Here We Go Again![Closed]

[Validus Recubo]

Even amidst the desecrated world, its chaos and agonizing cry of the damned as reaching far beyond the heavens themselves... all of this, was nothing compared to the rampaging struggle of her mind as the hybrid desperately tried to find a meaning to his words... his terrible gaze saw it clear as day, a longing which he knew all to well, the hunger for meaning.
Such a peculiar thing... to see within this girl the very same thing which he had sought for aeons beyond counting, a need for answers, purpose.
Alas she would find none from the beast hovering before her, did he have the answers she sought... perhaps... perhaps not, either way she was not prepared... not yet.
The woman would have to solve this riddle and more for herself... or fall alongside the world she guarded with such unfaltering zeal.

Thus in response to her startled demeanour the white devil took this opportunity, and once again his monstrous form vanished from all sight, only to reappear mere inches behind her. Floating back to back, his broad wings spread out... the beast did not attack.. Nor did he act in a manner threatening to the young hybrid….. not yet. His terrible gazed merely seemed content to watch the flickering stars of this endless void, the yellow hue of his fiendish eyes glistening with their silvery light. Encroached in thought... the white devil spoke at last.

'Tell me woman... do you dream while you sleep, or is it merely an escape from the horrors of reality? The stars sweep their chill currents that make men shiver in the dark.... you feel it... as do all who dwell within the universe... the end beckons... the end of all things is close at hand.... you know this.'

Pausing a moment... The monstrous being thus raised his clawed hand up in front of him, as the spark of yet another gathering of his terrible power manifested itself with its ominous emerald light... growing steadily... the crushing energies manifesting itself within his demonic clutch, with his inhuman eyes carefully observing every flicker as the torrents of power shifted before his terrifying glance.

'Beneath the shadow of It's terrible being, there is no light.. no mercy.. only void, and the chaos within.... and before It, all shall fade.
You... are the key... Amoura Ethelia... you are the link.'

As Validus continued to embark yet more cryptic words upon the hybrid, the gathering of power was now complete, as the very void of space seemed to twist and bend around the strange oscillations of energy emanating from within his claws... a most difficult task, as this clearly was a concentration of power that neither one had ever dared to dabble in thus far… alas… it was necessary, a tool needed for the final lesson he would force upon her. It’s purpose becoming all to clear as the cold callous voice of the devil was heard yet again.

‘For that very reason... you must evolve… you cling to life as if it actually matters.... In the face of It’s coming… life is as insignificant as a corn in the desert sands…in this you lack one fundamental part of your being which must be ascertained.…’

Thus Validus broke off his words, as he with one flick of his grand black wings he ascended slightly above her, turning round to face his foe… his arm stretched out with the crackling orb of his crushing emerald energy seething viciously within the palm of his hand, a hand which was pointed directly at the planet below…. and the woman… standing directly in his path. Thus the fulcrum of his intent struck her, a weight so terrible it rivalled the vastness of the universe
Thus…. as the terrible burden of the choice was made all to clear to the young vampiress.. Validus gave one last cryptic offering, his gaze as stone cold as the tone of his voice. Uncaring that within his hand, was held the very fate of an entire world, as both judge and executioner.

‘Sacrifice….’

As that singular word rung hollow within this realm of space, a whisper.. on the edge of hearing seemed to manifest itself within the mind of the startled hybrid. A voice with no origin… but the vast nothingness of space, as if having travelled for time immemorial.

A sacrifice of blood is what it demands for the cleansing of this world…

‘This planet is not yet beyond saving… and millions beyond counting still inhabit its desolate soil. Alas….attempt to save them, and take the full force of my power… you to shall perish.. and if you perish, this world is doomed, the link severed… and all that you know and love, shall suffer and die beneath the ravages of the end.
This is the choice bestowed upon you now Amoura Ethelia… choose life… choose death…. The death of but one planet, or the end of all things….’

The dreaded sphere of swirling energy thus spun round and round at an increased rate, as the crackles of energy grew in turn… and finally… the blast came. The terrible ray of destruction was shot forth, as chaos incarnate was now headed directly for the planet below, with Amoura....being the only thing standing in the way of complete annihilation… with his three final words left to fade into the cold dark chasm of space.

‘Make your choice…’

[Silver Eyes]

Now this was getting ridiculous. The end of all things? Her being a link? He chose now of all times to speak of this while the planet below them, the only means to keep them from being ripped apart by the vastness of space, was nearing its own end? And he was calling her foolish.

