Aurelius gorged himself, consuming more of his blood than he originally intended. Inari's observation of his virtually unending thirst nearly had him stop feeding, but his concerns were brought to a screeching halt; their consciousness was intertwined and transported to some other plane, snatched into the unseen. His spirit, plagued with myriad questions and skeptical analysis, was instantly assuaged as if the realm itself quelled the tide of his curiosity, rewarding it with the answers his mind sought. The clarity he so clamored for. As the realm attuned itself to the presence of the crimson heir, its nature became far more stable than what appeared to Aurelius, as if, despite their shared blood, what Inari's soul harbored was separate from the Myotis altogether.
"!!!"
The violent rattling of his temporal projection being thrust betwixt realms jumbled his sense, but as they came to, so did the realm around before being beset by the shifting nature of Aurelia's console as the realm held its form like a page right out of a
celestial haven. The serenity that seeped within Inari's soul was unprecedented, as if, for the first time, he had tasted the very lifeblood of the cosmos, his fangs suckling the dew of the stars. The water beneath him was a proverbial lake of clouded constellations ebbing with the boisterous majesty of the silver moon's reflection above. In the pit of his stomach, he felt a fluttering feeling like the weight of his 1000-year curse had been lifted, if only for a moment. For the first time he could recall, since he awakened, his burdened soul was at ease.
“I…am I’m awe…”
The exposure to such a realm alone imprinted something upon Inari that he had never considered despite the Hellgate blood that flowed through him. He initially had no reverence for the celestial bodies above. If anything, since his own experience with the Scarlet Moon, he cursed its very existence, which brought him nothing but sorrow and rage, and since this realm prevented lies from being hidden.
Fear
Despite his efforts to conceal this realm, he was forced to rip his ego apart, tearing his delusion of grander to scraps. Here, he had no defenses, no walls, no barriers. His consciousness ebbed with every flowing thought and passing concern, each rippling thought on its own voyage of the seemingly infinite realm before them stretching far into the beyond, echoing into eternity, and when that feedback loop returned to the center of it all where he and Aurelius stood their truths both known and unknown came to light. Their sight here reminded him of their ability to echolocate but on an almost godly level. He would have never guessed them capable of such things. The other 8 families were blind to the Myotis's true capability; even the bat elves had lost this knowledge. The knowledge that Inairel now possesses.
They were right to fear them...
How interesting should such a truth come to light now after several lifetimes of avoidance? How many of his incarnations stuffed their primal emotions behind the veneer of bravado? Beneath his elevated pride and his often nauseating arrogance was a festering fear of not the things known but of the many things not. In this way, he was still faithful to his tribal nature. Hellgates rushed head first into the abyss of that which had yet to be discovered. Still, his voracious curiosity and innate obliviousness to the nuisance of mortal morality was a quality that was more fae of him than elv.
how curious
It also was the origin point for his curse activation. The inquisitive nature of the fox was made manifest in the ugliest, most horrific ways, stopping at nothing to satiate that thirst. The unruly desire to prove himself above all other phenomena. All at the behest of a curse whose caster he had never seen. Until...
"Tell me why the Myotis are cursed by the Scarlet Moon."
As Aurelius had anticipated, the answer to his inquiry became the walls around him. Images of a red comet, with a destructive presence and an ominous grip on Vescrutia's many moons, repeated. The room seemed to know when Inariel and Aurelius understood something and would repeat an image until clarity was found.
The malefic
sphere held onto by Vescrutia's powerful gravitate grasp orbited her like a looming nuke of demonic destruction. The docile realm of universal equity had now shifted to a twisted reflection of the lightless vacuum of space painted with the orb's insidious crimson glare. Before Inari could even think of his questions, Aurelus gradually awakened control of himself and snatched dominance over the temporal realm, able to string to life the clarity they sought faster than Inari's security could even imagine it. Yet with them so fine-tuned to each other's energies all co-existing at once, He, Aurelus, and the realm itself, the illusion of control was meaningless. The realm served as the canvas; Aurelius drafted the painting, and Inari produced the finished works, adding all the needed colors and details. It was incredible to behold.
"The comet…its energy changes everyone but why where we soo affec-"
Images of a much younger Holgrud crown, striking a deal with an unfamiliar face, appeared on the walls, with the red comet hovering over their head instead of orbiting the planet. These images were preceded by the night the Myotis attacked their fellow man.
The Red Requiem
At this moment, however, things in the realm began to intensify for Inariel. As his eyes lay on the scarlet moon no longer within Vescrtuia's orbit, a slit stretched from one corner of the moon to the other. Blood began to seep from it before it slowly split apart, revealing a sight that, for legion reasons, struck fear into the soul of the sanguine sorcerer. All his ties to himself were severed, as if something was blocking him out. He found himself no longer near Aurelius, alone, again, in a world of red standing before a
massive red eye.
