The Nexus Tavern (O//A)

[Lady Astraea of Radiance]

The twins quickly ran to their grandfather's side, "Don't touch him fox" they hissed. "Be still my grandchildren, restrain Nightmare and her sister, if they get a hold of Caleb he'll die, or worse, she'll take his soul" The twins looked over to Hriob and quickly moved him away from her and placed him beside them. "I'm sorry, but she isn't herself as much as you think she is" Xavier said looking over to her. With their combined power a black cage of energy formed around the sisters and they threw themselves against it. "Let us out of here!" The tavern shook and the ceiling began to crack. "Her emotions are coming back" they said wide eyed, forcing the cage to get stronger. Lord Erebos tisked Caleb, "She'll destroy your reality child, and not because she's going to dispell it. No, this one is part of your being...the quickest way for her to end it...is to kill you"

He smirked, tapping his finger onto the handle of his cane, "Come to think of it...If my grandsons let her go now, while you're disobeying her crazy psycho state's commands, she'll rip your soul to shreds." Nightmare growled angrily, suddenly transforming into a black panther, growling furiously from within the cage. Lord Erebos shifted the air around him to make it hot and dry. He did this by making Caleb's mouth dry for Caleb was his reality in every sense. Then his hands suddenly sparked into black flames and chucked them at Caleb, the air instantly exploding around him. Black smoke filled the room and an angry Night bashed against the cage while Misery stood motionless, watching her sister's pumped up anger pouring out like this.

[Kovahl Norzaar Amadan]

At the sight, Hriob's heart turned hard, like a sudden shift from liquid sorrow to cold steel. "Fine... I hope she comes to quickly. This is probably going to give me nightmares for months to come." He lays his hands on the twins, and with a surge of focus the air inside the cage becomes cold, but dry and full of static, like the threat of a storm free from rain. The bars of shadow became at once less and more real... they were made of impenetrable nothingness now, not just shadows.

Drawing energy from within himself, he then latches onto the two sisters spiritually, a one-way affair thanks to the cage, and starts feeding then positive energy... not truly like Panacea would, with healing and life energy, but with a positive, calming force that made one want to simply fall asleep or contemplate life.

This would have been beyond him as he was a few weeks ago, but he had studied, fought, trained, and submitted himself to much to get where he was now... this was nothing to him anymore, other than trying to do everything he could.

"And no offense to anyone here, Caleb, Don't Lose."

[Py Aster]

And then, time stood still. As Caleb combated what the vampire was doing, he took the sword and drew out a bow. Turning sword into arrow, he fired it at the cage, hitting it. This caused a temporal paradox, stopping the time for Night, Misery, the vampire twins, and Xavier.

"No more interruptions." Caleb stated as another time sword appeared in his hand.
His reality manifested without his chant. However, he stated his chant nonetheless, like a dutiful soldier. Time was his, the world was his.

"I am the bone of my sword....
Steel is my body and fire is my blood....
I have created over a thousand blades....
Unknown to death...not known to life....
Have withstood pain to create many weapons....
Yet those hands can not hold anything....
So...as I pray....
Unlimited Blade Works!"

His reality was already there, yet the effect was augmented completely. Around him, swords and weapons seemed to have received reinforcements. Excalibur, in particular, seemed to have gained saintly wings. The cogs groaned loudly above as the ash bathed the field in gray and white.
"No interruptions. No tricks. Just men, and their words." Hilting the time sword, Caleb called out Hrunting, turning sword into arrow and readying it to fire. "Have you heard the legend of Hrunting?"

[Kovahl Norzaar Amadan]

Inside the effect of the time bubble, Hriob instantly notices the effect. "Dear lord, now he can manipulate time... Caleb is not going to be that easy to beat even for him..." He redoubles his efforts on Night and Misery, working on calming them with waves of a type of energy he had only been able to see angels use before, while the cage remained untouchable by its now-alien nature... even if one could put a finger against the edge of its surface now, they would only find their digit poking through into the alien nothingness of the Void between worlds... but Hriob wasn't about to let that happen to Night either. He kept the winds around the bars too dense and powerful to be penetrated by any force the Frosthavens could muster.

