Chapter 85 - Movie, Nevermore
As Yuki's team scaled the side of the massive spire, something called a Lighthouse by Rayla's accounts, they swept through an opening in the tower that housed a great archive of books and old furniture for scholars long since passed. Banners of gold bearing an eye hanging from the rafters and sandstone columns.
"This way, this should warp us to the top," Rayla pointed at the still active portal in the back of the room, constructed into the tower and made of steel, a familiar blue gate of code humming within the frame.
"Vex tech?" Izuku and Yuki chimed, not looking forward to entering after their last encounter with that kind of world.
"Don't be such babies, it's fine after the first dozen teleports, trust me," Rayla waved nonchalantly, kicking the couple through as the rest followed after the brash Guardian.
Outside the spire again, the group traversed the last few steps that doubled back to ascend toward the middle of the spire. Upon reaching the top, their eyes were stumped by what they saw. As seen from below, a large landmass had collided with the tower, merging ruins with the spire.
Perched with the rest of its body hanging over the spire, descending dozens of feet downward that the stairway below never passed, was a gargantuan, mechanical beast; housed within a strange armature that resembled a massive V-Shaped chassis copied into layers as though it were a serpent's body snaking down into the world below. The segments and their jagged ribs dug into the stone.
The angular head was shaped to closely copy a vulture with two jagged slits for eyes remained hollow. From its scythe-like shoulder, blades sprouted rusting metal wings, purple and white code broken at the membrane, flaring to life only to fizzle away.
"Like it? While it bears the resemblance to those machine Vex, inside it, there's so much more than what's on display!" Harrow gleefully turned to the lot, standing by the beak after applying one last rune to the tip of the bent head. "I am very impressed you made it past the Cabal, troublesome creatures, I look forward to prodding their kind later, but welcome to the genesis of my evolution!"
"Is that... no... no what... how is this thing!?" Velk was hyperventilating, her ice expanding at her feet in terror at what she refused to believe. "A Vex!?"
"Uuuh, yeah? And?" Rayla waved a hand until Velk shot her a dark glare.
"No, it's a 'VEX', it's a name branded to failed creations of the Gods that were locked away, this is one of their corpses, one that did escape!" Velk yelled angrily, pointing her tail-blade at Harrow's ever-so-optimistic grin. "What have you done!?"
"Woah, getting a lot of hostility from you, Velk, don't appreciate it," He zipped with his fingers. "I simply stumbled upon this while... making a few deals, what else would drive me to find a way to use the Endless Night to get here? If not for this specimen then what else?"
"A God's creation, then why does it look like a Vex?" Yuki inquired, seeing as the Traveller gave her the impression of a 'God' at least in SIVA's eyes.
"Ah, what a tale! defeated by the very mortals it used to try and regain its true form, and when all is said and done, his corpse landed here," Harrow cackled with his arms raised. "Welcome, one and all, to the corpse of Kranon the Collapse Dragon!"
"This guy's batshit insane," Katsuki grunted, letting off a few tiny sparks.
"We can't rush into this, who knows what kind of powers he has," Izuku warned but Katsuki shoved by Izuku. "Kacchan!"
"Shut up already!" He glared over his shoulder. "If we don't do something this freak's gonna get stronger somehow with that body, and I'm not waiting around to find out! So you either stop trying to be protective and start fighting or go jump off the tower!"
"Okay, that's dark," Rayla rolled her shoulders, then threw her arms forward, flames igniting at her palms to summon forth a molten hammer. "But when have I ever cared for death?"
"Izuku," Yuki drew his gaze, holding her glowing eyes. "We can do this,"
He remained silent but ultimately agreed, Shoto standing next to them. "Bakugo's right, we'll strategize as we fight, draw out everything he has to exhaust him."
"That's good, Harrow's powerful but he'll eventually run out of mana," Velk agreed, the group splitting apart as Harrow cleaned the wax from his ear.
"So, you done yet? Or are you just waiting around for the ritual?" Harrow stated, eyeing Izuku up. "What, you have some half-baked plan to stop me? Really? I have the very Nightmare's power you brought with you, and you think you can stop me!? All For One was weak, Kovik was right to get rid of him, but you? With that fragmented power of yours?"
Izuku and Yuki's hearts stopped at what was insinuated, Katsuki caught on as well but refused to show it on his face, cursing under his breath. "What does he mean by that?" Rayla asked as the Nightmare chuckled.
"Allow me to explain, his soul bears a faint flicker of that hero... All Might, was it?" Now, Izuku's entire world shattered, in a single glance, the creature saw through the secrets kept behind closed doors, he dissolved it with a single smile. "Your soul, his, and those other fragments, in a way, you're no different from All For One, you're just like ME!"
"Slithers of stolen might, that's all, but what separates us is I stole mine and mastered them, you are just a thief gifted with a power he never had, at least the nano-infested girl has a reason!" Harrow belittled, leaving the greenette silent, staring at his own feet.
The truth was painfully thick, he wasn't blessed like his friends, if All Might never gave him a quirk, his quirk no less, Izuku would be the same, worthless, weak, someone even Yuki would simply walk by without taking notice of. He may want to be a hero, but his power was by sheer luck.
Closing his fists tightly, Izuku glared daggers at Harrow, bolts of emerald erupting from the reddish-purple strokes dug into his skin, bursting forth with a hot sensation. "Call me a fake hero, a thief, whatever you like-" He held a fist forward, widening his posture. "-even if my quirk was given to me by someone else, even if I'm quirkless, I will not stop moving forward, not until my world is a peaceful place to live! That's the reality that will never change, no matter what twisted reason you make!"
