Duality [Zell]

Bits of the constructs fell to the ground like glass, shattering upon contact before fading away into nothingness. Yet even within his weakened state, Michael could see it, no, the eyes had forced him to see it almost. The blade running red with blood, one person’s blood in particular. It was almost as if he could feel the blade himself, jutting through his abdomen, a strangled growl slipping through tightly shut lips as the constructs simply fell away, fading away as if he simply no longer wanted to keep them up. A small trickle of blood began to fall down from his left nostril, yet he could feel that his end of the fight was not over, not by a long shot anyway. Yet something within him did not care, it seemed more like a chore than anything, this fighting. What could he do now though? It had all gone too far, he was too far into this to simply walk out, he dug the hole so it was time to deal with the consequences of his actions; to die or to kill. However one thing stuck within his mind, one image that perhaps would haunt him, if he survived this ordeal; the look upon Shael’s face, one of utter shock, and heartbreak.

Ouroboros rose from the pillars of smoke, spitting words laced with venom, yet he took them, without even changing his facial expression. Muscles were aching, crying in pain as if the exertion he had put upon his body were more than it could bear. A bright grey light rose over his body, seeming to heal it slightly, the pained muscles and joints seeming to silently sigh I relief from the healing that washed over them. More attacks were set upon him, yet his own armor had its time to refuel, to allow itself to react once again, to protect him from anything that would have destroyed him, and then there was the power of his own ultima energy, reinforcing his own body. The area had been destroyed, enough that the skies grew visible, a great storm beginning to brew over him, a storm of pure ultima energy, something was happening yet he could not tell what. All he could do was attempt to react as the blade sovereignty was thrown at him, preparing to side step as it simply went through him and attacked from behind, slicing through flimsily made constructs and biting down into the armor.

Michael leaned forward, small bits of the armor clattering to the floor along with plashes of thick red blood. Yet when it came to the singularities, they simply found themselves being consumed by the small black void that his armor conjured, pulled in and negated as if they were never there in the first place, yet there was nowhere to go now. The ethereal paragon formed itself into a dome around them, cutting off all routes to escape, he was stuck within this dangerous situation. The Blade Soul Slayer formed within his hand, a weapon pulsing with his own energy. Michael rose to his full height, not one to let himself fall to his knees, to show any weakness, especially not now. His eyes were distant now, as if not really into anything around him at this point, as if he had truly given up. The blade within his hand found itself falling from his grip, falling to the ground noisily, as the ultima energy surrounding him took on a dark tinge, something sickly about it as it would begin to form an orb around the male, glowing blacker now than midnight. A cold gust was being released from this orb as the blade that was known as Soul Slayer seemed to fade away into a grey dust, as the very ground beneath him began to crack.

--
Raziel pulled back with the shattered stump that was Godsbane, a low growl rippling from his throat as he attempted to disengage from the male that had done the impossible. ’Well, looks like I should start getting a little more serious.” Raziel muttered as his eyes quickly shifted, pupils becoming ringed with a circle of strange runic markings, everything becoming clear near; especially the scythe that was so close to slicing through his back. It was within this moment that he perhaps managed to keep himself from being eviscerated by the child’s weapon, then elaning forward slightly as the scythe would glide over his back. Oh, this was getting good, yet he had already disabled two of their fighters, the female and by proxy the poor little wild child. Within the snap of a finger he was gone, standing a good few feet away from those gathered against him, still holding the blade that had been destroyed. ”Woah, so Michael is getting serious now isn’t he?” Raziel muttered with a sly smirk, feeling the rather malevolent energy reaching him, snickering before once again turning his attention back to those that were trying to kill him.

”Snapped my goddamn blade, little punk. Looks like I have to kill Michael’s little love toy afterall.” He grumbled as his own ethereal energy radiated through the blade, making up for where there was nothing, though it wasn’t the ultima energy that he was so enjoying, it would suffice. ”I do like the gauntlet though kid, might try it.” The strange cube that hung around his neck shifted, and glowed a bright white, before seeming to shoot from its position and begin to meld around his right hand. Forming something, a gauntlet of some kind, strange looking shards of the same material floating around him and the gauntlet itself; much like the gauntlet hat Silus wielded, but a silver color. ”Okay, time for round two!”

"You're lucky to have a father like that..." Ouroboros said, bitterness forming in his words. He didn't say anything more to Michael, instead he noted that Zell was now "in possession" of Fera, granting him the chance to use the Eye of Ragnarox. Zell had already taken to his role in the family...and it irritated Ouroboros. True enough they were the same person...but he didn't like the fact that Zell...the one who should actually be in Raziel's position...and yet here he was crying for his granddaughter and easily ready to destroy Raziel himself. Zell growled seeing Raziel's blade form as he also seemed to replicate some form of gauntlet like Silus' however Zell smirked, noticing that while it was easily emulating a similar power...it lacked a few little "runic" touches that would have made the weapon fully effective. Ouroboros scoffed as he looked back to Michael. Ouroboros was overcome with grief, he didn't bother trying to hide it anymore. He knew what needed to be done and he was going to do it...if Michael saw how much he had been broken who gave a damn...as he said...this was over already.

