In Dolore [PVP, DE]

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Thread Title: In Dolore: Fallen Angel
Participants: Jyuria Arrok and Hadrian J. Ryan
World: Human World
Death Setting: Death Enabled
Rating: R
Location: The middle of nowhere. There is no civilization for many miles. Nothing but the stink of hollow corpses and the signs of battle all around to drag any spectators into a state of dread.
Special Conditions: None
Circumstances: Hadrian finds Jyuria in the midst of her rampage against the other hollows. In the midst of her feeding frenzy she only barely recognizes the sight of a quincy. Something is CLEARLY wrong, but one can only help but wonder if the Ritter can DO anything about it.

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

"RrrrhhhhhhhhggggaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The sound of the hollow's screaming roared out over the empty field even as the crackle of breaking bone hit like a percussive interruption to the otherwise harrowing call into the wilds, one that could be heard for miles. Even as Jyuria tore the other beast in half with that massive strength of hers, the dull crackle and splatter of entrais hitting the floor like so much wet meat, there was still the shrill screeching of the female hollow in the background. The hollows had been closing in all day. Coming from far off to come and try and figure out what all the commotion was. The only thing that stilled the sound of shrieking was the sudden comparative silence of vicious consumption.

The dull crunch, crackle, and snapping of bones and flesh filling the air as the hapless hollow that had been about to speak was being replaced by the still-alive grunts of the hollow as Jyuria began ripping into them. Even the weak attempts of the hollow to fight back were muffled as those many bandages of Jyuria's simply slid down and bound the hollow's limbs. There was no way for it to struggle. No way for it to fight back. It was simply lying there as Jyuria held it down with her incredible strength and began chowing down with that blood-splattered mouth.

And when the hollow was all gone, when it's body had finally stopped struggling and the last bits of it's body were dropped to the ground, Jyuria felt it settle RIGHT back in. That eating, disgusting, horrendous sensation that suddenly hit her from her mask, all the way down her spine. That feeling of. REVULSION. And then the screaming and crying began anew as her claws suddenly dug into her own mask, roaring out as she tried to claw it away from her. Bits and pieces of it cracking, splintering off, and only regenerating as she fervently did everything she could to try and get it off. But of course that was only a brief avenue.

She tore at her own chest. She tore at her own bandages. She'd been clearly tearing herself up for the better pat of a day. Those bandages just.... shifted, covering up her wounds and subconsciously and unwillingly keeping her body stubbornly alive as Jyuria had begun to turn in on herself. She just couldn't stand what she was feeling. It had been ages since the hunger had died down enough to let her think. Usually it was just so.... dull and constant. She never thought about her shift in her life since then. She was more concerned about her ambitions, about the hunger driving her to do it.

But when that hunger was finally starting to slip away¿ And she was actually THINKING about all she had done in the past few years? It had begun to break her. Every fiber of her being made her want to vomit at once as she had begun her rampage. a NUMBER of hollows had shown up, thinking she was getting a very tough meal. But they had been... woefully half-right. Each and every hollow that had shown up had been brutally mauled and torn apart. The hollows of the region were very weak. Because of the sparse human population, none of them had done anything but shown up only to be tackled and ripped apart. The hollow she had just finished ripping open being a prime example of the most any of them had fought back. But of course chances were that wouldn't last long.

Eventually she'd attract something far more dangerous. And the sad part was that she was WELCOMING the idea of it. She was in such psychological torment that the idea of something to vent her furstrations on was something like a godsend. SOMETHING to distract her from what she was. What she was becoming. With every meal she got further and further away from her goal. And as the day rolled into the next, after having finished ripping her way through a few more hollows, it was then that she realized that she had recovered from her injuries. All of her work undone by the distraction of killing other hollows. And the disappointment was like a lead weight in the center of her chest as she suddenly began screaming out again, too distraught to even try injuring herself again. Instead her bandages and claws went to work ripping up the ground around her and throwing it all over the place. Slabs of earth slamming into trees, the ground, other bits of rock.

Why did it have to be this way....

[/blockquote]

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Hadrian held the scrap of cloth to his face, trying not to vomit from the assault of sensory of experiences that were threatening to overwhelm him. The smell of rotting meat in the intense heat, accompanied by the low murmurs of the still dying Hollows and people. Whatever had happened here had been brutal, the area - which should have been completely desolate and devoid of life in the first place - now reeked of death and destruction. This was not the work of any one being, this was the product of the needless fights Hollows created among themselves - the carnage they created in pursuit of satisfying their endless hunger. It was deplorable.

A bone cracked beneath Hadrian’s foot, and he once again felt the bile rise in his throat. He needed to calm down, see if anything had survived. He had only arrived here by virtue of an unhappy coincidence. Had someone activated Hollow bait? Was this the scene of a ritual slaughtering of these beasts? Or, by chance, had a pack of them fallen into this world, and then turned on each other when they realised there were no humans around to terrorise? Hadrian had to think of wasteful and needless all this behaviour was. And all of it stemmed from dissatisfaction, which in turn stemmed from injustice. This deadly cycle had to end sooner rather than later.

A far-off roar in the distance caught his attention, his head snapping up as if it had been yanked by a string. Now that he knew the general location, he could sense that there were still Hollows in that general direction. But with each passing second, the signatures of their souls were being snuffed out, accumulated by one single being whose power was overwhelming them all. All of these souls, subjected to such torture because of the greed of others. Hadrian shook his head - his discovery of that presence had allowed him to focus and calm his mind. He would not be deterred by his surroundings any longer.

He moved over the strewn corpses with focus now, stepping between their disjointed limbs and shattered masks. It was like a scene from a nightmare, only Hadrian’s nightmares had replaced the broken mask fragments and limbs with the shattered bones and severed heads of innocent humans - people who had been caught up in a conflict they weren’t aware of, and didn’t understand. They were the true losers in every battle. They were the ones who were trodden underfoot during both charges and retreats, who were labelled “collateral damage” by the Soul Society. Was it not so difficult to work out that every life was worth saving, regardless of its spiritual abilities?

But something made Hadrian pause. There was something in the air, some sense of… regret? No, it was far more complicated than that. It was as if the Hollow at the centre of this, the one who was tearing through the corpses of the others, wished for death. Or perhaps not death, but something more abstract. Were they looking for spiritual enlightenment? Hadrian found it difficult to understand. The emotions were certainly far more complex than anything he had ever seen before. But, the thought of it made him sigh. It didn’t matter in the end, this Hollow - like all the others - would succumb to its hunger and begin feasting on others again, regardless of what it felt now. It had to be dealt with.

As soon as Hadrian was in eyeshot, he summoned his bow. An issue like this was best resolved from a distance. At this stage, the life force of the Hollow at the centre was the only remaining signature. It would be as simple as laying its soul to rest and then leaving. Hadrian notched an arrow, a simple one - he didn’t need to invest so much power in hunting down a Hollow like this. With a single motion, he drew back the bowstring and let the arrow loose. Immediately, however, he scowled.

He had fallen out of practice with his bow - his shot was nothing like what it used to be. Since his powers had evolved, he had invested far more time into another weapon. It was a pity, really - he did like the bow a lot, and in many ways his decision to change his focus to another weapon had reduced his versatility. “Quincy are archers”, after all. Hadrian let the thought hang in his head wryly - that had been his father’s opinion. A man so stifled by tradition he hadn’t even stepped up to save his fellow man. There was no point in clinging to artefacts of the past, especially when all it did was feed into the Cycle.

But Hadrian could not afford to sleep on the job - he had underestimated opponents before, and they had turned out to be formidable. And now that this arrow was going to miss, he had to be even more careful. He willed the hands of his Spirit Fragment and Cross to reverse, drawing in the ambient Reiatsu of the area - being careful to avoid tainting himself with the Hollow poison that now diffused through the air. He had drawn the attention of the beast… But, still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something deeper moving within the soul of the Hollow. What was this… familiar feeling? Had the Hollow devoured one of his comrades? Or, perhaps… Hadrian did not dare make the next conclusion. No servant of his Majesty would have the weakness of spirit to become a Hollow after death, surely.

