[SP-F6] Mental Renewal <<Calming the Soul>>

[Vigilon 0]

Ok, so this enemy had more fancy tricks than expected. The Meta was proving himself to be a Boss opponent, but due to the amount of damage Vigilon was dealing, maybe it was designed for one on one combat, which was nice on Cardinal's part.

"You could never best your rivals in Aincrad, so you crushed them like weaklings within your mind...how petty." The Meta spoke.

"Nobody's perfect." Vigilon began. "I've come a long way, and I'm not gonna let some 'petty' thoughts drag me down."

He almost drifted into thought, but it was as if the souls within Vigilon stopped speaking and started listening. "First I took a leap of faith, and gained courage to face the day. With the necessity for it, I was ready to learn, and gained wisdom as I was on my journey through Aincrad. A wiser me could make better use of the power I would obtain. I don't care if said power is even more temporary than my mortal life is, I'll make use of it not only to keep living, but to protect others, especially those who cannot protect themselves!" He declared.

And with that, he clashed with The Meta, taking less hits than the amount he dealt.

 

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {8 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {26 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

The Meta jumped back and slashed his blade through the air, and some cutting force of energy was headed for Vigilon, who ducked to avoid it.

Vigilon then ran towards The Meta again to attack, and managed two more hits on his foe.

Suddenly The Meta was in the center of the arena again, and it was staring at Vigilon.

"Why's it looking at me like that? What's it about to do?" Vigilon thought.

Next thing he knew, The Meta split into three. Were two of them cheap copies, or illusory copies? It was most likely one of the two...and it would make dealing damage a whole lot harder, not to mention evasive action. Would the copies be able to deal damage, would they act differently from the real deal? Would they speak telepathically like The Meta does, or would they not speak at all? Would the souls that were with Vigilon remain silent or would they speak among themselves again?

 

"...You have got to be kidding me." Vigilon thought aloud.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {8 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Why did it have to be this way? Why did things need to be so gosh darn complicated? He now had three things to worry about. "You're already like, forty two of my problems, why'd you have to give me thirteen more?" Vigilon asked. In response, the enemies all attacked. Trying to block three attackers at once was kind of more than he could handle, it seemed. He had to strike one of them.

Vigilon attempted quite a few attacks, but he found that his weapon passed through two of them, and then dealt damage to the one on his left. Ah, there was the real deal. While Vigilon couldn't deal damage to the copies, the copies could deal little bits of damage to Vigilon. It would be simply annoying, if The Meta's own damage wasn't so dangerously high.

"Death by another's blade...are you aware that you are always at risk of suffering the same fate as your father?" The Meta asked. Why did so many have to bring up his dead father?

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {8 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

"So what?" Vigilon replied. "You always run the risk of dying when you leave a safe place, and almost everywhere I've been on Aincrad...one battle after the other. I may as well be used to it by now."

"Impressive words, but do your actions support them? Do they have any real value?" The Meta questioned. Vigilon would be assaulted by all three enemies again. He blocked, he attacked, he took damage, he was having a rough time. Thankfully, the copies were only temporary, and they dissipated.

Vigilon attacked once more, and blocked another attack before actually paying attention to his HP. He needed to heal, fast. He bolted away, hoping to find an opportunity to use a soul crystal, probably one of the larger ones, maybe two. He just knew he was having a bad time. It was kind of hard to make an opportunity when the opponent also knew how to find and take advantage of opportunities.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {8 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

The Meta attempted to attack Vigilon. Vigilon blocked the attack, but there was enough force in the attack to send him flying. When he landed on the ground, he hastily pulled out two large soul crystals and used them both. Now he was probably out of large soul crystals, but at least he was back in the fight...well, he still needed energy to execute any sword arts. Also, there were six new voices in his head, so there was that, too.

He blocked another attack, and he kept the block on lock with his opponent. He pulled out one blue crystal, and made use of it. Now it was time to get fighting again. "Still alive..." Vigilon said, not trying to brag, but just being thankful that he was able to survive the battle so far.

