Topic: BCU - Hyperion

Neo Eternity

Date: 2009-06-11 15:43 EST
((The following events occurred Saturday, June 6.))

It had not been a good past couple of days for the Keeper of Water. Really, it had not been a good past couple of weeks....but he was currently, primarily concerned with a powerful mage whose bad side he'd gotten on. There were many, many, many other concerns to be had....but he had to focus on one thing at the moment. His friends were in danger. He was in danger. He knew that Veighn was powerful. As for how powerful, and what kind of dreadful secret artes the mage knew....well, that was something he had yet to find out. He really hoped he wouldn't have to, or that anyone else would, but he had to be prepared if it came down to it.

The leader of the Edges of Life was in need of a....hardware upgrade. He had seen, last night, a sword given to Alain, which sparked such realization in him. His current sword, a katana made by Sylus Kurgen, was still good. Most definitely so. But he was going to need something better. And it was for that reason that Neo had departed early this morning, heading toward a forgotten city. A city that had been destroyed. The former home of the oracles....The ruined city of Prism. He had heard from one of the men who raised him, that perhaps a powerful arcane sword belonging to the city's ruler could be found there, a sword called Hyperion. Now would definitely be a good time to find out if he was right.

He departed alone, flying through the sky with his angelic powers. His trancent blue, softly glowing, softly glittering angel wings were visible. He couldn't really take anyone with him. He wouldn't be able to fly if he did, and he wouldn't have time to go by ground. It was a long flight. He flew for about an hour or so before arriving. He landed, eagerly taking a breather, retracting his wings. He was exhausted after making such a trip. But the trip was the easy part. Now that he was here, he had work to do.

Ocean blues stared at the ruins before him. Innumerable white stone buildings, destroyed, ruined. White stone roads, cracked up, most of them missing, dirt strewn over whatever was left. And in the center, a white stone palace. Many parts, chunks of it missing. He just stood, watching, in a moment of silence, or rather, many moments of silence. He didn't have many opportunities to pay his respects to those who had lived here.

He stood there for about five to ten minutes. He didn't really know, he'd lost track of time. But now it was time to get down to business. So he ventured on into the ruined city, toward the center where the palace was. Hands jammed in his pants pockets, walking somberly. He took his time, trying to get an eyeful of the place. Unfortunately, monsters had taken up residence in this long ruined city. He put his current sword to good use, easily defeating them as he progressed.

He soon arrived at the palace, looking it over a bit before going in. He had been to the city before, and to this ruined palace. Last time he was here, he went up towards the top of the palace. And he did not see anything like Hyperion there. So this time, he would go down. He didn't know the layout of this place at all, and he spent a few minutes looking for stairs that led downward. The city had been powered by magic, and needless to say, the lights were not working. However, it was still morning, and as chunks of the palace were gone, the sun illuminated his path as he searched. There were monsters here too, but he still didn't have any problem with them.

He eventually found a set of descending stairs and went down into the dark depths of the palace. The lights weren't working here either, of course. And now, he didn't have the sun to help him. He revealed his angel wings, and made his aura to glow and light the area around him. He also emitted light from his eyes, kind of like headlights, to illuminate the path before him. Snarls and growls could be heard, indicating the presence of more monsters who had taken residence in the palace's basement. They were different than the ones he'd faced earlier, and they were stronger, but he still defeated them with little trouble as he searched.

The first floor of the basement seemed to be for storage. He checked each room, finding various wares....eroded and ruined with time, too much so to be any use. The next floor down seemed to be bedrooms, possibly for soldiers living in the castle. He didn't spend much time here, and he realized he shouldn't have spent as much time as he did in the floor before. A priceless arcane sword wasn't going to be in such normal storage. And it wasn't going to be sitting in some soldier's drawer, either. So he made his way further down.

The next floor down seemed to be a dungeon of some sort, probably for criminals. He thought a dungeon to be a bottom floor kind of place, but he searched anyways for stairs leading further down. He noticed that the monsters down here were of a stronger variety still, but still not anything that he couldn't handle. He was guessing that this pattern would likely continue the further down he went. He did encounter something strange here, though. It had seemed one of the monsters from one of the above levels had wandered down here, and the locals didn't seem to like it. It was wounded and cornered by a group of stronger monsters. He defeated the antagonizing monsters, and used his First Aid arte to heal the wounded monster, then shooing it back up the stairs. He then continued hs search.

