Under the Crimson Shrine

Kakushin waited for the Cultist to cut up his hand, to which he obliged delicately, piercing his flesh with the blade and reaching inside to coat the sharp metal edge with his sweet red ichor. While the Senju man didnt react, barely having an expression, he was in fact, hidding a smile of anguish, of anticipation in the reveal that the ritual would do. As Akaime tasted the blood, and did the same to Yama, the ritual went further, changing the whole of the caravan interior. The walls twisted and distorted, the blood all around them rose and changed the walls, roof and floor, transforming and transporting them to another world made of flesh, suffering and pain. As tormented toughts and memories of their past flashed before their eyes, Kakushin saw his true form, in flashing gory images, his birth and creation in the vats of the laboratory, and the origin of his accursed flesh before being made into a human form.

As the trio arrived in the large dimmension, and were welcomed by Akaime, he offered a spar with Yama, who before the Senju arrived was interested in a fight and tussle with the Chinoike. Not wanting to intervene, Kakushin still in human form walked a bit around the dimension, bare footed, his feets and hands covered in blood. Unusual to his regal attitude and higher politeness, the fabricated man was walking in an animal like position, on all fours, crawling like a beast. His back was distorted a bit, seemingly unable to hide his true form, which was peaking more and more. As he created a nice distance toward the large temple, leaving the field of blood for the two other man fighting, Kakushin weaved handseals rapidly, creating dark bloody wood roots sprouting from the blood pool that served as the floor of the dimension, fashioning himself a throne made out of accursed roots, taking the shape of a twisted dead tree in the back of the seat. As he sat in there, His face changed almost immediately.

His expression of neutrality disapeared, his face now showing the most wide and large creepy smile he could do, appearing almost as if his very face was unhinged and dislocated, and his handsome trait started to melt away, changing and morphing rapidly. His body seemed to start to shake too, and after a short while, Kakushin simply exploded in red mist and oozed out, as if his own body was but an envelope containing something darker. In his place was left a creature of untold horror, disgusting to most who would set eyes on it.

ambiance for the true form:

A giant black centipede would rest, with its hundreds of legs twirling and shivering, coiled all around itself and the throne in place of the senju, revealing his true and eldritch form, profane and abject. Measuring more than a few meters long, the centipede ended not with a head, but with what appeared to be a giant black shriveled skin in the form of an eyelid, which when it openned had a small human white face inside, the true visage of the fabricated senju, the accursed manipulator of the forest, the maledict of Senju old blood defiled, made into a chakra devouring monster, turned human by science into a pale reincarnation of the senju of old, with the darkest secret behind it. Its face was androgynous, seemingly both female and man, yet neither at the same time. It had dark circles around each eyes, making it appear even creapier like a mask of traditional theater. Its lips were suprisingly lushious and plump, yet felt decayed and dead, like his whole visage was made of the flesh of the dead. The smell of the creature was the worst part. It reminded anyone of the true smell of Rot, the stench of deah beyond the corporeal matter, the death of the very soul. 

Without even waiting for the reactions by his fellow familly member, the monster that Kakushin revealed to be simply looked over at them with its pale visage.


''My dear and sweet chiiillldrens... This has been rather amusing, has it not? I will gladly watch you fight, but thiiiiis is the time for me to leave soon, darlings. We will soooon be on the move. Until theeeen... Keep my secret, will you both? ehehehehahahahahAHAHAHAHAHH!'' Would say in a much more creepy voice the true form of kakushin, sounding rather demonic, as if the voice created echo, but was high pitched too, shrill to the ears, piercing and loud, as if it spoke inside the very head of the people listening. His laughter at the end was the worst part of it. Sounding like the laughter of a hundred elderly womans and mens laughing and burning alive screaming at once, a true bloodcurling experience.


As it watched the fight happen for a few moments, Kakushin wouldnt linger anymore, and the dark centipede monster would soon start to meld with the tree structure, fusing with its bark and making one with it, until it had vanished completely. Should the others get out too of the dimension, they would see Kakushin simply walking away from the caravan of Akaime, in his regular human perfected form, hidding his true nature of his demonic chakra, not yet ready to be revealed, and would see him walk with a faint smile, entering his own caravan to go to sleep before their journey would start again.

[EXIT]

TWC: 1757

Claims: 

• 17 stats point going toward chakra (new chakra = 97)
  
• 1750wc going toward Underground Root Technique at B rank
  

As their fight had begun, he would stop his fist inches before his perfectly sculpted body. Yama found himself frozen, unable to cause him harm. He tried to push himself farther, but he was frozen under the beautiful Akaime's gaze. He would lower his arm, and he would bow to Akaime. "I'm sorry, but. I don't think I can bring myself to hurt you. I'm not sure why Akaime, but it's true. I hope you'll forgive me." An anger built up in his chest as he felt that he had let himself and Akaime down in his lack of vigor.

