Inside The Fire

[Silence Sei]

((Closed to Amber Eyes and Aiko))

Sei Orlouge was worried. Kyla Orlouge, Sei's niece and his adoptive daughter of sorts, had been gone for over a week now. While it was not odd for the girl to take long trips to her real father's home in Chateau Drantrak, she always alerted Sei or Anita of her leaving. Recently, Kyla had been more detached from the mute and her 'sister', however. Something had happened to the girl that she could not share with either of her relatives.

It did not help that after six days, Kyla's father Niche came to Sei's tomb. Apparently Kyla was supposed to go to his home and train with him for a few days, but she never showed. Sei began to fear that the worst had happened to his little girl. Kyla had a shadow sword she could create to take care of herself, but that only lasted so long as she had energy to wield it. What if someone had taken her when she was in a weak state of mind?

The following day, Sei had started asking around. He frequented everywhere Kyla would venture off to. The book store, the restaurants, the bazaar, but nobody had seen the girl for quite a bit. Sei feared reaching a dead end until he had come across the Radasanth Library. Kyla loved to read, so Sei made a last ditch effort to see if she had been there recently.

The fruits of the mute's labor paid off, as the librarian had informed him that his daughter had been there. Furthermore, if her times were correct, the librarian was the last person to ever see Kyla before she vanished. Sei questioned the woman in glasses what the last book Kyla had was. The book was called 'Spells of the Ancients', which worried Sei immensely. What was Kyla doing looking up spells from the olden days?

As Sei flipped through the dusty pages, he finally came to a stop on the only clean pages in the entire book. Kyla had casted the 'spell of knowledge'. Sei's eyes went through the words in his head with a horrified expression. Quickly checking out the book, the telepath brought it to the one person he knew could translate the texts better than him.

"Yeah Papa, this is bad," Anita Orlouge said, "These writings, in Althanian state that the user will gain all they want to know for a price. However, there are smaller watermarks between each letter in demonic coding. This spell summons the spirit of corruption to taint you with what you want to know." Anita's eyes continued to look through the texts, unaware that Sei had grabbed something out of her backpack as she did so. "What are you going to do?"

Sei looked to Anita. "Stay here. I'm going to get some things ready, and then I'm going to rescue Kyla. When I find that spirit of corruption, I'm going to tear its spirit out through its eye sockets and make it cry its own organs." Anita was taken aback by the brutal detail her father had went into. Sei had no love for evil, it was true, but he had no love for death either. As a result, such violent talks caused Anita to plant herself in the chair, playing with the magnifying glass she was holding between her fingers.

Sei was pissed, and nobody was about to stop his rescue mission.

[Aiko]

Bunnying of Kyla approved.
Castus Malum, it was a place of darkness, a plane dedicated solely to evil. It appeared to all who entered as a massive temple, though there were some who thought it a large mansion. The entire plane seemed to be constructed of black marble, blood stains decorated the walls here and there from one event or another.

It was down this hall that a red skinned demoness with black hair, eyes, wings, and tail walked guiding her charge, a human woman named Kyla Orlouge. Kyla had summoned Calbrena, unwittingly of course, in the desire for knowledge of true evil. Calbrena promised her that knowledge, and was showing her all that was evil. She stopped in front of a doorway. Inside was an elderly man in dark robes, with a bunch of students.

“My dear Kyla, allow me to introduce you to Vhenreyes, Master Sorcerer. Today you will be assisting with something light, and easy. He wields shadow magic, and light magic. You will be his assistant in warping these young fragile minds, until noon of course. Afterward, you'll take part in the afternoon prayers. You will be the one to deliver the dagger to the high priest. Tonight, if you make sweet love to me, then I'll allow you to decide what you want to do tomorrow, otherwise I'll take my sexual frustrations out on you by forcing you to face an act so greatly evil, only a true monster could witness it and do nothing, let alone do the act itself. This is more than a mere sacrifice, sometimes the conditions of a sacrifice determine the degree of evil. So while I leave you with master Vhenreyes, think about this one thought. Which is more evil, for a priest to sacrifice someone to his god, or for a mother to sacrifice her own newborn child less than an hour old to her god. The truest sacrifice of innocence, for even in evil creatures, a degree of innocence still exists, much as it shames me to admit it. You don't want to, I'm certain of it, but imagine if you yourself were to do such a thing.” Calbrena said.

She walked away smiling. Telepaths and other experts in the field of the mind all confirmed the same thing, the mind does not know the difference between an imagined memory, and a real memory. If she did imagine as Calbrena instructed her to, then a seed would have been planted that would act on Kyla's mind for Calbrena. If she could imagine sacrificing her own child, then how much easier it would be to imagine doing other, lesser things. Eventually, compared to the greater evil of harming her own child, the lesser evils would seem inconsequential, and thus easily doable. From there it was only a short step to actually doing these lesser deeds. Calbrena slunk off down a side hall, and giggled softly to herself.

She pulled out her cigarettes from a pocket in her jacket. She was wearing a duster, with eight inch Delyn plates sewn onto it. Underneath that she wore shorts and a shirt. All were black, with gold trim. Running a finger along the wall like a match, it burst into flame at the tip. She lit her cigarette, then shook her finger to put out the flame. She was used to them now, and couldn't imagine how she got along without them before.

Her day was simple, she had four hours to prepare, and then she was going to be the one doing the sacrifice. At the appointed time, she was there, waiting. Crowds had gathered round. Since her father was chosen as the day's deity, she got to lead the first sacrifice to him. On the table was tied a little human girl, her father's favorite. She had curly red hair, and freckles. She wore a little white dress with black polka-dots, and a green shirt. Her name was Kelly, and she was terribly frightened of what was going on. Where was her daddy? He had knights under his command, why didn't they come and save her?

“Despair child, for your father obviously doesn't love you enough to come save you. If he did, he would be here already.” Calbrena said to the little girl.

“You lie! My daddy loves me.” Kelly protested, tears streaming down her eyes.

Kelly struggled against the bonds holding her in place. Why was this happening to her? She didn't understand. Through eyes made blurry from tears, she saw the ugly demon woman holding a dagger.

“To my father, Xith'rith'xail, The Demon God, we consign the soul of this one innocent little girl, taken from her parents in the dead of the night from the coronian countryside. With the powers of her soul, may you guide us all upon our paths, and give us your infernal blessing. May our own lives be enriched according to the degree of our offering.” Calbrena said.

“No!” Kelly screamed, and then pain filled her heart as the dagger entered her chest. She didn't understand, why was this happening, where was the hero that was supposed to save innocent little girls like her. The pain was great, and she felt herself slipping away.

“Why?” she asked with her last breath, and then she was gone. Her eyes, now dead, lost the spark of life they held, yet they seemed to stare almost accusingly at Kyla, Calbrena's assistant. If she hadn't given Calbrena the knife, Kelly would still be alive, she would still be a loving eight year old girl who liked riding her pony with her father when he rode his charger. Tomorrow was his birthday, she was going to make him a crown of daisies. Now her only gift would be grief and despair.

Calbrena turned around, a look of exultation on her face. She truly enjoyed what she did, and this intimidated many of the other planar residents. Her father gave her a portion of the little girl's spirit, and so she consumed it. The feelings she experienced were better than any drug. It wasn't hard to tell that Calbrena was higher than a flying bird, from simply devouring a part of that little girl's dying soul.

The eyes in the statue of the demon god lit up with fire, and the crowd cheered. The sacrifice was pleasing. Calbrena wandered among the throng almost seeing through them, she felt like she was floating through them, like she had become immaterial. This wasn't true of course, she knew that, but the feelings, the unrelenting joy, she lived for that moment.

[Amber Eyes]

Fear gripped Kyla tighter with each step she took. Calbrena delivered her to a classroom; it was a small room with dozens of desks piled in it. There stood a large lab table near the far corner, and several students were sitting around the table. The class was very full, and Kyla could feel the student eyes burning into her skin as she entered. The wizard who was inside had kind eyes. They seemed to pull Kyla into whatever he was saying, and it no doubt made him a skilled educator. Kyla was surprised to learn that the wizard could produce both light and shadow magic. She quickly learned however; mystic magic and human magic are very different.

As of yet, Kyla Orlouge was the only mystic to complete both the light and shadow trails, and she couldn’t help but be interested in learning what this man would be able to teach her. Before Calbrena left, she gave Kyla yet another impossible decision to make as well as a disgusting riddle of sorts.

What was the difference between taking the life of an unknown innocent or one of your own blood? Kyla had never had any family to pull experience from, but the thought of Sei having to make such a choice brought tears to her eyes. Sei could never harm Anita, but what if he had chosen the other option? Kyla herself could have been the innocent, and until her blue blood covered the soil, he'd never be any wiser. No, to take another life, it all equaled out. Sure it may be harder for a mother to kill her child than for the priest who does it repeatedly throughout his career, but it doesn't make in any more or less wrong. The question was one of the first asked of her by Calbrena that Kyla truly was able to solidify an answer to. No matter what degree of evil someone reaches, everyone has their limit. The reckless killing of innocents for some 'higher' purpose would always be beyond the mystic child.

Kyla sat in the class, handing the professor what he needed to continue with his lesson. The professor eventually came to a point in his lesson where he described which blades would be best for different creature’s sacrifices. The thought of these young people learning such things pushed Kyla a bit over the edge.

"Could you hand me that sword from the table child?" The professor asked, still busy handling the other knives.

"Which one?" Kyla asked as she felt a solid object developing in her right hand.

The professor turned confusion clear on his face. "There should be only one."

Kyla held out her shadow sword in one hand, the blade from the table in the other. The professor seemed shocked at her ability, and quickly stammered, "Class dismissed, everyone make sure to be on time to the sacrifice tonight."

