Crossing Paths [Viola/Alito] [Private]

Tetsukazu, arguably one of the most beautiful pieces of nature in the universe. Outside of Ishgar, along with all other continents, in that matter, this was definitely a setting to observe. Only animals existed here, as far as the god of death was aware. Yes, the god of death had been present here, or to elaborate, the god of death's human form. Since an encounter with Aegis, his adventures had come to an end temporarily, specifically for a direct meeting with Ankhseram. In this moment, Ankhseram and Alito had officially become one, making Alito a name of death, itself. The poor animals here; if only they could detect the ugly mess that was Alito's magic, their lives would not fall so quickly. Such peaceful creatures, dropped to the ground just by being close to the boy, but now in a better place. Though deceased at this point, Alito still acted as if they were alive, as his feelings for living things contradicted his magic. "They say you cannot tell when you're dreaming." Alito remarked as he pet the dead, innocent animals, "They say if one cannot distinguish waking states from phenomically indistinguishable dreaming states, one cannot tell the world apart. I would like to believe this is all a nightmare, innocent creations of God."

Rain slowly dripped over this wonderful land as Alito finally took his hand off the animals, his control over the deadly aura that was his magic vanishing for the time being. The universe and unknown dimensions alike were lucky that Alito could not affect more complex beings such as people, or else all of creation surely would have fallen by now. Even that Aegis individual; would he have stood a chance against the boy? Perhaps, perhaps not. "If only the heavens could take me away..." Alito muttered.

A voice? Alito never imagined one would - either by coincidence or intention - find another within a dimension of the Wakusei Portals. Furthermore, it was shocking to see one in the same dimension as himself, but then again, people were surprising these days. It was not until the current century that the Wakusei Portals found, and then shortly after, Tetsukazu. This aside, it was a pleasant feeling to acknowledge that the voice seemed feminine, or in other words, most likely belonged to a girl. Of course, to get here, the girl would have had to be someone more than average; a wizard, perhaps? Or could she be someone even greater: a Magi? Albeit, it was only polite to show some sort of emotion towards someone similar to himself, though Alito still wanted to test this girl; to see if she had any emotion, herself.

Within an instant, Ankhseram's aura returned, and all living things other than people continued to die. Luckily, these newly arriving animals were smart, and after seeing that their comrades and family had conceded their lives to the same person, backed off from the same individual. "Indeed, it is." Alito replied to the newcomer, "Unfortunately, it is never nice to meet me, though you needn't worry- people always survive the unconscious, deadly aura that is the presence of my magic." Alito wondered how the girl must have now felt, realizing that Alito's words hinting him of being at fault for the several deaths encircling his body. On the other hand, did death pull any of this female's strings? Only in his first century of living did Alito let his own magic get the best of him. After that, he realized that there was nothing he could do about his magic; that the only thing he could do was master this magic, and control it to save as many lives as possible. To many, you see, Alito was a nightmare in human form, but to others, Alito was their saviour. "Alito Kizoku." The child of Ankhseram greeted.

Another omen of death, you say?" The boy questioned, "Someone with a curse aside from myself? Interesting." Alito wondered what this other omen of death looked like. Perhaps Ankhseram had been tricking him this whole time; maybe he also influenced this other spoken individual. In any case, Alito wanted to know what made this woman so interested in people like himself. Did she have a death wish, or something? "They say the easiest way to travel through the Wakusei Portals is in chronological order." Alito remarked, "After this meeting, I should be visiting Akuma, though I heard the doors to different dimensions are unstable at this time of year." With Alito's luck, he doubted the gates would be open for even a couple more hours, thus his journey here would be very brief.

"Even gods have traveled through these lands before; the ones with blessings, and the ones with curses." Alito added, "I know the god that inhabits me has made several visits here; each visit ending the lives of more and more innocent animals of purity and light." Alito surely was depressed at this point. Though he had used this power consciously many times before, the aftermath of his magic was still a terrible sight to see. Though an omen of death, in other words, Alito was not exactly pleased by his own, well-deserved title. The child of Ankhseram shifted himself so his entire front side faced the woman speaking to him. It was only common courtesy, after all. Her hand was out and ready to shake his hand while he did this, which again surprised the man.

