felt as of late. He barely recognizes it at first.

It's not the same bittersweet rush of power that comes with causing destruction. Not even a sense of crushing despair or anxiety that he can recall so well that even his poems were filled with it. It was a constant companion that often comes when thinking of his actions; the feeling of disappointment.

The swordsman once again presses his uncovered hand to his face, and then gives a weary sigh.

Given it had been his first attempt at such a thing, he knows it's ridiculous to feel so unhappy with himself. He's making it up as he goes along, without the slightest hint of instruction or help. Failure was a very likely outcome, and he'd known that at the very beginning of his venture. However, seeing all his effort, his concentration and inner battles with his own unsound mind, seeing that it had all amounted to a waste of time was more disheartening than he could have imagined.

And an immeasurable daunting reminder of what exactly he is trying to do.

This is only one of the six, and he cannot do so much as give life to plants. What hope he has of rebuilding this world. Of seeing his hope return to him.

The sound of the door opening encourages Crona to lower his hand away and push aside those dark thoughts. He turns to see the black blood version of himself in the doorway. The small 'x's' that make up Demon sword's pupils look right at Crona, and even with how unexpressive Ragnarok's face was on a good day, Crona could still tell his partner was not happy to see him.

"Is this the part where I ask, 'where have you been all night?'" Crona says rhetorically, voice cold. He watches Ragnarok turn his head to the side and give a dismissive scoff in response, before continuing inside without a word. Crona would not stand for being ignored.

Perhaps it was due to his frustration over failing to give life to the field, or maybe it was due to his strange, unnerving dreams, but Crona was in no mood for this petty round of this silent game between them. The swordsman rushes in front of his partner and glares back at him.

"Why are you being so difficult? We are nearly done here, and you threaten to ruin all of that over something so…small!"

Crona notices his words were not helping. The top of the 'X' on Ragnarok's face lowers, showing that he was glaring back. "Small…you call putting lives in danger small…" Ragnarok gives a shake of his head as he rolls his inhuman eyes, clearly agitated as he clenches his fists, as if getting ready to punch someone. Most likely Crona. "Fuck sakes; excuse me then for giving a shit about what's going on here. I got a question: what the hell is wrong with you?! You're willing to lie to these people about their gem and leaving all of the defenseless. Between the two of us, aren't you supposed to care about this shit?"

Crona had to hold himself from saying that it 'wasn't be their problem', knowing that it would just result in the same exact argument they had before. "I am not…I am not lying to anyone." Crona says instead, hoping to take the conversation elsewhere.

Immediately he saw that was a mistake, as he sees Ragnarok leer at him with a condescending look. "Right, of course, you're not lying to him. You're just…not telling him all the details. I get you." He says with a shrug of his arms. "Last time you did that, if I remember right, it broke poor Maka's heart."

Those words hit harder than any punch he could have thrown, and Ragnarok knows it. He sees Crona own fist close, both gauntlet-covered and uncovered alike, clench tightly. The Demon Sword sees how his teeth grind against each other, the glow that manifests in his eyes. At this point though, Ragnarok didn't care. He was just happy to finally get something through Crona's thick skull, even if it's such a small thing.

Staring down Crona's prominent signs of anger, Ragnarok expects his Meister to shout something, to grab him and start strangling him, or, more realistically given the glow in his eyes, just blast him with that strange laser-thing of his to half-way across the village.

What he didn't expect was for Crona to take a deep breath and regain his composure. The words 'Oh shit' fly so fast through the weapon's mind as he tries to think what's gonna happen. He still has control over his body, hardening it to prepare what Crona will do.

"The Farmer is in its bed right now." Crona says at last, with a very calm demeanor.

Ragnarok's eyes give a noticeable twitch, watching as familiar look came on Crona's face. The small tug on the teen's lips, the gleam in his eyes. Like mother, like son, and in this case Ragnarok can see the family resemblance as clear as day.

"I believe it suffered what passes for the ant equivalent of a heart attack shortly after you left."

Ragnarok stomps forward, leaning his face close to Crona's. "That's not funny, and you know it." He growls out, his inhuman 'X' pupils glaring as harshly as he could make them. Crona's face remains unflinching, keeping that calm smile despite it all. "I think we both know my comedic skills are lacking."

Ragnarok's rage becomes more subdued, being replaced by worry. His eyes moving from Crona to the door behind him, where Hijana had gone to slept earlier that 'night'. It was clear that Ragnarok was becoming hesitant, as his eyes began to glance back and forth and Crona and the door. "You best be fucking with me right now."

Crona doesn't say anything back this time, just continues to give that smile. Ragnarok's fist were harden, and he was really holding himself from driving it right to Crona's face. "You…son of a bitch!" He shouts as he shoves Crona aside while rushing to the room.

"Well I do believe I fit the criteria of being such a thing." Crona mumbles to himself, as he follows his partner. He holds the urged to roll his eyes as he sees Ragnarok nearly tear the door from its hinges as he opens it and runs inside. "And you say 'I'm' overdramatic."

Crona enters the room as quietly as he could, making sure to watch his footing so that he wouldn't step on a loose floorboard. From the doorway, he could see the room was thankfully lit just enough for him to see, thanks to the large window and the lights from outside.

It let him see his partner, who was currently on his knees near a large bundle of blankets where the Old Ant rested. He was holding a hand out to it hesitantly, afraid to touch it. Crona couldn't help but let his smile grow as Ragnarok nearly falls back in shock, as the ant itself moved slightly, shifting in place to help itself become more comfortable in its sleep.

"You…You said-" Ragnarok whispers in disbelief, turning to look back at Crona for a second, before his eyes turn once more to the sleeping ant in front of him, watching as the antennae on its head were slightly twitching, and its body raise and fall from its own breathing. Not a care at all for it's supposed demised.

"I said it suffered some kind of 'heart attack'. I never said it died from it." Crona whispers, just loud enough from the doorway for Ragnarok to hear him. "Come, it's getting its rest and I rather not have to explain to it why we are both watching it sleep if it awakes." For a moment Ragnarok wants to shout something at him but stops himself. There wasn't a point to do it anymore.

Reluctantly, Ragnarok moves away from the sleeping Hijana and goes out with Crona back to near the dying fireplace, just a few embers away now from being snuffed out. Ragnarok watches his partner, as he rests his gauntlet-covered hand on top of the mantel, while looking at the embers.

The usual look on his face was there, the 'deep in thought so don't interrupt me look' that Ragnarok has now grown to hate. He thinks back for a moment on not only his life, but Crona's as well. Wishing that things were simpler. Now, it was just a 'massive shit show'.

"Of course, you have to go scaring me." He mumbles out loud enough for his partner to hear, though sees the teen not even look up to him. Trying to play it off, he turns back to look at the doorway that led to the Ant's room. "At least the old guy isn't dyin-"

"Did I say that?" Crona's harsh tone voice clash right through his. The Demon Sword turns to see the teen was looking at him now, with a down right annoyed look on his face. "You told me-" Ragnarok didn't get to finish as Crona steps up closer to him. "I told you nothing." He spats out with little hesitation. "It is old, broken, and tired. It will die, if anything at a matter of moments."

He throws up his uncovered him in a dismissive flick of his wrist toward the direction of the Hijana's room. "I can see it happening as we speak. I can feel it. It's fading away, and there is nothing neither of us can do to stop that. Have it die in its sleep in peace." With such words Crona, had quickly realize what was gonna happen again.

They were now gonna argue now, and he waits for the loud curse-filled insult directed at him…

Only for it to never come, as Ragnarok turns his full attention to the door again. The distress so visible on his face even those who were blind could see it. Crona rolls his eyes and turns his head to look away from the display.

This was twice in-a-row now, that Ragnarok completely given up on an argument. Usually he is so fast to say something back, that him not saying anything is getting under Crona's nerves. "Realistically, what has it been? A few days, correct…didn't think you were the one to be so easily emotional attached to someone." He brings up his gauntlet covered arm to grip at his right arm.

Like he was one to talk. How devoted had he become after befriending his hope? Enough to forget about his mother, and why he was a monster, for a brief time.

Ragnarok's back hits the side of the fireplace. "One of us has to give a shit…so if you won't, I will." Even he was looking confused in why he cared so much now. He brings up one of his fists and lightly begins to hit the 'X' on his face. "I just…damn it…"

Crona wanted to brush it off, he should be pleased that finally this ant would be out of the way and Ragnarok could focus on what is important. The Demon sword is letting his emotions cloud his judgement, what they are trying to do is massively more important than any of this.

And yet, seeing that distress…

Ragnarok's face, is usually one that is very bleak. He could remember many times where others were never able to tell if his partner was thinking, due to his overall lack of a mouth most of the time and how his face was shaped. But for Crona, who have spent the majority of his life with the weapon, he could easily read the emotions on his partners face.

What surprised him, was that they were…the same Crona had for most of his life.

He could see guilt, shame, regret, disappointment, worry, fear. These things weren't anything Crona was used to seeing on Ragnarok of all people. The weapon usually only being a large ball of childish rage, and craving for food a lot of the time.

But then, Crona's mind goes back to what Ragnarok told him. Of his past, of what the Demon Sword had gone through years before he or even his mother was ever born. He really began to think on that, if Ragnarok did feel guilty for what he done. Being the one to kill, so many lives in an instant.

A part of him, immediately recalls back to his hope. How with all the people he killed, all the things Medusa made him done, that it wasn't his fault. That it was no more his fault as it was for a knife's fault for being used to stab someone.

Ragnarok was just like him, a knife that never had the choice. A knife that was used to hurt so many.

Made him realize why they work so well together.

Crona holds up his gantlet covered arm, staring right at the Soul Gem for a moment. He worries for a moment, on what may happen if he does what he is thinking. Hesitation and worry were what cost him so much, pushing past it was the only he could get results.

