Ni-Ju's prayers seemed answered as a pair of hands closed around his chest, snatching him from the air and giving him a soft landing before his fall could end abruptly. Opening his eyes in bewilderment from his little spot on the rapidly drying ground, Ni-Ju was greeted with the sight of their waterlogged enemy making a quick escape through a hole he had created in the ceiling with his water magic, bringing all the liquid in the room up after him. Before he could really pull himself together and do anything about it, Xavier had crossed the room to stand beside him and let Ni-Ju in on the plan that his young companion had thought up to strike back. First Xavier would use his magic to cut off as much of their movement as possible and when the timing was right it would be Ni-Ju's job to bring down as much of the building as possible onto the heads of the invading mages.
Using his home as a weapon wasn't exactly the classiest move in history or the smartest but if he was any judge of things it would be among the last possible moves that people like those who had invaded would think of, not to mention if executed right they wouldn't even realize that he was attacking until it was too late. After all what kind of sane person would collapse literally tons of stone onto themselves in order to take out an enemy. "I guess they have never heard of mice... bearding... dragons." He managed to wheeze out, coughing up a thin stream of blood onto the arena floor as he nodded to his friend to begin the festivities. Once the count in his head started, Ni-Ju bent down and stuck his one working hand into the crack of an incredibly large chunk of displaced marble, wiggling it just enough to so that he could spit underneath the stone before picking up a handful of loose rock and standing atop his makeshift air elevator. Trying to duplicate his earlier rocket jump was probably a stupid idea but unlike any number of other mages he possessed no real ability to fly, so this would just have to do.
Loosing a micro water detonation at the spittle beneath him while jumping over the crack, Ni-Ju began to once again sail through the air like like a cannonball, albeit a very battered one. Unfortunately despite being powerful the detonation was only able to lift him a little over halfway to the hole in the ceiling at which point he began to fall once again. Unwilling to let this stop him after getting so close, Ni-Ju directed a second detonation below him, a micro air this time, which tore his bared legs up quite a bit but managed to close the gap by some small mercy, sending him flying into the entrance hall like a bat out of hell. Ni-Ju was so focused on completing what could very well be his final task that everything else was ignored the moment he spotted Okeanos and his equally out of place friend. He began casting with everything that was left in him, not intent upon hurting them directly with his magic but by bringing the main hall itself crashing down on their miserable heads. With the last of his magic expended and his body in tatters, Ni-Ju promptly lost consciousness.
OOC: All dets except basic earth, water, and air were up and able to be cast so this is my final shot at them.
The last thing Verona expected was another weirdo to show up right next to the first one and this time, she actually took a few steps back. It was painfully obvious to her that this new person had something to do with water magic. That was the last thing Verona needed too. She was already exhausted from having to fight the weird sandman and now there was a water mage around. If there was one magic Verona was vary of, it was water magic. Luckily for her and Enola, however, Xavier, the lightning dragon slayer showed up along with Ni-Ju. Verona could tell that they had some sort of plan in their mind. So why not help them out? She found both Enola and Xavier getting ready for an attack. Ni-Ju was at his limit and even Verona was able to notice it.
Beside her, Ukan moved just a little bit, still unconscious but it looked like he was almost suffering from a nightmare with how he grunted in his unconscious state. 'Hang in there, you overgrown dog,' Verona muttered in her head and got ready to bring up another pillar of fire right under the water and sand idiots. Hopefully, both Enola's and Xavier's attack along with her own and Ni-Ju's last bit of power would be enough to at least put these two out of business. Of course, it would be nice I their guild master could help too. Not that she was counting on the old man to do anything.
Okeanos twirled his trident and Sandor rubbed his lamp the pair grinning like idiots, "Alright bro, "Let's kick some ass!" As the dust angel came in for round two accompanied with a dust fist Okeanos stomped on the ground creating a wall of water in front of the two him that almost reached to the ceiling with a palm thrust into the air the wall of water surged forward consuming the dust magic before dissipating. Sandor snapped his fingers and an equally large sand wall shot from the ground behind them blocking Xavier's lightning bolt "Sorry kiddos. Play times over. Never when fighting together have me and Okeanos ever lost." Zuo noticing that Xavier had been attempting to stun the two of them realized a distraction was in order "Never? Don't you remember 7000 years ago when Vent beat both of you?" CRITICAL HIT! Sandor and Okeanos grimaced the way teenagers do when their parents tell embarrassing baby stories to their friends. Then a small girl looking boy came through the floor and made the ceiling fall.
If Zuo knew that was what they were planning he probably wouldn't have helped.
Watching the entire ceiling give way the old man spread his arms wide before clapping them together using his earth magic to guide the falling rubble to all fall on Okeanos and Sandor. The massive amount of stone crashed into them with a sound like thunder and the room was quiet. "Ni-Ju. If you dare try that again I will send you to THAT room." With that everyone was left to stare at the heap of stone that had once been their foes."Unison Raid: Erosion Force!" The huge rubble pile in the center of the room was consumed in a pillar of red light "My bad I should have seen that coming." The red light seemed to erode the stone rapidly turning it to dust until nothing was left but Okeanos and Sandor. Beaten, bloody, but still standing. They were both breathing heavily and were in serious rough state "Gwahard has finished the knight. It's time Sandor." Zuo grit his teeth and clenched his fists "What did you say?" Okeanos laughed "You heard me old man!" With speed uncharacteristic of a man his age the geezer ran around the hole in the ground charging the two invaders ready to beat them down with his own two hands. The sand mage grinned and clasped his lamp with both hands "About goddamn time! Sands of Time!"
A red transparent dome of energy appeared around Sandor, Okeanos and Zuo. They were now trapped in a time envelope. They could see inside but until Sandor released the envelope there was no way in and no way out. Aware that he had run into a trap Zuo stopped in his tracks "What's the meaning of this?" "Take a bold guess."
