Obsession Layer

[Anomaly]

OOC (This will be a team battle. Tainted Mage and Shelus shall be representing The Masters while the opposing team will consist of Cthulhu and Anarchy.
There is no set post or time limit as of this time. This will not be a battle to the death, but it shall be a battle to the defeat. Summons and transformations have been unlocked for this battle, but godmodding will still be expressly against the rules. The rythm of the battle will be as follows:
Masters 1
Other Team 1
Masters 2
Other Team 2
Masters 1
Other Team 1
Ect.

First post is first come first serve. I will be forging the local and detailing it as minutely as possible. Afterwards, my posting in this thread will cease and I encourage no one other than the actual competators to post in this thread. Good luck and good fight.)

Water drips, the only sound in a matrix of silence. For a moment, it seems the world is filled with light. Such beauty the mind can barely hold. Here, far from darkness and almost equally far from the world above, the crystals shine ageless and refined. They compose the high vaulted ceiling, the slick faceted walls, every stalactite and stalagmite. Multi-colored and hued, a geologist might search for a hundred years and never make such a rare find. Each facet is nearly perfect.

Yet even so there is a path here. As the eyes focus through the blinding light refracted through the crystals a kind of series of buildings come into focus. It seems there was once a city here, far beneath the surface...a world of light and beauty. It lays silent and abandoned...the towering alcoves, paths, and stairs are vacant. The rooms here are empty, divested of whatever it was they once held. Only the ever present light from where, fires far below or some unknown source of power, who can say?

This is a place discovered not long ago by The Masters. The sound of water comes from a massive water fall far above...the under ground river barely a trickle running down the walls this far below. Further above, an exit can be found, leading out the mouth of a dormant volcano and to a lush but lonely island where all life seems strangely vacant save the edges of the island. Further below...the light intensifies, and the crystals choke together in massive formations, as though to block any further baring of this strange crystaline layers secrets.

Still, in this shadowless realm, fresh secrets yet stir. A feeling of expectation, of the eyes of the world watching. This is a realm under investigation by The Masters...but it is not closed off from the rest of the world. Where one treads, another may follow.

[Shelus]

Water drips ever lightly upon a figures head as he comes into the light. Not only does light reflect off this person's eyes, but it does likewise with his sword. A humungous sword it is as he fills the underground cavern with a shreeking noise of pleasure... dragging his massive blade upon the path behind him. Nearing the crowded buildings, he can only think and wonder as to what his battle plan will be. Although he will not be alone in this duel, it is always wise to have a plan before venturing into the unknown. Getting closer and closer to the abandoned village, more light is shed upon this figure... the one that appears to be Side stops in his tracks as he attempts to wait for his partner. But then again... his partner may already be there waiting.

As Side approached the outline of the city, he soon realized that a little weapons test was in order. Stretching the kaitoryu to his right, he paused for but a second than forced the sword outward from right side to left side. The sound that was made was close to that of paper falling upon the katana's edge. The sound that followed after that was a large chunk of wall sliding out of place as it landed and then fell over on its side. Sounds echoing in this place would be great deal to Side as it would help him locate any people that may already be inside... kind of like radar by sound.

"Come on... we do not have all day. We need to get this over with as quickly as possible and report back. Hmmm..."

Side realized that he was whispering to himself again. Evident as it may be that Side might be a bit of a show off and flashy at times, he still has a serious... 'side' to him that allows him to take up tasks such as this. Side walked cautiously to the center of this city wondering what these challengers looked like, wondering what kind of skill they had in battle, wondering if the Shelus Blade would have any say in this fight.

Upon entering the town square, Side noticed a rather large... sculpture like water fountain. Although dry of any water that might of once flowed through its veins, he figured this semi open area would be better than any other area for combat. Upon deciding the place for battle, he walked over to a building that was helping other buildings surround the forgotten fountain. With the Kaitoryu in his right... he took out the Poetic Night with his other and thrusted its blade into the rocky floor beneath him. He then leaned back against the building as he waited for his partner and challengers to arrive.

"Come out, come out... where ever you are... heh... heh..."

An echoing laugh would be the last noise Side would release into this atmosphere as stood in wait.