     "He's killing your family...what if your fath-Zell...what if Zell hadn't been there? You'd be the exact same thing I am... But Fera is alive.... so wipe that fucking look from your face!" Ouroboros said a "portal" of Ultima energy appeared behind Michael and blasted at him, once it passed Michael, instead of taking the time to conjure yet another blast, he simply caught the energy and condensed it into a ball and held it there. The Void armor proved to be more formidable than he believed. He had only ever seen the armor absorb that which was a direct assault on him.... but it managed to soak up the singularity. Ouroboros scoffed as he walked forward, as if he were laughing this whole thing off. He whipped the energy sphere at Michael and if it hit, or didn't it wouldn't matter as the sphere would simply return to him.

    "You just watched her die to him...and yet you STILL fight for him... what the hell is wrong with you Michael... Or are you even Michael... look at them and tell me honestly..." Ouroboros snapped as he suddenly dismissed all forms of Ultima and tore off the portion of his Paladin armor over his chest and zapped it with ultima, stopping it's regeneration. "I'm done Michael... I'm done fighting, I'm done tearing my own family apart...finish it. I've only ever loved and fought to protect you... can Raziel say the same? When you were born I said something to you I never said to either child before you... I vowed that I would die for you... but now that's up to you..." He said. Aetherius let out a draconian screech in Ethersong, protesting. "Quiet beast!" Ouroboros snapped as he looked to Michael. "...I ALWAYS...said I'd die for you..." He said with a little chuckle his Occuli died down to his original emerald eyes as he took the edge of Soul Slayer in his own hand and placed the tip right at his chest, over his heart. Zell looked across at them, Silus seemed to look on too, so he could see what would be done. Shael-Hellshrike even hummed as he looked over...they couldn't hear anything, but they could clearly see.

     "Michael's what? Shut the fuck up already and fight." Shael snapped as he walked forward. Raziel charged forward, he slashed out with Godsbane, but the minute the energy blade touched Shael it vanished, being soaked up into the being. He grunted as he drove the gauntlet into Hellshrikes stomach. Shael groaned as the gauntlet was driven into him. Shael threw a fist wich was met by a similar reaction to Raziel, except it would seem that while Shael was a "nemesis" to Raziel in an energy way, he was not physically as powerful, which would serve for Shael to be nothing more than a physical ragdoll.

”Oh, you heard me.” Raziel said with a rather self satisfied grin, keeping in mind the energy absorption capabilities of the ethereal, and keeping some of his attention upon the dark energy that was radiating from the spot that Ouroboros and Michael stood. ”Or are you so fucking dense that I would need to repeat myself? Hell, I’m in a good mood, so I’ll tell ya anyway.” he growled, slamming the hand shrouded within the gauntlet against Shael’s face hard, watching him slam into the ground, creating a considerable crater. ”His love toy, his secret object of affections etcetera etcetera.” The shards would dance around Raziel like a whirlwind, but do nothing other than that, simply forming a perimeter that would keep the others from interfering. ”I mean I’m thankful for your overall ignorance, if you had appeared two months ago this would have not even been happening, but you just make this so fucking easy.” He scoffed kicking the male a considerable distance keeping hold of the weapon within his hand, one that had been turned into a stump of a blade.

’So who should I kill next, maybe the little kid that Michael is so fond of…his darling little brother.” The blond seemed to mull over silently to himself and within an instant the shredding shard lashed out, set upon the little male known as Shael.

The black orb pulsated, words seeming to reach through the murk, yet there was no physical indication immediately of that happening. Then within an instant the sphere would fall apart, forming a strange material that would ooze across the floor before simply dissipating, and leaving the male that had stood within it. The Void Armor had disappeared, seeming to revert to simply clothing, and his irises had reverted to their usual shade, yet that did not wash away the bloodshot texture of the sclera, as the crack of thunder sounded and lighting flashed across the sky. He let a small breath hiss through his lips. Could he kill him, his own father? Of course he had been trying to do so within the last few minutes, but the question now within his mind was why? Why was he doing this. His mouth opened to offer an answer, and in the end only one thing happened, a strange gurgle slipped through, followed by a gout of blood. A hand had burst through his stomach, covered by what looked like a silver gauntlet, now painted in blood.

”Sorry to interrupt this wonderful display of selfless sacrifice, but you see…it seems that I need this for a moment.” Gripped within his hand was something, a fragment of bone, a sliver it would seem and within an instant the hand withdrew, as blood splashed across the floor. Glowing runes were present upon the Ethereals wrist, seeming to glow brighter as the very energy within Michael seemed to be rushing into Raziel, amplifying itself as an aura rose around the being, one who was silently chuckling to himself. ”Thank you for that Michael.” He noted tauntingly grabbing him by the neck, the now weakened ethereal and hurling him across the field, high into the sky, likely to break upon impact with the hard ground.

”Now is when things get fun.” He muttered as the runs upon his wrists and ankles instantaneously faded away, and a burst of seemingly unlimited energy radiated from his body.

. .It was shocking to say the least...to hear those words form Raziel. Well, it was shocking for Silus. He always had a little.... "inkling" about Michael and while it didn't really bother him it was when Raziel said that his affections were for their older brother that made it all make sense now. Michael only TRULY became a full blown prick when- After Shael died that's when! Who did he name his first son after? Shael, that's who. Let's not forget that who was the person Michael followed around like a lost dog? Shael... it was always about Sheal, what Shael thought of him or what he and Shael were doing.... There wasn't even really a Michael or a Shael when he was born.... it was Michael AND Shael. Granted for virtually ever Silus only accounted it as his brothers got along and didn't like him... but when he thought about how Michael must feel... especially for their brother... Silus suddenly realized that the entire time he felt alone and isolated... Michael probably felt the exact same way...despite the fact he was always so close. Shael, Zell, Jordan and the rest however paid no heed to the words, mostly writing it off to Raziel trying to keep shit burning and trying to isolate Michael from the rest of them.

