~bellatrix~ (reboot)

OOT: Edited my last post, slightly.

Innacent sighed as well, looking up into the sky as the clouds thickened, a chance of rain increasing. She realized that she had gone into here expecting people to do as she said without questioning their own morals. Looking down and away from the sky, she faced the two men and spoke to Leif.
"I had no expectation of coming here today. Because of this, I lacked preparation for dealing with anyone. My name is Innacent. As a goddess who of judgement, I should have remembered about your own reasons and morals. Logically, your friend would be right, for the welfare of everyone here. But if you must hear this 'Karma's' side of the story, you must know what he has done."
Though her voice had reduced the amount of commanding effect, she spat Karma's name.
"To speak of all his sins would take from us days, and I do not wish to stand here this long for the task of describing everything. I shall start with the most notable: Assassination of just royal families, families that brought peace and prosperity to the kingdoms. By doing that, he opened the way for wicked rulers to be ushered in. The kingdoms fell into turmoil, and thanks to him, wars followed. The next, though having much less of an effect on the kingdoms, was far more heinous. After having a mere disagreement with the people of a town, he killed those who would leave the town, until he eventually killed everyone there. Burning homes and stores to the ground, the flames would sweep across the towns, scorching innocent people to death as they slept. Those who escaped the flames were cut down by him or had their heads taken off by his crossbow. Even innocent children, those he cornered in the flaming alleyways and cut them down as well. There, he cut them down. That night, nobody survived. By morning, all the corpses were charred beyond recognition."
Innacent clenched her fist in anger, remembering what she had seen from the orb. She stepped closer to Leif.
"Tell me, does this require justification? When thousands from that village were slaughtered? Should justification apply to that, then reconsider, for he has done this 197 times. In that number, I did not include the small cases such as individual, isolated families and minor villages. For a man who has slaughtered so many, do you think it wise to keep him with your own people?"

 

The color drained from Leif's face and he was visibly horrified when he heard about Karma's crimes. Even Mordred, though he still looked as stoic as ever, was visibly appalled by this. Leif averted his eyes and hung his head as he tried to come to terms with such a horrifying realization.
"I don't want to believe it, but with the way he was acting and the things he was saying earlier...I guess it's possible. Besides, it just sounds too insane to be a lie. So...is that what Karma's really like?"
A mental image of Karma suddenly turning on the unsuspecting crew and cutting them down like wheat briefly flashed through his mind, sending a shiver up his spine. He quickly shook the thought and turned his attention back to Innacent.
"If Captain Leon were here, I'm sure he wouldn't approve of what I'm about to do...fortunately for us, Captain Leon left me in charge and I'm gonna take care of this my way. If Karma's that much of a threat, I want him gone, and I'd appreciate it if you could come with me. Someone like that probably wouldn't think twice about trying to kill us for turning him in like this."

Mordred nodded in agreement.
"If he intended to face judgment of his own accord, he surely would have done so by now. No doubt he will attempt to escape and he may even kill a few of your crewmen along the way."

"Yeah. We can't let that happen, no matter what."
He motioned for all of them to follow him below deck.
"If you wouldn't mind, miss Innacent, follow my lead. I'll get him to open the door and you can take it from there. I'd still like to hear his side of things, but if it comes to blows right away..."
His voice trailed off as his expression turned grim.
"...Try not to destroy the ship while you're taking him out."
With that, he made his way to the room Karma was staying at with Mordred and Trinity following behind; he'd hoped that Innacent was close behind him as well but he didn't turn back to check.

On the way down, Leif confirmed with a few members of the crew which room Karma was staying in and made his way there. As he stood in front of the door to his room, he paused, took in a deep breath and then let it out to help calm his nerves. Then he motioned for the others to stay quiet and gave the door a few firm knocks.
"Hey, Karma! I heard you've been hanging out in here for a while. We need to talk and we don't have time, I'm taking the crew to meet up with Leon pretty soon. Can you open the door?"
Just in case Karma wasn't willing to cooperate, he brought a spare key to the room with him.

 

In the time it took for Leif and Innacent to arrive at the room Semira and he were staying in, Karma had remembered about the fast-draining syringe function of his filter, and was able to produce a small glass of filtered blood for Semira. Upon hearing the banging on his door and Leif requesting for the door to be opened, Karma had just finished up and had slipped on his weighted coat.
"Hold on a moment."
Taking the glass of his nutrient-rich blood, he slipped it into Semira's dark chest.
"There, that should tie you over for a little while. I need to go have a talk with someone."
Leaving her, Karma walked to the door and opened it.
"Sure, what is it yo-"
Karma froze when he saw Innacent, shocked so much that he dropped the violin and its bow. His face paled and his hand trembled as he brought it up to his mouth, hiding his crystal-shard teeth. After taking a moment to attempt calming himself, he leaped forward and pushed Leif aside. Grabbing Innacent, he wrapped his arms around her slim body and soft hair in a strong embrace, his eyes tightly shut. Innacent, on the other hand, remained impervious to his show of affection, keeping her angry expression that Karma somehow failed to notice. After a moment, Innacent started speaking.
"This is the hour of your judgement." Effortlessly throwing her arms out and breaking free from his hug, she shoved him back into the room, stepping towards him. "Today, you are to be judged for the indiscriminate slaughter of countless innocent people, the assassination of the righteous ruling and numerous other crimes such as theft and forgery. In addition to this, is your crime of slavery. Though the creature harmed in this is a blood-drinking demon woman, you took advantage of her and used trickery to lure her and cause her to become entirely dependent on you." Her fists clenched as she spoke of Semira. "This... this other woman you have made your slave and lover, regardless of the fact that you have betrayed the woman who loved you!"
She pulled out her staff from its sling and slammed it down against the wood floors, leaving an imprint of it as the other end released a burst of flame-like energy that formed into a scythe blade. She step forward, ready to kill the stunned Karma as he sat against the wall due to being thrown in. However, she remembered what Leif had said, and held herself back.
"At the request of the man in charge of this ship, he wants you to justify your crimes. If it were not for him, I would have cut you down after inflicting Judgement's Blessed Curse on you. But with those crimes, what is there to justify? Speak, now!"
Karma, without his violin, was physically speechless. Crawling towards Innacent and where his violin lie next to her, he reached to recover his speaking tool. Not knowing this was the only way he was able to speak, Innacent kicked him in the face, throwing him onto his back. Her next move swept up the violin and kicked it behind herself towards Leif and the others that escorted her to Karma's room.
"Stop playing around and speak, you fool! Do you truly think I would let you take an instrument that you have used as a weapon!? Now speak! I do not have the patience to deal with your theatrics of speaking with a violin!"
Karma lie motionless for a moment, then slowly stood up, silently mouthing his next words. His expression had gone from shocked and stunned to a combination of excited and angry.
"I can't speak without it. Give it to me, I promise I won't cut any of you down with it."
He beckoned for them to comply. Innacent, disbelieving him, swung her scythe-bladed staff to his neck, pricking him and blood to drip down his throat.
"One more pitiful delay such as that, and I will separate your head from its body, imbecile!"

