The Valley of Death [Chapter I]

[Shai]

He'd been tricked.

And to put it very bluntly, Kyal was pissed off to hell. The god had been deceived, and that alone was enough to push him from calm to angry. He watched as Aper literally cut the city in half, the line cutting like a big blade.

And it was pathetic. He landed once more and strode for the Arashi, spinning the massive spear in one hand. Lightning split the sky above as his voice cut through the screaming of innocents like the very voice from heaven itself.

"I am Kyal, creator of Paradise!" He roared, leaping across a fallen tree, nearing the woman who stood infront of the thing with her blade raised to strike "I have decimated worlds, entire solar systems! I will not let you harm these people any further! You'll have to get through me."

He stepped beside the woman, and his senses picked up on something coming from behind him, and he couldn't let the woman take the hit. His free hand curled around her waist as he swung her away from the bullets course, at the same time twisting to drive his spear towards the Arashi's face.

[Sparda]

Deeper circles of hell were breaking loose around him; but being at the centre of the supernova unleashed by the being that had joined the battle, Sparda could care less.

While the Arashi was engaged, the blinding light of the explosion was swallowed up by a writhing storm of violet energy. Exploding outwards, it quelled the fury of the self-proclaimed god's attack, leaving Sparda stood, his clothes and flesh scorched and his claymore gone, upon a perfectly round disc of glass into which the very ground had been burned. Already, his healing factor was at work, stitching his flesh back together and repairing his clothes. It was a macabre sight, watching the burns shrink and heal quite unnaturally, as if time's hold on his body had been turned backwards.

The demon turned his gaze up at the winged creature descending towards him and narrowed his eyes. He recognised Amoura's Devil Trigger, despite not having seen it since their fateful battle against Dranex.

"I'm getting rather weary of this," he sighed, extending his right hand out to his side, thumb pointed downwards. A small portal swirled into being, perpendicular to his fingers; and through it dropped a long, narrow sword. Catching the weapon by its handle and letting the portal fade out of sight, he briefly examined his reflection in its immaculate blade, adjusting his skewed monocle.

"Any bright ideas?" he asked Amoura, remonstrating with Revelation. Why he hadn't brought it out with him in the first place, he really didn't know.

[Silver Eyes]

Right on cue! Sparda had called out her old blade, Revelation, to join in the fight and she dove from the sky to retrieve it. Years ago, at the time of her first death, that weapon had absorbed a fraction of her departed soul; what happened from there was unknown to her. Amoura flapped her wings repeatedly to make a soft descent and they folded up behind her so they won't get in the way.

The Third Eye that had been closed on her forehead reopened to take in the sights of everyone's aura at work. The more she learned to pick things out from the patterns, the more likely she'll be successful in any future brawls if an aura was present. At the present, it was a distraction from Sparda's question.

"Well," Amoura looked at him but didn't continue her sentence due to something unusual. Sparda's aura was a purple but amidst it, there was a patch of a darker shade with a opening just big enough for Revelation to fit in. Had he absorbed what was trapped?

"I've got something. All I ask is you don't bite my head off for this--I've got a hunch." Even if nothing happens she'll just explain and he'll be alright with it, even though his fine attire may be ruined. Amoura raised Revelation and plunged it through the hole and into Sparda's body...

[Ayen]

In the face of chaos and utter destruction came a change in their surroundings so small and seemingly trivial that many on the field may not even feel it.

The wind stopped.

It was not by the power of The Arashi, Yahweh or Kyal that the change in nature occurred. It was not their power that brought about an aura around the field so strong it threatened to collapse all in the city who were unfortunate enough to stand underneath it. It was then that the earth shook. Underneath The Arashi did the earth opened its mouth and came up to devour the divine being where it stood for its crime against the worlds and its crime against the very city it dared to destroy. The face of its attacker was up above. Black crows flew around in the air unaffected by the clashing of thunder or the piercing power of the lighting that flashed in the sky. Despite the complete lack of wind their feathers blew where they flew. The crows grew in length until a pair of bare pale feet could be seen coming out of the bottom. Further up the massive merging of crows were two arms until finally a head grew at the top.

