A Shadow's Baptism [Holly]

[Vice Ysal]

A broken body was for the inable and weak, it was for those who could no longer stand and accepted their defeat. Such a pathetic existence didn’t merit a long life within this realm. Yet here he was, he who didn’t accept defeat and stood up against all odds, walking along the deep chasm of the Devil as every step was an impossible task and every breath harder than the last. He could feel his energy deteriorating at an astounding rate, and he was beginning to lose his sense of self. All his body knew was that it needed to keep going, that it needed to become stronger than ever. Even if the mind had long since forgotten what it needed to do, the physical incarnation of it would continue to survive by whatever means necessary. A cold focus, honed to a edge, so long as the broken body clung to it then maybe there was a chance for redemption.

The blank eyes stared off into space, his neck moving around out of habit as if to look at where he was going. Nothing registered anymore but it did so nonetheless. He could no longer see the hard packed dirt, or the stalagmites that threatened to impale him, or even the shadows that had been lingering around and simply watching his every move. He was no longer a threat like he had used to be, simply a waste of space in his current condition so much so that not even the weakest of these mindless creatures bothered with him. That was fine, his broken leg couldn’t do much nor could his unresponsive arm do anything else. Even his spirit energy was so laughably low that any of the people he had watched over could beat him without any effort on their part.

It was sickening, and slowly his anger and frustration began to build up. The glazed look in his eyes, at a snail’s pace, started to disappear. His movements becoming stronger in their presence rather than their actuality, and slowly but surely his body’s pace towards the goal he had found increased. Pain continued to wreck him but he persevered. In the back of his head, in the barely active part of his mind that was still trying to regain control, paranoia began to increase as the presence of those things continued to evolve. He didn’t know exactly what but his mind redoubled its efforts to take control over the wayward body once more.

The normally quiet emperor, the demon king whose face was usually devoid of any emotion was morphed into a cruel grin. The excited flapping of his wings and the sudden appearance of it into the world shocked his mental self. Alone, in the vastness of that space, the mental him could then hear the rattling of chains and the roars that Arondight would normally fend away. In the physical realm, the persona appeared above its user and with almost loving hands did it carry the broken body across the distance. Avoiding any and all confrontations possible before arriving at a lonely clearing. The clearing was wide enough that one could possible make use of it as some form of shelter that could house 5 entire families. Unfortunately for the scenario, a massive crater could be discovered in the middle, and within it a pool of black ichor.

Slowly, but surely, Arondight placed him right in front of it. Somehow the body had managed to gain enough strength to stand up. Pathetic in posture but he still stood. And with another mighty flap of his wings, the persona floated over to the middle of the pool. His wings, no matter how strong they flapped, did not cause a ripple in the stagnant waters. Turning around, Arondight opened his arms as if to call over his host. And as he did so, the persona began to morph. Shrinking, transforming, to the point that it looked like it was slowly devolving into its previous state. From where the winged demon was, now stood the armoured knight. The black miasma around it thicker than ever as its armour soon began to fall apart to show case just who was within it.

One by one, the metal plates revealed clothing. And as the pieces dropped into the pool of darkness beneath its feet, he could finally see. Jet black hair that reached till the shoulders, wearing a black jacket, and sporting the most malignant red eyes.

“Tell me.”

His voice echoed.

“Must we still do this?”

And in that moment, electric yellow challenged the broken red.

[Holly Mason]

Sometimes, Holly wondered why she even came out here anymore.  She didn't want to fight these things right now, she wasn't even comfortable with the idea of fighting them, but coming here meant that she was practically guaranteed to fight several.  Part of it might have been habit, but she was rarely ruled by such things.  In the end, it was likely because she wanted to understand just what it was she was fighting in the first place.  Considering how many shadows she had already slaughtered she felt like she at least owed them that much.  In the end, there was no where else she could look but out in the Shadowlands, even if that would likely get more of whatever the hell these things were killed.  

