The pain surges through his arm, traveling down and out, into the final obelisk. As the pain disappears from his arm, the purplish black runes grow in brightness on the surface of the obelisk. As the pain fades, the tattoos that could be seen on his hand have now vanished, save one. About half of the places where the runes were are now bleeding slowly. His own blood is dripping off his right hand now.
"Cyouni!" Lou shouts from the top of the ziggurat. He is channeling the mana from the obelisks into the point of the ziggurat. "Come here!"
Leaving a not-so-nice trail of blood behind him, Cyouni takes it a step at a time up the ziggurat. One step at a time, until he reaches the point where Lou stands.
"Freedom," he croaks. His eyes are firmly fixed on Lou. "I will have my freedom."
As Cyouni came up, Lou was making complicated hand movements, molding black mana in his hands. Once Cyouni says his demand, Lou lets out a short, terse laugh, and says “In a moment.”
After completely engulfing his hands in black mana, the demon raises his hands into the air. Mana from the obelisks, glowing the dark purple color of :symb:, blasts into the center of the obelisk, creating a dark swirling miasma that starts to distort the images of the cavern wall behind it. As the glowing distortion grows in intensity, Lou steps forwards until he’s almost on top of it. He then thrusts his hands into the center of the energies, grips something within, and, with a roar that echoes throughout the cavern, tears a hole in the fabric of reality.
Lou steps back as the new portal jerks open, latching onto the streams of the mana from the obelisks, appearing to pull itself open. The cavern wall behind the portal is now heavily distorted, as if the image of the wall were a curtain being thrust apart by the portal. It’s enough to cause a minor headache to those looking at it. After a few moments, the portal eventually pulls itself open to a sufficient size to accommodate two carts side-by-side, and stops. The streams of mana lower in intensity to a simple translucent purple glow, constantly streaming from the obelisks.
While Cyouni’s comprehending this, he feels his wrist locked in a steel grasp, and raised into the air. Cyouni can see shadows of something coming through the portal, before pain explodes in his hand as the tattoo is magically ripped from his body, and Lou speaks…
To the last obelisk. One last time. Hand up, channel mana into the obelisk.
"Cyouni!" Lou shouts from the top of the ziggurat. He is channeling the mana from the obelisks into the point of the ziggurat. "Come here!"
"Freedom," he croaks. His eyes are firmly fixed on Lou. "I will have my freedom."
After completely engulfing his hands in black mana, the demon raises his hands into the air. Mana from the obelisks, glowing the dark purple color of :symb:, blasts into the center of the obelisk, creating a dark swirling miasma that starts to distort the images of the cavern wall behind it. As the glowing distortion grows in intensity, Lou steps forwards until he’s almost on top of it. He then thrusts his hands into the center of the energies, grips something within, and, with a roar that echoes throughout the cavern, tears a hole in the fabric of reality.
Lou steps back as the new portal jerks open, latching onto the streams of the mana from the obelisks, appearing to pull itself open. The cavern wall behind the portal is now heavily distorted, as if the image of the wall were a curtain being thrust apart by the portal. It’s enough to cause a minor headache to those looking at it. After a few moments, the portal eventually pulls itself open to a sufficient size to accommodate two carts side-by-side, and stops. The streams of mana lower in intensity to a simple translucent purple glow, constantly streaming from the obelisks.
While Cyouni’s comprehending this, he feels his wrist locked in a steel grasp, and raised into the air. Cyouni can see shadows of something coming through the portal, before pain explodes in his hand as the tattoo is magically ripped from his body, and Lou speaks…
To Be Continued...