Welcome to Gaia! ::

The shadow's crimson eyes stared at the being with annoyance an hostility in his eyes. He shook his head at the mans comment and repiled.

"Kid? I'm probably older than you? And for the lost cmomment you look just as lost as I"


He looked how tense the being was and placed his hand near his dirk just incase he might make a move.

Fool?

Shin grasped the beasts massive head, gripping onto one of the rocks. It dug into his hand, cutting it. He leapt forward and swung out to the side. The wind picked up with his momentum. He flung around to face the beasts face.

"I am no fool!"

Shin kicked forward, springboarding backwards off the beasts enourmous mug. In mid backflip, Shin grasped his sword and held it tight, while his other hand flicked forward, letting lose one of his Tetsugen. The tetsugen gripped the face. Shin yanked and pulled himself forward towards the head. He unsheathed his sword with demonic like speed, so fast that it created a white hot flame to surround the blade of the sword.

"Iaido!"

s**t...

He had no choice. Shin knew it. And all of Mamoru's spirits knew it as well. It was this or die, and death was not something he welcomed. The surrounding of him darknened, he went inside himself, his mind, to think. Time stood still. He would invoke the help of one he did not wish to, but it needed to be done.

I invoke your power child of the bones. My soul is pure, untainted by blood and yet for you it must retain a former color. For you, the ground must be painted. Today, blood must be spilt. I do not wish for death to encompass my friend, but he is not himself. Purify his soul of the evil bestowed upon him and take the power for yourself. Oh evil one, I invoke thee. Menos, The Grave Keeper! Hear my Plea!

Shin turned his head to the right and faced the oncoming blade. A profile was to be seen from the beasts view. A smile leapt accross Shin's face. Then, he screamed.

The blade pushed back, or blew up...Shin could not be certain. He was lost to his bitter emotions, torn apart from the inside. His heart pounded in his chest, wanting to break free, to rip apart and be thrown on the ground. His pupils dialated and his body convulsed, all in mid air. Spurts of blood erupted from deep inside his body, gushing out in waves from his cracked lips. His sweat was no longer the salty liquid he had come to know. No, the sweat was blood, tart and firey.

Deep firey erupted from the ground of the stadium, catching Shin and suspending him in the air. This created a barrier between him and the beast. It was uncertain what was going on inside the confines of the enclosure. The roar of the flame was only drowned out by the endless screaming. Countless years of tortured pain it seemed. Agony and bloodlust erupting from the seemingly calm individual. He was not calm now, he was lost, and there was no turning back at this moment.

The barrier was impenatrable, a cacoon housing Shin, ripping and his body, turning him into something else. But what? The evolution was not complete yet, but soon it seemed, the cage would open revealing the beast within.

The fire ceased. Before Mamoru knelt a being. It closely resembled Shin, but something was wrong. His hair was matted to his forhead by blood. Scars and cuts covered his body, and his eyes were darkned. He looked like death. The beings clothes were torn and darkned, they looked charred and covered with dirt. His head shifted, looking up at Mamoru. It smiled, revealing a pair of fangs Shin alone did not possess. It spoke, a raspy yet deep voice protruded from his lips.

"Savor the last few moment's of your meaningless exsistance... I am not one to take lightly. Few have witnessed me and none have survived. Thousands upon thousands of years it has been. I will enjoy taking your life."

A Tetsugen hung losely from between his fingers, swinging back and forth as a pendulum would do.

"I am Menos, The Grave Keeper..."

And so the battle of beasts had begun.

His emmense rock face shifted. Small pebbles forming his mouth seeming to make a smile. though more of a pile of rocks he grinned none the less. He Spoke harshly if it seemed possible to be more so from him. His voice was a whisper for him, though it sounded like millions of rumbling bees pissed to the brink of a swarm.

"So, Menos keeper of the graves are you? This is what you hid shin, Tis' good to find an opponent that has a bit of a heart, or in your case insanity it seems. Do not underestimate me though. For if i die you shall follow no matter your title!"

With the word title his voice erupted into a roar reverberating across the stadium. Only bettered by menos' own screams. He laughed as he thrust his arm at the body now in front of him. A deep rumbling lauygh sounding like rocks grinding. Which in his case it might well have been. He thrust the arm forward and it seemed vines of golden energy flowed from his body, flowed to the tip of his finger and the ground in front of him erupted. Spiderwebbing from the explosion, miniscule cracks formed around him and menos. He grinned and another exlposion rocked the earth and he fell. THe ground tore itself apart. A crevice rent in the earth leading into a seemingly unending darkness. He grinned as he fell, completely unperturbed at his rapid descent. He fell and fell, for days it seemed though surely only second. He was making his own grounds. He landed hard on the ground as instantly as he had fell. The ground below him spiderwebbed and gave way making a crater taller than a man though only reaching his waist. He raised his hand and the crater began to go back to it's original flat surface him rising as well. An odd light was here, seeming to come from everywhere at once. Around him the cavern was solid rocks, dark and compacted to smooth surface. Almost making the entire cave glisten. It was unusually wqarm, most likely closer to the heated core of the earth. He was as close to home as he could be.

He slowly spun to face menos, his grin now gone. He stomped once with his right foot as he walked two steps a rock jumped out of the ground it seemed and he kicked it with a sharp crack as the dark rock flew at menos he yet again slammed his foot down and punched the next rocks. About five human sized rocks hurtling towards menos might do a bit of damage but he took no chances here. He was now engulfed with the gold vines and energy pulsed throuhg his veins now like life, though the he could not enjoy it's glory, he had a grave keeper to kill.

*Silver looked at the man hard. He was not amused. Normally, Silver would have shrugged and walked on. But now, it was different. Silver slowley grabbed his pendent, when the tree lurched. Platforms spun and branches rose, like a staircase. It was the tree's twisted plans for their fight, and they haven't even noticed.

The platforms were now far spread and looked as if they could circle up the tree forever. However, looking down, no one could see the ground. Falling could mean certain perrial, however, a strong gust of wind blowing upward may save an unfortunate victim.*

His grin was gone. He was pissed, THis fool who thought himself all powerful was getting bored, his ees were uninterested. THat filthy little excuse fora fighter was bored. He was probablyt not worht to be his s**t right now.

ONe movement. One. THe cave collapsed as he moved his arms. He collapsed as well and his spirit traveled through earth to the surface reforming into a human body, flesh rebulding slowly. He took his form of saiko and kneeled. He was breathing hard and he was bleeding still from regrowing s**t he should not have had to. He wasted to much energy on the cave in. He grinned and sat waiting. for anyhting.

The Shadow kicks off jumping from platform to platform he caught up with the being quite quickly. With his sword still drawn he took a horizontal swing to the right at the being.