She normally explored each area in thorough chunks.  That is, once she started exploring an area she kept going until she was sure she found out just about everything she could about it.  Her current exploration target was the Devil's Descent as it was called; the large sinkhole that appeared in the Shadowlands after they were created.  Holly was pretty sure she was getting close to never having to come back here again, but there were still a few more caves she needed to check out.  Some of them were surprisingly large and took quite a bit of time to properly explore.  When she was having to deal with things attacking her, it made it difficult to just wander through the place.  Today, she was exploring one such cave.  It was business as usual for a while.  It was a cave, a boring cave with boring cave formations and the occasional shadow skittering about.  It was just like the last twenty caves she explored.  With a sigh, she continued on determined to explore every last inch of the cave even if she was pretty sure nothing would come of it.  This time she was wrong though.

Eventually, she came across a familiar face.  A familiar face that looked like total shit.  Holly didn't look around the room immediately as she was more focused on her injured friend.  She called her card to her hand and casually smashed it.  Vice and herself were both covered in a soothing light that closed any wound they had.  She was more or less fine herself, but it looked like he was in serious need of it.

"You look terrible, what happened?"

That was when she started to take in her surroundings more clearly.  The cave itself still looked like a cave, but there was a pond in the middle.  That definitely wasn't water though, it looked and smelled more like blood?  Shadow blood?  Just what the hell happened here?  Further, there was a strange figure standing in the pool of that black goo.  It seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place its origin, nor could her senses quite place what it was.  The figure was staring intently at Vice as well.  This entire situation was strange, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle it at the moment.  Holly just looked at Vice and waited for him to answer her question.  The only thing she did was let a simple phrase escape her lips.

"What the fuck...?"

[Vice Ysal]

He could feel the warmth of reality beginning to close on in him, its tender grasps gently wrapping around his person and tugging him away from the disarray of pain that his body wished to share. Gashes, scrapes, bruises, and broken bones slowly began to be mended back. The haze of pain was finally being lifted away by the timely arrival of a welcome friend yet, for one reason or another, the young man was still unresponsive. Her words couldn't reach him, a wasted effort as even the formerly winged Persona who had been watching from afar had to stop himself from laughing. The wisps of darkness began to coalesce once more, the feeling oppressive and the presence magnified as the Shadow began to take long strides towards where his Human counter part was.

"Such a helpful friend."

Its voice boomed within the cavern as it stopped a few meters away from what could be counted as the shore line for this little pool. His striking yellow eyes never left the dimming red.

"Out of everyone, He trusted you the most. Not the Scissor Wielder or The Dark One even if they seemed to be way above you. Not the Information Network either who had been the one to introduce him to all of this. I can't seem to choose whether to call this as some sick sense of irony or comedy in its purer forms." A bubbling laugh, suave and smooth, came from the chuckling Shadow. "Yet it is still so unfortunate that you weren't important enough."

And suddenly, Vice's body began to move forward. His torn foot wear making contact with the viscous black liquid before beginning to submerge itself. Slowly, the human continued to walk forward. "Never enough, always so little. No matter how far he wanted to go, he always fell short of his destination. To one who thrives in destroying his obstacles, it must be one of a kind of frustration to suddenly become an invalid. Unable to even defend himself from the weakest enemies." By this point, Vice's body had finally found itself to be knee deep in the ichor. The ripples he was creating with each move becoming smaller and smaller as the distance grew.

"He wanted power, and so much of it. To break free from the very shackles that held him back, is it so much to ask for a speck of true freedom? Oh do not worry, Holly. You did what you could after all. Without hesitation, throwing yourself into an unknown situation." And a sardonic smile threatened to split the Shadow's face into two, a smile so befitting for those who knew of Vice.

"But it doesn't matter anymore."

Those words were uttered as silence began to envelop the cavern, the only noise becoming the sloshing of the ichor around as Vice finally reached waist deep into his submerging. His Shadow knelt down in front of him, seemingly staying afloat of the surface despite clearing being heavy. Almost lovingly did the Shadow cup Vice's cheek, observing it as if for the last time before closing his eyes.

"I Am A Shadow."

"And I Am The True Self."

