Description: Alma has politely asked Igniz for a cup of tea on the Strolheim castle balcony. Igniz responds by showing up when he is most likely too, sitting down with his student for a cup of tea. The cups are downed, and the fighters stand. Harsh words that bully one of Alma's freinds turns an already tense scene into one which sends Alma into a righteous fury. But as some things may go, righteousness does not always put one in a very fruitful position.
Stark tranquility belies an underlying tension.
Silence, stone, and the crashing of waves.
Castle Strolheim, the forbidden fortress-- a peaceful place, built for battle.
Atop it, amidst the crisp damp air and the gentle echoes of the ocean far below, sits a young man lost in contemplation.
He is finally here-- and it is not what he thought.
Hazel eyes stare fixedly at nothing, the calm dusky-toned face framed by long blond bangs tinged with red contrasting with the latent tension in that gaze. Tall and slim, his elegant poise and relaxed demeanor complement one another as do the solid stone of the edifice beneath him and the slight wind that plays about it-- yet just as the fortress must endure the crashing of the waves about it, so is the storm brewing within him undeniable. Though one eye is half-obscured by a stray lock of hair, still nothing can obscure the intensity of the emotion radiated by that single visible orb. His body, his posture, they are not moved, as though the rawest of convictions root him thus. But something surges through him, and it amplies his already formidable presence -- normally dampened by the youth's mild manner and soft-spokenness -- to the point of being oppressive.
But there are none to feel it, and the castle has had worse.
In his right hand, a cup of tea is held gracefully, its liquid surface rippling faintly.
On the small table in front of him, another cup, and pot.
Across from him, an empty chair.
~ Igniz. ~
Farther back, the stone stairway that is the only entrance.
~ Master... Igniz. ~
All around him, the smell of the sea and the endless horizon.
~ How does one truly confront one's darkness? ~
The glittering sunset wreathes the beautiful young man in a halo of light that hints at divinity, yet this too fails to touch his inward-looking eyes.
~ Where must the line be drawn between embracing and defiance? Self-respect, integrity, sincerity-- which do they demand, and when, and why? ~
From this angle, the light of the sun seems to be rising up within him, not cast about him-- yet he gazes only to the shadows.
~ Master Ryu... you were right... this is difficult... but... ~
For the first time, his gaze flickers.
~ Important. ~
Finally, he stirs.
~ I must choose. ~
Exhaling, the young warrior raises his gaze heavenward.
~ And whatever I choose-- I am grateful for the chance to do so. ~
Tilting his head back, ears open to the sound of the waves, nostrils flaring slightly as he takes in the fragrance of the ocean and the dark beverage in his hand, he drinks.
~ Whatever the true path-- I am ready. ~
Alma Towazu awaits his teammate-- and his destiny.
Igniz is a many that is rather mysterious. Absurdly to be entirely clear. He appears where he wants to be in the worst of circumstances to the best, choosing his own path and acting upon his own wishes for reason he may have created simply to justify his expenditure of NESTS to the full extent to quell any thoughts that Igniz had not thought ahead.
Evidence suggests otherwise. The man who took the smile, a usual positive remark of ones current emotion, and strangled the life of it, has heard much about Alma. And not only after he had recieved the invite and the information declaring his teammate.
To participate in the Tournament, one had to stay in the castle. Sure of himself, and aiming at the ultimate prize that is offered from Krauser's grand tournament, the god of NESTS does not turn down the room that has been prepared for himself in the expansive territory that the castle rests upon. It would be fit for a god, but for others to share the same luxuries that Igniz does is a bit perplexing. It will pass soon.
Outside upon the rooftop, Igniz emerges from the stairs leading to the balcony. His figure is still emersed in in the long, dull lavander robe which is embedded with much silver and gold that it would make even the pope jealous of how fantastically it had been crafted. Upon it, the hood passes from over Igniz's head, his eyes and much of his face disappearing in shadow as he makes his way past Alma, a powerful emmenence emerging all at once as if it had just begun existing all at once.
On the other side of the table, pulling the seat out to take his own place at the table. The world suddenly stills. The birds stop chirping, the water ripples silently and the wind dies all at once, a deafining silence overtaken both parties now at the table. Igniz sits tall, his hands folded over the table as the light makes no motion to hint at divinity, but proclaim it, a soft like appearing from above, focusingly entirely of the god behind the cloak, if only for moments.
There, the god of NESTS sits tall, looking out towards Alma who sits directly across from him.
"Alma Towazu, my condolences for the YFCC."
"Your condolences aren't necessary... 'Igniz'."
They are as two angels, brought to earth to meet face to face, and though the arrival's presence outshines that of his younger companion, the intensity of the youth's gaze does not abate, unflinchingly meeting the other's eyes. Yet his words are softly-spoken, if not falsely friendly, and when he moves to raise the pot of tea and pour some for his teammate, his movements are fluid and gentle, not bespeaking of tension-- and he does it all without ever averting his gaze from Igniz's own.
"You speak as though something has been lost."
The trickle of the tea ceases, ending all sound once more, until the pot is set down with a quiet thump upon the stone table-- and the beautiful, if less imposing, youth continues.
"On the contrary, perhaps I should thank you," says Alma, as mildly as ever. "The bonds with those whom I work with and call my friends have only strengthened as a result of your attack, and so too has our international recognition. The relevance of the YFCC has more firmly been established..." A brief pause, as the young man's eyes soften even as the seriousness of his gaze does not abate. "...and, more importantly, we have proven ourselves to those who would rely on us, and shown what we are willing to sacrifice to pursue our purpose-- and do what we know is right."
Calmly, Alma begins to refill his cup, still without looking away.
"You could have offered us, and our cause, no greater gift."
A single, thoughtful sip.
"However," he continues, for the first time sounding slightly strained or weary, "it appears the organizers of this tournament have judged you have yet more to offer me. To that end, I thought it would be best that we introduce ourselves-- and that I ask a question."
