Xerves: Evolutionary Transcendence

The venture broke the northern exits of the Trystle Caverns, leaving the once-lone Gigai surrounded with a sparse few Yokai, taking their own trek alongside him under forced and imposed will, whilst others were free to follow it at their own volition in hopes of finding adequete prey. Numbers always warranted a greater chance of success in the Yokai world, especially when potence was lacking.

Though, in this case, the enemy was not that of humanity but the segregation that divided Yokai kindred. For today, the very fear Xerves had loathed for so long had came to light.
Before him awaited a small army passing through, superior to that of his own legions of Yokai when boistered up to full size. This was organized, and elaborate in quantity, for they were an opposing clan: A rivaling establishment of Yokai attempting to come to fruition on their own. A leader midst them was one of grandiose stature, adorn with a state of ascendance that trumped all within Xerves' party: An Aquarius.

It shifted attention unto the Gigai and small party, percieving them as naught but substanence--
Their unfavorable odds and ambiguity to the new crowd would earn them the fate of cannibalism, if only they failed to defend themselves.
"...There isn't need to battle one another."Xerves seemed devoted to his cause, hoping to reason with the superior class of Yokai, however, it was rendered ineffective with the response booming back in the form of a roar-- An aggressive reply that signalled the swarming of many Yokai to his will.

A sea of likely fifty in comparison to hardly over a dozen, including Xerves and a unique ebony Yokai dubbed: Agafan.
(Xerves)

One dubbed Agafan was... Apparently was lost somewhere betwixt the journey of the Southern Prairies and arrival to the Dead land Marshes... Or perhaps he was never there to start off with.
Regardless of the scenario of participants, a skirmish of 50 to 14 ensued, with the exceptions being that of the leading Yokai. Xerves and his followers were horribly outnumbered and as the Yokai ilk surrounded about him and his party, further encroaching with intent to sink their teeth and claws into one's flesh-- Eyes were geared unto their awaiting leader on the nigh horizon- Furious, and unwilling to succumb to such defeat, such demise.. He had a dream he was willing to fulfill, and it it took the consumption of even others of his own kind to ensure Yokai kindred exacted its revenge on Humanity, than he would see it through.

"I am not the enemy;"Xerves rose his right arm to point it in Alteros' direction and beyond."To the cities of human vermin that hunt us, -THOSE- are the enemy! We should be gathering to battle against -their- likes."He suggested-- Though, his advice fell upon deaf ears. The warring cry of the many was blasted unto the few, their numbers overwhelming the odds of his own and rapidly cutting down at the Yokai that surrounded him, defended him not righteously but under his forced Will.

They suffered the fate of consumption whilst he swatted his arms overhead in hopes of repelling the forces...
But it was no use, he was no match for the sheer quantity. In time, they'd come to consume both his small party and himself included... Until!
"If I'm going to die...The underlings had eventually come to slaughter all of his party leaving him remaining-- They encroached slowly, drawing suspense as the final moments of the encounter rolled on by. ”Let it be against a true fighter. Not a coward that hides behind his thralls!"It was an outburst unlikely of Xerves, but indeed one to his defense. One he hoped to save him from such a fate, in trade of another…

The underlings once prone to pouncing his form to devour his entirety had froze in place, the Aquarius evidently drawn to attention. A telepathic command was issued throughout the mentality of all Yokai to hear within the proximity, leaving the beasts to clear out space for their overlording Elemental to approach the Gigai without obstruction.

It was massive, though lacking muscularity, skin was contorted in the form of twisted layers wrapped over one another, crafting a tightened and thick callus to shroud the flesh. No less than 24 feet in height, the beast beamed down azure pupils unto the challenging Gigai, easy pickings for something its size. However, Xerves stood firm by his judgement, willing to face the beast directly.
”Yokai kind are capable of achieving so much more, if only we worked together against the true enemy, the true menace that is humanity. Otherwise, they’ll simply tear down our nu-”The blur of teal encompassed the Gigai’s vision, and the smack of wet flesh sounded off against his cheek-- The weight of its body was riveted to his head, body forced airborne for the few passing seconds, leaving him to crash into the soils.

The chatter of bewildered lessers filled the air with a cacophonous series of cries, hungry screeches and blood thirsting rallies in incoherent tongue. Xerves was smacked down with a single lash of a swatting arm, by an Aquarius that simply didn’t wish to put up with his words. Though, he persisted,”It’s pointless to strike upon one another, to feed upon one another. We should be fighting against the humans that exterminate us. We should be united to stand against the threat that is, Human.”The shadow of the encroaching monstrosity slowly crawled up his fallen form, attempting to recover but not in-time. A foot carved out at the soil in a swinging drive for his abdomen, toiling him into a nigh barrel roll across the earth.