Spoiler:
A gloved hand shot from the floor below Zuo grabbing his ankle. Tendrils of shadow shot up his body wrapping around him, binding him in place. The old man couldn't move, not even budge. Okeanos patted Sandor on the back "You're first bro." Sandor rolled his shoulders "God you're all so demanding. A unison raid, sands of time and now this back to back to back?" Gwahard had risen slightly more from the floor so his head was visible "Shut up and do it. You aren't the one who has to stay in range to keep this bastard from moving." This reminded Okeanos to step way back. Sandor stood before Zuo and pointed his lamp at his head. The sand mage's magic pressure was unleashed expanding over all of Hargeon covering it in a field of orange-tinted magic, just his magic pressure made the temperature rise and dried the air. Sandor grit his teeth concentrating an obscene amount of magic then suddenly it turned black and what had been a feeling of heat and dryness became one of terror and it stunk of decay. "GROUND DEATH!" A black magic circle appeared under Zuo and Gwahard, the latter of who clenched their teeth and prepared for impact.
Sandor's magic aura disappeared and he fell to one knee breathing heavily. At first it appeared nothing had happened. But then without the aura of darkness it became visible that the marble under Zuo and Gwahard had turned black. Then it cracked and unleashed a pillar of erosion magic heavenward tearing at the trapped two. It kept going for almost an entire minute and when it was done the result of bone chilling. Zuo looked old. He had always looked old, but he had never looked his age. He was 6 million but looked 90, and now well he looked 6 million. His skin was pale and paper thin, horridly wrinkled, his healthy and full white hair was now scraggly and filthy looking. What may have been most surprising for some was his invincible pillar of hair fallen now loosely hanging down his head. He didn't move or say a word even as Gwahard let him go and pulled himself from the ground. The darkness mage was doing better but not much, his skin was somehow paler then it was before, his eyes were bloodshot and his hair had turned white. Gwahard staggered away "What are you waiting for Okeanos? He's still breathing."
Now the only one not looking an inch from kicking the bucket Okeanos rose into the air above them gripping his trident "Yes. It's time to end this." Zuo Cii stared at him, feeling completely helpless. He couldn't so much as raise his arms to protect himself. Okeanos's trident began to glow. "I am Okeanos of the Sea, Master of the Trident. Zuo Cii you have committed crimes against the planet and it's true master." The guildmaster couldn't believe what he was hearing, his entire existence dedicated to defending the planet and here he was being accused of doing it harm. He protested weakly "I would never turn on master Gaia." Okeanos turned his nose up to him "No. The planet's true master, Gwahard Dedig." Zuo's fingers dug into his palms, so that was it, "Listen to yourself Okeanos! This is not how it is supposed to be!" It physically hurt Zuo to say those words in his condition but they were his only hope. "I don't give a damn!"
"Ender of Days, Destroyer of Worlds, The End of All Things, Immortal Slaying Trident: Ragnorak. I call upon your power. As all things must end and fall into the sea you Ragnorak shall destroy the unworthy. That which has been granted eternity, that which has been given the power to live forever, that would defy the inevitability of the end fall to your blade. Now I require your power. Destroy this stone in the river of time who resists it's flow. UNLEASH RAGNORAK! With each word the trident grew brighter but it's bright light did not bring comfort, rather only despair for it was not the light of the sun or the warm light of fire that promised safety and salvation. It was the light of an explosion about to destroy everything, it was the light of a flaming meteorite falling from above, it was the light that shone in a dieing man's eyes. Invoking it's name for the last time Okeanos threw Ragnorak at Zuo. It's blinding light made it impossible to watch but then the light was gone. "I'm sorry my children."
The trident head was buried in the marble floor behind Zuo. Then Zuo's head much like that of the trident hit the ground. A moment later the rest of his body collapsed with it in a pool of his own blood. The time envelope faded. Sandor watched wordlessly still panting, Okeanos appeared to be frozen in air watching what he had done and then Gwahard started laughing. The old man was dead.
Legend of Zuo Cii, End.
Spoiler:
OOC: Don't speak of this post for 48 hours. Give everyone a chance to read. Once you have read, pm confirming you have read. If everyone does before 48 hours we can call the "silence" off early.
Kihia laid there, fighting himself to stay awake, and was trying to find the strength to stand but was finding none within his body. He then sensed something… He then closed his eyes and focused on his magic sensory ability. After a moment he managed to see outlines of three powerful figures surrounded by much smaller signatures. He managed to ID Verona, Ni-Ju, Xavier and Enola being the four smaller magic signatures. He managed to pick out Zuo Cii, and recognized Sandor’s, he only could guess that the third was the other intruder he had yet to meet, and the three were fighting it out, and giving off incredible amounts of magical power something Kihia wasn’t surprised. However there was a sudden surge of magical power and the brief appearance of a fourth magical signature that Kihia knew to be Gwahard, and then all four of the powerful mages… Disappeared.
Kihia laid there, heart racing, he couldn’t sense the Master or the three adversaries he was facing, however he prayed as he continued to bleed, for the safety of Zuo Cii. However after a minute he felt a wave of dark magical power emanate from the area they were last located… and Kihia for some reason knew…. Due to it almost being casted on himself once… as well as Zuo’s warning… That it was Sandors Spell…
Ground Death…
Kihia completely froze in fear, as he waited, anxiously probing that area for any sign of the Masters resurgence. However… when he could see something there again he completely froze… he sensed the three intruders… and could barely make out the outline of a body and head falling to the ground separately. At that moment time seemed to stand still for Kihia down in the Labyrinth,
The Master is…. Zuo is… no…… Horrific flashbacks of the ruined state of his home village flashed through his mind, the droves of dead villagers, his mother and father’s corpses barely recognizable… As these flashed through his mind the memories of his experiences with Lamia Scale and Zuo.
