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INTRO:
The Flames continue to rise.
What remains of a tiny church is burned to the ground.
Cradled in his arms, his little sister is barely breathing,
and his brother stands smiling before him.
It struck without warning.
He didn't even have time to figure out what was going on.
Everything and everyone he had cared about is taken from him.
Why...? He doesn't understand. Why did this happen?
What should he do? What can he do? What could he have done?
Nothing.
Reality finally sets in. The cold, harsh truth.
He had taken life for granted and now He was powerless to preserve it.
The Flames continue to rise.
The mix of water and blood tainted his mouth.
Red turns to white as he loses his sight in the cruel cadence of raindrops.
Noone would know of this boy.
Noone would know of this day.
However, It would be the day that shaped the future of the world.
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Chapter 1: Half-Dead
Reign sits on a broken heap of machinery. His brown hair waved in the wind along with his pure white jacket. He placed his hand on his chest, reassuring himself of the thing that both kept him alive and haunted him. What met his fingers was a deep black gem, that spread darkness through his veins, keeping his soul alive well beyond the normal human limits.
Many years ago, when the black beast roamed the earth, Reign was normal. That abomination would forever change his life, although whether it was good or bad, he didn't honestly know. The beast seemed to want to devour everything, but for some reason, this boy was spared. Even pierced through the heart, it seemed that something had kept him alive.
A medical wonder, some would say. Others, a miracle. However he knew the true secret.
"So a weakling like you has the Azure!? How pathetic!"
That voice would ring in his head forever, and his laugh pierced Reign's soul. But he had learned why he was alive. Or rather, lingering in limbo, neither dead or alive. His heart and body were long gone, a product of the grimoire replaced it. Thinking of the past, his eyes wandered to the valleys below him.
Not a soul in sight, green trees, flowers, all enveloped in fog. It was beautiful, yet silently lethal. The seithyr that infested the areas below Kagutsuchi could kill a normal man.
"It's always a wonder what the Black Beast did to humanity." He said to himself, thinking secretly of what had become of the place he lived in. "And what the Snake did to the world."
Terumi. The sheer name was supposed to bring both fear and happiness to the world. Without him, the world would have been destroyed by the Black Beast. However, without him, the world wouldn't have been destroyed by the NOL. The Imperator and her Snake had betrayed everyone.
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Chapter 2: Order
Reign stepped off the machinery, walking forward to meet a shadow in the distance.
"So, whats the plan, then?" He stated, talking to the short hooded figure.
"Well, son, I figure thats for you to find out. I can't take ya to him." The figure spoke, his fangs glistening in the moonlight. "Yer childhood friend, He can't be the only reason you fight him, though. With revenge as your mindset, yer only gonna find disaster."
"Philosophical words coming from a cat." Reign poked. He was only troubled that Jubei could see his intentions so clearly, without even trying. "It doesnt matter. This bastard needs to die. For the world, for Ragna."
Jubei swept off his hood, and began to speak again. "Well, I guess ill be hittin' the road, then. Keep yer training in mind, and I reckon you'll be fine. Just know that Order is strong now that Ragna has died. Theres nothing but you to keep it in balance."
With that, the beastkin was gone, off into the night.
What does that even mean? Reign pondered the thought while he traveled to the top of the mountain to face his nightmares. It was true that he had trained him when he was younger, but that didnt mean he knew what he meant when he said deceptive crap like that!
It didnt matter. He was going to kill that Snake. His childhood, his friends, his family. Everything used to be happy. Everyone used to be okay.
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Chapter 3: The Snake
Until that day.
The day the snake had ruined everything.
It was raining outside, but nothing mattered to young teens. Who cares if you get wet as long as you had fun, right?
Reign had been playing with Ragna and his brother Jin, all day. He ducked and dodged as they were playing dodgeball, throwing his own rubber spheres to ping the other two. With so little people to play, we had settled on sudden death, and the last man standing would be the one to win.
"Hey Ragna, betcha can't dodge this!" Reign said, as he swirled the ball towards the air, slamming Ragna in the small of his back. the crack of rubber to skin rang through the air. "Yes!" Reign said, laughing, but hadnt noticed that Jin was nowhere to be found.
