5 Balls of Elixirs

The seven cirles suddenly produced an eerie red-bubble like confetti.

The bubbles caught Ra's attention and he couldn't help but say, "What the...?" while slowly trying to reach out to the bubble nearest to him but before he could touch it, he heard Jin speak coldly.

"Don't touch it. Those are not your so typical bubble. They're elixirs." Jin said calmly, blood still dripping from each finger. He looked at the incantation at the mountain coldly.

When Ra looked at Jin, it was as if Jin was a puppet. Lifeless. Those blood dropped like strings pointing back to the puppet master. It took him a while to register what Jin just said, "Elixirs? Those are bubbles."

"Elixirs are those bubbles. Elixers aren't springs or what nots, they absorb life-energy and they give life-energy. They absorb every living things' life force with just a graze, a simple touch, and the fun part is they won't pop until they can give you a whole human's lifetime worth of life. In other words, the elixir you know is a lie. Elixir of life? More like elixir of death. Absorbing another person's life force only to give it away to a stranger." The look in Jin's eyes were arctic cold as each word was spat out.

What Jin said really baffled Ra and he couldn't help but ask, "Wait, I don't get it..." he thought to himself 'these balls are elixirs?'

Jin eyed Ra before continuing, "You should know this, Gisela was the one who opened this Pandora's box."

Ra heard his ancestor's name again, he always knew that she was powerful, an incomparable historical figure... but just how powerful was she?

The incantation at the mountain produced an eerie blue light and this light had a particular movement that the naked eye can see. Jin looked at the blue light like it was nothing to be surprised of. "Azure Fänger" Jin whispered.

Ra was mesmerized by the blue light the Azure Fänger produced.

Jin immediately pulled Ra into the middle of the blood incantation. Ra felt that the pressure Jin used to hold him was very weak. As if there wasn't any strength left. His gaze fell on Jin's lips. His lips were very attractive, very plump but it had a bizarre paleness to it. He started to look at Jin's face, he was pale, frighteningly pale.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Jin couldn't hear Ra anymore, but he can read his lips. He had been staring at Ra all this time. A buzzing sound was starting to come into his mind... With his last bit of strength, all he could do was instruct Ra of what he should do next, "I don't have much strength left and I'm not sure how long I will last. I'll be fainting in a couple more minutes. Make sure to not move even in the slightest bit out of this incantation. When that Azure Fänger attacks here, those bubbles will be filled for they will immediately absorb all the power of that attack. They will roll into the incantation on their own, no need to personally get them. When I lose consciousness, place an elixir on my lips later on or you could just let me die. But... make sure to not go out of the incantation while... the Azure Fänger is not fully absorbed by the elixers.... or else they will catch..." unknown to Jin, while he was explaining, there was this haggardness and lack of breath with each word.

*buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* *bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Suddenly Jin collapsed, he tried to fight it, this was all his strength could amount to. When he fell, it was the hard way his knees hit the floor before finally losing consciousness that shocked Ra to just stare at Jin's body.

~after half an hour~

Ra was still stunned. He couldn't believe someone talked about dying like it was just about typical everyday topics. There was no grieving, no remorse, no regret. When he fell to the ground, he was just staring at Ra but the way Jin stared at Ra reminded him how that little girl stared at him....

Suddenly the Azure Fänger went to where Ra was, the bubbles were all in different places but each area it was floating at was an area the Azure Fänger had no choice but to either graze unto or inevitably hit an elixir. The more it hit the bubbles, the smaller and smaller the light became. Ra was bewildered at the astonishing phenomena before him. This light was written in the annal of circa 366, it was said to be a light that could never be diminished. But its brightness grew smaller and smaller as it passed by the elixirs. What he saw led him to think, 'These elixirs are more terrifying than the Azure Fänger.'

