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Sara's eyes seemed distant and unfocused, as though she was staring straight through Xeion. One hand came up to play idly with a ringlet of hair. She could envision the tanned hand holding the sword-- it was connected to an arm. She twirled the ringlet tightly around her finger. She thought she saw the vague beginnings of a sleeve tattoo on the rich, tanned ocher of that skin... Then it was gone and she couldn't recall even the barest hint of the vision no matter how she tried.

"No! No!" Sara growled, both hands weaving tightly into her hair and clenching into fists. She sagged slightly, as if under the weight of some unseen force, eyes tightly shut, trying to hang on to the presumed memories that were no more than afterimages in her mind. "I don't remember! I don't-- that blade. The woman-- she.. It's- it's mine! It's a part of me! Don't take it away..."

Her dark brown eyes were big and troubled, still only half-seeing Xeion. She was breathing hard, panicking without discerning the cause. It was as if a switch had been thrown in her mind. Disembodied emotions coursed through her-- love, desire, anger, despair. And, paramount-- pain. Why did her heart feel as though it was falling to pieces in her chest?

"Don't take her away from me!" She pleaded, unexplained tears welling up in her eyes.

[2/10.. right?]

Anyone with a large scythe pointed at them would gladly comply with whatever request the wielder of the scythe would give, but Xeion wasn't anyone. He had his share of danger and had weapons pointed at him on a daily basis, mostly thanks to Feiy-sama's training way back then. Because of that, Xeion's hard-as-steel nerves didn't falter in the face of the blade, but rather, smiled.

Turning to Sara-san, he saw the intense desire for the blade to stay well up in her heart, as well as through the tears that were flowing down her eyes like crysal-clear rivers. Although her response confirmed Xeion's theory that her memories have been altered, he didn't care about that right now. He felt sorry for Sara-san and wanted to do something to ease the pain she felt, but the only way he could do that -- by giving Azuhi to them -- was something Xeion didn't want to do. That sword was his now.

He turned to face Zane-san once again, still smiling at the Arrancar. "Yes, Azuhi has already been used for evil deeds, which is all the more reason for me to keep it. I will not allow even more evil deeds to be committed by this blade. I will take all of Feiy-sama's sins -- all of it -- and purify this blade so as Feiy-sama will leave behind a pure legacy which will be the base for a brand new future," he said, slowly turning around to resume walking to the exit which was just a few more steps away. He knew this meant defying a woman's sincere request and would also subject him to violent confrontation just so they would acquire Azuhi, but Xeion continued walking anyway, but kept his guard up just to be sure.

With every step he took as he got nearer and nearer to the exit, he hoped and prayed that Zane-san's threats were simply that -- threats -- so that he didn't have to fight, though the cold chill running up and down his spine told him otherwise. Maybe a fight was something he really couldn't avoid? The Azuhi was something neither party wanted to part with. As to what would happen next, only time would tell.

[2/10]

The moment Sara moved Zane did as well using a simple yet fast sonido to appear in front of Xeion, a man who seemed to have a worse death wish then Zane which was saying something, as Zane stood in front of Xeion, sorrow was etched into his face, sorrow filled, his eyes had sorrow filled his voice.

"I'm sorry Shinigami but you leave me no choice I really don't want to hurt you."

Zane said as he walked up to Xeion, showing no hint of attacking, thanks to the fact he had used sonido, he had a few seconds alone with Xeion before Sara was upon the man, with all her rage, and pain, as he walked towards Xeion his left hand started to glow with a brown aura that had begun to surround but small blobs of black. dotted the aura these blobs were the insanity the had made it way into Zane's reaitsu corrupting it, but being already one with Insanity this corruption didn't affect him.

"Forgive me."

All of the sudden Zane's left hand was flying at Xeion's chest palm force, but this attack wouldn't physically harm Xeion, but it would inject Xeion with Zane's corrupted reaitsu, this reaitsu would slowly weaken Xeion, or cause any wounds he recieved after the injection unable to be healed by extra ordinary means, and even the regular means of healing would take longer then one would expected, or this injection could cause Xeion to go mad with insanity, losing himself forever maybe to the halls of darkness that echoed with hollow laughs void of all emotions.

[3/10]

Sara swung her sword and cleaved through empty air. She thought she felt the briefest resistance as though she was tearing through thin cloth, but then she was distracted as Zane's open hand collided with her shoulder. Some sort of aura sank into her skin, and she shivered at the foreign reiatsu in her body. She didn't stop to dwell on it, however. She looked wildly about for Xeion, catching a glimpse of him as he vanished through a strange portal. Before she could react, he had vanished. Desperate, she called on her sword's greater power, insensible to the danger she posed to herself by this action.