"You run and you recuperate. Your flesh is soft, your defenses weak." The Meta claimed. "I'll be taking what you won't use..." 

The Meta thrust his arm into Vigilon, and stole three of the souls. "Stop it!" Vigilon yelled. These souls may be just a mechanic in the system for this battle, or maybe they're NPCs being treated like statistical mechanics in the battle, but perhaps for best results and the sake of morality, it was best to behave as he would if this was all real. He could feel pain in this battle, so for it all to feel real was probably the point.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {28 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon didn't know how to get back the souls The Meta had stolen, but he would if he could. "Call me weak all you want...you use these souls for yourself, and the only reason I keep them with me is to protect them from freaks like you!" He declared.

"For once, I think you're right." The Meta remarked. "You'll believe that you are their fortress, even if you're destined to fail...but you're not a fortress, unlike your sister." 

Vigilon growled. "My sister was wounded, so she built up her defenses and guarded herself from even her own family. We just had different ways to cope." He pushed The Meta back. "Now shut up and die!"

He may as well speak all his thoughts aloud this point on. Not only so he could hear himself think, but because The Meta would hear everything he thought anyway, because this was Vigilon's Mindscape.

He let loose against his enemy, knocking its HP down to Yellow at last.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {28 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon looked to his energy. He was going to need more if he was going to finish this battle. Before he should do that, however, he should make use of what he still had. Less was more, after all.

"You cannot protect them. You could not avenge your own Father, you could not bear to do what was necessary  when this all started because you were afraid. You grew lonesome, didn't you? You were so easily drawn in by the one you loved. If she asked for your soul, would you have given it to her? Is she a special case?" The Meta spoke.

Vigilon unleashed an attack barrage upon his enemy. "If she asked for my soul, then I'd know it wasn't her. We've been together long enough that I can more easily identify a fake." He claimed.

Vigilon once again got the feeling that there was a sinister grin upon The Meta's face. "How could you possibly make such a bold claim and be right? How could you know everything about her, you don't even live with her yet!" The Meta remarked before attacking again. Vigilon did his best to hold out and managed to block the attacks. Vigilon attempted more attacks, and missed.

The Meta began another rain of blades, and Vigilon used one more attack to knock his opponent's HP to the third bar while the attack was preparing itself.

Vigilon was damaged by a blade or two, but while the damage was still fairly weak, the blades were larger than when they were used while The Meta's HP was in the first bar.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

The Meta Suddenly knocked Vigilon back, sending him flying.

When Vigilon tried to get back up. The Meta suddenly grappled Vigilon. "One way or another, I WILL have your soul." It claimed. With that, it thrust its hand into Vigilon. Vigilon felt pain surging throughout his Avatar, maybe his entire being. The Meta began to slowly pull its hand out, but it seemed to be holding something.

The Meta's hand emerged gripping a hilt, and as it pulled back further, more and more of a weapon came into view. The Meta stepped back with its new weapon. "Looks like I'll still have to kill you for your soul...but at least I could make this with it." He remarked.

Now things were worse than he thought. Vigilon got up, feeling disoriented, but he lifted his blade anyway and tried to strike back. The Meta attacked with enough force to send Vigilon flying again, but he ended up being launched a farther distance than last time.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon had trouble getting up this time, and his enemy was now more powerful than ever. Guess this boss operated with phases, each HP bar being one phase. He was hurting everywhere, and even the souls with Vigilon were speaking up again, but there was too much mental traffic for him to understand what they were all saying.

"Look at you now, you're already dying. No hope, no future, no lover you can return to alive. You can hardly even stand, the pain and the voices, you're crumbling beneath their weight and effect." The Meta taunted.

Vigilon quickly reached for the soul crystals, using as many as he could before The Meta attacked again. He raised his weapon to block the attack, but it was even more difficult to do this time. "...You're...wrong...as long as...I breathe...I can...fight you..." Vigilon said weakly. This did nothing to stop The Meta, but it could at least serve as a reminder for Vigilon.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {25 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon reached into his inventory and pulled out the blue crystals. He used them and then checked for any other soul crystals...nope, he was out of crystals.

