King of my Kin...Blood of my Blood. (Neal)

. How does one properly reflect upon his life....especially one such as the enigmatic Ouroboros? First he was Zell Atterrius, the child genius, master of both the realms of Occult and the Science. Eventually however, all things would turn Sour. His pursuit of Magic found itself at a dead end. For it was in that pursuit that Zell Atterrius learned of his heritage. The son of Lord Dartameaze Valtiari...the direct descendant of Ragnarox. It was then that he learend that the magical families of the day had cursed his father Dartameaze so that his descendants would never be able to tough the magical energies.

   The curse was something called "Limiter", a magical insignia born on every child whom was of Dartameazes' lineage. For Dartameaze unlocked the truth of the Valtiari bloodline, and revealed to the magical families that he was truly an Atterrius. Atterrius...a name given to those whom descended form the great Ethereal user Ragnarox, the Ethereal user whom supposidly ended the existence of the great Jehovah. It was all speculation however...the truth was lost...maybe never to be found... until Dartameaze. The Magical families rebuked the energy, they FEARED it and ultimately they trapped it away and shut it out. Broken and defeated, Dartameaze left the company of his friends and left...never to be seen again. Dartameaze secretly mastered how to use this new and strange energy, and the magical families had all forgotten it. Dartameaze with his new mastery, learned many styles of Magic, many of them forgotten...he even managed to sustain his youth for hundreds of years while all opposition died out. HE would resurface intot he world once again.... a scientist known as "Doctor Gibson Atterrius"

      Time had passed, and eventually his newly beloved had given birth to the being known as Zell. In secret, Dartamaeze had named the child Mathieu Valtiari in honor of his pedigree, but the name Zell would last throughout his life. On a business trip to Ireland, he remembered meeting his "doppleganger" an orphaned boy with no relation to Zell whatsoever...but physically able to pass for twins. Zell selflessly returned to the orphanage in place of the child...and then after the switch was noticed, he confused his parents, tricking Dartamaeze and his wife into keeping both the children. With Niall as a best friend, the two were inseperable. That was until Dartameaze with magic transformed Niall into an Artificial Intelligence. After that happened, The Lych killed Dartameaze...and his mother would continue to commit suicide...shooting herself in the head before his very eyes....the media proclaiming it was brain cancer. Zell Atterrius was then injected with a strange magical agent that slowly began to undo his "Limiter"...inhjected by the Lych, whom watched as his body began to morph and adapt...beginning to ooze out Ethereal energy....an energy so powerful one double A battery cell could power New York City in it's prime for twenty four hours.

     Yet through all the Trauma, Zell Atterrius was a hero. He made exo-suits and powered them with his "magic" that slowly ate away at his sanity.  He found love in Shara...his fiance...and eventually...in his insanity, onset by Sean Collin and "controled" by the Lych...he murdered her...while she was bearing his child. Zell Attempted suicide that night...but the Ethereal wouldn't let him. It saved him....tormented him. Eventually Zell Atterrius would confront Sean...and after suffering a strong blastof Nether energy, it altered his mind...destroying the knowledge of the Occult and awakening the mgical energies....and Ouroboros was born.

     A light smile traced his face. To think that Now Ouroboros was (for all practical purposes) soulbound to Sean...even having two children with him...one of them dying in the birthing process. Ethereal birthing was rather...difficult. Silus and his Twin sister were always in his mind however. He recalled meeting Sean in the prison..braking him out. He remembered going to the middle of the bermuta triangle and recreating Eden, the Ethereal Isle and enchanting it to be safe form human detection and interaction. He rmeembered resurrecting an entire race of people and summoning forth his birthright. So many good times...yet deep down he couldn't shake the feeling. To this day...Ouroboros wanted to be a hero...something he despised. The pathetic humans of this world did not deserve his love or loyalty...so why did he feel as such?

      "It's you! You-you are alive! Ouroboros, the Ethereal King!?" A voice trembled. Ouroboros licked his lips lightly as he slowly turned his head moonlight cascading down perfectly as his glowing emerald eyes narrowed on the being behind him. It was an Ethereal...not one he noticed form earlier. It was likely one of Michaels. Ouroboros smiled. Nothing took away the urge to be a hero than being a villain. "Indeed...send Michael my regards."He snickered as He turned, Ultima energy throwing the man into the building behind him. With a snap of his fingers the entire building flashed with Ultima energy, the energy flashing through the windows as if the building had somehow contained it. It was the blood curdling scream of the Ethereal being caught in the blast that made Ouroboros smile that smile sadistic grin and breathy chuckle. The building itself then fell to ashes. Ouroboros turned. He may have accidentally shown a little too much energy...suspicion was sure to be drawn. A constantly changing energy that adapted and remained enigmatic was certainly something to investigate...especially a power with that much potency.