Alma's head tilts slightly, blond hair rippling faintly.
"I am Alma Towazu," he says softly, eyes now boring into Igniz's own, "practioner of Hiten-Ryu kung fu, student of Soul Power, and vice-president of the Young Fighter's Community Center." He's also a model and quite handy with baking and drawing sketches, but perhaps those are less relevant. "I live life determined to imbue it with meaning, meaning consistent with the principles I find to be inherent in the human condition, and to grasp and reinforce the urgency of that act of imbuing-- to show through my actions how important it is. To that end I have sought to understand human beings, and myself, and to express myself as fully and sincerely as possible. Self-respect is my strongest ideal, but I believe that truly having self-respect, and not being driven by fear or insecurity, depends on a belief in human dignity as a whole. I therefore choose not to see myself as better than anyone else, despite my singular abilities, for I know that my identity itself depends upon those around me-- in ways I myself can never fully understand. I refuse to ignore the opportunities that life has provided me, just as I refuse to submit to despair. In undertaking my mission, in defiance of the obstacles in my path and through embracing the possibility of failure, I have cultivated the light within myself-- and come from being a benighted, stuttering boy to a leader of his fellows, surrounded by those he trusts and respects and who trust and respect him in turn. Out of mere fragments... I have made for myself an individuality I am confident in, and a home I know I can call my own."
Alma finishes his tea.
"My question is this."
The cup is set down.
"You, who have no belief in human dignity, who exalt yourself above all others out of your ignorance of what self-respect truly entails, who is obsessed with the creation of 'gods' over the pursuit of understanding what it means to be human..."
And finally it can be seen-- the glittering. For there is a blazing righteous light in this determined youth's eyes that can no longer be denied, a glimpse at the sea of flame that roils within his breast, and it highlights the hazel in a way the sunset never could.
"...what do /you/ have to teach /me/?"
Even as Alma speaks, Igniz hooks a finger about a cup of tea, and pours it for himself. The puff of heat rises into the air as the tea drips into the cup, slowly filling to the brim and cutting off at a perfect height. Igniz is very precise, almost surgical in his techniques until it seems an insufferable obsession that he must admit to.
But to a god, what is 'perfection'? Is it not exactly as he has planned? It must be, for that is what Igniz strives for in everything. The most brutal, effecient way possible is always taken against flair. This is no different in much of what he is capable of.
He is also very patient. The angel in the gods presence speaks very frankly towards him, as if he was not a man of great power, but a mere mortal.
"I may be able to guess it is the same few who decide to hide in the shadows from me, scampering away at the first sign of me in the imidiate area." Igniz exclaims, bringing up the tea to his mouth and blowing upon the hot tea, the smell and heat wafting into the air freely.
"You realize, Alma, you have great potential under you. The Young Fighter's Community Center is famous, even more now with my recent assault against it. My forces routed and my men driven back, you had indirectly proven the effectiveness of your organization. Even now, hundreds of troubled youths will venture to your establishment." Igniz exclaims, sipping at the tea that now is cooler than it had previously been.
"And I will be there to sample such youth. Expect me, for I will come." Igniz exclaims, moving past the note as if he had barely said it.
From there, Igniz listens intently to how Alma introduces himself towards the Overlord of NESTS. His life story, his lifes achievement in a blurb that the god of NESTS listens to without skipping a beat.
"You are indeed one of many that have succeeded in this earthly world, aiming to understand humanity in its basic form. I, too, understand humanity." Igniz exclaims, "There is much that I do not know about how they work, how they feel, how they are to believe or act on any given moment. I have not only looks towards the sun, I have looked towards the moon as it had eclipsed that, seeing humanity for what it is." He sips his tea again, setting it down towards the table.
"You accuse me of so much upon our first meeting, Alma Towazu, belittling against your own vast accomplishes." The god of NEST exclaims, "I have done much more than that." Igniz states, his eyes once more looking towards Alma's rolling eyes of flame that accumulates rather quickly in his occular orbs.
"I think there is something I can teach you. But, ahh, I am afraid that it may be more than you are capable of."
Alma is getting very emotional.
An average person would not be able to tell. For the most part, Alma's words are clear and softly spoken, his gaze steady, his body relaxed even as he retains his calm poise. The intensity of his eyes could be overwhelming, but no more so, perhaps, than the presence of this beautiful and quietly charismatic young man would be in any case.
But Igniz is not an average person.
No doubt he knows much of Alma Towazu, despite the two of them having never met in person-- and that which he does not know he should be able to detect from the vantage point of his own powerful presence and strong will. With Alma's latent radiating Soul Power less of a distraction, Igniz would surely be able to notice the silent but heavier breathing, the faintly furrowed brow, and know that this young man, always subtle in sharing his passion until the point of true confrontation -- at which point, of course, that sea of flame erupts abruptly -- is having difficulty restraining himself.
Normally, restraint is not necessary, because Alma always knows what he truly wants-- and that is, regardless of whims or personal sentiment, to maintain a sense of his own dignity and self-respect, as he just confessed.
But... this isn't Benimaru he's talking to.
This isn't a man who gets on his nerves, who reminds him of qualities he dislikes. This is, to Alma, a heinous person, one self-absorbed to the point of madness.
Igniz is why Alma does not believe in gods.
"...hrmm..."
For Alma does not believe power has any inherent meaning. To be stronger than another, to be faster, or smarter-- these signify nothing in and of themselves. It is how they are used, and why they are used, and under what circumstances, and in what is sacrificed in the process, that an individual is defined and the world is infused with meaning. Power can be an anchor to meaning; some things, like violence, are dangerous, are potent and due to this 'human condition' Alma is wont to speak of, psychologically rooted in desperation and linked with fear. And this is why the YFCC is what it is-- a bastion for fighters, not for just anyone. Fighters are not better. They are simply more dangerous-- and thus, for the benefit of all, more in need of support.