Ragnarok right shoulder jumps slightly as he feels the cold melt clamp on it. He turns to Crona, about to ask what he was doing, but is silence as he begins to feel something within his chest. A familiar rhythm was there.

It was different then he remembered it used to be.

Crona's soul was always dry and quiet, only changing for a time when he was with Maka. There was life to it. Not a lot, just enough. Like a calm breeze going through the air on a nice day.

Now though, it was…

It was different. It was as still quiet, but an empty kind of quiet. The calm breeze had turn into a cold wind, found in the highest of mountains. There was even something else there, something he had gotten to known of a lot over the last few years he has been dealing with the teen.

Madness.

It was a very faint tone, almost as if it were being pushed down. But still there, still sharpen and erratic by seeming to just do whatever it wishes to.

"What are you trying to do?" Ragnarok growls out as he grips the gauntlet that held onto his shoulder. The glare he gave was full of spit and was about a few seconds away from full on rage, yet Crona held on still.

"Do you remember the people we killed? The ones that Lady-…that Medusa told us to do. I remember you telling me once that you never cared for them." Ragnarok froze as he sees Crona was looking at his own gauntlet, with the Soul Gem beginning to shine as he spoke. "That's not true though…you've always cared. You do care about all the awful things Medusa made us do, the people in your past, me, even…you cared about my hope."

He slowly takes his gauntlet hand off Ragnarok's and moves himself closer, touching the gauntlet, over Demon Sword's chest. Ragnarok gives a shake of his head as the same feeling as before became stronger. His own soul bringing its own rhythm out of old habit.

Just as it was before, the two easily play off one another, picking up where the other failed in the tone.

"You just buried it deep down, held it close to your heart so that no one else could see it." Ragnarok has to look away as the Soul Gem begins to glow brighter. He was really starting to hate the gem even more now. "…what the fuck are you do-" He tries to speak out again, only for Crona to take his gauntlet hand off him and stares directly into the bright gem.

"The Soul gem allows complete manipulation of one's soul. It draws out a person's true nature, even without me telling it to. The true about yours is…you…" Crona stops as he closes his gauntlet to a fist. He could see it all clearer than ever before now. The Soul Gem, allowing him to resonate far better with Ragnarok's soul than ever before. Crona can see, just as the seeds outside, the weight his partner carried. The sins he felt he earned. The hate he had for himself.

And what he feared from Crona.

"…you don't want to be the thing that destroys. You never wanted to be a mindless weapon at all. You just…didn't want to deal with anything anymore…but you made yourself do so, because I didn't know how…" Crona holds his uncovered hand over his mouth. He felt as if he was gonna be sick.

"What are you going on about now?!" Ragnarok nearly shouts as he sees Crona was visibly starting to shake. Unaware of what he had just done to the teen, unaware of what he had just shown him.

Crona feel his knees give out and he lands right on them, as he starts to hunch over. The glow of his infinity gem finally starting to fade, after the horror it brought him, after showing him exactly how Ragnarok saw him as.

That smile, the gleeful look he would make over someone's life. The emotions that Ragnarok felt as he told him that he was gonna leave this whole village to die, were the exact same that Crona would feel as Medusa gave them an order to kill another person.

Anger, fear, regret, guilt. All blended together into a concoction of self-loathing.

How could he be so blind to it all? How could he allow to close himself off again? That was a simple question. Same way he could allow himself to run back into his mother's grasp. "…the soul gem draws out our true selves and…" Crona begins to chuckle slightly. "Hehehehe, I suppose we found mine…"

Was this truly what he was? Like his mother, in how uncaring he was, how monstrous. That was a blow he didn't expect to ever hit him, and it had struck hard. He looks up to Ragnarok and sees the confuse look the black blood version of himself. How the 'X' was shaped to show how bewildered he was.

Crona thinks he need to explain more in detail, only for Ragnarok to roll his pupils and offer a hand back up. "Great…turns out I'm the pussy, and you're the selfish asshole…the world ending really does bring out the best in people, don't it?" Leave to the Ragnarok to just 'roll with it'. "Does this mean you are gonna stop being an asshole and use your damn conscience for once?"

Taking his hand, and using it to help himself up, Crona's soft voice came out low and unsteady. Much more like he used to be. "Heh…maybe…maybe." He said, before he lets go of Ragnarok's hand and turns to look outside to the window, seeing the still mostly barren land.

Manipulation of the soul.

Such a concept, one that is unbearably difficult. But not impossible.

Without a word, Crona begins to walk back to the door where Hijana slept. Ragnarok calling out behind him what he was doing, but Crona doesn't answer him. His resolve has returned and with it immediately a plan with it, a train of logic that he knew was be done now.

But first things first, he must focus now more then ever. He was testing with something small, the soul of a seed.

Now it was time for something bigger.

He holds his gauntlet against the door and allows his soul and will to do the rest. The Soul Gem glows faintly. There was resistance, something trying to stop him, much like the wave that overpowered him earlier, but he pushes still.

The soul of Hijana was just as he thought it to be. Faint and weak, but still there. A faint sound of whisper is heard in his head, he almost mistakes it for Ragnarok trying to talk to him, but it wasn't that.

The voice sounded familiar.

It was trying to tell him to stop, trying to hold him back. As he tries to push it, the Soul Gem's power was beginning to lose its grip…no.

It was trying to loosen itself from HIS grip.

"No…you don't get a choice in this." Crona whispers as he digs his fingers into the door's wood. He didn't know what it was, what his own mind was doing to him, but it felt as if his own soul was again being forced back. There was no time for such a thing, so he pushes on, ignoring the voice as it tried and fail to stop him.

The Soul Gem low glow dims away and Crona lets his hand off the door, staring at the gem with a grim look on his face. "What was that?" Ragnarok asks as he walks up the teen, looking to the gem in Crona's gauntlet.

He sees the teen close the gauntlet hand to a fist and give a dismissive scoff. "Nothing." Crona says as he turns to face the Demon Sword. "Just giving it a little more time." He tries to hold back a smile as he sees Ragnarok's 'X' shaped pupils grow from shock. "It's all I can do for it, but it's better than nothing." Crona then lowers his head and begins to walk forward, stepping passed Ragnarok and towards the front door to the house.

"I thought you didn't care for him." Ragnarok calls out, and Crona pauses mid-step, glancing behind his shoulder to the black blood version of himself. "…I don't. It along with its race could rot for all I care. My only concern is the Ma'tnota and that is because it holds the Power Gem, but…you care…and that's enough for me at least give, a little bit of a damn."

He continues forward and opens the door to the house, just in time for him to see the inner light of the cave activate. It was now 'morning' for everyone in the village. Crona reaches his uncovered hand up to his eyes and massages them.

Just now realizing what he was planning to do was gonna be with an hour or two of sleep at best. He holds back a smile as he remembers his hope telling him she had this exact kind of situation happen to her.

Then again, that was just for a test, but the thought was there. He was just happy to have something similar to her.

"Where are you going?"

Right, he didn't explain that part yet. "Well if I were to hazard a guess, you did something not too smart while you were out, didn't you?" Crona asks, as he leans against the door's frame while looking back to his partner.

He could immediately tell from the look on Ragnarok's face that he 'struck home' with that guess.

His face had tightened itself, as if he was cringing as he spoke. "Uh…well I kinda…" Ragnarok was very much hesitant to reveal but he did, but Crona already knew it. "I know you told the Ma'tnota about his gem, Ragnarok." Crona had to hold a roll of his eyes as he sees the overall shock look on Ragnarok's face. He takes a step forward and tries to explain himself. "L-Look, I was just trying to make some things right, and it's not fair that the fucker didn't kno-"

"Ragnarok, I understand." Crona interrupts him, holding a hand up to ease his partner. "I understand. With the way I acted, you were freight of what I might do. You were just trying to think of others again." His calm dismissal of the issue just seems to anger black blood version of himself instead. "The fuck-?! Why are you so calm?"

He steps forward and did look remorseful for what he did. "I really screwed the pouch on this one…and we can't fight him now, especially since now he knows and could use the thing to bitch slap you to space."

"Maybe." Crona mumbles as he moves himself off the doorway and looks outside to the village before him. He could see the insect people as they were beginning their daily errands. "Although the Infinity Gems are not something anyone could use…each one contains a power far greater than anything this world has seen, even those unaware of their power are affected by it just by holding one. Subconsciously, the beetle could wipe out all life on this planet by accident if things go poorly enough."

"Well then what are we to do!? What the hell can I do to fix this fuck up!?" Ragnarok shouts as he begins to walk forward, only making it half-way to the front door as Crona holds out a hand to him.

"You will stay here." He tells Ragnarok firmly. "Take care of the farm-…Hijana. I'll simply go and tell the Ma'tnota our plight and goal, and then try to convince him of why we need the gem so badly." Ragnarok continues to walk forward and slaps Crona's hand away.

"That's not a plan. That's being an idiot! Look, I know you want that damn thing for your little collection, but really, it seems like trying to get it would just be a quick way for us to kill ourselves!" Crona looks back out again and starts to groan under his breath.

"At least let me come with you!"

Ragnarok adds on as he tries to shove himself through the door, were it not for Crona having held him back, placing the gauntlet covered hand over the Demon Sword's chest. A very small gesture but even with such a thing Ragnarok could feel the strength behind it. "No." Crona orders, this time while directing a glare right to Ragnarok's own eyes. "Look at the situation you placed us in. You had just told him about the gem, now you are thinking of coming with me to try and convince him to hand it over? At best he'll think we are trying to deceive him, at worst he'll think we are trying to take it from him."

Crona lets his hand drop and backs away out of the doorway, and steps off the house's front porch. "It's better for me to go alone. If I need you…you'll know." Giving a small smile, he taps at his chest with his uncovered hand, right where his heart and soul lay underneath.

"I'll be fine, I swear." He calls out, before fully turning around to continuing walking off, heading toward the village.

