Colin's posts

"We need to work fast." Ash replied.

"Is he alive? Yes and no." he told her.

"My mana has some... unique interactions with the soul." he then said.

"He should technically be dead right now, but I've essentially encouraged his soul, spirit, and will to keep fighting for some more precious time." he continued.

"He needs medical attention, and he needs it NOW." he went on.

"We need to get him back to the Unit, STAT." he said further.

"And considering the variety of people that work there, it should be possible, whether I get emergency clearance to teleport in, or you know someone that can get him there."

Ty was off to the side, leaning against a wall. He looked slashed and pierced, like he'd been attacked by many clawed animals... and it seemed like he was fading fast.

But she knew not to be worried.

Ash, meanwhile, was bleeding from his wounds, but was still standing close to Levi.

"...YOU WOULD SACRIFICE HIM..." the voice said.

"I do all that is needed." Ash responded, before jerking his finger a little, and causing some black substance to be spat out of Levi's mouth.

"....YOU... YOUR DARKNESS IS... INTRIGUING..." the voice said further.

"YOU HAVE... NOT HEARD... THE LAST OF US." they finished.

It was then that Aedan saw the cloudiness in Levi's eyes disappear, before he slumped forward into Ash's arms, limp and still.

Whatever was inside Levi was flowing out more regularly now, and it was clear that the grasp that The Ancients had on him was waning... considerably. But it was still there.

"...YOU ARE FOOLISH..." they said to Aedan.

"WE ARE... WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN... YOU CANNOT STOP US..." they went on, just as Ash rushed in past Aedan, the orbs of mana having stopped.

"SHE can't..." he said, making a fist with his left hand, cloaking it with black fire mana. However, he then extended his index finger out, as the mana collected around it, and extended past it, like the blade of a small lance.

"But WE can." he finished, as a couple of tendrils pierced his chest. They barely missed his heart, however, and he pressed on. He then took his finger, and plunged it right into Levi's torso, around his lungs.

When he did, Aedan felt the tendrils that had pierced her weaken in strength considerably... as though they were starting to lose their solidity.

Ash sighed.

"Well, you'll have to try." he told her.

"This may be our only shot at saving this kid." he said.

"We mess this up, pretty sure killing him's the only option left." he finished.

"....no pressure or nothing." he then added.

With that, he concentrated on forming a special ball of mana in his hands, and narrowed his eyes as he watched the fight between Ty and 'Levi'.

Ty had managed to bring him/it back down to ground level, but he then suffered a full attack from all its tendrils.

"NOW!" Ash yelled to Aedan, as he fired the orb into the kid's back, which turned into a small but steady barrage of them.

Ash shook his head.

"No, if you look, he's slashing at the tendrils." he told her.

"He can't get close to the kid's body." he said.

"I need you to actually get in there and start injuring that BODY." he continued.

"Anywhere you can find. Chest, back, legs, arms, just start making cuts." he went on.

"You'll need to do it when I start pulsing my mana into him... you think you can get close to the kid, with Ty distracting him as he is?" he asked, as Levi's body started to descend a little, from Ty's slashing at the 'tendril legs'.

"They need to keep their presence inside him." Ash replied.

"If we continue to injure him, more and more of them will leak out." he told her.

"However, I will also need to pulse my own mana into him, in order to disrupt the flow that they have going INTO him." he then said further.

"If we can do that, then they will have no choice but to withdraw from him, lest they actually LOSE some of their presence, and have it severed from them." he continued.

"It's convoluted, and finicky, but it should allow him to survive this, at least."

"Yeah, I do." Ash responded as he got closer to Aedan.

"The kid's still in his 'cocoon' stage." he told her. "Strictly speaking, they shouldn't be using their power as they are, as it risks breaking him, and sending them back." he went on.

"Obviously, if he dies, then that's that." he told her further.

"But I think there's a way to get them to retreat, while still keeping that boy alive." he continued.

"....unfortunately, it won't be pleasant to do." he then mumbled.

"Me." Ty responded.

"You can still be permanently killed, and it can stay." he told her.

"I can take anything, and come back FROM anything." he reasoned.

"...." Ash was silent, before sighing, as Tyson charged forward, taking out a large hunting knife from his pocket, and swiping at the tendrils... as he, in turn, was swiped at.

And it was clear he was taking more damage than he was dealing.

"This... is not good." Tyson commented.

"To say the least." Ash muttered.

Levi's eyes then clouded over completely, as the tendrils without the hands reached to the ground, and started to lift Levi up into the air. As they did so, the 'clawed hands' started to flail about, the three members of the 'team' getting caught by them, and leaving decent swipe marks on their chests.

Levi looked over towards Aedan.

"....PERSISTENT..." the voice said.

"AS EXPECTED FOR ONE... WITH EVERLASTING UNLIFE..." they said further, before looking at Tyson.

"AND YOU... A CURSED ONE..." they said further.

"A curse that is a blessing for this world." Tyson responded. "It allows me to get in the way of those like YOU." he said.

The entity responded by causing more tendrils to erupt out of Levi's body, but these ones seemed to end in weird clawed hand-like appendages.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING OF HOW SMALL YOU ARE IN COMPARISON TO US."

The voices were silent for a moment, before another tendril attacked her. This one didn't pierce her, though, it smashed into her side like a whip, knocking her into the wall... harshly.

"Damn it." Ash muttered, as Tyson grabbed the tendril of mana and yanked it out of himself.

"Nngh. That did hurt." he said, straightening up.

"....INSECTS..." the voice then said.

"...YOU PESTER US... ALWAYS..." they commented.

"Aedan!" Tyson exclaimed.

However, while he was momentarily distracted for that second, another tendril pierced through HIM as well.

A third went for Ash, but the Fyrane dodged it quickly, and fired a dark fireball at the tendril. It connected, causing the mana to withdraw slightly.

"...ONE OF... THE HARMONY..." the voice then said.

"YOU ARE ALL... THORNS IN OUR SIDE..." they commented further.

"And we will continue to be." Ash responded.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING." the voice said.

"WE KNOW THE VESSEL'S LIMITS." they said further.

Levi then fell to his hands and knees... and it looked like tendrils of mana seemed to violently erupt out of his back... literally. The mana seemed to wiggle and writhe about, before Tyson and Ash arrived.

"...good Lord..." Tyson muttered upon seeing Levi.

"Neither God nor Satan has anything to do with this." Ash responded grimly.

".............." the voice was silent, before Levi came to a stop.

"THE VESSEL IS FRAIL, YES..." they admitted.

"BUT THAT IS... INCONSEQUENTIAL..." they went on.

It was then that Levi collapsed to his knees, and grasped at his sides.

"IT IS MERELY A COCOON... WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MANIFEST... SOME..." the voice said further.

Then Levi let out a scream... his own voice mixed with the garble and haunting tone of the previous voice.