"Honestly, I think this is more serious than we thought," Lian said to the group. "After fighting that beast, it's clear Kurotama is protecting something, or maybe making something."
All six of them had strong souls. It didn't make them powerful like other people who were superhumans with unique abilities, but it made all of them strong-willed, gadged how long they'd live for, and sometimes doubled their natural human abilities. They could pick up a truck with one hand or be smarter than a twelfth grader at the age of fourteen. You get the gist of it.
"But if we leave now, we might never get another chance to find out what Kurotama is hiding," Mako argued. "And that, I think I'd be fine with. Something just doesn't sit right with me this time, I know I'm like this on a lot of adventures, but you all know I'm usually right about these things.", Lian said with a sigh.
Osha looked around at her team. "Lian has a point. This is dangerous, and we need to be careful. But we also came here for a reason. We need to weigh the risks." She said.
"We've already come this far," Hiro said, his grip on his sword firm. "We can't turn back now. We need to see this through."
Reina nodded. "Lian, your right, most of the time, in situations like this you are right. But we've already come so far, we can't stop now, besides, what's the worse that could happen?" Reina shrugged.
The group took a moment to regroup, checking their gear and gathering their resolve, but Lian had a look of pure dread on his face, something didn't seem right at all to him. But they never listened to him unless he had some history facts to spill. ' What's the worse that could happen? Oh nothing... we could all just die.', Lian thought to himself. Saying it out loud wouldn't of changed anything more than saying it in his head.
--
The cave stretched on before them, dark and frightening, but regardless, they were determined to uncover the truth... Most of them anyway.
As they moved deeper into the cave, the whispers grew louder, and the air grew colder. Going deeper into the cave, their walk slowed significantly, as they noticed tones of writing on the cave walls, all in red and very messy.
"Turn back now!"
"Kurotama will kill you!"
"It's coming for you!"
"It's the end!"
"HELP ME!"
the writing was unsettling, and made some of the group want to turn around and leave, but they'd already come this far. "Kurotama, regardless of what the books say, isn't a hostile spirit unless disturbed.... I wonder why it's gained such a title now." Lian said quietly, trying not to be to loud, their footsteps were the only thing that could be heard.
As the travelers reached the grand chamber, the air crackled with an oppressive, dark energy. Kurotama loomed on a raised pedestal, his presence commanding the room with an otherworldly power.
Osha stepped forward, her sword shimmering with a fierce determination. The moment she stepped forward, Lian knew they screwed up, Kurotama though non-hostile, hated being treated as anything less than a higher spirit "Kurotama, we've risked everything to find you. We deserve to know what's going on here."
Kurotama's gaze was a void of cold indifference. "The truth is not mine to give. Seekers must uncover it on their own."
Osha's frustration ignited into anger. "We fought through unimaginable dangers for this? You owe us an answer!"
Kurotama's eyes gleamed with a dark mirth. "You dare to demand answers from me?"
In an instant, Kurotama unleashed a torrent of shadowy energy. Osha's reflexes were sharp; she rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the wave of darkness. "That power was strong, what the-" she thought to herself. Lian quickly took Osha's hand and pulled her back. "What are you doing! Your gonna anger him!", Lian whispered.
Osha,though a natural leader, was very impulsive when it came to getting what she wanted, she hated having to waste time on anything she didn't deem worthy of it. "Look, Lian, the amount of work we went through to find this spirit thing, we deserve answers.", she complained.
Lian frowned, it was true they went through a lot to find Kurotama, but Kurotama didn't want to be found, they did this on there own will, therefore Kurotama owed them nothing, "Osha, Kurotama owes us nothing, we didn't come here because it told us to, if anything, we should be the ones respecting it and it's wishes... Clearly I'd doesn't want us here, let's go-"
"No!", Osha snapped, revealing her uncomposed side, the usually logical and calm girl, became a angry beast. She didn't just want answers for the fun of it, no... She learned the truth from her father about what happened to her mother... And she wanted answers.
