Crimson Dyed Snow Scattered In The Skies

It was an unusually fine day today in. The town, as usual bustled with radiant activity, but the day had begun to conclude. It was around 5:30pm and many were returning to their homes. After all, rumors about Vampires lurking at the night kept the entire populous away from the outside when the sun began to set. In the midst of all these humans straying towards their homes was an unusual man. Garbed in an elegant attire. This consisted of a long-sleeved, royal purple shirt with a high collar that reaches to the top of his neck and frills completely around it. It's lining was a pure-white and ran down the center of his shirt, where his royal-blue buttons lie, closed completely. Over this, a coat of exquisite perfection lie, standing at just below his shoulders, the sleeves are abnormally on top of where the coat begins, being almost detached in their appearance. The cloak travels down to his shins, where he wears standard, almost feminine, tight-black pants and black-leather shoes. And finally, an exquisite black cane was clasped within his hands, finishing the attire off.

This man, no...creature was known as the Elder, Kain Daisuke. One of the oldest Reikon Kyuuban to ever tread the lands. It seemed that his goal was one, to bring about the rule of his queen once more, and he would do anything to achieve it. He was fed up with the pathetic hybrids of this generation, and wanted change. He muttered to himself, "My, my. Humans used to worship us as gods, and voluntarily gave us their blood. But now look, some stupid children had gone off on rampages, and caused us to have a bad name." Kain paused, chuckling for a moment before heading off to an open land, it seemed he found his own prey for today, and remarked to himself." But I must know, who is this new...queen that these young ones speak of?" And with a short burst of speed, he moved, towards the plains, for another hunt.

A young woman with pink hair and blue eyes was walking around the town, hoping to buy something for a friend of hers, the one who helped her not long ago against a being that could crush her and him alone. But that took backseat as she sensed the stale malice that only her kind, the Reikon Kyuuban could give off. ''A RK? HERE? Oh, happy day!'' she mentally screamed.

Even though she just fought another of her kind a while back, the drive to find others like her, even the elusive Elders, drove her in that direction. She had no desire to turn back, to leave while there was a vampire afoot.

Just who was this young woman? None other than the Queen, or so she was known, Myst Kagekyo. She wondered what would have allowed this person to turn, or if he was born that way. Maybe he could aid her in her desire to finally cast away her lonly shell and finally be free again. Sure it was a long shot, but any shot was worth trying, especially when she was tired of watching the members of her kind die off or go mad.

He stopped his movements, and returned to his once elegant position. He looked around with a glint in his eyes and a demonic smirk on his face that held an unusual elegance, the Reikon Kyuuban noble had truly proven that he was no child. He held millenia of experience, and very few had dared to even prove their existence before him, much to his boredom. Kain thought to himself, "Hmm...should I make this "Queen" my servant and present her to the real Queen? Or, should I merely suck her dry? I wonder...." He looked towards the town, he noticed a trail of pink hair, and merely told himself." Let us begin, my prey..."

Myst finally found the source of the malice that she had sensed. He was different somehow, perhaps he was one of the first, but she wasn't sure. Something in his bering gave her the chills. This wasn't gonna be normal, or even so much outwardly different. That thought pervaded her mind, until she saw the words he whispered, her sight allowing her to read his lip movements. He dare d call her "prey"? She would show him what it meant to triffle with her, something not one being has gotten away with, unless she allowed it. But, before that, she would play her games with the man and learn what she could.

"Hello," she begain, in her sweetest voice, "I sensed something about you and wanted to know if you could confirm it. Are you a Reikon Kyuuban?" As always, when it came to the topic, she was blunt.

" Oh my, your attitude does not befit a Queen at all, does it my lady?" Kain said, in the most unusually irritable tone, before he waved his cane around, flaunting whilst he told." Yes, yes I am one of the Reikon Kyuuban. But~ I am no mere Reikon Kyuuban, I am one of the Elders. You wish to fight me I assume? If so, then be warned, you are up against a power that has lived for millenia. Do not underestimate me, you little girl." Kain began to drift into a more serious tone, his face formed into a malicious grin and his cane was kept clutched in his hand, ready for battle.

"You want to fight? Well, I guess if I can fight a Quincy, I can fight you." Myst asked, looking for anything that she could use against the man in front of her. "But first, shouldn't we observe plesentries? I figure for one of your advanced age, such nicities must be observed, right? Or are you not as cultured as you seem?"

" My my, how did I forget my manners in the heat of this conversation? Well to summarize it, I am Kain Daisuke, one of the few Elders left in existence after the..." Kain interjected himself, not wanting to reveal himself any further." Well, that is my introduction. What about yours, Miss Queen?" Kain asked her, with his usual irritating tone.

"I'm Myst Kagekyo. As you guessed, I'm pretty much Queen, although given how fractured our kind has become, mine is a hollow kingdom indeed." she said, looking up for a moment before manafesting her Zanpakto. It's golden blade refracting the light all around her. "You said you were an Elder, right? What was it like all those years ago?" she asked, wondering.

