Defying the River Styx

[Subtleknifewielder]

The rain poured down, but the man that was safe and comfortable in his own home paid no attention to that. He was actually managing to catch some sleep between assignments, and the pounding of the drops against the roof was nothing he hadn;t heard before.

However, his sleep was disturbed when the lights went out. Not because he had any on in his room, but because he heard a loud protest. "Dad!"

Sighing, and grumbling his annoyance under his breath, he opened his eyes. He couldn;t just ignore his daughter, who happened to be visiting from Brisbane, where she was attending college. At the moment it was a holiday, and she'd chosen to spend it with him.

Da-aD!" she called again. Not that he didn't love heer, but she could be a little annoying at times--to put it politely.

Sighing again, he picked himself up out of the chair. "Yes, Melissa, I'll go check the elctricity!" he called back, before reluctantly putting on his coat to go outside. Whoever put the circuit breaker in a place accessable only from the outside had his head too far up his $@! to think properly, and he made a mental note to find them later and make their life a living hell.

****

The rain didn't lessen up when he went outside. If anything, the downpour increased the moment he stepped outside. Cursing under his breath the whole distance, he made his way to the corner. The actual problem was simple. He just had to give the system a restart.

The incident occurred when he replaced the cover and began the return trip. At that precise moment, a bolt of lightning struck a nearby pole. Deafened by the blast, he didn't sense the falling power line until it whipped in front of him and lashed him across the hands. he fell backward into a puddle of water, his system literally shocked and overloaded as it simultaneously tried to understand and cope with what happened. Miraculously, he was still conscious...and had no injuries aside from the burns on his palms.

Blinking several times, he staggered inside, collapsing on the floor. he knew nothing for the next twelve hours...

[Subtleknifewielder]

The entities woke from their slumber. A faint surge of power had jolted them from their centuries-long sleep.

As a collective, they investigated the source of the power--and to their surprise found not another of their kind.

'A mortal?' whispered one; the voice was not physically audible, yet it carried an undertone saying that the sender was female. The man on the floor stirred faintly, sensing them on some unconscious level, but did not wake.

'A mortal,' another sneered contemptuously, also female.

'And yet,' the third of the groups stated matter-of-factly, 'this mortal has power equal to a god.'

'You must be mad, to thin--' the second one stated.

'No, she is right,' the first interrupted. 'Just take amoment to carefully listen. Can you not feel the echoes of power?'

Silence descended as they contemplated. Finally, the second was forced to agree.

The first projected a sense of satuisfaction. 'This mortal could be quite useful to us. I think we should use him and his power.'

'Agreed.'

'I am also in agreement. Let other deities tremble before our collected might!'

A faint glow hovering over his body was the only hint at what was happening when the beings slipped into his body. Upon his waking, however, there would be another sign--his eyes glowed silver.

--------

Across the world, beings capable of sensing it would know that a major power had awakened, one capable of ending a deity's existence.

[Shadowsage]

OOC: Must watch.

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Must watch.

OOC: But who says you can't play? Did you forget about the Darkness?

[freakwars]

OOC: Can I join this?

Edited September 28, 2009 by freakwars

[Eggman Empire]

OOC: Dang, I was building up to this sort of thing happening in Eggman Empire...Well, not this exact sort of thing, mind you, but it did involve supernatural beings.

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Can I join this?

OOC: Er, I would prefer if you didn't. But thank you for asking.

[Amyante]

There was... a sign.

A pull, for lack of a better term, that told Valdis that somewhere in the distance, one like her had just been born. Born, reborn, self-resurrected, perhaps a warped reincarnation of sorts... Despite her time spend pondering on the topic, it was still one of the questions she had held no answers to.

But then again, answers might lie in that blip that suddenly lit up, like a match being struck in the night to create something much bigger, much more powerful than it had been at first sight. And perhaps, that light would bring the answers she sought. Yes, she would seek out this light before it would be snuffed out like so many others have since the emergence of what were now called the 'Heroes'. Not all of them had been devoted to bringing order and harmony after all. Hell, her own powers derived around resurrecting the bodies of the dead... Not something the people of her time commonly associated with anything pure and good.

She flew. It had been a while since she had discovered that power, granted by the thousands of souls giving her their power, their beings, the very essence that gave them form in return for a chance for vengeance on that strange metal construct in Hong Kong. Flying fast, she remained low, just a few feet above the waves, and when she saw land she dropped into the ocean altogether, the crunching of bones a sign that she was altering her body to adapt to its new environment.

As she swam for the Australian coast, her skin having the structure of sharkskin now, she looked around. She was getting more used to casting Ascanoi lately, though she didn't know whether that had to do with her getting used to it or just getting better at casting it. Either way, at her current path and speed she estimated she would reach the coast in less than ten minutes. There was no need to come up for air either, it was an advantage that she no longer needed to breathe.

