Mystics IV: The Final Chapter - Reincarnate! {M} IC

[RisingPhoenix]

WARNING: This story is rated M for mature. Mature things can and will happen. Please have an open mind when participating and reading.

Mystics IV: Reincarnate!

Peace. The world had known peace for so long that it was abnormal to think of any other state of existence other than peace. Peace shrouded the world from knowing true darkness, but it was peace that would soon betray the very world it cradled for so long. A large ship floating just within the Earth’s gravitational pull sat dormant as a crew of men dressed in rather tight fitting clothing with armored platting scurried around the ship. The garbs were a dark blue in color with stripes of white where the seams of the uniform would be. These men moved about the ship with order and precision.

“Report,” a well fit man yelled out standing at the bow of the ship. Men and women alike sat in front of various screens typing on a flat surface, bringing up view of various colonies on Earth.

“Everything looks normal sir,” one of the men sitting at the center screen that changed images every few moments. “There’s a storm out in the ocean heading towards one of the colonies sir, it may do some damage, permission to ready the extraction team?”

“Wait and see what happens, but put them on standby. Keep me informed people,” the Commander of the ship said as he turned and left the room.

=====

Monk Chiatzu awoke with a start. Sweat beading down his face and covering his neck. He was panting as he looked to see what the time was. Unlike traditional monks he embraced the technology that helped maintain his life. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes to regain his composure. It was the same dream he had for the past few nights. There was nothing but darkness and from the darkness a set of eyes peered out at him. The eyes were draconic in nature and bore into his very soul. He stood within the darkness as it approached him with intent to swallow him whole. Just as it opened its maw to consume him, he would awaken. Chiatzu sat up in his bed. This was serious, something wasn’t right. The world had known peace for so long, could darkness be on the horizon? He looked out the window near his bed and stood up, taking bare steps towards the window.

“Has peace come to an end? Is it as the prophecy foretold?”

====

Morning came and Kyori was wide awake. He was positioned on the floor beside his bed when the light from the sun broke through the sheer curtains that lined his window. His eyes slowly opened as he stood to his feet and walked over to the mirror. Meditating helped calm his mind, it helped him control the storm within. It helped him train his mind and focus on the tasks at hand. Dressed in only his sweat pants, he took a moment to look at the body that he had achieved from all the hard work. Muscle rippled with every movement he made, and yet he hoped that one day he could relax from his training and enjoy the leisure of life.

After a quick shower, he adorned his monk robes, grabbing his prayers beads and placing the large set around his neck, while the small set wrapped around his right hand. He moved the beads within his fingers as he stood once again in front of the mirror. It was time for school, Monastic School to be precise, but today he was going to be helping one of the monk with special training. They had learned of his abilities upon his arrival to the school, and at his young age they wanted to test him to see if he would be ready for whatever was to come, but they waited until he got stronger. They had a theory that some kind of threat would eradicate life on Earth, but Kyori couldn’t see it. Peace was all he had known, and was all he worked to maintain, why would darkness rear its head after such a long time of being dormant? He had to remind himself that if things were to become chaotic, it would be his duty to help bring it back into line.

“Monk Chiatzu,” Kyori said bowing to show respect as he entered into the temple where Chiatzu sat in meditation. Upon hearing Kyori’s voice he stood and smile.

“Young one,” he began, “I have grave news.”

[Froggy]

The noise within the jungle was deafening. Calls of the wild came from every direction from a variety of species- exotic birds and bugs, large cats and smaller animals alike. It had been rather disorienting at first, but after having spent two weeks nestled amongst the trees- Ocella felt right at home. Unfortunately, with her grandmother no longer in their realm, she had to learn many of her skills on her own.

Ever since she had found out what she was... she had to find out what she was capable of. It was a consistent thought in her head, no matter who she was with or what she was doing- she always wanted to let her imagination roam wild. She was a writer, a parkour athlete, she trained often... and she was a half-angel. This was something that very few people knew of and something she wanted to keep that way. She could count on one hand the number of family members who knew about it, and there was no one outside of her family that she had told.

Currently, Ocella was surveying the area completely around her... only she was standing still, in the middle of a big game path, with her eyes closed. It seemed to an untrained eye that she wasn't moving at all, that she wasn't evrn breathing- but in truth, she had found that fine balance between heightened senses and insanity. She could hear every twig that broke nearby, and identify what had broken it by communicating with the foliage around it. She was training herself- trusting in nature to keep her safe.