Fortunately, he did find some more stairs, and down he went. There seemed like there was supposed to be a door down at the bottom, but it was gone. Destroyed by the monsters" Probably. And his guess was right, these monsters were nastier and stronger. One actually managed to get him good, and he had to take a break in one of the rooms to cast First Aid on himself. He checked this room and some of the others, finding that this floor was more storage still....but for treasures. Now he was on to something. Hyperion would definitely be considered a treasure. And considering it was an ancient, powerful, arcane sword belonging to the city's ruler....it would probably be among the most important ones. He couldn't bring himself to take even a little bit of the palace's valuables. He didn't need them, and he didn't want to take them from this place that was pretty much sacred to him. So he skipped all the other rooms, heading for the deepest one, fighting through the monsters as he went.

Until he stumbled upon IT.

It was the head honcho of all the monsters who had inhabited the palace....a humongous spider-looking thing. Not humongous as in something that would make a girl scream and beg someone to kill it. Humongous as in as big as the hallways he'd been walking through. The hallway had opened up to a large space before the large double doors that the spider was standing in front of. Neo stared it down, his two eyes to the thing's eight. It couldn't go smoothly, could it" The mystical ring he currently held, the Ring of Klytus, replied telepathically. I hope you weren't expecting it to.

The spider hissed at him and charged forth on its back six legs, stabbing at him with its front two. Neo dodged swiftly, rolling underneath it, slashing at its legs as he went. He rolled onto his feet, quickly turning to face the spider....which was now trying to crap web at him. He charged up some energy and did the incantation as fast as he could. "O infernal emperor, rise from the depths of the earth! Eruption!" A pillar of fire shot up in front of him, just in time, to eviscerate the sticky thread. He dove to the side, rolling onto his feet, strafing around the spider, staring it down. "O divine spear—" He dodged more stabs from the spider's legs as he recited the incantation, and narrowly avoided some venomous spit that almost caught him off guard. "—run my enemies through!" He leapt backwards, away from the spider. "Holy Lance!" A crystal of light shot down from the ceiling, through the spider, then joined by four more shooting down at various angles. It was very effective, injuring it badly and rendering it unable to move for a bit. He took this opportunity to jump up to its head and deliver a flurry of slashes to finish it off. It collapsed on the ground in a heap, dead.

He then looked on to the double doors that were now accessible. They were old and seriously rusted, so it took a lot of his strength, but he managed to pull them open and walk in, into a considerably larger room. Ocean blues were drawn to a golden light, and they widened in awe.

Neo Eternity

Date: 2009-06-11 16:03 EST
There it was, stuck into the ground. It looked like a cross between a longsword and a katana. The hilt wrapped in pure white cloth, the hand-guard fashioned to resemble the sun. The blade and the hand-guard were golden, along with a bit of diamond woven through the blade in an intricate, curvy design, all of it glittering in the golden light that the sword was radiating. His jaw dropped. This was Hyperion, without a doubt. Wandering ocean blue eyes found other weapons hanging on the wall....presumably belonging to the ruler's closest friends. But they hardly stood out in his mind at all compared to the glowing sword in the center of the room.

He looked back to the sword....to find a hand gripping its hilt. He followed that hand's arm, eventually arriving at the man's face. He was an average-built man, shaped much like Neo, dressed in fine clothes. He had short brown hair, and a clean shaven face. He had fair skin, and blue eyes. He stared at the oracle with a smile, exposing pearly whites. Neo's eyes widened even more, his jaw dropping.

