⁂~(Updated 2022-07-07-)~⁂

*Needs more love*

(This is the free version.)

Word Count: 3320

(:: Master Kenji :: Kazuki Memory Quote: "Cosmic force—pure magic. In contrast to celestite crystals and their yokai spirits, the raw and untapped mana commanded by the Ancient Faye emerged from a foreign combination of universal energies. Through centuries of tradition, Diaxis discovered how to conjure fire, rain, wind and frost magic from the stars. Over time, Diaxis' kin's total annihilation amplified this pedagogy of sorrow, granting him a magnitude of power beyond an average Faye as he subdued deep despair and guilt."

⁂(Diaxis Flashback: 995 BMC | The First Age)⁂

"Father, what are these called?" asked young Diaxis, standing on the tips of his tiny toes to peer over copious rainbow-coloured fungi.

The King of the Faye, Oberon, brushed the fallen pink sakura tree petals from his low-hanging violet skirt and ebony shoulder plates. Adjusting the golden crown mantled above his long glowing pink hair, he swelled his bare chest like an old white dragon, releasing a long breath. Clasping his fingertips, he clenched his green eyes and slowly formed the triangular sign of the bird.

Dancing, sheen-white particles swathed Oberon's floating pink hair. Visible mana cells descended from the outer rim of starry space. Scenic magical dust sank to the Netherskies' purpled nimbuses and red-blue atmosphere, consuming the raw material like a tornado amongst flames into Oberon's wrinkled palms. As he finished his spell, he answered his teary-eyed son.

"Those are rainbow-cap mushrooms—highly toxic to a little Faye like thee. Now, please, Diaxis, stop breaking thy concentration and train with me," replied Oberon, maintaining his firm, linear posture and clasped hands.

"They remind me of mother. Her magic was always so colourful and cool," mumbled young Diaxis, shedding a tear.

King Oberon hummed and juggled his thick pink lips.

"Her spirit lives within and forever," said the stern Oberon, bending over to poke young Diaxis.

"I have mother's power?" asked Diaxis as another one of his small white-pink wing feathers reduced to a grey overtone.

King Oberon grimaced.

"Yes. Listen, thy son. I have brought you to the family's hidden grove to warn you about the future you face. Not long ago, Tiberia, thou mother, used the last of her magic to protect us against a great evil."

"You have told me before. Whom is this evil foe, father?"

"It is a dangerous anomaly—a vicious unbalanced equation threatening the fabric of time and space. It is neither demon nor man. It will crack the spine of history and cripple mortality forever if it is not stopped. A legend, a story, or a myth will one day come about this event—for thou are the first and last guardian to stop it, Diaxis. Our responsibility as the Faye is to prevent mana from empowering evil; this darkness will be the greatest any being has lightened."

"I understand, father. I will protect our home with my life," replied young Diaxis, squeezing his white-gloved hands.

"Not just our home, Diaxis. To be alive, thou must preserve all the love within this universe—a wondrous thing, life is. Soon, Diaxis, like your mother, I will no longer have the honour of life. Thou must take thy place one day as king and shield the future."

"What are you saying? Are you leaving soon?" asked young Diaxis, examining the violet-pink starlit horizon and blue cosmic mists with his father.

"Thy body fades unto the stars," said Oberon, rubbing his fingertips which dispersed specks of evaporating molecules from his glowing body.

"You're dying..." said young Diaxis, dissecting his father's old raspy dialect.

"This evil I speak of has seized Izanami's heart and has placed a death hex upon thee. This hex wanes upon thy age now. It will soon be time for thy to journey through the galaxy."

"But father, are we able to cure this curse?"

"Only one option remains. Yet, it will express thy goodbye. Thy will teach thee the Eternal Light Transformation. The greatest power of a Faye. It is a gift from your mother and I. "

Oberon smacked his palms into unison, emitting a loud thunderclap charged with visible white-yellow protons.

"Eternal Light!" he chanted.

Oberon's open palms absorbed the flaring magic from the dying white-red stars in outer space. As he flapped his glowing pink wings, mirroring white-hot starlight encased his muscular body, moulding him into a strange floating entity of infinite radiancy. Newly birthed hard light and radioactive green gases kindled around him omnipotently as Diaxis watched with wonder.

"Father... what is this power? You are made of pure light!" said young Diaxis, blocking out the blinding lights with his cuffed arms.

"Thy finally achieved full luminosity," said Oberon, squeezing his pure white fists in victory.

