'Rykira's Final Gift' - Chapter Five
~*Ikira*~
She had completely destroyed the Sins that showed their faces. Though in the process, Rykira had nearly torn the room apart. She had picked up the Siren's Tear that fell from the statue's eye. A single Sin, this time Wrath, popped up behind her and activated the bomb on it's back. The tear busted from the blast. Though the blast had no effect on her, the tear did. It was just like dousing a weak flame with a ton of water. And it hurt like hell. She had fallen to the ground and retreated.
Eventually, I stood and looked around a second time. This time I noticed the second door. Though Rykira's run-in with the Siren's Tear had left me weakened, I figured I could continue my exploration on the tower. Maybe I would find Dante somewhere in this hellion tower, or better yet, Luken.
I slowly walked over to the door and pushed it open. I stepped through and pushed it closed. I saw two separate pathways ahead. Rykira was just beneath the surface thanks to her little episode, so I could actually hear her speaking.
'Right Ikira. Go right. I can help you open the gate there.'
I had no clue what my fiery other half meant by 'gate', but I trusted her so that is direction I started to walk in. Upon turning the corner I saw what she meant. A chained door with a skull spire on each side. One had a glowing blue skull in the place that was empty on it's twin.
'Walk up to it and place your right hand in front of the empty spire. Focus your energy into the empty space and the chains should slack up enough to open the door.'
Rykira spoke as if she knew what she was doing, I however had no clue, so I decided to go with what she said. I made quick work of the short distance between me and the door. I knelt down and placed my hand over the empty space in the spire. I had that feeling that if I could see Rykira's face, she would have sent me a looking asking me what I was doing. She did, however, ask me just that. I was going to kick the door open with my foot when the chains relaxed. I didn't have the energy to burn that I needed to open it and slip under them. If I was on the floor I could slip under them a bit easier, and far quicker then I could if I was on foot. Rykira saw that I was just as tired as she was, and started the flow of energy into the spire. I took over the flow and continued it until I heard the chains slip slightly out of place. I held the flow there. I braced myself on the floor with my left hand and quickly grabbed onto the spire, this slightly increasing the flow, and sent my foot flying into the bottom of the door. It slid open and, after releasing a last burst of energy into the spire, I shot through the small crack. I rolled through it the rest of the way, pulling my right, and still bruised, foot out before it could get caught in the door. I leaned against the second pillar from the door. Rykira stirred again.
'The Moonlit Mile. The last stretch of pathway before the stairs that lead to the top. The place where many stopped to think of what they would leave behind, and where even more jumped to their deaths from knowing that they had left so many behind. One of the quietest places in the Temen-Ni-Gru, yet one of the loudest to those who can hear the sounds of the past. I too stopped here, 2000 years ago, when I ascended this tower to return to Sparda's side during the great war. Sparda knew I would, so he sealed me when I reached the top. He wanted me to stay behind for the sake of protecting humanity. He knew sealing the tower would cost him his life. He wanted me to stay behind and protect the place where the tower would lie. I did just that until you were born. Luken fell around that time, and I watched him as he did. He too saw the potential you had, even as a child, to become a great asset to humanity if given the power. He and I struck our deal the day you were born. When you were close enough for me to reach out to you, I would. You stared at the fire long enough that you reached out to it. The flames touched your hand and I took my chance. I merged with your soul and body, leaving only my mind and appearance separate. Now, you and I are one being, my appearance showing when my flames bring light to your features. Ikira, before you go to the top of the tower, I have to be sealed again. I will be to close to the gate between the two worlds to control my own power. My powers are too strong for a human body to bear, so I have to pass them to you and completely merge with you. Making you a half-breed in essence. Now, are you willing to take on the title I held with pride and with it my abilities? If you do, you can continue up the tower, if not, you must turn back and work your way down and to Luken, who is now working his way up with Dante. Luke will guide you out of the tower and to a place far enough away that the opening of the gate won't effect me enough to hurt you. The choice is yours Ikira. Set me to rest and carry my title through life, or walk away. I can't guarantee that my soul won't extinguish itself when the gate opens, so either way, you may lose me. Think about it for a while. You have time, Ikira...'
I wasn't expecting Rykira to drop this on me. I honestly had no clue what to do. I had lived with Rykira at my side for so long, now I had to give her up or possibly lose her all together. Talk about one hell of a choice...
'Rykira?'
'Yes, little one?'
'My choice is made. I accept.'
I honestly thought I saw Rykira smile. In my mind, the comforting flames that were always there parted and Rykira walked from the Hellion flames behind them. Her hair was a true fire red. Her clothing appeared to be more of armor then anything, it being a similar red color. It had small speck of the other colors of a flame. The top covered only her chest down to the bottom of her ribs and the first bit of her shoulders, while the bottom half seamed to be a pair of leggings with boots and what almost appeared to be a subligar made of the same material as the top. The armor on her arms and neck appeared to be made of the same material. Her wings were made of the same hellion flame that surrounded us. Honestly, she would be considered beautiful to all in the outside world, myself included. Her eyes, however, held very little color; they were almost white.
'Rykira?'
'Yes, little one. This is what I looked like before my sealing, and to those who could see me after it. My armor is quite different from what anyone of this time would wear. Don't you think?'