"Inconcievable..." spoke the Ring of Klytus audibly, its gem glowing with each syllable, "yet somehow....expected." "Don't tell me this is..." "Aye. I am William Soleil. The final ruler of our Prism City. What is your name?" An audible gulp. This couldn't be real. "N-Neo....Eternity." "Oh ho! Eternity, huh?" He grinned. "That's a name I never get tired of hearing. I kind of thought I'd never hear it again. I'm pretty sure I know who your parents are....how are they doing?" "They're....dead." He looked down a bit. "Ah, so the two of them have passed" Hmm." He stroked his chin with a pensive frown. "It seems like it's kind of complicated, but I'm dead too, so it's not really my concern." He smiles again. "You come seeking this blade?" "I-I do." He noded, still in disbelief. Holy crap. I'm talking to the ruler of the oracles! But he's dead! This must mean... "So....you're the ghost....of William Soleil, then?" He nods. "Indeed I am. Rather inconvenient. Your stupid uncle Nihil made quite a mess of things." Neo blinked rapidly. The ruler of the oracles was shooting the breeze with him. He couldn't believe it. Will snapped his fingers a couple of times. "Hey, snap out of it, man. You need to be in tip-top shape if you're going to defeat me for this blade." He pointed at Hyperion. "W-WHAT"!" He stepped back, shock evident in his wide-eyed expression. "You want ME to fight YOU"!" "Damn skippy!" He nodded with a grin and pulled the blade out of the ground, revealing its full glory, taking its hilt in a two-handed grip. "I'm not going to let this sword go easily, even to one of the Eternity. Don't tell me you came all this way, and you're going to back down just because I'M here to test you!" "N-no." He shook his head and summoned his resolve. This man was a big deal, but he had to do it. He had to do it for his friends. "I'll fight you." An incredible resolve was now visible in his eyes. "Good to hear!" The oracle ruler grinned some more as his wings appeared. They were golden, and seemed to be more like those of a phoenix than those of an angel. He snapped his fingers, and the lights that were previously not functional illuminated the room. Neo looked around in awe. Hyperion's glow started to subside, looking more like a super-fancy sword. Similarly, Neo turned off his headlights and allowed his aura to fade away. Will's grin faded, leaving a serious expression. "Prepare yourself."

There was a brief standoff between the two oracles. Will was the first to move. "Sandstorm Wind!" He swung his sword, unleashing an arc of golden light energy from its blade toward Neo. "Demon Fang!" Neo swung his sword across the ground, unleashing a shockwave tall enough to intercept the arc. The two met and neutralized each other, but Will charged forth through it, and started slashing at Neo. Each attack was quick and powerful, with perfect form. It took all of his effort and focus just to block them. Will jumped back and lunged forward with a thrust, but Neo leapt up into the air, pointed his free hand down, and fired a few ki blasts at him. Will deflected each of them effortlessly with his sword, then throwing the sword itself up toward him. "Iron Raptor!"

"Whoa!" Neo barely dodged out of the way, but it was coming back for another round on its return trip to its owner. He dropped down out of the air, and charged toward Will, hoping to get to him before the sword did. And luckily, he did, able to get in a couple hits, much to Will's surprise. But once the sword was back in his hands, he was easily blocking Neo's attacks. Damn, he's good! Between attacks, Will snapped a leg up, kicking at Neo's chest. It knocked the wind out of him, and pushed him back a few feet. He stumbled a bit, but kept his footing. At least until Will did his real counterattack. "Peony Blossom!" Hyperion started to glow, and he slashed five times with it. Neo moved his sword to block, but the first slash came not at Neo, but at his sword, intending to knock it out of his hand. Neo was able to hold onto it, but barely, and his guard was down for the other four slashes. He fell backwards, hitting the ground, lying on his back. His wounds didn't feel like normal cut wounds. They were also....burning a bit. Not like fire, but like he'd been sunburned exactly where the lacerations were made. He rolled backwards onto his feet. "First Aid!" Luckily, that arte was water-based, so he was able to cast it instantly, though it was his weakest one. His wounds closed, and the pain was dulled. The spell also rejeuvenated him a little bit. He was breathing heavily for a few seconds.

Will just stood watching, one hand holding Hyperion over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed, noting that his opponent had cast a magic arte with such efficiency. "You okay over there?" he asked. "I'm....just peachy." Neo replied with a smirk. Will smirked right back. "Is that so' You'd better be if you want this sword." He moved back to his ready stance. "Heh....let's see if I can match an arte like that." His free hand came up to grip his sword, now holding it tightly with two hands. He moved one foot forward, poising himself to take off dashing. Lots of energy started to flow into the blade. "Hyper Arte....Ars....Arcanum!" He didn't take off dashing toward him. He instead used his displacement arte, Flash Step, to go up to him instantly. It caught him completely off-guard, rendering him unable to block the quick, fierce, acrobatic slashing combo now coming his way. He was however, able to bring Hyperion up in time to block the last attack where Neo released all the energy he charged. Will then leapt away from him with a smirk.

"Not too shabby. We didn't have artes like that Flash Step back when I actually did any fighting. And I still don't know anything like that." "Th-thank you." He doesn't have any displacement artes" That must mean he's a melee-only fighter.