Ragnarok forms a mouth along his face, just so he could grit his teeth in frustration. He wants to race over to Crona and smash the teen's head against a rock. But he can't. He knows he had caused enough trouble, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that Crona was right.

If he came back, after just telling the Beetle the truth of his gem, asking for it would just make things complicated. "Ugh, why did I think that be a good idea!?" He growls out, before a voice calls out from behind him.

"Ah, Ragnarok. Surprise to see you up so early." It was Hijana, having awaken from its sleep and was now trying in vain to limp across the room to see what the yelling was about. Hearing the voice of the old ant, he infamous 'doom of the god's' took a heavy sigh. "Yeah…just saw Crona off, as he needs to talk to your chief about something…hey, why don't you get some rest." Ragnarok says as he closes the front door, silently praying to whatever god left in the world that maybe things wouldn't get worse for him and his partner.

A pray that wasn't likely to be answered.

Walking down the road toward the center of the village, Crona pays little mind to the insects that tried to greet him or offer conversation. His attention was focused solely on his gem that was embedded within his gauntlet.

Thinking on how it had tried to fight out of his control

"This shouldn't be possible...right?" Crona mumbles out, closing the gauntlet into a fist as the Soul Gem gives a faint glow, as if in response. He takes a moment to try and collect himself, even pausing during his brisk walk and closing his eyes to help himself think.

There were several things he needed to remember about the Soul Gem.

How it wasn't just a beacon of power. Within it, there were souls. A countless, infinite amount of souls from places and dimensions that he couldn't begin to comprehend. Souls, which were used to tell him of this village's location. Souls that may have been what allowed him and Ragnarok to understand the insects around him.

That little idea that Ragnarok put in his head, after he had told the Demon Sword the Infinity Gem's weren't sentient.

'You don't know that! Would it seriously surprise you if it was?!' Was his response, and such a fitting one as well. For who could tell the limits of something that holds infinity in its name.

A low 'heh' escapes Crona as he opens his eyes to stare right back at the Infinity Gem, the glow becoming fainter in response.

As if worried it were found out.

The more Crona thought on it, the simpler it became.

The Soul Gem was like that of the fire and seeds that he had manipulated. It was breathing, it was thinking. It is alive.

"…Let me ask you something." He asks to it, raising a brow as a he allows a smile to form on his face. "Do I have the worry about this problem with the others as well?" The Gem does not speak to them, neither does any voice come in his head. "Heh…why did I expect much?" He starts to laugh lowly to himself as he continues to trek onward, now seeing the building that housed the Ma'tnota.

The building that house's his next Infinity Gem.

With a scoff, Crona slaps his uncovered hand over his gauntlet's fist. "Fine then, if you're gonna stand in my way…then I'll move you aside, all I need is the power to do so. And we both know where I can get more of that." A small grin, as much as he couldn't help it.

The idea of the Soul Gem itself being alive and working against him. He could already imagine how loud Ragnarok will scream at him and how many times the phrase 'called it' will be used. And while this was something that could be placed under 'bad news', Crona just couldn't help but smile at it.

Of course, the gem would be alive, of course Ragnarok told the Ma'tnota about the Power Gem, of course his dreams would turn stranger. This was his life after all. All that was missing would be his mother's spirit haunting him and he might consider this being a 'bad day'.

"Don't get any ideas." He mutters, losing his smile as he briefly looks down at the Infinity Gem again, before stopping in front of the large crudely made building. He pauses for a moment to think on what how he can do this, wondering if he could be able to.

A low groan escapes Crona's throat, as he rubs at the side of his head with his uncovered hand. Of course, in hindsight he should have asked Ragnarok exactly how much the Ma'tnota knows now, if he told it about the other Infinity Gems, and if one holds them all…

Crona briefly wonders if it wouldn't be too late to rush back to ask Ragnarok, what exactly he told the beetle.

"…Hello, Mad Titan."

Letting his head drop down a bit, Crona gives a sigh of defeat while whispering 'why am I not surprised' underneath his breath. Upon turning around, he was met with the large beetle standing right behind him. As he sees the Ma'tnota's many eyes staring back at him, Crona again remembers back to another one of Ragnarok's comments.

'Did that well tell you, it be in the hands of a giant dung beetle…who looks super pissed off.' While before, Crona just thought of it being how the creature normally looked, now he thinks differently.

"Good morning." Crona says, opting for a more casual way of speaking. "I've been led to guess you know why I am here?" He says, as his eyes drift further upward along the beetle's face, landing right on the middle of his horn, where the Power Gem was embedded.

"Yes, about my…gem." The way the large creature held itself, showed just how he felt. It held itself higher than last he saw, slighting changing its posture to appear larger to him, with its arm and legs flex enough to show more of the muscle it had. It lowers its head a bit more, but moved its shoulders higher. Maybe it was the years of trying to understand people finally paying off, or the Soul Gem's own doing, but he could see the emotions running through the creature's eyes.

Betrayal, anger, disappointment.

Nothing new that Crona hasn't seen in other people's eyes.

"…I like to able to settle this without violence, is that possible?" Crona asks, as he raises his gauntlet hand up, doing so as if to hand wave it casual, but really to show off his own gem. A very small threat to show that they were still on equal footing, somewhat. Not that Crona was willing to tell it about the trouble he's had with the gem.

"Depends on you. Let's take this inside." The Ma'tnota low voice was just amplifying its harsh tone, making it clear with no distinction it was mad. It tries to walk past Crona, only for the teen to step in front of it.

Without breaking eye contact, Crona quickly begins to put his mother's teachings to great use. "…No." He began, remembering the lesson perfectly, on how to play your opponent into your field. "Way I see it, we enter inside, then it'll only grow worst for both of us. I mean, I am gonna feel cornered, you are gonna be feel less worried about your people because you can't see them." He told it, while gesturing slightly with his gauntlet hand to himself and the beetle as he spoke. "I think it be wiser for both of us to just stay out here."

"And why is it wrong for me to feel less worried for my people, just because I no longer have them in my sight?" It asks, with Crona seeing how it's claws flex slightly. It was a useless gesture; the insect was intimidating enough as it was.

Trying to pretend he didn't notice anything, Crona looks off to the side and places his uncovered hand along the tip of his chin. "…well, I am only thinking in the case of a good leader, you always need to put your people first. If you're not seeing them, or near them, then you mind might wander…and you might do something without ever thinking of the consequences."

Crona is forced to lean back in his stance, as the Ma'tnota lowers its head down to just a few inches away from his. "And what would those be?" It snarls out in a low tone, with all its eyes glaring right at him. The black blooded teen had to hold back the urge to roll his eyes, his fault for trying to emulate his mother and be subtle.

"Your mate told me of your falling out." This time Crona did roll his eyes, while also giving a loud groan. "Urg…he's not my 'mate'." He says while giving a small dismissive scoff and moves his hand down to rest along his hip. "What I am trying to tell you, is that you need to listen to me, or your people will get hurt."

A low and confused 'what' echoes from the large beetle, with its anger being replaced by surprise.

"Exactly. They are going to be killed, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it." Crona watches the large beetle, tilt his head slightly, his multiple eyes moving around to see the villagers near them, oblivious to the what was really happening near them.

All they did was give a bow as they saw their leader look to them.

"Let's paint a picture, sure you are strong, but sure you can fight. But can you fight and defend? What if someone comes, and they know about you wanting to protect your people. What if they are willing to talk to your enemies to form an alliance. While you can maybe defeat them, how many of your people will die before then?" Crona adds on with a shrug mid-sentence. Not all his listens came from Medusa, there was one thing he had learn from Ragnarok.

How to pull a 'bluff'.

This was his real plan, to actually lie this time. Tell him about the others of the Infinity gem wielders, while in truth, as far as Crona knows, they were all either unaware of what their gems power or had been busy with their own issues.

"Of course, this is hypothetical-." At a sudden burst of speed, Crona finds himself held up several feet in the air only being able to give out a small gasp as he feels the Ma'tnota's claw tighten around his throat, his feet instinctively moving around to air to try and find him footing which was understandably hard for him.

"…you dare to threaten my people!" The Ma'tnota shouts as he raises Crona further up the air, its mandibles just inches away, threatening to crush Crona's head between them. The red glow from the gem embedded within its horn showed, it had more than enough strength to do so.

Panic flooded him as Crona was staring right at what could easily be his death. His mind immediately screaming at him at what he possibly did wrong all of a sudden. He cries out fearfully as he tightly grabs the claws talons around his throat and tries to loosen them in vain as a familiar sense of power build within himself once more. Thoughts were quickly forming at where to strike and how. He remembers how well he had managed to catch Kid off guard with the same attack, but Crona also knew, that this was different.

He knows that one mistake would certainly be his last, and as far as he knew there was little to no weakness for this creature or field advantage. With Kid, there was his OCD and the tight enclosed tunnels of the DWMA dungeon. Here he was out in the open, and already in the grip of The Ma'tnota.

He needed to make each move count, every trick he has needed to be used when one hundred percent needed. The Ma'tnota may not fully know how to use the Power Gem, but that didn't mean he couldn't draw strength from it.

Strength enough to destroy everything throughout what was left of this world, if it was not careful.

"I had said no such thing!" Crona cries out, as he throws his feet upward, hits at the large beetle's chest. The strike was just enough to knock him loose from The Ma'tnota's grip but instead of rushing back, Crona lets himself fall to the ground, gripping his throat and coughing.

The grip the beetle had on Crona was tight, but it was nothing that teen couldn't handle. This was something else he was going at, playing to The Ma'tnota's nature.

He was a leader, a protector.

What better way to lower a warrior's guard, then feigning weakness.

"What had become of your talk earlier, Mad Titan. Of holding my people under threat of an attack with the Red Pha'sens." It growls out, and Crona eyes widen fully as realizes what the Ma'tnota thought. Having accidentally made it believe he be leading the charge; the teen held his head along the floor and give out a small muffled whimper of shame as it seemed he was not good at bluffing as he thought he be.

