Grey Nirmala
The hunters jumped from the earthworms as the beasts went back underground. Almost all of my vision was blurred by red mist.
"Serp, be ready!" I shouted to my new companion.
Serp looked around in a daze then aether danced around her as she morphed into a large beast. A creature like the one that chased me back in the Pits.
"Let them come!" She roared.
The hunters slowly walked through the mist. Each looked the same when I last saw them in the Forest of Spirits. And the one with the colossal sword stepped forward. The one I hated and wanted to kill the most. The biggest and the deadliest of the bunch. Ei, the Crimson Sword of Death.
"Nice to see you again, Fates Masterpiece!" he screamed in joy, "I wanted to fight you after you killed Gien."
He tilted his head and looked behind me, to Serp in her monstrous form.
"Why in the name of the Tarn is there a Hypon here?"
I merely smirked.
"Pardon me, but I also have company."
My finger moved as if ready to unleash the slices of the Weaver`s Touch.
"Befriending a dreadreaper sure is an fabulous feat. But knowing that it's you, it's obvious of how. Just make sure that it doesn't go around and eat our aether." Ei said.
Ei furrowed his brows. I rolled my eyes and reached Hachiko through our connection.
"Armor up, you shiteater." I said and as I did I sent the powers of Creation towards Hachiko.
I sensed the emptiness that came the moment Hachiko left my mind. My right hand shined and a big ball of golden light emerged left to me. And just after a single second the light dimmed revealing a bloodlust dragon.
"I`ll eat them all!" Hachiko roared and the dessert shook with the sound of the roaring.
I placed my mask back at my face and summoned Fate Weaver.
All the other hunters summoned their weapons and prepared themselves for the upcoming battle.
"I will ask you this once, Grey Nirmala." Wasa said. "Surrender to the Chaos Head and I will allow you to walk away with your heart still intact to your body."
I don`t know what kind of extravagance Wasa was talking about. Maybe I was wrong until now. Maybe Orinn did not send his regards to me this time, but someone else did. But nevertheless, the Crimson Moon Hunters are here to fight me and if they want a piece of me, then they have to shed their blood for it. They don`t look like guys that would beg for their salvation. For them it doesn`t matter if one of their own dies. So if they do not value their lives, neither would I. If they came here seeking a fight, then let them come. I will show them what true power is. I may be inexperienced with Fate Weaver, it's one of the hardest weapons to master in the Green Realm after all; but I know what Fate Weaver can do. I know its limits and I also know all of my own limits. And if the situation becomes against me, then I have no fear in using the rune carved on my left palm. Destruction may be uncontrolled, but its also the strongest in my arsenal. So all the Crimson Moon Hunters must do is to pray to their God of Death for me to not use it. They`re lucky nonetheless, I have no intention using it if they don`t force me to do so.
I stepped closer to the hunters and pointed Fate Weaver towards Ei by conducting aether to it, for to make the imuru look solid like a sword.
"The Crimson Sword of Death, I challenge you. Come at me with all you have. I`ll make you pay for what you`ve done."
After I`m done with Ei, the rest would fall easily.
Ei did not attack, making me tilt my head in surprise. Then Ciro, Amon, Mono... All of the hunters stepped forward simultaneously, their lips moved in sync and a chant escaped their mouths. A chant for the being that they worship, or so I thought.
"May chaos rain the world! May hell roam the world! May rise the shadows of hate! May cover the dreams mists of vengeance! May chaos rain the world! In the name of the Fallen... May chaos reign the world!"
Their dark, poetic chant came to an end. And Ei finally took action. He smirked, his eyes lost pupils, going full white. He burst forward. Caught off guard, I did the same. Fate Weaver swung to catch him midair but failed to do so as it instead found only air. Ei materialized behind me, in the air. He hurled his giant blade at me but I dodged it by zeroing away. Ei smashed his feet to the sand. I zeroed away until I was far away from both my own companions and Ei`s.
Shadows were greeting me when I finally landed meters away from the giant, dark pyramid. Ei formed just a little away from me. He looked at me smirking, his beasty eyes remaining.
"You look strong, brat. Do not disappoint me!" He let out a war-cry and lunged forward.
