The New Journey - Obsidian is born

Silence…

That was the key defining trait if one were to indulge in the sensation of experiencing the massive, empty void that was space. Where stars burned brilliantly in every direction and myriads of colors spread out showing off the various constellations and nebulas in the distance, Raizo drifted alone helplessly through the cosmos after being spat out by an unexpected rift. Racked with pain and fatigue from overexerting his power to close a wormhole that nearly devoured his home planet, the male's eyes parted carefully being filled with the sight of the many celestial objects welcoming his gradual return to consciousness.

As the Stormbringer maneuvered his body into an upright position, the boy clutched the back of his head with his right hand ruffling his hair while trying to shake the grogginess. With his senses returning to him, the former blood wolf felt his mind dive into his memories in an effort to recall the events that led him to this point. It was at this point that he was reminded of how he was swallowed up by that cosmic disaster being sent spiraling helplessly through some dimensional distortion. After that, everything went dark until now.

"I have to…get back home…" the boy stammered aloud wincing from the feeling of the strained muscles that encompassed his body. He could feel numbness cover his entire frame gripping him like he was being held in someone's hand. If he tried to move suddenly, that's where the strong stinging sensation poured in reverberating through his nerves sending those unpleasant signals to his brain.

"Damn, I really…did overdo it," he cursed while wincing once again. Even though he had no visible physical injuries, the boy was currently dealing with physiological aftershock so to speak. To put it simply, he was feeling the consequences of pushing his body beyond the limits of what he could physically handle. However, he refused to let this annoying tension hold him back from his ultimate goal of returning to the place he was robbed from.

"I won't let you get away with what you've done Orion," the male spoke with heated determination gritting his teeth. Thinking on how he fell for that cosmic user's trap angered him greatly, not only at the party responsible but at himself for being so hasty and allowing himself to fall into it. He made a rash decision and was currently paying the price by being in some unknown corner of space right now but he intended to rectify this shortly.

Raizo proceeded to close his eyes and clear his mind. He channeled his focus to sharpen his senses seeking out the energies of his friends whether it was Vesta, Adena, or even Akame. So long as he could get a lock on their aura, he could ascertain the direction he had to traverse in order to return home.

"What the hell?" he asked in surprise. Something didn't feel right to him. He went to close his eyes again to sense out the presence of his comrades but there was…nothing. No, saying that was too strong of a description. As he repeated the process, he felt like there was something there but if he had to describe it, it felt as if his mind ran into some form of interference. Raizo was like a radio tower transmitting a signal to capture a certain wavelength; however, he was receiving strong feedback that was distorting his signal causing a lot of 'noise'. As a result, the youth had to face the conclusion that he had no way of finding his way back home.

"Come on, this can't be happening right now. To hell with this, I'll just have to do it the hard way," he mused in frustration. The Stormbringer then clenched his fists and tensed his muscles trying to power up. Forget worrying about pain or his current physiological state, he needed to get home. Although, the moment he made the attempt to gather his power and boost his strength by transformation, a terrible crippling sensation came over him forcing him to curl up and cry out as a result.

[I wouldn't do that if I were you, boy.]

"I…Indra?" he questioned in slight shock hearing the old, familiar voice of the thunder god that resided within him.

[It's been a long time since we have talked hasn't it boy?]

"Yeah, and man have you missed out on a lot of bullshit from fucking with the timeline, challenging a Primordial with mommy issues, coming to terms with my own parental problems and of course one dumb decision after the other; but hey, how've you been besides being that one overbearing voice stuck in my head like a goddamn mental disorder?"

[Someone's a little irritated…]

"Yeah well, I can't seem to get a break from the bullshit so sorry if I seem slightly agitated."

[Duly noted but for your information, you won't be getting home as you are right now. Aside from the fact that you pushed yourself way too far trying to close a spatial anomaly, you do not possess the capacity to get home from this distance.]

"Really? You don't say? Thanks for the astute analysis man, that really fucking helps me out. Hey, why don't you put that shit in a memo and title it 'Shit I Already Know'?"

[I see that vulgar sarcasm of yours has not changed. If you'd stop being condescending for a minute, I can tell you of a possible solution to your current predictable. Not unless you would prefer to be lost in the far reaches of the lesser known portion of the multiverse and possibly wind up being sucked into a black hole before being tossed outside this space into the larger hyperverse for all eternity?]

"Just get to the point already, my body hurts as it is; not like I want my head to start hurting too…"

[It seems like my brother's power has done quite a number on you. If it wasn't for the amount of divine protection over your body, I would not be surprised if you would have been ripped in half after sucked into the abyss.]

"Your brother…? Are you saying that Orion is somehow related to you?"

[No, not even remotely, I am referring to the god that lies within him. His abilities are identified as Shiva's Maelstrom right? Well as per the name of the power within him, Shiva is my brother. Once upon a time, he was known as the God of Destruction.]