   The days of the Occult-Science master Zell Atterrius were over....the days of the Exo-suited being known as Ancestor Dragon were over. The days of fearing Death were over. His son had usurped his throne, but Ouroboros was back from the dead, and his poor son Michael was in over his head now. It was time that the resurrection of Ouroboros once more struck it's chord upon his son's hearts. But for the time being...he would need to vacate the area. Taking Godsbane the (Grimoire)"being" whom transcended time and space...the one who's pages held the secrets to kill the immortals... it was now tucked under his arm. With such a tome of forbidden knowledge tucked under his arm, he began to slowly walk away, ashes brushing past him in the wind.

Neal had been walking through the Tampa region of Florida, it was a good day to enjoy oneself. He wasn't exactly out to enjoy himself right now though, he had just gotten out of a lecture at one of the more prestigious colleges in the area. Wearing his white suit, a red shirt and silver tie underneath with silver cuff links and black gems on the faces. Aside from this, he had a black satchel with his visor inside of it. It was the one piece of equipment he never left without anymore, wanting to stay completely concealed whenever he wanted to. His hair blew gently in the breeze of the area, and he was holding an expensive coffee he had purchased from a local cafe.

He had walked past the beach on his way back to the hotel, the salty air there feeling good against his skin. He had crossed through some of the more built up areas of the city, watching as the late-night workers were getting out of work. Even at night, Neal enjoyed walking rather than taking Taxis across the cities. It was good for health, and he had enough energy that it never even began to fatigue him. He began thinking back to his childhood, how even his parents feared him being a meta. It was understandable, for a child to have such aptitude for learning and mental agility was frightening. Even now, Neal remembered his days as a toddler, no more than weeks old. His memory was nearly perfect, and he had recently become one of the most intelligent beings in the world. His knowledge of the occult was nearly limitless, and he was more than capable of defending himself from a variety of foes with the intellect he had gathered. At least, that was Neal's opinion on all normal matters.

As he was walking, nearing the hotel, Neal saw a man throw another into a building with no physical contact. It was shocking even to Neal, but he also saw it as an opportunity. As he approached, Neal saw the building flash with an energy he had never seen before. It was inspiring even for him, whatever this was, it was something that Neal did not know about and it seemed magical. This meant that Neal would need to see what exactly this person was, without making himself a target to whoever could do something as destructive as this. The energy was obviously powerful, and was used for two purposes it seemed. 'Interesting, I will need to see what this energy is and how to control it.'

As he walked up to the man he had seen use the energy, he spoke once he was nearer in a calm and entirely unattached and non-offensive way possible. "That was some very impressive energy, mind telling me what it was? I am very curious about things that I do not know, especially when they seem to be of a magical origin."

"That was some very impressive energy, mind telling me what it was? I am very curious about things that I do not know, especially when they seem to be of a magical origin." A voice said. Ouroboros ran his tongue over his pristine pearly whites with his mouth closed, a small smirk working its way, all the closer to perhaps an amused expression. He knew the face immediately, the man was Neal Winters...a fellow Time Magazine cover boy. Of course this man would have no clue that Ouroboros was really the prestigious seventeen year old boy-genius Zell Atterrius, owner of the worlds grandest and most progressive genetic research and genetic engineering company, Gene-Tech. Ouroboros' eyes narrowed slightly and he placed a single, black gloved hand over his lips and hushed with a "Shhhhhhhh" He soothed, ending it with a smile and a scoff.

    "If you saw something I have to kill you... but if you're just CURIOUS then I can entertain what MAY or MAY NOT be the power you saw." Ouroboros said with a chuckle. He was almost being whimsical about the subject. 99.9% of the time if someone say him, they were eliminated. This boy was different....or rather this man, if he recalled correctly Neal WAS in fact older than him. Then again, Ouroboros tended to make himself appear older to throw off suspicion regarding his true Identity. Nothing would make headlines like "Missing Multi-billion dollar genius child is really Ouroboros!" Of course that wouldn't really matter...but it's publicity he needed to avoid. For a moment he began to wonder WHY he spared the human...so squishy and pathetic...perhaps it was because he was a reminder of whom Ouroboros once was. Maybe it was because he saw potential. Maybe he just couldn't be bothered to kill him over something so trivial.

