Sachihiro

My breath comes in steadily, is paused within my inflated lungs and flows out smoothly until I am almost completely empty of air. I breath, concentrating on my every breathe with the outmost attention. The feel of the air being sucked into my nostrils, its passage inside me as far as I can detect, the movement of organs involved with every inhale and exhale, all that is involed in the execution of this breath. I breathe, to the exclusion of all other thoughts from my foremind.

Particularly not paying attention to the heat building within me as I’m suffused in spirit energy, even more so not paying attention to what my senses tell me about my surroundings. I just breathe; sitting in a lotus position on my blanket as comfortable as I could make myself so I stay like this letting spirit energy permeate my whole body while ingoring it.

The discomfort started off as tingling inside me but then its been steadily getting more and more uncomfortable the longer I’m soaked in spirit-energy. The more it diffuses within and around my body the more I burn. I resist the urge to fidget, breathing.

The new summoning sigil has already been drawn, the sigils powered without the dance and ready to be activated. My connection to the creature I want to summon is as clear in my mind’s eye as it has ever been. Now I’m getting ready for the summoning as instructed, suffusing my entire body slowly with spirit energy as I was shown by the Acolyte.

I breathe.

‘’Ready?’’ The Acolyte asks without any urgency disturbing me out of trance.

I grunt getting to my feet in a hop; I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for something like this. I walk down the passage gazing at the shelves marking sacofagus' with their dim haze in my spirit-eye. Ahead is a chamber especially prepared for this summoning.

I enter feeling a aura tickle my skin, the walls and floor bright with arcane sigils that shift under my gaze. The writings resonating and conflicting with my own senses in ways I do not yet understand.

The chamber is large with thick stone walls and no ceiling or upper limit as far as I can see, its cleaned of dust but the cracked stone and uneven floor still gives it the air of a cave. Its pointless trying not to step on the sigils skewn all over the floor so I walk over them though a chill passes through me every time I breach a new circle until I reach my own summoning sigil drawn by my hand at the centre of the complicated work.

*Breath in.

*Breath out.

I don’t even try to decipher anything despite my currious wonder, breathing with fists clenching tightly at my sides body burning up from within. I step on the summoning circle feeling instant relief as my spirit-energy connects to itself from both the physical and spiritual realms. A sigh escapes me at the connection, my body not so strained anymore.

‘’Summon the being and leave, afterwards you will receive all that you asked for. If you can take it,’’ the Acolyte says hovering by the entrance. I recognise the threat implied in its words and the possibilities of the spirit backing out of our deal play out in my mind in all the horrible ways that could go. Even if I get nothing else though I will be rid of one parasitic creature I want nothing to do with, be it Keir Airel or Phosphorus. Hopefully both.

What is flesh must have spirit

What is spirit must become flesh

Within and without intertwined into one.

What is mine I take from beyond the veil of space and time.

Its a simple incantation activating a new part of the circle only possible because Kier Airel is already a creature of spirit and can survive the transition.

My words are laced with spiritual-enery, the sigils feeding on them and on itself as it activates. I connect with the thread within me connecting me to the creature under my spiritual tether, Keir Airel. I perceive his confusion, then his resistance as he is being summoned through the spiritual realm which shouldn't be otherwise possible.

I feel his anguish as he burns, body falling apart before it's stabalised by the sigils compensating for spirit and flesh transition. I oversee how the cicrle and him and me are connected and affecting each other as summoning aligns through the spirit-realm which is nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

The world thunders, metaphysically trying to shake him lose whilst he digs his claws into reality refusing me. I have the advantage of a summoning circle designed by a spirit specifically for my use without which I’m realising I could never have been able to do this dispite my claim on Keir Airel. Everything is turbulently shaking but I hold on for dear life knowing failure means my death and I cannot let that happen just yet.

Keir Airel, a result of extensive spiritual and physical experimentation to create a summoned creature into a physical body. One of who knows what else the sorcerers of the Circle got up to in their covenants with these spirit creatures. He is Keir Airel, he has found a way to fit into reality and I cannot move him without his permission. But he is also a creature named Saliyasis,it is a creature named Zillah, he is beholden to me through conquest!

Spirit Oppression!

I lose my grip as the world explodes, spinning midair I land in a crouch skidding back a ways coming up with Honour in hand as I wait for my vision to adjust blacked with the scattering of my spirit-energy leaving me aching. The familair folds of the nodachi hilt grounds me against the rising panic that I am left blind, deaf and dumb by my rash actions.

Struggling with the disconnect I get my spirit energy back under grudging control, feeling, then seeing a naked Keir Airel in smoking rags falling to dust from his skin on the scorched stone where the sigils are now darkly engrained.

