[center][h3][b]Hazumi and the [i]West[/i][/b]
[i](?)Hell - The Western Realm(?)[/i][/h3]

[i]Collab: [@yoshua171] and [@Wind Wild][/i] [hr][/center]
As Hazumi walked into the Western realm an eerie silence would fall over her, broken only by her breathing, hearbeat, and the infrequent sound of creatures moving about nearby. This area of the West, while dark like the rest, had a faint red and purple light that seemed to dance in and out of one's vision. There was a forest there, but it was no normal forest, no, in fact every tree was bent at impossible angles and all of them were barren, though they each emitted a slight pulsating glow. The ground at the feet of the trees was all solid rock and gravel. The trees should have been incapable of growing, which might have explained why all of them were barren--as if some force had magically fed the trees to maturity, or had suddenly turned all the soil into stone.

Regardless, the place was bizarre.

However, even more bizarre were what would look like lights far off in the distance in three directions. They were tiny floating clusters of white and yellow light that, every few minutes, would move to new locations, or blink out of existence, then pop up elsewhere, though always the same rough distance from her. All in all it was an odd place, made even more so by the fact that it would be the first time the Essence had seen it.

Hazumi looked around cautiously, taking the forest in before slowly stepping forwards, one foot leading the other. She found it curious that last time she visited nothing could surprise her. She still thought herself invincible at the time, and even though she might still be such, now her steps were a bit more hesitant. 

The West had always been a bizarre place in her mind. Not only were Nightwalkers one of few creatures the Fleshshaper had never acquired, but even the pre-existing knowledge of the Gates and Gatekeepers didn't penetrate all the way through the darkness.

Seeing the light flicker at the corner of her vision her head turned and she had to wonder if it was her own mind playing tricks on her by importing images of things that weren't there.  She considered for a moment trying to go after them but at the first step she made, the lights flickered and changed its location. Deciding that they would approach her if they want to, she ignored him for the time being and went deeper into the woods.

"Lletari, dear Essence, they are called Lletari," a voice proclaimed from directly behind her.

[i]So she wasn't alone after all.[/i] The woman calmly looked over her shoulder and explored the newcomer.

Standing uncomfortably close was a rather disturbing looking [url=http://orig03.deviantart.net/00cc/f/2015/119/4/0/pinhead_by_sandara-d8rgcx0.jpg]fellow[/url]. His essence was whirling about frantically, but seemed oddly...lacking. There would be an apparent branching of energy from his body downwards from his feet and into the ground much like roots. If she followed them she'd notice that the entire surrounding area was suffused with the man's essence, something that was not typically possible for any average demon. So clearly this man was not average.

Thus, as he stood not two inches from her person, looking down at her from his 6'5 height, he spoke once more, "Those lights are Lletari. This forest is the Copse of Lit Fears and I am Jayh Durvasarieghe." He smiled at her calmly, seemingly unphased by her nature and by the multitude of...pins protruding from his flesh. "What business is it that you bring to the lord's domain?"

Hazumi's eyes ran up and down the demon and then strayed slightly along the ground to the nearby tree. There were places and creatures in the world that she still hadn't seen, with all the eyes and knowledge she'd received from her countless components. The West was among the few places she knew almost nothing about, the demons there seeming to have eluded the Fleshshaper's greedy claws. It gave her a peculiar feeling, between excitement and anxiety, to explore everything hidden by this darkness.  

“Which lord are you referring to?”

The demon turned its head to the side slightly, as if regarding her from another angle. "Come with me," Jayh suddenly said, then turned around and began to walk towards the strange forest.

[i]I hope he realises that whatever the outcome, one of his lords will perish.[/i] Hazumi thought and silently followed. 

With his back turned, the demon spoke again, a smile carried in his tone, "Of such I am quite aware, Hazumi, though I thank you for such thoughtfulness." He slowed so she could catch up to him somewhat, and hopefully walk alongside him. His smile was a kind one, if she happened to look upon his face. "We are going down below, to the underdark of this forest. I think there is something there that would serve you well in your task."

