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The River Styx

May your soul be washed
down the River Styx,
and find eternal slumber,

In that twilit place
where the dead walk free,
no comfort among their number,

I've been there,
Hell's curs-ed gates,
Where much is known to wander.

In Dante's Wood
that week before,
that day, All Hallow's Eve

You can see that place,
but don't go in,
or you may never leave,

For your soul would be tossed
down the River Styx,
and never again find peace.

-by [Kai Crewger]
-inspired by Revelis, copyright of [polisen]-sama

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  In the world of Geist the rift between the mortal plane and the dead plane has been discovered. The forest known as “Dante’s Wood” opens the two planes once a year, for one week. By crossing the woods during this time one will find himself in the opposite plane. By entering through the mortal world you will exit into Purgatory. And vice-versa.
  Once a person dies they are taken to this land. Purgatory is filled with dark forests, marshes and numerous other lands that normal humans dare not enter. When a person dies they will retain their human form, inside the body of a hulking beast. Furry, animalistic and violent these beasts carry with them the very face and marks of death. They know nothing but instinct. After 500 years of living in this dark foreboding land the beast body dies and the human soul comes to it‘s judgment. By dying in the land of the dead, Heaven or Hell can be achieved. And no one knows what is beyond the death of death.
  But all is not lost, for purgatory holds many secrets and is the birthing point of many otherworldly items. The most well know are called the Ghost Triple. No one has yet to acquire them, but their effects are seen. So even the legends can be substantial.

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Morning

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Revelis had gone to bed after his pat with Rhea. In fact every did, the atmosphere was heavy. Even if they didn't know what was going on, they felt the cool edges the others were balancing on and were on edge themselves. Revelis laid awake again that night, now finding it difficult to get even remotely comfortable with his human/beast body. I had forgotten...that those Soul Stones also helped me block out the sounds of Purgatory. Revelis heard screams louder that night than he ever had before.

---

Revelis got up at four and awoke the others. He wanted to get there in the dead of night. He knew that the beasts had good sight, but on the merger of the worlds, the moon was always clouded at night. Also there were more scents in the night, the tide came in, various small animals who had slipped into Purgatory earlier came out. So it would provide even more cover. They loaded up into the van and Revelis set Rhea to the wheel, pointing out the way.  

Kizuna suppressed a yawn, leaning her forehead against the window as she stared at the back of Rhea's head. She knew she should prepare herself for what lay ahead, but how could one prepare herself for such a thing?

Risou sat staring at the soul stone upon his wrist, wishing it weren't so necessary to go back, but knowing he couldn't stay forever.

"Never in a thousand years would I have imagined that we could drive into purgatory." Rhea said as she excelerated sightly. "This is almost exciting."

"We're not driving into Purgatory, just to the front of it. The van would make too much noise." Revelis said to her. He then turned around and picked up one of the shotguns he bought and explained how to use it. "I'm assuming, Rhea you know how to shoot one of these?"

"WHAT?!" Rhea yelled, nearly screaming. "Just because I am the way I am doesnt mean I know how to use a shotgun!" she fumed, amost glad to have something to be angry about. "...I do." she finally said.

"Good." Revlis said curtly. He then went back to talking with the others about what to expect in Purgatory. In a short amount of time they were on the edge of Dante's Wood. They clamored out. "Remember, shoot to kill. It's not death here, it's judgement."

They were just about to step in when a shot rang out. None of their own guns were smoking, so they turned around. Behind them about 30 men stood, with twisted faces and ugly desires. The Evil of the Soul Dagger had caught up with them.

Madderik squeaked and scampered behind everyone, trying to remain out of sight. He covered his eyes, falling back on the if-I-can't-see-you-you-can't-see-me strategy.

"Revelis..." Rhea said through her teeth, "Tell me this was planned...."

Risou kept his head down, staring at the men wearily through his bangs. He flicked his wrist, glanced down to check that there were indeed shells loaded, and another twitch of the wrist snapped the barrel in ready position again.

Revelis looked around at the others. They were somewhat frozen in place, and he himself wasn't sure what to do. He decided that he would wait for fire. Then he could make a move. 

Anacroth, still tired from having been woken up too early, finally was awake enough to get a grasp on what exactly was happening. He looked down at the shotgun in his hand. Then at Revelis. Then at the enemy. Then again at the shotgun. Screw this, he thought. He pumped the gun and prepared to fire.

Naoko took a step backward. When she had joined these people she never imagined that she'd be in something where people would die. This was getting to be too much.

