Eldritch Avatar Quest - You are the Outside-Context Problem!

[shibosho]

The war between good and evil is a never-ending one. Without good, there is no evil. Without evil. There is no good. Just as darkness needs light to cast a shadow upon the world, light needs darkness to shine brightly across the world. For eons, the battle between light and darkness had raged on, reshaping the very land and leaving scars upon the world. However, the war came an abrupt stop when an interloper arrived on the battlefield.

Calling themselves the Ebon Lord, the Avatar of the Watcher in the Void, they declared war against the light and darkness. They were promptly cut down with relative ease by both the forces of light and darkness. However, contrary to expectations, this would not be the last time a being calling themselves the Ebon Lord would appear before the Light and Darkness. Though always different from their predecessor, the new Ebon Lord would always declare their hatred of the Light and Darkness and seek to bring them both down.

Time and time again, battles were interrupted as a new Ebon Lord appeared to intervene in the conflict before being slain. However, it soon became apparent that each successive Ebon Lord was more powerful than the one before them. The strength and power needed to slay the Ebon Lord grew with each new Ebon Lord. It soon became apparent that whatever the Ebon Lord was, it could only end badly for the forces of Light and Darkness.

No-one knew who or where the Ebon Lord came from. All they knew was that the Ebon Lord had powers, unlike anything that they had ever seen before, that a new one would arise soon after the defeat of the last one, and that they had an all-encompassing hatred for both the Light and Darkness. Surprisingly, the Ebon Lord held no true animosity to those that stood with neither the light or darkness and early iterations of the Ebon Lord would simply ignore them in favour of its chosen enemy.

However, when the Ebon Lord began demonstrating a capacity for strategy and tactics beyond blind reckless charging, the Forces of Light and Darkness began to feel concern. When the Ebon Lord began to gather unto themselves an army to join their battle, the Forces of Light and Darkness realised that if that unless something was done, an Ebon Lord would surely crush them and fulfil their promise of death to the Light and Darkness.

Thus, the forces of Light and Darkness put aside their differences to put an end to the Ebon Lord once and for all. Scholars, seers, and oracles had predicted that if the Ebon Lord could somehow be sealed away without killing them, a new one would not be born. A plan was created and a trap prepared. With the Light and Darkness united in a singular goal, they thought themselves already victorious.

When the trap was sprung, it was then they realised how much they had underestimated an Ebon Lord that had become truly desperate. Having realised what their enemy was trying to achieve, the Ebon Lord struggled and fought back with fervour and strength far beyond what had been witnessed before. In the end, the Ebon Lord was sealed away but at a great cost.

The final stand of the Ebon Lord had reaped a terrible price upon the Light and Darkness, their armies crippled and most of their leaders dead. The war had come to an end as what remained of the light and darkness withdrew to heal from their wounds and recover what had been lost. The world once more belonged to mortal men just as it did long before the war began.

And in time, the Ebon Lord was forgotten by all save a chosen few, thanks to the Light choosing to erase nearly all traces of their existence. Those few of the Darkness chose to keep the memories of that horrific disaster close in their hearts to never forget that even they can be felled while the Light's chosen, maddened by both grief and vengeance, chose to eradicate even the memories of that monster's existence.

The Light would pay for their folly.

…

In the modern day, the world has changed greatly. It has been decades since Magic was revealed to the ignorant masses. Where it was revealed that Mankind was never alone; that there were dozens of different races out there, and they have lived long under the Masquerade. Technology too has advanced to the point where even those lacking in magical talent to acquire tools that have grants them the ability to perform physics-defying feats with little to no practice.

Indeed, Mankind - no, mortals in general, have gone through much to arrive at this point.

But things are not as peaceful as they seem to be. With progress, comes dangers. With Heroes, come Villains. Creatures - monsters, previously hidden under the veil of the Masquerade, now revealed before the public. Demons. Angels. Vampires. Ghosts. Dark spirits which prey upon the innocents. Beasts previously unseen. Dangers that mortals could not even begin to comprehend. Powers beyond comprehension! World-ending disasters which loom upon the horizon, that only a select few could only hope to stop!

And somewhere in the world, someone has stumbled upon an ancient seal, completely unaware of the terrible forces that they are about to unleash.

Who is this unwitting architect of disaster?

[ ] The head Archivist of the Shadow Kingdom, ruled by its leader the Shadow Queen who seeks to plunge the world into eternal darkness. An ancient text about a powerful creature that had been sealed away long before the rise of the Shadow Kingdom has lead this seeker of knowledge along with his entourage to find this entity and bend it to the will of their queen.

[ ] A team of magical girls on the trail of their current nemesis. While seeking out their enemy, they have somehow found themselves in a strange place that could only be some kind of special secret base that belongs to their enemy. Having determined that they are in enemy territory, they are prepared to delve deeper and defeat their enemy once and for all.

[ ] A group of adventurous teenagers out to have some fun by exploring places they really shouldn't be hanging around, all for some cheap thrills. They are a bunch of mostly normal kids who are about to have their lives turned upside-down.

[ ] A group of cultists who are seeking the perfect location to summon forth their dark gods. A mistranslation in the forbidden texts have lead them to the wrong place, and further misunderstandings have resulted in them deciding to break through the seal to get to the supposed forbidden sanctum within.

…

When the seal is broken, the power of the Ebon Lord will be free to continue its mission to purge the world of both the Light and Darkness. However, long has it been since they were sealed beneath the earth, restrained by myriads of wards and ancient magic. No longer do they possess the terrible might that crippled the two most powerful forces of their time. Time has reaped a toll upon them and now the Ebon Lord must return to the world in a diminished state.

…

Choose what state the Ebon Lord is in when they are finally free of their prison.

[ ] A lessened but still mighty being - Their instincts have dulled. Their body degraded from eons of inactivity. Even the light of their soul has dimmed. However, the mind is still sharp. The power within still rages like the storm. Despite their weakened state, enough of their might still remains, to strike fear and terror unto the forces of Good and Evil. More than that, they still live. Easy Mode

[ ] A force of nature bound to their blade - Almost nothing can withstand the march of time. Their body is naught but a fossil, nothing more than dust and stone held in place by the chains that were laid upon them by the enemy. Instead, the soul still burns brightly, the mind still remembers, and the heart still beats in the weapon that had been sealed alongside them. It only needs someone to wield them. Medium

[ ] Human yet not human - The seals have drained away their might and power, leaving nearly nothing but a wisp of the terrible strength that had once cowled entire legions and armies of the heavens and hell. Forced back into their original form, the Ebon Lord is vulnerable and weak. But it was in this form that they started their journey from being an inconsequential mortal to the one who decides their own fate and that of the world. They simply need to begin anew. Hard

[ ] A shade of power - The physical form is gone, having long since returned to the earth, and what's left of the mind is barely coherent, with only vengeance and hatred keeping it together. The soul, however, is incandescently bright. The potential for power still remains but in their current state, it is meaningless. For the Ebon Lord to continue their work, they must find a vessel to wield their power. Very hard



AN: Heyo Shibosho here with a new quest. As the title suggests you readers will be playing as an Outside Context Problem/villain. This quest will feature ideas, concepts, maybe characters from previous quests of mine. Let's see where this one will go, shall we?

 

[shibosho]

[X] A team of magical girls on the trail of their current nemesis. While seeking out their enemy, they have somehow found themselves in a strange place that could only be some kind of special secret base that belongs to their enemy. Having determined that they are in enemy territory, they are prepared to delve deeper and defeat their enemy once and for all.
[X] A force of nature bound to their blade - Almost nothing can withstand the march of time. Their body is naught but a fossil, nothing more than dust and stone held in place by the chains that were laid upon them by the enemy. Instead, the soul still burns brightly, the mind still remembers, and the heart still beats in the weapon that had been sealed alongside them. It only needs someone to wield them.

…

You have been trapped in this prison for god knows how long. It has been so long that you have long forgotten your own name. You have forgotten what your life was like before you became the Ebon Lord. You have forgotten

You have forgotten so many things yet there is something that you will never forget.

You will never forget the screams of terror and the cries of agony as the Darkness took your father, mother and sisters, and humiliated them, played with them, used them until there was nothing left save for a bloody bag of meat, all while laughing as though your existence was the greatest joke of all.

You will never forget the sacrifices that your brothers made in the name of the Light, only for those sacrifices to be for nothing as a Hero who arrived late to the battlefield simply smashes through the Darkness that had barely been kept at bay as though it was nothing.

You will never forget the moment when you fully realised that humanity will never know true peace as long as both the Light and Darkness exist in this world.

You will never forget the moment you were chosen by the Watcher in the Void.

You will never forget the day that you throw away your humanity to take back everyone's futures from those who foolishly thought themselves above human retribution.

Even though your flesh has long since become nothing but dust, your bones brittle stone, and your blood sand, the very essence of your existence still beat as strong as the day you took up the duty of the Ebon Lord, as well as the rage and hatred that has kept you as sane as a soul trapped in a sword could possibly be throughout your imprisonment.

However, you know full well that even your determination and resolve will not last forever. The guardians that you were once able to sense beyond the confines of your prison are long gone, their numbers dwindling as time marched on until there was the one left and after that there were none. You do not know if this is due to the commands of your enemy or that your existence has been forgotten. You can only hope that it is the former for there is still a chance some arrogant fool might try and remove the seals in hoping to gain your powers. It has happened before to previous Ebon Lords, and you can only hope that you will not be the last.

Your only regret is that your imprisonment has forced your mind, soul and heart to merge with your blade, meaning that as long as your essence continues to exist, your true master will be unable to name another to take up the colossal task of ending both the Light and Darkness.

You could only wait and hope for someone to break you free.

And finally after so very long, you can sense new presences approach your prison. Will you finally be free?

Or will your hopes be dashed?

You can only wait and see.

....

....

They were the Crystal Stars, a group of teenage girls chosen to become Earth's protectors against the never-ending threat of evil. Inheriting the powers and skill of their predecessors, the Crystal Stars are veritable supernovas that burn brightly but are yet destined to collapse as furiously as they burn. Or at least that was how things were meant to go centuries ago.

In reality, with the appearance of many other groups of heroes from all walks of life and origins, the great burden that the Crystal Stars once bore alone had been greatly lessened. No longer alone in the fight against evil, the Crystal Stars are able to fight without going beyond their limits and sacrifice themselves to save the world like their predecessors did all too many times.

Their members currently consisted of five young ladies: -

Izumi Nishimura - Cheerful, courageous, and just a bit clumsy, Izumi shines the brightest amongst her fellow Stars as their leader. While young and somewhat inexperienced, compared to her older heroes and her teammate, Naomi, Izumi's optimism and good-nature inspires others in the face of danger. She believed wholeheartedly that as long as she's together with her friends and teammates, there's nothing that they cannot overcome. A second year high school student.