Master Zuo…. They Killed…. Master Zuo…..
Kihia then punched the floor causing numerous cracks to form in the floor and his gauntlet, his bleeding had stopped and the air was charged with energy. That’s when all the ice and snow that was in that hallway started to swirl around Kihia, his Cryokinetic powers going on overdrive creating a swirling sphere of pure white snow surrounding the ice mage. He then stood up as the snowstorm shot upward and started to burrow throw the layers and layers of marble carrying him up with it. The Remains of the Main hall in a bad shape, when suddenly the floor started to shake as a loud rumbling noise started to emanate, as if the earth itself was generating an Earthquake. That’s when the floor behind Verona, Enola, Ni-Ju, and Xavier erupted as a giant column of snow came out filling the air with an untold amount of snow. After a moment a silhouette rose out of the newly formed hole with two ice blue colored Glowing eyes shining through the thick cover of snow. That’s when Kihia stepped out of the column of snow, an incredibly large magical aura emanating off of him. His eyes glowed with a wrathful glare, the armor of his spell was still damaged, as the slice was still showing as well as the wound on his chest and face, he held Icarus in his right hand, however something was most definitely off.
The air and ground around him seemed to shake from his magical pressure, and his irises were small, testament to his rage and were staring straight at Sandor and co. “You…” As he said that his voice was strained, as well as cracking noises emanating from both the armor and his body, “You…..” Then suddenly his magic signature flat lined for a second as he stood there.
“YOU KILLED MASTER ZUO!”
A giant wave of magical energy then emanated from Kihia as the very wind itself was blow back by it, the Ice armor he was wearing started to repair itself and transformed as he took a step back getting ready to charge.
Kihia then took off, at a rate that the other Lamia Scale Members in there would have had a hard time keeping track of where Kihia was, as he moved a large shield of ice formed ontop of the armor on his left arm, he was headed straight for Sandor rearing back his right arm ready to seemingly to try and strike him with the bladed end of Icarus which was being held Incorrectly, as most of the weapon was being held behind his hand and the bladed end only extending one foot from his hand. He got right in front of Sandor and went to hit him with a rush of wind blowing past Kihia from the speed he had been going at, and as he did, his right forearm then drastically transformed into a double edged seven foot long lance encompassing Icarus completely, the tip of which far closer to Sandor would hit him far soon than the initial portrayed strike would have.
No matter if this attack hit home or not Kihia would then spin around with incredible speed swinging his weaponized arm at Gwahard aiming to slice him in half, Kihia was lost in his rage, and didn’t care if he happened to kill Either one of them, he just felt they had to die.
OOC Report:
Rank Achieved: SS
Things Used:
Crystallux Mode:
Crystallux Mode: When this State is activated, Kihia draws power from his secondary magic . His entire body will react to this call of power, His left arm will morph into an arm of holy ice and crystal, and similar veins will appear throughout his body, especially around his chest area, this will fuse his prosthetic arm to his body and magic flow(this aspect remains even after the ability fades unless the arm is broken). This form will last for six posts, during this time all of Kihia’s spells will have additional Crystal veins throughout their structure, this increases the raw power of his spells by 50%. However in return each of his spells cost an additional 5% MP to cast, as well as when it ends he suffers the same draining effects as if he ran out of magic power completely for two posts. This only can be used once per thread.
2nd Stage of:
Ice Make-Guardian Knight:
Name: Ice Make: Guardian Knight Rank: S Type: Ice:Offensive/Defensive Weapon(s) Used: Icarus or the Geruks Description: He will only cast this spell when the situation is extremely dire, or when he is extremely mad. He will stand still with Icarus being held by and across his right arm vertically or held out in front of him with one end on the ground. The spell forms an extremely durable Ice armor across his entire body but it also anchors itself into his body for the duration. A blade from a glaive starts to form on the end of Icarus to let it function as a weapon. The blade itself is 8 inches long and 3 inches at its widest. This blade augements Icarus with a high strength slashing physical damage type, the area hit by the slash, drops in temperature, making it become rigid, and slowing the body part by 20%,
If Kihia uses this spell while wielding Geruka and Geruko: A kite shield forms around Geruka(the one he wields in his left hand)The shield is four feet tall and three feet wide, and has a thickness of 3 inches. It can take two S rank spells before the shield breaks. As for Geruko, (the one he wields in his right hand), he forms a three foot long single edged sword, that has three indents on the blunt side to aid in breaking other blades This blade augements Geruko with a slashing physical damage type, the area hit by the slash, drops in temperature, making it become rigid, and slowing the body part by 20%,. After it has been cast he will fight all out until his opponent can no longer fight back or the spell runs out. While it is active, he can take hits from four S rank spells, half of that though if it is a fire spell. Ice make: Knight now strengthens Kihia by a small degree, however due to this his muscles will be shot for a bit after the spell fades.