"Bel--"Morning Star, wait! That was the entity in her blade interrupting her before she had the chance to complete her command. I said you were to call my name only in greatest need! What are you thinking? As of now, his skill exceeds your own. No matter how much power you force out of yourself, he'll still be able to escape. The only thing I can promise with certainty is that if you use me at your current level, you risk death.

"But the sword--" Sara said, speaking without realizing she was doing so aloud. "He's taking her away! I need her back! I feel it! This sort of feeling can't be wrong!"

Think, Sara! Use your head, not your heart! You can't win this fight, even if Zane helps you. That man has far greater experience that the pair of you-- weren't you even paying the slightest attention to his evasion of your attack? Zane actually struck you with his technique! And you're not even worried! You need to take care of yourself, little angel. There will not always be someone around to protect you.

"It doesn't matter," Sara shot back angrily. "I don't need a protector. I need power.... Belial,"

Sara-- but there was no turning back. Sara's spiritual pressure skyrocketed and her tattoos gleamed brighter and brighter, obscuring her vision with its intensity. Suddenly, jagged shatter lines appeared on her blue skin. They spread crazily over her arms and legs like a mirror cracking under pressure. Shards of her shikai form began to disintegrate under the force of so much reiatsu pushing at inadequate seals. Sara gritted her teeth, skin on fire. There was so much pain, but so much power, too. Abruptly, the blue skin of her shikai shattered, revealing not Sara's usual tan, but a bright, silvery, illuminated being that only barely retained Sara's shape. The sensations overwhelmed her senses, and she screamed in agony. That is, the being let out a scream, and it was just recognizable as Sara's cry.

Sara lept upwards, breaking straight through the ceiling as though it was no more than paper. She felt herself drawn to the sword and no barrier-- wall, ceiling, gate, or even arrancar or hollow-- would stop her from finding it again. She broke her way through several floors, finally emerging on the same level as Xeion.

She turned towards him, form almost entirely obscured by silvery light. Taking a step towards him, she stumbled. There was a spot of darkness growing in her chest, and she reached a glowing hand to touch it. It felt cold.

That's Zane's technique. Belial didn't sound like her calm self. Her voice was strained and worried. It is a direct opposite to your nature, little hawk. It's eating you alive. I can't keep this up for much longer as it is or the strain will destroy you. End this now, or it will be ended for you.

"Give me the sword," Sara spoke to Xeion for the first time, reaffirming her grip on her zanpaku-to. She tried to ignore the shadow stain spreading tendrils of darkness over her glowing body. "It belongs to me,"

[4/10]

Xeion grit his teeth when he saw that, once again, the two had impeded his escape route. From where he stood, he could already feel his hairs stand on end -- something terrifying had awakened within these two people. From Sara-san was an unbelievably powerful surge of energy that was too dangerous to control. As a matter of fact, Xeion found it amazing that she was able to take all that energy in without showing the least bit of strain, not realizing that she was only hiding the intense pain that plagued her body, just for the sake of obtaining the sword, Azuhi. As for the Arrancar, Zane-san, his power, too, grew significantly, though not quite as dangerously as Sara-san's power was. It worried him, but not for his sake -- he was worried for Sara-san.

When the powerful explosion came his way, he set aside his worried expression for a while to face the oncoming wave. From its color, it was the same typ of energy that the Arrancar had once used before; the same one he was gathering from his hand. Xeion didn't even need to know that the energy that created the explosion was that of corrupted reiatsu to know that he didn't want to get hit by such a thing. As such, it was just about time to bring out Azuhi from her scabbard and wield it just as his master, Feiy-sama, would have wanted it to be wielded -- in combat.

"Cleave, Azuhi!" he shouted as soon as he drew out the famous blade. It quickly became a giant cleaver at his command, its weight greatly increasing by the second until he felt that it was like carrying a huge table with him. It was a wonder how Feiy-sama managed to carry such a large and weighty weapon as if she were doing so with any normal sword. It only proved more than ever Feiy-sama's immense physical strength that she was so famous for. Still, the explosion was at hand and he didn't have time to ponder on any longer. He needed to act or die.

He raised both swords up, having more difficulty with Azuhi due to her weight, but that didn't deter Xeion from what he was about to do as he reinforced both swords, and his hands, with his own reiatsu. "Magnum Split!!" he shouted, signaling the name of his attack as he swung both swords down with unbelievable strength and speed. The resulting slashes produced a gigantic gust of wind that blew away the oncoming explosion and dispersed its energies by overpowering it with the sheer intensity of the wind-flow created by the said attack. However, since Xeion had also used Azuhi, who's strength lay in wind manipulation, the effects became even more clearer.

