Castlevania: Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Returning to his body was a bit of a blessing.
It was great to be back to his physical form, yet the ring was positively murder and Soma was having trouble staying asleep. He haunted the twilight areas of sleep, aware of the world around him, but so tired that he couldn't interact with anything. In ages past his state could elicit alarm, the fear of a hag sitting on their chest. There were modern explanations now, and for the living it could still be alarming.
But Soma had souls that made this as boring as it sounded.
Stuck in his body listening to outside conversations and unless he wanted to borrow a painting again or a nightmare... The room itself had not changed, the painting that had been placed over the fire was still there and was how Soma was watching the room faintly. His son, a still weird blend of weird but right thing to call him, was sitting ever aloof in the high back chair near the couch. The room itself had brought in several more chairs for the living to sit upon.
The fire was nice and cozy, far better than those sorrowful flames in that one painting...
A sharp rap at the door snapped the room to a type of attention as those who were awake stood up. A maid opened the door, and stood there waiting demurely until Alucard gave a slight nod permitting her to speak.
"A soldier has come to report on the hunters' condition, young master." The maid, a young woman who didn't overtly show any signs of how she died stood there. Having announced with all the discreet manners afforded someone in a room with a multitude of people who could one shot it, including the master and his son.
She took a step back and opened the door allowing a towering soldier in Austrian uniform step into the room. His hair was shaved down, his uniform was a little dusty from the days work, at his side was a slim file tucked under one arm.
Julius stood up along with everyone save Alucard following his lead. Though the soldier couldn't see the ghosts who had followed him into the room through the walls. Once Sam was taken off the grounds of the castle, the elder Morris' wouldn't be able to follow any longer.
"Officer Fynn Mayer, reporting on the status of one Mr. Samuel Morris." The soldier began with a stiff and very formal tone. "Mr. Samuel Morris has been listed as stable for transport by our on site team of medical personnel," the man announced as he stood at attention. The castle felt weighted of course, and he along with everyone else knew about the undead who roamed its halls. Hell until a short time ago the feeling of 'get the fuck out' was so overwhelming several soldiers had abandoned their assignments and ran off the grounds.
The older man nodded, he began scratching at his beard and looked thoughtful over the information, his gaze drifting off to the wall. Indeed everyone's gaze drifted in that direction with such a uniformed flow of motion he wondered if there was some type of message on the wall he was missing.
"We have Mr. Morris loaded up and will be transporting him to the base medical unit in a few minutes sir." The soldier announced before he went about pulling out the file and opening it, "I was instructed to give you what ever preliminary reports that the doctor could record."
"Very well, you may continue." Alucard answered, at his side on the long couch was a white haired young man.
From all accounts the man in front of him was a Japanese employee, but with his eye shape and purely European features it felt strangely out of place for him to work for them. "He has received severe burns though some how they are under the skin. Extreme exhaustion and massive bruising, though we don't know what inflicted the damage. The doctor could not even make a guess at what could cause it. From what he could tell here, it appears the damage happened at all once as though Mr. Morris was shoved into a large oven. He hopes that when we get back to the main camp he might be able to deduce the point of origin, if not he is hoping to find it at the hospital. Right now they are focusing on dehydration and enforcing rest," he reported stoically as the people in the room reshifted their attention back onto him.
"Me and Alexis can go with him back to the base, you really don't need us anymore," Max announced as she stalked her way over.
"Indeed, and it would do to have a healer of any sort with him," Alexis added as she joined her fellow spellcaster.
"Ok," Julius agreed as the solider bawked.
"You're not authorized..."
"They can go with you, or they can go riding the minions of Darkness, either way," Yoko pointed out in that cheerful tone of hers. After all getting the nightmares or any other demonic entity to carry the pair was still on the table with Alucard sitting 'right there'. 'Besides, the spirits can't leave the grounds yet. Jonathan and John 'will' want to know about Sam's condition as soon as possible.'
"Indeed, a pair of nightmares or Quezlocoatls would certainly be capable of taking the ladies to the village," Alucard agreed.
"What... is a 'Quezlocoatl'?" Fynn, asked slowly as he fought the nerves that wished to make his voice tremble.