[Bryan]

A low rumble can be heard in the distance, quickly approaching the center of this crystal city. Slowly, the dreaded Raven appears in on the horizon with Raziel in flight beside him. His war-torn blood red trench coat flows behind him as he rides closer on his jet black stallion.

As he stops several yards before the first of his two enemies, Raziel lands on his shoulder and lets out a bone-chilling cry. With this, Raven climbs off of the stallion and it almost immediately runs in the opposite direction. The stallion's gallop slowly fades into silence as a gentle breeze shifts Raven's coat. He took a moment to examine his surroundings, all the while staying in place.

He noticed a figure standing in the distance, but had no intentions of attacking him first. There was another's blood to be spilled, but if this one were to attack, Raven would cut him down without mercy. With this thought in mind, he removed the daggers from the back of his belt and took a few steps foward. Raziel's anxious clucks seemed to warn Raven of any danger as he moved foward.

Suddenly, Raven's face started to change into his notorius skull face paint. He was ready to kill. Ready to spill blood and by the gallons. He continued to walk with his guard down, daggers in his hands at his sides. Raven did not talk, taunt or flaunt his skills, but moved in complete confidence. This would be a bloodbath that nobody who witnessed it would ever forget.

[Prodigal Madness]

The echoes of the water drops resound throughout the crystalline cavern. The once city feels almost heavy, though perhaps out of history rather than the cool waters. The water begins falling more slowly, forming bigger drops. One drop falls, and expands on its descent. A face nearly is completely formed by the time it hits the ground. By some odd distortion, a full grown man now stands where a tiny water droplet hit. However, he seems not human.

His skin is the most obvious; it seems as if he was bred from a volcano. Its metallic bronze hue almost gleams from the light reflected throughout their natural surroundings. From his waist down, he seemed immersed in belts. Each black strap wounds its way, perfectly laid next to each above and below it. On his right leg, the belts went all the way down into the black boot, the belts becoming mere straps on the boot. On his left leg, he wore a similar boot, though the belts stopped near his knee. From there to the boot, what seemed white fabric of pants lay. His chest was bare, though a sapphire clasp wound across his neck, holding a shimmering cloak.

He carried only a single, black staff of a too-smooth metal. It was simple in design, straight then hooked over itself at the top, with a strange purple orb hanging stranded in the center. The staff’s coloration nearly matched the darkness of a tattoo that spiraled from his left shoulder to the back of his hand. A small smile crept to his lips as his form steps silently forward, complete. His face seems exotic as the rest of him, the only real oddity being his violet eyes, glowing of their own accord. Short, brown hair seemed shocked, standing away from his face. Ambaron holds his staff lightly, using it to walk forward. His eyes swept over the two that were so undeniably there. One an ally, one not. Time seemed to stop as a short sentence resounded through both their minds.


{Not yet.}

Ambaron had read Raven’s intentions, they spoke loudly enough without magic. As easily as Raven ignored Side, so too did Ambaron ignore Raven. Not so much as the denial of his existence, but acknowledgement that Raven’s existence wasn’t a threat. Mirthfully, Ambaron drew a sharp nail over his skin, revealing the same purple glow his eyes had, yet no blood. The skin quickly repaired itself, as Ambaron awaited for yet the final person.

Quickly enough, his magic sensed the final being. A quick, knowing glance to his partner and Ambaron unleashed a tiny amount of magic. A crystal wall shattered from an unheard, yet keen, sound. Upon blowing apart under the concentrated sound, the thousands of shards promptly fell towards the ground. Only to be met by Ambaron’s magic and hurtled at Raven. As they neared him, the shards spread out more, to cover a larger area, flying at him from Raven’s left. While Raven was a target, he wasn’t the only one. Seven of the shards were trained both on where Raziel was, and where it could go.

Ambaron glanced back at Side and shrugged. For their opponents, nothing happened. Yet to Side, it seemed the world had frozen, though his awareness had not. Individual water droplets hung in midair, unmoving. Ambaron’s eyes stare from one of the crystal structures, while his voice burrows into Side’s mind.

{That one, Raven, is yours.}

For the rest, once more, time dilates.

{Welcome. I am Ambaron. You may still turn and flee, before defeat and shame send you back to your Masters. I speak not through arrogance, but time.}

Words felt akward after so long alone.