When Xeion swung Azuhi down and made the Magnum Split, his signature move with Elena, using it, the resulting wind was several times more powerful than Elena's, which was an obvious result. However, the resulting wind was too powerful. The attack which Xeion had intended to disperse the explosion and distract the two with the energy created from the powerful gust of wind had become even more powerful; Azuhi's gust unintentionally augmenting the wind created from the Magnum Split using Elena. Soon, the fusion of the two winds resulted in a wind-flow of unimaginable power; the presence of which caused severe strain on the platforms that they were standing on, resulting in a complete destruction of the support beams.

"No, this isn't what I wanted!" Xeion shouted mentally when he saw everything was being destroyed by the ferocious wind he had caused. He grit his teeth and was left without a choice, using another Dark Mirror to escape the mega-storm-like gust that became a monster in just mere seconds, reappearing several floors up as he saw the destruction he had left behind. The staircase below the ones they were on were destroyed while those in the upper parts were shaking to their foundations. Xeion knew that it was risky to use a Mangnum Split in such an environment, as Las Noches' courtyard area's design functioned somewhat like a wind tunnel, focusing the power of the wind into a central foci, greatly increasing its power with every revolution, but he didn't have a choice. He wasn't able to think that much and now had to pay the price with the knowledge that he had caused such destruction.

Xeion, horrified at what he had done, looked at Azuhi with a mix of fear and amazement. How could something so small had so much power? I mean, sure the power of the wind was also partly due to the structure in which the wind was made, but still, it was amazing, yet scary at the same time. Now he knew, for sure, that he should be the one who needed to keep something this dangerous before it would be used to do any harm to anyone else. With that said, the Squad Nine Captain continued his ascent, all the while hoping that the two would be safe somehow, though he knew that they would be. How would they have gotten into Las Noches if they weren't so tough. The guilty feeling was there, though Xeion didn't have time to mind it right now. He needed to escape as fast as he could so that he won't have to use violence again, which may lead to a repeat of what just happened.

[4/10]

One man stood against the winds, one man only one man, and that man was Zane he stood his ground, a much like a wall that would not go down, no matter how many sieges the enemy laid down open, the wind buffed him, with tremendous strength, but Zane did not back down, he wasn't going to not now, not ever. Slowly he raised his hands up, and with out wasting anymore time he brought his hands together hard creating a shock wave that disrupted the wind, and once that happened the wind slowly faded away to nothing, leaving a destroyed in it's wake, well a more destroyed court yard since Zane had cause much of the damage when he had released his resurrccion. Looking around at the destruction Zane let out a sigh, before disappearing along with the darkness that seem to form around him.

The sound of feet could be heard in hall way behind Xeion, which had moments before become pitched back hiding anything, or anyone in it from view, tendrils of darkness started moving across the walls of the hallway towards Xeion, in these tendrils, eyes blood red could be seen, in the darkness a small black cat appeared.

"O Dragón ven con gran furia
O Dragón ven así corro con présa
Para que o dragón está irritado e iso é que
Entón, se valora a vida saír ou ser trampa."

The cat said it's voice layered with madness, and as he said this the foot steps grew louder, and louder, but still nothing could be seen int he darkness, except the eyes, the blood red eyes that seem to look right through Xeion's soul, looking to see how to turn him onto the path of insanity.

"Feel her pain."

A voice said as Zane appeared right in front of Xeion, attacking him with the same attack that was harming Sara, and has he did this the darkness completely in gulf the area around all three fighters, and the hall way was only lit by the light coming off the blood red eyes.

[5/10]

Sara pushed herself to her feet, eyes burning with hate. Though it may not have been his intention, Sara felt as though this man was mocking her. Loving a phantom from her past-- why did that resonate with her? It hurt realize that he might be right-- that there was someone she'd forgotten whom she'd loved so deeply. It was just another reason to win the sword, Azuhi, back from this thief. Even if it was only a little piece of this person she had loved and lost, it was better than no memory at all.

She dashed blood from the corner of her mouth, swaying slightly on the spot. The corrupted reiatsu was consuming her torso, the light of her skin dimming under its effects. The skin above her heart was a dark, unhealthy black, and she was cold all over. Somehow, her zanpaku-to was still in her hand, burnished blade reflecting the slowly dying glow of her skin.