The Meta pushed Vigilon back again, and then prepared something huge. It didn't look like something Vigilon would be able to dodge, and despite being statistically fine, physically, he was not. "This can't...be it...this can't be how it ends...it can't..."

Fatigued, Vigilon fell back down on the ground.

"I'm sorry, everyone...he has...won..."

"....."

It felt hopeless, the attack his enemy was preparing was still charging which kind of made things worse.

Vigilon heard another voice in his head, however. This voice was familiar, and most likely, it was not simply a soul.

"Keep- ....ing..."

Vigilon was confused by the seemingly echoing voice. "Get up... Keep fighting, Alex! Do not forget what you fight for, get back up, and face this horror!"

It was...Krysta's voice?? Vigilon started to get up slowly, but when he looked around, Krysta was not in sight, nor did he feel an extra presence around.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {11 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {15 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

"You still resist? As brave as you are, this is completely laughable. You've lost, and I'm about to deal the killing blow." The Meta claimed.

A voice then suddenly could be heard directly by Vigilon. "You chose to fight as to protect us. Now let us protect you!"

There was sudden confusion with Vigilon. "Huh??"

A light shone, and coming out seemed to be a light that looked similar to The Meta's attack...but this must have been one of the recent voices in his head. The soul collided with The Meta's attack, and the attack blasted around, resulting in another blade rain instead of what may have been a killing blow.

"What...just happened?" Vigilon asked.

"I can help, too!" Spoke up the first soul. "Let us power your blade! We'll work together this time!"

"You...can hear me now?" Vigilon asked. "Yes, now let us help you!" Came the response.

Finally, communication was possible. The Meta used souls like tools and resources, but he didn't really work with them. Maybe cooperation was key here.

"Alright...the seven of you who were here first...let's fight as one, working side by side!" Vigilon decided...in thought. Lights surrounded Vigilon's weapon. Each consensual assist seemed to change a portion of its design, until it looked like a fused abomination, though it was probably a good thing in this case. "Strike now, our handiwork has surprised it!" The first soul called out to Vigilon.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {10 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {15 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon did as he was told, attacking The Meta with his temporarily powered up weapon. A flurry of sword arts landed upon his enemy.

"No! You're supposed to die!" The Meta's voice rang out.

"Souls, living creatures, living beings...what are they, exactly? Allies? Enemies? Friends? Tools?" Vigilon began. "You probably know nothing about it, but there's this game franchise that was part of my childhood, it was called Pokemon. Various people would often say that Pokemon were not tools of war, but friends you could rely on." Vigilon took a deep breath. "But there was a surprising lack of evidence. I mean, the trainer plays strategist, but nothing more. Trainer and pokemon don't really fight side by side, do they? Sure, they may work together sometimes in out of combat scenarios, but is that really all the effort?"

Vigilon began to smile. "Guess that's the difference between us, then. You see souls as a means to an end, and I see them as they are: Souls. I might not have befriended the ones I'm with, but I've fought to protect them and they've done their part to help me out. They help me not because I forced them to, but because they chose to, and I let them help me, because there is no such thing as perfection, and because as a human, I was never created to always act or be alone."

The Meta responded by using its soulsteal attack, but the seven who helped Vigilon managed to remain resilient enough to avoid being ripped out of Vigilon.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {7 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {18 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon growled. "This will end now."

"I will take every last soul you have!" The Meta roared. Vigilon blocked the first attack. "I will free every last soul you've stolen, you demon!" He responded.

The Meta used all sorts of abilities to prove Vigilon wrong. A blade rain, splitting into copies, and even causing a creature of flame to burst out of the battlefield. "Just try and 'free' the souls." The Meta said.

Vigilon attacked the Flame monster, and it dissipated. He took some damage from the blade rain and from one of the false copies, but he still was able to damage The Meta despite these troubling factors.

