Forest of Regret. (Private Sayrn & Daiki)

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Ai's morning had been fine, waking up a little early though. Soon after waking up, she'd take her shower and did stuff you;d expect is done, such as cleaning as ones self and hair as well. As the shower finished, she'd dry herself off, and skipping up to her finishing up getting dressed. She had noticed that it had been raining, and would sigh slightly as she moved to her kitchen to make herself something to eat before cleaning her house for a bit.

The blond had lost track of time and got distracted with some of the books she had, and soon noticed that the rain had stopped and a few hours had passed. She'd sigh yet again before closing the book after marking the page and then putting it away. She'd go and start to braid her hair as she decided to finally pay attention to the source of the Holy energy she could feel moving closer and closer to her. However, it wasn't until she had finished doing so that she actually took notice of how close they were, granted, still a bit away but still. She thought that they would have started moving in a different direction after the short stop.

She'd move to her door, put her shoes on, and left her house. The clothes she had chosen for this day included a purple dress with an abdominal plate to protect her stomach even if the smarter idea was to have it extend up to her chest, but what do you expect from this kind of stuff by now? She also had a pair of metallic gauntlets reaching to her mid bicep, and getting covered slightly by her attire. As for the rest of her attire, she's wearing a pair of stockings that reach up to her mid thigh before stopping. She wears a pair combat boots specifically designed for her, with some metallic plates on the front to protect, for the most part, her feet from anyone who dared to attack her feet with normal weapons and such. She'd make her way to where she sensed the magic as it continued its way to her. She could easily feel how her footing would be bad as it had finished raining not too long before, and was still a bit cloudy. As she made her way through the forest, moving a bit faster than she would if she was simply wandering from place to place in order to intercept the person.

After a few moments of moving in the direction she sensed the magic, she would run into someone who was quite poorly dressed, being almost naked and barefoot. After stopping and staying silent for a moment, she'd actually speak. "Who are you and where is your destination?"

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

The blonde mage stayed mostly still as she had watched the woman she had come across answer one of her questions, but seemingly ignoring the other one but the woman hadn't finished speaking yet, so she'd give her the chance yet to do so. She didn't much pay attention to the weather as her focus was on the woman, and taking your eyes off of a potential enemy isn't something you really do. She was also a bit surprised as she spoke that she was looking for a house that was owned by a Basilisk Fang member. Even so, as the woman set a fist in the palm of her other hand, and soon stating that she remembered who she was and asked about her name. She'd grimace slightly as she noticed the woman smile soon afterwards. She didn't recall ever seeing anyone who looked the way the woman did. She'd soon hear the woman speak again, chuckle soon afterwards, and gathered a holy variant of a substance in her hand, asking if her choice of Basilisk Fang had quelled her temper. Her expression pretty much stayed the same, but turned to annoyance before speaking up to the woman. "Before I answer any of your questions, you still have yet to answer one of mine. Now, I'll ask again. Who are you?" She'd say, keeping an eye on the woman, not sure if she'd be attacking, though at this point, with a questionable action being taken and ignoring her question would cause her annoyance to rise.

She wouldn't be as annoyed if the woman had done almost anything else but ignore it. Sure, she didn't ignore one of them, but the other one was just as important as the woman wasn't recognized as she had never run into someone who had quite looked like the woman.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Even more annoyance became visible in the blonde's expression as she saw the woman smile before she stated that she assumed that she could tell from her voice or even her magic. She would hint that she was sporting an unholy aura at the time, but by now, she didn't much care at subtlety. The woman set a hand on one of her hips, smiling again, and speaking. She brought up Infinity Hydra, questioning if she killed more than the woman knew of. She was also curious about her temper, asking if she could deal with her choice. But before she could do anything, the woman would dash forward, striking her palm into her chest, in which the white substance burst from the woman's hand onto her clothing and the metal place that was covering her abdominal area. She would notice right away that her clothing started to make a sound akin to the clothing melting. Well, there goes two things. First was the decently new outfit that he had gotten, fairly recently. And the other was Ai's mood going from annoyed to a bit pissed off now. "If you want to see this temper of mine, you just hit the mark..." She said. She'd take off the melting clothing that she was wearing, but she didn't really want to strip entirely, but it would eat through her clothing soon enough. She'd prepare herself for another attack as the woman spoke again, stating that if she had proved herself that the woman would tell her her name. Luckily for her, or unluckily, as the substance continued to eat through her attire, it would fall onto her skin every now and again, from the edges of the clothing. As the first drops of the substance landed on her, one of the stigmata would activate, causing a light on her back to become, ever so slightly, visible.