 

"Blackwater, a word" Donavan leaning spoke softly. "If ye kill one of me crew Ye be wearing that dress ye hate till are an old gran"
Checking on Larry who made it back through the portal.
"Lad ye will get hazard pay once make to the ship" As Donavan spoke he heard a familiar voice that made slightly shiver

Whispering back to Lorena "And his crew, how in the Gods name did they catch us?"
Donavan gave a weak wave to Leon before speaking.
"The same thing that Drives all pirates, treasure. We got this off a group of knife ears when they ambushed us, given that they be outnumber it was a suicide fighting us. So means we have to be getting close to something. But what are ye doing out here?"
Gahhh there are two ways i could play this, drop the act now and make it clear i be getting the gold or make it throught the portal with their crew and seal them in. Lorena did already prove the crystal can be removed....

 

Seeing that the situation was about to turn deadly in a hurry, Leif picked up the violin and called out to the quarreling lovers.
"Wait! Before you go and disembowel him right in front of us, there's something you really need to know."
He ran up to them and turned to Innacent, holding up the violin.
"He, uh...wow, this is gonna sound completely ridiculous when I say it out loud, but he needs this violin to talk. It's one of those "enhancements" that he did to his body, so he can't talk without it."
He held the violin out so Karma could take it-- assuming Innacent lets him do so, that is.

Mordred nodded and replied in a hushed tone.
"Indeed. Out of all the many threats that this island has to offer, a scorned lover such as her must surely rank among the greatest."
He made it a point to keep his distance and motioned for Trinity to do the same.
"This situation could turn volatile at a moment's notice. Be careful."

With a raised eyebrow, I scratch my chin and think about what he's saying.
"Treasure...? Ye came to an odd place for treasure, that be fer sure. But now that ah be thinkin' about it, them elven trinkets could probably sell fer some decent money. That ain't a bad idea."
Then the realization comes to me. Ohh, that's his game...it turns out we're more alike than we realized! I look up and give him a wry smile.
"Ahh, now I see what yer up to, ye crafty sea dog. Yer workin' for the king too and ye really came here ta rescue the princess and get the sword back, just like us! Why didn't ye say so earlier?"
I let out a hearty laugh and continue.
"That bein' the case, ain't no reason why we can't join forces and really stick it to them elves! What do ye say?"

 

Innacent looked at Leif, before pulling away her scythe-bladed staff from Karma's throat. Scowling at Karma, she permitted him to take the Vocale Violin from Leif. Karma stepped back towards the wall, saluting Leif with the bow and began to speak through his violin.
"Thanks for that. As for you, Semira, I'll see to it she does nothing, for you are my property."
He paused to crack his neck before continuing on and stating his case as Innacent clenched her staff harder.
"What you have accused me of... is entirely true. I have destabilized nations and destroyed villages. I have cut down people and purged them from the world. It was terrible of me to do, and I did it entirely by my own will."
"Shall you plead for your case and justify your sins, or do you have anything else to say?"
"I have no justification, except... that I enjoyed it. Every single moment. In fact, I think I could proudly qualify for the title of 'Man with the Highest Kill Count'."
"You... show no remorse. Do you have any hidden remorse at least?"
"None. Only pure joy. And I would do it all over again."
Karma smiled as he played this.
"So be it. Your judgement has come. First, you will be subjected to the pain your own sins has brought to you. Once the retribution magic has ran its course, you shall be executed."
"Do your worst, woman."
Innacent shook her head in disappointment.
"It was my hope meeting with you after 2,000 years, you would still be a good person, my husband. Nevertheless, I have no more time to waste on you."
Raising up her hand, she pointed at Karma. Karma began to sweat as she prepared her punishment. Her hand began glowing a golden color, and with thrust, launched her divine spell at him. Striking him, she waited for it to take effect and cause him to writhe in pain. Karma, however, only felt a very slight feeling of pleasure. Confused she grew angry and halted the magic.
"You should be writhing in agony! How can you not be affected!?"
Karma shrugged, knowing the reason why.
"No matter. You die now!"
She lunged forward, lashing out at him with the goal of cleaving him from head to toe. With surprising speed, Karma sidestepped the attack and whipped off his coat. He threw it as a distraction, and Innacent swatted it. Much to her surprise, the coat weighed hundreds of times more than the expected, thanks to the hundreds of pounds of sin lead stored within the coat. Caught off guard by the weight of the coat and already in an unbalanced position, she was knocked down to the floor, causing her to land outside the room.
So heavy! He actually wears this!?
Throwing the heavy coat and nearly hitting a crew member with it, see jumped back up to her feet, only to see the small window in the room had been thrown open, with Karma missing.
"The convict is gone! Search for him!"
She turned to leave, but paused momentarily to speak to the stowed away Semira. She pitied the other woman that Karma had deceived.
"I have nothing against you in particular, demon woman, and I understand that you rely on that monster to survive, but I must kill him. As collateral, your dependency will cause you to eventually die when he is eliminated. Please understand this."
With that final statement, Innacent ran up to the deck of the ship, and saw Karma standing in front of the mast, wearing his mask. A diagonal crack showed that the porcelain mask had been previously broken. Holding his violin and wearing a set of pouches filled with his crystals and supplies. A set up six tubes lined his sides at the waist, a makeshift device constructed by the leftover parts of his nockgun.
He was ready to fight.

