The Lightning continued raining down upon the combat field, and one by one, strands of the [Shadow Tide] started fading away, Elizabeth could barely believe that this had been the mighty [Hero] she looked up, instead what she was seeing right now was a pitiful man struggling to stand with a single arm and a badly formed shadow arm on the other side.
“[I…will….not….fail…its…for….MY….SISTER!]" And even at this moment, he continued rambling about his Sister, even though he did not know the name of Chloe…
"Chloe," Elizabeth said, making [The Shadow Tide] stare at her.
“[What…matters….that…girl?]” He said using what little Shadows he had to stand, "[Are you….also…. looking for her? Like Mother?]"
He seemed to have regained some color when Elizabeth stopped her barrage to let him reform; of course, she had only done so because there weren't that many shadows around, or at least not any meaningful remaining around.
"Chloe Ashcroft is your sister's name, the daughter of [Echidna]." Elizabeth said, she didn't descend to the ground and remained flying above him, looking down on him. All fourteen of her Railguns were steady and aiming at him.
All it would take was a single twitch of her intent for the fourteen projectiles to fly at [The Shadow Tide].
“[...you lie…that is…. She can't be, why would Mother remember and not me? Even though she is MY SISTER.]" He seemed completely lost; why would a brother remember something that a Mother wouldn't?
It made no sense, even if Echidna never quite showed love for Chloe, it didn't mean that she was not her Mother. Elizabeth couldn't imagine any scenario in which a mother would discard her daughter and forget about her.
"She was a good girl, a lonely girl who wanted to be loved and to love." Elizabeth said as she raised her hand and focused on the image of Chloe.
All it took was some intent from her and her Lightning reacted, making a holographic projection of Chloe Ashcroft.
"[LIES!]" [The Shadow Tide] screamed as he threw a shadow spike at Chloe's projection, "[Why would you remember her when I can't?!?!? SHE WAS M̷̦̖͔̹̠̼̖̤̩͖̳̝̰̈̀̿̒̏͒́̕Ȉ̶̡̖̠̪͎̱̩̬̳̞̉̀̇͊̍̈́͘N̵͉̙̥̙͚͍̺̼̹̠̖̞̽̐̔̀̅̅̇̇̋̋̍̕͜E̸̫͙̽͊̒̑̚!]"
…No 'My Sister' but 'Mine'?
Elizabeth felt something afoul there.
"She sacrificed her life during the Advent because she thought I should have a second chance, because my family loved me, because she loved me…Because she wanted to be one with me." Elizabeth continued her explanation about who Chloe Ashcroft was.
“[With you?!?!?!? Not me?!?!? More lies!]" [The Shadow Tide] screamed as he continued frothing, now Elizabeth was sure something was awry here, there was just no way that he was reacting like this for no reason.
So, focusing more on her Appraisal, Elizabeth focused the skill towards [The Shadow Tide]; she wanted to make sure of what she thought was happening to the former [Hero].
The Mortal Sin of Greed:
You have found yourself with the aftereffects of someone who took hold more than they could stand. Maximilian Windsor is...not someone special; he was born from one of those who had the potential to stand at the peak of power. But also from someone who could barely survive long enough to impregnate Eleonor Windsor, the Mother of Shadows. His father was barely strong enough to survive intercourse that long, and afterwards died, turned into a sludge of shadows and corruption.
As such, while talented, he had barely enough power to scrap at the limits of A-Tier power, he knew this of course. That is why he focused his power and skill set to espionage, he managed to find a fragment of reality. What was meant to be a stepping stone into apotheosis for one of the first goddesses of this realm? And while taking it upon himself, his desires went out of control, making the generation of a Gem, these are slowly nurtured to anchor and nurture those that walk the path of power.
These are what help them ground themselves so they don't lose themselves in the power, done well they will nurture into what defines them, done wrong...
You already have found several of them have you not Elizabeth Starbright?
-The Gem of Wrath.
-The Gem of Envy.
-The Gem of Pride.
-The Gem of Gluttony.
Four cases of someone who lost themselves in themselves, be it because of the Taint or their own desires (The Gem of Lust that you have allowed Rossaline Singh to keep).
