[11:41:13] Nio hadn't been paying much mind to how long he had been waiting in this abandoned building, seeming more interested in what the floor had to say about it. Though with his brow furrowed and a heavy frown on his face, it didn't seem like a pleasant conversation to be had. A tenseness seems to surround the young man as thoughts of what had occured recently run through his head as well as his worries.

At any moment that Yokai could arrive and deliver what was promised, accompanied by what it called 'a painful experience'... Or it could arrive and decide that it no longer desired any sort of deal with him. His brow furrows tighter at the thought of the latter, the Atlas no longer reckoned he could take on a Yokai like that. At least he never could in the state he felt he was in.

His hair had gotten long, tangled and greasy. His eyes were surrounded by dark rings, looking ready to drag him into sleep. His clothes were worn and beginning to become tattered. He was no longer taking care of himself by this point.

Nio only breaks his gaze from the floor to look towards the other room, trying to hear whether or not the Hirano that had accompanied him remained asleep. He doubted she would stay that way throughout what might be coming, that wasn't too important. Sylvia would find out eventually what he was going to do.

For a moment, he wonders why he hadn't told her of what deal he had made... Was it fear of her judging him for doing something so stupid? Perhaps to keep her from making the same mistake? He knew neither of thos were true...

It was just something there was no use in telling her.

The pale man looks back towards the door, awaiting his guest.
(Nio Atlas)
[11:50:36] At long last, Nio's trials would begin in full.

Past the door a deep occultic presence could be felt, ever growing and signifying an approaching being. The man sitting upon the countertop would be able to sense that the being with whom he had made a deal was coming long before the cackle of electricity could be heard outside, bolts of electricity sparking from beneath the doorframe and through the windows. It would seem, to an outside observer, as if an electrical storm were happening right outside the building.

To suddenly halt, with a quiet and foreboding stillness.

Slowly the door would creak open and two beings would enter, one in the form of pure purple energy and the other a man of orange hair and green armor. The occultic form, which was normally extremely hyper and liked to dance about madly, moved with an almost mechanical precision, twitching back and forth as it made its way to the center of the room. The energy would gather there, spinning and growing before finally exploding in a shower of sparks, revealing the true form of the being within.

The Kaor Lord, Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem.

She floated in the air, arms outstretched as her eyes flashed with a blazing orange light, her gaze shifting down to rest upon the man whom she had come to see. A smile made its way upon her lips as her arms lowered, giving Nio a brief nod in greeting.

"I am glad to see you are here." she spoke, her voice trembling with excitement. "I was half-afraid you would have backed down...~"

The she-demon extended her right hand outward, motioning to the man accompanying her. "Allow me to introduce to you one Ryan Kyros. An excellent practitioner of the necromantic arts and someone skilled in holy magic and the art of healing." Her hand fell and her attention returned to the white-haired man, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

"He is here to help ensure that you are able to make it through the experiment relatively unharmed...~"
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[11:58:17] Why did he agree to accompany the Yokai into the depths of the Marshlands and perform an operation on some random person that would likely kill the volunteer? To subject him to unspeakable pain and horrors in the name of science?

Oh right, because Sareen told him to stop being a ninny.

Ryan followed behind Alari'kus as the Yokai made it's extravagant entrence, while his was less...Noticable. The Oscuri walked into the manor in silence, a small brown leather pouch filled with surgical tools was tucked under his arm. He had come prepared for the operation on the man, one that would no doubt alter the man forever, granted he survived.

"Yes, yes. A pleasure." Ryan replied as he strolled past Alari'kus and walked towards the nearby wooden table. Placing the pouch on the counter, Ryan began to set up shop, so to speak. A syringe filled with an odd blue liquid, various scalpels and other medical instruments soon decorated the wooden surface, before the Oscuri turned his attention back towards the Yokai.

"So, before we begin let me get this straight. You want me to put a piece of your flesh... Into him? An odd request, but whatever. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can get back to the ritual back at the village."
(Ryan Kyros)
[12:00:51] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem whispers: /Do not fret, my lord. I simply need your capacity for healing and stitching of flesh to seal the wound shut with the minimum amount of scarring possible./
[12:00:51] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem whispers: /Due to the... nature of the flesh in question, -I- am the one that will be doing the implantation./
[12:01:42] Ryan Kyros whispers: Oh, well that makes things easier.
[12:01:42] Nio Atlas whispers something.
[12:01:42] Ryan Kyros whispers: I'll still administer-...
[12:01:42] Ryan Kyros: Did you just whisper to yourself..
[12:11:56] His gaze beginning to wander, Nio quickly focuses his attention back towards the door as thunder makes itself known outside. No rain hit the window and the pale man knew what that meant. Hopping off the table, he takes a step forwards as the Kaor Lord makes it's entrance. "I have no reason to back down, I'm not scared of a Yokai, or of it's plans..." He says, his tone not posing any challenge, the Atlas was merely stating how he felt.

It wasn't a great feeling.

Though Nio's eyes narrow at the necromancer rather than the Yokai as the two enter, it was difficult not to recognise Alari'kus, but he didn't know this man. Though after a few seconds, the Atlas turns his attention away from Ryan, bringing pink eyes to the lightning elemental. For a while, he says nothing, simply listening to what the two had to say.

