Content Warnings:

-Intense imagery

-Violence

-Gore

-Strong Language

-implied racism

Over Thirty Hundred Years Ago

Setsune and two others stood above the entrance of a black stained cave. Setsune held out a lamp with a white crystular centre over it, but she couldn’t pierce the darkness far enough to see anything. The cave let out a cold, all devouring air. It made the three shiver.

One of the others was an older man who stood approximately 205.74 cm. He had dark yellow skin, white eyes, and short, black hair. He wore a worn, golden chinese robe with a five legged dragon on it and jade accents. Beneath his robe were a pair of black, baggy pants, and wooden sandals, and atop his head was a brown rain cap.

The other was a young teenager, around the age of 14 and stood 154.48 cm. She had brown skin, pink eyes, long blonde hair, and white tattoos along her body that resembled a tree. She wore a white toga and greek sandals.

“This is the place Taipan mentioned…?” the teenager asked, her quivering voice like still air before a tornado.

“I hoped Taipantheon would be wrong for once,” the man sighed, his Daqunese accented voice like a black tortoise encoiled by a snake.

“This Corruption Gate…it must’ve been the Verdin…all of their executions…,” Setsune growled, her eyes sharpened.

“Are you thinking back to-?” the man asked, lowering his hat to his chest.

“No,” Setsune responded, turning the other cheek.

“Gu He, do we….really have to scout in there?” the teenager asked, placing her hands on her Xiphoid Process.

The man placed his hat on her head, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to Sarah. Setsune and I can handle this ourselves right?”

“I mean…Taipan says we should push past our fears if we want to end the war,” Setsune commented, looking down, resting her elbow in her right hand, and gesturing towards the cave.

“She also encourages people to think for themselves,” Gu He pointed out, patting her on the head.

Setsune snapped, “I don’t need a lecture from a-….,”

Setsune held her tongue. She grabbed her broach and vanished into the Colour Realm.

“Looks like we’re going,” Gu He stated, taking his hat back from Sarah. “(Perhaps the Gate will have resources i can send back to Daqun),”

Sarah’s eyes widened. She took a deep breath and ran ahead of him.

“I’ll go,” Sarah exclaimed, turning to him. “Taipan is always right, remember?”

“On a surface level, yes,”

Chapter VI

Fight with Fear

The two sides were in an intense battle. Warriors and Guards fought one another on a Daimyese ship. They went at it with bayonets, gauntlets, swords, normal rifles, and more.

Without a sound, the masked one slipped open one of the compartment doors. Her mask was different, merely a smiling mask like one in a theatre, revealing her long, grey hair.

She observed her wrists. The black of her claws was growing ever so slowly. She shrugged and walked towards the chaotic dance of battle.

There were guards hanging back, swords in hands, protecting the cabins. She carefully clawed through their throats without them even noticing(initially).

A Guard and a Warrior charged one another. She slipped between them, relaxedly feeling her pointer fingers right through their thyroid cartilages{the adam’s apple}.

She slithered throughout the battle, cutting throat after throat, eventually reaching the bridge.

“Can you send out an SOS!?” that ship’s captain exclaimed.

“Sorry captain, Daimyo is too far away to get a signal proper!” one of the guards at one of the telegraphs responded.

“Damn it-!”

“Captain-?” the guard questioned, turning around.

The Masked One reached one of its claws right into their throat. The black of her claws collided with their colour flow, causing black lumps to form within her throat, and spread quite rapidly.

When the Masked One ended the rest of the bridge, she walked over to the window. Behind her the black, crystular creatures rapidly grew and formed. Black dust emitted from their bodies.

Outside the window, she could see the entire battle. The Daimyese and Northern ships continued at it, but it was winding down.

The ships fed the black water and the black water spread. The chunks of black ice grew as the water spread. Slowly, the entire battlefield was being encased in a great, black wall of water and ice. It was like a bubble.

Black dust began to emit off of the masked one’s body.

It saw Tempestas’s ship in the distance. Within its halls, she saw another vessel, looking back at her. Atop the ship, she saw Ursa.

“Good luck Setsune,” she called out, before strands of purple-red escaped her deteriorating body.

---

Ursa approached Tempestas. An abundant wall of black water loomed over them. She flinched, focusing her sights on Tempestas itself.

“What gives you the right to do this?!” She roared, gesturing to the battlefield.

“I have no rights, Shadow Velvet Ursa. I take them,” It growled, approaching her, its hammer over its shoulder.

“With violence?” She questioned, narrowing her eyes and gesturing her claws wide to the battlefield behind her.

“You can’t judge me hypocrite. How did you get here?” It argued, resting its heavy hammer and pointing towards the battle.