I waited for the right moment. Ei appeared above me, his sword ready to strike. I quickly used the air and sent a horde of slashes towards him. Ei`s eyes widened in shock as he tanked all of the slashes, getting cut across the shoulders and chest while doing so. I jumped away and his giant blade slammed into the black sand. Ei raised his head to look at me.
"You have a Myth... You`re tougher than I expected."
I did not care his words. Because this battle would end without a doubt by me slicing him in half.
The sword was free of the sand and Ei swayed it in the air randomly a couple of times. But my eyes for a second went away, to Hachiko and Serp who were battling Amon, Wasa, Ciro, Mono, Praxy and North. They were handling them well. Hachiko was in the air, blasting Amon and Wasa who were trying to reach him by using zero. Serp was fighting Ciro, Mono, North and Praxy. They all were cursing in awe as Serp was using his giant keen mouth to attack them.
"Don`t fail your attention." Ei said, taking a battle stance.
"You talk too much." I mocked as I dashed upwards.
I sent more slashes to him but Ei blocked them all with the help of his sword. I clicked my tongue at the annoying hunter. Fate Weaver was the one that would slice him up.
I used zero and appeared behind him. Ei turned his head to look at me, but even he was slow to my bastard weapon. Ei tried to duck away but Fate Weaver struck his left ear, slicing it off. He cursed in pain.
Ei jumped up and I jolted to the right. I used the dark sand around me to create a large wall of dust and sand. Ei slammed the sword to the ground but it only created more dust.
"Damn you, brat! Come out and fight like a real men!"
The moment I heard his words I dropped my chill. The beast that gnaws my heart said that I had to fight like a "men".
I stayed in the sand, frowning.
"Were you a 'men' when you killed Cinder Akane?" I taunted, my voice high.
"Cinder Akane was a traitor and a cheater!"
"Maybe, but you were the one who killed him after all. You honorless bastard."
Ei took a step back.
"Honorless? All I am is honor! How dare you!" He dashed towards the wall of sand, scattering it.
I used this chance to jump up and sway Fate Weaver. Ei saw the attack coming but again he was too slow. The imuru catched his right arm, I gripped the handle tight and forced the imuru to cut it off. But he was stronger than I imagined. Ei used his left arm and broke the blade of my weapon, disarming me. I zeroed right before his face to deliver a point blank slash, but before I could Ei smashed his left arm right at my face. I was thrown backwards, the left side of my mask broke off completely. I tried to get up but couldn't. My body rejected me. How did this even happen? I will not lose. I can`t lose. I have a dream to accomplish and Ei is just another obstacle on that way towards the dream. I just have to crush him like a mere insect.
"Your twit weapon is uncontrolled in your hands. Your perception is small compared to me. Even if you have two runes you`re still not an Infuser like I am. You don`t get the advantages of Infusion State, making you unaware of my usage of it. When an Awakened reaches to their Infusion state their mind, soul and body become one and their aetheric weapon evolves. Besides you lack training in your Awakened Weapon and Myth Branch. You are the one who is honorless. You are unworthy of the power you hold."
The only thing I cared about his words was how the Infusion state helps you. Other than that, it was all just idle. I know I am inexperienced with Fate Weaver and Weaver`s Touch. I am not even using my imuru correctly. But if I lose now, what becomes of me? What`s the point of coming this far if I`am not going to march these realms?
I stood on my feet and then a war-cry screamed from my tongue. I used Weaver`s Touch to send a one sheer powerful cleave towards Ei. Yet Ei moved calmly. He... was faster?
He blitzed me and stabbed me right from my belly. My eyes lost vision for a moment as I felt the giant blade going deeper. I cannot let this happen. Dying in the hands of a man like him is humiliating. I punched Ei from the face but the punch did nothing because my body was too weak to deliver one. I would have cursed if that was to be my goal. And Ei would jolt in happiness. Ahh, I wish life was always sunshines and rainbows. Smiles and giggles...
My knuckles still on his face, a one, single, brutal slash met with Ei`s face. Ei darted back in surprise and pain. The right side of his face was all bloody. His long brown hair was cutten and he had lost his right eye.
I destroyed the giant blade that was still inside me with the help of my Myth. Then I used Creation to eat the golden aether around me and heal myself.
Ei`s remaining eye gazed at me in terror.
