Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kari blinked as the world dance through her vision. What had she done? Her memories felt distant... vague. Trying to get her eyes to focus, clarity began to dawn on her as a heavy weight settled upon her. She remembered... they had attacked... killed... Sir Lancelot. Sir Merlin had done... something... that had overridden Kari's will. She felt bile rising at the remembrance of the gory sight... the pleasure she'd gleaned from mutilating his body. If she had been that easy to manipulate, had she been tainted after all? Guilt wracked her body. She knew she was better than that... right? She'd always swore that she would protect her allies... yet so many had died, one of which had been slain by her own hand.

Her memories began to gather at a faster rate. She remembered... the Great King had appeared! But he hadn't known Sir Merlin was a traitor, at least for a short while. Sir Merlin's control over the knights and Great knights, his sacrifice of the Great Knights, and and the gate's unusual behavior gave the Great King the clues he needed. Sir Merlin no longer bothered with posturing, simply allowing his staff to crash into the floor, summoning dark crystals as the sound of chains filled the air. Their weapons had been released.

Afterwards, Kari remembered pain. Agonizing pain, the likes of which she had never experienced before. Sir Merlin had unsealed their weapons. He tried to take the Great King as well, but he was able to ward off Sir Merlin's tricks. Kari's body move on its own to attack the Great King. No, she couldn't! Her was their leader, the one person she shouldn't attack! As her staff came down, she lurched at the sudden release of the spell binding her, only to have her freedom ripped away once more. What followed was a tug-of-war between the two individuals while Kari could only watch as her body fazed in and out of control. Everything at that point blurred to white... and then there were two doors. One a bright blue while the other a hazy obsidian. Which was the one she needed?

"Do not falter, not when you're so close." A voice startled Kari out of her introspection. It was one that she couldn't place a gender upon. "Who...?," called murmured, gazing around the whiteness as if doing so would reveal the culprit.

"I am Shinobu. I am your partner, borne of your indomitable will, and I have always been here... it is only now that I have attained the ability to communicate openly with you." Kari's gaze fell upon her weapon, Shinobu. The weapon was talking... could that really be possible?

"Why only now?,"Kari queried, holding her quarterstaff closer in expectancy. "Because my prior strength was insufficient," came her weapon's reply. "So... I'm able to talk to you now...," Kari asked, her eyes returning to the doors before her, "...what's next?"

"I believe you already know the answer to that. You only need seek it out within yourself." Shinobu fell silent, but there was an air to it that gave the impression of waiting for an action rather than true silence.

Left with her own thoughts, Kari sought the answer that was supposedly within her. Why hadn't she seen it before... a moment of clarity lead her to place her hand on the blue door. It opened with the slightest of pressure, a warm light emanating from within.

"Let us be on our way," Shinobu replied, sounding... content... at Kari's choice. A soft smile inched across her face as she took solace in the renewed partnership between her and her divine weapon. There was nothing to fear as long as they were together.