 

Leif could feel his blood run cold as a clearly unrepentant Karma readily admitted to his crimes, seemingly proud of the atrocities he'd committed.
"All this time, we've had a psychopath on the ship and we never had a clue...this man talked with us, ate with us, fought with us. None of us had any idea what kind of monster he really was all along. It's scary looking back at it now. For all I know, he might've been planning to kill us all in our sleep."
This dark train of thought sent a shiver up his spine. He was clearly shaken by what he'd just heard, just barely keeping his composure as he watched Innacent and Karma talk. When Innacent ran out of the room, he followed her to the deck of the ship. Much to his dismay, it looked as though the two were about to have their final confrontation right there on the ship. He knew he couldn't let that happen, so he spoke up quickly.
"So...would either of you mind if I made a quick suggestion? See, here's the thing. I'm sure this fight you're about to get into will be a battle for the ages. I'm fine with that, don't get me wrong, but there's just one little problem. I'd really prefer it if you don't blow up half of this ship with all of those crazy spells you're gonna be flinging around. Could you two take this somewhere else?"
His face turned grim, a sense of urgency gnawing at the back of his mind.
"And I don't mean to rush you two, but I'm working on a pretty tight schedule right now. I still need to gather the rest of Captain Leon's forces and head for the center of the island. He can hold his own for a while, but he'll need reinforcements as soon as I can get them there."

Mordred nodded.
"We most certainly should. In fact, I think it would be for the best if we take our leave of this ship. This is not our fight and there may very well be some...collateral damage if that woman is as strong as she appears."
He motioned for Trinity to follow.
"Keep pace and step lightly. We will wait for the rest of the crew outside once we're at a safe distance from the ship."
With that, he started to make his way off of the Dragon with Trinity following behind.

 

Innacent had readied her staff, with red, glowing blades forming at both ends. Glancing at Leif, she answered him in a unconcerned voice.
"We shall see."
Returning her attention to Karma, she called out to him.
"Show to us that you still have some good manners left and let's keep this off of their ship. This is out fight, and out fight alone. There is no purpose in having anyone else involved."
In response, Karma dragged the bow across the violin's strings, creating Void threads that lashed out after Innacent. Knowing what the threads were capable of, she dodged the slicing threads, weaving in and out of them. Although the threads missed her entirely, an unlucky barrel was shredded into dozens of slices.
"Consider that a disagreement, Mister Leif."

