Relatively short. Transition chapter, so to speak.
Riku moved within the dark corridors of the depths of what he expected was Soul Eater. Darkness swirled and danced around him, and voices, two different voices, spoke to him as he advanced, though to where he could not know.
The voices seemed to speak with the wind, a deep, malevolent one constantly booming throughout the darkness, the voice seeming to come from everywhere, You... will be my new vessel. I shall release myself through you... and be free again.
Riku felt no fear against this voice, there was a different feeling. One of recognition. No... not of recognition, of resignation, but just as those sentiments crept into his mind, a different one did as he heard another voice. This one was lighthearted, majestic. It sounded like the voice of a female, one that perfectly contrasted with the evil bass-like voice, Do not give in.
Those were the only words that the other voice said, constantly repeating. He felt as if one half of him was tied to one horse, and the other side to another, and both animals were rushing in opposite directions, tearing at him to go two separate ways.
And eventually he would rip in half.
Suddenly, as if slamming into a giant wall, Riku jerked backwards and fell down to the ground, and then slowly descended, the voices still prompting him.
Just as abruptly, as in unison, the two voices stopped prompting him and in unison, the voices contrasting so much that they balanced each other out when together to form something in the middle, something that reminded Riku of... himself, What is our name?
Riku?s eyes opened with a start, jerking slightly forward as he exited his meditative trance. He felt himself cough up blood, and Thane raised an eyebrow as he, apparently, saw him do so.
?So?? Thane asked as Riku spat out more blood.
?I...? Riku started, and then took time to cough some more, though it seemed like the worst part of the coughing was over as no blood came out this time, ?don?t think I can do this,? he finished.
Thane shrugged, ?Quite frankly, it?s not your choice. If you do it, you?ll get to use all of that power that you so desperately need. If you don?t, they?ll kill you.?
?Yeah... I get it. But I?ll only die sooner if I keep trying,? Riku countered quickly.
?Dunno if you noticed, but you?re in danger of dying no matter what you do. At least if this is successful it?ll take away one more possibility,? Thane retorted, and somewhat grinning as he did.
Riku grimaced, having nothing left to counter that.
Thane?s grin spread, apparently satisfied that he had won, forcing Riku to laugh at the fact that he seemed ridiculously childish at the moment, taking pride in such a victory. A moment after, Thane continued speaking though, ?So... what happened??
?Not much, actually. I was in some... dark place, and I could hear two voices??
?The spirit and the demon I?m assuming,? Thane said, cutting Riku off in mid sentence.
?Yeah. They were both talking to me, the demonic... thing, was trying, or more like threatening, to take me over, and the spirit was prompting me to fight against it. But... for one reason or another, I felt myself leaning towards the demon?s side.?
Thane nodded, ?Like I said, the demon is likely prevailing in their war at the moment. Soul Eater is just as much a part of you as you yourself are, and whatever is overtaking it mostly, at the moment, a malevolent essence, will transfer to you. You do see the problem now, right??
Riku nodded, and then thought for a moment, and for some reason decided that he should put this out there as well, ?Oh... and right before I woke up, both of them asked me if I knew their name.?
Thane?s eyebrow rose up yet again, this time even higher to the point where it would attach to his hair if it went any further up, ?That?s interesting. I?m guessing that Soul Eater isn?t your blades real name then, hm??
Riku looked at the sword again, ?Guess not.?
?Well, there?s much power held within names, especially when it comes to these weapons. Until you find out the true name of ?Soul Eater,?? he said, making sure to put air quotes around the blades fake name, ?there?s nothing we can do.?
Riku thought for a moment, ?So how do I find the true name.?
?Keep doing what you?re doing now, and hope that the thing tells you. Might tell you today, maybe tomorrow, maybe a month from now, a year from now, or it may never tell you, and you may never find out. But we can?t exactly let you stay in here forever and just keep trying. You have other things to train in and you have to go back to Konoha eventually.?
?So... I just keep training as usually, then??
?Basically, but every once and a while we?ll try this again. Alrighty then, get up,? Thane said, standing up himself from the kneeling position that he was in, ?Time to get to some real training.?
And that?s what they did, for nearly the next year. They trained, and trained, and trained. Riku would grow amongst the sages, would come to know them as his family, for nearly a full year after he had first arrived.