It was then that the leader of the group, Kakushin would begin to speak. Yama would turn toward Kakushin, and he would see that his body had changed and shifted. His entire chakra network was different, it was able to be felt even by the most novice of sensors. He had hundreds of feet, and had the shape of some sort of abomination that was truly unsightly and horrid. Yama would take a step back for a moment as the words fell from the monster's mouth. Yama would be unsure just how this was possible, what kind of magic was sealing away this version of this man.

He would ask for Yama and Akaime to keep his secret for the time. He would simply nod, unsure of just what he could even say to such a being. He would laugh in an eerie and odd manner. Yama would look over to Akaime, and he would ask for him to be let out of their dimension.

When he would it the dimension, he would see Kakushin in his normal state, and he would be curious as to just what exactly was happening with him. There was a chill in the air as he saw Kakushin walking around as if nothing had happened. Yama would remember this fact about Kakushin, the secrets that hid beneath the surface of this odd individual.

For now, he would go in to the woods and gather his thoughts for a time.

WC: 367
TWC: 3003
EXIT

WC claims:
+120 AP
Current Bonus AP = 474

The overlying scent of iron reached new magnitude in this dimension. The atmosphere was cold but yet surprisingly warm. A touch of malice could be felt in the air as if it were mere vestiges making their way through the plane. Perhaps, it was. Souls of all those that fell to his power were trapped in this domain without gaining the sweetful bringing of the afterlife. Such a misshapen tragedy. Maybe the Witchking could grant them freedom and let them pass on, but why would he give such mercy to them. Perpetual punishment for the price of everlasting sorrow that they have brought. Suffering caused by their sin is forever their judgment, and forever, Akaime’s continuous pleasure.

His gaze sharpens as the two arose from their placements. A hint of confusion could be felt exuding from Yama as tried to grasp the situation and Akaime’s words at hand. The Ketsuryugan wielder expected no less from him. As for Kakushin, he took interest in the surroundings; most pointedly, a distance away from the shrine. However, something was unusually off about him. He was maneuvering around on his hands and feet like some sort of feral animal. Akaime has never seen him like that before; perhaps, his mental state was broken by the events beforehand. But nonetheless, that wasn’t the Chinoike’s main priority as of the moment. It was that of the man that stood before him or most recently, charging at him.

A smirk formed over his mouth as the man who recently amped up his power but what looked like the eight gates. Akaime has only seen this technique used once, but it was quite the formidable one; especially, if the higher gates were to be used. As Yama ventured forth in his trajectory towards the Chinoike, his strike never came. It seems he had faltered under the everpresent ethereal gaze of Akaime. Or perhaps it was something else. But with a bow and an answer, Akaime could only feel empathy towards the man. He wondered what feelings were conflicting with him that he would not be able to strike the Witchking.

Akaime’s smile flickered into something gentler. “Do not fret, Yama. All in due time, I suppose,” Akaime's voice fell into something more soothing, rather than how his previous tone was. Usually, one would not strike a loved one, but could they really be considered lovers. Not quite, as that would take time to develop. Although, there is a saying that contradicts that notion: ‘lovers at first sight’. But could this instance be somewhat of what that saying is? Akaime knew his beauty was somewhat on another level, even from a young age. Boys and girls would swoon over him, but he found none of them interesting enough. Then he was going to marry the daughter of the village leader; well, that was before they were single handedly killed by Kiri Pirates. Anyway, he will need to think for a minute before stepping forward and possibly exploring the next steps of their relationship.

However, whatever the outcome of this situation is a tale for a different time. Now was the time for the surprising revelation of Kakushin. Akaime watched as the once beautiful man began to exude a red mist as his body began a metamorphosis. It was unsightly to watch, but he couldn’t pull himself to look away. A black centipede came to be as dozens upon dozens of legs formed from his body. Twisting, shifting, and coiling around. A head at the front of the body revealed itself through something closely related to an eyelid. That wasn’t the worst of it. The aroma from the foul creature was reminiscent of a plague. The air was almost unbreathable from the stench. Oddly enough, Akaime found the sight of this grotesque creature astonishing. However, he knew why Kakushin would hide his true nature. Things people fear and do not understand tend to be attacked and killed. And then, his voice rang out through the area.

Akaime embraced the sound, a noise much familiar to the blood user. The sound of thousands dying. It was enchanting and beautiful. “Your secret is safe with us, father,” he said with a simple head bow. As the events continued on, the notion to be let from this dimension would be brought up. With a simple snap of his fingers, the world instantly changed scenery as they would be back in the caravan. Kakushin and Yama would soon take their leave, leaving Akaime to his own devices and thoughts.

