Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2013 13:10:14 GMT -5
It was under a blossoming tree that a creature that only knew of darkness was shown a glimmer of light. And in that light the creature found every dream he had ever had come true. It was in that light that he found love.
The small impact crater was the only thing that dotted the paradise of a landscape of the Zoan moon. Fields of long, tall grass went on for as far as the eye could see. A faint breeze rolled over the fields causing the iconic waves throughout the grain that the Zoan moon had grown to be known for. It was home to the Zoa who were a very slow race, in multiple meanings of the word, and enjoyed a peaceful existence. The Mezos had come and taken over the planet with the aid of their ultimate weapon, the Majin they had created just two years before arriving on Zoa. The Zoan’s at first protested but after a quick display of power by the Majin the Zoans submitted. By doing so they helped create the bread basket by which the Mezos fueled their lunar empire.
After Zoa, Creces the moon which held the major space ports outside of Mezo fell in a fiery attack by the Mezos Majin. With the fall of Creces they had complete control over all trade coming in and out of the lunar system. From there they swept over the mineral rich moons of Xerses, Segul, and Bane. Each providing less and less of a fight then the one before that as the reputation of the ruthless Majin spread. Soon the only moon that stood against the Mezos was that of Rhodes. Outside of the Mezos the Rhodians were the only rival power in the lunar system with their superior technology and weaponry. It proved as a good rallying point for the Rhodians as the Mezo army descended upon the moon. Zad provided them with one final opportunity to surrender in order to escape his wrath. In response the Rhodian warrior fire a beam from his weapon just past Zad’s head. Out of fury Zad ordered the Majin to exterminate the entire populace of Rhodes. Without so much as a second thought the Majin attacked unrelenting in his power and merciless. Rhodian technology stood no chance against the magic that had forged the Majin. Within a couple of days the entire Rhodian populace on the moon had been annihilated, men, women and children. No one was spared.
That was over two hundred years ago. Various revolts against the Mezos were attempted over that time but all had been put down effectively by the Majin through excessive force, a total of three times after Rhodes the Majin committed genocide on the revolting people. No one could stand against the new found wealth and might of the Mezo Lunar Empire. That was until Zad became paranoid of the Majin’s power.
One day he sent the Majin to Segul on the prefix and false information that there was another revolt forming. On arrival and transportation to the supposed revolting army’s location the Majin’s Mezo escorts turned on him and tried to kill him. That was the worst possible thing for the guards to do because the Majin had become conflicted over the last couple of years about what he had been doing thanks to a girl that he had met. She had changed his attitude towards so many topics and caused him to grow some resemblance of a conscience. The Majin had even contemplated leaving the Mezo Empire with her in order to start a new life with her away from everything he had grown to become known as. So with the attack it gave the Majin the pretense to do what he had wanted for a while. To escape.
First though he would annihilate his escorts, fly back to every single station on the moon of Segul to kill the Mezos before returning to the space port. Once at the space port the Majin was met with a small army of Mezo troops who were instructed to eradicate the Majin. Defiantly the Majin challenged them all to a fight and then swore that he would wipe out the entire Mezo race. With that final comment the war between the Majin and his former masters began. He finished off the small army that had formed in front of him with ease before moving onto the other moons. First came Bane, then Xerses, then another Rhodian extermination this time on the Mezo inhabitants, and then with a decisive hand the Majin closed the Mezo Empire off from the rest of the Galaxy with the destruction of Creces.
And that is the tale up until now but that is all just background story. What comes next is what has defined one life for more than five years…
The pod door opened with a slight pressure release creating a slight hissing sound. The sweet air quickly filled the pod ridding it of its stale smell. Even though Kazama did not have a nose per say he somehow could get a feeling similar to smell. The smell of the fields was always his favorite part about visiting this moon, well actually that is a lie. This was actually his favorite moon to visit period. It seemed to be the one place that he could escape from the ever constant fighting that followed him wherever else he went. That was mainly Zad’s fault even now, the war that was forced onto Kazama by the paranoia of the Mezoan ruler. There was little to no guards actually on this moon for the sheer fact that Zad had never figured that in a war the enemy would ever get this far into the system. He also never planned on fighting his own creation.
