Akizets was thankful for Eld, for setting her by a tree, where she need not simply fall on her back upon the wet earth--and, well, she was thankful for him for everything, really.

Weakly, she smiled somewhat. "Don't . . . worry . . ."

And as Eld left, she leaned the back of her head against the tree. Akizets thought inwardly, and for the first time, she didn't experience those thoughts leaving her just as quick as they came. It was . . . nice.

Eld was long gone by the time she said it aloud: ". . . because if I . . . can forgive you . . . I'd hate to be the only one that's truly unforgivable . . ."

The skies above were horrendous. The lightning storm quickly took a sickening form. Eld need only look to the sky as he approached the lake to see it, how the image of a large, azure hand seemed to hang from it, how it blanketed all light from the falling sun or the moon rising to glow. The only light was that of the thunder. Lightning rolled through the clouds, illuminating the earth for but the briefest of moments, the only moments where physical details were truly discernible.

The lake was a catastrophe. Had Eld come without any new power-- relying, perhaps, on his own power alone --he'd have been outmatched immediately. What was, before, a situation that could very well have been impossible, changed drastically. Under Eld's previous circumstances, were there any doubts to Oboreru's ability to defeat Eldridge Tsukimono, there'd have been none now . . .

Silhouettes. They were . . . everywhere . . .

Eldridge Tsukimono rushed into a situation that had perhaps been planned solely for him. He'd not be met with an attack outright, but the promise of pending doom was there. The muddy silhouettes were stalked in one place like a cemented army, unable to reach for the skies, but dramatically heightened in speed by the downpour that coated them. Each identical form dotted the lakeside, dozens of them, a hundred of them-- well over, perhaps, but they were not alone. There was distance between they and Tsukimono.

The true killers were the real silhouettes, the shadows in the rain, visible only as vague reflections of Oboreru himself, flickering and disappearing in the rain, yet returning in place just the same. They had no use for gravity or space. They had no use for human limitations. They were many. They were in the hundreds-- they were well over hundreds, situated in the trees to Tsukimono's back, situated in the sky, upon the azure behemoth that commanded them, half focused within the earth, some even standing amongst the heavens.

And there was the final one, the final shadow, with its still beating heart well in tact: the azure behemoth, the remnants of the lake taken shape. With the rain, its form seemed to increase in size, with jagged appendages latched upon its total surface area, edged and webbed surfaces, especially gathered where it seemed to possess a semblance of joints. Some water within its body was darker still, dark at specific locations: dark, thick, and steely within the arms, the torso, the head, mirroring under the light of a thundering sky the x-ray figure of the human body.

Worst, perhaps, was the silhouette in its only hand. It might have been difficult to see at first under the pitch black sky, but with heavenly lightning filling the field with daylight, however brief those strikes were, Eld would be able to discern the image of a scythe, a silhouette within the behemoth's grip, one to scale of its own body . .

Eld's advance came to a sudden halt as reached the edge of the forest. There was a veritable army waiting for him--no, two armies, he realized. Even as the muddy shadows stood like infantry awaiting orders, pure water ones were constantly buzzing around him, both on the ground and in the air. On top of that, the deluge was making the main, giant part much larger than before--and much more solid.

He could feel it now--power so unlike his Qi, and yet not opposed to it too. It was an entirely different sensation. There was none of pressure, the constant struggle for control, the fear of all of it pouring out. He wondered if it was how Akizetsumei always felt, as though losing was impossible because the very air around you was on your side.

His mouth opened to speak, but then he closed it. No...there was nothing left of Oboreru to speak to, even if "he" could still here. All that made him who he was, both the good and the bad, was gone now. What remained was simply that final desire to kill given form--and he and Akizetsumei were at the top of the list.

And that was not something he could allow. If it was just his life on the line, perhaps there would be fear--but no matter how tired and injured he was, he could not allow her to get hurt, nor the people of Hillcrest if it came to that. And with her power...he knew he could succeed were alone he would be doomed to failure.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, spreading out his senses and drawing on strengths both old and new...

