The Light of Creation

The Light of Creation
Date of Scene:	26 December 2013
Location:	Dias Plains
Synopsis:	Raine and Lumeria track the magic signal they've been following to a broken down Shrine nestled in the Dias Plains. Truths are revealed and things change.
Cast of Characters:	Lumeria, Raine Arland
Tinyplot:	The Five Apostles

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Raine Arland has posed:
It was time.

Having taken their break in Baron, Raine and Lumeria set off some indeterminable amount of time after. On the Dias Plains, a dark portal opened up and out from it stepped Raine, followed by Lumeria, whose hand he was holding. It was necessary, lest she potentially find herself verring off, adrift in the darkness. At least they didn't have to walk!

"Here we are." Raine spoke evenly, keeping hold of the elf's hand for a moment longer than necessary before remembering to let go. "You said it was around here, right?" He asked, glancing at his companion with an arched brow. He looked away a second after to survey the plains. "Mysidia's off in that direction...but I've got a feeling that the village itself isn't what we're after." He mumbled, bringing a hand to his chin.

"I mean...there's no way they'd just hole up in a populated area." Another glance at Lumeria. "What do you think?"

Lumeria has posed:
"Yes, maybe they're looking for something?" Lumeria figures that might be the case. She still looks a bit uneasy from the portal teleport but continues, "If you were searching for something magical, Mysidia certainly wouldn't be a bad place to start." She's done her share of research there. Of course starting trouble there wouldn't be a good idea either.

Raine Arland has posed:
Another chin rub. "...Yeah, that said, it might be better to avoid the town itself. Don't want to cause trouble and end up getting magically dogpiled by a bunch of mages." A grin and chuckle came from him as he briefly imagined the possibility. "Let's search in that direction, but not directly towards it."

A nod as he then pat the girl's shoulder and gestured for them to move on. Turning north-east, he began to walk off in that direction. "...Might be a bit of a dumb question, but I've got to ask-"

Lumeria was given a sidelong glance as they walked. "Other than magic, do you know how do use any weapons? You keep anything in case of an emergency?" Says the guy who isn't carrying a single weapon himself. Hypocrite!

Lumeria has posed:
"That's a not a bad plan." Lumeria sounds a bit diappointed, she wanted to check out library but business first. "I'm sure I could handle any mages but I might have to end up having to protect you." She certainly was confident. "Between my research and other matters I haven't had time to take part in much weapons training." The girl didn't look like someone who took part in a lot of physical fights.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Oh boy, the great and powerful Lumeria protecting my sorry self!" Raine teased in a sarcastic manner, hands held up defensively. "Well, someone's confident. But still." He shook his head and held out a hand slightly, palm facing upwards. A small red glyph formed above his hand.

From it, a small black object rose up from it, eventually coming to float above the glyph at a slow pace. It was a knife. About the length of an average hand from fingertip to wrist.

"Here. Hold onto this." The young man spoke, extending his arm out to Lumeria to take the knife from the glyph. "Magic is all well and good, but you need some insurance. Everyone needs a little insurance." Well, at least the mystery of his carrying no weapons or items seemed to be partially solved.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria grabs a hold of the knife looking a bit uneasy as she does. She could feel the darkness coming from the weapon. It wasn't something she felt entirely comfortable with, but he did have a point. Without her magic she was pretty helpless. She swings the blade a few times, trying to get a feel for it. There's clearly not a lot of force when she does. "Is everything you do tied with the darkness?"

Raine Arland has posed:
As if actually giving Lumeria's question serious thought, he adopted a thinking pose with his hand on his chin after she took the blade. "Darkness? What is darkness anyway? It's just another source of power. It's not inherently evil~" A nonchalant shrug followed that statement, his tone cavalier.

"What's wrong? Is little Lumeria afraid of the dark~?" Raine asked in a mocking manner, grinning teasingly as he looked at her. As they bantered, the walk began to take them to a lightly forested area.

There were broken red pillars and stone debris beginning to show up amongst the forested path, and Raine silently took note amidst his teasing. "...(This looks like...)" A shake of the head banished the thought from his mind. He needed more proof.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria frowned a bit at that before a small amount of holy energy shot forth from her hand at him as she walks. "I'm not scared, it's just not my speciality." That was putting it lightly. "I'm sure you're not any better when comes to light." Given the amount of dark energy he seemed to wield.

