Realms 2: Rebirth of Evil (Official RP)

[Shadow*91]

Vent smirked. "I wasn't giving you any. First you should know, the city belongs to Destry once more. Now follow me." Vent led Caedus into the main chamber of the cave before stopping next to a wall. "This trial is something the Great One had me take to prove my loyalty and devotion to our cause. You must now do the same." Vent unshethed one of his swords and stabbed the wall behind him. A secret door opened up next to Caedus revealing a long black tunnel. "It is called the Path of Phantasms. The trial itself is simple but succeeding is hard. Once you enter that tunnel, the door will close behind you. You won't be able to see or hear anything. To pass, simply exit the other side." Vent walked up to Caedus. "While it seems simple, it's not. There is some ancient magic in that tunnel. It will disorient you so straight may in reality be circles. Inside your thoughts will constantly wander towards any regrets or doubts. In truth, this is not a trial of body but one of the mind. Many have taken it and gone insane, wandering until death. There is nobody in the tunnel, and no monsters but the ones in your mind. My only advice is to stay focused. Pick a reason to justify why you take the trial and focus exclusively on that reason. It helps to keep you on the path." Vent gave Caedus a push into the tunnel. "I completed the trial in two hours. I will wait at the other end for one. Hurry up, young Caedus." The door slammed shut locking Caedus inside.

[The Storm]

Blackness engulfed Caedus within himself. the only sound he heard was the rough panting of his breath in the cold, dampened cave. He took a step forward, then another, and another. The floor was strangely rough. It felt like stone beneath his feet. He took out his blade and held it in front of him, if only to get some idea of distance to prevent himself from walking into a wall. He kept on walking forward, no sight, no sound other than his own harsh breathing. He was blind, deaf and dumb, and he was walking with demons. He could feel them all around him.

As he walked, suddenly, he stopped. He saw a figure walk up to him, dressed in militaary clothing, scarred and burnd skin tissue all over him. He had the look of a fighter about him. Yet, he seemed somewhat... Empty. Ethereal, in a sense. Caedus grinned for a moment, remembering what Vent had told him. He looked the spirit of Forenz in the eye and laughed at him. He thought it was quite comical that Forenz now had to dwell in the spirit world.

"Ha ha ha... Look at you you old fool! You certainly have outdone yourself! Well... At least you look better dead than alive! Ha ha ha!"

Caedus conitnued to scoff at Forenz. He remembered what Vent had told him. This was all in his mind. He was in no real danger. Forenz grumbled a moment and clenched his ethereal fist. He pulled out a mace, the same one he had fought against Caedus with in their final bout. Caedus smirked and laughed even harder.

"Oh, so now the vengeance of the Big Bad Ghost is supposed to frighten me? Ha! You cannot harm me! I am living, and you are DEAD!"

Caedus' sentance was cut short by a sharp pain in the side of his head. He had been knocked off his feet by a blow from a very powerful, and very real mace. He touched his wound and what he found was disturbing. He found some very real blood. He could even smell it. The thoughts furrowing throughout his head were cut short, once again, by another blow from the mace to his chin. He flew off the ground and landed with a thud. Blood gushed from his skull as he spit out a tooth. He couldnt believe it.

Caedus staggered to his feet. He thrust his sword into Forenz' chest. This time it was Forenz' turn to scoff. The blade passed through him as if he was made of air. Forenz' ghastly fist met Caedus' stomach, causing blood to spew from the young man's mouth. Caedus did'nt know what to do. Another spirit walked forward from the mist. This one Caedus did not recognize. It was a man dawned in tattoos and dark robes. The man held out his hands and Caedus was pinned against the wall by a mystical force. Lightning spread from the fingertips of the tattooed man and Caedus' entire body was racked with pain.