Devoting all of her attention to Karma, she charged him. Reaching him in an instant, she drove the bladed staff into him. Or would have, if Karma hadn't slapped the trigger to his improvised launch belt. Exploding and spewing flames onto the deck, Karma avoided her attack using the last of his special gunpowder. Even if he had not dodged the attack aimed at where his guts used to be located, he did not want her to realize how weak his body truly was. He knew that, even though he lacked vital organs and had muscle with much greater strength than any average man, his flesh and bone could tear just as easily as any other man. Already, he knew a having a fight while using only ten percent of his muscle strength was enough to put a considerable amount of stress on his bones. Landing from his dodge and then charging Innacent, he delivered a roundhouse to her stomach. But before his kick could connect, she counterattacked him by grabbing his foot with a strong twist, forced his body to spin rapidly while spraining his ankle, as well as disarming him of his instrument and causing it to land near the entrance below deck. While he still spun in midair, she grabbed his long, groomed hair and with a powerful swing, spun him around and slammed his body into the main mast with sickening crack. With several of his lower ribs broken, he realized that without increasing his strength and speed, he had no chance of winning against her. Gripping his sword, he cut off a foot of his hair, freeing himself from her hold. Using all of his limbs, he jumped away, his back facing towards the entrance to the sub-deck levels of the ship. Thrusting his sword into the deck and reaching down, he disconnected his used launch belt with one hand and buried his hand into a pouch. Discarding his belt and gripping a handful of crystals, he yanked off his two needle-lined mask fragments, then proceeded to stuff his mouth with the crystals he had procured and began crunching on them with his violet Void crystal teeth.
Berserk crystals. Each grants a 5% increase in both strength and speed. That was at least twenty crystals, meaning I have at least doubled both of those attributes.
Feeling energy flow into him like the stimulation from a massive adrenaline rush, the pain he had felt seemed to vanish. Renewed and functioning at double speed and strength, he leaped back and a sweep of his foot, knocked his once disarmed instrument into the air and caught it. Innacent prepared to charge at him once more, only holding back momentarily to sadly speak to Karma.
"It was my greatest hope that you would have lived a good life and died happily. Yet here we stand, over two thousand years the day you left me."
Shifting into a playing position, Karma remained silent and began lashing at her with even more Void threads than before as blood slowly seeped from the needle holes left behind by his torn off porcelain mask.Each strike only lashed out at her position and vanished, preventing objects from being destroyed. But even with his boosts in speed, Innacent dodged his volley with ease. Still dodging the onslaught of attacks from Karma, she continued speaking, this time angrily.
"Can not you at least reveal to me why? What happened to you? Why did you change to be this monster and not a human?"
Karma just shrugged, and while still playing his violin, he charged the goddess of judgement. Using the threads as a way of predicting her movement, he punched her in the solar plexus and then delivered a punch to her jaw. The attack surprised her, making her angrier at getting this kind of response from Karma.
"Fine. Be that way."
Gripping his face, she raised him into the air and then threw him up into one of the mast posts. His body slammed against the mast and began to fall. Before his body could hit deck, Innacent held her staff out as a new weapon formed from it.
"Feel the pain of the Agony Arbalest!"
The staff formed into a type of bow and launched a six-foot jagged arrow. Striking Karma, the man was pinned through the heart to the mast. Karma struggled above the ground fifteen feet, the glowing, red arrow suspending him in place. The jagged arrow dug into him, hooking his flesh. His violin had been dropped once again, leaving him unable to utter any words. His blood spilled onto the mast, staining the wood red with his impure blood. It was at this time he began to feel the pain, unblocked from the berserk crystals he had hurriedly consumed, and he began to writhe in agony. As Innacent walked up to the mast she had pinned Karma to as if he were merely a bug, the overcast sky began to rain lightly, mixing with and spreading Karma's blood down the mast further. The dying man stopped struggling and fell limp, having lost a great deal of blood.
"I wish it had never come to this, my husband. I can only hope now whatever demons and secrets drove you to this shall leave you when you find peace in death."
Holding out her staff, she launched a chain from it that gripped the arrow and ripped it free from Karma and the mast. Tearing out bits of flesh and bone, the arrow vanished as Karma hit the ground, blood slightly splattering from his short fall. His shirt was torn open, showing the gaping entry and exit wound from the arrow, as well as how his broken ribs had been contorted. A crew member that had been watching the fight had been too surprised to run away when Karma landed next to him, and only stood still, watching the events unfold before him. Convinced that there was no hope for a man to live much longer with such extensive injuries, Innacent turned away, trying to keep her composure after slaughtering the man she had loved. She walked away, hoping to find someone willing enough to bury the body.
That was when she heard a shriek of agony.
Whirling around, she saw Karma standing weakly, but visibly gaining strength. His sword was covered in blood, with a crew member screaming in pain from a fatal gut wound as he lie in his own blood. When Innacent looked away, Karma took that instant to use the life force stealing attribute of his weightless blade to steal life from the crew member.
"You! Just die! This is already hard enough for me!"
Karma looked up, the life force recharging him and healing the gaping wound in his chest as he smiled psychotically. The berserk crystals poison the user, and must be taken in moderation. Karma knew this and was ready to go all the way to defeat Innacent. With his mind made up, he decided now was the time for him to release himself. Opening his mouth, he bit his gloves at the middle fingers as he crossed his wrists and pulled them off, revealing his violet Void crystal claws. Next, he reached into his mouth and gripped something metal that he had not removed for a long time. Removing it would tear him apart, but his goal of defeating Innacent took away his fears of the consequences. With a decisive pull, he extracted the needle from the back of his mouth. Instantly, his muscles began going into spasms as his bones began snapping from the intense strain. Unsure what was happening, Innacent prepared herself. Then, without warning, Karma stopped convulsing. After lying on the ground in a twisted pile of flesh and bone, he slowly and tenderly stood up, his twisted body snapping back into position one place after another until he seemed normal, even though his body was now being entirely supported by his muscles and not his bones. The man he had stabbed was now silent, and Karma looked at the dead man before looking back to Innacent and telepathically yet publicly speaking to her. Somehow, Karma felt he was now able to, after overcoming a mental block that had somehow formed in his mind.
"It is good to have full control over one's muscles. Pulling a needle out of your own brain just to use all 100% instead of just 10% is pretty crazy, don't you think? But is it even crazier to put it in there in the first place? I always wonde-"
"SHUT UP!"
"What? I haven't been able to use telep-"
"JUST... SHUT... UP! This already hurts me enough! Just die already!"
Karma stopped speaking momentarily, but then realized he had nearly forgotten one of his goals he had in mind.
"Hey, you know that violi-"
"Silence!"
She smacked Karma with her full strength, breaking his jaw and scattering violet teeth across the deck. His last act had angered Innacent, which was a negative act according to his plan. In that moment, his body began to emit a white and black haze, and he lunged at Innacent. Although in great pain from his jaw injury, his clawed hand lashed out to scar her face, but she dodged and counterattacked him. Yet in his odd new state, he was able to dodge her with ease and disarm her of her staff. The two began lashing and striking at each other, but constantly dodged one another's attacks. But after some time of the constant back and forth, Karma gained the upper hand. He throttled her, slamming her into the ground and choking her. He now had her at his mercy with his strange increase in speed and strength.
But at that moment, he did something odd. Something that was stranger than pulling a needle from the base of his brain or having crystal claws or even speaking telepathically after seemingly not being able to do that any longer.
"I love you."
His words hung in her mind for a moment, and he loosened his grip. Taking the opportunity without waiting for any explanations, she knocked him off of herself, tearing his side due to the force. Uncertain as to why he had said that, she tried to ignore it and started attacking him. A blow to his shoulder snapped him here, and a strike to the rib cage broke him there, but she couldn't being herself to deliver a killing blow.
Why did he say that? Is it true? Is he playing with me?
"Well, why aren't you killing me!? You already have me on the ropes, just finish me!"
Karma seemed to get angry, and began striking back at Innacent. Though his increase of strength a moment ago made him on par with her, his current state was already incredibly powerful. However, he was noticeably weaker to her and she stopped his punch with an open hand. A punch so strong, in fact, that Karma's arm collapsed on him.
"Just kill me!"
She began to sense a feeling of sadness coming from him, something that was difficult for him to understand. His next punch seemed to hold the same feeling, only with weariness. She stopped that blow in the same manner as the last with the same result: Only Karma suffered.
"Stop playing around!"
He kicked at her, but even with all of his new force, his kick was easily stopped by her own kick. It was at this point, she could tell he was actually weakening as if worn out. Dropping to the ground with his strength leaving him and his legs broken, tears filled his eyes. He tried striking her with his head, but he lacked the strength to do even a simple, effective blow with his head, let alone being able to hit something other than her armored boot.
"Just... do it."
Looking down at him, she truly knew he was now at the end of his line. His body had undergone so much stress that he was sweating blood, and many of his bones were shattered. His jaw was broken, and poisons from the berserk crystals were only sickening him and bringing him even more pain. Innacent knelt down onto her knees, and feeling pity towards her husband, tenderly lifted him up into her embrace.
"I am so sorry you had to suffer this much. Please, could you tell me why?"
Karma, with his body broken and of no use, gave in to her questioning.
"Yes, I will. But I'm... too tired to explain everything, so I will keep it short. I only wanted to be good enough to be the husband of a goddess, and I left you when I realized it would be ultimately impossible. I wanted to be able to defeat you in a battle. But today, after two thousand years of careful sculpting of my own body, that has been proven impossible."
Looking up at her face with his eyes, he stared at her scar.
"That scar... couldn't you get that removed? You are a goddess, one that is above blemishes done to you by... weak humans."
"It is a reminder of our 'first time', remember?"
Contrary to what others may think "First time" meant, the the man and goddess referred their first physical first fight.
"I remember well. That is another reason why I left, knowing that you loved me too much to do a real fight. Maybe becoming an evil stranger would make you fight me all out, even if I am weaker. And that is why I left to do terrible things, to make myself despicable, someone you could fight without holding back. But even then, every evil action was one that I had done with a secretly good purpose... I never wanted to harm anyone... just help..."
It was at this point Karma lost consciousness.
"I wanted to talk to you a bit more, Johan. It's been far too long..."
Innacent remained there holding her broken, sleeping husband in her arms. Feeling his body bend in the wrong places, she knew he would need medical help, but with his body altered so much, she knew of no way of helping him.
“Could someone, anyone, help him? I will see to it he does nothing.”