"Ugh... That hurt you bastard!" Ragna yelled playfully. He seemed oblivious as well.
Where'd he go?
He could smell the burning of wood, ash in the air. The church was on fire! Instinctively, he ran in side the burning building to search for Ragnas little sister, and Jin.
"Saya! Jin! Where are you!?" Reign shouted at the top of his lungs, but it fell on the cracking of flame. "What the hell is going on?"
A scream came from outside, and Reign began to run back towards Ragna. Maybe he had found his siblings. As he ran out side, he saw them. Jin, Ragna and Saya, all together. He was overwhelmed with joy at their safety, but something seemed wrong.
Jin had a blade in his hand. A silver katana that seemed to gleam in the rain. Ragna was on the floor, a red pool building around him. Saya was unconscious in his arms.
Blood? What the hell has Jin done!?
"Ji-" He began, but his words were cut short, as a hand cupped around his mouth.
"Hush now, don't want to interrupt a family moment now do we? Fufufu..." That sinister voice seemed to slice through the sound of rain and the fire. He was deathly afraid of this man, and out of the corner of his eyes he noticed his bright green eyes, slit, like a snake. Reign felt sick.
Reign watched as Ragna bled out, and Jin was laughing hysterically. It was a laugh that would haunt him forever.
The gem deeply set in his chest began to beat, hard. It seemed as though it was reacting to this sinister man. As if he felt this, the Snake backed away.
"So a weakling like you has the Azure!? How pathetic!" He scoffed, drawing knives from his pocket. "Time to die, you fake!" The Snake seemed driven by the amusement of my despair. This was were he was going to die, he knew it.
The snake sliced into his body, what felt like a thousand times. Even with the dulled pain, an effect of his gem, the so called "Azure", it still felt like his soul would be torn from his body. Reign was motionless on the ground from this pain, feeling the wetness of the grass, almost a safe haven.
"Oh... I see. Fufufu... Thats what the Azure has done to you. You'll be bothersome in the future..." The Snake had stopped, and was speaking to him. Reign barely heard the words, drowned out by the white noise of his pain and the borders of death stinging at his mind. "Well, I suppose I can leave you like this, for now. You'll never be strong enough to get in my way anyways..."
And with that, the Snake was gone. Jin was gone. Saya was gone. Ragna had died, and left him alone. Forever to walk this world, Half-dead.
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Chapter 4: Lost Souls
After shooing off the thoughts of his dark childhood, Reign pondered where he should go next. The obvious place would be to the top of Kagutsuchi, where the NOL base was. But Reign didn't like obvious. And ever since they figured out Reign was hiding here, the NOL has been looking for him, and his Grimoire.
But whats so special about this accursed gem?
He tried to think really hard about the reasons they could be looking for him, but he couldn't think of a possible hypothesis. Of course, the gem basically gave him immortality, but that was in exchange for his entire body's death. There was also no way to replicate the process, either. The test subject would have to be pierced by the Black beast for god sakes, and that abomination didn't exist anymore!
Reign decided to go looking for answers. The only contacts he knew that might be able to help him were those Sector 7 people. But they just wanted to experiment on his "remarkably unique body"... His choices were less than palatable. Perhaps that girl that helped train him after the church incident could tell him more about what he should do.
With that, he jumped off the large mountain and called his grimoire into action.
"Blazblue! Activate!"
The Gem where his heart used to be pulsed, and spread dark energy throughout his body. Blue, Black, and Red lights formed glyphs over his arms, summoning forth his weapons of choice, the dual Katar, collectively named Meisou Tamashii. There was a slight pain from the amount of seithyr now pumping through his veins, but it served a deeper purpose. His skin started to harden and turn dark, reinforcing himself for the coming fall.
As Reign headed faster towards the plain below Kagutsuchi, the human in him began to think he was headed for death. But the Azure, it knew better. Reign crashed into the earth, but the damage wasnt dealt to him. Instead, there was a large crater in the ground he stood on. As the darkness re instilled itself into the gem, Reign felt an adrenaline rush from the "near death experience", and began running off to find the last surviving member of the Alucard family.
