Dragonball M, Chapter 2: Lighthouse! Across the Shores of Shattered Time!

[Tami]

Sarada chuckled. "I'm sure I'm already on some kind of blacklist after the last time I was here." She wondered if that poor bastard tasked with washing her literal mountain of used dishes resented the very idea of seeing her again. Probably so. "Ah, well. I'll only eat a light snack here, then fill up when we get back home."

She couldn't wait to sleep in her own bed after as long a day as this had turned out to be.



Instead of venturing out to find Meagan, she found them, and offered them the use of three Temple Sisters. Food, a bath, a bed, anything they needed would be provided them. "Much appreciated, Meagan. Nothing like a good fight to work up an appetite."

With that, Meagan began to carefully strip down, making sure her clothes didn't stick to her injured skin. Turning to place her clothes on the table nearby, Sarada and Isthar might notice scarring on her back that were older than the burns. She then activated one of the chambers and stepped inside.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Nevanlinna emerged from Vaikuntha after yet bout of hard training, trailed by a young Saiyan girl. It had been... quite a year since her banishment. During her travels, she had picked up a distress signal from... some Saiyan colony, gone to investigate, and found most of its inhabitants dead--slaughtered by tuffles, of all things. Seri, the saiyan girl trailing her, had been the only survivors, and securing her safety had been... difficult. Some sort of tuffle-crafted android called Infa had stood in her way and very nearly been the end of her. However, she had managed to emerge victorious--if only barely--ensuring that no one else had to die that day... except the scores of tuffles she'd slaughtered, anyway.

While she had little love for Saiyans, she'd felt... compelled to take the girl with her. For one so young, with no family, and after having gone through such an experience... how could she not? She may have been arrogant, yes, but she was not unnecessarily cruel, especially to children, saiyan or not.

Seri had eventually recovered enough and, unsurprisingly, joined her in her daily training. Though weak at first, she improved quickly and was now a rather worthy sparring partner. Not ideal, but even a middling sparring partner was leagues better than none at all. And, in a strange way, she'd grown fond of the girl. She was like a little sister or younger cousin to her--a novel experience, as she'd been the youngest of her siblings back home.

As they emerged, Neva felt several strong powers at battle, some distance away. Actually, if memory served, those powers were off in the direction of the lookout. Most of them felt like people she knew--Ishtar, Zaofan, and Sarada among them--but a few were unknown, and gave her a rather foreboding feeling. A fight, perhaps?

Whatever it was, it was winding down, but...

"Hey, we should go find those people I sense!" said Seri, her tail wagging in barely-contained excitement. Clearly, she'd sensed those powers only a bit after Neva had.

Nevanlinna was curious, but she had thus far avoided the others, instead sticking to Vaikuntha for... most of the last year. She and Seri had made occasional trips to towns, but not often, since Vaikuntha contained everything one might need to live. Still...

"Hm, so soon after training and you want to fight, is that it?" Nevanlinna thought for a moment, her eyes drifting to the open, blue sky. "...hm, very well. If nothing else, a change of pace might be warranted." Her aura burst into existence and Neva rocketed into the sky, her trajectory aimed towards the lookout.

"Hey, wait for me!" yelled Seri, doing the same. She wasn't quite as quick as Nevanlinna, owing to being weaker in general, but the older woman slowed a bit to let the Saiyan catch up.

It was a quick flight, and Nevanlinna didn't suppress her power at all, to give the others fair warning that she was approaching, in a sense. Soon enough, she and Seri were floating above the lookout.

"Wooow, what's this?"

"This? This is where the guardian of this planet lives. Among others."

"The Guardian? Are they strong?"

"Their strength would be sufficient, in most cases, but compared to the likes of us... no, not in particular."

"Oh..." Seri's tone sounded disappointed.

"Come," said Nevanlinna, as she descended to the lookout's surface, touching down within seconds. Seri was, of course, right behind her. "Well then, it's been a long time since I've been here..."

Ishtar sensed the Threshling, before she even appeared on the Lookout's surface, and despite the situation that had just unfolded, there was a matter the Oni had long hoped to discuss, with Nevanlinna and ...

Is that a Saiyan child ?

A moment was all it took to confirm it, and the realization that the Threshling Princess, she who hated Saiyans, seemed to be caring for a Saiyan child settled in shortly afterwards. And that was ...

"Well then."

Still, when the began to approach the others, Ishtar broke away from Zaofan, and Sarada, and made her way swiftly over.

