The Castle Omnia, Pathways to Naught, Time Unknown...
"Gacchk!"
As the cry of youth deafened, a body settled against the floor, writhing in agony as his wounds saw to. He hissed and strained in his efforts to rise again, though his body was loathe to heed him so willingly after being tossed like a rag doll. Before him, a shadowy figure boasting the likeness of a draconic/hume hybrid made strides toward what would have been anyone else's corpse. Finally having risen to his feet, the youth would assume the stance he'd held against the creature prior to his thrashing, albeit said stance was beginning to waver in its usefulness. The injuries that lined his moderately-tall frame were undoubtedly beginning to take their toll on the poor boy.
"Y-you will not defeat me....thi-ghhk....this day. I....am Lord Shion! You will....bow to me....before long." Truth be told, this Shion's resilience and audacity in the face of sheer peril were just about the only things about his performance that appeased the silent and obfuscated audience beyond his mind's grasp. As he moved to engage the fiend once more, his nebulous onlooker merely scoffed and dismissed the Curtain through which he observed, folding his arms behind his hunched back in dismay. How could someone like him ever have a version of himself that was so....weak on its own merits" Truly, this was frustration of the likes he'd not experienced in all of his lives. Each and every one of his fabricated existences possessed such extreme ability that he considered them distinguished even from himself. Yet, there was the real thing....Therein lay his magic and physical potential: in the form of a useless shell of what he considered any of his selves to be worthy of.
"You know....Even without his full strength being tempered by combat, you could still fuse with us if you wanted to," came the familiarly callous vocals of his compatriot as his made his way down the stairwell that led to both his current platform and the crystal-obsidian depths of his abyssal stronghold below. In spite of his prod-heavy musings, all that his initial 'welcome' would elicit from the elderly magus was a dour glance over his shoulder. "You make it so hard for yourself, 'Dread One'. Honestly, I couldn't fathom why you insist on maintaining that squalor of a form you stole. All those bodies you inhabit....All those lives you made mine....Does it have to be that brat that inherits your power?" Even as he made his opinion clear, he momentarily hesitated as the aged sorcerer poised his foot as though he meant to turn around and face him. The thought of all their work going up in literal flames because of his ill-timed silver tongue did much to quell his misgivings.
"Shukumei....What do you think you are to me" Truthfully, I wish to know." It seemed as though the pause he'd offered him was left that he might hear his answer; however, the reality of the matter was to gauge his immediate reaction. Shu halted as the elder lord expected, prompting his eyes to close and a sigh to leave his lips. "After all this time....all of this waiting....Do you honestly believe I would gamble your existence on the chance that our reunion might hold?" Though the waistcoat-clad humanoid considered answering the inquiry put forth by his master and co-conspirator, he again faltered in his response. Instead, he merely reached up to fiddle with his spiky, green hair as he meandered down the stairs to take his place beside the man. He'd let his distress-addled mind rest for the time being and listen for once. Shu owed the aging Shion that much.
"I see that you and Hidou have parted ways. That's the only means by which I could conceive of your current passiveness. You could say I've done this one or two times in the past. E'er did you learn from me the tale of my first banishment from the realms" Yea or nay, it shall be told. I was once this boy. In fact, the only difference between what I held and what this neophyte has become was that my own natural aptitude for magicks was beyond that of my peers from a very early age. The manifold institutions of study that took me in soon found that they had little they could teach me that I would not acquire on my own. In one particular point, my ambitions got the better of me, and I caught a glimpse of the forbidden history: the ultimate failure of my meticulous nature. As a result, I abandoned that facility to pursue goals beyond its walls. In the end, someone I believed would understand and accept my desire for all-encompassing insight and aid me....instead nearly slew me in the aftermath and sealed me away." Once he'd divulged the tale, he shot a glance in the direction of his counterpart, somewhat alarmed that he'd actually managed to avail himself of some modicum of control over his mouth. In truth, he considered it a possibility that he'd need to examine him for anomalies in his personality, as it could affect the rejoining. Nevertheless, he remained a seemingly pensive degree of silent, permitting him to continue speaking.
"Shu....I would have you remember this: Every instance in time whereupon I've attempted to attain a vessel that bears anything less than a portion of my soul, I have failed to regain my original self. As you can yet see, the resulting ripples in the space-time my soul inhabits have been rather hazardous to me....This time, I've been blessed with a body that not only houses my soul in its entirety, but it also bears my true will to an extent. I will not let such an opportunity be squandered in haste. Besides, that body is not ready for the deluge that is Scionius's unrestrained power output quite yet. It lacks the resolve and the will to resist his influence. Without the eyes that I had before all of this strife began, or rather, should he not develop the sight I once had....the recombination process will fail, and he will die almost instantaneously. Additionally, there's no telling what effects a failed, forced fusion will have on the remnant parts of the whole."