Reiatsu: 3030/2250: -20 for Class 6 Arrow, +800 from Quincy Cross and Spirit Fragment

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hadrian’s Stats and Skills}

Stats and Abilities

Strength - [80] Points -> [48] Points from Strategist Type -> [60] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Speed - [240] Points -> [180] Points from Strategist Type -> [225] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Spiritual Pressure - [180] Points -> [225] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Reiatsu Strength - [400] Points -> [500] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Light Aura - [100] Points

Dark Aura - [0] Points

Instinct - [120] Points -> [360] Points from Strategist Type -> [450] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Senses - [60] Points -> [180] Points from Strategist Type -> [225] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Energy sensory - [120] Points -> [360] Points from Strategist Type -> [450] Points from Captain Supervisor Rank

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1200] Points

Skills

• [Battle Skill: Weapon: Gunblade] {4}
• [Mental Skill: Calm Mind] {3}
• [Mental Skill: Battle Analysis] {3}
• [Mental Skill: Strength of Will] {3}
• [Utility Skill: Leadership/Charisma] {2}

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

The deep rumble of thunder rang out in the distance, and as Jyuria writhed on the ground, she couldn't help but shudder as the low boom of electrical discharge off in the distance sounded. Dark clouds were rolling in overhead, and she slowly was rising up to her feet, panting, her breaths raspy as she trembled, her clawed hands slowly pulling away from her mask as bits of blood and viscera dripped from her body, both hers and those of the hollows she had fought. Those many many mouths that adorned her bandages were all dripping with blood as well, the ground beneath her like an altar of soiled flesh and fluid. But even amongst the self-dread that she was experiencing, the sudden whistle of an arrow caught her attention. Her massive third eye ripping open before shifting in the direction of the incoming projectile.

She didn't have the sort of reflexes to catch the arrow, so instead those massive numbers of bandages immediately wound around her body. And probably much to Hadrian's surprise, those bandages actually moved at the same speed of his arrows, forming a large wall between her and the arrow itself, even as it went wide and slammed into the ground nearby. The sheer virtue of distance between them having prompted the reaction. And as those three bloodshot eyes suddenly fixated on Hadrian, suddenly a feeling of dread would sweep across the field, and a loud CRACKLE of lightning streaking across the sky would erupt in a booming burst of noise as suddenly, it began to rain.

She rose to her feet....(music)

The pitterpatter of rain as it dropped down in sparse sheets here and there, little volleyws of water that whipped about in the wind. And with one, murderous look. Hadrian would see it. The face beneath the mask. The damage her own claws had done to her mask briefly revealing a face he would know all too well. Though only too brief for him to liekly get an accurate identification as that mask regenerated slower this time, creeping across her face as suddenly Jyria's breaths were cumming in heabing rasps, those eyes narrowing as she seemed to be working herself up.

"I..... am...... Jyu...ria..." That warped voice rasped out, her bandages slowly gripping the ground, sinking into it as feet sank into the earth, her fists clenching as a shaking rage seemed to overcome the hollow as those eyes fixated on Hadrian. "I am.... His Majesty's.... This body..... The Emperor's..... This SOUL..... UNTO HIS WILL..." Jyuria's voice suddenly grew in volume and intensity, the rain beginning to fall harder as the earth snapped and crackled brneath her, her body slowly begining to tremble less as now she was shouting.

"I AM JYURIA! EMISSARY TO HIS MAJESTY! MY BODY IS HIS! MY SOUL UNTO HIS WILL!" She roared out into the air as suddenly she lurched forward. Thirty feet of bandages had been digging into the ground underneath her, fanning outward and now suddenly using that savage strength and speed to rip up massive ammounts of earth, and suddenly it was flung forward, those huge sheets of rock and soil streaking toward Hadrian almost as fast as his arrows could travel. A wide spread of the rubble racing for him, eliminating any opportunity to hirenkayku past them.

And of course, as the rubble suddenly got a bit closer, he might notice a massive number of symbols criscrossed alon the surface of those stones. One of which, on a large 3 meter slab of rock, was used for Jyuria's Gate. Almost instantaneously, Jyuria appeared, riding that slab of earth. Having chosen one of the rocks that was sailing past Hadrian instead of one going right for him. The Hollow seemed to teleport, almost like some sort of stepping technique as suddenly, fifteen of those bandages would streak out, lancing forward in an attempt to stab into the area where Hadrian was currently standing, each and every one of those bandages was lined with countless gnashing mouths, ready to begin tearing into him. Not only was this a rather fast attack, but a very sneaky one.

What would be MOST confusing, is that there would appear to be two Jyurias. In the midst of all that rubble, Jyuria had used a special technique, leaving behind a doppleganger of herself where she had been before using the Gate. And because of the destination to which Jyuria had moved, silently and stealthily at that, it was unlikely that unless Hadran had some sort of training against stealth fighters, he would be unable to detect Jyuria as she launched those bandages at him. The replacament back where he'd been a moment ago also rushing towards him. with a very specific purpose. As there was indeed a chance that Hadrian wouwld to spot those bandages rushing in towards him. And probably would have some sot of retort. The Doppleganger's job was to circle around and flank him, coming up behind him, using Jyuria's VERY same skill in stealth to sneak up behind him and then use those bandages to grab him from behind.

She didn't know what she was doing... why did she feel so... violent. Even as she attacked him, she felt... hesitation. Infront of this quincy.... she felt fear. She attacked out of self preservation, but deeper down, something else drove her to this. Something else about HAdrian drove her to attack him. Not to destroy him. But to get his attention. In the core of her soul.... seeing him.... made her excited. Some brief flutter of hope sparked in the depths of her chest. A hope that.... there was a way out of this. That somehow there was a way free of this hell.

She was trying to snag him. Specifically. That much would be clear. Even if those bandages reached him, instead of stabbing into flesh, and those bandages chomping into him. They would reel him toward her. Because she needed him... close. She needed to catch him. To hold him. To MAKE him listen. To MAKE him see. Somehow... that was important to her. She had to make him SEE what she was. No.... no matter how terrifying and harrowing a thought that was. Somehow, it clicked in her mind that she needed him to get this. This was a branch on the edge of her own personal abyss. She was doing everything she could to grab a hold of it, and keep herself from falling in.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Jyuria's Stats}
Strength: 330 Points x1.5 (495 points)
Speed: 200 Points x1.5 (300 points)

Spiritual Pressure: 225 Points
Reiatsu Strength: 20 points x0.5 (10 points)

Light Aura: 85
Dark Aura: 15

Instinct: 50 points
Senses: 200 points x0.5 (100 points)
Energy Sense: 80 points
Healing expertise: 0 points

Anti-Stealth: 2
Stealth: 2
Damage Recovery: 2
Pain Resist: 2
Bleeding Resist: 2

Dopple created, -200 Reiatsu
Dopple has Jyuria's Speed and Strength, and zero Sppr and Rs (but is immune to cutback). Also shares her skills up to 2 points.

Empress Boon: Gate used, -100 Reiatsu
Step speed: 4800 (16x speed)

Jyuria's Bandage speed = 800 (Does not apply to Dopple's bandages)

1950/2250 reiatsu remaining

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

It was like Hadrian had unleashed the incarnation of an explosion, with the arrow acting as the initial trigger. The sound of thunder hadn’t helped either - Hadrian’s ears were still ringing from the sudden rumbling. However, it was important not to lose sight of everything that was going on in this madness. The Hollow had constructed a barrier of some kind, reacting to the arrow that was never going to hit. A primal reaction, as Hadrian would expect from a beast. But, as the bandages fell away from the Hollow, Hadrian came to face with the horrifying truth.

”…Jyuria?”

Sternritter ’T’, the Transcription - someone who went missing shortly after the death of his Majesty. Hadrian had assumed she was one of the defectors - someone whose faith had been shaken by the death of his Majesty. It had always bothered him, that someone so devout would lose faith so easily - but it seemed her faith had weighed more heavily on her heart than he had realised. So she had given into her bestial urges, allowed herself to be chained by regret, and resulting in Hollowification.

