Well, this is a mess. I watched the whole thing unfold from a safe distance, I didn’t think it was a good time to interfere but now…. everyone is underground.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwFYAt7BM8
This has gotten out of hand, I think it’s more important to get my powers back instead of gaining trust from either side.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDskf7i9Wb0
I look towards the many pillars in the distance and wonder which one could be hiding the Essence of Zeus. Just to be safe, maybe I should go to the one Caecius is heading. Don’t want him to get his hands on such power.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl4AN0XnqH
???: “Watch out!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRt15569Ko
Moryuu: “What the-”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSej8xAhaoh
I instinctively moved out of the way of the falling object which seems to be who I’ve been waiting for.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoActUimIb
Moryuu: “About time you showed up.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvkqHVuSg0
The seemingly young boy dusted himself off and rose to meet me face to face. Considering our situation, I’m still surprised he would wear a normal yellow t-shirt and blue jeans like we’re on some vacation. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ktegiwIGM
???: “Sorry, it was hard forcing my way in here but the portal that girl’s bird made helped a lot. Sad what happened to her.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYUn7t5qms
Moryuu: “….Yeah.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXTP0BtZOW
???: “Well, don’t worry I’m sure her next self will be just as interesting.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3AlcURILT
Moryuu: “Maybe, anyway now that you’re here Talon, what’s the plan?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXdpPyLy1w
Talon: “Well, it seems that those guys forgot about the dolls I gave them, oh, here’s a refill on those poison vials.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLi8WuycAu
Moryuu: “Thanks.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQLyVP3yyC
Talon: “Anyway, I think you had the right idea regarding your powers. Things are getting dicey, try not to kill any more people.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAWNAix06h
Moryuu: “Alright, I’ll try. What about you?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmPDnu4bmV
Talon: “I’ll try to find the sleeping bodies of the fallen by teleportation. Their souls should still be in there ready for the next round.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qik6N88u3
Moryuu: “Right, after that maybe you can help the rest of those alive.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXw0P723RRr
Talon: “Of course, I can’t wait to actually meet normal people. Well, except maybe Jayden since his organization is similar to mine and I don’t want to be dragged back into that environment.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQEufNJPjK
Moryuu: “Let’s hurry, we don’t have much time.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nnWCl0Jjk
Talon: “Never time for a joke to lighten the mood I guess.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBQ6xxDDEt
Talon raises his hands and a yellow portal appears beside me.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYamEQCS9WU
Talon: “It’s way easier to open portals inside this place than outside. This should take you to where Caecius is, be careful. Get your powers and leave, I can’t have either of you dying.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbM5vdDQwK
I guess my powers are in the pillar Caecius was heading towards... terrific. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDb2StJXYA3
Moryuu: “You too, don’t mess with the Umbra Lord Gideon.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHTpm7Oxi3
Talon: “You find him interesting?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthAZ6Yie8K
Moryuu: “I want a rematch with him after I get my powers back….and you’re no match for him. He’d rip you apart.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhhKBVPaFP
Talon grabs his chest in a dramatic manner resembling the melodrama I attempted in my alter ego. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwU3h8zmsm
Talon: “You wound me good man, don’t worry If it’s one thing I’m good at it’s teleporting away.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgSbTLJP0A
I nod and enter the portal to find myself in a near pitch-black structure. There are glimmers of blue light to the right and left of me. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsrRuxsyOb
I steel myself for the journey and take the right path, listening closely to see if Caecius is near.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2FKN9yX7vC
A wind mage is too much trouble for me now, especially since he can suffocate me which is pretty high level. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCM0zq371j
I creep through the dark corridor to come across the blue light from earlier that’s coming from a weirdly floating lantern. Suddenly the Flame begins to dance around and playfully flies deeper into the structure. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo7jz6H2hQ
Moryuu: “I guess you want me to follow you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0J8W2C1nV
I follow close behind the strange lantern until we find ourselves to what I imagine is the center of the pillar. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVjPCs925Z