“Zoa, it is my time here that is always the most peaceful…” Kazama drifted off as he looked up and the purplish sky. The wind caused the clouds to run across the sky at a leisurely pace. Memories flooded into Kazama’s as he slowly pulled his cramped space pod. His arms extended above his head as Kazama began to walk forward. The first thing that had to be done before he could enjoy the moon and all that it held on it, the Mezos had to die.
The deep red Majin shot into the air with amazing speed heading towards the nearest Mezo energy signature that he could feel. From what he could tell there was about one hundred or so. The Mezos were an insect race that always seemed to spread like wild fire when they reached a new planet or moon. They were nothing more than disgusting parasites that Kazama listened to for far too long. The race was obsessed with controlling everything around it including people, resources, money, and land. They had become obsessed with magic in a means of trying to obtain those goals which led to the creation of Kazama.
After a short flight trip across the moon Kazama came upon his first destination. A small field command office that was tasked with watching over the entire moon of Zoa. Normally this would be a task for a contingent of the army but for a peaceful planet such as this with a docile population. Dotted in between the few dozen insect like hives that littered the hillside were about three hundred Mezo soldiers not seemingly caring aobut what had been happening to their allies on the other moons. Surely by now the news had spread that Kazama had not died as planned and that slowly Mezos were being killed by the Majin’s rage. He had already noticed the amount of soldiers fighting at the bases had decreased significantly. Perhaps Zad believed that a full army in the capital would be able to stop the Majin but so had so many before him. All were dead wrong about it.
The first attack to fall was sudden and surprised all the surrounding Mezos. It was simple ki blast that ripped through the air and slammed into the ground. Immediately at impact the ki exploded in a fiery blast engulfing several Mezos with it. At first they were confused as to what had happened but as it dawned on them several more blasts fell from the sky destroying all but one of the hive structures that littered the hillside. They were in fact entrances to a much larger underground complex in which the Mezos resided. With only one entrance left Kazama could make sure that no Mezos escaped his wrath. This volley was returned in kind with one of a similar kind from the weapons from the Mezos guns. However compared to the energy that was launched by Kazama the blasts were like mosquito bites. The Majin artfully dodged each one before landing on the ground with enough force to knock back any creature that was standing near him. Kazama did not waste any time however as he spun on his heels and launched a blast that killed five Mezos that were racing towards him. Then another snap turn Kazama faced the unfortunate Mezo that had not been able to return to his feet fast enough and received a foot through his chest. The Mezo’s head arched up before falling back limply to the ground. Kazama removed his foot that was now covered in the green goo that the Mezo’s called internal fluids.
A quick shake of the foot removed the liquids just in time to launch a kick that snapped into the bottom jaw area of the Mezo before launching him into the air. Kazama used him like a clay pigeon and destroyed the poor soul with a ki blast. Spinning once again Kazama fired off several ki blasts that dispersed the incoming crowds of Mezos that were left on the surface with a fiery statement. One Mezo was brave or stupid enough to attack Kazama with an energy spear. At the touch to Kazama’s skin sparks flew from the contacted area. Kazama’s arm snapped back grabbing the spear and ripped it forcefully from the Mezo’s hands. He spun it once before hitting the attacker in the face with the butt end of the spear knocking him to the ground. Another quick spin of the spear was all the Mezo was able to see before the energy blade was driven straight through his head. Kazama did not have time to enjoy the kill as another three Mezos came at him; two noticeably closer than the final one that was pulling up the rear. Kazama side stepped the first Mezo and threw him using his own momentum with a little added force into the side of a rock. The second Mezo did not fare any better and Kazama kicked him into the other Mezo on the rock. Without a single wasted movement Kazama grabbed the energy spear out of the skull of the dead Mezo on the ground. Charging forward with three steps Kazama skewered the other two Mezo’s heads to the rock in a gruesome sight. The two Mezos instantly stopped moving and hung limply from the spear. Kazama knowing there a third Mezo simply stepped to the side, grabbed the charging Mezo and slammed his head into the butt of the spear. The Mezo’s exoskeleton shell of his head cracked with a pop as his head slid down the spear and slammed into the other two bodies.