    "Sure yeah, whatever." Shael grunted as he drove a fist into Raziel's gut, The impact itself was discomfort and while it did "hurt" (the term being generous) it wasn't anything impressive...but something seemed off. There was a surge of Hellfire pulsing through Shael's arm which caused Raziel to drive his gauntlet at Shael's shoulder. With a swift punch the shoulder cracked, popping as it dislocated, Raziel kicked Shael in the abdomen and sent him back a couple feet before Shael twisted and caught himself on the ground. Shael scoffed as he brought his left arm over, resting his hand on the dislocated shoulder. Shael only scoffed as he clasped onto it, slowly lifting it up. Raziel arched an eyebrow and sighed, as if waiting was becoming rather cumbersome for him. Shael scoffed as he preformed one swift violent motion... rather than pushing and popping the shoulder into place...he yanked and ripped the arm completely off at the shoulder. Blood started spewing and crimson flames were birthed from the wound as they began to weave and intertwine with ach other forming down like muscle and sinew before hardening into what appeared to be smoldering terra and then fading into a tanned fleshy color.  
 
    "....Ew...." Raxiel said as he poked his foot out and tapping the arm before he recoiled it. He proceeded to smirk when he noticed that poking the arm caused blood to gush from it, prompting the man to continue to poke it, paying no heed to the rest of them. Zell's ears fired off as he heard Ouroboros' voice break slightly, though the sudden disappearance of all Ultima energy, save for Atherius. Ouroboros had done it... Zell looked to Sean and smiled. "He took your advice...." Guardian said as he looked to Zell, shocked that Ouroboros had done what Zell said...and for a moment it would seem that it would work... but this was the Atterrius family...when the fuck did anything go as planned? Shael charged with his new arm with Hellfire burning all around it. Raziel lifted his own gauntlet and grabbed onto the Burning arm. "Time out." He said as he swatted the burning hand away then flicking Shael on the nose, causing him to recoil. Raziel simply vanished with a shining white smile before moving to Michael, proceeding to impale him with his own personal Yggdrasil knock-off.

"MICHAEL!"
"MICHAEL!"
"MICHAEL!" They all cried out as the noticed it.


     "Goddamnit Michael." Shael scoffed as he started charging at Raziel, whom proceeded to throw Michael like a rag-doll with an arching trajectory. He flew over Shael, whom was too slow to catch his brother, warranting a curse. He froze, what was he to do now? Unlike the feeble minded and dim-witted Shael, Silus sprung into action, doing something he never shown his family. He used his true older form, embodying Ethereal energy and firing them out like cannons form his hand and flying up to wrap Michael up, catching him with enough force to keep him flying back. Silus crashed and there was a crack of his rib, his older form fading back into his eleven year old youth with several fractured ribs. Silus shook, body racked with pain, but it was worth it , since he broke Michael's fall. Silus groaned...he would have died if he hadn't been in his Ethereal form...his body would have been so fragile.... He crawled out form Beneath Michael and summoned forth his Yggdrasil Gauntlet and placed a hand on Michael's chest. The gauntlet began to glow as his own life essence began to pour into Michael, sustaining him and keeping him alive, as well as using the gauntlet itself to continue healing the wound as best he could...but it wasn't going anywhere fast. For right now he could stop the death...but he couldn't actually reverse the damages. Zell rushed over to Michael and dropped down as he began to inspect the damages. He held out a hand and summoned forth Helitrope, which unleashed a golden light that warmed the vicinity, adding it's own healing prowess to Michael's wounds.

   "Mike!-Mike I got Fera so you don't need to worry about her okay? You gotta hang in there bud, alright?" Zell said...something in his voice was racked with worry, concerned and his breaking heart could be heard. Goddamnit it was Silus grown up. Zell summoned Imperium from Ouroboros and drove it into the ground, using it's energies to sustain Silus and his healing energies. "Si, charge him as best you can! YANCEY, We got one over here asap! Kaisses, Healing rain over here NOW!" He commanded. Yancey immediately rushed over, putting a protective barrier over The Wild Child before obeying. He added his healing light to Michael, as did Kaisses, healing waters pouring form the skies, drenching all of them and rejuvenating them, thereby allowing them to heal longer and more efficiently. Silus began to cry as he looked down at Michael and in an instant the Gauntlet implanted a Soul-shard inside Michael. Zell placed his hands together and bowed his head, beginning to chant, as Helitrope and Blaspheme merged from a distance and infused the Soul-shard with power of it's own. The Eclipse Blade generated a healing Aura over Michael before infusing Ouroboros and the Emerald Sword with necrotic energies. The Emerald sword disappeared and reappeared in Ouroboro's hand, meanwhile the fragments of Godsbane began to shake, flying to Ouroboros and forming together in his hand, the hilt of Godsbane flew from Raziel's hand and just above Ouro's head as the blade repaired itself, returning to becoming Ethereal energy. The blade repaired it floated above his head, with Sovereignty in one hand, The Emerald sword in the other, and Godsbane at the ready. His occuli returned, but this time they both appeared to be the eyes of Ragnarox... or rather the eyes of Jehovah, which Ragnarox stole from his mentor.