Neo Eternity

Date: 2009-06-11 16:40 EST
Will dashed in again, proving Neo's suspicions correct, attacking with great speed and power, and excellent form. Neo could barely block all of his attacks, let alone find any opportunity to counter-attack. He was wearing him out, though, and his guard soon faltered, taking a few hits before displacing away from him. "Sandstorm Wind!" The golden arc of energy was coming once again, and he dove to the side, out of the way. When he got to his feet, Will was charging toward him. Neo pointed his free hand out at him. "Aqua Laser!" A beam of water shot forth toward Will, who dove out of the way. Neo was actually faster than Will, and had already arrived in front of him by the time he was on his feet. "Lightning Blade!" He thrusted out with his sword, and struck true, summoning a lightning bolt from the air to strike where the tip had connected. The bolt coursed through Will's body, stunning him momentarily. "Hell Pyre!" He then slashed upwards, lifting him into the air, and jumped up, kicking off of his chest to propel himself upward and away from him. He turned and swung his sword, releasing a trio of fireballs at him which connected without any resistance, throwing him back to the ground, on his back. Neo landed gracefully on his feet, resetting to his relaxed ready stance. Looks like that was pretty effective....He's a melee-only guy, so he doesn't take magic too well.

"Looks like you....figured out my weakness." He grunted as he got back up to his feet. "But tell me something. Why don't you need any casting time?" "I'm just that good at low-tier spells." A rare moment of him tooting his own horn. "I'm not talking about those strike artes." He shook his head. "Oh..." He scratched his head. "Well....they're water-based spells. And I'm the Keeper of Water." "Keeper of Water?" He tilted his head a bit, then shook it. "I don't know what that is, but I can guess what it does for you." He chuckled. "Looks like I'm in trouble." He smiled and transformed into an Angel Knight. His hair and eyes turned gold, and his wings, which would have turned gold were they not already gold, perked up a bit. His entire body started to glow. The smile then faded once more. "Time to get serious." Neo followed his lead, transforming as well. He had that transformation too, and underwent the same physical changes.

"Iron Whirlwind!" Will flew toward Neo, a burst of energy igniting inside his body, flowing through him and Hyperion. He would unleash a flurry of slashes upon him at incredible speed. Neo was prepared for it this time, though. He let out a yell, signaling his ki to more or less explode inside him, granting him a very temporary, but also very potent power increase. His aura flared up madly, encasing him in a golden flame of energy. This was a technique called Over Limit. "Ars Arcanum!" He used the arte in combination with Over Limit in order to match Will blow for blow. And that's as long as it lasted; the flame died out as soon as the attacks were done. Neo then flew backwards away from him, pointing a hand out at him. Will gripped his sword tightly, trying to brace for whatever would come. "Freeze Lancer!" A barrage of ice crystals shot from the air toward Will. He activated Over Limit himself in response, golden fire enveloping his body. He used the enhanced power to spin his sword incredibly fast, deflecting all the incoming ice crystals. Then, while he still had that power, he pulled his sword back, gathering an intense amount of energy inside its blade. "Blazing Solar Bolt!" A fierce swing, and he unleashed a gigantic blast of golden fire from the blade. Neo, with that hand still pointed out, gathered a large amount of light energy himself, as fast as he could. "Seraphim Buster!" A big beam of intense, scathing light shot forth toward the flame, colliding with it in a deadlock. Well, it was a deadlock at first. The golden fire was gaining ground upon the light beam. So Neo pumped more energy into it. The beam then punched through the flame, heading straight for Will. The oracle ruler's eyes widened, and he raised Hyperion. The blade actually absorbed some of that energy! And it was now glowing with golden light.

"You've done well. I'm impressed. But impressing me isn't good enough. I'm going to bring this fight to an end." He flew toward Neo at full speed, which was considerably better than before. Neo braced himself for impact. But he felt a swelling of energy within Will....He was using his Mystic Arte! Hyperion's blade was then enveloped in swirling golden flame. "The divine flames of the unconquered sun will rend your body and soul to absolute nothingness!!" An upward slash. Neo moved to block it, but there was no way his defense would be able to hold. He was thrown into the air. Will followed and delivered several more slashes, then finishing with one last slash, unleashing the flames upon Neo. "Scathing Phoenix Tempest!!"

