Canon Finale: Threat [PG13, DP]

[Zou ۞]

Title: Threat
World: Human World
Participants: Luke, Shizuka
Plot Summary: Xcution headquarters has been demolished. Most of the upper level brass is dead. The Soul King stands before Satsujun in the God of Murder's office and battles for the Black Pyramid. Shizuka is in the HQ lobby when everything suddenly explodes into fire and an unimaginably powerful being kills hundreds before heading up to Satsujun's office. Meanwhile Luke is in town on personal business and from afar he sees the infamous Xcution HQ covered in blue flames, in utter ruin. The sky is dark and stormy, the wind powerful and harsh. What will Shizuka and Luke do when they see this scene?
On Waitlist: Irina

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SPOILER: Click to show

"It's funny, isn't it?" The speaker was a burly man with a thick black beard and a bald head that rested upon enormous muscular shoulders and a sturdy frame. Red war point, embroidered part of his face, part of his bare torso. In an enormous hand he held someone else around the neck. He held a slightly younger man who had black hair and eyes with black corneas. The burly man's large fist kept Satsujun securely in his grasp. He chuckled. "Sorry. It's just that even after more than thirty thousand years, you're still no match for me." They were in Satsujun's office, which was in ruin. The bookshelves and desks had all been turned around and partially destroyed. Various parts of the room crackled with the low voices of blue flame. Loose papers and corpses were scattered around the room. The Soul King brought up his free hand to wipe away a single tear that made a slow descent down his cheek.

"I spent thirty four thousand years helplessly watching you all kill each other and poison my worlds..." the Soul King explained. "But this is still the hardest thing I've ever done. If I could choose, I'd rather repeat my agonizing reign as Soul King a thousand more times than kill my own son." Satsujun could barely move. He was held limp in the Soul King's grasp. His body was covered in heavy bruises and cuts and he bled profusely from each wound, even the bruises. He was missing an eye and that half of his face was severely burned as well. His left leg was gone and one of his arms was exposed and looked a deep purple color like every bone inside had been shattered. "Luckily..." the Soul King said. "I only have to do this once." Satsujun used his good hand to grab a hold of his father's wrist. With his one good eye he bore a hole into his father's spirit with his gaze.

"I do know that I should have listened to you all those years ago." The Soul King told Satsujun as if nothing had happened. "I didn't see that interference in the world was necessary. You did. The way you turned out and the life you've lived are my fault." Satsujun brought up his arm and white wisps of steam appeared in his hand. They seemed to coalesce into a hilt for him to take hold of. A fiery blade ignited along the wispy hilt, his Fullbring, Flame of The Creator. The blade was as hot as the corona of the sun. Satsujun brought it down toward his father but the Soul King took his free hand and caught the blade bare handed. He squeezed and Flame of The Creator sputtered out. Satsujun's hilt dissipated soon after. "The others..." Satsujun struggled to say through a damaged throat as blood spilled out of his mouth and onto his father's large hand. "They'll stop you. Just like they did me. The heroes of the world will defeat you too."

The Soul King started squeezing. "I am sorry that I failed you." Satsujun realized that his death would not be ceremonious or quick. He struggled desperately even in his wounded state. A natural power to him, The Body Created By God, had allowed him to survive these injuries that would have already caused any normal human to bleed out. It also meant even with these wounds he had stamina to spare. He never stopped struggling while the Soul King squeezed harder and harder. Satsujun's face started to grow purple, not unlike his arm, and then his eyes rolled back in the back of his head. The Soul King kept squeezing until his son's neck snapped too and popped out of place, long after Satsujun had already suffocated to death. The Soul King threw Satsujun's corpse to the floor. From out of the folds of Satsujun's jacket as he dropped, a small black pyramid clattered noisily to the floor.

The Soul King picked it up. The Black Pyramid glowed only for a moment before it shrank to the size of a small marble and then fused into the Soul King's hand, leaving him with a tattoo of black lines forming a three dimensional pyramid figure in the center of his right palm. Parts of it glowed a dull orange like heated metal and then faded to black. Steam was coming off of his hand. The Soul King looked around. He could sense where the others were. It was time to retrieve the other items. He would start by further attacking the interior of Xcution. He would take the fight underground and collect the blade called Teliki. The Soul King started his walk to leave his late son's office.

[Deleted]

Something was wrong. While that was speaking the obvious, it was painfully easy to tell that something wasn't right. You could feel it on the air. A sense of dread and forbidding hung in the air like it was Florida levels of humidity. It was like trying to move through a soup, but the soup was just anxiety causing emotions. What made the mood even worse was the weather. Todays forecast didn’t predict any sort of storm like this anytime soon, and considering how sudden its appearance was only lead to Luke further thinking that something was wrong. You know those scenes in movies or animes when storms suddenly come up because something bad was happening? Yeah, Luke was reminded of one of those moments.