Healing effects:

    "Thank you for warming my blade's hilt...Raziel." Ouroboros said, his voice...different once more. His energy was different too as the Limiter on Ourobros' arm completely vanished form his skin, as if the very "ink" of the marking bled form his skin and dissipated into the thick Ethereal atmosphere. "Go for it Jordan..." Ouro said with a sigh. Instantly, Lock and Jordan appeared, once more they were skipping out of time and space once more... Jordan appeared with a fierce roar before throwing a draconian fist into Raziel's back. There was a sickening snap as Raziel began to plummet into the ground. The ground shattered as Raziel's face made contact. Jordan growled as he spawned a tail and whipped the gauntlet behind him. Jordan spun around and kicked Raziel's gauntlet and kicked off, pushing him back a little. Jordan landed on the ground and smirked, only to end up being backhanded by a faux-Yggdrasil by a Raziel that stood next to him. Jordan flew back but leveraged himself that he could dig his claws into the ground, bringing himself to a skidding halt, transforming as he flew back into a 100 foot Dragon, a glowing twisted crown and blackened scales, Quintessence energy surging forth as he let out a falcon-like high pitched screech of such power the ground shattered form his voice alone. Jordan then lunghed at Raziel, Ouroboros using Aetherius to escape by forming a bungie-chord of Ethereal energy to Atherius' horns and launching himself up while Aetherius took to the skies.

To start, having your spine snapped like that is not the most pleasant sensation in the world. Michael one moment was standing there, and then there was the taste of blood on his tongue, as more of it spilt from his mouth, thick liquid that dribbled down his chin before simply flowing further down. Within an instant the pain bloomed white hot, as if he were burning from the inside out, his body crying out in agony and then he felt weightless. His senses were growing weak, hazy and dull as he felt the wind rushing past him, seeming to drown out all other sensation. His body was however too weak, he could not even draw the simplest spark of ethereal energy, no, his energy seemed to have…forsaken him. Voices rose, outraged perhaps but they all took backstage to what was happening within his own mind, a loud roaring that seemed to obliterate all other sensation. The only one that remained was pain, a white hot pain that seemed to only roll around his back, burning and burning as he felt himself descending, towards the ground. Maybe he would break upon contact, become a simple red splatter that would soon be forgotten. No, death would be too good for him, wouldn’t it?

Within his descent he felt himself hit something, a solid body that seemed to cushion the blow somewhat, though he could feel it, his arm breaking even then and perhaps his legs, though sensation in them had already left him. If he even had legs anyway, that small fact was long since lost to him now. As soon as he stopped moving, Michael felt himself being paced against the something hard, possibly the ground as another gout of blood issued through his mouth in the form of a cough. He felt so weak, his entire body seemingly wanting to shut down all at once, to simply let him sleep for a while…forever. A hand was pressed against his chest, and then came the flow of energy running through him, the feeling warm in some way and perhaps benevolent. One name drew him from the murk, Fera…she was alive? She wouldn’t have been in danger if he had simply listened, no, he had to keep going, believing in…that bastard. If anything he was a failure of a father, or perhaps just a failure in general. Yet he could feel it, so many energies flowing through his now frail form.

His eyes were closed, opening would have required energy that he just did not have. A cold rain began to fall against his face, quickly picking up pace as it continued to fall, more and more it would fall. His body was likely being soaked by the rain and it was then that he remembered he hated being cold. Keep holding on the voice urged, but was it truly worth it in the end? Hang in there for what? For a family that he had done everything within his power to push away, or simply so they could make him pay for what he had done? Along with the cooling rain came a soft breeze, something about it familiar, the energy behind it felt somewhat like his sons, yet he was unsure if that were possible. Both the little Shael and his red haired twin walked upon the scene, though the younger was still sniffling softly, looking to the now broken Ethereal. His abdomen was a wreck, a few internal organs jutting from the bloody hole much like sausages, and more blood was spurting from it as the flesh seemed to be trying to knit itself back together.

Their father was dying and yet she could do nothing to stop it, even though she was perhaps the one that had initially left him. Shael was doing what he could, but even his limited healing power could not do much compared to the wounds that were inflicted. Sean however simply stood back, clinging to Guardian slightly as he sniffled, perhaps a little distraught by the sight that was before him. It was likely that no one was expecting this, and maybe that was why Raziel had done it, to torment them more than anything else. That was one thing that the bastard was good at, causing problems for their family or so it seemed at the moment. With a snap a charm appeared within Fera’s hand, releasing a rather strange aura over Michael, following the efforts of the others in healing the now fallen ethereal, attempting to knit flesh and to repair his spinal column.
--
”Oh this is interesting.” Raziel muttered to himself as his own energy seemed to saturate the air, threatening to tear the very fabric of reality around him. Distortions were becoming common around him as he gave his wings another flap, beaming silver orbs glaring into Ouroboros’ own occuli, though something about them were different, they were much like those of Jehovahs. The draconic being that was assaulting him seemed to unleash a powerful screech, one that would have deafened him, had he not already released a counter. The blond ethereal inhaled and with a loud exhale a similar soundwave was emanated, canceling out the one that Jordan had unleashed with a resounding boom. ”Nice try squirt.” Within an instant the shards about his faux-gauntlet would swirl before falling upon the dragon and then his attention turned to Ouroboros. ”The seals are broken now, I am unfettered at last.” With a flex of his wings everything around him seemed to contort, tearing as he ascended. His hand rose to the sky as a large amount of ethereal energy gathered within his hand, starting off as a small orb and quickly increasing until it was a large mass, one that could possibly consume the entire isle within its radius. ”Now fetch boy.” He muttered hurling this attack directly at Jordan.

