Rayclast Styxx - A Story of Memories - Chapter Six - Veiled Redemption

**Chapter Five - Oroboros**

The duality of a soul is often seen as a problem of a sick mind, though some beings embrace this duality in a perfect balance. Some cultures give this balance a name, for instance Yin and Yang or Oroboros. Little did Rayclast know that this balance is not the sin she had festered all this while. That her unity with the Nogitsune was in fact an act of fate. One she neglected and discarded. But how could a being that is so careful with all her actions make such a huge mistake?

Easily said: Neglect. So focused on the safety, stories and progress of others, her own desires and goals were left forgotten along the way.

*"You can't take me from her! You'll kill her!"* The black silhouette of a fox said to Ayan who stared back at it. a lonely isle with a single cherry-blossom tree, surrounded by an endless horizon of water in a sunset venue. Close by stood a white silhouette of a fox, watching the scene unfold.

*"I can."* Ayan said in return, serene as he always was. Lifting his hand towards the entity. The power of the relic surging through his very hand and onto the Nogitsune.

*"You can't do this! You are mad! You'll kill us both!"* The Nogitsune cried out in panic, feeling himself getting torn from Rayclast's spirit. *"NO! YOU CAN'T!"* It voiced one last time before it vanished from the spirit realm of Rayclast's soul. Ayan stood there then, with his very soul and stared upon Rayclast herself. The white, silhouette of a fox stared back, wagging its tail.

*"You did what no other could. I am redeemed and without sin,"* said Rayclast. However she forgot one simple fact: The artifact of creation brings uncreation. A mistake her and Ayan will realize in time. Ayan took the Nogitsune's place, though only temporary. For the journey these two had together had come as quick as it has ceased.

Ayan's material form was captured by a Witch of Umberlee, who sought to take her patron deities place in an act of spite. To do so she wished to harness the power of the relics and transcend into divinity, much like Karsus wanted to back in the old Illefarn days. On a final quest to end the terminal issue of the relics, the adventurers set out to the last epic quest of an era. Killing pirates and Sea Monsters alike, the group ended before the Witch. Seeing to the Witches end, Ayan's life was soon to follow. A sacrifice of his mortal form to quench the relic he bared out of existence. Another relic followed, banished into the Astral and met much the same fate as the one Ayan bared. Though with Ayan and Rayclast being soulbound, instead of moving to the afterlife Ayan's soul snapped into Rayclast's body, filling a void. A bright flash of light followed the destruction of the relic and the adventurers awoke to a world quite like theirs, but some time ahead in the future. A place much more normal then what they were used to.

Ultimately it was decided that Ayan was to be set free within the Hallowed Forest. The soulbound the two once shared, no more. Ayan lingers there as a spirit now, tending to the Forest much like he did in his mortal life. Rayclast was on her own, but a hunger began to fester inside her. A Hunger she did not and could not understand. Something that was quenched long ago, but now seeks to find a replacement. Though what replacement could there truly be  for a soul that once suited the cause so perfectly? The answer to that is quite simple, there is none. Where I once believed you may have overcome a curse that was passed down your lineage, Rayclast, I now know you did not manage to overcome it. You had all you needed. The Aspect of Memories and of Dreams. In short, the very thing that makes a soul. Yet... you gave it all away. You were cured all this time and simply failed to realize. I will see you again and I will make it our last acquaintance. And through you I will find the genesis of the sin you carry, and end it for good.

This entry is for you, for all the good you have done.

- Written by Shirio Hana