Thankfully the helmet he was wearing was helping him with navigating through the air. His motorcycle’s engine roared as Luke drove across the invisible road of Air Ground. The ability to gather the invisible and infinite particles of reishi together to create platforms to stand on was the first ability Luke acquired. He was also a master of the Advanced Air Platform technique, so with his above average mastery of Air Ground it was child's play to create a invisible road for his motorcycle could drive on. Well, that was where his nickname “Rider” came from.

”They’re all retarded. Every. Single. Name you pick is worse than the last! Just call yourself CLYBURN or something GOD!!” Jäger protested.

In truth, Luke figured he was picking these dumb names because it messed with Jäger. The Doll really, really, hated Luke putting on the superhero act. He thought it was the cringiest and just couldn’t deal with it. “Being embarrassed on your behalf” as Jäger put it before. But it felt good to get to mess with Jäger. Payback for the hours and hours of perverted jokes, stupid comments, and just unadulterated idiocy the Doll subjected Luke too. Still, Luke wasn’t too focused on Jäger’s whining right now. Turning to the left, his motorcycle veered alongside the top floors of a office skyscraper. Luke didn’t go higher due to the bad weather for fear of being knocked off his bike or air ground.

”I know you’re feeling anxious about something but you’re going to get sick if you stay out in this.” Luke’s other, technically third, Doll cautioned. Windstarke had a point. Both of them knew that it was entirely possible for Luke to get sick in this storm, but they knew the words of warning would fall on deaf ears when the Bount got like this. They knew he wouldn’t be able to relax or feel satisfied until he was done patrolling the city for a few hours. Beneath the tinted visor Luke’s eyes narrowed as his mind worked to try and figure out why he was feeling so anxious. He didn’t have a nightmare about the battle with the Sternritter, which was the usual cause, so he couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Wheels crunched across the rooftop of a building as Luke came to a stop, parking for a moment to simply look out across the city. ”I’m bored. It’s cold. Can we go home? I wanna watch porn.” Jäger complained. ”Stop being a brat, Jäger.” the other Doll commented. Just as the two began to get into an argument, they all suddenly became aware of something. A signature of spiritual energy that was so tremendous that, when the sensation hit them, Luke was nearly floored. Luke’s eyes widened beneath his black and red helmet as, in panic, he turned to look behind him in the direction of what he was sensing. What he saw made him stop.

The building he was looking at was infamous to those who knew whose base it was. The HQ of Xcution, the assassins organization, was on fire. Blue flames erupted from its windows and, with his Energy Sensory, Luke could sense two different reiatsu signatures clashing. He didn’t recognize either one of them, but the level of strength coming from them was on a scale he had never seen before. But that wasn’t what Luke was entirely focused on. It was obvious that the Xcution headquarters were under attack. Panic choked his throat for a moment. Shizuka. was what he thought about as he fired the engine back up on his bike and took off.

”Alright alright this is what I’m talking about!” Jäger laughed in excitement.

”Luke hold on! Don’t be an idiot and rush in alone. Contact Uzaki and wait for backup! Are you listening?”

Of course he wasn’t. Luke was tunneled vision as he gunned it towards Xcution’s building. It was obvious that this wasn’t a situation he could just sit back and wait on. The call to action was just too strong. Besides, giving help that wasn’t asked for is what a hero did right? Regardless, Luke was more focused on something else. There was the possibility that Shizuka was caught up in this. The worry for his friend was what was driving him forward, despite the two energy signatures he could sense within the building.

But when Luke reached the headquarters, he suddenly felt one of the signatures disappear. Grinding his teeth together, Luke aimed straight for the front doors. He passed by a number of bodies that lay across the entrance, not stopping to focus on them, before he basically crashed his bike into the glass doors. Shattering them and letting his bike go skidding across the entrance lobby, Luke came sliding to a stop. The inside was even worse than the outside. The lobby was similarly filled with bodies, guards who died trying to stop whatever it was that invaded the building. Well, he was here. But what the fuck did he do now? Go and greet whatever had done this?

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats / Skills / Items}

• [Weapon: Swords] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  
• [Strength of Will] {3}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Anti-Stealth] {2}
  
  
• [Charisma/Leadership] {1}
  
  
• [Battle Focus] {3}
  
  

Luke | Soldier

Strength - 100 (50) Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 - 800 Points

Light Aura - 100 Points

Dark Aura - 0 Points

Instinct - 150 Points

Senses - 150 Points

Energy sensory - 100 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total SP: 1600 Points


x1 Tempered Uchigatana

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

What started as a normal day turned deadly in the blink of an eye. Shizuka was struggling to make sense of it all when she realized that the building around her was collapsing. The structure was study enough, but it couldn't defend against the bright flames that burned through every window. Explosions were heard as they forced the entire area to vibrate violently, and the sky outside reflected the dark and foreboding nature. The Fullbringer was in a minor panic but was busy trying to find her way out when she heard the silencing noises of others being brutally killed. Something was here. Someone was headed up towards the CEO's office. Shizuka had a moment to think.