"I just..." Sara raised her sword unsteadily. Belial tried to contact her several times, but Sara's mind was growing far too disturbed under the weight of phantom memory, pushed to the very edge by Zane's corrupted Insanity technique. Belial could feel her body slowly dying, but Sara was insensible to it.

Sara-- Belial's voice was like a badly-tuned radio.

"I just--"

Don't let it--

"I just want my Feiy back!" Sara screamed, pushing Belial out of her mind. She charged at the man who held Azuhi, flourishing her blade. She moved like Rhia. Her fighting style was exactly the same, smooth and graceful as a dancer, though she had neither the endurance nor strength of mind or body to maintain this power for any significant length of time. Her various wounds were bleeding heavily. She could feel it all hot and thick in her throat. The best Belial could do was pump more power through her frame. It was keeping her moving even if it was destroying her. Letting up even a fraction would give the Insanity technique the edge it needed to take her heart completely.

She bore down on Xeion, sweeping her blade around in a crescent strike, flowing into a reverse crescent before her body knew what was happening. She was fighting more with her memories and heart than her head. Her vision was blurring already. So soon? I thought I had more time. Everything hurt. Her soul was screaming for sleep, peace, respite from pain. Slip into madness. Into death. Take me away from here. Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the blood.

If only I had more time.

I would have told her.

Every day...

[6/10]

((I think you misunderstood, Zaine-san -- the attacks were meant only for you and only talked to Sara-san, not attack her. I’m also confused about your speech transitions as you didn’t really indicate as to whom you were speaking to, leaving it to the reader’s common sense to decipher it. Well, I guess it can’t be helped... I’ll just work with it. sweatdrop ))

Xeion’s eyes widened when he saw Sara-san move and attack like Rhia-taicho used to back when she was still alive. Her swiftness, her skill, her total mastery of the weapons she had at her disposal -- everything was there. However, even though Sara-san had become more and more like Rhia-taicho with each attack, her body was reaching its physiological limit. Xeion knew this since the effects were seen visibly all over Sara-san’s body in addition to the curse that had been inflicted upon her by the corrupted reiatsu from Zane-san. She was at her limit and it would only be a matter of time before she wouldn’t be able to move anymore; Xeion only had to tire her out.

All of a sudden, a bright flash appeared in front of Xeion and blocked the last of the attacks from Sara-san. Zane-san then did a strange thing -- he spoke in Greek -- which surprised Xeion. He didn’t know that the Arrancar was quite well-versed in the Greek tongue, but then again, this wasn’t the Zane-san from before. His appearance was different and his reiatsu pulsed a different type of energy -- one of warmth and brilliance. Another indicator was that Zane-san’s lance had completely transformed into a much brighter color. It wasn’t the same person, that was for sure.

Xeion expected an immediate attack from the new Zane, but instead, he focused all of his attention to healing Sara-san and purifying her of the corrupted reiatsu that entered her body. Zane had completely forgotten about Xeion and everything else; his concern for Sara-san overwhelming any present desire he had simply because he cared for the woman with all of his heart. It was quite touching, though Xeion didn’t really have time to waste. Zane-san’s distraction provided him with yet another opportunity to get away, twirling his left index finger several times before he discreetly used a shunpo to get in front of the two as they were busy with each other. Xeion then proceeded to walk until Zane-san, having finished treating Sara-san, now confronted him, once again speaking in Greek tongue.

As a Raven, Xeion knew how to speak several languages as his second job, aside from his main one as Captain of Squad Nine, took him to different places across the world, so it was quite convenient for him to learn a language or two. With his little introductory speech finished, Xeion nodded. He was right -- this person wasn’t Zane-san any more, but who would have ever guessed him to be the reincarnation of Alexander the Great? It was a total surprise, though Xeion had already guessed as much, so he wasn’t surprised that much. Still, Alexander the Great. Wow.

Bowing to the man in respect, Xeion then began to address him. “Iskander, Al-Sikandar, the Lord of War, the King of Conquerors, the Pride of Macedon though in the annals of history, o great one, you are remembered by one title: Alexander the Great,” Xeion said before addressing him in his own Greek tongue, showing the Macedonian king his proficiency in the language.

“Εκείνοι είναι μόνο μερικοί από τους τίτλους σας, ο μεγάλος Αλέξανδρος. Είναι μια τιμή για να συναντηθούν, αν και πρέπει να πω, εσείς μπορεί πάρα πολύ πλήρες σας, μεγάλος βασιλιάς ο, εάν σκέφτεστε μπορείτε να κατακτήσετε τη ροή της ζωής όπως κάνατε με τα εδάφη έχετε ταξιδεψει πριν.»