It seemed he had dropped his earlier pretense of knowing not why she had come.

"You are a wise man." Hazumi almost smiled at his expression. She wasn't sure if he knew what he knew because he had been informed of her coming long ago or because he could guess her intentions. Heck, she didn't even know if her coming here wouldn't flip her plans on their head. However, she did know that for now she should follow the demon, his attitude inspiring trust even despite his peculiar appearance. One came to expect that of Hellions and it had never bothered her. One couldn't recognise the monsters in this world if they were only looking skin-deep.

"What's happening to this realm now that the Lord is absent?" She questioned, referring to Szayeis.

"I am but a humble watcher," Jayh responded, before falling silent once more. He could feel the mechanisms of her being moving, processing, grinding, and debating within her. Some about the current state of affairs, but most moved for other issues, other people. He continued to smile, giving no hint that he could, in fact, read her existence as if it were a book he had long ago committed to memory. "The inhabitants are uneasy and though the Citadel holds Void well, it cannot hold all of it."

Jayh gestured towards the Chaos barrier, the veil that all must pass through to enter the Western Realm, "It is composed of Inaniae's essence, crafted long ago from the ancient founder's aura." He turned his eyes to the Citadel then, "It is composed of his will and his ever altered nature, but in an impure form. The Citadel, one could say, is, or once was, composed of the Void's flesh, if flesh one could call its substance." He shook his head, "It may only contain him so long, and while this realm's inhabitants, 'cept the wardens and myself, are unaware of its nature or perhaps existence, they are uneasy nonetheless." The demon's eyelids lowered slightly as he shook his head, looking solemn.

He suddenly stopped before a tree, one which was taller, but thinner, than all the others. He raised his hands over its faintly glowing bark, not truly touching it, and whispered words that Hazumi, as the Essence, should have understood...but did not. It was a soundless noise, one that she would recognize, though through unfamiliar vessel it had emanated.

It was the sound of a gatekeeper's instrument...but not quite. Something was off, something about it was even more enigmatic...and it was free. There was no restraint on it, but alas it only lasted a moment before it was gone once more.

Her mind would attempt to forget it against her will, but would fail...for now.

"Come," he lowered his arm and stepped aside, gesturing towards the tree, "Walk into it, I will follow." The tree's glow had become a fierce glare, and expanded to take up a larger space than the tree itself did. There was an eerie look to the light, but all at once it was welcoming. This copse was a strange one, and its master...even more so, it seemed.

At first Hazumi felt gratitude and the warm sense of appreciation towards the demon. His lack of hostility and willingness to explain were qualities she found invaluable and ones that came as a refreshingly pleasant surprise in Hell. It was true that with her current status there weren't that many willing to question her authority but she knew how inhospitable Hellions could be. His words also made sense, it explained what she'd felt when she first came to this realm, a sense of home and a sense of hostility both. The veil and the Citadel both were pieces of her father and in a way she'd always known that.  

She was lost in thought when Jayh started to chant and her mind went blank for a second, her eyes widening in surprise. She knew precisely what she was hearing, the only question was whether he was created first or the Gates. As he beckoned her to step towards the tree she obeyed, her eyes fixed on the demon instead of on the portal in front.

Jayh did not meet her gaze, but rather stared directly through it. He smiled lightly, gently, in a friendly manner, as she passed him and entered the portal. He followed moments after.[hr]
As she emerged on the other side she would find herself in a cavern, the glow the same as what the trees had emitted up above. They were beneath the forest now, in the underdark of the Unseen, a place few souls had ever been. Only Jayh could grant entrance after all.

"Whheelcome Eessence," a sonorous voice echoed through the cavern. Jayh did not react, 'cept to briefly bow his head, then silently step passed Hazumi to tread further into the cavern, whose ceiling was alight with the roots of the trees from above. One wouldn't think that they were [I]miles[/I] underground. As the Watcher strode forth, the far off walls, seeming barely to exist at all, began to glow just barely within perception. Hazumi, if she reached out with her senses, would feel...nothing. It was as if this place had no boundaries at all, despite those clear before her: Ceiling and floor.

