Shadows and Stars

(First I want to apologize to my readers as it was a spur of the moment thing to have Nox fight. So I've been doing research on types of magic she was "supposedly" capable of. Thank you all for your patience. And enjoy)

I retreated to the far side of the chamber giving Nox room. The darkness and light the two women emitted was nauseating to most mortals as it felt like the world was trying to mold itself into something else. A place between light and dark if you could sense it well enough.

The woman rose from her bed not bothering to adjust her clothes for better coverage. Her pale legs seemed to tremble slightly before Nox. While Nox's figure stood tall and unwavering. Her face showed the cold face of disappointment. Like mother about to scold her child.

"You know what you've done wrong?" Nox's voice echoed through the room with a chilled calm.

"You have no right to judge me for doing what I want! You don't have that power! Broken apart into pieces and for what!? Taking back what was ours? Bah! Just come at me kid! I can tell you hardly have it in you to do anything to me." The Shard retorted. Her eyes being veiled didn't stop the sneer that crossed her lips.

All of a sudden I saw Nox slightly move from her spot before a jagged stalactite fell from the ceiling exactly where she had been. Following that, the woman moved as well. Her eyes glowing beneath her veil. Both moved quickly as things happened seemingly by coincidence. Blasts of steam and falling rocks. A vine shooting across the floor.

(I thought Nox was the primordial goddess of night?) I hummed in my mind.

/Correction. Nox was one of the gods closest to the times of creation. A being similar to Beholder. She was one of the gods responsible for the universes creation and was responsible for its night skies. Including how to divine the future from the stars and weave of the universal fabric. So what might seem like coincidence to you is them pulling a single string in a large tapestry of creation./ Sin responded.

Shock crossed my face as I realized exactly how powerful Nox really was in her prime. Right now it was small and insignificant things she was doing. But how great would her powers be when she was whole again?

The walls began to crack from water droplets and steam. Great roots suddenly burst through the ground like dangling snares.

I now understood that it might be dangerous for me to be here with two cosmic seamstresses having a grudge match.

I saw my Nox smirk a little before the other woman tripped over a pebble. An insignificant pebble that anyone would miss. And her face plowed into the ground. She tried to jump back to her feet but was met by a sudden heeled foot slamming down on her shoulders keeping her down.

"You lost. It's time we get ourselves together. Time for us to really take back what's ours. Not from the gods. But HIM." Nox said. As she glared down at her counterpart. The woman struggled to push away from the ground to no avail. The might of a Nox made up of multiple shards vs one large shard was big enough that it was laughable. Like a mosquito attempting to challenge a smiting hand.

Nox reached down and plunged her hand into the woman's back earning a gut wrenching scream from her prey. It was only a moment later that the woman's body faded into murky shadows leaving behind 2 things. In Nox's hand lay a jagged stone made of darkness that seemed to swallow all the light around it. And another stone that laid on the ground. It's color was a Lucious red. It pulsed like a heart with each beat seeming to tempt others to it.

I smirked a little as I approached Nox. "What do you want to do with it?" I asked as I looked at the Shard in her hands. Her grip around it was like a child having found a lost toy. "I have what's mine. But I still need your help to sort out the corrupted parts. The parts that aren't me." She said as she reached out with her palm opening as the Shard laid in her bare palm.

"Very well. Another one down 2 more to go... I think." I said as I picked up the Shard and swallowed it whole.

/Host has consumed a tainted shard of Nox.

Processing.../

My vision shifted from the caverns to somewhere else. A star filled space where several beings stood.

Beings of incredible power. A cloaked god bearing an armor of bones and eminated the chill one would feel on their death bed. Hades. Persephone stood next to him in a traditional Grecian Battle armor. Aed was to my right. His form was one of pure fire without blemish or smoke. And a slew of other gods I couldn't recognize.

"What have you done?" A cold voice echoed through the space around us. Hades eyes blazed a cold lifeless white from beneath his hood. His face hidden but his malice obvious.

Between us I could finally see what he was angry about.

Two great dips in space. Great pits endlessly swallowing the universe's light. Never allowing anything to escape. And I could hear and feel the painful wailing from millions of creatures within. Animal, monster, and human.

My soul shuddered in horror at the pain filled souls before me. Souls Hades couldn't reach or extend his comfort of death to. Permanently hell bound. And I knew it was Nox's doing.