[Subtleknifewielder]

The man known as Anthony Harlem blinked awake, unaware of what had happened while he was asleep. He knew little other than the blinding headache, unknowingly a result of the possession--the beings were residing in his mind.

He picked himself up off the floor, and, staggering like a drunk, stumbled into the bathroom to grab some painkillers. He didn't even bother with water, just grabbing four pills and swalling them whole, all at once. The pain, though he had experienced worse, was enough that he was not paying attention to any sense of taste.

He then splashed some cold water on his face, reaching behind himself for a towel to dry it off...if he had looked, he wouldn't have known what to think. There was no towel within physical reach, but one drifted off the rack behind him, levitating from some unseen force, and drifted into his hand.

By the time he had dried his face, the pain had already lessened to a degree, though it wasn't gone. 'Perhaps some fresh air will do me good,' he thought, then nodded to himself. Yes, a walk would do nicely.

----

Border security would not detect Valdis. She gave off no heat, she was moving too fast to see with the unaided eye...and she was not large enough to be deemed a significant threat anyway. As long as she didn't advertise her abilities wherever she went, she would have no problem getting into the country.

[Shadowsage]

"What was one has become many."

The echoing voice reverberated throughout the Station of Calling, causing Kevin to startle slightly and look around in annoyance. More and more, Nergal had taken to using his 'omnipotent' voice for communicating in the Dark Realm, and it was really starting to grind on Kevin's nerves.

He rolled his eyes while idly rubbing the head of one of the dog-like Denizens. It's yellow eyes were closed in complete bliss while it's simple mind was filled with the sensation of its' master granting it attention.

"Is that REALLY necessary? I mean, you and I are the only people here." Kevin spoke into one specific direction.

In response, an almost transparent portal opened up and a ghostly outline of Nergal stepped through. As usual Kevin couldn't help but shudder at how much Nergal looked like him, and yet how total evil radiated through the twisted features.

"Of course not. But I do like to mess with your mind, buddy-boy." The sickening wink Nergal gave him made Kevin's insides churn, especially at the thought of exactly how Nergal got his pleasures. Namely, massacring everything in the name of the Primordial Annihilator.

"How wonderful. So, what's the deal?"

This time, a savage grin. "This here's a juicy one. The guy, he's some dude from Promised Land. The same place as that Elementalist guy, you know the one that thinks he's so much superior?" Nergal laughed at the sour look on Kevin's face. "Yeah, that one. Well, something's wrong with him. I dunno, but the signal he gives out just jumped for a second. Almost like when," all of a sudden Nergal's voice turned deadly cold. "I come out to play."

A shiver ran down Kevin's spine. The tone was that of a concentrated killer, one he had only used when condemning whole nations to the torch.

"Well, I guess I'll have to investigate." It was all he could think of saying with the picture of a happily blood-drenched Nergal in his mind.

Said Butcher clapped his hands together. "Oh, wonderful. I suppose I should come along for the ride!" The Doppelganger was being entirely sarcastic; he went everywhere Kevin went.

"Unfortunately..." Kevin muttered under his breath. He opened up a passage into the Darkness and stepped through.

Edit: OOC: I hope that's okay.

Edited September 29, 2009 by Shadowsage

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Pretty good...except it's not the elementalist. it's anthony Harlem.

[Shadowsage]

OOC: Edited.

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: Ah, that's even better.

IC: Anthony cared not that it was still cold and rainy out--the only consideration he gave it was to put on a waterproof pair of pants and a coat with a hood.

He actually did start feeling better once he was out in the fury of the elements, for some odd reason. He couldn't explain it, but somehow, he now felt more at home out there than shut inside the four walls of his actual home.

At a particularly loud blast of thunder, he glanced up. he thought he'd seen a shadow move, but it had only been a trick of the lightning. A moment later, he felt a shiver go down his spine. He saw the barest hint of a hooded figure seemingly appearing out of thin air, before his mind went blank.

Now his eyes grew Silver, and somehow, the rain and thunder faded away within a few seconds. "Who comes to pay a visit to us?" he spoke. But the voice was no longer his own, carrying very faint female undertones, and the word 'us' implied that it was more than one entity speaking. "Is it the primordial darkness itself?"

[Shadowsage]

'!@#$, that's no ordinary man.' The inner-thought was directed towards Nergal, who for once had no witty comeback. He made a sound of agreement dangerously close to rational. Kevin flicked from shadow-to-shadow. The occasional flashes of lightning outlined his form for a split second before disappearing back into the blackness.

'Watch it, buddy. There's something wrong here.'

As the thought came from Nergal, the rain and thunder simply stopped falling and sounding. All at once there was nothing but the calm night, punctuated by the unnatural silent strobes of lightning. A flash of silver in the man's eyes gave away the whole game.