" Oh my? You wish to know of the era I lived in. Well, I hope you do not begin to envy after my confession, but, our era was a time where the Reikon Kyuuban empire ruled over this pathetic human world. Our Queen was the one to lay the foundation, to raise our race into an indestructible empire. We lavished in the riches, and we consumed without fear, yet we won all the human hearts due to our charisma. We were the prime of the Reikon Kyuuban, the prime, that is lost today..." Kain finished off with a slightly sad note, but regardless, he clutched his cane, and told Myst." Well? Shall you begin, or I?"

Myst discarded from her mind all of her further questions at that statement. Gripping her Zanpakto, she sped at Kain and brought the blade down, a simple, tested and true, opening. She was already forming a few alternate moves just in case she was countered.

Kain reacted as swiftly as Myst struck, moving his cane swiftly before him, it clashed with Myst's own blade, causing a brief shockwave to form. Kain merely muttered." My, not even a warning? How saddening." Kain then smirked, as he drew his Chokutō from the cane with his other hand, as he swiftly flicked his wrist, his blade drawing in, for Myst's head!

Myst blocked with her own sword like it were nothing. Although she was in peak form, she could feel the difference between her and Kain, like an ant against a wasp. Using Ketsueki Butoukai, she moved behind him and tried to take his own head in realiation. "Sorry if I don't play like one of you older bloodsuckers. I'm still learning."

Kain was impressed with Myst's reflexes, though even he knew that he hadn't battled in a long time, he would not lose as easily as this. Quickly, he flicked his wrist, moving the sheath of his shikomuzue to intercept Myst's blade, blocking it entirely, before using his own Ketsueki Butoukai to gain some distance between the two combatants. As he swiftly moved, he landed softly on the ground with a straight posture like he always had been. He held his sheath in one hand and his blade in the other, telling Myst." My my, you're far greater than some of the Reikon Kyuuban that have been born in this generation. I must compliment your skills. If you had ever become my student, I would have greatly increased your overall abilities to new heights. But I doubt you would accept the offer." Kain told her, with the same arrogance and narcissism that he possessed in his voice before.

Myst couldn't believe what she just heard. "You're kidding me? You're willing to teach me? If you're in one piece after this battle of ours, we can discuss it." she replied, more shocked than anything else. However, she wanted to keep on the offense, not letting the stronger of the two get an opening. She charged the Kyūketsuki Ga Satsuei, and let loose the scarlet blast, made of blood, straight for Kain.

Kain smirked at this outcome. Moving both his blade and sheath into a cross-like position, he took the attack head-on as it collided with the weapons Kain held. Yet surprisingly, he was able to stand calm in this face of destruction, Kain then muttered." Karunēji Musaboru" His fangs were drained with his own spiritual power as he removed the "cross barrier" from the scarlet blast's way, pitting his fangs against the blast, energy began to channel through his mouth and into his being, until the entire blast was devoured. Standing in an elegant poise once more, he licked his lips, like a traditional vampire, and told Myst." My, your attack was delicious." Kain's voice was truly horrifying, and the malicious grin he accompanied with it didn't help to appeal either.

Myst smiled, almost as if she expected the counter. Although Kain's mannerisms creeped her out a bit, she knew it wasn't the time to let emotions get into her head and overcome her logic. After all, this was a battle, and any showing of emotion would allow him access to her thoughts, something that could tip the scales of the duel.

She couldn't risk using her transformation this early, so she decided to go a second route, a trick she created to deal with long range combat when her KGS was useless, namely against another Reikon Kyuuban. She tossed her Zanpakto upwards and once it was level with exactly she wanted it, she outright kicked the sword, adding more force to it, while sending it spiraling at Kain with reckless abandon.

Kain saw the sword and simple used Ketsueki Butoukai to propel himself to the left, evading the blade entirely. While doing so, he directed the flow of blood to the balls of his feet and propelled himself towards Myst, before grabbing a branch of a tree, holding his position there, he immediately charged and fired a small Kyūketsu Ga Satsuei towards Myst. The scarlet beam didn't hold too much damage potential, but the instantaneous firing and general speed made up for it.

Myst rolled to the left, trying to dodge the blast, however, it was moving faster than she expected. The small blast nicked her right shoulder in the process. It was more of a cut then an explosive injury, but it was still going to be a hinderence for her.

Deciding enough was enough, she held her left arm straight out, magically manifesting her Zanpakto once more. She was proud to be one of few people who could do that on a whim, other than her brother, who was a special case anyway. Thanking whatever Gods there were than she was right handed with a sword, she used Ketsueki Butoukai to get close to Kain, and trying to injure him, aimed her slash at the crux of his arm, not enough to cut clean through, but to at least repay him in kind for her injury.

Kain was slightly shocked, he hadn't battled enough to react as swiftly as Myst tried to cut him, and was injured slightly in the process. Stumbling backwards, he nearly fell off the tree before he regained his balance and slowly descended to the ground. Kain merely told the queen." My, your instincts are really profound, as a Reikon Kyuuban's should be. I am highly impressed. Anything else you would like to show?" Kain asked with an unusual tone that wanted one to merely strangle him till he was left breathless!