She recalled a few stories here and there that she had heard about this being. He was a legend, as far as she could tell. The entire history was lost to her, though, and she had no idea what kind of personal relationship Satsujun had to this man. All she knew was that he was dangerous and capable of killing anyone. Her mind went blank momentarily but she was able to force herself to come back to consciousness. She couldn't allow herself to get carried away in this kind of a situation. Not when fire was raging throughout the building. Though beautiful, the blue flames were equally as destructive. They left almost nothing in their path.

Her reaction time was too slow. The chaos was affecting her greatly and it took quite a bit of strength to come back to her senses, but she managed. Being able to block everything out of her mind was a gift and a talent, but her own willpower could only go so far on a natural basis. For now, it was all she could to in order to figure out what was going on. Shizuka made a break for the front doors of the lobby to get out of the way of immediate danger and get a better look at the damages. The fire was everywhere. Every once in a while, some window on part of the building would break out and explode into an inferno. Smoke covered the dark, stormy skies. What a dramatic change from the nice day they were having just moments ago.

But the sky told Shizuka something very important. She was right. Someone was attacking Xcution, but judging by the path they took all the way to the top, they were after Satsujun. Shizuka growled to herself and looked up. She focused her gaze beyond the fire, beyond the damage, beyond the chaos, all so that she could see what was happening in the office. It didn't help. The next best plan was to take herself up there on her own, but that was also risky. Whoever this was didn't play any games and Shizuka knew that. She just needed to figure out what was happening, and her fear wasn't enough to stop her. Not yet.

Quickly, at her own natural speed, Shizuka stepped on platforms of Air Ground and made her way to the CEO's office. Her eyes narrowed to avoid the smoke and she covered her nose with her arm, hoping that would somehow get her some relief from the diluted air. She didn't want to move any faster because the risk was too great. She wanted to have a chance of victory when escaping from whoever lay in wait. But when she finally made it up to the windows of the office, the broken and shattered glass was strewn everywhere. The person responsible for all of this damage was gone. Nothing else remained except for a single being. A corpse. A lifeless body.

"Satsujun..."

The Fullbringer rushed over to her leader. She knew already that he was dead, but she was desperately wishing that it wasn't true. She saw his wounds and the damage around his neck, which meant he had to have been strangled if it wasn't the blood loss that killed him. Someone was actually able to take down the leader of Xcution when not even a large group of people could accomplish that feat. What a nightmare. And she was living in it! That man was somewhere in the building, but she didn't even know why he was there. Satsujun was a secretive person and there were things even the Seven Guns didn't know.

All that she could do was make the man's unmoving body as comfortable as possible. She moved parts of him around to make it look more like he was laying down. Shizuka, wishing that he could rest easy, closed the eyes that truly gave away the premature death. Though he barely had much of a personal presence in her life, he was an admirable figure. She knelt herself down beside him and placed her hand gently over his heart. A sad smile crept up on her face as a tear or two fell from her cheeks onto the jacket he wore. After a moment of thought, Shizuka carefully lifted Satsujun's upper body from the ground and removed the jacket. She twisted it around her shoulders and put her arms through the sleeves, then adjusted the collar. She allowed the damages to remain. A short moment passed before she was ready to move.

If this man was still in the building, that meant there was something he was after. Trying to find it before he got to it was an option, but it was a silly one. She didn't even know what he wanted. What she did know was that she needed to head underground. It would be safer there, and the chance of this stranger finding it was slim. She had never been down there, but it was a safe bet. Well, she hoped it was. Shizuka didn't yet realize where the man was going. So she started her descent towards the ground once again after jumping out through the window. She caught herself on Air Ground once or twice to avoid getting hurt in the landing, and was a bit surprised at who she saw when she went back into the front doors.

"Luke!" Shizuka screamed, obviously frantic. "Luke, I don't know what you're doing, but you need to come with me. Someone is here. Someone killed Satsujun. We need to get underground quickly before whoever it is finds us. I know the way, but I've never been down there. Please come with me if you want to stay alive! Parts of it act as catacombs. We can hide in there."

The Fullbringer motioned for her Bount friend to follow her into the 'basement' of Xcution. The actual hideout. Whether he followed or not, she was going to try to lead him to where they could hide. For now, this was all they could do. She didn't know what was in store for them.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's Stats}

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] = [500] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] = [1000] Points

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [200] = [100] Points

Senses [200] = [100] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's Skills}

[Weapon: Firearms] {3}

[Stealth] {3}

[Strength of Will] {3}

[Charisma/Leadership] {2}

[Analyzing] {2}

[Battle Analysis] {2}

[Martial Arts: MMA] {2}

[Honeypotting - The art of manipulation to obtain information. Basically, a girl gathers enough information about her target - male or female, doesn't matter - and dresses accordingly or changes how she acts to be able to get them to do whatever she wants or tell her what she needs to hear.] {1}

[Zou ۞]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this}

The underground of Xcution was more than mere catacombs. When they arrived, Shizuka and Luke would see that the underground had been furnished with Seki Seki walls, floors, and ceiling. It was a labyrinth of corridors and elevators, some booby trapped for protection and others easily accessed. There were many doors, some locked and some not. They all went to interesting locations. The elevator that had taken them underground had only had "U1" as the button for doing so. However that there was a number showed that perhaps in other elevators in other parts of the underground, they could go lower still. It was very well lit in contrast to the dark storm that brewed outside. Unfortunately there was not much time to drink it all in because they had a different thing to look at and try to process. Shizuka and Luke's adventure underground had already taken them directly to the enemy.