A god is a powerful being-- but power does not make them right, even if the weaker, as humans will, take comfort in that power and accept what the more powerful have to offer.
But, in Alma's mind, only a human has the right to attempt to define justice. One who casts their rules upon the world from above rather from within is no god, but--
~ A monster. ~
Alma, Lucifer to Igniz's deity, stares upon this god of a man with the mingled defiance and resignation of one who knows he does not have the power to prove himself the righter.
To one who expresses his passion so sincerely, frustration is rare.
Yet still, dignity triumphant, Alma listens. He listens to this man he despises, and for now, accepts his situation with grace, as he has been attempting since learning of his team assignment. He has no response to the suggestion that he expect Igniz; his eyes further narrow -- faintly, but all the more noticable for that -- with the assertion that Igniz is prepared to look beyond humanity, beyond the very stars.
His initial soliloquy may indeed have seemed almost practiced, dense and verbose as Alma aggressively compiled his life into a condensed philosophical assertion and thrust it forth, defensive and desperate. In a way, it was. But he needed to say that, needed to put that out there right from the beginning.
~ No matter how high you rise, Igniz... ~
"More than I am capable of..."
~ I will be looking down on you. ~
The young man's voice remains calm and soft.
"What would that be?"
Igniz remains lacking emotion. There is very little he feels for what he does. Creating life, and ultimating, snuffing it out is a hard thing to do if you feel for every soul that passes before you. It's much easier to declare them all damned and go on living, as you feel nothing, regret nothing, and ultimately are able to do as you wish.
Surely if one deserved special treatment, Igniz would cater to them. Kula being one, and Krizalid to name the other. Thought even they, in the end, could not care less for. All tools in his game, the god of NESTS finds there is nothing he cannot get others to do for him. Even the most despicable acts are allowable for the right price. Some that Igniz does not even have to pay.
But there is very few things that Igniz could potentialy act upon other than with a smile, a smirk, a grin. Whatever you call it, it is the meaning of an action without the pretense behind it. His smile does not convey a sense of security, but one that leaves the other feeling naked, see through. And why not? It is true that with the help of complex technology not even the littlest detail is safe from Igniz's sharp eye.
Igniz can see that Alma is beginning to enter a more intense state, a prelude to a fighter perhaps? The god of NESTS barely moved as time goes on. Alma may have his own thoughts, his own expectations that are true to themselves in many ways, and also true for others. But for Igniz, power is owning everything. Holding it above others, using it as a control method, to step the tide of others that aim to steal it from you. All of it to be used more than for a mesely deterent. To be able to use fighters beneath you, and aid them into doing something wonderous, even if it is all, in the end, just for you, is something wonderous.
A monster Igniz may be, he would not outright admit it. The cordial attitude and the false pretences he travels about with are only few of the quirks that follow him about, aimed at keeping a professionalism to NESTS that only the business man could, with a tendancy for profit and domination. After all, isn't that what all businesses are for?
Igniz barely listents to Alma, as there is very few words to listen to. But each and all are important in their own right. They ask questions that Igniz can answer in a heart beat, but fails to do so automatically, stretched out almost infinitely.
And, in a move that could be called entirely hypocritical, but in Igniz's own mind, fully true.
Sipping the rest of his tea, and placing it upon the saucer that it stood upon, the god of NESTS leans back, a soft smile carressing his face as he looks upon the slender face of Alma, as if he was beneath him. So much in one simple word, strong, broad, and verbose.
"Humility."
A tremor of fury shivers Alma's spine.
"Humility."
The word is spoken to be tasted, as one would poison or bitter medicine. Rolled around in his mouth, careful, thoughtful, almost curious, but braced.
"Am I too proud, Igniz?"
Hazel eyes slitted, Alma allows Igniz to gaze down upon him.
"There is a difference between pride and dignity."
That smile-- he cannot deny that it burns.
"And even if there weren't," the youth continues softly, "there is no way that you could teach me to be humble, not because I am unready, but because you hold no power over me."
There is no hatred in his eyes-- but the heat of his righteous indignation, his utter conviction in the wrongness of Igniz's ways, might be more baleful than even that.
"You cannot offer me anything," he says, "because the taint of any gift of yours would unmake me. You cannot humiliate me, because I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself. And you cannot make me afraid-- because your power means nothing to me. You know this."
Don't you?
"Just as the YFCC has only grown from the damage you have dealt it," Alma murmurs, "so too would I only become more of myself for every sacrifice you enact from me. No matter what you do-- you could never take my dignity."
So he claims. Yet while he manages to stay calm and impassioned for the moment, the repulsiveness and overwhelming nature of the aura before him begins to take its toll. Just as Kain could bring him to fits of rage unlike him, so too does Igniz's presence quickly begin to wear on Alma's normally unruffled, gentle demeanor. For the first time, young Alma begins to realize this. This is the darkness. When he cannot restrain himself, when a responsible person such as himself, normally utterly opposed to recklessness and committed to purely meaningful sacrifice, is driven toward impetuousness-- this is where he remains weak and inexperienced. His faith is strong. Incredibly strong. But perhaps--
"You..."
Not invincible.
"...How could you..."
An eyebrow twitches faintly, though his features remain still.
"...teach me about something you do not even remotely know yourself?"
My ally is tought to bend. A free spirit that Igniz is unable to imprison through fury or hatred imidiately. He has seen many of these, K' and Whip distinctly not on this list, but few of such caliber.
It will come in time, he tells himself. There are few that could withstand Igniz's crushing charisma, coupled by the aura that has been bent and willed into place instead of rightfully gained. It has a somewhat sobering effect to others. To Alma, it may drive him insane. For as Igniz views it, Alma may either accept what Igniz is, or be reminded in methods that are less than divine.
"I do think so, yes." Igniz exclaims. "You have too much of either," Igniz exclaims in truth. "That is what I decree." The god of NESTS speaks his hard words, of one that aimed for nothing but good. His perverse words and views may drive NESTS, but otherwere, others do not obey the same rigorous wants and needs that Igniz is known for having and wanting at all times.