Raine Arland has posed:
The shot hit his head, causing Raine to stumble off to the side comically. "Bwah!" He yelled out dramatically, regaining his footing after. Once he was settled, he started walking again, crossing his arms and smirking. "Oh really? All I can hear from here is 'I'm so scared~! Mommy don't turn off the light!'"

Jerk.

Still, the comment about him being no better at light earned Lumeria an amused shrug. "It depends. I could be formidable at light...depending on certain factors." Well, that certainly wasn't cryptic enough. Maybe he should try a little harder! The subject was left to drift by the wayside however as they walked deeper into the forest.

Eventually Raine spoke up again. "So, you've still got your family right? You get along with them?" What a random question.

Lumeria has posed:
"Well, excuse me for being good at what I inherited!" Lumeria crosses her arms clearly not in the best of moods right now. "Just like everything else, my relationship with my family is complicated. But yes, they're still alive if that's what you mean." That was putting it lightly. She looks around trying to not completely lose her focus on what's going around them. She notices the pillars and debris, did someone live here at one point?

Raine Arland has posed:
"Ahahahahaha~" Teasing this girl was too much fun. "Oh man, I'm sorry, but I can't resist!" He sputtered out between laughing fits. "Your face just has this quality that says 'please make fun of me!'" ...Did it really?

"Okay, okay...! Phew!" A few deep breaths and Raine recovered enough to regain his focus. He nodded at the mention of her family and smiled slightly to himself as he looked on ahead. "That's good. Family is important." Well that was vague.

But his attention at this point was on what looked to be ruined oriental shrine. The red arch that signifyed the entrance was broken down into pieces, as if it had been that way for a long time. And further on ahead was a long flight of stairs that lead upwards. They were so voluminous in fact that the main shrine itself couldn't be seen from where they stood at the bottom of the staircase.

"...Well, looks like we've got quite a climb ahead of us." He grinned and glanced at Lumera. "Need me to carry you~?" He asked teasingly, mocking her stamina now.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria's completely red at this point, "What's so funny about my face?" It's not like she can see it without a mirror. "You don't think I could take you on if I wanted to?" She has a feeling he doesn't take her seriously. It was hard for her not to get distracted by the conversation. She wonders what happened to the shrine, "Is this originally from your world? Yes, I can climb up there, it's not like it's a mountain or anything." She begins make her way up the stairs to prove her point.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Ahahahaha! There it is! You're doing it again!" He laughed quite obnoxiously, pointing straight at her. "And take me on? Psssh! Forget about it!" He laughed further, waving a hand dismissively. "We don't fight each other! Save that for the monsters and heartless~" But he sure was making it hard not punch his face in.

Part of his charm. Maybe.

Finished making fun of Lumeria once again, Raine sighed and stared up at the shrine steps. "Yeah, this is definitely from my world. In the same state of disrepair and everything. But the question is...how did it get here?" Smirking at the elf's insistence to prove her worth, Raine began to head up the stairs as well.

There really was a lot of them however. The stretched far upwards. The top looked like a far off dream, but...they'd eventually make it.

Eventually.

"Just let me know when you feel like dropping dead~" Another jab, but also a minor concern as well. No point getting there winded. Who knew what could be up there.

Lumeria has posed:
"Then stop trying to pick a fight." Lumeria can't believe how many stairs there are, "I don't spend all day in a library you know. I do a fair amount of traveling." Still as determined as she is, the girl was on the frail side. She's trying to prove how tough she is to him but is starting to fall behind. She wishes she knew float or warp about now.

Raine Arland has posed:
"I'm not picking a fight!" Raine exclaimed, faking appallment at her accusation. Well okay, maybe he wasn't, but it still would turn out that way. Nonetheless, Raine finally relented and turned his attention up to the long stairway.

He was holding out much better than Lumeria was, having been accustomed to traveling long distances and over rough terrain. As their trek continued and the elf began to fall behind, Raine glanced back at her a few steps down and slowed down. His face devoid of it's usual mocking humor, he offered a hand to her.

"Need a little help?" Seemed he was serious this time, not going to make fun of her for her faults...at the moment anyway. There was something bothering him. They were definitely zeroing in on an Apostle and his senses were screaming at him about such.

Only one way to find out though. Make it to the top.

Lumeria has posed:
"Yes, please." Lumeria nods at that, part of the trade off of being a long-lived race was that you got tired easier. She really is doing her best to try and keep up but it's clearly a struggle for her. He must be serious if he wasn't cracking any jokes at her. Of course she didn't really have the energy to do so either at the moment.

