The Road of Madness: Salvation

[Nisorin]

The magical construct Celestie created carries the couple through her portal into their room,  the barrier quickly expanding to coat the interior walls of the suite as Nisorin shudders in Celestie's arms, his teeth clenched hard as he growls at himself. "Noriensar, please, your battle is over, your foe defeated. Please, come out to see me, your Lorienairre. It's alright if you can't come out, but just let me in." She whispers, running her fingers slowly and softly through his hair as she speaks into his ear, holding him close to her as her other hand slowly massages Nisorin's back, in an attempt to relax his muscles a bit.

"He wanted you, Celestie." He growls, his voice almost as feral as a rabid wolf. "I could see it in his eyes! He looked up at you, looked hungry, he would have tried to steal you, or worse!"

"And you stopped him, he won't be coming back, if he even survives. It's alright now, my Noriensar, I promise." She replies, softly pushing him over so he lays on the floor, following him down. She wraps his arms around her and buries her face into his neck for emphasis, slowly whispering a spell, making sure he can understand each word of it.

[Queen Bright]

Hikaru appeared in the room, taking note of the redirection in her teleportation and reminding herself not to leave it open next time. She knew she had to hurry, she could sense the second battle had already ended. Where was her damn scout? Was Hell really that big?

"So how may I assist?" She muttered.

[Nisorin]

Just in the short time it had taken Hikaru to arrive, it seemed things had taken a turn for the worse. The air was so filled with tense magical energy that it was stifling, even for a sage of Hikaru's strength. Celestie, kneeling next to Nisorin as he lays curled up in her lap, shaking violently as his hands and lip bleed lightly. "Filter, energy, form it, into something." Celestie replies softly, her voice strained as her hands glow a soft violet against Nisorin's back. "Avenger, out of control!" She adds, looking up at Hikaru for a moment with a terrified expression, her face coated in sweat.

[Zero]

A knock could be heard on the door. It was Valor Korr. He had in his hands a spell book that had allowed Angel to stop Jeffrey when he had gone in a similar state.

"Celestie, I have sensed the arrival of something similar to the Blood Berserker and I have a potential cure if you would allow it."

[Queen Bright]

At first, Hikaru hadn't felt anything different when she had appeared. But now, she could tell the power flowing in the room, and it did not feel good.  Even in a place such as Hell, where the air never felt good. The inside of the room was worse. It was hostile, and the energy making it that way, felt dangerous in every way. Before she could do anything to help however, she felt another magic signature coming forth and then heard the voice of Valor.

"If you'll excuse me first. There's someone outside, I don't think you want to be there."

[Nisorin]

"Be quick, I don't know how long I can keep him like this." She says, placing a soft kiss on Nisorin's forehead as she goes back to focusing almost entirely on him.

[Queen Bright]

Hikaru nodded. "It shouldn't take long."

As she swung open the door and stepped out to meet Valor, she caught sight of something gold in the corner of her eye. Her scout had returned, and that meant it had finished mapping out Hell. Annoyed at the timing of such an event, an idea began to form as she glared at Valor and closed the door behind her. "You, boy! I don't know what issue you and Celestie have with each other, but I do know by her reactions before, you're most likely unwelcome here. So I have a proposition for you.

[Zero]

"What kind of proposition? I merely sensed that Nisorin had gone into this state and thought about Angel having a spell book that could cure it. "  He smiled warmly at Hikaru.

[Nisorin]

The floor and walls around them shake a bit as a loud thud reverberates through the hall, like something heavy falling from atop a bookcase. The tense energy starts to slowly seep out from the crack underneath the door, looking like small purple tendrils slowly snaking for Hiren's feet.

[Queen Bright]

"It's a different kind of state, you fool! Something you couldn't  begin to even understand! It's old magic, that even I know very little of."

Still glaring at Valor, she began to calm down as her scout, golden flames in the form of a phoenix, had landed in her hand. With the idea she had forming, she needed this brat alive and cooperative. And getting angry, would break any trust the kid gave.  Holding out the scout, Hikaru grinned in a sadistic manner.

"I have plans for hell. And a way to escape it. Only,... I need a distraction. That's where you come in, if you were to agree." Watching his face, more importantly his eyes, she waited for his reaction. "Celestie in there seems to hate you. What if I were to say I could get her to refrain from killing you?  Would you assist me in my endeavours, whatever they may be?" Until I have your complete allegiance, I cannot tell you more, but should you agree, I guarantee you will be free of Celestie's bloodthirsty revenge, and have a better chance at winning this tournament."

[Zero]

"You shall have my loyalty until after the tournament which since Jeffrey failed."
He smiled and held out his hand to her to shake on the deal that he was about to make but first he whispered to Hikaru

"You have my loyalty for now Hikaru. Though I must warn you if you cross me you shall perish. "

 

[Queen Bright]

"Excellent," Hikaru grinned, as she avoided his hand altogether.