OOT: Will color text later.
And if this makes little sense, keep in mind, I am reaaaaaaaaaaaaally tired right now.

 

Stammering Donavan had to quickly think of a way to convince Leon that he wasn't after the princess, pacing while making grand gestures he spoke
"Nay, we be after the treasure of... Long..John..Silver..Sparrow... Jack... Blackbeardington, yes a man of legend that Long John Silver Sparrow Jack Blackbeardington! Tales speak of him looting entire elf empires, and as fate would have it decided to bury it in a elf ruin like thisin" Donavan sweat as the obvious lie wasn't going to work.
"But if ye need a hand we be fore hire, and seeing as ye crew seem a little short me thinks a spilt of 70-30 in favor of the Boar be fair. But i'll let ye talk it over with ye crew and i'll talk with mine, ya"

Walking back over to Lorena he nudged her.
"Go along with me on this, we could use'em to get us there then once we have her we ditch them. Seeing as he doesn't really plan like ye said"
Donavan the turned back to the portal, still open.
"What say we continue our trips and work out the details as we go"
Donavan began walking to the portal but whisper to Lorena as she was eyeing the crystal.
"Best hope we have a way back when ye snag that shiny, if not even I would be upset with ye"

Stepping into the portal Donavan was quickly whisked away to a strange area, it was outside but the temperate had dropped to one of a moderate, the surrounding forest was made of different trees and what should have been ruins was simple a single worn pedestal and broken arch. Donavan was waiting for his crew to cross before venturing deeper into this strange new place

 

Innacent felt confused about Karma. She felt there was something more about him, something that he had hinted to. Their fight just now had been one that had shown the confused state of mind Karma had, going from him wanting to kill her and then just wanting to be dead, as well as him showing no remorse about what he had done in the past but ended up switching and saying he only wanted to help people.
You were always a complex man, but then you would always seem so simple as well.
He had mentioned she and him fighting against one another long ago. Her mind went back to that time, when they had once been together and she had known Karma by the name "Johan". Back then, she was far weaker than she was now, just as he was.

--- Back to that time, a little over 2,000 years ago in another world---

The two would travel together, and after both of them reached the age of adulthood, Johan and Innacent decided to marry each other. Though they knew that one was a human and the other, according to everyone else, was a demon, they found that they had been through too much together to simply keep their relationship at a simple friendship. The two were married alone in an abandoned church in a forest when they were denied the services of a priest, with only themselves to conduct the ceremony.

A week after marrying, the two continued their travels. The two were already on a journey to find a fabled flying island, and as fate would have it, they found it. After climbing onto it when the base of the island scraped against a mountain top, Johan and Innacent made their way to the surface of the island. Much to their surprise, Innacent found her parents here and learned the truth of herself being a goddess.

It was at this time that Johan, who would later identified himself as Karma, began to be tormented by how much inferior he believed himself to be. So much, in fact, that he had challenged Innacent to their first duel. The result ended badly, with Innacent holding back and getting a scar on her face, and with Johan getting both angered by her pitying him as well as feeling remorse for actually harming her. That night, when Innacent had expected him to come to the bedroom, he never came. Instead, Johan had left her and jumped off the island, using a gliding contraption to leave. Knowing she had to perform her newfound duty as a goddess of judgement, she did not follow after and remained on the sky island. She already knew he felt pain for being a lesser creature, and she let him go so that Johan could find peace of mind.
As the years passed, she wondered if she would see him as one of those she would judge, but never saw him. At peaceful times when less judgement had to be done, she would leave the island to search for him, but never found him. Innacent eventually moved on, letting him become just a distant memory in her mind.

This is how it remained for her, until the day she happened across a crystal ball that shown her where he was and ultimately brought her to him.


OOT:
Had to do a bit of a background post on Innacen and Johan (Karma) for reference purposes and easy storytelling later on.

 

When the fighting started, Leif knew he had to act fast. He quickly made his way below deck where most of the crew was gathered, looking anxious as they waited with bated breath for their acting captain's orders, knowing full well the impending danger that waited for them on the deck of the Dragon. After taking a quick look around, he called out to them.
"We can't stay here any longer, gather everyone together and make for the shore. Move quickly in small groups, not all at once, and keep your head down. I'll catch up to you once things quiet down here. As soon as I make my way off the ship, we're marching on the center of the island."
He let out a small sigh of frustration under his breath.
"We've kept Captain Leon waiting long enough as it is."

One of the crew members spoke up.
"Sir, what's going to happen to the ship? Shouldn't we stay here and protect the Dragon?"

Leif shook his head.
"Too dangerous. I know you're ready for a fight, but our fight isn't here. Besides, if I was a betting man, I'd say our mysterious new friend out there has the advantage. We'll leave it to her."

With a little hesitation, the pirate spoke up again.
"What's going to happen? Will our ship really be alright...?"

Leif had a grim look as he responded.
"I don't know. I'm sure that's not what you want to hear, but it's all I've got. Just try not to worry about that right now; our top priority is to get everyone out of here in one piece. After that, well...we'll just have to hope there's still a ship left to come back to."
He motioned outside and spoke loudly and clearly.
"You have your orders! Move out!"
As the crew gave a quick shout and started forming up to leave the ship, Leif went back up to observe the battle between Karma and Innacent.

