09-26-2017, 05:02 AM
A brilliant flash of light and a concussive blast from the Darkloid assaulted Summer’s senses. Blinding white filled his vision and an explosive ringing sang in his ears, both of which quickly began to fade away. White let up into the dim black of a cavern, its rocky walls illuminated only by the faint glow of a pedestal, standing ominously in front of the storm spirit. Summer took one cautious step forward, the quiet thump of his boot on stone cutting through the otherwise cruel silence, followed slowly by another.
Affixed to the side of the pedestal was a golden placard with three small symbols engraved upon it, barely visible under the weak glow. 嵐 and 晴天 , arashi and seiten, storm and clear sky. Doing his best to ignore the kanji, the youkai’s eyes wandered slightly to the side, falling upon the word “Choose!” roughly carved into the side, and the up to the top of the pedestal, where a single Darkchip lay.
Nice, isn’t it?
The stagnant air of the cavern stirred into a faint breeze and whispered its words into Summer’s ears, before falling still again. He suddenly stood bolt upright, electricity crackling through his arms as he swivelled around, searching desperately for the source of the voice.
Well, I suppose you can’t tell. Yet.
Another calm gust swept to life, muttering in a way only the spirit of the weather understood. Summer stopped in his tracks, facing the back of the cave, but kept his fists up warily.
I’ve never been the best when it comes to matters of technology. I’ve been improving though.
“Show yourself,” the storm spirit hissed, eyes darting around every visible nook and crevice.
Gladly.
The ethereal voice took on a more muffled tone, masked by the cloud of fog slowly coalescing around him. Light from the pedestal diffused through the layer of fog, spilling its radiant glow across every corner of the cavern, and for once the room almost felt inviting. Shadows flitted through the ubiquitous glimmer, all diving together in a manner that almost seemed solid, quickly building up into the form of a humanoid silhouette in the haze. Summer gritted his teeth, the electrical current running through his body falling off. This wasn’t an enemy he could punch.
Hello, Arashi.
The voice said, muffled through the fog and placing extra emphasis on the name.
“Nice to meet you, mysterious silhouette.” Summer growled, every muscle tensed and ready for action.
And you too, Seiten. I know you’re hidden somewhere in there.
“The pleasure is mine,” Sonny said politely.
“I thought one hint would be enough.” The storm spirit spoke once he was sure his other half was done talking. “Who the hell are you?”
Getting impatient, are we?
The shadowy figure suddenly disappeared, leaving only its echoing voice.
Too impatient, I’d say.
Suddenly its voice was right in the split spirit’s ear. Summer whipped around, swinging a powerful haymaker towards the noise. His fist cut through the fog, but found no victim. He caught himself, stepping hard into the ground to stop his turn, and now found himself facing the pedestal, where the silhouette was now standing. Despite the light emanating off of it, the shadow remained untouched, almost solid in its presence.
“That’s what I always say!” Sonny responded, stealing his voice for a bit. “He’s always rushing ahead with no regard for anything, leaving messes in his wake that I have to clean up!”
You’re not perfect either, Seiten. You know that as well as I do. So slow, so cautious, so... patient.
Sonny grumbled something under his breath in response to that, soon falling silent.
You see, I am you. The true you that’s been suppressed all these centuries. The you that’s been sitting back, trapped and split, ever since that damned magician tore you apart.
Summer shifted on his feet slightly, raising an eyebrow and listening intently.
I am the whole you, what you can become here, in the Omniverse. You can become me again.
“What’s the catch?” The storm spirit asked warily, lifting his chin up slightly.
There is no “catch.” This is a power you can take freely. Just take the chip and it will all be yours again.
The silhouette flickered, and suddenly it was standing behind the pedestal, still as shadowy as ever.
Go on. You know you want this power again. The full power of the weather at your beck and call. You will never have to squabble over storms or sun again. You will never have to clean up each other’s messes, because for the first time in centuries. You will be whole again.
It’s last words boomed out, grandiose promises shaking the very foundation of the cavern.
“And all I need to do is take the chip, huh?” Summer mumbled, wading forward through the fog, eyes fixed on the prize. A small burning sensation sprang to life in his chest, spreading a small blossom of warmth through his blood. He placed hand and stump on either side of the pedestal and stared down at the tiny, electronic device. “Just take the chip and that power I’ve been missing will be mine again?”
“That’s uh...” Sonny mumbled, pausing for a moment. A small bit of power tore itself free from Summer, materializing outside of his body as gaseous light. The weak, silvery glow that suffused the cavern brightened tremendously, and suddenly it was as though they were in a world of bright, white clouds. “That’s what he said.” The sun spirit took shape where the shadowy figure had been not moments before.