“You’re right,” She relented with a nod. “I can’t judge you for how you’ve reacted to your circumstances. I too, wish to have rights,”

“Do you think that makes you special?” It argued, pointing its hammer at her.

“No,” She responded, shaking her head and looking up at It with relaxed eyes. “We’re just not so different. We’ve both endangered innocent people-,”

“There are no innocents!” It roared, the cold wind pushing against Ursa. “They’ve given themselves over to the Aeternum and followed their whims!” {light reference to Netflix Castlevania season I episode I}

“They’ve been conned. They’re hands aren’t free of blood, but they unknowingly accepted a debt that has encoiled them,” She pleaded, placing her fist on the side of her chest. “I don’t ask you to forgive them, but have mercy and understanding of their circumstances,”

“What would you have me do, *runt*?” It asked, turning its back to her.

“We’re all afraid, I get it,” She exclaimed, placing a hand on its shoulder. “We live in a small world, peace is fragile, and enemies are everywhere, but sometimes all we can do is run and live to the best that we can,”

“So your plan is to run away, is it?” It questioned, glaring at her.

“Yes, I’ve fought my war,” She asserted, narrowing her eyes. “And I know-,”

It loomed over her, “But I haven’t fought mine. RNM created and discarded me like dirt,”

“Let the rage go,” She insisted, grabbing its arm. “I know where this path ends, and it only ends in suffering,”

“You’re right,” It sighed, taking  a step back. “This path will only lead to suffering,”

She smiled.

“Yours,” It exclaimed.

It SMASHED its yellow lightning charged hammer into her from the side. [The Mondgreif loomed over her, green lightning flowing through its body].

“You have the gall to compare yourself to me!” It exclaimed, stomping towards her. “Your a runt! A Fool! A Possessed! I am powerful! I am a leader! I am a Disaster Beast! We are nothing alike!”

As it yelled, she was lost in her own thoughts. She was taking deep breaths, her arms wrapped around herself, her fingers and arms shaking.

“See! You are terrified of me! A coward, I will not be a coward! Especially at the sight of you!” It hollered before SLAMMING ITS HAMMER DOWN-.

Ursa rolled out of the way. The hammer shattered a large piece of the platform they walked upon.

She teleported behind it and lunged at it. It let out more lightning.

[The Mondgreif glared at her. It was angry].

She flinched. It sent her flying upwards with the hammer.

It leapt up high above her, SLAMMING ITS HAMMER DOWN!

She was sent crashing down through the platform and through the balloon of one of the three ships, into the observation deck. Her bones were smashed and her body was twisted, but they repaired themselves. She pulled pieces of metal out of her cloth. Warriors surrounded her, but they kept their distance.

The ship shook, its balloon having taken damage.

Ursa was practically hyperventilating. She held herself for dear life, the colour leaving her eyes.

“Jadeite why- why did you?” She called out.

[“Ursi~,” A voice like a mondgreif of steel and lightning called out].

“Surrender, Ursa!” It called out from above. “We promise your death will be quick!”

[The trio rested in the light of the crystular lamp. Ursa was exhausted, laying down, her arms spread out. Sarah meditated on her Xiphoid Process. Gu He, crossbow in hand, stood watch. Sarah’s tattoos had transformed, her body becoming like orange glass. Gu He’s Colour Realm energy was orange as well, though his light was faint.

“It’s so dark,” Sarah exclaimed, barely keeping together.

“We…need…to-,” Ursa insisted, struggling to her feet.

“This place is too dangerous and too big. Destroying the Greater Corrupted Beasts isn’t even an option. We need to flood the entire Gate before it forms proper,” Gu He ordered, crouching down to reach a hand out for Setsune.

Ursa looked apprehensive, “We need to go…to the water?”

“I-I could go back in time and-,” Sarah exclaimed, staring at her hands.

“Your not ready to visit the Glass Tree Sarah, you know that,” Gu He stated, pulling Setsune to her feet. “It’s dark, and the water is vast, but you need to be brave. You don’t need to conquer your fears,”

He stepped into the darkness, “Just conquer them for a bit,”].

She shook herself off and jumped to her feet. She took her scarf and wrapped it around her eyes. 

She teleported behind Tempestas and switched to green. She kicked it in the back, sending it sprawling across the platform.

It turned, attempting to SMACK her with the hammer from the side. She ducked below it.

(The cold emitted from the hammer chilled part of her blindfold).

She charged forwards and kneed it. It elbowed to counter.

They would’ve both been pushed back, but she grabbed onto the handle of its hammer. She quickly PULLED herself forwards and KNEED it in the chest, briefly separating it from its hammer.

(The cloth around her knee became lightly chilled).

Its hammer disappeared and reappeared in its hands. It leapt backwards further than it had been sent, attempting to get some distance.