They are not meant to exist in this form, and the fact that you keep and collect them worries me greatly...or it would, if you were my problem. You are not.
Enjoy the result of your decisions, I would have thought that Pride would be your downfall and half expected the next time I saw you, you would be a mindless dragon preying on innocent women. So there is that.
Good job on surviving your own Sin, Elizabeth Starbright. May you know what you are doing.
.....This motherf-
"You got blinded by greed huh"
He had been corrupted by [Greed], Elizabeth couldn't help but feel one part amused and one part frustrated, she had barely thought about going around finishing her [Heart], that had been a big part of why she had even attempted to assimilate Akira's [Sin Gem].
And now she had found a second one?
How was this even logical?
Really?
You just got hand-shoved an explanation about them not being special.
But to sum up, when your Mana goes above a certain threshold, it starts crystallizing naturally. This means that your mana starts to condense to help your body survive your own power without suffering from Mana Poisoning (please see exhibits A and B: Rena and Rossaline mana poisoning).
That is the reason you catalized a Gem of Shadows and a Gem of Lightning, if YOU HADN'T SHOVED IT INTO YOUR STUPID CROWN THAT WOULDN'T HAD HAPPENED.
So yes, these are normal. And the fact that he went nuts because he couldn't control his own desires is also normal. This is how most of the Super Villains are made, and the reason Ethan turned into The Shadow Stygian.
Alice Starbright.
Your humble servant that wants to keep this BS you threw my way working one way or another.
"You must be kidding me. This is normal then?" Elizabeth retorted back at the insanity.
*Sigh*
Yes, it is normal.
If Alice's example weren't enough, there are more close examples.
Our parents, Jack Brighton and Catherine Starlight, each had their own Gem.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Your father had [The Gem of Conviction].
Your Mother had [The Gem of Hope/Will].
As far as we can see from this side, your gems of Shadow and Lighting were supposed to merge and become [The Gem of Belief] or [The Gem of Hope]. Not that we understand WHY that would be the case since you are neither a zealot nor a firm believer in gods, be it with lowercase G or not.
Chloe Starbright.
Please don't mind Alice, she is still somewhat angry at you, but she understands that you didn't mean what happened to us.
"[What are you raving about?]" [The Shadow Tide] asked as a sludge-like shadow started pooling below him, "[Sin? I did not sin, you all did. You more than anyone else, pretending that you are more special than me? A girl that is barely turning into adulthood? Why would M̷̤̺͓̣͍͇̭̺͓̦̘̏̓̒̈́̄͘͠Y̶̧̧̖̪̙̩̠̱͈͇͍̜̻̼̍̌̋̄̽̏̌ ̸̧̧̧̮͖̖̟̥̩͓̦̦̪̾͌͗̓̀̀̇̏̒̈̿̏̈ͅS̶̢͕̬̱̩̜͊̅͜I̷̯̭̥͍̹̰̪̣̙̠̽͜S̸̡̧̧̯͙̖̭͆̕T̷̨̝͕̠̱͔͇̜͕͍̻̬̹̮̠̾̓͂̅̾͋̌͝Ȩ̴̙̖͙̙̱̬̲͔̦͙̠̇͛̎͛̓̑̔̓̀͒͝͝Ȓ̶̟͈̫̫̯̱͙̖͙̦̗̅͐̊̔̉̀ ̷̧̨̼̯̫̣̜̾ prefer you?!?]"
...Elizabeth had eaten questionable things; not many could say they ate a stone that came from their shy cute girlfriend after they rescued them from a rapist.
Or that they planned to eat the sins (And perhaps do a few extra ones) on their 18th birthday.
Not many could boast about having eaten the Hearts of their enemies... But that? Elizabeth...did not want to even think about eating it, even if she wanted to finish her [Heart].
That sludge-like substance...it made her want to hurl at the idea of how it must taste, or smell. Greed was really an ugly sin, at least it had not been [Lust] the one that had gotten the hold of him.
She didn't mind how Rossie looked with all her unbridled Lust, but just imagining what [The Shadow Tide] could have looked like with him?