"The Fears have waited, one who has been named...Hazumi," the voice boomed once more. Jayh continued forwards, appearing not to mind whether or not she followed, the voice would reach her all the same.

Hazumi's senses explored the space and came up largely empty. The welcoming didn't surprise her, though being unable to tell where or who the voice came from was slightly unsettling after years of knowing pretty much everything.  

The second phrase threw her off and made her brows furrow. Being referred to both as “Essence” and “Hazumi” was peculiar in the sense that most creatures viewed her as either-or in any particular situation. After all, the two were distinctly different: one was an object, the other one was an individual. At least that's what she thought most of the time. Sometimes even she wasn't sure if there was a difference, really. Perhaps it was all in her head.  

She fell in toe next to Jayh and pushed her musings away in favour of trying to figure out what was going on. “What is this place?”

He did not reply, his pace steady as they walked, side-by-side, his charge just barely flagging behind. After what might have felt like minutes, Jayh's mouth opened, but no sound came out. Instead, the voice spoke once more, and as it did, Jayh's own lips moved, though the voice was certainly not his, nor did it seem to come from him at all. "This is the Underdark of the Unseen," the voice boomed, "...herein lies the Litany of knowledge, a repository of this world's truths, all in one place, untouched by the hands of mortals in their wholeness." The voice rebounded throughout the cavern for several seconds after it had stopped speaking, but Jayh's lips kept moving, his own voice coming out once more, quieter, though it did echo, in the cavern than the unknown entity that had spoken before. "Not any can be ferried into this abyss, only those whose conscience is clear, whose essence is marred, but without flaw, and whose form is immaterial and without any true meaning," Jayh, for the first time since they had entered the cavern, turned to look at her. His calm eyes were glowing faintly, and it seemed that with every step their glow became more fierce, more pronounced. Yet there was something strange about this light, for his eyes were not [I]changing[/I].

It would be as if one could see both illusion and reality in the same frame, but there was not another frame, there was no line between the two. "You are one such being, Hazumi...Essence," a smile touched his lips, small and gentle--calm, but serious all the same.

"This is the Vault, the plane outside," Jayh's lips moved, but the voice boomed outwards, it was the entity's rather than his own. "The Grim Hunter, who you know as Solus now, has never tread these halls. This is a Vault beyond even that which lies hidden beneath his home of two hundred years past. Do you know why you are here?" A subtle resonance began to hum into existence within the cavern, an almost imperceptible drone. No matter how one altered their essence or physiology, it did not change, or become easier to detect. The light had begun to dim, and were her eyes to look ahead, she would notice that it became only darker on the path ahead, though the lights never seemed to truly disappear, despite the lack of illumination.

It was a phenomena that likely made no sense to her mind, nor any other. This was an ancient place, and whatever, wherever, it was it was easily apparent that it was something more ancient than anything else.

It was the Realm of Watchers.

Hazumi's steps didn't slow, an odd sense of calm washing over her the deeper they went into this unknown place. She didn't know what to expect, not even if it was safe to proceed or if she wasn't willingly following a stranger to her death. But it didn't matter. In a life where everything was control, cause and effect, a constant chain of meaningful choices, to be robbed of responsibility and idly drift down the stream of fate was a welcome and liberating feeling. A smile found its way to her face, a deep breath seeming like the first in a long time.  

“I know why I came.” She answered, a childish curiosity layered under her words. “But I don't know why you brought me here nor what I'll find. ”  

"You seek perception of the Old One, the forsaken child. The Father of Gods. You know him as Inaniae, we as the Primordial," Jayh's lips moved in-sync, though he did not speak. "You have been brought here to understand his essence and the method of both his entrance to this realm, and his fall from grace." There was an imperceptible shift as the two figures, Jayh and Hazumi, took their next step. It was hard to tell when. It might have been when their feet touched ground again, it may have been in the middle of their steps, or the moment just after they raised their foot for the next one.