Neo dropped to the ground, landing on his back, still burning with golden flame, which soon died out. His eyes were closed, and he was only slightly breathing. Will slowly floated down to the ground, landing before him, frowning. Yet....Neo had not reverted from his transformation. It seemed to be as soon as Will noticed it, that he was slowly getting to his feet. "You still stand?" asked Will, continuing to frown a bit. "...barely." croaked out Neo with a weak smile. "Just because that attack didn't beat you doesn't mean the fight's over." "Then I'll....just have to end it myself!" His resolve was still visible in his eyes....and it seemed like it may have become stronger! "...Okay, fine. Give me your best shot." Will reset to his ready stance with a brief smirk.

Neo lifted his sword, driven only by willpower. He closed his eyes, summoning all the strength he could from deep inside himself. It was going to take some time to gather it, so he used his aptitude with water in the meantime. "Splash." Water dropped down out of the air upon Will, who simply jumped backwards, out of the way. "Aqua Laser." The water beam shot forth once more, and he dove to the side, rolling out of the way. How is he still able to cast like this" No way....Does casting water spells not require any energy for him"! "Spread." Before Will could get to his feet, a pillar of water was shooting up underneath him and propelling him into the air. "Freeze Lancer." The ice crystals were coming once again, and he could do nothing to stop them. They pinned him to the wall behind him.

Neo floated up to face him, gripping his sword with both hands. "My turn." A lot of energy had built up into his sword, and it was glowing with intense white light. His wings started to glow intensely, appearing to grow a bit as energy seemed to shoot out from them. He held the sword out in front of him. "Angel Stroke!!" He flew up to him and slashed repeatedly with the brilliantly glowing blade, then releasing all of the energy upon the oracle ruler with one last slash, who met it with only a scream. The energy melted away the ice crystals suspending him, allowing him to drop to the ground, landing face-down. His transformation reverted, and his wings faded away. Neo floated down to the ground, reverting himself, his wings fading as well.

Will rolled over and started laughing. "Haha....That was pretty good." He slowly got to his feet, grinning, and picked up Hyperion, which had dropped beside him. "Not only did you clear my test, but you have bonus points, as well." "Bonus points?" Neo blinked in confusion. Will raises one finger. "First, for healing the wounded monster in the dungeon level." Then another finger on the same hand. "Second, for not taking any of the palace's treasure." "Oh..." He rubbed the back of his head. He didn't expect to get bonus points for doing those things. He just did them because he thought it was right. "You have more than earned the right to hold Hyperion." He held the sword out to him, hilt first. Neo stared at it for a bit, looking between it, and its owner, who was smiling just as he was when he had first arrived. "Thank you so much..." He took hold of the sword, removing it from Will's hand. It felt a bit lighter than his old sword. Just a bit. It was definitely comfortable to hold. He looked back to Will, who was finally starting to fade away. "That sword has its own Mystic Arte. If you ever need to use it, you'll know how. And it also has a companion sword called Theia, but I gave it away before I died, and I have no idea where it could be now. You seem to be a one sword kinda guy, so I'm just throwing it out there." He was still smiling as he faded away. Neo just watched somewhat dumbfoundedly. He just met the ruler of the oracles. Fought him. And won. And now he was leaving" "I've done all I needed to do." The lights that he had lit were finally dimming as well. "So long, Neo Eternity. Do that name proud.? And he was finally gone, leaving Neo in the darkness.

He blinked a few times, and looked back at the new sword in his hand. It instinctively started to glow with that golden light again, due to being enveloped in darkness. He took his old sword and slid it behind him into thin air. He then took a few practice swings with Hyperion. It felt good, and he could feel the extra power that just seemed to come with each swing.

With his new sword in tow, he turned his headlights, wing-lights, and aura-light back on, and tracked back through the palace, all the way back up through the basement. He found that his fights with the monsters were a bit easier with the new sword. He eventually made it back to the ground floor, and the sun was no longer there to light the way. It was night time now. He kept his lights on as he made his way out of the palace, then turning them off as he was greeted with the starry night sky. He didn't want to take off and fly away just yet. He exited the city by foot, taking in the sights as illuminated by the moon and the stars. Once he was out, he slid Hyperion behind his back into thin air, and took flight through the night sky toward RhyDin City.

What a day. He was going to sleep in, that's for sure.