He was left with a naked back to the sky, struggling to get on his hands and knees-- He couldn’t continue begging one to reason, for there was not intent to reason from this beast. All it wished was to entertain itself by playing with its food, if he wanted to make it past this, he’d have to think of means of evade potential demi-
A large hand grasped at his head, prying up at his weight to eventually leave him dangling at the volition of the Yokai adversary.

“Why should we listen to you?” The beast asked in return, “What makes you special?” It continued, leaving him to slowly realize the error of his ways. “Nothing. There is nothing special about you that differs you from the next meal. Simply babble in hopes of sparing your meaningless life.”
The beast pulled back its empty arm, clutching fingers into a tight fist to unveil of devastating strike unto Xerves- Five knuckles soared through the air to crunch bone beneath flesh within the Yokai’s abdomen. However, such a five knuckle shuffle carried more than enough power to induce shockwaves of inertia, casted out for the environment. The fist itself, pierced the Gigai’s physique, leaving his maws gaped in excruciating pain.

Ebony blood splattered unto the intruding arm, sanguine beads scoured the piercing arm, only to depart without interest in its grasp to Xerves’ luck. The hand relinquished the Gigai, allowing him to plummet to the soils, resting in a building pool of his blood: Incapacitated and Vulnerable for what was to follow.

“Now, you feed me. Your story… Your dreams.. End here, with me.” The Aquarius said unto the critically injured Gigai, lowering itself for reveal and open palm aimed for Xerves’ face. The Occultic siphoning process was soon to carry out, having a severe lack of power to even come close to matching the beast, he didn’t even take up the time to try. The only means to surviving this onslaught had failed, and now he could only watch as the hand lowered for his visor, darkness encroaching as it began. As the many scenarios of near death played out in the past occured without consequence, this one was different. This time, there was no escape…
Not one that he could dream of, considering his position.

However, life seemed to change for the better for the Gigai, for an relatively forgotten danger had resurfaced with a single introducing strike unto the Aquarius directly!
A javelin struck it in the shoulder, forcing it into recoil slightly. The pinching pain lead it to lash up, forgetting about the incapacitated Gigai for now-- Someone was attacking! No, a party was attacking! The remnants of the formerly attacked Viridian base had sent a hunting party for Xerves and enough to back up the numbers to exterminate his original numbers several times over. This time, they came across the Aquarius whom had him subdued and its Clan’s numbers. Mistaking it and its numbers for Xerves, battle ensued imitating a war of sorts on a rather miniscule scale… All the while, Xerves rested, breathing, attempting to keep himself from dwindling unconscious…
A way out -had- to be discovered!

(Xerves)

Arrows, Javelins, spears...
Weapons of Humanity were unveiled upon the Yokai that attacked Xerves so brutishly--
The roars and screeches of retaliating forces filled the air, and many of the beasts sprinted into battle using Xerves' fallen form as a vault. As the Gigai rested, watching as the small figures raced over his battered and bleeding body, and idea came to mind... There was still hope!
A lesser leaped over, intercepted with an arm shooting up to catch it mid-flight. Fingers of the Gigai crushed at it, siphoning away the life-force of the small creature as the arm settled back down.

The sanguine glow illuminated betwixt his fingers, and the life-force and mana conjoined with that of his current system. He was not yet dead, and thus, he prolonged every moment of his battered stature with the unsuspecting midst battle. However, with warring humans pushing the walls of defending Yokai, it was only a matter of time before Xerves was re-discovered and swiftly dispatched.

The Aquarius stood nearby, unleashing a torrent of water blasts, carried out akin to machine-gun fire. Impacts against armored flesh resulted in the thin midst of crimson to paint the sodden soils, soon washing it away with amounting water to complement the pressure assaulting their positions. It seemed the Elemental was capable of fending against the numbers nicely, considering the fact that it mowed down their numbers with relative haste. One by one, lessers that charged over his form were plucked from their leaps, siphoned away and stuffed as cadavers into the fallen Gigai's mouth.