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Chapter 5: Vermillion
"Lieutenant. Come in please."
A sly, sinister voice spoke these words. The wooden door to the Snakes den slowly creaked open. What greeted Noel's eyes wasnt a torturous chamber of darkness... but rather a quaint area on top of the NOL building. There stood a large tower, with wings on it... Not so menacing as Noel stood in the doorway.
'Y-Yes Captain Hazama?" Even with the surroundings so nonthreatening, she stuttered and her voice broke. Anxiety wasn't her best thing to have to deal with.
"I hope you know why I've called you up here. Don't mind the surroundings... I just didn't feel like being in my cramped office right now."
He looked at some papers in his hand, shuffling them slightly and flipping the pages.
"Major Kisaragi has sent me his reports Lieutenant Vermillion. He said that your performance seems to be quite... lacking, for lack of better words." Hazama said, peering beyond his tophat, right at Noel. "If you don't get your act together, I'm going to have to demote you."
"Jin said that!? B-But, I've been doing my best!" She wailed, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to be demoted!"
"Well... there is one job I think you could do. Very important. I need you to become an observer." The words rang out to Noel, seeming to play at the far reaches of her memory. She didn't know what to say or what to do. She simply stood there. "Oh? Did that ring a bell, number 12?"
Number 12? What does that have to do with me? Why does my head hurt all of a sudden...
Noel could only listen, the old memories past slowly forming a coherent thought as the Snake used his power of speech to cripple her.
"Its starting to click, isn't it, Noel? Thats it, just remember all those things those mean humans did to you." Hazama was laughing now, as he spoke, he was almost losing control of himself in laughter. He removed his tophat, revealing long spiky green hair, he truly looked like a devil. "All the tests, the mutilation, it was beautiful, wasnt it!?"
"Why... Why are you doing this?" Noel whimpered.
"Well here, let me spell it out for you. I'm going to kill everyone!" Hazama's eyes were cold, hard. That of a true killer. "How about I show you what true despair is! I guess you deserve to see this, all in all..."
"Take a good look with those pretty little eyes of yours. This'll be on the test!"
Everything went black.
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Chapter 6: Zombies and Vampires
After some light foot travel, Reign reached the black gates of Alucard Mansion. The area was secluded, just the way that rabbit likes it. Not to mention, it was completely creepy. There were pumpkin heads upon pikes, laughing maniacally. Any normal person would probably run away at the sheer sight of such a thing.
The lock on the gate was fairly simple armagus, but Reign was never great with armagus... He just decided to hop the fence, using a bit of his own ars. Once he got inside, he saw the Alucard Rose Garden. It was simply beautiful, but he didnt have time to waste on something as silly as roses. He began to continue through the garden, but he could sense something approaching. The roses waved in a newly created wind as a black portal opened.
"Hello, Zombie. What brings you to my estate?" The girl spoke. However, "girl" was a gross underestimation of the vampires age. She was most likely a thousand or so years older than Reign. "Not only did you jump my gate like a dog would burrow under it, you also decide to trample my fine roses. Do you have no manners, Zombie?"
"Rachel. I need information. And stop calling me a Zombie. Im nothing of the sort." Reign lied through his teeth at the insult. He was as much a zombie as Rachel was a vampire.
"Information? This is the way you go about getting it, then? Well then, Zombie, I'll have you at your knees so you can properly beg for it." Rachel said as she released an ars. Lightning strikes, and Reign barely has time to dodge it. Wind swirls, bringing him off balance.
"Damn it Rachel! Fine, lets do this." He inhaled, releasing parts of the Grimoire's power to summon Meisou Tamashii, and heightened his density as not to be effected by the wind.
Dashing directly at Rachel, he brings his arm into position to deliver a stabbing blow. Lightning and Thunder crack at the ground, attempting to stop Reign in his tracks, but he expertly dodges each flash.
"Take this!" Reign yells as he delivers a blow with his right arm, aiming directly for her heart. He's almost sure he hit her, but before he even got the chance, Rachel had disappeared.
What the hell!?
"Zombie... Your not the only one with speed."