The world upends, I slash left and right not understanding what’s happening. I stumble as my feet land on solid ground, the passage to the summoning chamber closes with an abrupt boom and falling dust. That was sudden, I turn guarding against the Acolyte standing within a large sigil-warded passageway.

‘’We wait here; these sigils will protect us from the backlash if something unexpected happe-’’

A wail of pure anguish shatters the world splintering one half of my divided mind into pieces driving me half insane, blood gushes from orifices. The ghostly silhoutte of a creature beyond comprehension in unexpressible misery and pain fills my minds eye.

I see too much!

Quickly, instictively I slash Honour in Death across my closed eyelids blinding myself from seeing more as the other half of my mind shatters driving me completely insane.

*

Phoshorus

Part of the Spirit of Phosphorus flows into the summoned spirit-humanoid flinching at the scorching contact it has with raw flesh for the first time its existence. A chivering mess wholly trembles in form as the piece of Itself manifested and prepared for physical entry squeal in physical pain for the first time in its existence.

{Pain}. The pain intensifies as the flesh greedily pulls with sizzling insistence on Phosphorus’ being hungrily. Endlessly unchouncheable flesh slurping at the bounty of his being like a dragon trap waiting to be bridged. {Pain}.

Flesh is hungry, flesh has needs, flesh has limitations, flesh has contracts, obligations and owes a lot to all the laws of nature keeping it together and always the bill must be pained. This particular body has a lot of bills due and so the flesh takes its due greedily from the vast spirit newly filling it.

[Whaaakrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...!!!]

The now partly physical being screams its birth into the flesh, its misery and trauma at the lashing coming out in a wail of misery so sharp it shatters air through the warded catacombs. {Pain}.

The dainty existence that once inhabited the body is completely demolished without redress to reform in the spiritual; gone from Gaia; no more. The scream of misery travels through the catacombs and beyond the wards killing even dead things within leaving everything outside broken minded or dead for many kilometres around.

{pain}.

{Silence}.

...

The Spirit of Phosphorus bloatedly gets into the flesh filling till leaking at the seams having abruptly cut Itself off the source. The body is at its limit of how much of the being it can withold, maybe even beyond its limit judging by the oozing skin. Ahh... so that’s what pain is, I see why they avoid it; a being beyond the physical that has found physical form. Formed of Flesh.

Swallowing Itself the Spirit of Phosphorus formed into as perfect a being as the flesh allows. Taking leasure in adjusting itself to the heights of the body's capabilities, pleasure in redesigning the body, reassured by the weight with which it now feels anchored to this world. Existence trembles as the world protest but the planet adjusts fairly quickly, making room for a mortal god to exist on its surface. Existence trembles as new laws are created as a unique existence is birthed on Gaia, as a god wears flesh for the first time on Gaia.

First Living God of Gaia.

{Existence trembles}.

Interestingly enough it immediately feels a mortal powerful enough to have sensed its birth, then another and another and another further at the tip of the world. Caution worms itself into its stomach for the first time in its fleshy existence, so much danger here even?! The being retracts itself focusing on his fleshly senses. His gaze looks out to all around him, listening to his micro-movements. Smelling the air for the first time.

Considering all his wholeness not even a hundredth of him got into the flesh, but enough of him that he now floats solidly anchored in his own existence in the spiritual even as he takes pleasure in flexing his flesh in the physical. Existing in both realms of existence at the some time in synch, a pseudo-natural part of the physical worlds.First Living God of Gaia..., yes I like that name upon myself.

Phosphorus wears it out proudly proclaiming its hybrid birth into the physical/spiritual realm, the First Living God of Gaia menifest itself to proclaim itself across the universe with the birth of a star.

Immediately one of the established spirit existences sends sibling-spirits to investigate this phenomenon in the spiritual.

YOU THINK MUCH OF YOURSELF.

Existence upends, spiritual stars align realign, φυκ, Phosphorus is shaken but not moved. He drives them back, minor deities under bigger pantheons who owe their stability to others could no longer shack him. Spirits many times better established in terms of worshipers or duration on this side of the veil retreat, spirits supported by faith, prayers, numbers, the gease/chains placed upon them attack from the spiritual realm and are thrown back.

Formed of Flesh withstanding and further revealing itself as it is attacked, Apostate of Flesh, Clothed in Human Form.

A united attack is formed.

Using chains that bind them into a pantheon as power, attacking with their very own existences but still doing nothing but retreating before the immutability of Phosphorus having established himself physically in the world. It is an odious spiritual rumble that immediately tests the new mantles of Phosphorus of Apostate of Flesh, Clothed in Human Form. Lashing out and wounding his foes deeply, much deeper than a recently descended spirit should be able to with all the advantages they have.