Though he knew that pain were to come, his frown grows at Ryan's words, causing him to finally speak up and ask.

"What are you planning on doing to me?"
(Nio Atlas)
[12:13:39] From up above their heads, the old, wooden ceiling would begin to creak with the sounds of footsteps moving from one side of a room to another. The footsteps traveled, they swayed, they stopped for awhile, and then they began anew until finally, they faded away-- but not for long. The three of them were not alone, and the only ones unaware of that were the Yokai and the Kyros!

But who they belonged to would not be a mystery for long, because after a silent, breathless moment, a sleepy-eyed girl with a pair of horns came trudging down the stairs at the pace of a snail with a potted plant that looked plenty capable of biting someone's hand off. It was held ever so gingerly like someone would hold a baby, but it was definitely wasn't cute like one. It was kind of creepy, actually. Venus fly traps weren't supposed to look that mutated...

"Oh, I didn't know you had friends." Sylvia hummed, assuming as always. "You should have warned me. I wouldn't have been so lazy when it came to fixing my hair..." Full of leaf fragments like always, her nest of hair looked about the same as it did every day.

Then her gaze swept to the guests! A Yokai, something she was used to, and-- oh! A familiar face, in fact! One that may have not recognised her himself.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" She was no longer a child, after all.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[12:19:37] Straight to business. That's how she liked to do things.

The kaor already having clarified things with Ryan via telepathy, she returned her attention to Nio, nodding at him with a gentle smile. It was hard for the she-demon to keep calm, as she was very excited. This was a rather exciting moment after all! Months of theory and research, delving into the history of those such as the Malpercians and the Harukeans, were finally going to come to fruition.

The fur all over her body was literally standing on end, and if she did not make the conscious effort sparks of energy would be jumping between them. Probably not the best idea to touch her right now.

As Nio inquired forth, the yokai began to explain. "Well the process is simple. My flesh will be implanted within your own and runes placed upon your skin to ensure that the noxious effects of my being do not affect your health in an adverse manner." She nodded as in affirmation of her own words, bringing her right hand up and placing it upon her chin. "The runes will come later. What we must do first is prepare your body for the implantation process."

The she-demon sighed softly, shrugging her shoulders in a non-chalant manner. "I am uncertain which part is going to hurt more, the flooding of your mana circuits to simulate years of occultic use and depravity in mere minutes or hours, or the surgery that is to come afterwards..."

The kaor's voice drawled off as a fourth voice entered the conversation, that of a small unfamiliar young woman. The Kaor Lord's gaze parted from Nio, shifting over to examine the woman as her smile dipped into a soft frown. "...A friend of yours?"
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[12:23:02] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (when the flooding process begins, we will do progressively easier rolls)
[12:23:53] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (we'll do a 1d6 after each wave. first wave is 5-6 for success, second wave is 4-6, third wave will be 2-6. if the dice hate you so bad that we get to a fourth wave, then we'll just say you're ready after that)
[12:31:34] If there was indeed no need for him to perform surgery, it simply made things much easier for the Oscuri. It would be a simple matter to keep the man healed with his holy magic, at least normally it would be. But with the flesh of a Kaor being imbedded into the mans spine? Well, that might make things a tad bid difficult.

There would be resistance, given the flesh's occultic nature.

"Right, then let's not waste time, shall we? I'm going to administer some sedative to the man, it'll help ease the pain to a point, anyway.That said, there isn't enough sedative in the world that'll completely negate the pain of flooding his circuits with occultic mana. But i'm sure he'll survive..." Probably.

Or he could die from the process, it mattered little to the Necromancer.

But before the process could begin, his eyes shift towards the horned female that soon entered the room. The Oscuri's eyes narrowed. For some reason, she seemed familiar, like a face he had seen many years ago. And so, he paused for a moment. "Wait...I know you, don't I? I swear I do, have we met-..." And that's when it hit him, it was during his stay at this very manor that they had met. Where he promised to teach her magic.

But he never did.

Whoops.

"Oh, yes! Now I remember! You're....What was her name, Lydia's child? Yes, that's right... I never would've thought you would have lingered around here.."
(Ryan Kyros)
[12:47:47] Casting back a lazy gaze towards Sylvia. "I figured you were going to stay asleep with... that thing." He eyes the plant for a moment before shaking his head. He wasn't going to get into that. "They're not my friends anyway, only here to fulfill their end of a deal I made..."

Nio shrugs at the Yokai's question, eyes returning back to the creature. "She is an..." He thinks on it for a moment before nodding and adding. "Acquaintance." Perhaps the term was slightly cold, not that Nio seemed to recognise it as such. Though even he knew acquaintances didn't tend to travel together and one certainly risk their neck to save him. Though this all goes unsaid for now.

Folding his arms and looking over to the Necromancer, he asks. "How much do you intend to implant into me...?" To have a yokai's very flesh inside of him, the idea almost made him want to attack the Yokai on the spot, to strip it of any available flesh in which to contribute...