Youko Oshiro - A fierce no-nonsense warrior with a serious personality, Youko is always ready to rush into battle to crush the enemy. With her fierce strength, Youko has a tendency to see the world in black and white, either you're here to help or stay out of her way as she smashes any dangers to the world or you're the danger that needs to be smashed. A first year high school student.

Naomi Itou - A veteran Crystal Star who used to fight the battle against evil on her lonesome before she encountered Izumi and the others, Naomi now acts as both a reliable older sister to her younger teammates as well as a wise mentor to the young and impressionable Izumi. While seemingly distant and soft-spoken, her poise and quiet strength are deeply admired by her teammates. She is also the oldest member of the group. A second year university student.

Hana Nakano - The youngest member of the group, Hana is a happy-go-lucky young girl for whom sadness and gloom seems to be foreign concepts that happened to other people. Though she appears to spend half her time in her own little world, Hana can always be counted on to support her friends. While she sometimes seems a bit strange, Hana was actually quite perceptive and tends to notice things that others have missed more often than not. A third year middle school student.

Maki Yamamoto - When granted magical powers, not everyone is happy or responsible with them, especially not Maki. Reckless, lazy, and irresponsible, Maki has no compunctions about treating her power as a plaything for her own interests. Explosive in both ability and temper, she has repeatedly clashed with her teammates over her methods and use of her abilities. However, her childhood friend Izumi trusts Maki to come through for the team when it matters and deep in Maki's heart is a burning need to protect her love ones and keep them from harm's way, no matter the cost. A second year high school student.

Together, these five make up the latest incarnation of the Crystal Stars.

Today was yet another trial for the Crystal Stars, for they had decided to take the fight to their nemesis, the Black Galaxy Clan, for once instead of waiting until they attacked first. However, with how elusive the Clan was, it was an exercise in futility, up until they got the bright idea the investigate the Ever-Labyrinth.

The Ever-Labyrinth was a place that was said to be connected to all realms in time and space. The ritual to enter it was fairly easy to obtain. Much harder to get was the Ever-Compass and Ever-Spool. To traverse it safely, you needed an Ever-Compass that would guide you to any location that it was locked onto and an Ever-Spool that would leave an unbreakable never-ending golden thread in order to help those lost in the otherworldly maze find their way back home.

Fortunately, the Crystal Stars were able to obtain an Everspool and an Evercompass from the Mystic Bazaar, an open market that open only several days a month. Though in hindsight, the Crystal Stars should have made extra sure that the ever-compass they had bought was actually targeting their enemy, the Black Galaxy Clan, and not something vague like, "The Enemy".

"This is stupid. Can we go home?"

"Don't be like that, we've only been walking for a hour."

"Yeah, and in that hour we had to fight off a giant three headed dog, a minotaur, a small forest of killer trees, and a freaking tentacle monster! I was told me that there wouldn't be any tentacle monsters when I accepted this job!"

"Language!"

"Whatever, Youko!"

"Guys! Okay, I admit that it's taking awhile for us to find the Black Galaxy Clan but - "

"Oh, you know full well that this whole thing's a bust. That compass is busted and I'm tired of walking around and killing shit."

"Language!"

"Urgh, screw off, bitch. It's just words! Sticks and stones and all that."

"Um, everyone?"

"And that's no reason not to speak politely, especially to your teammates! Wouldn't you agree, Naomi?"

"...Honestly, I have to agree with Yamamoto. The Evercompass is meant to lead their users to their destination using the shortest route possible and I know for a fact that it shouldn't take longer than half an hour on average. While it is possible that the route to the Clan's headquarters might just be long, I honestly wouldn't hold my breath."

"Hah! See! Even Itou agrees with me! So let get that spool out so we can all go home."

"Uergh! Do you have to be so unagreeable! This is why no-one likes you, Maki!"

"Pfft, like I give a shit!"

"Guys?"

"Stop fighting you guys. How about this, we keep going for ten more minutes. If we don't find something by then, we'll make our way back home. Okay?"

"GUYS!"

""""What?!""""

"Hana think we've found something."

For the last hour, the Crystal Stars had been wondering the labyrinth with no real progress made. Despite the evercompass working as advertised, the girls had soon come to realise that when they asked for one that was pointed to "The Enemy", they should have been more specific. However, it seems that Hana, who had been holding the compass, had found something.

Going around the corner, the girls stopped in their tracks as they stared up at the large door covered in symbols.

"Huh. Okay, we've found them. Now let's kick down the door, blast their crap and head home." Maki proposed, her fists beginning to glow as she began to gather power. The giant door practically screamed bad guys and that was good enough for her.

"Hang on a minute, Maki. I'm not too sure but I don't think this is part of the Black Galaxy Clan." Something about the design, the symbols, and the place was off. But she couldn't tell what it was. Maybe she was overthinking it but her gut instinct was saying otherwise.

"Izu, we've been walking for an hour now and we've found this tall dark ominous looking door that clearly says evil with a capital E. I'm pretty sure we've found the gate to their hideout." Maki on the other hand was irritated and bored. The earlier fights had been interesting but honestly, those monsters were weak compared to what the Crystal Stars fought these days.

"Hmm, I wouldn't say that we've found them yet, Maki. The architecture, while at first glance quite similar to that of the Black Galaxy, if you look closer, you'll see that these parts as well as that part over there don't match the usual Black Galaxy style at all. Plus it's clearly quite ancient." Ever the voice of reason, Naomi was quick with her analyse as well as reasoning. "Still, I believe this place bears investigations at the very least."

"Oh, oh! Hana knows! This is like super ancient Black Galaxy stuff!" Hana cried out, raising her hand up like she usually did in class.

"Well, I suppose that is a possibility. It is quite old."

"Hmm..." Even so, Izumi wasn't convinced. Staring intently at the design on the doors, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Say Naomi, does this look like some kind of seal to you?"

"Huh...I think you might be right. Give me a - "

"Eurgh, enough already! It's evil so let's smash it!" While she would never admit it, Youko had been getting just as frustrated as Maki was. While she wasn't as reckless as Maki was, Youko was not one for talking.

"Wait, Youko! Hold on a -"

"STARDUST SMASH!" With a single punch, Youko struck the doors with a magically reinforced fist. Cracks spread out from where she had struck, quickly covering the entire door with glowing spiderweb-like cracks.

"...minute…" Izumi lamely finished as she stared in apprehension as she stepped back from the door.

"...Boom." With that line, the door exploded, ancient stonework shattering to dust, and ancient magic broken.

Immediately, the Crystal Stars took up battle stances, ready for whatever evil emerged from the cloud of dust Youko's attack had kicked up.

Several minutes later, after the dust had cleared revealing simple darkness, the girls were now feeling embarrassed.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Maki snarked, clearly unimpressed with the results. "Someone throw a light in. I wanna see what's inside."

"Hmm, strange. I don't sense anything. I could sense powerful magic on the doors but nothing inside." Naomi commented, looking slightly confused.

"Okie-dokie! Hana will light things up! Starlight! Star Bright!" Clapping her hands together, the youngest Crystal Star opened her hands to release a bright ball of light out into the dark room. Cautiously, the girls followed behind the ball.

Inside was a large hall with rows of pillars going up to the ceiling. Strewn all over the walls and hanging from the ceiling, as well as around the pillars were chains, all of them with softly glowing runes on them. However, there was a wide path clear of chains that lead to the other end of the hall. From where the girls could see, there was some kind of throne where the path ended.

Curiosity getting the better of them, the Crystal Stars walked down the path, taking in their surrounding as they went.

"Naomi, do you recognise any of this?"

"Sorry, Izumi. Can't say I do. Though if I had to guess - "

"Hey, there's a dead guy here." Maki interrupted. Maki had ran ahead of everyone else and reached the throne before anyone else. There she found the dessicated form of a man in full armour. "I think this place is some kind of fancy smancy tomb or something!"

"Hmm, it seems that way." Even with their senses extended, they sense virtually no magic in the entire hallway. Despite their appearance, the chains didn't seem to have any magic in them either. It felt like a complete magical deadzone to the five magical girls.

"So...I'm guessing this is Black Galaxy property?" Youko asked, sounding disappointed.

"No...I don't think the Black Galaxy have places like this and - Maki!"

"Shit shit! Sorry!" Maki cried out apologetically as she scrambled away from the body. She had out of curiosity poked the body and as soon as she did, it began to crumble away into dust, armour and all. "God damn, how long was this body here for?"

"Well, there's go our biggest clue about this place." Naomi grouched, shaking her head at Maki's usual antics.

"Hey! There's a sword here!"



Indeed, amidst the crumbling remains was a long black sword with stylised engravings on its blade in gold. It looked to be in surprisingly good condition.

"Maki! You can't just touch stuff in places like this. What if you get cursed!" Izumi reprimanded her childhood friend.

"Chill, Izu. It's cool. Look, it doesn't have any magic either." Maki explained. Izumi frowned and felt out the sword with her own sense. To her relief, there was no magic coming from the sword. As far as she could tell, it was just a fancy looking sword. "I think the guy was some kind of ancient king or something. Best it would have been hard to built a tomb in the ever-labyrinth though."

"Hana's done exploring! Hana also didn't find anything." Hana declared cheerfully. The others had to agree with her. Despite the elaborate set-up of the hall, there seemed to be nothing of value, excluding the sword and even they were kind of iffy on that.

"Welp. Looks like this entire expedition to find the Black Galaxy Clan is a bust. But hey, at least we found some kind of tomb and got a sword out of it!" Said Maki in false cheer. "Can we go home now?"

Izumi glanced at everyone and their surroundings once more before nodding. They would have to try again another time.

Humming cheerfully to herself, Maki grabbed the sword and gave it a twirl.

"Huh, good balance."

…

…

For the first time in a very long time, you feel the warmth of another as one of the five girls that had broken into your prison took your sword into their hand.

You do not know who these girls are but the presence within their souls are familiar, very familiar. Whoever these girls are, they have the mark of Astral Knights upon them, much to your disappointment.

The Astral Knights were warriors of the Light that came from the void between worlds. Ebon Lords of the past had clashed with these knights and had even fallen to their magic and weapons. It seems these girls were likely the latest incarnations of the Astral Knights. Though you despise those who have sided with either the Light or Darkness, you will hold back your anger in gratitude for freeing you from your ancient prison.

The language they speak is unfamiliar but you can easily decipher the intent behind each word. As expected, these girls are unable to sense the Ebon Force within you or that around them. Only the highest sensors could ever pick up the presence of Ebon Force and even then it was not easy.