No one questioned it, standing with Izuku, right now, their enemy stood before them, all that mattered was their victory. Sensing the shift in emotions, Harrow's gaze flattened, bringing his hands forward. "You sound... just like Harbinger,"
Purple embers were quickly billowed by tattered wings, forcing all present to evade the massive explosion of amethyst that followed. Through the woven flames, one of Harrow's chains lashed out, choking Yuki mid-attack as she was whipped around and into Katsuki, the pair slammed into a nearby pillar that crumbled over the edge.
Izuku's fist rose from the dust, tearing across Harrow's chest and toward his chin, snapping his spine momentarily with a stretch of wind. His eyes glowed, and pain flared in Izuku's head, propelling his body back in time to evade the ring of spikes protruding from the earth beneath Harrow, the blade dissolving quickly.
Rayla tossed a hammer, missing Harrow's head entirely before Yuki materialized behind Harrow, snap-kicking the mallet to shatter against Harrow's back, the shards exploding in a haze, causing a grunt to escape the Nightmare's jaws. "Perfected Burst!" Yuki spun through the air above him, evading a spiral of flames, raining crimson down upon him.
|Evade Now!|
Yuki warped, escaping the nova of lightning that discharged from Harrow, followed by his fist sinking against her stomach, her barding shattered as she tumbled backward. Bringing his right arm parallel with his face, frost began to form, crystalizing the moisture in the air. With a wave of his hand, a great tsunami of cold air super-froze the area in front of him.
Yuki was saved by Velk's form constructing a massive wall of ice to brace this cold front, a gunmetal blade slicing the mound in two, the blade dissolving from Harrow's arm as he blinked with surprise, seeing Katsuki and Shoto with their hands raised. Shattering the ice, explosions chained within an inferno expanded outward and above the corpse of Kranon.
Harrow chuckled, gradually regenerating with impressive recovery speed, only for Yuki and Izuku to bring their fists forward in unity, crashing against a hardlight barrier at Harrow's right hand, his left forming another to intercept Rayla. "Refraction," The couple were quickly sent flying as Rayla broke through the first barrier. "Hm, I could use a recharge,"
Harrow quickly sprung his chains free, snagging around Rayla to expose her torso, a second more, and his hand began to seep into her chest, her expression hidden by her helmet as the others gasped. "GRaaH!" Harrow recoiled in agony, his hand dissolved in the flames caking her body, then the hammer swung three from the burning chains, dislocating his right arm while leaving a sizable burn through his clothing and flesh.
"Heh, the Light's the enemy of the Darkness, never would've pegged it to work on you," Rayla boasted with a bold step forward, juggling her hammer. "What's say we test that theory more, eh?"
Harrow chuckled back, his hand and shoulder reforming. "Hehehe, you are strong, I LIKE THAT!" He suddenly enraptured them both in his column of purple flames, the ember erupting inward as orange and purple clashed within the middle, his smaller barrier colliding with her hammer, scattering the embers.
They continued to trade blows, a hammer exploding, tearing into Harrow's body as he erected another barrier, but something was off, everytime her hammer's exploded, the shards didn't damage her, instead, her attacks threw with greater intensity, her flame, it was overwhelming.
"Move away, Rayla!" Velk warned from above, bringing her tail wide between the pair to form a solid arc of ice, amputating Harrow's hands before he could finish manifesting a gravity implosion sphere. The Guardian glided back, tossing a CLG to consume Harrow in radiant flames. "Are you okay?"
"Am now, good call, dunno what that singularity attack of his would do to us," Rayla sweatdropped as a massive glacier erupted before them, slamming into Harrow. The pair then spotted the dark creature flung high from the spire, three people charging after him.
"Yuki!" Izuku held out his hand for hers, neither needing the other's approval, they already knew what each other was thinking.
Bringing their hands together, Katsuki winced under the intense light, having been familiar with this new development, much to his chagrin. From the light birthed a person of mixed gender, freckles dotting their cheeks, eyes a fusion of green and blue with a hint of red around the pupil. Their hair was the same as Izuku's only with a highlight tint of blue and Yuki's long ponytail.
"I'm back!" Yuzuku smirked, tucking their mask down as their power erupted, merging into streaks of lilac lightning, ebbed and flowed around them. "One For All, Perfected, Fifty Percent!" No longer needing to internalize their thoughts, their power soared.
Bone and flesh popped out of Harrow's left side, his organs filling in the empty space where his body folded like paper, focused, he watched as Katsuki flung himself through the air, roaring loudly as the air erupted in front of him. Unfortunately, a barrier shielded Harrow. "I'm surprised anyone other than that Guardian and Velk has survived this long,"
He reflected Katsuki backward, sliding atop the ice shelf with a manic glare. "Guess you should've hit me harder then!" Leaping back into the fray alongside Yuzuku, the pair released explosions and plasmablasts down upon the floating Nightmare, his hands effortlessly withhold the blasts with reflective shields.
"We have to wear him out, no matter what, he can't be allowed to finish that ritual!" A red shoe hardened by black and blue metal colliding with his triple-thick barrier, white strokes of lightning webbed through the air. "Lt. Louis Smash!"
The glass shattered but the knockback flung Yuzuku backward into Katsuki's awaiting hand, himself propelling themselves around with furious momentum again. "X-Catapult!" With a halo of black smoke and fire, Yuzuku's kick tore down another layer of diamond shields, tearing through Harrow's right side, using a few key blasts to bounce back, they and Katsuki intercepted with gunfire and shards of ice pelting Harrow from behind.