Hours later Kyla stood at Calbrena's side, waiting for the horror to begin. There was no way for Kyla to get out of this one. Calbrena called for the knife and Kyla delivered, fighting the urge to refuse. There was no glory in dying here. This child could easily have been any other girl in the market. Her eyes shone with tears, and Kyla wished she could take the pain away. Calbrena taunted the poor child, and Kyla again forced herself to stand down. Then, with one final thrust, and the horrible sound Kyla now associated with a dying child, she was gone. Her lifeless eyes stared at Kyla, daring her to change the world. Kyla again gave into her cowardice, and cried silently as Calbrena left the room a hero.

Kyla knelt on the ground and whispered to herself. "One month and you will be home, you cannot change this, just get through the sentence."

Liquid hit Kyla's hand, and it made her jump. She looked at her palm, and her heart sank. The girl's blood ran a beautiful azure. Calbrena had killed a mystic child. Kyla's entire being filled with rage, and she ran from the room. She entered a long empty hallway. Calbrena came this way, I know it. Kyla quickly created a long sword in her right hand and pulled her dagger into her left. She marched down the hallway as fast as she could.

"Calbrena, you self righteous bitch, come out here! Show yourself!" She screamed.

[Silence Sei]

Sei returned a couple of hours later. Armed to the teeth with all of his weaponry. His charams lay at his hips, the Gemini blades were sheathed onto his back in an X formation, his battle fans were tucked neatly in his pockets. He looked at his right index finger and saw the golden ring her wore. This was the ring he had been given from Kyla's father as a way of telling the mute to protect the girl no matter what.

If only Niche had known that Sei failed.

The orange haired mystic gripped a piece of metal in his left hand as he approached Anita. He wore the long cloth over his left side that he once donned to fool people into thinking he had two arms. Now he was going to use it to full demons into thinking he was not armed. Anita was still at her desk, trying to look through whatever spells the tome had to offer. The girl looked up to find her father prepared for war. There was a look in his eyes Anita only saw on three occasions. The Gisela Open, the Yellow Lily Rebellion, and any battle with Sei's former mentor, Thoracis.

Anita knew what this meant. She was going to have to stay behind this time. Sei would be showing absolutely no mercy to everything within the walls of this alternate dimension. That meant he could not have Anita as a liability when he declared his one man war on these creatures. Sei's eyes met with his daughters, who nodded her understanding. The girl flipped through the pages of the book and stopped, starting to chant and incantation.

"Spirits of the dark, rest at ease. I seek safe haven in your open doors. Do not be afraid, for I seek a home, in the dark reaches of Castus Malum!"

When Anita finished, a wind began to blow throughout the tomb. Several books were knocked from their shelves, candles fizzled out with the strength of the air, and a large black vortex began to grow between Sei and his daughter. Anita could not see the form of the mystic just three feet away from her, so she decided to tell him one last thing. "Papa, if you don't come ba---"

"I'm coming back. With Kyla."

Sei's tone was so serious, so sincere. Before Anita could protest the black void shrank into itself and disappeared. Anita's eyes did not find her father behind the dark veil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sei appeared at the doors of Castus Malum, two large ogre-like guards standing on either side of its entrance. The mystic cared not to take in the intricate details of the exterior of the home. There was only one thing he wanted, and she was in one of the vast rooms to the mansion. As Sei's own vortex disappeared behind him with a loud cracking sound, the guards looked to the mute. One of them merely went back to his position while the other gasped in horror. This demon obviously had been to Althanas.

"That's Sei Orl--ack!" the demon's sentence was cut off as the blade sunk deep within his neck. His partner turned to him with a look of surprise as the scythe like weapon was pulled back, taking the much larger demon's head with it. Sei reached his right arm out and caught the weaponized part of the kusari-gama. Sei gripped the handle of the scythe and threw the weighted metal part now, the other end of the chained weapon slamming into the unprotected temple of the demon.

The second guard collapsed over the decapitated body of his friend. The mute simply walked forward, to the doors of the giant building. People of evil were often too arrogant to lock their doors if they had people outside protecting them. Sei lifted his right foot up and slammed it into the door, swinging them open. Sei looked back down at the corpses. They were collateral damage as far as he was concerned. This whole damn place was.

Sei turned back into the vast hall that stood before him, and began his journey to save his child.

[Aiko]

The walls around Sei shook and trembled, as all light cut out. The darkness pulled inward, allowing light to return once more. The Scion of darkness stood before Sei, as always appearing to be covered entirely in black leather robes, a hood over his face. Tendrils of darkness emanating from The Scion reached out for Sei, but stopped inches from him. He said nothing, only raised a hand, as he flew backwards, causing an orb of darkness to fly into the floor.

From it rose two well known demoneses. One red, one green. The Green one wore enchanted leather armor and had a mace that glittered with other enchantments. The Red one wore not one single stitch of clothing. Both had sharp claws, giant black wings, and matching tails. They were the deadly sins of Lust and Envy.

“Invaders are not welcome here. They are welcome only in my bedroom. Come, you do not wish to fight, let us make love instead. My sister will even join in.” Lust said.

“You will be the envy of all your friends. Few men can boast to having a threesome two demonesses in bed at once. But maybe you want more than just sex. I have a mace here with impressive properties. It can be yours. As can the armor with equally impressive properties.” Envy said.

The Scion of Evil was gone from the room now, and the pair of sins used their powers on Sei, one to find out just exactly what would inspire the greatest amount of lust in him, the other to find out what he desired most.

They didn't attack, they simply bared the path.

Meanwhile, Kyla didn't find Calbrena, she found The Scion who was heading toward her. The tendrils of darkness emanating reached out to grab Kyla and force her back. The door behind her opened up, the hallway behing her closed. She was left with no alternative but to retreat back the way she came. Which was alright, Calbrena was back there, she had never left the main room.

“You will stay here under pain of death. An intruder has come, and you'll not be assisting him, and if he makes it in here, you'll stand by and watch him die, or die with him.” The Scion said coldly.

Slowly, one by one, the eyes of all the statues lit up. Energy flowed across them turning them into living stone. Scion and Calbrena noticed this, as they knelt before the presence of The Dark Pantheon. It wasn't often one was visited by the collective evil of every dark deity in all of Althanas.

“Scion! Scion! Hear our words Scion. It is not our will that Sei Orlouge should be destroyed by your hand this day. Set the other five Sins in his path, and should he defeat all seven deadly sins, then you are commanded to allow him to achieve his goal, but only under one condition. We know what he plans, of the attempts he makes. We find it amusing that he would try to establish these, Ixian Knights to oppose and ultimately destroy us. We wish to give him a token of our disdain. The only way he will free Kyla Orlouge before her agreed sentence is over, is if he allows The Eighth Deadly Sin of Corruption into the order of The Ixian Knights. We have spoken Scion, now bring our dark will to fruition.” The words of The Dark Pantheon resounded throughout the room, many voices speaking in unison.

Sei Orlouge would stand no chance of hearing them, but then he would still be occupied by other concerns. But The Scion heard them, and rose to follow them, rearranging Castus Malum and summoning the rest of The Seven Deadly Sins.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla searched the hallways, but Cabrena was no where to be found. She turned a corner to see the Scion, easily the scariest thing in this horrible place. He was walking directly towards her. Surely trying to fight Calbrena wasn't any sort of crime, these people murdered innocents like they had expiration dates! "Mr..You don't understand!" Kyla screamed as the fingers of the darkness grabbed her, pulling her back into the main room as the hallway closed. The Scion spoke and Kyla knew better than to interrupt.

What visitor? Who will die?

Kyla turned to take in the room around her, and saw Calbrena in the center. She focused her energy into her right hand, picturing a large sword. She would take care of Calbrena here and now. Yes, she could feel the handle forming in her hand, the steel of the blade flashed light across the room. Kyla tightened her grip, as the room came to life.

The feeling in the room was awful; it sucked all the hope right out of the girl. The statues began to light up, and Kyla knew that she would die here.

I will not die a coward Kyla's mind screamed as she lifted the sword.

A strange voice filled the room, but Kyla was determined. Nothing would stop her from achieving this kill. A familiar word filled her mind.

Sei?

Kyla's sword fell to the ground at the mention of her 'father's' name. If Sei Orlouge were in Castus Malum, Kyla would die to protect him.

Kyla was listening to the message intently now. Sei was to defeat all seven sins, and then he could take her home. The final condition though, Calbrena would join the Ixian Knights. Kyla picked up her sword and reabsorbed the energy, Calbrena was now too important to harm.

Please be okay Sei, please! Don't die because of me, I can't live through that.

She sat against a wall facing the center of the room, unsure of what part she should play in the chaos quickly building around her.

[Silence Sei]

The two demoness' seemed to scan the mind of the telepath. Sei was a professional in knowing when one was attempting to read his mind. He had been doing it to people since he was little. After a few minutes, the naked sin known as Lust took a step back while shaking her head. "Th-That's impossible. Y-You have two daughters!"

"Adopted." Sei said with a wry grin, "It's hard to lust after something you've never had." It was probably the one time where someone could say that the mystic being a virgin helped him in his tasks. The mute's eyes then went over to armored Envy. The fact that the green demon had a weapon and armor would make her hard to take out. Taking the momentary shock held by Lust, Sei sent a message to her sister.

"How, may I ask, is -she- the sin of lust? I mean, it would make so much more sense for -you- to fit that bill, malady. You do obviously grant men's deepest desires. What's holding you back from being Envy -and- Lust?" Sei watched the seeds of discontent get sewn into the eyes of the demoness. It seemed as though in taking out these sins, Sei could use his most powerful weapon, his mind.