He heard the voice from behind, just before an umbrella was plunged into his ribs. With no effort, it expanded, throwing him across the Rose Garden. Mid-flight, Reign plunged his Katar into the ground to slow him down, and landed on his feet. He used the momentum from the attack to reverse the direction of energy and send it through the ground at Rachel, knocking her off balance.
This is my chance!
Using the moment to his advantage, he flung himself through the air after the vampire, lunging at her throat with his blades. This was the moment of truth, and the winner of the battle would be decided by this strike.
The wind rustled, and rose petals scattered across the field.
Reign landed, but felt a sensation on the front of his neck. Rachel had her umbrella placed in position to literally pop his head off like a melon! There was a standstill, both gazing fiercely in the others eyes as they had their weapons at each others throat.
Reign smiled. Rachel returned it, albeit a small one.
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Chapter 7: Number Twelve
Pitch black. Everything around her was dark. There was nothing in view.
Whats going on?
Noel was fearful, she didnt know what to think, or what to do.
B-But... These feelings... I don't know why, but I can't stop trembling...
There was a thud near by.
Huh...! Wh-Whats that!?
"H-Help..."
This... This is...?
There were screams from the darkness, piercing. The stuff of nightmares. It would haunt a person forever.
Eh...? N-No...!
Whatever it was, coming from the darkness, it yelled for release, for safety. For someone to rescue it.
"Somebody...! No...!"
Stop... Stop this...
She willed the horrific nightmare to end. But it would stop for no human.
Somebody... Anybody... Please... help! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
She woke up, trembling and sobbing uncontrollably. Atop the NOL building, she wished it was just a nightmare. It wasn't. And the effects on her psyche would last forever.
"Hey there, kid! Welcome back. Fufufu..." Hazama was still laughing from sending her to that... that place.
Noel was still sobbing, her mind broken from the torment of the black void she had returned from.
"Well, this is no good. Spending a hundred years in that place will mess you up good, huh? My congratulations." Hazama was finding delight in the girls torment. He soaked it up like it was lifeblood, savoring it.
"...Why?" Noel whimpered.
A smile began to grow even wider on Hazamas face. His green, snake-like eyes glowed and he laughed maniacally.
"Well, that ones easy! Because you're all creatures that are made to be loathed. Despised!" He riled himself up, and began to speak even more. "You did see it, right!? The real world -- The real story? Can't you hear it? All those hideous little filth-covered monsters, crying? You've got to feel it... Everyone in the world wants. You. Dead."
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Chapter 8: Confrontations
Rachel silently listened to him as she sipped tea. Reign was never much of a higher class man, and didn't like tea anyways, so he didn't bother with such pleasantries. He just wanted answers.
The ancient girl finally spoke. "So it would appear that you know that the world is out of balance. I suppose that the NOL's control over the everyday life of its subjects is proof of that. But "out of balance" isn't what Terumi is aiming for, Zombie. He won't stop until the world is completely destroyed."
"But why would Terumi want to do that!? The Imperator and that Snake already got everything in their palms!" Reign couldn't believe the words he was hearing. He knew that Terumi was evil, but he never imagined something like this. "They crushed the Ikaruga rebellion, and now the regulation they have over the world is phenomenal. What else could they get out of destroying the world!?"
Rachel set down her teacup, and dismissed his worries as though they were nothing. "Don't be so hysterical. There is much you don't understand, and you probably never will."
"Damn it Rachel! We've got to stop him! If you won't help me, then I'll do it on my own."
Reign didn't understand, exactly as she said, but that just made him more frustrated.
Doesn't she understand what "destroy the world" means!?
"Fine. Then do what you must."
As soon as she spoke the words, the wind picked up in the rose garden. A dark portal appeared over Reigns body. He knew the drill from here. The rose petals and darkness whisked him away. All there was now is to do wait for wherever she wanted to drop him off at.
"Poor fool. Perhaps he can figure the truth out in his search for revenge."
