Day 4

Kyle’s rehabilitation, Noon.

Spirit Realm, The Howling Forest.

Kyle breathed heavily as he leaned against the tree’s bark, he stood several feet off the ground and looked completely exhausted. His eyes were almost beast-like as he stared at the Hollow with his palm, he was also starving.

He had lost count of how many hours it had been since they had started Silvester’s little game, maybe days? He couldn’t tell as he couldn’t see the sky and the only light that came through the tree tops seemed to be made by the trees themselves as it’s brightness never changed. He had also been too distracted to even keep count.

He stared at the Hollow with his left hand, a bright yellow orb of light. It had been the first he’d been able to grab but Silvester had been so persistent on hunting him down that Kyle hadn’t had the time to even think of taking a bite.

“Damn…s-snake eyed…bastard…” He calmed himself, he had made sure to lose Silvester. He chuckled at the thought “Buried under a fucking tree! Let’s see you stop me now!” Kyle raised the Hollow up to his face as he opened his mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs.

He suddenly detected a presence above him “I’d be more careful of doing that if I were you.” Said the massive serpent coiled around the tree above Kyle.

Kyle looked up at Silvester with mouth still open, his expression going from surprise to annoyance “Just…get it over with.”

Silvester’s head turned at a short angle “Whatever do you mean?”

“I don’t know!” exclaimed Kyle throwing his arms wide “Throw me off! Bite me! Drown me! Eat me! Bury me alive! Wrap me with vines! Or have you run out of fucking ideas!?”

Silvester’s eyes shrunk into slits “I could, but what point would there be to that if we’re done here already?”

“We are?” asked Kyle in disbelief.

Silvester’s form morphed into Spirit and uncoiled itself from around the tree before forming in front of Kyle taking humanoid shape “You detected me did you not?” asked Silvester in his Spirit Beast form.

Kyle stared at Silvester in confusion “I did…I did?...I did…Did I?”

Silvester sighed as he shook his head “Yes, you did. You can now manifest your Spirit, can manipulate Spirit, can take Spirit form and can detect Spirit under the most extreme situations, under extreme stress and even as your foe hides their Spirit.”

“How do you do that by the way?” Kyle asked intrigued.

“I’m afraid that is too advanced for you yet, there is so much you can learn but you have little time do you not?” said Silvester in response as he gestured at the Hollow “Let’s move to a…safer location before you go along with that.”

Kyle nodded and suddenly they were standing on the ground below, he hadn’t even felt magic or movement what so ever.

“Now then.” Said Terrance as he appeared out of nowhere alongside each of the other founders and several dozen other Spirit Beasts Kyle didn’t recognise “You have learned the basic techniques required, we can begin your healing.”

Kyle glanced around at them all, they stood about ten feet away and in a circle around him that spiralled all the way around four times. He turned to look at Terrance in confusion, his exhaustion and empty stomach wasn’t helping either.

Terrance chuckled “Healing a soul is a very long and tiresome process, we will be required to cast for several hours, managing the Spirit within you and having to switch out from time to time to keep the process constant.” He gestured at the Hollow “Devouring that soul will induce an event in your body where it’s Spirit is absorbed into you, we will be using that as an access point to your own Spirit. Over the next few days we will be feeding you several of these Hollows to retain our connection.”

Kyle nodded in understanding when suddenly each Spirit Beast sat down with legs crossed, he turned to Terrance for explanation again.

“Make yourself comfortable, this will take time.” said Terrance as he also moved to sit down.

Kyle complied and copied their position, sitting down with legs crossed in front of him facing towards Terrance and the other founders. He waited expectantly, Hollow still in hand he stared at Terrance as they seemed to be entering a meditative state.

Moments passed, minutes flew by as he waited, resisting the urge to feast upon the mindless soul. He did not know for much longer he could resist.

When suddenly the air around him grew thick, he felt a powerful pressure pressing down on him as each Spirit Beast’s body was engulfed in Spirit of differentiating colours. Each mass of Spirit merged with the next until a ring of white Spirit surrounded Kyle. Out of the ring grew tendrils that stretched out and reaching the Hollow within his grasp, entangled themselves around it almost entering it.

When the orb was entirely covered by the white Spirit the tendrils moved to one side and joined together into a single coiling smoky tendril, the tendril shrunk and faded until it was barely visible.

Kyle glanced away from the covered Hollow and at Terrance who nodded “Whenever you are ready, I must warn you of the dangers you will face though. Your soul currently is broken into dozens of smaller pieces, barely held together by Ymir’s intervention. Normally this would drive one completely insane but as those separate minds are being kept together the danger should be lessened.”

“Lessened, but very much present.” Terrance corrected himself “Once we’ve placed you in a state of complete self-awareness, a catatonic state where all you’ll know and feel is yourself and nothing else. You will be faced with it.”