Of all things though, upon seeing the teen having fallen to the floor and give out a whimper of all things, the Ma'tnota pauses and shows a confused look in its eyes again.

Crona didn't notice as he was busy trying to figure out a way to rearrange this misunderstanding. His eyes glance to the side for some idea, and he sees more of the villagers gathering, wondering what was happening in the center of town. All looking at him, with curiosity and confusion. There was a lot more here than even when he and Ragnarok first entered this town, and this time while he was surrounded, he was entirely alone.

All those looking at him, thinking about him. No Ragnarok around, he was alone. He was alone again, with so many people looking at him. His mind came up blank for a moment, he didn't know what to do. There was much more than he had expected, there was so many, he didn't know how to deal with it all. His eyes wander around, and he could see them all around him, boxing him in. There was no exit he could take, no where he could hide.

Sweat started to form, his eyes started to weaver, his shoulders and hands started to shake.

Thoughts invaded his mind, doubts of what he could do, what he was expecting himself to do. He felt he couldn't do it. He knows he couldn't. He could feel his mind and soul pulse at the thought of facing such a thing, alone. He needed Ragnarok, he needed his hope, he needed someone to make this all go away-

His hope.

The impact is what snaps himself free. One of his own making, with the Gauntlet having crashed itself into the side of his head. "Stop it." He whispers to himself, ceasing all the thoughts of fear within him. His eyes staring right at the culprit of such a trick.

The green gem that was embedded within his gauntlet.

Of course, it tried to interfere.

"…are you truly the Man Titan? You killed death, and yet…you're afraid." The Ma'tnota spoke, having witnessed and finding it odd how fearful he looked one moment, and back to normal the next. With a small annoyed groan, Crona pulls himself to his feet.

"You n-need to understand. I-I wasn't talking about myself! I want to settle this without violence." Crona stutters out to it, taking a step forward as he spoke and placing his gauntlet hand over his chest. "I know you are angry, and I am sorry that I didn't tell you about the gem before. But I need you to listen to me!"

The beetle did not even seem to notice the step forward by the teen. Instead it raised one of its claws to the gem along its horn and said. "I understand enough. You want my crest of the warrior, to try and relive some fantasy of a 'better world' correct? To try and gain power so that YOU would rule it." It throws it's arm down and lets out a loud erratic clicking noise from its throat. The villagers around them, seeming to all flinch at it.

Crona holds himself from backing away as the Ma'tnota stomps itself forward with the Power Gem beginning to glow brighter upon its horn. "I care not for what you wish to do with my crest, what I am very much interested in is what will that entail for my home, my people." Its voice raised further, as it lowers itself down to stare at Crona face to face. "If what the other said is true…if this 'thing' is what gives us Ma'tnota our great strength then the next time the red Pha'sens attack, I might not be strong enough to fight them off."

The teen pauses for a moment, as his eyes glance to the floor. He tries to think up another way reason with the beetle. "…I understand this is a hard request-"

"No, it's a simple one, but it seems that you cannot grasp it." The Ma'tnota spat his words back as it pulls itself back to its full height. There was no effort to hide the annoyance it held in its own voice at the child, even as it took a deep breath to calm itself. "I'll try and make it simpler for you to understand. You are asking me to place my faith in you, after you tried to undermine me, steal a way of protecting my people, and not even having the audacity to hold up your end of the bargain we had made for it." The glow the Infinity Gem in its horn began to dim along with its rage.

Now it was left was disappointment.

"I do not have time for this! Neither of us do!" Crona yells, growing impatient from the direction the conversation was going out of his control. "How much did Ragnarok tell you? Did he tell you of the others, that there are six in total, which are all held by individual beings. Those that have had known what their gems are truly capable and have had more time to know what they can do." As Crona spoke, he gestures to his own Infinity Gem with his uncovered hand. "What if they are also seeking the gems, and they find this place like I have. I am trying to talk through this, the others might not be so kind."

"We are more than capable of defending ourselves." The large beetle growls out as it crosses its arms along its chest.

"No, you are capable of defending them." Crona says back, this time he gestures to the villagers around them. He wanted to end this, he truly did. All this back and forth reminded him of his argument with Ragnarok. And like those, he felt all it amounts to was wasted time. Always wasting time. "What happens if you fall or worse, what about the idea of two wielders of infinity fighting one another. The results could range from disastrous to downright apocalyptic, within seconds. There will not even be a village no more, at best, there would be nothing but a smoking crater."

He knew he was right, this was a fear he had at the thought of facing those with the other gems of infinity. Surely the wise leader could understand such a simple concept. Or so, that is what Crona believes. Instead the Ma'tnota gives a small 'huff' of breath as it turns away from Crona, to its own kind.

"…or I defeat all that come and gain more power. Or perhaps, they come moments after you leave us, and we are defenseless. The answer is, and always shall be as long as I am this village's Ma'tnota, NO." The Ma'tnota didn't even need to raise its voice. It was clear that Crona's hopes were crushed and his point was made. His hands fall to his sides, and his eyes drift to the ground in shame. Only being able to utter a low 'but…' in defeat like a child.

"Retrieve your companion. I'll personally escort you out of our village, you'll be given food and water enough for you to last for some time while out there." He had tried, he really had. Every angle, that could be possible to work for him in such a mess.

"Make no mistake, I am not cruel as to throw you out into a harsh environment as up above without aid but if you return, I will only see that as an attempt of some plan to take my crest." But it seems that this day, was just one of failure for the teen. Just more time wasted for nothing, time spent away from his hope, 'going down the tubes' as the saying goes.

Crona doesn't even bother to listen to the words the beetle spoke anymore, he was tired of talking. The creature droning on about 'how his actions will be seen as an act of war, and what punishments he will be met with'. The words meant nothing to teen. Only the idea the bug, the lowly waste of space ever implied to him.

That his quest was to live a 'fantasy'. That his hope, was also a waste of time.

The beetle does not give a chance to react in time. "I'm sorry that we are to come to these kinds of terms, and I do wish you do find some peace out there, but for the safety of my kin, I must have you leav-" Crona throws his head back up, and with a scream, power erupts from his eyes.

Large twin pillars of black, drilled straight into the Ma'tnota's chest. The large insect giving out a growl of agony as the force of the attack swept it from its feet and directly into the home of one of the nearby villagers, the very foundation of the small building easily collapsing on top of him.

The action was so quick, that for a moment it was met with nothing but silence.

Than the panic surge.

Villagers panic, running off in several directions. Clicking noises and freighted shouts echo everywhere around him. "Oh no." Crona whispers to himself as realization strikes his mind with instant regret. Panicky, he looks around, preparing himself for what the people would do. His mother had warned him of crowds, and during mobs such as this they might either rush him to get passed or even down right attack him.

Neither happened though. Instead Crona sees the insects all keep themselves away from him and back into the many buildings around them, some even taking shelter within the main tower that was close by them. Crona didn't need long to realize why, as he did see others opening hatches that lead downward, to underground rooms.

Cellars for shelter.

The reason why became more than obvious the Ma'tnota roused from the wrecked of the house he was sent flying into.

The front of its chest was blackened from the blast Crona shot him with. The same one that easily crippled the reaper of this land, seeming to do nothing more than irritate him. Damage was done, that was clear as the Ma'tnota's extra arms at its sides seem to have trouble moving and for a brief moment, Crona thinks that maybe he can win those hopes were soon crushed as the red light of the Infinity Gem of Power shined brightly.

"…you…DARE!" It roars and with a single stomp forward it carried the effect the full force of its rage.

Crona is thrown off his feet as the entire cave shake, he falls to the floor and quickly needs to roll out of the way as large chucks of the cave's ceiling fell, nearly crushing them from under their weigh. Not just near him but around the whole village itself large bits of stone and large dunes of sand fell through.

Crona sees some of the buildings around them, easily being crushed underneath the weigh of both the sand and stone. They were worn and torn with age already provided little to no shelter from such things. And yet while some did collapse, Crona also noticed that there was no hint of the villagers to be seen running out or crushed from the homes falling on them.

And of course, the idea for why came to him, just as the cave stops shaking. "You gave them all places to hide when you fight." He says softly, a little bit amazed about how far the bug thought ahead. Credit for when its due, that is a good idea.

But it also led to him seeing himself alone in the middle of the street. With no places to really run and hide quickly enough, in full view for the Ma'tnota who stared back at him with no hint of mercy in his eyes and the red gem on its horn shining brightly.

"MAD TITAN!" It calls out to him, its deep voice mixing with an inhuman growl with each word. "I EXTENDED MY HAND TO LET YOU LIVE, AND YOU INSTEAD ATTACK ME!?" Crona couldn't help but give a childish gulp of fear. He fearfully takes a step back as he tries to think of something he can do. But every plan he did come up with, proved nothing more than sheer lunacy to himself.

Apologizing would certainly not work and fighting back was just suicide. "WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, IS OF YOUR OWN DOING!" It roars so loud, that Crona could feel his chest vibrate a little. His own body moves on instinct alone, as Crona throws himself out of the way.

The Ma'tnota, having leap through the air, crashes down just a hair away from crushing Crona like that of a bug, ironically. But the force it carried as it landed was enough to send Crona spiraling across the floor. He quickly moves himself back to his feet as soon as he can, but Crona is forced yet again to dodge again, as he ducks under a backhanded fist thrown by the large beetle.

In an unfortunate spread of bad luck, Crona foot just so happened to catch an uprooted stone, and trips on it. He could almost hear that voice from his dreaming laughing at him again, as he quickly is forced to roll again. The Ma'tnota's clawed foot stomping down where moments ago he was at. "Stop your dodging, if you wanted to fight than fight!" The Ma'tnota shouts as Crona backs himself away, the uneven ground of the sand covered streets slowing him down slightly, but thankfully not enough to be caught by the Ma'tnota and its constant swings of its claws.