This battle was becoming close now, and Vigilon knew the risks he was taking. Hopefully, he'd be able to pull through. No more running, no more pain, it was time to end this at last. Vigilon would win, or he would die. Despite all the pain, he kept going. He wasn't strong because he could endure this pain, for he barely could. He wasn't strong because of the damage he was dealing, for it was a joint effort with him and seven souls. His strength practically was a gift from above, and it was something he'd make use of here, and for the greater good onward.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {7 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {3 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

The Meta and the false entities attacked. Vigilon was struck by a clone and he blocked the other two attacks. The Meta then slashed at Vigilon, leaving a near-fatal gash on his torso.

So, it was down to this, then. All or nothing...

Vigilon sheathed his blade.

"So, it is now that you submit? Now, that you have no crystals to save you, no souls to empower you, nor even save from my ability to use them?" The Meta questioned, though it would seem to be rhetorical. "Now at last I will have your-"

Vigilon grappled The Meta, placed a hand on its weapon, and kicked it back. "I'll be taking back what's mine, thank you very much." Vigilon stated. Now that the weapon was in his hands, it changed its form, and Vigilon rushed in to strike the final blow before The Meta could finish forming itself a new weapon.

 

The Meta's eyes changed. The sight surprised Vigilon. Were those his eyes...or were his eyes The Meta's? Vigilon might never know, for The Crowned Meta shattered two seconds after its true eyes were revealed.

Vigilon: [                    ] [                    ] {7 souls}

 

<<Crowned Meta>>

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

     [                     ]

        {0 souls}

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon absorbed the Meta's weapon, the one it made from Vigilon. He then took a deep breath, and opened himself up. "Go, be free." He said to the souls. One by one, the souls left. The last one to leave was also the first to have been with Vigilon during his time in the challenge. "Thank you for doing your best... I'm sorry it took so long for us to find you." She spoke. Vigilon smiled. "No, thank you." He replied. The first soul giggled before rising up to regroup with the other freed souls.

The arena around him started to crumble. Vigilon started looking around, trying to find a door. There wasn't a single one to be found. The mysterious pillars of light with metallic shards faded, and the area darkened. Before the crumbling floor dropped Vigilon, however, there was a flash of light, and he would awaken somewhere else.

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon woke up in a strange environment. Was he still in the Isle, or was he somewhere else in the mindscape?

He got up slowly, and looked around him. He was in what seemed to be a rocky plain with a heavy overcast in the sky. The plants around, as well as the occasional tree, seemed kind of odd, like they belong in a different world entirely. There was lightning coming down frequently, but no rain seemed to be presently falling down. Maybe the plants were as they needed to be in an environment with frequent lightning? Some of the stones jutting out of the ground seemed to be ore veins, but due to the lightning it probably wasn’t a good idea to touch one in case there was static lingering within its metal. "Where...am I...?" Vigilon asked himself, though he didn't really have any answer for this at all.

[Vigilon 0]

Something huge landed behind Vigilon, and he turned around to see a dragon.

It wasn’t a Silver Dragon, like he’d seen before in his mindscape, nor was it the dark dragon that represented Vigilon’s Wrath. This Dragon was different. It had golden-brass scales, emerald eyes and its horns were more like a set of spikes, save for the longest two, which looked more like horns than the rest. The Dragon raised its maw to the sky, and Lightning blasted out towards the clouds, spreading through them and raining down on the land like a mighty storm of voltage.

“So, you have managed to make it here.” The Dragon spoke.

“Um, where am I?” Vigilon asked.

“Far from where you were.” The Dragon answered. “As for who I am, as you’re likely to ask, my name is of no current importance, but I am a Dragon of Storms...Storms of Lightning, to be precise.” Vigilon blinked a few times. “Well after that little electric stunt you pulled, there’s no denying that.” He remarked. “But your answer was kinda vague, could you be more specific?” He asked. The Dragon looked to the horizon. “This land...your mind is connected to it, tied to its core. However, it would seem you can only see but a shard of it. This space was formed from said connection, but nothing more.” he explained. He looked back to Vigilon. “You see but one form of one’s inner identity, the dragon within him.”