Myst smiled, hiding her true feeling from the world behind a mask of serenity. She recalled her fierce, extravagent brawl with Zenchō Maebure, the Quincy hybrid RK. Just the memory of it was chilling her to the core. Her only positive thought at that point was that Kain was nowhere near as cruel and vile.

Gingerly touching the cut on her shoulder, she knew that it was a shallow, small, and otherwise simple injury. Turning to face Kain, looking him dead in the eye as he spoke to her, it was as if she stared into the eyes of the Devil himself. To her, however, nothing compared to the gaze of madness and death given to her by Zencho.

"Light the sky, Gesshoku." she said, revealing her Shikai. From the pommel of her sword grew a chain attached to a gauge. One fourth was already filled. Myst swung the sword with only one word escaping her lips. "Hoshi." and a fireball flew from the sword as if it were natural.

" Shikai?" Kain thought to himself, as he swiftly sliced through the fireball, enhancing his blade's potency with his own spiritual energy, cutting it in half. Kain was slightly irked at the situation, Myst's spiritual power had increased somewhat, but Kain seemingly stood still, placing his blades in the standard cross position along with his sheath, he was prepared to attack or defend at any moment.

"What's the matter, tough guy? Glad you cut up a fireball, and now you think I'm not worth you coming to counter? Or are you a chicken?" Myst taunted, noticing that Kain was ready to defend every possible attack she could invent, and probably more she couldn't even fathom at that point.

"Hm? A provocation? Not a bad attempt, but please do not think that I will fall for such petty tricks." Kain told her, before smirking slightly as he enveloped his blade in spiritual power, slicing through the air as he created a shockwave of moderate power, using it as a mid-ranged attack to keep Myst on her guard.

Myst blocked the air wave with her sword. "By attacking me just now, you've proven that you can fall for 'such petty tricks' as you say. Although, I was hoping that you would have come over here to do so, but, one thing at a time I suppose."

Noticing that he hadn't returned to his prior stance, Myst knew that her window of attack was closing fast. She started running in for the attack, already forming a stratagy. When she was close enough, she jumped upwards before throwing her sword straight at Kain. Once that was done, she used Butoukai again to get behind the man and aimed a chop at his neck, just a few millimeters above the shoulder-blade.

Kain had merely smirked on Myst's comment, and using the sheath of his blade, altered the impact of Myst's blade to his left arm, dulling the damage dealt considerably before swiftly moving out of harms way. He told Myst simply," I didn't fall for your provocation, I merely responded without succumbing to your desires. Please, find out the difference quickly." Kain had told her, as he said." Come, I'm open aren't I?"

Myst told herself it was a trap, but had acted before actually thinking up a way to attack. She lashed out with her foot in a sweeping motion, aiming to trip Kain.

"No, not good enough." Kain thought to himself, easily evading the attack with a backflip before returning the favour, using his sheath he attempted to stab Myst in the abdominal region, possibly causing great damage.

Because of where Myst's abdominal region was, starting to return to an upright position, the attack took the wind out of her, and putting her on her back. Dizzy...So freakin dizzy. she thought standing up. ''Yeah. Somethin's bruised, maybe lacerated. Hard to tell right now...'' She realized that the attack was a bit more than her healing factor could overtake, at least for the time being. She coughed a bit, producing blood, a sign her body was in serious condition.

Kain swiftly moved backward, before he himself began panting at the loss of blood he had. Previously due to his frequent battles, Kain knew how to control his blood loss at the least somewhat, but at the moment he couldn't. He begin to cough out blood, and told Myst." I think, our weaknesses will not let us continue." Kain told her, slightly irked at the fact of course.

"I think you're correct. Normally, a fight like this is nothing." Myst replied, wondering why she was so weak all of a sudden. Truely, to her, such a short match was as simple as reciting the name of every person she had ever fought to a standstill. The nagging voice in the back of her mind kept saying what she feared most, the odds were that, even now, she wasn't fully recovered from the nightmare-ish duel with that murderous Quincy hybrid.

" Well then, I better be off, and take some blood before I begin to weaken further. Please do consider my proposition for student. I do have some highly ancient techniques you might be interested in." Kain told her, smirking as he transformed into a myriad of bats before spreading into a single direction, their wings filling the empty night sky.

Myst pondered on what he meant. After all, most techniques that the Reikon Kyuuban had we passed down by the Bloodlines ever since their race began, otherwise the younger generations would be wiped out long before they could likewise give rise to decendents. Another trick of his that confounded her was how he had become not one, but a number of bats. Focusing her energy, she turned into a bat just the same, and followed closely behind Kain.

Kain could feel her presence, and inside, he smirked devilishly. I think he knew about this woman enough to know to never confuse her. A good thing, Kain could likely pass on something he has wanted to for a long time, Myst seemed to be the only one who qualified at all. But before that, Kain wanted to play a little game, in his bat(s) form, he split up into several directions, confusing Myst onto where she should go to meet the real Kain." Let's see what she does now?" He thought to himself once more, still slightly weakened.