"Is that so?"

[Indeed. In fact, all of my siblings reside within people that you know. Hestia has my oldest sister Durga; Genesis has my second oldest sister, Kali; Zephyria bears my younger brother, Rudra; and Adena bears my youngest sister, Agni. Shiva, being within Orion, is my older brother.]

"I'm not sure if this is a matter of coincidence or if you guys were trying to plot something…" Raizo suggested voicing his suspicions of what Indra had just revealed to him. How could six gods that were all related wind up as souls bound within six different extract teigu in which six people who discover them come together in one place?

[Your suspicions are not unwarranted. Ironically the coincidence you noticed is actually a part of this topic I was going to discuss with you. For starters, we six siblings often referred to as the Deva deities in one faith were just some of the many divine beings that fought against each other during the Age of Gods. Ambitions for greater power, radical idealism, and madness were among some of the notions that caused deities to fight over each other before the great hierarchy was established.

One great skirmish that took place was over a relic said to contain immense power that could enhance a divine being's strength and make them ascend in power akin to the threshold that tapped on the Primordial scale. At least…that was what was believed about this object. Many of us fought and died trying to obtain that relic. In fact, trying to obtain it for myself was what eventually led me to fighting Leviathan and well…I'm sure you recalled the events of that tale.]

"Yeah…but this relic must have some serious potential if you wound up nearly dying for it."

[Correct. The relic is known as the Arcana Crystal. As the name suggests, it is a mysterious jewel that contained the ability to transcend one's capabilities infinities above their current state. Trying to obtain the advantage over the other, all the deities of the time waged war over this artifact until one woman shattered it according to the will of another. The jewel was shattered into six fragments and scattered across hyperspace never to be seen again. However even while fragmented, these shards possess the capabilities of severely altering reality, warping one's current self and drastically upsetting the balance of whatever infinite space it is contained within. Anyone with even divinity within them can use it.]

"Okay…but why are you telling me this? I don't have any need for something like that. Besides, if it's as dangerous as you make it sound then it is better off being kept apart the way it is now."

[True, but with your current abilities you will not be able to reach home and if you are unable to sense any single member of your family then how will you get back? Surely you do not intend on spending time trying to train in the empty void of space do you?]

"Tch…but why should I expend the energy looking for the pieces of this damn crystal if I don't even know where they are? And why should I even trust you?"

[Because I can feel their presence, boy; even if I am just a soul bound within the item you call a teigu, I still possess some abilities of my own. I know the energy signature of the Arcana Crystal. Anyone who lived during the era of its creation knows that aura even if it's only a fragment. Traverse the vast multiverse using me as your guide and find all six pieces. Bring them together and you will have a power so great that you will never have to worry about limits again. Or you can just drift endlessly in the cosmos dwelling over your failings left to feel powerless until you finally give in to the urge to die…]

"Damn you, Indra," Raizo cursed gritting his teeth once more. He needed to get home as fast as he could but if he did not possess the power to do it then how would he get there? Could he really take the chance of wandering aimlessly through the cosmos as it was trying to find his way back home? How much time would that take? Could his world truly last without him? Then again, Earth did have Adena, Akame, and Vesta there plus Zephyria and Genesis could be counted among his allies now. However, Neveir was still an unknown variable.

Hikari Hanate and her forces possessed abilities that he could not even fathom the full potential of. Plus every time the face of that woman known as the Devil Queen came into his mind, all he could feel was crippling fear. Not just ordinary fear or some irrational phobia, the kind of fear that took away any concept of peace one could ever define; that fear that robbed you of all rational thought and reason, the fear that just made suicide look like a godsend. Yes, if he had a word for the fear he felt towards Hikari Hanate, it could only be pure, unadulterated terror.

[So what is your decision, boy?]

"I don't exactly have a choice in the matter. As you said before, I'm literally drifting through space with hardly any juice to keep me going. I mean it's not like I can eat like Akame to get my strength back. Plus I can't feel any of my family's energies so I'm all alone. But if I'm going after this crystal, I need some time to recuperate," Raizo explained while observing his left hand covered by the glove that represented the Janus gauntlet. He clenched that hand into a fist and grabbed his wrist using his right hand before exhaling in a heavy sigh.

If only…I could understand myself more…

It was then that a gleaming crimson light began to emit from his left hand on the back of the glove. In that next instant, the mysterious black gauntlet that was gifted to him by his father as forged by Alexis appeared taking over the entirety of his left arm but it did not stop there. He felt the enigmatic metal material begin to expand latching across his body fusing with the fibers of his clothing upon his body before being consumed within the crimson radiance. Burning with enough intensity to rival a star, the blinding crimson beacon of light illuminated the colorful palette of space that Raizo was drifting in. For what seemed like a brief respite of eternity passed in just a matter of minutes as that light began to fade revealing the Crimson Harbinger donned in a garb unfamiliar to him.

