Madness Reflected Soul

Awirren Goldenfeather was many things in her life. She was a leader that had saved her world. The most powerful, the one that shone the brightest. The beacon of light that had led her people through the darkest time in their history. The one that had given hope to those survivors lost in a new world. Who had comforted them and helped them move past the trauma of losing their world, losing their loved ones.

She continued being that beacon, as they settled and tamed this new world, as they met souls from other worlds who had gone through the same thing. But throughout it all, Awirren remained an example to all, both her people and others. Her power, her beauty, and her desire to keep people safe. She stood as one of the pillars of the newly arrived peoples.

Until other pillars emerged. Other people, from different worlds who proved themselves her equal. And in time, some proved to be Awirren's better. People who rushed ahead, who pushed the boundaries of power. Who discovered things that raised them all up.

Awirren struggled to keep up, struggled to keep her image of someone that stood above everyone alive, until it became just that. A façade, a lie that she had to project. She was not the strongest, and that knowledge, like a weed, took root inside her soul. Until she convinced herself that all she needed was a little helping hand. A little push, and that she would be able to find the way on her own.

And when that push came, it came with consequences. Awirren was stuck, and the resentment in her soul grew, until she had become convinced that she had been betrayed. Until she started to believe that the only way to advance again was to prove that she was better than everybody else.

And she had, she took her rightful place in the sky, and it didn't help any. Stuck and with no way forward, Awirren made a decision, one that only made her state worse. But as she grew more and more erratic following the consequences of her actions, a small part of her soul was aware of what was happening. And that small part of her pushed her to find a way to control her slipping mind.

The world was an infinite place, filled with infinite possibility, filled with mysteries, with secrets waiting to be discovered. All things that could be, were possible, for the Infinite Realm was a dream made real. But for most, there was one place where all things could be obtained. A place that everyone knew about, but few actively ventured to. Because the very nature of that place made it something that a mind couldn't quite grasp. It was so by design, because it was always the last resort. And among those who were able to push through the fog and enter, few were willing to pay the price.

But in one rare moment of clarity, the piece of Awirren's broken soul did reach out, and in a place where clarity of mind was always present, she made a deal.

She paid the price, a sacrifice of the future of one focus, for a ring that would keep her sane. A ring with the power to cut off a piece of her soul, and seal it away along with all the power that that part of her held.

But sanity came with a price, or at least the appearance of it, it took away all the power that she had acquired, it made her stuck again. Yet, in the end she didn't regret it. It had been worth the price, because through that she had learned more about the Soul than most people realized was possible. It let her grow in power through other means.

And now she stood on the precipice, with her back pushed against the wall, her death looming near. And only what the ring kept away could save her.

The Awirren that had her sanity, or at least most of it, knew that removing the ring would be the death of who she was, and that it would bring the full breadth of the Awirren that she had worked hard to keep away.

Yet in that moment, looking at the woman who had once been her friend, who had betrayed her and made it impossible for her to ever achieve greater heights of Cultivation, who had been envious of the devotion that Awirren enjoyed from the people, she could only think about the wrongs she had been given. How Anatalien looked at her with that anger in her eyes, anger that was supposed to be Awirren's, not hers. How she positioned herself higher in the sky than her, looked down on her as if she was better. As if her anger was justified when she was the one that made Awirren the way she was.

At that moment, she reached for the ring and removed it. She let her truest self be born anew. Awirren the Golden Phoenix died, and THE BEACON THAT SWALLOWS ALL LIGHT IN THE SKY was reborn.

All beings had a true name, words that gave meaning and described a being's Soul. A true name did not grant one greater power, not unless you were a Cultivator, in which case your body was forged with your Soul, and one's true name manifested a facet of that forging. What a true name gave was a complete and utter understanding of oneself.

And there was power in such knowledge, in knowing oneself so intimately. For any being, that understanding provided a clarity of a life's purpose.

And for THE BEACON THAT SWALLOWS ALL LIGHT IN THE SKY had only one thought in her mind. To swallow all light in the sky besides herself. Anatalien Far Solla shone brightly in the Phoenix's mind's eye, and that light had to be snuffed out.

There was no thought, only desire.

Pieces of her Soul tore apart and fueled her power. Soul melting into Qi, shaping and fusing together. The golden flames winked out, and were replaced by pure black Soulfire. A reflection of the Soul that wielded the power.

The world trembled at the display, Essence twisting and churning as if it was trying to get away from the flames.

Awirren opened her mouth and shrieked, and the Essence shaped by her vocal cords sent a ripple through the air, one that was tainted by the weight of her Soul.

They were in the sky, and that was her domain, her kingdom. She was the Frenzied Empress of Mad Sky by virtue of her Class, the peak of power.

Her opponent was in front of her, and nothing would stand in her way. With a mighty beat of her wings, she launched herself through the sky.

[Mad Wind Rush] aided her flight, as a wild wind manifested and carried her forward, twisting and turning around her. Her opponent was surprised at her speed, but Awirren didn't even notice. All she saw was death to everything that tried to take her place.

[Frenzied Rampage] bulged the muscles of her evolved form, her technique and perk burning a black shroud all around her body as she smashed into Anatalien. Awirren's claws dug deep into her enemy's abdomen, grasping her enemy tightly. Her head reared back, and with a |Greater Titan's Strike| she lashed out with her beak.

Her opponent defended with a wall of Qi, slowing Awirren's beak in a field of expanding Sky. With a cry, the black fire around Awirren burned at the Qi of the technique as her Will pressed on the world, a wild and uncontrollable will that threatened to burn everything in its way. With a shriek of reality, Awirren punched through. Her beak sank into Anatalien's shoulder as she twisted, trying to get away. Her claws gouged deep wounds and her beak burrowed, fire streaming into her opponent's body, burning her from the inside out. Spikes on Anatalien's tail swung and hit Awirren's side, her own claws flailed as they tried to take purchase on Awirren's body, but black flames and feathers protected her. Awirren's wounds were leaking blood as black as her fire, and just as hot, boiling liquid dripped on her opponent, the black fire that burned all in its way. The spikes of bone on Anatalien's tail burned to charcoal, cracking and splintering without doing any damage. Her claws blackened, and skin melted.

Lances of light rained from above them, but Awirren gave them no heed.

There was no thought in her mind, only the desire to burn the world to ash.