"Nevanlinna, and ... er. Child. There is a matter we need to discuss."

[MrSandman]

With one final check of things, Chrona stepped backwards.

Ishtar was carrying the White Etrina.
Asha'rah was carrying Blue
Zaofan was carrying Red
...and Green was sitting on Chrona shoulder.

"Ok...Everything looks good. Listen up......" Chrona took a look at all of them, and for the first time she seemed to drop whatever facade of indifference and humor she seemed to be holding. "So....Yeah. Whatever happens....was nice working with people for a good cause. Even if things go south....at least we have that, right....not that things well...I mean I.....Oh Shit!"

Chrona ran up and switched the Etrina on Ishtars shoulder with the one on Zaofans.

"Phew....that was close. Bad end averted there.....*Ahem*........Well. I guess this is goodbye for awhile....I'll see you guys at the destination, and when things are all said and done."

"Magic link is confirmed." The Blue Etrina announced. "Relocation Magic prepped and ready."

"All set here, lets kick some ass!" The White Etrina shouted.

Ishtar chuckled.

"I am likely not strong enough to kill her outright, yet she holds no sway over me. I am quite sure I will prove a suitable distraction." Waiting for the Time Aspect to finish her explanation, then, the golden-eyed Oni stole some of Chrona's Popcorn.

"Whenever you are ready," the Oni muttered before popping it into her mouth.

"Not bad."

"Glad you liked it....I popped it 12 centuries ago." A amused smirk crossed Chronas lips just as the magic engaged. With an almost ethereal pop the three travellers vanished....and a moment later Chrona vanished as well.

~~~

Both Ishtar and Asha'rah seemed to arrive in roughly the same area. A vast underground cavern surrounded them....having a similar feel in size and scope to that of the geofront they had visited so long ago. The air was thick with magic, so much so it almost manifested into a physical presence...much like mist who transparent gas.

The section of the cave they were in seemed to be a study of some kind, with rows of tomes shelved in methodical order and stretching as far as the eyes could see. Though there was lights from multiple sources....the true illumination in the cavern as a while came from a sight of almost mythical proportions.



At the heart of the cavern stood a massive crystalline structure radiating intense energy. Platforms had been built into its sides that ran all the way to its top....where something akin to a chamber rested at its peak. Though the air was heavy with magic, through it they could distinguish something akin to a barrier around the entire mass.

".......Ishtar.....Asha'rah?" A voice suddenly called out to them from nearby. "Is that you? Thank kami....please....I need some help over here...."

It was Etrinas voice.

~~~~

Zaofan came back to his senses at the foot of the crystal structure....mere feet away from the protective barrier. Chrona was sitting nearby, flipping through a book. When the time aspect noticed him...she seemed almost surprised for a moment, before regaining her composure. "Oh hey....Ahhh....Zaofan right? Lo....I mean good to see you got here safe." She clambered over to him.

"Ok....looking good, you still have the magicite right? Well of course you do....if you lost it that quick you'd be hopeless. Anyways...here is your insert point." Chrona pointed her finger to the base of the spire, through the barrier. "No physical body from this point onwards....the entire thing is enchanted to hell and back with protective wards. You step one foot inside there and it would literally dissolve you....even me....hell, especially me. Shes a bit paranoid. But it won't notice a bodyless spirit strapped to some magicite.....see what I'm getting at? You pop your soul in there and I'll handle the delivery."

[KingofPie]

While Sasheem looks at the talisman, he'll see a single, tiny ball of orange-red light trace the pentagram in the same manner that it was marked in the first place.

Zaofan's legs give out, and he collapses back down to a sitting position, holding Bojack upright, spitting hopefully the last of the blood to speak, breathing heavily through his nose. His head is pointed at no one specifically, a consequence of his swollen eyes, but it still hangs tilted and towards them. "Blegh--! That was... that was my original teacher, Ryu Shingen. Master Assassin. That big... ghost... thing is a Yokai of some kind. Calls itself the Crimson Cloak. Shingen was never that strong, but I guess the Yokai had something to do with it. They captured me because they sensed some kind of dark energy that we all carried back from Terra. They're all attracted to blood magic and... Vitalmancy, I guess. That's ...how they found the Lookout, by sensing Wilheim and the Princess." He spits out more blood to the side, and continues.