Jordan took it head on. Ouroboros groaned as he began to massage the bridge of his nose as blood and dust were thrown up everywhere. Jordan let out a loud screech of pain as the large body fell sideways onto the ground, catching himself and keeping propped up by his clawed hands. There was a large fleshy mass missing form the dragon's chest, a scar was sure enough to form. The draconian creature steadied himself and shot out a large Quintessence Energy Blast. Raziel scoffed as his golden wings twitched. ?Before the blast hit him, the wing furled around him, catching the blast in it's entirety. Holding it for but a second he chuckled as he pushed the blast out with his wing, sending the energy right back in Jordan's face. Jordan, once more took the blast to the face. The dragon groaned as the smoke cleared, revealing a half mutilated face.

"BAM to the face.... clean yourself up bitch." He chuckled as blood seeped from the face wound and the large Dragon let out a little growl. "Not the brightest kid eh?" Raziel gave a degrading and taunting laugh when regarding Jordan. Ouroboros simply ignored him. "What else can you expect from a mistake though? After all, especially a mistake even Yam won't acknowledge." He looked back at Jordan a rather dark sadistic nature in his eyes. Zell growled as he clasped onto Eclipse...if his blade weren't needed right now....he'd be using it to slaughter the smug bastard.

"Leave it be child." Lock whispered tot he Dragon. His words were raspy...familiar...but quiet...almost carrying a certain...gravitas to it. Zell scowled looking at Lock, however he quickly returned to Michael.

"Mistake?" Ouroboros asked, as if the term amused him greatly. He was looking at Raziel as if the word mistake coming from him were all too comical. Ouroboros moved, but the speed was rather...intense. Ultima energy forming twin cannons, firing out like gatling guns with the devastating force of a Seventh Seal behind it, firing tens of hundreds of rapid-fire shots at Raziel, keeping his eyes perfectly trained.

So now that the distraction was out of the picture, Raziel could deal with the real problem, which was Ouroboros. A hail of powerful shots were released from twin cannons, though the male saw them long before they were upon him, each shot obvious as the one next to it. Within a blur of motion the ethereal was off, seeming to dodge each shot with little effort, though there was more effort than he was simply letting on. The more than he moved, the more difficult it became for him to dodge the attacks falling upon him, not that he was too worried about that. He then disappeared within an instant, appearing behind Ouroboros and forming a construct of energy within his hand, one that took the appearance of a blade. Within an instant he would lash out and then appear high within the air, forming another large sphere of ethereal energy, one that quickly condensed into a smaller one and fired out in a radial burst.

Raziel's blade hit...but there was something wrong, there was no tug of the spine, so sweet sensation of tearing flesh or severed limbs. He twisted in time to allow his wings to close over, Ouroboros having appeared behind him, leaving an afterimage in place to allow Raziel the belief he had remained. Ouroboros growled when Raziel pushed off then emulated a large gust of wind that blew the Ethereal King back. Ouroboros vanished to appear once more before Raziel whom grabbed hold of The Emerald Sword with his faux-gauntlet, and his wing catching Sovereignty. Godsbane, however, vanished form sight, leaving no trace in the realms and confines of reality as it moved. Godsbane would reappear behind Raziel and aim to impale him, though it would likely prove futile in the end, it was still a tactic Ouroboros would use to discern the logical processing's of the ethereal being he faced. His Tendrils flew out, three of them crashing into the one wing, while the three other stood defensive movements to block a direct fire from Raziel. Granted, Ouroboros was good, but he was still on the mortal plane at the moment, he didn't have the insane abilities that Raziel had, though in truth Ouroboros had hoped to have provided more of a challenge without the need for such excessive dei-ex-machina ethereal bullshit.... though it seems like he was cornered in. It would be soon...it had to be soon...or Michael would be no more.

The wing flexed, shattering the tendrils that slammed into the wing. ”This the best you got Ouroboros?” Raziel taunted as the wing then moved forward, unleashing a powerful burst of wind with a shredding property to it. ”If so, then consider me not impressed.” The angelic being fluttered upwards as the shards of the faux gauntlet would fly outwards, lashing out at Ouroboros in a deadly dance, yet they were not even more empowered by the energy that he was funneling through them. Then with a wave of his hand, a burst of energy was released, eviscerating everything within its way, though it appeared as a casual motion.

Ouroboros had to actually sweat himself in order to avoid the ripping winds hat pierced through his Ethereal barriers. Atherius' eye remained fixated upon Raziel, little was it known that Atherius was not simply lying in wait...he was preparing, slowly drawing upon his energies in a subtle manner. This was not a confrontation, this was a survival. Ouroboros could not win against Raziel as he was...even with the eyes of Ragnarox. Raziel would give no rest, relenting for nothing as he began to barrage Ouroboros with the faux-Yggdrasil and it's shards. He was unable to defend himself form everything, however as he danced and moved about it could be seen that he was genuinely fighting to keep himself form death. One small misstep, one small miscalculation and it was the end of everything. Not only did he have a barrage of shards, but he had the faux-Yggdrasil itself, and Raziel moving to eliminate Ouroboros... playing with Ouroboros and seemingly as if testing out the full extent of Ultima was something he enjoyed.