She charged forwards, attempting to claw at it. It barely dodged, weaving left and right.

(Her claws grew slightly chilled).

They reached the water. Ursa could hear its flow. She flinched.

It reached its hammer up into the water, inflating said hammer’s size via ice.

It FLUNG the massive hammer right at her. 

It COLLIDED. She was thrown far back. The black ice around the hammer broke up, scattering as it pushed against her.

She grabbed onto the hammer. She climbed around it. She took the hilt and pushed herself off of it, SHOOTING it BACK Tempestas’s way.

She landed on the platform, clawing back against her momentum. Its hammer went right through it. It grabbed the hilt, the hammer left in the water.

She took a deep breath and readied her claws. It narrowed its eyes and readied itself.

The bubble around the battlefield intensified. She could hear the wild waves and the clashing of ice. She could feel the eyes of warriors, guards, civilians, Corrupted Beasts, and another.

She let out her breath.

She charged.

It shattered fragments of black ice. It rapidly shot them across the battlefield, each charged with lightning.

She could see the flashes through her blindfold. Her pulse shot up.

She dodged left and right, bolting her way through the bolts. She was getting closer.

It, in desperation, tossed its hammer over and over. She dodged, barely getting by each misty attack.

She was close. She LUNGED right at tempestas and-!

She stumbled. Enough of her cloth had been frozen to hinder her movements.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE A MOCKERY OF ME!?” It exclaimed, HITTING her with its hammer and SHATTERING her blindfold.

It knocked her to the ground, its lightning flying everywhere, “RUNT! COWARD! WEAK! YOU ARE JUST THE VESSEL OF THE BEAST!”

It repeatedly and rapidly hit her with its hammer. Ursa held herself, taking hit after hit after hit.

[The Mondgreif stomped on Ursa’s head, green lightning shooting through her].

[Setsune held onto the wall, frozen. Behind it was an ocean of death. 

Behind her, Sarah and Gu He fought the shadows. They were losing.

Sarah was on her knees, screaming and crying, her hands on her head. Gu He meanwhile, was fighting shadows.

When a wave came near, he would freeze time and strike multiple shadows at once, aiming for lights in their bodies. He had infinite ammo, but both he and Sarah had marks of corruption.

“URSA!”]

[“URSI~!”]

[“YOU NEED TO DO IT NOW OKAY! YOU’LL BE FINE! WE’LL BE FINE!”]

[“WE WERE FINE!”]

[“TRUST ME! PLEASE!”]

[“YOU SHOULD’VE TRUSTED ME!”]

She bit below her lip with her fangs, letting out blood.

[She reached her black claw through a crack in the wall. She could see the crack expanding. As it opened she saw water. And more water].

She grabbed the hilt of its hammer

[Before her was an abyss of black].

The entire battlefield was practically frozen.

[Up close, she could see that it wasn’t just black. All of the other colours were there too. It was like a dance. The water wasn’t black, but it was filled with black dust that constantly tried to corrupt the water, but couldn't fully because of the constant movement].

She grappled around it, taking hold of its arm.

[The water poured over her].

She spun it around, building momentum before FLINGING IT into the deep waters above.

[Gu He pulled Setsune out of the water and onto the grass, “Setsune, are you okay?”

“Setsune?” Sarah asked, standing behind Gu He. “I’m…sorry, I-,”

“It wasn’t your fault Sarah, we all have our traum-,” Gu He urged, raising a hand.

Setsune vision glazed over. Warmth flowed from her eyes and her face tightened up. She felt something heavy welling within her throat. 

She buried her face in Gu He’s robe and cried.

“URSI!?” A familiar voice like a Mondgreif beneath the Moon called out. “AR-ARE YOU-!?”].

Ursa fell to her knees. She took slow, deep breaths, her claws shaking.

The ship shook. Her eyes widened.

She smelled a distinct scent of blood. A thin, crystular claw scratched its way through the platform. A pair of red eyes stared out at her.

The ship crashed down, collapsing into the oceans below.

---

The Masked One watched from the balloon of a ship, her claws behind her back. With complete composure, she saw the ship take its plunge.

[“TAIPANTHEON TWILIGHT, did you fucking know all of this was going to happen!?” Gu He asked her in a field of tall grass. “Take that mask off and look me in the *fucking* eyes,”

“Good to know she survived,” Taipan remarked, turning to him. “It’s good to hear she’s doing well,”

“She could’ve died! We could’ve died! THEY RESPECT YOU!” Gu he exclaimed, pushing her to no effect.

“And until they stop, I need to prepare them,” she responded, shaking her head and taking off her mask. “And suffering will be their teacher,” {Reference to Avatar the Last Airbender season 1 episode 12}.

To Be Continued………