While the gem may have given him amazing strength, it did not give him the speed to match. Its large form was oversized and made him down right clumsy with how he swung himself. There was no grace with how it fought, just an oversized brute.

Crona did not have time to think up a plan to help him there though, as he just as he is about to dodge another attack, a spear comes flying through the air and stabs itself through the Ma'tnota arm. The large beetle and the teen both look to the weapon in shock, right before looking to the thrower of it.

Another insect it seemed, this one being what seem to be a red hornet of some kind. Around him was many, many others of its kind though, all of which branding makeshift weapons that were made from crude things, such as rocks and sticks to make spears, or very old pieces of metal to act as shields. The creatures all gave off clicking sounds of their own, forming some kind of chant among themselves, all before they rushed forward with their weapons raised high.

"The Red Pha'sens!" The Ma'tnota growls, ripping the spear from its arm as if it were nothing but a needle. While Crona just slaps himself on the forehead with his uncovered hand. "I'm just having a bad day, aren't I." Crona just barely manages to whisper, before The Ma'tnota 's wings spread, and it gives out another roaring battle cry.

Elsewhere, a certain Demon Sword was looking panicked as he could hear sounds of battle from outside the shelter he and the old ant were hiding inside. His hands cruel tightly into fist as he holds himself back from racing outside.

"Ohhhh…Please tell me this is all a fucking nightmare!" He growls to himself starts to hit himself on either side of his head in total frustration. He immediacy could tell that Crona's 'plead' didn't go so well, but the amount of noise outside was something completely worst. Not to mention how the Hijana had warn him that they immediately needed to him down to bunker, which was something Ragnarok didn't even know they had there and hide as they heard the Ma'tnota scream something out.

"It sounds as if the Red Pha'sens have arrived!" While that did answer Ragnarok's question about the noise, it somehow seems to make things worse. "The fuck you mean, the Red Pha'sens are here!? You mean the fuckers that keep attacking you people!?" Seeing the old ant nod its head, just made Ragnarok throw his head back and let loose every cruse word he knew, in every language he knew.

He wanted to race out, to help the Crona in the fight. But holds himself as he didn't know how he could really help his partner here.

Kid was one thing. The reaper was mainly crazy and was so out of it that he and Crona had easily managed to catch him off guard most of the time. The wasteland they have traveled along together since was either populated with strange deformed creatures or other wild beings that they easily took care of.

Now there was an army, and a Ma'tnota, which was just an army of a one. And he highly doubted that Crona was helping him fight, if anything with how bad their luck has been lately, Ragnarok wouldn't be surprised to find Crona trying to fight them both at the same time.

His attention is pulled as Hijana calls out to him. "Ragnarok, where is your partner? Please tell me that the boy is somewhere safe." The old man spoke as it tries to pull itself from its seated position on the floor, having collapsed soon after they came down there.

Ragnarok may not have been any kind of expect on heath by any means, but he knew when something was up. Noticed it the second he saw old farmer not being able to hold himself up. He remembers seeing what Crona did, how the soul gem of his glowed when he touched that door.

The news of Crona telling him that the old ant was dying. A muffled growl of frustration just escapes Ragnarok as he runs a hand through top of his head. "A little bit of time." He calls back to what Crona told him. "The one thing we never have enough of, I guess." With a scoff, Ragnarok shakes his head slightly and moves to kneel next to the old ant. Resting a hand on its shoulder to give some comfort to it.

"It's a long story, why he's there, but well…Crona is most likely with that beetle guy right now. And knowing him, he's probably in the middle of a fight between him, and those red fuckers out there." Ragnarok tells it, flinching as he heard another loud 'boom', with such force behind it that it even causes some of the dust within the cellars' ceiling and walls to unsettle. He looks around with a wary eye, wondering if the whole thing would cave in on them with all that was happening outside.

Not like it be any safer out there but try as he might to think up a plan, he isn't able to set any ground work as Hijana keeps trying to talk to him. "Wait, what are you saying? Why would the child be out fighting? I know that the boy may seem a bit frightening at times, does he not know what danger he's in. He'll be beaten down and maybe killed!" Ragnarok sighs, as he easily stops Hijana from trying to stand up, the old ant being so weak that all it took was the Demon Sword to tighten his hold slightly on the ant's shoulder. Essentially pinning it to where it sat with very little effort.

With his free hand, he runs it across his face as he tries to think up something to tell the old ant. Already having told it one too many times how weak it was and how it shouldn't move, and now with it seemingly wanting to risk itself by stepping outside wasn't helping.

Especially when Ragnarok knew he should have been doing that exact thing.

"Trust me, that kid is probably the most dangerous fucker out there." Ragnarok spat out, with such a bitter tone that it even surprised himself. It was more than enough to make Hijana stop his struggling and listen at least. "If you would have told me before you know...all this shit, I would have said that Crona was a little bitch, the kind that would just let anyone push him around."

Moving his other hand away from his face, he lightly gives off a dismissive wave with it. "No joke, kid was pretty much a spineless coward for most of his life; you can kinda blame me and his fucked-up excuse of a mom for that. Then…let's just say a certain someone enter his life. And she…she had a big effect on him, and how he started thinking. Before I knew it, because of her I guess, he turned into something else. Someone else."

Ragnarok lets go of Hijana and stands up to his feet, the walls again shaking slightly as another impact was felt. This time much closer than before. Ragnarok barely paid it any mind as he looked out to the cellar door they had gone down through and locked behind them.

"I don't even know how to describe it all the way but, I just…" He pauses for a moment as a hand moves up to grip the side of his head. "I closed my eyes for what felt like a moment, and when I opened them everything was different somehow. Time went by so quickly, and so many things went by without me knowing. Crona told me he did things I never thought he would ever even think of, now I'm just…"

Hijana gives a low clicking noise as it slowly repositions itself. The black eyes it had, though seem expressionless as Ragnarok's own, still seem to hold a sad look with it. "The Ma'tnota told me that he was…troubled. The boy was harmed a lot, wasn't he?"

Wordlessly, Ragnarok just nods his head at that.

"That…that is a deep shame." Its tone, as sincere as ever.

"Yeah, that was pretty much what she thought." A low scoff escapes Ragnarok, knowing how much the girl would love to hear him calling her right. "Sometimes I see him again, the old Crona I mean. How nervous and scared he gets, how he has a hard time talking about certain things or even needs to hold my hand because he's scared of the fucking dark." He gives out a chuckle, but there was no humor in it. It was bitter and forced. "But other times when he becomes that 'other thing', some other guy that I don't even recognize half the fucking time! It just…it just…" Ragnarok pauses for a moment as he takes in a deep breath.

"…you didn't hear it from me if anyone ask but, truth is that kid scares me."

Letting his hand fall back to his side, Ragnarok turns back to the old ant with a stern look on his expressionless face. "I just don't know to expect from him anymore. Even down to his soul, I can feel it. The pieces are there…but they are rearranged. Something new is there." He is not in control of himself anymore, as words and thoughts he kept to himself continue to pour out.

"I've seen and live through the shit that kid could take…I've seen the person he was because of that, but ever since I woke up and saw everything changed, I saw he that also applies to him. And since he got that gauntlet…tch…" He throws a hand up angrily and gives a low growl at that. "By god, it's gotten worst. He's gotten worst. I…I started to think of something scary recently."

As quickly as his anger roused up again, it turned to melancholy. "As the days went by, I started to notice something about Crona. I think he's getting stronger. I mean it like…every day I could feel something in him just…growing, and I can almost see that is what's causing the damn change."

Ragnarok's eyes betrayed his tone, even with how low and angry he sounded, the way the 'X'-shaped pupils shook told of the fear in them.

"I mean, if this Ma'ta-whatever guy or those red fuckers take Crona down it is not like I could do much against them, I can already tell that much, but if they can, it will at least help this little bit of fear in my head…because right now…as fucked up as it sounds, I think-" Ragnarok stops speaking as suddenly the whole cellar shakes again, this time far more with even small picks of rock falling from the walls itself. The force of it was even felt along the ground and Ragnarok feel to his hands and knees, worryingly he moves himself back over the old ant, trying to protect it if something were to fall on them. Nothing came though.

In fact, all the noises outside are render completely silent. The sounds of battle, what was heard of the marching and loud crashes were all mute. Hesitantly, Ragnarok holds a finger where his mouth would be, signaling to Hijana to keep quiet, before he moves to check out the cellar door.

Slowly, he undoes the lock and pushes it open. There was weight ontop of it, large chucks of wood sliding off as he pushed it upward. And what he saw almost made him want to pull it back down shut.

There was no longer a village anymore. As far as he could see, he saw nothing but destruction. It was unbelievable how much had been destroyed nor how quickly. All the buildings, including the home that he and Crona were staying in had been rendered to rumble, large chucks of rock and big piles of sand littered the streets. The very large opening in the cave's roof shows where it came from.

Among all those though, were bodies. Bodies all throughout the village, and near where he was. All of them were brutally killed. It was hard to tell which body part belong to which one, or even what bug they were before they were massacred. All he could make it were few pieces of limbs here or there, and large pools of strange-looking blood.

The one thing that stood out amongst all this destruction, was of course, Crona.

The teen was standing not too far away from where Ragnarok was standing. He looked heavily ragged, with his clothing ripped apart in a way that looked like he walked through a tunnel of blades and guessing by the amount of broken spear and sword-like weaponry that laid with the bodies, he probably had. What stood out the most, was the blood.

Not the strange blood that covered him and matched in shad as the one that was all along the dirt and broken bodies. It was the blood that was dripping down his cheek, from one little cut there.

Crona was looking off to the side, away from him, but Ragnarok could see the teen face clearly due to the light from outside that shined into the cave. Crona was out of breath, and had trouble standing. He was favoring one leg over the other and was gripping right shoulder with his gauntlet-covered hand.