   "Let him go, Child." Lock said, his voice a rather whispy one at this point, his hood still looming over him. Zell looked over his shoulder with a glare, though with the eye patch it wasn't something one would have considered effective. "The cost of using your gift twice so quickly is of an immeasurable gravity. It is now you must ask yourself Child... would he do this for me?" Lock said, sounding as if he were a teacher, or a mentor. Silus seemed to notice something strange. The excessive use of the word "Child". His hands began to shiver and his pupils constricted as he looked form Michaels eyes to Lock.

    "L-Lych?" Silus asked, his voice sounding rather conflicted. While The Lych was in fact the first of many enchanters to teach the Ethereal Enchanter, he was also the one whom helped Silus "adjust" to nether levels and used part of Ryurous' essence to remove the Nether sensitivity from Silus. Lock held out a hand, in the sunlight it began to steam as the flesh turned to dust and leave the bones as if it were a black nether mist. He placed a hand on Silus' head and ran his thumb across his forehead. Silus smiled before looking back to Zell, whom nodded affirming that Silus was okay. "Why...why did you do it?" Silus asked, as if searching for answers of the past transgressions.

"Not yet Child. When the war has been waged and the smoldering embers burn no more we shall speak of this again. Then I my account for you my every sin, and perhaps then...after this battle you will have earned the right to judge me." The man said. Silus seemed to nod as if he understood. He returned his attentions to healing Michael. Lock or rather, The Lych turned to Zell, his gaze upon him. "You need not sacrifice so much for him...him who doesn't even consider you his own father.... think of all you're forsaking..." The Lych said. Zell looked down at Michael's wounds, and then to his eyes for a moment before closing his eyes.

"Stop the healing." Zell commanded, and surely enough they would stop, except Silus whom persisted. The Lych grabbed onto his hand and pulled the gauntlet back, warranting a tearful scolw form Silus. Zell pulled off the eyepatch and the eye of Ragnarox appeared, the wounds of Michael would soon be no more. The wound that was the gaping hole, the knicks and cuts, the essential things that would have otherwise killed Michael all began to glow an emerald color, before shooting up into the eye, arching like spectral essences and being soaked into the eye. The power of Raziel was powerful, so much so...that it caused a very powerful connection to shatter. Zell let out a groan of pain as he keeled over and doubled over into the fetal position, clutching at his eye and abdomen. Blood oozed from the eye, and the lethality of the wound to Michael was gone.

Ouroboros heard this roar of pain and watched as Zell had fallen over, taking only this second to notice Zell as he immediately began to hop back and shifted around flying shards, sparking ultima at them to dissipate some of them entirely. Raziel wanted to play grab-ass and take this lightly? Well that was fine by Ouroboros. Zell had done something that Ouroboros could finally agree upon... he removed himself from the equation. The Eclipse blade radiated a barrier around the group as Lych fortified it with nether energy, and teleporting Sean and the Seven to his location. Vanguard and a now-humanoid Jordan, which lay next to Michael, mutilated for attacking Raziel. Silus began to work his magic...but just like before...nothing was happening. Ouroboros let out a growl as he unleashed a punch straight to Raziel's chest, one that Raziel took without even an attempt to defend. Ouroboros took up his other arm and went to punch, to which Raziel scoffed and went to catch with his fist, finally having Ouroboros pinned, though much to his surprise, this was exactly where Ouroboros needed it. In just a matter of seconds, Ourobors was going to explode with energy, all the ultima and excess energies of everything used thus far were stored into the suit, and there would soon be one powerful explosion of energy...and though Raziel did not know it...it was not he whom had Ouroboros...but Ouroboros whom had him.

So the plot would begin to thicken, not that it hadn’t already begun to do so in the first place. It seemed that the rain that was pelting his prone form had begun to abate, ceasing and yet he still felt so…cold. However all of the pain that was washing over his body was slowly beginning to vanish, as if it were melting away second by second and within these precious seconds Michael’s slowly was rising from it, the darkness and the pain. Did he want to? Death would have been so much easier, yet nothing was easy, that is how life was at any rate. Something danced over his skin, a strange mist of a color similar to that of pure ethereal, soothing in texture and something about it was familiar. The mist seemed to be moving out from one source, even dancing over the wounds that afflicted Jordan, offering a small amount of healing but they would not heal to easily.

”Well it looks like I’m not too late.” A young male voice noted as they seemed to appear out of nowhere. Shale would have known him as Jordan, and his sudden appearance would have been more of a surprise, well it was quite the surprise. ”Ah, hiya Shael.” The diminutive ethereal noted waving to the tan male before observing those that were placed under the protection of the barrier. Well, he was within the barrier too, arms crossed over his chest and looking over those gathered around the fallen ethereal. ”Hope I’m not intruding.”

--
Raziel was close to victory, or so it seemed, having caught hold of Ouroboros and oh he was ready to put an end to him. Even with those eyes, he was still not strong enough, nowhere strong enough to defeat the newly born god. In fact his power seemed to be be growing greater and greater by the second, which did not bode well for anyone within the area. He did not expect what happened next, not until the burst of energy slammed into his body, sending the ethereal in a back spiral through the air, his grip upon Ouroboros gone. His wings found themselves heavily damaged as they folded over him like a shield, golden blood spurting from them as they instantly healed over, along with any damage done to his body.

”Ow, that actually hurt.” Raziel muttered as the blood that persisted seemed to fade away into a golden mist.