Under certain circumstances, Kihia will be able to go into a second stage of Ice make Knight, this stage is the final and true form of his Frozen Armor spell from his bloodline. This stage can only be activated if the original armor has been punctured in and The puncturing hit went far enough to hit Kihia himself and if he deems it needed. This Stage once activated repairs all damage the original armor has taken and transforms it. Most of the transformed armor will look a mixture of being more elegantly designed as well as bulkier. This is due to the massive amount of Magical power absorbed into the armor itself. However the most noticeable change is with Kihia’s arms(the armor itself takes four S rank spells to destroy). The armor on his left arm will form a large shield, the shield itself is five feet eight inches tall and three feet wide, with a thickness of four inches. It is connected directly to Kihia’s left forearm armor piece(and skin) parallel to the forearm. The shield can take 2 S rank spells before it is destroyed. The right arm however is completely changed, the ice will mold itself over Icarus transforming his right forearm into a large double edged lance(there are two separate blades but they are right next to each other). The transformed arm/lance is now seven feet long, with it extending past the elbow forming a magic intake vent of sorts. When Kihia attacks with his transformed arm it will deal his rank in physical damage and freezes the wound in ice slowing down that area by 30%. However, if there is any ice in the area he is fighting Kihia can start converting the ice into raw ice magical power and absorb it into the vent of the lance. When the lance has absorbed enough magical power(Takes three posts of absorbing to do this), he can unleashed a powerful beam attack by separating the lance blades revealing one end of Icarus which then releases the stored up power. The beam deals one Tic of S rank damage and freezes(One post duration) anything caught in the beam(and destroys structures) in its path. Kihia can alternatively send all the magical power absorbed to the shield to enlarge(6x bigger) to block one attack S rank or lower. However after Firing off the beam or enlarges the shield, Kihia cannot do anything for a while as the armor locks up for one post from the sudden release of the magical power. After this spell fades with the second stage has activated there will be massive physical trauma on Kihia inhibiting from being able to do anything for three posts as well has completely shattering his right arm. First Stage Strengths:
The armor can withstand a lot before it starts to break
Boots are now able to skate along the ground more efficiently letting Kihia move faster than he was able to before,[75% speed boost on the ground]
The ice reinforces his right arm making it extremely strong and durable(75% bonus in damage for punches and swings that are focused in with the right arm.
Strengthens Kihia as a whole letting his physical attacks deal 75% more damage
Weaknesses: Duration: Seven posts Cooldown: ten posts (but Character will not use again unless his prosthetic arm has been repaired)
It takes a moment(one post of preparation) to cast leaving him open to any attack before the Armor forms
The magic power cost is 10% higher than the normal amount, and he doesn’t start regaining magic power until it fades
After it fades the injuries inflicted by the spell open up leaving him giving him a 20% reduction in his health.
After the spell fades, Kihia’s physical attacks deal 75% less damage due to the strain on Kihia’s muscles for 5 posts
His Ice prosthetic arm is gravely damaged from the stress put on it (5% decrease in integrity for each punch, 2% for each attack with Icarus) (he has to find a moment to pause to be able to repair it. It is a simple process that he can do himself depending on the extent of the damage. (The process can take anywhere from one to two posts, where he can find a moment to pour water on his right arm and channel some of his magic into it)) , depending on how it was used it could completely break (If this does happen he does know another Ice make wizard who is able to make a new arm(but it takes a while))
Second Stage Strengths: (note anything that stacks with the first stage will be in bold, if something is written that correlates to a first stage strength or weakness consider it what goes on)
Fully Repairs and Transforms the Armor
Boots are now able to skate along the ground more efficiently letting Kihia move faster than he was able to before,[150% speed boost on the ground]
He can unleash a powerful beam attack from his transformed right arm or the enlarge the shield to block a single spell of his rank or lower(Either version can only be used once per use of the stages duration)
Strengthens Kihia as a whole letting his physical attacks deal 150% more damage
Weaknesses: Extends the Duration by three posts Extends the Cooldown by twenty posts
While in the second stage Kihia almost all of his other spells are locked from use with the exception of his S rank secondary spell(Crystal Make: Wings of the Guardian)
Cost 10% magical power to activate
After the spell fades, The ice further injures his body, taking out an additional 10% away from his health
After the spell fades, Kihia will unable to do anything for three posts
if there is no ice(Natural or Spell) in the area, Kihia will not be able to use the secondary effects of his lance or shield if he forces it however, the armor will start to cannibalize itself for this purpose.
His Ice prosthetic arm is completely shattered after the spell fades, revealing him short one arm and needs to get one remade.
Xavier rushed to Ni-Ju's side as he nearly fell flat on his face. He was spent it was obvious, no one needed to say anything about it. He pulled him over his shoulder, and tried to move him away from the pile of rubble he had just brought down on the heads of the two assholes causing this place to run amok. He carried him away hoping he'd be at a safe distance, but he knew just as well as anyone else he wasn't safe anywhere in the guild hall. He carefully laid him in an overturned table and looked down at him with sullen eyes. Arm after arm, he took off his coat, and placed it over top of Ni-Ju covering him and the display of his underwear, the golden star and the words “Clustering Wishes” embroidered on the back of it, slightly ripped by one of Okeanos's spear-like tridents. "Rest up for me, will ya Blue?" From this moment Xavier display a wave of vehemence the likes of which have never transposed in two years for the poor child. A tear streaked down his face, he could still feel like a chill down his spine, the magical power of both Sandor and Okeanos. In fact they were both expanding at an alarming rate. The moment he turned to face them, in a brilliant flash of red light they emerged bloodied and battered from the ruble, but standing nonetheless.
They delivered rather untimely news as they came back... Kihia, the knight of Lamia Scale had fallen. For the first time he felt his hear beat out of his chest, and victory suddenly felt so... distant. He was overwhelmingly confident when this had all originally occurred, but then his team seemed to crumble underneath the weight of it all along with the more seasoned mage Talen who seemed to give himself in preservation of them, and amongst it all he was surprised himself that he was still alive. He supposed he owed that to his two spectral guardians, whose presence he felt lifted from this plane of existence. With each passing moment the odds seemed to stack against the few remaining mages in the room, however with Zuo they still had some manner of hope. But perhaps he thought too soon... There's no reason to re-ellaborate the events that have just occurred, as Zuo's blood spread slowly across the floor and his head rolled like a ball as Gwahard the third figure from earlier seemd to have materialized from no-where.