He tried to blast the pair with cursed flames but instead felt their legs crease deeper into his body, the two pivoting toward his back to evade the rows of spikes protruding forward, kicking Harrow in the back followed by a combined blast of orange and scarlet heat. Yuzuku grabbed Katsuki, helping the blonde land back on the spire as Harrow warped before Rayla, shattering the girl's handcannon into pieces before blasting her head clean off with a single compression of space between his fingers, her corpse flung aside.
"Did you forget..." Velk and Shoto intercepted while Solaire revived Rayla, the girl blinking sharply. "Who's power..." Harrow's body temperature plummeted, the space around him becoming darker. "...I stole!" His eyes flashed light blue, and snow enraptured him in twin halos.
"Everyone run!" Velk warned, but to her horror, two refused to back down. Yuzuku and Katsuki ran as one toward that maelstrom of frost. "No-"
"Wait, Velk," Hana's voice chimed in her mind softly.
"AP Machine Gun!" Katsuki cupping his hands together to form a cone in one, he fired several pin-point blasts to batter the blizzard, Yuzuku tore through, ice and snow forming over their armour, cracking on the lense of their mask as red lightning emanated from their palms, two extra arms manifesting to do the same.
"It doesn't matter if we can't defeat you with sheer strength!" Another step forward and their foot was frozen to the ground. "Little by little, you've let your guard down!" Their last step and they were rooted, arms heating up extensively, steam billowing in the harsh storm, their eyes fixed on three in the mist. "That's how... we'll defeat you! One For All, Devil's Ruin!"
Four concentrated beams of light pierced the veil thanks to Katsuki's distraction, and by the time Harrow realized this, the heat of unstable atoms had already torn through his arms and stomach, rippling through the earth as a heat blast expanded from the blizzard, sending tremors down the spire.
The frost cleared, and Yuzuku recoiled, covered in ice as their body split apart, Izuku landing on his back while clutching Yuki, the pair shivering, panting from the exhausting effort of maintaining their unity for so long. Harrow recoiled, his fusion of gravity and ice had exploded in his face, bending his body into a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and bone stripped backward into a dipping wave that slowly repaired itself from the blast.
"Is ThAt AlL yOu GoT?" Harrow sounded taken back by the constant assaults, his smile reformed in the mist, hand clicking said jaw in place. "A fAiR effort,"
Despite his mockery, no one let their guard down, but their souls told another story, a sense of rising jubilation, of hope. Harrow slit his gaze, and by then, it was too late. Above in the clouds formed by the constant use of elemental forces, Hana descended like a butterfly, unannounced, suppressing her emotions so that she became invisible to the foolish Nightmare. Clasped above her head she carried her sword woven in cloth.
"Uncle, please protect me," She angled her sword with her body, the blunt side behind her nape. "The chance to banish him back to his Realm... is now!" Her eyes released all her emotions like a gavel, and at the last second, Harrow saw her emotions where Velk suppressed. Raw, unfiltered hatred build upon for many years came crashing down.
Blue rime gathered along the blade, turning its icy surface a sleek and sharp exterior. "Release - Clear White Sky!"
It happened in a single flash of white light, Hana landed underneath Harrow, slicing a perfect circle through the air with a horizontal, spinning slash, the air pressure expanding from the blade's trajectory with three rings of blue ice severing his arms, then the neck, and finally, his soul.
Akio's body continued to descend deeper into the ether, bubbles of precious air escaping his mouth as he sank further into his mind, large creatures lurking in the water, circling his form.
In reality, Akio had been following his memories of himself, the 'Prince' as he calls to keep it from being confusing. The Prince's life was as you'd expect, lots of formal appearances, expectations set forward to inherit the throne after his older brother, and their younger sister would come next.
His sister, Saria, wasn't very talkative and kept to herself, but today, she was to learn of her magic affinity, much like how Akio learned he was better suited for smoke over all other forms Viral had taught him, perhaps this was why?
The two stood in a training room, alone, with Saria using a large, floating blue crystal to channel mana into herself to trigger her affinity, a common practice as Akio discovered. The Prince stood off to the side, watching with an expression that appeared lazy, but his gaze wouldn't leave his sister, not until she was ready.
"I can't do it," Saria murmured, lowering her hands as nothing triggered the crystal to react. "It won't do anything,"
"It's only been twenty minutes, wanna take a break?" The Prince asked, but she shook her head, staring at her hands.
"Maybe I'm not good at magic like you or Cyrus," That was their older brother, and her tone was very dejected regardless. The Prince sighed, scratching his head as he waltzes over to her.
"Yeah, being a Null could happen, Mom was like that too," He said honestly, and Saria deflated further into despair. His hand sat atop her head, messing with her curly locks. "But maybe you won't be; regardless, you are still an amazing, smart, talented person, magic or no magic,"
Her head perked up to see the Prince cast a halo of dark smoke around them, it didn't smell acrid or stung her lungs, instead, the smoke gathered and shot toward the ceiling, scattering into black, sparkling stars, capturing her eyes in their wonder.
Then the large crystal hummed faintly, a deep blue glow resounding within the reflective surface. The Prince smiled, nudging Saria forward. Tentatively, she placed her hands against the crystal again, closed her eyes, and waited. Akio saw it, something stirred within the crystal, it was reacting.
Nothing flashy or blinding occurred, instead, several spell rings appeared around Saria's arms, an ancient language that Akio knew spelled out the words, 'Mark of Negation'. When Saria stepped back with a static shock from the crystal, her hands formed a small, ever-changing mold of glass between her palms, reacting to her emotions, it shaped like a star, then a shield, then to a star again.