"A great evil wishes to change the balance of history. I can no longer look after our kin or mortal kind. Thy need an heir to stand against him! Our Faye willpower and bloodlines are of the first age. The will to bend the universe without a yokai is thy gift to you, Diaxis. Through sheer courage and vitality, this power of darkness and light will be yours, and thee will one day be the King of the Faye."

⁂~ Netherskies | The Secret Garden | Present Day~⁂

"Father passed on that day, and I was sent to guard the Crystal Palace for five centuries... It has been a long time... I would have never thought that the foe father spoke of was the man in the obsidian mask. If he did defeat my father, he would be beyond that of a normal being. What power did he steal from Izanami? Was it that mark? I wish father had told me more."

"Still confused? You've been in seclusion for decades and still have not found the answer?" taunted the dark-cloaked half-elven woman, Mao.

"Who is he? I demand to know. No more secrets!" shouted Diaxis, producing another mini-sphere of starlit energy in his palms.

Mao smirked and pulled down her gold-trimmed hood, revealing her long black hair and ceramic white-red mask.

"I cannot share my master's identity. He will reveal himself to the world when the time for disguises is no longer needed. Though, I can tell you a tale," replied Mao.

"Spit it out, Mao!" demanded Diaxis.

"Have you ever heard of the Cosmic Eggs?" asked Mao as she sneered and licked her black-painted lips.

"Yes. It is an old religious fable about a creature born from an egg, destined to create a new universe," said Diaxis.

Mao tightened her corrupted smirk.

"Not a creature, but a mortal. My master was born in the first ages of celestite, like you... Although he was not born as a baby like you and me. He was born from an egg and emerged... a god."

"My father called them the Cosmic Eggs of Destiny. Even he did not believe they existed—as you already stated, it was nothing more than a legend. The power to create a new universe, let alone a planet, is only possible for a Titan," said Diaxis.

"No, the legend is true."

Diaxis crossed his eyebrows. "How do you know for sure?" he scoffed.

"Because he told me," said Mao.

"How can he tell you if he's dead? Miyasato destroyed him during the Lion's Head War."

"Simple. He has taken Izanami's Heart. The celestite of absorption. An impossible task. Yet, not for a Hanyo."

"If what you say is true, that would mean the masked man is over one thousand years old... That's impossible. No one can come back from The Black Styx!"

"He also says he knows you very well. He's taught me all your weaknesses. And after I defeat you, Lord Diaxis, it is my duty to begin my lord's rule by destroying the fort village of Ashinburn. My yokai, Cerberus, has waited long enough to gnaw on Lilith's bones," cackled Mao, slinging her elegant long black-violet locks.

"You will have to go through me first, betrayer!" yelled Diaxis, tossing his sphere of star energy charged with flame and frost magic.

Mao's black-gold robes fluttered as she dashed and eluded the ruin of power like an enraged mythical kitsune. "I made this just for you, so you can remember the old times!" she laughed, twisting and flinging a crimson-tipped kunai from her waist belt.

Diaxis flinched as he heard the single knife swoosh and pierce the air, multiplying into a volley of obsidian stingers.

'A Black Lotus Sickle!' he cursed, quickly forming the symbol of the bird.

Diaxis stomped his black boots into the pink soil to secure his stance. Sustaining the insignia of the bird mudra, majestic white particles of magic spiralled from outer space and accumulated into Diaxis' cupped palms. As he pushed his fingers outward, creating a perfect triangle, a glittering white magic wall reflected, shielding him at the last moment.

"Equilibrium Wall!" he chanted.

Mao's multiplying kunai fusillade pummeled Diaxis's wall of light, returning the knives to their primary state of metallic powder. The hot transmuted metal sand struck Diaxis' pale face, slicing his cheeks. Squinting, Diaxis clenched his teeth and endured the roar of dissolving alloy.

Blocking the attack, Diaxis saw Mao vault into his glowing white wall.

"Black-Lotus-Art: 100 Black Tigers!" chanted Mao—expressing her sharp blue eyes inside her ceramic fox mask.

In mid-air, Mao snatched and seized Diaxis' black trenchcoat, thrusting her sway into multiple martial arts kicks and punches.

Diaxis slapped her grip from his coat and attempted to repel her strong blows. She has learned hand-to-hand at a master's level. Has the black lotus been sharing their techniques with each other?' thought Diaxis, startled by Mao's new psychical abilities as he struggled to parry her powerful punches and kicks.

Swinging through Diaxis' hand-to-hand defences, Mao punched repeatedly and launched Diaxis through the air, hurling him through a purple-pink forest filled with sakura trees. "He's still pretty tough for an old guy," she said, controlling her breathing.

