Advisories who know loneliness

Standing up, Machia fearlessly stood on the ocean shore. With clear vision, he gazed at the ocean's depths and the harrowing creatures that waited before departing with a word of gratitude. 

He turned towards the pale-faced, weak, kneeling figure of a small woman on the sand. 

"Circe, congratulations. You did it. I was very fortunate to have received your aid. Your service will not go unrewarded."

Machia said this with a pleased, genuine tone, staring at the small woman's writhing body devoid of empathy. She could only look up with resignation and utter a single word amidst the pain.

"Why?"

"Why? Don't be pathetic. Of course, you can't survive the repercussions. Think about what you did. Reverting my blessed body back to its previous state from its mangled, exhausted one, ha, well, good luck with that. You should have known better. It's your technique. Of course, the backlash will be worse than a little bit of age-altering. 

Snapping out of his sarcastic tirade, Machia shared a kind smile with Circe as if all was right. But she looked away as fear coated her pale features.

"In the case that you do survive, though, I'll even carry you back. If you don't, then I'll take full responsibility for protecting Hectate in your place. That's probably what you'd want; no need to thank me for my consideration." 

With a satisfied expression, Machia sat beside the begrudged woman as she contested with the pain. Uninterested in her suffering, he gazed out at the ocean. He began to speak to her again, ignorant of her dimming conscience. 

"It's funny, isn't it. We journeyed all the way here and fought so hard to face a foe we've never even seen. Though I suppose most battles are like that. Ah, don't be concerned Circe, it will definitely come. No need to worry about that. Our effort will not be for nought." 

Machia gazed at the pitch-black sun with a putrid, eager grin. Circe completely collapsed onto the sand. She was in a state of extreme exhaustion. Machia nonchalantly lay beside her.

"Oh wow. Good news, Circe, it arrived quicker than we expected. I can see it now with this new ability of mine. Do you want to know what it looks like? It's watching us too. How exciting. I've waited so long for this, you know, and it's all thanks to you that I feel so strong. The source of the fiends that have terrorized our people for years, I can finally strike it. Not to mention she, Amelia, is safe and far away."

Circe's state was growing worse by the moment. Her eyes bled, and she slipped in and out of unconsciousness. Despite this, she did her best to listen to Machia's rant with great sympathy. It was true that there was nothing Machia could do to relieve her suffering but follow through on their plan.

Machia lay back with a carefree posture as he gazed at the sun. A deep, thick black veil, a shadow, obscured the sun. One that Machia stared at longingly. 

"You, you can see it... can you win?"

A tired, hoarse voice spoke up for the first time. It wasn't merely physical. She was mentally tolled by her spell, too. Machia raised his hand to the air as he looked at the hidden orange star head-on. He cupped it with his hand and tried grabbing it as though it was close by. His antics ended after a single phrase.

"It's here."

It slowly ascended from the depths. For the first time in the organism's miserable eternal life, it broke free from its hollow, lonely enclosure. It emerged from the surface.

Had Circe not fallen unconscious, she would have been afflicted by madness after a single gaze. Indeed, this turbulent immortal horror was not meant to be seen by anyone sane. Its capabilities transcended physical means. If it appeared within the kingdom, then just the sight of it would take many lives. Yet Machia stared at it head-on. Both the light and darkness had entirely left his eyes. Yet still, the shadow covering the sun watched on, looking down on the creature with an air of great superiority. 

Machia had drawn out this demonic deity with only the suns... No, his gaze. The challenger was not him but instead this malevolent sovereign. 

As it reared its ugly head, its form resembled that of a stone yet malleable statue. Its expression was one of intense suffering as the statue's mouth hung wide open. From its gaping jaw, a scathing eldritch howl was released that cut through the air, causing Circe's unconscious body to shudder immensely. But it did not end there. 

Something of that size would not have survived in today's malevolent depths. The creature continued to rise out of the ocean, entranced, antagonized and intrigued by the black sun that had been gazing upon it.