"We were on Terra so little, but we brought enough residual energy back for them to notice. But apparently the natives are super-saturated from living there. The demons wanted to find a way to travel to Terra and absorb all that dark energy. So, I escaped to try to stop them," he explains as he wipes his mouth.

"When I first fought the Crimson Cloak, I sensed two ki signatures. I thought they were two of Shingen's agents. I sensed the same two signatures on the way here, and again just now. I guess they were two halves of a... fusion. They combined before I got here." The chef then pauses in regret and shame. "I'm-- I'm sorry for bringing the fight to you all. But we beat them."



"You'll get no argument from me," Zaofan says as he coughs up but finds himself gradually improving.

"Huh. Find it funny that you'd wanna learn from an assassin," Sasheem sneered. "Either way, they made the afternoon a little less boring, Sasheem supposes."

"H-hah! It hurts to laugh," Zaofan says as he gets up to lean on Sarada. He then addresses the assembled warriors. "If everyone can..." he breathes deeply again, "...come closer... NO, closer...!"

"Are you giving out snacks or somethin'?" the Majin questioned, halfway hoping that was the case.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Come," said Nevanlinna, as she descended to the lookout's surface, touching down within seconds. Seri was, of course, right behind her. "Well then, it's been a long time since I've been here..."

While waiting for Zaofan to gather his thoughts, Sarada felt a familiar power level approach the Lookout, trailed by an not-so-familiar one. She frowned and turned in the direction of the source, and found Nevanlinna of all people floating above the Plaza.

Floating near her, shockingly, was a Saiyan girl.

"What the?"

When she was sure Zaofan had the strength to stand on his own, she slipped away and joined Ishtar. "Jeez, where have you been?" she asked the Threshling princess before turning her attention to the small girl. "What's your name, kid?"

[Yun Lao]

After a few hours to freshen up, Charco set off from Papaya Island back to the Lookout. Despite being unsure just what happened to him in that cave, he found himself in a decent enough condition not to worry about such things, even though he probably should have worried about it. As long as his body worked as it should have, he was content.

Approaching the Lookout, he was surprised to feel several ki signatures there. Usually, the others would scurry off to do their own things (he included), so actually finding a good bit of them still there told him that something important must have occurred in his absence.

"This is new..."

Descending, Charco landed on the battered grounds of the Lookout, seeking out any signs of what was going on.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

Ishtar sensed the Threshling, before she even appeared on the Lookout's surface, and despite the situation that had just unfolded, there was a matter the Oni had long hoped to discuss, with Nevanlinna and ...

Is that a Saiyan child ?

A moment was all it took to confirm it, and the realization that the Threshling Princess, she who hated Saiyans, seemed to be caring for a Saiyan child settled in shortly afterwards. And that was ...

"Well then."

Still, when the began to approach the others, Ishtar broke away from Zaofan, and Sarada, and made her way swiftly over.

"Nevanlinna, and ... er. Child. There is a matter we need to discuss."

The first to approach was Ishtar. Not surprising, though the Threshling princess did pick up a slight bit of... surprise from the Oni, when her eyes drifted to Seri. Again, not surprising, given her of-stated hatred of Saiyans in the past. She still didn't much like them, but the past year had... softened her stance, so to speak.

"Ishtar, it's been quite some ti--"

"Hi, I'm Seri!' said the saiyan girl as she ran up to Ishtar. "Wooow, you sure feel strong. Do you wanna fight?"

Nevanlinna sighed, partially out of annoyance at being interrupted and partially because she really should have seen this coming. "Seri..." Her tone carried a certain element of strictness, but not anger or harshness.

"Ah, er, sorry, sorry...." said the Saiyan girl as she returned to Neva's side.

"My apologies, you... know how Saiyans can be. Now then, what is this matter you wish to discuss with me? I trust it must be quite important." She looked around. "And what, if I may ask, was going on here? I would presume it was a battle of some sort, but against whom were you lot fighting?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

using Ki Althena inflates her muscles and bone a small bit , and her height increase from 7'6" to 7'8". she then says to Eva " this is Efficiency Mode it grants a 4 x boost in power and it's highly efficient ." "it's mainly use for conserving stamina my power level in this mode is 160,000 ." she then reverts to her original size.

after that she just uses Ki to increase the size of her leg and arm muscles just enough for there to be noticeable difference. she then says " this is boost mode it grants a 6x boost in power and boost strength & speed." " it doesn't sacrifice too much stamina but there's still loss of Stamina compare to Efficiency mode." " my power level in this mode is 240,000"

Althena then uses Ki to bulk up her entire body to the point where it's a mountain of muscle and her height increases to 10 feet . Althena then says to Eva" this is Power mode it grants a 8x boost in power and boost strength tremendously but suffers in speed and stamina." " in this mode my power level is 320, 000 ." Althena than surges more Ki though her body until a red fiery aura surrounds her body and glowing red lines of Ki appear on her body, and her eyes turn completely white .