The False Name
Riku moved within the dark corridors of the depths of what he expected was Soul Eater. Darkness swirled and danced around him, and voices, two different voices, spoke to him as he advanced, though to where he could not know.
The voices seemed to speak with the wind, a deep, malevolent one constantly booming throughout the darkness, the voice seeming to come from everywhere, You... will be my new vessel. I shall release myself through you... and be free again.
Riku felt no fear against this voice, there was a different feeling. One of recognition. No... not of recognition, of resignation, but just as those sentiments crept into his mind, a different one did as he heard another voice. This one was lighthearted, majestic. It sounded like the voice of a female, one that perfectly contrasted with the evil bass-like voice, Do not give in.
Those were the only words that the other voice said, constantly repeating. He felt as if one half of him was tied to one horse, and the other side to another, and both animals were rushing in opposite directions, tearing at him to go two separate ways.
And eventually he would rip in half.
Suddenly, as if slamming into a giant wall, Riku jerked backwards and fell down to the ground, and then slowly descended, the voices still prompting him.
Just as abruptly, as in unison, the two voices stopped prompting him and in unison, the voices contrasting so much that they balanced each other out when together to form something in the middle, something that reminded Riku of... himself, What is our name?
Riku?s eyes opened with a start, jerking slightly forward as he exited his meditative trance. He felt himself cough up blood, and Thane raised an eyebrow as he, apparently, saw him do so.
?So?? Thane asked as Riku spat out more blood.
?I...? Riku started, and then took time to cough some more, though it seemed like the worst part of the coughing was over as no blood came out this time, ?don?t think I can do this,? he finished.
Thane shrugged, ?Quite frankly, it?s not your choice. If you do it, you?ll get to use all of that power that you so desperately need. If you don?t, they?ll kill you.?
?Yeah... I get it. But I?ll only die sooner if I keep trying,? Riku countered quickly.
?Dunno if you noticed, but you?re in danger of dying no matter what you do. At least if this is successful it?ll take away one more possibility,? Thane retorted, and somewhat grinning as he did.
Riku grimaced, having nothing left to counter that.
Thane?s grin spread, apparently satisfied that he had won, forcing Riku to laugh at the fact that he seemed ridiculously childish at the moment, taking pride in such a victory. A moment after, Thane continued speaking though, ?So... what happened??
?Not much, actually. I was in some... dark place, and I could hear two voices??
?The spirit and the demon I?m assuming,? Thane said, cutting Riku off in mid sentence.
?Yeah. They were both talking to me, the demonic... thing, was trying, or more like threatening, to take me over, and the spirit was prompting me to fight against it. But... for one reason or another, I felt myself leaning towards the demon?s side.?
Thane nodded, ?Like I said, the demon is likely prevailing in their war at the moment. Soul Eater is just as much a part of you as you yourself are, and whatever is overtaking it mostly, at the moment, a malevolent essence, will transfer to you. You do see the problem now, right??
Riku nodded, and then thought for a moment, and for some reason decided that he should put this out there as well, ?Oh... and right before I woke up, both of them asked me if I knew their name.?
Thane?s eyebrow rose up yet again, this time even higher to the point where it would attach to his hair if it went any further up, ?That?s interesting. I?m guessing that Soul Eater isn?t your blades real name then, hm??
Riku looked at the sword again, ?Guess not.?
?Well, there?s much power held within names, especially when it comes to these weapons. Until you find out the true name of ?Soul Eater,?? he said, making sure to put air quotes around the blades fake name, ?there?s nothing we can do.?
Riku thought for a moment, ?So how do I find the true name.?
?Keep doing what you?re doing now, and hope that the thing tells you. Might tell you today, maybe tomorrow, maybe a month from now, a year from now, or it may never tell you, and you may never find out. But we can?t exactly let you stay in here forever and just keep trying. You have other things to train in and you have to go back to Konoha eventually.?
?So... I just keep training as usually, then??
?Basically, but every once and a while we?ll try this again. Alrighty then, get up,? Thane said, standing up himself from the kneeling position that he was in, ?Time to get to some real training.?
And that?s what they did, for nearly the next year. They trained, and trained, and trained. Riku would grow amongst the sages, would come to know them as his family, for nearly a full year after he had first arrived.
