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Though the formation was slightly familiar to him, Chimera felt out of place each time he was taken into a new formation. But when four fingers were raised, only then did he remove his mask and reveal to those around him the face of a true Striker, calculating, precise, and masterful in the art of his swordsmanship. One one blade slipped free from its sheath, one of the broadsword's Gerdad handed him the was placed beside his right hip slid free from its haven, determined to help assist its temporary owner in whatever was needed of it.

"For the Clan of the Broken Sword, my new family, I shall give it my all. And no matter how impossible it may seem I will stand beside those that I bear arms with and defeat their enemy." Though it sounded more like a claim out of pride, it was more of a morale boost for the warriors around them. It was a promise that despite how new he was to the clan, he would put all of his skills to use in order to defeat the enemy of the Broken Sword.

As Issildia turned to make a final sweep of the inner section of the city before moving on, the sound of a bitter shriek tore through the night. Turning towards the sound and back to the central area of the city her expression grew cold; her eyes loosing their dark blue hue as they turned a pale silver. A subtle sign that she was no longer limiting herself to mundane means to reach her destination.
Before stepping forward she looked to the side slightly, her left hand gesturing back briefly before a cloak of grey mist came into being around her, rolling outwards to blanket the inner section of the city. No longer did she intend to hide from the enemy, nay, she wanted them to know she was there. But the fog would provide the necessary cover to infiltrate wherever they were holding Azure prisoner.

Taking a step forward towards the center of Celeste, Issildia raised her right hand in mid-stride, and from her hand erupted a bright flare of dark blue flames that rose up as a narrow pillar that could be seen even through the mists. But as suddenly as it had come the pillar flickered out and Issildia lowered her arm to continue on. It was an old tactic that she had seen destroy entire cities before. For as she had sent up the signal, the Iliriya warriors stationed about the outer edges of Celeste would be infiltrating the city as of this moment. To the open sky at the left she noted the return signal from Kyrion; a pillar of silver flames that acknowledged that the attack was to commence.
Without pausing for a moment more Issildia strode into the oppressive fog that she had conjured, the brittle hiss of her blade being drawn was easily heard as she moved on towards the center of the city.


~As this transpired, little over two hundred Iliriya moved in on their target. Though they were few in number compared to the enemy, these warriors were talented in both the more mundane methods of battle as well as the intricacies of their more, inhuman abilities. They were the best of their clan and did not intend to bring dishonor upon their people. Failure was completely unacceptable in their eyes.
The shadowed forms of the Iliryia were nothing more than brief flickers of darkness that quickly passed over the walls that led into the city. They would continue what their leader had been formerly doing and complete ridding the city of the few of the enemy that had remained within the gates. They would leave the other troops gathering outside the city to challenge the main force. For it was not their way to fight large groups, they dealt in swift silent kills, they were not trained to handle battles with entire armies. Even attempting to challenge the enemy forces outside Celeste would be utter suicide for the Iliriya.

The archers stopped about halfway down the hill, the rest of the foce rushing forwards. The archers shot in a straight-line shot towards the wave of enemies, hoping just to thin their ranks. Only a row of shieldbearers stayed with them. Hykoshi heard Chimera spoking, and yelled, "That's the spirit men! Be fierce!" He moved one of the front shieldbearers aside, and engaged a warrior in the lead with a slash towards his neck, quick and fierce. The rest of the line would be there in seconds.

At the west gate of Celeste, Tyranius watched the battle with an unwavering interest. His army although outnumbered seemed to be evenly matched with the Alliance of the Clans that attacked the city. His own Zanbatou, which could clearly be seen on his back, remained in its sheathed as he paced in place monitoring the events before him. This battle was not meant to be won...it was only meant to stall the enemy. The dome of fire that covered the city served as a barrier to shiled the city from outside attack as well is imprison those who already dwelled within the city.