Over the next few minutes Kazama spent mopping up the few defenders that were left on the surface. They posed almost no threat to the Majin who was barely able to be harmed by their weapons. With no Mezo left alive on the surface Kazama descended into the cavern that awaited him beneath the surface. After ending the hive structure it was only within a few feet or so that the walls became coated in a weird slime material that the Mezos excreted from their bodies that they used to build their hives. What Kazama was greeted by was two things: the first being a wide cavernesque room that was mainly open with the occasional pillar supporting the ceiling and the second was an army of Mezos armed to the mandible ready to fight to the death. At the first site of Kazama they opened fire pinning the Majin down in the entrance corridor. The sound of the many guns going off was amplified by the echo off of the cavern walls. It was insufferable as the Majin gripped the sides of his head. With a quick glance over the small cover he had he devised a plan that would eliminate most if not all of the Mezos standing in his way of his destination.
Darting out from cover Kazama launched several ki blasts that arched through and over the crowd to slam into the pillars. One by one the pillars supporting the ceiling for most of the room were destroyed. The Mezos did not realize the plan until the ceiling began to shake and parts of it began to fall. They dropped their weapons and foolishly tried to run away from Kazama to the various other entrances that had been sealed by him before the fight had started. Soon with a thunderous the roar the ceiling collapsed crushing all of the occupants of that half of the room with a sickening crunching noise. Kazama covered his eyes from the dust with his arm as a few Mezos scrambled out of the way towards Kazama. Quickly they were dispatched with a combination of strikes and ki blasts leaving the path to the Majin’s destination left unguarded.
Inside of a large domed room was a large pyramid of rock leading up to a crystal lined ceiling. Standing atop of the pyramid was a Mezoan priest clad in elegant robes that fell to his feet and gently scuffed the rock below. The priest stood staring at the doorway as Kazama entered. Then with a quick click of his mandibles he spoke.
“The foul creature that Zad had asked us to create all those years ago has finally turned on its masters,” The priest spoke proudly as if he had to rile up a crowd that was watching. There was no a single soul in the room other than Kazama and the priest.
“Priest, you preach to no one. Why do you not just die quietly?” Kazama spoke coldly to the Mezo. He had dealt with enough of the priests that had created him over the last few moons that he came to realize they acted in the exact same manner.
“I was there at your creation foul creature. And now I will be here at your destruction!” The Priest shouted as he began to gather magical energy in his hand. Kazama sighed as he digested the pathetic ramblings of the soon to be dead Mezo.
“You know I have heard those same words from ten other priests. You know what the result was? I am still here and they are a smoldering pile of ash. You won’t be any different.” Kazama stated defiantly waiting for the Mezo to attack. It would not be long as the Mezo launched his magical beam attack at the Majin. Kazama quickly answered back with a ki beam of his own. The two met mid air and seemed to be of equal power.
“You see that foul creature! I am equal to your power!” The priest said as he strained to keep up with Kazama.
“Oh, you think I am trying? Let me show you me trying.” Instantly Kazama ramped up his energy which pushed his ki straight through the magical attack. The priest was able to stop the beam from overcoming him just at his hand before a massive explosion occurred causing the priest to be flung across the room. Kazama calmly walked over to the now half a body of the Mezo priest. The green goo leaked out of its sides and its hand desperately grabbed at anything in a futile attempt to save itself. “That was me trying.” At the statement the Mezo began to laugh, it was no doubt the approach of death that caused him to act this way.
“You think you have won? You will never win! You were created to destroy. You will do nothing other than that.” The Mezo cackled.
“You are wrong priest. After I kill you here I will take what little I care about in the universe and escape this lunar system. Zad can rot for all I care. I will just leave and find somewhere I can live out my days in peace,” Kazama protested in an almost childlike manner.
“Hahaha…keep telling yourself that. Your power will only destroy. That is all you are good for.” The Mezo laughed. Kazama had lost his temper and in a blind rage slammed his foot through the Mezo’s skull. The skull caved in and gave way to green goo in all directions around it. Kazama had heard enough of the Mezo’s poisonous words. He was going to prove that he was wrong.
Kazama trudged through what was left of slime covered cave and through the pools of Mezoan blood. The Majin was apathetic to the situation at this point and the sight of this type of carnage had long since lost its strength to even turn his stomach. With a final crunch of broken exoskeleton under his foot Kazama emerged from the shattered hive. He gently lifted off the ground and began to fly away. After several moments of gently drifting through the air Kazama turned around. His cold gaze focused in on the hive and with a quick flick of his hand a ball of ki sailed through the air before crashing into the tomb that he had created. The tomb erupted into a fiery explosion that caused light to be reflected off the shiny smooth skin of the deep red Majin. Kazama’s cold emotionless face shined in the light for several minutes before turning and flying off.