''All the bats have the same signature! The sheer number of them would take forever to sift through.'' Myst complained inside her mind. She was used to playing these kinds of games with those that weren't afraid to get close to her. Usually, the closer the one she chose to move towards, the lower the odds of that being the correct signature. But in that manner, she could systematically reduce the possible number of targets.

With that knowledge in mind, she flew to the closest signature, hoping that she was right.

Kain merely flew and flew, his energy was spread equally. He was not in any of the bats completely, but was merely split evenly upon them. Floating and floating, he knew that it would be better to return to his original form after all this time. He flew off to the roof of his home, and began to merge back into the single being he was formed of. He waved his hand extravagantly in the air, saying." Helllo~" He gestured to Myst to go to the roof as quickly as possible.

Myst returned to normal and let her momentum drift her over the roof. "That's a clever trick you have, turning into more than one bat. You really are what you say, Elder." she said, respectfully, hard as it was to bend her pride enough to admit it.

" Why thank you. Now, would you like to drink something? I have several bottles of high-quality blood with me in my house, come, come along." Kain gestured, as he entered via the stairs that were present on the roof, with his cane along with him.

Myst followed him, her hunger driving her mad. She could feel her body begging for near anything with hemoglobin in it. Visably, she was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm.

Taking out an entire wine bottle of blood, he passed it along to Myst as they sat in comfortable couches. He took out another bottle, and poured some into a wine glass. He begun to drink and rejuvenated himself, he then asked Myst." Well Myst, would you like to learn the secrets of the Reikon Kyuuban? The ones that have been lost throughout the generations?" Kain asked her, with an unusual tone, seemingly as if he had an ulterior motive.

"Yes. I'm tired of guessing, tired of searching. I've never encountered any information about our history as a race, nor a record of our leaders in days gone by. I'm willing to do whatever is asked of me in exchange for his information." She said, drinking straight from the bottle, the Thirst finally being sated.

" My, my. You youngsters do whatever you can for power don't you? Do you not realize the consequences of the word, whatever? Well, no matter. I won't ask too much of you, just the fact that you'll pass this down to any other Reikon Kyuuban as eager as you. So, shall we get along with the first history lesson for the day?" Kain asked her, drinking another sip before putting the glass down, standing up and holding his cane as if he were a teacher of the old times.

She looked up at him before setting the bottle down. "I'm ready when you are, Kain-sensei."

" Well, well. Let us begin." Kain told her, as he began with a long lecture with a long breath." First of all, I shall introduce the first Queen of all the Reikon Kyuuban race. Her name, Katsumi Scarlet, otherwise referred to as Queen or Lord Scarlet. She was an exceedingly powerful being, who's power and experience surpassed all after her. She was born from the god, known as The One. Though I know nothing more than this about Lord Scarlet, I do know that I was only born perhaps half a century later, making me one of the oldest Reikon Kyuuban in history. Throughout the eons, the Reikon Kyuuban ruled the entire world, we had created the most splendorous of societies, known as the Fushi Coven, lead by Lord Scarlet herself, and her assistant, Miss Hitotoki Itoshii." Kain paused for a moment, as he then asked Myst." Any questions so far?"

"What do you mean we ruled the world? Was this Queen Scarlet so powerful, the humans, who were probably still greater in number than we, would be afraid of her?" Myst asked, slightly confused. If human kind truely feared their kind now, how great the vampires were before.

" Yes, we had the greatest civilization of them all. The humans bowed down to us, revered us like gods. We merely came into their society and usurped it as our -" Kain cut off there, he then rephrased." No, the current human society, was a result of our efforts." Kain replied to her question, hoping it was answered.

"Thank you. Please continue." Myst said, taking another drink. She could feel the blood restoring her body from all of her wounds accumulated during the duel only a short time before.

" Well that is good. Now, onto the rest of the history....well, I have kind of forgotten everything really. My memory must have blanked after such an exciting battle. So, I think it best we should move onto our next lesson. But before that let me tell you one fact. Reikon Kyuuban, do possess something you could call "magic", much like Shinigami and those...horrid Quincy." Kain told her, opening a portal of sorts inside her home to their next destination." Come along now." He gestured, waiting for her to enter the portal.

Although she didn't care for his Quincy remark, Myst kept any replies to herself and crossed the threshold of the portal. She was anxious to learn the secrets of the magic that Kain spoke of.

Kain also crossed, and the two were on an extremely large, desolate plain, filled with corpses and dropped weapons. It seemed more like a battlefield than anything else. He told Myst." So, you would like to see some magic. First of all, you must demonstrate enough control over your spiritual energy. For that, I want you to fire three Kyūketsuki ga Satsuei without exhausting yourself, if possible, flair it up a bit, add a bit of uniqueness will you?"

Myst smirked. What Kain asked for was her specialty, the thing her first "child" called the Beam of Death. Holding her hand out in front of her, she charged the basic version, only she added more power to it than usual. It was larger and wider compared to the first.

The second, she created a varient on the spot, channeling it through her fingertips, firing five razor-like blasts, inspired by Kain's attack from before. Her third one was in the shape of a single sphere-shaped bomb.

"Three individual KGS attacks, with flair. Anything else?" She asked.