"My gifts would not unmake you. They have not unmade Kula, and K'..." Igniz pauses, a soft smile upon his face, "K' never really was made to begin with." The overlord exclaims, "The only thing that would unmake you would be yourself. It is obvious to me that you will fight all that I have to give to you for as long as you stand, and in those moments either unmake yourself or, as you say, become better. Though I hardly see that a happening."
Alma's demeanor changes, something Igniz notices slowly but surely. He's thinking, perhaps even doubting? Igniz could only hope!
Standing up slowly from the table, the chair being pushed back by some unknown force as he steps away himself, placing the tea cup against the table as he looks up and over towards Alma, meaningful steps taken towards the side of the balcony. "There are many ways I can teach you about humilty." Igniz exclaims.
His features light up imidiately, his cloak being sucked off of him, removed and replaced with a cape as quick as it had disappeared. A shinging jade black battlesuit replaces it instead, heavy and powerful, able to absorb much as well as being so very hi tech, it is amazing what sort of technology that Igniz has access too. He hovers off the ground slightly.
"But I prefer this way. It is the easiest way to convert you."
COMBATSYS: Igniz has started a fight here.
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Igniz 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Alma has joined the fight here.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Igniz
Alma pales.
Until this point he has indeed been deep in thought, coming to grips with what it truly means to confront his own darkness-- the places where his own undeniable light is outshined, or absorbed by a darkness it cannot overcome. Up until now, he always thought of this conviction as his greatest strength, which it may well be; it certainly is one of his most defining qualities. But the 'shadow that this light casts' does not merely manifest as those who quail in the face of or resent the power that Alma does his very best to soften and control. Perhaps--
Perhaps this light itself is a weakness, too.
Were Alma's dignity in fact invincible, he would certainly be brought to fury by the fact that Igniz's power, which is so great, is being used so poorly, the would-be god's misdeeds magnified due to the immense misuse implicit in every crime. Yet while this is true injustice, there is a lesser 'injustice' that worries at him. The young man only now becomes aware of this, even as it is too late for him to stop the zealous rage from flooding his heart with fire.
A philosopher once remarked upon the need of good men to see the evil as unhappy. Alma is certainly one of these good men. He insists that a man such as Igniz can only be as wrong as they are because they lack self-respect, integrity, or any true concept of what it means to be an individual. Yet as much as Alma might believe that power and rightness have no relation, and that the strong can easily be wrong, he also insists that his own personal strength arises from his mindset. Why, then, do men such as Igniz and Kain have such strong wills, such potent auras? Why does the world allow this? What does it mean?
It is-- so frustrating.
And it is the petty nature of this frustration, this flailing in the face of what Alma simply cannot understand, that -- while it is not self-doubt, per se -- sets Alma's nerves on edge.
And makes him vulnerable.
"...never..."
Vulnerable to heinous words and deeds.
"...K' was never..."
Alma pales-- with raw fury.
His arms shake as he sets the cup down, rattling.
"We are all made of fragments," he whispers, eyes widened, "bits and pieces jumbled together unintelligibly, but we sort ourselves out, and become our own individuals. K' has done that, because we believe in him, because people love him, because he is strong. You... your actions... you can't take away his right to be a person. No matter what you do; no matter what you've done to him."
Igniz rises, and Alma, trembling uncontrollably, rises too.
"You, who claim to be able to /improve/ upon humanity..."
The change in costume is fantastic, but Alma appears beyond being impressed. Beyond thought, beyond doubt now, the young man feels strength surge through him. Yet, in a way, this mighty light that blooms within him has arisen from plunging into this dark indignation, this unprovable refusal to accept that the world would allow Igniz to be right. Is this weakness, then? Or is this a truer strength, that shows that integrity may trump even reason? At this point, Alma's receding conscious mind can only express a faint resignation, to not yet have any way of knowing.
"...you..."But perhaps, as the battlesuit manifests for Igniz and white flames traced with sparkling cherry-blossom pink and rich indigo flicker around the bronze-skinned model's hands, battle will prove something.
".../you/..."
Perhaps, as Alma lunges forward, stepping onto the stone table before him to leap swiftly and fiercely toward his now-floating opponent, thrusting forth his hand to unleash a lance of raw energy toward Igniz and strike directly with the force of his convictions against his teammate's very will, this venture into the shadows will bring something further to light.
"...you /understand nothing/!"
COMBATSYS: Igniz blocks Alma's Self Expression.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Igniz
There are only certainties to Igniz. There is no grey line that much of the world places upon itself to divy up the many people that live in the world. There are only the ones that are with him, or the ones that do not see his glory. Either can be changed about, but many times, either can be just as tested in the god of NESTS presense.
But here, Igniz is still testing. Seeing how far he would need to go for Alma to crumble. How far it would take such a pure soul that has such a kind heart and strength of character to crack underneath the very words that Igniz exclaims, without him even to raise a single strike against him. He stands, looking out towards Alma as the boy thinks, as the boy becomes aware of the truth of the world. It is not all what is expected, such fairytales that kids have been raised on, programs where everyone lives happily ever after and the villain is either converted or beat with the combination of hearts of all who stand against him. That is the world that Alma perhaps already escaped, but even that cannot compare to the truth even the evils of everyday life.
Igniz is unwavered as Alma begins to speak. Slow and methodical, the god of NESTS can see that as Alma's speech deteriorates to a point where it elevates, and that is where Igniz could have sworn he heard a hint of weakness. Igniz must known, so he delves even deeper. The suit whirrs to life, twisting and turnign to take in all of Alma. His temperature, his structure, even the reading of his energy, which is most notably not chi. However, the deep thought that Igniz thought he would find has all but vanished. It is there, in bits and pieces, and reading across them, the god of NESTS smiles in turn.