    "So... One more time...and choose words carefully...I DO love wordplay." Ouroboros said with slightly glowing green eyes, but a relatively endearing smile on his face.

Neal saw this person, he seemed to think for only a moment before he made a shushing noise. He was shushing Neal and it was strange, but he felt that it was probably for the best that he did. Something about this person seemed frightfully powerful, something that scared Neal more than anything else so far. After this, he asked Neal a question; he asked Neal whether he SAW anything or was just CURIOUS as to what happened. The threat this man made when he spoke was something Neal didn't even hesitate believing, especially considering that the power was enough to level the entire building. There was only another moment break when he told Neal that he loves wordplay, and that struck Neal to say that this person was not kidding when he said something about killing Neal. 'It seems I can only say I am curious, and truth be told, that will be enough for me. At the same time, I will need to be very careful for the rest of this conversation if I don't want to end up with the same fate as the man he just spoke to.'

"I was only curious what happened to this building, you are the only one in the area and I was wondering if you saw anything. After all, nobody else needs to know what I saw or what happened here." Neal looked at the man, dark hair and shorter than himself. He seemed to be a man that was very interested in Neal, and Neal found that to be at least a little to his advantage. It seemed to be the only thing that kept Neal from the same fate as the recently deceased man had, and that was something Neal wanted to avoid if at all possible. "So, any idea what that energy was? I'd really like to learn something new, it is something that hasn't happened for a while now."

Neal would wait for a response from this man, hoping that the response would not be death to himself or leaving.

"Okay...so you understand the game." Ouroboros said, with a happy sigh. He did not mind anyone seeing anything, but he was obligated to tie off the loose ends and then cut them. He was hoping to avoid that. Besides it is highly possible that someone with the curiosity to even approach and ask was a person who would at least hold his interest for a short time. He sighed and pulled the Godsbane from under his arm and let it hang at his side, it certainly seemed unguarded, but with the reflexes of Ouroboros, there was no such thing as unguarded. He smiled, slightly amused. "That energy is a very unique energy. One that actually has a mind of it's own. Constantly changing, disguising itself to make sure only "The Elect" can understand and harness it. It is a rather fascinating energy really. It's source is unknown to even the most skilled members of the Magical families. Save for one." Ouroboros sighed, as if the concept were truly fascinating. To others...it was complex, complicated and horribly intricate. But to him...to his people...it was merely an extension of themselves. It was always with them. The understanding was just THERE. Then again....one cannot blame the mortals, they were born redundant beasts of burden who love to masque themselves as sophisticates.

"It is something that has always been there. Before life itself...before Death. It was there in the beginning and it shall last eternally. It shakes the ground we stand upon and it will still be here when you and I are long gone. Though...that's probably more impressive when you relate it to me." He said with a little chuckle as he kicked snow off of his dress shoe. He looked up an amused smile, friendly but that did not change his ability to destroy the man before him. "So Tell me Mister Winters. Why the interest?"

It seemed that this man was happy with Neal's response, he said that Neal understood the game and a happy sigh accompanied those words. It meant that he would likely not kill Neal for the moment, this man reached for a weapon and held it at his side. It was something that made Neal a little more nervous, especially considering that this person was likely able to grab the weapon in only a moment. In response to Neal's questions, he responded that the energy was very unique. It was one that always changing, allowing only "the elect" to understand and harness it. He said that only one of the magical families had the knowledge of how to understand and harness it, and that included even the most skilled from all the other families. This man gave off a sigh then, as if there was no particular reason that they had this understanding. 'I wonder what he plans to do in order to teach me about this energy, will he make me an "elect" or just teach me the knowledge?

He began speaking, saying that the energy he used had always been there. It was before life, and would last far longer than either of them would. It was impressive, even Neal wondered if he'd be able to understand something so complex. This man chuckled, and then asked Neal why he had interest, something that he was just itching to answer. "I'd like to be able to manipulate and control this energy, be able to channel it into a weapon to attack others." This man seemed to be interested in Neal now more than before, and Neal would hope that he could keep that interest. "So, is there any way you would be able to teach me how to harness this energy? Teach me how to channel it into weapons, so that I can use them to wreak havoc?"