The scene of death quickly disappeared from his mind as he soared through the clouds. Occasionally his hand would run through the white harmless pillows of the clouds. He remembered hearing children that visited the moons talking about how they wanted to go jump on them like beds. Kazama had never understood the reasoning behind this but after hearing that he found himself longing to bounce on them as well. Slowly that desire died away in time instead being replaced with the longing to simply stare on as he watched their peaceful journey through the sky. He found that their white fluffiness put him to sleep especially when he fell asleep on the side of the hill with the blossoming tree.
It was only minutes before the Majin had reached his destination. It was a hill that had a pink blossoming tree. The fields came gently up to the base of the hill but seemed apprehensive about marching their way up to the peak. Instead the grass began to subside away until it stood no higher than three inches at the summit of the hill. Kazama lightly set down on the hill’s summit and his eyes instantly fell upon the most beautiful object that stood in the scene. It was that of the woman he loved.
Her name was Shinrai and was the creature that had warmed the heart of the Majin. It was Shinrai’s influence that changed Kazama from a simple weapon into a creature that could finally see what he was doing. She helped him grow what some would be a morally thin conscious but it was the first the Majin had ever felt in his entire lifetime. It was during this process that the Majin had fallen head over heels in love with this creature. Her beauty was that of a god’s grace personified.
Shinrai had dark brown hair that fell to just below her shoulders, two small patches of freckles adorned her cheeks, pale skin, two pointed elf ears popping out from beneath her hair line and her petite body was that of a lover opposed to a fighter. She had deep eyes that could hold wonder, happiness and sadness. Yet they were able to see through any lie that the Majin could ever comprehend. But it was her smile that caused the Majin to melt on the inside. It was the kindest image that the Majin had ever seen. It could be something of happiness, comfort, childishness and even at times one of mischievousness. All this together was too much for Kazama and soon after meeting the two of them fell deeply in love.
“Shinrai, good. You received my message,” Kazama stated with a smile growing on his face as he stepped forward. He reached out to touch the shoulder of his love, who was facing away from him, but as he did she took a step just out of reach. The Majin’s hand gently fell through the air as its intended destination was no longer there. Shinrai took several more steps away from Kazama and then turned around. Adorning her face was not the smile that he had loved so much. No, what was there was an emotionally broken face that had tears rolling down her cheek. “What is wrong?”
Kazama once again tried to approach Shinrai but again she moved out of the way. This time making a semi circle until she stood behind him confusion flooded into his mind. He turned again to see her back to him. He could hear the woman he loved audibly crying and it was in that moment that a dark feeling began to take over his mind. Something was wrong and he didn’t believe that it some outside force acting on the couple.
“Kaz, what have you done?” She choked out in between shallow inhales as she tried to futilely fight back the tears.
“What do you mean?” Kazama asked as his mind began to run through all of the possible outcomes to this scenario. At that answer her head snapped around and her piercing eyes caused a small knot of guilt form in his throat.
“This…what you turned into…what you done?” Shinrai barked at him as she appeared to be experiencing peaks and hellish valleys of emotional turmoil. Kazama went to step forward again to get close to her but she turned her head to look down and off to the right. The single action caused him to stumble as he hesitated to answer.
“I don’t know…” Kazama answered meekly. This only seemed to cause her to cry more which began to break Kazama heart. He could see the ending coming but instead chose to put it in the back of his mind. “What did you want me to do? Allow a man, a race and society that tried to kill me to stay and inflict pain upon people?” Kazama answered back in a whisper. His eyes began to become bloodshot as he watched Shinrai cry. The sides of his mouth tugged downwards but he fought back the innate sensation. “He would not have stopped until both you and I were dead. This is the perfect opportunity to leave, like we wanted to.” Kazama said as the knot made it more difficult to speak. “What do you want me to do?” At the question Shinrai’s arms crossed in front of her chest in a protective fashion as tears continued to streak down her face. “Shinrai, I need to know. What do you want me to do?” Still no answer. “I need to hear your voice. What do you want?”
“I don’t know…I don’t know anymore. I don’t know where we stand.” The words were like a bat to the side of Kazama’s head. His heart dropped out of his chest and his mouth fell open slightly. He could not believe what he had just heard.
