46.) Problems from Within.

After all the little craziness that took place in the Machinelord clan. Gaia and Shii set off on a journey to the light clan. A clan found within the second quadrant of Colossaverse 1. Here, they were hoping to have a word with Dante and the Lyster Twins about STRIFE. We found out a few months back that the clans leading factions may or may not be under corruption. Knowing this, Shii and Gaia head there prepared for the worst to come. 

Shiishii: *WHOOSH* "So Gaia, how were the Gears?"

Gaia: *WHOOSH* "They were great, actually. The King was busy creating laws for his people to help them out. The Queen was writing speeches for them to give to the people in a few months' time. Then Thiemme was studying for her test to become secretary for my mother."

Shiishii: "Woaaaah! Grand Omni Secretary!?"

Gaia: "Yessirrr! She's going hard. I can even say the prince is trying his damndest to make the clan what he wishes it to be. That's just a hard-working family altogether." 

Shiishii: "No kidding, but what's going on with our rep from there? If the prince isn't it, then who is it?"

Gaia: "I could sense it when I was there. There was a being with similar energy to the king to the outskirts of their clan. It would seem I've got a little digging to do."

Shiishii: "A being with energy similar to the king? Can't argue with those odds. But I do apologize for sending you there like that. It just seemed better due to me being behind on my stature and where I should be."

Gaia: "It's ok, Shii. I can understand why, I figured it out the second I walked into that damn corridor."

Shiishii: "Ah, ok, good. Hm? It would seem we're about to enter the gate to the second quadrant."

Gaia: "Yeah. Let's go through and push forward to the light clan."

Shiishii: "Right."

Shii and Gaia fly through the warp gate that leads straight into the southern sector, where the light clan can be found. It only takes them a quick minute to exit the gate and begin dashing towards the entrances to the light clan. 

Gaia: "Won't be too long before we get within their territory, then we should be able to see the entrances."

Shiishii: "Right! Though I do have a question, what's going on with the light clan?"

Gaia: "There seems to be signs of corruption within the clan's highest ranking families. Things are being thrown into chaos and anarchy. Nothing is being done by the Lumieress nor the Lanthermines families. The Murdicc can't get much done with that being the case."

Shiishii: "Hmm. I wonder who could be powerful enough to corrupt members of those families. It seems blasphemous, honestly. But things in reality can always take a serious 180-degree turn out of nowhere. This is no different."

Gaia: "Indeed. I'm just hoping Dante and the rest of them are ok. Beeso and Dwayne included." 

Shiishii: "Yeah, we'll see what it's good for in just a sec. But did you know there's a restaurant that serves serpent tail and artificial dragon meat. It was quite delicious." 

Gaia: "Oh really? It's in the dragon clan, isn't it?"

Shiishii: "Yeah, yeah, yeah! It's there!"

Gaia: "Ah, ok. But Shii, I must ask you, do you know what happened back in Gahwardia?"

Shiishii: "Oh, that is a much more pressing matter, and yes, I do. King Zo'Elgor told me of the ordeal just yesterday."

Gaia: "Them you know of Rashomon and how dire it is that he's escaped into his perfect vessel. Good, because he'll get his full power back regardless of what now."

Shiishii: "All because he has a perfect vessel? This isn't something I like hearing, yet another nuisance in the way of us completing STRIFE and gaining the true mantles of Life and Death."

Gaia: "Indeed, brother. It would seem it's all in a day's work for us. We'll just have to conquer the bastard and move accordingly."

Shiishii: "Right, right. But I do still worry about Silvio."

Gaia: "I as well, but your father should have him in good care. He'll be ok, that's for sure."

Shiishii: "Hmm… I guess you're right, sis."

Gaia: "Yeah, besides…  we need to focus on this right now since we're finally here after a day and half worth of travel through the cosmos."

Shiishii: "Alright then, let's go see Dante!"

Gaia and Shiishii enter the gates to the Light Clan in hopes of finding Dante and talking to him about the strange happenings within their clan. While they do that, we take a stroll back to the center of Quadrant I. Gahwardia is still a bit shaken up after Rashomon's grand escape. Silvio is still recovering mentally and in a deep sleep. Fong sits at his side with Scrâg after a long school day. 

Scrâg: "I can't believe a dragon god is still knocked out cold after 2 days. Whatever that thing was… it must've really put a toll on him."

Fong: "Yeah. He hasn't even been in and out of consciousness. Just… sleeping there, I honestly hope he wakes up soon."

Scrâg: "Me as well, Fong, me as well." 

MorZick: *Step* * Step * "He should be waking up soon, you two."

Scrâg: "Huh!?"

