[center][h1]The hunt of the Pariah[/h1][/center] thwack thwack thwack One after another the logs were split in half, added to the pile which would be later used to feed the fire. Some people would question why a god would bother with such a repetitive menial task, the word to describe such people was “idiot”. Someone wouldn’t be a hunter if they could just weave their hand and have the meat and fur show up neatly separated, no, Tuku’s domain was an ephemeral one, and perhaps because of that the god enjoyed meeting their needs through proper effort and craft even in tasks quite distant from hunting. It was relaxing, or rather, it felt like without these little routines they would be at best stressed and at worst slowly going mad. However, today Tuku’s heart wouldn’t be properly attended to because out of nowhere, they heard a voice. It was not a rat this time, possibly the opposite of it, it was the voice of their progenitor. He had made announcements, the booming voice wasn’t surprising, but the hushed message that came after was completely new and gave the masked god some pause. ”Tuku, my Master of the Hunt, I require your aid.” It was chilling, the soft cold wind that carried the message, the bloody implication of it all, nothing good could require the father of all gods to require a hunter, this was no request born out of a cherished ring or shirt becoming lost among the many rooms of the palace. No point in theorizing, however, that was foolishness incarnate, the god of the hunt merely moved up the mountains and upon reaching the peak, looked at the sun, making it clear to their father that they had heard their summon and were ready to move back to the palace. Yet, the Divine Palace was almost blocked from sight by the dark clouds that seemed to stretch on and on, going past the seas and into the horizon. After a moment of inspection, a rift opened in front of the hunter, revealing the patron of the gods sitting upon His throne. He extended a hand, beckoning for Tuku to enter His palace, off of Galbar and away from the ever consuming darkness of the clouds that cast its baleful touch across the world. He leaned forwards in the Jade Throne, His gaze cast firmly upon the Gods of the Hunt, an unnerving and unrelenting gaze. [b][i]”Come, Tuku, we have much to do and such short time.”[/i][/b] The god of the hunt found themselves impressed, an era of living in the wilds boasting about their independence and yet as soon as they came face to face with the progenitor god their body almost forced to reposition, taking a far more polite stance than they had taken for any sibling, it was bothersome but not something they could afford to grumble about at the moment. [color=9e0b0f]“I see. Well. I am at your service then father.”[/color] by now they were already inside the palace, looking back as the rift closed. [color=9e0b0f]”What is it that needs to be so urgently hunt…”[/color] the phrase didn’t complete itself in their mind and the mask almost betrayed a shock, a cold shiver ran down their spine as for a moment a terrible possibility showed itself up, that they would be requested to hunt a sibling. They didn’t appreciate them, and hated a few, and desired to hunt one for sport but it was all in good fun, at least in their mind it was, nothing close to kinslaying. [b][i]”A god-killer.”[/i][/b] The Monarch of All’s statement resonated throughout the chamber, the weight of the words seeming to convey the prospect of hunting a sibling. Yet, the tone of those words did not signify the same weight, cast without anything other than dire seriousness that wrought all the attention in the world. Then, He rose from His throne, towering over Tuku and looking to the Galbar that was in perfect view of the Jade Throne. All that could be seen, all that was focused upon, was the dark clouds that consumed Termina and the oceans around it. The Monarch of All would speak again, the weight of His words unchanging as His gaze continued to pierce the very heart of the Galbar, a hatred becoming clear. [b][i]”A beast beyond all reckoning that would seek to undo all that I have built.”[/i][/b] There was a difference between scary words and words that you feared, Tuku loved one and hated the other, this was the type they enjoyed. Their posture relaxed and one hand touched rubbed behind their neck, right by the side of that bow that was almost as old as they were. [color=9e0b0f]”Well, that is something I didn't know existed, but as it turns out, there are many unexpected things in this world. I like it that way however.”[/color] [color=9e0b0f]”But Father… Which god? Or even, gods? I sensed the deaths, my domain is more delicate than one would guess, that no rabbit has ever been lucky again to escape an arrow I was sure would hit, that the movements of the sea creatures changed as the flow of the sea went from vigorous to flabby. I want to know the name we will avenge today.”[/color] The Monarch of All turned to look at Tuku before His voice echoed an answer, naming the one who had been brought so low but the likes of a mere beast that had escaped its cage. He motioned to the great seas of His realm, making the answer clearer and clearer with each passing moment. [b][i]”Ao-Yurin. Surely, you have felt that the seas obey none anymore.”[/i][/b] The god of the hunt nodded, and pulled over an arrow. [color=9e0b0f]The seas then. No use for my bow down there, tried once, the waters fight against the movement more than the wind, now that it’s a corpse it fights even more, or rather, it doesn’t, stands there.