But something stayed Hadrian’s bow - not letting him fire another arrow in spite of the imminent danger. Was this really Jyuria? The woman Hadrian had fought alongside. Admittedly, they had not interacted much, but Hadrian felt a certain essence of… duty. He couldn’t allow her to continue on like this. She was a disgrace to both herself and her faith. However, whether her purification could only come about through death was still to be decided. Hadrian had no idea how to reverse the process of Hollowification, in spite of spending the last few years on the subject.

Was there a way to save the souls - to send them to Soul Society instead of wiping them from existence? The question had plagued Hadrian’s mind for years, pestering him every time he raised his bow. And yet, he continued to loose his arrows - allowing his Majesty to pass judgement on those who fell from the path and were beyond forgiveness. He had not failed before, so why was he hesitating now? He scowled. This infernal system of “Living”, “Soul”, “Hollow” and “Hell” - an unnatural system that had to be pinned in place by some being in the Soul Society. How much safer and fairer it would be to live in a unified world - without fear, death, or regret.

How he felt at the moment, however, was irrelevant. The least he could do was defend himself from the attack. But Hadrian could feel Jyuria’s emotion pulsing like a beating heart - this attack wasn’t malicious in the traditional sense. It was more like a lashing out - a wounded beast striking out of fear and anger. Still though, it didn’t make the attack any less deadly. The spread of rocks was wide, and any one of them would crush him. Not to mention the fact that some of the rocks bore strange symbols. Hadrian made a quick note of everything, his senses filling out his image of the world around him like an artist painting his canvas.

Getting out of the way was a priority. With that in mind, Hadrian took a step to the side - assisted by Hirenkyaku, of course. This carried him to the outer fringes of the incoming rocks - where the rocks were smaller and significantly less deadly. However, it would be still enough to hurt him - badly too - if he let any of them hit him. So, as he stepped back, he prepared two things. The first was an incantation - to prime the Silver Tube he had pulled from the bandolier beneath his coat.

“Unseen protection, rise over me like a blanket and keep me from harm!”

From the small tube a sphere of Reiatsu blossomed, containing Hadrian and protecting him from the small rocks - it would even protect him from Jyuria’s bandages, were she to continue with her intended attack. The Ginto was rudimentary - Gespenst Containment - and it was excellent at blocking small, weak projectiles - especially if they lacked any spiritual force behind them. Hadrian held firm as the rocks thudded against the spectral barrier, making ripples in the surface of it but stopping it from breaking. Now would have been the perfect time for a counterattack, but once again Hadrian paused. Was there another way? There had to be, surely. But even if he wasn’t to fight, he had to continue drawing in Reiatsu - his Quincy Cross and Spirit Fragment grew warm as they pulled the reiatsu back into him.

”Jyuria… Can you hear me?”

Reiatsu: 3430/2250: -400 for Gespenst Containment, +800 from Quincy Cross and Spirit Fragment
-1 Silver Tube

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

She felt her body shaking itself, almost like she was going to fall apart at any moment. Even as she launched that surprise attack, she was a bit intrigued at how he so quickly blocked it, that battier coming up in place, deflecting those bandages of hers as she let out a loud, hissing shriek. And of course.. she shook her head, rapidly, trying to get hs words out of her head. What.... what had he called her? It.... it made her head hurt.

Of course, John had mitigated her own attack, he had done nothing about the doppleganger that had been circling around him. Racing up stealthily behind him as those bandages raced forward, sleeking throguh the air as they sought to wrap around hadrian from behind, those tiny little mouths seeking to bite down before the dopple swung, twisting and aiming to throw the man forcibly into the ground with tremendous force, force enough to break up the ground beneath them.

With her dopple's actions, Jyuria was suddenly snapped out of her trance, her eyes wide as the barest of mutters escaped her mask. "Hadrian...." She rasped, just barely loud enough for him to hear before she suddenly reared her head back, a sudden ROAR erupting from her throat as she shouted into the night, the sound alone was enough to kick up the wind as suddenly, Hadrian would sense a sudden influx of presences. Ten figures were very suddenly very close by. Hollow figures. Just as Jyuria was dropping down, shuddering as her Double would place itself between hadrian and her, she would slowly look back up, cracks slithering across her mask.

There was a sudden drop in Unison, as every single one of those ten human-ish-sized hollows dropped to one knee. And John would see the cloaks wrapped about their shoulders, and the crosses of the vandereich pinned to their shredded cloth. He might even recognize some of them. Killed in Action. Left behind in order to save their squad. They were all quincy who had been killed or close to dying from hollow attacks. Jyuria had found them. And she had.... 'saved' them.

"Your Majesty" The ten of them spoke in unison, in clear reference to Jyuria.

Their voices seemed to bring clarity to the hollow, and slowly, the ex-ritter began to ride to her feet again, breathign heavily as she suddenly sank her claws into her own mask, hissing as cracks began to slither across the surface. Almost immediately that doppleganger lunged at John again, those bandages ready for another grab as slowly, Jyuria dug those sharp points deeper and deeper into her own face. "For.... His Majesty.... I won't let... anyone... die... I won't let... any.... get left... behind." She whispered, her spiritual pressure beginning to rise. Suddenly those bandages STABBED down into the hollow corpses around her, and she shuddered as she slowly began wrapping her bandages around them, her eyes narrowing as those bodies began to move, twitching, slowly starting to get up. Those hollows eyes slowly lighting back up as they were brought back to life. By that horrid power.

"I will.... bring... him Back.... My Emperor..."

The dopple vanished, using it's own sheer speed, aiming to appear closer to hadrian while he was distracted by the newly-arrived hollows. It mainly was trying to get it's bandages on him to hold him down this time, at least long enough for the real Jyuria to figure out what it was she wanted to do with him. Even now Jyuria's mind was bending and shifting this way and that. She didn't know what to do with one of her bretheren that was still alive, and even if she did, she was in no condition to be making rational decisions. Her... her mask just hurt so much.

-300 reiatsu for Despertar Class 4 x2
1650/2250 Reiatsu remaining

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

It was… disgusting. Hadrian could feel the bile, which he had successfully contained earlier, begin to rise in his throat again. He understood, quite quickly, what was occurring. There was still enough love in Jyuria, enough devotion, that she had created her own Vandenreich. A twisted, perverted version of the original, but an attempt to reach the Emperor nonetheless. It was disgusting, to see love twisted into such an ugly form. But Hadrian could not bring himself to hate it, because it proved something to him. There was something left of Jyuria that was worth saving.

”Jyuria, please. Stop this and talk to me.”

She had gathered, from every corner of the earth, her own personal army of ex-Quincy. The faithless, he downtrodden, those without hope after the death of his Majesty. She had taken that fear, allowed it to consume them as it had consumed her. And now she stood here, at the head of her own personal army. It was no different than the Quincification process in many ways. But it lacked the Emperor’s blessing. And what Hadrian sensed from them was not fulfilment or spiritual enlightenment. The souls were being tortured - in constant pain, screaming at themselves because they were only half way there.

They wanted to serve, but they hated themselves for their impurity.

But there was a way… If Jyuria truly wanted to reclaim the light that she had lost, Hadrian had a way to save her. The Quincifaction process did not discriminate. If she wanted to be saved, Hadrian could help her. But first, he had to deal with the product of her pain and dissatisfaction. The doppleganger and the reanimated soldiers were his most immediate concern. Simply bouncing them off his Gespenst Containment wouldn’t deal with them as quickly as he would have liked, so perhaps a more permanent solution would be required.

Form Property… Activate

Golden reiatsu glimmered around Hadrian’s hands, weaving like threads to form his ‘bow’ - his trusty twin pistols. His powers had advanced considerably since Jyuria had last seen them - they were now in the purest form of the Emperor’s blessing. To wield such a power was not a burden to Hadrian, just an honour. And it was with that honour that he would have to strike down the Hollows who surged at him - at the command of their Empress. But first, he had to stop the doppleganger (he could clearly sense that it was a construct, it lacked the emotional depth of the original Jyuria - his Energy Sensory could now pick up such subtleties, and his analysis abilities confirmed it).

