《Euphoria [DISCONTINUED]》75. The Candle Of Life
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Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Everybody! How are you all?
Another free day, another bit of time free to type down a chapter.
Another set of stress relief.
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
Mere Moments Later... - The New Mansion (Courtyard) - Leonardo's Point Of View...
"AAAAARGH!" I screamed out in pain and horror as I found myself falling to my knees from what appeared to be a standing posistion.
My eyes quickly readjusted to reality, just in time for me to witness myself spewing my damned insides onto the rich, green grass of my newly-bought mansions courtyard. The boiling blood which spewed forth out of my mouth melted the ground and incinerated the air as it pooled downwards, eventually coallapsing onto concrete which seemed to be resistant enough to repel its advance.
"H-h-..ugh, fi-..finally b-back, b-boss?" I heard Tyrone's weakened voice thunder across my mind as I took in my sourroundings.
To my left, impaled onto a wall by a spike of bone, Tyrone's broken form bled endlessly onto the ground beneath him.
To my right, Belle's crushed body remained ethereally still although I could hear her dead heart still beating.
In front of me, my sister's shaking, bloodied frame held her katana high with her one unbroken arm, her left leg twisted in unnatural ways as her enraged self bit down hard onto a branch, ready to strike at me.
I found myself blinking as feeling returned to my body, my legs and arms, ever-faithful limbs of mine. I realized that I was holding something in my right hand and turned towards it... all to see the severed head of an obviously Italian man held by the hair in my very own fingers.
Time slowed down as eternity seemed to switch with seconds and I felt unending fury reaching, pouring out of my chest as I heard the ever-so-familiar laugher of Chaos echoing in my mind. Before, so very venerated and beloved.
Now...
Hated and despised, more and more so as the days go by.
The time however, did not seem to move at all.
A frighteningly loud click resounded within my mind and I was forced to understand.
Choose one.
My rage paled in comparison to the sheer dread rising within my very soul as my eyes grew wide.
Take your time.
The soundless echo of the voice of Chaos quickly shattered my dread, my fear as I remembered the light of God, the light which saved me from anihilation mere moments ago.
The Light, which saved me during a time when Chaos itself would not.
I guess that means I might as well take a page out of its own book.
For I know not what kind of sacrifice God had to make in order to pull me out of there.
I do however, sincerely doubt that it could do that without paying a price, as it stole me right from below the gaze of Chaos itself.
I closed my eyes and channeled my energies, pulling from everything I had as I split myself in three parts, a flash of memory striking against my mind.
The thing, the centipede I fought, albeit momentarily, used its Chaosborne power to manipulate its very flesh and bone, not just the blood. If I can do the same...
My focus grew with each passing second as I reached into myself, into my bone and marrow, into my sinew and muscle...
And painstakingly tore each and every one apart as newly grown appendages broke free from my body.
Out of my chest, an almagation, an outgrowth of my ribcage poured forth in defiance of my own skin and stabbed itself into my dear sister Yuko.
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Out of my left arm, a gigantic protrusion of bone connected to the spike which had already been impaled into Tyrone, fusing with it and connecting me to him.
From my right arm, a thin needle followed by a syringe of bone was ushered forth, impaling the still beating heart of Belle within the same instant of its own formation.
Chaos finally caught on to what I was going to do and I felt its scowl invigorating me as I grinned with a kind of madness only I could ever wield as a weapon.
With a final screech of rage, time broke free of Chaos' grasp, or maybe it was let go of.. eitherway, time resumed and I felt myself shriek out alongside my three companions."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"
The scarlet chorus continued as I felt the eyes of uncomprehendable things watching my every move as I screamed in my mind."ARIA!"
FATHER!? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WH-
"NO TIME! BLOOD INTO THE VAMPIRE, USE MY FLESH TO HEAL TYRONE AND NANOMACHINES TO MEND YUKO'S BODY!" Was my quick reply as I finally took note of the remainder of A's body to my left, his head apparently having been consumed by my appendage as it grew out.
Without missing a beat, I stomped on it with my left foot, consuming its biomass into myself.
R-right!
With a kind of grace and stability I firmly believe only an AI could ever pull off, Aria focused herself onto the task ahead as I felt myself being drained on all sides.
I fell to my knees once again but forced myself to look up as I felt hope growing within me, a great relief.
An effective healing salve to both body and brain, as I watched my sisters wounds stitch themselves together, as her bones twisted themselves back into their proper posistions.