Now you shall SEE
A voice so heavy its mere utterance shook the realm violently.
For then you will KNOW.
From beneath him, a massive clawed hand emerged. His form was paralyzed by fear, overcome by an insurmountable dread. The nails of each finger became like a series of obsidian traced with runic etchings of crimson: blood magic, very, very old blood magic. As the shadows of the spires painted his face with their shadows, a bead of sweat fell from his brow to the cardinal realm below. From the tip of each spire, a gleam of light flared before a beam of energy was fired from it, all five beams converging in its center. From that, a
massive sigil would manifest. Its eyes glared at Inariel with a rage that made his look like the tiny tantrums of a toddler. This fury was indiscriminate. As natural as air itself, pure indignation. As the Sigil fully manifested from the center of its eye, a beam of the same energy it comprised fired into Inari's chest. His blood boiled like lava seeping from his chest; then the sigil seared itself onto his flesh. He had never seen a mark that was not his birth rune. He writhed in agony as it solidified. Once entirely so, the original emblem would spill in half vertically before opening, becoming a gateway with a dark figure in its center.
"You never needed to search for me, my chosen; I have always been by your side; you needed only to heed my call."
This voice was lighter and tamed yet still carried authoritative undertones. Commanding, demanding, decreeing. As the figure emerged from the gateway, the emblem on his chest applied like contractions. Inari glares like curses, damming this monster to the abyss and beyond. After it emerged, he could see it was a
man holding an orb that held the same maddening presence as the scarlet moon, as if he wilded the madness of its nature in the palm of his hands, his eyes like staring into the quintessence of that energy.
Inariel H wrote: ↑Mon Feb 04, 2019 10:39 am
Horrific
Yes, that was the word that described the next turn of events. A grizzly whale caused the native organisms to flee in terror. Having been ensured by the fluorescence of the vermillion flare caught in his gaze, his form jerked. Bulging protrusions rapidly occurred over his body. His hair started to grow till it lay in a bundle in the murky earth; his fangs enlarged, his body grew in mass, and his muscles were far more defined. These changes came with the intense crackling of bones and grinding of joints it was as if His frame was realigning or evolving. The farmers stayed hidden, encroached behind the trees and low swings vines, stuck, helplessly watching the cardinal metamorphosis unraveling before them. Fear gripped the woman who accompanied them. Mouth agape, she threatened to blow their already fragile cover. As she inhaled, a man adorned with a black hood grabbed her mouth and held it shut. She caught herself. He looked the horrified woman straight in her eyes, his own visage showing worry, but solid was his grip to affirm her of his strength. He placed a finger over his own mouth, signifying for her to be calm and quiet.
His gaze shot over to the other three men. They were armed with a simple weaponry. The hooded man however carried a blade slightly larger than the rest. A claymore it seemed to be. She calmed herself, yet the russet storm around them pulsated once more knocking down a tree that was a few meters away from the hiding party. The hooded man motioned for them to circle and surround Allen ,yet to still keep their distance.As this occurred the clouds vanished and a burst of light rained down on Allen. Like a lightning rod for the sanguine luminous drenching the forest, all light drew itself on Allen.
Cease this war of will... YOU WILL HEED THE CALL!
A chill curved Allen's spine, his soul vibing, resonating with the culmination of energy thrust into his person, rippling through his body. His nation began to pour from him, causing energy waves to tear through the space around him; his soul was flaring, his heart aflame. And with a final roar, the stage had been set. The Advent of the Carnivorous moon reached its climax and, with it, a maddening dead silence. Smoke and debris cleared, and what would be left standing at the epicenter of it all was a being...but if was this...was this still Allen?
The memories of that night flashed in his mind. The call that started his journey to the Acrix was the pivot point of his self-discovery. The diabolic power that snatched his free will from him. The maddening lull it...
"You...you are it's origin. Hundreds of lives I have lived under the insanity of this curse. Blood magic so foul my soul cannot find rest no matter how often my life ends. Eons of blood curtailing screams, unfathomable evils that I have committed...."
The being smiled as it watched Inariel finally piece together the seemingly sporadic puzzle pieces. It moved like a creature floating in midair, and its smile widened the closer it got.
" I can feel you clawing for clarity, the last piece of this jagged puzzle. Search no longer, curious little fox; I feel oddly benevolent now. Even I cannot revoke the rule of this domain with deceit, So I shall bless you with the truth!"
The orb the demon carried floated to Inari's face. His eyes became full of light. His mind seized for a moment before the red light faded, and the sight of two elves holding a small, sickly, crimson-haired child appeared. He instantly recognized the woman with raven hair. It was his mother,
Malka. However, he had no clue who he was. He had
cardinal locs just like his, with lime green eyes.