It was impossible to tell. Time was vague here.

All at once, but nonetheless a smooth transition in its own paradoxical fashion, the lights shifted colors and vanished. Hazumi's common sense would tell her that the room was dark, as if her instincts [I]knew[/I] there was no light, better than her senses did. Her eyes on the otherhand would note that the lights had shifted to a white coloration. Should she attempt to gaze directly open any source of illumination it would be merely another black spot in her vision. She could only see the lights in her peripheral vision. Jayh seemed unfazed.

The cavern's walls seemed to become nearer the further forwards they walked, the path expanding. Yet her spatial awareness would tell her differently, it was not that the cavern's form had changed at all. The senses of essence, which she possessed would not confirm either impression. "We near the Articulate's Sigil," Jayh said, his voice returned to him, the cavern held in an eerie silence aside from the muted noise of their footsteps, and of course their breath.

Several moments passed and as they did it would feel as if they had entered another room, despite her senses telling her that was impossible. As her instincts notified her of this shift in scenary, it occurred around her, as if slipping into existence. Before her in the center of the now circular space they stood within, was a 2x2 meter cubical prism that reached almost halfway up the height of the room only to be met in its center by an identical, though inverted, prism of the same height, which extended down from the ceiling. Her essence sight would notify her of the miniscule amount of space held just between the tips of the two elongated prisms, each which, while black, reflected light throughout the room. The ceiling, floor, and walls seemed to absorb this light, and were she to look at them with her peripheral vision she would notice what appeared to be all manner of essences swirling, mixing, and separating beneath the surface of the room's boundaries. Were she to look directly at any of the surfaces in any other way, they would merely be a stark white, no details, no apparent texture, and no sign of aging whatsoever.

The place had an air that was both comfortable and unsettling. It was the calm of the place coupled with its strangeness. "This is the Articulate's Sigil," the Watcher's guardian spoke, his gentle eyes glancing at Hazumi. It was Jayh's voice that came from the body this time.

As if on cue the two prisms began to retract into their respective surfaces, widening the space between their tips, and gradually revealing something as they did. At first it was just a shimmering black dot, but as it grew in size, almost as if stretched by the retreating prisms, it became apparent that it had angular facets, and when it was finally four meters from point to point, it was very clear that it was some kind of crystal, though not like anything the Essence had ever seen. It looked much like obsidian, but its essence was totally alien as far as crystals went. It was both like looking at nothing, at the void, and as if one were gazing upon the very essence of substance itself. It was like looking at an idea given form.

The reason was because that's exactly what it was. "I doubt you have ever heard tell of this place, let alone this object, if you can call it by such a mundane term. This place, wherein we stand, is the only place where the Abstract touches the Primordial. It is their sole place of contact and communication. You could say it was [I]created[/I], but that would not be quite...accurate. It came to be in the same manner as the Primordial and the Abstract, but has been as constant as Time. What matters to you, is here you may come to learn anything you desire." Jayh paused a moment, letting the gravity of that sink in before he glanced to the Articulate's sigil once more, its shimmering [I]black[/I] surface remaining complacent, even as it warped the perception of most anyone who looked directly upon it. "You have been granted two tokens. One by the Will of Aaurus, your father, and the other by the grace and kindness of Lucy, who so infrequently visits the domain of her children." Jayh seemed to smile slightly, as if the thought of Lucy's visit was a comforting memory to him.

"These tokens may be spent in two manners. The first will grant you a unique experience during your lifetime, that is sure to occur no matter your own choices. You may choose whether to know what this experience will give you, or you may choose what this experience [I]is[/I]." He did not clarify what either meant, "The second possibility of these tokens may grant you any piece of knowledge that the Abstract possesses in as complete a form as your mind can process without overload or cessation of your modus operandi, prime function." He stopped momentarily, watching her reaction, before he spoke again, saying simply, "Choose wisely. I will wait outside." He then began to turn on his heel and tread in the space they had just crossed.

