Look Unto Hell

[Xhu Du'Ran]

Xhu barely had enough time to throw up a meager shield before slamming into the opposite wall of the giant creature that had tossed him. With the combined effort of the toss and the explosion of power that had been poured into the sheild, the auditorium wall exploded, sending rocks flying. The walls of the auditorium creaked under the strain and stress of its old pillars crumbling to stone from the effect of the battle ensuing within its belly. As the smoldering cloud of dust seeped away, Xhu stood, a hand over his neck where blood was issuing forth from between his fingers. Those tiny teeth surely had found a treat from his skin. They had managed to chew into his neck. Xhu stumbled away from the wall for a moment, wincing as he held his hand over his neck. He could feel his power leaving him as quickly as the blood.

"B-Bassette is not as weak as you make her seem. Surely, you have destroyed Baphomet, but compared to his sisters, he is an incompetent Prophet and always has been! If anything, the sorrow of the Prophets will bring them together and make them more powerful...You have merely stirred the melting pot of power within the Prophets..." Xhu yelled. His Mochints were all, if not most, defeated, their plant-like entrails covering the stony floor. Xhu took a gasping breath, trying to manipulate his energy into healing the wound on his neck.

Then, with a swift movement of his hand, he directed what were left of the Mochints to stifle the creature that had tossed Xhu across the auditorium. He felt Eltana's presence leave, his chest aching as he realized he could not go after the one who had stirred this disastrous fire. But as he watched Laties' power weaken, he had to think of something quickly. He needed an upper hand on this battle and he needed it now. I only have one more choice... Xhu winced as he moved his hand away from the wound in his neck. He brought both hands together, smearing the blood on his hands. With his dagger in his left hand, he wiped a fair amount of blood on it from his right. The dagger seemed to give out a hum as it absorbed the blood. In the meanwhile, Xhu crossed the auditorium back to the sinful creation.

"I will not allow you to touch this world with your disgusting presence any longer, Yearner of Woe!" Xhu yelled. With a quick movement of his wrist, he flipped the dagger over to reveal a small kabuki face. Its mouth was wide open and its eyes red. Suddenly, a searing wind enveloped Xhu, blasting anything and everything around him into dust. The walls vibrated with the gathering power as the ancient called unto him a form he had not taken on in a long time. When the wind ceased, the ancient no longer stood there, but a golden, tall man replaced the ashen medicine man. The tall figure was lean, sun kissed, and completely naked save for the blinding series of glittering golden markings that covered his entire body. The ancient's wisdom filled eyes were replaced with that of the same golden color as his markings, his body tall and slim. His hair was long and it flowed with an unfelt wind. In his hands were two, huge fans. They were snow white and as pure as ice. What stood before the doleful creature was not the medicine man, but a deity.

"You are not allowed to walk this earth," the new voice echoed with a deep, dual reverberation that shook the very foundation of the temple. He walked on the balls of his feet, his heels never touching the ground. Lifting both fans into the air, he opened them. Their wide white paper shimmered and with a quick notion, he brought them behind him, giving him the appearance of wings almost. They sent a searing wind to rend apart the creature in front of him

"Beings who walk against Lady Fate shall not be allowed to live."

[Anatieyre]

There was no denying it any longer -- her marionette was no match for the transformed Ancient. But as the saying goes, he may have won the battle, but she won the war: she new his true strength, and would have Eltana impart the information to his employer, Osirus. Certainly Osirus wouldn't allow such a powerful enemy to exist! Anatieyre chuckled inwardly at the stupidity of the medicine man's choice. But he was fighting for his life, so she really couldn't blame the maggot for going all-out.

"You won't allow me to live?" she scoffed, making absolutely no effort to dodge the oncoming assault. Gusts of searing wind sliced through the abomination's rotted body, sending heaps of bloody flesh and guts down to the auditorium floor. The monster's small heads emitted pained, high-pitched screams that rang throughout the entire auditorium. "Love, think about it: admittedly my vessel is on its last legs, but the same can be said about you. You may be able to destroy this insignificant puppet, but you and your Bassette are nothing compared to me. Face it, darling: you and your kind are fools, and you will lose everything."

Feeling her influence over the massive chimera of corpses waning, she gave it its final instruction: demolish the Temple of Nocens Atrum. If her vessel couldn't take them out, perhaps the shrine of the Dark God could. And if not, well, it wouldn't be a problem: they'd die in the upcoming war, be it by her hand or Osirus'. The creature began to flail its numerous limbs and tentacles about wildly, coaxed by Anatieyre's power to regenerate the limbs destroyed by Xhu's assault. Tentacles shot through the ceiling and darted through the hallways, ripping at whatever they could find: pillars, walls, support beams, and so forth. Large chunks of rubble began to pour down from the ceiling as a result.

"...If there is such a thing as Lady Fate, it is I. I've decided the fate of many a nation and people, either wiping them off the map or bringing them unfathomable exultation. That in mind, you speak the truth: Those who stand against Lady Fate, Anatieyre, the Yearner of Woe, shall not be allowed to live," she proclaimed with a sultry laugh, intentionally smacking a nearby support beam with a free tentacle, thereby bringing a down a large chunk of the ceiling. The ceiling and tons of debris landed right on top of the creature, flattening it and freeing the pour souls that constituted it from Anatieyre's control.

The Yearner of Woe had been subdued, but a greater threat had emerged: the temple was collapsing, and Xhu and Laties were in the basement.

-elsewhere-

Snapping out of her trance, Anatieyre opened her eyes; instead of seeing a crumbling temple and an egotistical Ancient, she was greeted with the soothing sight of an empty front yard shadowed by the thick branches of her many trees. The woman sighed in exasperation and adjusted the long scarf draped around her elegant shoulders, wondering how Osirus would punish Eltana for losing the Sword. Hopefully he wouldn't, or else she would have to intervene. After all, there was nothing her associate could have done to stop it. And the Order didn't have it either, which was good.

Anatieyre took one last sip of her now-cold tea, then headed inside her house and retired for the evening. She had a long trip ahead of her in the morning, and needed a good night's rest.

[Laties]

Laties stumbled a few steps back as the pillar fell onto the floor causing his legs to randomly give out as he tried to catch himself. The sound of stone cracking reached his ears as he looked around with a small look of concern on his face. “Well… This is always good.” he muttered softly as he took a final look at the plant like creatures before he took a few more steps back before turning completely and running.

He may have thought of himself as power but he was no fool. With the body he had now, he could take on a platoon of men if he tried but to survive a collapsing temple made of stone? Not even Osirus could do that without getting a severe injury that lead to death. His body was hurting, the owner of this body was a fool and was now making him suffer.

Laties stumbled over a few crumbling steps as he avoided the rocks that fell from the ceiling. He had to hurry, the temple was old. It would not be able to stand up for much longer. “Damn that woman!” He hissed as he barely managed to dodge another piece of falling stone before he ran towards the exit of the temple. Safe, somewhere safe. He had to get somewhere safe. The desert, that’s right. Where he was created, where the sands continue to change, where everything could be lost.

The man stumbled down to steps of the temple as room he was just in collapsed. He rolled down the steps, grunting in pain every time he hit the stairs before rolling to a stop. For a moment, Laties watched as the temple slowly began to close in on itself before scrambling to his feet. He wasn’t safe here, Osirus’ men still patrolled the grounds. Laties looked at the temple once more before turning and running towards the direction where the sea of sand was, a wicked grin on his face.

He couldn’t wait to hear Osirus’ reaction with one sword missing.

(Laties out)