With a practiced motion, he lifted and fired the gun in his right hand in one swing. An arrow shot out, tinged gold by the Reiatsu used to fire it. It would hit the doppelgänger in the mask, dead centre - Hadrian would not miss from that distance. And even if the construct tried to avoid the arrow, Hadrian could just will it to explode, making it even harder to dodge. The fact that it could just disappear without the use of a step technique was worrying, however. He would have to keep a closer eye on it. The hands of his Cross and Spirit Fragment spun back once more, drawing in more power. But Hadrian could feel the drop in efficiency, the slight resistance to his intake. Now that his bow had formed, he would have to be more careful about how he managed his powers.

”Miss… You have to stop this! It’s not right!”

Reiatsu: 3900/2250: -100 to activate Form Property (Class 6), -30 for Class 5 arrow, +600 from Quincy Cross and Spirit Fragment

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

Those quincy standing around Hadrian and Jyuria would remain silent, motionless, sentinel. Those hidden faces betrayed nothing. Hadrian would indeed feel suffering, he would feel the way they had been twisted. But he would also sense something else. their utmost trust and loyalty to Jyuria. Each and every one of them was hungry. They all wanted to rush in, pile up on John in an attempt to feed on him. But they didn't. Because of Jyuria's will. She suffered for them, she took on all of their hunger for herself.

But of course, Hadrian would sense a burst of reiatsu from the doppleganger, as if it were preparing something as the arrow raced toward it's body. With a shift it slammed its bandages into the arrow, sacrificing those limbs to stop the arrow. But of course the explosion would still do it's damage. Most of it's body gone, it was staggering as what little was left of it tried to remain upright. But it was still doing it's job. It raised it's remaining arm up into the air, drawing a symbol above it's head.

But of course, it was to draw Hadrian's attention. Jyuria's stealth being put right back into effect. Those rocks had bounced off of the man's shield, and even though his shield had expired, the rocks were still littered around him. And most of them still had those runes. In an instant almost, Jyuria used Gate, appearing behind Hadrian as her bandages would slowly (for her) slither around him, moving in deadly-close to the man as those bandages would stealthily slither around him, aiming to wrap themselves slowly around him from behind, already Jyuria was bracing herself.
Her reiatsu primed. She would wait until the very last moment, making sure her bandages were already guaranteed to slither around him before she built up her reiatsu around her skin, ready to use it to brush off his spiritual pressure if he attempted to use it to put her down.

With her Bait distracting him, she hped to secure her hold on him. Her bandages moved as fast as his arrows after all, and she knew Quincy all too well. Any Ginto would have a bandage tearing through the tubes before he would be able to get a spell off. And her touch alone would begin leaving burn marks as she would attempt to begin slipping her bandages into his clothing to wrap them around him directly. Those little mouths that covered every inch of her bandages would open up and he would feel hot breath over his skin as it eroded away at his flesh. Teeth primed to begin tearing into him.

Leaning in over the quincy's shoulder, those three eyes of hers would stare deep into his own, black sclera and white irises piercing his own as that mask would slowly pull open, and he would see those teeth of hers as she stared him in the face. "It is not right. That our emperor was taken from us. It was not right, that these brave men and women had to die without knowing the warmth of our emperor's gaze. Without Der Kaizer, there is no paradise. I could not let them slip into oblivion." That gravely voice hissed into Hadrian's face.


KRK

A crack slithered across her mask, almost breaking it inhalf as the smallest sliver fell away, but this time did not regenerate. Almost immediately, Hadrian would sense a sudden rapid dip in Jyuria's suffering, as if takling about his Majesty had broken through that horrible hunger of hers. Slowly, she would attempt to move in those long, clawed hands, bits and pieces falling away from them as the soft hiss of crumbling material was heard as those bandages slowly turned Hadrian around to face her, as more and more bits and pieces of mask began to fall from her face.

She remembered.

She remembered the warmth of that man's face. The day he had visited her in that forsaken bed. The hospital bed she had slept in for.... so very many weeks.... months... years. Her body had been screaming in agony. Much like it was now. She remembered his words like they were her own. "The Light shines brightest in Shadow." She felt her mouth copying the words in her memory, and she spoke them to Hadrian. Wether she was clinging onto him, or if she were feet away from him if he had somehow managed to evade her grasp.

Either way.... that mask could crack and splinter, breaking away as bits and pieces fell to the ground. Her spiritual pressure suddenly spiked, the air around her letting out a crack like a gunshot as her reiatsu roared from her body, suddenly her skin shattered and burst from her form, her mask desintegrating until all that was left was a band of material across the bridge of her nose, those dark eyes still staring at Hadrian as a very humanoid hand would raise, fingers open as the obliterated mask suddenly rematerialized in hundreds of little slivers, sweimming in wavy lines on their way into her palm, as rapidly, a sword was forged from her old body, and that blade pointed so very squarely at the center of Hadrian's face, right at the opening of his mouth.

Even if she couldn't cut him. She could still shove the blade down his throat and fire a cero into his belly. As the reiatsu storm died down, the remnants of her old bandages handing from her body in a semblance of clothing, the green-haired arrancar stared down Hadrian with a deadly leer. She looked gaunt. Thin. As if she hadn't been feeding herself properly. And Hadrian would probably deduce that she likely HADNT been feeding herself properly as a hollow. And with this new form... this new body, she simply was more obviously thin.

That blade inched forward just a bit, as if jyuria were... hesitating. A soft thump in the center of her chest. Where that hollow hole still lie. A throbbing as she stared at her former comrade. She could still feel the lingering malevolence in her body, everything about her still trying to hold a semblance of control. The urges were gone, but the fear was still there. the runes were gone. She couldn't feel her power anymore. And the hollowfied quincy were closing in, tightening the circle, but still refusing to attack. Even as an arrancar, they were irrevocably loyal to Jyuria.

"Why aren't you..... why aren't you fighting back?" Came that shaky tone. And he might indeed argue, or feel the urge to argue that he had been fighting. But he would know that wasn't what she meant. He was a SternRitter. She was.... even now... fodder. A nothing. And yet he had allowed himself to be put in a very dangerous position with such simple abilities on her own part. _{And so very worst of all was the fact that she was thankful for it.}In that hollowed out chest, she felt.... anguish. Her reason had returned, and in their wake came the stinging drops of salty bitterness that began running down her cheeks in brief little droplets.

"Can you truly ignore what I've become? Look at me..... A filth fullbringer.... a half blood. Turned full monster... Desecrating the bodies of..." She turned to stare at those hollow ex-quincy, and a surge of nausea filled her gut. It was sickening. Those eyes.... all three of them, slid back to stare pointedly at the man before her, tears still coming. "Even.... if I go back... I don't.... I don't know if I'm strong enough. His Majesty....." a soft sob left her lungs as she shut her eyes, her sword drooping slightly as her arm went laz, her free hand coming up to cover her eyes as she dropped to her knees.

"His..... his Majesty.... i-is gone.... He's gone..... and I don't know if.... I can bring him back." the woman sobbed, crying softly as those twisted insane aspirations all became clear. Even IF she had ressurected him.... he would have been a hollow. Or an Arrancar. He would not have been what he once was. He wouldn't have been their god. He would have been a twisted, warped farce, an affront to what he had once been to all of them. Her hopes and dreams unraveling as the gravity of it all came down on her shoulders.

"What do I do?......"

-100 reiatsu for Gate
Stealth in use

-300 reiatsu in preparation for grav pressure resist.
1250/2250 Reiatsu

Mask Break

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Hadrian felt the attempt to hide the runes on the rocks around him - the attempt to suppress the signatures of the impending attack. But there was only so much that could be hidden from Hadrian on the battlefield. His energy sensory picked up the faint flares of reiatsu - no amount of stealth could prevent those, especially in the heat of combat. However, a lesser soldier would have had trouble dealing with the attack - a flare of reiatsu gave no indication of what was about to occur here. Unfortunately for Jyuria, she had already given away the particular secret of this technique. It was obviously her ‘Gate’.