"What the fuck are you?" he screamed.
But then for some reason he went calmer. His eye was dormant and his body relaxed. Then he opened his mouth to say a single word. A word that I had expected for him to say.
"Open."
Aether surrounded him and deadly, large, black spikes rose from multiple parts of his body. Ei talked so calmly that I thought for a second that he was a completely different man than the same man I had fought just mere moments earlier.
"Myth Branch of Space: Hopeless Lengths."
He moved not like a fighter but, like as a dancer. Every move he made was gentle, every step calculated. He used King`s Dance so well that I felt humiliated for using it. "
"You lasted well. But playtime is over."
His words attacked me, literally. I saw the words he just said thrusting towards me. What kind of a Myth even is that?"
I tried to zero away from the words but they were following even when I was meters away from them. I send a large amount of slashes at them. But they did nothing. The slashes just went through the words. Ei appeared right behind me as I tried to zero away and failed to do so. He kicked me from my back and I was directly thrown towards the words. I collided with them and each word I smashed in through felt like my skin was burning. The armor that I wore was shredded. My face and hair was dirty. And all I could do was to watch myself losing a battle I regarded as child`s play.
I was on the sand. My head was turning and I couldn't move. Ei was just walking towards me without a care for the world.
"Are you ready to die, Fates Masterpiece?"
I tried to crawl away.
"You.. can`t kill me. Orinn... needs me."
"He only needs the runes. And then, what made you think that the Dream King was the one who to sent us here? Orinn Legia is just another piece in the game board. Just like you, just like me."
I took short breaths.
"You truly are... a son of a bitch."
Ei firmed his body.
"My mama raised me with love. My papa trained me from sun rise to sun fall. My brother teached me from the dawn till the Crimson Moon. You have no power to despise any of them."
I stopped trying to crawl away and just looked at Ei`s single eye instead.
"I won`t die. You can't kill me. Even if you rip me apart, I will still come back like a cockroach."
Ei arched a brow.
"What is a 'cockroch'?"
I smirked smugly:
"It`s what your mama called me on the bed while your papa watched!"
Ei roared but I used this moment to zero away and reappear just above him. Before Ei could even look up I smashed my right hand at the top of his head. And as my punch landed a horde of slashes went across Ei`s entire body, cutting his arms at once.
He screamed in pain but before he could muster up any more batshit words I zeroed right at his face and headbutted him. I felt both of our noses breaking. I fell on my back. Ei was standing straight, words came from his mouth inadvertently. I feared for a moment that he would charge another attack. I was in no condition to fight. I saw spots and breathed heavily. But thanks to my luck, Ei`s remaining eye rolled behind his eyes and he fell on the dark sand. Our fight had come to an end. But I had not. When I tried to get on my feet, all I saw was the long and small, thick and thin, bright and dim paths, the Paths of Orca. The aetheric pathways moved across my falling eyes. Like they wanted me to reach for them. For me to hold them in my bleeding hands. But I am too tired. I guess that's why they say: "Words are sharper than blades." I laughed at myself. At all that made me who I am. The death of a girl who was once my salvation, now my hunting ghost. I truly am... pitiful. Maybe I sure did deserve that paunch from Klein. But in the near future I will surely deserve even more punches... from everyone around me.
Serp O`Ultimus
My claws pierced the armor of the hooded hunter. The hooded one growled in pain as I sent him meters away, to the inside of the red mist. Another hunter who had his eyes covered jumped above me and started to shoot me with the two guns he held. I shielded my face with my giant arms. The eyeless hunter zeroed to my legs and in point blank range he shot my leg. The bullet went through my leg and I roared in pain. This one was strong. I quickly morphed into a small bird and flew through the eyeless hunter`s armpits. Then I shapeshifted into a winterserpent. My skin was white with icy runes on it. I was as big as the hunters before me. I lunged fast towards the eyeless one. He tried to dodge it but I was faster. I bit off his right arm. The hunter greeted his teeth and tried to shoot me off. I chewed up his arm and then let him go. But I was not finished yet. I jumped up into the air to strike once again. My neck stiff and ready, I lunged. But before I could reach the eyeless hunter another hunter emerged in front of him. He had a large war-axe and he swung it to me. I quickly shaped myself into a poisonant to avoid the strike, then I transformed into an arrowhead. A big beast on four legs that has horns across all of its hardskinned body. I was running out of aether. Shifting forms took so much of my aether reserves. This was sure do bad, really bad.