"So, you really need him to be properly tempered to receive all of us at once, then" That's your plan?" The old man could sense more than skepticism in Shu's voice, but that didn't cause him to impede his summary of the situation in which they now found themselves. "What does Her Eminence think of this development?" he inserted, feeling it prudent to mention Renna with the advent of her new orders. How she planned to overtake Alluvius on the whole without Shion's aid was baffling to both of them. What he got for his question was a soft, beguiling chuckle from beneath the concealment of Shion's hood.
"What does it matter what she thinks about my wanting to restore myself to how I am meant to exist' The poor dear seems to have lost her faith in me by this point. This is the only option left to me anymore, and I don't think she quite realizes the gravity of that. Should I lose this chance, I will likely fade away before my toiling bears the fruit it deserves," he murmured, seemingly resolute in his decision to place his hopes and dreams in the hands of the one most others viewed as little more than a malicious rogue with delusions of grandeur. Suffice it to say, he was additionally bewildered by Shu's sudden lapse into laughter. What, had his assumption that Hidou had passed been false" No....Had he inadvertently made the blunder that could rob him of what he wanted"
"Master....It's been swell working with you, but as always, it seems like I will have to do the heavy lifting for the both of us. Don't you worry about a thing anymore. If that's really all it will take to become the perfection that you aspire toward, than I'll make it happen before long. Then, I can finally stop watching you agonize over this. Rest up. We've a destiny to seize. Hnhn..." With that, the shady suit vanished, leaving little but an inky, jade smoke to signify his departure. Left to consider the variables he'd all but poured into his rebirth equation, the aging man would draw back the Curtain to once again take the boy's struggling into his sight.
He would find no such thing...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Castle Omnia, Abberation's Summit, Time Unknown....
Seated atop the throne whereupon Shion had frozen him, 'Scionius' patiently waited, gathering potency unto his sealed frame at a rate few would dare to imagine. With nothing to do but rest, it was only a matter of time before he forced his shackles free. When he did, nothing would stand in his way. He would crush everything and everyone underfoot....
He swore it.
END
"Gacchk!"
As the cry of youth deafened, a body settled against the floor, writhing in agony as his wounds saw to. He hissed and strained in his efforts to rise again, though his body was loathe to heed him so willingly after being tossed like a rag doll. Before him, a shadowy figure boasting the likeness of a draconic/hume hybrid made strides toward what would have been anyone else's corpse. Finally having risen to his feet, the youth would assume the stance he'd held against the creature prior to his thrashing, albeit said stance was beginning to waver in its usefulness. The injuries that lined his moderately-tall frame were undoubtedly beginning to take their toll on the poor boy.
"Y-you will not defeat me....thi-ghhk....this day. I....am Lord Shion! You will....bow to me....before long." Truth be told, this Shion's resilience and audacity in the face of sheer peril were just about the only things about his performance that appeased the silent and obfuscated audience beyond his mind's grasp. As he moved to engage the fiend once more, his nebulous onlooker merely scoffed and dismissed the Curtain through which he observed, folding his arms behind his hunched back in dismay. How could someone like him ever have a version of himself that was so....weak on its own merits" Truly, this was frustration of the likes he'd not experienced in all of his lives. Each and every one of his fabricated existences possessed such extreme ability that he considered them distinguished even from himself. Yet, there was the real thing....Therein lay his magic and physical potential: in the form of a useless shell of what he considered any of his selves to be worthy of.
"You know....Even without his full strength being tempered by combat, you could still fuse with us if you wanted to," came the familiarly callous vocals of his compatriot as his made his way down the stairwell that led to both his current platform and the crystal-obsidian depths of his abyssal stronghold below. In spite of his prod-heavy musings, all that his initial 'welcome' would elicit from the elderly magus was a dour glance over his shoulder. "You make it so hard for yourself, 'Dread One'. Honestly, I couldn't fathom why you insist on maintaining that squalor of a form you stole. All those bodies you inhabit....All those lives you made mine....Does it have to be that brat that inherits your power?" Even as he made his opinion clear, he momentarily hesitated as the aged sorcerer poised his foot as though he meant to turn around and face him. The thought of all their work going up in literal flames because of his ill-timed silver tongue did much to quell his misgivings.