So, she would reappear at one of those spots. That was enough information for Hadrian. He felt the reiatsu pool around his feet, building up in preparation to carry him away from this deathtrap. Hirenkyaku - the step technique of the Quincy. Unlike the crude Shunpo and excessive Sonido, Hadrian felt as though Hirenkyaku was the most… ‘elegant’ of the step techniques. Instead of recklessly interfering with the workings of the body, it used ambient reiatsu to accelerate movement. Of course, it allowed for more inventive uses too, but that was for another time. For now, he just needed an escape route.

He’d be fast enough to outpace her bandages, he had seen that when she had tried to attack him the first time around. Whether he could retaliate safely, however, was a different issue. He could try to turn - using the Air Ground to support his pivot - but reducing his speed now would be near lethal. With a calm mind, he picked out the various Reiatsu signatures on the surface, making sure that any arrows he did fire behind him wouldn’t cause damage he couldn’t reverse. Please, Jyuria…. Don’t be wasting my time. I want to believe in you…

He continued to move upwards, skipping along the platforms created by the Air Ground. Hadrian didn’t like negotiations to take place at the end of a sword - no good ever came from times of fear. If he was going to help her rediscover herself, he would do so when she realised how pointless all this fighting was. There was no point in lashing out against him, or anyone else. That would only make her feel more Hollow. He had to show her that - he had to make her understand. He could feel it in her soul - she was a good person. But that made him so much angrier.

If she was so obviously good, why was she a Hollow? Yes, she was in pain - but still, her decency should have staved off the transformation. And now, her devotion, her pride - everything that made her soul shine had been sullied by the taint of Hueco Mundo. It was like a poison (quite literally, in this case - the Hollow cells would slowly erode whatever was left of her Quincy powers without intervention). But, there was a glimmer of hope. She was still somewhere there. He could feel her… No, he could feel her.

“The Light shines brightest in Shadow.”

MUSIC

The crack echoed around the now silent battlefield, and Hadrian spun around - he had o see what was happening, what transformation was taking place. He watched as fragments of Jyuria’s mask fell. The white shards broke apart like snow, falling from her face and unclogging her vision. Was she… was she becoming an Arrancar? The process was almost beautiful, but still somehow vile. It was like a butterfly bursting inelegantly from a cocoon, ungainly yet mesmerising. She looked unhealthy, anguished… But Hadrian could sense a deeper humanity within her - she had discarded something that had made her so beastial. It had fallen away from her like her mask.

"Why aren't you..... why aren't you fighting back?”

Hadrian slowly stepped down from where he had retreated to. She still held her blade aloft, but he was beginning to think that she wouldn’t harm him. She harboured too much doubt, too many insecurities. Despite being an Arrancar, the literal antithesis of a Quincy, she possessed the human decency capable of holding back from violence. But it was more than that. What Hadrian felt here was not simply doubt… It had evolved into fully fledged remorse. She was back. Jyuria had returned to them. As she fell to her knees, Hadrian walked slowly up to her - before dropping to his own knees, coming to eye level with her.

”Even.... if I go back... I don't.... I don't know if… I’m strong enough. His Majesty... His..... his Majesty.... i-is gone.... He's gone..... and I don't know if.... I can bring him back.”

”He may be gone, Miss Anexet. But that doesn’t mean he has left us.”

Hadrian put a hand on her head, an attempt to comfort her - but also to guide her. He quashed the feelings of pain that arose from their contact, the slight burning feeling from each hair on his hand. This pain was nothing compared to what she was feeling - and it was a small price to pay for the relief he hoped it would bring.

”His Light, miss. It has to continue shining through us. We can bring his light to all the worlds in his name. He gave us that mission, so that he would never truly leave. He gave a bit of himself to each of us… don’t you remember?”

Hadrian brought his other hand to his heart, and suddenly his fingers were suffused with Reiatsu - unlike anything he had ever displayed in before. It was red and blue and gold - all the facets of his own Reiatsu signature, but underpinned by something much deeper. The red flashes pointed to a more fundamental power, a deepness and richness that Hadrian would have otherwise lacked. The red Reiatsu, running against the white coat of the Vandenreich, looked exactly like… blood. His Blood.

”The fact that he no longer has his own body is inconsequential, miss. Because he resides in all of us. And all you have to do is remember that… And he will take you back with open arms.”

Hadrian brought his arm out from his chest again - but the Reiatsu continued to glow, a kaleidoscope of power and colours. Slowly it elongated, drew itself out into a long narrow shape. A true Heilig Pfeil. An arrow with the power to give. It continued not only a fragment of Hadrian’s soul, but some of His Majesty’s as well. And with that power, it would be sure to awaken the Quincy within Jyuria. All it would take would be her consent. For her to want his Blood in her veins again. To once again walk on that bright path.

”Will you come back to us?”

Reiatsu: 3850/2250: -50 for Hirenkyau

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

She had never... ever thought much of Hadrian. She had never thought about him really as anything other than just another body that happened to be in proximity. He had never wowed her with his words, his attitude, his mannerisms. They had left no impression. And, she supposed, such a thing was normal for an officer as she had been. She simply didn't have the time to pay him much thought. At least from her point of view, REALLY he had simply distinguished himself solely as not being a source of disappointment.

And yet here she was....

Falling to her knees, and with him dipping down with her. And of all the things in this world... of any....pretty words... any soft comforts. Despite everything that he said to her (for if anything of Caesar's sermons had ever impressed upon her was the fact that words no matter how pretty were just that: words), the thing that pulled at her most, the thing that so snared her attention and made that hole in her chest feel...smaller. Was the feeling of his hand upon her head. The contact that she knew would burn him. The gesture of sacrifice not for her imediate safety. He wasn't taking a bullet to save her. He wasn't digging his hand in acid so that she wouldn't suffer. He didn't even know if it WOULd comfort her. But there was the CHANCE that it would... and that... that was, apparently, all Hadrian had needed to place his hand against her skin.

MUSIC

She looked up at it, and....slowly, tilted her head to the side, directing it, until, gently, she moved the hand so that it was resting over her face, his fingertips just gently placed over her eyes, and she settled there... She closed those eyes and took a slow, deep breath as she took in the fact that she could feel him. And even though her own flesh was eating away at him, through his body she could actually feel his light. The light inside him that was so vehemently retreating from her darkness. Her hand slowly slipped away, dropping to her sides, her zanpaku'to dropping to the ground as she looked up at him.

She let her tears simply rest on her skin, the source cut off as he had begun to speak of his Majesty, and his words invoked memories inside of her. She paused, thinking to the time when she had been so very young, so very foolish, but so very in pain. Her mind dipping back into the darkness of those days when she had done nothing. She had laid in a bed of clean white sheets while feeling impure and disgusting at the very same time. Knowing that her body was slowly rotting itself from the inside. An illness that had been unraveling her, unmaking her. The smell of dying flesh, of skinrot, of her body trying so very very hard to die.

She had been pathetic. Perhaps moreso than she was at this very moment. even with all of her....defilement, she wasn't really all that pathetic. Not as much as she had been back then. Praying to any god or entity that would listen. Springing back and forth between wishing for an end to the pain, and simply wishing for death to come more quickly, unaware that her body was just as uncertain itself as to whether or not it wanted to continue, though it's ultiamte fate ahd been entirely out of either of their hands.

From that darkness she remembered the Emperor's arrival. And she had.... wondered. She had thought about it ever since becoming a hollow. Was it truly the Emperor she had ever sworn to? Was it truly him she had ever devoted herself to? If anyone else had come to her, and had been able to pull her from that darkness. Would she have given them the same level of devotion? What was it that had made the Emperor who he was? Anyone could have offered her a path, and yet she had wound up with him. It was a question that had both intrigued her and hunted her, that her god had just been... at the right place at the right time.