" My, my, you're one quick learner. Well then, onto the next stage immediately." Kain then moved in front of Myst, smirking as he told her the name of Magic." Natsumi Engi." Is all Kain muttered, hoping that she could possibly recall any form of information, after all, she was a genius, much beyond most of her generation anyways.

"I've heard of it. However the information was vauge. Besides that, it's hard enough tracking down any remnent of the ages gone by in this era. Basically, what I've found amounts to scraps that assume you know exactly what they say." Myst replied, remembering sparse phrases, minor facts, tiny bits of information that were even remotely connected to that particular pair of words. "It's the fact that most of the records were more or less destroyed."

" My my, you are highly intelligent aren't you? Well then, let me boost your knowledge slightly." Kain paused, and with a grin, he told her." Natsumi Engi, are the magical arts of the Reikon Kyuuban. As the shinigami have Kidō, as the Quincy have Gintō, and everything else, we have the Natsumi Engi. But, let me tell you one interesting fact. We have seven spells and solely those seven, otherwise, what would be the point of calling it the Seven Sins Performance hm? Oh, and final thing. I am the one who created Natsumi Engi, though every elder and Lord Scarlet and Lord Itoshii have knowledge of it. But I doubt they use it as much as I do." Kain told her, pondering on the reaction he shall get from her.

Myst was almost giddy with excitement. She was able to learn the arts of Reikon Kyuuban magic from the creator of it. Besides that, she would be one of the few to learn it at all. "Being the ruler of a broken kingdom requires one to be intelligent. Otherwise, you open yourself to assassins, to those who seek even the fragmented crown for themselves." she said, lightly, as if it were a typical everyday conversation for her.

" Well well, aren't you one delightfully wise queen?" Kain remarked, though, inside it seemed Kain was getting somewhat fond of Myst. She had displayed remarkable prowess despite being a hybrid, and showed some ideals that even the Elders didn't have. It seemed Kain could trust her with the leadership of the Reikon Kyuuban.

Moving away from sentimentality, Kain told her." Well, you've figured it out, so, we shall begin with the first and most easiest spell to learn. It is known as Jiman, otherwise merely known as Pride. In this spell, you must shelve part of your own reiryoku and convert it entirely into Reiatsu. Let me give you a demonstration."

Kain stood tall, as he chanted, "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Tormented soul, fragile heart. Look upon yourself in horror, through arrogance let the sin of Pride remove your soul! Jiman!" Suddenly, Kain's reiryoku levels dissipated as they were converted into pure and unrelenting reiatsu! Kain's aura was overwhelming, and it felt as if tonnes upon tonnes of weight were being smashed onto the ground. Kain merely stood as he wondered, " Will you survive this training young one?" he thought to himself, seeing Myst's reaction and counter.

The force slammed into Myst like a freight train, forcing her down on one knee, her will keeping her from completely collapsing right away. Even though she was supporting herself on her still-mending foot, which was painful to say the least, she wasn't about to give Kain the satisfaction of putting her down with one spell.

Although she was only under the effects for a few seconds, it was getting harder to remain in that position for much longer, and the pain in her ankle was growing more and more rapidly. A few more seconds were all it took. Finally, she was kneeling before him thanks to the spell.

Releasing the spell in that very instant, the weight that was once accumulated into the air vanished, as Kain's reiatsu levels were controlled once again. He told Myst." You see? This is the power of the Natsumi Engi, and that is merely the first of them. Would you like to try?"

"Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Tormented soul, fragile heart. Look upon yourself in horror, through arrogance let the sin of Pride remove your soul! Jiman!" Myst chanted, feeling her Reiryoku level lower slightly, and in exchange her Reiatsu surged in proportion. She eyed Kain for any reaction.

As her reiatsu level soared, Kain merely stood there, remarked at how easily she grasped the spells. Though obviously Kain was not affected by the spell at all, he had condensed his reiryoku and reiatsu to the point where anything detrimental to him came off as a slight breeze. Quickly, he did a few hand motions, causing a red light to appear as it was about to negate the spell Myst used, while saying." Good work, onto the next shall we?"

Myst collected herself after her spell was forced to disapate. Six more, I can do this. she told herself. "Which one will I see next?"

" Well, well. In terms of difficulty, let us go with Retsujō, the spell of Carnal Desire or simply known as Lust" Kain smirked, he absolutely adored this spell, it was quite similar to Jiman in a way. And so, he begun the incantation for the spell." Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Upon rejection, plant the seed of Lust. Flutter, seduce, crush with the rejected corpse!" Suddenly, as the incantation was chanted, a slight amount of reiryoku moved from his person, forming into a slight aura before it suddenly turned crimson, causing everything to be pulled towards him at rapid rates.

Already exhausted from trying to remain standing during the last spell, Myst was unable to remain still, and was pulled into Kain. No matter how she struggled or turned, the pull of the magic was too much. However, she had realized something that could allow the spell to have offensive applications, even a counter if the caster was unaware. It was a difficult physics equation that inspired this.

