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Shattered Soul (kuro_bara x Alenaeon)

Beth pressed her face against his shoulder for the brief moment that he hugged her to his side before he lowered back to the ground. She barely had enough strength to remain sitting but she was determined to keep her eyes on him as long as possible. A sharp pang of worry tightened her chest as she watched him go over the wall and vanish from her sight. The skeletons gathered around her in a watchful circle as she put her head in her hands to hide the tears that had welled up and trickled down her cheeks.

The demons tore into the undead army with gleeful abandon, flinging bodies as they tried to tear a path through to the leader. It was obvious they had been informed who to target. The corruption within London had clearly grown far larger than anyone had suspected. The ghost stone was merely the tip of a much larger issue seething beneath the surface.
 
Remwald's blade pierced the thick hides with ease, although he took enough hits that he was visibly damaged. His soldiers worked by trying to swarm and overwhelm the opposition, even if they were individually weak. While the battle was hard fought, and he had lost more soldiers than he would have liked, they managed to overtake the demon horde. He headed for the magical elevator, bringing with him a small collection of zombies, skeletons and a few of the remaining ghosts where they headed down to presumably take on the orchestrator of this chaos.
 
Beth's tears had subsided, with the occasional sniffle as she sat on the ground with her arms wrapped around her legs, starring towards the building where Rem had taken the army. Knowing he was there with out her to watch his back tore at her until she couldn't stand it anymore. Staggering to her feet she braced an arm against one of the skeletons, which somehow exuded an aura of concern considering it had no face to show expression was quite a feat.

Another of the skeletons approached and pushed something into her hands, a cool, glowing stone that was all to familiar. Her first reaction was to toss it away from herself, disgusted now that she knew what they were. The skeleton kept reaching out and closing her fist around it and squeezing gently and after several times of this Beth finally got what it was trying to tell her. Her eyes filled with new tears and she shook her head trying to push the ghost stone back at the skeleton. It stubbornly refused to take it or move for the matter, standing there with its empty gaze on her.

Eventually the rest of the her skeletal protectors turned their attention to her. It was quite clear what they wanted her to do. She held the stone in her palms, her tears dripping down onto the bright glowing surface. Just from holding it she could gauge the strength of it and knowing where that strength came from caused a sob to escape her lips. Her ability to pull the life energy out of things and redirect it would work just as well on the stone as it would on living bodies. The soul within the stone was still a living stone trapped forever inside until the energy was used up. Finally she nodded and started making the weary trek towards the building, the skeletons walking along side her like an grim honour guard. If she was going to do this, it had be at the right moment, it had to be done to aid Rem when he needed it most.
 
Remwald waited patiently as the lift went down past floor after floor, heading for the very bottom where he expected their boss to reside. While they could have sabotaged the elevator, both parties knew that would be largely useless. He tapped his foot as he waited, moving so the zombies would absorb some of the blunt of whatever attacks were launched through when the doors opened.

It was probably a good idea when a blast of negative energy washed over the lift when it opened. Sitting behind a desk was a girl with a brown ponytail tied up, a large book filled with eldritch writing opened up before her. The book itself was bound in flesh and looked almost as large as she was. Her brown eyes focused on the invaders, "Someone decided to finally return my messages. My friend has been waiting an awfully long time Grandfather." She looked up, as if guiding Remwald's eyes to travel to see his arch enemy.
 
Leaning against the desk was a surprisingly human figure, male in appearance and dressed in black slacks, a plain white tunic and dark purple vest. The man had long black hair pulled back to the nape of his neck and uncommonly long nails that were painted black. He was slim and close to six feet in height. The most striking thing about him was the golden eyes that immediately fixed on Rem as the door slid open. Damien had taken a liking to this form some time ago and had decided to retain it until another peaked his interest.

He was idly tapping a rapier like sword against his thigh, his eagerness to attack given away by his small fidgeting movements. "Remwald." His voice was like a seductive caress, charm being one of his more potent talents. "How wonderful to see you again." He purred, the smile on his lips not reaching his eyes at all. Only his hatred for the lich burned there. While he did not look like much of a demon, his ability to cause pain, chaos and havoc wherever he went was unrivaled in many of the planes and realms of the world.
 
