65 Black Diamond

"Again?" Lithi sighs. He seems to have improved upon his imitation of emotions. He slumps onto his throne, his pale face lax, black eyes drooping. He almost looks tired, but the one before him knows better.

"Yes. I need your help," Cage stands a few paces away from the throne, a conviction in his eyes as he looks down at Lithi. An image of Ingen lying with a hole in his stomach flashes through his mind, and with it comes a stabbing pain in his heart. No, he's not dead, Cage thinks, I saw him breathing still. I won't let him die.

"I believe I told you-"

"Yet you already helped me, back on Kalar," Cage interrupts, stepping forward, "I won't move a muscle until I see him take his last breath. You help me kill Ludan, or you can forget your game of succession."

Lithi pauses, his facade of emotions suddenly gone, "And how will you escape my little game?" he asks.

"I'll kill myself."

Lithi laughs, and the haunting bellow echos through the black space of Oblivion, "A good attempt, but lying to me is impossible," he says, leaning forward on his throne with a sickly grin, "I know that Rajin boy told you. You're not the only one in that head of yours anymore."

Cage doesn't budge a bit, "Am I still lying?"

Lithi stares at Cage for a moment. His grin disappears. He leans back, "Just to prove me wrong, huh?," he says, "Fine. How do you expect me to help, then? Everything that I can do, you can do."

"I don't know as much as you," Cage says, "How did you turn me into that thing? I felt like I could control my powers freely."

Lithi hums. He stands from his throne and walk past Cage, hands clasped behind his back, "That thing these people call 'magic'... It is far more than just that," he says, halting near the edge of the platform and looking down into the endless black.

Cage steps up beside him, pale toes nearly hanging off the stone, "What does that mean?" he asks, furrowing his brows at Lithi.

Lithi only looks down. His blonde hair hangs over his forehead, nearly reaching his eyes, "Creation itself can not die," he mutters, barely loud enough to be heard, "It can only be... reforged. Molded into something new."

Cage stares at the man for a moment. To say that he is confused would be quite an understatement, "Is this your way of helping? Spewing bad poetry?"

Lithi glances at Cage, brows furrowed, "I thought it was exceptional," he says, exhaling through his nose, "Anyway... That magic is not something that should be in the hands of men. Those that reside in that tree may believe differently, but it does not come from the soul or body. They are something that is created, but the magic... it is a part of creation itself, a grain of sand buried in a beach as vast as the universe."

Cage raises a brow, humming. Alyra and Yoru would be losing their minds if they heard those words, "So... I can't absorb the magic, but I can 'reforge it'?" he asks hesitantly.

"Finally caught on?" Lithi says with an almost genuine smile, "Good. Do it yourself this time."

Cage nods, returning his own smile, "Thank you," he says. Cage was right, that bloated feeling does mean something. It's not exactly what he thought it was, but he can still use it.

Lithi turns and walks back toward his throne, and Cage watches him go, "Next time, my poetry will be better. Ah, I nearly forgot..." he stops and glances back at Cage, "...You were right about that giant, it will be back for you. There are others, too. Quite exciting."

Cage frowns, "Wha-" he's interrupted by the darkness taking him and sending him back to reality. The next thing he sees is blue flames barreling toward his face.

---

Ludan looks down at the man lying on the stones before him. Ingen's skin has lost some of its color, and his wide eyes stare up at the ceiling of the cave. The pool of dark blood surrounding him still grows as he continues to bleed. His leotard-covered chest moves up and down slowly, and it only gets slower with each passing moment. Ludan hums, one black brow raised, "A resilient one, aye? Suit yourself. Quickly or not, you'll die eventually," he says.

The Epoch then glances over at Kyro, who still slumps against the wall several paces away, a pile of vomit beside him. He doesn't move, doesn't speak, he only stares at his dying friend. It didn't take long for Kyro's shocked and sorrowful expression to change into one of pure numbness. Ludan chuckles, "You truly thought all of you would survive, didn't you?" he says, "I suppose death seems like a mercy now."

Kyro doesn't react to the mocking words. He may not have even heard them.

Ludan then looks at that monster, who stands where the gate used to be, seeming to be in a similar state as Kyro. It stands still as the mountain itself, lips parted, pitch-black eyes staring at nothing. One would assume that the thing passed out standing up.

Ludan glances up at Sali, who stands behind him, staring at the creature named Cage, "That spindly thing did this to you?" he asks. Cage drained some of his powers, Ludan knows that, but it doesn't explain the puny state of Sali. The creature must have done something to contaminate the energy as well.

Sali nods, his many eyes never leaving Cage, "Yes, Master. You should be careful with it," he says. Even his voice has lost its intimidating edge.

Ludan looks at Cage again, brows furrowed, "I will, but the thing is weak. It's nothing like the Umbra I remember," he says, "Perhaps..."

Ludan flashes forward, appearing just before Cage in an instant. He throws a red-skinned fist forward, aiming to put a hole in the same place as he did with Ingen. Just before it smashes through the creature's black robe and through its stomach, a pale hand slaps his attack away.

