"For all creation stems from destruction. For all blessings have a corresponding curse, the slayer wept; he had been blessed to become the creator, and from that very thing, he would slowly be destroyed. She was rising."
Nopte's eulogy, The Rebirth, First verse
Part two-
Adei was scared. Why did she have to be scared? She envied Nomu as he stood obnubilated in his imaginary paradise, as his body, tucked away in the colosseum of his impermeable shell, brawled against his darkest memories. She, on the other hand, displayed all her doubt in clear expressions on her face; her colour had never been enough to hide even her deepest secrets. Secrets. Why did it always have to be about secrets? Who was this Kusu Nomu talked about? Why did Etafázo never speak about her powers? What in all hell did that prick of a god expect from her? Things flew so fast that it all blurred. The very order chanted by her beating, boastful, blobbering heart mocked her from her very chest: seek and find. Seek and find. What to seek? Would she ever find?
The girl looked back at her friends. They were still there, dazed, useless. Maybe that's why Etafázo wanted her to destroy the place. Who is she kidding, of course not.
Suddenly, a thought sparked in her mind, as if sent over by an omniscient being: What if contacting those souls was like contacting Etafázo? After all, they both seemed to have a soul and be linked to her. She closed her eyes. A large black mist instantly covered her entire mind. She dropped Etafázo, and all was white. But far, far through the white mist, black eyes popped out. She rushed to them.
"There you all are!" She exclaimed. There were the Nereian souls. They were much more numerous than she had ever expected, yet their influence was so small! They almost looked like children. They were nothing like Etafázo.
"Everyone huddle, I need you guys, alright? Let's get you to a useful place."
They all nodded in agreement and latched onto Adei's mental image. She dragged them down from her heart. As they rushed out, Adei imagined all of them pushing against the ceiling, and hundreds of transparent white figures started pushing against it, quickly creating crackles which riddled the top of the walls. She picked up Etafázo.
"I'm sure this breaks some law of nature somewhere" He glowed, and Adei giggled.
A large crash resonated through the room.
"Hey! Keep your focus! The souls are getting out of hand!"
She quickly got back to her task and the roof detached from the walls, sending debris everywhere. In a final cry, the roof was launched to the side and landed outside, on the slope of the valley.
Natural light flowed everywhere. Adei was covered in dust but even that could not stop her beaming, satisfied smile. The souls, cheering, returned to their host, and as they did, Adei changed.
As every single soul entered her heart, spikes emerged from her skin. I did not hurt. The hundreds of spikes extended outwards for almost 30 centimetres, until they curved, bent, evolved. They contorted and squeezed and expanded and split and moved to her arms. There, they merged into one black and white metal… no, better even. It was this… perfection that covered her arms, extending to her shoulders and acting like armour. It had still conserved her black and white colour, but now it took a much better allure: atop her shoulders, swirling protrusions extended to form a knitted, almost fiery, pauldron. Her biceps and forearms were also fully covered in black vein-like bits merged together for a sturdy mesh. It was black with elegant streaks of white like the whispers of souls slowly rising to her head. Her fingers were surrounded with claw-like armour, a perfect fit, white at the palm, black on top, which evolved into sharp grey claws at the fingernails. Then, in an instant, the armour merged with her skin. It wasn't going anywhere, at least not without her skin.
Then from seemingly nowhere, she heard "you protect our souls, let us protect your body." She smiled.
"Where are we?"
It was Nomu's voice. Adei turned around and lunged at him, toppling him over and hugging him tightly.
"OW! Claws! Claws! Claws!"
She let go, an embarrassed look on her face.
"What happened here?" Asked Ocy, waking up as well.
Etafázo took the lead. "This place was simply a stepping stone for Adei to acquire power. She took the roof off, though her power was amplified by the shrine, do not expect such an explosive display of power for at least a while."
Still, Adei was jumping up and down. After all, she had saved her friends, and they were simply staring at her in disbelief.
The ground shook. They hadn't even noticed but the walls around them were tumbling down… they were charcoal black.
Nomu pushed Adei towards the exit and picked Ocy up "Let's go!"
Cracks appeared under their feet, but they made it to the exit.
Like ink spreading across a white page, the blackness slowly expanded, and with it, the temple was dissolving.
Adei shuddered. I knew why. They didn't wait much longer and left for the wilderness.
Things slowed down. The group took a moment to breathe, look around, talk.
Ocy looked back, pensive. "That black patch seems so corrupted... do you know anything about it, Etafázo?"
There was a pause. If the sword had a mouth and could take a deep breath, it for sure would've.
"Yes and no." His glow faded sightly. "First of all, you are wrong to call it corrupted. Black is pure… no, united. It is a homogenous and ordered substance that never loses focus, but never evolves, and in fact, when you close your eyes, your mind mostly black. It is the single thing that stays constant. White is chaos. It can be hellish red like soothing pink, military blue like casual turquoise. It lays waste on its surroundings and wrecks the soul. It is corruption." He paused, unsure of whether or not he should keep talking.
Nomu glared at him. "What about Adei?"
"…She is balance. Fluid but determined, emotional but cold, she takes the shape of all that she wishes… she is the unity between my kind and Nopte's. I have said enough, let's go."
"Wait, you can't just leave us hanging!" Protested Ocy. Adei nodded.
"I would love to, but I can't."
"What do you mean?"
"How about I give it to you as a riddle?"
"Do we have a better choice?"
"No."
"Then what are you waiting for? Less jibber-jabber, more riddling."
He paused for a minute.
"The old hunter observes his prey. Every step. Every breath. The hunter has power, but who really does? The prey. As the hunter hunts, after hunting for thousands of eyes, he searches for his final victim. It hunts to be the prey. It hunts for its hunter, but what he sees in his lens is his prey, the same one he released, not his hunter, until one day it becomes both."
"Why is it so long?"
"Well, if you want all the answers, you have to search. I'm not allowed to make it easy anyways. On those words, may we go?"
Nomu and Ocy stood up and started walking away.
"Adei? Are you coming?"
The girl was still deep in thought, oblivious of her surroundings.
Nomu was glad. He was scared that her new armour would have also changed her psyche somehow, but her innocence had not wavered a bit. He had a smile on his face, but of course, his shell was too big for anyone to notice. He made a silent prayer. A prayer that if anyone was listening, to not let Adei become shelled, both safe and imprisoned.
Of course, we all know I don't listen to prayers, especially if it goes against me. For a god is a god of jealousy. If I can even still call myself a god.
And they walked. Not looking back any longer. While in their backs, the black valley became hole. The first of its kind. The first mark of Adeiázo the vessel.