The Ultima Rebirth~Prologue: Invasion

[Renewed Gemini]

Phantasm

The Soulwraith was skilled in combat. He had predicted that this creature would eventually use its whip-like appendages to try and disarm him. The Soulwraith planted its feet into the ground and gripped the hilt of his sword as hard as he could. His other hand quickly moved up at the other appendage to attempt to snatch it in mid-air with its silver gauntlet. If it worked, the two would now be in a lock, impossible for one to get out of without getting hurt.

A presence began filling Phantasm's head. The Soulwraith was penetrating into the creature's mind to communicate.

I know that you should not exist, it hissed. We eradicated your kind from both of the Universal Planes eons ago. Why is it that you stand here before me now?

SoulWraith=1

[High's .Valentine.]

Luther Shiang have come to appreciate the smell of death. He was very much a part of this phenomenon, though life was what ties him to this world. It is his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was not breathing out of necessity, merely out of habit. His heart does not beat, but remain an extraneous shriveled organ in his chest. It had ceased function a millennium ago and will remain this way for the rest of eternity. The only reason he remains standing and moving is because of his own willpower. This doesn’t mean he was ready to depart for good though. Luther was very much against the idea of his own death. He needed the movement, the pseudo breathing, and the satisfaction.

Luther spared a fleeting glance at the cloaked creatures around him. They have surrounded him to the best extent that two slow moving bags of bones could. They were incredibly slow to pose any kind of danger for the Vampire, and Luther could see why they reeked so much of blood and fear. This overwhelming scent was enough to paralyze any normal human. Luther’s golden gaze darted over to the human he had been following. He was still hungry…

There was a momentary pause as two swords swung down on the Vampire’s head. He wasn’t there to be sliced in half though. The Vampire had jumped out of the way and the swords clashed with the cobble, striking up sparks. Something wrapped around one of the Soulwraith’s neck. A simple scarf. It tightened into a deadly noose as Luther tugged it towards him, having ran behind the Soulwraith. From his left hand, a dark blade protruded from beneath his sleeves, and Luther stabbed the creature from the back before he had a chance of tampering with the scarf noose.

There came a thump from the other direction. Luther’s attention was diverted. It took merely seconds for him to register the problem, and he peeked over at the other Souldwraith, the gears clicking in his mind.

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[seraph]

Despite what had just happened to his blow to the Soulwraith, Clovis wasn't surprised. In fact the correct word to use would be frustrated. Something that happened next after he had withdrawn was however shocking albeit slightly humorous. His ice colored eyes watched as the wraith fell to the floor, downed by his own comrade. After several moments of thought an idea suddenly hit him as to why his weapon ( despite its flawless design ) had no effect what so ever upon the wraiths. With a coy smile he tightened his grip as his opponents regrouped.

Throwing a quick glance to this other person, he saw them engaged with the other two wraiths. Perhaps now would have been the time to ask for some assistance but from this distance and the constant worry of the other wraiths attacking him, his eyes couldn't focus quick enough to see if he was winning or not. Taking a more defensive stance back towards the closer wraiths, something told him to give it his all. Almost at the same time as his opponent, he launched into a full swing at maximum power with a torso slice letting out a battle cry simultaneously.

No hesitation was in his eyes as he mirrored the blow he would received. It would appear luck was on his side as the two blades smashed together creating the most impressive set of sparks so far. With Clovis' power and drive behind his blow it wouldn't be much of a surprise if the wraith was disarmed after the attack. Either way his little plot was starting to come into place in his head. Hopefully things would go his way, if not then it would be a little unfortunate. After the blow Clovis leaped backwards clearing a four meter gap between the pair of them. Throwing a quick glance over to Luther he muttered under his breath "Don't you go dying on me..."

[Renewed Gemini]

Clovis & Luther

Luther's scarf went right through the Soulwraith's body, leaving a black wisp of mist where it was supposed to strangle the neck. The sword that Luther had stabbed the Soulwraith with also proved to be ineffectual. The sword went straight through the Soulwraith's torso. The force of the stab also sent Luther's hand into the creature's body. It was colder than ice and when the hand was removed, it smelled like a decaying body. The creature growled and spun around quickly, attempting to slice the man's head off with its silver sword.