The behemoth leaned forward. Its gargantuan arm lifted, the shadow of a scythe in its hand lifted to the sky. The black clouds split, but presented no light. They were far too thick to allow such a thing; far too present in the sky to be split by something so simple. Yet . . . it was present there, a very physical force, massive, capable of splitting the heavens if it were truly Oboreru's goal. One full powered swing would be all that was needed; it wouldn't split the clouds in half, tore the sky asunder, and plummeted into the earth in a rattling cause, destroying all around it, perhaps even splitting the earth.

But yet . . . that was not what Oboreru planned to do.

Rolling thunder breezed through the clouds, following a brief flash of light, illuminating the shadow of a scythe lifted into the confines of the heavens. Yet . . . it was not that, exactly, which illuminated the scythe. It was the lightning itself, the electrical charge and the handless arm upon the ground-- the blade it ran against, and the beast's tremendous size--

A brief illumination ran through the behemoth, skated down its body, rolled with the sound of a lightning's strike, fueled and powered into steel, grounded itself, and felt itself contented.

But the muddled silhouettes were not. They maintained a sudden flickering illumination about their forms, one which lasted even when they kicked forward and charged headlong for Tsukimono, scythes raised, with shadows in the rain above-- forms that, too, descended at once upon Eldridge Tsukimono . . .

As the shadows leaped forward,so numerous they were poised to tear him into pieces with copies of his own weapon, a pressure was released and the attackers were stopped in midair--a moment of perfect stillness.

I won't let you hurt her anymore!

Eldridge Tsukimono opened his eyes, and instantly the storm went from being high in the sky to much, much closer. A veritable tornado surrounded him, obliterating the attacking shadows into little more than vapor. Many more were taken out by sand that was whipped with such force as to shred any flesh in its path.

Gravity was no longer a concern; in the eye of the storm, Eld slowly floated into the air as though he were weightless. As he rose so did the trees around him, pulled out of the ground with roots still clutching massive chunks of dirt that quickly eroded into nothingness as the winds only increased in intensity.

But soon the winds seemed lighter...at least on the ground. As he lifted further into the air the bottom of the tornado ascended with him, slowly growing smaller until it was a perfect sphere that hardly extended five feet away from him at most. This sphere, however, was even more powerful--hurricane force winds compressed into a sphere twice as a human, each individual eddy in it strong enough to be visible, so dense with Qi that what little color visible in the flashes of light far above seemed to be sucked away.

And then he moved, so fast he seemed to disappear with a boom that had nothing to do with thunder, the only sign that he was moved at all the line of suddenly missing shadows, the flying sand and the deep trenches dug in the beach, which with each successive boom worked their way down toward the water, systematically taking out the entire standing army of shadows, leaving only any that Oboreru created in the wake of the destruction.

Without the large tornado, gravity exerted its will on the airborne trees, rocks, and sand once more, and earth rained down from the sky all around.

Eldridge Tsukimono appeared once more, hovering in front of the giant of water. For several seconds it appeared he was doing nothing, but then the sphere of wind began to waver. It was not a waver of instability, however--it compressed further, moving its center as it did, until it was the size of a baseball and held in Eld's right arm. The power of a hurricane, in the palm of a hand.

After only a moment to make sure he would not lose control of it, he launched forward one final time, this time at visible speeds but just as inevitable, the ball of wind held out ahead of him as he dove head first towards the water giant, obliterating anything it could put in its path to resist it, not stopping until he breached the outer shell and pierced straight through to one remaining piece that could still be called Oboreru: the heart.

And when it arrived, the ball pulsed and wavered with power, grinding against the muscle, until it finally burst forth--an explosion from inside the giants very core, to tear it apart from the inside out with the force of a hurricane...

And the hurricane cometh . . .

Under a dark sky of misery, the only shadows were those without light. The earth, the water, the whole of natural environment were ripped asunder, bereaved with edges of blades, torn and tattered with earth shattering winds, splitting the sand, the earth, stone, widening the gap of space that was once called a lake, tearing away at an army of silhouettes, spiraling the cutting rainwater into the vast depths of determination--

Silhouettes crashed, shadows cracked, mud dried monsters turned to mush. An army fell to ruin, decimated by a reaper of the wind, the water, and the earth, yet the beast remained. Quickly, its form diminished in size. Water was torn from its azure form, ripped away and relocated to the depths of the storm, a storm no longer under the control of a hate filled monster-- a storm that sought the beast's demise, no matter how much the beast held strong against it.