Slipping in and out of consciousness, he noticed the appearance of one more spirit. This one he had never seen before... But the look of fear that smeared itself across his face was one of pure terror. He had read about this demon in novels describing the Destrian Conflict. It was Naxus. Naxus was a being of pure dark power. Naxus lifted his hand, and Caedus was filled with piercing pain. All his muscles cramped and seemed to implode on themselves at the same time. There was nothing he could do. He was going to die here. He could feel it.

Suddenly, the voice.. That cold, dreaded voice in his head popped in. How about you let me handle these fools... I have the power, after all...

Caedus blacked out. When he awoke, the spirits had vanished, and he was standing up again, no marks on him, his teeth back in place, and no wounds of any kind. He was very puzzled... He looked around, and thats when he saw it. He was face to face with the cloaked figure who he had seen kill his mother in his dream. The figure's eyes were still peircingly bloodshot and ferally yellow. The figure spoke darkly, in an octave far below Caedus' own.

"Caedus... You know me... You know who I am... You will never escape me.. I will break free.."

The voice sent a chill up Caedus' spine as the spirit faded away. Caedus continued walking through the dark abyssal path... uncertain of his direction or bearings.

[GigaRidley]

Night screamed inhumanly as the orb hit him straight in the chest.
"SETH... YOU TRAITOR!!! I'LL BE BAAACK!!!"
The wings faded as Night returned to normal, the aura fading away.
"Wha... what..."
Night collapsed, unconcious.
-MEANWHILE-
Richand collapsed outside of the city gates, half-concious.

[Shadow*91]

Seth watched as Night collapsed with a solemn look upon his face. "I never was on good terms with Chilliam, even at the best of times. And I see he dispises my part in the Conflict just as much as any other Destrian does. I found Naxus was far more agreeable anyways, except when he was chattering about murdering something. But I digress." Seth glanced over at Siana. "Siana, are you alright? Why didn't you kill this pitiful child to free him of the possesion like you would to other demons?"

--Meanwhile--

Vent had made his way to the exit chamber and was waiting for Caedus. The chamber was simple. It was large, the size of a greeting hall to some mansion. The walls and floor were black stone. Fitting considering he was at the 'Mountain of black stone' something else would have been strange. Vent had been in this room before so there was some slight furniture. The chair he was sitting in, a table, and behind him was a pedastal covered by a blue cloth. Vent was relaxing in the chair as he waited. He was still somewhat exhausted from the power he exerted in the battle. He could move around quite fine, however he was virtually powerless if he had to fight. Half an hour. Another half and he fails. If that happens... I don't think he'd be worthy of even knowing the great one. I may have done it in two hours but the great one's expectations for him are much higher. I understand why, but should he fail then we have nobody else. The great one's plan will be ruined and I may have to erase him. Like all the others...

-15 Years Earlier, before Valentine was defeated-

Two children were standing in a room about fifty feet apart from each other. One, the younger of the two, wore blue with a large black eleven on the back of his shirt. He was carrying two twin katana's. The other wore red with a large white thirty across his back. He was holding a massive axe with one hand without any visible effort.
"Begin."
The two charged at each other. The thirty swung low at the eleven's legs. The eleven quickly flipped over the axe before slashing at the other's back only to be parried. It continued this way for minutes, neither giving in. Suddenly the thirty's axe burst into flame as he held it. He began swinging, slowly pushing the eleven back. Finally the eleven was against a wall. "It ends here!" The thirty swung down.
But the firery metal never touched him. It had frozen in mid-air just inches from the elevens face. Before the thirty could realize what had happened he was sent flying by an invisible force. He quickly righted himself and through a fireball at the eleven's head. As it neared it's target it was shoved to the side by an unseen push. The eleven's eyes were glowing the whole time. He held up his hand and the thirty suddenly began struggling with his axe. The thirty's grip broke and the axe came flying towards the eleven before dropping at his feet. The eleven bounded forward and slashed at the other's knees before kicking him down. As the thirty was about to stand up, the eleven was standing over him holding a blade to his throat.
"Enough. Number eleven, Vent Nogeth, you win."
Vent stood up and took a couple steps back as the thirty struggled to his feet.
"Number thirty, Terivn Sendo, you fail. Vent, erase him."
Tervin yelled in protest, "But I've never lost before! I can still fight! Just give me another chance!" As the waited no answer came. Tervin turned to Vent. "Please, don't. Let me live. I want to prove I can still fight."
Vent was silent as he readied his blades. Tervin could see begging was a lost cause so he shot a fireball at Vent before trying to run to his axe. Vent ducked under the fireball and with one quick slice, decapitated the other.
A door opened up an a man entered. He wore pure white with thick black glasses on his face. "Very good Vent. You continue to outshine everyone. You fight with superb skill and your commitment to your orders is unwavering. You erase every failure just as ordered. Soon you will be ready for a real battlefield."

