Ranma's foot hit the rotted timber in just the right place to shatter the entire area, a rectangle roughly the size of a small car.
As such a thing happened so suddenly and naturally, even he, most probably the fifth-most powerful human on the planet, was caught unaware. Thinking quickly, he gripped off his overshirt and used it as a makeshift glider to slow his fall slightly.
And such a fall it was. As the time wore on, he realized that he seemed no closer to the bottom of the area, even though the opening he fell into had vanished into the gloom above him long ago. He let his shirt go, further noticing that his fall was neither impeeded with it open or increased with it closed. In fact, barring the wind that blew upwards around him, he felt as if he were hanging motionles in midair. "Very good, Ranma, Son of Genma, Daughter of Nodoka," a deep,resounding, yet warm and comforting voice resounded from all around him. The wind faded, leaving the pigtailed young man floating there motionless. "Thy first test, the test of perception, hast been passed."
Ranma opened his senses to the area around him. His eyes gradually widened, as the aura he felt grew from huge to unbelievably tremendous. The clues that this field of power gave off were that the presence around him was: A) More powerful than even Saffron; B) More benevolent than the Pheonix God and C) Female. The young man nudged his aura automatically and oriented himself into what he felt was a up-down position. "Why test me, Megami-sama?" he asked politely. "I only know the Art, and little enough of life." He marvled at his ability of being able to, for once, being able to say what he meant. He chalked it up to being in a situation where he had no refrences and/or distractions to mess him up.
The goddess chuckled, her mirth bringing a small smile to the floating young man. "It is precisely for the credo of thy 'Art' that I test thee," she confided to him. "Young warrior, thou hast been seeking a way to fight these creatures. That, I can give thee, if thou wilst but give one thing in return."
The raven-haired youn man instantly tensed. Things such as this, he had found out by dint of repetitive experience, were usually costly in ways other than in the wallet. "Whad... What do you mean?" he stuttered.
"Thy manhood, Warrior," she stated simply. "To forever be of the fairer gender, an image of Myself and no longer male."
He sighed. There it was, he told himself. The price that, to him, was the one he would always balk at. Even in a situation like this, that request would always make him flinch; to give up his self-image ro be able to...
His thoughts hiccuped. To give up being male, to gain the ability to protect others. To do as he has always done: to stand between danger and those that he loved and protected, even if it cost him everything. Power always costs; the greater the power, the greater the cost.
He lowered his head. "If that is your price," he sighed, "Then I will pay it, Megami-dono."
The aura around him became infused with the feeling so pride toward the young man. "Thou hast passed thy second test," the goddess replied. "Thy commitment to thy creed. As for thy final test, thou hast already passed it." Her voice became mirthful. "Thou ist more brash than others, I grant, but thy heart is true to those that thou givest. Brace thyself, my Champion. That which thou thinkest to be a curse, shall now be under thy control; the empowerment That I give thee shall be to fight for Me."
With that statement, all around him flared...
...and he finished his fall to exactly the same point at which he had began, back onto the unmarred path. He concenterated upon the link that his goddess had forged. Feeling the hum of power, he smiled gently. He now had a way to fight.
Setsuna swallowed noisily. For all the abilities that the Senshi had, there were the Powers behind them that granted them. Such as the one that had just given the chaos-battery access to Her domain.
The jade-mained woman shuddered. Of all the goddesses, why did it have to be...
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(Posted Tue, 31 Aug 2004 03:28)
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