2 - Nine Lives, p1

“It’s this way. It’s flaring up the more we approach it.” Jian said, rushing down one of the streets. Parts of it were filled with debris, she and Ichigo had to put some effort in parkouring around them.

“How close is it?” Ichigo asked.

“Somewhere in the area.” Jian said, with a mighty gust of force, she jumped up on top of one of the buildings and made her way from rooftop to rooftop, scouting the area thoroughly. She stopped after a while, looking around, appearing confused.

“Anything yet?” Ichigo called out. “The presence suddenly lowered.”

“It’s fluctuating.” Jian said. “It doesn't help that there are other soulfuls in the area too, acting as distractions.”

“Prague is where the SRI was located. It was a hotspot for soulfuls, and the city had a rather large soulful population because of it. Now, all of that is working against us.”

“But when a presence is especially dark, nothing can conceal it perfectly.”

Jian leapt across a pair of houses and, making a landing on the roof of a small convenience store, jumped and grabbed onto the balcony on a much taller glass and cement building. She slowly made her way up, like a spider, and Ichigo followed suit.

“It’s in this building for sure.”

“Ichigo, it’s either inside, or underground.” Jian said, almost at the rooftop. “I find it unlikely that there is anyone left in the building. We can destroy it from above. There might be a chance this is a type of resupply hub or headquarters.”

“Understood.” Ichigo said, pulling himself upwards and making his way to the top.

The roof was a rather large rectangular area. There was a small entrance in the middle that led downstairs, the tiles were covered a light gray. The moonlight shone especially brightly on it. Jian climbed up on top and instantly took a step back, taking a stance. Ichigo did the same and, noticing a figure on the top of the bulkhead, was a man who sat down with so much grace and composure around him it was difficult to guess whether it was a peaceful civilian or an unstoppable force.

“This is him.” Jian said, taking a step forward. “The source of the presence.” Ichigo almost instantly took a stance, preparing for the confrontation. The man didn’t have a sword or a firearm, he had a small notebook.

“The night sky blooms with beauty. The violence dances with meaning.” Nachtvessel Beta said, taking notes with a black and white feather. “The expression of the mind remains unclear.”

“What is he saying?” Jian asked herself, taking aim at the man. “Ichigo, we will take him out as fast as possible.”

“Got it. Shoot the ground.” Ichigo said, clasping his hands. His soul presence spiked.

Before Ichigo fires off his light beam, for a split second, a bright spark of light appears. Paired with the increase in his presence, it is perhaps the way to reliably dodge the powerful beam of light. Beta used the moment to quickly rip a paper off of his notebook. He turned it to face where Ichigo’s beam was projected to hit. All it was was a paper with an ‘X’ written on it.

Jian fired at the ground, creating a smokescreen from the dust and piles of concrete flying up. Ichigo used the moment to fire his light, but unfortunately for him, it was completely absorbed by the paper, its energy being transformed into a shockwave that swept the small cloud of dust away. Before Jian could think or act again, she felt the enemy’s presence close in rapidly.

Beta closed the distance and struck her with the feather, carving a wound on her right arm. It bled pretty heavily. Jian jabbed her with her left hand and kicked her away, and Ichigo jumped at him while summoning his blade. Before he could strike, another piece of paper was ripped off of the notebook, this one had a sword drawn on it. Beta showed it to Ichigo, and it parried his slashing attack, it even cut his chest. Ichigo jumped back, almost falling off of the roof completely.

“It’s the paper.” Ichigo said, unsummoning his blade and clasping his hands again.

“Then we have to-”

“A flower that rejected being unearthed.” Beta mumbled, sitting back down again. “And an opera that connected to the heart directly. How magnificent would that be?”

He drew a line in his notebook. Jian’s arm was destroyed.

“Jian!” Ichigo called out, hearing her bite on her lip to contain the scream of pain. “Stay back and regenerate, I’ll deal with this.”