Malka: Khalid, must you glare at him so? Such a scary face isn't helping him, ya know?
His brows, heavy with concern, softened.
Khalid: You're right, my love. I cannot help but scowl. I worry for our son, the only child we've birthed, and yet he will not survive a fortnight. Forgive me."
She touched the side of his face, trying to console him. Her eyes were weighted with worry, trying to hide the void of hope she carried.
Malka: Such talk is not befitting the Crown of the mighty myotis. We have scoured the mother for a cure; none can be found. Even the moon itself speaks of no healing known to the heavens. Let us cherish the time we have left with him as a family.
His eyes watered, the flood of pain too much for even him to hold back. He clenched his wife's hand in his as streams of anger and sadness seeped from him.
Khalid: Damn the heavens! We have given our entire lives to the moon! Protecting this world that fears us! I have bled from the very world that cannot even...cannot even help me save my only son.
Malka: Khalid, this is no one's fault. Not yours, nor mine, least of all the goddess. It is nature's way...
His fury grew to an almost frenzy for a split second, but the fear in his wife's eyes quickly dissipated the flame, forcing him to release her hand and rise.
Khalid: I...I need some air.
He walked out onto the balcony of the castle they lived in, stretching his massive wings before taking off into the night. Furiously, he flew like a blazing red arrow slicing through the clouds. He was above them in seconds, glaring at the full moon above him.
Khalid: I have given you everything! We do not stray from the path! We protect your creatures, your world! Kirin!!! Why do you not answer me? Vescrutia!!! Why do you not save my child?!
His soul bled out onto the unseen, his emotions so strong they rippled through the astral realm.
Khalid: GGGGRRRRRAAAWWWRRRR!!
Like a cursed inferno, his anger damned the mother and all that walked her. And though she said nothing back, his cries had not fallen on deaf ears. For his rage was answered by a carnation of rage itself. Kirin's azure glow began to be corrupted by a sinister red aura. A giant red eye manifesting in its place.
"Your gods abandon you Crimson Crown. Stained your legacy with illness and deny you the means to heal it. Many of her children you have saved, many more you lead and guide, and this is how your mother repays you? Neglect, a feeble heir? They let your cries go unanswered; I will heed your call."
Khalid: What...what are you?
The eye narrowed
"The Answer to your prayers. Do you wish the boy healed? I can will it be. Not forever, but I can extend his life far beyond what it is now. But I require a price...and it MUST be paid in blood."
Khalid: Then my life for his?! Fine, claim me! If it will let him live even longer,
The eye snickered a grim chuckle.
"You are a fleeting flicker, a feeble fly. In possession of nothing of note, neigh there is but one thing you have that can be offered. The boy...in exchange for slowing the progression of the curse for fifty years, no longer. It will claim him; you must relinquish him to me. On the next eve that the moon ignites with this scarlet glow shall dawn the day of my collection. This is my ONLY offer...
The Crown's soul was riddled with all kinds of conflict. Save his child but at the cost of damning him to this monster...or let him die by night's end.
Khalid: What will you do with him?
It returned his inquiry with but a whisper.
"He will become more than you can ever imagine..."
Khalid's eyes shook with concern, but he clenched his fist and studied his resolve. Half a century, it was slim, but a spec in comparison to a normal Hellgate life. But it was still a chance, and when the time came, he would do whatever was needed to save his child from this monster.
Khalid: I... I will do it...
At that moment, the vision ended, and Inari returned before the demon.
"They... He, my father."
The demon sneered
"A liar, defiler of a blood oath. You, boy, are a promise yet to be kept. He soiled our covenant... and thus, the curse I cast sprung from an unfulfilled oath. Blame him, the cur Khalid, for the last thousand years of misery. For the downfall of the Myotis.
Inair's heart could scarcely hold the emotions welling inside of him. Despite the evil echoing these words to him, he knew them to be true. He felt it so. His knee buckled under the weight of it all. All his pride, ego, and conviction crumbled to dust, leaving him too weak to stand. He was..a premature child? His body is too weak to live without magic to sustain it. Him? One who stood on the pinnacle of all that was to be...was a trophy bequeathed. Did his mother know? Why didn't she tell him? She helped him awaken his familiarity in the courts and spoke about his father in riddles, but she said nothing of this dark deal. As he lamented, the Red Eye grabbed and tightened his fist, drenched with magic, forcing Inari to levitate before him.
"Now you can release this foolish notion of rebellion. You now know your place; no lofty throne is waiting for you at the top, only the shadows of oblivion. Relinquish the Seed of Creation! HEED. MY. CALL!!