Mao, the betrayer, flaunted her long black and purple highlighted hair as she strutted to her downed prey. "Is that all you have?" she shouted. "This seclusive life has hindered your skill! You were once the leader of the Order of the Ironrose, were you not?" laughed Mao.

Mao ducked and quickly flung into several backflips as dozens of needle-point rays of flashing white fire lanced for her from the destroyed sakura forest. Somersaulting and cartwheeling, she bounced up into the befallen pink petal-covered winds and stretched out her hands. Her ebony gown rippled within the blasts as purpled water from the nearby lily ponds shot to her hand-sign of the dog.

"Elemental Transmutation! Water to Ice!" she chanted.

Mao absorbed and instantly froze the white-violet aqua into an enormous globe of crystallized ice with her magic. She clung to its side as it plummeted to the ground with a dust-filled slam. Hidden behind, she attempted to avoid more of Diaxis' attacks of near-invisible spear beams constructed of hard light.

"I am going to send him back to the stars—where he belongs," she said to herself, ripping a light shard from her bleeding back shoulder. "I will have to absorb everything he throws."

Diaxis battle-cried and resumed firing the light beam knives from the tips of his jagged black wings.

She possesses the Celestite of Transmutation. It is like I am fighting my own power source, he thought.

Mao glanced inside her golden-black robes and reached inside her dark leather pouch. "If I let Cerberus absorb enough, I should be able to use one of these," she said, rummaging. "The clock is ticking. I cannot waste my mana here," she said with a sadistic smile.

Blazing spears of achromatic light continued to pummel Mao's violet-coloured ice boulder, breaking it into smaller chunks.

If she absorbs one of my light beams, her body will collapse, at least I hope... Her yokai, Cerberus, can transmute almost any element of magic into expendable energy. But there has to be a limitation to this technique, thought Diaxis.

Taking deep breaths, Diaxis collapsed to the ground, catching himself with one knee. Bah! She is right. I am not as good as I used to be. I am getting old... even for a Faye.

I can use the first stages of my father's Eternal Light Mode. It will take all of my magic, and I'll need the help of the Crystal Palace, but it should collapse her absorption powers. She will be useless once her yokai needs a rest. However, the drawback will also make me useless for a long while.

Diaxis swiftly installed a finger bulb of aqua-like energy into the Netherskies' rosy soil. The water sac expanded, birthing a sparkling white bubble shield. As the phosphorescent balloon unfolded, it girded Diaxis' whole body, shielding him on all sides. "Equilibrium Wall Of Aqua!" he chanted.

As the balloon of water and light completed safeguarding Diaxis, Mao slammed her fists into the pink earth.

"Elemental Reformation! Earth to Ice!" retorted Mao, twisting her black-gloved fingers into the hand sign of the horse—transforming the broken-up soil to unleash multiple crystalline spikes.

Diaxis wrapped his black wings around himself. Closing his pink eyes to focus, he drew in a deep breath of the nearby rainbow-cap mushrooms and concentrated on his water shield. After a few seconds, he felt the impact pulverize him, vibrating the balloon with an intense fissure.

She is also drawing a tremendous amount of magic from the Crystal Palace. How did she get here? She must have come in through the secret portals that Takahashi created. I was never safe. I should have never let Takahashi keep those portals open. I knew when he brought me Kazuki that somehow the world was about to change, thought Diaxis.

Mao smirked and observed the fractured barrier with a loose finger. She punched its delicate glass-like shell, demolishing the shield into scraps of hard light with a single ice-filled punch. Grabbing both of her obsidian-plated knees, she knelt next to the fallen Faye.

"Are you having fun yet?" she asked.

"How did you require the Mark of Death? Kenji would be disappointed in you for falling so far," sneered Diaxis.

Mao chuckled and stood up.

"Master Kenji could not contain the abilities of Cerberus as it rampaged within my heart. Nobody can—except my master. I am a sage slave as long as I serve the council."

"You are brainwashed, Mao. You are mistaken if you think I will lay down like a slain beast. I am Diaxis, son of Oberon and Tiberia! The last of the Faye. I must protect the Crystal Palace and all life with all my power. I have never had the chance to use my new form in combat until today. It has taken me many centuries to reach the first stages of my father's secret power."

Mao hurdled backward and winced as she witnessed Diaxis form the hand sign of the bird with his dark wings and hands.

Father, you were right. It does express goodbye. At least for now, he thought. These supervillains threaten us all... I will force Mao to retreat, close shut all portals to our home, and then I must leave to find Kazuki! Together, we can stop whoever is behind this new impending war.