. "Power comes with a price. I suppose the only question I have for you...is what is the price you pay for such power?" Ouroboros asked, not changing in emotion really as he crossed his arms. "I was born into power...and I am the "ruler" of the people who can use it. I created them...I uplifted them. I made them Elect. The most loyal of them die...and I simply return them to life. The most loyal of them need assistance...and it I their king, who sends it. They wanted the power....it was I who gave it to them." Ouroboros said simply enough. He looked over Neal and hummed for a moment.

     "I tell you. Despite not needing to do the simple things like eat or breathe...I can honestly say that I still love the taste of food. Would you join me? I will of course allow you to select the food, should you desire." Ouroboros asked. He continued to walk, hoping the person would join him. Without further hesitation he made his way towards the street. His hands tucked into his trench-coat as he walked, Godsbane slipping from his hands. Ouroboros walked on a few steps before turning around, a slight look of annoyance, directed for at the fact the Grimoire had slipped his hands. He half expected the man to pick up the Grimoire... or TRY rather. Godsbane selected the worthy as to whom could wield him and his knowledge, and as such none other could ever move the Godsbane. Hopefully the man didn't try too hard, or else he might break a back. Ouroboros held out his hand and the tome floated to him, glowing a seafoam green energy with an interior pale heavenly light. With the tome back in his hand he smiled and then sighed as he tapped the Grimoire harshly. He looked to the man known as Neal. "Where do you recommend?"

Neal listens as this man speak about the power Neal wants to gain, mostly to defend the world from meta-threats. Of course, this was something he wanted to keep to himself. This man seemed more interested in having his own way, but that was something Neal was sure he could work around. When he talked about the death of the Elect, Neal shows visible concern, wondering what the revivification of them meant. The look of concern quickly vanished though, curiosity was something he could not avoid when there was something he wanted to learn. Especially when it revolved around the magical world, the one he knew best. It seemed strange though, the energy supposedly averted the need for any form of sustenance. 'A powerful energy, I want to at least learn about it so that I can choose for myself whether or not to use it to help people.'

Neal began following the man and did indeed see the book fall from the man's hand, and stopped where he was walking. He was going to go reach down and grab it, but the book seemed far heavier than it should have been. Neal's hardest tries to lift it were meaningless, and his pitiful strength meant that he couldn't so much as even sprain his body on his own. "A curious book, I can see that it has some degree of magic in it." Neal continued to follow the man, an then would speak when he asked Neal about food. "I think I'd recommend Italian for now, they usually have some good food." Neal would pause for just a fraction of a second before continuing to speak. "As far as the price I'd pay, as long as my life and freedom are not permanently at forfeit and my soul is not forfeited, not much would fall out of what I am willing to give." Neal made sure to choose his words carefully, avoiding his life and soul being at forfeit to this man. Perhaps his loyalty would be something he'd need to forfeit to this man, but that was rarely permanent and would likely be returned given enough time. Even then, it shouldn't be constant loyalty. Neal would still likely be able to do his own business, at least when he was done performing the work of this man.

Still though, Neal didn't think this man wanted Neal's complete loyalty or his freedoms. It seemed that this man would be satisfied with Neal's acceptance of his rule and realization of supremacy to Neal, which is something that shouldn't be overly binding or hard. Neal already realized that this man could likely kill him given a thought, so it wouldn't be hard to imagine him being more powerful and dangerous.

"Then unfortunately this power is not for you." Ouroboros said as he took a sip of water and sighed. Of course this was bound to bring up questions, and he'd more than willingly answer them for the poor man. The man wished to keep too much and in his own selfishness he would miss the greatest opportunity to cross this side of the multi-verse. He was almost sad, this person had shown promise. "The very nature of this power is actually secret and I cannot share it with those who are not like us. But each and every one of us have parted with our souls. This is not a weakness. The place our souls have gone is as close to heaven as you can fathom. Honestly I don't want someone such as you, with so much promise, to miss out on this opportunity...so I'm going to put hinges into perspective for you." Ouroboros said, slightly nervous. He wasn't supposed to be saying this, nor was he supposed to be sharing this information with anyone else. Granted, he was nearly an unstoppable creature of utter genetic perfection so who on earth could hope to stop him? He still found himself hesitant to break the "rules" so to speak.