The dragon was in the sky while golden balls of aether hit the sand. The hunter with the big axe faltered but quickly regained his balance. Yet he had lost many precious time while doing so. I dashed forward. The axe hunter tried to swing his big axe to defend himself but I smashed my head and ran in a straight line. The horn on my forehead had stabbed his chest and blood was flowing down from it.
"You... shit eating beast!" he cursed.
I suddenly jolted to the side, stopping myself and letting the hunter go free. He flew backwards and hit the sand ground hard. These humans... They`re all the same. They are killers. Awakened that only knows how to ruin but not create. But then my thoughts intertwined with one another, overlapping my senses with questions. If they`re all "killers" then why am I helping Grey? He killed all of my clan without any mercy for them. But then... he gave me a new one. He gave me a name. And when he had the chance to kill me, he didn't. Why? Was it because of the girl I shifted in to? I saw her in his memories, I wanted to surprise shift so the rest can attack. But Grey had a power I didn't expect him to have. He killed all of them. Yet here I am fighting beside him. And I do not regret it, so that I can kill these hunters. At least Grey gave me a chance to escape these temples made for death and worship. I may forgive Grey but that doesn't mean that I am still not mad. My madness towards humanity. Grey will live but these hunters will not. None of them will prevail through life no more. I am a dreadreaper of the Cursed Islands. So let them think I am just a simple "beast". Let them believe in their own deception. So I might break it down.
I quickly morphed into my humane form and jumped back. Shadows surrounded me while I was looking around the desert. These shadows were only here for show. They do not attack, they do not talk. They only watch. Trying to find their long forgotten bodies. Were my clan also amongst them? I wish they`re not. Let their bodies rest, for the departed and the long gone. They at least deserve this.
"Serp! Land a fang!" The dragon interrupted my thoughts.
I wonder what his name is. Was he the one that Grey wanted me to meet? I shook my head. There is no time for such useless thoughts.
I smiled, showing my teeth and jumped high. The dragon descended so I could reach him. I reached my hand and he grabbed it with his majestic legs. We then ascended back into the air and I climbed to the dragon's top.
"Come on, dragon! Show me what you`re made of!" I shouted, my voice filled with joy.
"I`am Hachiko not... 'dragon'." He snorted.
I shrugged.
"Whatever your name is, dragon. We can pipe later, first let's beat these deathsacks`s asses!"
Hachiko nodded and he formed a golden aetheric orb in his mouth and released it in a blink. The orb hit the sand creating a big shockwave that threw the hunters back. The hunters down were all injured and annoyed. They were failing. Let them be.
"Take them down!" The hunter with reptile-like eyes ordered.
"And what do you think we were trying to accomplish till now!" The hunter with the white gloves said.
"Good, they`re losing their cool." Hachiko sneered.
"Is that a good thing?" I asked, smiling.
The dragon chuckled.
"Of course. I bet that they will all soon attack each other."
"You bet? I can assure you that this will happen."
"Perhaps... Fuck `em all. Lets just strip them down then!"
We descended fast and then I jumped from Hachiko`s back and punched the hunter with white gloves from the sternum. He had massive biceps, but they were useless. How foolish these hunters are supposed to be to fight against a... I got headbutted right in the middle of my thoughts and then I was flying rearwards. Slamming on the sand rough I pouted and tried to get myself up on my feet.
"Damn it!" I cursed.
I may have underestimated these hunters a little too much. And I also may have forgotten how weak dreadreapers are physically. Only thing that works for these shits are big beasty forms. And I have no energy to shift into a large beast like a Hypon.
"You`re taking the form of a human, dreadreaper." The white glowed hunter said. "You`re just a copy, a bad imitation."
"Ugh, you are no better than me!." I snapped. "All you humans do is hunt and kill!"
The hunter tilted his head, his long ass hair falling down on his face.
"Am I? Damn right I am. We hunt for to provide power and intellect to the Chaos Head Organization. Who are you to question our moralities? You`re just a beast who can speak like a human. But you probably did not understand anything so let me be clear to you. Your small existence has no effect on the People of Death. If you die then no one will care, no one will ever even remember you walking on this world."