There he was. It was a man as Shizuka had guessed. He was huge, verging at over six and a half feet tall. His biceps alone were larger than either Luke or Shizuka's head. The huge bearded man in front of them turned when the elevator opened to permit them entry into the underground. They'd caught him as he stood perfectly still, examining something inside of a room they could not see into from that angle. The door hung open and there was light coming from inside. The man looked up at Shizuka and Luke as if he was not sure yet what to do with them. They would see him but would not be able to sense his presence. Not even a small hint of his reiatsu could be detected. It was like an empty void of space, a total nothingness in the middle of the hallway where sensory output should allow him to be detected. He was just a black hole.

"Shizuka, Luke." he greeted them by name when he saw that they had arrived. "I had a feeling that you two would be able to find each other in all this. Satsujun made cooperation like yours much easier when he bought out Uzaki Enterprises." He didn't seem very interested in either of them but he looked patient, like he could stand in the hallway and chat with them all day and still accomplish his goals. There was some dried blood on his right hand and wrist. That might be Satsujun's blood. He had also talked about Satsujun buying Uzaki Enterprises. If either of them didn't know, now they did. Some time ago Satsujun had defeated a number of spiritually aware human world dwellers and purchased the majority shares of Uzaki Enterprises when it had gone public. Going public was thought to have been one of Kazura Uzaki's greatest mistakes in the business world.

The large man in front of them had killed Satsujun. And he knew about Xcution and Uzaki Enterprises. And he knew both of them by name. He knew them well enough that he did not even hesitate when he saw them. He had known their names then and there as if they were very familiar to him and he knew them very well. That he was alone might be more terrifying still. Had this man by himself wrecked Xcution, killed dozens, and even been able to slaughter Satsujun himself? The corpse that Shizuka had found had not died peacefully nor had he died swiftly. Satsujun's death had been brutal and slow. And now seeing this man, Luke and Shizuka would see that he was completely uninjured. The only blood on him was someone else's. All of that and not a scratch on him. The large man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I suppose I have to ask... Are you two planning to try and stop me?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Soul King's Stats/Skills, plus some other info}

The Soul King is class 0 and is a Fullbringer that defies Type and SP restrictions.

Strength: 600
Speed: 600
Reiatsu Strength: 4000
Spiritual Pressure: 600
Instinct: 600
Senses: 600
Energy Sensory: 600
Light/Dark Aura: ?
Healing Expertise: 600

The Soul King is also equipped with some items. The first of these is a stolen/modified Quincy Cross for drawing in reiatsu with the same efficiency as a class 0 Vandenreich General. The second is a sword sheathed on his back that has the same durability as his reiatsu strength and equivalent cutting power. Lastly, he now wields the Black Pyramid and has absorbed it into his soul. The hand bearing the marking can now activate three non-release techniques, the only three he presently has. They are below.

1. Hell Gate - For a cost of 200 reiatsu the Soul King is able to open a portal directly into Hell. The portal is the size of two of him and is instantaneous. He can shut it off at will or move it around telekinetically with his hand's movement. This is considered class 2.

2. Hell Fire - If the Soul King has already opened the Hell Gate, then for another 200 reiatsu he can fire a huge stream of fire from the portal. This is considered class 2.

3. Hell Anchor - The Soul King can spend 2000 reiatsu to effectively create a huge area of effect spanning several hundred feet around him within which all mental and combat related skills are taken from those within the area and are replaced with unrelenting fear of the Soul King. Class 0.

---

Skills below. The Soul King has 25 SKP and is unbound by restrictions.

Battle Analysis 4

Analysis 4

Learning 4

Strength of Will 4

Swords: Juyo/Soresu Hybrid 4

---

The Soul King will gain two more 4 skills, +150 to each stat, and +3 more non-release techniques every time he obtains another of the eight items.

[Deleted]

What was going on? Just what, exactly, was happening? Even though Luke was looking at him, despite the fact that Luke was standing right before him, it was as if the man standing there didn’t exist at all. It was as if he wasn’t there at all. It was different than someone hiding their reiatsu or presence. For one, Luke was trained against such methods. But this man...wasn’t hiding himself at all. Even though he was looking at him, even though he could see him, Luke had trouble convincing himself that someone was even there. It was as if a black void stood before them. Nothingness in human form. Just...a black hole.

Sweat built up on his face as, instinctually, Luke began to understand what was going on. The man standing before them looked as if he was from the wrong period of time, but that didn’t diminish his presence at all. Biceps larger than Luke’s head, the man was a mountain of meat. A thick beard decorated his face alongside red war paint judging from the smell that Luke’s animal like senses were picking up on. Even though Luke’s quivering eyes never left the mans face, his peripheral vision saw, in decent detail, the blood stains on the man's wrist. What made Luke’s eyes widen, however, was when this stranger said both of their names.