Remwald snorted. "As immortal as you think you are, I shall just banish you from this plane as well. I would be worried that you had seduced my dear Granddaughter, but as the usual, you are simply just another pawn in this game of chess it seems." He walked towards them, his voice and body language seemingly calm as the lift went up to get more reinforcements. Still, the fact that he had his blades out betrayed his casualness. His hands had a small twitch to them, preparing for a long drawn out fight. He was worried, Felida had in her hands an artifact, a powerful one and he knew she was a powerful necromancer without it.

The undeads charged, only to be disintegrated with a single word from Felida. Remwald sighed and stepped forward, his voidclaw extended, ready to attempt to parry back any blow while his dagger stayed near him, hoping to repell any outright magical attacks. He launched a few quick attacks towards Damien, only for them to be pushed to the side. They started their battle, Felida content to watch her pawn engage in the battle for the moment.
 
Damien was a lightening quick opponent, sacrificing strength for the speed. His blade was thin and appeared to be a flimsy weapon to go against Remwald but it was imbued with powerful magic designed specifically to wound undead creatures. Even one light tap from the blade would leave a stinging wound or worse. Damien's movements were almost a blur as he darted in at Rem hoping to wear the old Lich down. Despite his speed Damien still had trouble landing any form of hit on Rem and eventually leaped back standing in front of the desk with a pensive expression on his face.

****

Beth, with the help of her little group, managed to get to the lift which rattled back into place just as she arrived. Two of the skeletons were at this point supporting the girl between them as she was simply too tired to remain standing any longer. The ghost stone was cradled in her hands like a precious treasure which it really was. Her mind wandered as they crowded into the lift if any god in exsistence would forgive her for what she was about to do. As the lift sunk lower she could feel the class of power beneath them and with a a deep breath she began to focus on the precious soul in her hands.
 
Remwald had much experience fighting this foe and vice versa. They were both competent swordsmen, but the problem was that now Damien had assistance. That assistance came in the form of skeletal hands from the ground, immobilizing Remwald, which given his fighting style was near lethal. He did his best to parry Damien's blows, fighting off the man thankful that his torso could turn 360 degrees, but he had suffered a blow which slowed him down.

He kept fighting although this was quickly proving to be a losing battle at this rate. More and more blows were inflicted upon him, the pain rising and he couldn't even move from where he was standing. He hoped that some assistance would arrive soon, but he knew better than to pray for a miracle in such a dire situation.
 
Energy began crackling up Beth's arms as she cupped the stone and began pulling the energy from the soul into herself. It whipped out and singed the skeletons around her as it left the stone and snaked around her wrists in electric blue tendrils. She groaned as the energy filled her to the point of pain, her eyes snapped open, glowing with the power of the soul and a low cry wavered out of her throat. She had never held so much energy at once without sending it out somewhere but this time, she was keeping it trapped in her body, swirling it in an endless loop.

When the lift clanged into position and the doors rolled open she no longer appeared to be human. Blue energy flowed over her skin and her purple eyes blazed as she stepped into the room. Beth seemed to be moving on some sort of auto pilot and didn't seem to be completely aware of what was happening. The skeletons that were with her in the lift were nothing more than charred piles of bone now.

She walked forward and turned her violet eyes on the hands clutching at Rem and keeping him in place, searing them away with a wave of power that surged outwards. It didn't appear to harm Rem but it knocked Damien flying backwards.
 
He went on the offensive, blade going for the new weakpoints in Damien's guard, getting a few blows of his own before Felida started to chant, Remwald's bones starting to stiffen and lock up. It seemed that it would be a battle of the mages protecting their designated champions. A few souls floated around Felida as little whisps, energy shot out of them towards Elizabeth, aiming to injure her as well. "You should just join the winning side cutie, it's not too late for you." She said towards Elizabeth.

Remwald and Damien seemed to be on equal footing again. Each fighting against the magics that had interfered with their fight. Remwald used his magic to try and sap the life out of Damien, only to be responded with a fireball to the face, charring his bones. They exhausted their magical and physical reserves as each thought to get through the other's guard, forcing another advantage so that way this fight could be over with quickly.
 
Beth turned that burning gaze on Felida, her face completely devoid of any emotion or response to the words the other woman had spoken. As the bolts of energy raced towards her, blue tendrils lifted off her arms and slashed them out of the air like they were nothing more the wisps of air. Somewhere inside her mind Beth knew the Felida had to go for Rem to win so she started walking towards the desk with a single-minded intensity that would scare even the most stoic warriors.

