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Spoiler
"There are still things about that man that I can't quite recall. Things that fog my memory like a warm window pane inside of a winter beaten hut. I try to wipe it clear, to peer out into the snow and find what my mind seeks, but it's far too frozen to clear. It drives me to the brink of madness simply thinking about it - those little things here and there that are so important but so far out of reach. What I do recall is nothing but sorrow and hatred wrapped up and hidden in a shell so finely constructed it was a shame to see it give out. "
"The sound of my own voice is so disorienting. I am speaking aloud - why? That's right. I can no longer hear 'the voice'. I can no longer project my thoughts to you so I must regress myself to this stage of oral verbiage. I do not find it demeaning, only unnatural. How is it that I sound exactly as I have always heard in my mind for these several decades of my life before? Never have I used my voice for more than murmurs or cries when but a pup. So long ago I was pure and partially feral - reminiscent of my ancestors when they swam the Great Ocean and hunted all in which they hungered for. I'm trailing off. I must be creeping upon my last cycles so I suppose I should spit out these things that my ghost desires before I give it up to the sea. "
"'That' man was here. He was here, peering down upon us like food. I could smell it. We all could smell it; The overwhelming stench of death and despair. He was clothed in it, shrouded in the endless cries of countless spirits bound to him. Something about Death itself clung to his body and hung on every word he said. What he said contained few words, however, as he wished us all to be a fulfilling meal before descending upon us like a murderous monster within a school of shralt*. The efforts of our best were for naught. The power held within those hands of his were beyond measure and only I survived long enough to share this. "
"You must be wondering the specifics. Good. Humans were always curious. Curiosity, be it said that it is dangerous, is the only way of progressing as an individual and a race. As such I will feed the meal you need to sate your curiosity. I clashed with the man of emerald hair. I peered into his eyes and saw only valiant hatred. I heard the screams of his ghost surrounded by vengeful spirits of those struck down before. With every blow, I could feel a bit of his true being shining through - his origin was alive deep within but he did not heed it's cry. I feel he never will. It is a sense about himself that was never lost, just cast aside. "
"Upon my chest is worn the strike of his blade that brought me to my knees. Azure blood pays no mind to it's path, for it's gateway is vast and only what's left of my abilities slows my death in effort to share this with you. That man, the one you seek, is more powerful than you. You have not the strength or experience to lay a hand upon him. 500 of the most fearsome warriors this world has to offer now lay about you in pieces - some a swift death and some with their souls extracted and devoured. Not only does he hold within him the might of any which he has taken before, but now he holds a part of our kind - So upon that I beg you to not face him now. Become mightier. Free our brothers and sisters. If you go now you will fail and they will forever be lost. "
"Oh, our King. He will be furious at the thought of this. The young King. I fear he will take out on his own and attempt to bring this monster to his death, and I hold no doubt that he would be able to do so - it would be out of vengeance, however, and we cannot have our Lord tainted with such trifling blood. Please, do not allow the young King to take his hand from his throne in the effort to bring this man to justice. Be his weapon in my stead - become my soul embodied in deadly form. "
"Now I leave you. The crash of the Great Ocean calls for me and so I must return to feed upon the song of the sea. Take to heart my words for they are spoken. Set my body to drift so as it may be fed upon and sustain life further. "
Keiya blinked as he watched the eyes of the Shark-like Hylok come to a final rest. The pool of azure blood widening as her psychic ability faded with her life and let the suppressed blood pour from her wound. The body was beaten and broken, a large blade having been ran straight through, twisted, and ripped outwards. How she had stayed alive this long was beyond him save for his knowledge of the fighting spirit of the Hylok kin. He wrapped his left hand around her individual wrists and laid them over her chest. His hand was instantly covered in the blood that coated her tough yet strangely soft skin, a sense of subtle concern washed through him for the first time in years. Looking at this female warrior, one of the best of her caste, turmoil boiled behind his eyes. Even in death, beaten and abused as she was, her beauty forced through and was simply undeniable. Such creatures roamed this world...but to what end? This?
He would never know why it effected him as such as he slid his arms under her body and lifted her nearly twice as large body from the blood-stained rock of the Ocean shore-line. The care for what those behind him thought mattered not as he buried his face in her chest and wept silently. Blood trailed up his snow white hair, staining it a gentle bluish purple, soaking into his clothing and dripping from the dire edges of his heavy gauntleted right arm. The ocean seemed to roar in response, crashing against the rocks before him and spraying him and the fallen warrior. It's cool mist didn't alter his stance, one he held for hours as the sun sank slowly towards the surface of the ocean. As tears slowly dripped from his eyes and onto her skin, washing her blood away bit by bit, he recalled the only other time his emotions had clawed their way to the surface with the death of the closest thing he had to a true friend and a mother. The voice in his chest was silent and remained so, though he could feel the similar remorse for this brave creature that he bore in his arms.
Slowly he paced forward, steadily into the deepening salt water of the Great Ocean. He lifted his burning gold eyes and peered into the horizon as he marched forward. The water parting around him, he stopped once the water washed over her body, leaving her bent knees and face exposed. Now seemingly weightless, he carefully removed his left hand and removed the blood-line crest from where it hung around her neck. Clasping it tightly, he moved a bit of the silk black hair from her face, wiped a stream of coagulating purple blood from her snout, and took her image in once more. Quietly he made her a promise - a promise he would never share. As her body was released and drifted off into the depths of the dark waters, he stood and waited. Watching. Hoping for something he knew would never be so. As the ocean beat against his body and the death of yet another on his hands, he stood...silently, until the sun dipped into the ocean beyond.