His words hurt, but only for a moment. I grabbed sand from the ground and then rushed forward. The hunter raised his large shield to defend and then reflect my irritating attack. I ducked his shield by bending down then my hand quickly flowed in the surface of the air as the sand got spanked right at his face. The sand got into his soft red eyes. The hunter hissed in pain and withered wearily to get the sand off his eyes.
"Ugh! You deathdamn piece of shit!"
I quickly got up and got away from the hunter.
"Hachiko, where the damn are you?" I called out to the dragon.
The sky and land both shook. A roar of mirth filled my ears. Hachiko descended, his wings flapping fast.
"Here I am, my lady."
I clinged to his giant claws and then climbed on his tail. I gazed at his face with a dumb face.
"'My lady'? It's the first time someone has ever called me that. By the means I don't ever remember that I was called anything other than a 'fresh' or 'whelp'."
Hachiko smirked through his sharp, draconic teeth.
"You`re welcome."
"Kill them! They are just two single beasts! Kill them!" The red scythe wielding hunter quaked.
Hachiko flew in a circle and then ascended so high in the air we passed the shadowy clouds. Hachiko`s eyes were fierce like real dragons. Dragons that existed long past before what the humans call the "Great Separation". Humans... I sound like a human. How funny it is. Does my personality change while shifting forms? I never pondered that. Maybe after this fight ends I can discover so many new things and learn so many new information about me, aether, the Dream Realm and every other realm that exists in between the chains of Fate.
"Don`t just stand there! Do something to bring them down!" The reptile eyed hunter screamed in frustration.
Hachiko continued to remain in sky. His focus seemed to be outside of this battle as of now. I softly tapped him from the butt, trying to make something out of his unfocused wing flappings. Hachiko`s eyes widened like a killer beast, an action that most of the beasts do, including myself.
The eyeless hunter was slowly stepping in the battle once more. He raised his remaining arm and pointed the gun at me, at Hachiko. But before he shot, he said a single word. I couldn't hear what he had said, but I could`ve guessed it easily.
The eyeless`s presence suddenly shifted, it became more controlled, more refined and sharp. And as he let out a single, mere breath of drain he pulled the trigger.
I saw the aether imbued bullet move in the air in slow motion. The bullet ripped the air pressure around it and then released a lone, dormant pierce as it went through Hachiko`s dragon body.
I tried to do something, anything... I heard the mad screams of Hachiko as bullets roamed him down. We were descending so fast that I couldn't even have the time to morph. So all I could manage to do was to cling on Hachiko`s falling body.
Everything went quiet just for a moment. Was this how I was going to die? How funny it is to face death two times in a single hour. I thought that I had another chance in life after Grey spared me. Was I so wrong? I don't want to die. Who would want to die after getting blessed by the touch of the Limbo God?
My eyes went dark as we crushed into the black sand.
All I saw was a light beyond my reach. Or maybe the light was in my reach, just that I did not want to reach it. Why? Why do I not reach, hold and hug the light hovering in my wake? But I didn't have to worry about the light before me, because soon that light shaped itself to the face of the white glowed hunter.
"Wakey, wakey you little deathshit." he said, mockingly.
I tried to see more but nothing came past him. The only presence was his and I did not like it.
"Sure you didn't expect that, huh, beast?"
I tried to morph into something strong, something that would help me triumph over these beast hunters, but I was already drained to the core.
The glowed hunter`s hand slowly touched my gentle face. I was still in my humane form, which meant that I still had the will and the aether to state my form. The hunter`s hand slowly went up to my hair and a shimmer ran down my spine. He grabbed me from the hair and brought my face closer to his, just a nose away.
"You`re strong for your kind. Your imagination seems to be far greater than the other dreadreapers."
His eyes glared up and down.
"But you`re still weak. There are only certain and numbered Awakened Beasts that could challenge Infusers like us."
"Just kill it already." the reptile eyed hunter said.
The hunter before my face sighed deeply.
"I really wonder where the hell Fates Masterpiece found you two. But the real question to be asked is: "Are there more of you for us to eliminate?"
My jaw clenched:
"You... have... no empathy..."
"That is why I have no fear."
