Jefferson City 3: The Twelve Archangels

The air is heavy, the weight of spiritual particles pressing down on reality itself, this massive display of energy shaking the very essence of the balance of worlds. Almost like a beacon of some sort, the creatures that had spawned around the city have all congregated here, their bodies still and unwavering before the faucet of Reishi that spilled upwards and painted the city's sky a vibrant rainbow of nauseating colors. Even the amalgamation that had chased Alpha had ceased all movement once its ugly shape had appeared from underground. Though, speaking of Alpha, they now have this weight right next to them, under them, around them, the intensity enough to swipe one's breath, still their hearts, and force them into inaction.

One wrong move felt it could be the last, sparks of Reishi popping here and there in the atmosphere as the constant wave blew hot air outward from its cylinder shape. Slowly, the ghouls around started to raise their arms, their bodies slowly crumbling into wisps of Reishi, sucked into the rising waterfall of raw energy, adding to it as the hue of it slowly turned whiter with every creature absorbed. That would be when the object within it started to become visible.

A sudden heartbeat.

The well of Reishi pulsed. A crying baby could be heard as that heartbeat came again, the wails of millions echoing from the well. The shadowy object within the well thumped again, its shape too organic, its form too identifiable.

But that's when it appeared, the machine that had fought Ehefra, landing between Alpha and the rising Reishi, its form knelt before the Soldat before it rose and condemned them with but one look. However, it focused its attention to the shape within the barrier of energy and rose its hands, speaking.

"Isn't it... glorious... A pinnacle of Quincy kind," It spoke, turning back towards Alpha as a shadowy portal opened, allowing the members of Charlie to spill forth as Team Beta finally arrived.

The robot rose its arms, its expressionless visor full of ecstatic glee as flames began to rise from the ground, blue flames spreading as the cylinder of Reishi began to spit flaming orbs from itself out into the city, setting buildings aflame and battering the dome of Reishi that kept this marvelous miracle contained. The sky lit up with roaring thunder and lightning, shaking the atmosphere itself as the crying stopped.

One last heartbeat.

"Uriel, the heart of all Quincy, has awoken. Let it bring us Salvation."

"Daring to defy a God?" The machine asked, lifting his arm to place it within the field of energy that rose up into the sky. "Then taste its wrath."

Reaching out with its other arm, its fingers curled into a claw as the glowing parts of its body increased in intensity, the Reishi running through its systems flowing more than it's ever had. Its fingers tips glowed with bulbs of Reishi, orbs of high intensity before a singular line connected the five orbs into a circle. That circle than formed the Quincy Cross they all Quincy carry before that attack that laughed at the world like thunder was met with an attack that laughed at the world like lightning.

"I no longer require even a ritual with this power."

But that is false advertisement, even for it, as its whole body is nothing more than a tool. It just so happens that this tool is capable of matching the masked Shinigami, especially with Uriel empowering it. Their clash would then reach its climax as both participants would find their attacks cancelled, ending with a massive blinding wave of light that blinded the entire city before they were left with nothing more than the space they had before: the Vandenreich facing a monumental mountain to climb.

"Of course, a Shinigami would move against a deity among our kind. One of our twelve relics restored, and your only thought is to destroy it. Your Director would be disappointed."

He paused then as he felt the air around him shake and shimmer as pods similar to the ones that began the assault on the city fell around him, their doors opening to reveal more of the black mechanical soldiers that had fought against the Vandenreich during their siege of the city. They formed lines around the single machine who spoke, making everyone hesitant to launch another attack against it.

"You may be curious though, about all of this. I doubt many of you know Quincy history, but you've already seen another relic before... Your Director Armstrong and the mighty spear, Seraphiel, that she wields... Uriel's brother."

And at that, Jenkins spoke up, "Director Armstrong's spear is nothing as horrendous as this! What of the city? We witnessed a man be dissolved into Reishi. What did you do to this city?"

But, the machine then laughed at his question.

"Maybe you should ask her yourself. Awakening these weapons require a sacrifice of sorts. A being strong enough to give something up are the only ones capable of bringing out these weapons' true potential. However, if you feed them a sufficient source of power, say, an entire city's worth of Reishi, then you can produce similar results."

And the fate of Jefferson was revealed, millions dead yet again.

"Of course, Jefferson being a hot spot helped as well..."

Those two were away and safe, they were congregating in the center. This was the time she decided to finally break from the group; what she was about to do wouldn’t be safe with everyone around her. Atop the pinnacle of a building nearby, she witnessed the clashing blows, the surging of Reishi into a blinding flash; she could feel the countless lives required for such unfathomable power flow with every heartbeat.