"Look at that... magic," The Prince sighed a smile, watching how his sister's eyes lit up with wonder, a tiny smile across her cheeks with a faint blush at the sparkling glass in her hands. "I guess we're smoke and mirrors,"
"Hmm, I like that," She whispered, the runes fading away alongside the glass. "I did it, Akio!"
He petted her head again, "You sure did, let's go tell Dad and Cyrus, bet they'll be thrilled!"
"Mmhm!" Eagerly, the younger sibling ran for the door, passing through Akio who smiled fondly at the memory, following them into his next prominent memory, yet, somehow, he felt something twist in his chest.
"Is this it?" Akio wondered, retracting his hand from the doorway. "No, for Kyoka, I have to know everything, no more running," Clutching his cross necklace in one hand, he reached out, his plunged through the veil to a new, darker scene.
Now, The Prince was with Saria again, it was nearly nightfall by the observation windows when the pair stood before a large door. "I wonder what Dad wants this late?"
"Maybe about your transfer to school?" Saria hazard a guess.
"Guess we'll find out, though I don't mind waiting," The Prince rolled his eyes playfully.
"But Dad does, he wants you to have a fair life too," Saria protested with a cute pout, only to be patted on the head.
"I know, well, we'll see," Knocking twice, the pair stepped inside of a comfy office with a large window to their left overlooking the castle grounds. "Hey, Dad, did you need us for something?"
The older man, the King, looked like his daughter, with light brown hair that began to grey, and chocolate brown eyes. Though he had a bushy beard and a striking expression in his eyes that leveled out upon seeing his children. "Hm? Ah, Akio, Saria, you needed something, I heard it was urgent?"
Akio's brow furrowed, then shot up upon sensing another, sinister present hiding in the room. Before him, he gasped, the siblings looked as perplexed as the King. "No..."
Yet, even as his hand waved, Akio could do nothing but watch. Blood sprung from the King's chest, staining his regal coat and desk in crimson goo. A man robbed in dark cloth appeared from the shadows, stars decorating his clothing, masking his presence. The children stared in horror, with the Prince casting a seal around his hand.
"DAD!" "NO!"
Saria made a move but someone's hand knocked her out quickly, catching the girl as the Prince stared at his dying father who didn't flinch, nor did his eyes hesitate, staring back at his son's tearful eyes as another figure grabbed him, gagging the Prince's mouth. The King said nothing, mouthing only three words, 'I love you' and the Prince, alongside the memory faded to black.
Akio felt his throat clamp, his skin feeling itchy when the scene warped into view again, the King's court, it was dark, moonlight and lanterns giving any indication people were present. Dozens to the right stood by the balcony above or below it, nobles, traders, any of significant wealth were here.
As the Prince awoke, bound by cuffs and chains held by the guards, he shot his head up. "What... what happened!? Dad... where's the King!?"
"Silence!" One of the guards barked, the butt of their spear cracking the Prince in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. "You heartless fiend!"
"Don't attack, it's alright, we did apprehend him during a chaotic moment so his confusion is expected, even for a murderer," Sat upon the throne was a sight that shook Akio and the Prince to their cores. It looked like the spitting image of Akio, only older, more facial hair, and an emotionless, emerald gaze. "Hello, Akio, you've been very busy, you and our sister,"
"What's going on, Cyrus? Dad, someone stabbed him, an assassin I think, they had this strange clothing, I-" By then, someone in the crowd laughed mockingly.
"Prince Cyrus, it seems he's formed quite the little lie, hasn't he?" A man snapped.
"Excuse me!?" The Prince looked applauded as his brother raised his hand.
"My sister, sorry, Saria, said as much, didn't you?" He craned his neck to the right where guards held Saria's arms behind her back as she struggled.
"No, someone else murdered fa- mphm!?" A hand quickly silenced her, which alone drew a furious glare from the Prince's eyes, face twisting in rage.
"No, leave her alone!" Not a soul cared to listen.
Cyrus sighed, using a pale blue seal to lift his younger brother's blade from his hip. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, dragging you into his ploys, but blood is on your hands too, Saria," His words were honest and sincere, but the Prince and Akio saw it, the lies built upon character, Cyrus must've felt satisfied at how angry it made his siblings. Soon, the guard began to pull Saria away as she tried desperately to move and speak, words screamed under a metal hand. "Once we've locked Akio up we can see how we can save your status, Saria, I promise."
"Come on, stop it, don't hurt her!" The Prince thrashed, attempting to break the cuffs but to no avail, compared to rope, without his magic, he couldn't so much as twist the cheap metal.
The Guards saw this, one stomping before the Prince to deliver a strong kick to his side, forcing out a small swab of spit from his throat. "Draw your weapons and keep the former heir from moving!" Bladed polearms were brandished toward the boy, himself genuinely terrified as many nobles gasped and looked on fearfully. Why... why didn't they say anything to help them? Couldn't they see Saria at the very least was innocent?
Stepping closer to eye the Prince directly, the smug look on the Captain of the guard's face boiled his blood. "There's no lie you can spin to worm your way out of this crime, Prince." The woman always hated the younger siblings, mainly because she disliked their Mother for reasons neither knew.
"You're a scumbag!" The Prince hissed as the woman hesitated but held her ground, slamming one of the heads of her staff into the earth beside the boy's face, seeing the shock and startled flinch in his bound movements.
"Hmph, it's over, give up." Were her final words.
"I'm sorry this had to happen, your father was a good man, my Prince," The Captain bowed her head to Cyrus, sitting alone on a stolen throne.