Fong: "Ah, Lord MorZick! Are you sure?"

MorZick: "Yes, I am sure. Demetrius, Omochi, Dr. Yoltenhiem and myself all have been his rejuvenation help whenever visiting time was over. We are more than capable. But I can at least say this. He'd be in a multi-month coma if not for our interference. Rasho… is a creature even above average gods would suffer from. Silvio hasn't even broken the barrier of what's required to leave a clan within the first Colossaverse."

Fong: "That… makes sense, but I'm glad you guys helped him recover and suppress Rashomon. Thank You Master!"

Scrâg: "Hmm! *Bow* Thank you, Chief MorZick!"

MorZick: "No need. Silvio is a guest I personally picked, I had to save him or at least help find a way to fully master the dominance of Rashomon."

Scrâg: "Ah, I understand what you're saying, Sir."

Fong: "Well, just know you have my help in training and protecting Silvio."

Scrâg: "Same here!"

MorZick: "Ah, that is greatly appreciated, young ones. (Hm?)"

Silvio: "M-mhm… n-ngh!"

Fong: "Hm!?" *Fwip* 

Scrâg: "Woah!? *Fwip* 

Fong and Scrâg quickly take seats next to Silvio's bedside, awaiting his full awakening. Silvio begins to stretch as he slowly regains consciousness. An elongated full body stretch takes place as Silvio reaches high above his head and extends his legs as far as they can go. He slightly rolled to his right side, not realizing the bed wasn't very large. He fell out of bed mid stretch and hit his head going down.

Silvio: "Owwww, UGH!!!"

Scrâg: … 

Fong: … 

MorZick: … 

It was quite the awakening… 

Fong: "P… p-pfffff-"

Scrâg: "AHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! Bruh… *chuckle* I'm sorry, but that was too funny, man."

Fong: "Ah… what a damn goofball." *chuckle*

MorZick: "Hahaha. (Reminds me of my damn kids when they were that young.) Hmh." *Grin* 

Silvio: "Come on guys… it wasn't that damn funny. *Rub* Anyways, what happened to me?"

Fong: "Glad you're finally awake, but um… master MorZick can probably tell it to you best."

Silvio: *head turn* "Hmm?"

MorZick: "Well, to put it simple…"

Scrâg: *Whispers* "Good, you're well and awake, buddy." *pat* 

Silvio: *whispers* "Thanks!"

MorZick: "You've been possessed by a higher dimensional being that was defeated by my Father and Aunt. It goes by the name of Rashomon Rashudo Ma. It's a creature that thrives off cancer and every meaning and confine of the concept. He used your body to kill more than 200 of my clansmen and wound another 4,000. Demetrius was the one who defeated you in the end."

Silvio: "U-u….. U-Uh!? I-I… I."

Fong: "Silvio? *rest* (Huh? He's shaking violently.)"

Scrâg: (Crap… c'mon Chief, why so straight forward like that?)

MorZick: "Do NOT break down!!!" *Rumble* 

Silvio: "Huh?" 

Silvio immediately fixes his face and prepares himself for what's to be said of his actions while possessed. Frightened as he was… he knew what MorZick was conveying.

Fong: (Wow!) *Sweat drips down her left cheek* 

Scrâg: "Fucking… hell." *Scrâg wears a look of "Aw" on his face.*

MorZick: "For one… we CANNOT afford to let that creature escape again and you losing control of your mind completely…. Would undo the hard work Demetrius and I had to put in. Please… keep calm at all times from here on out."

Silvio: "Y-Yessir."

MorZick: "Now two… *step* *step* *step* none of it was your fault kid, your body wasn't even yours, and all my people know this already. *MorZick rests his hand on Silvio's head* The 200 that died… Well, that was just my kid at work damn near. It was written, and they weren't powerful enough to change that fate."

Silvio: "B-But… *Sob* I was too weak and let someone get c-control *Sniffle* of meee!"

MorZick: "It's alright, Sil, it's alright. *Rub* We'll make up for it by -

Silvio: "NO!" *WOOSH*

Scrâg: "Woah!" 

Fong: "Sil… vio?"

The room is slightly distorted by Silvio's outburst. 

MorZick: (His power almost shot up to a 10 just now. Just what could -) "Huh?"

Silvio: "There was something else in my head besides Rashomon! It was a voice I care not to hear… EVER AGAIN!!" *Sniffle* 

MorZick: "Silvio… I'm a bit lost here lad, who're you talking about -"

Silvio: "I… don't know the person, but they sounded like a snake. A dying SNAKE!!" *Sniffle* *Silvio takes a collapsing seat back on his bed* *Huff* *huff* *huff* 

MorZick: "A-A… snake??" *MorZick tilts his head to the right in confusion*

Demetrius walks in just in time to hear Silvio mention a snake-like voice in his head.