The wound missed the heart, surprisingly, scathing it alongside other organs which lead to a continuation of bleeding, but potential of prolonged survival--
He continued to slide himself away from the dilemma, hoping to go unnoticed with the conflict underway.
To his luck, he managed to get away... But not without deliberating damage inflicted upon his form. He was forced to clutch at his stomach to ensure nothing further would slip from the wound. It bled prefusively, but for the most part he was conscious, having resisted the pain and consumed enough sustain to admirable degree. Aimlessly, he wandered, in hopes of finding means to end his suffering for further progression...
(Xerves)

At the mercy of an encroaching Aquarius no longer! From the midst of the conflict betwixt Yokai and Viridian forces, the nigh cadaver of the fallen Xerves, critically wounded with a puncture wounds through the stomach had twitched- Clinging to the life still harbored within its form. The torment of the many defeats, the reminders of constant vanquishment, the close calls to death in his many skirmishes against humanity seemed to flicker before his very eyes. As the remnants of the consumed, boiled to the surface, and mana surged through the atmosphere, conducting magical static to interfere with even telepathic.

Memories seemed to intertwine with fabricated vision; Hatred personified itself in the shape of the common human. Humanity was his enemy, and he sought out to avenge the fallen. He took up the drive to continue on with his trek despite his wounds--
As fatigue built in, so did fury-- A concoction of various emotion clashed within his mentality, leaving him torn betwixt the need of aid from Yokai kindred and the necessary destruction of fellow kin to provide drive for the race entirely. However, then came to the flip side of the coin...
The fact that every attempt to battle what he percieved to be the human menace lead to only the deaths of even more Yokai-- His attempts, forfeit with the final deciding factor being that of a blade, an arrow, or a magi standing in his way.

Now, here he was, limping through the Bygonegrove in search of aid, coming to his final bout against the air. Breathing was hard to his personage. Though he persisted, he'd eventually drop to his knees. Unbeknownst to himself, the consumed of the past have compounded within his vessel, leaving him charged to the brink of his shape and form. Muscularity was exagerrated to its very peak... Change was on the horizon, and he could feel it. Feel it now with in a sense of an invigorating tingling sensation within, but a swell of unholy essence, attempting to combust from the restraints that was the flesh. The Occultic miasma that oozed to the surface, shrouding his form was but a miniature leak, prelude to the tearing of graymatter flesh.

The beast's head whipped for the skies, unleashing a pained cry that echoed through the heavens above, practically booming through the forestry and blurring the perception of reality within close proximity whilst it sustained. Magical essence was extended out for the far reaches of the land, interacting with the elements to carry out the selection process. Chunks of the earth hovered, trembling akin to beads of water forged throughout the atmosphere. The air swayed only calmly with a warm embrace, though not of the manipulative attempts proved as impressive as nature enacted from above. The rumble of thunder crackled throughout sudden clouding skies.

The flickering behind the clouds signified a presence, rivaled to the power of gods. Without further delay, the magical beacon had conjured enough displayed power to summon forth but a single dancing bolt from above, smiting down the beast that challenged from below.
The bolt persisted, not once flickering out but hammering down in constant dance, unwilling to let up from the possession afoot.

In the wake of the energy forced unto it, the body commenced change. Skin began to twist, wrapping around itself to build layers, regenerating the hole that once opened his vulnerable belly. Nigh gray flesh transcended up the color spectrum, adopting a pure blend of all shades to become a prestine alabaster with slight sapphire undershadow in its facade.

Though Muscularity was omitted from its visage, size was bulkened by a grandiose degree. Horns were covered in a thin sheet of flesh, dyed in a discolored variant of his overall skin colour. Pupils went inept, blanked out with the scelera to provide a seemingly blind entity to all those whom would come before it. It stood once more, to continue its trek--

Evolved Mentality ensnared new Yokai in its enthralling trap, clinging them to his form as he wandered by with relative ease, keeping his rule over their minds to a state of absolution. Intellegence unlike his former forms granted him the ability to predict and learn from memory and new scenarios far faster than the common Gigai, and that of his human counterpart, superceding them with this new form.

By time the journey came to its end, he ended up at the Yokai Citadel's entrance, standing no less than 24 feet tall. At his feet were a legion of Yokai numbers close to 30 in total approximaiton...
The chestal region of the beast was no longer scathed with 'Azeris' name, nor a puncturing wound for it was withered away with the rejuvenating transcendence into Elementalism.

An entrance was backed up without words, he came in silently, gaze trickling amongst the numbers already about-- He recognized Azeris on sight, prepared to challenge him with his newfound power... But not now, not whilst he still had a mission to accomplish in the immediate future.
(Xerves)