Seeing the teen surrounded by the piles of bodies, with blood dripping off him, he himself bleeding for the first time since they had ever come to this ruin of a world, Ragnarok lets the thought finish, as he sees a smile on Crona's face. "- he is getting a kick out of it." Ragnarok mumbles out, just almost like that of a whisper.

A part of him wanted to move, to go back into the cellar and hide away. Seeing that look, was familiar. Too familiar, in a very bad way. Back when they served under Medusa, and those days Crona would just 'lose it'. If he did so now, with how much he's changed, and how strong he's gotten…

He wanted to move, but as Crona turn to look directly at him, just made him freeze. And suddenly, those three words made so much sense to him now. The title that was given to Crona apparently since he killed Kid.

'The Mad Titan.'

Or at least, the thought was there, till he noticed that it was the smile of madness. It was one of relief. He was giving out a sigh and gave a small waved at him with his gauntlet-hand before gripping his shoulder again. He wanted to scream out to him, call him an idiot for worrying him like that.

He never gets a chance to as Crona collapses on the ground.

"Crona!"

A hacking cough snaps the Demon Sword attention, immediately Ragnarok looks back down to the bunker. If it were possible for the frail old crippled ant to appear weaker, it sure was now. It was slowly gasping for breath, and seemed to be drooling slightly from its mouth, not from a desire to feast, but just because it just couldn't muster the strength to close it anymore. Looking back to Crona briefly, Ragnarok fully steps out of the cellar, holding the door open so he can look at Hijana.

"Hey…I'll be right back." Ragnarok calls out to the old ant, who looked up to him with a confused tilt of its head. "What?! R-Ragnarok wait, what about the Red Pha'sens? We should wait till the Ma'tnota collects us to know its safe!" The old ant tries to shout out, before it begins to cough again in a sickly manner. It's mandibles barely moving and giving a low sound, before it tries in vain to move itself back up…only to fall back down to the floor. "Don't fucking move! Please! Just…just wait okay. I promise I'll be right back, I see Crona and he's hurt. I'm gonna get him back here…please, just stay here and be safe." He could barely stomach it as he looks down to the old ant. Seeing it trying to move itself again and ignoring what he said.

As inhuman as the insect was, Ragnarok could tell right away, it was scared. Not for itself, but for him and even Crona. As short of a time as they spent with it, the weak thing seemed to enjoy the little time they had spent together. Unfortunately, time was never on their side.

As it was running out for the low, poor insect.

"I'll be right back. I swear buddy." He wanted to stay, but as much as he wanted to, something in him felt that he needed to get out. As many times as the teen would frustrate him, Ragnarok knew that in the end of the day, when all else went wrong, as least the two had each other. Having that in mind, Ragnarok didn't have a choice here.

His body, molded from black blood itself, a strange concoction of will and soul-power that even he didn't fully get rushes as fast he could make it, reaching Crona just as the teen had rolled himself onto his back. "Rh…Glad you decided to come out and enjoy the weather." Crona, of all things, jokes before he gives out a groan as he grips harder on his right shoulder again.

"Yeah, what was the forecast, death and destruction, with a light hint of moron!" Ragnarok shouts back, before he knees down to see how bad the damage was. "By the way, moron, what the fuck happened to talking with the guy?! Weren't you making a plead!?"

Winching at Ragnarok shouting, Crona looks off to the side slightly and mumbles. "Things…got a bit out of hand." "Where did you realize that, before or after the hill of bodies you're standing on?!" Ragnarok shouts more before he smacks the Crona's right arm, causing it to bend slightly in an awkward position and the teen to give a low whimper of pain.

"Oh, for fuck sakes, did you…" Ragnarok pauses mid-sentence as he brings up a hand to rub the middle of 'X'. "Of course, you ended up dislocating the damn thing. Come on, just hold still." Before Crona has a chance to protest, Ragnarok forcefully grabs his arm, and forces it to pop back into place. An awkward creaking sound is made as the bone is pushed back to its normal spot, and Crona desperately sucks in air through clench teeth. "Ach…ow, ow, ow! Darn it that hurt!"

"Yeah, yeah, you damn cry baby." Ragnarok mumbles out coldly, as he shoves Crona's arm a bit more for good measure. "I swear to god, if I had hair, it be white as hell with all the stress you give me." Placing a hand on Crona's back, Ragnarok gently begins to pull him into a sitting position on the floor.

Ignoring the comment, Crona looks over his partner and sees that he was still in once piece. "I got scared when I noticed the house collapsed." He whispers softly, while his eyes moved to the floor. The amount of worry, and how shaky his voice sounded, making Ragnarok feel nostalgic.

"There was trap door in the old ant's room. I was hiding down there with him. He's…not doing well." Ragnarok spoke in a blunt, but honest tone. Crona's eyes shooting back up for a moment at the news, before they quickly move back down. "I-I…could only do so much, I'm sorry."

Rolling his 'X' shape pupils, Ragnarok gives him a light pat on his back and tells him. "It's not your fault, for once." Crona gives a very weak chuckle at that, knowing exactly what Ragnarok meant by that. "Look I just…let's just go to the bunker and we can just talk like normal people for a chang-"

Before he could finish, a loud booming voice calls out.

"MAD TITAN!"

"…I should have stayed in the bunker."

Quickly, both Crona and Ragnarok look to the source of the voice. It was the Ma'tnota, pulling himself from a large pile of sand that it had been buried under. While Crona, the invading army of Red Pha'sens, and the village look battered and beaten, the large beetle itself looked as if it had just finished a light jog.

"Of course, I forgot about him." Ragnarok mumbles to himself as he sees the large and very angry creature stomp towards them. Hastily, Ragnarok picks Crona up by moving his undamaged arm over his shoulder and standing himself up. The teen giving a grunt of pain as he can barely hold himself up, even with Ragnarok's help.

"Can you stand?!" Ragnarok shouts out as he sees the Ma'tnota getting closer, its wings spreading open and buzzing. Even from where they were, several piles away from it, Ragnarok could feel the wind those wings were making. "Been running so much, he gave out so much power, bones hurt a lot."

With a loud boom of volume, the Ma'tnota takes off. Like a train heading right for them, Ragnarok and Crona only have time to let old habits take over, to let old lessons come back to them.

The Infinity Gem of Power glowed, shined out brightly as its wielder charged on forward. It never reaches its target, instead it's massive body hits nothing but the ground, with the Ma'tnota clutching at his side giving a loud crackling sound from its throat.

Crona stood behind him, backing away a few feet as he ready's himself again. The old lessons coming all back to him. The old 'riding a bike' saying proving very much true for him. His stance was wide, his body was lowered, with his gauntlet hand clutching to his right arm to steady it.

In his uncovered hand, was a very familiar black Scandinavian broadsword with a grey hilt, a white stripe down the middle and spikes around the guard. "It's…been awhile." Crona mumbles, as he pauses to look at the sword. A mouth manifest on the blade itself, just above the guard. "Damn right it's been."

A smile does form back on Crona's face at that. After so long, this little moment, felt just right for him.

His smile fades as he notices the Ma'tnota pull itself back to its feet. No visible cut showing at its side, as it turned to face the teen, with a quick glance to the sword that he held in his hand.

"More of your trickery it seems. Mad titan, I would have thought you wise enough to flee when you had the chance." It spoke, taking in deep breaths as to finally calm itself down, before it looks to the ruins of the village around them. "Look at what's become of my home. I had gotten carried away it seems."

Crona doesn't even bother to look around. He knew first hand what happened here. "I hope to think that you are not seeing fit to blame me for this." Crona says bitterly, as he tightens the hold on his sword. "I admit to bad timing on my part, but you had been the one to bring a storm here and virtually leave your people homeless!"

That seemed to be the most damaging blow to have struck the Ma'tnota today. It with a brief look around, a low shameful growl comes from its throat. The glow of its Infinity Gem becoming dim as its wielder finally seems to calm down from its rage. "I…am at fault. But this does not excuse what you have done, nor what you intend to plan."

"Gonna go out on a limb and guess that Crona did something to piss you off, huh." Ragnarok calls out from his weapon form, his voice coming off a little more high-pitch in this form. Which was something to give Crona an idea.

The Ma'tnota's many eyes were looking to the talking weapon in confusion for a moment. Distracted, and left wide open. A chance that Crona was happy to take. "He had struck me in some vain attempt to put me down in one blow. While I was spea-" It doesn't get a chance as two black pillars shoot from Crona's eyes, both of which easily managed to push the Ma'tnota back again just like before and send him flying off a wall of the cave.

"Crona seriously!?" Ragnarok shouts out, as Crona moves to rub at his eyes feeling them begin to sting slightly. "Sorry, seemed fitting." He mumbles out, as he brings his partner closer to him. "Ragnarok listen, I have a plan." Away from them, the Ma'tnota was picking itself up, again without it looking the least bit harmed.

Seeing the large bug's wings open up, Ragnarok gives a growl as the blade's mouth had its teeth grind together. "Oh, cause your last plan worked out 'greeeeeeat'!" He drags out to last word to let the word as if to let the sarcasm drip.

Giving a sigh, Crona tightens his old on Ragnarok's handle as he dug his heels to the ground. "He may have power, but he's nowhere near as fast as Kid was. We can't beat him in a head to head fight, but maybe we can make him beat himself." With a determined look coming to his face, Crona watches as the Ma'tnota takes flight. Ignore Ragnarok as the Demon Sword mumbles 'uh…phrasing-'. "The gem may have infinite power, but he doesn't. Get him mad and keep moving and he'll burn himself out…eventually."

