Dreaming Of A Temple

There were large pillars looming out of the darkness stretching up into oblivion, the bones they'd been formed from fused and twisted together into a solid mass. Kirigo had come to recognize all the bones almost instantly since the visions had started, almost able to picture where every single one would fit in his body. He could hear the voices all around him growing louder as he floated past the pillars. Ahead of him he could see a large temple. The walls of the temple were all black. The pillars that held up the towering roof were a dark but vibrant red, and as Kirigo drew closer he could see that they were made of the same bone as the others but these still had the muscle stretching tightly, over the bones. The muscles seemed to ripple and contract as if trying to escape from their bondage. Blood oozed from the pillars as they writhed spilling onto the floor below and down the large granite steps. The two large doors at the top of the step were made of a pitch black wood. The large loops that adorned them polished bone, gleaming brightly.The intricate designs carved into the doors danced in the light from the torches flickering on either side. The carvings seemed to move as the light played across the forming new shapes every second.

The doors opened slowly as he climbed the steps, a thick fog of blood spilling out from inside the temple and rolling down the steps behind him before dissipating. Inside the walls and floors seemed to be made of darkness itself, the only thing visible of them being the bones that adorned the creases where the walls met. There were four pillars in the center of the room fixed with torches. These pillars matched the others but were also covered in a layer of skin, the pulsing muscles contained beneath and bone pressing out at odd angles as if trying to escape the membrane. There was a large altar at the center of the pillars, made from a dark black marble with vibrant blood red streaks running through it like rivers. The voices in his head grew louder still as he moved forward, encouraging him to mount the altar and give himself to Jashin. Kirigo reached out a hand, running his fingers over the cold, smooth stone until they came upon the ornate dagger that was resting on a corner of the altar. He picked it up and held it in front of his eyes, watching as his glowing pupils danced in the reflection. The blade was made of a dark blood red metal, about 6 inches long, with small channels carved into it running from the outside of the blade to the center, where they formed the symbol for Jashin, a triangle with a circle around it, before going down into the handle. The handle was made from bone, carved to show a scene of flames at the bottom with tiny depictions of bodies climbing up from the inferno. If he had to guess he’d say it was probably a thigh bone based on the size, sawed down to about a quarter of its length. Looking at the bottom he could see that it was hollowed out, the hole meeting with the channels that ran the length of the blade.

As he turned the knife over in his hands admiring the work he found himself sitting on the edge of the altar. The voices had become silent, anticipating what he would do next. Slowly, he laid himself down on the altar. His pulse quickened and his breathing quickened as he brung the dagger up above his heart. He clutched it tightly with both hands, and could feel the sharp point pricking his skin. He lifted the knife away from his chest, being sure to keep his aim in the right place, before plunging the dagger back down and deep into his chest. Kirigo looked down at the hilt of the knife protruding from his chest as blood began to squirt from the hollowed out handle high into the air, spurting with each pulse of his rapid heartbeat. As the blood poured out of him he was filled with a sudden ecstasy, a maniacal laugh taking over him.

Kirigo watched from above, seeing himself strolling through the long dark abyss, surrounded by the large white pillars of bone as he made his way towards the temple in the distance. Looking at himself from here he could somehow see himself more clearly as though he was looking through someone else's eyes. It was almost as if he was aware of everything happening around him all at once. Like he was both walking below and flying above. Himself and at the same time not himself. Their eyes, his eyes, with them he could see through himself. He could see as his blood moved through his body walking below, glowing brightly with chakra as it raced through his veins. He could see each beat of his heart, every artery and vein that ran through him. He watched as he made his way up the steps of the temple approaching the large doors at the front, the pillars of the around his glowing brightly as the blood poured down them below. From above he could see each individual droplet of blood that made up the dense fog that encompassed his body below when the doors opened in perfect clarity. Each tiny speck glowing brightly as it floated below, and his body walked through the large doors.