"Prove myself? Why the fuck would I need to prove myself to anyone?" She'd scoff slightly, as the woman raised her hand, and would create two whips, before using one to strike at her and the other to probably block her in, should she attempt to dodge. However, at times, it would be more advantageous to actually get hit due to the stigmata on her back, and upon getting hit by the whip, the second stigmata on her back would light up. Her expression still showing anger and an ever so slight amount of pain, she'd run, still moving faster than the normal mage of her rank, towards the woman as she created a second ball of the same substance that was still eating through her shirt, revealing a large amount of skin. She'd be embarrassed should they be some place aside from being so close to her house, compared to where it could be, such as a town.

As the woman crushed the second sphere and the substance mixed with the air, creating a cloud around her. Once she was in the cloud, she'd feel another feeling of pain, though she'd continue on, completely surrounded by the white 'mist'. While she couldn't see, she could perfectly sense where the woman was and instantly cast her bellow after inhaling. Hopefully it'd make contact, but she didn't know if she was able to see through or react faster while in, what she now figured was a form of venom. Once she used the spell, she'd stifle a groan before quickly surrounding herself in her light and using the extra speed gained from it to move out of the venom cloud faster than she had entered it.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Ai could sense as the woman had taken the hit rather than attempting to dodge it. the blonde still didn't know if the woman had the ability to dodge the spell or not, but soon, she'd speak once more. The woman that had a good chunk of her shirt melted due to the woman who apparently had met with Ai before from hinting it enough, though she didn't much care right now. However, she could sense the woman doing something within the fog of venom and the moment she sensed something heading towards her, she'd exhale slightly, creating 'wings' of corrupted light from her back, which would quickly surround her, blocking whatever was heading her way. She'd exhale slowly again as her body was healed from the wings, and noticing that the woman would charge towards her, slashing at the wings with something. Sadly, she wasn't able to see through the wings, but luckily she was behind the wings as she wasn't expecting the hits to land as hard as they did.

As the woman started to speak, she'd drop the barrier and listen to her state that she was making her prove it to herself, and even speaking about the woman that she had 'left behind' to become a member of a dark guild. Oh... Oh boy... This wasn't gonna be good in the slightest. "Shut up..." She'd state just before the woman canceled the mist and started speaking, in which she'd notice the blood running down her mouth. Anger was rising at this point. This woman didn't know what she was talking about. Asking her if it was worth the sacrifice of if she was like her and couldn't feel anything when she felt if the sacrifice was worth it. She continued to ask her questions as they started falling on deaf ears, in which she'd shout the moment that the woman spoke. "I told you to shut up! You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" She'd shout before gathering enough of her own corrupted light to form the shape of a bow in its entirety. She'd quickly pull the string of light back, forming an arrow, as if she was actually holding a bow and arrow, before letting go of the string, firing the arrow. The moment the arrow left her fingers and stopped touching the bow, a second arrow would form behind the second one, roughly a foot and a half behind the first one.