Althena then says to Eva " finally this is Max mode which grants 10x boost in power giving both a tremendous boost in strength and speed . " "however it comes with a great cost Max mode has massive Ki drainage. " "it is a technique that should only be use as a last resort." " in this mode my power level is 400,000 but because of the rapid drainage in Ki it drops to 20,000


" in the book of Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam the most recommend mode to use is Efficiency Mode". " no Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam master include me would ever recommend going straight into Max mode ." " it's just not worth it." " even now as I'm in this mode I can feel my Stamina and Ki rapidly draining."

" you can see the visually see Ki leaking out from my body." " the mode is really powerful but at the same time impractical."

for Cleric

okay I adjust the all the multipliers for the Mahtoesa Hetto no Hwe-Atkam Power up techniques. Efficiency mode is now a 4x multiplier , boost mode is now a 6x multiplier , Power mode is now a 8x multiplier and finally Max Mode is now a 10x multiplier.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

With that, Meagan began to carefully strip down, making sure her clothes didn't stick to her injured skin. Turning to place her clothes on the table nearby, Sarada and Isthar might notice scarring on her back that were older than the burns. She then activated one of the chambers and stepped inside.

Sarada tried to resist watching Meagan undress, but she couldn't help but be curious about what she was working with. Hm, not bad. Jinzi is a lucky bastard, she silently noted with a even more silent chuckle. She also noted the old scars on her back, but said nothing about them.

"Well, we'll give you some privacy. See you later."

She grabbed Ishtar's good hand and all but dragged her out of the room and toward where she sensed the Sisters. "Let's get some food in you. You'll need all the energy you can get for later," she said with a sly grin.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The first to approach was Ishtar. Not surprising, though the Threshling princess did pick up a slight bit of... surprise from the Oni, when her eyes drifted to Seri. Again, not surprising, given her of-stated hatred of Saiyans in the past. She still didn't much like them, but the past year had... softened her stance, so to speak.

"Ishtar, it's been quite some ti--"

"Hi, I'm Seri!' said the saiyan girl as she ran up to Ishtar. "Wooow, you sure feel strong. Do you wanna fight?"

Nevanlinna sighed, partially out of annoyance at being interrupted and partially because she really should have seen this coming. "Seri..." Her tone carried a certain element of strictness, but not anger or harshness.

"Ah, er, sorry, sorry...." said the Saiyan girl as she returned to Neva's side.

"My apologies, you... know how Saiyans can be. Now then, what is this matter you wish to discuss with me? I trust it must be quite important." She looked around. "And what, if I may ask, was going on here? I would presume it was a battle of some sort, but against whom were you lot fighting?"

Before Nevanlinna could manage two sentences, the child -- Seri -- was quick to interrupt. And despite the reason for Ishtar's quick approach, the Oni cracked a smile.

"Hello, Seri." Ishtar said, bending down to be at eye level with the girl. "I am Ishtar, and it is nice to meet you." Offering a smile, the Oni then bobbed her head and addressed the obvious.

"I am quite strong, yes. Perhaps we can fight when I finish speaking with your ... with ... with Nevanlinna."

That said, Ishtar returned her attention to Neva, and was quick to explain the state of the Lookout before diving into her chosen topic.

"A ... former teacher of Zaofan, attempted to learn the secrets of Terra, by attempting to understand Blood Magic, by means of Vitalmancy." The Oni stopped short then, before sighing. What an idiot this Shingen was.

"In any case ... this is the matter I wish to speak with you about," the Oni said, and then lifted her arm up and exposed the Eye of Auroc.

"I need your assistance, in hunting your God. Or rather ... knowledge of him beyond a name, a voice, and the Truth of the Lies he uses to deceive your species."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

After a few hours to freshen up, Charco set off from Papaya Island back to the Lookout. Despite being unsure just what happened to him in that cave, he found himself in a decent enough condition not to worry about such things, even though he probably should have worried about it. As long as his body worked as it should have, he was content.