Still, while you require someone who can take your place as the Ebon Lord, these girls are ill-suited for such a purpose. The presence of the Astral Knights' mark on their souls would make it difficult to exert any influence on their minds and souls. Though you could force your power upon them, it would be easily noticed and they would no doubt discard you, probably in the deep ocean, a place only marginally better than your prison.

You must wait and bide your time, until a suitable wielder appears.

You've waited for eons to be free from this prison, what is a little bit more time?

…

…

The Crystal Stars return from their expedition into the Ever-Labyrinth, failing to find the enemy's base. Tired from their trip, the girls went their separate ways, to rest up and prepare for the next day. Their normal lives could not be ignored after all. The matter of the sword that Maki had taken from the Tomb was something the girls had discussed quite a bit on the way back home.

Eventually, they decided on what would happen with the sword.

What do they do with it?

[ ] Maki decided to keep the sword for herself, claiming the finder's keepers to her teammates. It was kinda cool and while not as flashy as her usual explosions, it was loot from a tomb of a dead king and that was what counted.

[ ] Izumi had an older brother who was a hardcore LARPer. While she herself thought it was kinda silly, she was quite understanding of her brother's hobbies and figured the sword would make for a great early birthday present for him.

[ ] Naomi knew a guy that owned a pawn shop and dealt in ancient artifacts and the likes. She was a bit tight on cash this month so she convinced her friends and teammates to let her have the sword. She promised she would treat her team to ice-cream with the money she got from it.

[ ] Hana's dad was an avid collector of medieval weaponry. Hana loved her dad so she wanted to give her dad the sword to add to his collection. It would look great on the wall alongside the giant two-headed axe, the obsidian blade club thing, and that chinese spear-blade as well.

AN: Okay, how's the dialogue? Is it easy to keep track of who's talking or do I need to colour-code it or something?

 

[shibosho]

[X] Maki decided to keep the sword for herself, claiming the finder's keepers to her teammates. It was kinda cool and while not as flashy as her usual explosions, it was loot from a tomb of a dead king and that was what counted.

…

...

The world has changed greatly since you last remember.

Towering buildings of glass and metal. Horseless carriages that are about to move on their own at great speeds. The sheer number of people that move through the city. The outfits. The people. The boxes with moving pictures.

Yes. The world is no longer the one that you once knew. At least you think that's the case - between spending god knows how long in complete isolation combined and your own faulty memories, you aren't quite sure. It's obvious that humanity has made immense advances in technology and the sciences.

Surprisingly, unless this particular city is completely populated by mages, it seems that magic has become more accessible to the masses. You take note that nearly everyone that you see has some kind of device on them that contains magic in one form or another. Though not particularly strong, it is still quite different from your era when magic was almost exclusively for use by those with strong talent. Most that you see don't have that talent.

You have many questions that you desire answers to but you will have to wait until you have a proper connection to the Watcher. Though you still have a connection to your benefactor, it is weak, just barely enough for the Watcher to be aware of your continued existence and little else. Once you have a stronger connection, you will be able to request your master an update on the changes that have occurred to humanity and the world should they see fit to grant such a request.

But in order to strengthen your connection to the Watcher, you will need to acquire a proper vessel.

It appears, much to your mild annoyance, that the one known as Maki of these Crystal Stars has chosen to take you for herself. As one who has apparently inherited the power of the Astral Knights, it would be difficult to mould the girl into a suitable vessel for your powers as her affinity to the Light will forcibly resist any major attempts to form a proper connection with her soul. Still, it is not impossible, just difficult.

All you can do is wait and slowly erode the light-imbued resistance her soul has towards Ebon Force.

…

...

The trip back home was uneventful, much to Maki's annoyance. As usual, nobody was home. Her parents were both working late, leaving her to take care of herself. There were leftovers in the fridge but she wasn't feeling particularly hungry. Today was kinda lame. While the first fifteen minutes of the Ever-Labyrinth was interesting, it quickly lost its novelty after the third monster encounter. Not only that, they failed to find any sign of the Black Galaxy Clan. Well, it wasn't a complete waste of a day.

Instead of finding the Black Galaxy clan's home-base, the Crystal Stars ended up finding some ancient tomb. And for once, it was Youko who stole the march on everyone by smashing her way into the place. Now that was interesting. Sadly, the only thing that was even remotely close to treasure was this sword that was left when she touched the body, causing it to crumble into dust.

Still, the sword was pretty neat. It felt right in her hands and had a sweet design. While the sword didn't seem to have any magic in it, Maki's guts told her that the sword was special somehow, even if she couldn't see how. At any rate, if she was going to be using this sword for her Crystal Star duties, she'd best get to learning how to wield a sword.

Grabbing the sword where she'd left it on the couch, Maki cleared a space in the living room for her to practice some swings and thrusts. She found some basic sword fighting lessons on the internet and began to practice in earnest.

"Swish! Swish! Stab!"

For about an hour, she'd swing the sword around, trying to imitate the lessons she watched, stopping to either move onto the next video or replay the lesson. While it wasn't proper practice, as well as the fact that what she was doing was reckless and dangerous, the magical girl didn't give a crap. She had a bitching sword stolen from the tomb of an ancient sorcerer king (probably) and she was damn well gonna use it.

By the end of the improvised practice session, Maki's arms were burning and her sweat-soaked clothes were clinging to her body. She probably should have changed into her gym uniform before starting all this swording stuff. Tired, she examined the sword in her hand more closely. It was made out of some kind of black metal and the gold pattern on it didn't look to be painted on.

Experimentally, she touched the edge of the sword, only to stare in surprise as blood appeared where she was touching.

"Huh, did I cut myself? Weird, why don't I - OW!" So sharp was the blade that Maki hadn't registered it cutting her finger until her body realised it had been cut. Dropping the sword in surprise, Maki didn't notice the blood that fell on the metal of the black sword disappear as she hurried to stop the bleeding and put a bandage on her finger.

…

…

You had forgotten something very important as you took in the blood of your wielder. Blood is the currency of the soul and in cutting herself and allowing her life-essence to fall upon your metal, she has opened up a connection between you and her. How very fortunate. Whatever resistance the Light gave her was made meaningless as you tapped into the newly forged bond between the two of you and purge any chance of the Light tainting the connection.

With this, you have gain purchase upon Maki's soul, and in time, you'll be able to shape Maki into a proper vessel for your might. Whether she will be in control or not, only time will tell. For now, you shall begin the process of empowerment. Just as your benefactor granted you power, you too shall grant Maki Yamamoto power.

Because your connection is still new and weak, you are limited in what you can do but what you can gift the Crystal Star will be useful in the coming days. In exchange, because she has likewise made a connection with you, a small portion of her very being had become part of you, granting you abilities that no other person can give.

As the connection grows stronger, you will be able to grant Maki more power as will she grant you more strength.

This is just the first step in ensuring that an Ebon Lord walks the Earth once again.

…

Connection strength: 0 => 5%

…

What power did you grant Maki Yamamoto of the Crystal Stars? (Choose 1)

[ ] Danger Sense - Grants a sixth sense bordering onto precognition which allows the user to perceive "the feeling of death", allowing them to avoid anything that may cause them injury or harm, regardless of intent or lack of, with the smallest amount of movement possible.

[ ] Presence Negation - Grants the ability to become invisible to both magical and normal senses while erasing one's presence, to the point where even physical contact will not be noticed. However, the user can still be sensed by technological means.

[ ] First Empowerment - Grants the user a fraction of the immense might that crippled the forces of Light and Darkness for eons. Effectively grants them peak human capabilities in both physical and mental aspects.

[ ] Unkillable - Makes it impossible for the user to be killed. The user will survive any and all fatal attacks. However, they can still be horrifically wounded. Fortunately, they can heal at an accelerated rate and regenerate limbs and lost organs, albeit at a slow rate.

…

…

What power did you gain from your connection with Maki Yamamoto of the Crystal Stars? (Choose 1)

[ ] Pocket Form - You can shift between two forms, your true self and a much smaller form that can be carried around as a bracelet or a necklace. This power is obtained due to the nature of the Crystal Star's own weapons being stored in a compact and non-threatening form, usually that of a bracelet charm and other forms of jewellery.

[ ] Glamour - You can cover yourself in an illusion, appearing before others with a different design or colour. You can also effectively make it impossible for anyone to recognise what you are unless they already know what you are. You obtained this power due to the Crystal Stars' own glamour ability that protects their identities when transformed.

[ ] Explosive Charge - You can charge yourself with energy that you can unleash when you impact or slice through an object, causing a powerful explosion. The strength of the explosion is reliant on how long you charge energy for. You obtained this power due to Maki's own explosive based abilities that she received when she became a Crystal Star.

[ ] Animal Form - You can transform into a cute animal of your choice and back for some reason. However, you will be unable to access any power that you had as Ebon Lord while in this form. You can, however, speak and write, though only in an ancient language that is considered dead by the world. You can draw stuff though. You don't know why you can transform into a small cute animal.

 

[shibosho]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Danger Sense - Grants a sixth sense bordering onto precognition which allows the user to perceive "the feeling of death", allowing them to avoid anything that may cause them injury or harm, regardless of intent or lack of, with the smallest amount of movement possible.

[X] Pocket Form - You can shift between two forms, your true self and a much smaller form that can be carried around as a bracelet or a necklace. This power is obtained due to the nature of the Crystal Star's own weapons being stored in a compact and non-threatening form, usually that of a bracelet charm and other forms of jewellery.

…

…

She was trapped, stuck behind an invisible wall.

Her fists slammed against the wall over and over again.

Her voice was hoarse from overuse and from the dry burning heat.

The world was burning. All around her she could hear the screams of the damned as the flames of condemnation burned them all to ashes. She could hear the prayers crying out for salvation even as nothing answered them. The sickening smell of burning flesh filled the air. Her body felt the scorching heat that melted even stone. The world was burning and all she could do was watch.

Amidst the flames, she saw an angel. An angel covered in white and gold armour that makes it look like a masterfully crafted porcelain statue

An angel of death.

The angel stood over a man who struggled to pull out the lance that had been stabbed through the chest.

Nearby a woman clutching a child cower in horror and terror.

The angel turns their head towards the mother and her child.

She screams voiceless, begging despite knowing what is about to happen is inevitable.

The man on the ground screams in anguish and the angel raises their arm towards his wife and child.

There is a scream that is almost immediately cut short. Where the woman and child was, there is only flames and ashes.

She cries and the man cries.

The man screams for a promise of vengeance.

The angel regards the man before placing their hand on the lance. The lance begins glowing and the man cries in horrific pain.

Her fists bleed as she tries to break through the wall that both restrains her and protects her.

A strange sound comes out from the angel.

It takes a few moments for her to realise that it is laughing. Laughing at the death it has caused. Laughing at the pain that it has brung to the man pinned to the ground while being roasted alive from the inside. It laughs at the humans that struggle and die against its superiority.