She was quite angry at how the woman spoke, but she didn't feel like having to clean off blood from her skin, even though the outfit didn't much matter at this point with how much the venom had did a number on it. Exposing her chest, though she was lucky that she was wearing a bra, rather than not. Though the bra wasn't entirely untouched, having been touched by a drop or two of the venom. She could notice her vision cutting in and out as her anger was almost to the point of blinding herself with Rage.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Ai watched as a slight laugh came from her as the arrow flew towards her, and eventually tearing away at her body, seemingly killing her and her body along with her blood had all turned to ash. Not more than a moment later, a red rift appearing in the air. She'd notice that the woman would clap as if nothing happened, stating that she had killed her, and that she agreed that she might think that she knew nothing, but soon dashed towards her, striking her in the chest. She expected pain like she had never felt before, but her body had healed up. Normally, something as such would cause excruciating pain. She also felt a bit more calm, making a presumption that it was due to the venom.

As the woman spoke, asking her that when she joined Basilisk Fang, if she had know that Rekka was going to Infinity Hydra or not. However, soon after the woman finished speaking, she'd collapse to her knees. Took a little longer than she thought, but it happened. She stifled her groans and cries of pain. The pain was from having been healed from something other than her own magic. She wasn't able to speak for the first few moments of the feeling of pain being experienced.

As the woman spoke, her name had popped into the womans head as her body continued to feel as if it was burning as if acid had been poured on her. "I told... you to shut up... Sayrn..." She'd say, with every few words to have a pause as she stifled some groans from her. "Don't do that... ever again..." She would say again, pausing every now and again to stifle a pained groan. She'd pant and try to move as little as she could for the time being until the pain passed.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Ai listened to the woman say that it was curious about a body rejecting her venoms cure. She also questioned if it was by magical means or if it was something more. The blonde would stay where she was, just watching her for the time, stifling any noises that would come from her due to the pain. As the woman moved towards her, she'd raise a hand and delved it into her own body, grabbing a small box from her chest. She would be speechless at this had she not been keeping herself from making any more pained sounds, even watching her pull a needle from the box, set it over her skin before plunging it into her skin. Even if she wanted to whine, she didn't have the time to even before noticing that the woman would set it back in the box after drawing the blood.

The woman would speak again, stating that she was curious as her venom is capable of mimicking the same signals ones body would give off to allow it heal without the body attacking the venom. She'd soon feel her set a hand on her shoulder, stating that she had a question but before she asked, she would take her hand and sew her chest closed, pretty much unaffected by that event. She'd blink a few times as she would soon hear her speak. As the two looked at each other as she finished Ai would speak. "It would seem so." She'd say, as she'd speak up once more before bit of a pause and the woman picking her up off the ground to her house. However, as she was being carried, she'd look away from her for a bit as she blushed ever so slightly. The woman would lay her near the door and sitting down near her. She'd speak again, stating that she knew it might be odd for her to ask about her mutations, but she had apparently felt that they weren't so different in that way.

She continued with how they both made mistakes they wish they could undo and that they had both hurt those they cared the most about in the process. She'd continue and state her magic was Light based but combined with an Unholy aspect, asking if she was a God Slayer. She'd also state that she had magic just like it before she had changed herself. As she finished speaking, she'd place a hand on her stomach, siphoning out the venom she had placed in her. As the process of that happened, the pain would lessen. She'd soon speak up again, stating that she was Sayrn, but not really anymore. She explained that she was more of a husk than anything which is why she had asked her so much. She'd then explain on, and ending in a question. "You are correct, I am a God slayer..." She'd answer, before moving so that she was sitting up and moved to actually be sitting near Sayrn. She still felt a dull ache, but it was as if she had just finished fighting, which she had.