He knew that today, he would either aim to break Alma, or teach him a valuable lesson about his godhood.
"K' was a mistake," Igniz interjects, "I had given him power, a life, and even a purpose. These were not enough for him. He has begun to recover, but I have yet to decide if it is for the best. You will see when I have made my dicision. It will be impossible to miss." The god of NESTS exclaims, hovering yet still above the ground, eyes aimed towards Alma as he moves.
"Fragments?" Igniz chuckles, "Oh, we are all made of those. But a person could never sort themselves out. They can only guess at their traits and learn from trial and error." He stays almost entirely motionless, only stopping this to raise a hand towards Alma, "It would take a god like myself to truely decipher such information. I had given K' Kusinagi flames for a reason. He was one of the few that could be injected. He should have been proud to recieve them." He speaks, even as Alma begins to move, the white flames with cherry-blossom pink and rich into psi flares forward Igniz curteousy of Alma, the lance of raw energy thrust upon him in a powerful jump strike, aimed entirely upon bringing his convictions to manifest upon Igniz's figure.
Instead, four shields of raw chi flank the god of NESTS which is driven back, the psi slowed entirely as it disipates, only a partial ammount makes it through into the battlesuit, searing the edge. Igniz smiles, looking down upon Alma, lowering himself towards the ground, but still hovering inches off the ground.
"You see, Alma, it is not I that understand nothing. It is... ignorant to tell a god that he understands nothing, when it could not be farther from the truth. For you see, Alma..." Igniz exclaims, his eyes, the battlesuit, all combined focus intently upon the figure of Alma.
"You are predictable."
COMBATSYS: Igniz calculates his next move.
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Alma 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Igniz
"Hrrnngh..."
Alma can only grit his teeth.
~ This man... ~
As anticipated, he is very, very strong.
Is it cheating, to use a battlesuit? Only if it is cheating to use Soul Power. Is it fair, who gets to be a fighter and who does not? If we are indeed fragments, then pieces may be added. In terms of the aura Alma is beholding, however, he can detect -- albeit nebulously -- that there is more than just gene therapy and high technology here. This man was strong before any of that happened. These upgrades-- they might as well be training. But perhaps, in being earned with less sacrifice, they are less worthy of being called Igniz's own.
Perhaps that is this man's weakness.
Alma can only hope there /is/ a weakness to be found, for as of now, the aura before him seems impermeable, the energy radiated mingling seamlessly with the enhanced aura inhabiting that battlesuit. Such a perfect synthesis the youth has never yet before seen; truly, those of this organization he has encountered before are the lesser products of their experimentations. To think, what could be done with this power if it were used well--
Yet Alma has always cared more for meaning than for power.
And it is that, more than strategy, that drives him onward.
"Heh!"
Grinning fiercely, Alma's hazel eyes narrow to slits.
"Predictable?"
Spinning into action, the young champion of justice moves to kick the table at Igniz, yet only lifts it off the ground slightly, bringing it into the man's field of vision-- and raising it enough for Alma to abruptly slide under it, using that momentum to shift onto his hands and furiously kick upwards, lashing out with a wild grace for the god's abdomen.
"I'm just consistent."
Alma would never agree that integrity sacrifices strategy.
But-- that doesn't mean his strategy couldn't improve a little.
COMBATSYS: Igniz counters Light Kick from Alma with Quick Throw.
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Alma 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Igniz
The battlesuit does not amplify Igniz's strength too much. It is mostly used for access to unpredictable strikes, rather than entirely bolster his strength. But this is not entirely true either. The suit allows him access to his opponents most well kept secrets. To this, that, and the other thing. Anythign at all is capable as long as Igniz can see it, can understand it, and can ultimately use it against the owners of said strike.
In a sense it is cheating. It is not an extension of his will, it is nothing more than a strength enhancer, but due to its bulky fitting Igniz is slowed. But not too much to make any terrible difference. He is still very limber with it equiped.
Alma will find tonight, or in due time, that Igniz's strength is not quantified by his overpowering chi, or his access of weaponry, but the ability to know everything that is happening, and react to it accordingly. The sheer flexibility of his style is what makes him dangerous. To call anything he wishes from a whim and conjure it is more devastating than any set plan.
Alma moves, maneuvers about Igniz's style, aiming to find a weakness, anything. Igniz can see. From all that he had followed forward with, Alma had lead with a kick, causing Igniz to simply stand there, awaiting Alma to come to him. The kick never makes it to Igniz's abdomen.
A tassle of one of the chi amplifiers lifts off, wrapping around Alma's foot as it comes, and hanging him upside down as it snakes into the air. Igniz, for a moment, looks upon the upside down model, and smiles. "Then I hope you're consistant enough to prove you worth. For now, I do not think you can land a clean blow upon me." Igniz exclaims, "It is a useless endeavor."
SNAP. That is the sound of the tassle whipping Alma towards the ground without a second thought. It does as commanded, after all.
"Enngh--!"
Alma, hanging abruptly upside-down, looks sufficiently surprised.
This man might not be a god, but--
"Arrghh!"
He's more than human.
A human has a limited number of limbs, after all. This is going to require a radical re-envisioning of strategy; this is fighting an altogether different animal. But then, Alma is able to rely on senses that most cannot, and to sufficiently counter him one must compensate for that. In a way, Alma is merely being forced to compete with someone who has a more complete grasp, through different means, of what he unconscious reaches for himself at all times.
On the other hand, he /does/ appear to have extra arms.
Yet whatever is demanded of Alma with regard to straetgy, his passion will be of the same substance. Such is his supposed consistency. And just as Igniz says, he /is/ determined to prove it, even if tactics are lacking. Even if he has no option but to wear himself into the ground--
~ Clean blow!? ~
Righteous fury will fuel his every act.
