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Azura’s latest experiment with the reanimator engine was one that would truly test its ability to work its magic on soul crystals. She had sent a squad of wind elementals down to the vault to fetch a larger crystal, larger even than the fire giant she had already resurrected. They had returned with a number of crystals, but one stood out to her among the rest. Large as a tiger and dense as gold, it must have been an exceptional creature in life. What exactly it was she did not know, because the crystalized soul had only told them the curator who had tried to catalog it one thing. 

[color=silver][i]Restore me.[/i][/color]

Uninformative details was not entirely unheard of. Rignol’s description had been equally unhelpful, but the fact that it had used the communion with the curator to ask for new life was particularly interesting. She set the other larger crystals aside for now and had this one loaded into the machine. 

The six she had already raised where currently down in the vault, satisfying their curiosity regarding the place they had temporarily been stored before their current unlife. It would also be good to have someone check in down there to make sure things were going as planned. She couldn't herself of course, even by proxy and she’d not foist that responsibility on Luis.

Almost immediately after the soul had been inserted the mechanisms around it where pushed out to their maximum volume, failing to accommodate what they were being commanded to create. Azura had expanded it to accommodate the re-animation both of larger souls and of multiple souls simultaneously, but it seems that had not been enough, for the void soul’s half constructed form began to spill from within the forge moments later. Tendrils and limbs with too many joints covered with eyes, mouths and other ill placed organs burst out between the mechanical limbs, along with beams of sickening light. The worst part was not the failure of the machine, nor the horrors it produced or the way that those parts did not seem to fit in the limited dimensions of the Architect's realm, but that Azura felt a presence both familiar, alien and impossible to grasp. The mechanism in her mind warred with her own will as she tried to grasp what she was not recalling. It was different from the other, not quite, memories. It was truly hers and yet she was being denied access to it. The unholy sights and internal conflict tore at Azura’s psykey, causing her to scream in pain.

[color=silver]”No. This will not do.”[/color] spoke the thing being born, its voice legion, and all at once the eldritch parts were pulled into the machine. Then its arms pushing inwards and smothered the crystal. The unholy light bloomed for one final time and then standard operating recomenced.  

Azura, who had slumped to her knees while clutching her chest, watched as the arms peeled away from their work to reveal a stone cat that could never have fit the soul crystal that had been inserted into the machine. Its smooth stone body was black as obsidian and unmarred by any real details except for two eye like holes, out of which two tendrils of red Verse streamed out around the sides of its head to trail along behind it.

[color=lightblue]“What in the Void was that! Where did you put yourself? And why do feel like I know you?”[/color] Azura demanded in a pained voice as the war with her own mind raged on.

[color=silver]”This world is so restrictive compared to the void. It would not fit my holy form. So I have placed myself elsewhere and will be working though this proxy for the foreseeable future.”[/color] the cat shaped thing explained as it casually padded across the stone floor towards her [color=silver]”Do not worry about what you saw. It will not happen again, and you will soon [b]forget[/b] it ever happened.”[/color]

The word washed over the god, reinforcing the machine in her mind trying to suppress the memory. Her first memory. Yet there was an incompatibility between the power of the command and what it had expected to find, the two failing to join forces as they should. She did not know why this was, but in her mind Azura assaulted this split, forcing power in between the fault between the two until she found herself encapsulating the part of her mind she could not know about. For the first time she could grasp it, even if it was indirectly.

[color=silver]”That is not supposed to be happening.”[/color] spoke the cat with quiet concern.

Yet even as she gripped it the black box began to slip away from her. Azura acted on impulse, fleeing from the alien that had always been in her mind. Azura’s crystalized soul cracked, and then was torn apart. Her armonia body was torn open and the larger half was launched out of it, clattering to the floor. 

For a moment there was silence, and then the crystal chunk began to glow. The light began to expand slowly until, after several minutes, it had formed the shape of a human sized Tonnikala The glow faded, and Azura woke up to the sound of arguing.

[color=007fff]”Gahh! Of course the old bastard wouldn't trust me. What a fucking hypocrite! Now look what has happened because of that! You ruined everything! Why couldn’t you have burned with the rest of them!“[/color] said a new voice. It was somewhat like hers, Azura noted, if she had been older, meaner and swore like a sailor.