Yeah, no. The idea of that Man using shadow-like tentacles?
Nope, maybe the fifteen-year-old herself would have found the idea appealing, but current Elizabeth did not like or want him to use shadow tentacles on her. Or anything on her.
Her body was a temple (one dedicated to Rossie and Rena).
So instead, she turned to really look at [The Shadow Tide], a man who was ravaged by his own delusions, someone who attempted to grab hold of that which wasn't his and, in turn, was cursed by the world for it.
She didn't believe for a second that [The World] couldn't have stopped this, that thing that had made him like that Proliferation had been something made by [The World] after all.
Elizabeth hadn't looked that much on it before, but perhaps it was time to end that part of her life?
So, in the end, it all rounded down to whether she wanted to take in that part of her life or destroy it. If these things were common then she would probably be able to get around not taking this particular [Gem of Greed], but then again.
"I do need to give you Chloe's last wish." Elizabeth sighed, turning back once more to [The Shadow Tide]. "Gjöll."
As her words left her mouth, the space behind her rippled in multiple places. Elizabeth shook her head once, and those ripples disappeared.
"[Even like this you will not stop me, no matter where you shove me, even if you managed to somehow stop me now. I WILL GET MY WISH! MY SISTER WILL LIVE ONCE MORE! LIVE IN FEAR GIRL, FOR WHAT IS MINE WILL RETURN!]" So he moved away from anger to bargaining huh.
What was next? Depression and finally acceptance?
She...did not want to deal with that, even if it was caused by grief. [The Shadow Tide] had caused too much suffering, even at this moment her Haven was brimming with the numbers of new Souls that had been rerouted to her.
Granted, against the number of Souls from Terra Invicta, what she got from [The Shadow Tide] was barely worth a mention.
But that didn't matter to Elizabeth; she just continued staring as the ripples on space manifested around [The Shadow Tide], four on the ground near him, four above him, and then, in but an instant from the ripples of space, eight golden chains shot straight at his arms, legs, torso and one even tied itself on his neck.
He was being tied down, the golden chains discharging Lightning as he was raised from the ground; before he could even react to the lightning-fast chains, he was unable to even react.
"I owe you many thanks, you were the reason I looked forward to the next day when my darkest days clouded over younger self." Elizabeth said as she descended, at her back fourteen spear points floating from ripples in space, a warning. She still had her Railgun loaded and ready to fire at any moment.
The hanging man didn't seem to understand her, how could he?
When Elizabeth had thought she could make friends in middle school, what she found was more of the same, most of these kids were the same she had spend her early childhood with. And as such, they treated her most of the same.
It was during those times where she was surrounded by despair that she found about [Shadow Pact], a hero clad in shadows that moved alone and even excelled in some parts that not many could.
She was inspired and decided to look more into what it meant to be a Hero like that. She found very little, but even so, she liked what she found. And it was part of the reason she didn't make a huge fuss when she found that the school she would attend was one for young Heroes and Magical Girls.
It was why she embraced more her Shadow Aligned side, even though she knew more about Magic. Even though what she knew about the then Powered was not applicable to what she wanted to do.
Even though she had wanted to be like him before.
"And now this is what is left of you?" Elizabeth couldn't help but feel Pity, "A mere mockery of what you were...Is this what would have happened to me? Once again, thank you for showing me what I could have become."
[The Shadow Tide] tried to struggle, to move. But to no avail, he may have risen to the levels of S-Tier, just like Elizabeth. But he was fighting against his very Anathema.
"Fruitless...Let's get this over then." Elizabeth said raising her hand and pulling from within the Armory what seemed to be a small dagger. "Ankh of Truth."
What she pulled from it was a weird cross with a circle atop it, using it she was able to narrow and increase the power of her Eyes. The circle atop being used as a magnifying glass, with it she was able to see the mana pathways that the Shadows wanted to hide. It allowed her to see it for what it truly was.
She could see the veins of corruption, she had expected to see the telltale of red that she had grown to associate with the Taint. But instead, what she found was azure veins spreading from his chest. A crystal gem pulsing with azure light that turned into sludge as it made contact with Max's mana.