--The havoc even tore the sky. The setting sun peeked from behind the dark clouds, the vague image of its orange descent yet taken by the surge of Spirit invoked by Death's Remnant, a source of energy so great it pulled falling and disjointed moisture into its midst, tearing the earth further as a suction of hurricane winds, collected, combined, formed into one unstable mess of a sphere, and at last unleashed: plunged into the heart of a beast, and permitted to roar with all the power at its disposal.

There was nothing, absolutely nothing it could do about it. As if released in an instant, the water that collected into its form would act accordingly, scattered, blown out, ripped away and strewn, violently ripped through like a body against a mass of blades. In a downward rush, much of it splashed down into the confines of the lake, while an almost equal portion erupted into the sky-- effortlessly, lifelessly . . .

For a few seconds after, Eld hovered in place as the water that blasted into the air rained back down from the sky. He then slowly lowered himself to the beach until he was just a few feet above the ground, where he let himself drop. On impact with the sand he stumbled and fell to his knees.

He was soaked in both rain and sweat, gasping for breath. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would burst. Never in his life had he imagined such a thing would even be possible, let alone by him, borrowed power or not.

Is...is it over? It had to be; he destroyed the heart, tore the golem open from within...if that didn't finish the fight, nothing would. He couldn't afford to rest for too long, though; he needed to check on Akizetsumei, and look for Kageko.

Just...once I catch my breath. He was exhausted; he'd still be able to move, but it wouldn't take long for him to fall asleep that night, of that he was certain.

For some time, there was nothing-- nothing more than residual rain of a storm coming to a final close. The dark clouds were bursting and the last of the rain dispersing. In several minutes, it would rain no more. In several minutes, the wind still kicked up and tearing about in loose aggression would cease to tug on the leaves of trees. It brought no further pain to the earth; it was all so mild, all the remnants of a storm kicked up quick and giving a twinge on the world around it, holding on before its inevitable departure.

And yet, when Eld opened his eyes next, he would find that he was no longer alone--perhaps . . . that he'd never been alone in the first place.

The detailed form of the man had was clad in clothes loose and tattered, a dark tan and bulky coat, barely clinging to his form anymore. His slacks were torn and his boots were shredded. His hair, matted and wet like his clothes and skin, hung before his eyes-- blue-ish white hair, made a brilliant azure in the presence of water. He was hunched over, provided the strength to stand, but perhaps only for so long.

Oboreru, or what was left of him, was little more than a highly detailed, colored shadow of what once was-- a translucent image with a hole in his chest, not one to denote blood, but a gap in existence-- as if that piece merely never existed to begin with . . .

There was yet something in his hand-- something very real-- a wooden frame, long and dragging across the torn earth with its blade weakly in the dirt--

A scythe-- not a shadow, but the real thing.

Eld stood up; he was still winded, but he'd recovered enough energy to walk, at least. There was no sense in sitting out there, bleeding and soaked. Even if his injuries healed quickly, he'd be lucky if he didn't get sick from spending so much time in the rain.

It was at that point he realized he wasn't alone, and knowing immediately that it wasn't Akizetsumei he jumped in surprise, backpedaling a few feet and ready to defend himself.

However...what he saw wasn't quite what he expected. This was no featureless shadow; it was the real Oboreru, or what was left of him, Eld presumed. He was translucent, but colored and featured, almost normal looking save for the large gap in his chest. Where, Eld knew, his heart should have been...

More importantly, Kageko was in his hands, and quite solid. "...Can you hear me?" he asked. He hoped that Oboreru knew he was defeated, and wasn't intending to keep fighting. But he needed Kageko back, and if he wasn't going to give her up...

Oboreru lifted his head. Hazy blue eyes regarded Eld with a stare not filled with hatred, but something different. Something less violent-- something, perhaps, that wasn't violent at all. There was acceptance in his eyes, perhaps even forgiveness, even if his face felt too heavy to let him express it. And yet he forced it, tried to move his lips, but found no strength to do so, nor words to speak. He simply nodded.