“Ichigo...” Jian tried to say something, but her scream got in the way. The wound did a great deal of damage, but an even greater deal of pain. It felt different than simple decapitation.

“And then, once the violins are awake, and the trumpets were silenced, the piano will reign supreme. How beautiful would that be?” Beta kept rambling.

Ichigo charged at him. He swung his blade almost manically, with Beta quickly moving around and dodging most of it. Ichigo used his invisibility for a split second before popping out of it once again, delivering a successful slashing wound to Beta’s stomach. Beta didn’t react, he was calm and unbothered. He landed an uppercut on Ichigo in the stomach and managed to scratch him with the feather.

“Ichigo, it’s...not the paper...” Jian said, in the process of regenerating her arm. “It’s the ink! Watch out for the ink!”

Ichigo quickly looked at the scratch on his shoulder. He thought he’d meet the same fate, but Beta, stepping back, began quickly sketching again.

“Ah, the fall of man...how magnificent a sight. How intriguing a story." Beta said. Black ink started to ooze out of the wound, reshaping itself into a downward arrow. It pulled him down with enough force to break into the floor beneath.

Jian, who had her sights on Beta for a while, fired at him. She blew a hole on the side of his stomach, and blood poured out of the large wound. She didn’t want to get close and deal with the ink again. She took aim at his head.

Beta calmly sketched a cross in his notebook, ripped the paper off and tossed it at his wound before he would collapse from the dangerous injury. His already impressive regeneration accelerated even further, mending his wound. But soon, another wound would appear, in a much more dangerous place.

Ichigo’s soul presence gave him away a little. He attempted to sneak behind him and decapitate him, but Beta, catching onto the plan, dodged at the last second. The slashing attack didn’t do anything. But a second later, Ichigo, unexpectedly, dashed forwards. Beta prepared to counter, but Jian destroyed his arm that held the feather. Ichigo pierced Beta’s heart.

“A story of tragedy. Better yet, a story of redemption. Or perhaps revenge?” Beta mumbled. He summoned his feather in his mouth and used his other hand to hold a piece of paper, moving it around and sketching a bomb on it. He tossed the paper at Ichigo.

“Get down!” Ichigo yelled. The explosion was powerful enough to completely destroy the roof and knock both Jian and Ichigo away. They landed on the flat roof of a slightly shorter building, and Beta gracefully landed next to them.

They faced off again, with Beta sitting down.

“The tragedy of the man’s condition.” Beta mumbled. His ink began oozing more and more ink. “Will it be a play about the conflict of man and nature, or man and man? The stage can aid us greatly.”

“He’s too dangerous.” Jian said. “He’s protected against our attacks, and the ink is extremely dangerous.”

“There’s one option left then. To end this as fast as possible.” Ichigo said, taking a deep breath. His presence began increasing.

“You mean-”

“Yes.” Ichigo said.

“If there’s anything that can overpower it, or somehow bypass its extreme defenses while not getting me killed in the process, it’s that. But the problem is, the Captain...”

“Captain, please retreat and assist someone else on the battlefield.” Ichigo asked. “It would be better if I could fight unrestricted.”

“Do you believe me to be a liability?” Jian said, a little offended at the statement.

“No, I just-”

“We will operate as instructed.” Jian said. “I will pull back and support you from the distance.”

“The play will have many elements, don’t you agree?” Beta kept talking to himself. “The fool, the hustler, and the merciful queen. Or perhaps, a vengeful king. Who knows?”

“The fuck is this guy on about...?” Ichigo thought. “His presence is getting increasingly higher too.”

“For a brainless, amnesiac soldier, he’s talking way too much. But maybe it’s a prerequisite for his ability’s activation.”

“Whatever the case is, I’ll eliminate him right here.”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation ✦ ”

“ ✦ Spectral Requiem! ✦ ”

Ichigo’s presence skyrocketed. He wore his divine acclamation form with confidence and concentration sparking in his eyes. His body lit up like a beacon, and he grew four sets of thin, triangular and glowing wings on his back. He instantly took off and flew up high into the sky.