Silus knew this kid, and he immediately offered a scowl. He in no way trusted this Ethereal. He turned that scowl into a smile and a nod as quickly as he could. He would keep his opinion to himself, though the second this boy revealed that he was working with Raziel, the poor bastard was going to need to deal with Silus, whom was already chomping at the bit to try and have his hand at Raziel. Though he immediately noticed that the Dragon Prince and his father had entered critical conditions of their own. Pain proving too much that Zell could bare apparently as he bit his lower lip and arched his back, as if trying to snap himself in half or something. The Dragon Prince was far more quiet, as the pain sent him into a form of shock, which was highly unusual for an Ethereal, OR a Dragon... and he was a hybrid of both. Yancey's healing wasn't enough, and soon Xarlessa began to attend to Zell who snapped at her and pointed to Jordan as he kept shaking. Xarlessa did as was instructed and began to heal Jordan, all wounds ceasing to become any greater, but much like Michael, the progress of recovery was a slow one. Silus remained, helping Jordan with their little healing endeavor. Silus looked to Zell, who finally stopped reacting in such pain. His eyes lost their glow...something that made Silus, Older Shael, and even The Dragon Prince (even from his little shock) to look at the man, concerned. Zell's arm weakly reached out as he tried to stand up, Lock simply scoffed at him

    "How does it feel? To have the Etherium to turn it's gaze upon you for a selfless act?" The Lych asked as he chuckled. Zell growled as he stepped up, standing after a moment of dazed staggering to the left and then right. He looked to Raziel and sighed as he looked to older Shael, and then to Silus, then his grandchildren.

    "Fera...are you feeling alright? Michael is stable, now it's just the healing...don't heal him entirely, he's got enough on his hands." Zell said as he rubbed his eyes lightly before sighing. He didn't even know in truth if he had been conscious the whole time....but honestly it didn't matter to him. He smiled at Fera and then at The Wild Child before the remainder of his little "troop" and sighing as if he just made a rather difficult decision. Ouroboros on the other hand seemed to have gotten to Raziel, somewhat anyway. It was an impressive strike and tactic on the Ethereal King's part, however the angelic being seemed to simply bypass the concept entirely as he healed over. Zell growled, and looked to Lych, whom now stood not far beside him, but at least an arms-length away. He crossed his arms, the bone hand tapping of the cloth slightly as Ouroboros continued to fight for his life, Raziel still seemingly toying with him.

     "Raziel's weakness is his pride. Those he laughs at are generally the things that lead to his undoing...
     "Oh wow. Who does that sound like?"

     "You may be bitter later.... you need my knowledge...and you need my power.... but I need YOUR physiology and the remnants of your Ultima Ethereal energy." The Lych said, turning his head slowly to look at Zell and gauge his expression. It was, of course, priceless to watch him scowl and shake his head at Lych. He scoffed and then chuckled as he looked back to Michael. He shook his head again, but it was as he looked down at his shoes, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was about to do...which is understandable. Silus couldn't believe it either when he watched it. Zell placed a hand on each of Lych's shoulder. Lych in return did the same. Eyes began to glow, purple spheres and emerald spheres glowing to the point of a brilliant flash that was capable of blinding all eyes other than that of the Occuli and Michael's eye. A bright typhoon of energy spiraled around them with gusting winds. Any whom could see inside could see that the winds and energies were so powerful that those existing on the inside of it, in the typhoon's "eye" were slowly deteriorating away, piece by piece, turning to dust from foot to head. The dust was swept up in the storm and seemingly lost forever as no trace of Zell or the Lych remained, though the storm still raged. The golden energy shifted to that of a darker disposition, turning platinum and deep blues and purples with a harsh maroon and pink tinge to them, and soon arms began to spin out from the center point It looked as if the Seventh Seal had a child with the Milky-way galaxy. The arms evaded the children, but as they extended everything they touched immediately dematerialized. The Emerald sword, and Godsbane both disappeared, one because it's master no longer existed, the other was called to a higher purpose. With one last rotation, this time it would seem as though the entire, large energy blast would be unleashed right at Raziel, and there standing where the Lych and Zell once had was a new, more powerful entity remained in it's place. Shi Ryurou buckled at the knees and simply resorted to sitting down in the presence of the creature unsure of it's energy or it's origins. The creature truly looked as Death itself...not a simple piece of it incarnated, but the literal manifestation. That did not make it what it was...but it is how it appeared. What Raziel would do to avoid that energy blast would be interesting....because it held enough power to kill even Raziel a hundred times over. The creature stood there, eyes covered by the bloody colored tips of the tattered hood. It said nothing...it made no noise, yet the grand regenerating palace of Valhalla immediately disappeared, disintegrating and being removed form existence, leaving only the secretive Ethereal Well in it's place as a result of the energy unleashed by the beast at Raziel.

   The blade it wielded was none other than that of Godsbane Unleashed a rather unique incarnation of the weapon, fused with the Emerald sword. The creature charged at Raziel, so quickly that not even the advanced mind of Ouroboros perceived it's movements, it was as if he teleported, though not actually ever leaving the plane. Godsbane slashed at Raziel, for each slash there were two identical slashes, one of pure ethereal, one of dark, though the energy he wielded was not ultima, it was something far different...something he would have called superior and beyond the comprehension of any whom had not wielded it.

