Dissidia Magicks NT (Training Topic)

Well she was finally here and she already hated it with a passion! This place was awful, why the hell did anyone actually come here? Oh yeah, people didn't really police it so she was free to do pretty much whatever she wanted without needing to worry about it. That thought made her smile but it didn't alleviate the feeling of absolutely detesting this place. She floated down and landed on a rock, pursing her lips into a fine line as she looked out onto the wastes before her. A lot of battles had been fought here, hadn't they? That was interesting and all but they hadn't gone far enough. They needed to do more, break more! Simple damage and a little bit of construction wear and tear wasn't going to wow anyone, no it'd take a lot more than that. The Lake of Yugure was a good example, a massive bubbling mass of radioactive liquid fire that would never burn out. That was the sort of destruction she was going to wreak on the entire world, not just this shithole. Mage shuddered and let out a soft breath, the idea excited her but she needed to calm down and get to work. Since getting her Kakerugan, although really she had been pretty much born with it, she had realised that she could do some special things with her soul orb. For example, she could split them to gather more elements and that was exactly what she needed to do today. Taking a deep breath she brought one of her orbs around and caught it in the palm of her hand. No one else was really able to touch or even see them due to where they existed but she could, she could see the flickers of limbo, the touch of magic as it fluttered its way through the orb and out again. "Okay, little buddy, time to do your thing again." She murmured to it, staring intently with her strange eye. The orb seemed to almost tilt its head, rolling slightly in her palm as she pushed her power into it. It was almost like pulling two bits of gum apart but not really as one side held all the weight while the other held all the energy, the potential. She grit her teeth and pulled harder, forcing the orbs apart causing one to become two. The first she released and let it float away and go back into orbit around her, of course in a different plane. The other she clutched close as it sought to grow to its full strength. She knew that it wasn't as powerful as her true orb but that one was very special. "Very good." She murmured and rose to her feet, releasing the orb, empty but brimming with the power she needed it to have, into the cluster floating around her. She'd probably seem like a little solar system if anyone looked at her in Limbo. The idea caused her to laugh softly. She kicked her crook up into her hands and started to float onwards, she had a date with some powerful individuals...

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What was she exactly? Her mother had tried to tell her one day but Mage had been quite the arrogant child, in fact she was still an arrogant child. It was something like a Soulless but not quite? She tried to remember her mother explaining why she couldn’t touch anything solid, why she was able to fly but only a few of the words started to float back to her. Heh, float. She took a deep breath and leaned back, floating a few inches above the surface of the earth, both of her eyes staring upwards into the blue sky, blackened somewhat by smoke off to her side. She started to fade back into the past, letting her memories wander.

”Now listen here, …, you are something very special! Your father and I… We come from a long lineage of special people. We are hiding now, our days as Shinobi are done. Our last act was to pass our special abilities onto you. We are what is known as Awakened.” Her mother paused and pursed her lips, chewing on the bottom one for a few moments before continuing. “There is only so much that I can tell you about that, less your father can tell you. You normally need to fulfil a trial, something that is likely to break you. It almost broke me, in a way it did break your father.” She seemed to scratch at a hidden scar and hummed quietly. “What it gives you however is power, incredible power. We were given an ancient task to bring about… Well that doesn’t matter. Due to our families for generations now both being awakened, we were able to have a child that didn’t need to go through the trial, they were naturally born with the gifts of the Awakened and would become as a God compared to others. That child was you, …, and we couldn’t be prouder of you. As your tangibility fades, you’ll find your abilities growing even stronger. You are a Prime, my child, you will bring light to this world.”

Mage snapped her eyes open and sat up, rubbing her temples. Where the hell had that come from? Her memories were never that clear. She could smell her mother’s perfume, feel the aching loss with her father being out again, he was out a lot. She couldn’t hear her own name though, her mother always called her by it, she wouldn’t accept any nicknames. Why couldn’t she hear her mother say it anymore though? What was up with that? She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, mentally affirming her name a few times, never speaking it out loud. Names gave you power over someone and someone with power over her… Well that didn’t bear thinking about! She would never allow someone to control her.