The crows merged into a single giant black wing that covered an otherwise naked body, it then transformed into raven black hair as clothes magically appeared around the naked form so the hair no longer needed to act as clothes. On the top of the head was a black “witch” hat.

Right before the earth could devour it The Arashi would see the face of its attacker looking down upon it with pitch black eyes that rivaled that of the darkness around the enemy. Maricul stood in the air defying every single law of nature as she did so. Raising her witch hat up above her head in a greeting to all those around her as it began to glow and her voice spoke, echoing in the ears of all things below.

“To the one who wrecked my home.”

The mouth of the earth then slammed shut around The Arashi.

“Fuck off!”

[Sparda]

Sparda would have been quite impressed to see what became of the Arashi, had he been able to see anything; but the wound inflicted upon him by Amoura when she drove Revelation into his chest seeped not blood, but a torrent of black smoke that shrouded his whole body, smothering his aura for a moment with its all-consuming darkness.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the jet smoke dispersed into the air. Revelation was clutched in the Dark Knight's hand once again, its blade turned gleaming black as if reforged from obsidian. Amoura would descry no more imperfection in his aura; rather, it had taken on that unusual darkness in its entirety, exuding a new, altogether more sinister power.

The demon looked around, noticed the distinct absence of their attacker, and looked up into the sky at the cause. The sight that met him was only too familiar.

"Are you seeing this, Amoura?" he laughed. "The whole extended family's turning up."

[Clash]

In the mesosphere, the upper atmosphere, there was a sudden ripple and a sound akin to a "poot". This was followed by two very distinct noises, the first being the sudden rush of air and ignition from friction, the unmistakable sound of something moving at supersonic speeds. The second noise was something many people were familiar with:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"[/b]

The sound of a scared, interdimentional, cyborg shark. One falling through the atmosphere on a seemingly predetermined trajectory, tearing through the atmosphere like a comet. This new world he had emerged into whipping by him. Brief glimpses of cities, forests, mountain ranges, bodies of water and clouds that he tore through, trailing vapors like soft ribbons. There was something ahead of him, he could make it out in the distance as he moved towards it. Each second saw him ripping closer and closer, the air whistling around him. He saw crystals... darkness... a small town... It was almost under him at this point. He could make out people, one in particular seemed to be directly in his way...

It wasn't a person, it was a nightmarish masked figure wearing a coat of patches and tatters.

Clash was rocketing towards Aper the Arashi at mach 6 with no means to stop.

[Aper]

And so blade met flesh. Bullets ripped through the twisted form. Comets crashed into the dark body and the earth swallowed him whole. The hallowed grounds of the kingdom of heaven shook as though the very gates of hell had opened beneath it. Screams cried out from the frightened populace and exploded in the minds of the masses in a cataclysmic holler until the sheer chaos reached a singular, insurmountable note. Then all went deaf. And all went silent.

It took painfully long minutes for the dust to settle – and even more for everyone’s vision to readjust to the dark pitch of night. A smouldering crater was all that remained of the Arashi, with only the thinnest wound in the soil to define where it had consumed its prey. The screams had stopped. Even the distant inferno had all but ceased in the distance – leaving nothing behind but radiant crystal as reminder of the shadow’s passing. The clouds began to break ever so subtly – bathing the city in sunlight, and amidst everything, it was beautiful.

God, was it ever beautiful.

‘‘In palma Creatoris proelium aeternum prodit.’’ The words carved into the soul.

The heavens fell into darkness before the very ruins of city began to glow a brilliant blue. The earth emanated a pulsating aura like the auroras of the northern sky. Only then did shadows slithered out of the ground like snakes and did a pillar of jet-black flames bleed from the wound in the world. At its center, beyond the flames, beyond the shadows… It stood. In all of its nightmarish glory - the Arashi stood in its very corporeal form, unphased by all that had transpired.

‘‘Progenies Belli… Corpus incensum tuum fluctuat in mari inanitatis.’’ It glared.

Instantly, it was as if the weight of the world was pouring from the blaze. All instantly dropped under the strain of their own weight. Gravity became posessed, and just like that - it obeyed.