"So, let me get this straight, I'm the key to ending the universe?" Amoura scoffed, "Not likely." It further explains why Validus tried to kill her but that's what puzzled her even further. Amoura may possess enough power to eradicate a planet but this supposed future was too far fetched. The White Devil had to be confused. And if his words rang with truth she'll figure it out at a later date.

The mention of people still alive on what remained of the planet got her attention right away as did his "proposal" if it could even be dubbed as one. What could she do? Should she run or attempt to save those innocent lives?

‘Make your choice…’

It was heading to her but what made her second guess were the panicked screams coming from the survivors.

"I..."

Closer.

"...have made my choice."

Amoura flew off to the side to avoid the attack and Validus will watch as a portal flared open, swallowing it whole and saving the planet from a gruesome end. Just when all thought it was over, it wasn't. Portals opened in front and behind Validus and in that split second, his own attack came racing out to strike him down.

"That evolved enough for you?"

[Validus Recubo]

The attack came, his own destructive power engulfing his being... the chaotic energies tearing his form apart... singing his flesh beyond all manner of recognition. The aftermath... was devastating, his body was searing... the smell of burning flesh was dense... as the charred form of the white devil melted away before her eyes... slowly dissolving... with his eyes... incredibly baring no expression of pain or regret. There was nothing, noting but the notion that her failure would soon become apparently clear, she believed herself evolved, while she had merely reached the threshold... and her completion was still far from being ascertained. This irrefutable fact would now become abundantly clear, as he spoke aloud before the final vestiges of his form disappeared into space.

'Again you fail.... helpless child'

Following these words... the proof of her failure became all to clear, as the goal of the white devil was completed... and the planet beneath her... was destroyed. Its core rupturing.. the earth.. shattering beneath the sheer force of the blast… as hues of dark emerald energy soared through the chasms until the very planet was completely engulfed. The raging magma of the core reaching critical mass.... it blew.... a cataclysmic explosion of such magnitude and destruction it was almost beautiful in nature.. As the wretched world was unmade…and in the aftermath… order was restored. The chaos subsided… and all that remained was an ominous miasma of dust in the dark void of space where once there was a thriving world…. and there, closer to the planets surface… the architect of this unforgivable transgression… Validus… peering up at the one whom once again proved a disappointment to his expectations.
She had forgotten the nature of his power completely… the bending and creation of his entire cellular structure was his to control… her guard was lowered as he spoke behind her earlier, busy to discern the meaning of his words she dropped her guard… leaving him all the time needed to lay his trap… and she had fallen for it completely… how very disappointing.

Once again he vanished from all sight, and as often before, reappearing directly in front of her, inches away from her being. His arms crossed… with his haunting gaze… utterly unshaken by the murder of an entire world… glared directly at the hybrid.

‘You…. are not prepared…’

[Silver Eyes]

'Again you fail.... helpless child'

‘You… are not prepared…’

Validus may have expected Amoura to display signs of sorrow, aggression but she showed neither: she started laughing. Even as the planet dissolved into nothing but dust she kept laughing hysterically at the White Demon's words. Puzzling enough, it wasn't the loss of mind that caused this display of amusement.

But still she wouldn't stop. It echoed through space. Then, in a flash of light, Amoura disappeared. Like a still pond disturbed by a stone, ripples began to tear through all that the White Demon saw and revealed the unexpected: the rest of the planet in one piece, Amoura standing on it and people racing out of portals she had set up.

"Helpless? My dear, dear Validus. There's something you have forgotten." Amoura appeared in front of him this time, "Are you awake? Are you asleep? Is this a dream or is this reality?" Amoura folded her arms, "I don't have to explain what you are trapped in because you know what it is."

Out of all the Nightmares she had cast, this one had to be one of the more powerful ones she could attempt. It felt so real, even to her. Everything around them faded to black, it became cold and Amoura pointed at the White Demon.

"And right now, I am giving you the chance to run." Behind Validus, a portal opened. "The storm is at your heels..."

[Validus Recubo]

Indeed this display of the hybrid's near limitless power had gone far above any expectation placed upon her. No longer a raging beast, a mere slave to the force of her unstable being... she now displayed full control. A development which one might expect to have caused surprise in the eyes of the white devil... alas there was none, nothing but the cold dark glare of his otherworldly eyes. She still did not grasp the magnitude of what she was up against, still did not understand... how could she. Unknown to the girl at the time.. that from the very moment his festering touch graced her alabaster skin in their early skirmish... the second she inhaled the very air in his presence.. her defeat became inevitable, and once again it fell to the deceiver to teach her its bitter taste.