She screams until her throats bleed as her father dies a slow and painful death. She cries at her powerlessness.

She cries safe within the barrier, long after the angel has left and only embers remain.

She cries until something hears her cries.

She looks up and sees…

…....

…

Maki jerks awake, her body sweating and her heartbeat pounding in her head along with nausea that she struggles to hold in. She feels a shortness of breath as she stares at her unfamiliar surroundings.

No, that's not right. Maki slaps her cheeks as she remembers herself. Slowly, her breath and heartbeat return to normal as she falls back into the comfort of her pillow. Her stomach settles as whatever sickened her is forgotten.

"...What the hell was that?" Maki asks, speaking to no-one in particular. Already, the memory of the nightmare has faded, leaving behind only vague impressions. There is one thing she remembers clearly.

The sound of a sadistic monster laughing.

"God, that was one freaky nightmare," Maki mutters to herself, trying to dispel the vestiges of emotion left behind by the dream. Tugging at her soaked pyjamas, she made a look of disgust. "Yuk."

Her eyes glance at her alarm clock and she sees that she's up earlier than usual. Letting out a sigh, she got out of bed. Since she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, she might as well take her morning shower.

As she strips off her damp sleepwear, her eyes could not help but focus on the black sword leaning against the bedside dresser. It could be just the morning light playing tricks on her eyes but she could have sworn that the sword was gleaming differently than it was yesterday.

…

…

The girl exits the room, leaving you alone, though you still sense her presence due to the link that now exists between you and her. You are not surprised that she had a dream of ancient memories. Though you admit that you are not sure whether those were your memories or one from your predecessors. Already, you can sense a slight change occur within both you and Maki.

It is a sign of your influence on her soul. Only time will tell if it proves to be of use to the girl but you are certain that it will prove to be an invaluable gift to her.

You do have concerns about her status as a Crystal Star, the successor to the Astral Knights from what little you have garnered from watching Maki and her team. The Astral Knights that you remember were powerful warrior mages. However, you also remember that the Astral Knights membership was constantly changing, thanks to the self-destructive nature of their powers.

The Astral Knights would burn brightly for as long as they lived but each and every one of them had the ability to exceed their limits, granting them immense power for a short amount of time and in exchange, their lives were cut short, burnt out from the immense strain from using such power.

You will have to ensure that Maki will never have to resort to using such a dreadful power. You must be patient and strengthen the link between the two of you. If she comes to rely on your powers more than those of the Crystal Stars, then you will have accomplished part of your goals.

You are brought out of your thoughts when Maki returns, with only a towel wrapped around her naked body. You note that Maki is physically fit with a hint of combat training if the few scars you see are any indication. You'll have to do something about strengthening her body. A strong mind and heart require a strong body and soul or something like that.

You wait as Maki dries up and puts on her clothes, a uniform of sorts, you think. When she is dressed, Maki reaches out towards you only to remember herself.

"Oh right. Can't take a sword with me to school...Or can I?" Hmm, you don't know what adolescent girls do in this era but you're getting a feeling that the school she goes to would not take kindly to her bringing you with her. Rather than risk any trouble with Maki's school of whatever they teach girls these days, you make use of the power that you received in exchange for giving Maki power.

Slowly, you begin to change into a more suitable form.

……

…..

Maki was caught off guard when her sword suddenly began glowing. She watched in rapt fascination as her supposedly non-magical sword began to shrink. When the glow faded, Maki slowly, almost hesitantly, approached the spot where her sword used to be. There on the ground was a tiny sword necklace. Wary, Maki picked up her now transformed sword. It was slightly warm to touch and still she didn't sense a hint of magic in the thing despite what she had just seen.

"Okay...Well, this is strangely convenient." She had just been talking to herself about how she couldn't take the sword with her and it suddenly changes so that she carry it around without arousing suspicion. No way was that a coincident. A thought occurred to Maki and she decided to test it out. "Wouldn't it be nice if a million bucks suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of me right now" Maki waited for a few moments before letting out a snort of amusement.

Of course, things wouldn't be that easy. Lame. Hanging her brand new sword necklace off her finger, Maki wondered where the chain came from. That and if it was going to change back. At that thought, the necklace began glowing. She dropped it in surprise and watched as her sword resumed its original form.

"...Huh. Neat." Picking up her sword, she did a few mock thrusts and swings before thinking about the sword shrinking again. Once again, the sword began to glow and shrink and this time she didn't drop it. Experimentally, she made the sword switch back and forth between forms and as she did so a grin lit up on Maki's face. "Awesome."

She was certain that the sword had to be magical. It was probably protected by some kind of anti-sensing field or something. And the fact that it was responding to her mental commands meant that it must have imprinted on her or something. This was pretty sweet. She couldn't wait to try this sword out in a fight. Maki bet she could stab one of those Galaxy goons if she tricked them into coming in close. Wouldn't that be grand?

"The others are so gonna be jealous!"

….

….

School had turned out to be fairly uneventful. It was almost criminal how boring today was. The only real highlight of the day was the math teacher tripping over his own feet and falling on his own smug face right next to her desk. It had happened after the guy got annoyed when his usual means of grabbing attention via a high-speed chalk had failed completely against her. She hadn't even noticed she was dodging the math teacher's chalk until someone pointed it out to her.

Man, she must be in the zone today, Maki had thought to herself. When it was finally lunch, Maki had joined the other Crystal Stars on the rooftop for once instead of sneaking off behind the main building for some privacy. The others were surprised that MAki had deigned to join them for once though Izumi was happy that her childhood friend had decided to hang out with her and the team. When she told them about how her sword was actually magical and showed off the whole shrinking trick, Maki had been hoping for some envy and awe. The react she got was something else.

"...Maki, I think you should give the sword to Barnaby." Izumi suggested, looking a little apprehensive. Youko and Naomi nodded in agreement while Hana just ate her cookies with a confused look on her face. Barnaby simply stayed where it was, on the table, with his arms crossed, waiting patiently for his turn to speak. Izumi had found Barnaby a long while ago, back while she was a normal girl. The star fairy, as his species was called, was seeking out the latest incarnation of the Crystal Stars and by sheer luck had found Izumi, thus starting a series of event that would lead to the Crystal Stars being active in the world once again.

"What!? Why the hell should I do that?!" Maki objected, glaring at the Crystal Stars' mentor. Barnaby simply rolled his eyes at Maki's glare and waited. "You guys said I could have it since I found it!"

"Well, obviously that was before we found out that it is a magical sword." The talking toy began explaining with a hint of irritation creeping into its rather deep manly voice that didn't fit the plush bear. "Honestly, girls. You should have all come to me first and showed me the sword. That place you found it in sounds like trouble with a capital T and if I know my troubles, I'm betting that Red's sword probably has more than a few tricks up its hilt. You know what I'm getting at, Red?"

"...No?" Honestly, it was so weird listening to a suave black guy's voice coming out from a toy lion. At least it was some high-pitched childish voice. She'd have tried to kill the damn toy if his voice turned out like that. "It's a sword from a dead guy."

"A dead guy in a room filled to the wazoo with seals and restraining chains, I might add." Barnaby continued, seeing that Maki hadn't gotten the implications just yet. The girl was definitely one of the biggest troublemakers around and despite being one of the more powerful Crystal Stars that the Star Fairy had ever seen, Maki was often slow on the uptake of things she held little interest in. "In all likelihood, that guy was bad news all over and you went and pilfered his sword which is probably cursed or something."

"You're just saying that because you don't trust me with sharp pointy objects!"

"...Red. We trust you with explosive weaponry which is far more dangerous than sharp pointy objects. Look, I'm just gonna give it a look over. As a star fairy, my sensory abilities are far greater than all you girls combined so I'll be getting a better read on the thing."

"Maki, we're not gonna take it away," Izumi assured her friend who still didn't look convinced.

"Hey, don't blame us if it turns out that in seven days a spooky ghost girl will show up and scare you to death." Youko snarked.

"Look, I'm not gonna force you to do something you don't want, okay Red? However, stuff like cursed weapons and the likes have shown up from time to time and I've seen what happens when things go horribly wrong. So take it from this lion. Better safe than sorry, though I do suppose you've always been more of a thrill seeker so if you really want to risk it, fine by me."

Maki grimaced and looked at Izumi, her concern apparent on her face. Barnaby just stood there stoically, waiting for Maki to make a decision.

Maki bit her lips, unsure of what to do. She didn't think the sword was evil or anything but none of the girls could sense anything magical about the sword. Maybe there was a curse on it and none of them could see it.

Plus she didn't like Barnaby's attitude about the whole thing...She'd half expected the plush to simply demand that she hand over the sword….Hang on. The damn lion was trying to pull reverse psycho-something on her. Well, that won't work on her.

Still, Barnaby did make a good point.

What should she do…

….

It appears that Maki is at a lost on what to do. While you should have seen this coming, the fairy beast was surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing. Regardless, it's been a while so you aren't completely sure whether these Star Fairy would be capable of picking up your true nature and that would be an utter disaster for you. Of course, it would seem suspicious if Maki refused to hand you over for inspection after being given some very good points.

With your link, you can, however, nudge Maki towards one option or the other. Decisions, decisions. What will you do?

[ ] Just let Maki decide for herself. It's her problem, not yours. You'll just deal if something bad happens.

[ ] Influence Maki to not hand over the sword for inspection by Star Fairy. While suspicious, the toy lion did say that it was okay for Maki to do so. While it will make the others uneasy, especially Izumi, you refuse to allow a fairy to put their grubby little hands on you. You know what the fey is like. You deeply regret knowing what the fey are like.

[ ] Influence Maki to allow the fairy to give you an examination. It should be fine. It's unlikely that this fairy was even around during the Ebon Crusade so you shouldn't be found out. You're confident that whatever sensory abilities this lion of a fair has, they won't be enough to detect your true powers.

 

[shibosho]

[X] Just let Maki decide for herself. It's her problem, not yours. You'll just deal if something bad happens.

…

Caught off-guard and unprepared, Maki eventually relented to Barnaby giving her sword an examination. Though she didn't believe the sword to be cursed or anything of the likes, she couldn't refute Barnaby's logic. It was quite a common occurrence in movies and tv shows for someone to find an old object in a tomb and for that object to be cursed or evil.

"Thank you, Maki. Now then girls, please give me some space so that I can get to work," The plush toy requested, placing the sword in front of him in preparation for the examination.

Complying with the fairy's request, the Crystal Stars stepped back as Barnaby began to work his magic. Clapping his paws together, Barnaby closed his eyes and began to mumble something in another language. Points of light appeared around the lion before they began to move, drawing lines of glowing light on the ground. When they formed a large elaborate magic circle, the sword became covered in a soft bluish glow.