Hazumi's heart sped up, as they progressed into the cave, and it was with both anticipation and worry. There was something bizarrely exciting about the whole experience and even though the place was no wonderland, part of her was tempted to stay and forget about all the obligations and worries. 

[I]None of that.[/i] She mentally slapped herself as she gave up trying to understand what was going on and simply followed. The sight of the pyramids was interesting, but not as much as the explanation of what they were – creation taken shape. She felt compelled to run a hand along the smooth surface of the thing but knew better than to attempt it. As Jayh instructed her on what her choices were, she listened carefully and nodded stoically and as he moved out, she sat on the ground, staring at the prisms. 

It was a tough choice and it would definitely take time to make her mind up. While the first option was playing on her curiosity, it was the second one she was more interested in. Knowledge was more important than anything, even her own life, yet the precise questions she wanted to ask were hard to pin down. 

There were many things she wanted to know – would the wars ever end, would Lucien survive the year, was there a way for the musicians to use their instruments safer than they did now, was there a way for her to be truly happy... But she had to concentrate on the important things. First and foremost, it was about the matter at hand – Inaniae. But was the question how to defeat him or how to detect him? Or was it 'Is there a way to erase his identity'?  

In the end she settled for 'How can I recognise the fragments of Inaniae?' Hopefully that was the right question, based on the assumption that Szayeis did in fact hold the knowledge of what to do once those were gathered.

And speaking of Szayeis, it was very tempting to use the second token to find out what his end game is. Could he be trusted? Who was he? What would he do after this is all over? Interesting questions but perhaps not as important in the long run. 

Hazumi sighed, looking up to the two prisms. 'Is my identity worth more than my powers?' was something she'd always wondered. Was she better off as a person, or as a tool? Then again, would this be the right way of finding that out? And besides, wasn't the answer pretty obvious? 

Making up her mind, she got to her feet and tilted her chin up like Lily had taught her. Look proud even if chances are you're about to make a mistake. 

“How can I recognize the fragments of Inaniae? and What is my legacy and the most important thing I can do in my life?” She spoke to the object and waited anxiously for the answers.

Immediately her senses would swim, her sense of balance going first, likely causing her to topple to the ground. At first the awareness would be like she had been connected to a vast, no, infinite reservoir of information, before that vanished entirely and was replaced by a single concept. It would feel like water, flowing into her mind, but also like shards of glass, spearing at her thoughts, before it shifted again, parting any stray bits of her psyche and then flooding her with the knowledge.

After several minutes the sensations of pain and discomfort would fade, leaving behind a sense of rightness and of learning. The knowledge of the first question had suffused her, become part of her on a level deeper than she might have liked before it had happened, but now was unavoidable. Much like Szayeis, or any other fragment aware of themselves, Hazumi would not be capable of identifying any number of Inaniae's fragments by merely seeing them. It would be an immediate response, no delay, no doubt, unquestionable and absolute.

After another minute had passed it would be like she could suddenly feel her body again, though she may not have even realized she couldn't feel it, and all her senses would return to her.

Oddly, despite the suddenness of it, it would cause no adverse reactions, no sense of overload.

The room seemed not at all changed. Except for the fact, of course, that she now had sand in her hair. 

Hazumi picked herself up and blinked a few times, the lack of leftover pain striking her as odd. It had been a familiar sensation, her body and mind recognising it from the time she'd been the Fleshshaper's plaything, forcefully fed souls that didn't belong. Of course, the millennia that had passed since then had blurred the memory but she was quite certain that the Void, or the Abstract, or Jayh or whoever was giving her this knowledge now, knew a nicer way of doing it. Still, it made her think twice of using the second token. Oh well, too late now anyway. It seemed to be worth it in the end - the fact that she would immediately [i]know[/i] a fragment when she sees one was reassuring, even if it didn't provide any information on where to look. 

Her second [I]question[/I] was an interesting one, as its implications were greater than she realized. It had to do more with an event and how it would influence her future, than it had been a true question. She had unwittingly used her second token for an experience.