[Sage Fox of Eight Clouds]

Ran looked at what was happening as she stood up, for once welcoming the change. She folded her arms, placing them in her sleeves as she watched was was going to happen. So, Caleb's magic is really taking artifacts and powerful enchantments and making them into what he needs. Thaumaturgy IS creation magic, after all.... She looked at the vampire. I wonder what that vampire would feel if he realized that the magic he faces is basically the magic of the gods?

[Lady Astraea of Radiance]

Though Misery wasn't quite aware of it herself she moved to watch them while the others remained frozen in time. She blinked slowly, watching the two. Taking the handle he slid a black blade from his cane. "I doubt knowing what it was would help me in any way" He placed the sword out and the ash was absorbed into the blade. This sword worked like a black hole, anything that touched it would be sucked in and absorbed.

[Kovahl Norzaar Amadan]

Inside the time-stop, Night seemed to be tiring somewhat, but she didn't appear to be getting any less forceful or dangerous. Why must this keep happening, that I am forced to watch what I value and love made hollow? Made twisted? Whatever she saw in my emotion-sealed self, I think I am seeing in her emotion-rampant self... I don't love her any less, that would be impossible... but it's killing me to see you this way. Please, just wake up.

A tear manages to fall from his eye, that he had thought was dry and barren from too much life coming far too fast in his past.

[Py Aster]

"Then you will find out." Caleb launched Hrunting. In it's normal trajectory, it would have been caught in the black hole effect, nullifying it. However, it was Hrunting, the blade that always hits its target. The sword-turned-arrow moved itself quickly in a tight zigzag arch before it made its strike at the vampire's chest. As it made its strike, it created an explosion, as it was indeed a legendary weapon in itself.
Without missing a beat, Caleb drew out Excalibur, enhanced with saintly wings, with many other versions of Excalibur, the time sword, the cursed sword Tyrfing. They flanked him like multiple wings as he readied to fire Excalibur. "Holy Sword: Excalibur!" The other weapons turned into lances of various colors of light, seemingly waiting for the right moment to strike.
The mana in the air was being drawn into his bowstring as he waited for his prey, like the archers of old. He was a magus yes. But he was not just a battle mage. He was foremost, an archer. Taking sword and making sword into arrow, and infusing into bow. Taking legend and making into reality in splendor.

Battle Music: Emiya ver 2 (movie version)

[Lady Astraea of Radiance]

The vampire appeared behind Caleb through his sword, Caleb's sword through his chest. He didn't seem at all fazed by it yet blood trickled down slowly. "That was a dirty trick you just pulled, using a sword as an arrow, you can't even stick to your word" He plunged the sword into Caleb's ankle hard his eyes glowing red.

Night roared causing the twins to flinch. That's when suddenly she stopped and her ears went up. She then laid down on the floor curling up by her sister. She transformed back, her black hair about the floor. She sat up and Misery looked down to her. That's when their hearts stopped beating momentarily and took the wind out of them. The two screamed out in pain holding their chests. The color rushed back to their hair and face, their eyes shimmering brightly. Once they were normal the two flopped back gasping for air.

[Kovahl Norzaar Amadan]

"Oh thank the ancients you two are alright again..." Hriob looks as if he's close to tears, but only his eyes... the rest of him seems at once broken, yet firm; like a stone statue that has been mercilessly weathered and beaten, yet remains standing to continue its vigil solemnly. His spirit, aura, and soul all seem to match, appearing of all things to have been sliced and cut at with a knife, but still staying stronger than when Night, or anyone else, looked at them closely. He may have been gone for two weeks within the space of two hours, but he had taken his remedies and ethers with him, and used them during his off time there... He was much closer to being an Elemental now than he had been before.

The cage of void retracts into nothingness yet again, and the air returns to normal, if still containing a hint of ozone and being mildly over-rich in oxygen. He rushes in to hug them again, hoping that the worst is out of the way.