By the time Leif made it back, he was already too late.
"Oh, no...please, don't tell me...!"
Ignoring the exchange between Innacent and Karma, Leif ran to the man's side and lifted his head, a look of desperation in his eyes. He caught the mortally wounded pirate just as he was about to slump down to the floor.
"Come on, stay with me! Can you hear me? Say something!"
He checked the crewman for a pulse and much to his dismay, found nothing. Without saying a word, he laid the pirate's lifeless body down and stood up, solemnly watching as the fight drew to a close.

With an empty expression, Leif walked over to the two of them and stood over them, speaking in a low tone.
"Of course, I'd be glad to help."
He drew his pistol and aimed it at Karma's head.
"You said it yourself. This man needs to die. I understand if you can't put him down yourself, so just let him go and I'll take care of it for you."
He looked up at Innacent, a closer look at his face now revealing the cold fury hidden behind his expressionless mask.
"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now. This was your idea, wasn't it? You told me that he's a monster, you told me that he's taken countless innocent lives and after hearing what he had to say and seeing what he's capable of for myself...well, you've made me a believer. Besides, he just killed a member of my crew...I don't know how they do things back where you come from but around here, we don't take too kindly to that."
He cocked the hammer of his flintlock pistol, looking down and taking careful aim once again. He felt the urge to pull the trigger now without waiting for a reply, but there was a chance that he might hurt Innacent if he did, so he kept himself in check through sheer force of will and waited for her to step away.
"I can make this easy for both of us. Just back away and let me finish the job."

I'm too stunned to speak at first. When I do, it's just incoherent mumbling as I try to piece together that..."name."
"Long...John...Sparrow...Blackjackbeard?"
I shake my head and turn to my crew.
"That ain't a real name, is it?"
"Prolly ain't, cap'n."
"It ain't a name I've 'eard, captain."
"I find that highly unlikely, sir. Oh, um...y-yar."
"Ah didn't think so, either. Are ye sure ye got that name right, Captain..."
My voice trails off when I turn around and realize that Captain Donavan has already left.
"Oh. Thought he was still there."
I turn back to my crew with my arms folded and call out to them!
"You heard the captain, lads! We'll now be discussin' our next course of action! Now, I'm thinkin' we go through that weird magical portal thingy and take 'em up on their offer. What do ye say, lads?!"
"Whatever you think, Captain Leon!"
I slap my own face.
"No, ye ain't gettin' it, I want to know what ye all are thinkin'. Don't be shy, take some time to think about it and lemme know what ye really think!"
The crew starts talking to each other in hushed tones for a while. A few quiet moments go by...then they all speak up in perfect unison, just like the first time.
"We have come to an agreement, captain! Whatever you think is right must be right, captain!"
I hang my head, slump my shoulders and let out a heavy sigh of defeat.
"This ain't goin' the way I hoped it would. If only Leif were here."
With a dismissive shrug, I turn around and point to the portal.
"Then it's been decided, I guess! Let's get movin', ye sea dogs!"
There's a loud cheer from the crew as we all make for the portal at once!

---------------------------------------------------------------

When we all step through the portal, the sight waiting for us on the other side is...breathtaking, to be perfectly honest. We step into a forest and I can tell right away that it's nothing like what you'd see on Levia Infernis. The first thing that catches my attention is the trees. They're so tall and so large that their branches are actually covering us like a roof over our heads, allowing only a fraction of the midday sun's light slip through the cracks. It gives the impression that we're not in a "forest" so much as an ocean of trees. The next thing I notice is the sound of rushing water and sure enough, I turn my head and see a rushing river at our backs, about thirty feet behind us, twenty feet down and fourty feet wide, if I'm making a rough estimate. There's a lot of jagged rocks and the water's moving quickly, so I guess you could say it's something like a castle's moat or a natural wall separating us from the other side. We might be able to make it across, but I don't want to try it.

On the other hand, there's a very clear-cut path right in front of us. The vines, thick foliage and blooming plants on our sides are nice to look at but they'd be pretty hard to walk through, as opposed to the almost flat grass path we're standing on right now. It's immediately obvious that somebody made this path, there's no way it happened naturally in a place like this. That would also explain why some of the local wildlife has been sticking around (and making some noise) instead of running away like you'd think they would. There's even a couple of deer staring at us through the trees and they're usually so skittish! All signs point to one thing: this forest is used to having company. It must be the elves. Which means we're getting close.

I turn to Captain Donavan and give him a wide smile.
"Well, this be quite the place the elves picked out, ain't it?" I say as I take a few steps closer. "We talked it over an' we're all in agreement. We'd like to take ye up on yer offer! I don't know a thing about this buried treasure yer talkin' about but if it means gettin' to work with a fine, upstandin' captain such as yerself, I'd consider it an honor to work with ye!"
I offer my hand for a nice, strong gentleman's handshake.
"What do ye say, Captain Donavan?"

 

Innacent shook her head.
"No, it is my responsibility to finish him. I had hoped to question him further now that he has been broken, but I can see already that he has done one more crime to be punished for."
Taking a deep breath, Innacent moved her hands to Karma's head, and prepared to snap his neck, moving his head around to feel the proper position to break it, when Karma began to speak in his sleep. Or at least, something akin to speaking in his sleep. Telepathically, Karma began speaking, muttering various words and phrases.
"Plagues... killing to stop the spread... false royalties... impostors in high places... sins committed for saving..."
Innacent hesitated, wondering if this was something he had wanted to confess and was related to his statement earlier, "every evil action was one that I had done with a secretly good purpose". But she knew he had killed a man in their fight, and on purpose, no less. Regaining her resolve, she was about to twist Karma's neck when she heard a gasp and a groan. Looking towards the source of the sound, she saw the man that had supposedly been dead was now moving, trying to feel the wound that had closed up on him for some reason
"Was not that man dead?"
While the man had been killed by Karma, Karma did something to restore the man. When Innacent had looked away from Karma in their fight, Karma dealt the man a mortal wound to snatch away a significant amount of vitality. However, this was not a simple taking of vitality, but rather, an exchange. When the blade sank into the man's guts, Karma inconspicuously slipped one of his few remaining healing crystals into the wound he created. Karma needed to be healed quickly, and the crystal would have been too slow for this fight. Once the man's vitality had been taken, the slow-acting healing crystal slowly dissolved into the man's body, working its way to damaged parts of the body. Even when the man died, the crystal's materials were preparing to heal him. After a short period, the crystal went into effect, healing and restoring the man until nothing of the wound remained except for bloodstains. Though it was slow in taking effect, the crystal was strong enough to the point of resurrecting the recently deceased man.
"I think we can afford to let Johan live a little while longer, Leif. Now go, hurry along and rendezvous with your captain."