There was a slight shift in the atmosphere, followed by a bright light and suddenly... Ocella was in her angelic form. She loved her wings and admired them with every transformation. With a simple flutter of them, she was able to avoid a panther crossing through the trail without it noticing her presence, beyond sniffing the ground where she once stood. Her eyes were still closed, but she was so focused on the panther beneath her that she flapped her wings too hard and her head hit a treebranch.

She winced in pain and opened her eyes finally, shaking her head as she pulled herself into a sitting position on the branch. 'Have to keep working...' she told herself mentally, taking in a deep breath as she began to meditate.

[Aureyon]

The smell of the soil in the large array of pots and makeshift bags had ever been a calming influence on the teenager. He had originally taken the job in the Greenhouse to help his mother provide for the two of them. He admired the woman who had worked so hard and steadily to provide for him, tirelessly taking on multiple night shifts followed directly by a day shift just to ensure that her son had the comfort that he needed. Her efforts had not gone unnoticed in his eyes, and that was why he had chosen to find a job. He had lucked out in finding the Greenhouse, and over the years he discovered his love for it - among other things that he discovered while working with pot and soil.

"Excuse Me?" a rather feminine and young voice reached his ears and he turned - though unable to directly see - to look upon the one who had spoke to him; a young girl, no older than six years old. He felt the change in her movements as she recognized that the boy she was talking to could not see. It was the subtlety of her movements, causing vibrations to echo through the Earth and in turn allowing him to see a picture of the little girl as if his eyes were really there - though the colors were monotone and of the earth. It was better than not seeing at all, and Aleksander took the gift for what it was, never questioning it.

"It's alright," he acknowledged softly. He knew the girl was surprised, and though not being able to see, he had innately picked up on vaguely being able to sense the emotions of those around him. The little girl was much easier to read. Little children felt in such powerful emotion, usually rapidly and on both extremes of the spectrum, that it made it much easier for him to read them over an adult who operated under a sort of veiled emotional state. They were significantly harder to read because they knew how to compartmentalize and put on a facade, a veil, of what their true feelings were.

"Are you blind? "came the girl's response, her voice layered in questions and childlike curiosity. Alek smiled and offered a simple nod to the girl, who followed his affirmation with another question. "How did you see me then?"

To this question, he smiled vividly and came in close to her before answering quietly so that only she could hear him, "The Earth allows me to see. She responds to my will and I am able to call on her power."

He let out a vibrant chuckle as he immediately felt the disbelief welling within the girl followed by immediate suspicion. He enjoyed the presence of children, they allowed him to see much of what he could not when around others of his age. They held an innocence that was lost on the older generations. They brought him immeasurable happiness and clarity - they were a welcomed influence in his life.

"Prove it." she retorted to him, disbelief layered thickly in every syllable that left the little girl's lips. He smiled again and nodded respectfully, indicating the space between the two of them with a gentle incline of his head. He could feel the sudden change in her emotions, wonder, at what she saw rising between the two of them. A castle made of rock and soil, shaping itself by his very will, spiral towers rising from the Earth and sitting atop the castle. He could feel the childlike excitement and joy that permeated the air around the girl as she saw the very earth shift between the two of them.

"How did you do that?!" came her excited response to which he only smiled and shrugged, "It's a mystery little one."

He looked up as a voice called to the girl, her mother, Hope. It was an oddly fitting name for the young girl. She had given him an odd sense of hope, a smile still sitting on his lips as he turned back to trimming the plants and nursing them. It was going to be a good day.

[Koti~]

The world was silent to him, the clouds passing seamlessly above his head. Hair swayed in the wind, delicate wisps of pancakes and honey. The sun had just broken the horizon, coloring the sky with tinges of orange and yellow bursting over the clouds and bright blue sky. A deep breath in rich scents of dew and pine, the stronger smell of breakfast tempting his nose. His eyes closed for a minute before he finally stood up from the roof and jumped down, the loamy grass cushioning his landing before turning into the kitchen. He gave a wave to his grandfather and a hug to his nan before going to the bedroom to dress for the day.

“--rget to get your papers, or breakfast.” Nan spoke up, triggering his magic and flooding his world with sound. It made him stall for a second as sizzling bacon and the rustle of the newspaper greeted him. He responded with an okay and headed up to grab a shower. He didn't last long on it, cutting off the magic to focus on the shower.
Clean, dressed, and ready for the day, he headed into to get breakfast. A simple conversation with his parents was how he started the day around here, just before the rise of the sun.

“Got everything you need for the day?” Grandpa asked him, lowering the paper to look at Joshua.