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“The stage shall be attuned carefully.” Beta mumbled. He quickly drew an arrow on a piece of paper, ripped it out, tossed it into the ground and stepped on it. It catapulted him into the sky where he tackled Ichigo.

Jian attempted to take aim, but understood that it would be extremely difficult to strike one of them without striking the other. Ichigo tried to get him off of him, but Beta, constantly throwing uppercuts to the body and his chin, made it a difficult task. Eventually, enough ink was sprayed to set up a rather powerful attack.

“Captain!” Ichigo called out. “Close your eyes!”

He blinded Beta with a powerful release of luminescence. Thankfully, Jian was able to react to his callout in time. Beta, with his eyes hurting like hell, had to cover them up for a second, and Ichigo used it to toss him back down on the rooftop. He sent a tremendously powerful slash of soul prowess his way, and Beta barely dodged it - the slash left its mark on the building.

Jian aimed at him and destroyed his leg. Beta seemed strangely content with remaining seated on the roof.

“Clear!!!” Ichigo yelled. Jian instantly leapt away from the rooftop, back on top of the half-destroy rooftop they were on earlier. She took aim once more, but had to ultimately give up. The blinding light was too strong.

Ichigo’s acclamation had lit up the entire area a little with its luminosity. Before the upcoming attack even struck, it felt as if the whole city was being blessed by a divine light, piercing through the night’s darkness like desolate rays of light pierce into the depths of the sea. Ichigo clasped his hands.

“ ✦ Divine Ring Of Exorcism!!! ✦ ”

“All preparations lead to-”

Beta was struck by the divine column of light. Caught in its center, if he didn’t instantly think of a response, he would risk getting fried alive. Most importantly, his soul itself was under tremendous pressure from the dimming.

He sketched up a shield and a few ‘X’s on various papers and threw them up in the air. They held on for a while, halting the attack, but they were eventually reduced to ash. The light struck him again, and if that wasn’t enough, while he was protecting himself against the light, Jian was able to charge up a shot. Once the shield was close to breaking, she blasted him in his chest, destroying parts of his arms and carving very severe wounds on his stomach.

Ichigo couldn’t maintain the beam for too long. Once it ended, he needed to rest and recollect his focus for a bit before firing it again. Jian was the same, she needed time to fire another shot. And Beta still remained seated.

“Once all is prepared, the sin will be cleansed. The likes of you will meet salvation at the hands of a merciful cause.” Beta said. The papers were set ablaze with a fury of black flames, surrounding him as his presence reached its apex. “I, as a harbinger of her will, will see to it.”

“His presence!” Jian called out. “Ichigo, strike him again, now!”

“I can’t yet...” Ichigo said, forcing himself to focus more. Remaining airborne, he tried every method he could think of to reactivate his beam, but he couldn’t reactivate it just yet. He chose a sequence of powerful slashes his way, but they were all warded off by the intimidating aura created by the flames.

“The world has seen enough, and I, as the harbinger of her will, will see to it.” Beta repeated himself. An inexplicable darkness surrounded him. “All the appropriate preparations have been completed. Now then...”

“ ✦ I shall set the stage for your perfect execution. ✦ ”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation ✦ ”

Everything felt darker. More malevolent, more sick, more disgusting and paralyzingly terrific. The light that fell upon the city was dimmed. The darkness slowly dripped from the sky, in the form of small raindrops that struck the ground and melted into it. Beta’s presence dwarfed that of Ichigo’s at the moment. It looked as if only creatures retained their relevance in the world and were separated by the darkened veil - Ichigo, Jian and Beta.

It was a courtesy of Ichigo’s failure to carry out his initial goal - ending the fight as soon as possible. After Beta finishes the preparations, he would no longer find any use in utilizing the papers and even the feather itself. The entire battlefield became his script.