And now Hadrian was in that position. As she looked up at him, feeling so very...vulnerable. Feeling so very exposed in her impurity. She wondered.... did it matter that it was him? And did it matter what she said? If she refused him, he would be forced to kill her. That was the short and quick of it. The moment that he had become her opponent, she had been both saved and thrown to the wolves at once. There was no real decision, and even though both answers would still......'free' her. The difference, she supposed, was that one would mean complete oblivion. Not just an end to the pain, but an end to her.

Looking up at him. That fear could not be held from her eyes as she suddenly felt doubt. His words had not done much. Words had given her hope. Words had been what had made them believe the Emperor would never fade. Made them believe that he was a simple insurmountable effigy of their hopes and dreams. And now....words are all they had left of him. She thought about it, and she tried.....hard.... to think of a reason to go back. More and more, as she looked around them, looking to those sentinels all around her. The Quincy she had brought back.

They were still themselves. And pain? she had removed that. SHE was their goddess. They had been simply unable to resist. She was not a god, but she was in complete control over them. At a word, she told them to stop feeling the pain, and their bodies simply obeyed. they didn't feel pain. The damage was there. Pain, after all, was just a response. The agony was present, but the mind simply did not recognize it. In a sense...... she was just like the emperor. Her eyes locked onto them even as she could feel the heat from Hadrian's arrow against her breast. Even as with how close he was she could feel his breath on her forehead. Those eyes drifted to him, all three of them, and she saw...... metaphorically....herself.

He didn't know a damn thing. He didn't know if he was truly comforting her. He didn't know if that arrow he had aimed at her would do anything. Would solve her problems. the life of a quincy was no blessing. Jyuria knew. Not only had she herself died an agonizing death. but those sentinels surrounding them? She had......she had tried to be as gentle as possible. But in the end....she knew that in those final moments, they had been in agony. And if she hadn't been there for them, it would only have been so much much worse. Hadrian could be blessing her. Or Cursing her.

He didn't know. She didn't know. and well.....his Majesty wasn't around to know anymore.

She was looking into the darkness of uncertainty. She paused... and.....she wanted so dearly to touch him. to hold his hand.... to have...something with which to anchor herself. "What am I coming back to..... the ruins of a faith.... I..... I met Caesar Hadrian. I saw what the loss of his Majesty has done to him. I saw what.....seeing me..... has done to him. I've seen how you.... how you have been looking at me." she noted softly, reaching up, barely keeping herself from touching his face, knowing exactly how it had been a moment ago.

"You're hurting so much. And not just because of me Hadrian. I almost.....I almost feel like you're not making that arrow to save me. You want to save yourself. I can't help but feel like you think you're losing Hadrian... like...like you want to save me....because it will give you something. some win to count for us. Some ray of hope that maybe his majesty's grace is still with us... And I don't know..... if I......if I can bear to be your false hope..." She forced the words out, the tears flowing freely once again as she felt pain not for herself...but for him.

He really was....just like her. He wasn't defiled. He wasn't corrupted. But he seemed so very very... alone. He was so desperate to save her. And as she thought back.....he had always seemed alone. Nobody else in the reich was like him. Not even Caesar was truly so....kind. so warm as him. He was a gentle thing in a land of ungentle monsters. And with the dawn of the new....surrogates...for their emperor....she....she could not lie to herself... and believe that the vandereich had gotten any better. She wanted to save herself but she couldn't believe that she was grasping at anything but straws.

She leaned in, her face only inches from his, not in any semblance of intimacy, but in an assured situation where she looked into his eyes. Where she could see him just as bare as she was. To look into his eyes, where she KNOWS she wouldn't be tricked. If he was truly honest, she would know it. She would be sure. Or at least as sure as she could possibly make herself. She HAD to know.... she had to think and she.....she had to understand. Whether or not this would be a mistake.

"Look at me Hadrian.... and I want you... I want you to think. think about the new Vandereich. About what has changed since I have been gone. About the new members.... about the ones we've gained......the.....the ones..." Her eyes drifted to the side, and she eyed those souls she had stolen, and then looked back to him. "The ones we have lost..... And I want you to look at me. And....with all of your honesty.... I want to know if... if it has gotten any better. If you truly.... truly...personally....think it has grown for the best. I know you will want to answer in the affirmative. It's......our way....it was my way... I know the urge to speak as a believer. But I want you to put aside your belief. Just....for me.....just this once." she sniffled softly, shutting her eyes tightly.

And she hoped. Hoped that he would not lie to her. Hoped he would not lie to himself. But most of all....she hoped that he had something worth telling her. Something that would put her at ease.... and yet.... she wondered...if he answered either way.... Whether or not she would be able to believe him. Wondered whether.....whether this was even worth it. Whether or not anything that came from those innocent lips would convince her. So she held her tongue.... and she swallowed.

" And with....with that honesty. I want to think about if you're doing the right thing.... about if....if this new vandereich is worth coming back to. If its any better. If we haven't just been going down the wrong road. I want you to think about that... and....and then...." She closed her eyes, feeling her heart begining to race, begin to panic. "I want you to shoot me....

If you truly think... the vandereich has changed for the better.... then when I open my eyes.... I'll be with my people again. As....as your new sister in arms... But if...if you truly do not think as much. If you KNOW in your heart...that things have gone for the worst. That our numbers haven't just filled with....evil...defiled people.... then I want you to make sure....that my eyes never open again." She whispered, and shut her eyes all the tighter.

And she waited.

For him.

And hoped that he would be honest.

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Hadrian could see that his words had failed to move her. There was little to no response from her as he spoke, as he tried to reach her heart. Was it impossible to demonstrate to people, through words alone. He had tried so many times - with so many people - to persuade them, convince them, beg them to understand that there was a greater truth to the world. A truth which could not be realised through violence or destruction - but rather a fundamental peace that would only be achieved through cooperation and understanding. People had to be unified in peace, not separated in war. That was the only way to achieve a true heaven - the Wahrwelt.

Could words not communicate such an idea? Did people fail to grasp the meaning of Hadrian’s mission when he articulated it? Did he articulate it poorly? Was that why people continued to fight? Was that the source of Jyuria’s anguish - his own inadequacy? No, that was far too selfish. One man couldn’t be expected to change the world by himself. That was why Hadrian had remained with the Vandenreich - such an organisation that had been reviled by many, yet had so much potential for good. So much…. So much… But now, that the question had been asked, that those words were in the air - Hadrian could only hesitate.

.. I want you to think. think about the new Vandereich…

…if it has gotten any better…

…think it has grown for the best…

…if you're doing the right thing....

...if this new Vandereich is worth coming back to…

It had started to rain. No. That was wrong. Hadrian was crying. The eye Asmoskon once pulled out was incapable of producing tears, but they came from his right eye uncontrollably. The stream cleared a single silver line on his dust streaked face. What could he say to her? That the Vandenreich had done a 180? Had reneged on its genocidal tendencies and had fully committed itself to living out the word of his Majesty? That the old guard - Baal, Caesar and others - had recognised the error of their ways? That Amalia and Alicia were constructive forces for good in the world?

No, no, no. They were all wrong. Darkness resided at the heart of the Vandenreich - the dark claws of corruption were clenched tightly around its heart. The pure lifeblood of the Emperor was tainted by this enmity. There was potential for good - Hadrian believed that absolutely - but that goodness was currently stifled beneath the smog produced by the Sternritter - who still carried their own grudges and vengeances in to battle. What Emperor did they worship? Why were their views so different? Why was there this rift between the intentions and actions of the Vandenreich? What was happening?

And Jyuria now expected him to articulate all of this. To tell her why she shouldn’t come back. How it was hopeless. How, even with her power, they would be unable to loosen darkness’ grip. She waned to give up - no, she had already given up. She didn’t see how she could change anything for the better - she only saw how she would have to fit in to the world Hadrian was bringing her back to. She would obviously begrudge Hadrian for bringing her back, only leading to more vengeance and hate - he would have no option but to listen to her request and end her life here and now.

And that infuriated him. She would have probably felt the muscles in his hand tense - he was less aware of the pain due to their contact now than he had ever been.

