The boring eyes of the nigh divine beast stare right back into my own, gargantuan glowing pits. This beast was easily two or three kilometers in size, dwarfing Garuda, the bird beast of Neo City. Its presence alone was puzzling- Gin had said that the remaining Akashiro Beasts had been returned to their own home country after the war era, set to a passive mode....
Wait- I'm stupid as shit. If Frivia had a hacker that could go in and out of Garuda, rewriting its code, why would it be so strange for Atticus to have the same connections? And without a knight like Gin to stop them- it must have been easy.
The hologram displaying Atticus fizzes out, now only his voice remains.
"Is that Yoru on your belt? I hadn't taken Jigoku as the noble type." His voice booms out from an unknown source on the back of the turtle. I'm puzzled. Isn't he supposed to be attacking me or something right now? Whatever. I'll take all the time I can get.
"Is that its name?" I ask, looking to the sword hitched at my waist.
"Yes, yes. But that's none the matter. You've been quite troublesome to us so far, and it would be of great convenience to all of us if you would simply give up here. You could still be a GREAT asset to our roster, Okoramo."
I stare. "Why the fuck would I join the likes of you?"
A loud, static sigh rings through the air. "I had assumed you would say that. A pity."
A scream shoots through the air as a beam of light comes veering toward me from the beast's side. Careening to the left, I duck out of the way, dropping to a lower air current. but it keeps up chasing behind me.
Shit.
Thinking fast, I swerve, turning to face the blast, outstretching my hand, forming a small, fluctuating ball of energy.
"Soul Thunderclap!"
Just as the beam would've made contact with my body, I jerk the sphere to the left, its gravitational pull off-putting its trajectory, sending it crashing into the waves below.
but that was far from the last one. A volley of streaking lights come careening through the early morning sun, like dreadful fireflies. I flap and flap, dodging and weaving frantically. I can't find an opening to use Thunderclap.
I dart upwards, piercing the clouds, the sharp screams soon to follow. I lock my hands in the Tora symbol. "Neo City Domain!!" The shriek of lightning rips through the air, as a domain of energy expands around me.
I clap my hands. "Detonate!"
A surge of electricity sends the charged shots fizzling into thin air, reduced to sparks.
I have to keep moving. Flitting downward, still coated in the black barrier, I dart toward the turtle's hulking form. A sort of metallic, melancholic groan escapes its maw. Its whole vibe was off-putting- almost eerie. A bright, blue light begins to shine from its gullet as its jaw begins to open. A sharp, electric cry begins to reverberate through the air.
Another blast was coming.
And I don't think I can dodge this one as easily-
A dreadful, ear-destroying yell tears through the sky as a beam of energy bursts forth. Shooting ahead, its mass bores a trench in the sea as it approaches.
Instinctively, I GET THE FUCK AWAY AS FAST AS FUCKING POSSIBLE. Shooting to the left, I fly as fast as my wings will carry me, zipping feebly away from the gargantuan beam. But it doesn't let up. I grind my teeth. As far as I know, these things won't stop until they've either hit their target, or been destroyed. I know damn well that I won't be able to dodge OR deflect this shit.
So what the fuck do I do?!
Wait. How am I just now realizing this?
Those beams...are made of soul. They aren't tethered to anything I can sense though. But that just makes it better.
---------
Okoramo's dumbass theory:
Soul is meant to be tethered to the body, which is why they are stored within one another, and why they can directly affect each other. Though one can't go about snatching the souls of others, why would one assume that they couldn't manipulate other souls if they aren't connected to the body? It's like trying to pull one magnet from another consisting of much greater strength- idiotic. But without that greater magnet, the one stuck in between...
...Is up for grabs.
----------
Focus.
On the right. The left. The in between. That which pushes. That which pulls.
Focus.
My body pulsates as a strong beat from my heart physically jars me, and forming in my hands...a ball of azure flame. Quickly, I crush it in my hand, and it explodes in a display of sparks, a coat of blue plating covering my fist and forearm. I grasp my shoulder with my other hand, bracing for impact as I outstretch my arm toward the blast.
A pushing force shoves me backward a bit, a blast of wind following it. Nothing else. I open my eyes. Floating about an inch above the back of my palm, is a glowing blue sphere. My forearm itself is coated in this skintight crystalline cover. I turn my hand over, observing it. The sphere stays centered, hovering just above the back of my hand.
WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST DO!?!?
The turtle had stopped dead. Not literally dead, but it hadn't attacked anymore after what had just happened.
"Uhm..."
I look up at the turtle. Then back down at my hand. "Cool...? I mean-"
A blast of energy sends me tumbling backward, splashing into the tide. I flail under the waves, thrashing, before finally resurfacing. The blast hadn't come from the turtle.
It had come from me. A tremor of equal magnitude to that of the turtle's was left in the sea, facing the same direction I had just been facing. The turtle let out a long, blood-curdling groan, smoke rolling off it's shoulder.
My eyes widen.
Wait a fucking minute.
I look down at my glowing blue arm.
Was this the power of the Corazon?