Altering Demicles

Demicles, it was an interesting artifact. Gorandis rolled the shaft between his hands and watched the head of it spin round idly. It was capable of reaching to to both yokai and the spirit realm, how the two were connected was beyond him. But, with some tinkering he could probably push it towards the latter direction... Or it might just ned up breaking the damn thing.

THe staff was leant across his lap the head of which sitting just in his palm. The device itself was strange and he could feel it sucking on his mana to power it. And that was his main way in. He didn't know what runes lay underneath the surface, what mechanisms drove it, but he was sure he could rewrite them, if only temporarily for now.

His mana flared up, depraved energies of sin flowing into the head and beginning to scratch away at the runes that lay within. Purple strands of mist began to effervate off of his form and began to probe the outer casing, worming its way inside to the rather delicate machinery underneath. This, unfortunately, would play havoc with any nearby yokai.

The false Damocles device would only serve to channel the depraved energies into any nearby yokai. The lesser of which seemed to drop dead instantly, while any of the more advanced breed would just find immense pain... and immense anger.
(Gorandis)

"Sss..." The low hiss would be heard in the area as soon as Gorandis took out Demicles. The Kaor had already seen the weapon before, albeit held by different hands, and had grown somewhat used to the pulling sensation it brought upon itself, resistable thanks to its advanced nature.

But this time... It was different. It was not merely something that tried to steal its attention, instead, the presence of the staff burned it from within, as if someone was taunting it into violence by attacking.

Coiled around a large tree, Xiahcoatl merely watched Gorandis from a distance, unwilling to approach much, but unable to simply ignore him.

"Human ssshould ssstop. It isss bothersssome, annoying..." Its typically soothing tone carried a different hint this time around, as if at any time, the basilisk could leap off its spot to attack.

"That weapon... Very annoying, yesss... Bad weapon."

Still, though, it seemed to be able to resist to a certain degree.
(Xiahcoatl)

Gorandis only moved his eyes to look at Xiahcoatl as she spoke, he was clearly still focused on his work below and seemed to only really be giving her the most basic of courtesies. "Quit your whining, it will be over soon, and then you wont have to worry about it getting into your head again." His eyes turned back to the weapon and any semblance of delicacy was lost.

The outercasings of the staff's head was torn away by the advancing magic and revealed the runes within which were now glowing with the stark red of Gorandis' sinful mana. The purple tendrils enclosed and the runes froze over in a thick crystalline structure. There was one final, nasty burst of pain and anger, perhaps even enough to spring action before the sensation died completely.

And if Xiahcoatl did lunge, then it wasn't paid much attention to as Gorandis continued to work deeper into the weapon. Speaking to himself he began to mutter. "That seems to be the Yokai bit, I wonder how it does all the spirit stuff... There doesn't seem to be much here... Hmm, perhaps it's in the way it channels mana from the user."

His eyes returned to the basilisk briefly. "I take it that the ringing in your ears has stopped, yes? I can always bring it back and make it much, much worse... And it might in fact get worse as I try the next bit."
(Gorandis)

Obeying the same concept as a chew toy for a dog, or a stress-relieving squeezy thing, Xiahcoatl would finally open its jaws, grasping upon the body of a smaller, more heavily affected yokai, and clamping upon it, crushing it with the same ease as a human would bite onto a biscuit.

"Bothersssome weapon, alwaysss bothering Xiahcoatl..." It could be heard muttering to itself as it squeezed onto the, by now dead, yokai.

During the final bit, the strength of the bite would increase, and the yokai's body simply snapped, causing the bits outside of its maw to simply fall to the ground, ignored.

But finally, it stopped, and the Kaor's eyes turned towards Gorandis with a light squint.

"Sss... There isss no reassson to do that, yesss?" It asks, its voice slowly recovering its normal, calm tones.
(Xiahcoatl)

"There is always a reason to do so. In this case, it's for experimentation's sake. I need to test whether or not I can reroute the circuits in this thing to do my bidding in full, rather than wasting its power trying to thrall yokai..." His hand enclosed over the head as much as it could and crystals began to grow out to reach his touch.

Until, finally, the whole head of the staff was enclosed once again, but not inside of its original metal casing. Instead, a shimmering pink crystal stood at the head of the staff, the mechanisms within frozen in place and the runes beginning to glow the deep red of Gorandis' mana. And for a short while that seemed to be it.

The spell held and Xiahcoatl's head would stay silent, the Yokai around him that had not yet perished would also slowly return to their feet, staggering in all cases. But it didn't last forever. And soon, very soon, the ringing would return. Not that Gorandis would notice, after all, he thought his own work infallible. And so, for now, he would do nothing about it.

