Blood pumped from the wound in Zheanni's stomach. Her golden aura wavered uncertainly around her frame.
A surprised smile passed Vidi's face. The expression turned to confusion, staring as the blood dripped from his sword, sizzling on the electrified blade. Gold flecks floated in the dark liquid as if someone had mixed glitter into a jar of red paint. "Bloody hell…"
He refocused in time to see a fist blasting at his face. Ducking out of the way, he wasn't prepared for her to then pivot, spinning and slamming her elbow into the back of his head.
He stumbled forward, his vision darkening and blurring. He tried to stand straight, but his legs wobbled; unable to find themselves, he face-planted. His Katana clattered to the ground a few feet away.
"Vidi!" Vici switched to Blade Three, as his energy coursed through it, turning to electricity, crackling and arching angrily around him, causing Zheanni to glance over.
"Oh! Nice hit, Zheanni!" Kholwa beamed. Haemosu barked in agreement. 'That was an absolutely perfect read! Haemosu saw it all. Getting hit in the back of the head is like a death sentence. If you get hit in the face, your skull protects you. But attacks like she just did target the brain stem. Brain swelling, hemorrhaging. Nausea, dizziness. Even a light hit can cause permanent damage. So an elbow like that…'
The Dark Passenger planted its fist into Vici's gut, catching him completely off-guard. A rhythmic whirring sound came from its gaping maw. 'It's laughing at me!' Vici thought, backing away. His eyes flitted from Vidi to the flaming pits where its eyes should have been.
'Vici,' Vidi thought. Flipping on his back to face Zheanni. "I really wish you had bloody half a clue and listened to Veni and me. She was wide open, and you were too worried about me to capitalize."
"You can both shut it, 'cause I don't give a damn! I'm not gonna apologize for giving a damn about human life!"
Zheanni patted her stomach. The wound had mostly healed. The gash was no more than a cut. A doctor could give her a few stitches and she would be fine.
Vidi blinked, his vision slowly returning. Sensing his blade a few feet away, he reached, grasping for it.
Grinning, Zheanni jumped into the air, both her feet landing straight on his chest. Blood splashed from his mouth with a hack. Raising her leg up, she stomped on his head a few times, giggling maniacally as she did so. Her wound had completely vanished.
"Ahhh!" Vici blitzed straight for Zheanni, the Dark Passenger watching him go. Electricity spread around the room, arching to the metal statues and beams as he charged.
Whipping out a pistol from her pants, she cackled, watching Vici dance around, dodging and slicing through the bullets. Zheanni had a single foot planted on Vidi's chest.
Taking out Blade Four, a hunting dagger appeared in Vidi's hands. Made of a specialized metal, his energy turned into a clear acidic gel coating the blade, strong enough to melt stone and most steel.
He shot to his feet, knocking Zheanni off balance just as she'd run out of bullets, the gun clicking uselessly in her hand as she fell backward.
"Now!" Both brothers brought their weapons down on her.
Vidi sliced deep into her left armpit, while Vici barely missed her right eye by an inch, the blade piercing deep into the floor. On the way down, she had kneed Vici in the ribs, messing up his aim. His energy arching from his katana to her skin, sending her into light convulsions.
Blade Five, taking his chance, Vidi quickly switched paces, manifesting two small serrated daggers. The other sword disappeared from in her. 'She's stunned!' He began stabbing her in the torso and neck as violently and as quickly as possible. Her gold-flaked blood flew around the scene, splashing onto the paintings and even the ceiling. 'Blade Five is my favorite! Two smaller, faster blades made for a quantity of cuts more than the quality of cuts. I've got to cut or stab the target ten times uninterrupted in fifteen seconds, then the target will be under my spell and must follow one order of mine. The order I give must be physically achievable for the target, or I will need to re-cut them.'
Vici held down Zheanni and watched as Vidi continued stabbing, counting each puncture in his head, 'Four, five, six,' a look of shock carved her face, 'seven, almost there! Eight, nine, te-'
Zheanni let out a screech of rage, and her golden aura expanded. She began thrashing around, kicking away Vidi, resetting his ability. Vici hauled back, punching her, attempting to keep her down. A bone cracked in his hand. Her palm planted onto his face, her acrylic nails threatening to scratch his eyes out. He attempted to pull the katana from the floor, but it was too deep, and a kick sent him sliding several feet away.
Zheanni scrambled to her feet, slipping on the bloody floor as she did so, seeing Vidi come at her with a heavy butcher's blade. A white frost covered the metal. It was so cold that vapor billowed from it. Even if the strikes were not clean, the energy, which has similar properties to dry ice, can cause debilitating damage to nerves and skin cells, significantly slowing any limb it grazes.
Kholwa cautiously opened her eyes. She'd squeezed her eyelids shut once she saw both of the brothers jump on top of Zheanni.
