8 Awakening

On the other side of the capital, there appeared two humanoid figures clad in black hooded coats. One was taller than the other and the two of them stood on top of the Tokyo Tower.

"It would seem that there is some sort of hubris going on in this area." One of the figures said. The voice of the one who spoke seemed that of an aged man, for it was raspy and a bit gruff.

"I can feel their Youkai presence conflicting with each other." The other figure said. The voice of the other was that of a female, serious and a bit cold.

"Why would Fate send one of his own to dispatch another Soul Reaver in their ranks nonetheless?" the old hooded man asked.

"This incessant fighting is one of the reasons why there are complications in the Netherworld." The female replied.

The old hooded man walked towards the edge of the tower. He saw the buzzling metropolis known as Tokyo, Japan. Underneath his hood, it revealed that he has emerald eyes.

"Indeed. It is no coincidence that the power struggle underneath and in Purgatorio are evident." He replied.

"If the two of them continue this nonsense, they will cause catastrophic damage in the area that we cannot cover up. That is additional work on our part." The female replied.

"Do you expect me to stop them?" the old hooded man asked. He turned his back at her.

"No." the female replied. "But someone has to." She said and immediately she dissipated from the area.

"Heh." Arawn Kincaid said. "You should be lucky." He said.

Osiris did not flinch as he continued to conjure up azure flames around him. He held on his scythe with one hand. His ebony trench coat was a bit tattered from the fight now and he was still bleeding from the upper corner of his right eye. There were also some wounds that formed on his left cheek.

Arawn was not looking good either for he too was wounded and fatigue can be seen from his stance. The armor that he was wearing was a bit chinked now and it was his will power that is fueling him to continue on standing.

"Why?" Ozi asked him.

"Because you're one of the few to witness the true form of my blade." Arawn replied to him and on cue the latter conjured his spirit energy around his silver broad sword.

The raven perched on Elle's shoulder was a bit nervous. He'd had felt this type of Youkai pressure only a few times in the past.

"Do not be an idiot master!" the avian shouted at the black-clad Soul Reaver.

Elle took notice of the nervousness of the avian on her shoulder.

"Why what is going on now?!" she asked.

"That power…" the raven said.

Arawn Kincaid smirked and his lone eye looked more intensive than usual. The blue spirit energy that enveloped his blade now condensed itself on the metallic edges of his weapon. Soon, the blade was enveloped with a bright light.

"Normally when my enemies see me activate this power, they do not live to tell the tale." He explained.

"Get out of there! You have no chance at winning at this point!" the raven said to him but Osiris did not heed his words.

The black-clad Soul Reaver continued to match Arawn's Youkai pressure with his own, but there was a bit of uneasiness in his eyes. He felt his hands shaking a bit.

"What the?" Osiris thought to himself. "Why am I trembling? Is this fear?" he continued to question himself.

"Chotenkai (Apex Release)" Arawn said.

A huge light engulfed the area and the other two covered their eyes to avoid being blinded. Osiris closed his eyes a bit and soon after he felt that the light had dissipated, he opened them once again.

What he saw in front of him was his Soul Reaver adversary yes, but now he is holding a different version of his silver broad sword.

The sword he now held was bigger. From the hilt to the base of the blade the shape of the same was a bit curved inward and as it reached the mid to the tip of the blade, the blade itself broadened. The dull part of the blade was ebony in color while the sharp edges were blue in color. The hilt was wrapped in a red cloth weave and its grip was reinforced by a hand guard as well. The one-eyed Soul Reaver had no trouble wielding such blade even though it was such a huge blade.

"Jakushimo 弱点霜 (Bane Frost)" he said. "The icy blades of Jakushimo is enough to kill you I suppose." He added.

The raven was surprised and even more nervous, because he knew that his master had not yet achieved such power even though he had been a Soul Reaver the same as his adversary.

"Increasing the size of your blade is not enough to defeat me." Osiris said feigning confidence as he said it.

"You misunderstand." His adversary replied. "It's not only the size that has increased!" Arawn shouted.

The one-eyed Soul Reaver rushed at Osiris and immediately he let out a series of fast slashes. The black-clad Soul Reaver tried to keep up with the attack but he felt that after each hit, Arawn's speed grows faster.

"Damn. He can move fast with such a huge weapon." Osiris said as he was trying to keep Arawn at bay. "What the?!" He thought to himself. He felt a slash hit his chest and soon after that another slash landed on the same location and the one-eyed Soul Reaver gave him a huge kick to the face which sent Osiris flying against another wall. Arawn's speed was too much for him at this point.

