Mission Status: Warming the Ice of the Heart [Hero Quest Mission]

It seemed that the small woman had no problems telling him what the fog was about and what it did, explaining to the two about its purpose and what it did for those who absorbed it into them. This confirmed the readings that the pair of blue tinted goggles displayed on the left lens as well as what Nina was feeling from taking in the energy herself. 'Master, it says that the mist is pooling from her and has a sort of effect that relaxes and soothes anyone affected. I can also testify this, ever since I absorbed it, it's been having a positive influence of my state of mind and body reactions. However master, this does remind me of a particular genjutsu that you went against earlier that purposefully put the affected at ease just so the opponent can attack them at blinding speed, almost killing them instantly for not being ready to counter-strike. I heavily advise that you let me analyze this supernatural energy for a bit longer before I make a final synopsis,in case she tries some form of sneak attack on you as part of a training regiment or some sort of test.' she relayed to him in thought. 'Understood, will continue to be on alert until further advised.' was his response in his mind, the aviator having no intentions to absorb the energy just yet.

What he was sure of was that this person was powerful. From the start, he could feel her spiritual pressure, and as odd as that was considering he had not trained himself to sense other presences whatsoever, he could certainly feel it from the tiny bit of vapor energy he did end up absorbing. After all, it was her own essence and not meant to hide her feelings nor intentions, only confirmed more by her words of feeling their spiritual presence as rather small. Nina didn't know what to make of this, since she was simply a creature of the forest that were bred to be shinobi summons in her lands over half a millennium ago. Yet, the only thing she knew about this 'spirit' related stuff was that more and more people seemed to be roaming the earth that seemed super powerful in this regard, with spiritual pressure. The vixen did nothing but duck and skip over to Lex's left and right shoulder accordingly each time the woman poked her more than once. It was just in her nature to be evasive, as Lex had taught her so many years ago to do when someone else beside himself tried to approach her. That was a bit difficult to uphold however since the Lex she knew had been gone for over five hundred years, so a little contact now and again from another living being was a good feeling, just not all the poking!

Lex on the other hand showed less reaction to the girl approaching him and poking his chest, but it was still surprising all the same to see her bubbly attitude and demeanor. As she mentioned about what he could possibly do from this point on, he gave it a thought on what his current goals were and what he wanted to achieve afterwards. "Hmmm..." came a low hum from the man as he curled his hand around his chin, pondering on the subject as he imagined that it was best to figure out what he was going to do from this point forward. First thing was first, he needed to get all of his equipment that had been scattered across the globe; quite frankly he didn't trust anybody with such devastating weapons to keep themselves in check. Second was his side objectives to gather any artifacts that his predecessors had left behind on Earth, which was probably about four or five more around the globe as of this moment. The third thing... this is what was open for experimentation for the most part. After finding all of that stuff, what was he to do with it? A part of him wanted to continue with his original plan to go back even further in time, during the late sixteen hundreds where he could live out a simple life and interact with people, probably get married to a simple woman, and then die a simple death.

But after seeing Nozomi in Eldrazi, another part of him wanted to stay, to perhaps help these people from tyranny in case it was to ever come up. It wasn't like he considered his old 'associate' to be a tyrant, but he had to admit, both Nozomi and himself had experienced a time of blood and hate, honor for their nation and deep seeded hatred for families and clans. He was sure that she didn't change much even after all of those years, the recent news of her invasion of the bordering country beside her capital was confirming this all the more despite her message of peace and harmony for all. Her idea of peace was liberation, integration, conversion; the same as his used to be for so many of his lifetimes.

That thought scared him, because he knew that if he wasn't attempting to solidify his desire to help others the right way, he would most likely be either assisting her, trying to partner with her, or kill her, neither one he wanted to do. Nozomi was the world's problem until it knocked on his doorstep; that's how he decided to see it for now. His thoughts then went to countless of others he had saved, and even killed, in his past lives, wondering what true affect he had on people during the course of his lives. Quite frankly, it was too much deep thinking going on for Cirno's somewhat simple question, did he want to help people or not? He always did before, what would be the problem if he was to do it now? Then that sudden image of the tan woman with blue eyes faded into his mind again, making the man narrow his eyes with a bit of anger as he remembered the cost for helping society most of the time. How most of the organizations that he had joined or even was forced to be a part of to help people only hurt him in the end, by hurting those very close to him almost every lifetime.