Demetrius: "Hmm? So, how exactly did the voice affect the situation?"

Silvio: "Oh? Sir Demetrius, you're here too, huh? Well, simply enough… that voice took hold of my body and forced me to stare into the moon."

Demetrius: (Manipulation!?)

MorZick: (Snake Voice, huh?)

Scrâg: "So someone was controlling you then? Damn… who would force you into such a messed up situation?"

Fong: "I wonder who as well. They need to pay for their actions!" *Sizzle* *Tiny flames flutter from her eyes*

Scrâg: "Oof… she's maaaad."

Silvio: "So… what are we going to do about Rashomon? He won't stay bonded forever… will he?"

MorZick: "No… he won't, sadly. He already has a piece of himself that is still unclaimed coming straight for us. But it would seem it's not in this Colossaverse. That would give us quite some time to get you up to par."

Silvio: "Up to par?"

Scrâg: "Yeah, bruh, we gotta -"

Fong: "You'll have to be strong enough to prevent a complete takeover. So we must train and rise quickly."

Silvio: "Ah ok that makes sense."

Scrâg: (Muthafucka… ain't that something.) *Scrâg's face scrunched up into a profound, annoyed look. Almost troll levels of scrunching*

MorZick: "That's correct, young Silvio."

Fong: "How long do we have?"

Demetrius: "Hmmm…."

MorZick: "I'd say… 3 years, your graduation at MAX. Minimum is half that, maybe a little less."

Demetrius: "That sounds about right."

Fong: "Mhm!" 

Silvio: "Huh?"

Scrâg: "Damn!"

All three were shocked at the time frame. Three years… to become at least half as strong as MorZick and Demetrius' current levels. It was a hideous task as they weren't even at the level needed to leave a clan, let alone take on universal+ threats.

Demetrius: "Don't fret. We have the contingency of getting stronger, so he stays under our bondage."

MorZick: "Indeed, we'll all be rising. Honestly… I'm pretty sure your mom, family, and even Shii and Gaia are going to grow to meet this challenge."

Silvio: "Phew… that's pretty reassuring, sir."

Fong: "Yeah."

Scrâg: "That's for sure."

Demetrius: "I say rest a bit more and get used to your body's slight changes. Then we'll start the regimen. Chief and I will cook up."

Silvio : "Ok, but wait… slight changes? What do you mean?"

MorZick: "Well… simply put, that creature within you is definitely fusing with your DNA. We could see it as clear as day with our Mental Zenchi."

Silvio: "Uh….wh-what?" *sweat drips down his face as his eyes grow big from fear*

Demetrius: "You're becoming something that's not within our DNA database. Seems as though the ones that defeated the beast. Obviously, I didn't want anything more than that small bit of its history to be known."

MorZick: "I hope it's for good reason, too."

Silvio: "I-I can't believe this."

Fong: (Silvio...) *A worried face shows itself* 

Scrâg: (Something… that isn't godly or of celestial, non-mortal, mortal, nor even various beast types? Not even a SPIRIT!?)*A face of terror and worry is shown on his person* 

MorZick: "It'll be alright… hm. Demetrius?"

Demetrius: "Yeah.. Let's show 'em."

The children: "Huh?"

MorZick: "Hmph!" *Fwoo* *woo* *woo* *woo* 

Demetrius: "Mhm." *Fuweoooohh* 

Fong: "Woah… (It… feels as though...)

Silvio: (We've been transported to a whole new realm.)

Scrâg: "Wh-What have you guys done?"

MorZick: "We both showed off a bit of our true power. As you should have felt, we projected a whole new realm almost as large as the Phoenix Empire."

Demetrius: "To the eye… it would simply look like a distorted mixture of our two essence colors."

MorZick: "With a few nebulas and celestial bodies thrown in. But we did that to show you…"

Both: "We got this."

Demetrius: "So rest and be ready for a day in the fallen realm. Kukuku! See ya. *turn* Chief." *a head nod is given* *FWIP* 

Silvio: "Hmmm… *Prch* *he pounds his fists together* We DO got this. Or… so I hope."

Fong: …

Scrâg: "Mhm hmm."

Silvio wears a look of animosity on his face as he thinks about the reality of it all. During this… Shii and Gaia were able to locate Dante and his regime. They go to speak with him on his troubles within the royal families. 

Dante: "Shii!!! Gaia!!! It's so good to see you guys!" *hug* 

Gaia: "Mhmmm! It's great to see you too, kid."

Shii: "Hmph!"

Dante: "Hmph!" 