Speechless was in no way descriptive enough to describe how Xavier felt. To have the guildmaster of Lamia Scale somehow just absolved from existence, with no chance of his interference. Fallen to his knees, the crestfallen child choked on his own tears, and couldn't even bare to look at them, they would so boldly march forward to end the life of an old man to which Xavier had only truly knew at length and yet simultaneously meant so much to him. Zuo, the old man who allowed him to take up a title under his reign, and led him to something greater, possibly a new hope. And then he was gone, in an instant. He clawed the ground at his hands dredging up the dirt and dust strewn about the place, and slammed his hand on the ground. “Why... Why me... Why did I have to be the one... to make it out of that hell... I can't do this... They were all, so much greater than I was...” he groped his heart as if he wished he could tear it out of his own chest.
Just as he was giving up, and it looked the the symbolic flame of spirit was being tested and snuffed out by the winds of indifference, there was a dramatic change in the atmosphere. A power once gone sought it's way to the forefront, a tremendous and niveous magic signature mounted an appearance, and in a way too unfamiliar way. Before Kihia rose to meet them, Xavier could tell it was him coming, but there was something definitely off. A blind man could see it, he was filled with rage. His movements were powerful and quick, but he wasn't thinking and cautious like he usually was. Sitting directly behind Kihia's targets he hoped he didn't miss, and he clambered to get out of the way in his broken state.
Verona stood painfully still, her bright red eyes fixed helplessly on the lifeless body of her guild master. She suddenly remembered that she had not known the old man well. In fact, she had rarely seen the man during the short time she had been in Lamia Scale so far. However, gazing at his motionless body now did bring grief to her usually upbeat and pleasant heart. For a long time, she just stood there unable to believe her eyes, the victorious laugh of the murderers falling silent as it reached her extra sensitive ears. And then she found herself inching closer to Enola and grabbing her arm, feeling a sudden fear overcome her. It was very weird for the spunky fire dragon slayer. In the last 19 years of her life, she was sure she had not felt this sort of fear mixed with the feeling of something unexplainable. At least she can be sure about the last nine years that she remembered clearly. And then it was as if she was waiting for something to burst out from somewhere and save them. And something or rather someone did. From behind the raven haired girl, Kihia suddenly emerged, his visage and posture, behind the smoke and sand that was kicked up formed the silhouette of a fallen angel, enraged and ready to see blood.
Quickly enough, Verona pulled Enola with her towards where Xavier and Ni-Ju were. Something told her that their part in this story was done and now everything was up to Kihia. Though there was something very deep inside her, probably deep in her conscious reacting to the display of powerful ice magic. It was something Verona just couldn't put her finger on and it was knocking very violently on a door closing her off to the past she didn't know about before meeting Igneel. Almost as if it was begging for her to let it out. She forced it down though, scared of the information she didn't know and forced herself to keep her mind on the present predicament. Whatever her mind was trying to tell her could wait for a little more.
At that cold and still moment, she decided to worry more about her friends and looked towards her companions, Xavier, Ni-Ju and Enola. They had been a part of Lamia Scale for a longer time than hers. She had not an ounce of doubt that they felt immense pain under the visual of their dead guild master. She had no words to comfort them either. Instead, like them, she was hoping that Kihia would kill those bastards that were responsible for this.
While Ni-Ju's body lay unconscious upon the remains of the table where his friend had so thoughtfully placed it, his mind was left free to wander avenues of thought generally left unopened to him. He found himself standing in the remains of the guildhall as it had been after his after his attack but with a startling change to both lighting and atmosphere. As best as he could explain, It would be something akin to walking through a dark building that was slowly filling with smoke. From outside of the shroud which enclosed him, Ni-Ju could suddenly hear the faint sound of foot steps. Turning toward where he thought the noise had come from, Ni-Ju was surprised to see a young woman kneeling down next to a few shattered bits of the bar, watching him. His surprise quickly turned to fright as he came to recognize her face. This was the woman who had haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember. Each and every time her face had appeared to him had heralded circumstances of the most dire or life changing sort and that was with just the one small bit of her showing. For her to appear whole and in person suggested that however bad he felt everything had degraded to, it was about to get a lot worse.
The young woman regained her feet and took an absentminded swipe at any imagined dust coating her immaculate grey robes with the casual air of someone who was quite used to getting themselves dirty before making the few short strides that put them face to face. The golden pools that were her eyes made Ni-Ju instantly change his assessment of the woman's age from young to old as she caught and held his gaze with a fierce glee that was far beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life. "It seems you have grown smaller in stature since we last met, Numerus Liber." The woman announced jokingly, her speech filled with nuances that he couldn't even begin to grasp. "I have looked forward to this meeting for quite some time but fate seems to be having something of a cruel joke at our expense. " She continued, grinning in a way that made it seem as if this were some kind of longstanding inside joke. Before he could manage to get out so much as a word to ask what in the name of everything holy was going on, she pressed one delicate little hand against his lips to silence him. "As much as I would enjoy a quiet afternoon of story telling and fond remembrances, our time here is short and we have much to do in order to see that we get another chance at meeting." Without explaining further, she reached out with her remaining hand and firmly took hold of Ni-Ju's arm.
At her touch, the smoky substance that had swam over the room began to dissipate, revealing the battered forms of both of the invaders and what remained of the Lamia Scale mages who had given their all in defense of the home they shared. Each person lay absolutely still, like mosquitos caught within the sap of a tree. The anger and desperate hope that stood out so clearly on each of his friend's faces left Ni-Ju feeling as if a giant had strolled by and given a tremendous tug on his heart strings. These people had done nothing wrong. There was no grand set of scales being righted. The sheer injustice of it all resparked the flagging embers of Ni-Ju's rage, suffusing him with a grim determination to see things made right. A light squeeze on his arm drew his attention away from the plight of his fellows and back to the smiling visage of the mysterious woman. "If you really feel so strongly about helping your friends then watch closely what I am about to show you.". As if hitting the play button on reality itself, time began to resume it's natural flow. Stuck in place as merely an observer, Ni-Ju looked on as all hell well and truly broke loose.