The girls watched Barnaby do his thing, unsure of what to make of this rather direct display of magic. Barnaby usually kept his magical talent lowkey, preferring subtlety to an overt display of magical prowess. This "scanning" spell was the most magical thing that they've seen the toy lion do. However, as time went on and the end of lunch approached, the girls were starting to get worried. Not helping was the growing expression of frustration on Barnaby's face.

Finally, just five minutes before the end of the lunch break, Barnaby released out a sigh of exasperation and clapped his paws, dismissing the minor light show, leaving no trace of the magic circle anywhere. Pointing to the sword, Barnaby raised his paw, lifting the sword up with his mind before presenting it to Maki.

"Here, take it. I'm done here." Maki didn't need to be told twice as she grabbed her sword and held it possessively. Realising she was getting looks from the others, Maki had the awareness to at least blush and revert the sword to its necklace form. "...Oookay...That was mildly concerning to see. Right then, what would you girls like to hear first, the bad news or the good news."

"Bad news then the good news, so that we can all finish on a good note!"

"Give it to us straight, B."

"It doesn't matter either way as long as it's not too serious."

"Get on with it, Barnaby."

"Whatever, just spill it. What's the sitch with my sword?"

"Alright, if you girls insist. Bad news, I couldn't sense anything." Barnaby declared, pausing dramatically for effect. When the girls simply just stared at him, he shrugged his shoulders and continued. "According to my magical sensors, which can detect even the smallest mote of necrotic magic in a five-fold field of prismatic chaos, your sword apparently doesn't exist. Every analysis spell I know came up empty, and it does ping on the anti-magic factor either."

"So...that's all. You can sense it with magic?" Izumi asked, a little concerned that that was all Barnaby had to say about the sword.

"Okay, so it might not seem all that much to you girls but it is ringing serious alarm bells in my gut. Something like this screams bad news."

"But it's safe to use, right?" Maki asked, undeterred by the new information that the plush toy gave her and her teammates.

"...Were you not listening to me, Maki. Bad. News."

"You didn't answer my question, toy." Seeing Maki unwilling to budge over the sword, Barnaby sighed and shook his head.

"Tch, fine! I suppose it's technically safe but just because I'm not able to sense anything doesn't mean that it's not some evil soul-eating sword or something. So I advise you to not get too carried away with that sword, Maki."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be careful."

"Um, so what's the good news then?" Hana asked.

"The good news is that I know this pair of angels who were also some of the strongest sensors back in college. Last I heard, they were assigned to job looking after some magical artifact. I still got their number so I'm pretty sure I can get them to give the sword a look. So I highly recommend that you hold off using that sword until the professionals have taken a look at it."

"I thought you were a professional, Barnaby."

"...Whatever, lunch is about to finish so I'll leave it alone for now. Crystal Stars dismissed!"

With that, lunch comes to an end and the girls went to their classes, unsure of what to think of Maki's new sword. Izumi was most worried for her friend considering Barnaby's warnings but was fully aware that Maki was unlikely to give up on the sword until it actually did something bad to her. All Izumi could do was wait and hope that the sword didn't turn out to be some kind of cursed evil weapon of a dead evil king.

The school day eventually comes to a close and while her teammates were at their respective clubs, Maki headed off on her own with her sword concealed as a necklace around her neck. While she did had to admit that the sword was shady as hell, it was no different than how she ended up becoming a Crystal Star. She vaguely remembers awakening to the power of the Crystal before meeting some knight fellow in a freaky dream who just wouldn't stop yapping on and on about crap.

If she had known what kind of responsibilities she'd have been saddled with in accepting her role as a Crystal Star, she would have punched the guy and thrown away the power. Or at least that what she tells herself. Truthfully, she was far more worried about her childhood friend Izumi and the rest of her teammates.

She and the others were fully aware that at some point in the future, they will have to make a choice - to sacrifice themselves to save the world and its people or fail and witness the consequences of their failure to do what was necessary. Maki knew full well that Izumi wouldn't hesitate for even a heartbeat in order to help someone in need, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives to do so.

And there was no way in hell that Maki was ever going to let things ever get to that point.

Duty to the Crystal Stars?

The responsibility of a hero?

Those meant nothing to Maki and her desire to protect what was truly precious to her.

Rubbing the bracelet which her new magical sword was hanging from in its miniature form, she reaffirmed her resolve to become strong enough to protect her teammates and keep them from ever making the ultimate sacrifice.

…
////////////POV CHANGE////////////
...

As expected, the fairy failed to pick up anything from its attempts to scan you. However, it seems that they will be calling in someone more specialized in the appraisal arts to come and examine you. Whether they'll be able to or not is something that you are not certain. While the fairy's appraisal spells were nowhere near strong enough to even try and pick-up Ebon Force, a specialist might just be able to do so.

There is also the matter of whether or not they'd recognize Ebon Force though and considering the absence of Ebon Force in the world prior to your release, you doubt they'll make the connections or even realize what your true nature is. Most likely they will draw conclusions based upon what they already know and assume that you are something else.

Leaving the musings for another time, you wait patiently as you are once more in your pocket form, hanging from a created chain around Maki's left wrist. Occasionally you pick up small slivers of what is on your wielder's mind. Unfortunately, with what little connection you have with Maki, you are unable to pick-up anything that is coherent or with context, save for a few things.

One in particular.

A desire to become strong for the sake of another.

You could empathize with that feeling.

In any case, you need to build up a better connection with Maki and to do that, you need to start generating ebon force, the main source of your powers. By absorbing special form of energy such as life-force, mana, soul-power, and so on, you can produce Ebon force which you can use for all kinds of things.

Important things like strengthening your connection with Maki, altering your body to some degree, and empowering Maki and slowly mould her into an ideal vessel for your power.

However, since you are now a sword, you'll need to be used as one in order to absorb the necessary energy needed to get started and that means Maki needs to stab or slash someone with you and take what you need by force.

It'll be messy. It'll be bloody. But it will be good.

In any case, you wait patiently as Maki returns home to an empty home to unload her school stuff and make a quick meal. Maki does some of her homework for the week before cleaning up.

You then watch as Maki starts her transformation with a wave of a star-shaped gem that appears before her on mental command. You idly note the pillar of light that appears as her clothes disappear and her body starts to float into the air by pure light. The sheer amount of power that she's emanating is immense yet you can only sense it thanks to the fact that you're on her wrist. You pity the fool who would try and attack Maki while she is transforming. Ribbons of light wrap themselves around her body and with a twinkling flash and change into her Crystal Star uniform.

"Crystal Star Nova is here to…Whatever." you watch Maki finishes lamely, having realized what she was doing mid-sentence. "Alright, enough messing around, Maki. Time to get to work and see what this baby can do." The last part is said as she pats the bracelet that you are part of.

Your confusion abates when Maki opens the window to her apartment and proceeds to leap out and land on a nearby rooftop. It seems that Maki is headed out to seek battle to test your might. You are pleased with this decision of hers.

However, as time passes, you become aware that Maki lacks some important - a means to draw in worthy opponents. You can feel her frustration grow as time passes with little to show for it. You suspect that she did not really think this sudden excursion through. Seeing how she is pretty much just wandering around randomly in futile hopes of running into something she can fight with little guilt or worry, you decide to help her out a little.

You send out a pulse of ebon force and concentrate as the wave of your power spreads out into the surrounding area. Through this expression of power that is invisible to all but the most sensitive of beings, you pick up all kinds of energy signatures as well as slivers of emotions.

Carefully you gauge the stronger energy signatures as well as the accompanying emotions to make sure that Maki doesn't bite off more than she can chew. While there are well many different entities that you can sense, only a few of them seems to be involved in some sort of conflict and are around Maki's level of power.

The one with the strongest lifeforce is apparently doing battle with a number of weaker energy signatures judging by the emotion they are releasing. Curiously, the weaker ones have either have no emotions or are very good at suppressing them. Near that one is a strong mana signature who seems to be watching the fight while feeling confident about something.

Two fairly strong life-force signatures are also fighting nearby, against each other apparently. Both are evenly matched but that is only because one of them is apparently being empowered by another weaker one nearby. The weaker one is feeling both fear and worry for the one it is empowering while the one being empowered is fully focused on the fight. The strong one that fights alone feels both anger and frustration.

Finally, there's a strong soul-power type energy signature that is somewhere underground. For whatever reason, weaker soul-power energy signatures are being drawn towards it and are being absorbed. The feeling you get from this one is that of hunger. Simply hunger.

All the others are either are too out in the open surrounded by non-combatants and civilians or alone but feeling relaxed or busy with something else.

Focusing on the strong energy signatures, you proceed to feed their locations to Maki. With how weak your connection is with the girl, she should only get a vague feeling that something in the general direction of where you sensed your targets.

As expected, Maki stops as she received your knowledge of nearby energy signatures. She looks around before thinking to herself with her eyes scrunched up in deep thought. Before long, however, she opens her eyes and immediately heads towards one of the locations you provided her.

Which energy signature that she heads off towards?

[ ] The one with the strongest lifeforce doing battle against an army created by another.

[ ] The duel between two strong lifeforce signature. One is protecting another and in turn, is given strength to match his opponent.

[ ] The hungry soul that lies underground, devouring the souls that it draws in, growing ever stronger even as its hunger grows as well.

Spoiler: AN:

Jesus jumping Christmas biscuits! This one took forever to write thanks to a combination of being distracted by the grind in Fate Grand Order's latest events - both JP and NA, as well as some administration stuff with my university. And writer's block. Not too sure about this update but I want to get going.

 

[shibosho]

AN: Okay, so I was looking through some of my stuff, trying to get myself out of a lethargic rut that I seemed to be stuck in for the last year or so and then I remembered this quest. After looking through my notes, I've decided to continue this quest. Hopefully, I'll be writing regularly again.

…

...

[X] The hungry soul that lies underground, devouring the souls that it draws in, growing ever stronger even as its hunger grows as well.


...

Watching Maki try and find her way underground had been particularly annoying, especially since you no longer had full access to your many useful powers such as clairvoyance and teleportation. Still, your future vessel and current wielder manage to find a route to the underground location where you sensed the conglomeration of soul essence.

Unfortunately, you may have been too rash in urging your wielder to hunt for the largest sources of energy. In your haste to acquire more power through Maki, you neglected to account for the possibility that the level of power that you were sensing was not necessarily an approximation of the target's true power.

"What the hell is this thing!?"

Deep underground, there was a cavern filled with bones. You know nothing of their origins but if you had to guess, the place was once a mass dumping ground for corpses. The pieces of armour, broken weapons and rusting arrowheads suggested that these were either the bodies of those that fell in battle, most likely the results of a war.