He knew who both of them were. What’s more, what was he referring to when he said that Satsujun had bought out Uzaki Enterprise? Thanks to being a Manager, and being privy to more information than the Senior Employees, Luke had learned a thing or two about Xcution. While what he knew about their inner workings, members, and operations was bare minimum, he did know that the corporation was run by the strongest Fullbringer in the world, Satsujun. But he had no idea that Xcution, on a business level, owned Uzaki Enterprises. That was something he’d need to ask Shizuka and Kazura about later. As he said before, he trusted Shizuka but not Xcution.

That wasn’t important right now though. Now Luke understood the anxiety he’d been feeling earlier. On some basic, primal, level he had been sensing the battle between Satsujun and this man before he had arrived. Shizuka had revealed that Xcutions leader had been killed. Luke had been patrolling the city because of the anxiety he’d been feeling. While Luke couldn’t sense the man before him, on some level he had felt him. “A disturbance in the Force” as a nerd would put it. Maybe it was the warrior blood of the Bount that flowed through him that had instinctively reacted. Luke didn’t know. This was all an unconscious phenomenon after all.

"Well, I suppose I have to ask... Are you two planning to try and stop me?"

Luke felt something in his stomach turn over. Was this fear he was experiencing? Fear even greater than he had when he faced the Sternritter that dealt with him like a toy? Luke felt his breathing get heavy. His Dolls were equally silenced. They offered no words of support, mockery, or criticism. But, as the man before them posed that question, the sight of all those bodies flooded through Luke’s head. The dozens of people killed by this man, Shizuka’s destress, the sight of the building on fire, it all shot through Luke’s head. Whoever this man was, whatever he was here for, if he was willing to kill so many to accomplish his goal then what he had planned couldn’t have been good. Courage wasn’t ignoring fear. It was acting despite fear. Deep down, Luke knew he had to fight. His instincts were screaming at him.

That was why he reached behind him, with steady movements, and removed the sword bag from his back. Letting the bag drop the elevators floor, Luke held his sheathed uchigatana in hand. ”Whoever you are...whatever your plans are...if it involves killing this many people then it’s something I need to intervene in.” Luke replied, despite his bodies desire for him to run away. What was in that room that this man was interested in? Could he fight whilest protecting Shizuka? This hallway wasn’t going to allow him to fight at his very best. How strong was this man? There were so many things against Luke here that it almost looked stupid for him to challenge this man...but he had to.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

This place was a lot more involved than Shizuka would have ever thought. There were elevators everywhere, traps, Seki Seki all over the place, and none of it made sense. Well, not to the Fullbringer. All of this was hidden right below her and she had no idea. Sure, maybe it was partially because she had no reason to go down there, but she felt a little awkward. Why didn't she hear about this sooner? Well, anyway, that didn't matter what mattered was why she was down there. Shizuka avoided a sarcastic sigh because she couldn't believe how bad her luck was. The man who stood before her was something to be admired.

Satsujun could be intimidating. He wasn't necessarily kind, but he treated his employees with respect from what Shizuka could tell. Well, was it respect, or was he controlling them through fear? Either way, this man could easily subdue even the likes of Shizuka's late leader. He was massive. He was way taller than any average human, and even the taller ones paled in comparison. He was also muscular, which would be very attractive if not for the fact that the Fullbringer felt horrendously intimidated by him. Physique was not on her mind at all. What was, on the other hand, was how she and Luke were probably screwed.

The only minor benefit, despite the intimidation getting in the way, was Shizuka's lack of Energy Sensory. She had no experience with sensing others based on Reiatsu signature, so the Soul King being essentially non-existent was not a huge deal. She could see him, but she still felt an emptiness in the space where he stood. That definitely freaked her out. She never experienced such a sensation and it caused her to freeze in her tracks. Normally, this kind of thing didn't bother her. It took an exceptionally strong foe to stop Shizuka from proceeding. Unfortunately, this was an exceptionally strong foe.

"Shizuka, Luke."

Oh, no. Shizuka didn't like that he knew their names. She flinched a bit at the sound of his voice.

"I had a feeling that you two would be able to find each other in all this. Satsujun made cooperation like yours much easier when he bought out Uzaki Enterprises."

She had known about that. She was there during the huge company increase when Xcution became a borderline superpower. But due to the organization's recent restructuring, they had to release Uzaki Enterprises, much to Kazura's delight. He now owned the entirety of his organization again, and Xcution was left to scavenge for a purpose once more. An anxious feeling filled Shizuka's heart. She suddenly felt like she didn't have much of a purpose anymore, but she was determined to prove herself somehow. She assumed that time had to be now. He wanted something down here and was standing in the way of it. She had to try to get it.

"Well, I suppose I have to ask... Are you two planning to try and stop me?"