Fueled by a rage that threatened to consume him, Kihia had drawn upon the full might of both his magic and lineage, sheathing his entire body in an icy set of armor and transforming his normally stoic appearance into that of a half mad beserker. The men who had so misguidedly attempted to invade Lamia Scale didn't stand a chance as Kihia vented his frustration and anger against them in a series of bloody and downright vicious attacks that reached its destructive conclusion when the Ice mage began to break down all the surrounding bits of ice that had been dislodged during the course of the fight. Channeling the raw energy he had gathered into the lance that now made up his right arm, Kihia unleashed a devastating blast that tore through Okeanos and Sandor like they were made of nothing but tissue paper. Unfortunately the beam of energy didn't stop there. Slicing through the building with the same ease, it tore through the barrier and across the closeby sections of Hargeon Town, bringing down structure after structure. Even from his somewhat dubious position, Ni-Ju could tell that the loss of life from that last attack would be unimaginable. As quickly as it had appeared the vision before him began to fade, leaving Ni-Ju once more alone with the woman. "How do I get back?" He asked, no longer concerned with anything other then averting the disaster that had been revealed. Gesturing for him to take a step closer, the woman reached out and flicked Ni-Ju on the forehead.
Ni-Ju awakened from his dream like state gasping for air as his damaged body struggled in vain to regain working order. Fighting through the waves of weakness that lapped over him with a will that had been honed to a razer's edge through the numerous hours he had spent training his magic, Ni-Ju managed to croak out his urgent warning to those nearby. "Please...stop...Kihia... Hargeon... destroyed by...his anger."
OOC:
The weirdness in this is because this is a dream state combined with his lineage's active ability to see the future.
Okeanos hung limp on the wall of the cavern, his own trident impaled in his abdomen. Gwahard looked at him and laughed "You all keep saying that and I just keep putting you down. You're lucky I didn't kill you Okeanos. But that is only because I believe you will be of some use to me someday." Still bound by chains and weakened by the water fall pouring on him Zuo roared in anger "You arrogant child! Why do you hurt your brothers so? Why on Gaia's earth do you think you need to do this?" Gwahard and turned to look at him "You sent me to hell old man. You sent me to literal hell on earth! This is revenge, this is justice." "Shut up you whinny baby." From the save opening that Okeanos had entered the cavern through a man clad in a white gi entered the room. His hair was bleach white but his eyes glowed green "This has gone on long enough. It's game over Gwahard." The darkness mage didn't even look at the new comer "Hello Vent. I'm happy you decided to join us. I hope you are having a better day then Sandor or Okeanos. They both said something arrogant like that before I beat them down." Zuo looked past Gwahard and nodded at Vent exchanging some unspoken message. The man clad in white popped his knuckles "Yeah but I'm not Okeanos or Sandor."
Gwahard laughed "But you are fighting them!" Vent's eyes went wide as his foe snapped his fingers and chains of darkness seemed to materialize around Okeanos and Sandor. The chains vanished but Vent knew their effect was still there. The sand and ocean guardians collected themselves, Sandor scraping himself off the ground with Okeanos pulling his trident out freeing him from the wall. Their injuries were sewn shut by darkness and they stared at Vent with anger in their eyes "Begone Vent. You can't defeat us all." Vent laughed at the threat "Now that's your mistake. I can." There was a blur of movement and both Okeanos and Sandor were down again. "The hell! What did you do?" The wind mage grinned "I simply let them rest. Making them push themselves like that is cruel. You know how this is going to go Gwahard." "Damn you smug ass!" Gwahard swung his arm in front of him launching a ball of darkness "Dark Hole! Consume this world!" Vent clenched his teeth causing the air to suddenly chill around him, then just as the dark hole got close to him it simply froze. The anti-matter abyss froze solid. "This has been fun little brother. But now it's high time you pay for your crimes."
Gwahard was still in a fit of laughter looking down at Zuo's body "It was all for naught old man. Everything you, Vent, everyone did. In the end it changed nothing. Even though that white haired hippie killed me it wasn't enough to stop my vengeance. You should have ran old man, ran when you had the chance." The madman's monologue was interrupted by Kihia's arrival. Too caught up in his own elation the darkness guardian didn't react fast enough and Kihia's lance pierced through Sandor. The embodiment of decay cried in pain, and again as Kihia tore out the lance lashing at Gwahard. Sandor collapsed on the floor as Gwahard just barely dodged the razor sharp ice trying to cut off his face. The darkness mage tried to distance himself but did not get far as a large wooden thorn impaled itself in his shoulder. "The devil?"
He looked to see where the spear was coming from and his eyes went wide. The large thorn seemed to be sprouting from the floor, from underneath Zuo's pool of blood. "You don't have my permission to harm anyone further Gwahard." Then like something out of a fairy tale Zuo seemed to be consume in a green glow as a large tree with sharpened branches sprouted from the ground where he layed. It shot from the ground at incredible speed, growing at a slight angle as it's branches skewered Gwahard. The dark god screamed in pain as he turned to darkness to escape the bramble. Okeanos remained floating in the air completely still despite the developing events as if frozen in time.
Gwahard's shadow scrambled away from the tree putting some distance between himself, it and Kihia. The tree righted itself as leaves sprouted from it's branches. Gwahard solidified wrapping his arms around his various stab wounds as he stared at the tree with a vicious hate "That's bullshit! You can't just turn into a tree when you die! That's not what people do!" However that was apparently what happened, Zuo's body had vanished into the tree and his blood appeared to be sucked into it's roots leaving no evidence that there had ever been a dead man there. "Ground death is supposed to leave the earth barren. No life should ever be able to grow there again! Damn it all Okeanos cut it down!" The water mage looked at Gwahard "No."