Ozi's body fell on the floor as he held on his weapon. His grip was not tightening at all and he struggled to get up. His trench coat was torn from the front due to the attacks of Jakushimo.

"Ozi!" Elle shouted. She felt powerless whilst watching her classmate struggle against one powerful Soul Reaver.

"Chotenkai." The raven perched on Elle's shoulder said. "Apex Release. A skill that only Soul Reavers with elite level Youkai pressure can do." He added.

"That's right." Arawn said. "Even though Osiris's Youkai pressure is impressive, he is not on my level. After all, I am one of the Jushiomo." He added.

The one-eyed Soul Reaver walked to where Osiris's body was and picked him up by the hair. Ozi struggled to grip his weapon but the latter shrugged it off and gave him another slash this after he tossed his body in the air.

The black-clad Soul Reaver fell again on the ground, this time his body seemed lifeless due to him not holding on to his scythe.

"Please stop this!" Elle pleaded to the other Soul Reaver. "What do you want from him anyway?!" she asked.

"It is not so much as what I want, rather it is what Fate commands. Besides, a wayward survivor such as yourself has no right to tell me what to do when you yourself can't control your own fate." Arawn said.

The armor-clad Soul Reaver walked on towards the body of Ozi once more. He was relishing every moment that he beat on the other Soul Reaver.

"Is this your full potential?" he said as he walked. "So, you are Mediocre after all." He added.

Osiris POV

"Damn it…" I thought to myself. I can't die here, not yet. But he is too strong. "Ugh." I said as I tried to speak.

My Youkai pressure is almost non-existent and my ass was and is being handed to me by one of the Jushiomo. All because I broke a minor ass rule.

Why the hell did I save her anyway? What's wrong with me?

Because of her. I heard an inner voice inside.

"Right." I said. I was still struggling to move any part of my body.

You gonna give up and die here? Without even finding her?

Hell no. I always love a good fight but this time I feel like I bit more than I can chew unfortunately. He has unlocked his Chotenkai while I am still stuck on the mediocre skill level of an initial Soul Reaver even though I have been doing this for quite a while now.

Remember its form.

"F-form…" I squeaked out. Damn I sound like a fucking rat. What form?

All my life the power I have wielded was only this Scythe and my blue flame Youkai. I have nothing else.

I am not as skilled as them. I should not have skirted the rules. I should have just let her die so that all of this never happens.

The flames of hell are with you.

Flames of hell? What is this?

That's right. You will remember soon. The name of the truth.

Riddles…

It's weird, the voice seems familiar.

Too familiar…

Indeed, because I am—

A burst of blue flames surged from Osiris's body. Arawn Kincaid was taken aback by this and defended himself with his blade. Elle was shocked when she saw this and so was the raven perched on her shoulder.

"W-what's going on?!" she shouted.

The raven observed what his going on with its eyes and saw that the black-clad Soul Reaver was getting up.

He held on his scythe and the blue fire energy wrapped itself on his weapon. A darker version of the azure flames surrounded the weapon and Osiris's body as well. His amber eyes looked even more intense whilst he held on his scythe with one hand.

"What pressure!" the raven said. "This power!" it added.

"What is this?" Arawn said. "Your Youkai presence is doubling its pressure" he added. "Even so, this is not enough." He concluded as he tried to attack the black-clad Soul Reaver.

His slash attempt bounced off and he was now taken aback even more.

"What the…" the one-eyed Soul Reaver said in his surprise.

A dark blue faint light emanated from Osiris's scythe. It was a cool light that was a bit blinding but was dissimilar from the other Soul Reaver.

A period of time elapsed before said light had dissipated. Arawn, Elle, and the raven soon saw that Osiris's weapon had changed.

"No way…" the raven said.

"What…?" Arawn said as well.

"Woah!" Elle said.

Osiris now held on to what looked like a sword. It had an ebony handle which was that of a rapier but it was not elegant. The handguard had black spikes on them which resembled that of the hilt of his scythe but shortened. The blade of his sword protruded like a normal blade at first but at the tip of it, the blade curved downwards which resembled his scythe, and the blade of his blade was crimson in color still. The inlays of the blade were laden in blue and black flames.

"Chotenkai (Apex Release)" Ozi said with a smirk on his face.

"Kagemoyasu 影燃やす (Shadow Burner)" he added. With that a new power has been unlocked by the black-clad Soul Reaver.

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