"You think yourself as a husk and I just think of myself as a monster. But even as so, you're not as much as a husk as you think..." She'd say, looking down for a moment. After that moment finished, she'd look over to Sayrn just long enough to give her a quick kiss on the lips before turning away slightly. "It's not like I did that for any other reason other than as a thanks..." She'd say before standing up and taking a step away from her. "While you're not as much of a husk than you think, I'm truly the monster I claim to be..." She'd say, looking towards the sky.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

The blonde stood where she stopped until she heard Sayrn speak up once more, though this time she spoke concerning how she referred to herself as a monster mere moments prior. She listened to everything that Sayrn had said, comparing herself with Ai, though the moment after she asked why she believed herself to be a monster, she'd increase the intensity of the light coming from each stigmata. Going from nearly unnoticeable to easily seen even should the sun be shining on her back. Though, along similar lines to the markings on Sayrn's body, Ai's eyes would begin to glow as well. She'd look over to Sayrn, their eyes meeting up once again before speaking. "After all that, it seems our reasons aren't so different..." She'd say as a single wing could be seen by Siren, though Ai didn't seem to pay attention to it. "However, my reason for feeling like a monster? It's simple. I killed my younger sister..." She'd state, with little emotion in her voice, however a single tear partially ran down her face as she wiped it away before it even got halfway down her cheek.

"I had one job to do and that was protect my younger siblings, but I had to kill her... I have her blood on my hands." She'd state, her voice cracking here and there, before the light coming from the stigmata, her glowing eyes, and the wing seemed to slightly dim before brightening up a bit more than they had been. "What kind of monster would leave their family to rot in a pool of their own blood?! And if I want to go even further, it's my fault that my mother is gone as well!" She'd say, bringing what her father claimed as well, though she didn't believe that it was her fault at all. In fact, she didn't know what happened to her at all. Her mother just disappeared one day, out of the blue. No warning, no reason, no nothing. Just gone not too long after she started to teach her magic, or rather him at the time. It hadn't been too long after her disappearance that Ai and several other people had found some ruins with a mysterious orb that had swapped everyone to the opposite gender, and thus was how Ai went from male to female, though Sayrn wouldn't be one of the people to actually be told this.

Though after a moment, her eyes would stop glowing and the wing would dim, but wouldn't disappear due to the five stigmata on her back that had been activated from their fight. However, Ai would keep the intensity of the light coming from the stigmata as it was.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

Ai listened to Sayrn as she spoke, and watched her as she had moved to bend down, creating some venom in her hand in which she'd rub onto her leg. Once she had done so, Ai would stifle a pained groan again as she felt a sharp pain in her leg where the woman spread the venom. Stating that it was by choice, that a person who chooses to cause pain and kill is different than one which she spoke of. Sayrn would then siphon the venom from her leg and use a new one to numb the pain. She'd watch her then fire a small bolt of venom at a tree, and watched it die.  She chose to not stand back up, as Sayrn continued to speak. Soon, the woman would lean down towards her, allowing their eyes to meet. She'd soon state that there was a strict difference between 'had' and 'wanted'. Standing up and smile, looking at her with the grin, Sayrn would then ask her what drove her to continue on. "What drives me? I'm driven by love, though as of recently, its been waning..." She'd say, taking Sayrn's hand before looking down.

The blonde would stand up as the other woman spoke about her mother, she'd look at Sayrn before looking away from her. She'd continue to look away from her as she spoke, until she asked if she was truly a monster of a product of causality and survival. "Please... don't speak about my mother. I didn't tell you everything so I'd prefer if you restrained yourself from doing so..." She'd say first, hopefully having given a subtle hint that her mother never even said anything to her about it. "And for the other questions, when I could have taken the knife rather than turn it onto her when she came at me with it, or even just made sure she couldn't hurt me without hurting her... and considering the relationship with me, my younger sister, and my father... She thought the same he did after a long enough amount of time..." She'd say, looking away from Sayrn still.

