Chapter 388: Confrontation
Laz was awake while his body was moving. For him, it kind of felt like watching a VR movie while someone else was controlling the game. While it was awkward, Laz didn’t feel like there was any danger involved so for the moment, he didn’t try to fight it.
Instead, Laz was kind of intrigued. His thoughts were racing as to what was going on, how it was happening, if he could do anything to regain control? So many questions and since he didn’t feel any threat, now was the time to check it out. After all, if someone were to take control of him during a fight or something, the result could be deadly.
’So let’s see... can I move my arms or legs?’ Laz said and began trying. After a few moments and his best effort, he wasn’t able to do anything with his own body. It was like... being unplugged from his own meatsuit.
Next, Laz tried circulating his energy, feeling the power inside of him as it was locked within his center. Of course, doing so ended up proving to be a difficult challenge. While he could still feel his center, it seemed like a fog had engulfed the entire area, making everything seemed slowed and weighed down. Looking within, Laz found that the area where his void palace resided along with the apocalypse ring seemed to be covered in smoke, making a connection very difficult. The only thing that gave Laz some hope though was his black flame that was burning brightly above the palace. No matter how the smoke tried to cover the black flame, as soon as it came within a few relative feet of the flame, the black flame would burst outward, causing the smoke to burn away and beat a hasty retreat.
’Well, that’s something I guess,’ Laz told himself. After checking out the other strange aspects of his body he could see that while he looked mostly normal from the outside, if one were to get up close to him, they could see wisps of smoke escaping from his ears, nose, mouth and eyes.
Despite the apparent danger he was in even if he didn’t feel an immediate threat, Laz couldn’t help but feel that it was kind of cool.
Either way, he knew that something was seriously wrong and couldn’t help but wonder just how this had happened and what else was going to happen.
’I should probably be ready just in case,’ Laz thought and sent his spiritual sense over to his flame and was relieved when he felt the connection back. No matter what happened, as long as he could use the black flame, he could retake control of his body.
Despite wanting to do that right now, Laz held back. He was more interested in seeing where he was going and who was behind all of this. So unless he felt it was getting out of hand, Laz was going to hang back on fighting this event.
While this was his feeling towards the circumstances, he was also getting annoyed with whatever was controlling him. Laz was strong... very strong. Thanks to his Asura bloodline and the various events he went through before today, his body could smash stone and even stop small caliber bullets. As such, his body didn’t move or work in the same way that a normal human would. His body was heavier by nature, his limbs, filled with explosive power, required far more control. So watching himself shambling along at a pace that could only be considered a hearty walk was a bit obnoxious. Although he didn’t know where he was going, had he been in charge of himself and running, he could have covered almost twenty times the distance than whatever was leading him on.
Still though, Laz waited.
As they finally got to the barracks type building, Laz recognized it as the place he was first brought to when he was dragged here. Walking inside, Laz didn’t see anyone or hear anything. in fact, it seemed like the entire building was empty at the moment. While thinking it over, Laz remembered that now was technically dinner time and everyone was in another building eating.
’Wonder why I am here? Is it possible that whoever is targeting me is actually inside the compound?’ As Laz moved along the known corridors, he finally realized that he knew exactly where he was.
’No...?’
Laz’s body stopped in front of his own door and knocked, only for the door to be opened from the inside to allow ’Laz’ to enter.
Walking in, Laz didn’t even recognize the place. There was a strange circle on the ground in chalk along with several burning bits spread out all over. The inside was lit with only three candles at different lengths and when Laz tried to focus himself on what was outside the small range of light, all Laz saw was an endless darkness. Turning his spiritual sense around, he found it next to impossible to penetrate the layers of nothingness that had even managed to swallow the door he had just walked in from.
The only thing he did see was Celes, or what looked like a shadow of Celes, sitting on his bed naked while wrapped in what looked to be the sheets of his bed. As for how Laz knew she was naked? Her body still looked normal, it was just completely black.
