"Well, that should be it. I suppose he was the most trouble but he was also the most satisfying to beat…" Commented Hana, August's body falling out of her arms to fall right onto the concrete material belonging to the lower platform they'd flown off of earlier.
Scratching the back of her head with her nails, with her guard lowered, she felt something in her heart, then gasping in surprise then opening her eyes. Mouth agape, clasping her chest, the figure of Ben to her side, soles touching against the ground beside her figure, he smirked,
"Requiem Virus…" Menacingly stated the Emperor, the azure coloration of his pupils beginning to be overtaken, made out by the Master of the Mountain from the corner of her eye.
The aura around his soul extended out to his body, from the center of his hidden chest pushing out further and further to his arms and legs. It wasn't the usual dark blue that he'd been given ever since that first battle with the Warrior, it was darker, maybe the sun was affecting it… but that thought was wrong. In fact, the shade that was overtaking his dark eyes was none other than the brightness of a cloud, as white as the blinding son- a maniacal giggle was barely withheld, before he was flicked right on the forehead.
By none other than his own son, the Reaper caught his father in his arms as he collapsed forward about to face plant right onto the ground. Carefully releasing his hold on his old man, a thud was heard as August stepped forward to snap in front of the eyes of Hana, leading for a spark of Orderly Thunder to slide behind the width behind her eyeballs. Destroying the virus instantly, his right eye, Convergence went back to the normal controlled hue of green as Hana stepped forward momentarily, holding onto the shoulders of Rivera, who happily supported her, arching his back so she could have a steady post to regain her balance.
Out of breath, sweat dripping down her face, August held an uncaring apathetic look over his eyes and features, turning his head to the side,
"You okay?" Asked Aug emotionlessly, to which she couldn't help but chuckle, noticing his tone.
"I'll-I'll be fine- but that was a really… REALLY powerful technique. I've never really felt a presence like that before. It was like something that you feel before you die. The existential chill of a void entering your entire consciousness and person… it was like I was inches away from Death's door before being snapped right out of it. If there's anything he needs work on, it's controlling that inner 'Holy King' of his. Which, I think you should work on with him. I'd like to train Alex, seeing as how he's the least experienced out of you three," Suggested Hana, to which Aug nodded in understanding and both of them went their separate ways to train those who they were assigned to. August with Ben, and Hana with Alex. It would be fun… no, it wouldn't.
Jason and Madi were backed into a corner, the duo of siblings jumping back so they could raise their arms in defense. Beams of sound hitting to the fronts of their feet, shockwaves creating craters below their limbs so pebbles and debris would scatter in front of their vision. Shurikens flying right at their faces, Jay had to cut right through the pebbles and use the Ketsueki to protect his sister's forehead. Both of them grunting in surprise, he jumped over her, Madi clapping her hands together so a zipper of the reality she controlled would engulf them both- leaving their enemy to slam their fist where they both previously stood.
Searching for them as the end of their mask moved with the wind, they unsheathed their katana from its covered back- pupils darting as quickly as Jason's unexpected immense vampiric speed. PHEW! Arrows of light erased the air around them, raising their blade, it was easily cleaved through so the metal could melt, eyes widening- paralyzed in shock. With their guard down, as thunder rumbled in the skies above, Jason chopped on the crown of his enemy's head, red lightning jumping off of his joints- the smoky simulation ended.
Scratching at his nape with his claws, the Vampiric Hunter dejectedly breathed out his nostrils, then stretching out his arms into the air so his bones would crack letting out a satiating audio. Thump! Her feet went as she jumped down from a simulated container, Madi grunting as she bent her knees as her brother moaned in irritation, along with obvious disappointment,
"This sucks! That was wayyyyyy too easy! And here I thought this Empire would have real challenges," Smugly commented Jason, stretching out his words leading for his sister to roll her eyes a bit at the way her sibling spoke. Arms over her chest, after rubbing her eyes,
"It was only easy because we're Requiems. Our natural strength is… I think 'beefier' is the right word- well, uh, BEEFIER than normal super humans. I guess those who only rival us are Ryder and his kids. I don't know if Mei counts as a Requiem too though.." Contemplated Madi curiously as she rubbed her chin, Jason shaking his head at his sister's obvious pondering, just about to kick their enemy upside the head having been surprise shocked on the floor.