And it was with an effortless brandishing of Vice's hand, blood seeping through the clothing as an elongated spike could be seen retreating back where Vice's heart should have been. Falling into Vice's arms, the ichor around them then began to shake as the Shadow's presence began to warp the energy left behind by its counter part. Almost melancholic did the Shadow appear, the grimace on his face open for all to see as he laid the corpse to rest upon the black water. There was no visible change, as the Shadow finally tore away its mask.

"Unbind ourselves from all limits and soar freely." Looking down upon the only User left within the vicinity, Vice tilted his head in almost-askance. "What will you do now?"

[Holly Mason]

The figure started rambling about some nonsense about their relationship.  Of course it was that way, she never thought it was otherwise, after all she was the best damn support out there.  She was there when he awakened to his persona.  She was there for many difficult battles, both before and after his awakening.  She made him stronger than anyone else ever could.  So, her initial mental response was 'well duh,' but it didn't take long for her to realize that something was wrong.

First off, why the hell was this thing speaking for Vice?  It's not like what he said even answered her question, and what it did say was oddly sinister.  It was like it was taunting her.  Holly just raised one of her eyebrows, not particularly caring for now.  About the only thing that bothered her was how accurate its words were, but even then, besides the taunting (which could easily be made up) everything else it said was just obvious at least to her.  The more concerning part was her unresponsive friend.  She was a little relieved when he finally stood up and started moving again, but it quickly faded once she realized where he was going.  She took a few steps forward and grabbed the collar of his jacket.  

"Oh come on, don't go there.  That's just disgusting."

It was then that the figure's words started to sink in.  Vice remained completely unresponsive despite her physically touching him.  Even though he wasn't moving that fast or pulling that hard, she found herself unable to hold onto his collar.  It was like all strength in her arms left her, like they were going numb.  Her expression was more one of confusion than sadness.  Before he reached the center, her senses seemed to recognize just what that figure was.  Holly still didn't completely understand what was going on, but she understood enough.  She closed her eyes and looked down even before the shlurk of the spike echoed through the cave.  She opened her eyes slightly to look at the scene, to burn it into her memory.  Her expression remained somber for only a moment before she looked up at the shadow with an oddly curious expression.  

"The true self?  You're going to have to be more specific.  What exactly are you?"

As she spoke her body was enveloped in several bright colors, making her faster, stronger and tougher.  Given the nature of those buffs, it was an indication that she was completely prepared to fight.  Whether she intended to regardless of whether the shadow answered her questions was another thing entirely, and that action could be interpreted either way.  Same with her more deliberate casting of Debilitate.  While her colors strengthened her, the colors around the shadow weakened it.

The truth was, she didn't care if it attacked right now, but she intended to beat some answers out of it regardless.  If it liked taunting her that much, it was just a matter of finding the right words.

[Vice Ysal]

"I am who He is, who He was, and who He will be. He's a very honest individual, even if his actions and personality may say otherwise. At least to me he was."

The Shadow shook his head, as if to show the melancholy of having to kill his Human. Still, with how things were going, this would most likely be the best ending. He wouldn't have lived much longer anyway, even if the injuries were well within the abilities of the other users to heal, the damage was something much more severe than something as superficial as broken bones and gouges after all. The Shadow also raised an eyebrow when the familiar rings finally began to appear between both him and his so-called opponent. He wasn't exactly feeling up to a fight right now but with how things were going, it looked like he'd have to make do without getting a chance to practice out in this human-like shadow form he had chosen to be.

"So this is what all those shadows kept feeling whenever the two of you fought. Heh, no wonder the two of you never failed, even when He was just a Normal."

And suddenly, the Shadow was already trying to make use of what power he had at his disposable. It started with him feeling out the available moves and decided to try and test the waters with what his Human always loved using. Raising his hand into the air, a massive ball of pure energy swirling into a ball, the Shadow then brought his hand down and personally commanded the attack to fly on over at his opponent.

---

Action: Black Viper
Roll If Miss

YxTG8nSX1-5
The attack misses if it's a 1.1-5

[Holly Mason]

Holly watched him prepare his attack and quickly realized it was not going to hit her.  Rather than moving, she just boredly watched the attack hit just to the left of her, destroying some of the stalagmites near er.