  "I want you to think about something... your soul is already forfeited. You are going to die Neal. There's nothing you can do about it. Your soul is a slave to the spurn and scorn of Death who comes silently and unexpected. You cannot choose what happens to your Soul after you are gone. You do not control your soul Neal...that is the sad truth." He said, looking around and clearing his throat. "Neal... I do not need food, water, oxygen. I never age and would you believe me if I told you that death itself stay on bended knee before me because of this power? I do not need to fear any Hell nor Oblivion, I have no worry in this world because there is nothing I can't overcome. If you doubt me than let me ask you Neal...do you recall the name Zell Atterrius? What if I told you that I was him...and since then I've died, resurrected...and created life. Resurrected the paradise of Eden and concealed it from the world? Neal, I am not lying to you. This power does not "forfeit" your soul because your soul was never yours to command. This power asks only that you belong to it's family... My family." Ouroboros said to him. There was no deception in his words either, much to the surprise of Ouroboros himself, it would seems Zell Atterius had been slipping out slightly, genuinely trying to uplift another. He cleared his throat, trying to pull back the concern he had for the man. He actually cared about this person, but it was simply because he saw the potential The potential for a hero to be born and never die. A defender of the world perhaps. His old Hero side was being nostalgic...

Neal wondered what this man meant when he spoke, saying that the power was not for Neal to command and harness. However, as this man spoke, Neal began to understand what was meant by this man. 'A heaven for the soul, that doesn't sound so bad. In fact, that is something which I really wouldn't mind if it is true. The strange thing is, this man seems to be speaking only the truth right now. It is as if he fears saying this for the trouble it could cause him, I will need to see what else he has to say.' Before long, this man continued to speak again. He spoke about himself, being incapable of death in almost all ways. He talked about how food, water, and oxygen were things that he did not need, and even aging didn't worry him because an ethereal cannot age. It was an immortality of sorts, an infinite number of lifetimes to learn new things. An infinite amount of time to grow in power, and help in protecting people. This man also claimed to be Zell Atterrius, a man who seemed to rival or exceed Neal in intelligence. 'This is indeed interesting, I will need to accept this offer. The ability to help people for an eternity, an eternity to grow in knowledge and wisdom. The ability to never need to worry about the pains and troubles of growing old.'

Neal looked at this man once more, knowing that he had little choice now. Every fiber of his being wanted to agree to this man and gain an everlasting youth. "I accept your offer, I will join your family to become a part of this power." Neal had only one emotion in his eyes, that of understanding and realization that this man could truly help him in being a hero. "I am willing to give it up, if it means that I can help for an eternity and never fear the pains of age that plague so many." Neal's voice was slightly dry, he was ready to give up virtually everything for this man and the power he offered. There were no questions that Neal had, for this man had laid everything out very plainly for him. Neal was not one to give in to fear, even though he didn't want to die. This man did not offer death though, he offered a complete escape from even the most remote fear.

Neal would take his own sip of water, awaiting a response from this man in regards to Neal's agreeing to the offer. He wondered if the man, or Zell, would expect such a quick reaction from Neal in regards to the words he spoke on being able to control this energy he had used. Of course, he probably knew that Neal was a man of great knowledge, and would likely expect him to be able to answer with such quickness and certainty.

"Never fear of those again. Alright... We have just two last pieces to discuss. The first one being your choice of Ethereal. The second being oath you take but First We'll touch the Ethereal choices." Ouroboros said, clearing his throat. He placed Godsbane on the table and opened it. The ink on the pages melded to the spine of the book, and tendrils of blackness appeared, crawling out of the book and forming a large black sphere and there being a massive bruning eye opening, reptilian slits looking upon the two. Ouroboro's eyes transformed and soon the illusion was conjured, to everyone else, these two seemed to be nothing more than old friend at dinner talking about High-School.