Kizuna looked down at the gun in hand, wondering briefly if she'd be able to fire at someone. Strangely enough, she didn't feel afraid, although her nerves buzzed and her left hand shook slightly.

The man in the lead raised his own gun and fired at the group. The bullet was aimed at Revelis. He threw his body to the right, taking down Madderik and Risou with him. "Stay here." He told the two of them. He got up in a flash, shouted "fire!" To the others and jumped into up into the largest tree near him. He had to fight from above.

Obediantly, Rhea quickly aimed and shot her rifle, starting first with the strongest looking ones of course.

Kizuna lifted her shotgun as well. She hesitantly used her finger to pull the trigger, but it was not enough force to fire the gun. She took a deep breath and swiftly pulled the trigger, the kickback from the weapon causing her to jerk backwards.

Good Revelis thought from the top of the tree. They know what they're doing Revelis' group was more in Purgatory than the aggressers, so they had more cover from the trees. By the time the beast had leapt five trees across the group of attackers was reduced to 25. He jumped down and landed beside one of them.

Revelis grabbed the man's gun. There was a quick struggle and a few of the others turned outward to see what was happenning. revelis had killed the man and had his gun in less than 2 seconds. He fired the gun right into a man's chest, before the others had a chance to shoot. He jumped back into the tree, still firing.

"Ahhh!" Anacroth screamed as he fired at people. "Revelis! Help me fight! I'm too good-looking to die!"

Risou crouched low, aiming and firing with calm precision. Beads of sweat formed along his brow. They must win this firefight.

Rhea went totally nuts. She fired like crazy, and at the strangest (yet vital) places. She watched Revelis do his thing and sneered. "Showoff..."

"Oh God!" Anacroth screamed as he fired franticaly. "We're all gonna die!" Controlled killling, under his discretion, he could deal with. This kind of insanity had him a little on edge.

The group was dwindling now, down to a mere 15. it was about that time, Naoko stood up to fire herself. When she did one of the attackers took aim at her and connected the bullet in her chest.

Another bullet hit her, and then another. By the time the attackers were down Naoko had been shredded by the bullets, not a single one missed.

A wave of relief washed into the group. They were shaky, but alive. They were happy to be so. Revelis climbed down, and was the first to notice Naoko's broken body floating on a pool of blood.

Kizuna dropped her gun, breathing heavily. She looked around at the others, her eyes finally resting on the body of Naoko. She sucked in her breath sharply, never having seen it happen.

Rhea stared at the body. "Eh, she was weak. Let her die." She turned away, ready to get moving.

Madderik whimpered from under the car, where he had hid to avoid conflict. "We're all going to die." he sniffled, "Dead people go to Purgatory...people who have died...not living..." and he rambled on.

Risou turned his face away from the bloody scene, looking instead at their dead adversaries, who's corpses seemed easier to take in.

Revelis grabbed Rhea's arm. "What did you say?" He shouted at her. Rhea bit her lip. Revelis twisted his expression into anger (which looked even worse, with his half beast face). Disgusted, he threw her to the ground. 

Without hesitation he grabbed the Soul Needle and rushed down to Naoko's side, sliding on his kness. He touched her chest and felt a quiet heartbeat. She was still alive. Revelis lifted his arm and shoved an end of the Soul Needle into Naoko's chest. 

"Anyone willing to merge with her?" He yelled at the crowd. None answered him. 

Angry at the group he lifted his own hand I will save the girl, even if i lose myself . He didn't want to be the one to merge, he didn't want the girl to be haunted by his memories. Tears formed in his animalistic eyes as he slammed his hand downward.

His hand stopped abruptly, but not on the jagged sliver he had expected it to. It was soft,smooth and warm. Blinking in confusion through the tears he saw Kizuna's small body under his shoulder. Out of her hand stood the Soul Needle, a tower above her white skin. 

The next second the Needle dissappeared, leaving a hole in Kizuna's hand. A drop of blood formed in it, and in the long moments of anticipation the drop grew until it was flowing, as a river, on the back of her hand.

It was when the first drop of blood hit the ground that a buzzing sound started to whine from Naoko's body. Kizuna's hand began to lift, as did Naoko herself. It was not a matter of standing, but floating to their feet. Their hair rushed outward, as if a wind blew from the center of them. The group backed away in awe. When the body was standing and the two girls looked the most peaceful they started fading away, just like the Needle had. When it looked as if they were lost forever a single girl entered the world, becoming more and more opaque. She was laying on the ground. At last she was full flesh and bone. That's when she stood and said her first words.  