As Lust began to recover from her initial shock, she began to purr some words to the mute. The first word never finished, however, as the enchanted mace Envy held slammed into her sister's face. The direct hit knocked the winged demon back. Lust pried herself from the mace, pores of red ooze dripping down the new holes made courtesy of Envy.

"What did you do that for?!" Lust shouted in rage.

"You don't deserve your title!" Envy lunged at Lust with another attempted swing. The demoness ducked under the blow and brought her nails across her own sister's face. The two began to quarrel with one another ferociously, shrieking and swear words littering the halls of Castus Malum. Sei simply placed his back to the wall and shimmied his way past the two fighting sisters. Once he got enough distance from the altercation, the mute began his stride again.

He could feel Kyla. His instincts were leading him right to the girl. However, as Sei began to shift through the halls of Castus Malum, he paused. The mute had come across what seemed like an infinite hallway. The mute had heard rumors that the homes of demons were often demons themselves, and would attempt to eat friend and foe alike occasionally. Sei froze in place as he heard the flapping of leathery wings slamming against sides.

Several gargoyle like creatures were flying around the corner. Apparently they were sentries sent out to find the mute. Sei quickly threw his large cloth over his head and ducked to the ground. He began to hear the gargoyles fly by. "Hey...what's this thing on the ground?" the voice sounded like it was gargling nails.

"Probably another corpse for Gluttony to cook," another shrill voice spoke. "Come on, let's go."

A few seconds later, Sei heard several of the gargoyle's screaming for their lives. A large rumbling sound echoed throughout the castle. When Sei removed the cloth from over his head, the hallway was gone, as well as the gargoyle's pursuing him. The mute was now standing face to face with a door. Above it, the letters 'Kitchen' formed as if the house was bleeding the letters to the mute. Sei smiled a bit as he took a step forward. He knew Kyla was beyond the kitchen.

What else lay in wait in the monstrosity, however, Sei had not yet anticipated.

[Aiko]

“I heard there was an appetizer running around here. I'm glad Scion called me back. I'll wager sister dear his taste is worth his weight in gold.” a deep voice said from near the stove.

“I'll take that bet, usual payouts?” A female voice said from a corner.

The hallway behind Sei began collapsing upon itself as the door to the kitchen opened. A dim light showing the form of two figures inside. The light rose, and Gluttony came into sharp focus. He was orange, and he was enormous. Gluttony wore a black chef's uniform, his claws sharpened and shaved into knifes. He waddled down a counter, and anything not secured sort of drifted into orbit around the overweight demon.

More pleasing to the eye was the demoness that seemed to be made out of pure gold. Her eyes sparkled like diamonds, her lips as beautiful rubies. Her hair was as the richest silk, her wings were as tapestries. She wore a dress made of silver. Her tail was studded with Jewels that she had pierced into her appendage like earrings. Her ears themselves each had emerald earrings. Her horns were solid white, like mythril, her claws were painted red. This was the deadly sin of Greed.

“But seriously, I can sense that trying to bargain with this man will do us no good. Let us be done then, he's taking away from my time. I spotted a brand new all you can eat buffet in Radasanth. Don't they know better than to challenge me like that?” Gluttony said.

“I know. How dare Scion bother us with this insignificant pest of a man?” Greed asked.

With nothing more to say, they launched into action. Greed opened an astral doorway to her treasure hoard, and just threw handful after handful of money at Sei. Ordinarily not a deadly attack, in the hands of Greed, each gold coin became as Mythril, and flew like Shuriken thrown by a deadly ninja. Each coin that missed would embed itself in the wall. Gluttony meanwhile would use influence on Sei, to decrease his energy levels and make him ravenously hungry. This was no simple mind reading, but regular deadly magic. A hungry man cannot fight very well. At the same time he would use his magic to hurl the objects orbiting around his enormous belly with all the force of a shooting star.

…

“Behold Sei's efforts, young Kyla. Now he faces Greed and Gluttony. Already he has faced down Lust and Envy. Yet those two are easy, in more ways than one. Greed and Gluttony are smarter, deadlier, but they too have their weaknesses. Observe how Greed uses her money as a deadly weapon. I have seen her use this same tactic to kill a full grown Dragon once, three hundred years ago. Even as Greed's attack rages on, Gluttony's attack produces the same effect as an Alerarian Cannon, if not more. Your so called 'Father' shall surely die this day.

But wait, it isn't too late. It's possible to help him survive. The Eighth Sister is destined to dominate and control the seven sins, her power can stop theirs. As always there is a price to pay, and you can only help him once. These two sins he can surely beat, but Pride, Sloth, and Wrath are the three oldest and Deadliest sins. They can't be pitted against one another, they cannot be outwitted, and they have never been defeated. If you give up ten percent of your soul to Corruption, then I will cause her to assist Sei when he needs it most.” Scion said, making a tempting offer to Kyla.

[Amber Eyes]

The voice again spoke to Kyla and she felt a ball of anger and fear fill her stomach. The concoction threatened to pour out of the girl in the form of her supper. Kyla stood, her legs shaking. She began to form an image in her mind.

“ Sei? Can you hear me? I’m going to help you Sei. You have given everything for me, and now I will give my all to you. I love you papa.”

Kyla prayed to every god whose name she knew as she felt a small item forming in her right hand. Her left hand became weighed down by a much larger creation. She steadied her breathing, feeling her heart race inside her. She picked the statue that represented Calbrena’s father and threw the ball of light as hard as she could. It would do little to no damage to the item itself, but hopefully the thought of something harming it would be enough to distract the Scion and Calbrena for a moment. The ball was about the size of a tennis ball, but made a pretty brilliant show as it crossed the room. As her light magic attempted to distract her two babysitters, Kyla pulled the item her dark magic had created from behind her back.

The double-bit axe was heavy in the girl’s hand. She gripped it so tight that her hand ached as she ran with all her might for the door a few feet away. With three strong hits Kyla procured an exit, and climbed through the rubble. She ran as fast as she could down the hallway, not sure if she was being pursued.

[Silence Sei]

Sei threw the cloth he had used to conceal himself moments earlier as a makeshift shield now. He felt the coins thrown by greed slamming into his sides. Despite the fact that the heavy cloth was thick to the point of cushioning the blows a bit, they didn't stop the full force. Sei could feel the change slamming against his sides, and more than likely leaving bruises over his body. As Gluttony started throwing random orbiting objects, Sei ducked and jived, finally ducking underneath a table and throwing it in front of him.

"Actually, I planned on striking a deal with you, great Gluttony," the mute spoke, reaching into his pocket. The mute pulled out a small vial and quickly lifted it over the table. He could hear the loud thuds of Greed's coins chipping against the thick wood in front of him. "I know of your unending appetite. I offer you something to quench your unending thirst. This bottle contains a liquid that constantly refills itself instantly. Think of it Gluttony, a way to finally wash down all those meals without pausing..."

Sei could see several splinters starting to burst outwards as a result of the coin toss. Greed would break through at any moment. As Sei closed his eyes to wait for what was to come, the sounds stopped. When the mute opened his eyes, he was face to face with the orange chef demon. He eyed the bottle up and down suspiciously before moving his glance back to Sei. "Never goes empty, you say?" the demon inquired.

Sei nodded his response as he lowered the container, unscrewing its glass top as he gave some to the beast. The knife fingers delicately wrapped around the liquid. After smelling it, Gluttony looked once more to Sei. "It's water. You expect us to let you live for an infinite supply of water?"

"Special water, sir. You will find that this particular brand of the liquid tastes like no other." Gluttony's interest was piqued now as he fully snatched the bottle from Sei's grasp. He quickly began to down the liquid from the small container. His dark eyes widened as he watched the water constantly fill itself back up. "It actually does taste different! It's delicious!"

"Give me that!" Greed shouted as she snatched the drink from her sibling. Sei had not noticed how quickly the demoness had made her way to the two of them. She quickly downed the liquid as well, Gluttony reaching out for it once more. The two took several turns taking the water from the hands of the other and attempting to fill themselves. During one of Greed's turns, Gluttony turned to Sei Orlouge. "I must ask, what is special about this water that makes it so good?!"

"Oh, that? It's holy water." Sei grinned as Greed's grasp of the bottle released. The mute dived forward and grabbed the container. He quickly put its top back on the bottle and stuffed it back into his pocket. When he returned the bottle to Anita, he would thank her for her help. "Holy water?!" Greed growled, steam starting to protrude from her lips. Gluttony grabbed at his massive girth, stumbling backwards before falling onto a table. Sei stood up as he eyes the two pain filled demons.

"Too busy trying to take it from one another to notice the pain it was causing, huh? All of your demon anatomy is probably reacting as it should. Your insides are literally burning, and if you don't seek aid soon, the two of you will probably not even be considered sins anymore. You'll be dead." Realizing that the words the mute spoke were true, the two demons vanished off in a display of smoke and vapors. Sei grinned as he stood up in the kitchen, reaching for an apple on another table. The mute took a bite of the fruit as he began to walk through the massive room. Food was littered on multiple tables throughout the kitchen, and it was obvious that this was Gluttony's playground.

As Sei shifted his way through the maze of tables and out the door, a voice came into his mind. It was Kyla. She was trying to find the mute, and 'rescue' him. Sei's eyes widened as he began to run down the halls. He heard screaming from several of the doors that littered Castus Malum. Sei would keep peering into the rooms to find himself too late to save an innocent from a madman’s sacrifice. The gift he gave those poor children was vengeance on the cruel bastards who did such things to them.

"Kyla Orlouge, if you can hear me, just keep running! Get out of here! I can handle myself! I love you too, so show me you love me by leaving and living!" Sei's pace had picked up during his lecture. He would find Kyla.