”Whoever you are...whatever your plans are...if it involves killing this many people then it’s something I need to intervene in.”

Luke drew his sword and prepared himself to fight. Shizuka wanted to take a different approach. If distracting him was good enough for now, perhaps that's what they needed to do. It was blatantly obvious that they were no match for him together. There was no way they could beat him unless they really tried, and even then it seemed impossible. The Fullbringer looked at her Bount friend and furrowed her brows with worry. If they weren't careful, they were going to die here. So she needed to think of something that would either distract him enough to let them escape or give them access to whatever it was this man wanted.

"We are probably outmatched here, so you telling us what you're after won't matter. Do you mind sharing your goals?" A long shot, but if he really could beat them in an instant, he may give in to the request.

[Zou ۞]

The large man did not betray his emotions when Luke rose to the occasion of challenge. He did not change his expression when Shizuka opted to try a different approach. The large man's bass filled the hallway with electricity and authority.

"No one needs to die." the large man asserted at last. "I'm going to gather The Eight cursed items of this world and use their power to reset it. When you wake up, some of you will not remember the old world. Others of you will. It will look a lot like this one, only there will be less... bad eggs."

The large man wasn't even looking at Luke's weapon. He didn't look worried. Instead he took the tone and the posture of a father lecturing his children. The two of them couldn't know who he was, had no way of knowing, but they would be getting the sense that he was unthinkably old.

"There is evil in the world, expressed as evil individuals. Some of those individuals are more powerful than any of the heroes that would stop them. They create misery everywhere. The Vandenreich. Sozen Kuchiki. Even Satsujun was like that. In my new world they won't exist. They will never have existed. It will be the same world, yet millions of twisted and evil individuals who were part of it will never have been. It will be a paradise without war or hunger."

A goal, an ambitious one. Not to reform the world as it was or to destroy and remake it, but to revise the history of it. Changing the past. The implication was that the lives of people living in this world would be different from the old world, but it was also true that many wouldn't remember. Even if some did, they would remember what the world had been like with powerful evil such as Lord Callus in it, and then live in a world without that.

"Think about it. Luke, you wouldn't have to worry about the Vandenreich. They wouldn't exist. You could focus your efforts on finding your mother and on making the Bount independent of feeding on souls. Shizuka, you would never have had to become an assassin to get by. You could see Kento again. And no one has to die for this world. If you would but back away. You could even join me if you wanted to."

The large man spoke an idealistic vision but he said it with certainty and authority. However it was also too good to be true. Nobody fully understood the items he was referring to, much less knew how to use them to accomplish what he was describing. There was one item, the Elder Scroll, with the instructions. Only the Emperor of the Vandenreich could read and decipher it. The large man turned away from them and started to walk.

"Think about it." he said. "Think about the kind of place you want your children to inherit."

[Deleted]

Sorry for the wait.

Luke actually paused when he heard Shizuka beside him. For a moment, just a moment, he had forgotten she was here as he had begun to become tunnel focused. The Bount blinked, refraining from moving forward anymore, as he heard what Shizuka said. She assumed they were outmatched? Hearing her say that, someone who was much stronger than he was, caused Luke to hesitate. But, at the same time, it was a good thing he stopped. If he had just attacked the Soul King then he wouldn’t have gotten to hear just what exactly the man was after. What Luke heard though was something he didn’t expect at all.

Eight Cursed Items? What in the world was that supposed to mean? Luke remained still, his facial expression a cocktail of confusion, disbelief and shock. Whoever this man was he claimed to be intending to...reset the world? He claimed that the “bad eggs” would be gone. Luke noticed that this stranger seemed completely and totally calm, as if Luke’s weapon meant literally nothing to him. Like the sword that he held in his hand was no different from a foam bat.

But as Luke listened to this man and the words he had to say, he was quickly beginning to realize something. Little by little, Luke was beginning to agree with what this man had to say. If really, and truly, had the power to go back and remove the most evil of people in this world then...wouldn’t that make it a better place? If this man really had the power to rest things to how they were and eliminate those who were evil...then wasn’t that a good thing?

Luke was conflicted. On one hand how could he approve of the deaths of millions of people? That was evil. His ideals as a hero required him to stand against this. Even if they were evil that didn’t mean so many people should die. But there was another side of this coin. The part of Luke that understood that, sometimes, killing someone was the only way to save another's life. There was no other way around it. But it was evil for a good cause, wasn’t it?

Luke wanted to look at Shizuka, to try and see what she was thinking from the expression on her face, but he didn’t. He wanted to know what she was thinking about this, but knew that he couldn’t turn to look at her. Whoever, or whatever, this man was it was abundantly clear that he was not a human. He was able to pull information about what Luke wanted to do, seemingly, straight from his head.

Grinding his teeth together in frustration, Luke could only get mad. He could only get mad at this situation. What was he going to do? Would he throw himself, full power, at this man to try and stop him from killing those that Luke would be fine with being gone because it was mass murder? Or would Luke make the decision that would guarantee not just his survival, but the person closest to him that was beside him? No doubt Shizuka would feel the growing conflict inside the Bount.