The First Living God of Gaia; God of Gaia, Of Gaia, Gaian. Mantles are tested revealing themselves and withstand all opposition.

The militant spirits flee back to their masters, having lost much to Phosphorus’ gain as he forms his domain further around himself with the abandoned parts of his enemies. This is mine, I belong here, I will not be moved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the flesh he turns his head and scratches his arms, taking a deep breath exhaling pleasantly having made it this far. [Ahh...] he exhales deeply, taking stock of all around him; the mortalsare dying, I can’t lose such a useful acolyte or break my bond with the human now that I have the body. He floats to them deactivating the script of protection around them with a thought, this having a body thing is snug but has already proven itself.

The stone wall opens before the being revealing the two mortals bleeding and broken on the floor having vicariously experienced the birth of a god into the world. Glittering like golden sand under the light of a red dwarf spiritual-energy leaves the beings Self entering the two mortals; this should heal them.

It then gazes about it looking at the sloppy script wiggled about the walls in imitation of giving form to spirit.

I never noticed how imprecise those where before, possession is so limited; the being thinks to itself accumulating all the information of everything around itself. It disappears, summoning its flesh body appearing in the spiritual realm in the flesh, immediately the flesh burns in protest but endures within its own spiritual domain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’You cannot kill me without breaking the Law,’’ I say with a mouth of flesh to the darkness all around me encompassing everything in its deep cold endlessness. It is my domain, I oppose it but even as I do it gets darker and darker though we need no eyes to see.

‘’You are in my domain silly little ‘mortal’, you have made yourself subject to the laws of the flesh and you think to speak to me of law? Fool,’’ the darkness has a voice and it cuts like a cold wind.

The new flesh of the being Phosphorus splits [tearing] then bursts like a crushed orange, bleeding in a shower that evaporates midair.

‘’Do not think yourself beyond reach!’’

The Spirit of Phosphorus strains but endures whilst the flesh body disappears. Appearing bleeding into the physical world having suffered physical spiritual wounds, blood pooling bellow the crouched figure discovering its first defensive posture; the foetal position.

‘’But I will not kill you, in the physical world you will do something for me,’’ announces the darkness suffing the underground.

‘’And in the spiritual you will do something for me,’’ the Spirit of Phosphorus declares standing its ground even under duress by old powers there are ways to remain unbowed.

...and so the bargain of spirits begins.

*

Sachihiro

I come to consciousness slowly, wincing inwardly in anticipation of the pain that doesn’t come. I stand slowly, ignoring the Acolyte prostrated and mumbling like a madman in the mists of our blood on the floor. What the fuck was that? I tremble looking into the now dun chamber whose aura has become completely overwhelming.

How am I alive though, did that really happen? I grip tightly on my naked nodachi it vibrating pleasantly placating my nerves with its readiness for battle, I see no threats. The connection I had with Keir gone, my heart rate starts to slow but I’m still hesitant to leave the warding sigil’s ‘protection’. If this place is so oppressive from behind wards though...

I look away as light flashes slapping my senses senseless then back again to gawk at the bloody being crouching in the middle of the again dun sigils. Its exposed musculature shivers very horse like, muscles and tendons exposed to air with red blood seeping like thick honey from its steaming wounds. I guess Keir put up a fight; I move forward following the Acolyte that rushes forward to prostrate itself again at the bloody naked shivering being.

The aura stays the same, oppressive but not hostile. I decrease the amount of Spirit infused within my senses and immediately breathe easier feeling our spiritual thread bloom as I complete half of our bargain. A sense of safety comes over me with the knowledge that I have completed my part of the bargain, I sigh inwardly. I was scared I had fucked this up as well.

The being, Phosphorus, stands up slowly to full height stretching upward until it looms over us glowing like a dawning sun. I decrease the volume on the Spirit infused in my senses again until he is just as person standing there though now with unblemished skin glowing like bronze.

####### it says something that scrapes the inside of my mind like raw nails on a frictional board.

I come to consciousness picking myself up from the ground wiping the blood from my face. I'm not even surprised anymore by finding myself on the floor, I'm more surprised I'm still alive and sane after seeing what I think I saw. I need to forget that, I didn't see nothing.

"Our bargain," I manage to get out getting to my feet but keeping my distance from both the beings in the darkness with me.

"Yes, our bargain." A crisp multilayered voice says, silver eyes peircing into me from the thing's immaculate face.

A shiver snakes down my spine but I keep eye contact, a phantom memory of what this thing actually looks like threatening to break my mind again. Did I really see what I saw, did I gouge my own eyes out?

Fuck it, either way we had a deal. I'll get what I want and be done with this creature, I need out of here.