[/color] they shrugged and pressed against the arrow, the metal tip and the shaft fused into one, the shape changed, stretching, until what the god of the hunt held was a harpoon. [color=9e0b0f]”This fits better, travels faster, hits harder and sticks to prey. I imagine a god-killing beast will have too thick of a hide but we can figure it out as we go.”[/color] [b][i]”It can bleed. I am sure your weapon will be more than enough.”[/i][/b] The Monarch of All before the rift opened behind Tuku, this time leading to the oceans, where no land was in sight and the darkness consumed all. A solitary stream of blue, luminescent lights surged through the water, a great beast to be sure, but not Tuku’s query. There was no divine power coming from the massive beast and the Monarch of All stepped past the hunter, stepping onto the water as the great beast raised its head to greet its master. The Ruler of Divinity, raised a hand to set upon its head, a scar blemished the face of the mountainous serpent, running from snout to one of the great fins that extended a hills length down. The Monarch of All let out a sigh of annoyance, speaking to the serpent for a mere moment in a chastising manner. [b][i]”I told you to wait, Zhongcheng, not to try and fight it.”[/i][/b] Turning back to Tuku, He spoke once more, his tone serious as to the weight of their hunt, the powerful query that was no doubt waiting for them in the waters that surrounded them. The Monarch of All, threw a leg over the serpent as he spoke, taking the great tendrils on Zhongcheng’s neck as if they were reigns. [b][i]”Know that should we fail in killing the creature, it could spell the end of life on this world.”[/i][/b] The blank face of the masked god stared and then nodded slowly. [color=9e0b0f]”It will fall. Everything does eventually, but this one shall meet its fate today.”[/color] they turned and looked at Zhongcheng [color=9e0b0f]”Cool pet by the way.”[/color] and with that they swam forward, trying to get the first glimpses at the hunting ground where apparently the fate of the world would be decided. All that could be spotted below was darkness, impenetrable darkness of the depths of the deepest parts of the seas. It was an open ocean, and yet, the pitch black layers of the ocean still bared life, strange life that knew no light or warmth, save for those that huddled around heat vents. The floor was flat, for the most part, the only change in terrain being even further drops that led into trenches truly devoid of any life, the pressure of the water being broken great for mortals of any kind. The god of the hunt has personally never gone so far deep down, it was new ground, but the god was quick to adapt, to learn the senses that were useful and the ones that became meaningless this deep down. Raising their staff, they started to survey the land for tracks and hints of where this beast could be, unlike in the surface where the staff was kept aloft, this time the god gently struck it against the sea floor producing a humming clink sound that traversed the dark still waters. In lands so still, the smallest vibration of the sound denounced all the shapes within range, from the smallest shells and the small animals that hid within it to the crevices and failures of the stone. This rhythm produced a response, one that matched the vibration that Tuku produced with each jab. The trench, there was a digging, a tunneling of something massive trying to burrow its way further and further into the Galbar. The vibrations themselves seemed malevolent, opposed to the water that had been created by a shard of the Monarch of All. That was it, the beast, the terrible pariah that had shown its face not too long ago. Tuku stopped and analysed the situation, pondering over the creature and its massive size, he had expected something big but this was greater still than his imagination could construct. The god sighed. [color=9e0b0f]”The creature is entrenching itself into Galbar, like a scared rodent.[/color] the god commented. [color=9e0b0f]”We could try to deprive it of water, close the opening, drain the water with a rift, let the trench turn into a cave. Is such a thing possible?”[/color] the god questioned, it was clearly beyond his capabilities, but the Monarch of All was way beyond his own limits. [b][i]”That would do little to it. It’s not dependent upon the water, besides that would not stop it from merely tunneling away. I take it that you have found it?”[/i][/b] The Monarch of All’s answer produced no vibration, not that Tuku would feel it as the Monarch of All had not followed so deeply into the oceans, content to let the hunter god do their work. The voice of the Almighty was radiating within Tuku’s soul, providing a deep warmth as the light graced the hunter’s mind. The god nodded. [color=9e0b0f]”Aye. Down there. Going deeper and deeper. Not many options of approach that are not obvious. Good side, once in there, no way out until either it or us are dead.”[/color] [i][b]”Indeed. But, that does mean it will fight with everything that it will have to survive. Are you ready for such a fight?”[/b][/i] The god stopped and walked around a bit as if bothered by something, while their movements themselves were unbothered by the water. [color=9e0b0f]”Realistically? No idea. A creature that makes you cautious should make me fear for my life. But on the other side, there are many new things in this world this creature has never experienced, blind spots and such. Well, enough speculation, let us go into the practice of this hunt.”