“Yes sir, ready to go and re-proofed.” Joshua commented before finishing off the meal. He grabbed his bag and headed off, cutting across the back yard and into the forest path. Picking a light jog he headed towards school, getting ready for a regular day of school.

[Yamimoon]

The sun had just started to rise breaking the darkness with its warm light. A light that with time would completely banish the darkness of night giving birth to a new day. Two hunters that had entered the forest to hunt some deer the night before had awoken the stillness of the forest. Both of them were confused, but decided to continue the hunt none the less. That is when they saw a man sitting in a clearing.

The single man was sitting with his legs crossed in the middle of the only clearing in the forest. He looked to be meditating. His eyes were closed and unmoving. One would confuse him for being dead except you could see him breathing ever so slightly. The men also realized that he was unarmed, and seamed easy pickings. They were originally in the forest to poach deer, but they thought this would be easy pickings, and then back to hunting.

A slight breeze blew through the trees moving the man’s long hair. The two men approached who still didn’t move. He could not hear the men approaching him, slowly as not to be heard. But with the silence of the forest he could hear them as clear as day.

“Hey man. It is not safe to be traveling alone in this forest.”

Etrama opened his eyes and looked at the two men approaching him. Not truly paying them any mind he stood up and then looked over at the with a menacing grin on his face. Hi hair still moving with the breeze.

“You should go back to where you came from. I have no time to bother with the likes of you. So if you want to keep your lives then you should leave. Unless you want to test your luck against me! Which I assure you your guns won’t do you much good.”

Etrama threated as his silver eyes glimmered in the light of the rising sun. He wants to find the man that had interested him, and neither of these two were him. However, he would not mind ‘playing’ with them if they decided to start something.

The two men looked at the man with a puzzled look on their faces. Granted he wore strange clothing, but he didn’t look as if he could backup his threat, and they still didn’t see any weapons. So the men ignored his warning, and raised their guns. Taking aim at the man.

“Give us all of your belongings, and we just might let you live!” One of the men threated as he moved his finger to the trigger. Keeping the strange man in his sights. Without skipping a beat Etrama started to walk toward the men.

“Now, now that is my line.”

[ShabadooBinx]

The morning sun gracefully shown through the window adjacent to Emily’s bed. The light gently kissing her face as she opened her sapphire colored eyes. Greeting the morning with a yawn of delightfulness. Emily was a night owl at heart but she still loved her sunny mornings. They brought her a sense of peace, as she’d lay in her bed still and quiet just enjoying the morning. She turned over and looked at her clock and let out a sudden scream “oh my god I’m so fucking late”! Rushing as fast as she could through her morning routine she dashed around her room, into the bathroom, and then headed downstairs. The aroma of coffee filled the air of the kitchen along with the scent of breakfast. “Good morning honey” her mother said. “Mom, why didn’t anyone wake me up”? she said snatching up a piece of bacon and a flapjack. “Your father and I both tried to get you up earlier but you were unresponsive” she replied. “If it weren’t for the fact that we could see you breathing we would’ve thought you were dead” she said with a smirk on her face. “Thanks for the breakfast, I’ve got to head to school” Emily said kissing her mother and father goodbye. Tossing her book bag in the back seat of her small SUV, Emily made her way to school.

While sitting in class Emily slipped off into a dream like state remembering the last time she had seen Jeremy. That brisk night laying in the bed of his truck looking at the stars. Both had dreams to leave their small hometown which created a special and understandable bond. Emily was abruptly shaken from the dream with screams from fellow classmates. “Oh my god Emily, what the hell is wrong with you” Amber the school bitch screamed loudly. The whole class looking at her as if she had the biggest pimple on her face. Looking around Emily noticed that she had once again for a few second lost control of her body. She had dropped the temperature of the whole class room low enough that everyone could see their own breath. Embarrassed and blushing brighter than a tomato Emily said “I’m so sorry you guys”. The bell rang and Emily grab her stuff and rushed off to the bathroom. While sitting in the bathroom stall she heard the bathroom door open. “Did you see what she did” a voice said in a disgust. “I know; what kind of freak tries to freeze the whole class” another anonymous voice replied. Emily being the person she was dried her eyes and opened the door. “Girls if you’re going to talk about someone do it to their face or at least make sure they aren’t in the bathroom with you” she said as she checked her makeup in the mirror. The girls stared in shock with their mouths hung open. Emily let out a chuckle and said “You might want to close your mouths before someone takes it as an invitation”. She gracefully exited the bathroom and made her way to cheer practice.