Suddenly, he was inside the temple. He could see the blood pulsing through the pillars that surrounded the altar. The bright streaks of the altar table and the dense fog of blood that filled the room glowed brightly with chakra in the darkness. The doors to the temple began to open and the torches that adorned the pillars blazed to life. The fog that filled the inside of the altar room spilled out as they swung open. He could see himself coming slowly through the doors, face blank, arms swinging loosely at his sides as if in a trance. His body approached the altar, a small smile spreading across its face as it ran its hands over the smooth rock and picked up the knife.

Looking into his own eyes he could see that they had changed yet again. The sea-green he’d been born with had long gone to the blood red of his Ketsuryugan. Now though it seemed they were changing again. The red of his pupils had spread, as if they had burst of spilling blood across his sclera. The iris had developed a thin black like around the border, separating his sclera from his pupil, which seemed to be flattening out forming a bright white slash horizontally in the center of the ring.

The smile on his body;s face spread wider as it flipped the knife over in his hands, inspecting its beauty from all angles. His body laid down on the altar and he could see that there was a large symbol of Jashin on the floor below the altar. His viewpoint shifted to him floating directly above the altar and his body as the knife was lifted above his chest. As the blade plunged into his heart below he could see the blood pouring from his heart. Traveling the channels in the blade before gushing out of the handle. AS his body was wracked with maniacal laughter his skin began to turn blue, the life draining from him, before turning to a pitch black color. Bright white lines began to snake out from the hole in his chest, running across his body and tracing the skeleton beneath until he looked to be nothing but bones.

Kirigo held up his hands to watch as his skin turned to a sickly blue color before turning pure black. Still laughing euphorically as the last of the blood drained from his body and spilled around the handle of the blade. He could feel his heartbeat begin to slow before stopping as the bright white lines formed on his skin. He reached up slowly, wrapping his finger tightly around the blood slick handle of the dagger. Kirigo pulled the knife from his chest and watched as the hole began to heal, his now black skin sealing itself, sewing itself back together almost instantly.

He realized he was still laughing and tried to get control of himself as he realized the voices from before had returned. They seemed to be telling him that this was what Jashin had in store for his future. Whispering tales of his ancestors and the home temple they’d resided in. Some of the voices called out to him as family, calling him cousin and brother. He could hear tales of others that resided in the world carrying his same blood, distant families that still practiced their bloody family art. What really caught his attention was a low gravelly voice he could hear. It spoke low, as if it didn't truly want to be heard, telling about temple like the very one they were in. Kirigo focused in on the voice, listening as it told him that he could travel to this temple and convene with his ancestors to gain knowledge. The voice told him that the temple was far away but that once he had taken the journey if Jashin deemed him truly worthy he might even meet with him himself.

He pushed himself up from the altar, swinging his legs around so that they dangled off the edge. The trance-like state of the dream seemed to have given way. Able to control his movements now he looked around the temple more carefully, taking in the grotesque beauty of the different scenes of mutilation decorating the structure. With his new Ketsuryugan he was able to see that he’d been right before. The scenes that were carved into the border of each wall and pillar danced slowly, shifting from one gruesome scene of sacrifice to another.Inside the walls he could see veins, flowing with bright blood, running the the entire temple as if it had its own circulatory symbol. The veins all together until they met at the altar, which pulsed rhythmically like a beating heart. Each pulse sent a ripple through the walls and flesh coated pillars as it sent blood chakra racing through the building, the temple feeding on the power of the sacrifices made there.

Suddenly the doors to the temple swung open again.  He could see nothing but pitch darkness outside the doors. There was a sudden wind as if the temple itself was trying to blow him out into the abyss. Pushing at his body from all directions, shoving him towards the door. He slid across the floor, suddenly slick with blood. As he crossed the threshold of the temple , flung into the abyss beyond, he could here all the voices convene together to form one statement:

“You’ve been here too long. You must leave for now.”

Kirigo woke with a start, bolting upright in his bed. The breeze blowing through his window caused the curtains to dance, the cold breeze quickly drying the sweat that covered his body. His eyes darted around the room but there was nothing of danger. He let out a sigh flopping back on his bed with his arms out. He rubbed his eyes, surprised to find they weren't caked in dried blood. Something to be grateful for even as the thin plastic sheet that covered his blood and sweat stained mattress clung to his bare skin.