”Why… Why are you forcing me to make this choice…”

He was quivering - a combination of his sobbing and his rage. He had never felt so angry before. Why? Because he knew exactly how Jyuria was feeling. He knew exactly what it was like to doubt everything you believed in, to feel abandoned and alone - to have every odd stacked against you, to be fighting the uphill battle. He had struggled with this exact question - was it worth continuing? Did the Vandenreich really have the ability to change? The capacity to do good? Was Hadrian fighting a war he could not win? Hadrian battled with these questions on a daily basis, but not once had he attempted to pass of the answering of those questions to someone else.

”Do you think… Do you think this has been easy for any of us? For me? Every time I return the Silbern I feel the hate emanating from that place. The desire for revenge, the barely disguised bloodlust. The Vandenreich is a rotten place, miss. Festering with ill will and hate. You probably know it as well. It hasn’t changed… Well, maybe in little ways, but not in ways you would immediately appreciate. I work so hard… so hard to fix things, to right the wrongs. Every time I try to practice forgiveness, non-violence, peace, charity… to bring back… to bring back a little light to the place.

And I’m trying, I really am! But every action for peace I make is undone by the violence of every other soldier! My work, constantly being thwarted by the darkness at the heart of our organisation. But I’m not going to give up! Because the light is spreading - it has to spread! There’s no his Majesty would have created a place son incapable of doing good - not given his ultimate goal! Every day I doubt myself, but I use that doubt to reinforce my belief! I will keep moving forward, no matter what. And if I die before the Wahrwelt comes to fruition, so be it. I will die for what I believe in, not because I ran away!

And you! You sit here and sob! You beg me to put the gun to your head, to pull the trigger and allow you to escape! The one person I thought would understand! You know, in your heart, that the Vandenreich is corrupted - you just wanted me to confirm it! What do you want me to do?! Admit I’m wrong?! Give up?! Let you slip away, when you too had the ability to do so much good?! How can you live with that?! That you will pass off the most important decision in your life to me?! Because you’re not just asking me to decide your fate…

Hadrian stepped back, raising his twin pistols at Jyuria’s head. One contained the arrow which would restore her to her former glory. The other contained the arrow that would condemn her to oblivion.

”You’re asking me to condemn myself with you. If I let you die, it’s because I have no hope. If I let you live, there may still be a chance for both of us to do what is right… I won’t make the decision for you, miss. Life isn’t that easy, nor is it that fair. I want you to live, but I will also accept your decision to die. I just fear that the Vandenreich may die with you...

Now choose!”

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

It was heartbreaking. Seeing the young man before her twisted so. Wrapped in on himself in a mess of thorny emotions. She knew it so very very well, that gripping pain of indecision. Of course in the end her fate had been decided for her. But a very long time ago, she HAD had several choices, and the choice to stay with the Reich after his emperor's demise had ranked as one of the harder ones. A bit ironic that the very same choice would rear it's ugly head at her once more. In the form of this poor, tortured man. A man who, by some strange fate, seemed to have an immeasurable faith in her.

Even as those pistols came to point at her, and he so demanded that she choose, she couldn't help but give a soft, forlorn smile. She stepped forward, and gently let her fingers close around Hadrian's forearm, making sue to grasp at cloth instead of flesh, as she did not want to further harm him. She moved him, lifting the arm, turning it away from her with that slow, savage strength of hers, and eventually, she simply pulled him into her arms. Of course, her bare state was not, thankfully, an issue given Hadrian's uniform, so Jyuria was free to embrace him without fear of further poisoning him. Because... she needed to hold him.

She was aware that she had been forcing a difficult decision on him. A horrible one at that, wether to add to the fold in direct opposition to her wishes, or to answer her request in ending her lie pending the state of the silbern. But she hadn't expected it to effect him this much. She hadn't expected him to be so desperate for hope. And she had no idea just how much of that hope she seemed to entail, his comment about the Vandereich dying with her did...strike an odd chord, and she did feel perplexed.

Why did he think her so important... He knew who she was. She had always been.... lesser. The Vandereich welcomed, but did not fully support converts such as herself. She had hit the glass ceiling of her career once before. And she had been...what? A failure. Her bow had been pathetic. She'd had no power, no influence. She had been a tame Ritter to say the least, and though she had risen in rank quickly, what had she even done with that rank? the Silbern had been still, and she had done nothing to rouse it. Her one TRULY important mission had resulted in her death. She had been an embarrassment.

Her only saving grace had been that she had been a decent person.
That this alone had been enough to convince HAdrian of her virtue was....depressing.

"And what if I don't?" She asked softly, staring over the young man's shoulder as she looked off into the distance, those eyes all but dead of emotion at this point as she just....couoldn't handle.... all of it. "If I can't decide then what? What will you do? Look around you Ryan. Look at what I've already done. If I can't decide are you just going to let me live like this?" She reached up, and genently, she would seek to take him by the chin, and in doing so, subject him to that corruptive touch. The pain that contact with a hollow could bring. She leaned in, sorrow in her eyes as she brought her face close to his, and stared into his eyes.

"How can I believe that I'll be anything but another black spot on his Majesty's reputation? I won't even have the pathetic strength I had long ago. Twice a convert. It's entirely possible one of the ritters will just kill me on a whim. What then Ryan? What if you come to go through all of this suffering, and the first thing that happens is my execution?" She closed her eyes, trying to collect herself through the veil of stinging tears. Trying her best to not simply break down. She was aware that she was shoving the responsibility onto Hadrian, and he thought this unfair. But the fact of the matter was that life wasn't fair. and that the responsibility of her fate had become his the moment they had come to be in combat. He was a Vandereich. Decision was his role, and the lives of his men depended on it. In some small way. she almost felt like she was teaching him a lesson. A cruel lesson, but one none the less.

"Show me that I have something worth coming back to. And I will."

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Hadrian wanted to bury his face into her shoulder, to let her hair absorb his tears - to hide his weakness from the world in her. But she was as bare as a newborn, and even the faintest wisp of hair burned against his cheek. To make contact with her skin in this state would cause him pain unimaginable. But the act of hugging him, of holding him in her arms and accepting his weakness… It felt warm. To think that being embraced by an Arrancar would bring him such relief… Or was this relief? The tears were still flowing, and nothing had been resolved. They were so close - and Hadrian could feel the anguish in her heart as if it were his own.

Her own insecurity. Her own self-doubt. Her thoughts had become mixed with his, her misgivings became entangled with his own grievances. This was deeper than empathy for sure - or at least, it felt that way. Somehow, Hadrian felt as if there was a reflection of himself in Jyuria. Neither of them had truly found a home in the Vandenreich - in spite of their love for the Emperor. Jyuria found herself at odds with others due to her status as a ‘Gemischt’ - a mixed-blood convert - while Hadrian clashed with those around him due to how ideals and methods… But they both believed in a Vandenreich that could be better… right?

”No… I can’t let you live your life like this, miss… Not the life He gave you…

Perhaps some of Jyuria’s soul had died with the Emperor - they had all lost something that day, something had broken inside them all. But it could be recovered. Candles could be rekindled, and they could once again burn to give light to everything around them… But was that really what was best for Jyuria? Did she really ‘have’ to come back to this world of fear and doubt? Would it be better to condemn her soul, to send it to oblivion where it would never be bothered by the fact that the Wahrwelt would never arrive? This was the decision she had thrust on Hadrian, too afraid or unsure as to what the consequences would be herself.

"Show me that I have something worth coming back to. And I will.”

”Won’t… won’t you come back for me?”

That was it.

That was all Hadrian really wanted.

Not once since he had joined the Vandenreich had someone told him that he was doing the right thing. Not once had someone congratulated him for saving a life, or helping the Emperor’s vision of the Wahrwelt inch closer. Nobody in the Vandenreich had ever offered a word of support or encouragement - it had always been thinly veiled disdain, and sometimes disgust, at his idealism… He could live through that, though… If someone would just embrace him and tell him that he was doing the right thing. He had assumed the mantle of the Emperor would be enough - to know that he was acting out His Will… But he had not realised how he had been lacking those words of encouragement… How much he needed someone to believe in him.