Gwahard scowled willing chains of darkness to tighten around Okeanos "Obey!" The water deity grit his teeth and tore his arms free of the chains shattering them. "You arrogant monster. You thought you could turn me against father and get away without consequence?" He has rivers of tears pouring down his face but he tried to keep a straight face "No. You'll pay. I'll make you pay. This won't be like last time." He dropped to the ground next to Kihia "Frozen Knight I do not ask your forgiveness. What I did was unthinkable. But you must accept that my mind was not my own, allow me to help you right it." His trident vanished from the ground reappearing in his hand as he gave it a twirl "I have to avenge my master." Meanwhile Sandor appeared to slip from consciousness, way to contribute pal.
Kihia grunted as his initial hit with his new found weapon hit home on Sandor he then ripped it out of his shoulder and spun around but unfortunately missed Gwahard by a few mere inches. Kihia then stood still glaring at Gwahards retreat in pure anger when suddenly Gwahard had stopped, with a large wooden thorn pierced him. Kihia looked at the source of the thorn and froze, as his arms violently shook even more so. He then heard Zuo’s voice ring out, which made Kihia fall to his knees, the ice armor hitting the ground hard. He then watched as Zuo’s body glowed and then started to turn into a massive tree, which had started its growth by skewering Gwahard multiple times, that is until Gwahard shifted into darkness and slipped away.
He watched as the giant tree grew and became lush and vibrant, making Kihia feel small and insignificant even standing near it in that moment. Then Gwahard once again spoke out, snapping Kihia out of it and back into his fit of rage, he would normally give a lecture correcting the errors of thought… but no not this time… he then quietly watched the exchange of words between Okeaneos and Gwharad, with Okeaneos finally breaking free of Gwahards control, he then landed next to Kihia and asked to let himself help Kihia in Avenging Zuo.
Kihia stood up his magical power growing once again, “So be it…. Just make sure in the least… he cannot escape… or… you help me blast him into nothingness…” Kihia then dashed forward as soon as he finished saying those words. Once again moving at an incredible rate of speed getting to where he was right infront of Gwahard within seconds, then suddenly the back end of his lance had a fair amount of ice break off of it revealing a vent shapped end of the lance, then suddenly the two flat sides of the lance at the end opened up dramatically increasing the size of the vent. After this all of the snow and ice in the hall glowed suddenly and was then pulled into the vent itself making the entire back end of the lance glow.
Kihia then acted as if he was swinging the lance at Gwahards neck to decapitate him, when suddenly the two blades of the lance separated and went back a bit revealing one end of Icarus. He would then stop the motion as the glow intensified, all of this took place within ten seconds of Kihia’s initial movement, if it was successful Gwahard’s neck would be in between both of the blades as a sphere of Holy Cryogenic magic energy formed at the tip of Icarus that happened to be showing, if it didn’t he would instead just simply point the lance directly at Gwahard.
OOC Split path depending on the Actions of the Lamia Scale Members:
Failing to bring Kihia back to his senses: Kihia would glare hard at Gwahard and speak one word, “Die…” As soon as he said that he would fire the massive blast of Holy Cryogenic energy horizontally, potentially hitting Gwahard, and then breaking through the wall of the Entry hall and into the town of Hargeon, destroying numerous public buildings and hurting numerous innocent civilians.
Succeeding to bring Kihia back to his senses: Kihia would close his eyes for a second then, either jump or go to throw Gwahard skyward, and then proceed to fire the blast either downward or upward depending the angle Gwahard ends up.
Ni-Ju resisted the urge to just lay down and sleep by concentrating on what was going to happen if he did. Body shaking with the strain he had placed it under, NI-Ju regained his feet and with the assistance of the wall. Clutching the coat his friend had placed over him,Ni-Ju began a trudging gait across the room towards Kihia. Cursing his weakness as he nearly fell with each shuddering step, Ni-Ju continued to close the gap as fast as he possibly could. The last remaining steps seemed like miles, dragging on before him as if it were the last leg of a death march through the desert. Stumbling into a position between Kihia and the guild invaders while their attention was turned towards each other, Ni-Ju drew himself up to his full height so that the glowing ice glaive's vent would almost certainly take him as its first casualty in one last desperate bid to make his friend come to his senses before he killed off a sizable chunk of Hargeon Town's population. A million different things that he could try to say rode through his mind but nothing shined forth as an obvious solution to the problem so he resigned himself to silence and let his actions do the talking. If it worked then Kihia might at the very least change the direction in which he fired.If it did not then Ni-Ju wouldn't have very long to worry about the consequences of his failure due to obvious reasons.
In the fruits of this entire debacle everything was once so clear. Jerks storm in the building and take the mages by storm. Things, in the brightest of lights didn’t seem so bad at first. He didn’t think things could go wrong, clouded by the confidence he had in his team. It was a feasible task certainly, but damn this wasn’t what he had bargained for. Hope seemed flattened along with people whom had fallen. With that thought he turned to look for Ni-Ju where he had left him out of the way only to find that he in fact was up and able to walk somewhat. After what he had declared earlier he wasn’t sure of what to do anymore, every desire and goal of is was conflicting with one another and the tree of Zou only added to the dissention. He wanted Okeanos’s head on a platter with a side of Gwahard, but just so mockingly Kihia, probably their only hope presented a greater danger at the present moment. His strength could win the day almost instantly but that being said it would probably do a bit more than intended. It looked like Ni-Ju was going to attempt to stop him, but he wasn’t sure one person was enough.