“Of course it’d be so easy,” Summer spat, marble cracking beneath his fingers. “Centuries of research and toil, trying every trick in the book we know just to dissolve this split, all those different magics we dabbled in to no avail. We’ve consulted with and killed people, monsters, hell, even gods, living a dangerous life that finally came back to kill me at the hands of that god damned squirrel. And you’re telling me all that work I put in is completely pointless just because you happen to have some random, hacked-together piece of metal and plastic on hand that can resolve all this!?” The edge of the pedestal shattered completely under his rage-fueled grasp. He raised his good hand high above the Darkchip.
Don’t!
“Summer!”
Two voices barked simultaneously, one corporeal and one ethereal, just before he threw his fist at the computer chip. A flash of light enveloped both the device and the hand, draining all the strength out of the strike. His fist bounced uselessly off the pedestal.
“Think. This. Through.” Sonny growled, one hand raised. It was his energy-dispersing magic that had saved the chip. For now. “Look, it might not sound pleasing to you, but think about it. This could be our chance. Who knows how long it could take us to fix the split on our own. Our whole life has been leading up to this point. We’ve fought tooth and claw to get this far, we’ve died and reborn, we’ve made ourselves interesting enough to Omni that he plucked us out of our home and dropped us here. It’s been a journey of two thousand years, but here we are. It’s brought us right to our way out. We can’t let this opportunity slip by us.”
Yes, listen to your light of reason, Arashi. Don’t let your rashness cloud your thoughts.
“You listen here, Sonny.” Summer hissed his other half’s name. “Sure, this is an easy way out, a nice little shortcut to get us out easily, but look at the facts. We’ve seen first hand what these things do to people. If we take this, not only are we indebted towards the very things we’ve been beating back, it will turn us into one of them. We might get a fleeting taste of our old power back, but at the cost of our freedom, the cost of ourselves. We are Summer Murdoch, spirit of the storms and the sun, spirit of the winds, of the blue sky. In all our centuries of living, we haven’t bowed to anyone, not Kings, not Emperors, not Deities, not even the Old Gods themselves. We are not going to bend the knee to some nebulous, unknown entity just because he tempted us a bit.”
“Do you want a repeat of the hero’s graveyard, Summer?” Sonny shot back in a pointed tone, leaning in even closer. “We had a chance there, we could have seen what happens when a split even stronger than our own breaks. We could have witnessed the Spirit, who was broken into five god damn pieces return to one. And you blew it. You got hungry, you abandoned Amaterasu, of all people, you went off gallivanting on your own, and you got us killed, again. We have a second chance right here, in our grasp, and you’re about to completely ruin it again. Think. About. It. We might not have a third chance. This could very well be it for us.”
“Would you fucking listen to me for once!” Summer planted his hands on both sides of his other half’s face and dragged him even closer. “If we take that, we won’t be us anymore. We’ll become Nebula’s dog. Mindless. Loyal. Always ready to do whatever master says. Sure, it might take us another two thousand year journey to find our answers, but at the end of that journey, we’ll still be us. We don’t need to rely on a bunch of silly, wannabe demon lords to figure this out. Got it?”
“Hm... fine...” Sonny mumbled through squished cheeks.
“Great!” Like flipping a switch, suddenly the storm spirit’s voice was cheery. And just to punctuate his point, he yanked down with all his might. His other half’s head slammed against the chip and pedestal with a monstrous cracking sound. Metal and stone shrapnel exploded every which way as the sheer amount of force behind that bony bludgeon shattered the Darkchip and its display. Sonny’s body was rent apart in an instant, dissolving into a glowing mist that flowed back into Summer.
Fool! You could’ve had it all.
The ethereal voice hissed, echoing through its fog.
“Terms and conditions may apply.” Summer added on with an unnatural coldness to his voice, straightening right back up. “Come on. You’re me, you should know how to press my buttons better than that. Y’know, if you really are me, then I pity you. All that power, and it’s pointless because you can’t rampage of your own accord.” A chill welled up in the spirit’s body. “So, let me put you out of your misery.”
You can’t kill yourself, Arashi.
The mysterious, incorporeal voice suddenly had a note of panic in it.
“Watch me.” He stated. A frigid wind rushed out from the winter spirit’s body. All at once, the mist in the air froze, clumping together in large, icy lumps on every surface they could. Including the supposed silhouette. Thick ice swiftly froze and layered over the black form, clinging solidly in spite of its attempts to run. Its movements quickly ground to a halt as a durable coating of ice froze its joints in place, and all of a sudden, it just collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud clatter.
“That was rather cold of you, Summer.” Sonny said after a moment, voice monotonous.
“What can I say, I’m not an ice person,” the spirit shot back, brushing frost off of his jacket.
“Icy...” He dragged out the ‘ee’ sound.
“Well, now you snow...” Summer carefully stepped towards the door, doing his best not to slide on the layer of ice on the ground, or trip over the frozen corpse. “It was really ice of him to provide that fog. Couldn’t have killed him otherwise... Wait I already used that one.”