   "Neal, this is The Godsbane. Long story short he's an all-knowing grimoire that has information on how to kill every immortal ever to exist in every realm throughout the multiverse. He's also going to witness your swearing of the oath here in a minute. BUT I DIGRESS...back to the Type of Ethereal. You see there are three types of Ethereal, one of which is exclusive to me and my sons it's a bloodline thing. The other types of Ethereal are called "PURE" and "DARK". Pure Ethereal draws on benevolent and positive energies that are the fundamental energies of life. Dark Ethereal draws upon malevolence, and all things with a negative energy such as pestilence or murder." Ouroboros explained. Godsbane just remained there, silent as he glared at Neal and then looked to Ouroboros respecting the creature whom commanded his respect since an age long ago.

Neal looked at this book, marveling in the appearance it possessed. The ink was a part of the book, and and were like tendrils of blackness. They slithered off the pages and formed a sphere of complete darkness. This man's eyes also changed, and Neal wondered what the purpose of this was. It might have been some kind of ability to create an illusion around them, preventing other's from viewing what they were really doing or talking about. When Zell spoke the name of this book, he gave a small shudder that went all the way up his spine. Upon hearing the information it possessed, Neal realized that it must be one of the most powerful books in existence. However, Zell quickly switched back to the forms of ethereals. There were the pure and the dark ethereals, one calling their power from benevolence and positive energies while the other gained it from evil and death. Already, Neal knew what he would respond with, and was completely ready to enter into this "race" of beings.

"I will join in with the Pure Ethereals, I think it would be most fitting my alignment. I want to do good, and I don't think using evil energies would be the best way to do that. I must admit though, this book seems quite intriguing. It seems to have it's own consciousness and life, something I have never seen in a book before." His white hair stood in stark contrast to this dark background, and Neal wondered what this Zell thought of him at the moment. Neal wondered what it would be like to really not need to worry about death, to have a near eternity to learn and gain knowledge. It was something that Neal realized would give him an eternity to improve the world, and give him the ability to really help the planet.

"I can respect this. I wish many more beings would follow that path. The last one to follow that path was my youngest son. He's since...moved on to greater power but that is not relevant to the time.... I would...tell you about Godsbane but I think he'd rather speak for himself." Ouroboros said as he looked to the floating eye of abyssal appearance. The eye looked to Neal and his eyes narrowed.

   "He is unworthy." Godsbane said, a rather demonic reverb to his voice. His wording caused Ouroboros to raise a brow to his grimoire, trying to assess it's reasoning's. The Grimoire paid no heed to the strange look it received from it's master, it simply look to Neal with a near soul-piercing stare.  "Such an elementary morsel. It fumbles within it's own ignorance, using labels such as "Consciousness" and "Life" in order to familiarize itself with something which is so far beyond it's scope of understanding." He growled, obviously the ominous voice was displeased. Ouroboros rolled his eyes and sighed, as if he had heard this rant a thousand times and was sick of it. In truth, he had heard Godsbane speak down upon others countless times, and in truth it was the same speech every time.

    "Godsbane, Neal Winters has chosen to follow the path of the Pure Ethereal. He is to take the oath of the Atterrius clan. Please display the words to him and keep the "High and Mighty" speech on hold this time. We get it you've been here before time, you'll be here when time ceases...just, show him the oath he must take." Ouro said, the entity seemed annoyed by this, however it conceded and part of it's abyssal appearance bled into the air, and floated as text before him.

    The text read: "The Creed of one, the Creed of all. My new house shall never fall. My life, my blood, my cause. To live, to die, and to rise again all under new banner.  I accept the role of an Elect. One being, chosen to be uplifted. I understand that I must never breathe a word, nor share the secrets of my new people. For I do not enter a brotherhood, or an oath. For those can be shattered by lies and treacherous tongue. I do not enter a covenant, nor a contract for those are things of man, and things I will be above and beyond. For I enter a Family, a sacred bond and I recognize the new name of Atterrius. My clan, the strongest clan of the Ethereal. Honor bound to serve my house in their defense, and while I need not rise my sword for them I may never rise it against them, as they never against me. I understand that I must heed the call of the Ethereal King, and I will honorably represent myself to my Kin as a proud member of the Atterrius family.  I understand that should even an utterance of my new life to any other than my family of our King, without the permission of the King then...my life is forfeit."

    "To make sure it is clear. Defend your family, and tell no one about us without my permission... NEVER bring anything other than an Ethereal to our home-land, Always answer the calls of the Ethereal King and always remember should you break your vow and tell anyone of us a fate worse than Death awaits.  -- You will never be "forced" to use your power for anything other than defending your family. If you disagree with the family, you are free to remain independent and free willed. And when you are talking with another Ethereal it would be best to let them know you are my family.... simply because being family with the King is rather beneficial."

