The hands continued to strike the boy, their blades slicing away at his skin, digging into his flesh. Bit by bit, limb by limb, words to word, the young boy was ripped apart. He spoke with a strong heart, a resolved spirit. With each sentence, he was an inch closer to death. The words were hollow, he took the beating, the blades and the dismemberment till he was nothing but a corpse of a boy with few words to speak. It was gruesome, more so than intended, he stood so resolute and firming, willing to give up everything for his cause, but they had to take it from the young boy, from Trently. They were going to.To
Their screams and anger met his words. To them they had greed, their own anger, and woes, they were unwilling to connect or listen to him. It was rather cruel, as the armies all turned on a young boy of their own kind. As slowly aged, his crimson life force dripping down from the newly made marks from both sides of the armies. Limbless, careless, worryless, naive, and now lifeless as the began to cave his chest in with their blows. He was many things, he no a fool no more, he forged a conviction. He had found something, hopefully something he would take with him. With that Torento's heartbeat ceased.
Madness was neverending in ones mind, it was never ending in a dream as well. The world's end began to end it all. Things were going to go dark very soon. However, the king chose upon himself to take the darkness upon himself. As he felt the blade pierce through his flesh, through who he was it would burn. He was right, there was an ungratefulness to some of the things he did. Failure had come, misunderstandings and the collapse of the world around could make good intentions and good men turn bad.
These thoughts would depart with his life foce as the steel was now covered with his blood. He knew it was a powerful thing, he could control. It was so powerful, and they were so feeble. So many mistakes, so much loss, so much success, so much love. The world was so beautiful, it was so horrific all at once. The king could see this, soon he would see nothing. A kiss, love, they were grateful as he was now gone, they loved him as he the king learned to give himself once again as his life was now over.
The water was dark, it was so dark. It was starting to feel colder or was that just the blood loss as the horn the rampaging unicorn stabbed her. She tried to hold it back, she hit and slammed against it's head. The beast had so much power, she normally had so much control in the water. The beast was looming, he vision seemingly warped as the water, and the beast seemed to grow. Pushing her further into the darkness into the deep.
The dark was so powerful, the pressure was so much crushing, the light didn't make her any safer however. It was just herself against an immense power, one bigger than herself. She gave herself to it, she fought back. She knew there were powers greater than herself. That she couldn't beat, yet time and time again the Immuchak raged against them. It was all fading, it seemed even more dark and colder. Her life faded, she still moved, always accelerating forward despite what weighed her. There was a small warmth, like group hug as her life was now forfeit, Ani was no more.
Their eyes saw everything, they were all aware they could all see the same thing. They would wonder where they were as images played. As they saw dreams, pictures of the past, direct memories. They were there, in mind only it seemed.
The experience rolled forward like they were traveling through space and times, things were so vivid. It looked so real as they watched Trently face the explosion before him. As so many died around the young man. His flesh was burned up the bomb, they saw all how it happened. It was like they could feel what he thought that day, what he felt from the burning sensation as the explosion consumed.
How it weighed on the young man's mind. He just wanted to prove himself, to prove that he could be a hero. They saw the day the horn sprouted from the boy's head. The as he lamented in his woes, crushing the shard in his hands. As the magic warped his head, with the protrusion stabbing through his head. Fate was a tricky thing, it did such an odd thing to the boy. It was a great power, but all of this power was coming from his pain, he had to keep getting stronger from his loss.
They saw the young boy's childhood, his excitement to fight. They could see it all, they could see and understand. Trently was so young, having to give so much with a rhyme or reason. He devoted all for his own reasons. It what as driving him it had seemed, or atleast based of what they were seeing. It wasn't all they saw. The vivid shifting switched into a palace.
It was Lagi, he was soon going to wake up missing some of his valuables. It would feel so long ago but they could all sense why the memory and the king would ache. He had been used to losing those he liked or loved. It was hard for a young king to find love, he wasn't even meant for this lifestyle. He had been thrown into this position. Why did they take from him, he just wanted to be happy. He wanted them to be happy, he just wants Reim to be happy. Even pseudo happiness wasn't allowed for the king.
They would still see the ornate halls of the castle, and they would see as the wife that was given to Lagi in the war was killed. Sure it wasn't love but they could understand, he couldn't' even have an arranged marriage. He didn't want all this bloodloss, but it was lead to it. He's been involved in these wars, they saw as him in the first Kou war. Feeling the triumph as they one, as El Drago flew above, the force victorious below. It lead to this prolonged war, it lead to his fall.
He just wanted to be loved, he wanted to give power back to the people. He faded, no search party the contempt built. They could see it, as sceneries shifted vividly into dark rooms, the nation of Kou, Helio, seeing bits and pieces of his depreavity. As he pushed himself further into a darkness. It wasn't all dark, though. As they saw his two kids, they saw the happiness from what he left.