A torrential spiritual force ravaged Inariel's being, overwhelming him with its power. The emblem on his chest blazed furiously with dark magic bound by his blood to obey and surrender. All that he was, all that he had ever been, the hundreds of faces he had worked, the thousand dead he had slain, all of it was beings stripped from him. He...knew this feeling. He was being consumed. The same ability he used against Bora was now being used on him. The rippling crimson aura suffused itself to his being, trying to overwrite his mind, body, and soul. Its affluence forced his CORE Element to manifest. A resplendent
ruby, oozing with cosmic energy an uncanny concentration of mana, ebbing a force that felt both familiar and foreign inari.
Finally, the ruby's reflection danced in the mirrors of the red eyes' gaze. After so many millennia, it would finally grab hold of the one thing it needed to break free of its prison, to once again immerse the cosmos in destruction as its nature demanded.
"Finally...my return is NIGH! What-!"
Just as the scarlet demon grasped Inari's CORE, a massive white tendril ensnared the demon in its grasp. A piercing howl like a wolf baying at the moon filled the dead silence of the blood ritual being invoked. The aura that soon followed mirrored that of the serenity he first felt when coming to the temporal realm and, with it, a blistering light shining with an otherwordly radiance devouring the darkness around him.
All these eons searching for answers, and now you decide to cower beneath them? What is the matter inari? Were your convictions really so...fragile"
This voice, Inari, knew it immediately. It was his familiar, Amrit. The claw forced the demon to the ground as Amrit emerged fully from the Core, flooding the realm with a mana source so pure and sacred that Inari could not believe it came from Amrit alone. He who had sowed so much death, taken, devoured, destroyed. Yet this energy felt like nothing short of the very essence of life in its rawest form. Overhsoawed by the wavelength of this energy, the scarlet domain shattered as the moon reflected in its temporal reign lost its cardinal glow and instead donned a lunar lux of silver. Despite the demon's best efforts, it could not wrest itself from the Amrit grip. The power gushing from the familiar was greater than even he this weekend. He stood large as a
mountain before Inari and his invader. Eyes blazing with lunar light.
"The demon spoke no lies, but it only spoke IT'S truth. It showed you what it saw through the lenses of its reflection. It cannot tell you the truth from places it does not know. "
Inariel eyes became heavy with tears.
Khalid: Like what goes through the mind and heart of a parent desperate to save his child.
The voice from his vision. His father's voice. Amrit's form shifted from a massive mountain to that of a crown from ages past. His eyes were burdened with the weight of his choice. But his heart, flowing into Inari's core, bridged the gap of doubt created by the demon piecing together the same mural through Khalid's lense. Visions of him defying the Red Eye when it came for Inari, the forbidden reincarnation magic his father used, giving his and Malka's lives to preserve his. The Red eye damned that magic, twisting it into the curse he bears now. The cacophony came to a sudden stop, the faces of his parents before him. Smiling.
Malka: My curious little fox hunted once more. Yet they do not know the vastness of your soul.
Khalid: Within you lies the hope of all our brethren. You are their avenger, an agent of vindication. Your fury ceases life; your blood birth it anew!
The demon struggled against their influence and threatened to break their hold on the realm over his.
Together: DO NOT DESPAIR OUR SON! GIVE THEM HELL!
Amrit form began to emulate with a blazing silver energy burning away its seemingly corporeal form, blistering with lunar magic. Under such illuminating stress, his very being on the line activated the Myoti's crown's ability to evolve rapidly, ushering in a metamorphosis for his soul.
And the evolution of his CORE.
The silver essence radiating from Amrit poured itself into Inari,
suffusing him with mana, shattering the shackles of his soul and freeing him of the demon bonds. Its vehemence filling the realm just as...
Aurelius: GO! You owe me nothing!
They were snatched from the temporal realm. The demon held on. Inari broke the realm. He was delirious, but the pungent smell of blood and death brought him back to reality. He found Aurelius caught in the clutches of a massive black claw, his blood pooling on the floor. Yet Inari did not move, entranced by the newly released power flowing through him. His eyes bore a silent gleam, like staring into the moon itself.
"Mother, Father...your sacrifice will not be squandered."
was his only thought before his palm ignited, the silverly sanguine essence of his now-evolved core emanating from him like a beacon. It wrapped itself around his body, its light beaming solid until it crafted an armor in its likeness upon him.
He was changed.
"You are correct; I owe nothing to you..."
He outstretched his palm, and the Mystery Murderer invaded within sight of his palm.
"But I owe my blood everything. Consume, Amrit"
His eyes flared as the ground beneath the Black fur blackened, and from the bowels of its void, a gaping
maw riddled in silver fangs lunged up from under him aiming to devour him whole save the arm wrapped around Aurelius. A magical incarnation of his familiar brought to life by merely a thought.