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Chapter 9: Childhood Friends
Reign was covered in darkness for several seconds as he was thrown about through what he assumed was the boundary. It was dangerous, naturally, but he knew from experience that Rachel's skills would keep him safe. Hopefully she chose a location to throw him to that is beneficial. His neck-hairs stood at the thought of being stranded on an island, or at one of the arctic poles.
When he arrived, it seemed to him that he was in a normal building, except for one fact. There wasn't a single soul in sight. Reign investigated to find that he was inside the Kagutsuchi NOL base. Instantly, he summoned his Katars and went into fighting mode.
Do they know I'm here? What the hell is Rachel's problem, throwing me behind enemy lines like this!
He felt a distinct energy above, somewhere in the top levels of the building, and knew who it was immediately.
"Terumi." He breathed in a barely audible whisper. Reign picked up his pace, traveling through the building almost like a ghost. It still didn't make any sense to him that there weren't any guards on post, or soldiers doing their daily duty, but none of that mattered to him anymore.
While he ran across a corridor leading to the upper level, the shadows shifted slightly, and Reign felt intensely cold, even through his reduced feelings.
In a flash of silver and blue, the shadow struck, meeting Reigns Katar. A wave of frost spread over him, and he knew who had attacked.
"Jin!" Reign exclaimed.
"Reign. How nice to see you again." His voice was coarse. Cold. He spoke like a true killer. "I guess I'll have to punish the guards for skipping duty and letting you pass. But for now, you should surrender. That, or die."
Jin smiled. It seemed twisted, the fake warmth replaced by a seething coldness. Reign could feel it in his bones.
"I wouldn't want to have to kill one of the few remaining friends from my childhood, would I?"
He was taunting him. Reign knew Jin had planned to kill him from the get go. If that strike had hit him, he would have been frozen solid. There was no turning back now.
"We both know that you were aiming for a fatal point. Don't lie, Jin. You've been terrible at it since you were a child." At this, Jin laughed maniacally. After he regained his composure, his cold expression returned, and a sly smile came across his face.
"I suppose you're right. Those were the good old days! Ah... Brother. Anyways, none of that matters now. Prepare to die."
"Get ready to die as well, then! First you, then your co-conspirator! I'll avenge your brother, by sending you and him to hell!"
He threw the katana off his blades, and sent a crushing kick to Jin's midsection. It knocked him a few meters away, but he got up still ready to fight. Reign dashed into proximity, ready to deal another blow, but he was ready for it. Crouching under Reign's attack, he slashed into his chest.
"Fubuki!"
Jin followed his attack with a flurry of slashes that could have killed him, if Reign hadn't gotten out of the way just in time to avoid becoming mincemeat. Through the attack, he took a stab at Jin's heart. He barely dodged as well, taking a deep cut just under his ribcage.
Reign and Jin exchanged attacks, hacking and slashing at eachother, neither quite able to deal a fatal blow. Both were breathing heavily, suffering fatigue and small injuries all over their body. Reign took a low kick, trying to sweep Jin from under his feet, however it was anticipated. The look in Jin's eyes was enough to intimidate Reign. Cold. Heartless. The look of someone who has their prey right where he wants it.
"Yukianesa!"
Jin stabbed the ground next to reigns foot, encasing it in solid ice. Even with his dulled senses of pain, he felt the cold invading his body, permeating his very essence. He knew he had to do something about Jin, or he would be too weak to fight Terumi.
Reign used his Katar to create a crack in the ice, and broke it with his leg. He still had use of it, but if he had been stuck much longer, he was sure he would have lost it in frostbite. It was time to end this.
"Take this!" Reign exclaimed, jumping high into the air, and positioned himself above Jin. He activated a small amount of his Grimoire, and increased his body density.
"Meteor Strike!"
Reign fell at terminal velocity, almost stretching the air around him. Jin put up his Katana, attempting to block the incredibly fast attack. Reign fell directly onto him with his Katar, piercing the metal of Yukianesa. It cracked and broke in two, and Jin was crushed under him, the sheer force of the fall forming a crater in the thick cement floor.
As the smoke cleared, only Reign was left standing.
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Chapter 10: The Smelting Pot
Reign dashed out onto the rooftops of the NOL building, growing ever closer was the presence he had sensed. Terumi. Standing a few meters away was the one he had been searching for, talking to a woman.