Seconds away from claiming victory, their figure vanished before his red eyes, with only the blackened aftermath of their ninja attire remaining- they shed that outfit for something much better. Beefier muscles, appearing right to his head, he vanished to be engulfed by the shadow cast by the light leaking onto his frame. Slamming their dagger into the metal platform where he previously stood, they spun right around and jammed the tip of this sharpened weapon into the throat of the reappeared manifested Hunter Vampire.
Choking on his blood, Madi couldn't help but face palm at the sight of this, watching as her brother splatted right onto the ground- a puddle of blood immediately splashed out as she stepped right on over to his body. Angrily muttering to herself, she placed her hand right between his upper and lower rows of teeth surging some of her healing energy into his brain so he could chomp right down on her skin. Ingesting and sucking some of their shared blood, he bounced right back up, rejuvenated and all- before being elbowed in the face by his younger sister, all for being the unintentional idiot he was.
Bowing to the Shinobi, she stepped forward out of the light after bowing to the Empress to reveal her shape and design. As stated before, most of Hana's followers and members of the Six Blade wore the same robe that she did, just modified to suit their abilities and style. This version of the robe had sort of been a jumpsuit to accentuate her muscles and skin, without sleeves over her arms, also without leggings over her legs.
Muscles over both, simply tapping at the collar of her robe so the sleeves and others would come peeling over her limbs on command, over her bust, the engraving wasn't there. Instead, it was over her forehead, and it was a planet, being Earth, obviously. The coloration of the robe was that of white, but the design down the middle was, instead of black like Hana's, yellow. Same with her eyes, if Madi didn't make out the planet tattoo over this woman's forehead, she'd think that she represented the Sun,
"Don't worry about your brother, he's rather charming when he doesn't speak," Stated the Planetary Blade, scratching at her chin sheepishly with her eyes closed, an imaginary sweat icon appearing over her head,
"Tell me about it. Maybe I could bear being related to him if he didn't speak so much… yet I'm always stuck with him rather than Benny. Anyway- ahem! Hajimemashite, Akiyama Daichi," Bowing after commenting that about her brothers and her obvious bias towards the youngest, Madi watched as the Blade to her front followed.
"Ah, mondai nai! (問題ない)! I'm not really one for formal introductions, so don't worry about respecting me or anything. Plus, I'm younger than you, so there's that, heh. Also… uh, I'm Chinese, Miss Rivera," Daichi sheepishly informed the ignorant Empress, to which she chuckled at the new information given and nodded.
"I don't know any Chinese at all!" Madisyn said with a straight face and two thumbs up, fake stars and everything appearing all over her face, behind the back of her head, all that stuff.
"Hahaha, trust me, it's all good. Now, I shall be teaching you and Jason over there on the floor. I was chosen because, despite you two being Requiems, your brother is stronger than you. So he gets to train with the Master," Sitting on the floor, she crossed her legs together as Daichi now informed Madisyn of her assignment, to which Rivera mirrored the seating.
Raising her hand, she let out a, "Miss Akiyama!" So the Planetary Blade could point at her figure saying aloud going along with the bit, "Yes, Miss Rivera!" Rubbing the back of her head, an embarrassed blush secreting over her tanned skin cheeks, she questioned curiously,
"Uh, what are your powers..?"
Back at the heart of the Temple, deep inside, two pairs of palms clapped against one another so it could let out a very recognizable sound. As the pairs of skin hit one another, they spoke out loud with differing tones, Hana with her feminine vocals and Alex with his deeper masculine. A bird's eye view would entail Hana on the right and Al on the left of the dining table, rather close to the ground, that if tapped with enough pressure, it'd likely collapse and hit against the platform below,
"Let's eat!" They collectively said in unison, before the Master and the Judge went about to chowing down on their food.