“It?” asked Kyle with a raised brow.

Terrance nodded “We never gave it a name but to be short…You will be facing a relentless beast, a mirror image of what you could be as a Nogitsune as some tell it. An existence created with each crack on your soul, it’s role will be the same as yours but different. Your role in the healing is to bring all of yourself together. It’s role is the same, but instead it will be trying to bring you back together...forcefully.”

“How is it the same if it’s not?” Kyle had no clue as to what Terrance was speaking of.

“You are trying to pull your soul together.” Began Durin from the left of Terrance “It will be trying to eat You so your soul will be brought back into a single whole. But if it succeeds, there is no telling what will come out of the other end.”

“Ah…don’t get eaten, got it.” said Kyle in dreadful acknowledgement, he glanced down at the Hollow “Well…” he raised it to his mouth and opened wide before biting down onto the small orb of light. Kyle swallowed the soul whole, the dim tendril of Spirit still connecting the orb and the ring of Spirit beasts was oozing out through his closed lips.

Suddenly Kyle arched back, his mouth opening wide as his eyes rolled over going white. His body stiffened as he slowly leaned forward until he moved no more.

A crackling voice chuckled as Kyle opened his eyes.

“So, you’ve came!”

Kyle could not explain where he was, the ground, walls and ceiling kept shifting too fast for him to make them out but somehow, he could tell that images were quickly shifting in and out all around him.

“Well better three than two.”

Kyle glanced to either side of him, shackled to either of his arms were two others, two Kyles. But these two were different from him, their bodies where almost ghost-like and they were floating off the ground. He glanced at the chains keeping them together, they looked entirely made of ice.

The one to his left cackled, his eyes were wide open, his grin from ear to ear “Ohohoho! Here it comes too!” he exclaimed.

The one to his right groaned “I suggest you get to running.”

“Run?!” exclaimed the left one, looking appalled by the idea “Hell no we’re standing to fight!”

He recognised the voices, each were several pieces of himself but his anger was more prominent on the left one and his instincts were more prominent on the right one. “What’s coming?” He asked them while glancing around.

Suddenly one of the walls cracked like glass before the centre burst out as a black mass, the mass fell to the ground ahead of them, it’s form a shifting of shadows. The mass rolled to the side and changed as it moved, it’s form shrinking as limbs, a head and two tails grew out.

Before Kyle stood a forty feet tall black fox entirely made of a dark shifting flame, it’s cold blue eyes settled on him bring a chill to his spine. The fox growled as the ground cracked below it, it’s weight seemingly too much for whatever material it was made of.

His left laughed maniacally and hovered forward pulling on his arm “Come on then! Let’s take this bastard down!”

His right growled and backed off pulling on his other arm “Run! We cannot beat it!” he showed a slight expression of fear.

The fox took a step forward and snarled as both of himself pulled at him, it’s cold eyes set on him, it’s mouth drooling shadows as it revealed it’s long black fangs.

Kyle gazed into it’s cold hungry eyes “Enough!” he pulled both of them back as the fox reacted to his outburst and snarled, he grimaced “Run!” and turned tail. Pulling the left Kyle “Why run!? We can kill it! I will kill it!” behind them, the other two ran as the large beast pounced on their previous position.

The fox growled as it turned on the three runners, the dark flames that made up it’s body suddenly flickered ablaze as it roared and pounced again. With it’s mouth wide open it rushed down at them, closing in like a predator finalizing it’s chase on it’s prey.

Kyle sensed it’s approaching jaws and pulled both of his alter egos to the left and surged, their bodies flickered out of existence momentarily and reappeared several feet away as the fox’s jaws closed in on their previous position.

Kyle stumbled from surging with multiple others, he fell forwards and flipped over groaning “We can’t do this…”

“So why we doing it?!” the left one snarled at him, his eyes ablaze with Frostfire.

“So we can survive fool!” the right one exclaimed before he himself snarled, his arms afire with Frostfire forming large claws.

Kyle pulled on them to stand, at the same time pulled them to the ground. He watched the fox quickly recover from it’s confusion and turn to face them again “We can’t do this, not like this. Arguing won’t get us nowhere! The three of us…Three aren’t better than two! Not in this situation!”

The fox pounced again snarling as it did, claws ahead of itself it’s claws elongated mid-air ready to shred them apart.

Kyle waited for the last moment to surge forward and under the fox, falling over again as he reappeared. He stood back up and quickly turned around only to find the fox rushing at them, he surged upwards right before it’s jaws closed in on them.

Confused at their disappearance the creature snarled and spun around, it roared in surprise when they fell on it’s back but it’s roar was cut short and replaced by a hiss of pain. Kyle was standing on the back of It’s neck, his arms covered in Spirit and pierced into it’s hide.