"Eventually!?" Ragnarok shrieks out, the very blade shaking in Crona's hand as the weapon itself was trying to transform back to normal, most likely to punch Crona for thinking up such a plan, but he doesn't get a chance as like clockwork, the Ma'tnota returns. "MAD TITAN, AGAIN YOU DARE TO MOCK ME!" It's body crashes down, right in front of them and without a moment of hesitation it races towards them. "No more of this then. I am the Ma'tnota, you child!" With its large claws the giant insect tries rip Crona's head right off with a swipe of its arm. "I am my people's champion, I am in invin-"

Mid-sentence, Crona easily docks under the Ma'tnota, moving under its arm to behind it, where he slashed at the back of its knees. While not enough to harm it, the Ma'tnota did lose its balance. "You also telegraph yourself a year ahead your coming." He spoke calmly, as he as he hops back, just in time to dodge another swipe that was just barely going to touch his face.

Talking was getting to it, he could tell. A growling clicking was coming from the Ma'tnota's mandibles and its Infinity Gem was back to glowing. He remembers back to a certain style of fighting, his mothers. How she would constantly keep her opponent on edge using her magic vectors to propel herself. A style he is trying to emulate, as his free almost dance along the ground, and always moving and keeping track of himself as best he could.

He was forced to keep his eyes on the Ma'tnota as it raced towards him constantly, as he knew a single blow would mean his doom, leaving him having to rely on peripheral vision to help him lead his prey, closer to the edge of the village, and to the large cave's walls.

"Err…I swear, you will pay for your transaction against my people!" The Ma'tnota was growing more irritable by the second, each punch, slash, dive it gave, Crona continued to dodge with a surprisingly level of grace. It didn't take to its surroundings like Crona had been doing, so when it tried to charge forward again, it buried itself into the cave wall with such force that a large chuck of it had collapsed on top of it.

"I doubt it." Crona mumbles while giving a small smile, happy to see his plan was going smoothly so far for the first time in a while. "This is fucking insane!" He hears Ragnarok bark out, with the Demon Sword visibly looking shaken even in his weapon form.

"But it's working." Crona whispers back to him, keeping his smile as he sees the pile of rocks begin to move. "I just need to imagine what would make BlackStar mad, and he falls for it." Raising his voice, Crona calls out to the large bug, with a newly form confidence. "I must say, Ma'tnota, you are turning out to be a great disappointment to me. I really expected more of a fight here from someone with some sense, but all your doing is throwing your weight around like an angry child."

But upon seeing that the rocks stop their moving, Crona pauses for a moment. "um…Can you even hear me underneath all that rubble?" He asks out, a little cautionary, before the rubble exploded out all around.

Several of which hit Crona's body with enough force to throw him off his feet. "I think he did!" Ragnarok cries out, as Crona hits the ground floor face first, right by a pile of Red Pha'sens. The sting of dirt on his cheek, reminded Crona of the cut he earned earlier. One given to him when he was in the middle of the Ma'tnota battle with the other insects.

"Do not think I don't know what you are attempting, Mad Titan." The Ma'tnota growls as it arises from the ground, knocking side any remaining rocks from it as more of the Infinity's gem power was focusing within it. A low red glow form from within its body. "Angering me to make me reckless is a fool's bet."

Feeling like a fool, Crona lets another idea come through. Bringing his gauntlet hand up, using the rough metal forge from Infinity to digs slightly into the cut, his black blood dripping out more onto his cheek and his hand as a result. "Bloody Slicer!" He calls out to Ragnarok, as he flicks his gauntlet hand out as hard as he could.

Ragnarok barely gets a chance to make any remark of that, as all he focuses on was on harden of the blood, right as it flies right into the Ma'tnota's eyes. The blood splashes on the Ma'tnota's eyes and screams out in agony.

It throws itself back as it tries to rub its eyes clean, letting Crona a moment to hold Ragnarok up in front of him.

"What happened to wearing him out?!" Ragnarok growls out, as he feels something tugging with his soul, a very familiar calling. "Honestly, I am making it up as I go. Ragnarok, Scream resonance." Crona mumbles back, with Ragnarok not being able to hold himself a grin.

All throughout the cave, a shrill skin clawing scream echoes across it, with such a high-pitch and that it rippled the air itself around them. Crona remembers back to the many times he used in in fights, how the loud signs were so bad and how it distracted people, let them not be able to focus.

An effect, that he didn't see taken affect though, as he sees the Ma'tnota rubbing at his eyes, clearing some of the black blood that covered them. "Such tricks and taunts will avail you naught in a battle!" Crona's eyes widen as he could see the Ma'tnota stand back up.

Ragnarok increases the voice of his scream, but the large beetle doesn't even flinch. Crona fearfully takes a step back as he the Ma'tnota continue to stomp forward. Crona digs in deep, focusing himself on his and Ragnarok's soul. Their wavelengths empowering one another. He tightens his grip, and pulls his head back, and as he throws it forward a scream is roars from his lips. Their souls pushed and heave, driving through both their bodies together, Scream Resonance was a skill they've used countless times with such sheer volume that it was enough to make most other opponents be left on the floor with blood dripping from their ear, it would have been enough to do something before.

Crona could feel Ragnarok was panicking as well, both were screaming out as hard as their souls and bodies would allow. The very sound waves they were forming were themselves influencing the air and ground underneath them, the air itself was being hurled forward and the ground was beginning to quake…yet the Ma'tnota just stomps forward with no show of it. Crona understands that the sheer intensity of the sound would do nothing, the power gem having the ability to cease all force was obvious of that…it was till a quick almost random memory comes into Crona's mind. One lesson that was small, downright insignificant in many ways.

A little thing from a conversation with Marie Mjolnir. Such a little thing, when he was out in the halls and found her humming a song as she was helping someone else by carrying things. She was nice to him, so he helps by give her directions she needed and even saw fit to help as well. Someone how the topic of conversation went into music, and then sound. It was such a little thing.

'it's just so weird what people and other creatures can and cannot pick up, like did you know that a bunch of bugs are deaf and can't hear any sounds.'

Neither Crona, or Ragnarok have a chance to react as the Ma'tnota reaches forward and grabs the Demon sword by the blade.

Ragnarok is a weapon.

Not just any kind of weapon. He is a weapon made by gods, forged by beings with powers beyond the scales of normal mortals. He had been the strongest weapon to have ever been created, and even now, he was still above many others in history. Made by gods, forged to destroy everything itself out of sheer power, melted down and fused into black blood.

Even such a weapon like this, shattered into glass amount the grip of the wielder of Infinity.

Everything turns black, everything.

A drowning feeling was there, and no sound at all was around.

There was no light, there was no sound, just darkness. A void that is meant to look empty but in truth, did hold something. Something that was thought nearly forgotten, or rather had been pushed away.

Madness.

The Ma'tnota tries to speak, it's fangs of its mouth opening as its mandibles pull apart to start clicking. It does not get a single word out. Not as Crona's uncovered hand throws itself directly into it. The large beetle's many eyes widen as it sees a look on the teens face.

A look that showed nothing more than…a monster.

With a grin that seemed unnatural as it stretched onward along his face, and the pupils of his eyes becoming fully black. Crona whispers out two words.

"Mad…Blood."

The strange liquid from before, the same that had burned along the Ma'tnota's eyes…now seemed to suddenly erupt from around the child's arm. It twisted and curtailed itself, and faster then anything else it had ever seen itself, the black poured itself straight up along the Mad Titans hand, directly into the Ma'tnota's throat.

The large beetle rips the hand away and coughs, gasping as it tries to breath. It could feel its insides twisting and turning on themselves, burning as the liquid was moving through its insides. The liquid inside was fighting within him, disgustingly slushing itself around and beginning to form itself out of every or orifice of its body. The Ma'tnota tries to scream, and tries to fight back, driving a punch straight into its chest and sides, but nothing changes. It could feel its muscles start to give away, start to lock in on themselves.

It didn't understand what was happening to it, why was its bodies not fighting this.

The Mad Titan as it stands over it, the Ma'tnota hadn't even realized it had fallen over. Couldn't even see the ground itself anymore. Just black, more and more black that just continues to pour into his vision.

"Ah, what's the matter? Can't take any of the good shit!?" The Mad Titan speaks, twisting its head at an odd angle as its voice was shifting and creaking slightly. As if trying to reach both a deep and high-pitch tone at the same time. The grin he showed on his face was beginning to leak the strange liquid itself.

He was taunting it, taunting the Ma'tnota as it was dying.

Damnation.

Not being able to speak as more of the liquid was forcing itself in and back out of its mouth, the Ma'tnota mind begins to reel in on itself. It wanted to scream but couldn't even admit such a feat as when it's mandibles tried to move, its body were squirm along itself uncontrollably.

It was a trick, just another trick.

Enraged, the Ma'tnota digs deep with itself and summon every bit of strength it could, every amount of rage and pride within itself. The Mad Titan was no Warrior. A true warrior does not hide behind such tricks and under handed tactics. It will win, it is the Ma'tnota. It always wins.

Nothing can stop it, nothing!

All other thoughts are burned away, as the Infinity Gem shines upon its horn became a bright light to shin on the dark of the monster in front of it. The Ma'tnota fills a whole knew sense of power, that it had never felt before on itself. The Mad Titan flinches back as if it too realizes what is happening, before the Ma'tnota launches its body up far into the air so far up that it reaches out of the cave through the massive opening in the cave ceiling, further up through the air to even up along the strange clouds that hanged above them.

Using its wings, it throws itself back down. Fueled by the power of Infinity itself. It was to save its people, and wipe this monster away, nothing can stop it. It was the Ma'tnota, it was all powerful. It was the strongest there is.

It did not matter that its vision had completely turn black now, it did not matter that its wings had turned stiff and had stopped moving. Ma'tnota knew that it would wipe out the Mad Titan with this attack and that was all that mattered to it at this exact moment.

Pity for it, that it was not able to realize what it was doing.

That it had not seen Crona as his eyes widen and he regains his senses, as he easily realizes what is about to happen. His partner, the weapon that had seemed to shatter was still unlike any other. Though shattered and broken as it seemed…the weapon was still blood, a liquid. Something that can be molded back to its original shape. A very angry and agony filled shape, that shouted out curse after curse to its wielder as it formed itself back together.