Through the kingdom's intensive research over the last ten years on the creature's identity, Machia could only conclude this was some other foreign entity. But it was not. In reality, the creature's origins may have been unclear, but it was not outside the realm of possibility that the beast could adapt. The only thing they ever had to go off of was that the ocean had turned into a death zone at various times throughout history. This stigma was everywhere. All countries and people in the world had surrendered the oceans to beasts. Only in the last decade had land, this land only, been infested by paranormal wrath. 

Machia's theory had been proven. This creature, whatever it might be, was the antithesis of the blessed. Whether it was destiny, revenge or rivalry, the two were deemed to be at odds. That was why they had seemingly sought each other out.

As the beast rose, revealing more and more of its grotesque, unimaginable form, a thought crossed Machia. There was no way to be sure, but if. If this creature was ordained to oppose the blessed, and there was only one such deity. Then, a lone blessed was, in all likelihood, outmatched. There were three blessed in this kingdom. There were likely more still on this continent. Yet he alone would face the creature's ire. 

Biting his lips, the relaxed, content Machia vanished, leaving behind a grave, intense youth standing alone on the shore. With unfettered will, Machia approached the beast as it rose. At the same time, a wave of shadows carried Circe's helpless body away from the sea. 

The eyeless stone statue was now far up in the air. It appeared to act as a horn, perhaps something more equivalent to an antenna. Regardless, it was all Machia had to go off as everything else about the beast was unfamiliar to him. The creature's colossal, asymmetrical body emerged from the ocean, covered in irregular black spikes that contrasted with its gleaming green scales. The statue atop swayed precariously above.

Machia smiled as he tilted his head up at the dauntingly large monstrosity that continued to rise. 

"Aha, I should of realized earlier. I've been wondering about what you are for the last hour. Now that I see you clearly I think I get it."

Machia arrogantly gestured to the creature, who paid him no notice and focused only on the peculiar state of the sun. 

"Yes, you are just a scavenger, aren't you? All this stuff fell to the bottom of the ocean, including that statue, right? In the same way, you create fiends who can adapt to organisms they find. You just grab hold of anything at all. That's why your depictions have changed so much over the years. That's why you've existed for generations. Your immortality stems from your adaption."

Machia excitedly sounded off his theory to the giant creature like an unrequited lovestruck madman. His strange mannerisms finally caught its attention once it realized it could not reach the shadow-hidden sun, even at its full height. Slowly, the statue twisted despite its stone appearance and tilted its head at the small black-haired youth. It now towered over a staggering 100 metres as it stared intelligently down at Machia's tiny figure. 

After only a brief period of eye contact, the statue reared backwards, causing Machia's eyes to widen. He watched the comparatively thinner statue sway uncontrollably back and forth atop the beast's giant grotesque body. Suddenly, tangible darkness erupted from the creature's mouth, falling dramatically to the ground. 

Machia keenly watched it with uncertainty. With abrupt speed, the shadow bile swarmed together on the sand. In its place formed a black shadowy figure. However, before its appearance could attain any detail, a giant spear plunged into its hollow black head. 

With an anticlimactic stagger, it fell to the ground, a disfigured, unfinished corpse. The giant entity stared at the lifeless body of the shadow for a moment, then looked back at Machia as understanding dawned on it.

"Yeah that's right I'm the one killing off your disgusting little children. Does it hurt?"

Met with the empty yet intelligent sockets of the statue, Machia grinned. It could feel pain, pain from losing its kin.

"Fascinating, I was just kidding, but to think you can really grasp such things."

Ignoring Machia's words, the statue's eyelids closed. He could only witness this thanks to the sight provided by the shadowy veil blocking the sun. Witnessing the entity's body from above would aid him in the battle to come. 

The statue's eyes wept. To Machia's horror, thick back tears fell from the entity's eyes as it greaved for its fallen kin. This inhuman, abhorrent weeping sent chills down Machia's spine as he braced himself. 

The statue's mouth opened wide with a frown as radiant ghostly light erupted from within.