She floated upwards into a standing position and rolled her neck before looking to what she had done. A series of rocks were on fire next to her. Someone had told her that you couldn’t set stone on fire but she was pretty sure they just weren’t using enough fire and she was right! Turns out with the liberal application of a frankly disgusting amount of fire she was able to set whatever the hell she wanted on fire. The thought caused her to chuckle and floated over to them, dipping her hand in the flames, feeling the heat wash over her but never burning her. This fire knew who its master was and would never dare harm her. Once more, her memory flashed back, so clear.

“Elements are your main source of power. There are six primary ones that I will be teaching you about. These are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, and Life. Each of them have their own unique attributes that may not be obvious at first. We know that Fire burns, of course, but fire also melts and against an opponent with a weapon, if you can remove the weapon then they cease to be so dangerous. Fire is also empowered and strong against Wind. If you strike a fire technique with your own wind, it will move faster and hit harder than before, this is the same for many elemental match-ups.” Mage nodded and continued to float in somersaults, humming quietly to herself. She knew a lot more than her mother thought, of course she did, she was an incredibly dangerous magician! “Fire is also volatile and known to detonate. There are two further forms of Fire. The first is known as Blaze Release, characterised by its distinct black flames. It burns harsher and longer than fire and in fact devours Fire in order to strengthen itself. As a Prime, you or your doppelgangers are able to capture Blaze Release and become immune to it. However, the last variant of Fire you are unable to touch.” Her mother paused for a few moments, mulling over a few words. “It is called Yugure. It is held by the Mishura Clan and is an incredibly dangerous elemental nature. I have encountered it only once in my life as it requires the Mishura to reach a certain mastery of their Clan abilities in order to utilise it. It is known as a Perfect Primary and is purple in colour. If someone possesses incredible speed and strength, a bright blue eye and the ability to manifest purple flames, you must destroy them as quickly as you can. Mishura at that level of mastery are incredibly destructive and must not be allowed to live.” It seemed like there was something her mother didn’t want to tell her but she continued anyway.

“Next we move onto Water Release. This nature affinity is known for being able to easily create the most materia and cover the most area in its element. You’ll see a lot of people out there spewing out water to cover the field and it can have a variety of different effects to it depending on who you fight. A Toketsu’s water for example will be dangerously cold and will try and sap the strength from your limbs but you will be immune to such. Now, not only does water cause things to become wet, making them more prone to cold or electrocution, but it also holds a large amount of concussive force and can be used to sweep opponents aside or even enhanced with Wind, nearly like fire but only adding to the force, not the actual power of the technique. It is able to put out fires to great effect but it is weak elementally to Earth, someone wielding both is dangerous in their own right as they are able to change the terrain in an eyeblink. For you this shouldn’t really be an issue thankfully. There are of course two further forms of water, however the Perfect Primary is not very well known. The first variant is known as Acid Release and it is exactly as it says on the tin. It corrodes or dissolves whatever it touches, destroying flesh and solid material with ease. It is at times indistinguishable from water and you must be sure that what you are touching is the element you truly think it is.” She stressed that to Mage before continuing. “The Perfect Primary is almost never seen but it is known as Aqua Release. It is the purest form of water and apparently holds no impurities, this of course changes its properties quite dramatically. It is rumoured to be held by the Zakiyoshi Clan but I am uncertain of such a thing, as I said, it is incredibly rare.”