"This will hurt you way more than it will hurt me." Elizabeth said, placing the Ankh in front of her and keeping it hovering by the use of some magnetic fields.
Channeling more of her Mana into it, she increased its size just enough that her arm could cross it without problem.
"Shift - Right arm into Righteous Right Arm." Her arm turned into a mass of Lightning, and without further preamble she sank her arm straight into [The Shadow Tide]'s chest.
The man fought and attempted to release himself from her grip, but it was useless. Her arm sank deep and true, and she felt the sludge-like energy attempt to latch on her, but her Lightning burned it all away each time [The Shadow Tide] screamed further.
But Elizabeth didn't stop there; she burned more and more of her mana, and the closer she got to the Gem, the more she felt it call to her. It wanted her to indulge, to feast, to T̸̢͋̐͋͛̇̈̅̚͠A̶̡̼̜̘̺̥͚̔͒̾̎́̃̑͗̊̄͂̚̕K̸̨̛̛͙̝̮̝͛̇̇͑̍̾̽̚Ȩ̵̨̮̥͕̬̗̳̟̮̊́̀̀̔̆̈̀̑̈̃̾̏̂͜ͅ ̴̼̥̰̦͉̜̝͉̉̕͜Ȧ̵͕͖̰͍͎̞̦͓̤̉̿́̓̑̏͌͊͠Ḽ̵̛̟̫͖̮̦͆́̑̽̈́̆̋͠Ĺ̷̨̟̣̯̩̱̘̜̟̲̥̰̟̫̭͗͗̎̾̾͘ ̴̢̧̛͇̖̮̏̌͌̔͑̅̀̏̔̒̿̄͝͝Ṱ̵̢̛̱̗̘͉͍̯̗̺͇̬͆͑̑̓͌̑̎͠H̷̡͙͖̞̠̳̬͇͖̝̻̱͑̈́̎͛̈́̇̏̈͛̕͜͝A̵̡̪̰̭̪̤̭͙̔͊͘T̸̩̣̗̩̳̳̪̯̜̀͑̊̓̕͜͜͠͝ͅ ̵̩̝̦̰̫̻̞̲͔̏̔̀W̸̨̧̛̛͎̬͙̗̤̟̦̪͔͇̫̘̎̈́̈́̀̀͒͐A̴͎̝̯̳͓͓͌̐̈́͝S̸̨̛̠̖̳̝̟͉̰͓̯̮͌͋̽̍̃̔̉͑̆̒̄͠ ̸̘͍͂H̶̹͈̮̣̱̫̊͒̎̇̓͗͠͠͠E̴̛͖̽̐̍̆̽̇̀̀́̔̀͘͝͝Ṙ̸̛͈̪̣̱͚̇̄Ş̴̨̠̞͎͙͎̤͚̻̓̄͠ͅ ̶̹͌̏B̴̧͓̰͈̥̺̯̗̘̺̤̬̹͍̍̈́̽̂̽̇͋̚Ȳ̵͙̼̲̦̭͉̟̯̖̣͈͙̀̅̿͐̒̋̃͘͜ ̴̡̗̟̥̌B̵̨̨̗̩͕̺̞̯̪̹̳̘̫̪́͌͜I̴̦̥̘͇͇̟̖͎͍̐͒̍͑͝ͅȐ̵̢̠͎̳͚̺̮̩̳̀̾̋T̵̢̤͙̖͙̱̮͈̻̺̮͖͎̩͓̃̀̌̄̈́͌̓̈́͒̽̍̍͘͝H̶̲͕̭́͐̇͊͐̈̅̄Ȑ̴̛̲̤̻̱͔̗͇͙̋̔͠I̵̝͉̖͐̐͐̔̈́̚͝G̴̨̣̦̦͓̻̭̊͒͛̓͆͝Ḩ̵̗̱̱͖̳̼͎̖̺̼̱͎̺̤͒Ţ̴̨̨̟̜̝͚̖̪͙̮̣̊͝ ̶̖̩̣̍͑.
