Darkness

Darkness. It was all consuming and he could feel the evil winding and grasping through the air. Mizuki rose from his previous seated position, legs stretching and clicking as all the muscles and joints in his body were brought back to life. He'd forgone his pipe hours ago and now opted for a closed fan that, upon closer inspection, was used for more than just keeping cool in the humid weather. His lone molten hue flickered with emotion as the moon was finally swallowed up by the night sky, bathing the once beautiful lands with a cold foreboding chill.

"Ryō." The white-haired man called his friend sharply, head tilted in the direction in which he knew he'd squirreled off to. That power, he'd felt it as well it seems. Now Mizuki was certain Ryō was something special, something more than just a pitiful human attempting to copy someone stronger. He stopped short in his thoughts, brows creasing as he realised just the type of thought that had run through his mind. It bothered him, this oppressive force. It changed many creatures and affected even those that were considered strong. He had to fight it. Ryō was family, his brother. Humans were not pitiful, but innovative, creative and most of all, they were a treasure on this Earth. He could feel the air as it pressed down on him, but he would not have it. So, he pressed back, stronger, harder and it created a visible ripple in the air that countered the meddling creature that had tried to sway his thoughts and person. By the time he'd calmed down and pulled back into himself, Ryō had breached the treeline with a blade dripping with crimson. Concern flashed through Mizuki.

"What happened to you, Otouto...?" Said man sighed deeply and used a cloth he'd stashed within his clothes to clean the afflicted metal.

"You were righ'. This place is crawling. One managed to catch me unaware..." a flash of forest green behind a teasing smile, "but they didn't realise what I am." he shrugged his shoulders and continued in a low voice, "[They] are safe." Mizuki breathed a sigh of relief.

"They are near? It will not be long now, then." He hummed in thought, glancing curiously at his brother-in-life, "What of [his] men? He is not unknown to this event." Ryō shook his head in reply, and it did not bring a single good feeling to Mizuki at this point. He nodded in acceptance and flicked the fan in his hand, spreading the large metal open with a sshiiink.

"We must hold this place. You know what to do." Green and yellow crashed together in determination, and the dark clad figure of Ryō disappeared. Mizuki was impressed, though he could feel the presence of his friend, there was no other trace around him to signify his location. Ryō was cunning, clever and most of all the best at what he does. His power could have very well been on par with his own, had it not been for his awakening many years ago. White hair fluttered over the front of his right shoulder. A calm washed over the clearing as a rumbling echoed throughout the land, ground shaking in an all too familiar gesture of destruction. He knew in that moment that whatever came, whatever darkness clawed at them while the brilliance of the goddess was stolen, they would not fail.

Specks of white light flickered in the cavern, now littered by both small and large chunks of rock and blinked lazily into existence. It washed the area with a soft glow, illuminating the vibrancy of colours that still decorated the walls that hadn't crumbled to the floor. On the pedestal on the far side of the room, opposite the hunched over figure huddled over his sister, a small stone shimmered and hummed with latent energy. The little balls of light seemed to answer the hum and began to flash in rapid succession, hovering independently over the unconscious siblings in what one would perceive as protection. They formed a ring of light that descended around them, banishing the darkness and encasing them in a shield that blinded everything in and outside it's confinement. Neither moved nor spoke as this took place, as their very lives were hanging on the edge of an extremely thin line. A small crack reverberated as the stone broke in two and caused the pulsing ring to burn and flash a brilliant white. It blanketed the room in darkness once again, leaving nothing but particles of stone behind and no trace of the siblings anywhere within the enclosed space.

Both Ryō and Mizuki were breathing heavily, arms weighed down by their weapons and fatigue. The white-haired man had less problems than his counterpart due to his physique, but it didn't stop the waves upon waves of monsters from coming. Sweat and blood mixed through their senses as they were swiped at with claws painted black and teeth dripping with acid, the creatures intent on destroying at least one of them to reach the men they were now guarding with their lives. At the same time, amongst the growls and sounds of weapons dancing in the air, there was a faint but steady hum that created a continuous shift in the magic's around them. Mizuki had remembered from many years ago the people that took him in when he needed it the most, when his eyes had dripped both with saltwater and blood and the heavy betrayal of his brother landed heavily within his chest. These men were beyond normal humans, like little lanterns that guided lost souls on the right path and kept the balance of both good and evil. He tilted his head to the side sharply to avoid the tip of a small blade, one that was attached to masked figure, and there was a rumble in his chest. There was no time to idly stand by and think about the past, and for all the thinking in the world, it would do little against the sting of a blade or burn of acid. The rumble in his chest intensified and he shot towards the masked man with lightning speed, his tessen fluttering open elegantly as it came down on an exposed part of his arm. Mizuki twisted away and struck once more, slashing at the back of his legs in an arc and severing vital arteries in the process. It seemed to be last hit needed to bring the figure down, as he crumpled in a heap at Mizuki's feet on the floor. The yellow of Mizuki's eye shone brightly, almost otherworldly, as the fan came back one last time along the man's neck. Not too far away our shadowy figure was doubling his efforts to contain the vicious creature's intent on one thing only…death. What surprised Ryō the most wasn't his friends fighting nor the amount of evil there was, but each one sported a blackened mark on part of their body-- almost like a brand. It seemed that there were more players at work than expected and he was sure Mizuki had noticed already.

He glanced back towards the on-going fight and watched the grace and speed in which the white-haired man moved, in awe at how much it was like watching a myriad of butterflies dance in the summer. He flickered between creature after creature, figure after figure and not once was on the receiving end of a blow. Ryō, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He'd received countless blows from behind since his senses weren't as refined as his brothers, and if he'd had to comment then he probably would have admitted that he looked like a clumsy child with a stick.

He glanced up at the shadow of the moon and gave a sigh of relief when he saw a slip of silver peep from behind the blanket of darkness shrouding it from view. It was almost over. [Almost]. There was a deep quake underneath when he thought that, and Mizuki appeared out of thin air by his side. The man looked troubled.

"The ground does not bode well, Ryō." there was another quake, this time heavier than the last. Mizuki's creased brow got even more screwed up, if that was even possible. "There is something else coming. I've never felt this type of magic before...it feels familiar like the summers breeze, but at the same time...it feels old and foreign..." he deflected another attack with his tessen as Ryō sliced through the air with his sword, hitting a feral wolf-like creature in mid-air. Splatters of blood covered the earth, bathing and painting the once vibrant green grass in a gruesome vision that both horrified and captivated the dark-haired male. He could not remember the last time so much had been spilled in his presence. He was not a man of war, so he had only ever dispatched small groups...this, [this] was a massacre. He felt no guilt at this revelation, but a trickle of trepidation sailed through his veins at the concern on Mizuki's porcelain features. It was a warranted reaction from both, as the next second an earthquake so large and loud sent them staggering on their feet. It was followed by a piercing flash of light in the dark that caused even the great Mizuki to lose his sight for a moment.

The air stilled, the moon was whole again and the evil that had been lurking dangerously close to their charges had fled just before the last quake had hit. Forest green met liquid fire, and they both realised that whatever it was had broken the curse that hid the moon.

"Curious..."

[Tessen – Japanese war fan]