Approaching the Lookout, he was surprised to feel several ki signatures there. Usually, the others would scurry off to do their own things (he included), so actually finding a good bit of them still there told him that something important must have occurred in his absence.

"This is new..."

Descending, Charco landed on the battered grounds of the Lookout, seeking out any signs of what was going on.

Yet another familiar signature was steadily approaching. Charco? It felt like it had been ages since she last saw him, and even longer since she last interacted with him.

!!!

She remembered they had yet to finish their fight from yonder time ago. It had been since right before they left the Geofront, which was almost two years ago. No, this would not do at all.

The moment he landed, she stepped up to him. "You thought you could get away with leaving me with blue balls for almost two years, dino boy?" She smirked.

[Lord Falcon]

".....Ishtar....could you excuse me for a moment. I need to make a quick point...."

Chrona didn't so much as step forward as appeared within a footsteps distance from the angered god. There wasn't any real speed in her action, but to Asha'rah it was beyond even a blur of motion. Her hand flicked forward and with a casual "boop" from the time familiar she tapped the goddess on the nose and the world went white.



Before her, a bleak and lifeless nightmare of ash and pulverized earth continued upon endlessly.

"Listen.....Believe what you want of me. But don't assume I'm treating this as some sort of game......you have no idea the trial and error I had to go through to get a timeline like this just right. I've seen bad endings to this story that would curdle the blood in even a goddesses veins. For example..." Chrona appeared in front of her and pointed outwards.

"In 67.666% repeating of possible outcomes, Erosa dies. It doesn't matter how much you "strive" to avert that outcome......the universe doesn't treat the efforts of even its creator with any favoritism. In a fraction of those outcomes....you strive, a little too hard. Take for example...this one. Alternate Path 2611-B."

Chrona turns to Asha'rah. "The revelation that Erosa dies, despite your best effort to the contrary....acts as a fundamental breaking point. You kill my master, you kill parsic....and you kill me. But that isn't good enough, the sorrow to great, soon you shift the blame onto others.....Etrina for failing to help, Ishtar for being too late. Eventually you kill them too....and your team of friends.....and this world.......this galaxy......"

"Is this an ending you want, Goddess of Creation? Look up....."

Chrona gestures, and the dark ash clouds part above them to reveal a starry sky.

"Your the last god in this timeline....all the others are dead. This universe will never be unsealed....."

The world went white again, and Asha'rah found herself back in the garden before the wreaked house with Chrona back to where she was standing, popping popcorn in her mouth.

"Believe me when I say this....I've seen ever bad ending there is to this tale. The reason I'm here, even bothering to treat with you, is because this timeline is the closest I've come to engineering an ending that benefits everyone....So I'll stake my life on making sure Erosa survives. If she dies, I'll die. Sound fair enough for you?"

Without warning, Asha'rah began to laugh. It started soft and otherworldly, but quickly grew into a roar. It echoed in her voice and in a thousand others, male and female, meek and godlike, refined and primal. This whelp had convinced herself so thoroughly of the perfection of her simulations that she presumed to speak of destiny to an elder god. As if that were not ludicrous enough, she predicted a chance of Asha'rah going berzerk enough to murder Ishtar out of simple despair, a suggestion that would have been offensive had it not been so wildly off the mark as to shed all hint of credibility. Incidents like Ishtar's genocide on Illargi were exactly what Asha'rah had sacrificed everything to try to stop by fighting the War in the Heavens in the first place.

Yet within that gigantic pile of nonsense lay a single morsel of sincerity that Asha'rah could believe - one crucial thing that saved Chrona from being met with battle - Chrona had strived for this moment. She claimed to have worked tirelessly, over and over again to make this moment come to pass so that she might save Etrina and Erosa. And in that, if nothing else, Asha'rah believed her.

When she eventually recovered, she straightened, her mood considerably less dangerous.

"Do not cite destiny to me, familiar. I was there when they tried to write it." It had not worked out. Even Zurvan himself could not hope to reliably predict the future, let alone this skin flake of his standing before her.

"You think I strive because of some notion the universe favors me? Striving is a way of life, not a means to an end. It is not the observer who counts; not the one who points out how those with fire stumble. The credit belongs to the ones actually in the thick of the struggle, whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strive valiantly; who err, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spend themselves upon a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly."

She regarded Chrona with measured wrath and respect, if not for her then at least for her efforts and her claimed willingness to stake her life upon it.

