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Post by Tenshi the Sunkern on Apr 10, 2014 19:15:45 GMT -5
Crigan twisted back around, and grabbed Auroros as well, before taking back off toward Diamen's location. He wasn't going to leave Auroros on the ground in pain and agony... but his words rang alarm bells in his mind. "I told him to flee when I realized things had gone out of control. I told him at first to not come, to stay where it was safe away from the Maluvor hunt... He insisted, and I foolishly let him... I thought we could attack from different angles if we worked together, and pull it off without a hitch... but I never expected they would be right there waiting in the Astral Plane. I had no idea..." He began rambling off, his eyes shrinking as he sensed it.
Diamen was in danger... and he had to rescue him! What... had he done?
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The young Death god was in the grip of pain unlike anything he had ever felt. Physical pain was not unknown to him. Being a Death God required fighting those who didn't want to die even when their life span was at an end, and sometimes they were brutal juggernauts in power. He had even dealt with pain to the soul, from renegade spirits and revenants that would refuse to be slain or taken back for judgement.
But this... this was the power of the most dangerous of the Maluvor. His eyes looked at the girl before him, the deadly decay eating away at his own flesh. How could something so beautiful... something so pretty, be the source of such great evil, of such fear that even the High Council was afraid? Such disregard for the lives here... this was the true malicious nature of the Maluvor.
And yet, even as the deadly decay reached up to the eye on the left side of his face, he refused to stand and do nothing, UCA rules be damned! "RELEASE ME, PHANTOM!" He shouted as a jagged platinum scythe materialized in his right hand, and he slashed it down across Ranukada's shoulder, diagonally across the chest. There was no physical pain caused by the weapon, but the aetherial magic that was channeled through it did have just the effect Diamen had hoped.
he had damaged her soul with the very element she opposed.
A long jagged scar ran along where the scythe's magic had slashed, and Ranu was hurled into a wall, the wound glowing with aethetial energy. That was just what he needed to take back off into the sky, flying as fast as he could. The wounds he now bore were eating away at him. he could only hope there was a cure for these scars...
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Post by GI Jho on Apr 10, 2014 21:09:59 GMT -5
Auroros was in a tight spot now. Should he aid his friend, or should he whisk his wounded Emissary away? Auroros grumbled to himself, as he closed his eyes, as strange aura surrounding his emissary. Suddenly, she disappeared, whisked away to his hub chamber, where the UCA's technicians (and some of his own healers) could look at her. He still had a job to do. Auroros spread his wings, before he flew after Crigan...
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Ommadon smiled venomously. He liked where this was going. "Of course, almighty Maluvor. I am a humble servant at your service."
Ommadon bowed low as a sign of respect to the Maluvor.
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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Apr 11, 2014 0:06:15 GMT -5
Zekshi smiled, before a cloud of nether traced with flashes of purple obscured his vanishing form and streaked through the door, heading for Ranukada's location...
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Ranukada rose to her feet almost in slow motion, wide eyes watching Daimen fly away. Thick, sludge-like liquid dripped from her open wound, burning holes into the floor. Her skin twisted and convulsed ever so slightly, sewing up the gash in her 'flesh' with thin tendrils, before the entire thing merged into flawless skin once again. The slashed portions of her white dress were also repaired, for the silk was nothing more than another product of nether. It was part of herself.
But before she could pursue, she noticed Zekshi flying towards her in the depths of the astral plane. At he passed, she heard his voice speak to her within her mind.
"That's enough, Ranukada. You have done what's required" And with that, Zekshi darted off through the hub after Daimen.
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Within the astral plane, time moved faster. What was only the blink of an eye to the mortal realm was an entire full second in this place. As such, Zekshi's speed quickly overcame Daimen's frantic attempts to escape. But killing, or indeed, harming the injured death god was not his intention.
For the astral plane, the realm of spirits, was also the realm of dreams and the subconscious mind.
As the blanket of nether, invisible to Daimen's eyes, reached the young death god, Zekshi dived. His form cloaked Daimen's. His very essence entered his very subconscious.
"Our deepest regrets, Daimen," he whispered. The sudden voice faintly within the back of his mind startled Daimen, nearly causing him to fall out of the air. "Your father abandoned you and Auroros at the doors of the living quarters. I tried to negotiate, to turn him away peacefully, but he was far too rash. It seems he valued the life of the Emissary over that of his own son. When offered the choice, he chose her - his mission - over the wellbeing of his family. When the time came, he sacrificed his own son for what he thought was the sake of the greater good."
But before Daimen could respond, the voice was already fading away as Zekshi left. "No longer shall we pursue. You have my word. I have only one word of advice, Daimen. Your father has shown his true nature; how little he thinks of his children in the face of danger. I fear he is not to be trusted after this unforgivable betrayal..."
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Post by Tenshi the Sunkern on Apr 13, 2014 19:27:51 GMT -5
"Lies... complete lies." Diamen muttered as he halted where he was. He couldn't believe that... no, that wasn't true! As much as he had despised his father, he knew that nothing mattered more to him than the wellbeing of his family. The Maluvor were the ones he couldn't trust. Such evil monsters would do anything for their own gain... he wouldn't be fooled by their lies.