Raizo was now clad in a form of armor donned with a mixture of cloaks and robes. His forearms along with the backs of his hands were engrossed in a bronze, metallic material layered over top of black sleeves and gloves. This same bronze color extended to the breastplate of the armor which embodied his entire torso both on the front and back. At the waist was a solid gold ring that was tied into place from the top by two leather straps wrapping around from the mid-section while being tied with a black sash that wrapped around at the bottom causing the straps and sash to hold the ring in an X-shape. At the base of the ring was a long, crimson, rippled sash that draped down about three-quarters towards the man's heels. A curtain-like black robe hung around the base of Raizo's waste obscuring the view of the man's legs just barely touching the tops of his feet. Underneath what many could potentially mistake as a dress, black pants wrapped around the bottom half of his body; however, from his knees down to his feet, the bronze armor appeared once again tinged with a shade of silver. A hooded cloak covered the male from the head which draped over his shoulders then hung like a cape behind his back. On both sides of his waist hung his blades where Morana was tucked in its special amber sheathe on the right hip and Vajra was snugly kept in the Gemini sheathe on the left. Lastly, his face had been covered in a mask hiding his identity completely where not even his iconic, heterochromia hair was visible. The mask was pattered red over top of a dark steel color where a horizontal black bar stretched across the face so that Raizo could see. This was the full form of the Janus Armor in its awakened state.

"What the…hell?" the boy asked aloud hearing his voice come out sounding deeper than before due to the mask covering his face and head almost like a helmet. As the Son of Mercer flexed his muscles in the armor trying to adjust to the feeling, he felt surprisingly comfortable with the new garments. While moving his limbs around, the former blood wolf discovered that his fatigue had dissipated and that the energy encompassed the flow of Indra's Judgment had come back to him once more.

"No way…" he mused in disbelief. He was at a complete loss for words right now. From being drained back to full power in one random, unanticipated event was truly unprecedented. This vibrant experience could only be described as the sensation of uncovering a new power even though he felt only his stamina coming back to him. Though, the Stormbringer would soon find out over time that this armor did more than that.

[Fascinating armor you have spontaneously acquired, boy. I suppose if your brother Akaro is the Red Knight then you are the Dark Knight?]

"Um, no…that sounds like a name belonging to some horribly edgy kid that decided to be an antihero to deal with his parental issues," Raizo swiftly responded shutting down the notion of such a terrible name.

[Honestly speaking, doesn't that apply to you?]

"Funny you rustic, disembodied bastard but no it doesn't. Mercer is my father and had this armor commissioned for me and as far as I am concerned, my mother is Miss Lucy—also known as the sass queen. Besides, I don't need to be edgy when I have family like them and Team AKARA."

[Fair enough, so what about Black Knight?]

"Why are you so fixated on this name or alias thing?"

[We are going to be traveling to entirely different universes within the multiverse. These worlds may not have ever dealt with a being such as you before. Do you really want potential threats from these locations trying to hunt you down when you inevitably head back home?]

"I see…I suppose it would be prudent to take on a different name. After all, there's no telling how the worlds we visit will be affected by the fragments. The last thing I want is people trying to track me down."

[Indeed.]

Raizo began to think to himself for a moment about a decent name. Having titles like Stormbringer and Crimson Harbinger were just monikers adhering to his legend that people have given him over time from the stories that they told but they weren't suitable names. He thought of how those around him had nicknames like Red Knight, Red-Eyed Killer, Benihime, and so on. Even his enemies in the past had nicknames such as Aquilo being known as Silver Fox and such. But as for himself, he was coming up with blanks.

Then he remembered a type of stone that he came across when he was younger. It was a rare stone often used by blacksmiths for forging arrowheads and daggers when steel or iron was not readily available. This black stone was something that Raizo stumbled across when training as a child and he kept it for a time. Wearing this armor with draped in these black robes reminded him of that stone and its name was perfect for use.

"I'll take on the name: Obsidian."

[Obsidian, huh? That's actually rather fitting. Are you ready then?]

"As much as I'll ever be for this, now where's the first fragment?"

[We're taking off towards the universe in that lies north by northeast. This place should be considerably easy to deal with but I hope you'll be able to deal with magic.]

"Magic? What are we dealing with, fairy tales?"

[You wouldn't be wrong on that…]

"I'll be the judge of that."

Raizo, now being known as 'Obsidian', crouched in a readied stance as a surge of crimson electricity circulated around his body. Within the following instant, the youth blasted off through space in a flash forging his new to path to gather the six fragments of the Arcana Crystal so he could find his way back home. The next chapter of one of Akasha's chosen was about to begin.