"If you hadn't have been walking by, these two may very well have gotten away with their crimes, so it's me who should be thanking you," He gave a sickening smile, and it made the Captain smile brightly with pride.
"I-it was nothing, but thank you for your compliments!"
Meanwhile, the Prince's whole world drained of color down to pale imitations. "You mean... all of this... was planned?" The many moments where the tiniest argument occurred between the Prince and the Captain, or even the King. "She fought with us so she could get into good graces further with Cyrus..." Then his mind flooded with that of the murder, then to now. "And the assassins knocked us out on Cyrus's order to twist the tale, to keep them from ever understanding me, to depict us as the true enemy so he could be the only one able to take the throne. The nobles line their pockets in agreement, and the innocent are too naive to see past black and white so none would say anything, those that do might be treated like Saria and believe I tricked them!"
Akio felt it, something trembled deep inside his younger self, he felt it too. The Prince caught glimpses of eyes watching him with greedy smiles or disgust. His fingers were bent, shaking as he dragged them across the carpet, anger, and embarrassment wracking his brain. "I don't understand... why would Cyrus do this? He was already in line, Dad was... he was so kind...!" Fire was burning in his heart, cast by his soul. "I didn't care, I just wanted a normal life like Mom, I didn't want to hurt anyone, so why is he doing this to me!? To Saria!?"
"What a horrible fiend, to think he groomed his own sister to murder their own father!" "Why even bother letting him speak such foul words too in front of our surviving Prince?" "They're monsters!" "Devils!" "Why even capture them, Prince Cyrus should just execute them!" "Let them rot in prison!"
The Prince was shaking, placing his head on the ground in complete despair, "Graaaaaah!" Slamming his forehead back into the carpet, the hot sensation trickling down from his brow didn't do a thing to phase him. "I just... don't get it, any of this..."
"Hey, stop resisting you brat!" That made the Prince and Akio's heads snap upright, seeing one of the guards struggle to hold Saria, a silver seal around her hands as blood flew from the guard's wrists. "Grah, is that glass!?"
Using magic, Saria broke across the hall for her brother chained to his knees, tears welled up in her eyes. "Akio!"
"Saria..." Hopelessness filled his voice, he wanted to move, to make it stop but his arms felt weak and heavy against his restraints. And to his horror, a silver blade rose between the siblings. "N-no, wait!" Everything echoed now, colors reduced to black and white as a strange, burning sensation began to corrode at the corners of the Prince's eyes as blood stained the floor and his face in droplets.
*Drip*
A hitched gasp entered the Prince's throat, both his eyes followed the sight of crystal liquid dripping from Saria's chin, even after the Captain's blade ran through the little girl's stomach. Tossing Saria to the ground, the girl rolled until she faced the ceiling, gagging on air. "Little bitch - I'm sorry, I couldn't risk her plotting to-"
Cyrus raised a hand, he didn't even flinch. "It's alright, you acted on instinct, this was her own fault for not staying put."
All were unaware of the thoughts clouding the young Prince's mind.
His word faded to black, more accurately, the whole sun was shut off like a light, leaving his mind to fill with static and distorted noise of metal scraping.
"Don't you hate it?" A voice, one that only Akio and the Prince seemed to hear or react to. "They run your names through the mud, brand you a sinful man, and slaughter your sister."
There, in the shadow of the Prince, two eyes curved in anger within the shadow, spite dripping from their tongue. "People with no willingness to redeem themselves, are not fit to live at all, a life for a life," His shadow moved closer to the Prince's ear. "You have given me a place to learn, and... to find more than a Host, for that, I will give you everything you need to set this rotten world right, take it, take it and avenge the corpses their greed stands upon!"
...
...
...
...
...
"...A cruel world like this..." Hatred, embarrassment, and sorrow all filled the innocent boy's mind and his heart with a burning desire. "...CaN dIe FoR aLl I cAaAaAaArE!"
From deep inside the Prince, a razor storm of his hatred manifested, slicing apart the chains that withheld his movements, they cracked under the stress of a silver whirlwind gathered around his body. "What's going on!?" One bellowed, his grip slipping as his armor was shredded like paper, blood spraying through the gashes.
"I-I can't hold the restrains! This wind... it hurts!" Another screamed, blown away by the backlash of colorful arcs, even Cyrus and the Captain were forced to shield themselves behind their men to brace the sudden storm of silver that minced the earth under the Prince, shredding steel like fabric to a blade.
"This... what is this magic!?" The Captain hesitated with her shield poised, unable to withstand the windswept like a tornado around the former Prince.
"I don't know, but it's definitely not magic I've heard of," That Cyrus could confirm.
By the time the dust had grown still, the Prince eased off the storm, small, metal blades disintegrating around his form, leaving him with his head bowed, a solid, unreadable scowl on his lips, it pulled at his cheeks, displaying his fangs to the petrified men and women that were left completely taken back by the boy's strength. "Everyone, get ready!"
"Now, attack him now!" A few Guards charged the Prince who slowly rotated his shoulders, adjusting himself once more. The Captain's own eyes widened in horror.
"No, stop!" It was too late, the scorching glyphs appeared around the brunette's wrists, leaving a large ring of flames in his wake, in a single, powerful blast, he brunt most of the guards, those he felt were just following orders were left merely unconscious. That's right, they'll purge only the tainted souls.