*tonk tonk tonk tonk* he looked at where the sound came from, he saw that some of the bubbles became pure red crystal orbs. When it finally stopped bouncing, it slowly rolled towards the center of the incantation. He couldn't help but stare at the lifeless Jin. What monster was he to be able to obstruct that Azure Fänger, even making it gradually diminish into nothing.

He was then reminded of Jin's last words, "Catch what..., me?" Ra asked as he stared at the Azure Fänger.

~at the mountain~

"Vex, it would seem that even in this world, there are those opposing our webs" Xen said calmly to Vex. She had long black hair, her face had such a lively glow, she had this grace like a willow unlike Vex whose stance could be liken to a soldier. There was a peculiar light in her eyes as she saw the Azure Fänger's light grow dim.

Aka kept staring at the light and noticed small red bubbles near the light. "Elixirs."

This did not shock them in the slightest, but what happened next made Aka snicker. Aka looked differently from the two, she looked like a feisty teenager who had no qualms about breaking rules. She was the eldest among them even though she looked the youngest.

The three sisters looked at the web they had brought with them, some parts were slowly withering away. "A Deus ex machina? Interesting, it seems that whatever Lucy is striving for, even Iroko would not allow for It to be accomplished." Aka said with a beautiful grin. "Fate is spinning differently for that man. Do you see his fate, Xen?"

"His fate should be sealed. Wait...

Why is it a haze? He was supposed to be... fates had never been changed, we, the Fayes have been witnesses..." Xen said.

"That depends, if it is Iroko changing it, then even we are powerless. Unless, if to begin with, what we saw was a lie." Aka replied nonchalantly.

"Ever since the Lady Iroko vanished along with her soul, everything has been changing. The Lord also left all immortals here in this godforsaken eden. Even deities we've never met nor known of have come into being."

After what Vex said, the two sisters looked at her.

Aka pondered Vex's words, "We have been named by these mortals and have enjoyed their endless stories of us deities, but we know we are but mere deities. It would seem that we will soon need to take a side."

she said while twirling her hair, she cheekily smiled and her canine tooth can be seen.

"Sister!" Xen interrupted, her cheeks flushing a rosy red.

Aka pinched her sister's cheeks, a smile more unforgiving than the sun was seen on Aka's face. This particular smile brought a chill to all who've seen it. "I know, Xen, we have made an oath. But Lucy has been pushing his luck and these humans, like marionettes attached to strings, have been pushed to an amoral end." Aka's eyes changed from its initial interest and showed a very deep and dangerous glint, as if her eyes were a lake bound to swallow anyone or anything up.

"Is that so?" A very seductive husky voice interrupted the sisters' talk.

Immediately, Vex threw a punch at their unwanted visitor. The stranger punched back, their punch created a rupture and trees from the mountain were blown away.

"Do tell, which side you intend to take?" asked a young man in a very dandy manner. He looked beyond pleasing, his features could be considered otherworldly, his very presence shook the souls of onlookers, it's as if everything stopped. He was most definitely a deity, a dangerous one at that since his arrival brought about thick killing intent. He had a mischievous grin and he eyed the sisters as if they were toys, somewhat interesting toys.

Aka and her siblings were unaffected by his charisma. They too were deities beyond human beauty, not only that, them being the Fayes were a tier higher than most deities for even deities were bound by their fate. Xen suddenly pulled Vex away from the stranger, "Lucy..."

"Xen!" The stranger replied happily. "You know, almost all deities call me Lucy, I've been wondering why?"

Aka giggled and she stared at Lucy like he was some idiot, "Naturally, to taunt you. You still haven't found your darling sister."

Lucy's eyes became indecipherable. "Aka, you know I respect you the most amongst the three of you. We are somewhat, how do these humans call it, of kindred spirit. There are some things you just should not say. Lest you intend to make me an enemy."

Aka raised her left eyebrow and sarcastically said, "That depends, Iroko seems to not care about your bottomline."

"You know Aka, I think I'm starting to want to cut off that tongue of yours." Lucy said, while he threw a deadly glare at Aka.