She lifted one hand and all the tendrils of energy on that arm swirled together and raced at Felida, looking as though they were aiming to impale her on a spear like point that sizzled as it whizzed through the air.
 
And with barely more then a thought, one of the souls went and absorbed the blow. Necromantic energy flowed out of her and the book, pulsing like waves of death towards Elizabeth, hoping to overwhelm the woman and devour her living essence. Felida flipped through the pages, looking for a spell that would help her get around this cursed woman. Her victory was at hand, the pawns had been laid and this queen had snuck onto the board without a warning.
 
The pure life force of the soul in Beth cancelled out the magic that Felida threw at her causing her to stop for a moment a flicker of surprise registering on the otherwise blank face of the girl. If their power cancelled each other out no amount of energy would take out Felida until her reserves were gone. Beth's eyes landed on the book, it was bolstering the other womans power making her too much of a threat. She closed her eyes and found the blackness that was the book, it pulsed inside her minds eye filled with negative energy. Alternately her own form was like a blinding light that seemed to push back the darkness from the book.

She launched the same attack again, the tendrils spinning towards Felida this time putting nearly all the energy into the attack. The blast grew larger and larger as it sped towards the woman but at the last moment, she directed the flow of energy directly into the centre of the book the Felida was using for power. Beth drove every drop of energy she had into the darkness hoping to render the artifact useless and make Felida that much weaker.

Damien still mid fight with Rem made the fatal mistake of looking at the blazing ball of blue light for a split second as it bore into the book.
 
How anti-climatic that such a fight would be ended as it was, but Damien's head was now filled with voidclaw instead of the brains that he previously had. His body disappated as he was banished from the plane for one hundred or so years. No amount of magic strong enough to allow him to break the chains that prevented him from returning until then. Remwald turned his eyes back towards the fight between the mages, noting that the book had flown off of the desk, cutting off Felida's ability to use it although it showed no sign of actual wear.

Felida screamed in rage and attempted to run away from the battle, heading towards her book and presumably some other hidden exit she had nested deeply within her lair. Remwald gave chase and attempted to catch her although he had the disadvantage of being wounded before the chase had begun. He still didn't know if he needed to slay her, beat her or what, but he did know that she was a threat.
 
With the last bit of energy left in her Beth snared Felida's legs, tripping her up long enough for Rem to catch up. As the last bit of blue light fade from her skin, the light faded from her eyes and she collapased. There wasn't any pain, just a sense of weightlessness and an eerie quietness. A quietness that lasted only a few moments before a familiar face popped up above hers. "Silly girl, you went and got yourself killed." Thea murmured, brushing Beth's hair out of her face gently. "Now Rem is going to be sad." A flash of annoyance flicked through the Shadow's face.

Beth tried to ask how she had gotten here, Rem had explained that the Shadow's couldn't leave their own realm without special circumstances. Her mouth never opened, she was unable to move at all but Thea seemed to hear the question anyways. "Your reckless use of magic tore a small hole in the realms, it would be missed by most but I've been watching you Beth." Thea smiled wickedly and traced a finger on the dying girls cheek. "You know you don't have to die here."

She looked over at Rem chasing after Felida and smiled again as Beth's eyes tracked in the same directions and filled with tears. "I know..." She murmured, petting Beth gently. "You love him so much, and now you are dying for it." Thea whispered. "But you don't need to, all you need to do is let me in Beth...there is a little bit of energy in you, you can do it. I need a body to surivive outside my world, you need a life to stay by his side." Thea cast another glance at Rem to see if he had realized what was happening yet. "Do it Beth!" She urged, placing her hands on either side of the woman's head. "Do it!"
 
Remwald hadn't noticed, the battle had been won so he assumed that she wouldn't do anything silly like try to kill herself by expending energy. He tackled Felida, his blade at her throat. He thought for a moment and nodded. What a better and more convinient way, he casted a spell, weaving his magic as he pressed the blade further and further down, slicing through her spine as the magic prepared to ensnare her soul within the book. Now, she would not be an immediate threat and she could be brought back if the circumstances dictated it.
 