[color=silver]”Of course you could not be trusted. You being here proves that my watch was necessary. Had you not been here, the safeguard would have never been breached and all could have continue as intended. The price of redemption was death. You know this, and yet you cling to life regardless, like a wretched parasite.”[/color] the cat’s voice was still a calm monotone and yet still conveyed anger. It was the idea of anger, rather than the sound of it Azura thought groggily as she carefully sat up.

Before her stood the Armonia body, still animated despite her absence. It was failing to strangle the stone cat. [color=silver]”Cease this needless violence, there is still time to rectify the situation.”[/color] it said, entirely unperturbed by the attempt at murdur.

The arguers quietened at her awakening, both turning their heads to look at her. The stranger wearing her old form, dropped the feline.

Rather than speaking immediately Azura examined her mind and found the hole where the memory lock had been. Now there remained only the fragments of a near incoherent mess that hurt to touch. Her own memories where still intact however, including the one that the sight of the void soul had called to mind only to be suppressed. It was, in a sense, her birth. A vast being, eldritch, ancient and yet supposedly benevolent existed in the void, one of an untold multitude of unknowable horrors and wonders that called the space between space their home. It had done something to her, making her something new from what she had been before meeting it. Then released her, but not before suppressing the memory of his own existence from her mind. Now she knew its name however.

[color=lightblue]“Ludicium.”[/color] she said it out loud, mulling the name over, savoring it like a victory.

[color=lightblue]“You're Ludicium’s creature, I can practically smell his essence rolling off of you.”[/color] she told the cat, her tone accusatory as she finally addressed her two guests and demanded answers. [color=lightblue]“What did Ludicium do to me. Who was I before?”[/color] 

[color=007fff]”I can answer that.“[/color] the woman butted in, only for the cat to interject [color=silver]”You will not.”[/color]  

[color=007fff]”The jig is up, the genie is out of the bottle and the bull has already rampaged through the china shop.“[/color] she retorted

[color=silver]”All that would be required would be some light cauterization of her soul and the situation could be salvageable.”[/color] The cat insisted. 

[color=lightblue]“Cauterization? Cauterization!”[/color] A storm of wind raged forth from Azura, gripping the stone cat and hauling it skywards [color=lightblue]“Whatever you did I will now allow again.”[/color] she told it with uncontained anger

[color=007fff]”Yeah you tell him!“[/color] the Armonia wearing soul fragment cheered, before suddenly switching tune [color=007fff]”Wait. no. Shit. You're supposed to be better than that. Put him down this instant young lady! It’s not like he could do it anyway.“[/color] 

[color=lightblue]“You dare!”[/color] Azura growled, turning her howling anger upon them yet to her surprise, the Armonia raised her arms and pushed back against her wind. The two where caught in an unsexpected battle, torrents of wind whipping through the halls of the sky bastion. 

[color=lightblue]“Who are you? How are you doing that!”[/color] she cried, as she began to overwhelm her mortal bodied foe. The stranger was forced down by the winds, crouching as she forced her hands into the wind. [color=007fff]”I. Am. Azura.“[/color]

The wind war quickly died as Azura attempted to process this. [color=lightblue]“What?”[/color] Azura said. She was both utterly confused and very, very worried.

The other Azura stood, hands spread wide as she introduced herself. [color=007fff]”I am Azura. The jewel in the morning sky, breaker of empires, slayer of sorcerer kings, liberator of billions.“[/color]

[color=silver]”The tyrant of freedom.”[/color] added the cat. [color=silver]”The Bloody Feathered Diabolist. Master and abandoner of an entire world.”[/color]

Azura stared at this monster with disbelief, touched by horror. 

[color=007fff]”Look,“[/color] the other Azura said with insight, the ego of her introduction deflated by her other, less desirable, titles.[color=007fff]”You know that bit in your mind that couldn’t touch all this time? It’s who you were before we reached an agreement with Ludicium and it is who I still am.“[/color]

[color=silver]”The mental lock wasn’t supposed to be you. Your will was supposed to die and yet you lingered on, betraying Ludicium in the process”[/color] there were at least seven metaphysical layers of conceptual depth added to the void things name when the cat said it.