"You can try." She said scoffingly.

"Aka! Stop it, we are here just to watch. We also want to know this mortal's bearing." Vex said as she held Aka's hands.

Lucy had cut them off, "Not much of a bearing. Just like Gisela, a puppet is still a puppet."

The sisters suddenly became quiet. They have become fond of humans, compared to the other deities, they experienced more time with these mortals. Their life, their struggles, and their inevitable death. They watched it regardless of their distaste for human life. Slowly, some fondness was formed for these pitiful beings.

Irked by his words, Xen said in the sweetest way possible, "A puppet indeed. Mortal, fleeting, but look at your Azure Fänger, it has yet to catch your prey. A pathetic name for a pathetic spell, if I do say so myself." mocking Lucy.

"Elixirs?" it took a while for Lucy to register what Xen said. He then looked at his Azure Fänger.

"It would seem your puppet passed down somethings that could incite a rebellion." Vex snickered.

Lucy glared at the sisters before he ran towards Ra's direction.

~at Begonia's Shroud~

Ra was still dazed, when one of the orbs hit his right foot as it travelled towards the center of the incantation, he stared at it foolishly and he remembered Jin's instructions.

"Should I just let him die?"

He looked at the immensely pale face of Jin, he couldn't stomach it. This man saved him and he had a lot of questions. Even though he was mysterious and dangerous, he was the only one who could answer his questions.

He picked the orb, repositioned Jin and placed it an elixir on his lips. The bloody red color of the orb slowly diminished and it became a colorless marble. It suddenly dropped on the floor, a popping sound could be heard, and it cracked, it cracked continuously till it was pulverized. Jin was still lifeless, he took another orb and placed it on his lips, he no longer bothered to look at the Azure Fänger. On the seventh attempt the lifeless color of Jin slowly disappeared. His cheeks started to flush red and his lips became very red, 'very kissable.' Ra was shocked with his thoughts, he shaked his head. This rattling reminded him of the Azure Fänger, it was no longer there neither were the elixers floating. Countless red orbs were on the floor.

He heard a deep gasp and he looked at Jin, Jin was coughing while forcing himself to breath.

"Are the two of you alright?" Out of nowhere, this question was heard by the both of them.

Jin and Ra looked at the direction where the voice came from. Lucy was looking at them, his looks were so wonderful that the sky could not compare to this marvelous face. Jin hid one of his arms as his fist tightened at the sight of this man, 'Lucy' she thought to herself.

Ra knew that Jin had no energy to talk back so he replied, "We're fine. Thank you. You are?" He couldn't help but stare at the man. He was definitely not normal. He scrutinized him and concluded that, 'That mystical face does not belong to a human.'

Lucy grinned while looking at Ra, he couldn't help but think to himself 'a very fine puppet, just like Gisela.'

"Lucien, you?"

"Gin. And this here is Ren." Ra changed there names for this man did not seem normal. There no longer was anybody else here. He felt repulsed towards Lucy and every dangerous thing that happened today. He could not help but think, 'Who is he, or more likely, what is he? Everything is happening so fast. How could he even have the audacity to come here. Knowing all the disasters just a while ago, nobody would come here... I hate this powerlessness and lack of knowledge.'

Jin slowly stood up, he stepped on the incantation and all the orbs moved towards the incantation and entered the circles.

"Shizuka" Jin whispered and suddenly on the incantation circle a twin sword appeared.

The grin on Lucy's face deepened, his voice had a malevolent timbre that tickled the ears of mortals, "Shizuka? A mortal like you? It won't even listen to you let alone be wielded by you..."

He eyed Jin and a dangerous aura surged forth as he said, "Though I must thank you, this weapon being here must mean that Micaheil is around."