However, the mute began to find himself very sleepy...

[Aiko]

One room he opened was the way forward. Inside was a lone sin. A solid white demon that was asleep on a king sized bed. There was another one in the room. He had found The Deadly Sin of Sloth. The powers of Sloth were some of the most dangerous of all seven sins. Sloth never directly confronted anyone. Instead, he attacked the mind. In his sleep, he began to speak.

“Give it up Sei. You can't beat all seven of us. No one can. We're too powerful Sei, we hold dominion over all seven aspects of Evil. Do you really think you can beat evil in all its forms? It is impossible, foolish. You'll destroy the world Sei, is it really worth destroying everything for peace? I alone understand that there must be balance. If you destroy evil, you destroy balance. Then what will allow those in pain, innocent men and woman who are unable to find relief, to end their suffering? What will teach people why good is necessary, why it is the better path? What will encourage people to grow? Even competition of the friendliest sort requires even the smallest dosage of evil. Life would be unpleasant, unable to continue abundantly. Ultimately, it would destroy itself.

Come Sei, rest, there is another bed in this room, and I will not harm you Sei. Ponder all that I have said. It is no shame for a warrior to rest between struggles. Rest, sleep. These beds are comfortable, worthy of gods like us. Sit, rest, mellow out man, there is no need to keep up a constant struggle. You are safe while you are with me. Come, let me tell you a story while you rest.” Sloth said, his powers enhancing his words attacking Sei with confusion and doubt, followed by exhaustion.

The beds appeared to be made of fine satin, stuffed with Goose down. The sheets and blankets were made of Akasiman Silk died blue, the pillows of a similar nature. The Bed frames were made of Liviol. A rune was scrawled on the floor, and from it came a gentle relaxing mist. The light was dim, all factors encouraging rest. Sloth rolled over to face the other bed.

“Long ago, there was another situation, exactly like this one. A fine proud warrior, who wanted to rescue his daughter from our evil clutches. Like Kyla, she had come of her own free will, a fact that can be easily proven in both situations, like Kyla, made her own decisions here of her own free will, another easily proven fact. Sei, her father invaded, and he had made all the same decisions you did, even made it to his goal. But Sei, his daughter had lied to him, when she said she was helping him. She had already fallen from grace, became a thing of Evil. That was her name too, Grace, ironic isn't it? We let her go, pretended to be beaten. But when his back was turned, he found a knife plunged in it. He never once suspected his daughter. I warn you as a friend Sei, because I respect you, unlike him. Kyla is no longer the daughter she once was. She has been changed, forever, and nothing you can do will change her back. She has fallen, by inches and degrees, seeds planted in her mind by our baby sister that will sprout and lead her to do evil things. It will drive her mad, insane. If you truly care about her, you will do the only loving thing you can for her, and make sure she never harms anyone, permanently.” Sloth said, casting paranoia upon Sei with his words.

It was no secret what Sloth meant by his words, he intended for Sei to kill Kyla, himself. His logic was sound, if there was no hope for Kyla, if there was no way to save her, then it would be kinder to end her life, before she ended someone else's and became a monster. If there was no hope...


The Scion of Evil watched Kyla run away. He was unconcerned with her retreat, unprovoked by a minor attack. The statue of Xith'Rith'Xail shook its head. Then it lifted its left hand and pointed in the direction Kyla fled. A flash of light fled from its outstretched fingers, then the arm dropped once more.

Lust, Envy, Greed, and Gluttony were restored by their father's powers. The flash hovered before each in turn, then fled away. The four sins ventured into the halls informed by the spell of what his will was. As she approached an intersection, the enormous form of Gluttony would round a corner at the far end blocking the entire hall on his own. Meanwhile, the trio of Greed, Lust, and Envy would appear down the hallway to her left. This left her the option of going right, retreating, or tackling the sins. Oddly, though the women approached, Gluttony merely waited, as though he were guarding something...

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla was absolutely mortified. Four of the seven deadly sins had her surrounded. She would not give up though. I have to save Sei Kyla thought to herself. She was not about to let three hussies and a glob of fat stop her from her journey; even if Gluttony made some decent food for her. Turning to the gelatinous blob that was the sin of Gluttony, Kyla stood firm in her resolve.

“Move or I’m moving you,” Kyla said, unsure of how she was actually going to make true on her promise. Gluttony laughed with a thunderous roar, which was accompanied by the hysterical laughter of his sisters. Kyla had learned a lot while she was here, but how to defeat sins was not part of it. It became clear to the girl that the demons knew this. Closing her eyes with all of her might, Kyla mustered up the power to lay into Gluttony with her newly-formed axe.

That was when she heard one of the demons stop laughing. The sickening sound of bone crunching reached her ears. Turning around, Kyla was shocked to see a red, silver, and white blur moving quickly towards the next demon. Greed’s face was smashed in by the tall muscular man. A scythe found itself into the sternum of Envy, and using his own momentum, the mysterious figure spun on the handle of the weapon to perform a spinning kick into the neck of Lust. All three bodies slumped to the ground as the blur jumped in front of Kyla.

The robes had become soaked with the blood of Gluttony’s sisters, but still managed to give the man a heavenly-like appeal. Kyla’s own dark magic weapon slipped into non-existence as she looked at the man’s back. “Run Kyla,” the man said as he gripped the scythe with both of his hands, “Sei is waiting.”

Kyla nodded and turned as she heard Gluttony’s fat body speak. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Niche Orlouge. Look me up, Asshole. You’re not going anywhere near my Kylana.” Kyla could hear nothing more than the sounds of skin tearing, and Gluttony screaming. She was sure that the demons would soon be returning, but perhaps she had enough time to find Sei and escape this horrible place with both her biological and adoptive fathers.

[Silence Sei]

It had all been part of Sei's plans. While the demons had been so distracted with the mute telepath, nobody would notice the silent-and-deadly Niche sneak in several minutes after his baby brother. Niche hadn't seen much action up until the point where he saved Kyla, and now that Castus Malum knew they were dealing with two Orlouges rather than one, he suspected his percentile for encounters was about to way up.

Sei was confident that Niche could slay nearly every dang thing in this castle. It was more a matter of making sure Niche kept the energy levels needed to do so. Sloth could make him tired, Gluttony could make him hungry, and Lust....well, everybody knew what Lust could do. So Sei had left his Tomb for a few hours to divulge his plan to the eldest Orlouge brother. After Sei laid waste to a couple of areas, Niche would come in. Considering all of the ninjitsu training the older brother had, Sei was sure Niche had found Kyla by now.

Sei slowly began to approach Sloth, yawning without sounds as he did so. "I'd much rather lay in your bed," Sei said, climbing up beside the demon. "After all, a bed that holds the sin of Sloth may well be the most comfortable bed in all of Althanas..."

Sloth nodded at the gesture, turning around to face the mute. Sei pulled the covers over his body, his eyes catching an evil gleam coming from Sloth. The mute patted the demon on the side of his neck before smiling once more. The look on Sloth's eyes as Sei's emei piercer went through the demon's neck was priceless. As Sei removed the hand from his sleeping buddy's neck, Sloth grabbed at the gushing wound of blood. He reached for Sei as the mute crawled out of the bed.

The effects of Sloth were seriously messing with the telepath’s body. He felt like his arms and legs had weights on them. His eyes were doing their best to stay awake. He could not fall here, he had to save Kyla. There was no possible way that a girl as sweet and innocent as Kyla Orlouge would ever turn into a being of evil. Even if she did, Sei would never have the heart to slay her. These demons were throwing their most powerful warriors at Sei, and he was knocking them down like Alerar dominos.

His eyes shifted over to another door in the room. It seemed as though Sei would probably encounter Pride or Wrath here. Considering that Wrath was more than likely the castle's ace-in-the-hole, Sei assumed his next opponent would be Pride. With the intelligence he had gathered from the other sins so far, and the powers he had gauged from each, Sei knew that Pride was probably close to Wrath in power.

And yet Pride would fall before him as easily as the other demons. Sei approached the door and made his way through to the next chamber.

[Aiko]

In the main room where Scion and Calbrena waited for the Orlouges, mirrors showed them each party's progress. Calbrena was disgusted at the way her brothers and sisters were losing so easily. Yet for all the loss, Scion remained calm about the entire affair, as though he had expected all of this.

“I was wondering when he would jump in to save his daughter's life. I hope he didn't really think he could hide from me, my senses are extended throughout the plane after all.” Scion said.

“Orlouge family, hear our voices, and know that we are The Dark Pantheon, all the dark gods of Althanas joined together into a single unified cohesive force. Your daughter has escaped, Sei, your father has entered a danger most perilous Kyla. Niche, can you really stand to see your family destroyed before your very eyes? Know that we are in a curiously nice mood today, and so shall reunite you with each other, father, brother, daughter, all together once more. You amuse us Orlouge family, a rare feat indeed for ones so greatly blinded by light. Yet, you cannot escape this place Orlouge family, not until we're done being amused. Two more sins to go, Orlouge family, can you beat all of the sins? Can they beat you as they claimed, with most of their power restrained? Let us finish this experiment and find out. Beware, for we help Pride with her challenge.” The Dark Pantheon proclaimed, their voices echoing throughout Castus Malum, reaching the ear of every living thing within.

At that very moment, Sei would go through the door, and find himself with Niche and Kyla. Everything went black, as all senses became deprived of input. It wasn't that the orlouges themselves were hit by magic, to the contrary, the plane itself was simply gone. A bubble of dark magic protected them from being ripped to pieces by the swirling chaos of cosmic energies that lay outside the planes of Althanas, not that any of it could be seen or heard.