“No, no, no, this is nothing. It will pass. We are fine; this is just a rough patch. We can get through this.” Kazama stated as his own mind began to race.
“This is a rough patch that has been here for several months now. This isn’t going to go away…” Shinrai said quietly as she could not meet the Majin’s eye. Kazama walked over to her and stopped just short. He did not know what to do, he was not sure if to hold her close and tell her it was nothing or not.
“I love you Shinrai. I would give you the universe if I could. I would run into hell. I would go to the edges of the universe and back just to be with you. I know you know this. I know you…” Before Kazama was able to finish he semi psychotic rant her mouth moved and the words that came out were those that could destroy the Majin.
“I don’t love you.”
Kazama didn’t know how to react. The dam that was holding back the pain of what was going on finally broke and tear began to stream down the Majin’s cheeks. His breathing became shallow and his hand went to his skull. From one emotional high to another, Kazama was no longer in control of his own mind as images flooded into his head.
The images were that of when the two first met, the wonder that Shinrai inflicted on Kazama. The night they first kissed and held each other tight. The times they danced quietly only in each other’s arms under the moon in such tranquil peace that the universe felt like it only contained the two of them. The times Kazama comforted Shinrai when she was in the most pain and the high moments when the two just sat laughing based on each other’s actions. But the one moment, the one image, which seemed to stick in Kazama’s head, was that of when they were lying quietly beneath the tree just beside them as they slept. It seemed to be one of the few times he ever was able to enjoy sleep.
It was this moment, this bubbling moment of pain that Shinrai finally met Kazama’s eyes. What she found was the Majin at his lowest. Tears streamed down his cheeks and his hands quivered. Suddenly both his hands shot out and grabbed her. Through pain and tears the following words came out of his mouth, “I love you. I want to be with you more than anything in life itself. I want to put a ring on your finger; I want you to be the only one that stands beside me and me the only beside you. I don’t want to lose you…I don’t want to lose you…” He could not even finish his sentence as more tear and crying stopped the Majin.
She gently pulled her hands from his and stepped away as tears continued to flow down her face. Mystic energy began to spin and spiral around her hands. Large claws formed around her hands, a technique that she had once taught Kazama while making him promise that he would use it when the time called for it. She lunged forward and Kazama was ready for his fate. He knew that what he was now was not what Shinrai once loved. He was ready to die and become that of memory, blissful memory of what he was not what he is. He closed his eyes and waited for the final strike to come.
But the strike never came, instead Kazama stood waiting. When he opened his eyes horror filled his heart as he saw that his body had moved on its own. His hands had formed the same technique and countered Shinrai. His own claws not stuck out of the back of the woman he loved. He could hear her cough up blood and with that sound the magical energy dissipated and her body fell forward. The Majin caught her and then gently laid her on the ground. The damage was done, and there was no fixing it now. The blood began to pool in the chest of her clothing, the color drained from her face, and her eyes began to grow cloudy.
“What have…what have I done?!” Kazama screamed in pain as tears came at a new pace. His hands desperately searched over her body in a hope that somehow he could undo the damage he had done. “No…no….no…I can’t lose you…not like this…” The Majin cried.
Gently her left hand touched his cheek which seemed to bring the two into a moment that only included the two of them. The outside world was gone; it was just the two of them. Blood leaked from her mouth, her eyes were cloudy, but through all of this a smile adorned her face. “My darling, do not worry…I want you to make me a promise.” Kazama could only help but nod as his face was twisted by emotion. “I want you to promise me that you will live up to what I believe you can be. To what I love in you. I want you to be the extraordinary man that I know you can be. Can you do that for me?” Kazama tried to speak but no words came out which caused the smile he loved so very dear to appear one final time. And then her hand went limp.
It took a moment of recognition for what happened to truly set in on the Majin. When it did however he lifted Shinrai’s now limp body to his chest and hugged her tight. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing but cry.
The sounds of his pain echoed across the landscape as the entire moon seemed to fall silent. It was in that moment that the Majin had lost the thing he held most dear in his life. And the moon seemed to understand that, and in its silence it mourned with him.
Under that same blossoming tree the creature lost everything it held dear. In that moment everything ended. The most painful of moments echoed across the landscape, love was lost.