I was reeling, about to break... but noting the increase in Tyrone's breathing as my blood pumped through him, my flesh replacing what was lost of his, made relief wash over me with each time his chest rose, each rise and fall livelier than the last.
Anna left the corner she seemed to be hiding in, having realized my intentions and running towards her sister, ripping the skin of her left wrist as she ran in order to feed Belle even more blood. Blood which was also mine.
Belle's wounds quickly began to heal, the life-rich blood proving to be more than capable of reforging what I broke.
I fell down onto the ground as my appendages retreated back into me... yet, I did not fall unconscious.
A golden, glowing hand grasped my cheek and rose my head upwards... the hand of an angel. The genderless figure, clad in white-gold armor smiled at me and cast some form of spell, healing me of all of my wounds."Rise, firstborn of the new. Rise, oh unwilling one, rise... for if you do not..."
The ethereal voice whispered as I felt my strength returning with each whisp of light entering my body."..no one.. ever... will.."
Adhering to the voice's command, I rose from my fallen posistion, my eyes temporaily blinded by the angel's visage... yet as soon as they recovered, the angel was nowhere to be found. In its place however, stood a floating candle.
A candle which bore the crimson color of chaos, its edges bleeding endlessly.
Its holder was made out of polished gold which glowed with power.
Its flame was orange, a mix of red and white, of Chaos and Order. Of Life and God. Merely staring into the flame invigorated me.
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Beneath the candle was a piece of pure cloth, woven from the same light of God which saved my life mere moments ago.
Or centuries ago...
One can never know when exactly Chaos makes things happen. Hell, the poor centipede may have wallowed in its defeat for eons already for all I know.
Or the portal may have been fixed in seconds and the next time I see it will be like two minutes after our fight.
Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, the candle.
Just by looking at it, I was made aware that the candle was an artifact granted to me by God. Apparently, God had grown sick of Chaos and its endless chauvinism and now God desires to protect me, as Chaos was not the only eldritch being to cash in on my existence.
Come to think of it, what exactly is the difference between like, C'thulu and God?
Is one good and the other bad? If so, which is which?
Maybe they merely each serve a different purpose in existence?
I shook my head out of my stupor as I touched the candle and felt its shield sourround the mansion and me. At the moment of our touch, the candle joined itself to me, weaving itself to my soul.
It became one of the items bound to my life. So long as it exists, so too shall I.
Another flash of white light told me that this candle has several functions; should my life be in danger the candle will teleport to Heaven, ensuring that I cannot be truly killed.
Otherwise, it will act as a constant purifier of nearby Life-force, as its eternal flame will incinerate the corruptive energies sourrounding it, granting those who spend time near it health and longevity.
Basically, its like a petrified cultivator who can do nothing but cultivate and purify sourrounding QI.
The candle then melted, infusing itself into me and allowing itself to be ensnared by my soul as I held my hands up with open palms, grasping the remaining whisps of light in my hands as they slowly faded away, yet just as the final one was about to vanish, another flash of light surged forth, bearing another message from god...
Find the new prophet.
W-..wh..what the hell was that? ALL OF THAT?! WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING? WHAT IS GOING ON, DAD?!"
Aria's AI Focus seems to have run its duration as her psyche seemed to shatter completely as Yomi let out a massive, joyfull laugh."That my dear, was the biblical God saving your dad's ass... twice in a row, apparently."
G-god? Wait, h-wait God should not be gendered if father's subconscious is to be believed so ahem.. GOD EXISTS?!.. oooh.. wait... that's right.
I'm part fucking Angel.
I feel stupid for asking that now.
Sorry.
"HehehehhahahahahahahahahAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!" I let out a maddening spree of laughter as I fell down onto my arse as the others began to wake up.
"Ugh... what the fuck? How I am alive?" Tyrone was the first to come back, recoiling as he saw me seated onto the grass and subconsciously reaching for his split-in-two machine gun."Aww man! I can't even get a new one till we go back to Italy!"
I felt a gigantic anime-like sweat drop fall down from my brow. What the hell was I even expecting would happen?"Man.. holy fuck but do I feel GREAT!" And then he promptly punched the brick wall he was impaled upon.
Only to shatter it on impact as the both of us blinked in surprise."Uh.. boss? What the hell did you do to me?"
My eyes focused onto Tyrone as he turned around towards me with an uncertain look on his face. A bright crimson glow sourrounded his heart and I let out a merry laugh."Looks like using my own flesh to fix you may have not been the least invasive idea..."
"Am I gonna get superpowers now?" He questioned me as he tilted his head in confusion and I extended both of my arms sideways."I dunno."