"It is finished." The girl said quietly, brilliant white hair hanging into her face. Seferii felt the dewy air on her flesh for the first time, though the feeling felt familiar to her. She took a deep breath, then two.

"Kizuna." Risou said, his voice breaking. He was kneeling where Kizuna had knealt beside Naoko when they had vanished. He stared up at the new person, finding very little similarity between his sister and this being.

Revelis felt an urge to go forward and touch the girl, she was so beautiful, as only one reborn could be. But he dared not to. This moment was too important, and too tender.

"What the holy fuck?" Rhea could barely speak. What the hell was going on? What happened to that Kizuna girl? Just when she was getting to get used to her too. (Though, she would never let anyone know of her dissapointment at the loss of someone she was beginning to care about)

Risou stood, reaching toward his former sister. This was her, this was what she'd become. "Kizuna.."

Seferii looked around. "Perhaps I should explain," she said quitely, a soft smile on her lips. She took Risou's hand. "Your sister sacrificed her soul to save Naoko. Now we are one, Kizuna and Naoko. But I am no longer either, and both. Their souls have formed a new, seperate one, that resides within me, Seferii."

"That's kind of...scary." Madderik whispered, still under the car.

The white-haired girl nodded, her eyes solemn but kind as she continued to grasp Risou's hand in both of hers. "I'm sure it's terribly unsettling, but here I am," She looked directly into Revelis's eyes. "And I believe you have a job to complete."

Revelis just stared with his mouth open. He marveled at Seferii, just minutes ago she was two different girls. He ran the scenen in his head as many times as he could, the dropping blood, the fading out of reality, even the high-pitched buzzing. Finally he had his bearing enough to speak, "Yes..." He paused. "Yes I do."

Rhea had an uneasy feeling, but disregarded it as well as she could. She stormed up to Revelis, fuming. "WHERE THE HELL IS THAT RELIC?!" She screamed, grabbing him by the the sleeve. "What happened to MY soul needle??" She was nearly red in the face after this vocal exhertion.

Revelis looked at her, not angry at all. He was no longer in his stupor, but he was happy. "It's gone Rhea. Back to the afterlife. And it's going to stay there." 

"It was never yours," Seferii said carefully, knowing from..well, experience, what Rhea could be like. "You housed it and kept it safe, but it should never have found it's way here, to the mortal realms."

Rhea glowered at Seferii. "How DARE you say something like that to me, you... you BITCH you! It was mine, and I payed large sums of money for it as well! I demand a retribution!"

"Retribution? Would the girl Naoko's life be enough to satisfy you, or would you rather more die while you keep the trinket in your pocket?" Seferii asked, knowing she was walking a dangerous line.

Enraged, Rhea lifted her head to the sky and screamed. Her eyes flared back to Serefii and she whipped out her rifle, pumped it and aimed. NO ONE talked to her that way.

"By keeping the soul needle safe," Seferii continued, ignoring the gun aimed at her. "You saved Naoko, and many others. It'd mar your record, killing me for telling you what you already know."

Rhea could do nothing but glare and make enraged gutteral throat noises at the perfect figure that stood before you. "I dont think anyone would mind if you died. YOU KILLED TWO PEOPLE! Selfish..." She tried to justify herself.

Seferii looked to Revelis. "She has got me there, in a way." She said, a bland smile upon her face.

"No one...died. No souls enter Purgatory." Revelis looked at the others. "We need to go, we have to keep moving, especially now that we're tense and ready to fight." He lead them into Dante's Wood.

All the while, Rhea kept a wary eye to Seferii. She had troubles trusting people like her. No, actually, she had trouble trusting anybody. But, since she had a particular distaste for Seferii already, it seemed best to watch her the most carefully.

After crawling out from under the car and following them, Madderik began to watch the shadows. The trees made him skittish, and the abundance of shadows didn't help matters.

Risou walked slowly behind the group, eyes cast downward. Kizuna was gone..but her soul was here inside Seferii. Even in death, he would not see his sister again. Not that he would ever find her in the depths of Purgatory. "She gave her life.." the words echoed on the walls of his mind. His sister was gone, yet he felt only numbness. Is this more of Purgatory's hold on me? he wondered.

Seferii watched the edges of the forest, conscious of Rhea's eyes boring into her. She hoped she to help as much as she could. It was all she could do, to venerate the good souls that together formed her.

Revelis got in front of the group. His shock had passed, but he was still enchanted by Seferii's transformation. "Okay," he shouted behind the group. "We're about in Purgatory. In and out. Just look for Soul Stones." Her knew they couldn't be missed, they gave off light in the dark world and had a distinct orange haze.