‘‘Creare rem Ultimam.’’ It spoke. The remains of the city caved. The church fissured. The walls crumbled. Rock shattered into dust. And yet - there were no screams. Not anymore.‘‘Deletrix Omnium.’’ There was only the sickening thud and snap.

And it killed.

[Miracle]

Was it finally over? So many people unleashed their wrath upon the Arashi. Even the Seductress herself. Wrapped around tightly in the embrace of Kyal she prayed to Yahweh that this tasking battle has finally reached it's climax and peace could return to this war shattered place.

That however would not happen.

The Arashi appeared completely unphased by the joint effort on everyone's part and now gravity itself has turned against the warriors on the battlefield as Miracle slammed face first against the ground, her body feeling like something with ungodly strength was holding her down with all it's might to keep her from getting up. The pain was unbearable but her face was firmly against the ground muting out her screams and leaving her with very little room to breathe. She wasn't even able to lift up her head to see her other allies or where the Arashi was now. For all she knew it was towering over her with his blades held up, ready to strike her down as she has became subdued by his power. The High Priestess only thought was that of Solomon being able to cheat the Arashi out of the lives he wished to claim on this day.

Then a miracle occurred.

The altar of the temple still stood, shinning brightly amongst the ruins of the city as if taunting the Arashi. Even after Aper amazing show of power a piece of the city still stood wrapped in a cocoon of Yahweh's grace acting as a beacon of hope in a hopeless situation. Though she couldn't see it Miracle was still able to feel it presence as now she used all of her strength just to speak to the Arashi.

"Who covereth the heaven with clouds...."

The Arashi would soon realize that the agent of Yahweh was now trying to get back up to her feet despite all the power that was holding her down. Her hands grasp the grass beneath her and pushed up against it as finally her screams of pain would echo through the air while she did so. It was an impossible task, it pained her just to speak let alone attempt such a feat. The strain on a grown man body would have been unbearable enough, her smaller frame even more so. Impossible to do, pure insanity to even think about attempting it, and yet, she was up on one knee.

"Who prepareth rain for the earth...."

This battle was more than just coming up with attacks and counter-attacks. Miracle knew if she was able to stand up before the Arashi, even for just the fraction of a second she would have showed him that his power, while great, was not the strongest. She would hold victory over the creature, all she needed to do was stand up!

"Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains...."

A groan of pain came from the child as she slowly and very painfully managed to stand up on both feet, shaking underneath the weight of the Arashi's power as she forced herself to stare at the beast that has just succeeded in destroying her home, but not her will, and not her faith in God.

"It is not you, Arashi!"

A fraction of a second felt like a lifetime as finally Miracle collapsed back to one knee, breathing heavily. That was all she needed to show. She did not fear death. Yahweh would guide her soul up to heaven. But even knowing that she did not intend to die. Not here and not now. There were still far more she needed to and if there was ever a time for a miracle. Now would be it. Miracle exceeded expectations and stood up a second time, closing her eyes as she prayed.

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever."

Miracle was freed from the chains of gravity by the mercy of her Lord.

"Amen."

[Shai]

The pain Kyal felt was not in his psychical body - for it had no true feeling - but within his very spirit; his essence. It burned as if he was on fire a hundred thousand times over and it took every bit of effort not to submit to the agony.

And despite everything the nightmarish creature still stood - but that proved it could be taken down, if even for a few moments. It could be damaged a little and if it could be damaged, it could be killed. The God sunk his fingers into the earth.

"I-"

He summoned every bit of his power, every single bit of his immense force to push himself onto one knee, fighting against the very essence of gravity. The girl he had saved shattered the hold and floated through prayer itself; but who could Kyal pray to? Himself?

"Will-"

Though he held no eyes beneath the hood, in spirit he was glaring in defiance. This thing, it would not keep him down. It could NOT keep him down!

"Not-"

He managed to stand, though it was still bent double. His wings felt as if they wouldn't break off; as though he was being forced down by a hundred thousand hands even now.

"BOW!" He roared, unfurling his wings to their full majesty he stood now, hands curled into fists as he looked up to the floating girl. His eyes glared on the creature in front of him, when something abruptly changed.