But Elizabeth ignored it and instead encased the Gem in a jail of Lightning, she did not touch it directly and instead pulled it out using only her Lightning.
"[GAAAAH....aaah...]" [The Shadow Tide] attempted to hurl at her and the chain at his mouth merely vaporized what he tried to vomit.
Elizabeth instead pulled her arm out of him and as her arm crossed the Ankh, she left the [Gem of Greed] hovering in front of the Ankh.
"What...happened?" Maximilian Windsor asked as the chains on his mouth let him speak again, "Who are you?"
He was playing that card?
"My name is Elizabeth Starbright," Elizabeth answered as she opened the doors to her Armory and let the Ankh and the Gem of Greed fly inside, "Reginald? I am sending something inside the Armory, make sure you keep it contained, I do not want to deal with this thing without some preparation."
"[As you wish Mistress, the area you left me to stand guard does not seem to show any changes, I will move one of the settlements of Thunder Birds near here to monitor it. I will start preparing a containment cell for this new Gem you acquired.]" Reginald answered from within.
Elizabeth wanted to complain about the use of those weird round birds, but...if they could channel her Lightning...yeah, they could work quite well as guards.
Even if it meant that now she had a new inhabitants to deal with...She...had not thought about making a new settlement within her Soulscape, but it was true that while Aquila was big. It was not the whole of Terra Invicta.
And her Soulscape was that dead planet...So it stood to reason that there could be more than only Terra Invicta.
"What....happened?" Maximilian Windsor asked looking to his arms and noticing he was chained, "...Are you aware of who you chained down?"
He asked trying to summon his shadows...only for her chains to disrupt the attempt.
"Of course I know, you are Maximilian Windsor, formerly known as [Shadow Pact]...Currently known as [The Shadow Tide]." Elizabeth answered, snapping her fingers and materializing the hologram of his wanted flyer. "One of the newest Shadow Attuned Super villains, they say you are an A-Rank danger, but from my personal experience...while you do have indeed the speed of an A-Rank, you had the grace of a D-tier with the strength of an S-Tier."
".....That is quite rude." Maximilian said frowning at Elizabeth. Only for the chains to snap back into his mouth muffling his words.
"I have not finished speaking." Elizabeth said, narrowing her eyes at the former hero who had turned into a villain. "You are also the brother of someone who sacrificed much to me, you are the brother of Chloe Ashcroft, the sole daughter of Eleanore Windsor, also known as [Echidna - The Mother of Monsters] even if she now claims to be only [Echidna - The Mother of Shadows]."
That seemed to get his attention, but Elizabeth was not finished. "And more importantly, you are also someone who tortured thousands of innocents in an attempt to claim that which was not yours. You tormented the lives of two people that could be said to be my sisters. And more important of all...You were the [Hero] I looked up to be."
Elizabeth let the chains that held him in the air disintegrate, letting him fall to the ground, kneeling in front of her.
"...what do you want from me?" Maximilian asked as he glared at her, "You obviously are more powerful than me, and seem to know everything about me."
"I am merely here to deliver a letter." Elizabeth said summoning the pendant that held the last message from Chloe Ashcroft, "From your sister, she asked me to deliver it to you before sacrificing everything to give me a second chance."
"...what happened to her?" Maximilian said as he took the black pendant. "Why did she do that?"
As soon as the pendant touched him, Elizabeth noticed a small fragment of a Soul fly into him, not enough to gestate a new entity, but perhaps just enough to transmit a message, and a memory.
"She was sure that no one would miss her, and she had no friends or hope of getting a normal family. And so she decided that I, who had a loving family and friends, should have a second chance. So she gave everything to make sure I got it." Elizabeth answered. "And you...you murdered a thousand innocents in her memory."
Elizabeth was angry at that.
"I have no right to judge you, for I would do the same. But unlike you." Elizabeth let the mana in her body flare once more, her hair becoming energy-like as it flowed, and her eyes shone in azure light tinged with golden, "I would not fail."
That was her resolution.
If she decided to burn the world to the ground to get her loved ones back, she would not fail. That was the only difference between her and Maximilian Windsor.