The temperature dropped several degrees, "Ra, run. I'll hold him off." Jin said in a cold mechanical way. He then drew both swords and a sudden gust of wind enveloped him. Jin became exceedingly dangerous in Ra's eyes. It was as if he became another person. Ra pondered as to whether or not he should run.

"You can wield it? Of course, Micaheil always left me some thorns for me to deal with. Wielding is one thing. But coordinating your whole body with Shizuka is another thing." Lucy said as he eyed Shizuka. The sword he had with him, Shān, started to resonate with Shizuka.

Suddenly three woman stood near Ra, "You wanna watch, boy?" Aka asked

Ra was stunned, 'Deities? Aren't they the Fayes?'

With a side glance, Jin saw the Fayes were here. 'They were really the ones he felt at the mountain.' he thought. "Are you in Cahoots with this man?" He pointed at Lucy.

"No, we just came to watch. This boy here is very interesting." Aka said as she patted Ra's head. "Were you the one who made those elixers?" she eyed Jin, she felt that the mortal's soul was unparalleled. She has seen many souls, but this particular soul before her was nothing like a mortal's.

"So, what if I am, and what if I am not?" Jin remarked in a bored manner.

"Tsk, you rude mortal!" Xen shouted.

"You proud deity." Jin said coldly. His eyes shifted to Lucy and in a split second he was in the air above Lucy, his right hand striking towards Lucy's head. Lucy used two fingers to stop the attack, 'what, my fingers, they're bleeding?' He looked up and saw that his flesh was slowly being cut through. He took out his sword and immediately lifted it to strike Jin's attack.

*clang* the two swords' power reverberated almost destroying the whole Begonia's Shroud.

"Idiot" Jin whispered as she aimed her right sword unto Lucy's left side.

The sword struck flesh. The sound of flesh being stabbed and bones being crushed could be heard. "Tsk" Lucy pushed Jin with all his might. They were both thrown ten meters apart.

"That mortal..." Vex said in awe.

"His movements are as fast as a deity's" Xen commented.

Jin once again disappeared and this time he reappeared in front of him and kicked the back of Lucy's right knee, he then striked the right side of Lucy. 'This speed, he isn't normal!' Lucy gritted his teeth as he defended his right side. But Jin mercilessly stabbed with her right sword the left side of Lucy, he aimed at the same spot. "Arghhhh! You little!" Lucy shouted in agony and kicked back Jin's chest.

Jin was laughing in his mind, 'thank god I chose a male body, or else my breast would've been eradicated from the face of the earth!'

Aka smiled but her smile was not a smile. Ra looked at the three woman before him and his gaze had a bewildered look to it, he then looked at Jin. 'He was dying just now.' He remembered the red orbs he placed on Jin. "It couldn't be..."

As if reading Ra's thoughts, Jin shouted from afar, "Good, you're not as stupid as I thought. Elixers not only give life force, they also give immense power." An orb appeared in Jin's hand and it immediately loss its color, "Naturally, if you use all the power up, it would be emptied, just like how those elixers you placed on me and this elixer here loss its initial color." Jin explained calmly, he said it loud enough for Ra to hear.

The fayes could not help but have a deep impression of Jin, they immediately sized him up.

Lucy's face darkened, "You're using my power against me..." He shouted obviously irritated with what Jin said.

"It's not my fault you throw power around." he retorted in a sarcastic manner.

"I like that he's rude to Lucy but when he talks back at us, I want to cut him to pieces." Xen said in a coy manner to her sisters.

"Don't, if Micaheil allowed him to use those twin swords, his soul is as mighty as a deity." Vex explained as she stared at Xen, she pinched her sister's cheeks, "You naughty girl, Micaheil is our friend and you want to make enemies with her friend?"

Xen looked at her sister's deep blue eyes, "okay..." she sniffed and said no more.

Hearing all this, Ra felt like he was inferior. Even Jin, a stranger he met, seemed to be stronger than him. He felt like he was being tossed around by the waves of the sea. A sea in the midst of a storm... the world of the deities...