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[indent]Like a marionette without a puppetmaster, Kousuke immediately collapsed as he made contact with his new joints. A sharp gasp was the only sound to escape him as he tumbled into a heap, body splayed across the indefinable flooring of the void realm around him. Grunting, he pushed against the ground with intricately locked ball-joint fingers, fighting against his own weight. It was like that feeling after being submerged in water for too long, when gravity felt a million times stronger than it should be, their body feeling like lead. Slowly, surely, Kousuke rose to their feet, their body becoming lighter as they gained their balance. Dusting themself off, Kousuke looked down at their body in shock. Not only were they dressed to the nines in a pristine white suit with a striking red tie, but their [i]entire body[/i] had changed.

Warm, honied skin was now stark white, hard yet fragile like porcelain, no, not porcelain, some kind of [i]wood[/i]. His body was a collection of linden parts, strung together through wires and perfectly constructed joints. He realized quickly that what had once felt like hardened cement was now light and limber. He felt like he could dance on the air if he so pleased! He was half-inclined to give it a try, but before he could move, a yell broke through the darkness, splashing his vision with a wave of purple and pink that struck out like claws across the darkness. They shifted, awkwardly at first, turning towards the sound as it echoed out in a circular wave.

The air felt different now. Heat shifted and swirled around Kousuke, moving this way and that. There were cold spots, as cold was merely the presence of less heat, but the cold didn't draw his attention as much as the heat. It culminated in one direction, rising hotter and hotter like a burning flame. Maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was just common sense, but Kousuke felt he could read perfectly clear where he had to go. Now [i]why[/i] he had to go, and, furthermore, [i]why he even cared[/i], well, that was something Kousuke decided to worry about later. At that moment, the only thing guiding them was that heat, burning in front of them and searing through the center of their chest like a white-hot blade driving them forward.

Without another thought, Kousuke took off running toward the sound, toward the [i]heat[/i]. He stumbled at first as he got the hang of his new limbs, but quickly enough he felt he was running through the air, flailing--no, [i]dancing[/i] on the wind of his own speed. For once, his lungs burned not with the inability to breathe, but with a power he couldn't even describe. He felt strong, powerful, [i]commanding[/i] even. It was a feeling he had only ever felt in small amounts. Only in fractions of what he felt now. It was almost overwhelming, and he let out a harsh laugh, but kept on pushing toward the source of the heat, which only grew stronger the closer he got, like some kind of overpowered game of hot and cold.

Rounding one last corner, Kousuke found himself in the center of the sun, the heat was so great, but there at the center of it all was the source. Just beyond the horrific creature was another. Though the other looked more human...a girl? It wasn't Sayuri, or either of his sisters, so who could it be? Definitely not... Kousuke shook his head, getting rid of the memory as always, and focused back on the present. There was no time to question who this other individual was, or what the hell was actually going on. Shifting to a more offensive stance from his kendo training, Kousuke looked bigger than they actually were. Stronger. More fierce.

[color=f7976a]"[color=ed1c24][b]Get back[/b][/color]!"[/color] he called the words as a command, directing it at both figures ahead of him. They weren't really sure [i]why[/i] that was the tactic they chose, but it [i]felt right[/i], and they had never been one to ignore their gut before.[/indent]