The malice, regrets, and resentment that permeated the air in the cavern seemed to agree with your hypothesis. At some point, these dumping grounds were either closed off or forgotten and the dead were left to rot in the darkness. And in these dark caverns, the negative emotions left of the losers of history built up and gathered until it became something else altogether.

The entity born from the grudges of the fallen masses was an undead monstrosity that wished only to reap vengeance upon the living.

And it has sensed Maki's presence.

For Maki, it was something that she and her friends had never encountered before, not even in their past lives. Being connected to her, you can tell that she is afraid. She trembles in fear as she stares that the amalgamation of vengeful souls. She knows full well that the thing in front of her is beyond her power to do battle.

But she is not alone.

She has you after all.

You are the Ebon Lord, diminished as you are, and a mass of resentful souls is but a banquet to you in your current state.

It is time to feast!

But first, you need to be stabbed into the damn thing.

…

...

Maki was terrified.

For some reason, she was in down deep underground cavern that was beneath the city. She had felt something when she had gone out to give her new sword a test drive. It took a bit of effort and searching but she had somehow managed to find a path down into some ancient catacombs via a closed-off section from a long-abandoned subway station.

At the time, she hadn't questioned her instincts as she made her way down into the darkness.

Now, faced with a giant mass of rusted, serrated edges bound together by ancient flesh and creaking bones, she realised that she should have been warier of why her instincts had led her here. Clearly the ghost zombie monster must have lured her here somehow. And even to her less than stellar magical senses, she could feel the nauseating presence of the monster smothering her, suffocating her.

She shouldn't have come here.

But she was here so she might as well stab the thing.

Maki paused as that thought crossed her mind. Distracted by her errant thought, the monster lunged towards her, intent on ripping her to shreds and feeding on her soul.

"RAAAAAAAAARGH!"

"Shit!" Maki cursed, realising her folly. Swinging her new sword haphazardly, she closed her eyes to avoid watching her demise. She felt her sword pass through something before things got weird.

"AAAAAAAAHH!" The angry cacophony of rage and hatred that made up the entity's voice suddenly turned fearful and pain-filled. Maki opened an eye before her expression turns to shock as she bore witness to the power of her sword.

Her sword had been stabbed into the chest of the creature. Such a shallow wound should not have done anything but Maki could see clearly how her sword was suddenly somehow sucking up the black smoky substance that was part of the ghost zombie monster's form. She could feel the hilt grow warm in her hand.

All this despite the monster trying desperately to pull out the blade that was killing it out of its body. Tendrils had burst out from its back and wrapped themselves around the blade. The strength it had was more than capable of smashing through steel walls yet it could not remove the black sword that had been stuck into it like an afterthought.

Maki stood there, watching as the Black Sword sucked away the monster's Soul Essence like a vacuum. Almost pitifully, the creature reached out towards Maki as though begging for mercy as it was stripped of the power that had allowed it to continue moving despite the death of its flesh to no avail. As the last of its soul essence disappeared into the sword, the creature's mass disintegrated into a pile of desiccated flesh, ancient bones, and metal fragments.

Whatever suffocating presence that had drawn her to this place was gone.

For several silence moments, Maki stared at the remains of what should have been a monster beyond her abilities to defeat by herself before turning her attention to her new sword which had destroyed - no, devoured the monster like it was nothing.

"...Okay. Maybe the sword is sort of evil." Maki finally admitted. "Still cool though."

If this sword was some kind of evil cursed sword, maybe she could cleanse it or purify it or something. It was a thing in fantasy novels where a cursed sword's true power could only be awakened after it was freed from the curse. Maki's new sword had to be the same.
In any case, with whatever the hell that monster was dead, she had accomplished what she had set out to do. With the test drive of her new sword done, Maki began making her way back to the surface.

…

...

As expected, the amount of soul essence you have obtained from devouring that undead mass of negative emotions has returned to you a sliver of your original strength. It was fortunate that the prey was just a mass of souls that were more like a swarm of vermin than a coherent concentrated soul that it would have become if it had been left alone. Otherwise, it would have been considerably more difficult to devour the combined soul essence.

Still, it is unlikely you'll find such a haul again in the future.

It doesn't take long for you to process the soul essence you had obtained and use it to strengthen your own existence. As you do so, you find that you have reawakened one of your powers along with a slight strengthening of your connection to your wielder.

Connection strength: 5% => 10%

Though it has been remade into a form suitable to your current state, it will prove to be an invaluable tool in the days to come. That which you have reclaimed is yours and will also become Maki's and the more Maki make use of you, the more of what is Maki's will become yours.

What power have you regained?

[ ] Black Infusion - Anything and everything is a weapon, you just need to know how to use it. With an infusion of your energy, anything that you or Maki choose to infuse will gain properties that will enable it to become a better weapon. Not all objects can be empowered in this manner. And not all weapons will allow themselves to be wielded by one chosen by you - at least not yet.

[ ] Dark Mirror - Anything you can do, I can do better. You can replicate the appearance and functions of objects that you come into contact with. Not only that, you can further enhance aspects of what you are mimicking to beyond what the original was capable of. Maki can make use of this ability herself, copying the appearance of others to such an extent that they appear more "real" than the original. Object and people with supernatural capabilities, however, will be much much harder for you and Maki to copy - for now, anyway.

[ ] Shadow Warrior - There is no more loyal being than the Shadow that follows your every movement. Now command them to do more than just copy your actions and make them do something much more meaningful. Your shadow rises from its place, gaining a physical presence. Maki's shadow too will also be capable of rising from the ground and acting just like the original. Remember though that they are but shadows and lack the more esoteric abilities that you and Maki have, at first at least.

 

[shibosho]

[X] Dark Mirror

The feeling of your power falling into place once it has been reconfigured is a satisfying one. However, you cannot dwell on your reclaimed power just yet. Maki is largely unaware of the powers that she can obtain through wielding you properly. You will need to rectify that.

You wait until Maki returns to her home to sleep and once she has fallen into the abyss of unconsciousness that is slumber, you tap into your connection with her to finally speak with your wielder for the first time. Spreading your awareness into her soul, you are surprised to find that she has a soul sanctum where her subconscious self should lie within. It is a simple matter for you to slip through the cracks in the still-developing sanctum though and there you find Maki.

And she is not alone.

She is with another. The other being within Maki's sanctum appears at first glance to be an older version of her. However, as you look on in secret, you realise something.

You know who this other one is. Not only that, your sight pierces through the veil of benevolence that they project and you see what they are.

Ever since you were finally freed from that prison, your anger and hatred cooled down to embers as the relief and wonders of life, even by proxy, were yours once more. But now, you see a threat. You see an enemy. You see one of the Light that you have sworn to do battle with until the world is free from their callous influence.

Here in this place, you have only your soul and mind at your disposal and even then Maki's soul can only handle by a small portion of your full might.

And it is far more than enough to pass judgement upon an agent of the Light.

……..

……..

It didn't take long for Maki to return home. All things considered, she didn't actually do much tonight. All she did was go spelunking underground and found some undead zombie ghost skeleton legion thing which promptly died the moment she got her sword into it. Which was probably evil since it ate said ghost zombie monster thing. She was gonna have to tell Barnaby when she met up with the others.

Damn her magical girl moral obligations!

By that was a problem for future Maki. Current and soon to be past Maki needed her beauty sleep. All she hoped for was that she didn't get any weird dreams or the usual crap she gets when she falls asleep.

…

Maki's eyes opened up to a large fancy hall that had all these banners, wall trophies, weapon racks, and a bunch of fancy-schmancy stuff that she hated.

"Maki Yamamoto. We must talk." God damn it. "Please remember that I'm a part of your so I know what you're thinking. I do not take too kindly to your attitude, my successor."

"Fuck you, bitch." Maki simply replied, receiving a glare of disdain from the woman in front of her. The woman who claimed to be her past life as well as the source of her Crystal Star powers.

Ever since she and the others awakened to the powers of the Crystal Stars, every now and then, they would receive these dreams where they would get a chance to speak with the spiritual echo of their predecessors. Their past lives so to speak. Usually, their predecessors would give out advice, help sort the Crystal Star's thoughts, or just be a friendly face for their bewildered and often overwhelmed successors.

However, in Maki's case. she was not thrilled with the fact that some lady named Mira, claiming to be her in a previous life, was trying to control how she should act as a Crystal Star. Always going on how to use her powers, how to talk to other people, how she should be respectful to the leader of the Crystal Stars, or how she should put more effort into how she looks. Maki could only think of her previous self as some stuck-up try-hard bitch who thought they knew better than everyone else.

At first glance, they seemed pretty similar in both appearance and even personality to some degree. Perhaps that was why Maki always felt that Mira rubbed her the wrong way despite her good intentions. Opposites attract and likes repel.

At any rate, Maki resigned herself to another lambasting from her "Superior" predecessor. Or so she thought until she noticed that Mira wasn't talking. Instead, they seemed to be thinking about something important and were unsure of whether to talk about it or not.

"Hey, what gives? Usually, you'll be telling me that I should more "knightly" or be more polite to my commander or some other crap like that. And if you give me that you can't tell until I'm ready crap, I'm gonna explode you." The threat was ultimately a futile one. In this place within her soul, any harm that was done to either of them would be gone in an instant. Mira, however, screws her face up in thought before letting out a sigh and gives Maki a serious look.

"Even though I know what you're going to say, Maki, I'm going to just say it anyway. Get rid of that sword." Mira demanded. The usual arrogance was gone and in its place was a grim gravitas.

"No way. It's friggin awesome." Unfortunately, Mira was right on the money about Maki.

"And this is why we can't have nice things," Mira muttered darkly as they rubbed their forehead in exasperation. "Maki, you yourself have acknowledged that the sword has an evil presence and therefore should not be treated as a toy. Thus I implore you to either throw that sword into the middle of the ocean, a deep dark hole or better yet, give it to your advisor and let him deal with it."

"Pfft, I said no. It's cool. It's not trying to hurt me or anything. I can tell. I have good instincts. Plus I found it in what was essentially a deep multidimensional hole in the first place so ditching it in another hole would defeat the purpose of taking it."

"Forgive me if I find your lack of caution very concerning but I must insist that you at least stop interacting with it as soon as possible." Something was off. Although it seemed like the usual Mira, Maki couldn't help but feel that Mira was unusually obstinate about the sword. Almost as if she was…

"Oh my god, you scared of the sword, aren't you? You know where it came from don't you! Tellmetellmetellme!" Having caught a glimpse of Mira's true feelings, Maki was not going to give up on learning more about the true nature of the sword. Mira, having been caught out, gritted her teeth before taking a deep breath and answering Maki's inquiry.

"It is familiar to me but I do not yet know why. All I know is that I have a bad feeling about it and that it is better off gone. Trust me on this. I have far more experience than you could possibly ever imagine in dealing with this kind of thing."