Beth wanted to shout for Rem but she could literally feel her life slipping away from her. It felt as though Thea was the only thing keeping her anchored to life, she knew her Shadow's motives were entirely selfish but with death looming over her she was growing more and more terrified by the prospect. A victorious smile spread over Thea's lips as Beth closed her eyes and let her body relax, using the last little bit of energy she had to welcome the Shadow into her body. Beth never had time to consider what affect this switch would have on Rem considering she retained a piece of his soul, nor did she realize that Thea had actually been protecting that vital piece. With her shielding it, Rem wouldn't sense Beth dying or Thea being absorbed. Thea might have selfish motives but she wanted Rem and in her own twisted way loved the Lich, so she had done what she needed to, to protect his soul and keep him happy.

There was a brief moment where Thea flickered out of existence and Beth laid on the floor looking for all the world as if she were dead. With a cry of shock, she set straight up, her chest heaving as she gulped down air. There was a bizarre awareness of another's thoughts and memories in her mind and the echoing chuckle of Thea as they essentially became one soul.
 
The spell finished. He picked up the book and walked over to her. "Are you alright my sweet? That sounded as if it..." His voice trailed off as he realized what had happened. "And so my plight has been passed from one to another. The tormentor reversed but the situation alike." His voice held a tone of sadness to it, but he realized that he could presently do nothing to fix the situation. He looked around, blood spattered on the ground. They would need to destroy this place but the soul magic was effective. Cruel, but effective. Could he really speak out against it? He looked back at her, extending his hand. "Shall we go?"
 
Beth took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She couldn't make herself meet his eyes. He sounded so disappointed in her. Other than the weird sensation that she had two sets of thoughts and that was already fading, she felt no different. "Rem..." She murmured staring at her feet. She trailed off looking around at the destruction to the room. "Di...did I do this?" She asked an edge of horror creeping into her voice. "Oh god...the soul...Rem! I..." She choked on a sob as the memory of pulling the child's soul out of the ghost stone flooded back. She felt nauseous about what she had done though she knew with certainty that Thea was mildly annoyed by her behaviour and approved of what she had done this somehow made her feel even more disgusted.
 
He hugged her, patting her back. "Shhh, everyzing shall be ok. While you do now have a competitor for control of your body, you are alive. As for the soul, you did vhat jo have too. Better that one, then countless more are used and abused. Although I think the methods may be correct, it is just a matter of where to get the souls. Using a school is obviously bad, but what about a prison?" He said, his thoughts already wandering but he managed to get himself to go back to comforting. "Come now, we can sneak home and relax?"
 
Beth felt a simultaneous surge of revulsion at his suggestion of using a prison for souls and glee that he wanted to go home and relax. It put her completely off balance and all she was able to do was nod wearily and let him lead her out of the building. Outside looked like a warzone. Torn bodies and bones strewn everywhere from the fight. Beth walked beside him feeling dazed and tired from the entire event. "Rem...do you think this world is safe for now..." She asked her gaze wandering as they walked.
 
"Safe? That depends on your definition of safe. It is... unlikely... to be plagued by demons or my family for a while, but I don't think any world is safe. I also think that in the end, I don't care. I have you with me and that is all that matters. I love you Elizabeth, the world around us may burn but so long as you are near me and safe, I couldn't care less." He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before replacing his flesh, figuring that it would be more appropriate to NOT draw more attention.
 
She was quiet for a long moment after his answer. "Can we leave this world soon?" Beth asked softly, wrapping her hand around his. "I have nothing here now...and as long as I know the kids I was fighting to protect will be safe..." She shrugged. "I don't fit here now."
 
He blinks and looks at her. "I, vhat?" He was caught off guard by that. "I suppose we can, although I don't know vhere we would go." He squeezes her hand back, but continues walking, going over places they could go, things they could see. Obviously they'd need to hide the book, but that was something that could be done on their travels. "Do you know what kind of places you would like to see?"
 
The smile Beth gave him could have rivaled the sun for brightness. "Anywhere as long as you're with me." There was heartfelt sincerity in her voice and she squeezed his hand as they walked up the stairs to her apartment. They could hear the clang of alarm bells now, despite the fight taking place in the highest reaches of the city. She really didn't care where they ended up though after a moment a thought popped into her mind. "Can we go somewhere, where we can see the sky from the ground?" It was such a simple request but her world had always been filled with steam, and clouds and shadows.
 
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