That nod, however, mattered little. Before Eld might have the chance to speak again, Oboreru stuck one foot before the other. He trudged forward, head hung low again, the blade of Eld's scythe still dragging across the earth. One foot in front of the other-- another, and another. He did not approached Eld, however, so much as he passed the man by, harmlessly trudging forward, harmlessly dragging the scythe behind him, harmlessly bobbing his head in weakness and the forced movement of his body. Passing Eld was a slow process, and for a brief moment, they were at level with one another. Yet soon, in seconds, he stopped, just feet behind Eld's back.

". . . huh," reacted the man as the scythe slipped away from his fingers.

It fell to the ground, clattering upon the broken earth. Oboreru made no move to grab for it again. Eld could leave it there, if he wished. It would be clear to Eld, were he looking at the man, that he'd not have the body to lift it again. About the man's form was a haze of white, a vague, flickering outline of his body, not touching his features, but wrapped about the outermost contours of his body and his existence-- an existence which no longer called to the water, an existence which no longer shared its curse.

That hazy outline soon lead to spiritual decay. Indeed, what Eld witnessed was not Oboreru's body, for nothing of the sort remained. This . . . was his spirit . . .

The hazy, silvery shimmer took first his shoulder, quickly eroding its way down to his arm, leaving no specks or traces of blood behind. There was no blood to let, nor organs to produce, or bones to display; the man was simply disappearing and nothing more.

And nothing more . . .

But this didn't appear to both him. Oboreru lifted his head. His features felt heavy, but he watched the setting sun as it fell upon his life. His hair was fading, as were his features; the hole in his chest grew, but took with it no emotions, for he had little extremes left to lose. Instead, there was something else--something he'd been looking for all along.

". . . numbness . . ." spoke the fading man as he watched the warmth of the orange sun dip over the hills, "That's . . ."

He lifted his hand and watched the light dance across his fingers, soaking up the colors of his skin. With his eyes barely open, he turned to Eldridge Tsukimono. Although his features felt heavy, he still fashioned an expression not of hate, but of passive appreciation.

". . . a new one."

And as the last of his features faded, details becoming nothing but a silver-gray mist, lifted to the sky, there was a feeling of calm-- a calm numbness . . .

Eld nearly flinched when Oboreru drew closer, but it quickly became apparent that he had no intention of attacking. And when he passed him and dropped the scythe, he knew that it was finally over.

The fact that only as his own existence was fading did Oboreru seem happy...it was sad to him. He'd thought it all caused by killing his father, but he realized it may have gone deeper than that, a problem that had persisted long before a week ago and would have kept on long after.

"May you find the peace the in death," he said, turning around to face him, "that you couldn't in life."

And then it wasn't long before Oboreru was nothing more than a silvery mist, ascending into the sky. Eld stood still and watched until the last traces disappeared from view. Oboreru may ultimately chose his own death, but he didn't feel much better about killing him for it.

Given time, could you have found peace on your own? It was a question that would never be answered, now.

He crouched down, grabbing the handle of the scythe; there was no doubt that it was his. Concentrating on that separate world, he asked, Kageko? Can you hear me? Are you alright?

I . . . I think I am, yes.

The reply was almost immediate, even, as if she'd been perfectly conscious and perfectly fine the entire time, despite all the pain she'd gone through previously. There was no doubt a great deal of confusion in her tone, though. Truth be told, she didn't understand much of what happened. It was a bit of a muddled mess, like a rush of adrenaline all at once that lasted no longer than a second, like going down a raging river, scared in an excited way, pumped, until reaching the reprieve of a shallow and peaceful lake.

It was a weird feeling.

In a dark world, the shadeling sat upon the only soft surface she knew. There was still in pain in her body. The side of her head and shoulder were both still wounded; blood matted her hair, and Kageko didn't even begin to try and move her left arm. Her right arm was fine, though, and over time, these injuries hurt much less. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Really, she didn't understand.