"Oh...Crap."

[Subtleknifewielder]

OOC: 'Italics' indicates internal dialogue.

IC: His head tilted at an angle indicating curiosity. Even while not in control,, some of his ingrained habits bled through to the controlling beings.

Finally, the Dark Form had stopped moving long enough for a good look. 'The host's memories indicate he knows who this man is. Though apparently he's gone through some kind of transformation.'

'Perhaps a form of possession not unike ours?'

'If that's so...what I want to know is who the possessor is.'

"You have not answered our question. Who are you? Who is inside Kevin Holihan?"

[Shadowsage]

At this point the full force of Nergal's ancient consciousness, formed from countless eons of creating and destroying universes crashed to the fore. He temporarily pushed Kevin's own futilely struggling mind to the background and took control of the body.

As he did so pools of Darkness formed around his boots and dripped from the hem of his coat. Hands bent and twisted into wickedly sharp claws as dark as interstellar space. The tone of his skin faded to pitch black and his bright blue eyes swirled into a sickly yellow mess.

"Who do you think?"

[Amyante]

It didn't take long for Valdis to reach the shore, walking out of the water and onto the beach wearing a black leather suit. Had anyone been paying attention they would find it odd that they had not noticed her go into the water. Had they approached her, they would notice that the suit consisted of one piece without any kind of fastening, technically impossible to put on. Had anyone touched her, they would immediately notice that her clothes were perfectly dry, despite just having walked out of the ocean.

But the fact was that no one had done those things, for the simple reason that very few people were out on the beach during a thunderstorm, the few that did venture out looking at the unnatural silence with which bolts of lightning danced among the clouds. Valdis noticed as well, and as she searched through the collective memories of the dead she found preciously little about an occurrence like this, in itself telling her that there was trouble abound.

At this range she noticed a new blip of power appear within her senses. She did not know whether it had just arrived or simply more experienced at hiding itself, but the fact remained that it was there, and it was standing right next to her reason for traveling to this location. Finding some confidence in the fact that she could not detect more Death than normal in the area, she headed directly to where Kevin and Anthony were, gleaming the city map from the people that had died here. It would not take long.

[Subtleknifewielder]

At this point the full force of Nergal's ancient consciousness, formed from countless eons of creating and destroying universes crashed to the fore. He temporarily pushed Kevin's own futilely struggling mind to the background and took control of the body.

As he did so pools of Darkness formed around his boots and dripped from the hem of his coat. Hands bent and twisted into wickedly sharp claws as dark as interstellar space. The tone of his skin faded to pitch black and his bright blue eyes swirled into a sickly yellow mess.

"Who do you think?"

'So it's the primordial Darkness, or a manifestation of it.'

'We can make good use of this one if we--what's the phrase our host would use? Play our cards right?'

'Is that all you think of?'

'I think of nothing but our duty.'

'But our Pantheon is long vanished from this world, and its worhipers long vanished. We have no need to--'

That had been previously just two of the entities. Finally the third chimed in. 'But without it, what is our purpose?' There was no answer to that.

During the entire internal dialogue, Anthony's gaze never wavered from Kevin, or, more accurately, Nergal. At the end of it, his lips curved up in a mischievous smile. "So, you are the Primordial Darkness, Chaos itself made manifest. We wonder if we should be calling you Grandfather..."

He was sure to be confused if he didn't recognize their auras, and most likely he wouldn't, due to the possession. "You granted life to Gaia and Ouranos, indirectly leading to our own creation."

If he was as intelligent as he probably thought he was, he would understand from the reference that they were from the Pantheon of the Ancient Greeks.

It didn't take long for Valdis to reach the shore, walking out of the water and onto the beach wearing a black leather suit. Had anyone been paying attention they would find it odd that they had not noticed her go into the water. Had they approached her, they would notice that the suit consisted of one piece without any kind of fastening, technically impossible to put on. Had anyone touched her, they would immediately notice that her clothes were perfectly dry, despite just having walked out of the ocean.

But the fact was that no one had done those things, for the simple reason that very few people were out on the beach during a thunderstorm, the few that did venture out looking at the unnatural silence with which bolts of lightning danced among the clouds. Valdis noticed as well, and as she searched through the collective memories of the dead she found preciously little about an occurrence like this, in itself telling her that there was trouble abound.

At this range she noticed a new blip of power appear within her senses. She did not know whether it had just arrived or simply more experienced at hiding itself, but the fact remained that it was there, and it was standing right next to her reason for traveling to this location. Finding some confidence in the fact that she could not detect more Death than normal in the area, she headed directly to where Kevin and Anthony were, gleaming the city map from the people that had died here. It would not take long.

After delivering their indirect revelation to Nergal, one of the entities focused their attention on the approaching Necromancer, sensing that there was more to her than jsut her undead state. Was this another Deity?