While Lex was pondering on his choice, Nina could feel the hostility rising in her master, his distaste for people in general and even see the image of Nozomi during their meeting in Eldrazi and another image of that particular young woman who Lex was married to multiple times. The vixen wasn't usually one to make decisions on her own while Lex was around, especially on a whim, but she knew this was about to go downhill very fast and she couldn't afford for Lex to miss out on an opportunity like this to truly clear his mind and be tranquil with life. 'I'm sorry master, forgive me.' she said rather bluntly. The reason for this was pouring into Lex at that very moment; Cirno's energy. Lex could immediately feel his hostility flowing out of him as his memories of being double-crossed and backstabbed by the people he tried to always help most began fading away, almost instantly. The dark skinned man quickly glared at the vixen on his shoulder as he knew what was going on right away. "Nina! What are you doing?!" he almost seethed. This would have probably seemed slightly odd, nothing being said between the two companions the entire time before Lex seemed to just snap at her in such a way. But the creature wasn't worried, not responding to him by voice as she just slowly glanced at him, her blue eyes staring into his as she swished her tail back and forth in a somewhat hypnotic way.

'You will thank me later.'

And with that, Lex's demeanor would finally start to shift, the cautious and apprehensive attitude of the man becoming more relaxed and calm as his thoughts of his own form of justice began fading away from his mind. He turned from Nina and looked over towards Cirno again, his eyes far more trusting than before as he felt her energy flowing through him steadily now. "I believe I will take you up on that offer. I will help others, as I have done before, but I need to be even more skilled than I was, more aware... that what I was. Teach me whatever is necessary about this world, and I'll do what I can to protect the innocent." he exclaimed, his arms crossing over his chest after his remark. It was decided, he would be the people's protector once again, but this time, maybe with some intuition on what was going on around this place, he would be able to do even more than that.

From what Cirno was able to perceive from their linked souls, there were many twinges of hostility spiraling around within the heart of Lex. These appeared to take their root within many factors which spread throughout his essence. There was an ambition to seek what was lost and find what was power. It was a grand sort of journey, and one that perhaps The Celestial herself could assist with if he was so willing to accept her assistance.

Though, further beyond that desire was a potential for heroism, good and light to arise within his soul. For, after he'd prevent the forces of evil within this world from attaining his ambitions, the male's spirit wasn't quite as assured as to what he would do after his aspirations were achieved. Doubts of which path to follow were surely creeping into his soul, but it still had the promise to lean towards the side of moral and virtuous aura.

Indeed, it was battered, rammed and fractured by the impulse of negative emotions which brewed within him. Feelings which were rooted in the fact that there was quite possibly an event which caused the male to become apprehensive, un-trusting and paranoid of the world around him based on the notion that he was back stabbed, betrayed and his faith in goodwill broken.

However, even with that, there was always the chance for such a faith to be restored with enough care, affection and belief that there is more to the world than mistrust, villainy and foul spirits. It was quite true that, even with the guidance of Cirno's angelic hand pushing him towards the light, Lex may still very well come to find souls which will take his heart for granted. In fact, The Celestial could not even so much as guarantee that the future for him would be secured if he took her hand.

Yet, that is what it meant to have faith in this existence they lived in. It was to believe and have hope, optimism and promise in a future which did not seem bright, joyous or quite positive. For, to become a beacon of light in the shadows, one must generate the tender desire within their heart and use it as a flame to guide not only themselves through the darkness, but to those whom would wish to find themselves out of the night of despair as well.

That is why The Angel offered her assistance to the human because she wished to use her light in such a way to bring Lex from the inner most depths of his mind's darkness, and help him to realize that he still could be a better person in spite of the shortcomings of others. As, to her, there was little point allowing their negativity and attitudes to infect what was once a pure and innocent soul who wanted to do what was right for others and follow the path of light.

Ergo, with these sentiments of self explained through an astral bond and connection, The Celestial Of The Ice then yearned to infuse these beliefs into the mind of Lex while he was busy screaming at his companion for having the desire to have him open up to the angel.