[Baneheart]

(OOC: Due to lack of an extra man, I have been sent in in place of whoever was with Raven. Interesting this shall be.)



Two powers had been brought into this newly discovered world by a strange magnetism of fate, into a world of delicate beauty and within the crystallized creations held its own power. It also seemed a distortion within the slight vibrations that each crystal gave its own echo, yet sharpened into a note of purity within its sound.

Though two was not a lonely number within this great creation, an piercing eye looked through one of the crystals that coned up from the floor, staring at this beginning, yet stood at a distance as all of the partners in this hand of fate did not seem to arrive. This, he knew, was his signal as he finally stepped out from behind the crystal, not really hiding himself, but neither energy nor emotion seemed to drip flowingly from his body as to any normal body would show. His steps were slow and in a manner his movement acted as if it were timed in a graceful elegance. From his long silver hair that was held up by a red string, his eyes illuminated with a golden touch. He had also sat both hands upon something on his back and lifted two long poles, one seeming to have a two foot sword on it's end like a katana and both metal poles connected together forming a pole-arm, or also known as specifically, a naginata.

This new being was also wearing a crimson kimono, but it was open and seemed heavy, slightly scratching the crystal floor. On the inside was simplistic clothing, a black shirt that seemed to have no shoulder patches and a much darker crimson coloring of pants covering rather strong legs. On his feet is a pair of black Geta that seemed to echo with the crystal with each step. His arms were covered by a long wrist guard that was shown leather and was tied in-between his fingers. When he turned towards Raven, his center back revealed where he had taken his weapons, a large black panel that was circular and was the symbol of a wolf. It held three other katana's and was connected upon his back like he was born with it. He finally then stopped six feet away from Raven.

"It seems not many have shown in a battle of not just two warriors, but four. It is disappointing." He said, tilting his head as a bow and then pushing his left foot to the side to give a side-turn towards this man who was deemed his enemy. "Your words seem strong, enemy. Though I doubt the future for either I or he would be in defeating vain. No man, but a god can predict what may and will happen and considering I doubt you are a god then it must be a premonition of what can happen. Therefore, it is not time that you speak of, but arrogance." This warrior seemed to have a sharp eye of reading because he even knew the most powerful of creatures or beings could not even comprehend the ability of time. "Now, Ambaron the Arrogant, it is my pleasure I introduce myself. I am Griffith." He gave a slight bow, even though insulting Ambaron's words he showed neither disrespect nor any arrogance towards him.

He slowly then balanced the naginata till the blade touched the crystal floor and gave a high pitched ringing sound, his eyes squinting within a glare and then taking a few steps away from Raven. "Well, before any of us become bored of this conversation I suppose we should begin what we came here to do. So, please, ladies first." He said without any sarcasm.

[Shelus]

((( Griffith... I thank you for taking his place. May this battle be great and worthy between all of us. )))

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Very well...

Side forces the Kaitoryu into the ground next to the Poetic Night. As he begins to walk towards Raven, he takes hold of the Poetic Night as it becomes clear that this weapon of Sides will be the first he decides to use in this battle. The shaft of this Damascus bladed Yari slowly slides down his right palm as he brings balance to the spear. He smiles warmly at Raven... almost as if he seems confused about who's who.

I apologize... I believe you were after my friend over there, but today... your fight is with me. I would of loved to see Ambaron and yourself go at it, but as fate would have it, I can not allow that.

Preparing to attack, the sickles attached to the end of the Katioryu begin to glow a faint Blue... within Unison of the eyes on Side's necklace. This could only be the handy work of Shane himself as Side readies himself. One would simply believe this might be unfair, but Side would not do summon a trick such as this unless he felt he had good reason to do so. He slowly stares at Griffith before making any sudden or rash movement... pondering to himself if this new figure would plan to get in the middle of Raven and himself. He returns his focus on Raven and his Bird. Side now seems a bit curious as he lets on to have just noticed the bird known as Raziel.

Raziel...? The Keeper of Secrets...? No... it couldn't be.
Side murmurs unto himself.

"Oh well... Please, Do not worry about the sickled blades. Those are meant to keep you away from Ambaron and Griffith from myself. But I wonder... surely you have done some sort of research about me before coming. No? If so... then tell me, Why would you bring your friend Raziel here? I do not mean to sound... 'braggy' but... oh never mind."