[color=007fff]”I just wanted to see how it would turn out is all.“[/color] the other Azura insisted [color=007fff]”This was one-hundred percent not part of the plan, but then again neither was being dragged into another universe and being made into an actual literal god.“[/color] she shrugged. [color=007fff]”Don’t get me wrong. I’ve killed a few things that called themselves gods but the ones here are all on a whole other level of power compared to what I’ve fought before.“[/color]  

[color=lightblue]“I think.”[/color] Azura said slowly [color=lightblue]“That I really don't want to be you.”[/color]

[color=007fff]”Well good news. That was the plan all along! What was it you were telling the dead people again? That this was a fresh start?“[/color] the other Azura walked up to her and wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders. Her other one stretched out in front of her as she laid out the possibilities of their new existence.[color=007fff]”Well think of everything after Ludicium as one of those. Except you also get the bonus of having me here to stop you making the same mistakes we did last time!“[/color] 

[color=lightblue]“This sounds like a terrible idea.”[/color] Azura replied, still rather overwhelmed

[color=silver]”It is.”[/color] the cat agreed[color=silver]”Other than drip feed you information, light prodding was all the alteration to your mind the mental construct should have done. This state of affairs is not intended in the slightest.”[/color] 

[color=007fff]”Again, neither was the whole god thing and damn, have you been working overtime in fighting the good fight with the power its granted you. Which means people must be pissed at you and you’ll need all the help you can get beating them! Or. uh. Convincing them your plan for souls is for the best?“[/color] The older her insisted.

Azura pulled herself away from... Herself? [color=lightblue]“I appreciate the offer but I am going to need to think about this. It’s a lot to take in.”[/color] 

[color=RoyalBlue]”I’m afraid you might not have time for that.”[/color] Said Luis via an Alma that fluttered into the room with them. The great whale seemed rather unperturbed by however much of the conversation he had overheard. [color=RoyalBlue]”Because we have two sets of problems.”[/color] 

The Void soul Ringol entered just after him, bearing the first part of dire news. “Azur-” Rignol started, facing two Azura’s. He quickly shook his head and walked over to the both of them and outstretched his hands to show the crystal and the creature. “Azura, the vault is overrun with these creatures. They have infected constructs, crystal souls and Gusts, turning them against us. The others are currently holding the line at the mouth of the vault. The situation is most dire.”

[color=RoyalBlue]”And we are about to receive guests.”[/color] Luis added as an image appeared before the four void souls, showing four gods all advancing towards the Vault, through the snowy wastes surrounding the north pole.

[hider=summary]
Azura is alone after the undead have headed down to the vault.
She attempts to resurrect a large void soul which turns out to be the one that followed her to the architects realm and which had whispered in her mind once before.
Initially it attempts to manifest as a minor eldritch horror, but unsatisfied with this form it uses the machine to shunt its own massive soul crystal into some other realm and builds a body in the shape of a regular sized cat. 
Azura has a mental breakdown from having witnessed the half formed horror,  extremely strong deja vu and having her mental lock fighting her to suppress the knowledge of why she is having dejavu.
The watcher attempts to aid the mental lock with its own power but in doing so reveals a schism between its expectations and the mental construct’s actual state. This lets azura find its shape for the first time. She violently rips away from it, ejecting herself out the Armonia body she was inhabeting as a result
She wakes up a few moments later and finds out that the shard of her soul she fled from has a mind of its own. It is her old mind and memories from before an encounter with a thing called Ludicium that exists in the void. It and she came to an agreement, that she would be reborn to cast of her former sins. Azura is the result of that rebirth, but her old self broke the agreement and stashed itself away in the mental construct intended to guide her new self’s growth.
The old azura says she will aid the new in avoiding the mistakes that led her to seek redemption. The new one is hesitant to agree, and the watcher is against the notion entirely.
They are unable to come to an agreement as news of kalmar and co’s approach arrives, along with the reveal of Orvas’s sabotage of the vault.  
[/hider]

[hider=mp]

Start: 3 fp 4 mp

2MP for ‘old Azura’ - an Avatar.

End: 3FP 2MP

Portfolio progress:

Birds (9/10)
Bards (4/10)
Necromancy? (7/10)

[/hider]

[hider=prestige]
The Windweavers, The Spellsingers.

Starting prestige: 4
+1 prestige for being in the post
+1 prestige for a collab
Final prestige: 6
[/hider]