Raine Arland has posed:
Taking her hand, Raine pulled Lumeria closer, grinning with some manner of misdeed in his mind. "Well then, time to ride the Raine Express! Up we go!" And unceremoniously, he scooped the elf up into his arms, carrying her bridal style before proceeding to jog up the rest of the stairs.

Idiot.

Well, with this, they were making good time, the stairs were passing at a faster pace and the top was coming closer and closer as Raine ran the course.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria doesn't argue with him, it beats trying to climb more stairs on her own. Of course she's not too heavy so there shouldn't be too much effort involved on his part. "Just don't get any funny ideas about this. I'm helping you out for the knowledge and treasure, I'm not your girlfriend now or anything like that."

Raine Arland has posed:
"Please! I'm not interested in someone whose face is so exploitable." Raine chuckled as he ran up the stairs. "If anyone were that delusional, I'd laugh my head off at them! Heh heh!" And he actually began to laugh a little at that. "We're business partners, and you just happen to have a pathetic constitution. Nothing more than that~"

Well, it was true.

Still, they'd arrived at the top of the steps at last afterward. Sighing in relief, Raine let Lumeria down before stepping on ahead of her. He was more interested in what was ahead. And in his mind, a voice rang out.

'...Intriguing. I can feel 'her' presence.'

That earned a smirk from the young man and he looked about at the shrine area. There was a wide stone path leading straight ahead to an open square. And on the three sides of the stone clearing, were four shrine buildings in disrepair.

"I see it..." He mumbled to himself, staring dead ahead at what seemed to be a figure seated on the porch of one of the shrine buildings. It was definitely female, but her back was turned as she sat, obscured by a head of long black hair, seemingly in meditation.

"Bingo." Raine grinned as he stared dead at the meditating figure.

Lumeria has posed:
"Well, I doubt you'll look this good when you're 76 years old either." Lumeria can't help but to be a bit defensive about that as well. She takes a deep breath once she's back down on her feet. "And I'm not interested in someone who's a total jerk." Even if she is haughty. She notices the meditating figure but stays a bit behind him. "I take this is who you're looking for.

Raine Arland has posed:
"............"

Opening her eyes, thee figure remained in her seated position, staring at the ruins of the shrine in front of her. "You've come, Dark One." The voice of a female spoke, sounding around late teens to early twenties. Turning her head a bit, as if able to see them from just that, she remained still again as she spoke. "...and for what reason have you decided to find me?"

Upon asking such though, she stood slowly, picking up a prayer staff that was laying at her side, before turning to face the two of them. Her skin was oddly gray with red markings all over, but her ears were rounded like a human's. Her hair was long and black, and her eyes were a deep blue. Her attire was something akin to an oriental priestess. All in all...she hardly looked like a terrible god that destroyed things.

Raine narrowed his eyes, letting Lumeria's insults slide as he stared at the figure before them. "...Hecate. Apostle of Creation." He quipped, lowering his arms to his side. "...You know why I'm here." As he spoke, he took a step back towards Lumeria and asided to her. "Move aside." He whispered quietly.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria nods and moves out of the way. The woman wasn't what she was expecting either, but she knows not to judge by apperances. It sounded like she was equal to a god. If that were truly the case then they had their work cut out from them. Still she's a bit heistant about this, she didn't have anything personally against Hecate.

Raine Arland has posed:
"......" Hecate made no move to attack. No move to spur them into action, she just stared impassively at Raine, and then her gaze slowly turned to Lumeria. "...So, you have dragged an innocent onto your bloodstained path, Dark One." The Apostle spoke evenly, narrowing her eyes slightly at the swordsman before her.

Raine just frowned at Hecate's words. "Bloodstained path? What would you know about that? You were nothing but a soul inside of a weapon until not too long ago!" He exclaimed, pointing directly at her to refute her statement.

Hecate offered no action as a response and just cooly replied, staring at Raine as if he were a worm, or even less than that. "...You use, kill, and betray others, you scheme and skulk about for your own gain." The girl said calmly, eyes remaining narrow. "I must wonder, how long will that shell last?" And at that point, her eyes returned to Lumeria. "And you, child. Am I to assume that you have not been informed of the truth? Otherwise, there is no way that you would follow this fiend."

Raine grit his teeth at her words, clenching a fist as well. "What are you even babbling about now? I've never done any of those things!"