But now she was fully aware of herself again, the pains in her body and the pain in her stomach that seemed to accompany a want for food. Another weird feeling. It was ignored, though, as there was no food on which to feed in this world. She could have created something from the shadows-- something thick and bulky and resembling a human being (the only food source Kageko was personally aware of for herself) --and as tempting as it was, it could wait until later. Kageko tapped her right hand upon the bloodied side of her head and tried to comb her fingers through her hair to separate the strands dried together with blood.

"Ah...you're..." At the sight of her, still injured from earlier in the battle, Eld momentarily forgot himself and spoke aloud. Not that there was anyone else around to hear him.

Jeez, you call that okay? He wondered how she actually got more injured than he did; it shouldn't have been possible. Another thing to discuss with her. Well, that would have to wait.

I'm sorry, I have some things to do...but I'll make sure to come by tonight, okay? And...I'm glad your safe. You had me worried there.

With that, Eld concentrated on reality once more; he needed to find Akizetsumei, and get her to the clinic now that Oboreru was taken care of. Gathering what remained of his energy, he trudged back into the forest to where he left her.

I am sorry to have worried you, Master . . .

Which was the truth. She imagined that he might have acted recklessly because he thought she was in danger, and acting recklessly could easily get someone killed or horribly injured. As tempting as it was to look into Eld's mind to see if he truly had, she refrained as per an agreement not to. It was akin to eavesdropping and meant that she was looking into Eld's personal and passionate moments, things he might have wished to keep secret, or at least unknown to others. Sometimes, a veil of mystery was a good thing, and when Kageko was sleeping, Eld generally had just that. Most things that happened to him during the day, unless he'd woken her up for some reason, went completely unknown to her.

Nonetheless, she looked forward to him visiting her that night. It was much preferred. Although she was taking the pain well, she always felt much better if Eld was there to sooth her, even something as menial as running his fingers through her hair, letting her rest her head upon his lap, or simply being there to talk to her.

When Eld reached where he'd last left Akizetsumei, he would not be surprised to find her gone. Where would she have gone? Crawled away weakly, not knowing where she was going? Getting lost in the woods as she was then would have been dangerous, and she even know that when she couldn't remember a thing. There'd be that little voice somewhere in the back of her head telling her not to continue on, after all-- just like there was a little voice in the back of her head telling her to search for her brother . . .

Just like there was some knowledge, deep within the far bottom of her heart, that saving her brother meant destroying him-- and that she wasn't the only person that was aware of it.

Akizetsumei was still hoisted back against the tree on which Eld left her. Her head was leaned back for lack of strength to move it, and her eyes shut for the same exact reason. She was breathing, but slowly, and her heartbeat felt like a minor brushing more than a steady pound.

The wind in the forest was still.

Eld was relieved that she was still there; in truth, he'd half expected when he left it was going to be the last he saw of her for one reason or another. It also didn't help that the battle seemed to be messing with his sense of time. Hours seemed to have passed since he left her here, but in truth it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes.

Unfortunately, while she was there, she didn't look well; her breathing had slowed, which meant her heart had slowed as well, he guessed. She didn't look like she was bleeding that heavily, but perhaps he underestimated it...

"Akizetsumei?" he asked, trying to get her attention. "H-Hey, hang in there..."

"Mm . . .?" she hummed affirmatively as soon as she heard her name.

Akizets was on the brink of falling asleep or simply passing out by the time that Eld got to her. When she heard her name, a name which she actually recognized, she lifted her eyelids, perked her head up, and focused upon the source-- and there he was, standing before her: Eldridge Tsukimono.

Any and all sleep that once threatened her weak consciousness was all but gone. Eld was back, and now he had her full attention. Nothing else really mattered.

"E-Eld-- y-you're okay," she reacted with the utmost relief.

It was true, he looked perfectly fine--as if he hadn't taken even the slightest amount of damage after he left her. It was a huge relief. Then again . . .

". . . that means that . . . Oboreru . . ." she trailed off.

Her brother's name--she clearly recalled it, and clearly understood what Eld went to do. This, as well as her ability to remember Eld's name, might well be the prime factors that'd allow Eld to see Akizets without a troubling chronic amnesia. Though, at the same time, that might also entail her knowledge of Eld's past endeavor with her family . . .