Even with looking away so much, she'd still be holding the womans hand. "If you couldn't figure it out from that, I'd still say she'd look at me like I'm a monster, but... I didn't do what he claims I did!" She'd say, referring to her father and realizing that she said more than she wanted. "I said more than I should have for now..." She'd say before looking at her again, kissing her cheek this time before letting go of her hand. She continued to look down as she didn't really want to give some of her past to the woman this quickly, but had done so. She also knew she didn't explain why she kissed her a second time, but would also take a few steps away from her, this time so that she was just to the side of her door.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

The blonde would listen to Sayrn as she had asked if her mother left without warning and soon stated that she could only assume that her father had blamed her for it. "You'd... be correct with that assumption and your question..." She'd say, feeling the woman hug her and soon stating that she couldn't hope to understand her situation completely, and that all she could say was that they couldn't turn back the clock for anything, even if they wanted to. The woman would pull back from the hug and cover her face, sighing before stating that her memories of her mother are something to cherish while her own were hell.

She'd look back at Sayrn, and noticing tears running down her face and laughing in a fairly sad way while looking her hands. She'd soon explain her own situation with her own mother. As Sayrn told her about her past, a few tears would start to run down her own face, as she'd been keeping herself from tearing up since she she spoke about her sister. Sayrn would look at her, her expression shifting to a smile before continuing on with telling her to trust her that her mother most likely loved her enough that she didn't want her to worry or even didn't want anyone to chase her down. She didn't know, but told her to  cherish the good memories.

Tears would continue to be shed by the blonde as she would take a moment to compose herself and wiping away her tears before walking over to her before moving over to Sayrn before kneeling down to her, putting her hands on her shoulders before speaking. " I know this is wrong, but..." She'd say before leaning towards the woman, kissing her yet again.

The stars can't shine
without the Darkness.

As Ai kissed Sayrn, she would soon start to blush while doing so, and would continue to do so as the woman pulled back with a soft sigh. She'd make a soft sound out of surprise as Sayrn had pulled her in for a hug, while making sure to soften the fall. Now, as the woman started to speak, stating that she might have called it wrong, but she had removed almost all of her ties when she had did what she did to fix her body. Before Ai had time to respond or do anything really, Sayrn would place one of her hands onto her lower back and pulling her in close as she would kiss her on the lips. The moments that passed felt much longer than they were and when the orange haired woman finally pulled back from the kiss, a slight line of saliva between them and a grin formed on Sayrn's face while starting to blush.

Apparently the orange haired woman found her quite interesting and as she was now, she couldn't die any time soon. And she wouldn't notice much as moments passed, she would feel the best she had as the pleasure stayed for what seemed feel like less time than it actually was. As it stopped, in the back of her head, she felt slightly disappointed, but Sayrn would soon smile, chuckle softly and would lean in, kissing her on the lips again, letting their tongues mach each other before pulling back and sighing. The blonde wasn't really used to this as she heard her state that they were linked using the Synapse Venom, whatever that was. And it seemed that she would always know where she was from now on, pressing one of her hands over her chest and explaining that anytime they were near each other, the Ouroboros would let her know, through small pulses in her brain, would lead Ai to Sayrn.

She added in that when they next saw each other, they would be able to find themselves. The orange haired woman would soon sigh and pick her up with ease, setting her in a sitting position in front of her door. She'd smile slightly as Sayrn started to say that she had errands to run and things to do for now, and to trust her when she said that she would come back at some point and when they were together next, they could possibly find some fun. Soon after saying that, she'd summon a red rift and smile to her again. She wanted to say something before Sayrn left, but being as everything was happening so fast, Sayrn was already saying that next they meet, perhaps she could tell the orange haired woman more of how her life went, and that she was quite certain that they made a breakthrough before moving through the rift and it closing behind her.

A few moments passed after Sayrn had disappeared through the portal before realizing what had happened. "Why did I do all that? I still have feelings for Rekka... but..." She'd say, as she slowly stood up. She had a few tears rolling down her face as she couldn't believe that she was starting to have feelings for someone other than the person she had been with for so long already. But even so she felt a click with Sayrn and would soon shake her head, unsure of what she had to do, as she'd move inside her house now to try and fully make sense of everything and try and figure out what to so.