[/color] And so the Hunt began to reach its zenith; with Zhongcheng circled above and the Monarch of All slowly descending further into the ocean in order to do battle with the beast. Yet, as the Monarch of All sank, Tuku felt an essence float from the trench, one that stank of anathema to all that was the Supreme’s creation. There was silence, the motions that the beast had made came to a complete halt as the ichor floated upwards until it was well clear of the trench. Then, as if commanded, the ichor became a solid form, a blade, that shot itself towards the Monarch of All at speeds incomprehensible to mortalkind. The water behind it parted behind it only to collapse back and send out shock waves and vibrations that became deafening in the water. It was clear, the Pariah could sense the holy light of the Monarch of All and honed upon it as a shark to blood. The masked god cursed at himself for having not fully noticed the issue before it was too late, god to god combat was new. But the god quickly adapted, not bothering with helping the monarch as they reasoned the ancient one would be able to deflect a simple blade, they took no time to set eye upon their prey. Though all senses now failed him, the vibrations bliding the last one that seemed to work well in the depths, memory still was active and they had observed all of the ravine to know where the beast last was. Clawing at stone and ferociously diving deeper into the ravine the god took out their bow, the ancient weapon was able to shoot arrows past continents and the atmosphere, a small storm within a cave was relatively tame, of course, no simple projectile would make it to the beast, but it had showed its hand too early with that surprise attack, it gave the hunter an insight with how it worked and why the monarch had been unable to easily destroy it, the anathema essence, was destructive to both, simply conjuring arrows with their divine power would not be enough as that was drawn from the same fountain as the Monarch’s power. So the hunter brought forth all the particles spread on the water, the silicates and carbon, the iron dust spread from the destructive path of the beast, and from that quickly crafted arrows and enchanted them, making sure to cut off all loose ends of their own divinite when imbuing the power, trying their best to neutralize it, making it common ground, the boundary between the light of the monarch and whatever this beast yielded. Three of the grey metallic spears were launched by Tuku among the turmoil of water, and it would reveal the location of the hunter. Tuku was aware of that and jumped across the cave, not giving the beast time to react just yet nor verifying if any of the arrows were actually hitting, merely launching them where the beast was supposed to be. A few more, and the god’s pattern would start to get noticeable, plus they themselves were starting to become tired from the barrage of attacks at high speeds. Although they desired to keep it a secret from their own father, they saw no option but to reveal their hand or risk being slain by the beast’s fury. With a sidestep, the god brought forth a small knife of divine energy, cutting at nothing before… vanishing. The god had long discovered the fissures in the structure of the world, and with the rat they had tested travel through such “locations”, if they could be called that. The appearance was that of a void traversed by sparse root-like structures, the warped and blurred image of the ocean not too far from where the hunter landed, quickly vanishing in the void darkness as the cut he made “healed”. Nevertheless, with his staff and knife, the god was not lost but merely a skip from returning to Galbar proper, reappearing to the side of the Monarch of All, feeling exhausted. As Tuku had predicted, the Monarch of All had flung away the ichor that had propelled itself at Him, but the God-Maker did not seem to give Tuku any inclination as to having appeared next to Him. The Monarch of All seemed content diving headfirst towards the pariah, hatred emanating from His almighty form, and the glow of His light casting away the darkness of the deep sea. A shriek filled the seas as Tuku’s spears all met their mark as the creature had little room to move its form. Yet, it did not seem deterred to launch itself at the Monarch of All. With light cast from the Supreme One’s form, Tuku could see the form of the query now, the smoky layer that coalesced around a terrible beast that reached its claws out, one of the spears jutting out from its arm. The Pariah and the Monarch of All met once more in a blinding melee, each one clawing and slamming at the other in a primal death match. Tuku wished they could have been a distant neutral spectator at this awe inspiring fight, but he was not, one side wanted to destroy all of creation and without that it was incredibly hard to find good spots to hunt. Taking a moment to focus, the god would once again advance, getting themselves involved in the fight of the gods hands on, hovering right over the beast and aiming a close range shot, to let the full strength be carried by each arrow, making that the main source of damage. The shots were slower, not only because the god was becoming tired but also because they were forming a plan. Raising their hand and fully focusing, the god repeated the process they used to create the spear, aiming for the same atom-perfect metal alloy they had created, but this time they did not make a simple set of arrow for themselves but a massive trident too big for the god to use, but of the right size for their father to wield against the beast. [color=9e0b0f]Monarch. Take it!”