It was like a switch had been flipped with his head. No God, nothing sought to cause war and strife among those it ruled, for there was no greater joy or satisfaction than seeing them in harmony. So far as he knew from following the path of crystals, there was branching off. It had literally marched here. The destruction was in a single path-

And the Latin. He understood it, but it had never clicked with his mind. Thats... all it sought. It sought to bring balance back. As Kyal did himself. He wanted nothing more than peace.

He slowly curled his wings back to his sides and looked to the monstrous figure, as if seeing it for the first time in a new way. It was not evil, neither was it good. It sought balance.

"You do not seek to harm us, only solve that which has tipped the scales too far." He spoke softly to the creature. "I will not hinder you anymore. I offer my assistance, if it means that this would be fixed."

Kyal turned himself, glancing up at Melody he spoke now to her. He would no longer put anyone at risk. He would make them all step aside so that what needed to be done, could be done.

"Step aside, young one." He said, though it was not a threat nor anything of that sort. Neither it was a command, it was simply spoken. "You must let this run its course. And I will not see you hurt out of a misguided notion."

[Ayen]

As the city came crashing down under its own weight so too the witch herself. Maricul crashed hard into the ground shaking the very earth beneath her as she did so. It seems to be that all was lost but as the beacon of hope began to shine in the destroyed city so did something else. The white light cast by the energy currents from Maricul began to shoot out through the air in the surrounding area. The hat that had began to grow as she lifted it up from her head in the moments leading to the terrifying hold of gravity has transformed into that of a magical sphere. And inside that sphere held the keys to victory. Turnabout gravity; the very same power that sent the city crashing down under its own weight….

Has just came down twice as hard upon the corporeal form of The Arashi.

The rest of the group would feel relief from the weight of gravity as it was all now focused on their challenger, all except the false god who has decided to speak words that did not sit well with Maricul. As she climbed up to her feet she spoke, “Mankind….” and trailed off as she now had both feet firmly against the ground of the ruins. The ruins of her home. The Arashi would pay dearly for this as Maricul continued her sentence.

“….has no need for gods!”

[Clash]

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

The change of gravity affected Clash's trajectory, and his unerring path towards the Arashi became a glancing blow as the weight of the world dragged Clash to the ground, the sonic boom generated by this not really affecting anyone but Clash himself. It certainly made his expletive a lot louder. An interesting affect occurred, the increased Gravity and the chants were punctuated by air becoming so condensed from both gravity and a transference of momentum that, to one side of Aper, water was visibly forming in drops and falling like lead weights to the ground. The meteorite had vanished as well. The gravity was so strong that the vapor trail it had picked up, the dust lifted by its passage, all suddenly fell, slamming to the ground and dispersing in a ripple of movement.

How could something blast through the sky like that, suddenly glance off of its target, and then vanish without a trace? The city crumbled and shattered under its own weight, people started to stand despite gravity itself working to hold them down like some form of physics-based authoritarian figure. Yet there were still those held down, still those who could not withstand the inexorable weight.

Good thing sharks don't believe in gravity.

The ground started to move, a small pattern started to trail, a spiral forming. Like a drain being pulled in a basin of water, like quicksand draining away, a small spiral formed, the heavy gravity pushing it down as something pulled it. The spiral was directly under Aper, and a metal snout started to poke out of the ground, followed by rows upon rows of rapidly spinning teeth slowly trying to rise up through the matter, the jagged maw of moving teeth trying to pull the Arashi into it.

[Silver Eyes]

Dante had finally joined in the battle and about damned time too. If only he had more of a drive like his father; actually, there was a lot he should have inherited from Sparda but now was not the time to nit-pick into such matters.

The onslaught of attacks--all impressive enough to make Amoura not do anything-- seemed to have vanquished the Arashi at last and the city appeared to be safe! Amoura would have joined in the cheers and celebrations if a sense of unease didn't take a hold. One can't simply destroy the divine in that manner! Something wasn't right. What was his goal in letting people get their hopes up like this?

