[ WP ] A wise veteran and mentor , a young student with fantastic potential and destiny , and a small band of heroes must complete a quest of incredible importance . When the student dies unexpectedly , the mentor must step into the role of hero one last time to complete the quest .

The rain was falling. 
 
 *What are you doing, Master? * 
 
 Water swirled inexorably, blanketing the sky in a heavy, ominous grey. 
 
 *This is sealing, child. It's a very dangerous Art. * 
 
 Thunder crashed. Lightning flickered across the sky, dancing like a dragon on the thatched roofs. He watched, unmoving. The rain fell, soaking into his hair, his robes, trailing off his expressionless face. 
 
 *A single mistake, the slightest stroke in a wrong direction and you'll face dire consequences. But it is a powerful magic. * 
 
 *You can accomplish almost anything for equivalent risk, even part the barriers between soul and body, life and death. You can even defeat that demon that threatens our lands, that Dark Emperor, given enough time and preparation. * 
 
 His blades hung in his hands, gleaming with eldritch energy even in the low light. 
 
 *Is that how you lost your eye? Sealing? * 
 
 The village was burning, the roofs collapsing on themselves as electricity morphed into a wave of blue, cold fire. The rain splashed on, unhindered. 
 
 The pale doll looked up at him from where it stood amidst the flames, seals dripping from its form in an inky morass that creeped slowly across the ground. Its face was undamaged. He recognized that pale smile. He recognized those dark, strangely luminescent eyes. 
 
 Eldritch energy poured forth from her form, spilling out into the air in an invisible pressure. He could feel reality warping around her, the world cracking from her very existence and forming strange spatial distortions around her slight, slender form. He was n't surprised that she could sustain such an effect. 
 
 She was his precious student after all, once a human with such a potential for manipulating the words of the world that her abilities could exceed even high ranking kami given the chance. 
 
 *Yes, my eye was lost because of seals. No, do n't worry... it's the least of consequences, really. * 
 
 He held his blades up, crossing them before his chest. He drew in a breath, time dilating in his senses as his body tensed. 
 
 *Sealing... is very dangerous. * 
 
 His form blurred through the still raindrops, seals burning white on his blades. He swung, the moment he was in range. He would not hold back, not now, not ever. 
 
 Her head tilted back, body twisting in an almost unnatural manner before slamming back to meet his seemingly unprotected forearm. Her form reared back as seals of rot spread from his splintered wrist onto her skin. 
 
 *You must never attempt to place seals on yourself. You must n't practice without my supervision. It's too dangerous. * 
 
 She shrieked, twisting. Her body erupted, a newer form bursting out of her corrupted flesh like a molt. Her new form was covered in seals, curses swirling and churning across the surface of her skin an onto the air. She charged at him, finger bones erupting into foot long claws. Chains of words shot out at him from the ground, disgusting filthy words coated in poison and death and time. 
 
 *More people die with every day that I delay, with every additional test I perform. More people die because of me. * 
 
 He lunged to the side, tripping her with a feint. His blades worked in tandem, swiping her claws in a whirl before he stabbed at her once more. 
 
 *I swear to you, I have your best intentions at heart. I intend to keep you safe. * 
 
 His body burned, his muscles collapsing and fracturing as he moved. He tasted blood in his mouth. His own seals were eating into him just as they were eating into her still. The monster possessing her body thought it had gotten rid of his seals through its molt, but the curses had settled deep inside its bones already. 
 
 *I will help you defeat all the evil in this land because you are my beloved child. * 
 
 He struck out, uncaring, his hands dripping ink as the skin and flesh was cannibalized to fuel his speed and strength. His blades flashed as they met her claws, cutting and disintegrating as the nullification seals activated. 
 
 She seized him by the throat, screaming. Lightning coursed down from the sky, intending to strike him, flowing around his form as he brought his blades up again. 
 
 The metal fractured and snapped, scattering golden fragments across the mud and earth. White fire flared around him as he burnt himself up to keep fighting, a self-made conflagration, a penance maybe, he was n't sure anymore. 
 
 *Will you smile if I manage to seal the Emperor? * 
 
 He yelled his defiance, charging forward anyway, grabbing her by the neck. Her seals crept up his arms, consuming their physical forms. He held on anyway, his form sustained by word and will alone. 
 
 They were burning. It was all burning. Even the rain was burning now, hissing in his purifying fire. The Emperor, the dark presence sitting in her soul, was writhing in the flames. 
 
 Her reason seemed to return briefly, her lips parting with a question. 
 
 *Will you smile, like you used to? * 
 
 `` Yes,'' he whispered to her, a smile on lips that were swept away by the wind and flame. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