Swirling into being around them like a mirage born of heat, the plane returned. All the doors were gone, all that was left were hallways. Exactly as they were left before, they were at an intersection, except the bodies of the sins were gone. The Hallways to their front and back melted into Magma, gravity magic holding the ceiling and walls in place. To their right, a long winding road in a massive cavern that stretched over a great lake of magma. It was marked “The well traveled easy way.” To their left, a rope bride, on the verge of collapse. It stretched over a small black pit that did not seem to have a bottom. It was marked “The hard way, less traveled, but much shorter.”

Both paths would have their challenges, and end in the same location. The easy way would have a plethora of environmental obstacles and challenges, enough to challenge even someone with as much worldly experience as Sei. The hard way would see the bridge collapsing behind them, return impossible. It would see them facing every resident of Castus Malum, every demon, elf, dwarf, human, and other creatures, all armed, and armored. Most were as weak as Kyla, but a number of them were as strong as Sei.

Both paths would lead them to a plain and simple room, a massive marble box that Pride waited in, her powers at the ready. Pride was a sorceress, and a very accomplished one at that. She had domain over the four classic elements of fire, Earth, Sky, and Water, powers of healing, and of necromancy. She had the dimensional magics of time and space, she had hexes and curses, and she had spells so great they could not be defined by a single element or school.

Playtime was over.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla's eyes filled with tears at the thought of being trapped here longer. Here she stood with her fathers, still trapped within this horrific place. Her mind reeled with all the possibilities; death of a loved one, death of herself, eternal entrapment in this evil plane. Kyla looked at Niche, he was her father in blood, and silently apologized for bringing him to this place. She looked at Sei, the one who had given her so much, and closed her mind to his thoughts.

I will not watch them die! Kyla quickly created a long sword from her shadow magic and ran as fast as she could across the bridge. Niche screamed for her, but he was too late. The bridge collapsed, separating him from his only living child. Kyla continued to run, entering a dark tunnel. In front of her a demon appeared, its teeth bared and it's fist clenched. Kyla stood ready, awaiting its attack. The creature lunged at her with its claws extended, aiming directly for the girls throat. Kyla screamed as loud as she could as she lifted her sword and with one smooth motion brought it down into the gut of the airborne being. The demon screamed in pain and fell to the ground, its bright blood covering the now trembling girl. She tightened her grip on her sword and continued her run. She would not be stopped, she would end this one way or another. The only happy outcome for the girl would be holding Calbrena's twisted little heart in the palm of her hand. She ran as quickly as she could until she heard a voice.

"Oh how sweet. The little girl is going to play hero now."

Kyla turned around searching for the location of the voice, she found no one.

"What's the matter little girl, did you lose your daddy?"

Kyla held her sword ready, trying to calm her heartbeat as she searched the cavern for the mysterious voice.

[Silence Sei]

Sei looked to Niche with a knowing look in his eyes. Niche nodded the confirmation on what Sei was thinking. Kyla had foolishly run off on her own and destroyed the bridge before them. Sei could feel the levels of power beyond the bridge. There were many opponents beyond, and Sei knew that Kyla could handle a few of them herself. Some of them rivaled the mute's own power, however, and Sei knew that Kyla's shadow sword was not going to last long enough to take out such beings.

Sei jumped at his robed brother, who grabbed the telepath by his ankles with both of his hands. Niche spun Sei around several times while the mute closed his eyes. He had to go off of the feeling of the demonic aura rather than his sense of sight, for it would be skewed due to the massive spins. Once Niche released, Sei flew over to the other side of the path, completely surpassing the need for a bridge. When Sei opened his eyes, his wings sprouted from his back, gliding him to the other side safely.

The spinning world around the mute cause Sei to nosedive straight at the ground, however. Sei covered his face with both of his arms, tucking into a roll the second his forearms made contact with solid mass. Sei stood up, still stumbling a bit from the Niche-Go-Round. This was a stunt the two played all the time when Sei was a child, often doing it for either sport, or because Niche was in a bullying mood.

Looking back towards Niche, Sei noticed his older brother was running past several demons that had come down the path in boredom. The eldest Orlouge slashed through the monstrosities with his scythe as if the opponents were made of paper. Sei had no doubt Niche would make it to meet himself and Kyla within a few minutes. Niche was, after all, the strongest physically among the Orlouges. Sei knew that nothing here aside from perhaps N'Jal herself could take his elder brother down, no matter how many bodies were thrown at him.

Knowing that Niche would be okay, Sei turned to find a gargoyle creature similar to the guards from earlier coming after him. The stone demon attempted to stab Sei with its tail, which was shaped like an arrow tip. Sei stepped to the side and grabbed the tail, pulling the demon to the ground with all of his strength. When the beast made contact with the floor, it shattered into many stone pieces. Sei grinned, thinking that this one -had- to have been a Kyla-level enemy.

The mute finally regained his composure from the spinning, his wings going back into his spine. Sei kneeled down and took off with all of the speed he could muster. Kyla was attempting to save Sei despite his protests once again. Sei would have to find the girl, scold her for her brashness, and then continue to take out the rest of these ridiculous sins.

That is, if Niche did not get to them first.

[Aiko]

Niche Orlouge would find his way completely bereft of enemies. Not that there wouldn't be challenges. His way would be filled with traps, one after another, in a ceaseless sequence of traps that would deny him the chance to rest. Some traps would trigger other traps over the course of their execution.

He would be near the end once he got to a section that looked like it was breathing. Though the contracting and expanding motions of the labyrinth would not endanger him, the movement would not arise because the plane itself was alive, rather this section was enchanted with a massive area curse gleaned from The Great Nether. It would blind and confuse all five senses of those who entered, in an attempt to forever lose them in its radius. This curse was not an unbeatable trap though, a wise man who had survived it once summed his methods up by simply saying that he had quieted his senses and ignored them, listening instead to his heart and his gut instincts.

Meanwhile, Sei and Kyla would see a variety of creatures cross their path. Among them, was the librarian Kyla had encountered when she first came to the plane. The Dwarf came after her swinging his massive battle hammer. Yet, oddly, she was attacked less and less, as though something, or someone else had plans for a personal encounter with her, someone who wanted it to be a private encounter.

Meanwhile, from around a corner came three elves armed with chainmail and short swords. They thought they were the greatest warriors since the dawn of time. Everyone else however knew they were the three stupidest most inept morons to ever pick up a weapon. It was a miracle they weren't holding their swords backwards.

Three such as them would clearly not keep one of Sei's skills busy for very long, unless he chose to toy with them. Something else would draw near while the three elves entertained Sei. A large blob of a silvery blood like substance. Those who looked at it could see their own face reflected within its depths. It seemed to vibrate and shimmer, building upon itself.

The ultimate result would see the blob disappear, leaving an exact mirror duplicate of Sei Orlouge in its place. His equal in every manner, completely identical, except one. The mirrored clone was exactly diametrically opposed to the real Sei Orlouge. One a champion of good, one a champion of evil.

All three Orlouges would see the same thing, if they looked far enough ahead, Niche having to look further than the other two. Both paths converged on a gate made of Adamantine, a key hung from it, waiting to unlock the gate. It was clear where that gate would lead.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla ran as far as she could before she was forced to stand against a wall to catch her breath. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and her arms were covered in dried blood. She had encountered only five enemies thus far. Three demons of no real power, she defeated easily. Up next came two priests, wielding the much weaker human version of shadow and light magic, who Kyla barely survived. Her face itched from the dried tears, she'd never been so frightened before. Her heart raced, and her muscles clenched. Only fear of death kept the young mystic standing.

Kyla clenched her eyes shut and tried to steady her breathing. No one would save her, death surely waited just around the corner.

There must be more enemies than this. Kyla's mind raced as she realized how long she'd been running. Why aren't they coming for me?

She heard a form approaching and opened her eyes slowly. Before her stood a massive being. It's head was easily the size of Kyla's torso, it's skin looked to be a brown leather. It stood twenty feet high, awkwardly hunched to fit inside the cavern. Its body seemed to wind almost like a snake, twelve arms reaching out from its slender frame.

Kyla's breathing stilled as she stared into the bright yellow eyes of the creature, watching its nostrils flare as it stared at her. The hatred in its eyes burned through the girl, its stare actually hurting her skin. She watched her skin turn red under it's eyes, a sunburn of sorts. Kyla clenched her sword.

"I will not die doing nothing! Sei, I'm sorry!" Kyla screamed as she lifted the sword to strike at the beast. It reached out with one of its arms and grabbed her. The massive hand covered half of her body, lifting her off the ground. Kyla screamed and wiggled trying to free herself from its grip. The tighter the hand squeezed, the weaker she became--her legs began to go numb. She couldn't breathe and felt herself beginning to faint. Everything became darker with each passing breath.

Then she heard an angel. "Let her go." Kyla slowly began to breathe again and realized the creature had placed her upon the ground. The massive form began to retreat. Kyla stared at the snake-like beast, enjoying the feeling of the cool rock floor on her face. Her sword had disappeared during the fall.

Her savior’s voice again rang through the cavern, “Keep coming Kyla, I’m waiting for you.” Kyla followed.

[Silence Sei]

When Niche got to the enchanted room, the man blazed through the labyrinth as if it were nothing. Niche never relied on his senses to begin with. His training regiments told him to never trusted what he saw, his brothers strange choices in food nullified both his smell and taste, his hands had become calloused to the point that touch was essentially useless, and being trained so well as a ninja for the Orlouge clan taught Niche to ignore all of the sounds around him. There could not have been a more poor choice to test this room in than him.