His hands released me, letting me fall back into the sand. My hands grabbed the sand hard and sticked to it. The war between the humans harmed many of the beast kinds in plenty of baneful ways. But even after the conclusion of the war, we`re still the hunted ones.
"The dragon`s anatomy might be useful for the organization, don't kill it yet." the hunter who held the big axe said.
"The dragon is a threat, it should be killed off!." a thick bearded hunter shouted in a rushed voice.
The glowed hunter`s eyes looked past me, it went into the area where Grey was fighting against the hunter with the large sword.
"Why hasn't Ei come back yet?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Fates Masterpiece is a Tertius with two concept runes. It's not easy to kill him, even for Ei. And don't forget that he killed Gien." an orange haired hunter said, his hands dancing around his waist in a really clout way.
I was ready to die. Because I knew that there was no one that could`ve saved me in the current moment. A disaster this all was. Maybe I shouldn't have left the temple in the first place. My kind isn't made for wars and battles. We are built to ambush and hunt in the shadows. I want to live.
But then... a golden presence rose in the desert as the ground shook. I could feel the earthworms trailing under the sand, and also someone else.
"Leave us... or you`ll be next." Grey warned while taking slow steps towards us, he was holding something I couldn't figure out.
He was bleeding from most of the parts of his body. He sure looks worn out. Did he come to save us?
"Ahh, look who it is." white glowed hunter smirked: "The good old Fates Masterpiece." his eyes darted around. "Where is Ei, hmph?"
Grey`s eyes looked down for a second then back to us. He then threw a severed arm to our direction. The thing that he held was a men`s arm. The arm was bulky and looked as hard as the skin of an arrowhead.
White glowed hunter`s eyes went wide when he saw the terror lying in the dark sand before him.
"You... killed him?" he asked in a high pitched voice.
Grey answered in a calm tone:
"Do you want to be the next? Do any of you want to be next?"
No answer came. Grey`s eyes lowered.
"Then leave."
All of the hunters looked into each other's eyes. Skeptical about what to do now. But after a long, silent minute had passed with Grey`s piercing golden eyes, they did as he ordered. The hunters vanished one by one, but the white gloved remained, standing powerful.
"Where is the body?" he asked.
Grey raised a finger that was pointed toward his back. The hunter nodded slowly, then he too vanished into the breezing wind.
Grey walked towards us, this time at a fast pace. When he stood a claw away from me he held out a hand and I gladly accepted it. His eyes then glanced at Hachiko. Hachiko looked just as I imagined him to be. He was injured, tired but he was awake and breathing.
"You finally... came." Hachiko muttered.
Grey took a breath and then released it. In a blink of an eye Hachiko vanished, dematerializing into pure aether.
I was confused to see Hachiko vanishing. I looked around with a tilted head.
"Where did he go?"
Grey noticed my surprise. He smiled a little and pointed his finger at his head.
"He`s just resting."
I could see his falling eyes well.
"You need too, I guess."
Grey giggled, but after just a couple of seconds the giggle died out fast.
"We were lucky that they fell for my bluff. If they didn`t then we would`ve been toasts."
I nodded my head but questioned what the word "toast" meant in the back of my mind.
After a silence between us Grey then turned his back, his eyes gazed at the severed arm.
"He`s still alive. I did not kill him."
I looked at him with almost closing eyes.
"That's fine, no need to shed so much blood, for now at least."
"Yeah... for now."
The quakes that occurred because of the earthworms vanished. They probably went off their territory so they returned. That's what I believe at least. Never understood those bastards.
"I did a visit to Storm City a couple of minutes earlier to confirm something. It went well, I belive"
"Yes, yes, good... I just need a little rest and a refill."
Grey slowly nodded and with his nod I sat down on the sand, feeling numb.
But then, suddenly aether gathered around us as four individuals materialized. I didn't recognize even a single one of them. But it seemed like Grey did. There was a woman with two different colored blades, a man with glasses, a second man that was large and another woman whose face was all a scowl.
"Its nice to see you guys." Grey chuckled, tiredly and sarcastically.
The four of them looked around in confusion. Then the one with the scowled face spoke:
"What in the name of Tarn happened here?"
Grey shrugged and responded in a low voice:
"Just a little inconvenience."