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria's isn't quite what you could call completely innocent. Still what Hecate says makes her heistate, she didn't a lot about Raine besides what he had told her. She hadn't even met anyone else from his world up until now. Which was a bit supicious. "Do you have any proof to what you're claiming?" Still she knows they're both acting in their own interests.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Proof? You would demand proof?" Hecate shook her head calmly and closed her eyes. "Very well. It is proof that you seek. Then it is proof that you shall gain."

And with that, Lumeria and even Raine would begin to feel a massive pulse of pure magical energy coming from the Apostle. Her eyes remained closed as the winds kicked up, tousling everyone's hair and clothes, and the energy began to roll off of her in waves. If there was ever proof that this figure before them was a god, then perhaps this would be it for sure.

"I will expose the truths that have been hidden from your eyes right at this very moment." What followed that was a bright and powerful flash of light, forcing Raine to shield his eyes. Once it receded, they would be able to tell that Hecate's form had changed. Her hair had turned white, her left eye held a flame similar to Raine's own, and her staff had changed form as well, cloaked in spiritual wisps of light.

"Tch, this just keep looking worse and worse...!" The swordsman hissed to himself as he observed Hecate's Apostle transformation. "Now what!?" He seemingly asked no one, but a voice in his mind answered.

'At this point, nothing. I had expected them to be as weak as I had become. This is a problem...' More so for the voice than for Raine. But the mysterious voice seemed to be resigned to the exposure of the truth in some fashion of another.

"And now, your true form will be revealed, Dark One." Hecate pointed her glowing staff at Raine and immediately, he began to seize up. "Ghk...!" hunching over, he held a hand over his left eye. "W-What the hell are you doing!? Stop!" He yelled at the Apostle, but she didn't stop.

A red glow began to overtake Raine, encompassing his entire body instead of just his eye, and it began to intensify more and more with each moment passed.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria feels the wind and is nearly blown over by it. She certainly wasn't expecting this at all, this didn't sound like it was going according to plan. They were clearly in over their heads here. But what should she do? She doubts her magic would be effective against a being of light. "Enough! You've proven your point."

Of course Lumeria's quite confused about all of this. She knew there was something odd about Raine but she wasn't quite expecting this. There's no way they could fight her either if she can overwhelm him so easily.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Wrong. My point has yet to be proven." Hecate responded impassively to Lumeria, her gaze still on Raine as she worked some manner of spell over him.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhgh!" He screamed loudly, holding his head in his hands as the red aura overtook him. From there, the crimson energy left his body and gathered together in the air as a formless mass of energy. With the energy out of his body, Raine's left eye had become normal and green, just like his right, and he collapsed to the ground.

"...It is done." Hecate spoke calmly, lowering her staff and staring balefully at the floating cluster of energy that came from Raine. "...This is Laevateiin. The Apostle of Destruction. And the Dark One I spoke of." She explained, eyes narrowed at the floating mass, paying Raine's body no mind. "That boy was simply a host."

"...You continue to stand in the way of plans, Hecate. As always." A voice rang out from the energy collective. A deep, booming male voice. Despite that said, this Laevateiin didn't make any sudden moves just yet, biding it's time.

Lumeria is given a glance from the priestess then. "...Now. I ask you; do you want the truth of the matter here?"

Lumeria has posed:
"So I would assume that Laevateiin was trying to seal the rest of you away so you no longer pose a threat?" Lumeria does her best to remain calm despite what just happened. This was unexpected, she didn't think she was work alongside one of the Apostles all along. She looks over at Raine's body concerned for his will-being. "Or am I wrong?" She was trying to piece together what was going on here.

Raine Arland has posed:
Raine Arland says, "Heh heh heh..." Laevateiin laughed at Lumeria's guess, but made no attempt to correct her. "Foolish woman..."

Hecate shook her head and calmly responded, ignoring the energy mass' insult towards the elf. "Wrong. That fiend you see before you, is a traitorous abberation. We Apostles are beings that watch over and protect the world." She nodded towards Laevateiin. "He seeks to destroy us in order to solidify his own seat of power amongst us uncontested, and then bring the world under his own corrupt rule." Setting her staff into the ground, the Apostle narrowed her eyes as she explained. "He fabricated lies and events, turned us all against each other, and then somehow rallied mankind against us. He almost succeeded, had it not been for the humans indicriminately felling him before he could act along with the rest of us."