Next comes Lightning. This element we know a lot about as it is one of the most common utilised across the world. Lightning is the ability to generate electricity and cast it forwards. This is known for several effects, mainly that it is the hardest to gain materia for, however, it has an incredible capacity for breaking through defences and it can also short out the nervous system of someone that it strikes, causing them to be stunned for a short period of time, but be aware that those with particularly high bodily fortitude will be able to resist this effect and in fact may just be angered by it. It also has a lesser known effect called ionisation, where it generates a channel of air that is easier for lightning to be transmitted through, causing it to become more dangerous, that is something you may wish to exploit. Lightning Release is weak to Wind, it ends up destabilised and breaking down, it cannot be empowered by it. Its two variants are actually Magnet and then three forms of its Perfect Primary. I have had the… Displeasure of fighting against all three. Magnet Release is the ability to control ferro-magnetic force, this means it is very good at dealing with metal objects and can cause things to act as though they are made of metal but it is does not have the fine control that Pulse Release possesses, it is the more brute force form of magnetism. This makes it powerful however, many shurikenjutsu users can learn to supplement their abilities with Magnet Release, so be aware of that when fighting them. Then there is Raiden’s Lightning, an ancient Perfect Primary that is held by the Denkou Clan. I do not know how they get the variants and I know a fair bit of two of them. There is Black, White and Grey Raiden’s Lightning. Black I didn’t know if it actually existed for a while as it is so difficult to see. Its power is that it is only visible to electrolocation and infra-red sensory, it is almost entirely invisible otherwise and it hurts… A lot. I had to rush the Denkou that used it against me. There is then White Raiden’s Lightning, it causes any other Lightning techniques to leap to the target, barraging them incessantly and making it near impossible to dodge after you’ve been struck. Terrifyingly, Grey Raiden’s Lightning shares both of those abilities, making it one of the most dangerous elemental releases in the known world and I would avoid any user of it unless you believe yourself to be fully capable of fighting against a near God of Lightning.” She chuckled, perhaps letting on that she had done such a thing before moving on.

“After this we have Earth Release. This elemental release is known for being one of the best for hiding from your opponent as well as the greatest for active terrain alteration. The ability to create mud, sinkholes, even earthquakes are all part of this element. It is weak to Lightning and finds itself easily broken against the raw power. When fighting an Earth Release user, stay in the air and always watch behind you, they are known for traveling through the ground as though it was water and popping up in awkward positions to launch attacks. They are also the greatest for vibration sensory but you don’t make any vibrations, you’ll be able to pass undetected. The variants for Earth Release are Diamond and Clay. The former is one of the toughest elements out there, fantastic for generating defensive structures and incredibly sharp weaponry. However, it has low versatility unless the user is incredibly skilled and will find itself unable to change the terrain anywhere near as well as Earth Release. Do not underestimate its power however, you’ll find yourself hard pressed to damage a Diamond Release user unless you overwhelm them and do not let them recover. Then you have Clay Release, held by the Bakuhatsu Clan, as far as I am aware anyway. It is one of the lesser known ones but it would seem it is the most volatile for explosions and is known for massive destructive potential. So be aware of that if you are ever fighting any high level Bakuhatsu as they will happily blow you up and then blow up every little piece of you left over.” She poked Mage on the forehead, causing her to tumble through the air a few times. With a laugh she then moved on.

“Second to last is Wind Release. This elemental release is nearly invisible which is its most dangerous attribute. It is capable of inflicting deep lacerations and bleeding an opponent out quickly if used correctly. Its other main attribute is that it can launch people around, including yourself if you need to move quickly out of a situation and have access to the element. Wind Release users are usually incredibly fast, especially if they have access to the elemental mode and armour, they will dance around the battlefield and will be difficult to pin down, note that Fire will be especially effective against them while Lightning will fall apart upon striking your opponent, a dangerous prospect but something that you need to keep in mind. It has two variants like the others, once more one of these is incredibly rare, in fact I have no idea who possesses it. These are Heat Release and Air Release. Heat Release is the control of temperatures and will make you sweat if you’re struck, this will rapidly drain your physical stamina and that can be deadly as speed is one of the most important things to people like us. We need to be able to run away if things go south. It also helps in dodging techniques but you can just negate them with extreme firepower, which is always an effective tactic. Then there is Air Release, which I honestly know next to nothing about. I have heard tales of it, whispered around tables and over the rims of glasses but I’ve never seen it utilised, never came in contact with it, never met anyone that claimed to be able to use it. Which is very odd, I’ve been around for a long time after all. If you meet someone who uses it, be careful, I can’t prepare you for what it might do but it will be similar to wind and thus will be dangerous no matter what.”