Releasing his spiritual power and surging it into the ground, suddenly the gravity in the surrounding area became much more intense, pulling everything into the ground without any effort at all. Kain merely told Myst, " Take some rest, we shall resume when you're strengthened." Kain opened a nearby barrier, which had a room in it made for resting." Well? Go in."

Myst flinched as she felt her body hit the ground from Kain's spell. Slowly picking herself up from the ground, she walked to the portal with the knowlege that there was rest just beyond. Stepping through the gateway, she realized that her teacher was correct. In the heat of their training, she hadn't realized how exhausted her body had become. Taking a few deep breaths, she began meditating to relax herself.

While Myst rested, Kain stood outside, his cane was in his hand, he looked towards her once, and then back to the "sky" in this dimension. He pondered, "My, it seems to me that this woman might just carry on our legacy. Well, it is a nice thought after all." Kain thought to himself, allowing Myst to rest as he rejuvenated himself as well.

A little over an hour had gone by, uneventful as Myst recovered her energy. Feeling better than before, she stepped back out of the room into the training area.

Kain turned, looking at Myst. She was in good enough shape to go on, Kain told her," Right, shall we move on? Now you can try casting Retsujō"

Myst nodded as she moved away from Kain until they were a few feet apart."Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Upon rejection, plant the seed of Lust. Flutter, seduce, crush with the rejected corpse!" she said, waiting ot see what would happen to Kain.

Kain moved towards Myst as he was propelled in the air through an unnamed force, as he traveled towards Myst, he concentrated his spiritual energy and exerted it in a shockwave enough to dispel the spell's effect. Kain mentioned to her, "You're catching quick. But, the rest of the spells are notoriously difficult. Will you survive?"

"I will survive anything you can throw at me." Myst replied. She found Kain's efforts to scare her out of learning thte spells triffling. She had already learned how to use two of them, the next five would pose a challenge, but all challenges can be overcome.

" Now, I shall show you the spell known as Hōshoku" Kain stood still, muttering." Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Torture and anxiety, grant thy wish, quench thy thirst with the teeth of Gluttony!" As soon as the chanting was finished, he cut himself slightly, as blood evaporated and dissipated into the air surrounding him. Reishi then suddenly was under his dominion, as he began absorbing it, healing his wound as well as empowering him." Let's see what you can do? This takes a high level of control to execute, remember that well."

Myst took a deep breath. The fact she had to cut herself seemed daunting at that point, although she knew instictively that it was part of the spell. "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Torture and anxiety, grant thy wish, quench thy thirst with the teeth of Gluttony." she repeated. Cutting herself on her Zanpakto, she let blood drip down to the ground. As the ruby rain fell, it evaporated into the air, giving her control of the Reishi in the air.

The spell didn't last long, as her focus slipped. Only moments after it began, the magical control faded from her grasp.

" Hm? It seems that you couldn't focus due to pain? No matter. Try once more, you should be able to get it, if you merely focus on rejuvenation." Kain told her, as he healed her wounds in almost an instant through the same process.

Again, Myst chanted the spell and let more blood out of her already slit palm. This time, she focused harder, and the healing began. Within seconds, the wound was sealed completely, along with her still-mending tendon. "I feel great. I can see why you made this spell."

" Hm? Why thank you. So, now that we've done this, how about we move along to the next spell?" Kain told her, stepping backward, he mentioned to her the name of the spell." This spell's name is Tanyoku, otherwise known as Covetousness or Greed." Kain began to chant." Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Abandonment and denial, grant thy wish, steal with blood-stained hands, with naught but Greed in mind!" Immediately, blood began to disperse throughout his body, it seemed that steam was forming from the rapid flow, as with a single step without Ketsueki Butoukai, Kain was already behind Myst, telling her." This spell increases physical ability, at the expense of blood of course, try it out?"

"Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Abandonment and denial, grant thy wish, steal with blood-stained hands, with naught but Greed in mind." Myst said, feeling the power of the spell really take hold. Without even trying, she had appeared a few feet behind Kain. Although it wasn't nearly as fast as Kain's own, it still was worth respect. Her skin was a light pinkish-red from the spell acclerating her.

" Hm? Wow, you've advanced very quickly. Well, once again we shall take a break, you would be quite exhausted no? Now, if you have any questions, you are free to ask them. I'll answer anything I deem appropriate." Kain told her, in that irritating voice he normally used.

"So many questions." Myst said, panting. "But before we started, you said something about Quincy. What did you mean?"

" Oh my? You would ask that question?" Kain pondered, and then told her." Well then, we shall have another history lesson, funny considering that we are in the middle of a Magic lesson, but no matter. Let us enter that large, daunting castle over there shall we? It shall be a far more appropriate area to discuss this issue." Kain pointed north, as a large castle of sorts seemingly materialized on a whim." Well then, let us go, I shall talk to you on the way." Kain began to walk, waiting slightly for Myst to follow along.

Myst followed behind, careful to not let Kain get too far ahead. There was no distinquishing terrain to help her should she get lost, therefore staying close to her teacher was top priority.