Gaia: "Umm." *a look of confusion is worn as she states at the two* 

Shii: … *Clap* "Hahaaa. It's good to see you, man!"

Dante: "There we go! And I like the royal attire you guys are wearing. The classic fur-ended, black, Gahwardian Long-coat with the retro death gauntlets and greaves. Skulls fit the decor. Then gaia with the life goddess' equivalent. Though her armor is golden and her heels are Gahwardian-Fur edition. Limited… edition."

Shii: "Did you just somehow one up me in his admiration."

Gaia: "Mhm… you hatin'?"

Shii: "A little… but uh. What's going on here, Dante? Your balance within the clan is in shambles almost."

Gaia: "Yeah… is the corruption that bad now?"

Dante: *Sigh* "Yes, it would seem as though someone has gotten to our Great Duke-De Lumm. With this happening and us being busy plotting a coup'. It would seem Ro'Kanthir has started making moves again." 

Gaia: "Ro'Kan, huh? I thought… i thought you dealt with him Shii." *A look of concern appears as she turns towards Shii*

Shiishii: "It would seem he actually survived our final attack on him and his partners. But I'd like to hear what's been affected within the clan."

Gaia: "Let's go take a seat in your little floral style Guest hall on the right wing of your stone castle. Cool?"

Dante: "Yes ma'am."

The three of them walk through the front gates to the castle yard and luminlite plant hedge maze. The castle was made of lumination stones, which are highly compressed and dense light particle stones that can withstand multiple big bangs and even reform if broken down. But the Light Clan's lead scientists have made a way to program the stone and create hive minds after a building is complete. This allows for instant and controlled transport in case of trouble. The castle resembled a medieval age castle from Great Britain's territory. 

Shiishii: *Whistle* "Castle looking spiffy as usual, my man."

Dante: "Thanks, Shii. We'll be there in no time now that we're in the castle."

They enter the castle to a grand corridor littered with glass chandeliers and paintings of Dante's ancestors as well as his generals. When they get to the end of the kilometer long corridor, they make a quick left and enter a great big white door. It led straight into the guest hall where there was a table arranged for three. 

Dante: "Welcome, welcome. Take a quick seat, and I'll grab some drinks."

Gaia: "Alrighty then, Dante. Bring me a big glass and one of the bottles, too. Thanks." 

Dante: "Will do drunky."

Gaia: "Hm!?... Fucker."

Shiishii: "This place has rejuvenation particles flying about. What a nice touch. This is definitely a stronghold hidden under luxury." *he says this as he looks around the room before sitting*

Gaia: "Yeah… I really hope this isn't as bad as we think."

Shiishii: "Me too."

Dante: "Alright, I'm back. *Set* *set* *set* Here's your bottle and big glass Gaia. *Set* Shii I got you a small bottle. I know you dabble a bit." *He sits at the table after setting the beverages down*

Shiishii: "Preciate that man, but do you mind if I smoke while you speak?"

Dante: "Go right ahead man."

Gaia: "Dueces on that."

Shiishii: Yeeep." *Flare* 

Dante: "Alright then. *Sip* *he sets the glass back down with his right hand* So to start off, the Great Duke has been abolishing laws that kept us all thriving throughout these last few millennia. It's gotten to the point where the high class get to do as they please with the low class. It's almost like a damn weeding process and it sickens me."

Gaia: "Well then."

Shiishii: "That explains the broken balance. What else?"

Dante: "There seems to be a break in the decision making altogether. Though the Lumieress family are the leaders, they still need approval from the Murdicc and Lanthermines families. But it seems as though that's been stopped as of recent. That's what I've been told by my insider."

Shiishii: "Hmm… seems as though they're trying to throw this clan into chaos little by little. What the hell is going on!?"

Gaia: "How long ago did this rapid fall start?" *Sip* 

Dante: "It began a little after our return from your revival. We noticed sacred laws were crumbling under the seams and certain zones were… deserted. This poised us to send in a natural born Royal who is trusted and can get some intel. Plus he was skeptical of our Great duke actually being Corrupted."

Shiishii: "Right right."

Gaia: "Mind giving us a rundown of these last three months?"

Dante: "Yeah I can. Let's get a clearer picture painted for you guys."

Shiishii: "Thank you my man." *gulp*

*gulp*

Dante: *sip* "No problem Shii. But I guess I should start from the first true evidence we saw of this. A tragedy that happened three months ago. The ignored Dazzle-Castle massacre."

Shiishii and Gaia are being told the happenings within the light clan from the last three months. Starting with the massacre of the middle-class family, The Dazzles!

Next Chapter: It All Started 3 Months Ago Pt. 1