In the end, these muscle-bound types are all so predictable. They pump themselves into a righteous steroid frenzy, thinking power is the answer to all problems. They actually believe their granite fists can gain for them what their puny intellects cannot. It is much like dealing with a child. A half ton child, but a child nonetheless.

And this infantile berserker is backed by unlimited might.

Crona was a lot of things. He was a coward, he was 'soft', he was too sympathetic, too kind, too loving, to needy, to selfish, to careless, to insecure, but one thing he was not, or never was, was unintelligent.

Four words spilled out the Ma'tnota's doom. "Ragnarok, fly up, now!"

The weapon follows his wielder's command to the best of its abilities, as it flowed back into his body and reformed to a pair of wings, right as his wielder leaps off the ground as high as he could. They were barely able to make it up above, just reaching passed the ceiling of the cave, before the Ma'tnota had flown passed them and hits the ground floor of the cave…

…with the power of an atomic arsenal.

To describe what had happened all at once would be impossible. Seismic disruption sets off a long dormant volcanic chain, the reaction continues along the length of the continental shelf. This in turn sets of new eruptions which trigger ever more devastating events along the surface of each the planet itself.

If one were an onlooker from outside the grey, lifeless planet…they would see fire that the Infinity of Power itself had caused from trillions of miles away.

When the light died down, there was nothing left of the desert. Nothing left for anything to be seen there. All expect for one thing.

"Oh…fuck…everything."

A teenage witch hybrid, pull himself from within the ground. He was in complete agreement with the voice inside his head. His weapon partner who quickly manage to hide backside the moment the light had emerged. The teen was not in a good condition. The clothing on his body was utterly ruined to mere rags that barely held to his body.

All around his body, patches along his body were missing skin, showing his gray-tone muscles that were underneath. The only reason he hadn't been bleeding out was his partner holding the blood back in. Giving a little gasp of breath, Crona continues to drag himself from the dirt till his whole body was out.

"Seriously, fuck EVERYTHING."

Crona couldn't agree with the voice in his head more. Even inch of his body was in sheer total pain, every twitch that he tried felt worst then any amount of pain he had ever been through before. It didn't take long before unconsciousness over took him.

It only felt like seconds though, as his eyes are forced to open as he hears a voice.

"I WON! YES!" It cried out, knowing only one creature to have such a voice, Crona allows his eyes to roll slightly to its direction. It was far, very far from them, to nearly a little speck in his view. But it spoke so loudly, that they could hear it from what seemed to be miles away. "NO ONE CAN STAND AGAINST THE MA'TNOTA'S MIGHT! I'VE WON IT ALL!"

"What is he on about now?" The weapon groans, with Crona doing the same as he reluctantly picks his head up slightly to look around more.

For miles upon miles, all he sees was that he was in the middle of the largest crater possible. It stretched on, and on and on for miles as far as he could see to the point that it even seemed to reach the horizon. It somewhat appropriate to say, that it looked as if the planet itself was bitten into.

"Oh my god."

Both Ragnarok and Crona mumble as they see where a village was once, what had been a dessert, a cave. All reduced to nothing but dust and ash. Even the strange clouds from above seem notably dim. Crona could feel his own breath quiver at this.

This power of Infinity. The fool was lucky that he didn't destroy the whole planet.

Not that he would care. Still it cried out of joy, seeming to think that it had won, over and over again with such glee. "It's…gone, it's all gone." Ragnarok's voice whispered within Crona's head. "The old man, I…I told him I be back…I…"

Crona hates pain, he hates himself, he hates hearing his partner like this. But above all right now. He hates the sound of that fool, that damn well killed everyone he was supposed to protect. With the constant cries of victory in the background, Crona pulls himself upward. The pain in his exposed muscles were of course screaming in protest of such a thing, but he would deny them.

He pushes himself, as always does.

As soon as he reaches his feet, he summons Ragnarok once more. Not even being able to hold the sword up, he lets the tip of it drag along the remains of everything else as he shuffles his feet to the cheering bug.

Ragnarok paid no mind, just continuing to whisper to himself things that not even Crona could hear. "Maybe everyone is still okay, you know, they just are still underground, right?" Ragnarok tries to speak up, trying to bring in some hope. Crona just lets his head drop as he continues to move forward. "No…no they're not." Crona answers honestly, and brutally. He knows this because, he can feel it.

He gives the tiniest of waves with his left hand, the one that held his Infinity Gauntlet. The Soul Gem does react, a flash of green light comes from it…and then nothing. Nothing happens.

"There's no souls Ragnarok…nothing around for miles, expect you, me, and it." Crona says back, speaking in a tone devoid of emotion. There was no hint of kindness, no regret, no sorrow, no sympathy.

He keeps walking and walking onward. It must have taken hours, it must have. But time, time was different for them. So short, so fleeting. Before he knew it, Crona finds himself in front of the Ma'tnota.

"I'VE WON, I'VE WON, I'VE WON!" It continues to cry out. It wasn't even looking to him, its eyes had completely glossed over. Madness had overtaken it, something of his bloods doing. He lost control, the moment he saw Ragnarok get hurt.

He did this.

"I WON IT ALL! I WON IT ALL!"

"…Have you now?" He asks, looking down to this pathetic excuse of a living thing. "It looks to me that all you've managed to do is destroy everything you swore to protect." He doesn't even need to look around to know that he was completely right.

"W-what…no, I beat you…I know I did!"

"Do you hear your people cheering, I don't." He doesn't even kneel to it, he just continues to stare down at it, watching as it seems to have no idea of what just happened all around it. Crona wonders for a moment, if maybe it was the lucky one here.

"No…no…this isn't right."

"When is genocide right." His grip on Ragnarok loosen, the weapon no making a single noise at all as they were looking down at the creature. It didn't deserve to be stabbed. Such a death was not fitting.

"No…no, this isn't right! REMATCH! FIGHT ME, FIGHT ME AGAIN! FIGHT ME!"

"Do you honestly think that it'll magically fix anything?" Crona's tone did not change at all. No smile was present at all as he thought of what to do. There was no madness here. No sorrow, no regret, or shame. At this point, nothing mattered. All the lives lost, all the words said, all the thoughts and ideas that were had, even the prize of this fight. Nothing mattered. "And you call me mad."

He remembers back, years ago. Many years ago.

Three little rabbits.

'Kill those three rabbits in three different ways.'

Crona remembers EVERY way to kill someone. He studied the book his mother gave him for that for a long time. He doesn't even need to think hard on which one was the most fitting here.

The Ma'tnota was a champion for its people. It was kind enough to give him an offer. It protected the others as best it really could. More than he bet others would expect. But…in the end…it's a bug.

And what happens to bugs?

Raising his foot up high, Crona hold's it above the Ma'tnota's head, it screams out for another battle. Ignoring it, Crona lets the words from the book echo from his lips.

"Kill with pressure."

A sharp creaking sound echoes across the crayon, and the rest is silent.

---

"Was it worth it?" Ragnarok asks, though he knows the answer already. Crona stays silent as he pushes the dirt back into the hole the he had dug up.

It was the last thing they had, miraculously surviving in of all things Crona's pocket. He didn't even know how it had gotten there, but he was somewhat grateful for it. Anything to take his mind off what happened.

It was embedded into the dirt firmly. Was place in a position where it will receive all the water and sunlight it could ever have if it needed it. It was his fault for what happened, his confidence in himself, his own mind that went through idea after idea, without even thinking it through on each one. He let this happen, and now he was force to remember how 'proud' his mother would be and the disappointment his hope would hold.

Taking a few steps back, Crona holds up his left hand as a fist. And allows the Gauntlet on his arm to glow, with the gems of Infinity itself. Soul and Power.

He didn't even need to focus. The soul of the plant was given life, and the power to grow in a instant. And from a single seed, it continued to grow, and grow, till a full crop field had suddenly sprung all around them.

"We held up our end of the deal. Let's go." Crona mumbles as he turns around. Ragnarok joining his side as the two continue to walk off, both heading towards their next stop. To the next Gem of Infinity on their quest.

Neither of them ever noticed the man that stood where moments ago they were. He was a holding a hand onto his face, showing a troubled expression. "Naked power is seldom the answer to any problem." He spoke as he looks to the wheats around him, that had just been brought to life. "I am the type who sees the future and is held prisoner by it. How many times has this little drama repeated itself to me and I've done nothing?"

He spoke softly as he removes his hand from his face and places his staff to the ground. The purple gem in its beak glows softly before a seed, the same one that Crona had found earlier in his pocket, appears in the man's hand. "I'm sorry for what has become of you all. Had I come sooner, had I interfered would things be different? My options...are limited…"

With a sadden looks in his blank eyes, the man tightens his hold on the seed. "After so many years, so many trails. How can I not get it through to you, that I'm not interested in your bullshit!" He shouts, with his voice suddenly filled with angers as he throws the seed, behind him.

With reality bending speed, it fires off like a bullet.

Just barely missing a red demon as it stood within the wheat field, chuckling under its breath before it leaves in another flash of yellow, leaving the man alone to his thoughts.

Collecting himself, the man hits the staff on the floor. "Beware yourself mad titan. Hell awaits you and all your crimes in a very literal sense." With that, he disappears, leaving the field and all around it back in silence.

---

The Power Gem

One of the Six

When properly utilize can increase anything's strength and durability to Infinity levels. Its wielder can control all force whatsoever, be it to shatter any object of their choosing with little effort, or to stop all matter of physical harm that can be done to them. With such an item that calls upon the strength from the ends of infinity, it is the glue that holds reality in its place.

---

(AUTHER'S NOTES

Wow this was a long way to write, really didn't mean for it to take so long, would be done sooner but a lot of stuff happened with life as always. I would like to thank " OneTruthCup " who helped me write this chapter, by being a proof reader for a short time. Thanks man, I needed the help.)