-Present day-

Vent studied his reflection in one of his twin blades. "Should he fail... he'll be just like all the others. Failures must be erased."

[BurrHenry]

Fringe found herself somehow in the forest, clutching the shoulder plate from earlier. She looked around for a familiar face, and finding none, staggered to her feet. She began to gather wood for a fire like an automaton. Staring at what (she hoped) would be a fire, she entertained the idea that someone might see the smoke and come along. She wondered even if anyone came, if she would have any desire to go with them. She didn't even have her pistols anymore. She looked down at the beginnings of a fire, and felt the wind dance around her, blowing it out.

Fringe glared at it, and realized the hopelessness of the situation. She was in the middle of a War, and completely unable to fight. The cities she had worked so hard to rebuild would all be destroyed, everything had been useless. Both sides saw her as an enemy, and although she had only seen a bit of their power, she knew running was impossible. What was even the point in trying to survive...?

Suddenly she found an invisible hand gripping her; squeezing the oxygen out of her lungs. She didn't try to fight it (ooc: OH I CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING ANYMOOOORE), it was going to happen anyway.
She heard a sound nearby, and the hand released her. She fell over; light headed and gasping for air.

[GigaRidley]

Originally Posted by Shadow*91

Seth watched as Night collapsed with a solemn look upon his face. "I never was on good terms with Chilliam, even at the best of times. And I see he dispises my part in the Conflict just as much as any other Destrian does. I found Naxus was far more agreeable anyways, except when he was chattering about murdering something. But I digress." Seth glanced over at Siana. "Siana, are you alright? Why didn't you kill this pitiful child to free him of the possesion like you would to other demons?"

"I kill demons... not people. You know that... please, he needs our help!"
She ran over to him and began dragging him into the forest. As she did, the robes slipped, and she saw his face.
"Night..." she breathed.
But something was wrong. He's just as young as he was fifteen years ago... why?

[Shadow*91]

Seth gave a quick look to Sela. "I can stand on my own old timer."
Seth just smiled before walking over and kneeling down next to Night and Siana. "I figured he was human as Chilliam's body was destroyed in the Conflict. What I had asked was why you didn't kill this child to free him of the possesion. There are far too few ways to end a demonic grip on a human without killing the person. Judging from your expression, you know this child. Is that why you didn't slay him on the spot?" Seth looked at Night for a moment before returning his gaze to Siana. "Another thing is how did Chilliam possess him? For him to do that he must've met this boy before and marked him. Only Naxus was powerful enough to possess an untainted human. So I ask again, do you know this boy?"

[The Storm]

The gem glowed brightly for a moment.

"Vent!" Valentine barked, "I am going to go and... Persuade the boy a bit..."

Valentine disappeared into the gems darkness.

Meanwhile...

Caedus continued to stumble through the darkness. The smeel of fresh blood stained the air, yet their was none to be found. Caedus found himself trapped within his own mind... And while he seemed to have no boundaries in the infinite darkness... He had nowhere to go either. He was all alone... And the thought of having to endure this nightmare forever was hounding him as he began seeing things and talking to himself. But it wasnt himself he was talking to... It was the side of himself he came to refer to as his "Dark Side"...