“Great idea! Now we can kill it!” exclaimed the left one as he stood up and aimed both hands forward, Frostfire burst alive within his palms and exploded forwards engulfing the fox’s head. When the fire died down, there was no head to speak of.

But suddenly the creature’s neck exploded outwards, black flames burst out and began to take shape. It’s head had regenerated.

“That didn’t work…” mumbled Kyle as he held on to it’s back.

The fox’s head suddenly turned 180 degrees and snarled at them.

“I think you just pissed it off more.” Pointed out the right one.

The left one groaned and glared at the right one “No fucking shit!”

Suddenly the fox’s head turned back and it rolled over, squashing them under it’s weight as it turned over. It began to leap around trying to shake them off, it crashed itself into the walls, continued to roll over and spin around. All the while it snarled and roared.

Kyle continued trying his best to hold on, all the while…

“Oh you think you so smart huh?!” exclaimed the left one as he floated behind, choking the right one who snarled and tried to claw away at the other’s face.

“Dammit!” exclaimed Kyle as his left hand lost it’s grip, the fox began running in circles making it hard to hold on “Cut it out!”.

“Let me at him!” exclaimed the left one as he reached out towards the other one, anger turning to insanity as he floated too far to grab him all the while pulling Kyle’s arm back.

The right one growled back “Damned fool! Cut him off! Let him get eaten!”

“I said…” Kyle mumbled out as he let go of the fox’s back, sending all three of them flying off. Kyle spun mid air and pulled on the chains, grasping both of their necks he surged forwards slamming them both into the wall so hard cracks formed all around them.

“Shut the fuck up!” Kyle exclaimed at them in a snarl, his eyes were shining blue and his nails had turned to claws. The other two stared back at him in surprise when suddenly they lost their form, turning to a bluish smoke they were sucked into the chains.

Kyle growled at their disappearance, he was annoyed beyond the usual. He turned towards the fox as it had noticed the loss of their weight, it roared at him and charged forwards. Kyle clenched his fists and roared back, revealing sets of sharp fangs as his body burst out into Spirit.

Author: Finally here ^ ^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lixtzXMUpN0

The black fox clashed into Kyle, turned beast he held his own in the shape of a large blue fox. The two massive beasts pushed and clawed at each other, rolling over the black one bit the blue one and threw them off before both stood up and faced each other.

The black one snarled down at the blue one, it was still larger by several feet. Kyle snarled back as his body burst into white-blue flames and suddenly disappeared, Kyle surged to the side as the black fox had lunged down at him. He leapt forwards crashing into it’s side and biting down, the black fox hissed in pain as it was pushed into the wall.

Kyle pushed off the fox kicking it into the wall a second time and leapt off of it, surging away to the other side of the room he spun as he landed and faced the black fox as it recovered. Regaining his calm Kyle focused and the flames around him briefly dimmed before changing.

The Frostfire covering Kyle’s Spirit fox body solidified as it formed plating around him, bit by bit it changed until the blue fox was covered in blazing armour. The armour covered not just it’s torso but also limbs and head, It’s front paws were covered in long blazing claws while a helmet had formed around it’s head with a new set of fiery fangs.

The black fox snarled at him, sizing him up briefly as it prowled to the side but then it returned to attacking. It charged forward, each step forming cracks on the ground below. It growled then leapt, it’s massive size more than twice Kyle’s.

Kyle surged out of the way, the fox couldn’t stop mid-air so it crashed into the wall that was behind him, but seemed unaffected as it turned back towards him snarling in annoyance. Kyle was already on the attack, surging again as he leapt up he appeared below the fox upside-down and clawed away at it’s chest.

His long fiery claws made multiple long gashes on the creature’s bottom and it hissed in pain before hopping away, Kyle crashed to the ground and stumbled back a few times before regaining control and standing up.

He faced the creature as it snarled then roared at him, he watched horrified as the damage done quickly healed as if nothing had even happened. His mind raced as he thought of how to defeat it (“Physical attacks won’t do…what do I do? Tear it apart? No it will just put itself back together…burn it? No that didn’t work earlier…Eat it?...Hell that’s the worst idea yet!”)

Unfocused from overthinking he didn’t notice the fox’s charge until it was too late, it’s massive jaws bit down on his torso and he was lifted up. Kyle hissed in pain as it’s jaws closed in around him, crushing him through the armour.

The black fox whipped it’s head around a few times before spitting Kyle out and slamming him down to the floor, it stomped on him as he lay there pressing it’s large right paw over his front legs and head before biting down on what remained while growling.

Kyle groaned as it pulled from both ends, he could feel his body being pressured to the brink of being torn apart. Thinking quickly he surged away and out of the fox’s deadlock, it snarled at his disappearance and stomped on the ground as it turned forming larger cracks.