It was sheer amazement that one of the attacking soldiers broke through the lines of his army. He only smirked as he lunged at him, his blade threatening to impale him at the chest. Tyranius only raised his arm to stop the blade in mid motion. His skin seemed to be as hard as stone. As the warrior stared at him in shock, he grabbded him by the throat and lifted him above his head. He then took hold on his feet and ripped the warrior apart at the waist. The blood from the warrior spilled over the body and armor of Tyranius. The smirk on his face made it apparant that he took pleasure in dismembering his victims. As he stared back into the chaos that was the battlefield of Natori, there was something far more sinister taking place within the city of Natori.

At the palace, the warrior mounted on the Red Stallion had delivered the still unconscious Azure to his superior. The look in his eyes once he saw him reflected that of both shock and satisfatcion. As he let Azure's body fall to th floor, the man that sat in Natori's throne stood from his position and walked over to Azure, as he slowly began to recover. Upon reaching his position, he grabbed Azure by the hair and forced him to look at him.

"I am relieved to see you alive and well, Azure." He said coldly. "Or is it Origin that I speak with? It makes no difference either way you both share the same abilities."

"Yige Yingzi." Azure replied with venom. At this point it had seemed that Azure possessed multiple voices. It ws as if both he and his alter ego were speaking at the same time. "The others were foolish to pass you off as dead."

"Perhaps...but what is done cannot be changed." He stated. "I am sure you have questions that require answers, so I will entertain your for the time being."

"You are the necromancer that the rumors spoke of?" He asked with a glare. "If that is the case, then Damien Ryera has also survived."

"Nothing gets by you Cold Fire. although that is not te only change that has been made." He said as a sinister smile overcame his face.

"You have inherited the title of Hades...after Meridious' death."

"Once again. You are right on point. Although, the title is a dramatic change, it is a burden off of my shoulders to answer to no one." As he began to walk back to the throne, he noticed that Azure was glancing around the room at the many warriors that surrounded him. "I see you are curious as to who these characters are. Let me enlighten you. The man that rbought you to me, his name is Emillious. He is my Horseman of War. You have met Vitalynie, and Tyranius. They are members of what one would call the Black Zodiac."

"Black Zodiac? That would mean..."

"Yes, your lover is still alive. I'm surprised you didn't recognize her on your way in." He said with a disturbing humor.

"So what do you want with me Yige. You know I will not rest until you have sunk into the depths of oblivion."

"Its not you I'm after Azure. I want Origin. Your twin soul. He will be my horseman of Death. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to see you rot in the pits of the hells you oversee, but should I kill you as you are, I will kill origin as well."

"What do you mean as I am?" He asked coldly.

"You will see soon enough....Emillious, take him to his chambers and prepare for the ritual. Be sure his accomodations are suitable."

"As you wish my liege." Emillious replied.

It was then that a nother surge of electricity passed through Azure's body. His shrieks growing more fierce, almost as if he were changing somehow. Although his blades were shattered, he somehow retained a small portion of control over Origin, who seemed to be fighting for freedom. Whatever Yige had planned for him, he knew the procedure would be slow and agonizing. As he sunk back into unconsciousness, his body had begun to burn with a black flame. From within the flame, there came a face, which was completely different from that of Azure. It stared right at Yige and smiled before the flame suddenly died out. It was then that two of the guards lifted Azure by his arms and dragged him off into the depths of the castle. Where he would be taken was a mystery that would soon be revealed.

When the Horseman of War, Emllious opened the chamber in which Azure was to be kept, the guards that carried him all began to scream in horror. Their flesh had begun to melt off of their very bones, as Azure had begun to regain consciousness. Releasing their hold on him, they stepped away from him, only to find their flesh still in tact. It seemed that Azure was not only gifted in battle, but the ability to cast illusions over one's mind would have taken years to acquire. He offered no comment as he stepped into his chamber. No resistence could be detected other than his display with the guards. Emillious only looked at him, before shutting the door. ON the inside of the chamber, Azure only placed his hands on the walls and released a hideous shriek, as he could see Origin's face in his own shadow. The time to reliquish control over the beast was drawing near, but the price he would have to pay to rid himself of this curse would be great.