[Py Aster]

Caleb laughed immensely, like a madman at that point. "You damn fools and your arrogance of power. I gave myself away, and yet you didn't even heed myself." As he said did, his body erupted into swords, spraying out in all directions from his wounds. "My chant is...I! AM! THE! BONE! OF! MY! SWORD!!!" He fired Excalibur at point blank range, creating a vast explosion akin to a thermo-nuclear weapon detonating. Steel mended up the wounds in his chest and ankle as the lances dived into the explosion, setting off smaller scale explosions. As Caleb got flung out, he called out to Excalibur once again to catch and gather his footing on the ground. He waited for the vampire's move, readying for his next attack as the alchemist part of thaumaturgist self healed the damage. He closed his eyes once again, feeling, readying for the next strike.

(Kudos if you get the reference)

Battle Music: Emiya Ver 2

[Sage Fox of Eight Clouds]

I am glad that I have grown a resistance to magic explosions and the like. However.... She stared at all that was going on. This is by far on a greater magnitude than what I have seen before. She watched with intent, moving only to keep herself out of harms way, only as the need arises.

[Kovahl Norzaar Amadan]

Hriob starts to look dizzy and lightheaded after a second or two as the Frosthaven sisters recover their senses... His soul was literally just lacerated from the blackened, spiritual force they were both emitting in their previous state. "Just don't leave without telling me next time... please..." He falls into unconsciousness despite all his will to stay awake, his spirit forcing him unconscious so that it might heal.

Most people might be scarred for life in many ways from that kind of abuse on their soul, but Hriob's essence still carried the vorpal, ever-fluctuating mark of the Void. He would recover, but it might take a day or so, maybe less if he was lucky.

He still hugs them tight even in his sudden sleep.

{{ Sorry, but I'm leaving for a family visit... that just so happens to coincide with the SuperBowl... today starting at noon latest. I may be on a bit longer, but I'll be leaving most likely in a couple of hours from this post. If I'm on again tonight, it will be very late, but I will be back on tomorrow just fine. ^_^; }}

[Lady Astraea of Radiance]

The twins sighed and picking him up laid him on the couch, "We warned him" They then picked up both sisters laying them each on a couch as well. They then sat down at the foot of Night's couch and watched the fight, a shield protecting the five of them. Night stirred faintly but her eyes closed again as she turned over, snuggling down.

Lord Erebos appeared out of the thick black smoke from the explosion with only a single scratch on his cheek. It healed as he wiped the blood that streamed down the side of his face. "That was close" He said nodding in approval. He stabbed his sword down hard into the ground and like a snake it burst forth beneath Caleb's feet, wrapping him up in a tight grip. It then pulled him down through the ground to Erebos where he swung the sword high up causing it to let go of Caleb sending him high into the air. "Just not close enough" He said watching the boy fly as if he had wings of his own.

[Py Aster]

It was that moment in time, the gears shifted. It was that moment in time, the steam in the ground burst forth. It was that moment in time the the fire burned bright.
As he landed, he took a stance. Clad in his battle armor, he wielded Excalibur and Gallantine, sister swords of Legend. Taking both into a bow, much like an archer of old, he formed the illustrious weapons into arrows.
As if heeding the call, swords dismounted from the ground, and shades of warriors past rose above. Unlike zombies, they were of clear mind, of clear heart. Unlike ghosts, they were of tangible form. The infinity of the realm gave birth to an infinity of a warrior.
The replicas of Excalibur and Gallantine scattered about charged forth, imbuing their essence into the arrow given strength.

"Surely you know of the Divine protection of these swords, under sun and moon!" As he said so, the gears parted, showing both an artificial sun, and an artificial moon hanging above. His reality fed what he needed, for it was his, and it was HE.
As if to aid him, swords rained from the sky upon the vampire, including the time swords. Like a light rain it fell, coating the field like a deadly hail of arrows.

Unknown to Caleb, his fox ears and tail grew long at that moment, his pupils now not showing.


Battle Music: Emiya - Crow's Claw Metal Remix (When you need serious A-kicking XD)