For Alma's reflexes are preternatural as he is flung away, and even as he speeds toward the ground, destined for a long if fluid tumble to safety, the tall youth's dusky arm will fling out, a gout of that white soulfire emerging in a sworling dart, aimed to sneak through the small opening created when the chi amplifier swung out. His initiative is born purely of determination--
And if he has any chance, it will issue from that determination.
COMBATSYS: Igniz reflects Sacred Wave from Alma with Nega Genesis.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Igniz
Igniz's determination is fueled upon his own want and will to show his partner that he is teamed up with no mere mortal. Not one to be patronized or even discarded to the side, no. Igniz is a god by all means, and he will prove it. One way or another to Alma that he infact is of divine heritage.
Even as Alma comes back, Igniz can see his actions, already bringing systems into place to multigate what he is capable of. His passion. That is what Igniz is preparing for, and that is what he continues to aim to work towards. To use Alma's own passion against him.
If he is capable of it, then he would have found something far greater than strength and weakness, but a pivot to command his ally, to use to his own advantage in the fights. To see exactly what makes Alma tick, and to learn about it so well that, if intruiged, he may be able to replicate it.
Alma's fury is entirely seen, for as soon as he is tossed aside, Alma returns, firing out a gout of soulfire towards the would be god. But it does not get by.
A single hand is raised towards Alma, the overlord palm opening only for an immaculate, white portal of chi to form, absorbing Alma's own dart, only to combine it with his manufactured, unstable chi that bites out, combining each into a terrible hybrid that the world should never have seen. With both hues mixing incredibly, the fluxuating mass of energies is sent back towards Alma post haste, for him to deal with said monstrosity.
"Do you still doubt my godhood?"
COMBATSYS: Alma blocks Igniz's Reflected Sacred Wave.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-======|======-\-------\0 Igniz
Alma will not kneel so easily.
Tumbling away, knocking the chairs they had previously been sitting upon aside as he rolls, the tall youth manages to emerge into a poised crouch, even if he looks slightly dazed-- yet he has only a split-second before that quick blast is reversed entirely and returned to him more powerful than before. Alma, however, neither quails nor even seems surprised. Part of this is that he can sense the attack reversing before he can see it, giving him the slimmest of extra advantages-- and part is that he is beyond caring.
One bronzed hand reaches out, and grasps the sworling dart such that it sizzles into nothing.
Hand singed with his own rebelled energy, Alma glares at Igniz from his crouch with eyes undaunted and unclouded, but bright with a passion that, all evidence to the contrary aside, will not be denied.
"Doubt?"
His voice is low, tight.
"I refuse /categorically/ to believe you are a 'god'."
He rises slowly to his feet.
"You have /no/ right to cast judgment upon anyone, so long as you refuse to think of yourself as a human-- and thereby refuse to truly take responsibility for your actions."
Chest swelling, Alma stands tall, a scintillating halo of light enveloping his form, designer clothes rippling with a rising wind laced with pinks and purples-- until his increasing power blossoms into a sunburst, gold and rose highlighting him from behind, fluttering shapes of unearthly, ethereal feathers forming and fading around him. The gates have opened. Every ounce of power will be drawn from the sea of flame that burns beneath his breast; the auric shield that surrounds him now reveals it to be so.
This is new.
"Heed the cry of one between heaven and earth, Igniz!"
The cry of an angel, human /and/ divine.
"Know what it means to be just-- and beautiful-- and free!"
Eyes glittering like crystal, light tracing through his veins.
"/Surrender/, Igniz-- and despair at your own wrongdoing!!"
He may be facing his greatest shadows, but--
Alma has never felt such light.
COMBATSYS: Alma gathers his will.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > //////////////////////////// ]
Alma 1/-----==/=======|======-\-------\0 Igniz
Igniz has been on the defensive the entire fight, and he has not yet to turn it about. Rather, he has been playing with Alma from the beginning, in almost a sadistic game of cat and mouse, aiming to find out exactly what makes Alma tick and use it against him. If anything, now Igniz knows other things that Alma is capable of.
Holding back allowed him much. And now, with no real need to do so, the god of NESTS moves to push an advantage. One much larger than he should have ultimately stepped. Perhaps foolish, foolhardly, but maybe it is his own divine justice to bring it around and aim it fully upon a man that does not believe. To convert the non believer.
Perhaps he was foolhardy, to attempt to convert an angel to his own god hood may be the last step for him to prove to himself and other that he is indeed of divine nature. But Alma has yet to buckle and break, even when his own power added with Igniz's brilliant chi brought upon him. A situation that must be rectified.
Even as Alma stands once more, wind surrounding him furiously with a halo of light enveloping him, giving the very essence of a somewhat divine presence, Igniz only smiles upon it. His face and features still refuse to change, even with the obvious resistance that Alma is giving him in all forms of defiance.
"Then you are still wrong," Igniz exclaims. "I would think one who is so intraspective to realize when they are bested." The god of NESTS begins, not moving a step from where he stands. Instead, he looks upon Alma as he stands. His figure begins to regerate in all sorts of ways. Body, mind and soul. Igniz can see quite clearly. But it does not matter. It is a simple thing to rectify.
Raising a hand int othe air, grasping a readily glowing ball of chi, Igniz smiles rather brightly. "I think... you do not not know what you are talking about." The god of NESTS begins, "For a god to surrender to surrender to an angel?" Igniz announces, a soft smile across his face as he brings the energy forward in a blow towards Alma. The chi errupts as Igniz simply tosses it, hurrying across the ground as it makes its way towards Alma, increasing in speed as it travels the distance towards the heavenly glow, attempting to disrupt it in a most violent way.
COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Alma with Divine Arrow - Ground.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > /////////////////////////// ]
Alma 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\1 Igniz
~ An... angel? ~
Alma's lips part and his eyes widen faintly as he becomes aware of the full extent of the power that has blossomed around him, the vibrant and colorful might that manifests so palpably, so enthrallingly. His aura-- it is truly a work of art, and only now, in the face of what he most opposes revealed so plainly, is enough light shed to show it thus.