 

Leif's cold gaze silently lingered on Karma for quite some time as he weighed his options, thinking carefully over what he'd just seen and heard. He knew that the next action he took could very well mean the difference between life and death, both for himself and those around him, and the burden of responsibility weighed heavily on him. He would prefer to resolve all of this without any bloodshed, but he couldn't shake off the mistrust he felt for Karma so easily. He looked up to Innacent, who was now so adamant about keeping him alive that Leif couldn't help wondering if her judgment was being swayed by her personal feelings. But could he stop her even if he wanted to? He witnessed her power for himself and it was quite a sight to behold. Something about her seemed...beyond human, though he couldn't figure out how exactly. He wondered if she saw something in Karma that he was missing. Without giving her an answer, Leif stood up and made his way to the crewman who was slowly regaining consciousness.

As Leif was walking towards him, the crewman groaned and using the mast for support, managed to get back to his feet. His blurry eyes began to clear and the first thing he saw made his gasp loudly, his eyes shooting open as he started to break out in a cold sweat. From his point of view, his acting captain was walking towards him completely unaware that the man who had just tried-- and somehow failed-- to kill him was now laying right behind Leif in the middle of the ship. In his panicked state, with his mind still in a fog from his resurrection, he pulled out his gun and started walking forward, desperately calling out to Leif.
"Captain Leif...watch out! He's right there. He might still be alive! Not to worry, I'll--"

Leif put his hand on the crewman's gun and forced him to lower it, shaking his head as he did so.
"I understand that you've been through a lot...but I'm asking you to let it go."
The crewman looked up at him in shock.
"But...we can't just let him go!"
"We can, and we are. Go join the rest of the crew on the shore, I'll be along in a minute. That's an order."
The crewman, thoroughly confused by all of this, stammered out a quick "y-yes, sir" before walking away. When he left, Leif turned his attention back to Innacent.
"You know how you told me that you're gonna keep him in line? I'm holding you to that."
He motioned to the stairs.
"Two decks down, first door on the left. You'll find medical equipment, food and a bed that he can use until he's back on his feet."
Right after leaving Innacent with directions to the ship's infirmary, Leif quickly made his way off the ship to join the rest of the crew. After he arrived, he gave the crew their orders and they began their journey to the center of the island.

 

Thanking Leif, Innacent picked up Karma's limp, broken and twitching body. She carried her husband below deck and into the room she had been given directions to. Setting his body down the bed, she stripped his clothes with great care, cautiously trying to avoid breaking his already broken body any further. Completely stripped free of his clothes, Innacent saw the strange angles his body had been twisted into. Taking a wet washcloth, she wiped down Karma's blood-covered body, rinsing off the cloth occasionally.
To sweat blood and destroy one's own bones... how could he have possibly strained himself that much?
Mystified by his differences in comparison to a normal human, Innacent shook her head and began to try straightening and setting his limbs and broken. It was only then that she realized something.
I... do not know what I am doing!
Although she was a goddess, she was not one that specialized in medical treatment. Because of this, she had to make guesses as to what had to be done. Through trial and error, she set Karma's bones back into place how she saw fit.
I think that is how he goes back together.
After a moment of examination, she gave his arm a slight twist.
There. Now he is straightened out.
After another pause, she twisted the same arm back into place.
There. Maybe. This time for sure.