Spear drawn yet again, a chill took her lungs - this was the moment. She would have to surrender herself to her own power again, for everyone. It didn’t matter what their motivations were - they had crossed the threshold long before any of them had even stepped foot here, the only option would be to put an end to the perpetrator.

She knew this well... So why did her hands shake at this scent? Why did her blade quiver? What was this knot in her chest? It wasn’t fear…

“Saijin, we gotta take care of them,” Her eyes rested on her blade, as she drew in a breath, turning the point unto her own stomach, drawing back several inches; that survival instinct that reminded her of her humanity screamed in her brain not to do such an action, even if she knew she would be fine, “...I get it, but now isn’t the time to hesitate. We gotta go.”

Hands tightening, she readied her weapon to plunge, eyes shut tightly with a whisper left her throat, “Yasumaseru, Soshu Kaiseijin.”

Consciousness melted into a multitude's own as the point met it’s origin with a sickening squelch.

No sound accompanied the lord’s awakening, only the sensation of a calm ocean’s depths pressing back upon the presence that occupied the space, that warm darkness serving as some eerie relief from the suffocating air, yet as an announcement of a being beyond comprehension. In the same instance, a shroud of violently swirling darkness would have appeared next to form of the automaton- no, the presence had moved so quickly it would have been difficult for even gifted eyes to track it.

Blackened ribbons of incalculable amounts flowed from this darkness, appearing as outstretched wings that moved in to engulf the wielder of power, the entity’s skeletal hands having been the first to make contact with it’s metallic shell, gripping tight onto it’s form even if a struggle commenced. All fixation was on this murderer, and none else; the entity’s single comprehendable eye appearing to stare past the knight in dark armor, wordless as it’s very presence sought to devour him, the mere sensation of being too close as if his form was being wicked away atom by atom, let alone directly touched.

Child, Less speech, more a projection of will, hummed in the vicinity, as if united voices were used to convey the incomprehensible, You have sinned. Surrender.

The smooth, shadowy form of the entity’s face shifted, the sound of cracking bone and ripping skin revealing a makeshift mouth, a glowing well with no bottom barely visible past torn features. A ball of light and darkness formed, much like the woman’s earlier formations, except amplified by an unfettered form - even in it’s building stage, the sphere ripped the atmosphere and formed a torrent of collapsing air around it as it would grow, and compress, and grow, and compress, a violent hiss in the air as the winds picked up…

Globules of light formed from that single eye, as if there was a deep regret in what the entity wished to do.

-Danger approaching-

Before natural senses would detect movement, the unnatural nature of the machine's optics had detected something amidst, a sudden change in the world's environment that worked in contrast to the energy put off by Uriel. That sudden ping attacked its left side, a warning of something that could harm it, but not even a machine could react appropriately to the sudden presence of whatever this thing is. Of course, its ability to move was beyond mundane, reacting in a way that only its arm would take those skeletal fingers around it as tendril-like ribbons seemed to collapse around it.

-Appropriate designation. Removal of limb advised. Avoid touch-

Though, those warnings came too late as it noticed its arm starting to collapse into itself. The very nature of this being seemed to be taking it apart, piece by piece. Being here for too long would only cause it problems. Then, there's only one thing left to do.

"Fire upon my position," It ordered as it felt its shoulder disconnect from its socket, Reishi spilling from the open chassis as sparks flew from sliced wiring. Then all systems available lit up as the robot began pumping energy through itself equal to an individual activating their Vollstandig before rockets pointed at the black mass and firing, pushing the robot away from the creature while hopefully disoriented it robotic soldiers turned and fired on it.

That's when Uriel's awakening had ceased, the massive well of Reishi suddenly dwindling before all that remained would be a stone-like small object that looked similar to a heart, left floating and beating.

Black, writhing forms descended upon whatever it could reach, their deceptively static shapes giving little warning to the disintergrative shredding any part of the machination's armor it could touch in that instant. Like a yawning breath, the ball of light and shadow that had been accumulating in the being's jaws were engulfed by it's makeshift mouth as a hail of gunfire raced toward it, darkness wrapping and condensing around it for but a moment.. Before expanding.

A blinding ray of light spilled from that darkness, a crash of the brightest whites and the deepest darks ripping through the very atmosphere; onlookers would have been temporarily out of breath as the powerful attack splashed upon the masses that fired at it, with surprising care to not exceed the boundary and harm any it held dear. Particles of light rained from it's eyes, only the thought of those soul's release from their tormented state being any condolence.