It would be up to Xiahcoatl to say something about the ever increasing ringing sound.
(Gorandis)

"Why not tessst in the foressst? More yokai there, and weaker onesss, too. More... Sssusssceptible to that ssstaff." The Kaor mutters, slowly making its way back towards its tree, coiling its long body around the thick stump.

Outside the annoyance of the effect itself, Xiahcoatl seemed to have little interest on Gorandis, or Demicles, allowing most of its body to simply dissapear amidst the branches and leaves, not seeing, and not being seen by, Gorandis.

Up until the ringing returned.

An intense heat would be felt around the area the tree stood in, and bright red droplets would begin to fall from it, sliding down the visible parts of the Kaor's body, too, only to fall onto the grass, and leaving a scorched spot upon contact.

'The man isss doing it wrong... Ssstill affecting yokai... Ssstil bothering Xiahcoatl...' Gorandis would hear directly inside his mind, while the liquid flames dripped down its form.
(Xiahcoatl)

"I'm doing it wrong am I? And who are you to say so?" The staff came out, the crystal head poniting at Xiahcoatl in the midst of the leaves. Crimson sparks threatened to fly off of the sharp angles that marked the top. "If you want I can truly 'bother' you. You probably wouldn't be so smarmy if I blasted a hole through the centre of your body."

The red mana flared up around him, he could feel it pouring through himself and through the staff and, just as he was about to let it get the better of him. He noticed it. THe faults in the system, how it decayed without his constant input... How he was, in fact, wrong. He lowered the staff slowly and still kept his eyes on Xiahcoatl until he peeled them away.

The pink crystal evaporated and the runes were examined once again. If his work didn't survive without his input... he'd just have to create something to do the work for him... Strips of cloth were torn from his robes and from within the depths of the bag at his side, he pulled out a human skull. Across it ran similar veins of heavy crimson and the whole thing reeked of depravity.

The skull was placed upon the tip of the staff and was tied down with the straps. More crystals grew out to cement it in place, completely covering the old mechanisms barring a single arch of metal that seemed to now connect the skull to the staff proper. The ringing would die down again, completely this time, showing no signs of return.

But instead there was a little tiny spark of rotten sickness that would squirm inside of the snake. Just a little flame of Wrath that intensified the closer to the staff she was brought. But it would not affect only Yokai, even other people, the human servants of the place, would stop briefly as the sensation washed over them.

But that's what happens when a wrath sin uses the skull and spirit of a previous sin of his kind. A permanent oozing of maliciousness. "I suppose that that isn't doing it wrong then, Yokai?"
(Gorandis)

"Xiahcoatl doesssn't mean to insssult, no, no, no." The Kaor mutters from within the tree, the end of its tail swinging from one side to the other constantly, its typically calm demeanor slowly being taken away due to the staff's effect.

"But sssurely, the man can do better, yesss~." An attempt to calm the potential wrath that could befall upon the snake, clearly.

And as Gorandis takes out the skull, and does whatever thing he does, far from the understanding of the basilisk, it merely remains silent, staring from between the leaves, squinting...

And finally, it is over, the bothersome ringing being replaced by a stranger sensation, albeit not as unpleasant...

"Yesss. It isss better, controlled... Usssable, sssurely."
(Xiahcoatl)

The staff is examined, any effect that it would have on Gorandis himself is more than drowned out by the sin he personally wields. The cold, dead eyes of the skull are stared into as he recalls the conversation he had had with its owner... To be used in something grand, that's how it wanted its life to end... Well, this would certainly be grand if everything went according to plan.

Mana was slowly poured into it as the new runes were sealed and tested beneath the silent skull. With a swing, the air besides him shimmers a brilliant white and a tear is formed just briefly. It is not unlike rift magic though it certainly has its differences. Briefly, through the white tear something can be seen beyond. A dark, cold place and the sounds of a languid river.

Before the rift snaps shut back into the still air. Seemingly satisfied, the staff is placed on the bench besides him and he retakes his seat. "So, Snake. What did you make of all that? DId you even begin to understand any of it or is your mind far to dull to even begin to comprehend? And... I could swear that I have seen you around before..."

"Did you happen to ever go to New Alteros, Yokai?"
(Gorandis)

"It isss magic Xiahcoatl'sss kind can't ussse, ssso it hasss little interessst on it." Finally, the Kaor's head pops out from the tree, staring at Gorandis with a light squint.

"But it isss powerful, yesss, sssurely, the man will know what to do with it~."

There is a short pause as Gorandis mentions having seen Xiahcoatl before, and his question... It only causes it to blink.

"New Alterosss? No, no... Xiahcoatl hasss been in the Bygonegrove, but never near the citiesss..."

Slowly, its head tilts towards one side, innocently.

"Both New Alterosss and Nossstvale would kill any yokai that approached, after all~."
(Xiahcoatl)