So it was that even as she regained her composure, the room began to swim around her, lurring together and becoming like a soupy liquid. Her sense of location would fail, and it would be much like she were floating in a vast ocean, but one composed purely of knowledge and of experience, of causal meaning and immutability. [I]Your legacy will only be known to you in your last moments, for all that you have caused in your wake will be too great for the mind you possess in life to comprehend. The world's Essence will change, you will leave behind many who love you, and perhaps as many that may harbor for you hatred. However, your longevity is a gift as much as a curse, for you will bring about both happiness and discord to this world. As your term ends, with assistance of those who have kept you company, you will have gained what you now so desperately seek. Your legacy will be a great one.[/I] It was less as if something spoke to her, and more as if the core meaning of what was needed flooded into her mind.

This time the process was seamless and without pain or any form of suffering. It merely was.

[I]There is no one thing, which you could do that would be more important than the others. Time is not so linear or set in stone. Destiny may be altered with diligence. The importance of your actions is dictated both by how they influence your own being, and how the ripples spread throughout the worlds. The Abstract may not peer into Time's flow just as the Primordial, creation's Grandfather, cannot. Your fate could be as the saviour to this world, a bystander, or you could very well cause its destruction. All that remains once knowledge is gained...is the choices. Will you make them?[/I] The flow of information stopped, events slipping into, through, and then out of her mind's eye within timeframes that she would be unable to know. As if they could have lasted seconds...or milennia.

As the room began to gradually [I]solidify[/I] around her, she would perhaps, upon looking, notice that it was different. The light of the essence which swirled beneath the surface of the black walls was more apparent now. The Articulate's Sigil in the center of the room seemed as if it were not merely [I]refracting light and essence[/I] now, but as if there were many images superimposed over its existence, shifting in and out of her perception. It would last, for her eyes, only a fickle eight seconds, before the impression seemed to fade from existence.

[I][B]Unknown is the breadth of the world,
Unseen is the linchpin, which holds it fast,
The Essence dwells therein, but who knows its last?
Her form is battered here, seeking to be curled,
She hides away from future, dwelling on the past,

What is her purpose
What is her path
Who is her saviour,
If one she has.

Legacies are built, but they can be broken,
Without choice, one leaves behind....
Unknown words, unspoken.

Is her free will mute?
Is she Hazumi, or the Essence,
Or perhaps is there no truth to either,
Their forms as changeable as water on silt,

Unknown and enigmatic is the answer,
Unless its simplicity is hidden, buried in past guilt.

What is her purpose
What is her path
Who is her saviour,
Is it another, or the self, she thinks the Tool of Essence has killed?[/B][/I]

The room was silent and it was not that the words had spilled into her consciousness, it was more like...they had always been there, and she had merely not noticed. When she left this place, she would be unable to understand [I]when[/I] she had learned it, but it would nonetheless be there.

Jayh waited outside.

Hazumi found with some surprise that she was able to walk without wobbling. Her head was swimming still, however everything was crisp and clear, no fatigue or dizziness remaining from the weird experience. It felt like her body had been disintegrated and put together again, and at the same time it felt like nothing much had happened at all, like she'd just remembered a long-forgotten fact.  

The words, however, remained and they were floating around her consciousness like snowflakes coming in and out of focus. It would take a long time for them to settle, and yet it was made clear that she never would find out until it's too late. Choices... In the end it all boiled down to that, and part of her was relieved at that knowledge more than any other. Knowing that she [i]would[/i] make an impact, that her existence would matter. That it wasn't wrong that she wanted to make it count.

Stepping out of the room, she willed her eyes to turn to Jayh, a sudden cotton-soft weariness seeping in her bones. “Thank you, Jayh. You have given me enormous help and I will be forever grateful. Is there any way I can repay you?”

The demon shook his head, his eyes glowing fiercely. As she looked at him his essence would seem less normal than it had before, like her perception had been expanded slightly. "No need, it is my pleasure. Come, I know you have much to do, no use staying here any longer." He began walking back along the path, towards the exit, which was not yet visible in the distance.