“ ✦ Tragedy Of The Eclipsed Playwriter ✦ ”

Some of the droplets of ink fell on Beta’s body, fully healing him. Jian immediately prepared to open fire. A pair of droplets of ink fell upon her, and her fate was sealed.

“A young and foolish explorer.” Beta said. Jian, with her arms restrained, was lifted into the air. She faintly saw visions of a black silhouette that resembled a human being - wandering around an unrecognizable realm. The ink showered her more, forming an arrow next to her, pointing up. She was flung into the air with tremendous force. “He peeked into the sky trying to show pity to the sun. But the power of its unforgiving heat had melted through his mindscape.”

Ichigo rushed in, trying to swing his blade at Beta, but was halted along the way. A strong burning sensation caught him off guard, and as he looked up to the sky, he saw the darkened flame strike Jian with all its force. It was painful enough to render her unable to even keep her aim on her target.

“The scorching sun reminded him of its loneliness. It explained to him what the distance between them is.” Beta continued. Jian, still almost horrified, saw another vision. The ink now resembled a bird - soaring high into the clouds, getting pierced its guide towards eternal warmth. “When the fool acknowledged it too, he forswore his own purpose. His own heart betrayed him.”

The ink lingering around the scene quickly formed a spear. As the bird was vanquished, the spear pierced Jian’s heart. The light faded away, the ink restraints were broken apart, and she was tossed away, like a theatrical prop that was no longer of any use...

“Jian!” Ichigo yelled, charging at her to try and get her out of the death trap.

“No...get him, not me..!” Jian said, spitting out blood. Her determination didn’t let her lose her consciousness just yet. She crashed on one of the rooftops. Although still alive, if Beta decided to continue his play, she would be left utterly defenseless.

“And as such, the foolish-”

“ ✦ Divine Ring Of Exorcism!! ✦ ”

The beam struck Beta again.

“The world has hated the prophet because he preached the truth.” Beta said. The ink assembled itself above him and protected him from the light, and unlike the notes of paper, the defense actually held out. “The foolish prophet, who was laughed at by the masses and prosecuted by the authorities, had the power of his belief on his side, and that eclipsed all mortal strength! What a play that would be!”

Ichigo rushed at him, but another obstacle was manifested. He experienced the same visions that Jian was having. They were no longer on a rooftop, but on a calm, peaceful meadow, right outside a village. He was starting to feel the intensity of the situation. He saw the ink-woven crowds all curse at a single dark figure.

“And then, the prophet faced the king’s most fearsome guard.” Beta said with a deep and dire voice. Ichigo rushed at Beta with all his strength, but an ink figure resembling a human arose in front of him, deflecting the incoming sword strike. The darkness shifted, the setting metamorphosed, and Ichigo was the guardian. The figure in front of him, the prophet, following the script's command, did not fight - it simply protected itself.

“Shit, it’s not letting me get to him! Just what the hell type of ability even is this?!”

Ichigo kept on trying and trying to decapitate the prophet. He even felt motivated by the cheers of the nonexistent audience, the commoners, the villagers that rooted for him to execute the cruel king’s order. Almost all of his attacks were parried, blocked, avoided and redirected. Until Ichigo decided to use his invisibility. His stance could not be read while he was cloaked. He used it to set up a lethal attack, one which the prophet would not expect at all.

It even brought a tear to the prophet’s eye.

He swung his blade, striking the figure in its neck. But unfortunately, the ink had long taken control. The blade halted, the darkness shifted...

“While confronting him, he had a sword held at his neck, but he didn’t plead for mercy!” Beta said. The ink bonded with his limbs and paralyzed him, forcing him to abide by Beta’s laid out scenario.

“And instead, he channeled every bit of his god’s wrath onto him, laying punishment on the heretic that tried to silence his messenger! He sliced the guard’s neck and condemned him to a heartless eternity!”