Kyle shakily stood up and that’s when he noticed, the cracks below him were closing. Quickly he looked up to see the fox charging at him again, he surged aside and quickly glanced around to see that most of the cracks had disappeared.

He watched as a whitish energy oozed out of the cracks and reformed them, slowly the entire hall was being repaired and Kyle had a good guess about how. He glanced back at the fox which was quickly prowling from side to side looking for an opening to pounce, constantly growling as it grew further annoyed.

Kyle needed some way to hold it at bay, he couldn’t possibly hold it down, the thing was too big and physically stronger than him. Even if he cut off it’s legs they would simply regrow, faster than he could claw or bite them off.

(“Options…I need better options!”) he told himself, thinking hard while he focused on the beast that constantly kept watch on him. Then a thought hit (“I do…I do have better options!”) seeing his sudden realisation the fox pounced, Kyle snapped out of his daze and surged aside just in time to not be crushed.

The fox quickly turned around and snarled at him, it moved back to prowling from side to side, it was a patient hunter. But it was surprised when it’s prey stood up on it’s hind legs, it stopped it’s movements and watched carefully as a strange substance formed out of it’s forelegs.

Slime rapidly oozed out of Kyle’s arms as he chanted with a beastial voice “To shred their armour and dismember their numbers…To destroy their cover and riddle their soldiers to corpses! Gatling Slime!” around per arm a massive rotating cannon formed and immediately opened fire.

The fox was startled by the loud gunfire, caught off guard it’s face and forelegs were shredded by the fast projectiles forcing it to fall to the ground. As it regenerated Kyle held his fire and waited, when it began to stand back up he fired again shredding it’s front legs and hind left foot.

The fox fell snarling in pain, it stared up at Kyle, it’s expression warped with hatred.

Kyle sighed in relief, occasionally he’d open fire forcing it back down to the floor but it began to slowly drag it self towards him so he had to also walk away (“This should hold it for a while but…how long will my mana last?”) he thought to himself.

Central Ruk

Grand Fae City of Orion, Outskirts

Sly went through his usual routine, it had become a daily and nightly occurrence that he would disappear from the palace to be training himself outside the city. He would take a short stroll through the streets, making sure to lose the Demon and Fae guards stationed to watch him before sneaking out of the city and finding himself back at the lake.

Once there he would step into the shallows and as every day before he would simply start moving, going through punches and kicks, evades and blocks. The pain would slow him down severely, sometimes even impeding him from moving at all for a few moments.

But Sly persevered through the pain, he continued trying, moving through it for hours on end.

Today though was different, he wasn’t just persevering, he moved rashly and forcefully as if frustrated by something. As he moved through the steps and stances, he glanced at a certain notification from time to time.

CHfarms has left the guild

CH had retired from the guild.

“Coward…” Sly mumbled every time he saw it “Fucking spineless p-piece of sh-SHIT!” a surge of pain shot through his body as he slipped through an evade and tripped, falling down into the water it took everything he had to keep his head out of it as not to drown.

He waited through the agony, clutching at his chest as he held himself up until it slowly eased back to the usual burning sensation he had gotten used to. Sly lowered himself into the water, turning over he floated there staring up at the sky as it hit sunset.

“This is truly pathetic.” Said a voice from the shadows of the forest.

Sly moved to stand but his quick reaction caused another fit of agony, he managed to get into a kneeling position but couldn’t stand through the pain.

“Hah! He cannot even stand!” exclaimed another voice.

Sly eased himself back into the water and focused on relieving the pain, he took deep controlled breaths and cycled his mana.

“He’s still a Devil, focus. Although I must admit this is quiet entertaining.” Followed up a female voice, her chuckle boomed inside Sly’s head making it hard for him to focus.

Sly finally clear of the episode of pain, slowly stood up and glanced around as they stepped out of the shadows. There was six of them as far as he could see, eight that he could sense and all were wearing dark cloaks hiding everything but their height and gender. “Who are you?” he asked with a mild growl.

The second one that spoke, a short and gruff dwarf laughed “The dog asks who we are.”

All six visible unsheathed their blades “We are the survivors of the apocalypse your kind has brought. We are the light in the dark, darkness that you covered our homes with. We are-”

“Rebels?” exclaimed Sly cutting the woman off, he guessed she was a Fae from her voice “Hah!-” he tried to laugh but the pain stopped him from doing so.

The woman snorted in amusement at his pain “We are The Sunset and when it does, your head will no longer be attached to the rest of you. Disgusting abomination.”

Sly stood up straight and took a deep breath to fight off the pain “You see…why did you have to go and say that? I was just chattin…and now you’ve gone and pissed me the fuck off.” he set his eyes on the cloaked Fae, black slits surrounded by violet with a tinge of dark green.