It wasn't just Japanese, it had been American, too, having been gathered by the crows sent to the Requiem Empire to group up foods for Alex's delight. While Hana went about eating some sushi with her chopsticks, Al decided to use his telekinesis and throw some of the multitude of foods onto his plate, like choosing from a buffet. Burgers had their fronts devoured instantly, tenders with the edges of teeth sunken in through the skin and into the meat, and fries were swiftly launched into the deep mess of his throat. Hana didn't really mind at the messiness of his eating style, instead, she went about her own elegant way, considering, she too, had lots of food she needed to ingest.
Ramen, sushi, dumplings, udon, soba, that was about it unless you counted the drinks. Which was just water, but a bunch of glasses for both her and him. The Master, despite having to eat so much, went at a slower pace than the inexperienced Alex, chewing and ingesting everything in sight, it was clear he was rushing to do something. Gulping down the remnants of the raw food she'd swallowed, flicking the tips of her chopsticks forward so the tips could aim at his face, causing him to quirk a brow then stop at his intense chewing,
"I think I realize what you do wrong, now. Maybe you don't do this in battle, and it's just a subconscious action, but you're moving too fast. Not in the sense of body movement, sometimes you can be incredibly precise and also incredibly fast at the same time, Augustus has mastered that. He was your previous mentor, wasn't he?" Curiously asked Hana after analyzing him, to which he nodded slowly, feeling his stomach ache and grumble as he put down the burger he was about to devour in a hurry.
"I think the problem is your mindset. Benjamin, Augustus, no matter the age or what they are to you, you are all in the same boat for they are your brethren no matter what. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, the problem lies with expectations. Because of that, no matter how hard you try, or whatever you do, you'll always feel like you have to live up to their example. The Requiem Emperor of Time, the Requiem Reaper of Death, both of them are infamous for different things. Whether it be creating a new world full of super humans or stopping a corrupt scientist from creating a superhuman uprising, you feel you can't live up to that, despite being who you are," Stated Hana, leading Alex to grit his teeth, sliding his teeth up from biting his lip,
"You saying that I can't be more than them?" Angrily inquired Alex with a flare of objection in his eyes, visibly offended by her statements.
"I'm saying that YOU think that you can't be more. For example, do you believe yourself inferior for using a channeling weapon when neither August or Ben seem to? Jason uses Ketsueki, and in fact, August sometimes channels Requiems energy into his tendrils to make them more powerful. Everyone has their part to play in becoming stronger, but usually it has to do more with their mental state then their bodies. You'll never be the next Reaper or Emperor, at least, not with the way you're thinking. The Riveras are a lineage destined to end, and they have a bloodline of horrible events like genocide and mass murder. I believe that you have as much potential and ability as August and Ben have, even more so considering you're the descendant of two super humans and a Child of God. You have the capability to surpass both of them, but no matter what, whatever any of them say, you'll never be the same as them. The names Rivera and Karlo are engraved into the stone with legacies behind them, Amara is corrupt… why don't you change that? Be the hero you want to be, or don't, be just yourself. Don't compare yourself to them, be the best you that you can be. You do that, and I'll take care of the rest," Hana's motivational speech right then and there sent Alex to contemplate what he'd been doing. Before she disappeared from in front of him, and decided to manifest back at his side, grabbing his hand and smiling.
Turning her head, eyelids shut over the vibrancy of her colorful pupils, the Master patted the top of his head like an owner doing so to their pet. Rolling his eyes, he couldn't help but let out a smile at the feeling, Hana grinning for a second, Al decided to nod. Even after what happened with Natalia during the whole Murder of Crows thing, apparently he had still felt withdrawn with feelings of inferiority and uselessness, being next to these icons, giants, rather, he felt so tiny in comparison. Not to mention he was also one of those, too corrupted to commit to something righteous, being the cause of so much hatred and destruction, way before he'd gained the power to reverse it… But he couldn't feel that way anymore. In 10 days, they'd rise to action- this wasn't the time to feel anything like that, he had to keep moving forward, as fast as he could without hesitation, that was his destiny. Train and prepare yourself, break the limits- and become something far greater than anything else before.
Judge those for their crimes and ensure that justice is served, chaos would reign on them like never before. That was his fate, carved out before him, Hana stuck out her hand, and with those words, he smiled, ready for the future,
"Let us begin."