In her own hand, the scout had dispersed, all that it had seen going into Hikaru's own knowledge. The layout of hell, and the last piece to the distraction she had planned. "I will clue you in on everything when I finish here. For now, return to contestant area and await my return. When it is time, I will contact you." In her now empty hand, an amulet in the form of what looked like a mere golden coin on a string, materialized. Thought she didn't tell Valor, this amulet would assure his allegiance and block betrayal. "Take this, it will be the means of contact, as I don't trust telepathy in while in Hell.".She held out the amulet to Valor, just left him, returning to the room before he could answer.

[Nisorin]

Inside, various glyphs and runes had been inscribed on the walls, ceiling and floor, glowing a soft, somewhat bright purple in contrast to the dark fog that filled the room. Celestie, now with her eyes closed, had erected a barrier-sphere around them, holding a second, albeit heavily cracked, sphere in her hand. One rune set near them was pulsing yellow, reading out Hikaru's name in the common script used by mages across the universe.  They were spelled to, upon touch by the indicated person, to relay a visual message in the same script.

Code: [Select]

I have withdrawn into his mind to attempt to return him to his normal state. I am sorry to have to ask for your help, but this time it's not
something I can take care of on my own.

[Queen Bright]

Kneeling down, Hikaru, bit her finger and began a spell circle and runes of her own. Drawing it along the outside of Celestie's barrier. Filtering magic wasn't an easy spell. It required an alignment of good to be able to filter hostility. And Hikaru, was NOT good. Even if she had helped a few people, and changed her attitude to a few others. She still considered herself semi-evil. And so if this spell failed, she knew why.

After completing the circle, she stood back up, staggering in the increased hostility of the environment.  Holding her hands out, she directed some of her own energy at the the circle, giving it the required amount of magic to activate. Once activated, the runes around the circle began to glow a soft silver, this time counter-clockwise, three of them at a time. When all the runes had lit up, they just disappeared, leaving in their place a crystalline surface.

The crystal began to grow, and pretty soon it had encased the whole room in a reflective crystalline. When the hostile energy met the crystal, it bounced back from surface to surface, losing hostility as it went.

[Nisorin]

Celestie and Nisorin both shudder as they feel the changes caused by Hikaru's spell, his muscles relaxing a bit as the double-crescent marks fade from his eyes. The barrier sphere around them fades slowly into nothingness, exposing them in quite a vulnerable state, retreated into each other's minds, and so relatively unable to fight back.

The cracks in the sphere in Celestie's hand gradually start to mend as the energy 'relaxes.'

[Queen Bright]

Hikaru eyed the two, temptation getting to her. For someone to leave themselves so weak, and so open, it she wasn't used to it. She had to keep telling herself to wait. Mess this up, and she would not be escaping Hell. She needed the one, and if she killed the other, she'd lose the trust of Celestie. Back stabbing either, was a bad idea until she was completely free from Hell. Temptation would just have to be stifled.

Now that the energy had relaxed, Hikaru sighed and changed the spell. It had seemed to work so far. Was her alignment really changing that rapidly?  She hoped not. It would prove to be hindrance later, if it was.

With the spell changed, the crystalline surface began to literally melt. The walls, the ceiling, the floor, all of it began to melt and flow into a spherical shape on the floor; very much like a crystal ball, but transparent, and crystalline. Once the crystal ball had formed, all the energy in the room seemed to be sucked into it, drawn by force and trapped inside. The energy its self formed into a purple petal. Crystalline as well  by the power of the sphere.

[Nisorin]

Celestie uncurls Nisorin so he's laying face up on the floor, her hands reaching out as if to grab at the orb, causing it to slowly float over to her. Already quite used to Nisorin's energy by now, she stands up as the petal unravels, wrapping itself loosely around her arms like a very large ribbon. "Sanctu dewa zoul, meus Noriensar." She whispers, a small, blue orb pusing with large amounts of exceedingly powerful energy rising up from his chest. The cracks shift and converge, forming an open slit for the ribbon to feed into. 'Awaken, my Orion."

The orb's cracks seal themselves up, and the orb sinks back into him as he blinks, his eyes darting about as he weakly sits up. Seeing Hikaru, he jumps to his feet, his hands wrapped around his sword blades. "This is a private room. Explain yourself!"

"Nisorin, this is Hikaru. She helped me contain the spread. She is the one I told you about, one of the newest Orien. I called her here to help, and to show her the dangers of our path."

[Queen Bright]

"Dangers of the path...." Hikaru nodded slightly, watching the both of them. She had remained calm, even through being accused. "Yes... you did mention dangers. I was too eager to think much of it at the time. But now... you never did exactly say what they were. And seeing what I can only guess is your partner here.... and the great power he showed, and held back. It's not to be taken lightly is it? I could sense something, a higher level magic than what was displayed on that battle field. Magic to rival even my brothers Genesis." Lacing her fingers together, she continued staring at them over the top.