Hecate certainly didn't seem happy about that. "I've no doubt that he used that boy to engineer his escape, by way of some tempting lie, and then brought on the fall of our world through the darkness." She raised her staff, and then brought it back into the ground forcefully as she spoke, as if restraining her anger.

Laevateiin remained quiet all the while till now, where another laugh emanated from his form. "Heh heh heh...ahahahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!" The energy began to fluctuate with the laugh. "And to think...that I would have gotten away with it too! If only you and those other fools would have quietly submitted under the flag that my paradise will fly!"

Hecate glared, but a movement below caught her attention. Someone struggling to stand back up.

"So then...all this time...you were lying to me?" It was Raine, somehow, through sheer force of will, he stood. "...So then, my wish! Was that a lie too!?""

Lumeria has posed:
Well, it looks like a change of plans just had happen here. Of course Lumeria's not quite sure what to do now but it sounds like she just went from one problem to another. She sighs a bit, "Your wish? What made you get involve with all this mess to begin with?" It must have been something huge if he had let a deity of destruction use his body as a host.

Raine Arland has posed:
Raine panted a bit, catching his breath from the previous ordeal. "...I..." He didn't think he'd actually share this with anyone. Hecate remained quiet, watching Laevateiin with a glare as she listened. Laevateiin, though only a ball of energy at the moment, somehow still managed to seem mocking.

"...He promised me that if I gathered the other four Apostles, that he'd be able to bring my family back to life..." A sardonic chuckle escaped from the black clad youth in that moment. "Heh...stupid, huh?"

"You were a fine tool, boy." Laevateiin said easily, a chuckle escaping from him after. "But it seems like you're no longer necessary."

"You." Hecate took a step forward, but a gesture from Raine stopped her. She paused, looking at him warily.

"No...Hecate, stand back." He took a deep breath then and stood up straight. With Laevateiin drawn out of him, Raine no longer had any weapons or darkness to take advantage of. None...except one. "This is my fight. I'm going to finish him off. Not you." Hecate stared at the young man as he made that proclamation, and stayed back as requested. "...Very well, but if you fail, I will intervene."

Laevateiin meanwhile burst out into raucous laughter. "Hah....haha...hahahahahaha! You? Defeat me?" If he had an actual physical form, he'd probably be smiling wildly right now. "Even in my current state, you are no match for me! All of your power came from me in fact! Without me, you're useless!"

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria can't help but to feel a bit sorry for Raine right now. Sure, she's not on the best terms with her family but they're still alive. "Are you sure you can handle him like this?" Even if Laeveiin wasn't at full power right now, he wasn't in the best shape either.

Plus it would pose a problem if he got possessed again. It doesn't seem like the best choice but it was fight after all.

Raine Arland has posed:
"....Nope." He glanced over at Lumeria and grinned like an idiot. "I don't stand a chance right now." Wait, then what the heck was he going to do? He seemed to have an idea regardless. "That's why I need your help, Lumeria." He seemed sincere enough.

"Enough of this foolishness! Disappear!" But Laevateiin wasn't going to give him time to be mushy and heroic. Bloody red tendrils began to expand from the energy mass, whipping out towards Raine. "Whoa!" He scrambled back, leaping from side to side and stumbling a bit as he dodged and got a few nicks and scratches on himself. It seemed like he didn't have a weapon either...what was he going to do?

"Lumeria, I know this is going seem like a stupid question, but...do you trust me?" Did this have something to do with his plan? Dodging another flurry of attacks, he leapt back and to her side, glancing at her for the answer.

Lumeria has posed:
"Well, I wouldn't have came all this way if I didn't trust you." Lumeria's quick to point out, this was no time mess around. Sure, they weren't on the best terms but she didn't want him to killed either. It wasn't either of their best interests after all. She's not quite sure what he has in mind, but she goes along with it.

Raine Arland has posed:
He nodded. "Good. Then I can use it." That said, Raine turned to face her, ignoring Laevateiin as he put his faith in things just going right. "I know one single actually useful magic spell, and I'm going to use it with you. So don't panic when I do it."

Seemingly confident in his plan, the black clad youth went on. "In the meantime, I need you to do whatever you can to project some kind of magic barrier behind me, and fast!"

Fast indeed as Laevateiin starts up his attack again, this time causing several red orbs to separate from himself before firing towards the two of them rapidly. "Your stalling will not save you! Be obedient like you have been and die!"

