Jonathan R. Black
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"It is only natural for it to be familiar, for you humans, this is the form of your afterlife."
Yes.
The 'Sea' that the Rider seemed to be referring too, the one that he needed your presence to enter, was the fabled Sea of Souls that was said to exist within the core of the planet Earth, the place where new souls were born, where old ones returned to upon death, and where those who had accepted their end were cleansed of impurities, some choosing to stay in the sea as their previous selves, while others returned to the surface as a new life, the record of their old existence buried somewhere beneath the new.
Yes.
While he is not particularly versed in the lore of the spiritual world, it only takes Jonathan R. Black a moment to realize that the words of the Rider are true, and that this place certainly is...
An 'Underworld' of sorts.
The blue river flows out into a world of black, the 'water' falling towards an endless sea of azure; carried along by the steed of the Rider, who seems to want to keep you close for reasons that are likely connected to the fact that it is technically an 'invader' in this holy place, you can't help but observe everything with a strangely wistful eye.
From above it resembles a planet.
Lights sparking off of it's surface, breaking off from the sea and shooting off into the darkness, it would be easy to mistake those solitary lights for stars, but no...
In this place, there are no stars.
Every 'light' you see, from those that make up the sea below, to those that are seemingly vanishing into the dark, heading to some place beyond your comprehension, are the souls of human beings. Each light is a soul, the mass of blue is the light of an impossible to count number of souls; this place is the place that ties humans together, no matter how inhuman one tries to become, how much they try to deny it...
Every human being in the world, is, in one way or another, intimately linked to this place.
For humans, it is the last holy ground, the one that must be protected at all costs.
And one that all other existences are thought to covet, at least on some level. While there are many theories as to what it means for God to have made humanity in his own image, the belief that most demons held was not that they resembled the creator physically, but rather...
That only God and Humanity held the ability to produce 'energy' from 'nothing.' Unlike Gods, Demons, and even Angels, Humans did not need to feed off of anyone or anything in order to survive in a spiritual sense, unlike demons who fed off the human spirit, the human spirit was simply an infinite flame. When they got tired the flame may grow smaller, but barring complete destruction, humans would continue to produce power endlessly, would step forward into the future endlessly...
For such a weak race... It was nevertheless a power of the highest tier.
While one human's flame may be small, looking at that sea, at that collective, the light that shines below outstrips everything else you have seen before within the confines of the world. Not a flame, but rather a furnace, it is a fountain of pure power that resembles the light of creation, is one that the Rider observes for some time, the horse stopping in place as he stares without expression, looking at the one "trump card" humanity held within this world, a Soul Sea made up of each and every human that existed within this portion of the Amala Network.
"This is normal... We are looking for the existence of something that should not be... Keep your eyes open."
Not here to claim that power, in spite of how tempting it may seem, the Rider keeps it's goals clear to itself and to you, and the moment it does, asking you to look for "abnormalities"...
You hear it.
A roar in the distance.
The roar of the Kyuubi, a sound that everyone, absolutely everyone from the incident eight years ago, would recognize immediately, without the slightest chance of mistaking it for something else. Just like the light below, the Kyuubi is something that belongs to this Sea, but rather than being a mix of light and dark...
It is simply dark.
Negativity made manifest.
Your eyes following your ears, the steed of the White Rider seems to pick up on your sudden spark of attention, and the demon carries you across the span of the sea in but a heartbeat, the two of you remaining far above, looking down on something that should not be happening within this Sea of Souls.
Down below...
"...Such futile resistance."
A man was fighting that massive monster, the world's negativity made manifest... All on his own.
No.
To call that thing a man would be a mistake.
Standing down below, dodging the blasts of red and tendrils of black with an almost lazy air, the white-haired existence that struggles down below, that is pressuring a being far, far stronger than itself, is something that could easily be described as a "God." Seemingly endless spiritual power pouring forth from it's form, the humanoid figure moves so quickly that it's almost like it's melting into and out of the shadows with each movement.
And while the power the Kyuubi is giving off is just as great, if not greater...
Somehow...
That invincible monster from eight years ago, a being created by humanity...
"...I see. Amatsu-Mikaboshi."
...Looked like it was engaged in some sort of battle with the legendary "Evil God."
One that was looking...
Like it could go either way...
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