"I took what was mine!" I roared. My voice being that of a woman. A familiar voice. Nox's voice. "You all left me behind and claimed what was mine while my back was turned! Now I'm going to take it back! All of it! I will coat the cosmos in endless dark night until even the sun's burn out from the Millenia of lonely cold you forced me to endure!" I roared. The burning hate heating my face as I felt my nails pierce my palms from how right I gripped my fists.

Golden godly blood dripped. But it was not just gold. It's was mixed with a rusty color. A tainted color. Beholders color.

"Now what will you all do? I am finally free. And so is he."

My vision cut short as my mind was hurled into reality again. My head reeled from the revelation of it all. I suddenly heard retching from nearby. My eyes could see Nox in the darkness leaning against a wall with tears flowing down her face. A dribble of vomit dropped from her lips.

"What have I done?" She whimpered as she fell to her knees. "All those people. All those souls I locked in the cycle of pain for being nothing but present in the midst of creation. And for what?! My own pity party? My own greed?" Her face fell into her hands as tears fell and her whimpering turned into sobs.

I felt her sorrow from where I sat. The very ground seeming to shift uncomfortably as water dropped like tears from the walls around us.

I knew Nox wasn't at fault. Or at least. The one in front of me wasn't.

Getting up I approached Nox laying a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"There is much to repair it seems. So it is best spending time healing and fixing than it is pitying and hating what has already happened." I said with a gentle smile.

I couldn't blame this woman before me. Soft hearted enough to be horrified by her past self. And Brave enough to at least seek the truth. I could only hope that it didn't break her.

/ Host has acquired the power of the PIT. Sealing skill as it is too dangerous for use. /

/We have detected another trace close by for potential absorption. / Sin chimed.

I felt my brow furrow. I got another power. But I couldn't help but agree with Sin on this one. I don't think anybody is evil enough to deserve torment like that. So yes. I would seal it away.

I patted Nox's shoulder a couple more times before turning away to distract myself from her tears. (Sin said there was another source. Did he mean the other stone that was left behind?) I thought as I approached the luscious red stone on the ground. It was the size of a baby's first and seemed to pulse.

I plucked it off the ground and let it roll onto my palm. It's warmth seemed to seep into my scales soothing me.

/ Power of the Sins detected. Beginning assimilation. /

I saw the stone heat up before melting and seemed to get sucked into my scales. The feeling being like grabbing flour when it's been mixed with too much water. It crawled up my arm, the skin itching and feeling like pins and needles as a chilling cold travelled along my veins.

/ Sin retrieval successful. Lust obtained/

( Oh Darling you really do know how to invite a girl to party. And with old friends no less) A charming feminine voice slithered through my head. It was a little uncomfortable if I was being honest.

/Gluttony, Pride, and Envy have been absorbed into Sin. If you wish to continue existing then we suggest merging. If not expulsion will occur to save you./ Sin chimed and I felt the slight repulsion of Lust.

(Right into the meat of the matter then. I really do hate clingy people but I do enjoy long talks. Surely you old dogs will have many a tail for this young fox) I felt her begrudgingly think before moving further into my body. And then the fun began. I lost all power to my limbs as pain reached my core.

The pain was akin to having pulled every muscle in my chest. My heart hurt, my lungs, my spine even. But the worst of it wasn't that. It was the feeling of being... Pent up. My carnal desires that had been locked up for over a century exploded to life as I felt my inner beast wake.

I reared my head back and roared. My voice making the walls and floors quake as my aura flared out. The energy wave coursed through the surroundings and fused with them leaving a dull pinkish glow. The effort of it all exhausted me as I didn't realize what I had done on instinct had saved me from a rampage.

My roar had been filled with the power of lust. Crimson energy that smelled like flower petals and chocolate still permeated the air closest to me like a fog. Though my carnal desires were there. By expelling this power I reigned them back under control as I laid half passed out on the floor.

All the while my body changed.

Lust was carnal, powerful, and tied to the fabric of nature for maturity and allure. So my body adapted it to it's godly frame. My physique became more robust and clear than before as it shifted to accent my muscles and sinews. Every inch of my body shifted to truly be a being worth looking at (even if I didn't have my gemstone scales).

Nox panted heavily in the corner. Her cheeks flushed as she glanced hungrily at the being on the ground nearby. She had seen him crumple to the grounds before roaring. But she never anticipated the power of his allure would explode out. She closed her eyes. (I am a goddess! A pure goddess! I cannot have such thoughts about the person I call father. Especially those thoughts!) Her face held a heavy blush as she suddenly dove toward his body only to absorb herself into his shadow.