Welcome to Gaia! ::

: razz rior experience told Maximos that meditation in a strange place devoid of any signs of life usually meant the meditation wasnt going to last long. He had laid the Nameless across his legs and had his arms resting gently on either knee. His breathing, was light, and yet steady as he focused himself with the rythmic pitter patter of raindrops, and forced his mind into alignment using the periodic slams of thunder. The entire experience was very spiritual...

Until of course a large flash of light proved to him that past experience should not be ignored. His meditation was interupted, as per usual causing a bit of a sting across his forehead. His gloved right hand rose to rub his temples. He spoke, though somewhat exasperated.::

Hello...

::And his eyes steadily opened, black pupils dialating to take in what fragments of light danced off the bits of metal and wet wood which lay strewn across the battlefield below. It seems there was a war, and yet still it seemed the war was very much over. Bodies and weapons were discarded and laid strewn across the grassy plain. The bodies were too fresh to carry the stench of rot, and the scent of blood was fading as it was washed into the soil by the downpour. Someone, somewhere had a sick sense of humor. It was as if the Heavens were washing away the battle, just to make room for the next. A sigh escaped Maximos's lips.::

The flash of light had caused Ryugi's vision to be temporarily blurred. In responce, he moved his arm to rub his eyes. As he rubbed them, he suddenly became more aware of his surroundings. He felt the cool drops of rain hitting his body, and even with his blurred vision, he had noticed that the surroundings were much darker than usual, hinting that it was night time, and since it was even darker than that, it must have also been overcast. There were a few bright flashes of light, and then, the loud rumble of thunder echoed across the expanse. But then, there was something else that caused the hair on the back of Ryugi's neck to stand up...

It was a smell. And not just the smell of the wet ground, or the smell of the thick air from the rain, but something more dark, more sinister. Blood. Its thick salty iron-like smell gave it away almost immediately. Ryugi slowly stopped rubbing his eyes as they opened to allow more light to enter his pupils, and he saw what lay before him. He had landed in a battlefield this time. And not just any battlefield, one that had been recently used. As far as his eyes could see, corpses littered the ground, some with the weapons that killed them laying across them. He spun around, looking around him at the devastation. If he hadn't heard a familiar voice call to him, he might have dropped to his knees right there, and cried out in rage and anguish at the carnage. He turned to face an extrordinary sight...

M-Maxi...mos...?

He slowly walked towards his friend who he'd heard had died. ((Remember, this is the void, but they still have their prior knowledge.)) He stopped short of the man who sat on the ground and looked at him.

H-How are you... How are you alive...?

He then heard another familiar voice and looked behind him to see none other than his pupil Damrius moving towards him from the side. Nodding in greeting before turning back to Maximos' sitting form.

Dame walked to Ryugi's side. His hands had tightened around the hilts of them, and he stared at both the men. He had heard Ryugi speak of this Maximos, but never actually met him.

Gentlemen, we are to be fighting, if I am correct?

Dame said this, pulling in energy. The fact that his element was in play currently, he used it as a battery, pulling in an extra charge.

I'm not taking the first swing this time, either.

::Maximos didnt say much, nowadays he never did. But his eyes never closed but to blink. He saw the below...





This man, whom he had never seen before. Declared in conversation with the other man that the 3 of them must fight in order to be set free. He then turned his back on Maximos to attack the other man. Maximos's mind worked on logic.

As Ryugi swung, not a moment before, not a moment after, but during the swing, he would hear something all too familiar...

-Snap-

...Maximos called on the attribute he lived by, speed. Speed is what drove the blur of motion that was the Nameless forward, its flawless blade cutting through wind and rain without sound, as it flew directly for the base of Ryugi's spine aiming to simply sever the spine right above its base rendering Ryugi paralyzed from the waist down.

This didnt require surgical timing, just precision and one small cut. A cut made at the blinding speed Maximos was known for. And for one individual to have his back turned.

It wasnt a matter of Ryugi seeing the sword move, as his back was turned that was out of the question. It was a matter of being able to do anything about. As Ryugi should know, the famous snap of the Nameless unsheathing was not a warning sign. It always came after the cut. It was a quiet, and simple, farewell.::

-CLANG!!-



-Snap-


Now THAT was cause for alarm! Ragnarok had just blocked a sword attack from behind, that and Ryugi heard the telltale snap from the shieth of the Nameless. As Maximos made a perfect cut, Ryugi was knocked foreward by the force, and he intended to make use of it. Ryugi was made to be strong and defended, not fast and powerful like his old friend.

As he heard the clang of metal against metal, he let lose a blast of energy into his legs and shot himself across the course, out of the range of Maximos and his dangerous weapon. Ryugi had been careless, and he wouldn't make that mistake again as long as he could help it. But at such close range, he had no chance of defeating the Nameless. His swordplay was not fast enough to easily handle the blade.

In less than a second, he'd be nearly thirty feet away from Maximos and his frightening weapon. He noted Damrius' defensive stance, and silently wished him the best of luck. Ryugi then began to charge once more, beginning again at one.

Dame again pulled in two charges, this time not putting them in his swords, but into his boots. They would already increase his speed by three tiems, but now he would move like lightning. (How cliche' is that?)

He stared at Maximos, and felt the life drain out of him. That was kinda creepy, in all honesty. But nothing would suprise dame here.

He then turned his head toward Ryugi. And, being at about thirty feet away, that wouldn't last long. Withing a fraction of a second, Damrius was in front of Ryugi. Dame wasn't stopping either. He was coming like a bullet, and his swords would hit like on too.

The energy around them sparked, and lightning began to cover the blades.

::And he was done. His head snapped forward as his eyes opened, still devoid of emotion, but now...very much armed.

Around him, "they" came into being. For each of his arms they arose, like weapons being drawn from the sheath, a sheath of flesh. From his arms came two jet black swords, twin to each other, each 4ft in length. From his back, and from his chest came another two, twin to the first pair, but also solid black. They seemed to be forged of some sort of obsidian a dull black metal yet still dripping with Maximos's own black blood. The glowing of the runes finally came to a stop as the 5th and final sword simply rose from Maximos's own shadow, cast forward by the moonlight. The final sword matching the other 4ft, a twin set of ebony blades.

The blades each crackled in a sort of indigo glow as they rotated around Maximos. Not simply around his head, but around his body like a curtain of blades dancing around their master their creator.

Maximos, was ready to fight. His eye sparked slightly as he took his first steps toward where the yet unamed man had just been sent by by Ryugi. His right hand firmly gripped the Nameless as he steadily walked toward Ryugi. Emotionless eyes locked onto his target.::