Are you awake.. are you asleep.. is this a dream? or is this reality?

Such were the words of his foe revelling in her apparent victory... how ironic... that she would lecture him on the laws of reality and illusion... she would be made to understand, and the time of her revelation... was finally at hand.

Thus the veil was shattered.... the dream in which she dwelled was torn apart with not so much as a moments passing, before the two were right back upon the planets surface once more. Alas… what transcended all manner of understanding was that it was still whole... in fact the only scars upon the world were of the dreaded transformation of the white devil.... the very same fiend which now bore his penetrating gaze into the eyes of the confused hybrid…. and then it dawned on her…. even as her mind still desperately tried to determine right from wrong, one thought remained clear as day, that this… all that had transpired… had been nothing but a test, with its architect still firmly locked in his place… starring down the hybrid.
The battle in which she had given it her all, the fight which claimed the lives of lives immeasurable... all of it, a ploy... and illusion. Every change in her form…. every increase in power which had played out before the slit eyes of the white devil in the real world had effectively given him all that he needed to complete his goal… just as it had been given to her, an even traded indeed. All of it, accomplished without him ever having lifted a finger…. and impossible feat, and yet.. the undeniable evidence of this horrible revelation was now piercing her shifting eyes with his icy gaze.
Thus Validus commenced his slow and steady march towards his startled foe... and as he neared, the white testament clearly saw the struggle within her gaze as she desperately tried to make sense of the unnerving situation, and even her thoughts... were clear for him to read like and open book.

But how could it be so... how could this be.... these among many other questions seemed as if to consume the very mind of the vampiress, desperately trying to justify the impossibility of such an act. Little did she know that her encounter with the First Aspect which came to haunt her forever... was already knowledge to the white devil... and for this very reason, Validus was in fact the only one capable of enforcing such control upon her.
His very being... each living cell... each minute atom of his unnatural body... were his to command, and thus... from the moment she took her first breath... she had been his to control... a helpless puppet on a string, merely awaiting the pull of its master.
Having infested her body with his own diabolical cells, Validus had in fact not forced dominion over her mind through his own, due to the horrific influence of the First Aspect…. such was an impossibility. Rather he effectively forced her own mind to play a trick onto itself by directly interacting with her neural network, influencing each signal coursing throughout the brain stem as his cells spread far and wide through her system, and from there… making her see exactly what he wanted her to see... feel exactly what he wanted her to feel, sealing her in what was nothing short of a living nightmare. Locked within this purgatorial state… the girl was powerless to act… leaving the white devil ample time to seep further into her being… as he was now in complete control.

Once again, the terrible form of the dreaded fiend now stood towering above his query… mere inches away from the woman… and from here, Validus would thus once and for all wipe clean any hope of victory for her with one final display of dominance. Should there have been any doubt within the mind of the hybrid that her body was still hers to control, that she could still fight this monstrous being… they were now all but annihilated. With but on raised hand pointing directly at her… one could clearly see the once proud and unwavering warrior cease up completely. In that moment, the unmistakeable look of despair finding its way to the surface of her gaze was one he knew well. The fire within her delicate gem stones seemed as if to slowly flicker and fade into submission… as if she was once again back upon that frozen post apocalyptic world… with the hand of the very devil now standing before her tightening his grip around her heart. The air grew dense…. the unfathomable powers she had accumulated faded… pouring out of her very form as he continued to sap her strength…. little by little making her see the futility of it all. Thus with but one downward flick of his talon… one of the most powerful beings this world had ever known.. was brought to her knees.

'This... is reality... Amoura Ethelia...'

[Silver Eyes]

The taste of victory was all but an illusion as was the entire situation, it would seem. Her body seized up, unresponsive from her mental pleas to move, and the harsh reality of her situation was revealed. The Night Angel tried to fight off the sudden fatigue that began to take hold after her devil trigger faded but her vision was already beginning to swim with darkness. Amoura forced her head up to glare at Validus, trying to display defiance in the face of the inevitable yet again. It was almost unbearable now; all she wanted to do was sleep this horrible feeling away.

Her mouth was dry, her head and hands felt numb, her stomach and chest had a hollowed out chill and nausea hit her repeatedly. She dry heaved, having nothing to expel from her body, and tried to push herself away from the White Devil only to fall to the floor. There was no getting up from this.

Warm grass pressed against her cheek; she could have sworn she heard birds singing and creek water rushing past smoothed stones. It was probably an illusion much like earlier but her mind could no longer process anything coherent.

With a sigh, her eyes closed and she became dead to the world.