Ichigo saw the play. The killing was staged so beautifully, the acting was profound, despite only being illustrated by swift motions of ink, drawn by a calligrapher whose soul burned with the art. The majority of the ink flared upwards, revealing Beta. The prophet dissipated into the darkness, revealing the destroyed village. And the bits of the ink on Ichigo’s body ripped his neck open.”

He almost felt paralyzed, all he could do was slowly stumble back. Once he was on the edge of the rooftop, the ink that embraced him seeped into his heart, blowing it apart. The violent motion knocked him back, throwing him off the height...

“Damn it...”

Jian, who felt his presence weaken, instantly assumed the worst case scenario. She herself was wounded badly enough to the point where she couldn’t stand up. She had to spend long and painful minutes recovering herself. She accepted the worst case scenario as the truth. She remembered the awkward exchange they had in the tent, the conversation they had in the elevator, the battles they fought together...

She couldn’t compile any of her feelings into coherent thoughts. It wasn’t just due to the pain, it was because she felt overwhelmed by such a cocktail of emotions she was unfamiliar with that she couldn’t even think. She just laid there, as if trying to understand the dire darkness.

She’s seen comrades die, but she’s never felt this way about a comrade dying, ever. As a matter of fact, she’s never felt this way at all. So she found herself surprised when she felt something roll down her cheek. She thought it was a drop of the ink, that she would be Beta’s next target, but it was something different. It was a drop of liquid that was filled not with malevolence, but with pure, unfiltered emotion.

But then she saw a bright spark of life.

“The reason I survived against that monstrosity in D.C....”

“And the reason I survived right now...”

“It’s probably because I’m too stubborn to die. That’s why I have this ability in the first palace.”

Ichigo soared high into the sky, his body fully rejuvenated. The only difference was that one of his wings was broken apart - disappearing into nothingness. Seven left. The game of light and dark continued...

Beta, still remaining seated on the ground, stared at the creature. He wasn’t surprised to see Ichigo rise from the dead. The only reaction he gave was internal - he needed to adapt and find a solution for dealing with such a creature.

“A lonely traveler decided to abandon home...”

Ichigo rushed at him, grabbing him by his clothes and picking him up while flying high above the city. He nose dove into the ground, shoving Beta into the asphalt and dragging him along. Once done, he tossed him up in the air and kicked him into a nearby building, the impact strong enough to launch him through the building.

“He thought he could escape his troubled village, he believed his purpose was in a different world. But the gods were not pleased!” Beta said. This time, Ichigo wasn’t caught off guard by the visions. He saw the village, he saw the vast fields being drawn over the canvas of reality, appearing as lingering memories. He peeked into the sky, he saw the darkness envelop the colorless sun, and he watched the rain attain a divine meaning and rein hellfire upon him. Heaps of arrows of ink rained upon Ichigo from above, as Beta stood up on the ground. He had no weapons in his hand, all he had to his name was his ink.

Despite continuously being pierced by the arrows, Ichigo didn’t bulge, and headed for the source of the problems itself.

“He ignored the divine warnings, he sought what was unattainable.” Beta mumbled. “And he paid the price dearly. For the domain he assumed was his true home was visited by the gods. Where he wanted to seek shelter, he found destruction.”

“His guilt drove him to suicide.”

The fields and villages were butchered, and so were parts of the ground and some of the buildings surrounding them.

Ichigo launched dozens of slashes at Beta. Most of them missed or were blocked, but a few connected very well, one ripping off Beta’s right hand and the other heavily damaging his stomach and leg. However, when he tried to close the distance, he found out that instead of his soul-bound weapon, he held a black knife.

He tried to pull back, but the darkness rang in demand of the script’s accuracy. He struck the knife deep into his stomach. He tried to push forward, but yet another vision presented himself - the final act. The execution of the runaway and his death by his own hands.

Beta swiped his finger, and the knife’s ink injected itself into Ichigo’s body. A powerful slash destroyed Ichigo’s body, cutting it into halves.

But unfortunately for the Nachtvessel, aside from his determination...Ichigo had six more wings.