   "You talk too much. Don't tell people about us, come when called don't kill family. Just because you can defeat Death with the King's help does not mean you should go about killing each other." Godsbane snapped as he looked to Neal. "Do you accept your role into this family?"

Neal was glad about the words that this man spoke, and then even more so as he commanded this grimoire to share it's secrets with himself. The book claimed Neal unworthy, saying that the concepts he viewed the world with as meaningless. Of course, the book, if he could call it that, was right. Neal was about to dispute his words to this book, but then Zell spoke up for him and told the book that he was indeed worthy. 'Seems that I will be able to become an ethereal after all, still though, the grimoire seems very impressive. I shouldn't have associated it with mortality, for I will soon be of a different realm and the book seems to hold all the secrets of that realm. At least all of the secrets that seem worth knowing. Having Zell on my side will definitely help, and it seems that the oath gives me some allies.' Zell and the grimoire gave their own brief descriptions of what he was agreeing to, but they only said things that the book's words had already explained.

"I apologize for my misspeaking against you, godsbane, I should not have associated you with mortality. I suppose I still bind things to a mortal existence, as that seems to be a quality of being mortal. I do agree to the oath though, and realize that it is much more an acceptance of a true family than an oath or contract." Neal spoke with humility, showing that he realized his mistakes and was ready to agree to this oath. Now though, he would speak as one with full understanding of what he was doing, and would show no emotion other than seriousness and the understanding of reality. "The Creed of one, the Creed of all. My new house shall never fall. My life, my blood, my cause. To live, to die, and to rise again all under new banner. I accept the role of an Elect. One being, chosen to be uplifted. I understand that I must never breathe a word, nor share the secrets of my new people. For I do not enter a brotherhood, or an oath. For those can be shattered by lies and treacherous tongue. I do not enter a covenant, nor a contract for those are things of man, and things I will be above and beyond. For I enter a Family, a sacred bond and I recognize the new name of Atterrius. My clan, the strongest clan of the Ethereal. Honor bound to serve my house in their defense, and while I need not rise my sword for them I may never rise it against them, as they never against me. I understand that I must heed the call of the Ethereal King, and I will honorably represent myself to my Kin as a proud member of the Atterrius family. I understand that should even an utterance of my new life to any other than my family of our King, without the permission of the King then...my life is forfeit."

Neal would wait to see what would happen after the oath, expecting some kind of change in his body that could be felt. He wasn't sure, but he guessed that transforming his race of being would give him at least some kind of pain. Neal was ready for anything though, and would hope that he would be ready for whatever might happen to his body now.

"I witness this oath." Godsbane said plainly. Ouroboros held out his hand and reality warped around it, twisting and suddenly a pale aqua fire flickered away, the blade Imperium appearing, letting out a hum that was soothing and tranquility-inducing to those whom could hear it. The blade appeared but as one looked down the blade they could notice that the blade manifested already piercing Neal's chest. He would not die, nor would he bleed, but instead he would likely begin to feel hollow, empty and without purpose or emotion. Ouroboros knew that feeling too well...he had felt that not long before he had ascended into Ultima energy. Though that was a matter of bloodline, and not choice. Regardless the empty feeling would soon vanish as the Etherium reached out, Yggdrasil itself linking and burying a branching root into his very essence. The root would pull form the man, taking it's soul into the proverbial life-tree and leaving an invisible tethering behind, forever linking Neal to the Etherium.

The sensation one could expect would be akin to that of being blind and finally seeing. His mind would be enlightened, he could not only hear, but see and smell things. He could effectively feel the pull of Ethereal energy, and at this point there was no longer any hiding the fact that Ouroboros was seething with a perfect harmony of both dark and pure energies as a new form of power, as Ultima. He smiled as Neal's eyes changed to dimly glow in the darkness. He found himself almost jealous of Neal, to experience an ascension from mortal to something that mortals worship. To feel the warmth of a thousand suns inside you but never get burned, and yet have the power to heal or burn others. Within an instant Imperium vanished and the gap in the middle of Neal's chest would seal over as if his skin were clay, returning to normal once healed.

"Are you okay brother?" Ouroboros asked, a hand on Neal's shoulders trying to gauge the man's reaction.