So when there 3were noises coming from every direction, Niche never diverted. Though he saw forks in the maze before him, he continued straight down the middle. Though the familiar smell of death of Castus Malum wafted onto his nose and tongue, he knew it to me the wrong way. Finally, when he felt for walls in the strange labyrinth, he found more exits than he did distractions.

"Heh, and I thought the traps were easy..." Niche said to nobody in particular. The cliché stepping stones and trip wires would perhaps put a novice off to such activities, and even more skillful traps would give the normal person a hard time, but Niche was a ninja. He had prepared for such things as booby traps and sense-hazing mazes all of his life. The mystic dusted off his robes as he looked around the room, having a distinct feeling he was in the room of...

"Pride."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sei had been jumping through hoops trying to get to Kyla. It seemed that for every monster that ignored the girl, three more would attack Sei. This lead to quite the frustrating circumstances. Sei would catch glimpses of his daughter here and there, but never quite be able to catch up with her. After slaying about ten beasts not even worthy of mentioning, Sei felt himself being pulled over somewhere. The mute shifted his eyes to the left and right until he saw Gluttony standing directly in front of him.

"We meet again, Sei Orlouge," the demon said with a laugh, his gravitational pull obviously dragging Sei towards him. The mute had no idea that the man could control the range in which his orbit brought stuff around his giant gut. Perhaps the mute should have read up more on how such a demon worked his tricks. Sei was going to use this to his full advantage.

Rather than fighting the pull, Sei slumped his body into the ground. The force of being pulled towards Gluttony was vomit-inducing, and Sei had a hard time keeping his lunch down from the tugging. His plan seemed to work, however, as he heard a satisfying sound similar to a bag being ripped open with a sharp knife. Sei looked downwards to find his kusari-gama's chain ripping around the large stomach of Gluttony. As Sei circled the being, he had completely torn the demon in half, causing him to disappear in an orange puff of smoke once more.

Sei slammed onto the ground once the orbit from around his foe's stomach was gone. It was just not Gluttony's day, it seemed. As Sei got back up, he began to swing his kuasri-gama around his head as he ran forward. Most of the demons would leave him alone now that he had slain one of the head honchos. Now it was just a matter of getting to his daughter before she bit off more than she could chew.

But knowing Kyla, it was already too late for that...

[Aiko]

It wouldn't be hard for Niche or anyone to figure out this was where Pride lay in wait. The room was covered in mirrors, on the ceiling, on the floor, on the walls, everywhere, there was a mirror. There were no pillars, no other doors, just mirror, after mirror. It wouldn't be hard for Niche to look into a mirror, in fact, it would be impossible not to. While Pride herself could not be seen in the mirrors, her image could be, inside the mirrors. Her powers were at work, causing all who looked at her to perceive her as the woman they loved the most, regardless of who that woman was.

“Ahh, the interloper. I was hoping for Sei. Well, I guess I still have no reason to actually enter the room. That's right, I'm not here, I'm not in Castus Malum, I'm not even on Althanas. Why should I bother myself to appear for a nobody like you? I'm the most powerful of The Seven Deadly Sins, and unlike five of my siblings, my art is actually deadly. I am the world's most powerful sorceress, I have challenged Gods and Goddesses alike, I have been thought to be Xem'zund's equal in skill alone. You can't beat me, the concept is laughable. So tell me, why should I appear for an insignificant pest like you? I will only allow myself to be truly challenged by Sei Orlouge, the great hero of Radasanth himself. After all, I am Pride, the eldest and most powerful of all sins. You and your brother cannot harm me, you both are under my powers. All evils have their base in one of the seven sins, and all sins originate from Pride. Lust, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, my sibling's domains come from my own, and I am all evil combined. I have learned to wield the Demon Fires with unequaled skill and precision. Thus, to teach you a lesson so that you do not disturb your betters, I will kill you with my image alone. But do not be foolish, even if you break and destroy all these mirrors, my image will still reflect in them millions, if not billions of times over. There is no exit, there is no escape. I want Sei Orlouge, and I will entertain myself by killing you while I wait.” Pride said.

Her image moved over to Niche's in the mirror, and she began attacking him with fire which erupted from a different mirror each time. Sharp thorny vines grew out of a green fire to strangle Niche. Blue fire leaving a trail of water flew at him to make him drown. Red fire burning like a normal fireball flew at Niche to burn him to ashes. White fire crackling with lightning flew at Niche to take away all the air around him. Pride's powers matched each of the elements, and powers beyond normal elemental magics.

~ ~ ~

Mirrors scattered along the way began to glow with light, and the light faded, revealing that Niche was in Pride's room. As they listened to Pride's monologue, they all began cheering. A massive fellow with four arms and a weapon for each arm stomped into Sei's path. Clearly he was a demon, but his horns were twisted and mangled, his grey skin riddled with scars. His wings were missing, stubs remaining where once they existed.

“I don't think you're worthy to meet either my mother, The Deadly Sin of Pride, or my father and her brother, The Deadly Sin of Wrath. Mother will have to forgive me because I'm her favorite. You will have to die right here and now.” The inbred demon said.

With that he attacked, but despite his parentage, he had none of the skill of either parent, or even of his aunts and uncles. The only reason anyone feared him, was because they found it rather difficult to defend against weapons at once. In his lower left hand, he had a scimitar made of Damascus, and this he thrust at Sei immediately. In his lower right, he held a mace made of Delyn, and this he swung toward's Sei's head.

In his upper left, he held a spear made entirely of Mythril, and this he jabbed at Sei after his first two attacks. Meanwhile, the entire time he was swinging a massive thirty pound ball made of Prevalida with great sharp spikes on it, attached to a long Prevalida chain around his head. After his three attacks, he let the ball fly at Sei. The ball retracted and rewound itself immediately after landing, due to an enchantment in the chain. It was clear the demon was rather strong, and dangerous, however any seasoned warrior with enough experience in battle could see the fatal flaw in the demon's tactics, and exploit it for a quick victory.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla ran as fast as she could through the cavern. She did not wish to be in the dark pit a minute longer than she had to be. Her footsteps echoed in rapid succession against the stone floors, his chest heaving up and down as she struggled to get more and more air into her lungs. She had to get out of this place, she had to kill Calbrena and maybe even Scion, and she had to rescue those who were there to rescue her.

The light at the end of the cavernous tunnel turned out to be an exit that led directly behind the beast that Sei was fighting. Gasping for breath as she heard the demon version of a hillbilly child give his ‘this is the end’ speech to her adoptive father, Kyla’s eyes widened to see the monster strike. Sei was doing all of this to catch up with her, and she was not going to allow him to be hurt further on her account.

She didn’t feel like she was in her own body. She had somehow found the energy to run anew, using the sudden rush of adrenaline to form her shadow sword in her hands once more. The dark blade slammed into the back of the four armed beasts head. The green blood that spewed from the monster caused Kyla to release a smile almost as if she were reveling in the death of Sei’s enemy.

The ignorant demon fell to the ground; his massive body slamming into the dirt and kicking up a small dust storm. Kyla removed the magical blade from the beast, still satisfied that she had been able to help Sei at least a little through all of her recent mistakes. Her eyes went to her adoptive father, her eyes widening as she saw just how much damage the spawn of Pride had caused the Hero of Radasanth.

[Silence Sei]

Sei had been relatively uninjured thanks to Kyla’s bravery. The mute had managed to dodge three of the four attacks with relative ease, zigging and zagging out of the way of the ball, scimitar, and mace. The sudden arrival of his niece to the battle, however, distracted the mute just long enough to feel the bite of the mythril spear on the left side of his ribs. Sei sucked air in through his teeth as he tried to not let the stinging pain affect him. The three of them had to escape this wretched place alive, after all.

The dust had cleared and a very obvious blue line tore through Sei’s clothing, staining the gray fighting gi he wore. Sei’s eyes met Kyla’s with a grin, and he approached the mystic girl while pretending like the flesh around his ribs didn’t feel like it had gone through a paper shredder. The mute offered his left hand to Kyla, who took it and helped herself up. The extra weight of the girl caused the pain in Sei’s side to increase, but not enough to show just how much damage it had done.

“I think after both slaying that thing, as well as Gluttony, nothing else here is going to be stupid enough to mess with us.” Sei said, Kyla grinned and nodded in agreement with her uncle, placing his arm around her neck and helping him walk. Sei didn’t really need help walking, but thought that the girl wanted to feel even more helpful to the mute. Sei only hoped Niche was faring better, the younger Orlouge having a contingency plan should his eldest brother encounter Pride…


“You know what’s great about you, Pride? For all of your relatives for that matter.” Niche spoke with an arrogant tone. Every single magic spell simply dissipated inches before coming into contact with the warrior. The oldest Orlouge had his Mystic Protection active the entire time, and outside of his father, Tinerad Orlouge, Niche had possibly the hardest Mystic Protection shield to break. Ever.

“Do tell,” the demon hissed, her image appearing in even more mirror fragments, shooting more elemental blasts at the mystic. Niche yawned as a few water droplets hit him from behind, evaporating as the heat from the fire coming directly at his fizzled out into nothingness. The warrior cracked his knuckles as he began to explain.

“You live up to your names. You see, Lust was too busy with ‘other matters’ to care about us rescuing Kylana. Gluttony was too busy sating his hunger. Greed was busy hoarding whatever, I’m sure. Sloth was more than likely asleep up until our arrival. Wrath is probably too busy with other activities to study up on us. Envy was the only one who would see what all of us were capable of, if only because she wanted her power. But as all you other sins pointed out, she’s a bottom tier demon. Then that leaves you.”

A blast of air tore through the mirrors, cutting them in half and forming more images of Pride. It seemed she was now pulling out all of the stops, shooting every kind of elemental beam possible at Niche Orlouge. The mystic laughed at the attempt as some of the beams bounced harmlessly off, and others just disappeared completely.