"Nice shot.  Stop with the cryptic psychological nonsense.  If you're as 'honest' as you claim then give me a straight answer.  You were obviously not the same thing as he was because he was human and you are not.  Where did you come from?  Why did you want to kill yourself if you really are the same as you claim?  What exactly are you, what are shadows in general?"

As she spoke she flipped a knife into her hand, summoned her card and slashed it.  More colored rings appeared around the shadow weakening it further.  Even if it was supposedly the same as her former comrade (something she was a bit skeptical about given his apparent love for taunting her) she couldn't really see the shadow as anything more than a thing.  Perhaps it was just the anger or grief messing with her perception of things considering how much it contradicted with her recent view of shadows, but she didn't care.  She wasn't thinking about it right now.

Action: Debilitate

[Vice Ysal]

There were two possibilities as to why the earlier attack had gone astray by so much. The first was that despite having access to all of the power he had right now, he couldn't just quite control it well due to the transition from facet to reality. Or it was the debilitate that Holly was putting on him that was causing such a reaction. Well, in either way, the Shadow decided to try and get as much practice as he can even if it meant taking a whole lot of hits and getting injured.

This all served a purpose anyway, and the sooner he found the tell tale signs of battle on himself, the easier he'll be able to adapt in the near future. Returning back to the fight, the Shadow decided to bank on at least making his hits count. He was sure now that he was going to be missing a lot if only because of Debilitate so instead of wasting every chance he got into firing a shot that would most likely miss, he'd just charge them up before throwing them out to try and deal as much damage for when they do hit…without tiring himself completely. Black Viper's weren't exactly cheap on the spiritual energy.

---

Action: Mind Charge

[Holly Mason]

"I was expecting an answer to those questions.  I know I have that affect on people, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt," she spun her knife and cast Debilitate once more.  "Last chance."

That was the final stack of Debilitate.  If he cooperated she had several other buffs she could use to stall for time, but considering how cooperative it was being so far she wasn't counting on having to use it.  As she waited for his answer, she continued twirling one of her knives between her fingers and stared directly into his eyes.  There was more she could say, but there wasn't much point in doing so.  For now, she would just wait for the powerful attack he was preparing for.  Maybe if he was lucky he'd actually hit her this time.

Action: Debilitate

[Vice Ysal]

"Ahah, honesty? Oh that much is true about me. I just don't particularly feel like speaking for the time being since I have no reason to."

The Shadow retorted, the tired ending of his at the end of his statement a bit more pronounced than anything else. He had to push himself a bit harder this time, even if the fight had just technically begun, it still felt as if he was continuously leaking power still due to the recent transition.

"If you can give me a valid reason, an intelligent one, then maybe I might talk. Other wise, just have fun standing there while I go miss a couple more shots in my current attempt at dissuading you from coming any closer."

---

Action: Mind Charged Black Viper

_CMuLNQ_1-5 Miss if it's 1-3.1-5

[Holly Mason]

His shot off his powerful attack, but once again it was obvious it wasn't going to come anywhere near her.  Rather than waste her effort moving, she just folded her arms again and looked off to the side to watch it hit the ground a good distance from her.  The shock waves made her coat billow a little, but even a breeze could do that.  With her eyebrows raised she turned back to the shadow, flipped her knife upward and threw it at the shadow.  Considering how fast she was thanks to her auto-buff and how slow and clumsy he was thanks to her hexes he was practically a sitting duck here.  She didn't even have to try to aim.  If anything, the way she threw the knife and her expression made it look like she was doing this more to scold a bad dog than beat a terrifying enemy.

"Like I even have to get closer.  At least you're doing an excellent job at the missing part so you can be proud of yourself for something."  Holly just shook her head, not taking her eyes off the shadow.  "What, the fact that I'm supposedly your best friend and that I'm trying to understand you isn't good enough?  I mean, trying to understand each other is why words and communication exist in the first place."

She readied a few more knives in her off hand and started twirling one in her throwing hand once again.  Once again, Holly stared directly into the shadows eyes and waited for an answer.  One way or another, she would get what she wanted.  She always did.

