[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6Sfmz3l.png[/img][/center]

[hr]

A fiery black entity hurled toward Galbar.

This entity was intelligent. Or it had been, once. But its mind was fragmented. Only powerful-yet-vague emotions remained. Now, however, as it entered into this new world, driven by sheer instinct toward the mysterious voice, it - no, [i]his[/i] thoughts began to reform, and with them came memories. Memories of the emotional pain of betrayal. Of the physical pain of a mortal blow. Death had not stopped the pain, however, for his betrayers had then went on to target his very soul. Then, once they were done with him, they had cast him out into the void between realms. Or had he fled? He was unsure. It was all so blurry. There was much he did not know.

How long had his spirit been adrift?

He had fallen through the cosmos like a shrieking black comet, howling for justice, then for vengeance, then simply for someone to know of his plight, until his mind had fractured to such an extent that all he had left was incohorent rage and occasional bouts of intense sorrow and loneliness. Then at some point he had stopped moving, and his burning hot rage slowly transitioned into a cold fury. He had forgotten why he was angry, but he knew whatever he was angry at, he was justified, and became all the angrier for not remembering.

Then he had heard the voice, and had felt a pull toward it, which he had decided to follow.

And now he was falling once again.

He slammed into the ground, shaking the earth and leaving a vast crater where he had fallen. He felt no pain from the impact. The black energy swirling about his soul then slowly began to coalesce into a form.

[hr]

He lay there in the crater for days, trying to make sense of his newly-repaired and yet still so heavily-damaged mind. The sunlight shone on his red skin, and he rose to his feet. The memories came clearer now. Still fractured, still unclear, still in bits and pieces, but better than before. A word sprung to his mind. Aldion. What did that mean? Then it came to him. A name. That was his name. He was Aldion. He had been powerful once. Then he had been betrayed. By those he had expected to be loyal.

He flexed his muscles and felt divine might course through his veins. He still was powerful. Then, he began to laugh. His struggle was over. He was alive. His memories may be fractured and clouded, but his mind was lucid once more. He would not be fooled again. And vengeance could be his. [color=orange]"The traitors will pay,"[/color] he declared quietly to nobody but himself, before it occurred to him that he had no idea who those traitors were or how to get back to them.

Vengeance would have to wait, he grudgingly conceded.

And then he climed out of the crater.

[hr]

No sooner had he crawled out of the crater did he see a figure approaching him. A bipedal creature, perhaps six feet tall, with disheveled golden hair and pointed ears. He noticed her hands were stained with red. Despite her unkempt appearance, there was something graceful about her. As soon as he set eyes upon her, she stopped, and suddenly dropped to her knees, as if compelled to by some unknown force.

[color=orange]"And who would you be?"[/color] Aldion asked, curiously, before furrowing his brow. He could sense something in her. Something dark, and treacherous.

"Z-Zylana," she answered, nervously.

[color=orange]"Zylana,"[/color] Aldion repeated, as if testing the name. [color=orange]"You are covered in some sort of life essence. Blood, I think. Is it yours?"[/color] He began to approach her.

"I..." she stuttered. "I killed, and ate an animal. I was hungry."

[color=orange]"An animal, you say?"[/color] He looked about the desolate landscape. [color=orange]"Where did you kill it? Describe it. I am most curious to know what sort of life can be found here."[/color]

She did not answer. Her gaze dropped to the ground. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her expression was obviously full of remorse and guilt.

[color=orange]"Well?"[/color] Aldion prompted.

Still no answer.

[color=orange]"I can sense the stain of betrayal in your soul,"[/color] Aldion continued, his voice quiet and gentle. [color=orange]"A grevious crime, one that there can be no attonement for if you hide it."[/color]

"I..." she was beginning to sob. "I didn't... we thought..." She took several long moments to collect herself. "We were created in a shining city," she said. "And... well, we left. Falyn and I. Not too long after we were created. The city was beautiful but... it just felt too closed. Too constricting. I wasn't the only one who felt that way. There was another. Falyn. He and I, we left. We wanted to see if there was anything out there in the fields. If we kept at it in a straight direction, it wouldn't be hard to find our way back..." the tears seemed to redouble, and she once again paused to compose herself.