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon looked at himself, then back to the Dragon. “Like...the Dragon within me?” he asked.

“No.” The Dragon answered. “Your Inner Dragon is one of Silver and Flame.”

Vigilon thought for a few seconds. “Then...is this-”

“No.” The Dragon interrupted. The Dragon lowered himself. “Climb on, and I will show you what I speak of.”

Vigilon hesitantly climbed onto the Dragon’s back. The Dragon then took flight, and Vigilon would find himself riding a Dragon that was flying through active thunderclouds. Vigilon held on tightly, for lightning bolts darted around constantly within these clouds. Soon, the Dragon’s wings folded all of a sudden, and the next thing Vigilon knew, electricity arched around him and the Dragon as the dragon seemed to...speed up? Vigilon held even more tightly, and lowered his face to avoid his head being ripped by wind resistance from the Dragon’s speed. When he felt the Dragon’s speed recede, he lifted his head to see a black void full of what looked like stars. Also a mysterious platform. The Dragon landed on the platform, and Vigilon got off the Dragon. He looked back and saw the clouds of the land he was on, spanning across the horizon around, with a few breaks in the sky revealing the terrain below them. The Platform itself seemed to be made from a silver and titanium alloy, and there was a pedestal in the center, with a book on it.

“Be careful if you dare to open it.” The Dragon warned. “It is likely it contains more than what you can handle. A mere glimpse may be safe, however.”

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon slowly walked towards the pedestal, and picked up the book. It was mainly silver in color, even the pages looked like they were the same color. The borders of the book’s cover appeared red, and keeping the book closed was a golden lock. Vigilon looked back to the pedestal and found a silver key. With the key, he unlocked the book, and opened it. The pages were indeed silver in color, and the words were red. Red like blood, red like roses, and many more. The words were constantly flowing and in many different letterings, fonts and languages. Somehow, they all seemed to be flowing into Vigilon’s mind simultaneously, and he was already feeling a migraine from it. Light flashed from the book, and another vision awaited him.

Vigilon saw Himself, coming from his shadow was a Dragon. Vigilon was looking off in the distance, towards a silvery white dragon in the sky. The two dragons flew around him, above and below him, like a circle of sorts. There is no mortal world without Light and Shadow. The Shadows of the Past may haunt him, but he holds onto Hope for the Future. The light may be so bright that he cannot see through its brightness, but in his past, there were good times as well as bad, a balance that kept him moving. The Present was between light and dark, Past and Future, like a gray blot in time. But maybe it was a Silver gift, that he was alive, and that an Eternity full of Light awaited one day…

[Vigilon 0]

Vigilon woke back up on the Platform. The book was on the floor, and Vigilon was backing up to the circle behind the pedestal. Light of many colors began to glow from the circle.

“The world awaits you, Alex Silver.” The Dragon began. “Go forth.”

The light surrounded Vigilon, and he could feel his feet leaving the ground.

“And follow the path We have laid out for you.”

Vigilon suddenly felt himself being carried as he zoomed along with the light of many colors. He zoomed past the stars, but it was like they weren’t stars at all when he seemed to get closer to them. He felt himself picking up even more speed, getting faster, faster, and faster… Until he saw only colors. He Closed his eyes.

Vigilon woke up at the sound of flowing water. He was back on Aincrad again. He felt new, he felt ready, he felt brave.

“Follow the path…” He muttered. He got up, and looked to the horizon.

 

It was a Brave New World he was in...and it was time to return to it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ID# 201688 CD: 5(miss)

ID# 201689 CD: 8(miss)

ID# 201690 CD: 3(miss)

(Welp, just my damn luck then XD)

 

 

Thread Summary:

Total Word Count: 24877
Exp. Value: 4145*Tier
Pumpkin Seeds: 82

 

Vigilon Receives:

+23833XP | 4145 * 5 * 1.15
+8287col | [(XP*0.15) + 2800] * 1.3

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Pumpkin Seeds: 82