"It seems you see the slight, gentle personality behind my deadly capabilities." Alito commented, "Nobody would dare shake my hand knowing how much I've killed, anyway." The boy shook the girl's hand softly and quickly before taking it back, showing that he had no interest in harming the woman he just shook hands with. Alito could not even recall the last time a person was so welcoming to him. Why was this female so welcoming? Did she encounter that other omen of death perhaps? Was that other omen of death a nice one, just like him? All of this confused Alito, to be honest, as he once thought humanity was typical, and bound to never change. This woman, however, proved him wrong. Some humans generally were scared of nothing, but...was this girl entirely human. A smirk came across Alito's lips. "Now that we've exchanged names, Anna, tell me why you decided to come here. Did you intend on meeting anyone at all?" Alito kept his communication short for now. This female was still very questionable in her acts, and Alito could not help but wonder if she either had any tricks up her sleeve, or was just a genuinely cooperative person.

"I suppose." Alito responded to Anna's first statement, "How do you know about Ankhseram though? A book, perhaps?" Again, Anna was still very questionable. Alito wondered if he was dealing with a threat or woman of peace. However, with his set of abilities, if this woman decided to take any sign of inappropriate approach, Alito could escape the premise at any given moment, if he wanted to. His eyes reflected all of the curiosity consumed since he first saw this girl. The more this conversation proceeded onwards, the weirder it became. How did Anna later come to find out that Ankhseram had inhabited Alito's body? Albeit, the fact that Ankhseram was trying to give itself its own human form, yet could not have it still amused the child to this day.

"If there are other omens of death out there, then the godly power inside of me is just a fragment. Whether or not the fact you speak is true, the god only rests inside me; I control all of its potential." From this very moment, the dark aura Alito possessed grew stronger, and the closest animals to him found their bodies dysfunctional within a split second. It was for the first time, however, that Alito had not entirely killed off a living thing. The boy just to ignore the fact of Ankhseram being unjust as he knew that countless times already. On the contrary, he was not exactly pleased with the additional details given to him about gods. "I have to disagree with you there." Alito replied in accordance to Anna's proposal about the gods upstairs and downstairs, "Most gods disgust me. There have been gods killed by humans, while those same humans have later become artificial gods, as a result. There is only one true and it is not Ankhseram. However, to prevent debate, I shall not reveal His name."

This situation was getting entertaining now. So many claims were being exchanged, yet for now, Alito was not trusting of most. On the other hand, he wondered if Anna could cooperate with any of the responses he had given her. That was, until she decided to judge Alito, himself."Who are you?" Alito asked, "Tell me what even I cannot see, presumptuous one. Whether you have actually killed or not, my predicament is entirely different. Oftentimes, I do not wish to kill anyone, yet I do so, anyway. As soon as I can sense anything negative about a living thing, my magic has it perish. It's as simple as that, really, though beyond unfortunate." Alito had grown upset with the lady at this point. Just how confident did she feel about her statements? Was she not human? Albeit, Alito was never scared of shaking another killer's hand. His magic had proven himself to be a threat everywhere, after all, just like a psychopathic killer. If Anna was one of those people, even so, the boy would not mind. "I feel you are hiding something, Anna." Alito added, "Reveal whether or not you speak is the truth."

"Son, calm down! Amend for your sins, and return to the child I created."