Diaxis slammed both his black leathered boots into the pink terrain again and crouched into a horse stance. "Crying Sun!" chanted Diaxis.

A white glowing aura swished around Diaxis, imparting him with a temporary fortification in stamina, agility and force. While the rainbow-coloured pebbles scattered about and vibrated, he pulled his hand sign of the bird to his black-collared neck. The white aura intensified in luminosity as he gathered magic particles from the Crystal Palace's Heart of Mana and the stars.

"Finally serious, are we?" asked Mao, smirking.

Diaxis crossed his silver eyebrows and shouted. "I warned you to leave and never to return when you were a little girl. You have come to my home and brought nothing but violence and pain. The Netherskies are the graveyard of my people. To desecrate this place in any way is a violation punishable by death," said Diaxis.

Mao crossed her eyebrows in silence.

"I declare myself the King of the Faye. I will defeat you and rise. I must follow my father's wishes—to defend the world of Azmoria!"

Within a spearing pillar of light, Diaxis burst through his bubble shield constructed of light. Pink dust dispersed beneath his boots as he corkscrewed up through the air. Completing his kin's ancient light magic technique, he metamorphosed into a pure white sheen, like his father.

Aiming his palms toward Mao, Diaxis unleashed a beam of hard light.

"Light Beam!" chanted Diaxis.

"Elemental Absorption!" yelled Mao, throwing her hands high to catch the blast wave.

Striking Mao's absorptive enflamed hands, Diaxis' light beam emitted high-pitched squealing and lashed outward with mystical white-yellow discharges.

"She is absorbing the Light Beam Technique, just as I intended. Her yokai, Cerberus, cannot keep up with this amount of magic consumption. This power is the highest of any being next to the gods themselves. However, this is but a fraction of Dad's power."

Mao tried to shed the glower from her face as she absorbed the powerful burst of mana. "You are the mistaken one, Faye King. Yes, this energy will be enough to crush you!" shouted Mao, reflecting the beam of energy into a nearby multicoloured-stone cliff, slicing it in half.

Diaxis flinched and huffed, working to catch his breath from expending almost all of his magic powers. That should do it, he thought.

Mao flipped open her black-gold trimmed cloak and snatched her lotus satchel. "It is time to play," she said, grinning wide and snickering.

"I was hoping you would disburse a plethora of your great mana Faye Prince. You are almost tapped out. You've grown worn over the years, it seems. I needed this to finish my special friend. I have arranged a playdate for you," said Mao.

Unclipping the ebony pouch and reaching deep inside, Mao scuffled around while licking her ceramic lips covered in black lipstick.

"There it is," she smiled, pulling out an identical doll she made of Diaxis.

Gazing at the ominous toy, she continued to laugh wildly. "Go get him!" she shouted.

Mao threw the doll of Diaxis onto a thick carmine grass patch filled with fuchsia florae. With a flutter of her black gloves, she formed the hand sign of the boar and thrust her fingers into the starlit sky. "Elemental Toy Box!" she chanted.

Diaxis glimpsed a blazing blood-red light as he hovered above the dancing Mao to gain some distance.

That can't be good, thought Diaxis, reaching out with his sensory ability.

Whatever it is. It has the same mana level as me—over 1 million magic cells per second. Even when I am in the first stages of my father's Eternal Light form, this thing will keep up with me. It seems I was right—she does not have any magic particles left, and her yokai's hunger is satisfied for now.

The odd doll of Diaxis vibrated, converting into a crimson mist as Mao poured her mana inside the vessel. As the doll of Diaxis quadrupled in size, blood vessels sowed onto the puppet as it manifested into the purpled thickets of the Netherskies grass plains. An almost perfect simulacrum of Diaxis materialized, possessing no emotion and eyes swirling with purple stars.

Diaxis heard Mao's obnoxious, entitled laughter echoing throughout the enchanted canopy as she fled from sight.

She is distracting me so she can destroy Ashinburn! I have to focus on overpowering... myself? Bah, I have to get this over with! Kazuki needs my help. I will have to seal all of the portals before I leave, thought Diaxis, clenching his teeth.

The simulacrum hovered next to Diaxis—Diaxis knew there was now no way to chase after the fleeing Black Lotus member, Mao.

"Nonetheless, don't you think for a second that it is over, Mao!" shouted Diaxis, forming the complex hand sign of the white dragon.

The rich white sheen concealing Diaxis grew more brilliant and projected on every nearby surface of the colourful mountain terrain. Using the last bit of his power, Diaxis gathered magic from the entire Netherskies. The simulacrum winced and lifted its hand to block out the blinding lights.

"Spear of light!"