With a roar, she charged, her sword cutting through the air. But Kurotama's dark barriers absorbed her strikes effortlessly, mocking her attempts.
"Hmmm... Ahh, I see now, your that bitches child." Kurotama taunted, his voice echoing with dark resonance. He raised his hand, and a swirling vortex of shadows erupted around him. "I thought I got rid of her, but your just a spitting image of her.", Kurotama scowled.
Osha pressed forward, her sword flashing with relentless fury. But the shadows coiled around her, dark tendrils snaking out and binding her limbs with crushing force. She struggled against the unyielding restraints. "What did you do to my mother you monster!" she cried out, her voice echoing in the chamber.
Kurotama stopped for a second, and held Osha up in the air with the snake like limbs around her body, and he looked her dead in the eye and smiled wickedly, "I did... Exactly what you think I did.", Kurotama said his smile fading into a hateful glare.
Reina, Hiro, Shimo, and Miko all ran to help Osha, despite knowing they couldn't take Kurotama on.
Kurotama's power surged violently. With a malevolent sweep of his hand, he sent the four of them flying into a near by wall, and with his claw like hands, he formed a black mist around his hands and ripped Osha's soul from her body. Her lifeless form collapsed as her soul was ensnared in a whirling vortex of dark energy.
"NO!" Hiro's roar shattered the silence as he got back up, slightly weak from the throw. He charged, sword drawn, but Kurotama's dark power struck him down with an overwhelming force. And Kurotama didn't even have to look at him to do it. Hiro got back up instantly, this time trying something more tactical, as he ran forward, dodging Kurotama's attacks and reaching Kurotama's face. He went to swing his sword and slice Kurotama's head off, but was instantly stopped by the snake like restraints, they tightened around him and Kurotama held his hand out with the familiar black smoke around it. Hiro's soul was then torn from him in a chilling wail that reverberated through the chamber.
Shimo, Reina, and Mako attempted to rally. Shimo was ensnared by the dark tendrils, his soul wrenched from him with brutal finality. Reina and Mako fought valiantly but were soon overpowered. Their souls were pulled from their bodies as well, leaving their forms motionless and vacant.
Lian, the last standing, faced Kurotama with a mixture of shock and fear in his eyes.
Kurotama's gaze turned to Lian, studying him with dark fascination. "Lian, am I right?"
Lian froze up, he was shocked that Kurotama knew his name. "H-how do you-", he was cut off by Kurotama.
"Your soul is different. It's not merely strong; it holds potential. I sense a rare quality within you."
Lian's eyes widened. "Potential? Wha-What do you mean?"
Kurotama's gaze softened, though his voice remained chilling. "In a world of the living, your soul is a precious asset. I have no need to kill you- yet."
Lian's breath quickened. "Why spare me? You've already taken my friends."
Kurotama's eyes glowed with dark pleasure, an unsettling manic aura coming from him. "Because your soul offers something more valuable. But first, I must test its worth."
The ground trembled as Kurotama's dark energy reached a fever pitch. Lian fought to keep his footing, the force of the magic pressing against him. "W-whats happening?!" he shouted, struggling to maintain his stance as he looked at Kurotama, "Y-you won't get away with this!" Lian shouted.
Kurotama smirked at Lian. "oh, I already have."
With a surge of raw, unbridled power, Kurotama's form began to waver, and the chamber was engulfed in a maelstrom of dark mist. Rocks crashed down from above, and the ground fractured. Lian, enveloped in the swirling darkness, braced himself as the cave's collapse reached its crescendo.
--
Amid the chaos, a glowing crystal emerged from the wreckage, its surface pulsating with a faint, eerie light. Within the crystal, the souls of five travelers were trapped, their forms shimmering with a unique light. But one soul was absent, and it was unknown what happened to it.
-
The sound of foot steps could be heard on the rubble as someone walked over and picked up the soul crystal, a smile forming on their face. "This, might take some getting use to again.", the person said, their voice was deep, a contrast to how their voice sounded, just minutes ago.
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