[Episode 131459] [Episode 131459]It is a universal law that birth is always painful. Being nothing more or less than the release of all the potential of a living thing into the world, the price demanded by that act is an equal amount of suffering to balance the joy. This law held true for humans, who are born through pain, and vampires, who are slain and then dragged up from the underworld where all spirits rest through slender chains of blood.
For a vampire's rebirth, this was equally true.
Venus' first sensation was hunger. A fanged maw in the core of her being which, lacking any form of sustenance, turned its teeth inward to spur her on. Instinctively, the vampire Senshi cast out her senses, seeking the life which her nature demanded. Finding a suitable source, she moved to acquire it.
Feeding was different. Empowered, however unknowingly, by the root of all her kind, her needs had changed along with her nature. Before, she had been a bloodsucker, with the ability to drain psychic energy as a less filling but less noticeable alternative. Now, her body had been restored by a deeper, darker energy - and that same energy formed her spirit. Lacking anything of her own, at present, to anchor her presence to the living world, she was compelled to consume that which she lacked - not merely lives, but souls.
Perhaps that would change when she re-acquired what remained of her own, but to do that, she would need to hunt down her murderous "sister" and return the favour. And she would. Mars was going to learn precisely how big a mistake she had made in slaying Venus. She was going to crawl, and whimper, and bleed, oh yes. And if she begged enough, she might die quickly.
There was no doubt in her mind as to the outcome of that battle. Her new incarnation possessed all the abilities of her old, and her instincts spoke to her of being capable of even more. Physically, she was superior to all her kin - the body being only a shell animated by her spectral essence, unfettered by pain and easily repaired, or replaced. Her strength was now limited only by that of her will, and her speed was only slightly less spectacular. Even more telling, the old weaknesses of her kind had been burned away. Her essence was solely a thing of spirit now, existing on another plane and manipulating her material form as a proxy. No matter how many times her body was destroyed, she would exist so long as her "shadow soul" did. And finding a new body (reshaping it to her liking, of course) was simple enough. No, Mars had no chance against her now - a fact Venus would enjoy proving.
Savouring the last dregs of her meal, Venus opened her vampiric eyes, now solid black with a blazing crimson iris. She could see the ethereal energy trails of the spirit world now, in addition to merely tapping them. Her heart was hidden somewhere - there! Behind those layers of armour, mystic windings wrapped over the course of years, strong enough to conceal any vampiric presence.
Unless, of course, part of that presence was now her own.
Venus leaped high, into the night. Soon, she would confront Mars again, and reclaim her own. And then, perhaps, she would claim what was Mars - like that tasty-looking hunter...
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(Posted Sun, 30 Jan 2005 14:41)
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