“That aside.... Thanks, Summer. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Sometimes you need clouds. ‘Else you get blinded by the light."
“I suppose so.”
Affixed to the side of the pedestal was a golden placard with three small symbols engraved upon it, barely visible under the weak glow. 嵐 and 晴天 , arashi and seiten, storm and clear sky. Doing his best to ignore the kanji, the youkai’s eyes wandered slightly to the side, falling upon the word “Choose!” roughly carved into the side, and the up to the top of the pedestal, where a single Darkchip lay.
Nice, isn’t it?
The stagnant air of the cavern stirred into a faint breeze and whispered its words into Summer’s ears, before falling still again. He suddenly stood bolt upright, electricity crackling through his arms as he swivelled around, searching desperately for the source of the voice.
Well, I suppose you can’t tell. Yet.
Another calm gust swept to life, muttering in a way only the spirit of the weather understood. Summer stopped in his tracks, facing the back of the cave, but kept his fists up warily.
I’ve never been the best when it comes to matters of technology. I’ve been improving though.
“Show yourself,” the storm spirit hissed, eyes darting around every visible nook and crevice.
Gladly.
The ethereal voice took on a more muffled tone, masked by the cloud of fog slowly coalescing around him. Light from the pedestal diffused through the layer of fog, spilling its radiant glow across every corner of the cavern, and for once the room almost felt inviting. Shadows flitted through the ubiquitous glimmer, all diving together in a manner that almost seemed solid, quickly building up into the form of a humanoid silhouette in the haze. Summer gritted his teeth, the electrical current running through his body falling off. This wasn’t an enemy he could punch.
Hello, Arashi.
The voice said, muffled through the fog and placing extra emphasis on the name.
“Nice to meet you, mysterious silhouette.” Summer growled, every muscle tensed and ready for action.
And you too, Seiten. I know you’re hidden somewhere in there.
“The pleasure is mine,” Sonny said politely.
“I thought one hint would be enough.” The storm spirit spoke once he was sure his other half was done talking. “Who the hell are you?”
Getting impatient, are we?
The shadowy figure suddenly disappeared, leaving only its echoing voice.
Too impatient, I’d say.
Suddenly its voice was right in the split spirit’s ear. Summer whipped around, swinging a powerful haymaker towards the noise. His fist cut through the fog, but found no victim. He caught himself, stepping hard into the ground to stop his turn, and now found himself facing the pedestal, where the silhouette was now standing. Despite the light emanating off of it, the shadow remained untouched, almost solid in its presence.
“That’s what I always say!” Sonny responded, stealing his voice for a bit. “He’s always rushing ahead with no regard for anything, leaving messes in his wake that I have to clean up!”
You’re not perfect either, Seiten. You know that as well as I do. So slow, so cautious, so... patient.
Sonny grumbled something under his breath in response to that, soon falling silent.
You see, I am you. The true you that’s been suppressed all these centuries. The you that’s been sitting back, trapped and split, ever since that damned magician tore you apart.
Summer shifted on his feet slightly, raising an eyebrow and listening intently.
I am the whole you, what you can become here, in the Omniverse. You can become me again.
“What’s the catch?” The storm spirit asked warily, lifting his chin up slightly.
There is no “catch.” This is a power you can take freely. Just take the chip and it will all be yours again.
The silhouette flickered, and suddenly it was standing behind the pedestal, still as shadowy as ever.
Go on. You know you want this power again. The full power of the weather at your beck and call. You will never have to squabble over storms or sun again. You will never have to clean up each other’s messes, because for the first time in centuries. You will be whole again.
It’s last words boomed out, grandiose promises shaking the very foundation of the cavern.
“And all I need to do is take the chip, huh?” Summer mumbled, wading forward through the fog, eyes fixed on the prize. A small burning sensation sprang to life in his chest, spreading a small blossom of warmth through his blood. He placed hand and stump on either side of the pedestal and stared down at the tiny, electronic device. “Just take the chip and that power I’ve been missing will be mine again?”
“That’s uh...” Sonny mumbled, pausing for a moment. A small bit of power tore itself free from Summer, materializing outside of his body as gaseous light. The weak, silvery glow that suffused the cavern brightened tremendously, and suddenly it was as though they were in a world of bright, white clouds. “That’s what he said.” The sun spirit took shape where the shadowy figure had been not moments before.
“Of course it’d be so easy,” Summer spat, marble cracking beneath his fingers. “Centuries of research and toil, trying every trick in the book we know just to dissolve this split, all those different magics we dabbled in to no avail. We’ve consulted with and killed people, monsters, hell, even gods, living a dangerous life that finally came back to kill me at the hands of that god damned squirrel. And you’re telling me all that work I put in is completely pointless just because you happen to have some random, hacked-together piece of metal and plastic on hand that can resolve all this!?” The edge of the pedestal shattered completely under his rage-fueled grasp. He raised his good hand high above the Darkchip.