Side steps back a good couple of feet to give himself planty of room to attack as well as to defend. As he stares at Raven before his first manuever, he hopes that this Raven will be able to block it, or even counter it. He feels such great strength in him so naturally... Side would not want to be dissapointed. He smiles like he had done once before and as he did this, he enters a stance unknown to most. With Yari in hand, Side begins his fateful lunge at the one known as Raven and as he does so, great air pressure can be seen forming at the blade. The Blade trails behind Side with the butt of the pole aimed out as he charges at Raven.

Meanwhile... the reason for the glowing of the sickles would soon be realized. As they let off their final glow they stretched outward with great haste. They do not seek to destroy, they are merely deployed to do as Side mentioned earlier... to keep Raven near and Griffith away.

Now... Dont dissapoint me!

[Bryan]

Pausing for a moment, Raven noticed the arrival of Ambaron. In the time it would take one to glance at an object, Raven noticed several shards of crystals coming quickly toward him. He hadn't noticed where they had come from, yet had a good idea who was sending them. It appeared as though Raziel was also a target. A quick and unexpected attack. It had been awhile since Raven had encountered an opponent who tried to end a fight so quickly. A small wave of nostalgia ran through him as he reflected on a past battle.

Raven was snapped out of his brief day dream by an ear piercing, high frequency sound. It was Raziel. His wings were spread wide, screaming in the direction of the shards angrily. In mid air, the shards came to a complete hault as if frozen in time. Just as fast as one could comprehend this sight, they shattered into a fine dust, blowing away into the wind away from Raven. Raziel clucked and stared on while Raven gave a quick smirk to Ambaron.

"I was never very good at accepting gifts" chuckled Raven in a sarcastic tone.

Raven then heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Oh well... Please, Do not worry about the sickled blades. Those are meant to keep you away from Ambaron and Griffith from myself. But I wonder... surely you have done some sort of research about me before coming. No? If so... then tell me, Why would you bring your friend Raziel here? I do not mean to sound... 'braggy' but... oh never mind."

Both Raven and Raziel turned to face the voice coming from behind them. Before speaking, Raven quickly looked over his new opponent. He wasn't large in stature by any means. However, Raven had fought much smaller in the past. He appeared to be roughly the same age as Raven. This could prove to be very interesting.

He gave a quick glance to the necklace that Side was wearing. It looked a bit familiar as Raven had handled several personal belongings in his past as proof of his kills. Raven didn't recognize the necklace from any kills he had done, yet it still looked familiar. Familiar enough to distract him for a moment.

Before he could study it closer, Side released what appeared to be glowing sickles. Were they to keep Raven from Ambaron? The glow from the sickles seemed to cause a strange light cast off the reflection of the surrounding crystals. This could prove to be a bit disorienting for both parties. Raven readied himself for attack and Raziel took flight above him, treading air.

"Raziel never leaves my side. He serves a purpose which is unknown to me. I do not know of his origins." answered Raven.

He shifted his vision on Side's necklace.

"That necklace. It's no ordinary necklace. I find it to be somewhat distracting." said Raven.

He chuckled for a moment, as though something had been made clear.

"Perhaps you're not alone in this fight after all..." said Raven in a serious tone.

He then tested Side with a basic attack. Raven swung his left blade with the tip pointing up toward the under part of Side's chin. Planning on a follow up attack, Raven drew back his other hand and balled up his fist, the spikes on the dagger's handle pointing at Side's face. If this attack was landed, the blade in his left hand would pierce under Side's chin and through, into the roof of his mouth. The other dagger in his right hand would be used for a very painful series of sharp blows to the face.

He did not expect Side to take such an easy hit, however...he would surely dodge or counter...

[Prodigal Madness]

The final opponent arrived. The first thing noted was the weapon carried was of a melee fighter who wanted some distance from an enemy’s attack. Yet… Upon his back were three katanas, possibly interchangeable? An unsettlingly odd thing- the man’s robes left actual scratches in the crystal floor, from being razor sharp, or from weight, if so…the strength of that man is a bit disturbing. While he advanced upon Shane, he was slow and deliberate, yet made no attack and instead turned to Ambaron to…speak?