Drawn in to his own heartbeat, echoing the very flow of the world around him, Alma's fury transcends anger, bright and shining to a honed point of spirit.
Yes, somewhere between what one would call a god and a man--
And refusing to be simply one or the other.
~ I can do this. ~
He knows now that it is possible.
~ I have the will. ~
The chi erupts toward him, and once more Alma outstretches his hand, preparing to receive it as he did his returned attack, but this time with the golden shield of his own soul enveloping him.
~ I can-- ~
He cannot.
Against the force of the mighty explosion, the shield cracks and shatters, Alma's head jerking back and body spasming, peaceful expression contorting in mental and physical pain alike as he collapses, the surge of 'divine' energy overwhelming his defenses utterly, tearing notches in the stone beneath him as he slides backward.
"...hrrnghh...!"
Yet-- somehow, hope is not lost.
That vibrant light, it has faded. The color, it has died. Yet when Alma rises, his eyes glitter just as they did before, his spirit for now unabated. And his body trembles with the strength of his own resolve, triumphing over his flesh and defying his inability to match Igniz's raw power, and he screams out to the sky and the far-off storm as his fist plunges to the ground, and emits a bright and swirling geyser of blistering heat and light, raw spiritual energy taking the formless form that is a torrent of unadulterated passion.
"UrrrraaAAAAAHHH!"
Is this, too, insufficient?
From the look in his eyes, Alma himself does not seem afraid.
COMBATSYS: Igniz overcomes Full Confession from Alma with Ideon Blade.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/-----==|-------\-------\0 Igniz
Igniz once more awaits Alma's actions. His own arrow, his justification for why he is a god in the simplest answer he could give. Straight forward, charismatic and devastating all at once. And it collides with Alma, just as he had hoped.
Igniz is self confident, more than he should ever be given a certain ideal to never have a hand laid upon him by his partner. Even if Alma is his student, and one that has yet not wanted to learn, Igniz will make sure that he will learn all he can possibly learn. If he wants to, or if he does not. Either way, the god of NESTS will prove to Alma, if not one way or the other, that he is truely a god, and that is a fact that no one can dispute.
Alma moves in an attempt to fight back against Igniz's devastating manuevers, turning the fight from one one even fields, and twisting it into a nightmare. Alma fights back, his strength providing him with power over his own body to plunge his fist into the ground, scream powerfully and send a bright geyser of heat directly towards Igniz. At first, Igniz wonders exactly why he cannot pick it apart, use it to his advantage.
And he finds out, if anything, that it is because Alma has hidden it on him. The god of NESTS takes measures, once more using his vast resources to look closely into the assault, to see exactly where the raw spiritual energy moves, and where it is headed. From there, he circumvents Alma's actions completely.
Grasping hold upon a powerful ball of light, growing sparadically as he forces his chi into it, circulating his power directly into the ball before crashing it into the ground. Both powers meet, geysers of bright blistering heat against entire pillairs of white, imaculate light that is almost too bright to behold. They meet in a thunderous conclusion, which is blinding to look directly at, before the Ideon Blade rips through the ground, searing through Alma's own and towards him post haste.
There is nothing Igniz can say. But he can smile, so he does.
COMBATSYS: Igniz successfully hits Alma with Ideon Blade.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Alma 1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0 Igniz
What is... this power?
"...nhh...nggahhh!"
Choking on the dust and his own agony, Alma falls to his knees, body spasming with the sheer effort required not to succumb to this searing energy, burning at every synapse, numbing every nerve with the immensity of the pain. The geysers have passed through him, leaving his body without recourse, near the edge of collapse.
"..rrrRRAAHHH!"
Yet the sheer force of Alma's conviction will not be denied. Is this the light? Is this the darkness? Alma is beyond being able to tell the difference, but it feels like light, and it looks like light-- a light that despite Igniz's seeming invulnerability, despite being unable to put forth his passion as it demands he does, will not fade. No, this is the light, the light at its peak, a faith that defies the constraints of his physical form, a will to a meaning that could lead Alma to martyrdom and beyond if required.
The shadow-- is the world that defies /him/.
For though power alone will never cause him to cease to believe that he is right, that the universe resounds with the principles that he perceives and interprets, he truly believes also that this rightness will always make itself known. Integrity is its own reward; it is in accord with both earth and heaven. This is why true passion cannot be denied.
Can't it?
The darkness is not the possibility that Alma could be wrong.
Twitching, Alma still somehow rises to his feet.
His light is not oppressive. He is no tyrant; no ego needs fuelling.
Growling, he staggers into what becomes a dash, all fatigue forgotten.
The darkness is that--
"Hrraaahhh!"
Maybe being right /doesn't matter/.
Blazing punches, blazing kicks, a hail of blows, all aimed to finally crush, even if only for a moment, the arrogant defenses of this arrogant god.
But it must matter; he knows it does. He's felt it. It must.
Mustn't it?
COMBATSYS: Igniz dodges Alma's Trial by Fire.
[ \\\\\\\ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Alma 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Igniz
It would take one who could sense the differentiations between the dark and the light to determine which chi Igniz's really is. It holds itself as the brightlest light one may look upon without staring directly into the sun, but the purity is not there, left somewhere far behind for raw effectiveness and killing power. The white, imaculate chi is a cover up for something much more horrifying.
For what it is worth, Igniz decimates his younger ward, one that almost matches his own, god like appearance. An angel to his god, the Overlord of NESTS makes no mistake, no folly in reading his teammate correctly. Alma aims to strike, even at this most darkest hour when the shades of grey begin to overlap themselves many times over, combining and darknening until one cannot see feet infront of their face.
Alma dives in head first anyways, aimed to use relentless spirit to guide him to Igniz, where he could not miss. He could not be stopped.