It was all dashed against the rocks when the Arashi returned unscathed and completely leveled the city. The gravity took hold of her mortal coil and down to the earth she went on one knee. It happened so fast, she didn't even have time to react; or perhaps it was the shock from all the destruction.

I'd sooner buuuuuuy defyyyyyying gravity!

"Other, I swear to god, if you keep that song up I'll make sure you get more of those nightmares!"

Right, right. Back to the bucket of ice cream.

Everyone was still trying to fight back; but what could possibly stop this thing? It destroyed Aircano and it will continue its path of destruction. And if it's stopped, it'll unleash its terror onto all the worlds. But won't it continue to all of them regardless? Choices like these were never easy to make.

"You do not seek to harm us, only solve that which has tipped the scales too far."

At this, Amoura began to laugh and forced herself to her feet just as the gravity was removed with thanks to Maricul. Mankind didn't need gods making choices for their existence but many felt they had to rely on a deity to get through life. It wasn't pathetic in her eyes but saddening; why can't they rely on their own strengths?

Kyal had a point that he didn't want to kill everyone but so many more lives may be lost in this Arashi's crusade. It was not worth it in her eyes. "The scales have changed--the barriers between universes are down! Instead of returning those who are foreign, he slaughters them! How is that achieving balance?! That will only cause a further imbalance in the worlds they came from!"

Amoura turned away from Kyal and to Aper. The conversation she had in the cave was so similar to the prophecy she had to endure for years with the nightmares. Was Veran an Arashi? She began an approach.

"‘Within the mass there is one who is the vessel, the harbinger, and if the Arashi does not intervene he shall send forth his terror into all of the realms.’’The rain that left her cold and drenched evaporated away, leaving her dry. “If those who perturb the balance do not leave this soil at once, then a sacrifice of blood is what it demands for the cleanse of this world.”

Amoura faced her right palm up and in the same way her sword was repaired, a dagger, simple in appearance, was created. "Well--." Her idea was paused at the sight of Clash trying to eat the Arashi. Was he mad?

Was that a serious question?

Amoura figured now was a good time as any with all the distractions. The dagger parted the flesh of her palms and blood spilled out into the air, heading for Aper.

"You want your sacrifice of blood, then take it! Take it and let this world be cleansed!"

It better not erupt into a swarm of tentacles again.

[frosty225]

Well this just sucked, just as victory seemed apparent... The thing hit back ten times harder, forcing everyone to their knees, even the devil hunter wasn't immune to the assault, but before the building collapsed the vision of the devil hunter inversed and turned gray scale, everything slowed down around him as he launched himself from the crumbling building.

As he touched ground and the vision returned to normal, time traveling once again at it's normal rate, he went down like all the others. But he smiled under the crushing weight of gravity... Maricul's spell seemed to uplift him however as he stood up, his smile growing into his patent devilish smirk. He took a step forward, his entire body appearing to lag behind him as he was now side by side with Amoura, a red aura seeping off of him like smoke from a smoldering piece of wood.

"Sorry hun, but I don't plan on letting anyone martyr themselves. Not on my watch." His hand shot out nailing Amoura in the gut, hopefully it would knock some common since into her. The Son of Sparda began to march towards the being as crimson aura began swirling around the Force Edge. "You know, it's guys like you who really piss me off." His words were as calm as ever as his foot falls carried him closer. A pressure like no other could be felt coming from both him and his sword as it began to shine a bright red color.

"Always deciding who lives and who dies, for whatever self righteous reason you see fit..." He sword slowly began to shift and converge, flesh growing upon the sides of it as the blade itself began to grow in length and size, becoming a single sided blade that looked like it belonged onto a scythe, the other side of the blade conforming into the shape that could easily be described as a spine or some sort of metalic bone. Soon however an energy, a pressure erupted fourth from the blade, a blinding crimson light rushed out before retreating and in his hands, glowing a crimson hue stood the Force Edge's unrestricted form, as sparks of lightning cackled around the sword, The Sparda sword rested in his hands in all of it's glory.