"Tch, whatever! You are so totally scared of the sword so I'm gonna keep it so-" Whatever Maki was going to say next was interrupted when Mira grabbed Maki by her shoulder and pulled her up to her face.

"You don't understand!" Mira shouted, her desperation now clear. Up close, Maki could now see the dread in her predecessor's eyes. "That accursed sword is evil! I might not remember where or when I first saw it but I know without a doubt that the essence of that sword is nothing but pure evil!"

"Get off of me! Chill the fuck out!" Maki complained as she struggled to escape Mira's clutches with little success. She'd underestimated how badly Mira was effected by the sword's appearance. If it was twigging Mira this bad, maybe it was a bad idea to keep the sword around.

"Not until you promise to get rid of that sword as soon as possible!" Mira demanded, shaking Maki as she did so.

"F-Fine! I promise to - " Maki began when she felt it.

Someone else was in her soul place. One moment there was only Maki and Mira in the ornate hall, the next Maki could feel a stifling presence weigh down upon her.

It appeared that Mira had also felt it since she stopped shaking Maki and unceremoniously dropped her on the ground. Without giving a care about Maki, Mira looked around the hall wildly, trying to figure out where the strange overpowering aura was coming from.

"Show yourself, interloper! Or suffer my wrath!" Mira demanded, summoning a circle of fireballs around her to show that she wasn't bluffing. While Mira could do no lasting harm to Maki for they were connected on a spiritual, the same could not be said for outsiders. Even in this dream place, Maki could feel Mira's strength. Whatever she disliked about Mira, Maki had to admit that Mira was stronger than her current self.

Moments passed by before the source of the aura revealed itself.

A deep black shadow appeared between Mira and Maki before something arose of its dark depths. It was none other than the sword that Mira and Maki had been arguing about earlier. Upon seeing the sword that had appeared within Maki's soul palace (or whatever it was called, Maki hardly ever paid attention to trivial stuff like that), Mira let out an angry snarl and pointed at the blade. The fireballs circling Mira twisted themselves into glowing hot spears of flames before launching themselves at near-supersonic speeds at the sword.

Maki who was watching almost missed seeing what happened next. In an instant, the sword moved far faster than Mira's attack, smashing through the flames before absorbing them as it did with the undead ghost thing from earlier. It then returned to floating between Mira and Maki, the former gobsmacked that her attack did absolutely nothing save perhaps feed the sword.

The intense pressure that the sword had been emanating earlier had also disappeared, letting Maki breathe more easily.

"Impossible! No...What are you!?" Mira demanded, summoning forth twice as many fireballs as before, this time holding herself back from attacking. Maki didn't know what to make of the situation. Her sword had suddenly appeared within her soul palace that only she and Mira should have been able to access. Yet despite the overwhelming pressure from earlier, she felt no ill intentions from the sword.

No, that wasn't right.

Maki could feel no hostility towards her from the sword. Towards Mira however, Maki could sense the sword's anger and disgust towards her predecessor.

I REMEMBER YOU.

Rather hear it, the words seemed to appear in Maki's head even though they were not directed at her. No, they were for Mira who seemed surprised at actually receiving a response. Huh, looks like her sword was sentient, neat.

I KNOW YOU THIRD SEAT OF THE ASTRAL KNIGHTHOOD.

Maki had no clue what this Astral Knighthood was but it looked like Mira did, judging by how her face paled upon hearing those words. Maki couldn't help but feel strangely detached from whatever was happening before her.

"Y-You know of the Crystal Stars' original form?!" Mira asked, clearing shocked that someone recognised her as well as her origins.

I SEE WHAT YOU TRULY ARE, ASTRAL KNIGHT. I SEE THE EVIL YOU HAVE WROUGHT WEIGHING DOWN UPON YOU.

Without warning, the sword stabbed itself into the floor, forming a web of cracks that spread out across the floor. It then pulled itself out of the floor and continued floating in the air while the cracks continued to spread out, reaching the walls and growing up them as well. Maki watched as the cracks in the floor disappeared while the walls began to flake off, revealing something behind them.

Within seconds, the walls of Maki's soul palace had been replaced by windows. In each window, a scene was being played out, one that Maki was very familiar with. It was her very first meeting with Mira from almost a year ago. There her past self stood in bewilderment as Mira appeared before them in the same hall as they were in before the sword tore down the walls.

"Greetings to you, my successor. I am your predecessor, Mira Nova, and I am here to help."

It was just as Maki had remembered though it was kinda weird seeing the same scene play out in all the mirrors that had replaced the walls. Maki, as well as Mira, were confused.

What exactly was her sword trying to show them?

HOW MANY, ASTRAL KNIGHT?

Suddenly static appeared in the mirror, briefly covering up Maki's first meeting with Mira before the scene began replaying again from the beginning.

Only...this time, where Maki was standing, there was a different girl. Appearance-wise, the girl in Maki's place looked similar to Maki. Mira was unchanged, still wearing her uniform and standing proudly as they were the first time.

"Greetings to you, my successor. I am your predecessor, Mira Nova, and I am here to help."

Maki's eyes widened upon hearing the exact same words Mira gave in greeting this other girl. Maki glanced towards Mira, hoping for an explanation but stopped when she saw the cold look in Mira's eyes as they watch the scene play out before them.

Another burst of static and the girl had changed again.

"Greetings to you, my successor. I am your predecessor, Mira Nova, and I am here to help."

Again, the same greeting.

HOW MANY, ASTRAL KNIGHT?

More static and yet another different girl.

"Greetings to you, my successor. I am your predecessor, Mira Nova, and I am here to help."

A chill ran down Maki's spine as she watched the same scene repeat itself over and over again, each time with a different girl. She soon noticed that the girls all seemed to come from different periods in time due to their clothes and appearances. Only Mira stayed unchanged in every repeat of what was meant to be a new Crystal Star's meeting with their predecessor.

HOW MANY LIVES HAVE YOU STOLEN, ASTRAL KNIGHT?

It didn't take long for Maki to connect the dots.

"Mira. What happened to my predecessor?" Maki asked. Inwardly, the teenage girl was hoping that Mira would deny the crimes that her sword was accusing her of. However, she just knew that there was no falsehood in her sword's words. And whatever trust she might have had for Mira had been shattered the moment she understood what the sword was trying to tell her.

Mira was silent for several seconds before letting out a sigh and giving Maki a chiding smile.

"In order to defeat the forces of Darkness, we the Crystal Stars are destined to burn brightly as a beacon of light and justice to all. However, what we burn is rather subjective. To preserve the skills and experience that we have built up over so many generations, we simply need another soul to burn for the sake of the greater good."

It didn't take an idiot to tell Maki what Mira was getting at.

"Then every Crystal Star before me, you pretended to be their mentor and their previous incarnation when in fact you were sacrificing their lives so that you could continue doing...whatever it is that you're trying to do?!" Maki cried out with reproach.

"There is no greater duty that the revival of the Astrastellia Kingdom. No sacrifice is too great to usher in a new golden age for all of humanity. Even if you do not understand, Maki, that is fine. There is no greater glory for one such as yourself to become a burning star that will burn away all evil and obstacles that stand before the Crystal Stars' greatest wish." Mira declared as her voice changed from that of an adult scolding a child to that of a zealot.

"Wait...Is it...Is it the same for the others!?" Maki asked when the realisation hit her. Were the souls of her friends being cultivated just so they can be turned into fuel for the sake of the original Crystal Stars' ambitions?

"Indeed it is. Do not fret, Maki. For once I have dealt with this intruder, I shall take away your memories of this revelation and we can continue as we were before."

THAT SHALL NOT HAPPEN.

"Oh? And why is that? Here within the sanctum that I created, I am at my most powerful. You surprised me earlier but I was holding back my power. This time, you shall face the full might of the Third Seat of the Astral Knights!"

THEN I SHALL ALL BRING TO BEAR ALL OF MY STRENGTH.

With that, the sword suddenly lit up as black and purple flames erupted from its blade. The flames then formed a tall figure that held the flaming sword in one hand. A ring of light then burst forth from its chest, transforming the flames into black metal. Where once a sword had been floating, there was now a tall armoured knight clad in cold black steel, ready for battle. Maki could only feel awe at the sight of the knight. Mira, on the other hand, gaped in horror, her mouth opening and closing as words refused to form on her lips for several moments before she forced herself to speak.

"No no no no no! It can't be! How are you still alive!?"

EVEN IF MY BODY TURNS TO DUST, EVEN IF MY BONES BECOME STONE, EVEN IF I HAD LOST MY ORIGINAL BODY, MY SOUL STILL BURNS WITH WRATH. MY MIND STILL REMEMBERS THE ATROCITIES OF THE LIGHT AND DARK. MY HEART STILL BEATS WITH THE DESIRE TO FREE ALL OF MANKIND FROM YOUR ILK!

"N-No matter! You overestimate yourself, Ebon Lord! You are now just a soul trespassing upon my domain! I cannot be defeated here in my sanctum!"

I AM THE EBON LORD. ALLOW ME TO TEST THAT THEN!

…

Maki had only one thought as she moved away from the middle of the hall where a fight was about to unfold.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

….

….

A battle for Maki's soul is about to begin.

On one side is one of the original Astral Knights, empowered by generations of stolen lives and in the heart of their sanctum.

On the other side is you. Here in this place, you can fully utilise the strength of your soul that has endured eons of imprisonment, tempering it and strengthening it to an absurd level.

There is only one end to this battle.

The question is how this battle shall be fought.

How will you fight?

[ ] With overwhelming power. Your might toppled entire kingdoms. Your strength is unmatched. Crush your foe with devastating power and brutality. Show them how weak they truly are.

[ ] With ruthless precision. You need only perform a single blow. A single strike is all it takes to lay low your foes. Each strike you make is one that seeks to end the battle.

[ ] With blistering speed. Rain down a storm of blows upon your foe. Bring to them death by a thousand cuts. Show them a slow and painful death.

...

Also, what do you look like?

[ ] A

Spoiler

[ ] B

Spoiler

[ ] C

Spoiler

[ ] D

Spoiler

[ ] Write-in

 

[DaLintyGuy]

Maki had only one thought as she moved away from the middle of the hall where a fight was about to unfold.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

Click to shrink...

Maki felt the distinct sense that she had just stepped into something that she really, really should not have as her mentor-but-apparently-traitor-(Ish?) faced off against the maybe-evil-sword-spirit in her mind after trading accusations. Or, really the sword spirit had accused Mira, who had... Not resisted too hard and instead sidestepped the issue by declaring her intent to destroy the intruder and simply remove this revelation from Maki's mind. But the sword spirit was still kinda evil looking and hadn't given any reason that it was better-
She was conflicted.