Every hole torn into it's form was eaten away, filled back in with shadow within moments of being harmed, bright splurts of blood as it hardly flinched even with the most potent of explosives striking it's body, the ribbons entangling and pulsing in some instinctive attempt to guard the body they engulfed, so tenderly embracing that form it treasured.

Does the weight on your soul not suffocate you?

Another breath. The being was behind the machine. All attention was toward grasping it and tearing it to pieces, bony hands grasping at it's neck region as ribbons attempted to embrace it once again.

You must feel it.
That sinking.
That suffocating sin.
You will not be spared if you fall.
Surrender yourself.

Sensors blared, the creature now behind it. The machine turned its head towards it, seconds before its throat was grabbed. What nonsense does the beast speak? Even after being lit up, it had unleashed some weird attack that had swallowed up most of its mechanical soldiers. It asked a machine if it could feel anything for what has transpired.

However, the humanity that remained spoke, relating what thoughts were held towards this situation.

"Souls? Weight? What use is that in the world we are creating? A world without burdened souls?"

It's dying though. Whatever this creature is doing is tearing the machine apart, and its struggle was weak due to the multitude of failing systems popping up. As more of that machine began to fall apart, blood began to fall free, rushing towards whatever bottomless pit this creature was sending it to. Soon, that husk of a machine broke, revealing a young man, his body frail with wires and such exposed along his body. The socket his arm was removed at is nothing more than a metal sphere.

Though, his body breaking apart did allow him momentary freedom from the creature, allowing his body to slip free and fall to the ground with a small crunch.

Spitting blood, his throat disintegrated, he tried to crawl, slowly pulling himself with his free arm before the creature fell upon him again with its tendrils.

That is until a cane touched the ground in front of him.

A figure, adorned in robes, a helmet over their head that hid their visage. In his left hand is Uriel.

"Ah, another failed experiment..." The revealed old male voice spoke behind his mask's distortion. "A shame."

A marvel crumbled to nothing amidst the entity's lashing teeth, ribbons encasing and shredding the metal carapace into pure flows of energy, swirling around the being in a violent blackened maelstrom. It's senses point down far, far below them, a speck of that scent had been parted from it. Hardly moved, hardly even ran; the being's position gently lowered to the earth with a gentle placement of earth-cutting ribbons cushioning skeletal feet, as it would slowly approach the remainder of it's body.

With a strange level of tenderness, it's pace easy as it would come upon the young man, then reached down as if to pull him into an embrace, that single eye staring ahead with glimmering tears as the soul in it's grasp would quickly be rendered naught but spiritual particles, as quick a finishing it could gift the young man. It stood there, silent, hunched over as if it wished to maintain that now imaginary embrace with that fading scent, for as long as it could... But a new scent burned.

It's featureless expression would suddenly face the newcomer. Vague memories of this man were flowing through from the soul that had been taken in. Realization razed any sense of calm the entity presented, echoing erratic sounds that sounded not of man or beast hammered the skulls of those in range as the entity's figured blurred, a full lunge for the newcomer.

"You remind me of her. Otherworldly, yet familiar."

He cared little for the man who was sucked away into the abyss, shaking his head gently. Uriel was safely secured underneath his cloak as his attention shifted to Liltotto. His eyes could not be seen, but they stared at the creature.

"Poor soul..." He mumbled under his breath as he was charged.

"Pour beast..."

Raising his staff, he clicked it on the ground, a sudden pressure around him that pushed outwards with immense force, almost like gravity itself had inverted. As Liltotto crashed into the sudden phenomena, it'd feel as if the world itself told her to disappear, the force enough to send nearly any combatant sailing away at speeds incalculable. Yet, she felt suspended for a second, a voice whispering through the sudden force pushing into her.

"Are you of his perhaps? I do so wonder..."

For a second, eyes with black rings around them blinked at her before that pressure finally tried to seize her and send her away to whatever destination gravity felt dropping her.

Something was coming.

The entity ceased it's progression suddenly, it's senses catching the growth of energies.

There was no time to flee.

Blackened ribbons wrapped around that form it found so precious, as the weight of the world collapsed upon it's form. Even so, no attempt was made to struggle against it, merely to further protect the body they extended from, darkness coalescing and squeezing. No harm would be allowed to befall this precious wish, even an attack most horrible would not force the being to surrender.

...That voice... That scent...

There was little moment to dwell on it. The being was little more than a dark speck in the sky, flying a distance incalculable away from the scene, a dark falling star sent sailing into the nothingness of the horizon...