”Don’t fight this guy. It’s not...it’s just not worth it.” Luke would hear Jager say. Naturally the Doll who was a sneaking coward would want out of the fight. Jager rarely ever wanted to fight. ”The decision is yours. Whatever you decide we, as your Dolls, will follow.” Windstarke, as rational as ever, replied. ”But.” Luke suddenly heard, not expecting a “but” from Windstarke. ”Ask yourself...what means more to you?”

While it was only a few moments, all these thoughts almost felt like a century. What meant more to Luke? Fighting and possibly dying for people he didn’t know or...surviving with her? Swallowing, Luke had his answer. ”There’s no way in hell...that I would ever join you. What you’re talking about is wrong...what you plan to do is wrong. But I...it’s something that would be best. The Vandenreich wouldn’t exist. The most evil people in this world wouldn’t exist...I think it’s fine if they simply go away. I...won’t stop you so long as you leave Shizuka and I out of it.” Luke replied, letting go of his sword with a trembling hand.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

"No one needs to die. I'm going to gather The Eight Cursed Items of this world and use their power to reset it. When you wake up, some of you will not remember the old world. Others of you will. It will look a lot like this one, only there will be less... bad eggs."

Interesting that he said this. No one needs to die? Is he serious? If Luke and Shizuka chose to stop him in his tracks right now, they would fail. The chances of their victory were practically zero. Yet he stands before them and has the audacity to make a comment like that. It was almost insulting. He knew very well that it wouldn't take much effort to defeat those who block his path. The reason he was so calm was likely due to his knowledge of this. He didn't see the Bount and Fullbringer as threats because they weren't threats to him. Anger began to well up inside the blonde though her outside features did not betray her. She stared blankly at the man. She had no reason to show him that he was getting to her. It wasn't worth the trouble.

As for taking out "bad eggs," that made no sense. She understood his reasoning and, frankly, may even stray so far as to agree with him. But that just didn't make any sense. People existed whose job it was to fix these problems and rid the world of these bad eggs. Shizuka was one of them. Even Luke was one of them. But he thought gathering these items and rewriting the world was going to be the end-all to this? He's crazy, Shizuka thought to herself. And he was. If he thought this was going to rid the world of all evil, he was wrong. There would always be evil in the hearts of these people. That wasn't going to change.

Shizuka couldn't stop herself from cringing when she heard mention of her late leader's name. Even Sozen's name made her hurt. She recalled briefly meeting him once, though she washed the memory away for years. She never engaged with him, though she knew she never wanted to. Knowing that these people and organizations would no longer exist was somewhat relieving, but to her knowledge, they didn't have much of an impact anymore anyway. They hardly existed as it was. The Vandenreich was losing members, Sozen was gone, and not many issues arose from them. Despite that, it wasn't impossible that similar people could come into play.

"Think about it. Luke, you wouldn't have to worry about the Vandenreich. They wouldn't exist. You could focus your efforts on finding your mother and on making the Bount independent of feeding on souls. Shizuka, you would never have had to become an assassin to get by. You could see Kento again. And no one has to die for this world. If you would but back away. You could even join me if you wanted to."

And with that, Shizuka's eyes grew wide. She reflexively gasped when she heard the name of her former love. Even more repressed memories flooded her mind as she recalled Douma's mirrors showing her the visuals behind Kento's horrendous death. She found out that he was decapitated and left to rot. He had moved on to a darker path than where he started, but that didn't stop her from caring about him. It was just how things needed to be, she assumed. But then she remembered how Douma's reflections of Kento had begged for Shizuka's help, had cried and screamed at her, told her she did nothing and his death was all her fault--

"No." She took a breath. "That's not the world I want. Even the painful experiences made us who we are." The Fullbringer grabbed Luke's trembling hand and steadied it with her own. "You have no right to change any of that. I'm an assassin because I choose to be. Luke is trying to better himself because that's what's best for him. Taking away all of that pain and hurt would leave us in a worse state than when we started. And I'll admit that you almost had me convinced. I was going to join you out of my own selfishness. Out of my own desire for power. But I won't." She turned her head to face Luke. "I'm sorry. If you wish to, you may leave. I don't blame you at all. But I'm going to stay."

Shizuka let go of his hand and tried to quell the nervousness she felt within herself. If she was going to take him on alone, she was going to die. But she had to try to delay him, at the very least. There had to be someone who could stop him even if she couldn't. But it wasn't going to be easy, and she knew that. Nothing in this world came easily. But if they were going to give everyone a fighting chance, they had to try to help. Even if it was only a little bit. So, knowing she was in for a pretty good beating, Shizuka activated her Fullbring and allowed the large water gun to form itself in her right hand.

"Besides, I can't have kids."