This brings us onto our final Primary Elemental Release. Known as Life Release, it is neutral compared to the others. It is the ability to launch and control bone. It is most commonly used by Dakar but they have their own unique version of it that enables them to use it without chakra and to mix their element with it. That’s going away from my point however. Due to the fact it is solid in nature, it is known for causing concussive impacts upon striking and this can lead to a few nasty effects. The most dangerous is internal damage which Life is good at doing due to splintering when it enters the body, however it can also result in dizziness, causing you to be unable to move without intense concentration, at least without falling over. Dangerous for someone like me, not so much for you however. I’d need to take time to get up, you can continue to fire off attacks while floating a few inches off the surface of the ground. As the others, it has two variants. There is Steel Release, where rather than bone, it manipulates and creates metal. This is almost like the more offense orientated version of Diamond Release. People are more likely to use Steel as a counter attacking form, dealing damage while taking damage. The metal is characterised by its strange black finish, so be careful of anyone wielding weapons that look like that or that create constructs made of that material, unlike normal metal you won’t be able to just float through it… Unless you have stored its element. Then there is… The Perfect Primary, which no one knows anything about. Literally no one knows if Life actually has one. Due to the others having one, I imagine it does but I honestly do not know.” Her mother seemed annoyed at that, frowning for a moment and scratching her chin.

“Well, that concludes teaching you about Primary Elements, Specialised Primary Elements and Perfect Primary Elements. I hope you actually learned something from today rather than just focusing on your soul orbs again.”

“Fire hot!” Mage exclaimed, her orb bursting into flames for a moment and causing her mother to laugh and shake her head.

“Yes, yes it is. At least you learned that much. I’ll go get dinner started… Hopefully your father will be back tonight, I’ve been worried about him for a bit now but I believe in him.” She got up and turned away, whistling to herself as she moved into the kitchen to start cooking.

Mage turned and looked out the window. Her father was never usually away for this long but he always came back, apparently he had some work to do but that was okay.

Once again the memories faded and Mage frowned. Had she always been such a precocious child? Fire hot? She sighed loudly and shook her head, most of the knowledge fading from her head already. Memories were next to useless, what did her mother know anyway? Sure some of the words had gotten through into her thick skull, she knew about some of the special elemental effects that she could grant to the elements she had. She also knew that she was able to absorb and utilise other elements if she needed to but she left that to her doppelgangers, they were better at it anyway. Mage scanned her special eyes over the flames that were now flickering to nothing on the stones before her. This world would burn, just like them, then she’d go back and tell her mother everything that she had truly learned about the world. That would be interesting, her mother probably didn’t even miss her but that was good, the less connections that Mage had, the less opportunities people had to attack those connections and weaken her emotional state. To love was a weakness and she would never let herself be weak. With a nod, she turned and started to float away. Her job here was done. She then paused and sat down. She just had an amazing idea for a little story, what if it wasn’t stone she could control but Souls!

Sebastien sighed as he scraped the leftovers out of the container into the bin. He hated wasting food but they were a few days old now and he didn't want them stinking up the fridge. It was getting late and he was tired, he'd wash the dishes tomorrow. He made sure to add that to his mental inventory and put the tub in the sink. He rolled his shoulders and let out a soft groan, he was getting older now, pushing fifty. He gave a chuckle about the fact that getting old and tired were his main concerns in life, he used to have much worse.