"It'll give me power?" He asks, nonetheless...
(Nio Atlas)
[12:52:54] Unaware of what was unfolding, Sylvia simply smiled at Ryan until Nio's response made her lips thin into a straight line. That was an awfully rude way to introduce her! Not that she wanted him to or anything, but alas! With a soft little pat being given to the mutated venus fly trap, Sylvia tilted her head.

"I didn't linger, actually..." She hummed, petting the head of the plant. "I left when my uncle died, but I came back because..." A pause. The look on her face looked confused, almost as if she didn't know the answer as to why she decided to come back to the forsaken swamps. Was it because she wanted to? Homesick? No, it was none of those things, but whatever the reason, she simply just shook her head instead.

"No reason, actually." Turning her attention back to Nio and the Yokai, Sylvia quirked a brow. "A deal? Are you making bad life choices again, Nio?" A slight jab, but after the fiasco in Nostvale, she had every right to jab him in the ribs as much as she wanted.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[12:59:44] The kaor could not help but chuckle at the girl's words. If all one cared for was increasing their own power by any means necessary, then this was far from a bad life choice.

Any sane being would tend to disagree.

"Initially," she began, returning her attention to Nio. "Only a small amount." The she-demon brought her hand up, placing it on her chest, above the core of her power that made up her 'heart'. If the man thought that he was the only one at risk here, he was fatally wrong. With what the kaor had in mind, the damage to herself could indeed end up permanent. Her immense power gave her the ability to regenerate from even the most grevious of wounds, but she was literally drawing from the very epicenter of her strength in order to empower his.

Risks abound everywhere.

"After we prove that the experiment can be done successfully, then you may desire more than what I will be providing now." The kaor smiled, extending her hands out to her sides. "Which I will of course happily oblige~! The strength that you will be able to pull from my flesh will be unlike anything you have ever tasted before."

Her attention drifted to Ryan, nodding to the man. For the sake of time constraints, it was likely that they should soon begin. "I hope those answers suffice, because I am eager to get underway~."
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[13:10:49] "I understand what you're saying, Sylvia." The Oscuri promptly responded. He knew very well what it was like to be struck by nostalgia, or the memories of the past. More often than not the Oscuri King found himself wandering near the old Clinic where he and his brother had been born, where him and Raine grew up.

And where he had died.

"It's a shame your uncle, Erik had died. He was a close ally of mine, we certainly went through a lot together.." A casual glance is given to his right leg, the one that was lost during a trip to catch a fairy. Good times.

Turning his attention back towards Nio and the Yokai, a small nod was given. "Right, as soon as you're ready to start, please lay down. It'll make things easier in the event something goes wrong." Namely him going in shock by being implanted by kaor flesh, but he left that little detail out.

Walking up to the man, Ryan picked up the syringe filled with the cloudly blue liquid and held it close to Nio's arm, ready to be inserted. It would fill the mans veins and dull the pain, causing his body to quickly relax and go numb. But it wouldn't be enough to fully negate the pain.

But that's where his holy magic came in.

With the other hand open, he held it above the man's chest, and it soon began to glow a bright white light, bathing the Human in a warm sensation. Any pains and aches would soon be washed away, and prepared him for what was to come.

And by Azrael, he would need all the help he could get once the surgery began.
(Ryan Kyros)
[13:23:37] "You know what I want." He tells Sylvia, not bothering to look at her as he does, his eyes were following Alari'kus' hand, up to the creature's chest. "Even if the other's are dead, there are still more to follow." A brief flicker of fire shows in his gaze as continues. "I don't have the allies for that kind of thing, so I'll take the power instead." The fire quickly dies out as he steps froward once again, towards the necromancer.

"Do what you have to do, I'm ready." Despite the warnings flowing out of the Yokai, not just by it's words, but by it's very presence there, Nio doesn't back down. He didn't see any reason to back down, there wasn't a whole lot to go back to after all. So if he had to by hurt to go forward, so be it. "I'll take whatever pain you can deliver." He adds in, simply choosing the floor to lie down upon.

Honestly, he doubted being anywhere comfortable was going to help him much after all.

As the Kyros approaches him however, Nio's eyes drift towards the necromancer and for a moment, the young man grows tense. "You're a king..." He says quietly, gazing at the crown adorning the Oscuri's head. While his eyes convey little emotion towards this remark, his tone is bitter.
(Nio Atlas)
[13:31:18] Falling quiet, Sylvia listened as the lot of them spoke. Experiment? Surgery? Quirking a brow, Sylvia couldn't help but to frown at what was going on. Just what could have possibly invoked such an idea into Nio's mind? Then it hit her-- the time in Nostvale! But she didn't think beating him would destroy his ego that much...

Setting her potted plant atop the table, Sylvia leaned forward to watch as Nio fell to lay against the floor. Was this a good idea? Probably not! "Whatever this is, you better not die, Nio... I risked my life just to keep you alive because of one idiotic idea of yours. If you fall to a second, I'll haunt you in the after life." If there was one, of course! She didn't know how that worked to be exact, but she'd know once such a time came.

And she'd definitely haunt the little shit.

