As the match began, the shade moved left and right, avoiding the rays of holy energy, not as if they would hurt him, but simply for the fun of it. He'd be in trouble if they could all attack him at once, for it could destabalize his form if done long enough. He allowed himself the time it took to determine their attack patterns, though they seemed to change up whenever possible, and had what seemed to be, a nearly limitless amount of energy. He going to have to use that against them, and so the entire area started to become pitch black, as the shade began to use the power of illusion.

Nijuu nodded her head. "I don't mind; however, in regards to the bloodstains...don't worry about those. I'll take care of them." She added, as she pushed off the counter and made herself a tea. "As for the trouble of my being here would cause...let's just say that Isora Falls was once witness to a very powerful Esper, that tried to topple the heavens." She turned back to her guest, and placed a cup of tea on the table, next to him. "My mother almost lost her life in that battle....well...not her life...but she was pretty close to loosing her power in defense of this place."

Grey took from his wallet, a photo of a golden hair woman, one whom seemed only a few years older than him, though she had a mature air around her. She was angelic, and her eyes were the pinnacle of joy and happiness. He handed the photo to Nijuu, "That's my mother, she's still alive to this day......she just doesn't look a day over seven thousand eh? And in regards to your mother, and that esper, the actions of the few, shouldn't determine the fate of the many, though despite this, the actions of Pyro made the humans hate the knights, his actions against the few, wiped the Lacuta off the face of the earth, and so the cycle continues. The espers, after their capital was destroyed, were forced to find other means to keep the masses alive, and the knights, I guess some took pity, and others took advantage of the espers....sadly....." He took a sip from his flask again, the veins in his neck bulging after tasting it, "And the elementalists, children of elementals, living as one can be difficult......and some find little value in themselves, other than with destruction......I've had to kill many in my life time.........." He looked to the floor, "And yet, no matter what I do, I am forgiven by those that should hate me, and I am hated, by those that didn't forgive me......"

Nijuu sipped her tea as Grey spoke, then sat down at the table, placing her tea in front of her. "So you'd rather be hated by everyone and loved by no one..." she thought out loud. "That is a very lonely path you wish to travel, friend." She said, as she moved her blue gaze towards her guest. "Very few of us get to chose our own destiny's, and those of us that do get to choose, come to regret having that choice, and those whom do not get to choose, resent those that were given a choice." She sipped her tea slowly, then place the cup on the table. "All we can do now is, walk the path we were placed upon, and hope that the turns we make lead us in the direction we wish to go; do you follow?" She looked at her guest.

Grey nodded, taking another sip of his drink, his veins pulsating a bit, "I follow, after some of the choices I've made, I do not deserve friends, or my family, yet I still have them, when those that made the right choices, yet died, have lost theirs." Midnight began to shake from Grey's holster. "I don't have a fate you know, went to a Seer once, a true seer, and she couldn't see mine, so whatever I do, I don't know whether it is my fate, or whether it is the complete opposite."

Nijuu straightened her spine slightly, and tilted her head. "Perhaps something was blocking her sight." She suggested as she rose from the chair. "I don't know you enough to decide whether or not a person deserves friends or family; however, they certainly feel that you deserve them. Perhaps you shouldn't take their choices for granted."

Grey shrugs, taking a sip from his flask, nearly choking on the liquid this time, "Dammit.........I just gotta get the rest down......." Looking to Nijuu, he spoke, "I try not to.......there's just....so much I wish I could have done differently........."

The shade grinned happily, as when his darkness had vanished from the Coliseum, his challengers were gone.

Grey could feel his soul back in his body, and let out a sigh of relief.

Looking around it, the shade of Grey grinned further, and shouted, "Is there no one who can challenge me? No one at all, any challenge will be accepted!!!" He held his arms out wide, awaiting a combatant.

Nijuu folded her arms, and tilted her head slightly. "Living in regret does not do anyone any good." She pointed out as she unfolded her arms. "It only serves to stunt your growth....it keeps you fixed on the past, instead of looking to the future." She added, as she walked to the other end of the kitchen, towards the hallway. "Learn from your mistakes, accept whatever punishment comes from your err in judgement, and try to prevent it from happening in the future. Living in regret, is like living in perpetual darkness...you can't see anything or anyone...perhaps that's something you should work on; hmm?"

The Shade laughed, then touched his forehead, and vanished into the land of Velcana, as if he sensed that there would soon be a conflict. He stood there, his arms crossed, holy energy resonating from him, unlike before.