Blue light shines from the top that reveals another sharper pillar in the center of the room with 2 lanterns adorned on 2 of the corners. I guess this little guy is one of them but where’s the last one. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzL39Jb1NsE
*Footsteps*775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA325jm0cHs
I dash to the nearest hiding place within the cracks of the jagged walls. As expected, Caecius comes walking in with the last lantern. I guess they don’t care who comes in.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeWXB3EcCd
Caecius: “I feel powerful energy here, perhaps it’s really here. Surely it must be fate if I’ve found it so quick.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmx9MOVJmI7
He inspects the sharp pillar in the center, searching for a way to unlock the contents of it I gather. I can’t let him get Zeus’s Essence.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrS7Vic5d9z
I’ll find a way to get the jump on him, maybe there’s a way to scale the walls. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrW6TUg82gx
Caecius: “Mmmm?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW4wwkVO2x
I guess that makes too much noise, now what?775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUZFVNYWTV
Caecius: “I know someone is there, come out or I’m coming to you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vpYSNlJAa
Unless I have Zeus’s Essence it will be too risky to fight him. I come out of my hiding spot with my hands up.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEvazLvuwlu
Caecius: “So it’s you, the mysterious man. What do you want, come to fight?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwluiDgfU50
Moryuu: “Not really, I’ve come looking for something.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwslKaGFqtQ
Caecius: “Oh, and what would that be.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEUpLcfycQ
Moryuu: “Something that belongs to me.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq2pBqXKM4
Caecius: “Depending on what that thing is, I might have to kill you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXJMKZX4V6
Moryuu: “I expected as much.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oAJDdQ1y0
This is going smoother than I thought. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7SgSrYGJj
Moryuu: “!!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZuximJSzf
Is what I thought until he shot a blade of air near my face, leaving a cut. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlPCYr1WAD
Caecius: “There’s something else I need to know from you, who are you, and what’s your purpose?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUFZv88d4u
Moryuu: “Is that all, do you want fries with that?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9Kjbmbo3P
Caecius: “*Glare*”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbtf7oH09O
Moryuu: “I have no problem telling you the truth about this place, I wonder though if you’ll believe me.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIYonTm1GY
Caecius: “No harm in trying.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9ArgRwexB
Moryuu: “Fine, the first part of the info dump is the fact that this is not the afterlife.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6RzwfnUhb
Caecius: “!!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5k6oRlCBT
Caecius: “Explain.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiMBL2vegn
Moryuu: “I don’t know if your world has something similar but what we’re standing on is actually a dead eldritch god.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vS1lyYag1
Caecius: “But….why and how are there dead people here?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2a9FvSDFZk
Moryuu: “Well, an acquaintance says that the nature of this god is to drag souls from other afterlives into this realm that seems like one but with an added twist. Time loops, every time someone dies and comes back, a part of their soul feeds the god and with enough energy, it will revive and cause massive damage to our universes and much more.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70bh7lt29T
Caecius: “….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QN9cJcIvP
Moryuu: “Don’t believe me huh?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp1EqP2l2U
Caecius: “So you’re saying we’ve all died multiple times, came back in the warehouse without much power, and then did the whole thing again but slightly different.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R5G1i8W67
Moryuu: “Yep, well, everyone except the Umbras for some reason.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1piX4Z3t0y
Caecius: “Impossible, this is too outrageous to believe!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8a2u73UOrn
Moryuu: “Have you ever wondered why shifts happen?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuU1N5I2IDQ
Caecius: “….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwd2nBEdsM
Moryuu: “That’s the beast stirring, my job is to keep everyone from dying and maybe work together to do enough damage to it so it loses all the energy it’s been building up. After that, everyone can go back to where they belong.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspjDcqdj8N
Caecius: “Let’s say I believe you, why are you here instead of babysitting everyone else?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUImfA3pxGH
Moryuu: “Because there’s an item of great power that can help me do my job.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLIeMEOGOf
Caecius: “….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewy7cN2nkP
Caecius: “Sorry, I can’t risk believing you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdNYNuHPHO
He swipes his hands and shots a wide blade of air towards me and I narrowly dodge out of the way.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9Om4DR6gf
Moryuu: “I knew it, never trust a mage, especially one hellbent on bringing back the dead.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYgpq0H0VB
Caecius: “It can be done!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyCqGmphNn
Moryuu: “Maybe, but the dead should rest.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcPirGG49qJ
Caecius: “Silence!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiPdRVWHeJ
Caecius continually blasts out wave after wave of air blades but I dodge them all. Still, it’s hard to maneuver in this-775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwv3HlTUNhi
Moryuu: “!!!!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysHjGMbq3f
I'm….suffocating!775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHm36zmQ4T
Caecius: “Enough of this game, I’ll kill you and get what I've come for.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1vZvTQ4kE
I throw 3 daggers at him and he blocks it with air but it did break his spell. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0KbLXFKOH
Moryuu: “*Cough* *Cough*”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqQl6gHfns
Moryuu: “I guess you need concentration for that huh?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaa44VNEqSR
Caecius: “I don’t need it to kill you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ScaaDPXPM
He shoots more air blades but I jump high up onto the few bars that line the ceiling corners. I let loose more daggers at him from above but he blocks them again.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlqfVbhXzO
Caecius: “It’s useless!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcOwK7n3xv
Moryuu: “Is it?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6asxzyDcP
I close my eyes, breathe, and take out my tonfas. I jump down and slam into the ground causing a small crater. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfFxE1wVeT
Caecius: “You’re going to fight me with melee weapons, fool.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTYhqSCmrq
Caecius shots a dozen or so air blades at me but I stay still….and listen.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnmEszgsmB
The slight movements in the air, the whirling sound of blades, and the split second before impact.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjLFAQavy3
My instincts flair up to prepare for the assault.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhy0rFTa3P
…775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdYReKscKE
..775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TAEPGwNJR
.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mllJSNpHb
NOW!775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqmEBtN9vR
*Slash*775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYVvvb3n2j
*Slash*775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiosNqlp0H
*Slash*775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5cegop5u9
Caecius: “Wha, how!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGCPBooSmZ
I knocked away all the blades of air, probably causing large gashes in the wall behind me. I was still cut all over but nothing vital has been damaged. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneCUkRSHit
Moryuu: “What’s wrong, I guess you’re not the best wind user out there.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU5eNHccsE
Caecius: “You!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHNW4CuYAv
I keep my eyes closed and anticipated the assault of air blades.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKGWVw4ci8
I dash forward and reflect the dangerous ones away right before they touch my body while letting others past my defenses so I can keep going.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTabg9W6w8h
Despite the many injuries, I make it right in front of Caecius and hit him in the gut with my Tonfa bypassing his wind barrier. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSioZmVdby
Caecius: “GAH!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e4tYo9kLq
He’s sent flying into the wall, still-775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdosrTd3mi
Moryuu: “Tch.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyPJhoHMr6
I’m not that well off either, I’m breathing heavily and I don’t think that finished the job. Damn, I should have attached an Anti-Magic Dagger to my Tonfa. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx03hEddju8
Caecius: “*Cough* *Cough*”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFFmdqYZoY
Caecius: “No more playing around, I’m going to…oh my god.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY74FBR70mt
Moryuu: “What?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYne6ey7TrX
I look towards what he’s staring at and behold, there’s the flask of Zeus’s Essence and….something else floating in the air. All where the pillar once stood, I guess it was sliced to bits during the fight.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUAqqxeFaX
Caecius: “The Eye….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXHlp2TLmU
He dashes to the object and I jump too, he can’t have either of them. Whatever the eye is it can’t be good if he has it. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTleZ7zXnw7
