Salus nostra, damnatio nostra.

Father's body grows closer to it's original state each day...atleast now we know what he looked like when he was younger ...

“Be observant to the world , and the world will ignore you.” I recall De saying once during training. Training of my men.

It's been awhile since 717 last took off.

“Don't be so rash 700”  717 would always say to me during training. But this time it's different for him…for both of us. I thought to myself as I walked through the streets.

I'm stuck in the body of a fifteen year old , in reality I'm thirty eight, but who'd ever believe a child saying that. Time is absent to me , or am I absent to it. Who cares.
I thought to myself as I walked through the busy crowds.

Raindrops began falling onto my shoulders , distant chatter from the crowds faded into the loud yet gentle sound of pouring rain, some people began to seek cover.

“Look at that kid mommy , why doesn't he have an umbrella mommy.” A child holding her mother's hand said, as if she weren't a child herself. Funny , a few weeks ago I didn't even know what a mother was , nor what even rain was. De has taught me lots of things, but he doesn't tell me everything. He's playing us, I can feel it. He knew all about the womb, yet said nothing, or rather he didn't care. Afterall indifference is his attitude towards most things, or is it just us? Who knows, I thought to myself as I walked through the now nearly empty streets of New new York.

“Atleast the restaurants are full” , I say as I turn to gaze into a packed café. There's millions of raindrops falling simultaneously every moment. Without this cold rain the children can't sleep soundly, if they can't sleep soundly, then they can't dream and grow…no wonder why they just used us for our parts…I love the rain.

Hours passed , eventually I returned to the compound, I walk through the training grounds, 545 is growing stronger , his power has already grown passed his previous peak. I walk through the library, 263 is reading so many books…I try not to disturb her and walk up to the research department, the rest of the guys are here , finding ways to grow stronger.

“Hey 700, De said that he wants to see you in his office!” 454 shouts over to me, I nod and begin walking to the elevator, his office is on the fifteenth floor of the twenty one story sky scraper. Eventually I reach the elevator and press on the button, the doors close , and I begin my ascent.

I reach floor fifteen , the door open , and I see his silhouette in a desk far away Infront of a wall of transparent glass looking out into the city. I walk out of the elevator and stop about twelve metres away from him. His eyes glow yellow , he attempts to scare me by releasing his presence , my eyes glow purple and I'm unaffected. He smiles and nods.

“yes , you're what I expected.” De said in his chair.

“What do you want from me” I bluntly asked him.

“I want to make you stronger” De said.
My eyes opened widely.

“All the others have become one with themselves, 263 has been aware of her true strength , but has never used it because if she runs out of yen while using it , then she dies. 545 knows that his body cannot handle it , a truly saddening mismatch though there is something oddly familiar about one of the forms his power manifests…almost as if…, oh my bad speech is silver , silence is golden.”
De began says.

Then suddenly De appeared Infront of me. His pupils glowing yellow , staring down into my soul, I'm caught of guard by it, he back hands me, and I fly through the glass wall overlooking the city , I go at such as speed that I had to use yen reinforcement on my clothes or else they'd burn away , I went on for over one hundred thousand kilometres in only two seconds. I crashed into a field of grass and flowers , creating a massive crater…he's reinforcing the ground so that I don't destroy anything. I emerge on my knees gasping for air.

He appears next to me and kicks me up in my gut, forcing me up into the air…I don't even know how far I went up, all I know is that when he kicked me it felt like I left my body , all I am  seeing is darkness…I can't feel anything…

…tap…I feel a tap on my chest…tap…I feel a tap on my stomach…tap…I feel a tap on my right shoulder…the taps suddenly begin feeling as if I'm being pierced by blunt objects…suddenly my eyes burst open as I see De punching me all over in mid air , he does a flip then stomps my stomach , falling with me , but he jumps off me before I crash into the field once more…I crash just next to the crater I had just made…

I emerge crawling on my knees , coughing out blood onto the now soft ground of the crater that I am in. Dust clouds fill the area…I see De’s yellow glowing pupils through the dust clouds.

“Disappointing, is this all you are!?” De shouts loudly, shaking my very soul and everything else. He hit me so fast I've sustained way too much damage…he was too fast.

I can feel my broken ribs piercing through my lungs…

“The cold night breeze and rain allow the children to comfortably sleep , and with their guard down they're vulnerable and weak in that moment.” De says.

“Everyone seeks the cool and comforting night, but it's the hot and unfortunate evening that keeps them awake , that when the thief in the night arrives , they are not asleep.” He continues saying.

“I-I understand it now* I say as I get onto one knee.

“Demonstrate your resolve” De says.

A strong gust of wind comes out of my body , clearing away all the dust clouds. My pupils glow purple as I stare directly into De’s eyes.
My body grows to five foot seven, using yen I swiftly grow the size of my clothes by resowing them as fast as I could with particles of my yen.

De smiles looking at me.
“power as great as yours isn't normal , you're an anomaly, 263, you , me , 717…Nagashi…Elliot…we're all just anomalies. 263 and I have Ikari which consumes our strength for the most part due to their straining natures.” De said as my eyes opened wide, that even with an Ikari draining his strength constantly…he is still this…strong…

He opens his arms,
“But the truth about yen is that those who were born with exceptional amounts and strengths of yen don't work quite like everyone else.” His presence a billion times stronger than before nearly kills me , if he was not using yen reinforcement on everything he probably would have crushed everything in normal sight by now…my eyes return to normal at the sight of what can only be described as a stronger beast...

“Our powers are us and we are them , even in old age our ability to generate yen never dies. Our Yen lives , speaks and breathes , for it is you, COMPLETE!” He shouts as everything stops and he stills.

A cold silence filled with cold air fills the world…my heart beats faster than it has ever in my entire life. The blue sky suddenly is filled with clouds. It's so cold, I can't even move.

His lips move.
“Ever moving twin hands , soul of greed, I endure, I THE OUTSIDER.” He begins whispering then shouts, a beam of green energy comes out of him , Turing into a giant pillars of green light going up into the sky which darkens. It's as if he's gone, I can't even sense him, but he's right Infront of me, no , we’re over five dimensions apart now.

The pillar begins disintegrating into green light particles , and he emerges floating atop a giant hole in the ground , green and white light surrounding his body like a silhouette. He stares at me and immediately we're in a dark place , there is no sky or ground…just black…

He stares into my eyes.

“You're only as young as you choose to be” he says.

We immediately return and he's back to normal , the hole covered and everything…I'm still on one knee.

“ I understand it now” , I say as my eyes glow purple , a pillar of purple and black light emerges from my body as I stand , the pillar violently radiates until it disintegrates, the suddenly all of my wounds are healed, I know my words, there aren't a few.

“Every last bit , from my greatest displays , to the most mundane of things that I am able to do , everything, it is all entirely my will.” I say as I stand on the ground , the ground did not get destroyed , because I didn't want to destroy the ground.

De smiles staring at me.

“I have ascended, this is my Podarak Smerti”  I said out loud.

“yes, this is your true self, affected by even your words, thoughts and emotion, able to kill an Ikari ,  you , 700 , are now born, NAME YOURSELF!.” De shouted..

“Dag” I said.

“The power type of power we were born with are known as Sünden. There can never be forgiveness for us.” De said as he began walking away.

“Who knows what you can do.” Turned back and smiled as he vanished.

"I want to protect the cold night, so that the children may sleep and dream peacefully without worrying about thieves, I will be the one to protect the cold night." I asserted to myself.

================================

Narrator: Meanwhile , Elliot Prescott lies dead in the collapsing womb , dead.

But was this just fate...or was it...

Something more...