"A floating skeletal dragon..." Alex began when one such being began to float out of the painting resting above the fireplace. A stuffed doll was riding on its back, white haired and white coat, a toy version of the man sleeping on the couch. "Like that..."
The doll and skeleton drifted through the air and down so it was circling around... and both appeared to be self aware...
"Have you any idea of how much alarm..." The soldier began when everyone looked at him, flat, unamused stares all around... He sighed and finally bowed his head. "I will inform my commanding officer, if you ladies would please?" he finally caved in as the pair nodded and followed in step with him.
"Call us if there's any word from the doctor," Julius called out to the women, though his gaze was on Uncle Jonathan.
"Thank you," Jonathan replied with a sigh, "the outer walls of the castle still won't let us through..."
"Sam is one of us, he's strong," John pointed out as gently as a barrel chested man such as himself could.
"Its worrisome though, why would angels do 'that' much damage to someone like him? I can get that level of damage to one of Dracula's forces... Even to Alucard by proxy," Sophia asked, hovering in muted concern. "But why Sam?"
The soldier left the room, the door shutting behind Alexis as she slipped away, leaving the rest of the living and dead to sit in the room. With only the sound of the fire place going and the creak of skeleton bones to offer any sound.
"Not all angels have a functioning brain. You're confusing Gabriel or Michael to what Sam faced..."
It was Soma's voice... But it wasn't coming from the couch where he had been resting the whole time... Instead it fl... Everyone's eyes zipped from their confused glance at Soma's body to the doll sitting on the back of the Quezlocoatl. For which it was looking back.
"God needs a balance for a reason. Something 'louder' than the common mans' sins that can get its attention. Without me or someone sitting in my position, Its not viewing humanity as the 'lesser of two evils' and is just doing what it defaults to do. There is a 'reason' why the bible states 'you shall have no other god before me' and why 'thou shalt not murder' are in there." Soma pointed out as he continued jockey riding his skeletal mount through out the air of the room. "No other god, is because it didn't 'create' the universe, it was a Middle Eastern Moon God that got accepted and empowered with an unreasonable degree of righteous superiority. If you study a pantheon sect, each god is restricted by whatever their 'area' is and they don't really dip their toes in something else. So they always balance each other out and maintain order. The moon god that was reconstructed into this, was designed to be 'absolute'." The doll tapped the side of its head. "'Thou shalt not murder'. But that can mean killing an animal or plant for food, or a newborn who kills the mother in the birthing process or the father who killed the mother by impregnating her only to lose the child to miscarriage. No one is excluded from that particular sin. That's why Jesus was created, they realized they went overboard, created a God that possessed no love for man and needed something to hold it back. Jesus didn't 'die for our sins' like murder, adultery or theft. He died for the sin of creating a god that lacks any empathy or self restraint. Sam got hurt because in the eyes of God he's no better than me."
"How... or rather 'why'?"Charlotte asked as she studied the floating doll who had these large blue jewel like doll eyes.
"Its annoying hearing all of you and not being able to talk."
"The Hamlord speaketh," Yoko teased, causing Soma's jewel eyes to change shapes and include a pulsing read x on his head.
"I'm not a hamlord! Do I look like a hamster to you?" He demanded as his mount turned to send him floating after Yoko.
"Oh god you in a hamster costume..." Yoko choked as she fell back into her seat and began laughing into her knees.
Soma's face cycled through several emotions before Julius gave a throat clearing cough. "What could those angels do then?" He walked back to his own seat and settled back down, near the warm fire as the others did much the same. The warm hues of flame brightened his already warm colored attire and hair, even if it made the lines on his face a little more there.
"Well, by the sounds of it, set his insides on fire. Granted being in the castle would buffer that attack the same way as summoning them in hell would. The further you go from the source of your power, the weaker you get, with the castle apparently serving as a slice of 'extreme distance' on earth."
"So where is the cult leader? I want to meet the person that has the type of power to summon angels of 'that' tier onto earth." Alex asked as he stared out the window of the room.
"I can't tell you, I'm in enough pain as it is, I can only really sense what's in the castle at this point." Soma replied as he leaned to make his mount make a hard right as they floated by. Below he could see the startled expressions on Julius and Yoko.
"Soma..." Yoko began, her voice wavering with concern as the laughter died in her.