S-...Saya!?
There was no mistake. This girl looked exactly like Saya! He could hear the two talking, and listened in on the conversation.
"Poor, poor, Noel Vermillion. This life sure has been rough on you, hasn't it?"
Noel... Vermillion? He was sure this was Saya, the girl from his childhood, Ragna's sister. There was no mistake.
But why is he calling her Noel?
"You have been a lowly secretary your whole life, haven't you? Working under Major Kisaragi, who, lets face it, doesn't really care whether you live or die, does he!? What a cold guy, huh? Kehahahahahah!"
This was a one sided conversation, and one Reign was particularly sick of hearing.
"A useless secretary, and there's no way to change it, is there...? Well, I have something you could do..."
Reign dashed out of the shadows, directly onto the rooftops, and leaped at Terumi.
"Terumi! Time to die!"
He stabbed outwards at Terumi's head, but the snake managed to block before the hit connected. His blade met the sharpened edge of Terumi's knife.
"Woah-oh!! Look who decided to join the party! Careful there kid, you might hurt someone with those... things... of yours! Hasn't anyone ever taught you to knock!" He said the last word and propelled Reign to the ground, landing on his back. Reign quickly rolled away and got back up in time to be ready to fight.
"Bastard!"
"By god! Sentences, boy, sentences! You'd think you were raised in a forest or something! Kehahahahaha!" Terumi took a moment to breath before continuing, laughing maniacally at his own joke. "Oh... It seems your not having any fun with my jokes... Im sorry. I guess well just have to end the party games and move on to the real deal, won't we!"
"Terumi... Im going to make you wish you were never born! Restriction 666 released, Dimensional Interference Field Deployed! BlazBlue, Activate!"
Immediately, the blue and red glyphs started to form around his arms, and the density of his body began to grow, creating cracks in the rooftop. The sheer pressure of his presence was enough to stifle someone's breath. However, Terumi seemed only amused.
"Oh, now were really cooking with gas, aren't we!? How'd that go, again? Restriction 666 released.... Dimensional Interference Field Deployed. Code S. O. L., Blazblue... Activate!"
As he said this, glyphs, dark green and black spun around him in a circle, creating a field where his body was.
What the hell!? How can He activate Blazblue!?
Terumi started laughing again, savoring the confusion on Reign's face.
"The look... Oh man... The look on your face! Can't figure it out, can you!? I am the one who created the Azure Grimoire... You know, that thing that's stuck in your chest? Fufufu... Enough of the games, kid! How about I stick one of these knives right through your stomach!"
With that, Terumi launched and delivered a slice to Reign's midsection. The pain was dulled by Blazblue, but upon entering Terumi's field of glyphs, there was an immediate burning sensation, like that of poison coursing through his veins.
"Ouroboros!"
A chained metal snakehead appeared from a portal of seithyr, giving Reign just enough time to block it. He grabbed the middle of the chain and pulled the rest of it out, cutting it off from the boundary, and threw it back at Terumi, who managed to dodge, and returned with a slash to Reign's upper right arm.
Reign threw a feeble slash at Terumi, who blocked it easily, and sent a slice to his left leg, and kicked him on his back, once again.
"Ugh... How boring!" He put a foot on Reign's chest, and frowned. "You know, I figured you would be a better challenge than this. I guess you learn to be disappointed with failures, right, Lieutenant Vermillion?"
"..."
Noel stayed silent at this, and continued to sit, speechless at the events unfolding in front of her.
"So... Reign, was the fight? You just earned yourself the first prize! Front row seats to the show! How about we get started?"
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Chapter 11: Truth
"Right... Lieutenant, Im going to have to ask you to serve your purpose. Step inside the cauldron, please!" He gestured to a small orb, that lay open, the inside glowing white.
With Terumi stepping on his chest, it was hard to breath. Reign managed to cough out, "Bastard... What are you doing with Saya? Wait... Saya! Don't go near that damn thing..."
At this, Noel stopped, hindered by confused commands. Terumi took a peek out of the corner of his eye, and turned around.