He shoots a powerful blunt blast of air towards me which pushes me away but I throw 2 daggers at him and 1 from the blunt side at the flask as I fall. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhbKRLcgX5
The flask falls to the ground safely but Caecius grabs the eye. I shake off the pain of the fall and push towards the flash while he’s distracted. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglN4rw9gC7
Caecius: “At last, I’m closer to my goal. Wait for me….Nieth.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWELKYKIs8
Caecius: “It’s over Moryuu, now that I’m this close to my goal there’s no way I’m losing to you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFK3aTmYdTb
Moryuu: “Maybe before, but not now.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZH8Uko0FTg
Caecius: “What’s that, a potion of some sort? That’s not going to help you here.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47QssFYpX2
Moryuu: “Well, allow me to surprise you.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDPAxl3ZhB
[ Music Plays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojL5Y5HvOlE ]775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfu79mRAKyv
I down the entire flask and instantly, I can feel the power of lightning coursing through me again.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhrQGKY7Hxv
I’m lifted into the air, my body is electrocuted from within and I begin to feel the almost unbearable pain battering my bleeding body.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKbgIHY259
I’ve survived this before, I-I’ll....survive ...again!775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTQViHeu0E
Soon enough, the pain subsides and the real power begins to form within. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA7cZQhSU4
My wounds heal and azure lightning strikes all around scorching the area around me.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4eoZWFFha
I float back down, my eyes shoot open to reveal a deep light blue color change and I push back my hair. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRLEfn1oth
Moryuu: “Bow, you’re in the presence of a God.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2RXdR8OdR
Caecius: “Wha-What are you!?”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KLWKPCYIa
I blitzed past him in the form of lightning and grab the eye before he could register what happened.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWr11kHFuX9
Moryuu: “The winner of this battle.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqdZfZ5Izg
He hurried to fling more air blades towards me but I block them all with a lightning shield. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPdDLUM8Pc
Moryuu: “Normally I’d kill a mage like you but I have a mission to complete, give up.” 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX7nFkhHzY
Caecius: “I can’t….I need that eye….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdowPgtflr
Moryuu: “She’s dead, let her rest.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZqVnhacCb
Caecius: “Rest? How can she rest?! She was killed before my eyes by the scum of the earth! Even if I have to move heaven and earth, I will give her the life she deserved.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ736oM6ZneG
Moryuu: “I’ve lost loved ones too, but I would not disgrace their memory and name by dragging them back from the dead.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSdu2OMfmu
Caecius: “Tch….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0YQGMTjPP
Moryuu: “There are few things I hate more than Necromancy. That’s why I’m going to kill Shadow for not only betraying me but because he dabbles in such dark arts.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tFLpDcxeO
Moryuu: “We’re done here, I don’t want to kill you and you’re no match for me. I’m leaving here with the eye, maybe you should think about what I said.”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJuOiX1iew
I turn my back on Caecius and head towards the exit of this place. Now that I have my powers back, I can move around the place a lot faster and help everyone stay alive better. Well, everyone except Gideon and Shadow. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwlHMIBHxk
Caecius: “No….No….I can’t lose her again!!!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMgHgjtKoS
I turn around to see Caecius conjuring up a large mass of magical wind that would do nothing to me but would probably collapse the place. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zIiyhEyh2
Caecius: “Die!!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2E9wYNXnWc
He throws it at me, I know it won’t hurt me but….my killing instinct involuntary kicked in anyway.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QJGeVRLYz
Moryuu: “You Fool!”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgSx4X3fwe
I shoot a powerful blast of lightning that rips through his wind and then through him causing a massive hole in the wall that leads outside and collapses a couple of buildings too.775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxlknaeIgf
In the end, Caecius collapses on the ground charred black and….probably dead. 775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ507WrS81cm
Moryuu: “….Damn it, why didn’t you give up….”775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡassVuFcPR3
1 Day Till Shift775Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCZb5wRm2e