There in the woods of Reim they saw as the King taught the fanalis Merrze to take care of her beast. When they played with the firebreathing beast. As he taught someone his families beliefs, his beliefs. He got to see the things he do pass on, they would feel what he felt. The love from watching in his throne. As the world grew stronger around, as the powers within it rose. As the strongest now had others high in the sky with him. They would feel the pride, and looming presence of the rumors that came from a legend thought to be dead. He threw that away as well, he had power but longer his image.
There was love, he had happiness in the past, he sacrificed but for a reason, he could see how he got there. He saw why it was up to him if it was worth it. He did help others get stronger, others were fighting for a better world. He helped in that, he saw his failures. For each one there was a hope, a good action that he did that mattered. He couldn't keep glory, but he could keep his effect, he could leave an impact and that was his power.
Love was powerful, it was so crippling and freezing as well. The pressure from love, from hoping to live up to the expectations of those who love us. They would see that for sure as they all stood there, seeing the towering presence of the rampaging unicorn. They could understand, or at least see why Ani was running away. They were away from the beast now, on the boat, drifting through the water.
It was so isolating and cold to be out here in the open. It was such a lonely feeling. It was understandable, there was no way she could kill that beast! She didn't want to kill it in the first place. She didn't want to fail her family though, her clan, her people. It was better to just run away, to escape it all then fail the challenge, to fail family.
Failure was powerful however, it was inescapable. Especially in dungeons. They could see the pain and anguish on Ani's face, she stood there before a djinn. She faced her worst fears, she had to force herself through a hot hell in which burned away at her skin. She was tired, crackling skin. She was just so thirsty. She wanted to suceed atleast, to make up for the pain she survived. It was like her dedication meant nothing.
She put herself into, just to be told she was running away from her fears. Not properly facing them in a way to push forward and suceed. It was disheartening, it was so hard to push through. Each dungeon was a failure, she was so close a well. She was proving herself, and once again, she saw her will, his decisions disregarded. She gave so much of herself, but she chose to push forward even and face everything. People disregarded her, they spoiled their efforts because they didn't trust in her. They didn't believe in her.
It was hard to keep her head up, it was all so crushing, when was success going to come. She did get to build her fort, she busted her ass building up a strong mercenary team. Gathering people, doing jobs and unifying her teams. The entire team feeling the overwhelming power of emotion, and pain as it switched to the day Ani gave birth.
She had things to fight for, she had a reason to keep pushing on. There were things to sacrifice herself for, to fight for, to live for. They would understand why this child was with her. There was no one else that could watch the baby for her. She was the only who could take care of Kor. They would feel her intense desire to protect, to keep her child close.
Slowly the group was keeping to understand one another, seeing their motivations, their pains and their loves. The shifting of memories would stop for a moment as it soon settled. It was a memory none of them had ever seen, however. They were seeing a true visage of the past.
He rushed away from his house, his long blonde hair pushed back in the wind. He wasn't far enough away to where he couldn't hear the cries and screams from his family. His wife, she stood there crying, holding back their angry son. He screamed curses out towards his father, the words getting progressively more vulgar than the last.
It hurt his heart, it filled with a slight anger as he ran clutching the shovel in his hand. He ran towards the sky, more specifically what was descending from the sky. A mass of hands descends from the sky. It was eating the land, it was eating his people. Immense power pulsed true fear, something more powerful than the memory. He was powerless, he saw massive men and beasts battling. Fending off things from this consuming darkness.
He was a weak magician, he had to serve the man he chose to follow, however. He had to fight. He had to give himself, it was scary. It was so daunting as he approached the mass, seeing Gamigan, his lord struggle to fight off the dark creatures. As Djinn raged against these beasts, he only wanted to help his lord, his cause, his family. He shook as he used magic to shape the earth beneath him. He felt powerlessness in the dark, as the hands reached down to grab him. He charged, willing to dig away and throw away for his family to survive.
"Sacrifice is ultimately like all things in life, only powerful when we give it meaning. We give it so much meaning as well. So many of us are willing to give up nothing so we can live our lives. But that's no protection, thats complaceny, thats not care. Things are cruel, you will fail, lose and be tricked. Many will disregard your efforts. However like all things they carry the meaning we give them. If you're willing to give for a cause, it is yours to give and fight for. Not others to dissuade, right or wrong it's your conviction and no one will ever be able to steal that from you."
Their eyes would upon as they all stood before the icy gate. It was a cold steel, the patterns were odd, it was a group of circles interlaced, forming a cage-like design almost. It was there before the trio. Who now stood free of the dreams, of the coffins, no one in sight. Just the answers for them to find in themselves. All of their energy was back, they were healed, Trently free of the fire wraith as well. Sho laid supported as they all held her aloft.
As they held her the flame from Ani, the warmth from the fire would move over on the girl. They all gave a soft glow, their rukh resonating for a second as they were all reminded of the happiness in their pains, in what they saw in each other's lives. Sho was healed, and the next room was now ready to enter.
Dm Notes: Good job, the rhyming answer did suffice, for it was sacrifice.