" So, let's start the story shall we? I have already told you about Lord Katsumi and the like, so I shall move further down the track. I shall talk a little bit about our empire." Kain paused a bit, before beginning to tell her." Our empire was marvelous, it stood in the shadows, yet ruled over all. Yet, there were some who wished to defy us, who had created their own grand empire. This, was the Quincy. The Quincy were an ancient race, who had passed down their unique abilities throughout the ages. They were diplomatic and exceedingly successful businessmen and women who were on par with us in sheer influence of every kind."

Kain took a stop in his movements, he was seemingly slightly frustrated, but he calmed himself. He then told Myst." One of them, a peculiar one indeed, he stood against us, he outshone even many of the Elders due to his brilliance, a rival to the Queen herself and the leader of that generation of Quincy. Though I forget his name, I know his last name, was Ishida. I shan't forget that name, never will I forget it." Kain's rage was building up, but then he calmed himself again, asking Myst." Any questions?"

It was as if there was a lump in her throat. Deep inside, she fought the urge to scream and cry. Just hearing that the Ishida were the ones who struck out at the old Empire seemed at odds with what she knew. To her, there was no greater sorrow, knowing now that the family of one of her dearest friends was responsible for bringing down an entire kingdom of bloodsuckers.

Looking at Kain and realizing that he wasn't lying to her, that may have been the hardest blow of them all. It finally sank in. "That explains why I desire to take his blood." she whispered, piecing together the puzzle of why the blood of just one young man sent her spiraling into an addiction. Just thinking of taking his blood for herself was enough. That was all she'd ever admit. But her feelings had run deeper than that. After dueling with him twice and fighting beside him once, she had come to care for the young Quincy 'Prince' as he fashioned himself, as though he were a kindred soul, lost in time's unending flow. "Why did they rise against us?" she asked, still holding her emotions in check.

" Hm? Well, to be honest. I myself have no idea. I mean, their intentions were as clouded as the thickest mist, nobody but my Lord could get through their mental barriers, and even then, it was virtually impossible to tell what their exact motives were." Kain paused, and then continued." Well, soon after this...declaration, wartime had come very soon, the Quincy were already prepared, their ambushes were all successful, and many of us had failed to prevent the onslaught of attacks. No matter, we continued to fight, our Lord went unto the front lines, her magnificence destroying everything in sight, as crimson seeped into her veins. We were truly enjoying that battle, to be honest I am surprised I survived."

Kain paused, and asked her." Well, any further questions?"

"Not at this time. Thank you for imparting this wisdom, Elder." Myst replied. If there was one thing at that point that she was grateful for, it was the fact that Reikon Kyuuban were unable to read each other's thoughts. The closest they could get is by feeling their residual malice that was a part of each and every one, and it was in it's own way, more of a signature to that particular one, rather than a glimps into who they were.

" Well, that is about it. After the war, our status became....what it is today." Kain told her, regretful about the entire story he told, before saying." Well, back to magic shall we?"

Myst smiled weakly. "Yes, let's get back to the magic. I need something to take my mind off this tale."

Kain went to an unusual, erratic tone, and exclaimed." Well then! Time for some more Magic~" Wanting to bring the mood up, he then told Myst." Well, next spell we learn is Bushō, known simply as Indolence or Sloth." Kain then began to chant." Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Fear and anxiety cement, frail heart, cold as stone. With Sloth, fall into the abyss and lie in darkness!" Suddenly, Kain's spiritual energy erected outside of his own body, in a thin, but virtually unbreakable layer similar to a membrane of sorts, he asked Myst." Try to break it please? You'll see the effects of this spell."

"Well, since you asked so nicely." Myst joked, swinging her sword in a wide arc, aiming for Kain's shoulder.

Kain smirked, the sword made impact, but unusually, the barrier contracted, taking the sword strike before repelling it entirely in a similar manner to what...jelly would do. Kain remarked," Did you see that?"

Myst was caught of guard by the barrier's reaction. "Yeah, it jiggled. That is rather unique for a defense. I guess hitting you while you use the spell could be compared to pinning a block of Jell-O to a tree." What she had just refered to was one of the hardest, and in fact it was downright impossible, things to ever do.

" Well then, like you said. It's your turn to make the Jell-O, and for me to be the tree. Let's see how many tries it takes for you." Kain said, deactivating the spell and gesturing towards Myst to start.

Just as Kain had, Myst spoke the incantation. "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Fear and anxiety cement, frail heart, cold as stone. With Sloth, fall into the abyss and lie in darkness!" Her energy formed a shell around her body, nearly as thin as a sheet of paper.

Kain drew his sword as in that instant his blade touched the shell, shattering it upon impact. He smirked, and told Myst." You aren't molding your spiritual energy correctly, incantations aren't going to do everything, you have to learn to control it actively as well as passively." Kain told her, asking her." Try again."

Myst did as asked. Once again, she repeated the incantation. "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Fear and anxiety cement, frail heart, cold as stone. With Sloth, fall into the abyss and lie in darkness!" This time, the spell was more akin to what Kain had done, a membrane of energy.