"You could ask that Arachne in the garden?" Soma suggested thoughtfully, "he left the other cult leader and Reba in the staff housing area..."
"Wait what?!" Julius sat up startled, even Alucard stiffened in his seat as he fairly glared up at his father.
"I don't know why he's so protective really, but he left them there..." Soma repeated earning a look from the others.
"We could go an interrogate them!" Maxim encouraged as the other warriors and witches nodded.
"I wonder why he would leave them sealed away though. Does he think no one would find them?" Maria pondered aloud.
"Well Reba is a nice girl from what we've seen," Soleli noted. "She doesn't appear to have any powers despite being here. So there has to be something that would make this man latch on to her."
"I have the Master Librarian looking up information on all three," Alucard noted as he turned his gaze from the floating plush doll to his sleeping father. "About your arm."
"Hurts like hell. And I can't take this off." Soma replied automatically, "I need Alexander."
"Yes, not that he would do so..." Alucard began when Yoko cut him off.
"Maybe he would now. Given the situation, having Soma untethered might be a better option than having the cult leader running loose."
"He's in no condition to take the blunt blast of a full Archangel either," Alucard retorted for which Soma dropped down in front of him.
"Aww you do care abo-," that was about as far as Soma could go before Alucard grabbed him and flung the plush and skeleton combo back into the painting they emerged from.
"He's going to ground you..." Yoko muttered as she shook her head. "You're right of course, but he's going to take away your book privileges..."
"Oh that sounds positively dreadful," A voice called out from the otherside of the door, familiar in accent and loftiness. It was followed by a brisk knock on the door and then, "It is I, Joachim, the Master Librarian has found the book you requested little master."
Alex stood up and went to the door, allowing the ancient vampire to float into the room, deeply lost under his cloak and hood. Swords hovering behind the vampire followed silently as the spirits quietly observed this stranger.
A chair rose up, from the ground placed away from the window of the room and near the fireplace. Which was where Joachim turned his floating path.
"Thank you, little master," Joachim's cloak rolled a bit as he grabbed the side table that had been resting next to the fireplace. He pulled it out further into the room before producing a rather large volumed book from under said cloak. "Now as its still a little, too, daylight for my tastes... You'll have to excuse me." With that he gave a dramatic flourish of a bow and left the room,.
Followed only by a 'thank you!' from Yoko as Alucard stood up and joined Julius as he walked over to the book in question. It was large, thick like a large city phone book, with a single red ribbon draped down from the top and bottom. The cover was worn brown in color, so much so that it had faded into something that was probably paler than originally. The pages themselves had no special treatment, just typical plain paper.
Across the top and down the side the words 'Records of Humanity' were written,
"Seriously? A humanity record? The castle does stuff like this?" Maria asked as she peaked over the men as she hovered.
"Yes, there are also such books that describe the numerous races of Dark Children, hence the 'humanity' on the title. There are, of course, works that break things down further, yet there has to be a reason the Master. Librarian opted to send 'this' copy to me," Alucard answered as he flipped open the book to the page the ribbon was bookmarking.
"Weird..." Charlotte noted as she fairly bumped Maria out of the way. "So it lists a person's life... Oh, 'reincarnation: five' this thing lists a persons' reincarnations too?!"
The witch became mesmerized by the book as her eyes ran down the information, years of birth and death for each incarnation along with an obscenely long page number to flip to. Various races, genders, even geographical locations for each birth were listed. "This is literally a biopic on a person's life through all their reincarnations?"
"I doubt that its 'just' that, I bet the Librarian managed to make a condensed version which is that book. Because realistically a book like that should be like numerous volumes," Maxim noted. Thinking back the 'last' time that Juste felt motivated to go research hunting information.
"And look... These women we were talking about are listed as that mans' daughters..." Julius noted as he began tugging at his beard. "Those women are the reincarnation of this man's children from some point in one of his past lives..."
"Well now we know why he's so protective of them," Lydia spoke up as her eyes glanced down at Soma. "Much like how Soma is a reincarnation and protective of Alucard still. So that makes sense."
Alucard lifted up the book and returned to his seat with a sharp turn, his expression dark as he settled down and reopened the book.
"Hoping it tells us what his plans are? Or where he went?" Annette asked as she drifted over to look at this strange book.
"No. I wish to know when he developed these powers."