"Yet I believe you when you say you say you have strived for this moment, this one chance. So we are agreed. I will follow this plan you have foisted upon us," She said, nodding and raising a hand glowing violet and black.

"And if Erosa dies, you will lean your neck into my hands and cease to exist."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

While waiting for Zaofan to gather his thoughts, Sarada felt a familiar power level approach the Lookout, trailed by an not-so-familiar one. She frowned and turned in the direction of the source, and found Nevanlinna of all people floating above the Plaza.

Floating near her, shockingly, was a Saiyan girl.

"What the?"

When she was sure Zaofan had the strength to stand on his own, she slipped away and joined Ishtar. "Jeez, where have you been?" she asked the Threshling princess before turning her attention to the small girl. "What's your name, kid?"

Neva's gaze turned to Sarada. She'd, of course, sensed her--how could she not when the Saiyan queen was admittedly very powerful... for a Saiyan--and she looked no worse for the wear after a year of being a head of state. Good, even with everything that had been happening, it seems that she'd been adjusting well. "I was pulled to my homeworld during that gate spell and dropped unceremoniously in front of my mother. Anula had reported my... antics... to her and, in the end, I was stripped of my rank and exiled."

The Saiyan girl blinked at Sarada, and then her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh, cool, you're Queen Sarada! So that must mean that the horned lady is Ishtar! Um, I'm Seri, and I'm from Cipolline... or I was, until the bad guys came and..."

Before the girl could even begin to feel sad, Nevanlinna reached over and ruffled the girl's mane of hair, which seemed to banish whatever memories she was recalling.

"Her home was attacked during that... trouble you had with the Tuffle remnants. As a result, she fell into my care." That wasn't the entire story, of course, but it was the truth, abridged as it was.

"Mmm, it was really scary and sad, but Neva beat up the bad guys and took care of me, so I'm not really lonely... well, not a lot." She punched the air. "And now I'm training with her and gonna get super-strong so the bad guys can't hurt me or anyone ever again!"

Neva chuckled and shook her head. It was a rather simple motivation, to be sure, but she'd found her simplicity... endearing, to an extent.

[Yun Lao]

Yet another familiar signature was steadily approaching. Charco? It felt like it had been ages since she last saw him, and even longer since she last interacted with him.

!!!

She remembered they had yet to finish their fight from yonder time ago. It had been since right before they left the Geofront, which was almost two years ago. No, this would not do at all.

The moment he landed, she stepped up to him. "You thought you could get away with leaving me with blue balls for almost two years, dino boy?" She smirked.

There was a slight prickling sensation at the back of his mind. It was as if he were placing his hand against a bed of nails, not so much piercing his hand, but getting a good sense of how sharp they were. A warning, perhaps?

The source was Sarada, or rather, Sarada had faint traces of whatever was setting off this weird feeling. The sword, physical or not, seemed to have an opposition to magic and if Sarada herself used any or simply had some rubbed off due to her association to Ishtar, he had picked up on it.

Man, how bothersome. Never should have gone into that cave...

Taking his focus off whatever was affecting him, his mind turned back to more pleasant things. Such as fighting.

"I've been here all this time." He said, arms opened wide in challenge, "If anyone's been neglecting the challenge, it'd be you," Came his reply, no doubt seeking to rile her up in preparation to their duel.

[MrSandman]

"Do not cite destiny to me, familiar. I was there when they tried to write it." It had not worked out. Even Zurvan himself could not hope to reliably predict the future, let alone this skin flake of his standing before her.

"You think I strive because of some notion the universe favors me? Striving is a way of life, not a means to an end. It is not the observer who counts; not the one who points out how those with fire stumble. The credit belongs to the ones actually in the thick of the struggle, whose faces are marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strive valiantly; who err, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spend themselves upon a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fail while daring greatly."

She regarded Chrona with measured wrath and respect, if not for her then at least for her efforts and her claimed willingness to stake her life upon it.

"Yet I believe you when you say you say you have strived for this moment, this one chance. So we are agreed. I will follow this plan you have foisted upon us," She said, nodding and raising a hand glowing violet and black.

"And if Erosa dies, you will lean your neck into my hands and cease to exist."

".......Well......I guess we came to a favorable conclusion......Kinda get the feeling I'm being looked down at but hey if it gets you moving I'll swallow some pride." Chrona chuckled, the scratched the back of her head. ".....Hakai huh.....guess I should feel honored you'd bring out the big guns for me. Don't worry....it is as I said. If she dies, I die."