Before long, after many arguements within his own head, he began to hear another voice... A deeper, darker voice.. Even more vehement and demonic than his own.. The voice had such a strange taint to it... It even sent shivers up his Dark Side's spine... In the infinite blackness, a red glow appeared. A figure appeared within it... Another ethereal spirit, Caedus imagined... But he was not likely to underestimate this one. The figure was dressed in tattered aristocratian robes... Not much indifferent than the ones Caedus himself wore.

The man had very dark blonde hair that was long and tied behind him in a formal ponytail. A few strands hung from his brow over his face. And his skin... that sickly pale color that could make a dogs stomach churn... Coupled with the mans fierce red and yellow eyes... It was nearly enough to terrify any normal person. But Caedus stood his ground, and did not show the slightest bit of any emotions or thoughts running through his mind. If this was in fact a demon with the magnitude of power that Caedus could feel emanating from him, the last thing he wanted to do was piss it off.

The spirit chuckled, and grinned widely. A small gasp did escape Caedus' mouth as he noticed the long canine fangs inside the figures mouth... Which shone in the figured own ethereal light. The cape that the figure wore hung down to just below his ankles... And the figure grinned at Caedus... Then very slowly... Took a step forward. Caedus mirrored his movement, taking a step back. The spirit stepped again, as did Caedus. The spirit smiled widely, and then disappeared.

Caedus looked around wildly, before turning around to find the mans face less than 6 inches away from his own. The sudden shock had Caedus utter a cry as he stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor. He raised his blade in an ornate way to try to defend himself. He swung it wildly at the figure. It did absolutely nothing to him. The figure simply chuckled a moment, and let loose a volume of dark energy. Black tendrils shot forward and devoured Caedus' blade in an instant.

Caedus looked even more shocked.

"I... I know who you are... I've read stories about you..." Caedus almost choked one swalloing air as he gulped to speak the name. "You... Your Valentine..."

Valentine's grin faded from his face... And the look on Caedus' face would suggest that he just stepped over a boundary. In the blink of an eye and a flash of darkness, Storm Valentine had his teeth sunk deep into Caedus' throat. He was being drained of life. After a few minutes... Valentine stopped and looked Caedus in the eye. Pigmentation had returned to Valentine's face... And the contrary had happened to Caedus. Color had been drained out of his body. He was now no less pale than stone.

Valentine chuckled a moment. "You are the one who will make me whole again... With each passing day... Do what you are destined to do..."

With that, the spirit disappeared, and Caedus opened his eyes once again to darkness. He no longer felt weak... But empowered. He stood up from the ground, and found he could actually see the darkness... And he could see through it. He followed his senses, and pushed on a knot in the wall. A whole opened, and Caedus stepped through it. He was back in the normal tunnels once again... and He saw Vent waiting there for him, just as he said he would be.

Caedus would have been the first to initiate conversation... But for some reason his vocal chords seemed to tied up to formulate words at the moment. His voice came out raspy, and much, much deeper than before. It wasnt the voice of himself... It was the voice he had heard in his head countless times before.

"V... Vent... I did it..."

Meanwhile.... Valentine reappeared in the gem, speaking to Vent.

"Nogeth... It is done. He is ready for the next trial. Do it without haste, and make sure not to fail me!"

[Shadow*91]

Vent had not bothered to agknowledge that his master had left the gem. Unless Vent smashed it or did a very complicated ritual, his master was bound to it. He would have to return. While Vent did not care to know where he had left to he was wondering how he had left. The spell Vent had spent a year learning was powerful and as he had learned, would supposedly never allow the spirit within to leave. He must be regaining more power then I thought to be able to override the most basic and most powerful concept of the spell. After all the time I took to learn and master it, ironically nothing would give me greater joy then to see him shatter it. But he himself said that would be impossible without a body of his own. Still, impossible deeds exist for others to someday achieve.