"Saya? How hilarious! Has anyone told you that your a cute little anomaly? Why yes you are! You really don't know anything, do you? Fufufu..."
Anomaly? What the hell does that mean?
"Oh, there's that look again! Let me guess... The vampire never told you a thing, did she...? Well I'd assume not, considering you didn't even know I was the creator of Blazblue. Well, I guess its story time."
Terumi shifted his hat, and began to look down on Reign once again.
"This world... This world's supposed to be dead. But somehow we managed to screw with it so much that it's gotten stuck, and now it just repeats itself, again and again and again and again..."
For once, Terumi spoke in a solemn voice. There was no jeering, no taunting, it was plain and simple... A concise truth. Reign could tell by the look in his eyes.
"What... What does that mean?" Reign asked.
"You really wanna know? Fine."
Terumi ruffled his hair a little bit before speaking again.
"Once upon a time, mankind found the first gate. Being stupid humans, they decided they wanted to know what was on the other side, so they created what they called Boundary Interface Prime Field Devices. See, humans are such pussies that they can't survive on the other side, and their machines are just as pathetic."
"Of course, they failed. Over and over and over, until finally, somehow, one of those test subjects made it aaaaaaaaall the way to the deepest part of the Boundary. The heart of it, I guess you could say. The Azure. And when it did that... well. Let's just say shit got real."
He cleared his voice, and continued talking. Reign stood up, holding his ribs, clearly injured.
What does this all have to do with me?
"Long story short... the world is stuck in a system of repeating loops of time. But of course, systems are never perfect. In fact, one of the greatest examples of this is you, Reign. You are one big heaping screw up that stains the world. You were never supposed to exist!"
Never... Supposed to exist!?
"Oh but it isn't your fault... See, how was anyone to know that Ragna's Azure would be passed on to you when you were swallowed by the Black Beast? But that's a story for another time...Don't you see the bigger picture? If you hadn't been born... If this system hadn't accidentally spit you out... Ragna would have lived! Jin... Saya... They would never have had the same future they had. This whole future... It's all because of you!"
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Chapter 12: Anomaly
"W-What!?"
Terumi put a frown on his face.
"Yes... If you hadn't existed, Ragna would have lived... Jin would have had a happier life. And Saya would have gone on to do great things... Your life has caused nothing but misery. But then again, what else do mistakes do?"
Ragna... Why? What could have possibly been different!?
Reign fell to his knees, with his head spinning. He had caused so much irreparable damage?
No...
This was the destiny of the timeline he lived in. It may be his fault, but he wouldn't let Ragna's death be in vain.
"No!" He screamed. "Even if I am a mistake... Even if I'm nothing but the cause of his death... I'll live my life in his honor. He will not have died for nothing!"
Terumi laughed.
"Kehahahaha! Is that so!? You can't stop me... You can't even keep yourself alive!"
He tore his hat off, revealing spiky green hair, and deep yellow eyes.
"The only cat cool enough to run with me is that little vampire girlfriend of yours! Just sit there like the useless peon you are, O.K.? Noel, get in that damn cauldron."
"..."
Silently, "Noel" began walking towards the sphere once again.
Saya... No... I won't lose another one of you to this bastard!
Reign began to glow blue and red again, the Grimoire sealing his wounds for the time being. This would be his last stand... his final notion to Ragna, and Saya.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid!?" Terumi sneered, "You know that thing won't even scratch me, right!?"
"Thats not what matters..." Reign muttered.
He broke into a sprint, catching up to Noel as she entered the Cauldron. Just as the sphere closed, Reign leaped into the cauldron with her, caught in the glowing white light.
"Hm?" Terumi looked inquisitively upon the sphere, now encapsulating both Reign and Noel. "Idiot... That thing will destroy everything but an observer. I guess he's out of the way..."
Terumi put his hat back on and watched while the glow of the sphere as it pulsed and dissipated.
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Chapter 13: The Edge
It was cramped in the cauldron... obviously it was only meant for one person. He had to figure out a way to break out of here. Noel lay curled in the fetal position, silent for the most part. Every once in a while she would murmur things, like "I don't want this world..."