"Diamen!" Came a shout from behind. The young Death God turned, and was greeted by arms wrapping around him. "Are you alri-" Crigan pulled away, and looked upon Diamen's face. His eyes widened as he stepped back. His hands covered his mouth, and Diamen could see it, horror and grief overtaking his father. "No... no..."
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Crigan was at a loss as to what to say. He had hoped that Diamen would have been able to flee to safety, but when he had saw the victims of Ranukada's assault, his heart had sunk, and now he could only stare at what his carelessness had wrought.
Stretching up from Diamen's chest, and covering the entire left side of his face, was an ugly, grotesque rash-like patchwork of decaying skin. Puss and the scent of rotting flesh were all that Crigan could see, and as Auroros landed behind him, he looked away from the terrible damage the Maluvor had done to him. To see his own son like this... Crigan collapsed into the arms of his own son, and be began to cry. "Father..." Diamen said, as he tried his best to ignore the pain caused by the decayed mark. it hurt, but now the pain was subsiding somewhat. "Did you rescue her?" He asked.
Crigan looked up. "Yes, we did... but I almost ruined the rescue operation. I had no idea they would be lying in wait in the Astral Plane. They caught me right as I entered, and threatened to kill either you, or the Emissary." He looked back at Auroros, and though the bird's face was still, he could sense the boiling anger within the bird. "I tried to pick a third option... I wanted both of you to get out of there, while I broke free and rescued the Emissary... but I very nearly lost you. I thought they would be lying in wait at the door... but I was wrong." He turned back to Diamen.
"Both of you have every right to both despise me and not trust me. I try, I try my hardest to protect those near me, but it always ends in catastrophe and death. I am a failure as a god, as I cannot even protect those nearest to me. If I had stuck by my earlier word and told you to stay away... and had I planned things out with Auroros, you wouldn't have been hurt, nor would the Emissary's rescue have almost failed. I am sorry, but I know that I cannot fix the wrong I have committed on this day." With that, he finally collapsed back into Diamen's arms, and the stream of tears dripped down his face. "Diamen... you and Mara are the only family I have left, the only things I have close to me that I can protect... and I cannot even do that. I have lost so much over my life, and now I nearly caused Auroros to loose that closest to him... It is all my fault."
"Father...." Diamen shook his head as he held Crigan close. This was something he wasn't used to, seeing his own father, such a talented and high ranking Death God, reduced to bitter tears... Truly, darkness was descending upon the UCA.
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Post by GI Jho on Apr 15, 2014 20:23:14 GMT -5
"You're certainly right about one thing, Crigan," Auroros replied in a surprisingly venomous tone. "Your ignorance almost got us all killed! You should have been far more cautious than you were. But at least your lack of foresight did not compromise the operation. My Emissary has been sent to my living quarters to be healed, and no one was hurt... too badly."
Auroros turned, as his form began to shine brightly. "Now if you don't mind, I have business to attend to. My emissary is in dire need of healing... that being was wielding powerful nether magic, and I need to see if I can find a cure."
With that, Auroros disappeared from sight...
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Post by Tenshi the Sunkern on Apr 15, 2014 20:40:49 GMT -5
Crigan's head lowered as Auroros's words rang in his mind. Of course... that was all he was good at. Nearly causing the death of everyone around. It was unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable. Why was he destined only to bring despair and death... "We must head off as well. Hopefully, we can find a cure for your ailment as well."
"I don't need one." Diamen said. "I'll be alri-"
"Alright? ALRIGHT?!" Crigan's shouted as he gripped Diamen tighter. "I nearly lost you... when I had lost so many things in life. I cannot afford to loose what little I have left. Besides... we don't know what side effects that dark magic can do to you. Let us go now... we can only hope that the Emissary and you make a full recovery."
With that, and with Diamen struck in silence, they left, heading back to where his living quarters were, unaware of a flower on the floor, one that had watched the whole thing, in complete silence...
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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Apr 15, 2014 22:14:57 GMT -5
As they left, Crigan heard the faint whisper of Zekshi's voice speaking into his subconscious.
"Witness true fragility of mortality. The consequences of failure. Your life is only one of suffering, Crigan, and wherever you go that pain will forever follow. Your presence will only continue to bring harm to those you hold dear. Do not fool yourself into thinking you can protect them. All it takes is one mistake. You know that so long as you're in their lives, they will never be safe. You know that sooner or later your loved ones will die, so long as you remain at their side. And then you'll be left with nothing in this dark empty world. It is inevitable."
The voice began to fade. "If you truly care about them, then perhaps the smart thing to do is to let them go...."
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Post by Tenshi the Sunkern on Apr 18, 2014 22:26:26 GMT -5
Crigan tried to ignore the voice. He didn't want to hear it, not the voice of an evil monster he knew was trying to deceive him and get his guard down, and definitely not of the Maluvor that had caused so much pain and suffering. He could not let what he held so closely go. Not if it risked them dying regardless. He would protect those near him, no matter what, even if it meant his own life. With that, he continued on, before vanishing into his own room... from there, he would warp to Mara's room, to try and throw off those watching... and with any luck, he would find assistance there.
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