With a wave of his hand, the pool of blood soon vanished from the room, revealing a ventblack flooring. He continues to replay the entire encounter in his mind. Even manually jostles his brain a bit, hoping that more details might reveal themselves. After enough obsessive runs, he finds he has exhausted the memories. Pared them down to the most elementary neurons that make them up. They're no longer enough.

They also have failed to explain this new thing to him. This...affection. That beating heart he'd felt. The literal one, of course. He knows well that the anatomical thing inside of him is and has always been pushing his blood through his veins. Now, it feels as though the task of simply keeping his life from ending is just no longer enough.

For the next upcoming hours, he has cloistered himself in his chambers. Dismissing visitors. Ignoring those needy voices and pleas asking to see their fair and blessed comrade again. There are far greater conundrums to solve than how to bring enlightenment upon the mortals of this earth.

Yama.

He would speak his name aloud to himself. Delight in the ring of each sound and syllable. He would hum it sometimes—sing it, even. He would scrawl each of the characters to paper at the end of his brush. If he'd had any talent in portraiture, he would even commit his image to canvas. Anything to evoke his presence again, like a spell, an incantation to beseech the entity himself before him.

What was it that made his hand float toward that metaphorical cavity in his chest? Once a void, now filled with the movements and the ticking, tinkering of something very much alive. Like a sleight of hand, a cheater's game played by an illusionist's ghost that may or may not have ever even existed—itself a simple trick of the eye. Ghost or not, he was a human. What a fool even an imaginary being would be to elude a very real one like him.

...Was that what love was?

Not what he imagined.

He goes back to that moment—the moment when he'd felt the thing inside stirring. What had that felt like? An infant's first crying breaths. The first memory the mind retains about waking from slumber. Breaking the water's surface. Lying in the fresh snow. Almost dying. Dying. Experiencing all of that over again. Or...no. Not quite. These are all experiences he remembers having. None of them are particularly unique in any way. Even the dying. Why? Because none of these things ever made him feel.

Until that day—that moment, when he'd felt that dormant heart of his break its silence for the first time ever, reaching with its ephemeral, phantom's touch for its counterpart in Yama. Like the weight of gravity drawing in all caught in the wake of its influence. By the time he'd felt it, there had been no way to break from its pull. It'd enveloped him, tethered him, dragging his existence in a spiral along its path—to where, even, he couldn't possibly have guessed. This was uncharted territory, this once empty space inside of himself. He hadn't even known the expanse of its void until something had reached too far and fallen in. The same way one had no means of understanding the nature of absence without first experiencing its causal effect. All it takes, then, is an outside force. A displacement of the perceived stillness and silence. A ripple to change its state of being.

This isn't enough.

Akaime resolves, then, to see him again. He wants to hear his voice—all the notes, cadences, and tones evoked by its sound. He wants to see his many-faceted smile, seeming to bear as many colors within it as his own eyes had. Akaime wants to know his musings, his habits, what he likes and dislikes—the trivial little things that altogether in their collective, formed the elemental construct of being that was Yama Kokoro.

He wants an answer to the conundrum. A meaning to this parable. What had this thing that drew him to Yama been? He understands the nature of such forces. All actions begot reactions. Things were always fundamentally exchanged or transmuted in equal parts. The natural world always sought balance, even if in some convoluted, roundabout way. Yama is his opposite. His equal. His unequivocal other half. What, then, had he exchanged with him for his empathy? What is it that can possibly be done for Yama's love?

[EXIT]
WC: 1,504
TWC: 4,213

Claiming:
Memorizing both Kakushin and Yama's chakra signatures. (2000 + 2000 = 4000 WC)
1500/1500 for Fire Release (25% Off Due to Max Stat)
2062/2062 to Great Fireball Technique (A-Rank)(25% Off Due to Max Stat)
651/1125 to Fire Style: Searing Migraine (B-Rank)(25% Off Due to Max Stat)

Used all WC.

Kakushin Senju wrote:

[EXIT]

TWC: 1757

Claims: 

• 17 stats point going toward chakra (new chakra = 97)
  
• 1750wc going toward Underground Root Technique at B rank
  

Approved

Akaime Chinoike wrote:

[EXIT]
WC: 1,504
TWC: 4,213

Claiming:
Memorizing both Kakushin and Yama's chakra signatures. (2000 + 2000 = 4000 WC)
1500/1500 for Fire Release (25% Off Due to Max Stat)
2062/2062 to Great Fireball Technique (A-Rank)(25% Off Due to Max Stat)
651/1125 to Fire Style: Searing Migraine (B-Rank)(25% Off Due to Max Stat)

Used all WC.

Approved