“It’s not very effective,” Niche said, angering the demoness further. “As I was saying. Who would ever hurt the great Sin of Pride? You’re –much- too strong to be defeated by lowly mystics. So why would you study up on our race, or even our family specifically? You wouldn’t.”

As Niche revealed this to Pride, he raised his hand, snapping his thumb and his ring finger. Out of nowhere, Niche produced his own glass shards, each of them roughly the size of a cinder block. In a half a second after activating, Niche’s Mystic Protection fired out its own element; mud. All of Pride’s mirrors were quickly covered with a thick brown mud, preventing the ‘image’ of Pride from ‘seeing’ Niche, and thus unable to send any magic through the mirrors.

Niche walked forward to the one mirror left unhindered by the mud shower. Pride had retreated to the only area where she could still use her image trick. A look of pure frustration was painted upon her face, and Niche could have sworn that he saw steam oozing out of the demoness' ears. Niche crossed his arms as he continued, Pride too flustered to attack during his speech.

“But we studied up on each of you. Learned your weaknesses. Sei found out how to defeat all of you on your home turf. And now it’s over for you. Do you know what the Gemini Blades are? Of course you don’t. Let me explain; The Gemini Blades allow for Sei to make a doppelganger of himself. He wills the location for the doppelganger to appear to be a specific point. The powers that fuel the blades is said to be able to overcome the most evil of magics, if the cause is just. What more just cause than rescuing one’s family from the pits of this hell? The reason I’m telling you all of this….”

It was then that a loud shriek filled the room. The image of Pride began to cough up bile and blood, the liquids falling into the floor. Behind the image, the form of the true Pride, and Sei Orlouge’s doppelganger appeared, the latter warrior having both of his Gemini Blades impaled through the chest of the former. “Is because I was distracting you while Sei’s clone found you.”

Sei’s clone stepped out from the mirror, the image of Pride disappearing without another hint of being there, while the body of the true Pride fell to the ‘ground’ and disappeared in a poof of smoke. As Niche looked to Sei’s doppelganger, he nodded a good job to the clone. The two turned to the sound of footsteps quickly approaching, grinning as Sei prime and Kyla rejoined the party.

“Well then. Six sins down….” Niche said, stepping aside for Kyla and Sei to take the head of the group.

“….And one to go.”

[Aiko]

Pride was defeated, most of the sins were no more. A new sound filled the air, the sound of many mirrors cracking. With a rippling explosion all the mirrors exploded outwards, starting with the one mirror that wasn't covered in mud. The shards turned to sand, and for minutes, a great sandstorm filled the air around the trio.

A figure appeared in the storm. A demon, obviously, by the sight of the great horns coming out of its head. It waved a claw, and the sandstorm receded into the walls, leaving behind a clean marble floor. Behind the demon was a wall of Prevalida, with a keyhole. It was holding a key, and this it promptly swallowed.

The demon itself was black, with sparkling red eyes like rubies. Scars riddled its body, and its wings were shredded and torn. The rippling muscles it possessed were like a barbarians. Waving a short tail that obviously had the end cut off at some point, Samurai armor appeared on the previously undressed demon. Satisfied, it spoke.

“I am the last, and the deadliest of the seven sins. I am Wrath, but have also been known as War, Death, and Destruction. I have challenged the gods themselves, and the greatest warriors alike, and here I still stand. The wall behind me is six feet of Prevalida, enchanted to resist all forms of penetration. In order to beat the evil of this plane, you must defeat me, and remove the key I swallowed earlier. However, I want a one on one duel, with Sei Orlouge, because unlike my brethren, I have a profound respect for this man. If only you were of darkness, I would serve you unquestioningly in a heartbeat. But as it stands, we must be opposites. I have known of the day I would face Sei Orlouge for a very long time now, though I admit, I did not know, under what circumstances.

Your brother is wrong about me, Sei. I was never too busy with other things to study. I have used Pride's powers, and the power of Phantaria and the Anti-Firmament to travel the mist-shrouded paths of time, and observe your life, from conception to now. I have seen your greatest triumphs, and your greatest defeats. I have studied your race, and its powers. I have studed you, the way you fight, the way you strategize, the way you move. Out of all the entities in every place even remotely connected to Althanas, I alone am the greatest challenge available to you at this point. Whether another greater than I will arise after this point or not remains unclear, as well as the outcome of a one on one duel. What is certain, is that win or lose, I will take you to the utter limits of all that you are, and might even break you. If I win, then this will be the saddest day of my life, for never again will I find such a worthy opponent. If I lose, then you will grow stronger from this experience. A strength that will continue growing for years to come.

So what do you say, Sei Orlouge, will you dare to take on this challenge, or are you too much of a coward to face me alone? Will you hide behind your brother's blade and your daughter's skirts, or will you be a man and fight me? Will you fight the demonic embodiment of War, Death, and Destruction?” Wrath asked, his deep gravely voice echoing off the walls.

But he knew he didn't need to ask. He drew a Katana radiating black unholy energy, and prepared for the greatest fight of his life.

[Silence Sei]

Sei stared at the ruby-eyes Wrath. The demon stood in the way of the trio's escape. As the sin finished his speech to the mystic, Sei gripped his sides, bellowing out a laugh that nobody could actually hear. Niche and Kyla both looked to the mute Mystic as if he were crazy. Sei put his hand out towards Niche, telling his elder brother to stay out of this particular fight. This was Sei's job to do, and only he could do it.

Sei reached around his waist, unhooking the kusari-gama he wore as a makeshift belt. The mute smiled a bit looking towards Wrath. Sei took a step towards the beast, and then threw the weapon down. Sei then reached to his sides, taking off his dual chakrams and throwing them to the ground as well. Sei took a step and threw a new weapon down little by little, until the mute was face-to-face with the being known as Wrath. The telepath held each of his Gemini Blades in hand, ready for a duel of epic proportions.

"I will not fight you." Sei spoke with a grin upon his face, throwing his Zodiac Weapon down on the ground. The look on Wrath's face was priceless, something akin to a deer being hit by a rampaging troll. The beast roared in frustration at Sei's hesitation. The Mystic merely closed his eyes and let the question he knew was to come be asked.

"Why not?! You and I are both worthy foes for one another?! Why do you deny me my prize?!" Wrath was angry, and Sei could feel it. It was time to stop asking questions and start answering them.

"It seems as though you are confused, Wrath. Who better than I was a more worthy avatar of your sin? Have I not single-handedly defeated your six siblings with my wrath? Has my wrath not moved mountains, defeated legends, and even save Althanas? I have used you my entire life as a warrior Wrath. Simply because I do not worship you does not mean I can not use you to the fullest of my capabilities."

Sei jammed his hands into Wrath's stomach. Rather than hitting flesh to demonskin, however, the Mystic's hands traveled through the being. Sei smiled as he looked up to Wrath. "Out of all the sins, yours is the only one that can be used for good. In the wrong hands, ones wrath can destroy countries, even Althanas as a whole. In the right hands however..." Sei pulled the key out of the body of the war-torn demon, flashing it in front of the evil ones face as if to taunt him.

"In the hands of the just, wrath can do amazing things..." Sei tossed the key over to Niche, who clenched it in his hand and looked to Kyla, the two nodding and moving past Sei and Wrath. The telepath kneeled down, picking up his Gemini Blades as he did so. Pointing the tips of both swords at Wrath, Sei gave him a choice.

"Either your master and his little sidekick can leave Kyla Orlouge alone, or I will make sure that the fury of firmament, anti-firmament, and everything in between comes crashing down around them." With that Sei turned and followed his brother and niece out of door formed by the wall...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He was amazing, wasn't he dad?" Kyla said, clinging to Niche for protection. The large man slowly began to pry the girl off, much to Kyla's dismay. The Mystic girl looked up to her father, wondering what was going on. Niche looked to her, sighing a bit as he bit his lower lip.

"Kyla, you're my daughter, and I love you..." Niche said, his daughter opening her mouth before her father's hand told her to stop speaking. "But....you're not my little girl. You're this grown woman who came back into my life out of nowhere. When you're in danger, I'll always be there for you, you know that. But well...."

"Shut up." Kyla held back the tears that welled up in her eyes. How could her father be saying such things to her, now of all times?! "Just shut up! I get it, okay?! I'm not important to you anymore! Just because I'm not a baby means you don't want me! That's fine! Sei will take me in! He doesn't care who I was, or am, or whatever! So Screw you Niche Orlouge!" Kyla turned to face her Uncle Sei. Only instead of seeing the orange hair of the Mystic warrior, she saw nothing but the wall they had walked out of.

Turning back to Niche, Kyla saw the world warp around her, the halls of Castus Malum were now being transformed back into the rocky ways of Sei's Tomb. The estranged father and daughter had made it back.

Sei however, was transported somewhere else entirely...

((Posting for myself and Amber Eyes, as she hasn't felt up to par with posting recently))

[Aiko]

Sei found himself in a place entirely devoid of all things that defined existence. To his limited mortal senses, he was the only thing that existed. Yet, even if he had the senses of an Elder God, or complete omniscience, the same would be true. Sei was in a place no entity from Althanas had ever been too before, The Void.

The Void was outside of all that was Althanas, every dimension, every plane, every universe, every planet, every star. Escape was impossible, for where would he go? There was no place to go. All around him was naught but blackness. He could see himself, but beyond that, nothing. All direction was dependent on his own viewpoint. Worse than anything else, was the complete sense of desolation, and loneliness. No brother, no daughter, no friends, not even any enemies. Even when alone in the wild, there was a sense of the world around you, and the knowledge that somewhere, there were creatures still living. Here, there was nothing.