Seferii nodded, bracing herself for the danger of purgatory. She glanced behind her to see how everyone was doing.

Rhea reloaded her gun. She was angry, and she wanted to kill something. This way, she'd be the first in line if anything went wrong. She shot Seferii a glare as they made brief eye contact. Holding her head high, she quickend her pace and caught up with Revelis in her usual spot at the front of the group. "What the hell do we look for? Are they in plain sight or what?" she asked him, trying to reclaim dominance over Seferii's obvious pull on Revelis' attention.

"You'll know when you see them. They light up the ground around them. they have an orange glow." Revelis looked at his rings. "like this" He held them out to Rhea.

Rhea took a good look at the rings and nodded. "I'll be the first to find them then."

"Don't be too hasty." Seferii said quietly. "We don't want to be detected."

"Just stay quiet and don't breath to hard." If you see one don't shoot unless it charges. Purgatory is a large plane, we may not see many beasts..." Revelis said, he was lying, just to keep some of the group calm. He looked back at Madderik.

Rhea glared at Seferii, red hot. "I suggest you do the same. You were so quick to swallow the lives of two innocent girls to make your own, how do we know that you're not about to do something else crazy?!"

Seferii sighed. Rhea was determined to be adverse to her. "I'll try to be more thoughtful in the future." she said with a tinge of sarcasm.

Madderik shuffled along, chewing absentmindedly on his fingernails as he glanced quickly about, trying to see in as many directions at once as possible. He noticed Revelis looking at him, though for what reason he was not sure, so he merely returned the look before continuing to peer around.

Revelis was concerned for Madderik, concerned for the whole group for that fact. They wouldn't all be abkle to cope. He was grateful most of them were predictable. Rhea wasn't.

The woods became more thick and the group was fully in Purgatory. Revelis led the way now, moving aboput ten meters in front of the group to secure their safety. He found a building that was decaying. It's whole front was gone, and the left side was falling away. "Here," Revelis said. "Sit here while I make sure it's safe."

Seferii surveyed the delapitated building, taking in the stillness of the woods. It was amazing how innocent Purgatory could seem, in the quietness of this "nature".

"Safe?" Rhea scoffed, "This looks more dangerous than anything I've seen so far." She eyed the building suspiciously. "How do you know it wont just topple down on top of us?!"

Madderik scampered over to the building, trying to find a place where he could be both unseen and safe from any part of the building that may decide to decay further and crush him.

---

Revelis moved away from the group, about thirty meters away from the building. The dense wood made it impossible to see them anymore, but he knew if someone screamed he could hear. He started moving in an arc, leaving the building as the center point, making a circle about it. It was when he was about a quarter done he saw a beast. It had it's back to him, it's fur shaking violently as it thrashed and tore a foe apart. revelis could smell the blood, could visualize the tendons being pulled apart just from the sounds. Drink

---

Risou sat on the whispy grass, his weapon across his lap. His skin had started crawling once they had entered. The muscles on his arms twitched, as if to shake the bugs from his fur. It seemed to make no difference that the beast was still locked inside him. He turned his gaze from the supernatural Seferii and instead looked upon Rhea. Still unfeeling.. He thought. A small, irrational voice inside him accused Rhea for the loss of his sister. He knew some of her harsh words not so long ago had been ones he had tried to deny ever since his reuniting with Kizuna. Maybe that was why he despised them so much..

---

Slowly the feelings started to rise more and more. He wanted to eat, to drink. Soon he was charging the monster, trying to shed everything that made him human. The beast turned ity's head when he heard the competition moving toward it and it leaped in front of the one trying to steal his drink. 

---

"Isnt this picture perfect," Rhea steamed, tired of the painful silence. "I'm stuck with these of all people. God knows that my museum has gone to HELL since I've been gone--and held hostage. That Revelis! The nerve of that man! Kidnapping me and abandoning me in a strange place after robbing me?! And for what? I never asked for ANY of this shit! Will somebody PLEASE explain to me how any of this makes any fucking sense?" She stamped her foot into the dirt. "Where is that bastard anyway? 'Making sure it's safe', eh? How do we know that that stupid gorilla isnt out there taking a shit, and then leaving us to scrounge up some corpse to devour?!" Rhea was fuming, waving her rifle around. She was ready to shoot anyone who came against her.

---

Revelis pulled back a fist and landed a punch on the creatures face. The monster flew back a few feet, but took the offensive once gaining his footing again. It ripped it's claws downward and tore off Revelis's shirt. Revelis lept back and avoided the blow and his craving for the drink grew more. This beast was going to die.