[Kayser]

Art's morning's began early in the morning, well, at least ever since he first he showed his powers, his father wasn't joking around when he said he would need to be ready "when the time came"...
Whatever that meant, honestly thinking about it was both terrifying and exciting, a rather odd combination...

His morning routine would usually start around 4:30 A.M. Right before sunrise, running around the block for 30 minutes before taking a cold shower and getting dressed.
Art had been skipping school ever since the whole thing about his powers came up, he knew it was something serious if it forced his dad into lying to the school about him being in an accident or something, most of his friends had already sent him texts and messages wishing him to get well soon, he could only wonder what bullshit excuse his father came up with, people were asking him which hospital he was in so they could visit him, maybe he went a little overboard...

The rest of the day would be more physical training until dusk, his parents had hired a personal trainer for him, as well as kickboxing instructor to teach him how to defend himself.
Art had never really been one of the athletic types, but now he was exercising like there was no tomorrow. Which could very well be a possibility considering what little information his father had shared with him so far...

Once the sun was down Art could finally get a small breather. Physical training was done for the day and that meant it was time for his "secret" training.
So far Art couldn't really do much aside from absorbing metal and turning his skin grey, although his father knew a lot about his powers, especially for someone who didn't have any...
He assured art that his powers would get better in time, even if they didn't seem all that spectacular at that moment they would get better in time...

[Lady Celeste]

Handfuls of locals and tourists alike flocked to the edge of the docks as teams of merfolk accompanied each ship in and out of the Oslofjord harbor. Over the years they had become a sort of tourist attraction, with individual merfolk acting as tour guides for cruise ships and local tour boats, while small teams would swim along either side of departing vessels to guard against water mines and other hazards hidden beneath the surface. However, as peace became more and more secure throughout the world, there was also gradually less need for such extensive protection. Nevertheless, the merfolk did their respective jobs very well and proved to be very popular with visitors to the Oslofjord, so not only were they allowed to remain in the Navy's employ, but several local job opportunities were also made available for those merfolk who were too young or otherwise unable to take an official job with the Navy.

Kelda worked in one such position, volunteering in marine animal rescue efforts along with three older mermaids. The creatures of the sea had little to no trust in surface dwellers, especially when sick or injured, which made it difficult for the human volunteers to sufficiently gain their trust as to be able to help them. But the merfolk had a natural affinity for the waters they lived in and a strong mutual trust with the creatures that dwelled within, allowing them to reassure the poor creatures more easily and keep them calm long enough for the rescuers to finish their work. It wasn't as glamorous as working as a Navy guide, but it was a rewarding job in many other ways and allowed Kelda to make many new friends both in and out of the water.

Today, however, was different. As Kelda swam up to the center that day, she could see the other girls sitting at their usual perches at the water's edge. It was still early in the morning, so for now they were the only ones there, but something felt different somehow. The other girls must have noticed it too, as they watched the ships moving in and out of the harbor as usual; the humans were busily going about their day and didn't seem to notice anything, but today the merfolk surrounding each ship was swimming more defensively, keeping close to their respective ships and watching the surrounding seas warily, instead of happily socializing like they often did now that they were in peacetime.

Kelda fell silent, and lifted herself up onto a nearby rock to join them. Something about today felt off, for some reason, but what could it be?

[ShabadooBinx]

A warm breeze blew through Arsan’s open bedroom window. Arsan opened his eyes and sat up, beads of sweat rolling down his shirtless rock hard torso. Arsan got out of bed stretching, waking up every muscle in his body. He made his way to the bathroom running into John in the hallway. “Arsan, put some clothes on” he said noticing the half-naked teenager. As he continued walking he replied “these boxers are clothes”. Arsan’s morning routine consist of working out, studying for the CWDU exams, and personal grooming. Arsan followed this same strict routine every morning before school. Just as he was about to head out the door to school John stopped him “Do you still have that meeting with the CWDU recruiter today”?

“Right after school, why what’s up” he said checking his watch.

“You’re still coming to the garage when you’re done aren’t you” John replied.

“Soon as I’m finished I’ll be there” he said grabbing the back of his neck in frustration.

“Okay, hurry up and get to school before you’re late” he replied filling his thermos with fresh coffee.

Arsan raced to his car and left in quite a hurry, if there was one thing Arsan hated it was being late for anything. He made his way to school and went straight to ROTC class. While reading his CWDU manual for the millionth time he overheard two guys talking about how some girl at the high school a couple towns over had almost frozen her class. He found this interesting and amusing, but still couldn’t imagine losing control. Arsan had always done his best to keep his abilities under control to maintain a good reputation for the CWDU. Now it was time for the ROTC class to do their combat practices, this was Arsan’s favorite part of the class. The boys circled the elevated combat arena that they regularly practiced on. Arsan waited with so much anticipation for his turn to show off.