Resting her arms against the table, Sylvia rolled her eyes. There was nothing more she could do besides observe. Nio's life was his own, even if she tried to keep him from throwing it away.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[13:33:52] And so it would begin. Nio had better pray that the Oscuri King was stronger than the Kaor Lord in terms of magical prowess, otherwise this was going to hurt.

A lot.

A simple nod was all that was given to both Ryan and Nio as the Kaor began to rise into the air, her arms outstretched to her sides. Sparks of occultic energy began to gather around her form, slowly and subtly at first before exploding off her form with little warning. The full brunt of the she-demon's power was being unleashed, impacting everyone in the room with a full-blown blast of occultic-tinged depravity as heavy as a thick cotton blanket.

None of them would feel it quite like Nio would as the waves of depravity and darkness began to recede, focusing themselves upon the human lying upon the floor. The bolts of electricity that had been sparking erratically soon pinpointed themselves upon the man, assailing his prone form over and over with so many volts of energy and magical power that his upper clothes were near-instantly disintegrated.

Curiously enough, no wounds would appear on his flesh as the bolts of electricity seemed to seep into his very being, seeking out his mana circuits and flooding them with her dark power. As was explained before, she intended to overload his mana and rewrite it, creating an attunement to the occultic arts that normally would only come through years of practice and experience in a very brief, very painful amount of time.

His very veins would feel simultaneously as if they were filled with molten lava and liquid nitrogen, traveling across his whole body. This onslaught of darkness would continue at the same pace, her full strength unleashed and ravaging his form.

He would hear a single command within his mind, the signal that when he was able to do so, he would be ready for the second stage. "Rise...!"
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[13:33:52] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (roll a 1d6, writ)
[13:34:43] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (wow prodigy alert)
[13:35:34] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (also convenient for time constraints)
[13:35:34] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: (but yes. the flooding is successful and you are capable of rising)
[13:45:48] Finally, it was time to begin.

As he explained earlier, Ryan inserted the needle into Nio's arm, and injected the cloudly blue substance into the veins of the Human. It wouldn't take long for it to circulate through his body, and help him survive what was to come. It would be a painful experience, even with the Oscuri King's assistance.

A small smirk spread across his face as Nio mentioned that he was a King. "That's right, the King of New Alteros himself, here to help you undergo a highly dangerous ritual that will likely leave you crippled, or worse. Don't you feel special." Perhaps it was said in a bit of a mocking tone of voice, but it was very true. Ryan had no idea what would happen to the man during the procedure.

But it definitely wasn't going to be nice.

As the procedure began, and the waves of occultic energies began to focus upon Nio, Ryan stood close to him, both of his hands placed closed to his back, glowing bright with holy magic. It was intended to keep his vitals stablized, to prevent him from going into shock from the whole procedure. But when holy magic and the occult clash in a single body? Well, it was clear that it was going to hurt more than he cared to imagine. While the Oscuri felt nothing himself, a benefit granted upon him by his biology, the young man Nio wouldn't be so lucky.
(Ryan Kyros)
[14:08:51] "I'd rather have a vampire helping me." Nio responds to the Oscuri, turning his gaze away. As casually as he comments, it would be difficult to take the reply as anything but an insult to the Kyros. A numb feeling spreads throughout him, feeling more like a calmness enveloping him than anything.

But in the calm state, the Atlas begins to think on where he was right now. Why he was doing such things with these people. Why had he left his home for this.

Right now, he couldn't think of an answer to that, only thinking of one thing to say right now.

"I don't want t-" Nio doesn't have time to finish the sentence as lightning crashes down upon his body, a painful jolt erupting through him, leaving him twitching uncomfortably. Too shocked to cry out, he's left breathing heavily as he quickly tries to recover from the attack. The Atlas' eyes widen as more and more bolts fly into him, jolt after jolt, not seeming to ever stop, even as his body jerks in different directions unintentionally.

Yet the shock, stopping him from vocalising his pain soon dies down as a new feeling makes itself evident. He could feel something squirm within his chest, quickly seperating and moving outwards. But rather than something easily moving throughout his body, Nio quickly finds that whatever it was had chosen a different way. The occultic mana was tearing it's way through instead. Finally, after years of going without expression, he lets out how he feels.

The Atlas screams.

Not just through pain, but the thought screaming through his head that it was too late to get them out, he couldn't claw his own way through... Could he?!

The Atlas' fingers crunch into the wooden floorboards beside him, ignoring the large splinters of wood practically impaling his fingers, crimson oozing from the pale skin of his hands. He didn't care, he couldn't feel them right now, instead Nio felt a presence other than blood claw it's way through his arms seeking something that he couldn't fathom in this state.

A different kind of presence makes itself known soon however and a light shines above the Atlas. Being able to focus on anything other than the pain seemed to be difficult, the exorcist magic grabs Nio's. Only due to the fact that it seemed to make the occultic dig deeper inside of him, clawing more viciously than ever as one foreign magic hid away from the other. His scream grows more intense, rage filling it now as a hand brings up a ripped up floor board to swipe at Ryan.

"STOP IT! MOM! AMIR! SYLVIA!" He cries out desperately, not caring how pathetic he sounded as he shakes his head. He was going to be split apart at any moment, he could feel it, the foreign mana had almost reached their points and...