"Shukumei....What do you think you are to me" Truthfully, I wish to know." It seemed as though the pause he'd offered him was left that he might hear his answer; however, the reality of the matter was to gauge his immediate reaction. Shu halted as the elder lord expected, prompting his eyes to close and a sigh to leave his lips. "After all this time....all of this waiting....Do you honestly believe I would gamble your existence on the chance that our reunion might hold?" Though the waistcoat-clad humanoid considered answering the inquiry put forth by his master and co-conspirator, he again faltered in his response. Instead, he merely reached up to fiddle with his spiky, green hair as he meandered down the stairs to take his place beside the man. He'd let his distress-addled mind rest for the time being and listen for once. Shu owed the aging Shion that much.
"I see that you and Hidou have parted ways. That's the only means by which I could conceive of your current passiveness. You could say I've done this one or two times in the past. E'er did you learn from me the tale of my first banishment from the realms" Yea or nay, it shall be told. I was once this boy. In fact, the only difference between what I held and what this neophyte has become was that my own natural aptitude for magicks was beyond that of my peers from a very early age. The manifold institutions of study that took me in soon found that they had little they could teach me that I would not acquire on my own. In one particular point, my ambitions got the better of me, and I caught a glimpse of the forbidden history: the ultimate failure of my meticulous nature. As a result, I abandoned that facility to pursue goals beyond its walls. In the end, someone I believed would understand and accept my desire for all-encompassing insight and aid me....instead nearly slew me in the aftermath and sealed me away." Once he'd divulged the tale, he shot a glance in the direction of his counterpart, somewhat alarmed that he'd actually managed to avail himself of some modicum of control over his mouth. In truth, he considered it a possibility that he'd need to examine him for anomalies in his personality, as it could affect the rejoining. Nevertheless, he remained a seemingly pensive degree of silent, permitting him to continue speaking.
"Shu....I would have you remember this: Every instance in time whereupon I've attempted to attain a vessel that bears anything less than a portion of my soul, I have failed to regain my original self. As you can yet see, the resulting ripples in the space-time my soul inhabits have been rather hazardous to me....This time, I've been blessed with a body that not only houses my soul in its entirety, but it also bears my true will to an extent. I will not let such an opportunity be squandered in haste. Besides, that body is not ready for the deluge that is Scionius's unrestrained power output quite yet. It lacks the resolve and the will to resist his influence. Without the eyes that I had before all of this strife began, or rather, should he not develop the sight I once had....the recombination process will fail, and he will die almost instantaneously. Additionally, there's no telling what effects a failed, forced fusion will have on the remnant parts of the whole."
"So, you really need him to be properly tempered to receive all of us at once, then" That's your plan?" The old man could sense more than skepticism in Shu's voice, but that didn't cause him to impede his summary of the situation in which they now found themselves. "What does Her Eminence think of this development?" he inserted, feeling it prudent to mention Renna with the advent of her new orders. How she planned to overtake Alluvius on the whole without Shion's aid was baffling to both of them. What he got for his question was a soft, beguiling chuckle from beneath the concealment of Shion's hood.
"What does it matter what she thinks about my wanting to restore myself to how I am meant to exist' The poor dear seems to have lost her faith in me by this point. This is the only option left to me anymore, and I don't think she quite realizes the gravity of that. Should I lose this chance, I will likely fade away before my toiling bears the fruit it deserves," he murmured, seemingly resolute in his decision to place his hopes and dreams in the hands of the one most others viewed as little more than a malicious rogue with delusions of grandeur. Suffice it to say, he was additionally bewildered by Shu's sudden lapse into laughter. What, had his assumption that Hidou had passed been false" No....Had he inadvertently made the blunder that could rob him of what he wanted"
"Master....It's been swell working with you, but as always, it seems like I will have to do the heavy lifting for the both of us. Don't you worry about a thing anymore. If that's really all it will take to become the perfection that you aspire toward, than I'll make it happen before long. Then, I can finally stop watching you agonize over this. Rest up. We've a destiny to seize. Hnhn..." With that, the shady suit vanished, leaving little but an inky, jade smoke to signify his departure. Left to consider the variables he'd all but poured into his rebirth equation, the aging man would draw back the Curtain to once again take the boy's struggling into his sight.
He would find no such thing...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Castle Omnia, Abberation's Summit, Time Unknown....
Seated atop the throne whereupon Shion had frozen him, 'Scionius' patiently waited, gathering potency unto his sealed frame at a rate few would dare to imagine. With nothing to do but rest, it was only a matter of time before he forced his shackles free. When he did, nothing would stand in his way. He would crush everything and everyone underfoot....
He swore it.
END