Valdis would hear a faint voice, a whisper welcoming her to continue forward, though there was no person yet in sight of her eyes.

Possibly she might deduce that the voice was telepathic.

[Amyante]

Valdis did indeed hear a faint whisper urging her on, but since there were quite literally millions of faint whispers swirling around the sea of collective consciousnesses that was her mind, it would mostly be overlooked. Still, ineffective as the message may have been it did not turn her away either, so there was no harm done either way.

When she eventually did arrive where Anthony and Kevin were standing, wearing a leather suit magically formed out of her own skin, she looked at the both of them. Kevin she had met before already, on the island with Generalissimo. The other was the newcomer that had been her goal, she noticed, the power that was coming off of the both of them unmistakable at this range. A pair of dead eyes stared blankly at the both of them, glancing over Kevin to rest on Anthony.

- "We have sensed your Awakening... You will tell us your intentions?"

[Subtleknifewielder]

Valdis did indeed hear a faint whisper urging her on, but since there were quite literally millions of faint whispers swirling around the sea of collective consciousnesses that was her mind, it would mostly be overlooked. Still, ineffective as the message may have been it did not turn her away either, so there was no harm done either way.

When she eventually did arrive where Anthony and Kevin were standing, wearing a leather suit magically formed out of her own skin, she looked at the both of them. Kevin she had met before already, on the island with Generalissimo. The other was the newcomer that had been her goal, she noticed, the power that was coming off of the both of them unmistakable at this range. A pair of dead eyes stared blankly at the both of them, glancing over Kevin to rest on Anthony.

- "We have sensed your Awakening... You will tell us your intentions?"

Silver eyes turned to face her. 'Interesting. She did not appear to react to our call.'

'But she is here, regardless.'

'There's something more than meets the eye, here. not only is she not breathing, aa more obvious sign of her diceased nature...but I sense a power in her. I cannot yet identify it.'

'Must be of a different Pantheon, whatever or whoever it is.'

"Our intentions? The same as it has always been--to continue the purpose we were given upon the beginning of our existence. The Mortal realm is rife with injustice and lies."

[Shadowsage]

A broad, uncomfortably toothy grin produced itself from Nergal's face. Almost faintly one could hear the screams and sobbing of thousands of damned souls, taken by Nergal himself either in battle or during atrocity after atrocity in the name of Chaos.

"Yep. That's me."

He turned to the newcomer with a quirked eyebrow. "And you, lady have been a bit annoying with stealing my souls. I'd appreciate it if you let them go to where they're destined, post-mortem."

Nergal gave another of his gut-wrenching grins. "So, now that we're at least somewhat acquainted, would you kindly tell me what a few ethereal beings are doing inhabiting this man? Your kind are needed for persecu- ah, I mean to say the cleansing of the astral plane."

[Subtleknifewielder]

If Anthony had been aware, he would have shuddered at the expression. The beings in charge of the body were not to be intimidated, however, and they cracked his knuckles. "Tell us why we should cleanse the Astral Plane, when our duties are on the Mortal Realm? Why should we slay our own kin?" The eyes narrowed dangerously...

[Shadowsage]

"Well, well. Are you threatening me?" Nergal threw his hosts' head back and laughed hard for a few seconds. When he finished, the Dark Being wiped imaginary tears from his swirling yellow eyes.

"What part of 'The Primordial Annihilator' don't you understand?" His voice dropped all pretenses of humor and became what it really was; utterly devoid of anything approaching good. Nergal's words were colder than the interstellar abyss.

"You were created because I need life to kill. The term Primordial goes back before the beginning of this universe. I know more then all of you could possibly know in a million life-times. So, I will ask you again. What are you doing on this plane of existence instead of that which your kind belongs to?"

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Doing our job. Not the job you wanted to give us, but the job we knew about from the moment we sprang into existence. As for threats, we don't take to them any more kindly than you do."

Though nothing was displayed on the man's face other than the narrowed eyes, a palpable aura of rage was emanating from him. Or more accurately, the beings inside him. The anger was part of who they were, and actually contributed to the name many knew them by.

"We know the weaknesses of Darkness. We suggest you not interfere in our affairs. That is not a threat, but a warning." They raised their hand toward the sky.

A stroke of lightning blasted the road nearby, throwing up chunks of dirt and concrete, but again, no thunder was heard.

[Shadowsage]

"Darkness has no weakness, spawn of the abyss. I am the beginning and the end. As these charming humans would say, I am the Alpha and Omega. Just remember; your job has never been given to you, your purposes ultimately fold into my own."

Nergal raised his own hand in response and every star in the sky flickered rapidly. The moon itself gradually faded, almost into an eclipse like state.

"This is my universe. Your affairs are my affairs."