The scowl directed at him caused a small frown to form upon the young ethereal, as if the mistrust was somewhat disheartening, not that he would really let it show. Emanating from his fingertips was a mist, one that seemed to heal everything that it touched, and what it was focused upon was Michael and Jordan. More and more the mist would issue from him, as it danced over the two damaged males, slowly fixing the wounds that were marring Jordan, though he had a feeling that he could only lessen the pain, even with his rather impressive healing prowess. His attention turned towards Zell for a moment, tasking notice of his rather sad state before turning back towards the two that he was attempting to heal, though Michael was perhaps the better off of the two. He did wonder about the not healing him completely part, yet did not openly question the directive. As far as he was concerned, Jordan was simply an observer and he had a feeling Michael would have no cared either way. It was then that it happened, the bright light that flashed outwards, blinding everyone, even Jordan as he quickly covered his eyes.
--
Raziel saw it, the burst of energy that was rushing towards him and he had barely any time to really react. All he knew was that he had to move and so he did, at a speed that would have appeared as teleportation as the burst of energy tore through his prior location. Valhalla had been eviscerated, leaving only the ethereal well remaining, revealed for all to see as the angelic being looked upon something, his new foe. Wielding his new blade the thing attacked, slashing out at him, each attack coming with two extra ones that were far harder to avoid than the ones before, his indestructible flesh being cleaved through like butter, yet nothing was lethal within the damage done .The golden blood flew outwards as even the construct brought to defend him proved insufficient, Raziel propelled himself backwards as he continued to eye the being.

Which brought up the question what it was. This thing was not anything that he had seen before, perhaps what one would call death personified, but death could not defeat him, and he was a being that transcended death. Runic markings appeared along the males back as well as around him in the air, and within an instant a radial shockwave emanated from the circles. Then came a barrage of a thousand bursts of energy, each of which would have been able to kill the being, or so Raziel thought they should have been able to do.

The creature just stood there. The energy had been released, but there was something strange. Where as the creature SHOULD have been trying to dodge, it did no such thing. It simply stood there... waiting to be hit. The energy barrage was almost an Ethereal extinction, had it not been for this creature's shielding of the innocents. Granted, some of them were not able to be saved because of their own stupidity and their attempts to match the energy with their own. Though hat was done was done. The creature which stood there soaked in all the ethereal energy it possibly could. The creature just stood there, unmoving. It's head rose slightly, a violet colored eye piercing the shadow cast over the skull.

"Looks like I can take what I dish out..." The echoing chorus of the voices said. He held up a bone hand and the Ethereal well began to change, acting sporadic, the energy surging as it moved up and fired out at Ouroboros, infusing with him. The Well dimmed and lowered back into it's place, but it's energy triggered and Ouroboros stepped forward, The tail of God-Eater slipping through the paladin armor, and the eyes of Ragnarox glowing clearly, the essences absorbed by Shael manifested and drew forward conjuring the Blade of Jericho, the Hellshrike, the King of the fallen Ethereals. (The blade ironically named Ragnarox). Ouroboros cracked his neck and laughed, the voice most likely familiar to Raziel, as the voice itself sounded just like the mentor he failed to "make the grade" with.

"Well well well, what are we going to do with you Raziel? It's been how long and you're still playing God." The voice sniggered as he judged him, raising the blade, and energy firing out at the angelic being.

Raziel growled lowly, looking upon a being that resembled Ouroboros, but the way that his voice sounded only drove the male into a bout of absolute anger. It was…Jehovah of all people, but how could it be? He should have been dead, unless…this thing was his…no it could not have been possible. ”You..” He growled almost predatory as he did something that he never thought he would have to do, he would draw upon his…full power. A pure silver aura began to grow around Raziel, one that slowly began to suffuse with gold and rose even higher. The golden wings that were damaged by the being would begin to heal over, as the energy of over a dozen Soul Stream began to course through his body. If his energy had seemed monumental before, it had only grown now.

”I am a god!” One arm drew backwards as the blast came towards him and slamming it forward, the blast simply seemed to curve around him going onward but not having touched him , save for a small amount of scorching upon his knuckles. Within his hand formed the blade that he had given Michael, a blade that had warped to the males whim upon coming in contact with the ultima energy that he had harness, though within raziel’s hand it took a different form. The strange grey blade began to twist, lengthening as it became a blade blacker then pitch, and radiating a killing intent. Within an instant the burns that formed upon his knuckles healed over, leaving only healthy colored flesh.

Within an instant he was gone, no, an instant would have been too slow to describe his speed. It seemed as if Raziel were still standing where he was when the blade was aimed for Jehovah’s throat.

Raziel's blade pierced his throat, but yet one could hear the clicking of a gun. Ouroboros wa sbehind him, Gun locked and but an inch behind Raziel's head as it fired out with a shredding energy. Wherever Raziel moved he would be intercepted by Ouro's sword, or his newfound gun. Unlike one may have believed, to one such as him, at this moment...speed was no longer a concept. He literally transcended understanding...he could not even explain it, in infinit knowledge and wisdom...he simply WAS. No beginning...never ending... simply being. "God? Well we certainly have watered down THAT term haven't we?" He scoffed. Raziel was no laughing matter, but is vanity was anything but Godlike. He was foolish, and in the end that is why he could never succeed. He would never understand, he would never learn the things that was required of being what he was. It was never an issue of power...the potential was there...it WAS made real... but he still lacked the basics, and that is why a solid, structured individual would always, and forever be Raziel's superior. Ouroboros held out Godsbane and an energy spike shot out like an ice shard, aimed to shred any and all forms of Ethereal Energy.