((Those are only some of your titles, great Alexander. It is an honor to meet you, though I must say, you may be getting too full of yourself, o great king, if you think you can conquer the flow of life as you did with the lands you have traveled to before.))

Zane-san/Alexander wasted no time in expressing himself and sent his spear directly at Xeion, intending to skewer him. However, Xeion knew that he needn’t worry since when he twirled his left index finger once more, the lance stopped even before it could hit him as if restrained by some unseen force. It wasn’t just the lance, however, but Zane-san’s/Alexander’s entire body, too, became immobile, including his use of his reiatsu, as if he had been chained.

“Soul Projection…,” muttered Xeion when he saw everything that happened before him. “O great Alexander, your time has long past. Though I commend you for having so much power to enforce your dominance over Zane-san even after death, saving Sara-san in the process, I am afraid that you are not allowed to exist in this world any more. Your right to exist ended long ago when you died.”

Xeion turned around and began to walk away, all the while explaining as to why Zane-san/Alexander was in such a predicament. “Your existence here is a direct violation of dimensional equilibrium. Your reincarnation may exist, but he is his own person now, and therefore, you cannot enforce your will upon him any more, even though it might be consensual. As someone who maintains the balance to keep the equilibrium in between dimensions, I am ordering you to recede your hold completely or stay in that Bounded Field until you do.” With that said, Xeion used a Dark Mirror once again to ascend higher and higher, leaving both Sara-san, who was still recovering from her injuries, and Zane-san/Alexander trapped in a Bounded Field because of their violation of dimensional equilibrium.

Dimensional equilibrium -- it is when things within one dimension are not being affected by things from another dimension, leaving both dimensions free from each others’ influence which may cause a breakdown of reality within the two dimensions caused by trans-dimensional interaction. A reality breakdown can occur if something from another dimension, a power, a person, or a thing, physically manifests itself beyond a set limit without a probable cause like through a formal summoning contract. In such cases, those who incite an informal manifestation will be able to use the full extent of that certain something, causing dimensional distortions that would send ripples through the current dimension and disrupt the dimensional flow with a foreign dimensional flow. The danger comes when the current dimension tries to counteract the foreign power by sending its own energies to counteract it, similar to how antibodies work in people. In response, the foreign dimensional flow, since it is unrestricted through a formal summoning contract, gets power from its original dimension and does the same to the current dimension, leading to both dimensions counteracting one another which would eventually strain the two dimensions past their limit and would end with both dimensions destroying themselves, seeing as they would be unable to sustain their existence any longer.

When Zane-san/Alexander activated itself and took over Zane-san’s body, Alexander, already in another form who existed in a different plane of existence, had already violated this and was endangering the equilbrium. Although merit goes to him due to his actions which saved Sara-san’s life, his existence still proved to be a great threat to the existence of the dimension all of them were currently in. Hence, the only solution was for him to be locked in a Bounded Field.

A Bounded Field is a form of restraining technique to immobilize whoever is caught in it, similar to Xeion’s Chronosphere, but at a much lower level since it can be created by simply manipulating the dimensional threads and linking it to an isolate dimension. Using Cosmic Energy that Xeion was manipulating through the seemingly simple act of twirling his left index finger while he held on Azuhi, Xeion had already manipulated the dimensional threads in such a way that it already created something of a trap dimension that would activate on command. Once activated, the target, or targets, inside will have their existences trapped within the boundaries of the dimension the Bounded Field was created in, severely limiting their movements as well as forcefully restraining anything and everything inside that is being influenced by a foreign energy from a different dimension, no matter how powerful it is, which is why an isolate dimension is used. Since an isolate dimension isn’t connected to either one of the dimensions aside from the dimension within the Bounded Field, the energies from both dimensions cannot interact, but at the same time, energies from both dimensions cannot be used unless both disappear, thereby resulting in the automatic termination of the Bounded Field.

While Zane-san/Alexander-san dealt with the Bounded Field, Sara-san -- who had been influenced by a power from another plane of existence, but within the acceptable limit of unofficial power summoning since it didn’t fully manifest itself and only influenced several actions, not really taking control of the person within that plane of existence -- was free to do what she wanted, unlike Zane-san/Alexander who was still being controlled by another power. However, she was too weak to even stand, giving Xeion time to ascend higher and higher, moving closer to his goal. Hopefully, he’ll reach the rooftop well before the both of them had regained their fighting capacities. Besides, Azuhi was already starting to shake in his hands for a reason Xeion knew nothing about. If that was the case, Xeion really needed to get out as fast as he could so that he would be able to have a better look at Azuhi and why she was beginning to act that way back in the Seireitei.

[6/10]