Vent was looking towards an hourglass on the table when Caedus finally entered. Vent watched as the last grains fell after he finished speaking. "You have passed. And with little precious time to spare. Excellent work Caedus. Now come here and have a seat. There is something I must show you and things we must discuss." Vent got up and grabbed the pedastal from behind him and stood it next to the table, being careful not to move the cloth covering it. "Now, what do you suppose is under this cloth?"

[Shadow*91]

EDIT: damn double post.

[The Storm]

Caedus gave Vent quite a dumbfounded look. He had no idea what might be there, and he wasnt up for any parlor tricks after the hell he had just endured. Still... He figured he may as well humor Vent to an extent.

"A blade? A map? A weapon or scroll of some sort?"

[Shadow*91]

"If used correctly it could be all of those. What is under this cloth is the greatest secret we Destrian Shadows hold over the world. It's with this the great one sent out the call to the mind of every Destrian. It is with this, we plan on ending the coming war." Vent tore off the cloth revealing a pure white column. However it was what was atop the column that beckoned interest. A large black orb. Looking into it seemed to reveal multitudes of endless space filled with nothing but the very essence of power. Thinly etched into its surface with a deep, royal purple was the emblem of Destry. "This, Caedus, is the legendary Orb of Destry. One of the four Orbs that granted magic to the mortal world."

[GigaRidley]

Originally Posted by Shadow*91

Seth gave a quick look to Sela. "I can stand on my own old timer."
Seth just smiled before walking over and kneeling down next to Night and Siana. "I figured he was human as Chilliam's body was destroyed in the Conflict. What I had asked was why you didn't kill this child to free him of the possesion. There are far too few ways to end a demonic grip on a human without killing the person. Judging from your expression, you know this child. Is that why you didn't slay him on the spot?" Seth looked at Night for a moment before returning his gaze to Siana. "Another thing is how did Chilliam possess him? For him to do that he must've met this boy before and marked him. Only Naxus was powerful enough to possess an untainted human. So I ask again, do you know this boy?"

"Yes. His name is Night. We met him... Richand and I... fifteen years ago, in the Destrian Conflict. He was running from people who wanted him dead because of the mark."
She glanced at the purple mark visible in patches under the folds of his cloak.
"He came with us. He fought Storm with us, once. He met Zanaku and Drake... And then he left. He was with Richand, in Sagomir Gorge... he lost control of the mark and slaughtered the Destrian soldiers following them. He couldn't take it, I think, couldn't handle the fact that he might have been a danger. He didn't want to hurt us, so he ran off. Richand and I looked for him over the years... but we never found him. I eventually began to fear the worst, but Richand always said we'd see him again. What I don't understand as why he looks the same as he did fifteen years ago. Is that because of the mark too?"

[Shadow*91]

"Possibly. When a human survives being marked by demon they partially absorb certain particular traits, most influenced by the specific demon that marked them. The one trait they all share is the human can now be possessed by any demon. This is done in three ways. The first is through the demon forcing the possession. Chilliam is not powerful enough for that if my memory serves me right. The second is if the human wills it but this means he or she has dominance over the demon. However this is extremely rare as few basic humans have the power or the desire to become monsters. The third, and easiest, is for the human to exhaust themselves rapidly following which the demon will force control. As I said Chilliam is not powerful enough for forcing control. And judging by what you said, this youth does not have dominance. So it is likely that he was exhausted and Chilliam simply took control. As for his appearance, as I mentioned the marked human can take on traits of the demon. It's likely his preserved youth is a trait, though I can't be entirely sure unless he were awake to speak"

[GigaRidley]

"Well...we'd better get him back and rested. Then we can ask him about it..."
Siana stopped.
"Wait... where's Richand?"