I merely nodded my head. This was my first time seeing the hellion myself, though I had no doubt that I had seen her when she merged with me. Rykira closed her eyes and breathed deep, the flames around us seaming to move with her when she did so. Upon reopening her eyes, her face held a serious expression, unlike the motherly one from before. I knew then to listen.
'As much as I hate to say it, this is going to be very painful for you Ikira. There is no way around it. A merger of this level is one of the most painful things in existence for a human. I will give you one more chance to back out. Are you sure this is what you desire?'
I closed my eyes for a moment and released the breath that I had unknowingly held. I reopened them and looked straight into Rykira's pale eyes. They were red, they were a bloody red.
'Yes. I will not lose what I have lived so long with. I will probably lose your presence anyway, so I may as well accept. At least this way, you slip away easily.'
Her eyes seamed to flash at my words, and for a second I could see the true color of them. Hellfire red. She smiled at me and walked over to me. I felt the heat radiating off her. No doubt she was a hellion angel.
'Thank you. Ikira. Now, place your hands on my shoulders.'
I reached up and placed both palms on her shoulders, right where the armor was not covering the skin. They rested at an angle, since Rykira was slightly taller then me, maybe an inch or two. She placed her own hands on the sides of my face.
'Don't scream Ikira. I want you to prove to me that you can withstand the pain of opening the first gates, the ones that allow me to merge our souls completely. The second allow me to merge our minds, and the third, our bodies. Their is only a slight decrease in the pain of opening the first and then the second gates. The third is your true test, Ikira. Stand strong.'
Rykira dug her claws into the sides of my head, her middle fingers digging into my temples. The flames around us suddenly constricted, wrapping around both of us to the point I could not see her. I suddenly felt like I was empty inside. I could feel the true heat of the flames around us, it seemed to fill me, to fill the emptiness that Rykira created but a moment before. My eyes closed, it was almost... comforting.
Then. The pain. The flames that seamed to comfort but a moment before, now seamed to rip and tear at my very soul. They seamed to rip me apart from the inside out. I almost screamed, but I stopped myself. Rykira wanted me to prove to her I was strong enough to withstand this; I wasn't going to let her down. It seamed to last for hours, then it stopped. I opened my eyes and I saw Rykira looking at me. The veil of white over her eyes was now gone. She seamed to be proud that I had withstood the first gates.
'Very good Ikira. Most would have screamed long before you. The fact that you didn't is an astonishment. I will warn you though, that was just opening the gates. So be prepared. Shall I continue?'
She watched me, carefully. I waited for a brief moment, and slowly shook my head. My breathing was too labored to speak, be it mentally or not. She offered up a motherly smile and closed her eyes again. She dug her claws in harder this time and the pain instantly returned, though it was no where near as severe. It seamed to be almost a gentle caress in comparison to the first. The flames seemed to dissipate after the gates were opened.
'Ikira? These are the last gates. After I open them, I will disappear. I want to thank you. You have showed me that some humans are worth saving, some even worth befriending. You showed me what Sparda saw in humans. For that, I cannot thank you enough.'
I saw in her eyes something I didn't understand. She seamed to be proud, happy, sad, hurt, and thankful all at once. I didn't understand.
Then I saw what laid behind those emotions. It was a motherly love. She didn't want to hurt me, but she knew she had to save me from a pain much worse. I don't know why, but it hit home. I was going to lose her. Rykira was not going to be with me anymore. I suddenly pulled her and brought her into a hug, her hands never left my head. Had my head not been buried in her chest I would have seen a slightly shocked but pleased smile slide onto the fire-breed's face. She then closed her eyes and dug her claws in deep enough to break the skin. I felt a single tear hit my hair.
'Farewell... my child.'
Then the pain flooded me again. This time. It was truly unbearable. I had never imagined a pain so intense. I screamed.
~* Luken *~
I suddenly stopped where I was. I heard a deafening scream, and I felt something break. I cringed and Dante looked back at me.
"Something wrong Luke? You're pale."
I looked up at Dante. His expression said it all. He had not heard the scream.
"No. Everything is alright. Keep going."
She had done it. Ikira had reached The Moonlit Mile. Rykira had just broken the last gate.
~*Rykira*~
I had finally broken the last gate. Ikira had bitten down, catching the front of my armor in the process and breaking it. I knew she would scream at the end. The fact that she had only screamed at the very end of it was what surprised me. I was proud of my little girl. Now. I just had to slip away. I placed a single kiss on her head and returned her embrace. I gave her everything. I was now just Rykira Dokoro. She was now the last link between the angels of heaven and the demons of hell. She was now Hell's Angel.
~*Ikira*~
I opened my eyes and looked around. I was on The Moonlit Mile. I remembered everything this time around. Rykira... She was gone now. I was Hell's Angel. I looked at what now laid in my arms. It was her weapon of choice. Her scythe. I slowly stood and run my fingers through my hair. I felt the scars that her claws had left. I pulled my fingers from it and I saw the black streak that now adorned my newly red tined locks. I remembered the tear she shed at the end. The kiss she placed on my head. She returned my embrace and then merged with me. She gave me everything. I took her scythe in my hands and dismissed it. I would ascend the tower and finish the job that Sparda gave her. I would make her proud.
Rykira...
Thank You....
And.....
Farewell.