Ludan pauses as his fist meets empty air at Cage's side. He straightens himself, stepping back quickly and expecting a counter-attack. It never comes. Ludan relaxes slightly, looking at the creature, which still seems to be staring at nothing, its one hand down by its side. A snowflake lands in its long black hair.

Ludan hums, then attacks again, only for it to be shoved aside. Again and again, his punches, kicks, and grabs are all redirected by an unconscious creature with one hand. Those black eyes never budge even a bit.

Ludan steps back for a moment, clicking his tongue in annoyance. It's as if the thing is being controlled by some external force, one that doesn't see the point in striking back. It only protects the vessel. Ludan narrows his eyes and looks at the cut-off sleeve of the creature's robe, then he smirks, "You wouldn't protect yourself if you couldn't be hurt," The Epoch mutters.

Ludan clenches his fists, and the second set of bracelets on his wrists begins to glow vibrantly. Two lanterns on either side of the gate suddenly extinguish. Then, from elbow to fist, deep blue flames burst into existence and burn his sleeves away. The flames his rings absorb and produce are modified to burn hotter than any normal fire, and can melt stone and metal easily.

The flames produced by the bracelets, however, are condensed to one area, allowing them to burn hot enough to turn most things to dust, especially flesh. The only downside is that Ludan must focus on his healing factor while using them to keep his arms from being vaporized.

Ludan raises his burning fists, frowning. Most things that would send others into a screaming spasm of agony have long been reduced to an annoying itch for him. But even the Epoch can feel the flames burning away his flesh almost faster than he can heal.

More than ready to be done with this whole circus of a fight, Ludan launches a blue-flamed fist toward Cage's face. The creature suddenly awakes, and in the instant before impact, Ludan sees a frown. It doesn't react in time. His fist collides with Cage's face.

The creature flies back, twisting and flipping in the air until it crashes through the stone wall of an abandoned home. After the debris of broken stones settles, and the dust clears, a large hole is revealed in the wall. It's too dark to see through, but Ludan knows what lies on the other side.

And so the Epoch waits in silence. That punch would have killed most, but not a creature like the Umbra. No, it is likely that even Ludan will find himself half-dead before that thing is defeated. But he is fully prepared for that possibility. It must die.

He glances back and finds Kyro standing slowly from where he sat for so long, still staring at Ingen. The shocked expression has returned to his face, but where his eyes once told a story of despair, they now shine with hope.

Ludan looks at Ingen. The giant man lies still in the same place as he remembers. Ingen's skin has regained some of its color, and his chest rises and falls much faster than before. Ludan narrows his eyes, looking hard at where he remembers a hole being. Now, a layer of shiny black crystal-like material covers it. He would need to get closer to see the full detail.

Ludan sighs, "Of course," he says in an annoyed tone, "Even the universe gets in the way of my plans."

"Sali, take care of them," Ludan furrows his brows as he sees the massive wolf whimper and back away from his master, tail tucked between his legs, "Wha-" he's interrupted by a shiver bolting up his spine.

Ludan spins with wide eyes, freezing as he looks at the hole that the creature crashed through earlier. A bead of sweat forms on his forehead. Suddenly, the discomfort of the blue flames on his arms becomes actual pain. The end is revealed to him under the blanket of monstrous darkness.

In a similar way to pain, the Epoch had forgotten what true fear feels like. The memory crashes into him like a tidal wave now, as if it never left.

---

Kyro slowly kneels over Ingen, setting his sword down gently beside the warhammer. He stares at the black crystal covering the hole in Ingen's stomach. Kyro rubs his finger over the geometric facets spanning the crystal. It's incredibly smooth, and cold. It looks like... diamond.

He pulls his hand back So, Ingen is a Vas user now. An internal. Kyro sighs, his shoulders sagging.

It's as if Kyro has just awoken from a terrible nightmare. The past few minutes are nothing but one blurry image. Ingen still on the ground, blood pooling on the stones around him. For what seemed like an eternity, Kyro couldn't even muster the strength to stand. He could only watch as his brother dies.

Ingen has always been with Kyro, always. It had never even crossed his mind that Ingen could die, it's as if his brain blocked him from thinking about it. Then, reality snapped back at Kyro. No matter how much he convinces himself otherwise, Mavyl will not be the last death he experiences.

Kyro can see it with his own eyes, yet part of him still expects to wake up still leaning on that wall. It seems too good to be true. Ingen is alive. He's alive.

Kyro reaches down and grabs Ingen's massive hand. He squeezes it.

Ingen squeezes back.

A tear rolls down Kyro's cheek, and he smiles as he puts Ingen's hand back down. He glances back and sees Ludan standing still in the empty space of the gate. He looks past and sees a familiar sight. It's Cage, wrapped in that darkness as he had been back on Kalar. However, it's different.

Several long and thick tendrils sprout from Cage's back and writhe around in space, each one more solid than ever before. The same goes for the darkness wrapping around his body, it seem deeper somehow, and a lot bigger. And those white eyes, they glow brighter, piercing through the darkness with little effort.

Relief is accompanied by anxiety. Kyro remembers what the Epoch spoke of earlier. He purses his lips, staring at Cage's black figure, "Prove him wrong," Kyro whispers.