A few memories dusted over his eyes but he just smiled and shook his head, he was long past those days. He switched the lights off in his kitchen and closed the door, walking upstairs. He made sure to give Fluffybutt a pet on the head as he passed the cat tht was sleeping on the back of the couch, he was a good boy, getting on in life, just like Sebastien. The cat had a stupid name though but it was Beth's choice and when it came to compromise it meant listening to her. He didn't mind so much... He just wished she was a bit more careful about her other life.

He knew that Beth had the best heart, she was a superhero after all, not an incredibly high power one but that was good, she was just a local helper, had the ability to generate energy constructs out of light and heat, it was a pretty interesting power. It was just unfortunate that she was limited in how much energy she could put in otherwise she might have been terrifying. "For the best..." He muttered as he entered his bedroom and started to undress so he could sleep. It was another night that he had an empty bed but with Beth out saving lives, how could he really complain?

A yawn left him as he slipped under the covers and switched off the light. He had to head into town the next day, pick a few things up, he was thinking of putting together something special for Beth for dinner, she'd enjoy that.

Rather than being awoken to Beth slipping into bed thinking she was being sneaky, as he had been every night, he woke up to a nightmare. With a grunt he was dragged out of bed and thrown across the room, knocking over a chest of drawers before hitting the wall and falling into a heap at the bottom, groaning. His head must have hit the corner because it was in agony and he blinked a few times to clear away the dizziness before looking up to see what was happening. It would seem that some thugs had broken into his house... No... Not thugs. His eyes flickered over the armoured costumes, the elaborate masks; the Masquerade. What were a group of supervillains doing in his home?

He knew the Masquerade, although they had only been a small team back in his days, he'd hired them once but they were too rough, too callous, they had no tact, they had no... Control. A scream to his side told him why they were here though, he looked over and saw one of them with a boar-like mask holding Beth up by her hair. He had a large, brutal looking knife held to her throat, it had already drawn blood; a cut on her cheek. Rage flashed through him and he went to get up but a kick from a figure he was sure hadn't been there a moment ago sent him back against the wall and he clutched his ribs.

He needed to control this situation, take command. They were here for his wife, he knew that much, some villain must have grown tired and called in the Masquerade to get rid of her. Not like the police could do much and they were elusive enough that other heroes probably couldn't get all of them... Not that they'd really take this too seriously, she was just a lowly street hero. However she was also his wife and the woman he loved with everything he had. He needed to take control...

"Boy... Let me negotiate, I'm sure I've got enough in savings to get you to leave us alone." He grunted out, looking up at the strange figure that didn't seem to really exist. The man laughed and then crouched, leaning in.

"Listen here, man, we don't want money, we want your girl's blood, you understand? She's been messing up too many of our operations and now she's gonna pay, there ain't nothing you can d-" He stopped and choked, his head painstakingly looking down inch by inch before noticing Sebastien's hand lodged inside his chest. Of course he hadn't punched through the ribcage, he didn't have super strength... He had something much worse. His fingers squeezed around the boy's soul and brought him closer by the very source of his life and powers.

"I am in control now, you are mine." He hissed, surging his power through the soul. He instantly gained an instinctive understanding of his powers. He was a Mesmer type, able to vanish from sight and memories if looked away from. Perfect. He didn't need to relay commands anymore. He pulled and the soul came out from the guy's body attached with thin purple strings leading into his chest. He tossed the ball up and it floated just beside and behind him. Mr Mesmer vanished shortly afterwards.

The other Masquerade thugs were talking among themselves, Boar still holding onto Beth. She was sobbing, the sight broke his heart but he wasn't done yet, he couldn't be Sebastien for the moment. With a sigh he got to his feet and the two unoccupied supers turned towards him, raising weapons; a spiked club for one, a handgun for the other, and started to shout at him. They didn't even notice the purple orb, not that it would have helped, he was supposed to be dead after all.