Grey looked to Nijuu with sad eyes, "I guess.....you've got a point there." Midnight began to shake, until it launched out of its case and onto the floor, trying to fly toward Nijuu. He tried to lean down and grab his weapon, but couldn't reach it, so he left it there. "I was like this once before, and I kept myself from my friends and family, living in a dark, massive hall of the academy. Then a girl, Halia, my guiding light, came to me, though she was being chased by some students who hated her because of her heritage. I saved her, for no reason, and tried to stay away from her, but she kept coming back, and I kept finding it harder and harder to keep myself away. She was able to bring me back to the light, to get me closer to my friends again, to renew my bonds with my family. This girl was truly sent by the heavens, for I have no other explanation."

He took another sip from his drink, and what appeared to be actually electricity was sent through his arms, causing him to just about vomit up blood, though he kept it under. "I was in love with her, but when we were ambushed, my darkness prevented me from saving her, but not only that, it made me watch her die right in front of me, made me watch as her life was extinguished, and denied me vengeance against those that committed the act. I was left broken after that. Between that time, and now, the only thing that has suppressed my darkness, is battle. And so I fought, didn't matter who raised a sword against me, I fought them. Assassins, celestials, demons, humans, knights, hellhounds, espers, no matter who stood before me, I fought them, often to the death." He let out a long sigh, "The Coliseum is where I found a purpose to the fighting, and perhaps, when that purpose is gone, and my darkness is completely devoid from my body, I will have a chance to set things right." The gunblade on the floor shook voraciously, a voice sounding throughout the room.

"The pain and death, its meaningless, even if your darkness vanishes, for you will become that which you have banished!!!" The sound of an aggrivated, and deeply angered young girl was heard. Grey was speechless, though from his body language, not surprised.

Nijuu folded her arms, and looked at the blade set before her, in her floor. She did not fear such a weapon, for her own weapon was close by if she needed it, and her home would do all it could to protect her. She merely looked at the blade, and tilted her head, then looked at her guest. "The way I see it, Sir Mystic, is you allow this darkness to torment you; because for some reason you think you deserve such punishment." As she spoke, she unfolded her arms, and walked towards the blade stuck in her floor. As she walked towards the blade, vines crawled into her home, and slowly crept upon the blade...as if the earth itself was trying to raise a defense for Nijuu. "I know not what crimes you've committed to warrant your thought process; but it is my belief that the woman you say to love, believes otherwise..." she paused for a moment, and placed her hand on the blade's handle, sending spirit energy through the blade to quiet it. "I do not think this blade likes me very much." She looked at her guest.

Mawthrough listened to her story without a word.
Then, at the end, he simply looked into her eyes and kissed her.
He subtly employed a few of his less known tricks and when the kiss broke, Chastity opened her eyes to find herself looking at the night sky, Mawthrough nowhere to be seen, and the only evidence he had been there the unconscious, starting-to-recover bodies around her - as well as a sudden black rose she now held in her hand.
And as the angels woke up and looked around, she could hear Mawthrough's laughter ringing through the trees...

That night was not a good night for Chastity after that.
The angels took her home to her father, still unsure of what exactly transpired.
Chastity, to her credit, refused to say a damn thing about what happened, or who her partner was - something that infuriated Inferno to no end.
After one of his legendary fits of yelling which nearly lifted the mansion out of it's foundations, Chastity was sent to her room, to reflect on her "misdeeds".
She was looking out of her window, thinking of the waterfall and toying with the black rose she had kept hidden, when suddenly another one sailed up to her window from the ground below...

Darkion shrugged.
"If not, I'm sure he'll understand."
He winked, evilly, to show he was joking.
"He'll only torture you a little bit before sending you off again on whatever merry quest."
He walked at her side towards the main arena.
"I must admit I'm starting to get... hungry..."

Jim Slim Badabim sat in the stands of the Coliseum, the amulet around his neck shining.
"Oblivion and Genesis... How long before they clash? Or worse, team up?"
He sat there as he thought out his next moves in terms of combating the entities.

Grey was going to speak up, when the blade spoke instead, in the same voice, "It is not you whom I despise, it is the boy, who lets a relic of Omega, be ravished by the cruel energies of that.....that thing he lets control him......."

Grey mustered up the strength to stand up, kneel down, painfully, pick the blade up, and holster it, before locking it within the holster. "You will be quiet blade, I know not of what you speak, nor of whom this Omega is, but I will have none of that talk spoken by you........" The blade's voice was silent now. Looking to Nijuu, he said, "Perhaps, I let myself suffer, but I keep myself alive in the process." He walked back to his seat, and sat down. "Do you know, what its like, to be soul stricken? Its quite the condition, incurable at the moment." He looked to the floor, "Nothing I do will matter, for there will be no afterlife for me, no eternal torment, no eternal rest, nothing, because my soul, and my mind, at birth, were separated, due to that seal within me. Even if the seal breaks, they will stay apart. Every time I think I have life down, every time I think I have it understood, my soul speaks differently, it confuses me, and with the other voice, my thoughts become twisted."