The Prince moved faster, and with the ferocity of a panther, squeezing his fingers around a guard's jaw until his nails drew blood and a pained yelp as the person's head was slammed into the ground, splitting the helmet. When he turned, his backend sprung a spined tail to swipe a spear from puncturing his side, snaking his right arm around to crack the back of his palm off a guard's cheek, using his right foot to embed them further into the tiles while flicking up the spear, deflecting another and allowing the spearhead to shatter from a magic bolt.
His reflexes were more distinct, moving with focused rage toward the two bumbling casters in a low posture, snarling once close enough to yank the first back by their robes, grabbing the back of their head to smash their face through the ground. Lifting the caster by the ankle, the Prince swung wide and threw him into the retreating Guard, the two crashing into a nearby wall, the kinetic force knocking them out entirely with a stomach-turning 'smack'.
"Who said you could call my little sister a bitch? Mind your tongue," His voice was hollow, dripping with spite as he somehow moved behind the Captain, then the woman screamed, feeling her legs fold under her as both were broken in a single whip of the onyx tail. With his right, the Prince strangled the kneeling woman who teared up, trying to claw at the Prince's face before every Noble fled in terror, hearing the audible 'snap' as their Captain was tossed aside.
Guards fled, nobles screaming in horror as magic intercepted the Prince, but Cyrus's attacks, while they struck, only peeled away the gnarled horrors beneath his younger brother's skin. A black texture, claws sharpened like swords, a purple marking that etched itself around his left eye.
Be it elemental, arcane, it didn't matter, Cyrus had nowhere to run as he scowled hatefully with genuine emotion at the brother he betrayed, who never even batted an eye when their sister fell. "Did you like it?" Another blade of ice to the gut. "How you watched our Dad die?" Fire burnt away brown hair for black. "The man who was kind," Bones were broken but the Prince moved forward. "Who loved us, loved Mom, who sacrificed his own happiness just so this kingdom and his children could be happy!? Well, wasn't it fun?"
By now, Cyrus had nowhere to go, pinned by a tail wrapped around his waist, crushing him in a tight, painful embrace. "This kingdom is weak, a dead-end future, I was sav-" Cyrus cried out as he felt his right arm snap like a twig in his brother's hand. No, there was nothing the Prince wanted to hear, no excuse or twisted reason.
"I just wanted to see the world..." Startling Cyrus from his painful fit, he looked straight into the amethyst eyes that teared up for him out of pity, only to evaporate for a distasteful glare. "Saria... wanted you to see her learn magic... but then you took that from her too," A seal hummed an ice blue between the two brothers. "Sit alone on your stolen throne, King of Thieves,"
"Wai-!"
*Bam-Splat!*
When the chaos and pandemonium settled, the shadow healed the Prince's wounds and vanished into his body until he was needed again, leaving him with Saria alone in the quiet throne room. The girl coughed more blood, a small puddle forming under her. "S-sorry, I-i t-though I-"
"No-no-no, it's okay, it okay," He smiled sadly, stroking her cheek with her head in his left arm, facing the moonlight through the window. "You were so cool, stronger than me, so much stronger..."
Her hazy eyes enlarged, "I am?" It sounded worried but hopeful.
"You really gave them a scare, just rest, it'll be okay," He lied through choked sobs, resting his forehead against hers. "The sun will rise soon, you need your strength, I'll stay right here, just relax, it'll be okay, I'll make it better," He rocked her back and forth gently in his arms, feeling how cold her body was.
"Big brother?" Saria stared up at him, a big, loving smile on her face, even as tears fell from her eyes. "I think you're really cool,"
By now, even Akio fell to his knees, tears falling freely like his younger self. He put his arms around the two memories, just as the Prince so for Saria. "*Hic* Y-you're so cool too, that's why *hic* that's why I... I..." He choked on his words, a soft hand patting his head gently. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"There... there... bro...ther..." Her breath tickled his neck for the last time, and that hand slowly fell limp.
By the time Akio noticed the scene changed, the Prince stood alone on a hillside facing the kingdom, his clothes stained by blood and rotten food that appeared to have been thrown at his body. A mound of fresh dirt was settled into the ground with a pair of white lotuses. The shadow, Viral, stood with the Prince, praying silently.
"Viral?" The Prince murmured, his head rising to meet the Nightmare's remorseful face. "Can you... erase it, everything?"
"What?" He breathed.
The Prince stared up with his eyes closed, tears staining his cheeks that held a smile. "I... I just feel so angry, and... and I just want to forget, please... I... I don't think I can handle anymore..." His tone trembled, hands in the dirt.
Viral, staring down at his Host, sighed through his nose, raising his hands forward, the glyphs a pale silver, just like Saria's magic. "If I seal your memories, there is no method I know that will bring them back, you'll forget them," Viral didn't proceed until his Host was certain.
"I know, but... but I just can't take it..." His heart was shattered, ground down into the mud. What was there left to live for so long as he remembered everything? "Please," He smiled, "Please kill the Prince Akio, Viral."
His hands didn't move, the seals slammed into the Prince's head, knocking him out a second later as the birds in the trees chirped. Viral, carefully, picked the Prince up in his arms. Where would they go? He didn't know, but so long as it was anywhere where his Host could be happy again.
"Someday... I hope you'll remember," Viral murmured, tipping his head to the graves he passed, the souls lingering by the tombstones fading from view.
And Akio was alone as he remembered everything.
Outside the cavern of ether, Dren stepped back after exchanging a few words with Magnar, keeping his distance. "His attacks are like a cannon, I mustn't let my guard down."
"How did you do that? You saw through my attack that quickly," Magnar didn't understand, with Dren's soul as it is, there was no way he could've seen his strike coming. However, that made the Nightmare's excitement peek, rushing in headfirst into danger.