The circle remained there, as it would not go away till commanded to, by the caster. And Hikaru hadn't dispersed it yet.

[Nisorin]

Nisorin nods, and promptly falls to his knees, panting hard. Celestie promptly pulls him into her once more, rubbing his back. "Avenger. It's what happens when the bond between two Orien is broken. But, it can also be purposely brought on, as Nisorin did during the fight. He pushed himself a tiny bit too far, and nearly lost control. What happens is that the Orion's control over his or her magic very quickly weakens. He slowly loses control as his own power overwhelms him, and takes control. He becomes a creature of bloodlust, of anger and greed, bent on vengeance for the one they lost. Anyone who gets in the way, receives no mercy. It is a constant burden, madness always lying in the deepest part of your heart, Hikaru." She explains, looking at Hikaru with apologetic eyes. "It is a weapon of great power, but it is extremely dangerous. It caused the downfall of the ancient Relorian civilization in many, many universes. And that was only one man. His name was Orion." 

[Queen Bright]

"I see...."Though she seemed to be calm about it, Hikaru's thoughts were on Koty, and the choices of the guardians court so far. Then it quickly changed to the thoughts of her own deal. If what she was scheming didn't work. That would mean death... and well. It would not fair well with the rest of the dimension. However.... ,Hikaru's eyes quickly flashed gold that only lasted a split second. It had given her an idea. If timed right, this Avenger state could be used as a valuable asset, not by herself, no. But if used right, the connection could be manipulated.

Quickly turning her head away, so as to not allow her eagerness to show, Hikaru dispersed the circle. "Is that all then?"

[Nisorin]

Nisorin gets to his feet, albeit shakily, and walks over to Hikaru, bowing low to her. "I want to thank you for your help. And I also want to warn you. If you go too far in purposely pushing yourself past your limits, the state will begin altering your thought patterns, manipulating you from inside your own mind, as it did with me tonight. Even one with a mind such as your own is not immune to this." He says, straightening up with his hands clasped before him. "Please be careful with this information, and take this as thanks for your assistance."

[Queen Bright]

Hikaru rolled her eyes at the warning, but did it in a very concealed manner. How had they realized what she was thinking? She didn't sense telepathy, and she had closed the mind link ages ago. Had she given it away somehow? Unlacing her fingers, she held out her hands to receive the gift, whatever it was. Greed. She knew where she had inherited that from. Any sensible person would refuse to accept it, and offer their help for free. But not Hikaru.

[Nisorin]

He places the small, soft pouch into her hands, a pink crystal stone falling out from it. "It's a dreamstone, Rose Quartz to be specific. Humans and normal mages find little use in this particular dreamstone, but Orien specialize with it. Invest a little bit of your energy into it the next time you share a bed with your partner. I promise, the effects will be quite worth it." Celestie says, walking right over to Hikaru and giving her a hug.

"We must be going now, you're welcome to stay and rest if you like."

[Zero]

By that time Valor had taken the medallion she had given him and after doing numerous scans on it with his own magic and determining it to have no fatal or dangerous affects he immediately calmly slid it around his tough muscular neck. Today he decided he would pay Abel back for widowing Angel Star but how could he pay Abel back? That is something he would have to think of for a very long while. With Jeffrey gone the StarClan would never be quite the same. Of course Valor himself could do research and try to create a new and bolder and more powerful StarClan. He would dramatically change all beliefs and all types of magic though since Abel knew them all he would improve upon the StarClan until it was a kingdom. A Celestial Kingdom for the ages. Inspiration struck him and he knew what to name the new empire once out of Hell. He would name it the Celestial Kingdom. Instead of obeying Hikaru however what he had done was go to Angel's suite. How he loathed being her guardian until he could find her a new husband.

[Queen Bright]

Giving the dreamstone a glance, Hikaru dropped it back in the bag pocketed it. There would be time later to study it further, for now, she had other things to attend to. "Thank you," she said. "I will be sure to look into its effects. However, thanks for the offer, but I cannot stay. I have something to prepare." Opening the door, she looked back. "Till wee meet again, then."

Once she was back in the hall, Hikaru snapped her fingers, sending a spell to the amulet. By way of how it worked, the amulet would get shocked with a jolt that did no damage, and a telepathic connection would be opened up. The words would be sent to Valor, but it was one where he could not reply back. Alright boy, we meet at the Campsite, it seems to be the less guarded of Hell currently. Be there as quick as possible, if you stall, I will not hesitate to change my mind.

That said, she teleported out after sending a mental image of the location to Valor. With the knowledge from the scout, she now had the layout of hell. Thus making it possible to directly teleport.