Zheanni's golden energy arched high into the air, briefly flicking the ceiling, sparking excitedly. Blood dripped from between her diamond grin. With every breath, more blood gushed from her neck and body. It splattered onto the ground with a wet slap.
'Golden energy…and so much of it, too. What the hell!' Vici glanced back at her Dark Passenger, 'Whatever I'm looking at, it came from her. It doesn't seem to be taking this seriously at all, but I can't have it just lurking around. I bet the acid will kill it!'
Vidi slashed at Zheanni. Missing the swing, he attempted to back up but couldn't. She stomped on his foot, immobilizing him. He looked up just as a bloody fist connected. She continued to swing on him. Fast but effective strikes.
Vici stabbed at Zheanni's Dark Passenger, the strike bouncing off its chest, giving him the chance to switch to Blade Five, but he refrained. He readied himself, prepared to attack again. To aim for the head. It had to work.
"Ah!" The only remaining wound on Zheanni was a deep cut in her leg.
"Ha!" Blade Seven erupted in the Vici's hand. The air boiled around the flaming sword as he held it high in the air, like a radiating beacon. The room's temperature quickly became superheated.
A bead of sweat crossed Conor's brow as he sat. His skin sticking to the now hot metal folding chair. Glancing over at a nearby art piece, Kholwa noticed the paint start peeling in the heat.
Vidi, who stood several yards away from Zheanni, began swinging the flaming longsword. With every motion, a wave of flaming energy launched itself across the room at her. A wide look in her eye, and she was off. Sprinting around the perimeter of the massive room, dodging the arcs of flame.
Each wave left a scorch mark several feet deep into the metal wall of Stygian Tower.
Vici's Blade Four bounced off of the Dark Passenger. Its flaming eyes bore holes in him as it stared him down. 'It's looking at me like I'm not even worth fighting. Like I'm nothing.'
Vidi continued to follow Zheanni with his blade. "Vici! An Idea!"
"What's up?"
"I know what to do! We can kill her. I've got it!"
Conor leaned forward, interested.
Vici looked back at his brother, a triumphant smile. "Yeah?"
"We need to-" Appearing behind Vidi, Zheanni kicked the back of his leg out, sending him to his knees. She placed one foot on his shoulder and both hands around his head.
"You figured it out too late," she cooed.
Zheanni pulled upwards, hearing his spinal column disconnect from his skull and his skin tear as she ripped Vidi's head from his body.
Vici collapsed to the ground, his energy disappearing at the same time as his brother's. "This is impossible. This can't be happening."
The room's temperature quickly cooled as the flaming sword sputtered out, crumbling into an ethereal dust.
"Oh fuck," Zheanni's legs quivered, and her eyes rolled back in her head as the room spun. Deep below her stomach, she felt a pulsing inside her. She moved her fingers around the hole in Vidi's neck, pulling them out and sticking her bloody fingers down her pants, moaning as she did so. Her Dark Passenger floated over to her, making a similar sound.
"Eugh!" Conor mimed gagging. "That was uncomfortable to watch."
The number on both of the Dark Passenger's shoulder pads increased from '33' to '34.'
"Phew," Zheanni stood up straight, the experience done. The crying of Vici snapping her out of her reverie. Strolling over to him, she grabbed him by the hair, looking into his blank eyes; he couldn't even register she was there. Dragging him by the hair, she walked over to the cursed painting. She pushed his face up to it. His tired eyes lifted, a hopeful look as if he were being called by someone he knew. "Woah." Zheanni moved back, watching as the painting began to shift and breathe.
Vici lifted a bloody hand, tentatively touching the piece. However, he didn't make contact and was flung into the painting as if being yanked by an unseen force.
"Oh shit," Zheanni got close, smiling with fascination. She pointed to the new character in the painting. A familiar boy covered in blood, standing over the birdbath in the garden, looking like he was screaming in agony.
"Wow," Kholwa said. She felt like this was her first breath in over five minutes. She went over to Zheanni, hugging her tightly.
Haemosu barked a warning, and both Zheanni and Kholwa turned, seeing her Dark Passenger looming over them, its eyes burning brightly. It made an annoyed whirring sound.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" Zheanni said to it. "If I knew that wouldn't count as a Soul Stack, I wouldn't have done it," she promised.
Soul Eater: Zheanni's physical attacks heal her for 50% of the damage dealt. This will not heal amputations or removal of body parts. Every time someone dies in a ten yard area around her, she gains a 'Death Stack.' If she kills someone who is an energy user, she gains a 'Soul Stack.' The Death Stack will eventually dissipate after 48 hours, but a Soul Stack will stay forever as it is absorbed into her Dark Passenger. Every Stack is an increase in her overall powers and abilities.