Magnar was up in Dren's face in seconds, throwing powerful strikes that bounced off the Fallen's tempered blade, orange and silver sparks flying in the dust they created, glaring eye-to-eye when fist locked with the blade. The strokes traveled through the haze, the pair rushing out into the open. "In all my life, I never got to kill a creature like you!" Magnar's strikes rattled Dren's bones with several rapid jabs, forcing him back. "No one weaker than me has ever fought back as hard either, how exhilarating!"
Dren shoved Magnar back, deflecting two more punches as the Nightmare leapt, striking down with a kick that the Splicer pursued with a vertical slant only to be stopped by the forearm, black mist leaking from the gash. Locked, Magnar swung his right arm in an attempt to decapitate Dren, only to be amputated with a rising slash.
He glided back, arm regenerating instantly, striking the edge of the cutlass, the kinetic force ringing out as the pair came nose-to-nose. Every attack sent shockwaves through Dren's barding, his cloak flapping in the wind, "It's a shame that your life will be cut so short," The grin he wore just infuriated Dren further, striking wide to throw the Nightmare back.
While airborne, molten seals appeared around Magnar's clenched fists. "Second Art, Blast!" Striking the air, Dren's sensors blared to life as he summoned a hardlight barrier to shatter against the boiling air. Dren flinched, increasing the intensity of his shields.
"Compressed hot air from those molten seals and tattoos of his," Summoning a wide barrier in front of him, the sonic booms erupted against the hardlight, shattering as another flurry of airstrikes traveled nearly as quickly. Shielded again, Dren narrowed his eyes. "Near-instant travel, like fighting an erupting volcano's heat."
Magnar stuck his landing, cracking his knuckles as he hummed happily as a result. Dren lowered his stance, and suddenly, his body dissolved into red nanites. He appeared directly in front of the creature, blade rising with a density of nanomachines. He carved a large wound through Magnar's chest, himself smiling wildly as he lurched forward. "Amazing, you can move so quickly!"
Fist and blade came to blows, red and orange contrails tearing through the ground and vibrating in the air. "I was wrong, you are strong! Come on, show me more of that Fallen strength!"
"If that's what you wish for, then I'll oblige!" Dren yelled.
Behind them, sprinting up from the cavern, Kirishima spotted them, and his feet always moved had Dren not spoken up between the constant deflection and severing of claws from his enemy. "Do not intervene! Defend them, that's an order!"
"But I-" Kirishima froze up at the booming voice, grinding his teeth in protest as his arms shook with many emotions.
"Don't bother with those extras! Show me your strength!" Dren's strike for the nape was blocked by a forearm, throwing his arms back for a wide horizontal slash that he avoided, landing by the edge of a walkway, his smile never falling. "Focus solely on me!"
Intercepting with another warp, Dren slashed wide, seeing the beast leap over and into the face of Dren's barrier as it propelled Magnar flying across the walkway with Dren giving chase through the boulders and dust. The air grew hotter, and Dren flinched when a fist sailed by his right horn. "Such impressive speed!"
He doubled back around to amputate the right arm, only for a leg to catch his cutlass and arms, the force of a meteorite crashing against his armor, propelling Dren into the side of the mountain's entrance where Kirishima stood nearby, gaping at the sight. "Dren!"
While the plume of dust settled, Dren knelt down with his hands against his hilt, panting heavily through his mask, the right horn had broken off the helmet. "You know, when all's said and done, I'll be happy to take your soul, despite your lack of spirit, that body of yours is tempered like quality steel, I can admire that much,"
His arm instantly regenerated once more, "Maybe if you survive Harrow's ambitions, we could spar like this further, become so much more!" Magnar's pleasing offer made Kirishima worry, not just for Dren, but everyone trying to keep Kyoka alive a little longer.
"I refuse!" Pulling himself to his feet, Dren swished his blade in both hands. "I made my choice clear, I stand with Azuru's House, not some colorful promise of needless destruction!"
Another haze of red nanites and Dren descended hard and fast, leaving a massive wound on Magnar's chest. "For my House, for Aksis, I will not yield!" Red particles danced between them, Magnar's jubilation expanding.
"What a magnificent counterattack!" He swung forward maliciously, Dren hopping away. "Third Art, Chamber!" Pressing the attack, a line of flames arced through the air, scorching against Dren's cutlass while he landed, immediately charging forward through the flames.
"I can't find an opening, even then, what can I do!?" Kirishima felt like he was back at square one, those risking their lives while he stood there, unable to do much but watch. "But... they're on an entirely different level, I... I'll die if I tried to help, but, I'd also just get in the way." All he could do was stomach it.
Their blows shook the earth, deflections, and counterstrikes followed by evasive actions to overthrow the flow for a single opening. Magnar slipped into the shadows partially, striking high and fast as his fist tore past Dren's cheek, the cutlass severing the limb, kicking the Nightmare away with another barrier of red light.
Moving back, Dren saw his charge coming, blocking the initial impact before striking down quickly, locking his blade against a bone that felt similar to obsidian. Magnar growled bitterly. "Don't you see, you can't win! Without Midnite, a Nightmare, the God's blessing, you're powerless!"
Dren's arms buckled with his cry, slicing the hand off just to see it manifest again. Pushed back briefly, Magnar assaulted the fatigued Fallen further, his right hook grazing Dren's forehead, seeing the helmet splinter as the last horn broke away, reddish-purple blood split from the gash. Taking the left hook as his chance, Dren spun around, slicing with enough precision to amputate both arms at once.