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4800 (-200 for Beach Queen)
Fullbring Stage 1: 1/10
Liquid Type: ANNM
Gallons Remaining: 100/100

[Deleted]

Sorry it's short but I'm throwing another post in

Leave and live. That had been what Luke had decided. The instincts inside him, the desire to survive, had been able to sway his decision. Fear was a large contributing factor in his decision. Fear for this man. Fear of the unknown power he possessed. Luke could not sense the man standing before. He was like a void. It was as though Luke had been staring into an abyss. He had chosen to leave and to let this monster fulfil his quest that, in truth, had sounded appealing to Luke’s ears. That was, until, she stepped in.

When he suddenly felt her hand on his it was as though all of that fear he had felt until now never existed. It was as though Luke had been drowning in a well, sinking deeper into the dark, and suddenly a rope had been dangled in front of him. When Shizuka said no it had caused Luke to pause. When she had taken his hand it had given him hope. What was wrong with him? He wondered that as he realized his gaze had been locked on Shizuka. As he did so, the mental image of a scared, child, Luke standing in a dark blizzard was suddenly burned away. Luke’s will came back and his fear was blasted aside.

Thank you, Shizuka.

Luke had let fear get to him. He had spat in the face of his ideals and focused on survival instead of doing what was right. Shizuka had shown him up, and showed him what a real hero should be doing. If Luke ran away from this, now, then he would never be able to pick his sword up again. Luke’s eyes flashed with determination as Shizuka walked past him, summoning her Fullbring into her hand. She was ready to fight. What she said was right. If this bastard got what he wanted, then everything they fought for would have been pointless. It was like she said, Luke didn’t want a world like what this man envisioned. If evil arose then people like him and Shizuka, like UE, like Soul Society, would be the ones to handle it.

This was their world. Not this bastards.

”What kind of man would I be if I let my woman fight alone?” Luke asked as a power from inside him swelled outwards before his body was consumed in bright blue flames. Luke had summoned Chakra, the Martial Discipline Technique, straight away. This was definitive evidence of just how serious this fight was. Winning or losing really didn’t matter in this fight. Whether they won or lost didn’t matter. Because what mattered was that they fought, right here and right now, for what they believed in.

”God...damn it fine. Fuck it...whatever...let’s just make sure we die slapping this guy with our dicks.”

”Wonderful way of putting it, Jager.” Windstarke said sarcastically, but Luke could tell that the Doll was pleased with Luke’s decision. Drawing his sword and standing beside Shizuka, Luke knew that...if they lived...he was going to show his gratitude for the Fullbring, one way or another, for a long time.

Remaining Reiatsu: 3200 / 4000
-800 for Chakra

SPOILER: Click to show

{Chakra}
Technique Name: [Spiritual Discipline: Chakra]

Class: [1]

Technique Type: [HWD Tech]

Usable By: [Bount, Mod Souls, Fullbringers, Non Vandenreich Quincy, HWD Nakabakki]

Technique Element: [N/A]

Technique Description and Effects: [Insert Below]

The soul. Essentially the core of one's true self. And to manifest its energy is a feat anyone can accomplish. When you gaze at all of the spiritually aware, you see them blasting their spiritual energy around themselves. Sometimes they can flex it and use the force it generates to their advantage. Other times they can create projectiles, or concoct actual physical changes. But this technique is different.

The cost for this is a full 800 reiatsu, but it lasts for 20 posts. As long as it is active, the user's hands gain the power to directly utilize their own reiatsu. How? Anything they touch, should they allow it, including their own body, can be imbued with a flame of their choosing. This fire isn't hot, and does not burn. What it does it enhance offensive and defensive capability. This can be used on techniques, releases, body, attacks, weapons, etc.

As long as that flame coats an object, it is considered "class neutral" and "value neutral." Unless struck by a superior class or 2x offensive stat or more, it will always win in conflict against anything that is without a flame. In other words, say Player A utilizes Chakra on their sword and Player B has some sort of Hierro-like ability. Player A, except with the aforementioned limitations, will always be able to cut clean through that defense and sever it.

If the target is also coated in flames, however, then the neutrality of class and value is lost against that target, and once again it is treated as a clash of offensive power or class, as per normal rules. Therefore, this technique is a must for top level HWD, as it is almost impossible to succeed in combat without it. Just to meet the high tier status quo, this technique is required.

How to use technique (How is it activated?): [Insert Below]

It is activated for the 800 reiatsu cost, and it is special in that no technique that lowers reiatsu cost can lower the cost of this technique. Furthermore, anyone who can charge or generate reiatsu cannot use any such methods of charge or regeneration while this technique is active. To learn this technique, user must know Willpower, Output, Movement, and Energy Generate.

Technique Drawbacks (Limitations, repercussions for use, etc) (Insert Below)

800 reiatsu cost, in addition to considerable stamina drain the longer this technique is used. In addition, anyone who uses this technique bleeds 20% more profusely out of wounds while it is active.

Incantation and Effect: [N/A]

Made By: [Kento]

Reserved?: [No]

[Camila Adaronde]

Counted 70 paragraphs, so that'll be 350 TP! Graded as a JT, seeing as it hasn't gone anywhere 'v'