Kain had slashed again, this time the membrane "bounced" off his slash, and Kain smirked, saying." Well that's it. Good job. Now we go onto the next spell, but before that, heal yourself with this." Kain gave her some blood to drink, after all that energy consumption, Myst also needed to rejuvenate herself, after all, the process of learning these seven spells was lengthy and tiring.

Myst gladly drank the blood. The spells were starting to wear her down, slowly but surely. Besides that, casting the last spell twice meant that it had twice the drain on her.

" Good, now let us get onto our next spell shall we?" Kain said, as he looked grimly for a moment, before saying." This spell is a highly destructive spell. Remember, only use this in the most dire of situations. It's name is Gekirin, otherwise known as Imperial Wrath or merely Wrath." Kain told her, as he chanted.

"Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Deny and perish, tormented soul, broken heart. With Hell's witness, the flames of Wrath's pyre, ignite once more!" Blood dripped from his hands, forming into an unstable condensed orb, before reishi discharged from its center, causing an eruption of crimson flames to be wrought upon the world, destroying all that surrounded Kain, he demonstrated its power by destroying an entire portion of land in only a matter of seconds, before he quenched the spell through his hands, hoping not to cause any unneeded destruction." You make sure you don't go out of control. Your turn." Kain said, serious and straightforward, unlike any of the other spells, Kain feared this one.

Myst stood in awe of the blast. Just witnessing the spell would be enough to scare all but the bravest of souls. "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Deny and perish, tormented soul, broken heart. With Hell's witness, the flames of Wrath's pyre, ignite once more!" she said, cutting herself to allow some blood to flow.

Rather than try to match what Kain had done, she decided to curb the amount of power drawn by the spell, and by extension cause destruction to the land. The distorted sphere of blood let loose it's fury, the flames searing the ground to ashen sand. Once she felt satisfied with the spell, she extinquished the infernal blaze with her hands.

" Oh my? You've grasped that pretty quickly. Good job, now, for the final spell of them all. This one is known as Senbō, otherwise known as Jealousy or Envy, it is a remarkable spell really, and can reflect virtually any spiritual attack and overwhelm it. Want to try it out?"

Myst held out her hand and charged a KGS. Short, sweet and to the point, just how she liked it. The blast was average in power and size, especially compared to the variations she used earlier.

While she charged, Kain began to chant," Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Overlooked and abandoned, sorrowful heart, unclasped hands. Through replication, allow Envy to eviscerate thy enemy!" Suddenly, he looked towards Myst's KGS, before immediately replicating the same amount of energy in his palm, adding a small amount of blood to it, the attack turned a vermillion shade, as he fired it off as his opponent's beam, utterly annihilating it, as he then controlled it telepathically to evade Myst entirely.

Myst watched the spell. "So, that spell is basically a counter attack?" she asked, basing her judgement on what she saw.

" Yes, originally the spell was design to nullify both parties' attacks. However, through the enhancement of blood, I was able to find that one can overwhelm another's attack through the strengthening properties of blood that act similar to supplements to our own reiryoku, this factor is exclusive to the Reikon Kyuuban." Kain explained in a very mechanical fashion before asking her," How about you try while I make an attack?"

"Alright. Fire when ready." Myst said as she mentally repeated the incantation until she had it memorized. She took a defensive stance to ready herself for the impending attack.

Kain charged a relatively weak KGS in his palm, not wishing to over-exert Myst, he fired it, not as a blast, but as an orb of energy, hoping that it was weak enough so Myst didn't need to use too much energy to repel it.

"Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Overlooked and abandoned, sorrowful heart, unclasped hands. Through replication, allow Envy to eviscerate thy enemy!" Myst chanted as she raised her hand to block the orb. By using a little of her blood, she repelled the attack and sent it skyward, away from Kain.

Kain applauded Myst, with two claps, he marveled while exclaiming." Marvelous! Marvelous! You have used all of the Natsumi Engi spells, and in only...3 hours! Astounding job Myst-san." Kain just realized he said Myst's first name, and was slightly appalled at the fact he was more fond of her. He soon regained his composure, and told her." Well, I am off. Hope you have had a nice day." Kain told her, as he left through a portal of his own, while creating another portal for Myst.

"Thank you for training me Elder. I hope that by having you do this I was not an iconvenience to you." Myst said, blushing lightly from hearing his praise of her. Seven spells in three hours. She mentally scoffed at such an idea, the passage of time had seemed so different. She was positive that more time had passed.

" Oh no, it was surprisingly fun. At the least, you were far more dynamic than most of the Elders I taught, now I say farewell, and hope we meet once more." Kain waved his hand, as he disappeared from the dimension. He appeared back home, as he took a sip of blood wine, thinking to himself." My, I have not had such a good time in a while. Seems that this lady will indeed be the new Queen, now, when is Lord Scarlet going to give her the official title? I must be there for the inauguration after all."

Myst walked through the portal, tired and sore. Her portal led straight to her home, and for that she was thankful. She walked inside and headed to her room. Sitting on the dresser was a small bottle of blood that she kept handy just in case she crossed swords with someone. Taking a drink of the blood helped relax her body enough to sleep, but just as she started to get ready for bed, her mind recalled something she had overlooked before parting with Kain.

He said my name at the last minute.