When the horrifying scream of his enemies name rang in his ear, Tyranius only let out a dark chuckle as the remnants of his foe lay on the ground at his feet. As the comrade of this fallen warrior lunged at him, Tyranius's skin had begun to take on a darker tone. There were several cracks that appeared on his torso, and they soon lit with an unusual lights, as if there were molten magma flowing throughhis veins. When the blade of the warrior, Hykoshi, met with his body, it was stopped by the stone that now covered Tyranius's body. As he looked down at his opponent, his massive size towerring over Hykoshi, the screams of the alliied army hadbegun to worsen as Tyranius's army of juggernauts followed the same pattern. Their skin harded and became as stone, but lacked the glowing light that Tyranius possessed. The first part of the battle was over, and the players of both sides would push themselves to the limit in order to see victory on these grounds.

The moment seemed to stretch for eternity as Issildia met Demitri's eyes...though there was something horribly wrong...a hollowness that she sensed within him...a void that implied what she feared most.

"Ryera b*****d!" she exclaimed as silver flames flared around her in rage, an emotion that she normally held in check.

Issildia threw off his blade as she retreated back a matter of steps, the air continuing to appear as if the shadows and light were blurring together as an unintentional sign of her unrest. Demitri seemed as if he was about to reply when his skin grew pale as bone and his eyes lost all of their once green hue to turn a bleak gray. His words caught in his throat as a foreign entity grappled for control until Demitri ceased in his struggle and surrendered.

When he next spoke it was not Demitri Zarian's voice that escaped his lips.

"I see that you have met my messenger Nevar." Damien Ryera's voice taunted with glee.

The air began to rise in temperature as Issildia silently watched the Ryera toy with her.

"Enjoy this moment Ryera..." Issildia threatened with utter venom. "I will see your soul thrown into the unyielding fires of the underworld...chained by your own sins....There will be no force in this world to protect your festering existence from my wrath."


"Keep your threats to yourself Nevar..." Damien's voice countered sharply. "There will be time for us to settle the old scores...but for now I hope you enjoy this gift...I do believe you remember this one...actually if I am not mistaken you two were rather close back before the burning of Anier."

"Do not play this game with me Ryera!" she spoke with blatant rage.

"Though I think he is a bit different that from how you remember him." Damien's voice continued without pause, even after her interruption. "His soul now belongs to me...if you would like to see it returned, then I advise that you find the time to meet with me in Enathtai...Remember I granted him a second life, I can just as easily rob him of it, and I doubt you would want that." he said with satisfaction. "I will be expecting you Issildia."


Just as Damien's voice became silent and the necromancer's influence lifted, Demitri's form immediately crumpled to the ground.

The energies gathered within the area that Issildia had inadvertently summoned also dissipated as she quickly moved forward to catch hold of his arms before he hit the ground. She knelt there silently as he finally began to return to himself with his head bowed low as if in shame for what he had been forced to become.
"Forgive me...I had not the strength." Demitri whispered wearily, his words applying to far more than the current situation.

"There is nothing to forgive." She replied.

"...tch!" Chimera sneered at the sudden order to retreat, but an order was an order, and when he turned in Gerdad's direction, he had noticed a fresh wound pouring blood through a gash on his chest. His eyes swiftly shot back to the advancing warriors, now wary of his frozen blade, still charging mercilessly none the less. His own strength had its limits, and he would not expend them now.

Soon he lurched back to avoid a blow, tearing into the attacker with his blessed cold sword freezing the man in place only to shatter by an allies blow from behind. He had hardly called it cowardice, but to survive to fight another day was sometimes the better alternative.

His cool blue eyes then glance upon Hykoshi, who was horribly surrounded, and an enemy commander was also facing him. Soon he glanced back to Gerdad once again, who was managing to hold his own despite the wound, but just barely none the less.

"Damn it! Hykoshi! Don't you dare die on me!" the Striker yelled, his eyes once again burning with determination as he drew back, standing a safe distance distance to assist Gerdad and the retreating soldiers. His blade whistled around again, freezing another fool-hardy group of immortalis in place.

"Are you alright, my friend?" he called out, obviously aiming the question at the stubborn old man.