"....." Hecate meanwhile just stood by and observed, calmly keeping still and awaiting the outcome. This battle would decide more than a few things to come. She knew that.

Lumeria has posed:
Behind him? Lumeria's not sure what good that will do but she goes along with it. She begins casting a spell, and holy energy gathers behind him forming a barrier. She's not sure what spell he's going to cast on her, but she does best to remain calm and keep the shield up as long as possible. Hopefully, this would work or they would be in some serious trouble.

Raine Arland has posed:
Just as Lumeria erects the barrier, Laevateiin's energy began to rain onto the barrier, which was now serving as the only protection between him and them. "Every second counts. Here goes..." He closed his eyes and began to focus, raising a hand, palm outwards, towards Lumeria's chest. After a moment longer, a white magic glyph formed over her, slowly revolving.

"What nonsense are you planning?" The spirit demanded, energy output increasing, intensifying the rate of fire against the barrier Lumeria had set out. The pressure was becoming heavier and heavier, who know how much longer the barrier would hold? "You will not be able to hold me off for much longer!"

Raine ignored the struggling happening against the barrier then and opened his eyes, locked onto the magic glyph above the elf's chest. Without further ado, thrust his hand forward, and into the glyph. His arm passed through and 'into' Lumeria. Reaching for something, Raine eventually found it and grasped at it. Lumeria would be able to feel a strange sensation of her heart or soul being grasped, but not painfully. At that point, the incantation was uttered.

"Paradise, is here!"

There was a powerful and blinding flash of holy light from the elven girl's body as Raine pulled 'something' out. Once it receded, the swordsman could be seen facing Laevateiin, arm holding up something. It was...a sword? In the vaguest sense of the term, yes. It was a sword. But it's form was...nonexistent. Rather, it just seemed to be pure white light given a vague, wispy, sword-like shape. At least for the first few seconds. Afterward, that brilliant light dimmed down to a tarnished, but still white blade. It's luster was mostly gone, as if something was holding it back.

But no matter, Raine looked supremely confident. "....With this, I can even up the odds."

It should be noted that Lumeria would feel like she was currently 'missing' something. And if Raine's words meant anything, then that something should be obvious.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria cringes in pain as she feels her soul get torn from her. Of course she's a bit surprised not actually having seen it before. Just then the barrier is overwhelmed as she's no longer able to keep it in place without her full power. She's hoping that he finishes this quickly seeing how she feels kind of empty on the inside right now.

Raine Arland has posed:
".....So this is how he plans to overcome it." Hecate mumbled to herself, watching the battle still. Her tensed body relaxed a bit at this point, almost confident in which side would win. ...Almost. She wouldn't drop her guard just yet. Especially considering the decidedly lackluster state of Lumeria's Soul Blade. It seemed so brilliant and powerful for a moment. But then...it died.

"A soul blade? Really now? You plan to endanger someone's life by wielding their very soul? And such a tarnished one at that? It seems you and I aren't all that dissimilar after all, boy." Laevateiin chuckled and kept up his assault on the two of them, a flurry of crimson energy raining from his form.

"You're wrong! This is called trust! Even if the sword the tarnished, with it I'll cut you down to size!" Raine proclaimed angrily before dashing forward into a run. "Lumeria, get back!" He yelled back to her as he weaved left and right through the magical assault. "Haaaaaaah!"

Leaping into the air to meet Laevateiin, Raine brought the soul blade down upon the energy mass. But it would not be so easy. Clashing with several tendrils of energy, the swordsman remained locked in a struggle for dominance, both sides pushing to overcome the other.

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria steps back not being able to provide much more help at this point. Was she really that bad? I mean sure she likes money and attention but her intentions are good...mostly. And she is pretty powerful at least with white magic. Maybe the curse was holding it back, she thinks watching the battle between Raine and Laevateinn.

Raine Arland has posed:
It seemed like there would be no clear winner here. Raine and Laevateiine kept at it for a while longer still with no result. ".....!" And then seemingly having an idea, Raine threw caution to the wind. "Lumeria!" He called out to her twisting his body in mid-air. Her soul blade was flung back at her in that moment. The same glyph from before appeared over her chest and the sword passed right through. She'd feel a lot less empty now that it was returned.

"And now...!" He thrust his other arm out right towards Laevateiin. Interestingly, a red magic glyph formed just before he'd done it.

Wait, was he...?