"We got lost," she admitted. "I don't know how. But we did. We were hungry, and thirsty. We thought we were going to die. He blamed me, and I blamed him. I..."

[color=orange]"You killed him,"[/color] Aldion concluded.

Zylana nodded, letting out a choked sob. Aldion reached down and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. [color=orange]"Stand,"[/color] he ordered. She did not move. [color=orange]"Stand,"[/color] he insisted again, this time more firmly.

Slowly, Zylana rose to her feet. "What are you going-"

Aldion seized her by the throat, and lifted her into the air. Flames of black, green, blue, and orange raced across her body. She became to scream. It lasted only for a few moments. Within seconds, her flesh melted away and her bones were reduced to ashes.

[color=orange]"Betrayer,"[/color] he hissed with contempt.

Then, something rose from the pile. It was shining, although Aldion could see a black darkness within. He looked at it, intrigued, and then realized that was what he had sensed. It attempted to move away from him, but then he reached out toward it, and suddenly it flew into his palm. He held it out before him, and peered into it, studying it. He saw images of her brief, short life - of the city of which she had spoken, and of her companion. He saw their treck through the wastes, their desperation. Their shared realization that it had been foolish to so brazenly leave the city without first talking to their goddess. Their decision to blame one another rather than work together. Their fight. The murder. And in addition to seeing what she saw, he felt everything she felt.

[color=orange]"You enjoyed killing him,"[/color] Aldion realized. speaking directly to the soul. [color=orange]"You enjoyed it."[/color] He continued watching, until he saw her fateful encounter with himself, and this time witnessed her true feelings. [color=orange]"Your tears were a deception, to gain my sympathy. But I have no sympathy - it was burned from me long ago."[/color] He ruminated for a moment. [color=orange]"I will give you some credit - you put on a good act, and it was a deception based on truth. You did feel sorrow. But it was a selfish sort of sorrow. You were sad because you knew your life was at an end. Some part of you knew I would see through you. And even if I couldn't, you knew you would die out here. And even if you did find your way back, you knew your kin would suspect what you had done."[/color]

[color=orange]"And I can see things in your soul that not even you knew,"[/color] Aldion whispered coldly. [color=orange]"You were carrying his offspring."[/color] The soul began thrashing in his grip, as if in agony. As if it could hear him. 

He did not let it go. Instead, he offered a cruel smirk. [color=orange]"You are mine now, little soul. I shall think of a suitable punishment for you in time. But for now, I can use some company. Although I must admit, I have little desire in seeking out this city or goddess of yours if you are the sort of creature they produced. No doubt there are more like you, and they must be punished too. In time."[/color]

[hr]
[hider=Post Summary]
Aldion crash-lands onto Galbar in the form of a comet. He lies in a crater for a few days while he tries to remember who he was. He only partially succeeds - remembering his name and also that he was betrayed in a past life (note: this is not referring to any of the past Divinuses.)

He then meets an elf - Zylana - who was drawn to his crater. Aldion senses something 'off' about her soul, and lures her into a confession.

She was created by Celestine but was in a rebellious mood and bailed from the city with a friend almost immediately after creation. She and her friend immediately got lost in the surrounding wasteland with no food and water. She and her friend began to argue which escalted into a fight, which ended in her murdering said friend. This makes her the first murderer, I guess.

Anyway Aldion decides to punish her for this betrayal of her comrade. So he chokes her and incinerates her. Then discovers that he can read her soul. He realizes that she enjoyed killing her friend and her remorse was not genuine. He has a bit of a bad first impression of Celestine and the Elves because of this, and decides not to meet them, though he's clearly being overly-judgemental. He instead decides to hang onto Zylana's soul and go exploring.
[/hider]

[hider=MP Summary]
No MP spent.
[/hider]