Action: Level 5 knife attack, major pierce damage, amplified by x1 tarukaja and x3 rakunda, mute roll skipped due to Unshaken Will

[Vice Ysal]

This wasn't going to work. Things were still fluctuating in and out of everything, and not to mention that his energy levels were constantly dropping even without the debilitate already making him feel that much weaker. So what, was he already going to retreat? It was a solution to this little problem. Maybe, could be. Even if his right shoulder was already feeling the pain of getting a knife lodged in there, quite a bit of pain actually, the shadow just, for the most part, ripped it off and threw it back to the black pool of ichor beneath his feet.

"So what is it do you want to understand? How this comes about? Why my Human had to die? Why this goddamn world revolves the way that the strong command it? There are so many things that he didn't know, and just because I'm something completely different and at the same time the same, doesn't mean anything. Shadows? We come from humans. Death? It's a necessary transition."

The shadow spat out, vision fluctuating out of course again and a sudden drop in the amount of energy he had control over. At this rate, he wouldn't even be able to cast out the weakest of spells available to him. But, not yet. Just a bit more. Something was happening, something was happening and he didn't have the faintest clue of what it was. Stall for time? Maybe. Try and keep the battle going, would that help? Doubtful.

---

Action: Defend

[Holly Mason]

Holly stared at him for a moment with an expression between irritation and apathy, continuing to twirl a knife in her fingers.  She was unhappy with that answer, very unhappy, but it was a start.  She didn't want it to run away just yet, so she would throw him a bone for the time being.  She continued staring directly into its eyes.  Rather than hitting it again, she opted to cast Sukukaja on herself.  Her body was bathed in a green glow and now she was even harder to hit than before.

"I thought I said to stop with the cryptic bullshit.  I'm not looking for a short, pithy, or clever answer, I'm looking for a fucking encyclopedia entry.  Tell me everything you know.  EVERYTHING.  Start with shadows.  If you're not sure where to start just remember my previous questions.  Have I made myself clear enough for you to understand now or do I still have to beat it through that thick skull of yours?"

[Vice Ysal]

"Cryptic bullshit? An encyclopaedic entry? I've told you what I bloody can! You of all people should understand how the process works when gathering intelligence! It isn't given to you, you fight for the hell of it to get everything it is you need then! Do you want me to feed you lies? Do you want me to feed you gestulations and estimates of what could be completely false?! If you were fine with that, then I wouldn't even be bothering staying here! What you don't understand is that there is no such definition! At least, none that I know of yet. I pilfered his memories, I'm searching through them to find clues. There are other shadows in the city, and they've definitely lived longer than I. Find them, ask them these questions because all I can answer for you now is that…"

"He wasn't content. He was weak, and he was too incompetent to ever bring about anything he wanted. He wanted an out, he didn't have a reason to stay like he was. Bonds? Relationships? No one mattered enough to make him consider fighting me off! You should have known…but I guess you weren't there enough."

---

Action: Defend.

[Holly Mason]

"Bullshit, you expect me to believe you don't even know what you are?  You already said you have somewhat of an understanding of where you came from.  I am just asking for the details, but you keep insisting on speaking in riddles.  If you are so incapable of explaining anything then I'll do my best to make it easy for you.  If you can't even handle simple questions then you're of no use to me anyway."

Holly thought for a moment.  She needed to be exceedingly specific or this thing wouldn't understand otherwise.  She continued twirling the life in her hand, and slashed at her card with one of the knives in her off hand, once again casting Sukukaja on herself, making out her agility completely.

"You have described yourself as both 'the true self' and as being the same as him and as being different from him.  Start there.  What exactly did you mean?"

[Vice Ysal]

"I'm a shadow. Physiology speaking, along with how we live, we're completely two different beings. Going on from that, I'm everything he never wanted to show to the world. I'm his deepest secret, his only companion, and the facet he wanted to be in society."

"But he couldn't be that, he couldn't handle not having the favour of everyone he knew. He cared too much about what people thought of him, to use for his gains. Me? I could give less of a damn about that…but he wasn't wrong. He understood the importance of reputation better than most but living everyday…being someone who he wasn't? That was something else entirely. In regards to being the same? Well, like I said, I'm what he is deep down. "

---

Action: Defend.