"What are you...No! You cannot be! You think you can take my Soul Blade? Ahahaha! Fool!" Laevateiin was panicking despite his words, several shadowy tendrils emerged from him and they all sped towards Raine as he 'grasped' the soul. "Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

There was a flash of red, and then the incantation was uttered, just as the sharp tendrils were to make contact.

"Paradise, is here!"

Hecate shielded her eyes with an arm casually, still making no move to stop anything going on. "...Taking his opponent's soul blade. ...A daring move. If not foolish."

The red began to die down then, revealing just what had happened...

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria feels the soul blade reenter her body and lets out a sigh of relief. Of course she's still somewhat fatigued both from the earlier climb and having her soul weaponized. Still she manages to cover her eyes from the flash of red not wanting to be blinded by it. She's not sure what just took place given the fact her vision is blocked.

Raine Arland has posed:
Once the red clears what the two of them see is Raine standing in the center square, a spiked, black sword in one hand and his other hand grasping his sword arm as blood ran down it. He was wounded pretty badly in other places, but it seemed like Laevateiin wasn't anywhere to be found. "...Heh...since he was just a soul to start with...taking his Soul Blade would render him unable to do anything...yeah?"

Hecate stared at the wounded Raine for a moment before sighing lightly. "...A most foolish plan. But...it succeeded." She nodded and lowered her staff. "But now I must ask you, boy; what do you plan to do now that you know the truth?"

He looked down sadly at that, the gravity of everything he'd done and lost finally hitting him. ".....I did a lot of terrible things for Laevateiin, thinking he was going to grant my wish...I helped him break free and destroy our world..."

He shook his head after. "And I won't be seeing my family again, not my mom, not my dad, or my sister...they're gone." He couldn't work up the effort to be angry at Hecate for her and the other Apostle's war killing countless people, including his own family. "....But there is something I can do." He looked up then and held up the black sword that was Laevateiin's soul. "Destroy it."

Hecated nodded and pointed her staff towards the blade. There was a flash of light before white cracks appeared over the blade. Then it shattered into pieces. All of them dissipating into nothing after.

Lumeria has posed:
"Raine...I'm sorry..." Lumeria sounds sincere as she says that. She can't imagine what it must be like to lose your entire family. "I know it won't make things better but..." She begins casting a spell and green sparkles covers his body beginning to mend his wounds. Even her magic can't bring back the dead but it was the least she could do.

Raine Arland has posed:
Lumeria is given a small smile and a nod. "...Thanks. You're doing your best. No need to overdo it either." Pot, meet the kettle. Either way, he sighed as he could feel his wounds getting better. Once it was well enough for him to stop grasping his arm, Raine let it fall as he approached Hecate and Lumeria.

"...I spent all this time trying to kill you all in order to help his plot. But...that's not what I want to do now."

Hecate nodded silently, letting Lumeria do her work. In the meantime, her Apostle transformation died down and she returned to her normal look. "I see. Well it's good that you understand. And that you no longer are at the whims of that fiend. The world is better off without him." She let that hang in the air for a moment before speaking up again. "What do you plan to do now then?"

Raine crossed his arms, wincing a bit, but less than he would have if Lumeria hadn't healed him. "...I want to find the other Apostles still. I want to find them and work together to restore our world. I helped Laevateiin destroy it...but maybe we can work together and find the world shards to bring it back." He smiled sheepishly and looked towards Lumeria then. "And I guess I should apologize to you. I dragged you off into such an evil mission without even fully realizing it myself. And now...I still need to ask for your help in this new mission"

Grinning despite his wounds, he went on. "So, will you still help me? I'll double the pay!"

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria's eyes light up when she hears the part about doubling the pay. "Sure, why not. Maybe I'll further my research too while I'm at." It's not every day you get to study the rebuilding of a world after all. Plus, maybe one of the Apostles could remove her curse while they're at it.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to be easy else you wouldn't need my help to begin with." At least it was a challenge worthy of her talent. "I need some sleep first though, that was exhausting." It also tested her abilities to the limit.

Raine Arland has posed:
"I see." Hecate mumbled, nodding in understanding. That is an admirable mission. One that I can say that I would support. Indeed, the restoration of their world was paramount amongst the goals of the Apostles.

"Heh..." Raine knew that the promise of increased pay would move her. Still his funds were going to cry at him later on down the line. "Right then. I guess we should get going." He turned away and glanced at Hecate. "I'll see you around, Hecate." He bid the apostle farewell, apparently having no desire to fight her.