[The Storm]

Originally Posted by Shadow*91

"If used correctly it could be all of those. What is under this cloth is the greatest secret we Destrian Shadows hold over the world. It's with this the great one sent out the call to the mind of every Destrian. It is with this, we plan on ending the coming war." Vent tore off the cloth revealing a pure white column. However it was what was atop the column that beckoned interest. A large black orb. Looking into it seemed to reveal multitudes of endless space filled with nothing but the very essence of power. Thinly etched into its surface with a deep, royal purple was the emblem of Destry. "This, Caedus, is the legendary Orb of Destry. One of the four Orbs that granted magic to the mortal world."

Caedus gazed at the orb. It was a magnificent, and at the same time, a terrifying sight. The orbs had been thought to have all been destroyed at the end of the Destrian conflict. he thick smoke of purple and black that billowed within the orb beckoned to Caedus. Staring into the orb, he could not take his eyes off of it. He then noticed a hand was moving towards the orb, as if to grab it. It took him a moment to realize it was his hand that was moving forward, and he could not stop, nor did he want to.

"The power... This is what gave Him the power..."

As soon as Caedus' finger touched the orb, an image flashed into his head of a dark figure. Time skipped forward and flashed to his father, lying on the ground crying in pain as the figure scoffed. It changed again, this time to the figure pronouncing some sort of speech to battallions of soldiers. It then forwarded once more to a clash between two forces, one which appeared to be a shadow, while the other was pure light.

Caedus was blasted back onto the ground. He slowly righted himself as he stood up and looked at Vent.

"What the hell was that? All I did was touch it!"

[Shadow*91]

"It was testing you. The great one knows much about the orbs, this one in particular. In fact I believe the traitor Seth is the only one who knows more. According to the great one, when Seth turned traitor he claimed to have been the creater of the orbs. Truth or not, his age and connections have likely given him a mastery over them." Vent slowly replaced the cloth over the pedestal. "And do not think you're alone in the experience you just went through. The first time I touched it a similar event occurred. Keep what you saw to yourself, as it was yours alone to see. The fact you aren't spouting nonsense tells me it finds you suitable. Yet the fact it did not glow with power means it has not awoken. After your father, Richand, scattered the orbs, all of them have gone dorment. Thier power can still be used however its full strength is locked. When it glows with power at the touch that means it will fully awaken in that persons hands. Certain people are able to bypass this though it means they have knowledge about the workings of the orbs or that they can naturally draw out the true power of what they wield."

[The Storm]

"But then... If Seth is the only one who knows more about it... Hmmm... But then... Who else would be able to awaken this Orb other than Seth?"

Ooc: Wow.... Bluntly put.. My shortest post

[Shadow*91]

"Well for one, Richand. His role as Avatar of Light automatically makes him draw out the full power of whatever he holds. It's the main reason he defeated Valentine at the end of the Conflict." Vent set the pedestal back where it was before turning back to Vent. "The great one knows exactly who can use it to its full power. I won't say who, the knowledge isn't yours to know right now. But I will say this, the person is of great importance to both sides of this battle." Vent hoped his vague hint wouldn't let Caedus understand that he was the important one. I'd rather leave him in the dark where he can grow stronger and figure it out himself. "Now Caedus, don't let it bother you. You'll likely figure it out over the course of your time with us. Now the task I just had you do tested your strength of mind and commitment to the Shadows. We will return to the city and then you shall undergo a test of strength."

[The Storm]

Caedus sat there, pondering his thoughts. His father was the Avatar of Light... Caedus couldnt help to hide the slight glimpse of fear of what would happen to him if his father found out that he had changed sides. True, to him it was noble... But he knew he would never be able to convince either Richand or Siana or any of his former allies to see through his eyes.

"Vent... Im not sure if I want to do this anymore... My father would be so angry if he learns what I have done... I cant do it... I am too widely known... I cant... My name has too much honor behind it..."

Caedus tried to hold back his feelings of guilt... but he was finding his attempts very unsuccessful.