A genuine smile came to Ambaron’s lips, while a mischievous glint likewise rose in his eyes. Needing to be a god to know time. He snorted silently at the idea, contempt over such trivial things filling him. Either the group these two were from were extremely weak, had little magic, of which was likely elemental, or simply had no brains for such concepts. Despite this, another, smaller, smile came to his face as ‘Griffith’ even taunted him. A minor thing, unnoticed perhaps, but the scratches on the crystal floor had already been made smooth once more…

Another small thing occurred to him. Raven’s slight disorientation to the sickle’s glow. As soon as the attack became obvious to Ambaron, and hopefully time enough to Shane, Ambaron let loose a series of spells. He inwardly smiled, happy he had long ceased to need materials, words, or gestures to cast even the most complex of spells. His mere will caused reality to usher to his whims. Truthfully speaking, that’s what most of what Ambaron did was, whim.

The regenerated crystal floor gave no hints, no rumbling, of the coming spell. As quick as it was not, it was. The floor seemed to instantaneously erupt upward. Crystal stakes shot up from all over the ground. All aside under both Shane and Ambaron, and oddly, Raven. The largest crystal shafts were easily as thick as a person, and were there before most could react. Within a second came the smaller ones. Pieces the size of a man’s arm lanced out from the larger shards at random intervals and angles. Followed by those were one barely an inch long, which sprang out from every inch of crystal.

The next two spells took place faster than light, or at least, as fast as it. A thin, yet infinitely thick, layer of darkness concealed Shane’s eyes as a ray of the purest, brightest, white light shone through a single crystal that sprung from the floor. Yet the light didn’t stop there. The light was reflected from all the factions of the crystal, which hit yet more crystals, and filled the entire room with light. The very same instant the light filled the room, it was gone, and with it, the darkness that had covered Shane’s eyes. So fast were the spells, to Shane, it might have only seemed as if he had blinked and nothing more. To the rest, while the light had flooded everyone else’s retinas, the light was also gone before the retinas responded. A flash bang magnified a thousandfold.

As it seemed, their retinas should seem to be seared for an instant without reason, as the light passed beyond anyone’s senses- even Ambaron’s. However, Ambaron’s body was a mere reflection of his will, and thus, his eyes didn’t function as a person’s would. They registered the light, they were seared, yet it didn’t damage them, or pain him. To him, it was simply another instant in time. Though he knew his spell had worked, and completed properly. His final spell had done the same to the ‘ceiling’ as it had to the ground. The roof of the area was layered in the crystal spikes. Two particular areas even propelled massive crystal pieces to the ground. Just happening to be above both Griffith and Raziel. Though this time the crystal was strengthened so rather than shattering under sound, or pressure, they reflected them. As the roof flung itself at those two, Griffith’s mind was allowed a pause in time solely hearing Ambaron’s thoughts.

{It’s just Ambaron, though if you desire some sort of complete name, it’s Ambaron Stormrage. You’ve just found out why. Also, time is as simple to me, as movement is to you. Perhaps if you understood me better, you’d understand why I say I can see time. Here is my current dwelling.}

Pictures of a brilliantly colored mass swirling around a spherical mass in space swarmed Griffith’s mind. Mathematical formulas showed the strength of what the images showed, of planets being crushed into an existence around that of an atom. Comprehension was granted to Griffith to understand the nature of Ambaron’s home. The center of a black hole.

[Baneheart]

Griffith did not seem to budge from his current position as to already sensing the spells of magic being cast, though invisible, all magic gave off its own signature. Still, even when the great pillars of sharp crystals came shooting from the ground instantly a violet seal formed under his body and devoured each stake sticking at or around Griffith and then vanished. Mere seconds later the great light burst through the crystal home at a great volume of brightness, passing through Griffith and then as quickly as it had came, left the battle-field of warriors. Though this was not the end, Griffith had counted two magics, though one was used twice. Another shot of spikes came shrieking down from above at both Griffith and Raven's bird, another two seals forming above Griffith and Raziel above them, cutting off the large takes and then vanishing when all danger was gone. From all that, Griffith stood still without even blinking.

At the last moment he felt a presence in his mind and the voice of Ambaron speaking to him. When he was finished, Griffith made a scoffing noise, though did not smile nor smirk. "How basic of you to test me by throwing such simple tactics towards me. Attack from below and above, then to try and blind me. Wonderful, your arrogance never ceases. Though I will say trying to blind me like that doesn't really work, maybe against a lesser creature or human, but futile none the lease." He said.