Immediately they grew back, continuing to assault Dren's crumbling defense, "You should've stuck to your mind than muscle," In a flash of orange, Dren gagged, feeling his ribs bend and break from the fist piecing his barding, compressed against his stomach.
Another flurry of strikes was blocked by Magnar who shoved the blade aside to crush the Splicer's head, quickly, Dren raised his cutlass to block the fist, only for it to slip by, smashing in his left eyes as blood poured down his face and over his respirator. "Maybe in a decade, you might even become stronger!"
"Grrr!" Dren lunged forward, his blade parried back by a hot blast of air but he refused to stop, summoning a barrier to handle the air jabs, the light webbed like glass.
"Fourth Art-" The heat surrounding Magnar expanded, his tattoos glowing brightly.
Dren raised his hand, erecting several barriers with all he had left. "Move back, boy!" He warned Kirishima who fled and leapt over the pathway again.
"-Erupt!" Magnar cackled, slamming his fist through the earth, sending glowing fissures through the soil that bubbled and popped.
*BOOOM!*
The flames shook the whole mountain, a wall of fire frightening the teens as Kirishima spun around to face it all with panic. The volcanic eruption quickly subsided, holding the tension by a wire as something shifted around in the dark.
Black smoke settled over the edges of the basin like a waterfall, the ground layered in dust as a red flash flickered in the dark, "Did he... beat him?" Sero knew it wasn't the case, but for a moment, he thought it could be true.
Kirishima's eyes wavered at the sight, Dren stood tall, but blood dripped down from his mask, his breathing labored and strained. "No way..." He wanted to help, but his legs couldn't move at all. "I... I can't even move a muscle!"
"It can't be..." Ochaco murmured, wishing to wake up from whatever nightmare they were in.
Magnar approached, sliding down the ridge with a bemused expression, his wounds sealed up tight. For Dren, his armor was either broken or charred, his devil banner burnt at the edges, blood seeping down his face. A warm breeze howled through the cavern.
"This isn't over, our fight hasn't ended yet," Magnar protested, barely a scratch on him. "If you had a Nightmare, or better yet, a way to recover, those wounds would heal in a flash, but you wasted them on defense, your technology is dated compared to me," Those narrowed eyes, Dren had seen them before in his old Winter Kell. Disappointment and disinterest. "Shattered eyes, internal bleeding, broken ribs, second-degree burns, irreparable now."
"We can't beat this guy..." Sero gulped.
"Is this it? Have we failed?" Yaoyorozu held Kyoka's hand tighter, the girl breathing heavily, unaware of her surroundings.
Dren steadied his breathing, "In that case," From within, dozens of nanomachines sprung from his body, shrouding him in a scarlet flame - no, Magnar saw it, at that moment, his soul suddenly sprung forth from a great bonfire, and it kept growing. The Splicer clasped his blade before him, eyes wider, burning like blue embers. "For the glory of Aksis, For House Devils, I swear to you, no more lives will be taken before me!"
"I had a cluster save his data from you, Azuru, I'll use it well," He took a stance that placed his blade against his right hip, bending down slightly. "Access Memory; Codename, Chelchis!" His pupils dilated; his very blood infected by his faux SIVA, flowing down to his cutlass, transforming it into a deep red pigment.
His soul compressed itself to a thin, furious outline around his withered frame, sending shivers down Magnar's spine. "Amazing... you... in only a single battle... your spirit has grown to unbelievable heights! Hahahahaha! YES, LET'S FIGHT UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD!" His own heart raced.
"Become a pillar, not for one, but for all Eliksni, for the Great Machine!" Dren's eyes turned scarlet at that moment. "I am Dren of the House of Devils - Ultimate Move; Legend of Chelchis!" His banner radiated with his voice.
"Fifth Art, Haze!" Magnar raised his fists defensively, waiting with anticipation.
In one step, the ground split apart with a halo of scarlet in Dren's wake, lunging to cover the distance in a split second, the waves of nanomachines forming a ghostly visage of a large Fallen, their cutlasses bore at the enemy. Red and orange collided in a plume of black smoke and fire, and none could see what became of the Splicer. Only a flash of light, a silhouette of a fist connecting with a blade.
Staring at the mass of fire and ash, the whirlwind expanded and whipped before suddenly exploding outward with a roar, silencing the wind as Kirishima waved his arms to clear the smoke, trying to locate the pair. "Dren, did he win!? Where is he!?"
"Over there!" Ochaco pointed to the left a bit, they were surprisingly close.
"Is he...?" Yaoyorozu's voice trailed
Dren stood firmly in place, protecting the teens, and Magnar did too. Kirishima, Sero, and Ochaco stared in horror, Ochaco cupping her mouth with Sero shaking his head as Kirishima yelled with anguish. Dren's mask was gone, allowing him to vomit out blood, staring down at the fist puncturing his chest, clutching a red flame in its palm.
"What a shame and I had such high hopes too," Magnar's tone was flat despite his body appearing lacerated and burned, the dying nanomachines that attacked his body flickering out from his closing wounds. "I'll make their deaths quick too."
As Magnar closed his fist around the soul, something stirred within the cavern.
To Be Continued...
What a rollercoaster, Team A fighting tooth and nail to defeat Harrow, Akio's past and how he sealed his memories, and Dren's intense battle to stall Magnar for as long as he could manage, but luck has run short. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the final chapter of this Movie, Heroes!
Next Chapter: Movie, Timelost Heroes
Choices make up destiny and fate, choices dictate where people will stand when the dust settles, who is the victor, and what the future may hold. A choice must always be made, even if it's the hardest one.