Don’t!
“Summer!”
Two voices barked simultaneously, one corporeal and one ethereal, just before he threw his fist at the computer chip. A flash of light enveloped both the device and the hand, draining all the strength out of the strike. His fist bounced uselessly off the pedestal.
“Think. This. Through.” Sonny growled, one hand raised. It was his energy-dispersing magic that had saved the chip. For now. “Look, it might not sound pleasing to you, but think about it. This could be our chance. Who knows how long it could take us to fix the split on our own. Our whole life has been leading up to this point. We’ve fought tooth and claw to get this far, we’ve died and reborn, we’ve made ourselves interesting enough to Omni that he plucked us out of our home and dropped us here. It’s been a journey of two thousand years, but here we are. It’s brought us right to our way out. We can’t let this opportunity slip by us.”
Yes, listen to your light of reason, Arashi. Don’t let your rashness cloud your thoughts.
“You listen here, Sonny.” Summer hissed his other half’s name. “Sure, this is an easy way out, a nice little shortcut to get us out easily, but look at the facts. We’ve seen first hand what these things do to people. If we take this, not only are we indebted towards the very things we’ve been beating back, it will turn us into one of them. We might get a fleeting taste of our old power back, but at the cost of our freedom, the cost of ourselves. We are Summer Murdoch, spirit of the storms and the sun, spirit of the winds, of the blue sky. In all our centuries of living, we haven’t bowed to anyone, not Kings, not Emperors, not Deities, not even the Old Gods themselves. We are not going to bend the knee to some nebulous, unknown entity just because he tempted us a bit.”
“Do you want a repeat of the hero’s graveyard, Summer?” Sonny shot back in a pointed tone, leaning in even closer. “We had a chance there, we could have seen what happens when a split even stronger than our own breaks. We could have witnessed the Spirit, who was broken into five god damn pieces return to one. And you blew it. You got hungry, you abandoned Amaterasu, of all people, you went off gallivanting on your own, and you got us killed, again. We have a second chance right here, in our grasp, and you’re about to completely ruin it again. Think. About. It. We might not have a third chance. This could very well be it for us.”
“Would you fucking listen to me for once!” Summer planted his hands on both sides of his other half’s face and dragged him even closer. “If we take that, we won’t be us anymore. We’ll become Nebula’s dog. Mindless. Loyal. Always ready to do whatever master says. Sure, it might take us another two thousand year journey to find our answers, but at the end of that journey, we’ll still be us. We don’t need to rely on a bunch of silly, wannabe demon lords to figure this out. Got it?”
“Hm... fine...” Sonny mumbled through squished cheeks.
“Great!” Like flipping a switch, suddenly the storm spirit’s voice was cheery. And just to punctuate his point, he yanked down with all his might. His other half’s head slammed against the chip and pedestal with a monstrous cracking sound. Metal and stone shrapnel exploded every which way as the sheer amount of force behind that bony bludgeon shattered the Darkchip and its display. Sonny’s body was rent apart in an instant, dissolving into a glowing mist that flowed back into Summer.
Fool! You could’ve had it all.
The ethereal voice hissed, echoing through its fog.
“Terms and conditions may apply.” Summer added on with an unnatural coldness to his voice, straightening right back up. “Come on. You’re me, you should know how to press my buttons better than that. Y’know, if you really are me, then I pity you. All that power, and it’s pointless because you can’t rampage of your own accord.” A chill welled up in the spirit’s body. “So, let me put you out of your misery.”
You can’t kill yourself, Arashi.
The mysterious, incorporeal voice suddenly had a note of panic in it.
“Watch me.” He stated. A frigid wind rushed out from the winter spirit’s body. All at once, the mist in the air froze, clumping together in large, icy lumps on every surface they could. Including the supposed silhouette. Thick ice swiftly froze and layered over the black form, clinging solidly in spite of its attempts to run. Its movements quickly ground to a halt as a durable coating of ice froze its joints in place, and all of a sudden, it just collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud clatter.
“That was rather cold of you, Summer.” Sonny said after a moment, voice monotonous.
“What can I say, I’m not an ice person,” the spirit shot back, brushing frost off of his jacket.
“Icy...” He dragged out the ‘ee’ sound.
“Well, now you snow...” Summer carefully stepped towards the door, doing his best not to slide on the layer of ice on the ground, or trip over the frozen corpse. “It was really ice of him to provide that fog. Couldn’t have killed him otherwise... Wait I already used that one.”
“That aside.... Thanks, Summer. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Sometimes you need clouds. ‘Else you get blinded by the light."
“I suppose so.”
Quote:2000 Words exact
![[Image: ZpWQiiu.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/ZpWQiiu.gif)