This was the first time in seventy-three years that Ankhseram was forced to tamper with Alito's conscious, and silence it with the infinite, godly power it possessed. "Understood, but..." Alito left his own spiritually transferred voice at a halt for his curse's creator momentarily. His mood changed, tone of voice adjusted, and personality reverted. How threatening this woman was, indeed. Even Alito conceded some truly unstable human emotion a few seconds ago thanks to the person ahead, though with this new approach to the situation, Alito had never felt more comfortable in any atmosphere. It was for a strange purpose, though it would all come clear eventually. "What is true and what is false, I wonder." Alito replied, "Knowledge; who gets to decide who or what is right, and the opposing view as well? Even an everlasting pupil such as myself will never understand such Socratic philosophy, yet here we are, Anna, tolerating what life gives us; our personalities based on history and its results. Fascinating, isn't it?" This compliment Alito left for the end of his small, opening speech intentionally concluded itself in a dark tone, which triggered a corresponding display of decay. Decay: the root of Alito's magic.

The environment shook, screamed, and cried as despair overwhelmed its core. The essence of everything in this dimension gradually decreased in essence, as this was what Alito made of his curse, alone. One day, Alito was bound to be a living hell for humanity, though he had to show some sign of gratitude to this fine individual for allowing him to foresee a part of his future- even though it was most likely beyond her own intentions. This decay. It was not just the screams and cries of the environment, but Alito's own in a sense as he longed to lose this curse, and be blessed by the god he favoured; not the one who walked alongside him. "Everything has a purpose, Anna." Alito continued, "A demon or an angel- I figure this magic is putting my alignment to the test." Soulless eyes and lack of emotion and emphasis; this was the true Alito. Nothing but misery to speak of- this was also the true Alito.

"I fare thee well after these statements, dear friend, but allow me to address what you should see of my role in life. I fear nothing, feel nothing, spare nothing; I am nothingness in human form with a peculiar voice. My very existence brings despair to the universe, but only to devour the mistakes gods have created in our home. I am born to be the burden of every sin a man and woman holds. Those who fall to me never deserved to live! False creations; the aftermath of chaos awakened from humanity's suffering. I am both a human god and devil born from the borderlines of Heaven and hell. These omens of death you speak of- who is their master? They shall be the first to embrace the ultimate judgment that is death!" The role of Ankhseram within Alito's heart, mind and soul was nearly over now. The boy had learned his fate in an instant.

"You can harm whomever you desire." Alito added, "Just remember this: I am the root of all darkness incarnated in human form. Those who harm concede their being to darkness, while my purpose in life is to cease the existence of tainted lives. In other words, rewrite your scenario to this: If we were to meet again..." Alito no longer held the idea of emotionally challenging himself to the questions this woman was offering. As his purpose in life was now discovered, he needed to demonstrate it immediately, but not in front of her.

"The thought of dreaming is one's only way of hiding from the hell that is death." Alito continued once more, "Be who you want to be; just be prepared to face the consequences of who you've become, afterwards. Hide what you desire, but hiding cannot save you from everything, Anna." The sensation of being able to respond to absolutely everything offered with such ease; a gradually soothing effect to recollect. "Be honoured to see both my broken and reassembled being, Anna. To witness both from a man who has lived for centuries, yet still possess the ability to amuse him- I will remember you always. All the best with your future endeavours." The portal leading back to Fiore opened as soon as this final sentence came to an end. It absorbed the embodiment of death, and would take it elsewhere herein. Tetsukazu had the supernatural ability of spontaneous cellular regeneration, which in time would reverse everything that had occurred here. Alito was sure the entirety of this land hated him now, though hate only motivated the boy to do more after this encounter. That reminded him, actually...

"Ankhseram, your curse has led me to unspeakable strength, but your role as a living divinity within me has ended, and so after the acknowledgement of other, unspoken puppets, I abandon you, and free you to rest in another of your kind. Rest assured, however: your name shall forever be engraved in the title of the curse you gave me, while the curse will now become my strength; my life's essence." The god laughed inside as Alito's magic slowly consumed it, and inherited the fragment that was Ankhseram's existence within himself. This was going to be quite the journey henceforth, though Alito was prepared for the worst. His attire had evolved alongside his own persona, while the portal between dimensions kept bringing the reborn child over to an atmosphere he would soon recognize, firsthand. "Let the trials of death commence." Alito muttered.