The Shade kept looking at what appeared to be a very expensive watch, "Hmm, I could see a great fight waiting for me, so I shall wait, Velcana, the land of Volcanoes.......Velcana, the land where Pyro is said to arise in the years to come, Velcana, the place, where the beginning of the end shall take place, hehehehehe......." His arms were crossed, as the ground underneath him became purified.

Spectre found no response from the group he was near, and transported himself into the Coliseum, deciding to take a ticket for the next match, the shadow archer wondering if anyone could provide themselves to be a challenge. Stepping in, the entity of treachery, awaited a volunteer, letting loose, for a single moment, the sight of a fraction of his power, before concealing it again.

Nijuu looked at her guest with an expression of deep sorrow. "I have not heard such a term used before. Indeed I have read about this 'soul stricken' you speak of...but I have known none whom have suffered it." She lowered her blue gaze to the floor for a moment, then looked at her guest. "I could not fathom the horror that must feel like..." her voice trailed off, and she turned to her white cat, whom had seated herself close to the hallway entry, then sighed heavily. "I know none that could help you...not even myself or my mother..."

Grey looked to the floor, "One person could have helped me.....but she's dead now, due to my inability." He could feel that his leg was mostly healed, "Its best I don't ever find a cure, surely the one who found it, would suffer for helping me. I'd rather no one suffers because of me." He took from his coat, another locket, this time, containing a photo of a young, black haired girl, with white eyes. He tossed it to Nijuu, "That girl also suffered because of my actions. Her family was hired to kill me, I killed them, like I would any assassins, the leader was holding that amulet, he told me to save his daughter, but before i could get to her, she was already taken. My mere existence causes pain to others, and yet, to die is my ultimate horror, I do not know what is worse, the flames of hell, or being completely erased, though at least.....at least my soul will have a clean sleight.....when I am gone........"

Zenith yawned widely as she woke back up, then jolted. She looked around, trying to assess what happened. She wasn't in the sword maze anymore. More importantly, where was the agonizing headache; the dry throat; the sore muscles? How long was she out?! She flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was her father.
"You're lucky. That man healed you and pulled you out of harm's way."
Zenith smiled. "Grey did that?"
"No. It was the other one." Zenith's smile faded.
"What about Grey?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure telling you would help you know. He landed on some swords after beating the Reapers, then disappeared. I thought he came back, but he didn't seem the same. And now he's gone again?" It was obvious that he was trying his best to tell it comprehensibly.
"It's all right. I just hope he's okay."
"Me, too." He paused. "Do you like that boy?"
Zenith turned her head. "Well, I certainly respect him. I care about his safety, but I don't quite know why. I don't think it goes further than that." Her father smiled.
"Well, you'd tell me if you did, right?" He nudged her.
"You're strange, father."

Nijuu looked at the picture in the locket, then looked at her guest, with little to no expression on her face. "Normally I wouldn't say something like this...but...well...considering the circumstances, I'll say it anyway....how were you supposed to know the assassins had a child?" She asked, as she folded her arms. "It seems to me that you're willing to punish yourself for the things you can't control. There was no way of knowing that those assassins had a child, unless they screamed it while attacking you..and to be honest, assassins with children know how dangerous it is...but they were willing to take the chance anyway. So I'll ask you this: why do you continue to punish yourself for the things that are out of your scope of control?"

Grey shrugged, "I don't know, I just think that I shouldn't have to kill my foes, to defeat them in battle, but that's how it ends up. Its my fault for being weak. There's a saying, by one of the members of the Knight's council, by Marcus Andro. He says, 'Any weakling can kill another, but it takes a truly strong soul, to defeat another, and let them live.' My hands, are covered in blood, and they shall never be cleaned, it seems. And every single time I've forced that thing....that......creature, within me, to be contained, to be held back, the reprucussions have been.....horrible......"

Midnight shot out of its case, and back onto the floor, "Listen to her boy, staying in the darkness of your own thoughts simply lets it win, you have to be strong enough to stay in good spirits, or it'll consume you without lifting a finger!!!" She shouted.

Nijuu nodded her head. "Your blade is right. Living in your regret, gives this darkness an in...and as long as it has away in, it will always win over you, every time."

Grey looked to her, "Then how am I to change......how am I to stop these feelings?"