"Let me teach you a lesson..." He spoke, his voice like his presence seemed powerful and uplifted, Each step he took flashed the vision of his demonic form. "The school of hard knocks is opened, and class is in session!" He launched forward into a powerful Stinger, and as he did the Sparda blade reacted, growing and changing into a haliberd like spear which closed the distance between the two quickly before it was turned into a vicious Million Stab that let loose not only a torrent of stabs... but wave after wave of destructive demonic force.

[Silver Eyes]

Due to how concentrated she was on what the results could be from this attempt, Amoura didn't even take note of Dante's intent on punching her. Soon as the contact was made, the bloodied dagger dropped to the floor and she stumbled back--it wasn't painful but surprising. Why must Dante always act like he knew best? Simply put, she had it with that behavior and it was going to stop right now.

"Martyrdom? You idiot..." she hissed but it was more to herself than to Dante.

Amoura focused on the Devil Hunter, waiting for him to finish the attack he had in mind, before aiming to setting things straight.

"Did you not hear what I said earlier before I spilled my blood?" Her voice boomed, but it was broadcasted right into his thoughts.

"A sacrifice of blood is what it demands for the cleansing of this world! That is what the Arashi said when I woke him up from his slumber! You know who else spoke of a blood sacrifice? Veran. The prophecies he stated repeatedly in those nightmares I had for years were repeated by him! I'm doing what I think may help us out here just as you are and everyone else who's taking a stand! Enough with your 'Dante-knows-best' attitude and do not interfere again!"

Well, that was out of her system and she resumed her act of bloodletting by reopening the wounds in her palms. Her earlier shedding did not quite reach him due to Dante's rude interruption but this time, the sacrifice of blood got to the Arashi with all due haste.

And if anyone else stops her there will be hell to pay.

[Miracle]

Miracle kept her ice cold glare on the Arashi as once again she went for her sword that has fallen on the ground, ready to continue this battle and force the enemy back no mattered what it took. As long as there was a will to continue then there would always be a way no matter how high the odds were stacked against you but before she could even hold up her sword for battle she heard the god speak to her.

"Step aside, young one. You must let this run its course. And I will not see you hurt out of a misguided notion."

Miracle turned her head over to Kyal with an expression of shock clearly planted on her young facial features. How on earth could the being, she thought to be on their side from before, say such a thing? If Miracle stood aside and let this creature continue on his path of destruction then even more innocent people would die on this day, perhaps another city altogether would collapse under the power of it's own weight. The High Priestess didn't understand a single word of Latin so she was not able to translate what it was the Arashi said but given Kyal sudden change of heart on this matter a part of her wondered if she even wanted to know what it was the beast has said.

The High Priestess then realized that thanks to the interference of Maricul gravity no longer held power over the rest of her allies as they were all free to move as they were before. Their party was unlike any other in the world; a soldier of Yahweh, two extremely powerful devils that stood on the side of justice, a hybrid of enormous power and then finally the witch who power may very well only be limited by that of her own imagination. Miracle didn't know if she should trust the insane land shark that has taken to below the Arashi's position while hell came from above in the form of gravity, 2x stronger than the one that has once bounded her to the ground, but for now "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." It was then that the hybrid's words to Kyal reached the priestess' ears.

"The scales have changed--the barriers between universes are down! Instead of returning those who are foreign, he slaughters them! How is that achieving balance?! That will only cause a further imbalance in the worlds they came from!"

Miracle returned her glance to Kyal and then back to the Arashi. She thought it best to add these words on top of the power of Maricul and their attack from the crazed cyborg animal.

"How typical. All that power and what do you choose to do with it? Destroy. These people were here not out of choice but because they had nowhere else to go! If you have given us more time we could have secured the tower and brought these people back where they came from to restore the balance but now that some of them lie here dead that balance you care so much about will never be fully restored! You have doomed the very thing you came here to restore, Arashi!"

Miracle's words didn't come a moment too soon as the man in red has unleashed what Miracle could only imagine was the highest point of his power and made a charge for the Arashi to make the struggle Aper was feeling now that much worse. With her own weapon now gripped tightly in her hand Miracle waited for the moment where she too would have to strike the beast, or the god should he choose to still take the Arashi's side, all she could do now was wait and see.