"He’s here! He’s here! It worked!!!" Celes said, getting off the bed, running up and jumping onto Laz. She then buried her head in his neck and started sniffing him like a puppy trying to nuzzle it’s master.
"SOO GOOOD. I can still smell his sweat from earlier. And no other smells as well. Good, so good. I got him before she could taint him for tonight. So yummy."
Just as Laz was trying to make sense of her strange voice and the things she was saying, Celes actually bit down on Laz’s collarbone, hard enough to break the skin. As some blood flowed freely, Celes started wiping it all over herself, as thought intent on coloring her naked black form with his personal red paint.
While that was surprising, horrific and even slightly stimulating, Laz was actually more interested in the fact that she could actually break his skin with her teeth. That required a level of strength that just wasn’t a normal part of her. As Laz’s wound quickly healed, Celes finally finished her inspection of him and backed away.
"Make him stand there. Yes. Right there. Right at the center. Now strip him," Celes ordered ’Laz’ who then complied with the request, removing all articles of clothing from his body and throwing his pouch off to the side.
"He’s all mine now. But... How do I keep him mine? What if he wakes up? Well, they said those that this spell affected just woke up like they had been dreaming and didn’t remember anything about what they had been doing. But that was a long time ago... What if it’s actually different? I don’t know.. I don’t know... I want him. I want him... I... yes... Yeah. That. I can do that. WE CAN DO THAT!"
Celes was going off the deep end fast and Laz had the feeling that things were going to start getting real dangerous real soon. As such, he decided to connect with the flame.
While outwardly, no change was happening, inside Laz, the black flame started to spread, eliminating all the smoke from inside his center, freeing his void palace of violet gold which in turned supplied more energy to the flame. Just as the smoke was forced out from his center all together, Laz felt himself cry out.
"BE WARNED. HE’S TAKING CONTROL!" Before Laz’s entire body erupted in black flame, completely destroying the smoke phantom that had been in charge moments before.
Laz took a deep breath with his own lungs before looking up at Celes who despite being warned, had paid the phantom no mind.
"I just need to cover him within and bring him inside. Once there, he can never escape my shadow realm, right?" Celes asked a non-existant listener.
"Oh? He’s awake?" Celes finally turned to Laz and smile, her pitch black skin coated in his red blood like some creepy pasta nightmare come to life.
"Oh well. This would have hurt you a lot less had you just remained hidden within. But since you’re out now, lets let the darkness swallow you whole, ok? Just be a good boy and don’t bother fighting."
With those words, the light from the candles was snuffed out as layer upon suffocating layer of black collided into Laz, almost knocking him over. While Laz didn’t know what he could do, his body responded on it’s own as the black flame engulfed him from head to toe. With that weird layer upon him, the ink like oozing darkness could no longer find it’s way to him.
’This flame is so strange. I don’t know if it’s a treasure stored within or some sort of inheritance of my people. Either way, it seems like the flame is far stronger than her assault. For now anyway,’ Laz told himself watching as the black ink tried in vein to break through the flames, only to be pushed back each time.
"What the hell is this?" The dark Celes asked, her voice still tinged with icy hate.
"This... What... Wait... something... something feels... off...." While the waves of darkness tried everything possible to break through the flame even while Laz’s energy drained at a remarkable pace, Celes’ body started staggering before fall down on the bed, unable to rise.
"What is this... warmth?" Celes asked again, not sure what was happening.
As she laid on the bed, Laz just stood over her and watched her, a thought having entered his mind.
Celes kept jerking around while scratching at herself as though she had a rash.
"Why! WHY??? WHY DOES IT KEEP GETTING SO WARM?" Celes yelled out, even while digging her fingers deeper into her own flesh as though trying to rip the hot parts away. Little did she know this was only the beginning.
Minute after minute, the ’flames’ within Celes grew hotter and hottier until she couldn’t take it anymore.
With one superhuman yank, the inky, skin tight bodysuit vanished and Celes was left laying there, naked and confused.