Slowly, The Void changed, like daylight chasing the night away. By small degrees, a new environment came into being, a plain of grass, stretching into infinity. A great field of grass had come into being, giving Sei sense of vertical direction. Puffy white clouds filled a blue sky. It would be the one small comfort Sei would receive in this place.

“I welcome you Sei Orlouge, to my home, The Place that is Not. I am The Spirit of Nothingness, and that makes me your enemy, for you exist, and I do not. Yet, to show you I'm not completely evil, I have given you the sense of place, by altering myself to reflect this field. A small comfort perhaps, but then, if I showed you The Infinite, as it truly is, it would drive you insane. If my name is unfamiliar to you, consider that in some places I am known as The Nightmare King. You may call me Kajeenith.

Yet, I am a part of The Dark Pantheon, we are comprised of ALL the dark gods of Althanas, united in our common goals. So perhaps anything I try will be misconstrued as sheer arrogance and a show of power. That saddens me, for of all the Dark Gods, I have always striven to be personable, and friendly.” A warm, friendly voice said, echoing around Sei and inside his head, yet the voice was painful to listen to.

An image formed, but it was hazy, and indistinct, like someone had put black leather on a man of the whitest possible skin yet no further details could be known for it hurt to look at him, just as it did to listen to him. These were the same pains one suffered in a fight. These were dull pains, as though the senses had been strained. In fact, overexposure to this deity by any sense would result in its loss.

“Regardless, I have brought you here for one reason, and one reason alone. To tell you the truth, and the truth is, is that all your efforts here, all that you have tried, will have been for nothing. The Sins will recover, and return once more. Castus Malum will live to see another day. Kyla will continue her downward spiral. She has been scarred, deeply scarred in a way you cannot heal. Further, your efforts in the future to fight evil, that too will be for naught. You see, for as long as evil exists in the hearts of Mortals, so too shall we exist to grant their darkest desires. You can fight us, destroy us, seal us away, but it will be a futile effort. Eventually we will recover, be unsealed, restored, and your life's work will have become meaningless. It is, inevitable.

Yet, it amuses us to see you try, and you will try again, for my words will only inspire you to prove me wrong, even though ultimately I'll be proven right. So, in recognition of your efforts, a gift for the joy you have, and will, bring into our lives, I give you one chance to escape this place, otherwise, it is inescapable.

As always, there is a catch. But mine is not so great you cannot bear it. I will let you go, even open a doorway into your home, but only under one condition. You have to allow The Deadly Sin of Corruption to join the ranks of The Ixian Knights, when she feels she is ready to do so. The very same entity your daughter summoned to gain knowledge from, the very entity whose brothers and sisters you just fought and defeated, give me your word she can join when she's ready, and I'll just let you go.” Kajeenith said.

A small oak table formed, with a tea service on it. The pot was steaming, and filled with a blend of tea that tasted like a mix of berries. Everything was as clear as glass, yet it was as hard as tempered steel. Truly a marvelous substance. Sugar and cream waited dutifully off to one side of two empty cups. The deity poured himself a cup, and drank his without any additions.

“I warn you though, turn me down, and no effort by you, or any Thayne will see you free from this place, which will become most hellish indeed as I live up to my name of Nightmare King. Life and Death, these things are meaningless here. Every faucet of existence is meaningless here, unless I give it meaning. Thus, even when you die from my torments, your suffering will continue, unabated by the release of death. Indeed, if you turn me down, I will make you suffer beyond the end of time itself. This offer is non-negotiable, and must be taken exactly as is. Tea?” Kajeenith asked, indicating the tea service.

A throne of pure darkness formed, radiating a black fog that the light could not penetrate. Kajeenith sat upon this, and offered Sei a throne of ornate silver and gold craftsmanship studded with the finest gems and treasures. He was right about one thing so far, he was personable. He regarded Sei Orlouge with a calm and unimpassioned gaze, quietly sipping his tea and waiting for his guest to decide between allowing a force of corruption to infect his knights, or spending an eternity suffering torments his mind would be unable to fully comprehend. The decision seemed like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, yet there would be benefits to having a demoness on hand.

[Silence Sei]

Sei stood before the evil being of nothingness, fully aware that he was completely out of his league. This demon set to strike a bargain with the Mystic, something Sei was not too fond of. However, when this particular foe could leave the telepath in a constant state of purgatory, his options were limited. Sei thought for a minute as he approached the being, sitting down and nodding for him to pour the mute some tea.

The Spirit of Nothingness complied and made a cup for his prisoner. Sei took the small cup to his lips and blew the steam off of the top of the drink. The steam quickly entered his nostrils as he began to take a few small sips of the liquid. He was careful not to take too much of a drink, it could be poisoned after all. It seemed as though the omnipotent being could detect Sei's initial distrust, and it caused a sinister chuckle from the being.

As far as the offer went, could Sei really accept the person who tortured his daughter by forcing her to stay here into the Knights? Such a thing seemed so unlike him. While he did have Cassandra Remi bolstering his ranks, the young warrior couldn't quite see himself accepting Callbrena with all of his heart.

Then a thought struck him that made him smile.

The mute quickly retracted the thought before his evil host could sense it. "I have just the team in mind for her, somewhere where I feel she will excel at." The demon god seemed to smile at the prospect of the group Sei had in mind. Did the mute truly think that the sin of corruption would be good there? Realizing it was not his decision, however, the elder demon nodded, and waved his hand, and once again, everything began to fade to black.

Sei was back in the Tomb, surrounded by his Knights with both Kyla and Niche by his side. It seemed as though not much time had passed during the telepath's conversation. Sei would come console Kyla in a moment, but first, he had to find the team leader that would soon be Callbrena's boss.

"William," Sei sent a private message specifically to William Arcus. While the Mystic approached his family, hugging them in an embrace that was soon joined in by Anita. Though his actions were in one place, Sei's mind kept up his orders to his general. "Soon, a very demonic looking girl will be put on your Monster Hunting Team. Her name is Callbrena, and she is the one responsible for all the torture Kyla has gone through in these past weeks."

Sei knew that the man known as the revenant would be enraged by this, the former woodsman having a fatherly relationship to Kyla Orlouge himself. "If she looks like she is trying to corrupt any of my people, turn them to the side of evil, you have simple orders."

"Kill her."

((Spoils: Kadarus Enchantment: Sei did not realize that during Lust and Envy's fight, his battle fan was coated with some of the blood from the former. As such, the effect of the soenma flowers once enchanted into Kadarus now remains permenant. When flapping the projectile fan in the breeze, opponents who get a whiff of the soenma scent go into a lust induced craze. 30% of effecting someone at Sei's level, with a 5% increase for each level below him.

Jackal Enchantment: Likewise, when Sei slayed Sloth, some blood from the sin splattered upon another one of his fans, the one deemed Jackal. This activated the inactive enchantment upon this fan. Whenever Sei cuts someone (or, like Kadarus, catch a whiff of the air produced by the fan) with Jackal, there is a 30% chance ofhis foe going to sleep, regardless of level, with a 40% chance of drowsiness increased by 5% every two levels below Sei.

I hate requesting spoils this way, but it makes like easier for our resident RoGs.))

[Aiko]

On Castus Malum, everything was quiet. The unthinkable had happened. Someone had actually rescued one of their victims. The Seven Deadly Sins had failed to protect their investment. Slowly the plane reverted back to normal, and the presence of the dark gods left the plane. Those not killed were treated for their wounds.

Calbrena hung her head in shame and left the plane, too disgraced to face anyone. Her brothers and sisters had been stopped, some had been killed. They would all recover, the dead sins would walk the world feeding on the essence of their nature, until they were strong enough to forge their bodies anew. Recovery would happen and all involved would be stronger, wiser, for this experience.

Secret legends kept away from the pool of public knowledge spoke of a time in the ancient days when the tap was still whole of eight powerful demon sorcerers, lords among demon kind, who sought to unite their powers and create the ultimate evil. A force so powerful, it could not be opposed. For a time they toiled, night and day, researching every aspect they could of magic, and of divine power. At last, they succeeded in their endeavors, and created the ultimate force of evil, yet they had not considered that such a force could neither be contained, nor controlled.

This power, dubbed “The Eternal Hellfire” for the way it manifested, and the malevolent feel of its energies, spread beyond their control. In desperation, the eighth brother turned against his siblings, and sealed his brothers in a plane he kept hidden away in a secret place, to forever wrestle with this power and keep it at bay.

It was this power that Calbrena learned of during her time in Castus Malum, where knowledge of its existence was available. Knowledge that Calbrena used to form her plans to become the one being capable of bearing The Eternal Hellfire.

.~.~.

In the tomb, a single voice found its way into Sei's mind, a voice that would cause his head to throb as though he had a migraine.

“There's just one more thing. She won't be there for some time, it seems she has something else to accomplish first. Oh, but don't fret my dear man, we'll make sure she finds you. It is destiny after all.” Kajeenith said, his voice departing leaving only the cryptic warning behind.

[Zerith]

Inside the Fire.

Alrighty, should you guys be interesting in anything I have to say. I'm gonna refer you to the Workshop thread, where I posted my thoughts.

If you've already been there, then let me remind you how you did...


STORY - 18

CHARACTER - 16

WRITING STYLE - 16

WILD CARD - 4

FINAL SCORE - 54!



Rewards:

Silence Sei receives 2709 EXP and 216 GP! Also his requested spoils are approved pending approval of a RoG Mod.

Aiko receives 1039 EXP and 216 GP!

Amber Eyes receives 1074 and 151 GP!

[Silence Sei]

EXP-GP added.

Amber Eyes Leveled! No one else did!