"Hold." She spoke evenly, calling for the two of them. "...I have a request."

"....?" Raine arched a brow and turned to face the priestess then. "A request? What do you need?" Yeah, did a /god/ need from him?

"...I would also like to assist in the restoration of our world. However, I cannot move from this place." Such was admitted hesitantly and she looked away. "...I imagine the other Apostles are in similar situations. We are confined to areas that came from our original worlds, unable to venture far beyond them on our own."

Raine frowned at that, bringing a hand to his chin. "So that's why finding you was pure hell!" He exclaimed almost indignantly. "So how can I help?"

Hecate nodded slowly and went on. "...Form a contract with me, similar to the one you did with Laevateiin. I will be able to exist off of your own life energy and be able to leave this place to accompany you." She raised a hand at that then. "But my power will be reduced, and I will also be reduced to a spiritual form that resides within you. My power can be used somewhat and I can be spoken with, but I cannot be summoned."

"......" Raine thought about it for a moment before glancing at Lumeria. "It sounds okay, what do you think?"

Lumeria has posed:
Lumeria will end up owning half Raine's world wealth at this rate. Still if he wants to give her money she's not going to argue with him. "It might not be a bad idea, plus I rather not have my soul weaponized again if it's avoidable." Him having more power would prevent that after all. "Are you sure the remaining Apostles will go along with this?" Sure they might not be flat out evil, but they still have to get them agree with the plan.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Yeah, I guess I'll go with it then." He nodded, bringing a hand to his chin. "Besides, your Soul Blade was kinda lacking. I mean, it was REALLY bright at first, but...the it died." How blunt. "Is there something bothering you?" Even blunter.

Hecate rolled her eyes at their banter and sighed. She closed her eyes then and was enveloped in an aura of light. Her form then reduced to that of a mass of light that then unceremoniously flew right into Raine's chest, cutting him off. The act caused a pillar of light to briefly shoot up from Raine's form and his eye, which used to be red, then went to green with the loss of Laevateiin, now turned blue.

"Oh...well, I guess it's done." He brought a hand to his left eye, feeling Hecate's presence there. "...as for the other Apostles, there's only one way to find out. And that's to find them." He nodded then and turned away. "Okay, let's get out of here!"

There was a pause then as he realized something. "...Wait, I can't use darkness anymore. ...I think we have to walk. Ehehehe..." He chuckled sheepishly, scratching his cheek with a finger.

Lumeria has posed:
"Well, it still was powerful enough wasn't it?" Lumeria says a bit defensively. "Maybe you couldn't handle it fully." It was the first time he had handled it after all. She looks down at the stairs before groaning a bit, "Now that I think it about it, the darkness teleport wasn't so bad." At least it beat heavy physical activity on her part.

Raine Arland has posed:
"It was pretty strong, yeah, but something was holding it back. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't me!" He replied easily enough. "I mean, I have no effect on the Soul Blade's power. It's all on the host and the state of their soul, which means..." He gave Lumeria a pointed look. "Someone's got iiiiiiiiiiisuues~" He teased, pointing at her with both fingers.

...This moron just went through something big and he was finding the time to tease someone else despite? Maybe it was solace for him.

At that moment however a voice rang out inside Raine's head. It was Hecate.

'You have access to white magic now. Just cast Warp, you fool.'

"...Oh." He grinned sheepishly and spoke up. "Okay, false alarm! Apparently I should be able to cast Warp." He announced to Lumeria, stepping forward to look down at the stairs. All the stairs ever. "...Eesh, not even I want to bother going down all of that."

Lumeria has posed:
"Maybe I'm not as innocent and helpless as you thought?" Lumeria points out to him. "I'll give you a discount if teach me that!" She sounds quite eager about learning the spell. "Anyways, let's get out of here. I've had enough of this place." She could go for a nice warm shower about now.

Raine Arland has posed:
"Not innocent? ...Sure, I can believe that." Raine shot back without an ounce of hesitation. "Not helpless? .....Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." He really drew it out, but didn't actually say anything one way or another, just to annoy her. But then the mention of a discount caught his attention.

"A discount? Count me in!" He said immediately, raising both arms to cast the spell. White light formed in his palms and then expanded to envelop them both. The light covered their sights and after a brief rush, the light receded as they found themselves standing in front of the gates of Baron. "...Oh, guess that's it. That wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be." He nodded to Lumeria and then strode on into the city. "Now then! Time to get to grub and rest!"