"Saya... Noel. Snap out of it, damn it! We've got to get out of here!"
Reign tried shaking her, but it was obviously no use. He was on his own. The heat of the cauldron was growing, and it started to sear him, although the Grimiore helped resist the heat, there was no way he could last too long in this cage.
Focus... Think, Reign, what can I do!?
He didn't want to die. He didn't want to let his, everyone's... Ragna's, sacrifice be in vain, trapped here with Noel to be incinerated. Reign couldn't. He wouldn't let it happen.
"God damn it! This can't be over! Not yet!"
Instantly, he felt a deep pain in his chest. Reign felt like his body was being ripped in half. Seithyr poured from the gem, encapsulating Reign in darkness. His body practically lost form, becoming a seething mass of darkness. The darkness grew, devouring everything within the sphere, including Noel.
Whats happening to me!?
Upon reaching the boundary of the sphere, the darkness tried to keep growing, but the cauldron kept it in place. The strain felt to him like he was being crushed, yet the pressure ceased. The hulking mass began to revert in on itself, and eventually dissipated from within the cauldron.
Where Reign was, he couldn't feel the pain from his battle, the heat of the cauldron, or anything else.
Am I dead...?
He tried to call out to Noel, but he no longer had a mouth to do so. Reign tried to move, however, he had no body, either. Where he was, it was an eternal nothingness. He began to sink into unconsciousness, although he wasn't quite sure if he had a conscious anymore. He sank into the darkness that had consumed him.
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Chapter 14: Black Sin
Reign woke up in a haze. He tried to stand up, only to realize he no longer had legs to stand on. He looked upon his body, an amorphous shape of deep black. He tried to control it, and using sheer willpower, made a form of some animal. Reign looked like a mix between serpent and hound.
W-What... What the hell am I!?
He felt deep pain... hunger. The desire to feed was immense. It was bestial... cold. Reign searched the landscape he was in, only to find that the forest he was in had little to no true sustenance. Small animals would mean nothing in the vast emptiness he felt.
Eventually he found himself near a village. Reign spotted a girl playing alone near a small home, her family nearby. She couldn't be much more than seven or eight.
Must... consume... food... so close!
Reign let out a gargantuan roar, and his body vaulted at the girl in unequal lengths of pure black lines and body parts. His body was almost a moving fluid, a river of black descending upon prey. When the girl finally noticed, it was too late. She let out a terrified scream, as jaws of the abyss were about to devour her.
What am I doing!? What have I become!? No!
He forced his body to stop, and it reverted into a small blob once again.
Stop... this! This isn't... who I am!
The writhing black mass spiraled and shifted, almost mirroring Reign's feelings. He willed himself to stop, the desire to consume almost tearing him in half. He had become the very thing that had almost ended his life.
No! I'm... I'm Reign. I won't allow myself to become this... this thing. I'm a human, even til the end! I'll never be the Black Beast!
At this, the black blob changed and wriggled in shape, resembling a human being. The darkness became solid, and retreated back into the crevices of Reign's heart. His grimiore.
He had taken back his form, standing in the middle of the green plains. The terrified girl stared at him with big blue eyes. Her ponytail waved in the wind.
"Mister..." She sniffed. "Are you going to kill me?"
At this point, she was on the verge of tears. Reign's "heart" beat furiously. He could still feel the craving of flesh and bone. The Black Beast that resided in his soul.
"No."
Reign turned and walked away, but the little girl called out to him once more.
"Are you the boogeyman, mister?"
At this, Reigns heart ached. He knew exactly what he was.
"I'm just a wandering soul. A zombie of this world."
And with that, Reign walked. His white jacket had been stained completely black, along with the rest of his clothes. The white was his reminder that he was doing what was good, and what was pure. Reign was no longer pure... neither were his clothes.
Reign had failed. He couldn't save Saya. He couldnt avenge Ragna. He was useless. His sinful lust for revenge had gotten Noel killed, and now noone was left but him. He buttoned the jacket up, and continued walking.
He recognized the area, and knew how far he was from his next destination. There was only one person to turn to, really. The Alucards have always been his greatest ally.
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Chapter 15:
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