He blinked and his shoulders slumped."Welp, whatever happens... maybe next time you should warn us before going full berserk, boss."
"I would have if I could, Tyrone. Now be a good boy and go get yourself a beer." He blinked, shrugged and then promptly ran into the house, but just as he was about to enter the door, he stopped and turned back around."Err, we should probably call some guys to fix this place back up... but how the hell do we explain all this..."
"Just tell them that AI fanatics attacked us for no apparent reason." I replied as he gave me a thumps up before running into the house and towards the nearest phone."Ya got it, boss!"
Seeing as the other two have yet to fully wake from their shock, I focused myself onto my blood-stained hands and remembered A.
Closing my eyes and looking deep into myself, I found A's now tormented soul burning in Hellfire... yet it appeared that he was not screaming like the rest of the souls within me. I pulled his soul forward, but something blocked me.
I could not see what exactly it was, but I only managed to pull his consciousness out as I re-opened my eyes to find that his head had grown out of my palms."B.. boss?"
"A, I am sorry that this had to happen to you. One good thing is that you aren't hopelessly dead.. yet. I swear I'm gonna find a way to bring you back. Chaos has taken more than its fair share from me recently..." I spoke with fury leaking out of my tone as A's head nodded."You do that... I'll go back and... enjoy the Hellfire..."
With that, he was absorbed back into my body as I quirked an eyebrow at my own palms... seems like I wont have to hurry."Uuugh..."
My sisters voice echoed from my front and I immidiatelly rose up from my seated posistion and ran towards her. Her blood-stained Dai katana gleamed in the sunlight next to her prone form as she rose a hand to her own forehead."Yuko!"
I couldn't help myself but exclaim as I held her up and waited for her healed eyes to adjust to the direct sunlight."Uuugh... glad.. to see.. you are back, bro... damn, you hit like a fucking truck when you aren't holding back..."
I chuckled at her antics as she grinned at me."Yeah, sorry about this... I'll uh, make it up to you somehow..."
A nod from her as she laid back onto the grass, her heaving breathing turning less erattic, her pulse slowing down, normalizing."Yeah... sure... how about tomorrow morning... you come help me at work?"
Her sarsastic question received a non-sarcastic reply."Yeah, sure. Anything, but later."
Several coughs echoed from one of my sides as Belle came to."Argh, damnit, fuck!"
I walked over to her and extended a hand towards the rough woman which she took and pulled herself up without missing a beat."Fuck mate, I know I said to remind me to let you beat me into the ground the next time you go crazy but... this was a bit too much."
A deep sigh escaped my lips."Well, if it makes you feel any better, its not going to happen again. Also you've got my blood now too, so that's nice at least."
A nod from her was my answer as she held on to her sister and Anna bowed towards me as I rose my hands up in an attempt to make her stop it to no avail.
I did not deserve anything from them right now, much less respect."Well, since everything appears to be alright now, me and my sister are going to retreat to our coffins... the soil of our birthplace, alongside some much needed rest, are the only things nearby which can fully heal us right now."
Belle nodded towards her sister as I dared not say a word but before they left, Anna also handed me a letter."Oh, also here.. this is for you. It is a letter from a nearby Vampire baron...an invitation to his Mansion within the Tokyo undercity."
"Undercity?" I tilted my head in confusion at the both of them, but my reply came in the form of the still prone Yuko."Its what the mo... the Inhumans, call their secret cities under the human cities. They're built so deep under the ground that they can only be efficiently reached via magic teleportation... its where Inhumans go to feel normal, basically."
"Well if humanity could be any less xenophobic, maybe we wouldn't have to." Belle spat onto the grass in anger and Yuko replied, calm as ever."Maybe if you didn't earn such a stellar reputation among humans, we would be less xenophobic towards you."
"Like humans are any different to us!" Belle exclaimed, tone wrought in fury before Anna slapped her across the cheek and shut her up with a stern look."ENOUGH! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves, to be so full of it infront of the master!"
I blinked in both confusion and slight horror as both of the women blushed and looked away from one another.
Huh, I mean, I guess Yuko's reaction is to be expected but Belle having a crush on me?
Meh, something to remember for later... now, I really need some stress relief.
Without another word, I promptly leaped into my room and switched on my capsule as I undressed myself.
It was finally time to truly return to Euphoria!
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
There we go!
Here's to hope the chapter was enjoyable to read.
I'll be mostly free this week so maybe I'll put up a chapter for Destiny; Infernal but don't count on it.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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