Artist: SOUND HOLIC - Song: Prière -プリエール - Word Count: 1665
Things were spinning in quite the twisted direction on this fair night between the two Queen's of the night. It was quite bizarre, quite queer and utterly odd to think things would reach a point where The Ruler of Arrancar needed to become a demon to survive. If you had informed The Demoness of such an event three years ago when it came to the likes of Ashlei Clixx being turned? Mana surely would have you laughed out of existence with our ridiculous the notion sounded. Yet, as life has shown time and time again, it has a funny way of making the impossible possible.
Taking further gazes upon The Blood Queen's body, Mana certainty knew she wasn't joking one bit about the urgency of how critical it was for her to be transformed. Each limb seemed frail; as if The Demoness could sever them in half with but a simple flick of her wrist, the majority of bloodied marks across her body showed whatever healing systems she had in place were obviously failing her and the overall life force pulsating within the likes of The Regale Arrancar was surely fading out with each passing moment; if only gradually.
Though, if it meant anything else, at least she was in a stable enough zone of health to maintain coherent thoughts and formulate words from upon her mouth. As, when Mana was listening to Ashlei go on about knowing the dangers associated with being converted from an Arrancar to a Demon of the night, the relief set in within her soul to know that for the time being she was going to be alright. Yet, further behind that fence of ease, the overwhelming clouds of the unknown brewed within The Demoness's mind.
The future was coming in at an alarming rate, and with it brought uncertainties that spiraled across every nook and carny of Mana's heart. More and more questions roared and tumbled about inside of her mind as she battled with the decision; nay, the choice to save Ashlei's life with this experimental producer or not. Examining the whole circumstance laid out before her, many types of inquiries were being crafted inside of The Demon Queen's head. Was she doing the right thing in allowing her dear sister to become the monster she is today? Were the benefits of this unheard of metamorphosis great enough to justify the staggering risk in this treatment? Could this be the path to salvation the two needed to at last find their place of utter serenity and bliss?
There was much doubt brewing about inside of Mana's consciousness; as hearing each beat of her heart was akin to each passing second where the chances to save Ashlei were dwindling like ash in the wind. Though, like a bellowing clap of thunder, she was snapped out of this dubious haze by the piercing of her sisters words shattering that dome of ambitious thought. For a moment, she pondered why her sweet sibling of the night would say such a thing? Hating her kind?
For all this time, until this very second, Mana never considered the likes of Arrancar or Demons to be very much different. To her, they were all one big extended family fighting for the same purposes, pushing themselves to be allies to crush all those who oppose them in their sinister unification. After all, it was the whole point of Shadow Fall in the first place. To take arms in the blood of their adversaries, band under the tune of one banner and emerge as an overwhelming force to dare be trifled with by their enemies. So, upon processing these words into her inner psyche, it honestly made The Demon Queen feel quite a bit hurt in the way in which she felt about her and her kind.
However, before the shadow's despair could settle into Mana's heart, there was more her dear sister had to say to her in regards to that entire comment. Raising her head up, Mana listened closely to what Ashlei was saying as she was laying her feelings all out on the table in this tense game of life or death. When Ashlei confessed her undying love for The Demoness, a small blush of surprised admiration swept across the Queen's face; as she was taken a bit back by that after assuming the worse about her sister; even if it were for just a few dark moments.
In that sense of finally receiving the devotion she had so longed for from her dear sister, Mana instinctively grabbed her and held her close in her arms. For, it was upon hearing that sentiment that The Demon Queen knew what she must do in order to save her kin. It didn't matter anymore how lethal things could get, it didn't matter how dangerous preparing something like this was and it sure in the hell did not matter if it was going to be a difficult road. By the uniting of their love for one another, with their combined wills going at work within the body of Ashlei, there would be not a damn thing which stand forth in their way.
Will it be hard? Unbelievably so. But so has every waking second for countless millennial between the two aching creatures of the night as they walked this accused plane of existence; stifling in the dark, surviving in such an unsettling way and stumbling across the masses of dead bodies along the way to discover each others hearts in this sea of endless blood to finally find, at long last, what it means to care for another being i their twisted sense of family.
Biting her lip not out of pain, but due to the immense amount of feelings that were surging throughout her feeling, Mana began to cry green tears of happiness as she knew she had, at long last, found a substantial and meaningful purpose to use her great prowess. Her hands had destroyed so many, obliterated countless nations and purged many souls of this world into the shadows of death's valley. So, in this moment, at this time, in this place; it meant so much to The Demon Queen to be able to save this very precious life with the strength she was given. And in her hands, her very capable hands, Mana would give it her absolute best to do whatever her boundless powers could to save this cherished person in her life. No matter what the cost, no matter what the risk and no matter what it would; Ashlei's life was going to be saved. Mana would stake her life on this claim.
"Sister...to have doubted the strength of our love....is quite shameful of me. To have forgotten what it meant to be sisters with you, these bonds that tie me into your heart have reminded me all too well how powerful our devotion for one another is. You need not say anymore, you need not cry anymore. For what I have found in you, and what you have found in me, is more powerful, more astounding and more divine than anything I have encountered within my lifetime. This fondness, this passion and this infatuation we've birthed between us has blossomed, ripened and bloomed into a remarkable fruit. A fruit, that in this murky night will we consume. And in it's contents, an unbreakable love will fill our bloody hearts. No matter what happens to us at this point, for better or worse, this Fruit of Love will guide our hollow souls down this dark path and give us the courage, the reason and the strength to go on."When that heartfelt speech to her sister was over, there was going to be no more holding back. The walls of the impossible would be shattered, the power of their love would fight against the odds and the battle to save Ashlei's precious, precious life would begin. No longer combating for just herself, Mana now had a purpose, a goal and a clearly defined objective at hand. In that line of thought, The Demoness fangs reacted in such a way that they grew two times in size. And, like a domino effect, the alterations of change kept swarming in.
Soon after that, a strong green glow illuminated the once dim room; filling it with a strong sensation of warmth to envelop The Blood and Demon Queen's bodies.
"Together, you and I....WE'LL SLAUGHTER THEM ALL! I won't let this take you away from this world! I won't let it take you away from me and I stake my life, in this moment, to save you!" Rows of razor sharp teeth coming into view inside of the mouth of Mana, she then proceeded to chomp down on Ashlei's neck.
From there, a swirling vortex of crimson and emerald green lights whirred all around the two siblings. This was the end and beginning all occurring at once. As, for now, The Arrancar known as Ashlei Clixx would be no more. But, in it's place, something stronger and something far more enlightened would be put in it's place. For with each of their blood streaming together in an overwhelming fixture of power within The Blood Queen's powers, Ashlei would be whole once more.
Henceforth, with Mana's external shifting, it steadily began the process of passing on the cells of Mana's demonic DNA into The Regale Arrancar's body to morph her at long last. Shifting, contorting and turning her body into that of a demon. Invading every presence of sweet sisters body, engulfing her in the entirety of Mana's influence as she did her best to overpower and fight against the opposition of The Blood Queen's awesome battle in a showdown of valor, love and passion.
And so, with these final actions made, in the heat of it all; the consequences of the two's actions would soon come out. The death of Ashlei, the rebirth of Ashlei or the strength of Ashlei would all be tested soon enough.