The god of NESTS does not allow it. Te blazing punching, kicks, blows and all aimed to shatter Igniz's defenses do not find his defenses. They, instead, fine Igniz's smiling face moving too quickly. The heavy battlesuit looks terribly agile as Igniz appears to teleport between blows, but in reality, using his chi to accelerate him and his battlesuit. Soft after images almost seem to be ghosts as the blows crashing through them, dispersing them with each strike.
But one ghost remains. The holy ghost that is Igniz, floating behind even as Alma's charge has failed. His grin has not yet faded, nor has his power, his aura not yet wavering still. As strong as it was at the beginning of the fight even, yet here as Alma gives his all, Igniz barely gives.
"Alma... you seem to be fading. If you hope to be my ward in this tournament, I expect much more out of you." Igniz exclaims, "And if you are unable to give, then I will forge you like I have the many others." Igniz exclaims with a remarkable smile, looking down towards Alma as he comes once more like a vengeful god, softly falling towards Alma, closer and closer as the many feet between them dwindle, Igniz's cape floating down as he moves, wafting in the air behind him as he arcs a leg down towards Alma. A fast blow, almost unseeable to the naked eye, aimed to strike Alma before he can even react, and recoil before he has time to strike back.
COMBATSYS: Alma fails to interrupt Medium Kick from Igniz with Blaze of Glory.
[ < > ////////////////////////// ]
Alma 1/----===/=======|=------\-------\0 Igniz
COMBATSYS: Alma can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Igniz 0/-------/------=|
True passion cannot be denied.
What does that mean?
On the one hand, it implies that there is such a thing as /true/ passion, that some passions are truer than others, based on the standard of the human condition. A man may be motivated by fear, by insecurity, by lust for power; he may strain against his terror in the face of loss or death. Such is the way of men. But the pursuits of happiness and fulfillment thus fueled tend to be self-annihilating; those who seek power to rid themselves of fear never truly escape, but only constantly escalate their desires, their hunger never sated, their fears only magnified with the more they have to lose. If there is strength -- if there is passion -- it surely cannot exist in the context of pursuits that inevitably contradict themselves in their objectives and results.
Alma, who has learned to choose love over fear, who in turn believes that one cannot love oneself without loving others, who insists that these are the secrets of the human condition that make true passion -- and true fulfillment -- possible and render those more superficial pursuits worthless, possesses that sort of passion, if anyone does.
Yet on the other hand, if one accepts that there are these inviolable, or at least consistent, principles of human nature that make certain pursuits of happiness worthy and others unworthy, the second half of the statement might also follow: this passion cannot be denied. A man will succumb to truth eventually, even if it takes the darkness of death itself to make him see the light; the man who devoted himself to money will realize how unhappy he is in the end, the man with all the power in the world will feel the inner weakness that drove him so relentlessly and understand how useless his efforts have been. No matter how obscured, the truth must eventually rise to the surface, because there are true and untrue passions, and untrue passions will ever fail to fulfill.
Won't they?
Or is this belief naive, even if the first half upon which it is premised is true? Are there not those men who are so strong-willed, so obstinate in their false beliefs, that they will take them to the grave? Do not the bad sleep well? The dictator who feasts at the expense of others, the sadist that delights in their victims' sufferings-- are these people unhappy? Or is that merely the endlessly optimistic assertion of those who must, who /need/ to out of their /own/ worries, believe that they are?
Even if Igniz is never punished...
Even if the power of a god does not make him right...
Can a will this strong be completely wrong?
Alma Towazu thinks of this, as he falls.
And for the first time since the death of his mother, since that night in the autumn rain when everything changed, since he found friends he was willing to sacrifice everything for and a purpose arisen from his own legacy and became, from a broken husk of a man, a real human being--
He is afraid.
Alma cannot touch this man. Every strike is countered, deflected, evaded. Like that of Jiro's erstwhile tutor, this man's strength verges on the impossible. It is an avenging angel that pursues this would-be god, striking with all his speed and force to the last, that glorious white fire wreathed with sunset colors sheathing his very form; it is an angel that draws forth a holy sword, those flames taking a blade-like shape in a final desperate counterattack even as Igniz's kick sneaks in--
Yet it is a man that falls.
And a god, perhaps, that still stands.
"...urgh... unnh..."
The young man cannot even stir, collapsed upon the stone.
His body is broken; his will, perhaps not.
Yes, the fire in his eyes yet smolders.
But for what?
Igniz's kicks recoils as the strike crashes into the younger man, thrusting him towards the ground, even through the wreath of flames that begin to form. To stutter would give Alma a moment of clarity. Igniz is the only man allowed for said clarity. At least, Igniz will believe this. Otherwise, there is not reason for the god NESTS to think that there is one as worthy as him.
He stands upon the man Alma, who is having an epiphany, even as he writhes upon the ground where Igniz has left him, burning and smoldering akin to flames of a campfire started upon a windy day. The flames will glow and flicker, but will be constantly tested, lest they go out, their askes scattering across the fields to each corner of the earth.
But Igniz would not fully extinguish this fire. It would get him expelled from the tournament, and Igniz uses said tournaments to fund his own assortment of tests and creations. He cannot throw it all away for such a trivial matter.
"You see, Alma, I am not almost a god." Igniz exclaims, "I am a god! And your doubt has proved false, and now you have paid for it. I change my veiws on nothing and no one. You see, your ideals are misplaced, and your mind wavering. You must impose your will upon others," Ignis announces, "Or others will impose theirs upon you."
With his signiture smile, Igniz looks down upon Alma once last time as he smolders, turning away towards the staircase one more, the portal towards his room. "That will be all for today then. I hope that, in the future, you will not disappoint me." The overlord expresses, as he moves softly out into the room, the shroud once more coming about him and his battlesuit.
The god has come and left, leaving only Alma to rest upon the stone. It is alright however, Alma will be up sooner or later. In time for the first match, at least.
COMBATSYS: Igniz has ended the fight here.
Log created on 21:54:34 10/30/2008 by Igniz, and last modified on 18:31:26 11/08/2008.