The sword spirit knight took a half step back and held out it's sword, using one hand as an anchor point and the other to flick the blade through a practiced series of movements that almost incidentally cut apart the volley of fireballs that Mira directed at it with a snarl and then vanished between overlapping explosions.

Despite this Mira was not satisfied, volleying more darts of intense flame into the cloud of dust and smoke timed to hit along with arcing embers that resulted in more explosions. The casual way Mira wove her attacks into a greater whole without even seeming to made Maki eye her nervously, in the half second of respite she got as the Knight/Star waited to see the results of her bombardment on the target. Regardless of how this fight ended she was not enthusiastic as to what would happen to her afterwards...

"Is this all the mighty Ebon Lord can do? Cowering in a corner, unable to face my might?!" Mira laughed.

NO.

The obscuring could faded forcefully and revealed that the knight was in the same guard position that it had started in. In the same place perhaps. And more importantly, lacking any indication that anything had impacted their armor.

YOU MISUNDERSTAND.

The knight darted forward and Mira contemptuously raised a hand, the fireball within exploding to send the knight flying back. Or, it would have, if the knight hadn't cut the shockwave in half. And then, the two ancient warriors started fighting. The knight was inviolate in it's shell of steel, the dark blade that was it's prison proscribing an area that Mira simply could not penetrate with her swords of solidified flame, or light it was hard to tell. Glowing crystal? If Maki was going to be honest she couldn't follow the cut and thrust of this match any longer as two forces far beyond her own abilities ground against each other.

YOU POSSESS NO ADVANTAGE HERE.

The two warriors disengaged, Mira losing her composure at this declaration from her foe. She had also gained armor at some point in the fight in the form of golden... Half plate, she thought Izumi's brother called similar things, and white cloth. It's purity was marred in one spot underneath the left arm where blood trickled from a missed stab at the heart.

"And how did you get to that claim?"

YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE TO POSSESS KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOUL.

Mira's face worked in shock and the knight raised a hand, forming a mass that had a dark core and flickering light along the edges: a twisted copy of the firebolts the elder Star had been throwing previously. She snapped out of the way but the knight had followed the strike in and swept in with a strike that the Star caught with one blade. She abortively tried to strike with her second weapon while in the bind but the force behind the blow was enough to pick her up and toss her down the hall.

The Star scowled, eyes darting, before her gaze fell on the lone bystander. "Maki!"

Said younger Star started in surprise from following the clash of arms. "Hwa?"

"It shames me to admit it but this foe is beyond my power!"

"And? What do you expect me to do?!"

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ALREADY?

"Forgotten what? I-" Her jaw clicked shut. The Crystal Stars were famous for their power of sacrifice... But the benefactor of her sacrifice didn't have to be herself.

"This individual is a powerful force of Evil. If we let them live than many lives will be lost and our mission endangered!"

Maki worked her jaw and looked to the knight.

THE LIGHT IS NO BETTER THAN THE DARK IT OPPOSES. BOTH PREY ON HUMANITY AND IGNORE THE COST OF THEIR CONTEST. BOTH MUST PAY FOR THEIR DEEDS.

"The Light works for a better future for all of Humanity!" Mira leveled one of her swords at the knight accusingly. "It is people like you that struggle against our vision that makes these sacrifices necessary!"

AND WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT THAN THE SORCEROR-KINGS OF IND WHO SACRIFICED OTHERS TO EXTEND THEIR LIVES?

"They killed for their own benefit while I guide my pupils down the correct path! Maki! Aid me and your name shall be remembered in glory forever!"

YET YOU MAKE THIS CHOICE TO EXTEND YOUR LIFE.

Both combatants looked at Maki and she shrank away, paralyzed by indecision. Were it any other day she would have sided with the elder Star in a heartbeat... Yet she knew more of the way of things now.

"I- I can't." She half sobbed. She couldn't abandon her friends when there wasn't a clear cut benefit. When it might not be the right thing to do.

"...I see." The elder Star said softly. "Then, for this, I believe my oaths will accept my death."

There were no more words to be shared. Mira blazed anew with magical power, continually barraging her foe as she closed for the kill. The knight faltered in their defense and Mira lunged forwards. There was a quick flash of movement as light blades scrabbled off of dark armor.
Mira and Maki both gave strangled gasps at the sword point that jutted downwards from under the elder Star's sternum.

 

[Daecl]

Something about your quests, @shibosho, brings out the writer in me.

I dedicate this to the fast boy that never got to be.

~

For the first time in eons, a warrior of the Light is opposed by something that rivals the forces of Darkness.

For the first time in eons, the Ebon Lord strides into battle.

Though perhaps 'strides' isn't the right word for what happens.

Heat and light rain down upon him.

The Ebon Lord steps, and is gone.

Even as mana-fueled flame smashes and cracks the tiles along the Ebon Lord's path, The Third Seat of the Astral Knighthood's hands blur, tracing and framing alien symbols and hieroglyphs. She begins chanting as more pillars bloom across the great hall, charring and melting the fine silks and and ancient metals chronicling many past battles and struggles. Remnants of the past lifetimes evaporate under the relentless assault of lifetimes' worth of power, stolen and devoured.

Still the form of a enormous knight dashes on, unscathed.

Rhythmic, lilting phrases gone unheard by human ears for centuries spill into the air once more. Wild thrashing flames melt into molten golden globes spin into lances of light that weave between the volcanic eruptions of magical artillery to strike at the dark shadow that circles Mira Nova.

All fail to impact the black steel plate of the Ebon Lord.

The Third Seat expected nothing less.

This is a favored, and known tactic of his. After all, why take the chance that one of the many attacks directed at him might actually strike and wound deeply? Why gamble on the strikes behaving as he expects them to?

Much easier to avoid the whole issue entirely.

Mira Nova's eyes narrow, tracking his movements as closely as she dares. Conducting endless waves of fire, she continues her multiple casting. The gestures, the symbols, the fruits of an entire civilization's research into the arcane glow around her in an ever increasing complexity.

The Ebon Lord continues through the flame, even as his pursuers increase in quantity and quality. Foreign beasts now swarm from the very fires around him, their claws and teeth bright and bared in their furious attempts to stop the threat to their mistress. But he continues outpacing them all with the barest of margins, the mass of creatures akin a living, breathing mantle that snarls and rips at him as he passes through the flames of Hell.

Then he abruptly shifts, and is practically on top of the Third Seat.

The fiery river chasing him stutters and splits, a dozen tributaries born and dead within the moments as the flames change course to defend their mistress.

Mira Nova, still chanting and gesturing, twists her body away from the one-four-sixteen quicksilver strikes that flow from the Ebon Lord's blade. She has faced possibility of death many times before, some brought to her with the very same hands she faces now. But even so, her brows furrow in consternation as two of his blows just barely land.

She has gotten sloppy in her old age, it seems.

But she is not unduly wounded, and even as the torrent of tooth and claw crashes down and the Ebon Lord is forced to dart away, she winds the wayward threads of her seven simultaneous rituals together-

-and then-

LIGHT.

~

If he were a lesser being, the Ebon Lord would have sworn.

Instead, he dodges around the annoying pack of flame-beasts once again as he pushes at the Third Seat's defensive perimeter, seeking the right moment to unleash a storm of metal upon the caster.

Something that was going to be much more difficult, given the new form beside her.

A knight, bright and shining, with a great-sword idly twirling in one hand even as ruby-red flames burn in his helm. Something that towered over him similar to how he'd towered over Mira Nova.

Sturdier. Hardier.

More troublesome.

But at least the beasts have withdrawn, their purpose served. He'd been distracted long enough to allow Mira Nova to complete her workings.

Now, to take her and her lumbering oaf down a notch.

~

To be Maki Yamamoto in this moment is to be lost. Sweat beads down her brow as her limbs tremble, the drum of her heart thundering in her breast as she watches titanic explosions and black and red-orange blurs smash through her soul sanctum- though it isn't really hers, is it? It's Mira Nova's. The tiles, the curtains, the trophies, all belong to the Crystal Star that roped her into this whole thing, who-

who expected her to- who wanted her friends to-

Maki barely feels the impact as her knees hit the floor. Something in her aches even as heated air smashes into her, bangs fluttering in the wind.

Mira Nova wants to burn up her soul to revive some kingdom from gods know how long ago. Wants to sacrifice her and her friends' lives at the altar of some ancient past.

Maki wants to cry, but the heat has pretty thoroughly dried out her eyes.

Maki falls back, when an explosion happens closer to her than expected, and decides to scurry toward the edges of the sanctum. Because even if she's apparently doomed to burn her life up in the pursuit of Astronaut Kingdom, she'd rather not literally burn up in here. She can't exactly trust that Mira's flames don't actually hurt her anymore.

What's she going to do? She doesn't get this soul stuff, not nearly as well as Mira. Can she do anything to- to stop any of this?

She turns back to the fight.

Ah, Mira summoned a big knight.

That's probably bad for the Ebon guy. And her. Crap.

Flashes of light blind her during the rare moments when the two knights cross blades, the smashing of their swords echoing through the air.

Huh. She could've sworn the sanctum was smaller, but now the fight is way far away from her. She has to squint to try to make out the details. Lots of dodging on the Ebon guy's side, while the Fire guy's swipes only seem more frustrated, nothing major ever landing on Ebon dude despite Mira's supporting fire.

Then Ebon guy dodges away from an overhead strike into Fire guy's guard and somehow drives his blade up and through the armpit, forcing a choked gasp from him. Mira gapes for a split second. and that's enough for Ebon dude to rip his blade across her side even as the summoned knight breaks down into wispy flames.

The fight becomes more desperate, on Mira's end at least, and Maki is buoyed by a sudden surge of hope as the wounds continue to appear on the Crystal Star's form.

Maybe if Ebon dude manages to stop her, he can save her and then they can help everyone- because none of them deserve to be fuel for some ancient nutjob, not even Hana, even if her sunshine-and-rainbows attitude gets suuuper grating sometimes-

-Mira Nova appears before her and oh god she's reaching out and Maki feels her entire being begin to burn-

"Maki Yamamoto, it is time for you to-"

An ebon blade stabs through her breast, and she chokes.

"THIRD SEAT OF THE ASTRAL KNIGHTHOOD, YOUR TIME IS OVER."

The Crystal Star's lips twitch, a hand shakily reaching toward the steel parting her flesh. Her eyes dart to Maki's, a desperate light shining in them. But then the blade is shoved further into her, and the light fades.

The Ebon Lord yanks the blade out, and Mari Nova falls to the side. He straightens, blade down and to the side.

A darkness rushes out from him, tainting the tile in a shadowy wave.

"YOU ARE THE FIRST OF MANY, TO FACE HUMANITY'S RECKONING."