Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Power of Anima

He needed energy.

He didn't know how much he needed or even how to use it, but if he was going anywhere he was going to need a surge of power. From the Polaris revelation he knew that the anima was a powerful source of energy, and well, he had two anima sitting unused right here. His only issue was that he didn't know HOW much energy they contained. It was possible that what he was about to attempt was going to burn one or both of them out permanently, but he just had to hope that was not the case.

From what he saw of Kazna, he had a hunch that void energy was far less effective in power output than regular anima energy, and by making a deal with the void she actually made herself incapable of harnessing anima energy. This was all conjecture of course, but he didn't have the luxury of simply pretending anymore.

Lord Celex leaned forward putting his hands on either side of Kelly's face, stars swirling under his hands.

She was cold.

Even without eyes, he got the sense that she wasn't looking at him.

He spoke low and soft infusing his words with a kindness he had rarely used when he was alive, "I need you to help me help our friends." She didn't answer, "You remember Sunny and Adam don't you?" Still no response, "Adam, he was like a son to you, don't you remember. You helped him get a ship, he was on your crew for a while. You two were very close." Still she said nothing, but he plowed on hoping he could do this without her but also hoping that his words might strike a cord somewhere inside her, "Sunny is his wife, and they have a little boy, and now their baby is in danger. Kazna wants him for soemthing and we cannot let that happen, you hear me."

She leaned into one of his hands reaching up to cup his palm to the side of her face.

He sighed, "You don't understand a word I'm saying do you."

She didn't respond but held his hand to her face quietly. She just seemed to enjoy his touch.

He looked up, finding only darkness for his inspiration and sighed. Not like anyone was going to see what he did here anyway, so he leaned forward wrapping his arms around the void shadow, pulling her close. She felt so small in his arms, so cold. It was a sensation he had never experienced as the gesture was almost entirely human in nature. Now that he thought about it, he had experienced the gesture once, as a recipient rather than the source held I the arms of a human as cold threatened to steal his life force away.

She rested her head on his shoulder and he hugged her tighter closing his eyes, "We're going to save them ." He said softly, and then began the first stages of his plan. He had dared not practice when he knew Kazna was anywhere near, so he wasn't sure if this would work at all, but he had to try.

Ribbons slowly began to detach themselves from his back, floating upward and billowing around him in a great cloud. He felt his limbs elongate slightly, felt his fingers extend. Meat and muscle melted away from his bones as skin drew right to a starborn skull. He didn't have to do it this way, but he found it was certainly easier.

As soon as the transformation was halfway over, he could feel it.

Another mind butting up against his like the hull of two ships knocking together on a rolling sea. He closed his eyes even tighter, held his breath and dove in.

What he felt was likely immersing himself in a freezing lake of ice water, black as marble and so cold it was agony. He screamed through still human teeth as kelly's mind engulfed him, a vast well of pain and cold and darkness which battered against his head. Spikes of her burning cold consciousness drove themselves deep into his head as he dove deeper, impaling himself as if he had sprung headfirst into a rose bush but continued to claw his way forward.