Moderator: Mistress Guendolen
Harvey (OOC: Oh hell, we have an Emiya "I want to save everyone" Shirou among us don't we?):
"Accept my terms, and I shall grant you the power to give those who would be lost a second chance. A helping hand can go a long way, but a normal person only has so many hands to offer. What I can grant you is the power to save those who are offered no hand, who are beset by threats beyond human comprehension. You may not be able to save everyone, for some would refuse to be saved. But with the power I can give you, you can save hundreds if not thousands of those for whom there would be no help."
Gee-chan wrote:
"The deal is done." the voice announced, more like a chorus now. It was as though it were a hundred different voices all speaking in tandem, proclaiming the resolution of their offer to the whole of creation. "Your power is unlocked. Your natures brought forth. Drink deep of your potential and let all who behold you marvel at your power.
Evelyn: Let your fate be struck down.
Trent: Let your hands hold death at bay.
Jimmy: Let death have no hold.
Harvey: Let none fall before you unheard.
Erik: Let the legacy of your blood awoken.
Paul: Let nothing stand before your ambition.
And let your power form the salvation of your kind."
Then there was silence.
A small shape on the roof a building casts its shadow upon the ground, casting a silhouette before the unnaturally bright sun, allowing it to stand in clear slight, yet not give any anything of its appearance.
"This will hurt." it said simply, in a physical voice similar to the previous one, but a bit more subdued. "A lot."
It's gaze fell upon them, one by one, looking far beyond the physical. There was something innately horrifying about the way it could see beyond the flesh, as though it were breaking some deep-held taboo, inexplicably violating something irreplaceable.
There was a click. Not an actual clicking sound, for it was not a sound at all, but for now it is a passable analogy. Whatever it was, it meant something had begun.
It started with a tingle in the fingers and toes, a shiver down the spine.
Then came the pain. Searing pain erupted through the body as unfamiliar power clawed its way to the surface from somewhere deep within. It was like there was no longer blood within their veins, but rather a horrifying flow of white-hot shards of metal, tearing them apart from within. The crushing noise of over 6 billion voices all shouting at once assaulted the very core of their beings as a single orb of light emerged from each of their chests.
It was a ball of coloured flame, around the size of a child's fist, burning dimly in the air. While not particularly bright, it was difficult to look at, as something in the back of head insisted that one had no right to behold it, yet human nature demanded they look.
"Reach out and take the flame." The creature above spoke once more. "This is the mark of your contract. It is proof of your power and your connection to the source of your magic. With it, your contract will be sealed and you shall take your place among the magi."
Without thought, all 6 reached out, taking the strange light in their hands. The flames flared up with sudden fury, yet were not hot. Within moments, they ceased, having been encased in a shell of crystal, their lights still burning fiercely within.
Then all went black as the next stage of preparation began.
Bones cracked, splintered and reformed in subtly different positions while muscles were forced to shift and re-enforce themselves as standard human bodies were adapted to perform at a considerably higher capacity. Light and colours flashed and faded with no rhyme or reason, surges of sensations hot and cold, blunt and sharp, pleasant and painful forced themselves into the brain as it struggled to come to terms with the adjustments being made to the system of nerves it relied on.
A powerful skeleton, able to resist massive force.
Muscles powerful and compact, providing strength with no sacrifice to speed and agility.
Senses honed and sharp as a blade, able to discern and react far beyond human limitations.
Every cell, every aspect of being crafted to utmost perfection. This is what was required. This is what a magi must be, for to be anything else, would be certain death.
For the males, there was an additional change. Their bodies slimmed, taking on new proportions and properties; features softening, bones reshaping to bear a different weight, organs adjusting and re-forming. Before long, their bodies had developed the necessary capacity to develop life, to take in the primal energies of a living world and form it into a new being; the most basic of magic, the most mundane of powers, but a catalyst for so much more.
"Wake up."
All was dark, muffled. It was as though waking from a deep sleep, even though only moments had passed. Their eyes blinked themselves open, suddenly protesting as the enhanced sunlight forced its way into sight.
"Wake up, now!" the voice was becoming insistent, agitated. There was a strange noise in the air, but none of them could tell what it was.
"Wake up."
All was dark, muffled. It was as though waking from a deep sleep, even though only moments had passed. Their eyes blinked themselves open, suddenly protesting as the enhanced sunlight forced its way into sight.
"Wake up, now!" the voice was becoming insistent, agitated. There was a strange noise in the air, but none of them could tell what it was.
*Crash!*
Suddenly everything was clear. There was a monster in the middle of town. A enraged creature of light and flame, burning with unearthly fury as it did battle with a small figure barely visible over the thing's brilliance.
The small thing, a human it seemed, lept back as a cone of flame burst from the sun-beast's hand, melting the ground it touched. An oppressive wave of heat burst out from the impact, incinerating a group of fallen bystanders instantly, but there was no sign of the fighter. The sudden crack of a firearm revealed where they had gone as they fired upon it with a huge rifle held in one hand. the shot slammed into the beast's leg but it barely seemed to notice; until the whole lower half of it's body turned into a pin-cushion from a mass of metal spikes that erupted from where it had been hit.
The beast howled in agony as it's lower half collapsed under it, then vanished.
The fighter, a young girl in a short red skirt and a black leather jacket, did not let her guard down. Her eyes like blades, she searched the town square for any sign of her quarry until she spotted the group stumbling to their feet. Her eyes widened in surprise and she started to say something before a massive hand of light erupted from the ground behind her, gripping her around the waist. The stench of burning flesh filled the air as the girl screamed in agony, the intense heat of the beast's hand starting to cook her as the rest of the thing emerged. It did not look so bright now, much of its energy seemingly expended, but even so, it was still difficult to look at directly.
"It looks like you will have to take it from here." The familiar voice came from behind them. Looking back, their strange benefactor had finally revealed itself.
It looked a bit like a cat, at least in general shape, but unlike a cat, it had large, bird-like wings each looking to be about as long as it's body were they spread. Silver grey in colour, it looked at them with an owl-like gaze while it's three tails twisted around each other in a loose spiral.
"This will be your first test. I would rather it not be so soon, but this situation is hardly ideal."
It's gaze looked past them to the monster. The girl in it's grasp, screaming in rage and pain, had dropped her rifle and was now struggling to cut at the hand with a knife, but it was quite clear that here struggle was merely delaying the inevitable; unless she had help, she was going to die.
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