His mind then reached out towards Ambaron just as Ambaron had to speak. "You misunderstand what I said. No creature that is not a god cannot see the outcome of anything, but that does not mean any creature cannot see time. Like the elves, as powerful in magic as they are, knowing the future perfectly is not possible. I don't have to understand where you are from or what you can do, but there are still laws that govern the universe. You can see many outcomes of the future, yet to truly know the right one is impossible, Mr. Arrogant." Griffith said with his mind. Though as in seeing all of those images and mathematic formulas, the only thing Ambaron saw from Griffith's speech was a black abyss.

Finally, after both speaking externally and internally, Griffith tapped his Celestial Wraith one more time before taking a few steps forward at a horizontal path until he stopped to align himself with Ambaron. "If I had not seen many people like you before I'm sure I would actually take you seriously, but I guess it is fate that crosses our weapons. So, don't stall the battle any longer and get on with it. Trying to test either of us will give you no results." Griffith said, lunging out his weapon slightly to point towards Ambaron as he took stance with his left leg behind him and his left arm tucked in. He did not attack though, wishing to taste something more unique he could seek his teeth into. "Come Ambaron Stormrage, don't be lazy and just stand around." He replied. Though still no energy or emotion seeping from his body.

[Shelus]

Nearing Raven, Side forces the butt of his Yari to meet with dagger aimed at his chin. Stopping his attack there, Side swings the Yari forth to give him the leverage to parry the second dagger. Although the pressure building up was meant to be turned on Raven... the spell being channeled through the floor caught his attention. Without a hesitant moment, his next attack is rerouted at the floor beneath Raven to shatter any oncoming pieces of this Crystal floor at Raven. He wanted to have a fair fight against this Raven and his friend Raziel... even if doing this caused Side to be temporarily open for attack. It would now be apparent that Side would need the aid of Shelus to keep the spells and attacks of Ambaron and Griffith to themselves.

"Alright... I'am going to try something real quick, so... dont run off please."

As wonderful as it would of been to see the rest of Ambarons spell act out, he needed himelf to keep safe from these attacks, but the only way to fight Raven like that is to do the same unto him. Side now reaches for his waist and grips the Shelus at its hilt. Placing the sword in both hands, the sword begins to illuminate rapidly between blue, red and orange. As the changing of color becomes faster and brighter, the images that are Ambaron and Griffith seem to appear as somewhere between visible and invisble.. transparent so to speak. They are there, but... they are each now unable to help each other, or even to make contact for that matter. As transparent as Ambaron and Griffith are to Side and Raven, the exact same images would be percieved by them. Side now puts the Shelus back where it was and begins to speak softly at Raven.

"There... that should make this a bit more fair. Now about your friend up there; I have no doubt he has been with you for however long he has been, but answer me this. Are you sure he isn't using you? The name he bears is too similar to that which has been the source of a lot things in the history of most planets. One of the reasons why Angels had no original reason to tread likely on any planet... atleast through thier own motives."

The sickles that once boar a blue light die down as it becomes apparent that Ambaron and Griffith can't pass this alternate barrier that Shelus has summoned. Side readies to attack again as he just stands a good few yards away from Raven. Instead of making another charge at his opponent, he decides to make his next move ranged. The right arm extends outward, holding the Yari by the very end while a small but powerful tempest forms around the blade. The left arm extends outward as well, while a small but powerful tempest forms around his hand and fingers.

Not the greatest, but... I have no desire to kill as of now. So... lets see how you do!

The left arm is flung forward at Raven, from it fires the wind that enveloped his hand. The right arm is flung forward, from it fires the wind that had enveloped the blade of the Yari. But another attack is noticed after the second. The blade seems to be only a bit bent as it appears to grow a little. As these powerful burst of Chi and air hone at Raven, the damascus blade of the Poetic Night snakes forward like a sharpened steel whip. The blade now bends, warps and wobbles behind the windshots as it seeks to cause damage as well.

Not long ago... Side would have no idea how to channel these abilities of Shane and Shelus. Now... he wields and channels these abilities with such acute accuracy that those who know him best would surely be pleased by his progress.