Kirigo stared up at his roof thinking about how much his life had changed recently. Over the past few months he’d changed drastically. The small boy who’d worked around his parents' shop tidying up and avoiding eye contact with the customers was no more. He'd Build muscle quickly when he’d started training, his speed and strength increasing rapidly. His chakra control and and stores had grown even more rapidly still soaring once he’d awakened his bloodline.The visions that had plagued him had started to grow clearer, before just flashes and jumbled statements, now it was more of a calling. It was like he was being told some forgotten information that he should have known all along. The bleeding had slowed down too, which he attributed to him training more on his blood release. Almost as if before he’d been leaking power overnight, his body unable to control it.

He rolled to the edge of the bed, throwing his legs over the side, flashing back to the moment he’d done the same as he stood from the altar in his dream. Standing slowly he stretched before making his way across the hall and into the bathroom. He turned on the light before looking into the mirror. Just as he’d thought, his eyes had changed again. Just like he’d seen into the temple his entire eye was now a dark red, like looking into a pool of blood. There was a black ring bordering where iris had been before, and his pupil had flattened, a bright white slite going horizontally in the center of the dark ring.

Kirigo activated his Ketsuryugan as he stared into the mirror. The slits that were his pupils began to glow brightly, a beacon in the dark depths of the swirling red. It almost looked as if the blood was pouring out of the slits, rushing out into the rest of his eye before being swallowed into the dark cavern of his iris. On the other side of the dark border the red in his sclera seemed to do the same. An ocean of blood rushing in from the borders of his eye and crashing over the edges of the trench in a waterfall of gore. Staring into his own eyes it almost felt like he was being swallowed by the vast deep oceans of red, pushed towards the dark cavern of his iris. The only hope for escaping the bright slit of his pupil, a last beacon of hope for anyone caught falling into the depths of his vision. A final deception as they pushed through the never ending torrent of blood spilling from it hoping to reach safety that would never come.

He turned in the direction of his parents room. Through the walls he could see as their hearts beat. Their chest rising and falling slowly as they slept. He raised his hands, looking at them carefully. Using his new upgrade to map out each of the veins that ran through them He watched the blood flowing through his hand for a few moments mesmerised by the new layer that his vision had peeled back, before returning to his room

He could see the chest he’d found in the attic underneath his bed. Veins and arteries wrapped around the box, outlining it in streaks of red, pulsing slowly. As he grew closer the pulsing seemed to speed up almost like the box could sense his presence. Kirigo pulled out the small chest slowly, watching the now rapid pulsing of the veins running through it. He wrapped his hand around the small beating lock that held it closed and focused chakra into his palm willing a small amount of blood to the surface. As the blood made contact with the lock the beating slowed until it stopped, opening with a small click. As it did the veins in the rest of the box grew still with it. He opened the box slowly and set the bundle of blood red senbon on top of his bed for later. Then he reached in and pulled out one of the scrolls. This one had a picture of an eye on the outside, bound with a small black piece of twine. He slid the string off the edge and unrolled the small parchment reading the contents again. According to this he had one more stage to train of his Ketsuryugan before it reached its full power. He nodded to himself and rolled the scroll back up, replacing the twine and sitting it back in the chest. He replaced the lock and the pulsing began again, blood chakra feeding through the box as he pushed it back under his bed.
Kirigo stood slowly and deactivated his Ketsuryugan. Then he turned and fell into his bed, staring out the window as the first rays of light began to come through his window.

[Exit]

TWC- 2754*1.5=4131

Using 25% discount for Max Stats

Ketsuryugan:Developed- [3000/3000] [1694/3000]
Blood/Water Synergy- [1500/1500]
Hiding in the Rain [v7]- [1125/1125]
Ketsuryugan:Matured- [200/4500]

Kirigo Hanade wrote:
[Exit]

TWC- 2754*1.5=4131

Using 25% discount for Max Stats

Ketsuryugan:Developed- [3000/3000] [1694/3000]
Blood/Water Synergy- [1500/1500]
Hiding in the Rain [v7]- [1125/1125]
Ketsuryugan:Matured- [200/4500]

Approved!