Clovis made an excellent choice. The Soulwraith was a sloppy fighter. Its grip on its sword was lousy and the sword flung from it easily. It clanged to the ground at the foot of the Captain. The Soulwraith screeched with anger and ran toward Clovis, attempting to tackle him. It clearly forgot who it was, though, as it went through not only Clovis, but Luther, too. It ran straight into Luther's attacker's sword and was instantly beheaded.

They were getting weaker and weaker and they weren't sure why. The Captain knew, though. He knew that their strength lessened the less people feared them and death. These two were willing to fight, and that was a problem.

Soulwraith=3

[prythian]

"Universal Planes..." Something stirred within Phantasm. This was no small feat, considering he didn't remember what happened an hour ago and didn't care what would happen an hour from now. A single word flashed into his head, and he was struck by a moment of inspiration. "DASHERA!" He cried out as a battle cry, and used his ability to send fear to the enemy. There had to be something it feared, even if it wasn't human.

[High's .Valentine.]

It would seem that he had overestimated his tactical skills. The scarf slipped right through and Luther almost stumbled due to the lack of resistance. Of course, it took only a millisecond for him to regain composure and continue with his thrust…though he knew well that it was of no use. After all the scarf had passed right through air and was now lying limp and useless at his feet. Snapping it like a whip, he twirled the cloth around his arm as he pulled back with his sword. His fingers tingled from the sudden cool and he wrinkled his nose at the revolting smell of rot. He had always favored the fresh musk of the living to that of a dried up corpse of the dead. They taste as bad as they smelled.

Luther grunted at the small annoyance. But he knew what to do. Unlike the human, Luther was able to observe continuously while keeping focus on the items in front of him thanks to his Mantis Eye. Seems that the black steel of his tattoo had little power against these…things—which was a bit of an insult—but they seemed to be as stupid as they looked. Like just now. His body went colder than its usual dead numbness, and Luther found himself shivering. The Soulwraith that had just passed through him collapsed, its head gone. The Mantis King raised an eye at the thing’s foolishness…beheaded by its own comrade. Clumsy and easy to agitate. Luther raised his sword and smashed it right at the blade that had beheaded the other dim-witted monster--it was still coming towards his head--hard enough to either knock it out of the enemy’s hand or slam it to the ground to prevent any further attacks.

His head turned to give his blond prey a disinterested glance before turning to focus on the Soulwraith. “I prefer a live meal to a dead one,” he retorted. It was unusual of him to bond with a human, even under such circumstances. It seemed his little elf had done more for him than he had imagined. Ruined him, that’s what.

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[seraph]

A quick smirk appeared on his chiseled face once Clovis had done a number on the Soulwraiths weapon. Although he had backed off some distance he prepared a stance again just to be sure. Perhaps it was his over confidence after disarming the apparently clueless Soulwraith, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next. That hollowed figure who Clovis had just embarrassed charged for him, attempting to tackle him. Swinging Grosserfluss with another powerful swing the blade went right through as expected. The fact that he had even swung was a mere reflex to defend oneself against your average opponent.

Nothing happened. Its eerie presence faded from his vision. Then it came. First the freezing temperature. Clovis could do nothing but kneel to the ground as his heat was robbed from him. For a second or two he was paralyzed. Soon after the smell of death overtook him somewhat shaking him from his wide eyed trance induced from the shock of extreme heat loss. Within seconds he had regained all of what was stolen and he was standing tall again. Slightly dazed and confused as to what had just happened, he turned around keeping another eye on the Captain just in case. Another Soulwraith was down.

Now no longer feeling at all peculiar, Clovis cracked a smile. "May as well just leave them to kill each other he noted to himself with an amused smile on his face. Holding his Grosserfluss firmly behind him in a counter-stance, he edged a few steps to Luther. It appeared he had heard him, but something didn't seem right about him either. For the moment the old saying 'an enemy of my enemy is a friend' applied. "Now...to get that sword..." he thought eyeing up the recently fallen Soulwraiths weapon lying near the Captain. His MAD started to ring aloud but he was going to have to ignore it for the moment. Trying to keep the spirits up, mainly for himself he spoke to Luther. "Friends of yours?". Clovis had an insatiable nack to be inappropriate at the best of times.