He was told to rise.

The pain hadn't gone away... It merely stayed in place, sitting heavily upon his insides. But he was supposed to rise? What kind of ridiculous request was that? Reaching a hand towards the table beside him, to which he was sure he had indented from his head colliding into it, he grabs at it feebly, taking a while to even get a grip and when he pulls himself up, he merely falls against it, panting heavily, not even bothering to look at the two behind him. Not even Sylvia.
(Nio Atlas)
[14:16:32] Sylvia didn't think much of the so called experiment, really. She thought it was just another one of his idiotic ideas and that whatever was happening was going to just be some whacky, dark fiasco-- and she was right! But what she expected was not what she got. Instead, the moment Nio started to flail about and scream bloody murder, Sylvia's heart plummeted to her stomach and her usual cheery, innocent expression turned suddenly grim.

Was this supposed to happen? Did Nio really want this? The devil and the angel were bickering upon her two shoulders, telling her to do this and do that, but she didn't know which to listen to. At least, not until she heard Nio's cries for help.

But what if it was just a knee-jerk reaction to the pain? What if he yelled at her if she actually intervened? Fretting and chomping at the bit, Sylvia could feel a sudden sickness rising in the back of her throat. If this went on for too long, she'd honestly end up growing too sick to stay.

She couldn't keep quiet, though.

"I don't know what's happening, but--... I don't think he wants to go through with it anymore." She suggested softly, though her voice was raised just enough for it to carry over the young man's screams.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[14:23:21] If someone were to ask Alari'kus exactly how she felt right at this moment, she would be lying if she said that she did not enjoy causing the man so much pain and discomfort. It was in her very nature to revel in the darkest desires of mankind, and with so much of her own depravity saturating the air well...

The creature was undergoing a sense of ecstacy that was quite the opposite of what Nio would have felt.

She could have, truly, kept this up all day, perhaps even longer, forever tormenting the poor human with her occultic pressure to the point where either his body simply gave up and died or she grew bored, though the latter was hard for her to imagine in her elated state. As lost as she was in the throws of sadomasochistic pleasure, the kaor was not completely mindless.

The man was capable of rising, meaning that, though the pain remained, it was not as debilitating as it had been. He had gained a few years of experience in a matter of moments, and his body would now forever be tainted by the occult. Only a powerful holy magi could strip its essence from his mana circuits.

As Nio rose, Alari'kus kept up the onslaught for only a moment longer, perhaps a bit longer than necessary due to her lust for pain. Her darkness began to withdraw from the room like a shade being opened over a foggy window, letting in a muted light in the form of ease of breath and a reduction of pressure. Soon enough all the sparks and chaos had receded completely and Nio was left alone, to pant and sweat and sob as was his want.

The Kaor Lord allowed her elongated arms to fall to her sides as she herself began to calm, taking a deep breath. Her smile, moments before maniacal and dark, had completely disappeared. Nio's sacrifice was not yet over, but it was time for her own as well.

"That is for him to decide." she responded to the woman, only giving her a momentary glance as she floated over to Nio, past him, coming to rest on the other side of the bench where she would hover as she stared at his prone form.

"Your body is ready, and the flesh will not be rejected. If you wish to continue, then pull yourself upon the table and lie down upon your stomach. If not..."

The yokai could not even bring herself to finish the sentence. As far as she was concerned, this was going to continue. Until the end. "Ryan." she addressed the Oscuri, her gaze shifting up to look at him, her voice feminine and low. "You are charged with controlling the bleeding, and making sure that scarification is kept to a minimum. They will impede the runeworking at a later date..."
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[14:38:43] "That could be arranged, you know." Was the Oscuri's immediate response. Ryan knew just the vampire to 'assist' him, if it came down to it, but it was more of an idle threat, than anything else at the moment. Right now, all he cared about was finishing this ritual, so he could finally depart and head back to his city.

But of course, thing's didn't go as planned.

As the powerful occultic mana infused Nio's body, creeping into his circuits and tainting them for years to come, Ryan's holy magic began to falter. Not because he was weak, but because the Yokai's own control over the occult far outmatched his own. After all, it was only an art he dabbled in, compared to the Yokai's existance that revolved around it.

And then there was the floor board.

In the rage induced by the occultic mana, Ryan couldn't react in time as Nio ripped out a floor board and, with a strike faster than he could see, landed a blow square in the chest. While he had armor on, which protected the Oscuri from the most of the pain, it still hurt like a bitch. It caused him to stumble back, a cough resounding from his lungs.

Ok, it actually hurt a lot.

"You little son of a-..." No, he had to remain calm, they had to finish the ritual.

"Ugh, fine. But I swear to Azrael if he hits me with a floor board again...." Clearly the Oscuri didn't appreciate being beaten with random objects. But after all, who would?

If Nio would follow orders and lay down on the table once more, Ryan held his hands over the man's chest again, and began to channel the holy magic once more. It would control the bleeding, and prevent his tissues from decaying from rejection.

But Ryan still wasn't happy about being beaten.