[/color] the god declared as the trident finished forming right above them, the hunting god releasing a volley of arrows at the head of the beast to distract them. Almost seamlessly, as the pariah recoiled and reared its head back from the arrows, the Monarch of All allowed one of His hands to grasp the monumental trident. Yet, it took little time for the pariah to realize what had happened, recovering from the volley to continue its assault upon the Monarch of All, only for it to be repelled by the trident. Pushed away, the Supreme One turned the assaily on the beast, stabbing and slashing as the tendrils of the loyal hound making their way down to aid its master. Although it was impossible to discern as the mask showed no eyes, Tuku had stopped observing the cornered beast and instead turned their focus to the ichor that pooled as it was wounded. It had tried it's trick once and the god was weary now that it was losing the advantage it would try again. One or two arrows would still be shot so as to not make their intentions too obvious. Again, just as Tuku had predicted, the ichor once more began to float in the waters around them and their shapes, again, began to become those of blades pointed upon the light of the Monarch of All. The god could not lie, he held a grudge against anything that managed to catch him by surprise, the memory of that cowardly hidden blade repeated in their mind over and over. Now they would be ready. Letting go of the bow, they instead formed knives in their hand from the arrows within his quiver, each one twin to a congealed piece of ichor that was readying up to strike. Mimicking the beast’s previous fast strike that caused the water around it to collapse, the god would strike down the forming blades wherever they formed, learning its pattern and becoming more efficient at it, hitting them sooner and sooner, neutralizing this facet of the beast’s power. The pariah let out a cry of surprise seeing the hunter god destroy the forming ichor and now it had little else to do than fight on. It fought as a being with nothing else to live for, sinking blow after blow into the Monarch of All’s form before the trident was stabbed into the beast's chest and raised aloft. The two raced to the surface with divine speed, the holy light of the Monarch of All growing brighter and brighter before it reached all that it could touch. The pariah’s smoky form was burned away, scorching the true form of the beast until there was nothing and, for a moment, it seemed as if a Str had been birthed upon Galbar. Only after a brief few moments did the light subside and reveal that the beast was no more and it’s poisons exhumed from the reality that had been crafted by its true ruler. Then, the Monarch of All fell to His knees upon the water’s surface, wrapping the multicolored cloak around Himself to hide the punishment that the pariah had gifted to the primordial being. His body appeared as if He were breathing heavily though, as his gaze went from Zhongcheng to Tuku, He could not help but let out a sigh of relief. [b][i]”It is done.”[/i][/b] The expressionless mask seemed to smirk for once [color=9e0b0f]”Good hunt.”[/color] the god whispered. [color=9e0b0f]”Was lucky that I did not get hit, I am afraid the strikes that have wounded you would have likely split me in half.”[/color] then they relaxed and walked to their father. [color=9e0b0f]”Damn rude creature though, all of this trouble and yet it didn’t leave even a bone for me to hang among other prizes on my wall.”[/color] [b][i]”You have better than a trophy, Tuku. You have the honor of having aided in the slaying of a great beast. For that, you shall be venerated for.”[/i][/b] [color=9e0b0f]”Ah. Indeed. Sorry if I did not sound grateful for this chance. My mind is still somewhat hazy.”[/color] the god calmly approached Zhongcheng and patted its side. [color=9e0b0f]”This one also did a very good job. Bought us a lot of much needed time. Again. Cool pet.”[/color] The huntsman took a deep breath. [color=9e0b0f]”It seems we three need rest though. I’d invite you two to my hut for a victory party but the ceiling is too low and the tables too small. The trident is a gift, I did not name it because that is just something I am not good at. It could be useful if another thing capable of repelling your light ever shows up but let’s hope that never comes to pass.”[/color] [b][i]”It shall make a fine weapon, Tuku. Yet, my duties as the Monarch of All never end, I must beg your leave.”[/i][/b] [hider=Summary] -Tuku goes to the top of a mountain after being summoned by the Monarch of All and is let into the Palace via portals. -The Monarch and Tuku chat about the Pariah and reveals that the Pariah had poisoned Ao-Yurin which led to his death. -The Monarch and Tuku teleport to the ocean and meet with Zhongcheng (who will get his own solo post, Lauder swears it) before descending to hunt the beast. -Tuku finds it and the Monarch goes down only for the beast to use it’s blood to attack the Monarch. -Sick combos from Tuku. The Monarch and Pariah get in real close in the only manner that homies can get close to each other. -Pariah gets slain through the power of friendship, and a trident. -Monarch is battered and says that trophies are for losers, Tuku wanted a trophy. -The Monarch proceeds to dip to heal. Vigor used Tuku 1 (Discounted from 2) To make the neutral alloy arrows to fire at the beast. 1 To make the trident for the monarch using the same alloy 1 To create the knife to cut into the fissure of reality [/hider]