“You might want to calm down there, you look like a crackhead” one of the guys said chuckling at Arsan.

“Yeah and you might want to call an ambulance because when I get in there someone’s going to the hospital” he replied with a smirk.

“Oh, like your mom” the boy replied knowing exactly how to push Arsan’s buttons.

Arsan’s mood completely changed right in that moment all he could see is RED! The ground around him started to smoke and transformed from a lush green to greyish black. With his eyes glazed over he turned towards the boy and asked “What did you just say”? The boy filled with fear shook his head “Arsan, chill the hell out”. The instructor for the class saw the exchange out the corner of his eye and shouted “Arsan and Scott are we interrupting you two?” Trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand he demanded both of the boys to drop and give him two hundred push-ups. When combat practice was over the instructor said “Good job everyone, now how about we work on stamina training…three miles. GO!” The group of boys and girls took off as if someone had fired a starting pistol for a race. “Arsan” the instructor shouted stopping him in his tracks. Arsan returned to his instructor and said “Yes sir!” The instructor with a concerned look upon his face said “Arsan what happened earlier, you’re my best student. Top of the class and on your way to becoming a great CWDU officer. If I’m going to give you that recommendation you asked for; you’re going to have to ignore comments like that.” Arsan adjusting his posture to that of CWDU regulation said “Understood sir”. “Now catch up with the rest of your class” the instructor said. Arsan again replying “Understood sir”. “Make sure you see me at the end of the day, I’ll have that recommendation written up for you. What is the name of the recruiter you’re going to see this afternoon?” “Mr. Van Zandt” Arsan shouted running off to catch up with his class.

[Atrum Daemon]

“We're getting closer to the central chamber. See how the passages are starting to widen out?”

The dig team's excitement was palpable. They had been searching the old ruins for weeks before finding the collapsed entrance to as yet unexplored lower levels. The archaeologists were in the process of dating the site even as they probed deeper into the underground levels. They were detecting ever so slight increases in ambient magical energy the further they went and were using that as a guide to whatever center they believed existed.

Needless to say a strange spike in energy went unnoticed. Such anomalies had been encountered several times so nothing was thought of it. But this last spike heralded the arrival of a figure clad in darkness. It swirled and churned around him as he stepped from the dark hole torn in the fabric of reality.

“Not as precise as I wanted,” Darkholm mused, sharp ears catching the voices of mortals. “But I would be foolish to think he would not protect his slumbering form with powerful wards. Well. I will just have to deal with them. And thank these mortals for opening the way!”

He was clad in dark robes with a hood and mask obscuring much of his face. Dark energies crackled around his body as he tasted the power in the air. Yes, he was definitely in the right place. A grin split thin lips, revealing sharpened fangs, and he stepped forward. The sound of a firearm being readied made Darkholm pause and turn curiously. The human spoke to him in their strange and, to his ears, barbarous tongue. Darkholm raised a hand clad in a black glove with fingers tipped by silver claws. A ball of dark energy formed at the tip of his finger and shot into the armed man. A heartbeat later, the man's upper body exploded in a shower of gore and blood.

He turned from the stain the human had become and strode deeper into the underground temple. Darkholm found another mortal investigating some of the runic writing on the walls. A thrust of his arm punched through the human's chest, pulverizing his heart and killing him on the spot. The rest were further in, edging closer and closer to the chamber.

He found two more mortals who reacted to his presence with the appropriate amount of fear. A ball of dark energy thrown from each hand reduced the two mortals to blood smears on the walls and ceiling. Darkholm hummed tuneless as he walked on, leaving bloody footprints as he stepped through the gore. He found the last of them at the door trying to reach the others he had slain on their communication devices. Darkholm rushed forth and grabbed two by the head before crushing their skulls against the giant, stone doors. A twist brought the silver claws tipping his gloves slashing through the skull of another. In moments, they lay dead upon the floor.

He placed a hand upon the door and found it quite mundane, which was just fine with him. Darkholm raised his hands, uttering a spell in a language that would be incomprehensible to mortal ears, and the doors slid open to reveal the chamber within.

In the center was the one he sought with such murderous fervor. Auro, the Voodoo Dragon. His protective barriers were up but had worn thin over the passage of time, allowing Darkholm to shatter them simply by projecting his aura upon them. The demon walked to the altar Auro slumbered upon and stood over him. The question he was faced with was just how to awaken him without causing bodily harm.