(Ryan Kyros)
[14:47:15] Honestly, Nio was already halfway onto the table, having practically fallen on top of it, through his height, the young man's feet still hit the ground as he did. Even if there were no physicial marks and all he had truly done was lie there and shook about... Everything about Nio right now screamed exhaustion and pain with him barely being able to muster up a sigh as the occultic aura around the room finally lifts. The pain was still there, but for now, no more was coming.

He breathes heavily, trying to get back some of the air released during his screams, not bothering to respond to any of them. He couldn't, his throat felt as though it were ripped apart and such was evident in the way he wheezed his breaths now. He simply lies doubled over against the table, as if he had heard none of the others.

As such, little to no attention is given to Ryan despite what he had done to the man, even if there was little doubt in how much intention Nio had to really hit the Oscuri king in that moment. It certainly wasn't another twitch of the muscle at least.

A faint response of breath is called out, but whatever the Atlas was trying to say right now was simply unintelligable.
(Nio Atlas)
[15:01:45] His choice? At this juncture, Sylvia was certain the Yokai was deaf. With a narrowed gaze and pursed lips, the ginger haired Hirano turned to eye Nio's face. He was pained, and by the looks of it, he didn't look at all pleased with what was going on.

But he said stop.

Turning a sharp gaze to the large Yokai, Sylvia frowned. "He said stop it, so maybe you should take a moment to ask." Suddenly bitter, the room seemed to practically spring to life. All around them, life was brimming-- but it was no where to be seen.

"Because if you continue against his will, I will beat you with more than just a wooden plank." Crossing her arms, she turned a meaningful eye to the Kyros. The look on her face spoke for itself-- she meant it.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[15:08:35] Alari'kus would only wait for a brief moment for the man to recover enough to respond intelligably on his own before she would attempt to provoke a reaction. Truly, this was not something that he should be coerced into doing. For true fusion of flesh to happen, he needed to be entirely willing, to show the desire to grow, the hunger for power, and the fortitude to withstand anything to achieve these things.

To that end the Kaor would extend out her massive hand, holding it in front of the man. It was symbolic of the partnership that was being formed, the deal between them that would go well beyond spoken words. The bond they were creating here was deeper than experience and time could ever give.

Flesh of her flesh, blood of her blood...

"A kneejerk reaction. Nothing more." was her simple respone to the woman, her hand still outstretched for the man to take. It was telling that the yokai had more faith in Nio's resolve, someone that was admittedly a complete stranger, than someone he had known for a long time. The girl's reaction was the same as the one that Nio was undergoing. She saw a man, someone she considered a friend, a tangible attachment, undertaking extreme amounts of pain and torture. It was only natural, given her mortal compassion, that she would wish to see an end to his suffering.

But denying him what it was that he wanted deep within his heart was not doing him any favors. It was denying him what would make this all worthwhile.

"Like your namesake, you carry the weight of the world upon your shoulders..." she muttered softly, staring down at Nio. If he took her hand, she would pull him upon the table. If he batted it away and climbed up himself, so much the better as it would only further prove the will he held within was stronger than the Hirano gave him credit for.

"Rise, Atlas, and throw the weight away. Take the boon that I offer and let the world crash around you."
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[15:22:14] Shifting his attention towards Sylvia, a sigh escaped the Oscuri's frame. A part of him could understand why she wanted the Yokai to stop, as it was clearly causing the man pain, more so than any normal torture could ever inflict. But on the same note, was it not the man who came to ask for such power? To be put under such stress in order to grow?

"It is not my decision to make, Sylvia. I am here to heal him, and that is all." Which was the truth, it was what the Kaor had asked him to do, what Sareen had encouraged him to perform. And that's what he would do.

"If he truly wishes to stop, to have the Yokai cease it's actions..." A pause was given, before his eyes shifted to the Yokai. In the end, he didn't particularly care what happened. It was just another Human, after all.

"Well, he can speak up about it once he recovers." And with that, the Oscuri's hand remained hovering over Nio's chest, the faint glow of holy magic emitted from his hand, and slowly healing the mans injuries.
(Ryan Kyros)
[15:31:37] Finally, gathering enought resolve, Nio raises his head, revealing a tired expression plastered onto his face. While it wasn't anything new considering how he had been these last few years, it seemed a lot more evident now. Pushing against the table, he rises ever so slightly, looking between the two before him, looking more confused than anything else.

Because right now, he was seeing two options rather than people.

One was obvious, to carry on through the pain, to hurt himself even more in some vague promise of power. But it could all end, all this suffering could stop right now, he'd only have to agree with his friend and she would get the others to back off from him and let him rest. Right now, it seemed like the easier choice, the more desirable of the two.

But what if he wanted to make these people leave?

What if Sylvia couldn't make them stop...

The two thoughts drift in and with them, he was remembering what he wanted this for, the very reason he had agreed to be here in the first place.

Looking to Sylvia, the pale man slowly shakes his head towards her, seeming just a bit more collected now. He had made his decision, such was evident as he takes the Yokai's hand, pulling himself up - with some effort - onto the table. He lands against with a loud thunk, not having regained his energy from the last bout of occultic magic.

He'd take this offered power.