- - -​

After some time, Karma began to stir. Innacent, who had laid a sheet across his naked body and sat in a chair beside him, perked up when she noticed activity from him.
"Johan? Johan, are you awake?"
Karma responded to her telepathically as he slowly opened his eyes.
"...Innacent...?"
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel like Hell."
"Can you move?"
"Don't wanna."
"Try to!"
"Can't!"
Innacent sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Human bodies are so frail. Yet how you were able to show that much strength. And how are you possibly so old without dying? It is confusing how young you still look."
"After leaving you, I did tasks for the gods of Chaos and Order. When they learned I was playing both sides of the board, I was cursed with unaging. I could never bring myself to kill myself, and because of that, I started experimenting on myself."
Karma went into detail as to what he did to himself to rid himself of vulnerabilities. Shocked, Innacent shook her head.
"It... shocks me how much disregard you had for yourself. I now see why you could kill so many people without any remorse. But you have claimed to have a reason for that, after already saying you did not regret killing off so many villages."
Karma closed his eyes, and began to explain to her why he slaughtered so many innocent people.
"The truth is, it had to be done. While you were up in your flying island, happily and safely judging people, the world on the surface suffered from wars, famine and plague. Didn't you already realize, that during those times at which there were deaths from plagues, that was when I chose to kill?"
Innacent thought about what he said, realizing that what he spoke was true when she compared the tales of those who had died from the plagues.
"That is why you...?"
"Yes. I had to keep the plagues from spreading, else more would have died. But many of those towns were filled with fools that refused to listen to me and stay in quarantine. That is why, when night came, I would kill everyone, destroy everything and burn it all down to the ground. The same went for travelers and anyone else who refused to stay in quarantine."
"I understand. But what about the assassinations?"
"Those royal families were already dead. In their places were impostors. And though the countries seemed ran better by those impostors, it was all towards a goal that would ultimately bring about the countries' total destruction. Killing those false leaders was the only way to prevent that from happening, even if it did result in a great war."
"This... I never expected these to be your true reasons."
"Even with that vampire girl, I lied about poisoning her and needing my blood to stay alive. The truth is, I let her drink my blood so that she can recover faster, but I didn't want her to go crazy while trying to regain all of her strength. Anyway, being a pawn of the god of Chaos, I only had to do destructive acts to increase the chaos in the world. Anything I wanted, so I chose to do chaotic things for good reasons."
"But why did you choose to be on the side of evil?"
Karma paused to think about it.
"I... don't really know why. After leaving you, I wanted to get more strength to be like you, to be your equal and not a weak human. That is why I went to such great extents to make myself as strong as I could, even at the loss of a convenient life. But after 2,000 years, I realize it was not enough, even if I was in my Mediator phase."
"Mediator? Was that when you started leaving behind smoke when you moved?"
"You are correct. Because I have both the blessings and the curses of the gods of Chaos and Order, when my actions reach a point at which all my right and wrong actions are equal, I go into that phase. That is why I lied about enjoying killing all those people, and all those other spiteful things. I tried to reach the Mediator phase for the fight, which barely managed to make me strong enough and fast enough. But when I was ready to deliver the decisive blow... I couldn't bring myself to do it. That is why I started to break down and confess to you. After pulling my limiter needle and ingesting those toxic crystals, even killing a man momentarily for vitality, I realized that being good enough to defeat you in a fight was not enough. I missed being with you, and because of that, I realized how worthless my efforts were."
Karma looked at Innacent's sad face, and he noticed her scar. He tried to raise his arm, but he was unable to make any movement without great pain.
"Back then, when I gave you that scar, I was such a fool."
"Don't say that!"
"But it is the truth! I gave you that scar, and instead of trying to make amends, I ran like a coward. It took far too long for me to realize how wrong I was."
"I understand it must have hard on you. Perhaps if I had supported you more, eased you into a new life, you would have been able to accept it. But this scar, you do know I can get rid of it at anytime."
Karma's eyes widenend in surpise.
"What!?"
"The truth is, I kept it as a reminder of you. My parents opposed the idea, but I refused to get rid of it. Just like that one gem you got me."
She pointed at the lace choker on her throat.
"The cloth wore out, but I kept the gem and had it moved into this choker instead. I could never get rid of this gift you gave to me on our wedding day."
"You... I never thought you would have kept it after all that time. But that scar, that is an overkill way to remember me."
"I know our first time did not go so well, which is why I kept it, to remember how you felt."
"First time...? Oh, our first fight. That one separated us, but this second fight brought us together. People cane really get misunderstand that 'first time' phrase."
Innacent leaned forward, resting against Karma's bed and holding his hand.
"Johan, do you want me to call you by Karma now? Everyone else does, so perhaps you are more comfortable being known by this new alias."
"I think... I should drop the 'Karma' name altogether. With you around and out stale, stagnant world left behind, I think Johan would suit me better from now on. But before we go on, I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"Please don't squeeze my broken fingers so tightly."
Johan had been sweating from the pain of her tight squeeze, trying to keep his speech calm.
"Oh! I apologize!"
Innacent her hand away quickly yet carefully, not wanting to put him through anymore pain.
"I think I have one more of those healing crystals left. I just need to let that dissolve into me, and then we can hold hands in peace."
She reached into the pouch, and after finding the crystal, she treated Johan with it. When it dissolved into him she waited for him to heal.
"It's going to take a while to really do anything. In the meantime, could you gather my supplies from my room? I need those to live."
"I will. But remember, I cannot allow you to remain without supervision for long. You have ruined the trust of many people on this ship, and I have promised to keep a tight reign on you."

- - -​

Leaving Johan, she walked until she came across his room. Away from Johan, she wielded the aura of a woman in charge. Opening the door, she gathered up his few belongings and prepared to leave, when she remembered about someone who earlier she had considered to be Johan's new lover.
"Vampire girl, I am bringing you with me. We shall have a small chat, all three of us."
Easily picking up the chest Semira used to hide from the sunlight with, she took the belongings and the packaged vampire back to the infirmary where Johan stayed. Walking in, she set everything down and then closed the curtains to the infirmary's window.
"You are now permitted to come out, vampire. Someone here as a confession to make to you."

 

Mordred, who had been keeping watch while the crew waited for Leif, briefly turned to Trinity to respond.
"To answer your first question, they would be well on their way by now. We will have to move quickly to catch them, though I am almost certain at this point that they will reach the destination before us. To answer your second question, the center of the island, if memory serves."
Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, Mordred turned towards where the ship was docked and saw Leif approaching.
"It seems that we're ready to depart."

As Leif approached the crew, they all turned their attention to him, expectantly awaiting his orders. He called out to them in a loud, clear voice as he pointed towards their destination.
"We've kept our captain waiting long enough, wouldn't you say? To be honest, we should've left a while ago, but this will have to do! Crew of the Dragon, forward march!!"
He took off quickly, motioning for the crew to follow.
"You guys haven't been slacking off on your training, right? Come on, let's move out!"
The crew gave a loud, triumphant shout and followed Leif's lead. Mordred followed suit, gesturing for Trinity to follow along as well.

Leif's group began making their way through the forest unimpeded, as the elven scouts that had hindered Donavan and Leon's crews were nowhere to be seen. Leif found this a little strange, but he decided not to question their good fortune and took advantage of the opportunity, moving his group through the forest at a very quick pace. Unbeknownst to them, the reason for their unexpected good fortune was the simple fact that the remaining scouts had already traveled through the portal, just ahead of both Donavan and Leon's arrival.

 

Innacent sat at the edge of Johan's bed, her legs and arms crossed as she held her staff.
"I gave him just retribution, and he will heal up soon enough. I shall not explain everything to you, for that is his task to do."
Knowing this was his turn to speak, Johan started his telepathic confession to Semira. Unlike his somewhat sharp and high violin voice, his telepathic voice sounded smoother and somewhat deeper.
"When I told you that you were poisoned by drinking my blood, that was a joke."
With a flip of her wrist, Innacent gave Johan a light smack on his head with her staff, causing him to wince in pain.
"...What I mean, is that I lied to you. You were never poisoned. In fact, my blood did the opposite. I only said that it was poisoned so you would not attack a greater number of people to satisfy your hunger. My blood contains more nutrients than the average human's blood, though you probably already know that, if you have been feeling your strength return sooner than it normally would have. That is all I can say concerning you. You are free to do whatever you wish, since I have no real power over you as a master."
Johan stopped speaking for a moment, then added one more statement.
"My name is Johan. I haven't used that name for a long time. If you wish, you can keep on calling me 'Karma' or you can call me 'Johan', whichever you prefer."