”Please, Jyuria… Allow me to be selfish this once… Come back for me! Believe in me! We can change the Vandenreich together, and move towards the vision of the Wahrwelt that the Emperor left for us! I don’t care what you think about the other Sternritter, or even yourself - if you can believe in me we can walk that path of light together! Please don’t leave me behind! I can’t do this alone… Not any more… Surely, this burden is too much for one man…”

Hadrian sobbed, the tears he had held back only briefly began to flow. And with a strangled noise that only emphasised his sorrow, he buried his face into Jyuria’s shoulder - unaware of the pain it was causing him. His whole body shook with each sob, and the mixture of physical and emotional pain only seemed to heighten his feelings of sadness and loss. He was weak. He was weak. He was weak. He needed her - to stand by him, to be his companion on this lonely road. Please… don’t leave me alone… Don’t… He needed her. And it was only now he realised it.

This was not a decision he could make for her.

The thought slowly allowed his tears to ebb away, and he pulled his face away from her - the left side now marred by angry burns from where their skin had made contact. Hadrian had now demonstrated that whatever he decided to do would invariably be motivated by selfishness - he was completely unfit to decide her fate. She would have to decide whether to return to the Vandenreich or not - but that didn’t matter. She would have to choose between giving up on the Emperor’s vision, or choosing to believe in Hadrian and walk alongside him along that long road. The pistols in Hadrian’s hands felt uncomfortably heavy - the weight of each was exacerbated by the consequences of the arrows within them.

He was no leader, that much was true. He was a harbinger. He brought the message to those who would listen to him, and he would allow them to act on that message as they saw fit.

”Please…”

[Jyuria "Elisa" Arroj]

When she heard it, she wasn't actually sure if she'd been paying attention. No...surely she must have slipped off. She must have misheard. But as Hadrian slowly broke down in her arms, as he seemed to crumble between her fingers, she realized that she hadn't misheard him. He had run out of selflessness. He'd run out of hope. She could feel it in his words and in the way he clung to her, so very much like a child. So very much like a frightened animal.

For him....

That's what he truly wanted. Deep down, what it really came down to was that he couldn't do this anymore. She could almost taste the cruelty and disappointments that he had come to along the road. A broken road he had been struggling to walk, and yet the herest of others had stayed his feet, he felt salvation slipping away, and in such a murky place he couldn't find the light. Not in the usual place at least. But somehow...Hadrian had found this light in her. If not in her memory, but in what she was now. She actually...realized..

He didn't see her as a fallen angel. Despite her....corruption. Those eyes he looked to her with, didn't seem to be the hurt, pained eyes of seeing her suffer. Since she'd torn her mask off that had vanished. What she saw instead was a desperate hope, and a pain that while he was so very close to being able to save her, she was just out of his reach. And she could see the way her words had shaken him. She had bee seeking answers, but she hadn't thought about what having to think of those answers would do to the man.

And it just...... hurt. It hurt so much.

Hurt to see him in so much pain. She couldn't stand it. Any more than she could stand to have seen those other quincy die. Not when she could save them. Not when she could save HIM. And she could couldn't she? He was asking her to. With a sudden clarity it all became so very clear. She had been thinking this entire time of herself, as to wether she should bother toughing it out. Sure she had considered him, but he had not been the primary objective. But with the sound of that pitiful voice.... and those bitter tears, Jyuria felt a need in herself. A need to make them stop. A need to make the man in her arms smile. The need not just to give in, but to protect him. She realized just how frail he was, and that.....that is what made her decision.

Those fingers gently curled around Hadrian's wrists, and slowly she moved his hands, until the pistol with that arrow, the arrow of salvation, was pressed to her breast, directly over her heart, as she used her other hand to gently lift his chin, so that those teary eyes could stare into her own, and so that he would see that warm, motherly smile on her face. In the end.... she was an Empress. A ruler, a slave to her people.

She could no more ignore Hadrian's sorrows than she could the other quincy she'd saved.

"Shhhhhhhh. Hadrian... don't cry. Don't be afraid. Do not despair." She said softly, and let her had tilt to the side. Affectionately wiping away his tears, even if it burned him. "It won't be the same. I'm going to need you Hadrian. The same way you need me. I'll have to start over I guess... but..." She turned, nd those hollow quincy vanished, dissappearing into the dark void of garganta. On her orders.

"Lend me your light Hadrian. Help mine remember what it's like to shine."

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Hadrian could feel the change within her - she was literally and figuratively naked before him. The emotional flux within her had been laid bare by his energy sensory, but now that maelstrom of pain and fear was beginning to settle. Nestled among the dark clutches of Hollow aura was a flare of gold, the light held by every Quincy. Jyuria had not completely abandoned her sacred heritage, it had only been momentarily sullied. But she had rediscovered it herself. She had found the part of her which she had thought she had lost - and it was, perhaps, one of the most beautiful transformations Hadrian had ever seen overcome a person.

She had not shed her doubt completely - nor had he expected her to. But she had found something worth overcoming that doubt for. She no longer had to ask him “whether it was worth moving on” - she realised now that that question was irrelevant. Because in this mad world, you couldn’t ask that question. It was almost never worth moving onwards, if you thought too hard about it - locked in this endless cycle between life and death. It was a hopeless situation, looking at it from the outside… There was very little chance of doing anything really…

But that didn’t matter! Because you could fight for what you believe in now, set gears in motion that would make this mad world into a much better place. Hadrian would not worry about whether or not he would succeed, he would just lay down his life trying. And that resolve had just been boosted one-hundredfold. It was so much easier to walk even the most treacherous of paths when someone took your hand and helped you along the way. Jyuria would not lead him down the path, but he felt that he could depend on her to be with him every step of the way.

"Shhhhhhhh. Hadrian... don't cry. Don't be afraid. Do not despair.”

Hadrian felt a faint blush rise under his pale skin. It seemed, even now, he would not be unshackled from his puerile reactions around women. The feeling of her hand brushing his face was a complex one - laden with so many emotions, but accompanied by the tang of pain as their incompatible flesh struck each other. But still… This was the first time… The first time anyone had come to comfort him since Rin all those years ago… Not once had someone told him that it would be alright, that he wouldn’t have to worry any more. They had only told him to move on, to work harder - or had spat in the face of his offerings of peace, blinded by their revenge to the point that they couldn’t see what he was offering.

These thoughts only made the tears stream even more thickly from his natural eye.

Her hand moved over to his wrist, and raised the pistol which held the arrow that would save her. She pressed the barrel firmly into her flesh, directly over her heart - there was no way the arrow would stray from its intended mark now. Hadrian could feel the pulse of her resolve, the flash of gold as the doubt which had clouded her mind faded away entirely. He shifted his wrist slightly beneath her hand, twisting the barrel gently around the point at which he was to fire - becoming acutely aware of her physical nakedness at the same time. It seemed now, that they were so close to being united, his attention was being drawn to all the wrong things. His blush worsened, and he became practically red-faced.

”Sorry, I didn’t realise…”

He made an attempt to turn away, realising that he had been crying unashamedly into her naked skin only a few minutes ago. But something snagged him back - a realisation that this ceremony should not be demeaned by such things. Caesar would have approved. Jyuria’s rebirth would result in a spiritual and physical cleansing. There was probably no more fitting way to do it, if he was being honest with himself. Still, the human part of him felt ashamed at the situation - he had not even thought of giving her his coat… That’s enough… You can cover her up afterwards, just get on with it… She was waiting for him to do it. She wanted him to do it. He wanted to do it. Yet, it was so difficult to pull that trigger.

”This is… this is my first time doing this… It’s probably going to hurt, but I’ll try to be gentle…”

Stupid… You can’t be any more or less gentle - you’re shooting her in the heart. It’s going to hurt no matter how nice you are.

Hadrian drew in a breath. He still felt he needed to say something, though…

”Thank you, miss… For believing in me. I hope we can walk this path together.”

And with that, he pulled the trigger - releasing the source of Quincy power and absolving Jyuria of her Hollowification forever.