He'd have the ability to make his own decisions with such things.
(Nio Atlas)
[15:43:34] Even without Nio having yet to make a decision, Sylvia was already going through her options. What if they didn't stop if he said so? She could fight them. She had life all around her she could use, and if it came to it, she had options-- friends in high places, even...

But before she could sort out all her plans, Nio's pained gaze caught her eye, her lips thinning into a straight line again. He was a sight for sore eyes... yet, he still wanted to go through with it. Part of her didn't want to believe him, but unless he spoke otherwise, she couldn't possibly hope to do anything.

If anything, she could at least give the bastard an ear full after all was said and done-- and boy was she going to give him an ear full. If he hadn't heard her drop every curse word listed in the vocabulary in a single sentence, then he was going to.

And it was going to be worse than what he was going through now.

"I mean it, Nio." Her eyes narrowed. "If you die and make what I did for you all for nothing, I'm going to haunt you in the afterlife."

... Wait, did that even work? Dead people haunting dead people? She'd have to think about that logic for awhile.
(Sylvia Hirano)
[16:00:38] The briefest of smiles flittered upon the lips of the Kaor Lord as she helped the man pull himself upon the table, lying down unceremoniously upon his chest. Subverting expectations, she was rather proud of him now.

Compared to the pain that had come before, this may seem a bit less overwhelming, though there was no doubt in her mind that it was going to hurt, for them both.

Alari'kus wasted no time. Ryan was in position, his exorcism working through the man's flesh to keep this as clean as possible and the Hirano woman hopefully subdued with Nio's reaction, it was time to begin. She allowed herself to land, having been hovering above the ground this entire time, and leaned foward, extending a single razor-sharp claw and pressing the tip to his back, right upon his left shoulderblade. The prick of the edge against his flesh was the only warning he would get...

As the she-demon pushed the claw deep within his skin. Blood gathered at the point of incision, a singular strain of the red liquid bubbling up and flowing down his arm. More was to come, but thankfully kept to an abnormal minimum as Ryan's magic did its job. The last thing she wanted was for Nio to bleed out upon the table as she drug her claw across his flesh, from shoulderblade to shoulderblade, creating a deep line that broke his skin.

She had to act quickly, for if she did not then the Oscuri's magic would seal it up and she would have to reopen the wound, which of course would be nothing if not highly unpleasant for the man that was on the receiving end of her talon.

Two more incisions were made, one at the base of his back, just above the hips, and another that traced the full length of his spine. The lines created an uppercase 'i' shape, which was the perfect design as she peeled back the flesh, slowly and gingerly. The sickening stretching and popping of sinew pulled to tautness filled the room, an audible form for the sight that was before them all now.

Nio's back, his muscles raw and bared for all to see, and the bones of his spine sticking out like ivory peaks in the middle of a bloody river.

The human's part was coming to a close, but the Kaor Lord's had only just begun. There was only the briefest moment of hesitation as Alari'kus pulled back her hand, a slight frown tugging at her lips as she pressed her hand against her chest. It was not fear that stalled her, but a savoring of the moment. The moment where all lines were crossed, things that should not be happening coming to life. Boundries were being destroyed, trampled, and something new was being formed from its ashes.

With a pained grunt the Kaor literally shoved her hand deep within her chest, the massive appendage sinking into her own flesh as if it were being devoured. The light within her blazing orange orbs began to flicker, flashing suddenly with an intense brightness before dying out completely, leaving her eyes nothing more than black pits as she tugged with all her might, the physical strain audible for all to drink in. As her hand emerged, an orb would be held in her enormous palm, and they would all understand what it truly was that the yokai intended to do as the depravity in the room suddenly intensified, crashing down upon them all like a tidal wave.

This orb, colored a black so absolute that it seemed to absorb the very light around it, was the essence of pure, unadulterated darkness. It was the yokai, the primordial occultism that made up what she was. It ate, it devoured, it sucked at any and every trace of mana in its immediate vicinity as if it were a black hole, an abyss which everything would sink into.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a Kaor Lord in its purest, most absolute form.

The physical body of the kaor slumped forward, barely managing to catch herself in time with a hand upon the table before she toppled on top of the human. It was do or die time, and she had to act quickly before the separation from the very core of her power caused her physical body to dissolve. Already the effects were being seen as her flesh began to dry and crack, flaking in places that would fall to the floor and land as if turned to ash.

Alari'kus brought her free hand up, panting hard, and with a grunt of immense effort dug her claw into the abysmal orb and ripped a piece of it free. Such pain and emptiness that she felt was nothing that she had ever experienced before, and only a strong will to continue prevented her from shoving the orb back into her chest and abandoning everything that they had worked toward.

The crawling, wriggling mass of darkness that she had parted from her core was lowered down, gingerly placed at the top of Nio's spine. Upon contact with his flesh the mass would dig its tendrils into his muscles, spreading out along his spine and squirming with a sound that could only be described as the void given a voice. Within moments the tendrils would find his mana circuits and the connection would be made. The sentient darkness settled, properly fused with his body and mana. It was no longer a separate entity, but a symbiote that would feed off the man as it began to grow, to facilitate further fusion.

The ritual was complete.