With a cry of pain, the man with the handgun, he had a lion-like mask, was dragged backwards, held in a chokehold by his ally. The spider-masked individual holding the club looked away and Sebastien struck. He stepped forwards and slammed his hand through Spider's chest, soul held out behind him before he crushed it and showcased his true power... He was always in control, of his mind, his body and the souls that he stole. The orb screamed as it became a long, wicked, serrated hatchet. He ripped it out of Spider's body and hammered the weapon into his head, shattering the mask and splitting his skull wide open. Blood spattered Sebastien and the ground behind him.

Turning he tossed the hatchet, a flick of his wrist giving it the perfect moment. It drove into Boar's chest and sent him back a step, letting go of Beth. Of course they'd have a Bruiser with them. Beth seemed terrified, she didn't know what he was, she wasn't supposed to fight the Masquerade, she wasn't a big city heroine. The axe turned to sparkles and floated back to him, another orb floating behind him. The Boar roared and went to punch him, fucking Bruisers. Sebastien threw himself out the way, he didn't have enough souls to block hits like that, especially when the aftermath was the punch blowing one of his walls clean away. He brought his two souls forwards and formed them into a series of knives, launching them forwards.

The Boar didn't even try and dodge, each knife just lodging in his chest. Eight purple weapons jutted from his ribs and he started to rush back towards Sebastien. Almost too late he realised he couldn't detonate them, he needed another soul for that. He tumbled forwards and slid between Boar's legs but he was just too late. His legs slammed shut and crushed Sebastien's hand. He screamed in pain and broke apart four of the knives, bringing them down and forming a scalpel. He was so fucking rusty. Thankfully the way his powers functioned, any weapon he made retained most of the functions of its true to life form but was simply amplified to near perfection; axes always retained their force, his knives never missed... And his scalpels were impossibly sharp. He cleaved through the back of the Boar's knee and he squealed as he fell, slumping onto his face while his body tried to regenerate. Leaping up, he reformed his knives and threw them into the Bruiser's back before turning and punching his hand into the last opponent, the one who was now unconscious by Mesmer's hand. He ripped it out and threw it straight at the charging Boar. He seemed stunned for a moment as the orb bounced off his chest... And then he exploded.

Blood sprayed the entire room, only Beth was saved by a dome of purple energy. Sebastien stepped forwards and picked up the orb left behind, bringing all four behind him. Mesmer walked over and stood beside him, entirely still, barely even breathing. "Die." He whispered and the boy reached up, grabbed his own head and snapped his neck, dropping to the ground. He stepped over and wiped off the mirror in his room, it was cracked now but he saw someone he remembered. A warrior coated in blood but he was missing his wings... Wings created of thousands of souls, he'd been rid of those a long, long time ago now. Beth got up and shakily walked over to him.

"Seb...Sebastien... Wh-what... Wh-who..." She stuttered, he could see the look in her eyes from the mirror, she was horrified but it had to be this way. The Masquerade would be out for blood now, but that was good, he'd drown them with blood, choke their lives with corpses. Maybe it was time to come out of retirement.

"You probably heard of them long ago, the slayer of cities, the keeper of souls, the god of death. Chernobog." Sebastien whispered and she nodded, the realisation slowly dawning as he continued to talk. "He died, he left this world but as with all, they are reborn, they are renewed. No more will Chernobog ravage this world, Justice has tempered his steel, Vengeance his will, and Love his heart." He turned to Beth. Blood dripped off him onto the ground as his orbs spread out behind him, they were pitiful wings for now but he was sure he could grow them. He was a villain no longer, he was a different being entirely, he'd need a new name. Two orbs drifted down, one forming into a cloak that drifted off his shoulders, threadbare and tattered. The other formed armour, thin though it was, less spiked and barbed than his old getup, sleeker, purer. He was in control, he had always been in control and now he would show this world what happened when you attacked the most dangerous supervillain alive and forced him to turn to good.

"I. Am. Thanatos."

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