With this immersion of consciousness, thought and feeling; the male could then begin to understand the intentions of Cirno and feel further trust in her purpose for wanting to bring the best in him out. In this way, he should hopefully feel there is no means to believe that she would ever betray or back-stab him so long as he stayed the path of righteousness, justice and light.

So, as he would start to calm and find himself at ease, this position that Cirno placed herself in would further become revealed as she opened up her soul to him as well. By turning his eyes to the sight of The Angel, he would then begin to notice that something had changed while they were both influenced by such heavy astral thought. Her body -- had morphed.

Instead of being a child, a full figured adult was before him. As her overflowing hair gently brushed against the breeze, the ocean eyes of the celestial would open up and a placid smile washed over her now matured face. Just what was this form? Simple: her true essence. Instead of hiding behind the veil of a youth, The Iramasha decided he was open enough to her that she would unveil such a state of being to him.

For, the form of a minor was indeed filled with unbound innocence, nativity and hope for the world. It is what allowed The Angel of the light to retain and possess her intense emotion, feeling and light within. As, prior to this quest, nay, life venture she journeyed upon -- it was rough to do such a thing. This is because her developed form could not quite comprehend, cope or in anyway shape or form deal with the reality of the world around her.

Therefore, she sought to hide from that responsibility and grown state of being by suppressing it and hiding in the guise of a child. And, from this regression, she sought to prolong the flame of her light from dimming for as long as possible to prevent it from being taken away by the daunting task of becoming older.

Yet, with the acceptance of other flares of light into her life, Cirno discovered that it was ok to possess the heart of the child, but maintain the mind of an adult for the benefit of a higher power and purpose. This kindness, openness and sensitivity was what the world needed and she wished to share that with the miracles her divinity possessed.

Thus, as Lex accepted her offer into the light, that smile of the celestial would only grow more vibrant as her embodiment was quite pleased he embraced this opportunity to make himself a better person. To have the potential to save yet another soul was what made the heart of Cirno scream with joy and pleasure because it fulfilled her angelic essence. The further she stayed true towards her task of guiding spirits towards the light and investing meaning into their lives, the greater the sensation of happiness, completion and warm power surged and overflowed within the core of Cirno.

Hence, to seek more of this wholeness out, The Angel of The Ice would then give a nod of the head as she began to materialize the vessel of faith within Lex. As, with her having access to the enriched intent of his spirit and mind, the celestial she then able to craft a small sphere of light filled energy from it. Within moments it started to contort, shift and take shape in the form of a cube. Then, as it adjusted further, it separated itself into many different pieces so that the formation of numerous silver gems could levitate in a single fixated position.

[CLICK HERE FOR THE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WAS MADE FROM HER GEM-MAS EVENT:

https://www.platinumhearts.net/t15111-receptive-heart-gem-mas-event ]

With this tool? Lex would undoubtedly be able to find the ability to trust, be open and find his inner light again by bridging his heart and mind to others. If they were to bare his soul to him in the way that Cirno did to hers, then he'd certainly find the capacity to become a better person! That was the belief Cirno had and why she bestowed this piece of angelic wonder upon him.

Thus, on her command, this holy object would then levitate towards the chest of Lex and she'd let it hover before uttering these words of enchantment to him:

"If you do vow to take the oath of light, then please accept this gift and make your declaration known, human."

The voice of the Iramasha seemed filled with soft delight as her smile eased over in the hopes that he would accept this embrace into his body. For, if he were to accept, then the runes of knowledge within it would activate and begin sharing the knowledge that Cirno possessed of the world with him. Everything from how the societies of the earth were ran, how the means of combat functioned in this world and the current state of affairs in the Soul Society, Iramashsa Island, Earth, Hueco Mundo and even charts of Demon World itself would all become known to him.

This was all done so that he may have the knowledge to make an informed choice and understand the need for why his powers are required in this world. Thus, all that was left to do for Cirno was observe and see how these changes might influence The Glitch Prophet. With faith in her heart, and optimism on her mind, there was not a single bit of doubt in this moment that he would use these blessing to do the right thing. So, The Angel would simply rest her hands at her sides -- and wait for a response.