“I’ll have at you later, you washed up lout. You’d better not leave until then…” Xavier grit his teeth as he grimaced at Okeanos, speaking under his breath. If the bastard got away, he might never forgive himself. He tore his gaze away from him, and sprinted headlong for Kihia. He jumped onto his back, holding onto him by the neck, not trying to be a harm but intent on getting his attention. He had a frim grip on him, it would take a little bit of effort to get him off.
Verona silently stood to the side with no recognition of whatever that was going on around her. The tree in front of her was all that she saw. It was still very unbelievable for the nineteen year old fire Dragon Slayer that their Guild Master was no more. It took her a lot more time to actually snap out and be aware of the fact that Kihia was going ballistic. Ni-Ju was by the wall behind the tree while Xander sprang into action the minute Kihia showed signs of madness. He was already on the Ice knight’s back trying to get him back to his senses.
What started out as an ordinary day where everyone was having fun ended up in their beloved master’s death? Adding to that, now Kihia was losing his senses! What if they lost him too? Who would take care of Lamia Scale? What would happen to the guild she has grown to love?
A huge breath escaped Verona as she visibly relaxed. Her head was down with her bangs covering her face. She was being awfully quite in contrary to her normal self. However, she felt it herself. Everything around her was going over their normal heat level. Verona was emitting the heat! Her hair flew violently against the powerful wind that emitted out of her. For a second, she felt complete. It was at that moment that she kicked the ground and dashed towards where Kihia was standing.
Before even Verona could comprehend what was going on, her fist covered in fire had already hit Kihia square on his face. “SNAP OUT OF It, YOU STUPID KNIGHT!”
Her voice was not even hers. It was deep and harsh, scolding yet heartbroken. She wanted to see her friend back. He wasn’t supposed to break the way he did. “Stop being selfish, you ice head! How can you do this to every other members of Lamia Scale that’s counting on you to lead them?! What is wrong with that head of yours?!” She yelled, scolded, and shook him again and again. She was starting to feel the fatigue that was getting to her. Her body was losing the initial energy she retained when she approached him. “I can’t go on any longer. None of us can! Snap out of it already!” She shook him again, feeling darkness creep up the corner of her eyes.
Super Dramatic post yay! And I got to call Kihia an idiot! ++ x3
Kihia stood there looking deep into Gwahards soulless eyes, The sphere of magical power growing more and more intense by the second, “Curse you both…” Kihia then was about to release the stored up power but through the fog of his vision he spotted movement behind Gwahard, he saw Ni-ju Haichi leaning against the back wall, “Ni-ju what are you doing…?” Then Suddenly Xavier then jumped onto his back restraining him, “Xavier!” Kihia didn’t try and resist as he couldn’t afford to lift his lance away from Gwahard, however to further distract him, Verona came out of nowhere with her fist enveloped in flame and punched the faceplate of his helm causing his vision to be hampered by Draconic flames. Then All of their words punched through deep into his mind, causing his eyes to widen, he then closed his eyes and had a vision… Kihia opened his eyes… he was no longer wearing his frozen Armor, and Icarus was no where to be seen, he then noticed he was wearing a white shirt, and a light blue pair of slacks, nd then he noticed that his body was covered in Ice bandages, What in the… Suddenly someone spoke up behind him, an elderly voice who sounded incredibly tired, “Kihia” Kihia then spun around his eyes wide at the elderly man who stood hunched before him, he was using Icarus as a staff, his deep blue eyes staring deep into Kihia’s being. Kihia stood there frozen for a moment before he spoke, “Ma….Master Iarok…?” The Elderly man nodded, and then swiftly whacked Kihia upside the head, “Kihia… You’re an Utter fool, did you forget everything I taught you?” Kihia took the hit and bowed his head in shame, “Master… I am sorry… but I have failed…” Iarok however shook his head, “No you haven’t my boy… No you haven’t, Zuo may have died… but his legacy lives on…” Iarok then waved his arm, and the faces of every member of Lamia Scale appeared around them… Making Kihia start to cry, and his fists shake, “Will you continue to fight for them, Fight with them, and defend them with your very life?” Kihia stood there for a long moment and then took a knee... “Yes… Sir… I vow to put my very existence on the line for them!” Iarok smiled and tossed Icarus over to Kihia, “Then go my son, Freeze that Demon… and fight with your companions… not against them…” Kihia opened up his eyes again, staring at nothing in particular, his armor had started to crack from the intense strain of containing the magical power it had absorbed, “Thank you… all of you… Please forgive me for losing myself and let me make things right…” At these words Gwahard went to jump back, “You will not defeat me here!” “Xavier Jump off of me now!” If Xavier jumped off he would witness two wings of crystal form on Kihia’s back followed. He then grabbed onto Gwahards neck with blinding speed, the gauntlet of his armor slowly cracking. He then flew upwards and through the massive hole in the roof and way above the buildings of Hargeon, “Gwahard, I cast you into the abyss of the Sea! Where you will forever be encased by my sacred Ice!” He then let go of Gwahard and swung his lance arm at him, the twin blades aiming directly at his midsection, “Unleash my beam of Sacred Ice! Freeze him for all of Eternity!” Then the sphere of magical power suddenly contracted, making all the light dim for a second from its shear intensity, then with a gigantic burst of light, a beam whose diameter was larger than Kihia’s own height that enveloped Gwahard and shot over the bay causing a massive shockwave as it flew through the air, and then it impacted the ocean surface causing a giant column of water to shoot up then instantly freeze.
After a long moment the light finally dimmed back to normal revealing Kihia hovering in the air alone, with Gwahard nowhere to be seen, “It is done…” Then suddenly Kihia’s wings went limp and he started to fall rapidly back down to the ground where he impacted the marble floor of the Main hall with a loud crash. After the smoke cleared… Kihia could be seen lying there… the armor and wings were gone… however, he was covered in injuries and his own blood that continuously flowed… and his right arm, was also nowhere to be seen.