Growling loudly, the Kaor Lord slammed the orb of darkness back into her chest, just after her left arm fell to the ground, completely decayed and no longer functioning. The appendage would shrivel and turn to dust as the light flashed back into Alari'kus' eyes and she let out an unholy scream of agony, completely falling back onto her hindquarters with a rough thud and collapsing against the wall.

The beast held her chest, her eyes wide and panicked as she gasped for air, struggling to remain calm. She had just enough constitution to know what need to be done now. "R... Ryan...!" she exclaimed between exasperated breathes, nodding toward Nio. It was time for the flayed man to be repaired.
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[16:16:51] And so it continued.

As was arranged, Ryan kept his hands over Nio's body, his rieka lines shimmering a bright green as he conjured as much holy magic as he could. It radiated from his hands as a beam of pure holy energies, infusing itself within every muscle of Nio's being. Every fiber of his muscles, every cell, all of it was slowly being healed by the Oscuri.

Even if he wasn't particularly thrilled about it.

As the ritual continued, and the very core of the Kaor Lord was removed from Alari's chest, and a fragment of it was ripped off. Even the Oscuri winced at the sight of it, the unparalleled pain the Yokai must've felt. It must've been torture.

But it mattered little to the Oscuri in the end.

As the orb was infused into the body of the child, one hand was brought to the wounds, the holy light emiting from his hands once more. It bathed the injuries in holy magic, slowly knitting them together, but it wasn't enough, not nearly fast enough. He needed more.

Raising his other hand, a orb of water manifested before the man, and it slowly dropped onto his injuries. It was times like these Ryan was glad that his water magic, his more proficient magic, was capable of limited healing. It would provide the extra boost he needed, and hopefully ensure Nio's survival.

For now, at least.

The water seeped over the injuries, soaking in and diluting the blood loss. It might not be enough to fully heal the injuries, and Nio would no doubt be left in a rather risky situation, given the scope of his injuries. But at the very least, he wouldn't succumb to his injuries immediately. To heal him fully would take more time.

But time was all they had, at this point.
(Ryan Kyros)
[16:34:46] When in comparison, Nio couldn't call this pain less or more when considering what the Yokai had done to his mana trails. Rather, this was a hurt taking place somewhere else instead. A slow starting scream emerges from the Atlas once more as his back is ripped apart and forcibly regrown shortly after, Being such an alien feeling, he had no idea how to deal with it, how to feel it...

The crunch of the table can be heard as his fingers dig into it in some vain attempt to pump the pain into the furniture instead, only resulting in breaking it. Fortunately for Ryan, there were no large enough pieces to swing at him this time. Though from the way Nio had begun to rip at it as he growls like some tortured animal, it was clear that the Atlas was trying to find one.

Darkness begins encroached on his vision and despite the sweat pouring from him, a coldness was settling in also. His screams die down into furious growls, sounding as if he were trying to force his way through this procedure. But that procedure never seemed to stop, the darkness seeming to worm it's way through his eyes more and more, as if mocking him with the fact that it would surround him first.

Was it death? Was he dying? No... He couldn't. He wouldn't, not like this.

Yet his persistant thoughts mean nothing as the core fragment touches down upon him, Nio's very being feeling it latch onto him. With a single gasp and his head reeling upwards for a short moment, it lands back against the table motionless, the pale man finally losing conciousness.
(Nio Atlas)
[16:53:32] The kaor was thoroughly drained, completely devoid of any energy. Her palor had begun to return, but for the first time in a long, long while the yokai needed to rest. The very idea of it caused her skin to crawl, but the gaping wound where her left arm had been was a fairly decent indicator that she was in desperate need of recouperation.

Her breathing had slowed as she regained her calm, and after a few moments of silence upon the room Alari'kus managed to push herself to her feet, stumbling for only a moment. Her hand never once left her chest as her eyes swept the inhabitants of the room, as if afraid that her core was going to leap out and escape. An irrational fear to be certain, but entirely justified given the circumstances.

"Be sure..." There was a pause as she coughed, her eyes resting upon the Hirano woman. She would have to be charged with taking care of the man for the time being. Ryan had his duties and other things to attend to, and the Kaor was not a being capable of facilitating someone's recovery. "Be sure... that you keep... an eye on him...

"Help him recover... His mind will... likely be in shock..." Which was honestly the understatement of the century. With the tainting of his mana circuits, the extreme torture he had just survived, and the symbiotic mass of her very own flesh worming its corrupting essence throughout his mind and body, it was extremely likely that the man known as Nio would never be the same again.

"When he... has fully recovered... we will inscribe th-... the runes... which will keep the poisonous mana of my flesh from destroying him from the inside... Send a letter to New Alteros when he is ready... And be sure to keep him well fed and rested."

She sighed softly, having regained some semblance of calm and composure through her instruction. "The effects of the occult on the human mind and body are not to be underestimated. If you can help get him through this time, then I assure you we can seal it away to be summoned at his command."

Alari'kus then turned to Ryan, smiling at the man weakly. "My lord... I would like to go home now..."
(Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem)
[16:55:15] Ryan Kyros: I'll finish treating his minor injuries, and i'll be taking my leave.
[16:56:57] Alari'kus Nacht-Zhalem: <-nods slowly->