It was a rather nice evening, some would say. It had been a typical autumn day; the last pitiful remains of a scorching summer sun desperately trying to warm the chilly earth and trees, while a pleasant and refreshing breeze swept over the meadow, the long grass smoothly blowing in the wind… A person silently sat there, in the shadow of the trees, where the meadow obviously ended. One normally would not be able to easily notice the small figure; because of its stillness, the figure did not draw any attention at all and the person was, after all, somewhat hidden by the trees.

Within the pooled shadows of the forest, beneath the twisted, claw-like branches of the ancient trees wrestled a soul in agony. Stripped of dignity, of life, of the very sanctity of being, it lay bound in chains. Screams tore out through its open mouth as it tried to break the bonds, futilely. Flesh broke against the harsh metal and blood coursed out through freshly opened wounds. Pale white skin was stained with bright rivulets of red. Bruises marred what had once been perfect complexion. Long dark locks flowed down over a back striped with scars. Weighted chains hung hither and thither, the sharp tipped weights at their ends dragging her down. Managing to shift herself ever so slightly, she cried out sharply in inarticulate pain. One of the chains flailed up at the tree above in response to her wails, severing a bough from its rightful location and hurling it with the force of a hurricane out to the depths of her arboreal prison. Tears stained her face as she cried and cried out in pain. Down to her very soul, they had cut her, stripping away all else, so that all was left was a the spirit lacking its proper shell.

Ethereal and ephemeral she was, bound upon the ground when suddenly, one of the chains hung about her neck shot upward into the trees above, grasping itself around a branch and entwining its way, snake-like, pulling its length upward. As it did so, it slowly began to tug at her now limp form, hauling her up by the neck. A strangled gasp escaped her mouth before the tendril about her throat tightened. There she hung, in all her fallen glory, her restraints shooting out, binding her to the tree's trunk, where she hung, forlorn and abandoned, though not forgotten. They could not forget her, would not forget her, would forever regret her. A soundless scream contorted her features, her teeth bared in a wail of torture and agony, crying for mercy, heralding an undesired vengeance.

The other person slowly stood right, as the screams reached that lone figure’s ears. Long dark hair reached the middle of her back, curls waving steadily in the breeze, as she turned around. If one could have seen her face, they weirdly enough would have witnessed a rather strange smile. Considering how it nearly hauntingly distorted her features. She unhurriedly walked to the source of those screams that had disturbed her silence there. The pitch black dress somehow seemed to nearly dissolve behind her while it freely moved around the woman’s body, into what appeared to be a peculiar sort of transparent yet inky material that blackened the air and space around her.

She abruptly stopped, once she noticed a limp form hanging. “Poor thing…”, her smooth voice mockingly uttered as she eyed the chained woman. A chuckle resonated through the forest. Shadows, from the trees she was standing under, gradually began to cling to her body, eventually swallowing her wholly. Until there was nothing left, but the nearly ethereal echo of her quiet laughter travelling, accompanied by shadows, through the air, straight towards the chained person.

The laughter was met by silence, although from her expression one could tell that was not what she felt, but rather the only sound she could emit. Instead of pleading words blubbered through swollen lips then, it was only the scraping and grating sound of the chains twining about her which could be heard. They ran across her frail form, as if alive and cognitive. Slithering their fierce and biting tracks over her skin, they began to reach out. Like hairs raised by static, they gravitated up towards the shadowy form. As it began to fade, they were extending, dragging her towards the congealed darkness, as she hung still from only a single chain. It was as if something in the links of metal knew this person, desired this person, wanted to wrap the mysterious figure in their embrace and never allow her to go. They moved slowly, reverently, as if through water, flowing through the air.

All at once, one of the tendrils shot forward, lancing straight towards the laughter's face. And it stopped just as abruptly, before the faded visage, turning about and wrapping around, circling where a head once had been. The other chains all followed suit, barring the one which yet suspended the hanging woman from her neck.

Her limbs pinned by the tightened bonds of iron, she could no more move then speak. Only the power to blink was left her, and yet she kept her eyes open, full of tears as they were, she would not look away no matter how much it burned. Chains weaved about the clouded shadows, as if they were caressing the inky black figure. Slowly, and reluctantly, they began finally to pull away before shooting backwards simultaneously. As if spooked, they had all retreated and now took up positions so that they appeared like snakes ready to strike out. And there, at their center, the center of that veritable web of metallic death, hung what might have been the fly already dead in its chrysalis of iron threads, or perhaps she was the weeping beaten spider, waiting only for some poor soul to wander into the clutches of her damned net. Could something so destroyed and fragile be so dangerous, though? Could this beaten and bruised woman be a spider when she looked no more fit than to be dangling from the hangman's noose? Was doubting her worth the price? A web of writhing, animate chains said no...

The laughter only increased, travelling around and through the animate chains with an amazing swiftness. The previous quick ‘attack’, as some would say, of the tendrils had not left any apparent injuries. Au contraire, they had only managed to excite the female even more. Swirling and dancing through the air, the nearly unnoticeable darkness that accompanied the ethereal echo of laughter produced what sounded like a woman’s voice, although somehow it seemed as if the words were spoken in a place, far away from this peculiar scene. “Catch me, CATCH ME!” The mockery was followed by another burst of laughter, circling around the tree now as it rapidly dodged the chains in order to get closer to the bruised woman in the centre. Some tresses of the chained female’s hair were obviously carefully stroked by that which was practically invisible. “What are you doing here, darling?” The voice, containing a slightly threatening sound, huskily whispered in her ear.

As the laughter's volume became louder, the chains retaliated with incredible ferocity, whipping about in an effort to tear, slash, puncture, and crush. Of course, they slid through nothing at all, reaching only the trees about, breaking limbs and scoring deep scars into the ancient denizen's of this old forest. It seemed to infuriate them, and then the shadow touched their prisoner. It was as if some ancient force had been awakened within them. The force of their outburst tore apart the nearest arboreal giants, uprooting them and breaking them into splinters. Then, as if in defense, they dropped her to the ground, and began winding around her, constricting their own charge.

When the hand had touched her hair, she had convulsed, swaying back and forth on her chain. It was as if she was attempting to curl herself inward, to hide, but of course her restricted motion did not allow for that. Then, when the chains began to thrash about, she was pulled hither and thither by their violent motions, before they dropped her to the ground. As she fell, she drew in a gasp of air, only to have it knocked from her lungs as her bloodied and bruised body impacted the hard roots. Splinters drove into her frame, and a breathless cry escaped her lips. Before her bonds had tightened around her, pulling back like a shield, she did manage to recover herself enough to whisper harshly, "Please... Kill... me..." But then her breath was once again taken away by the crushing wait levered upon her chest and neck. Even there, unable to communicate, to move, to make any expression other than one of gruesome horror, she stared up at the phantasmal woman with pleading eyes, eyes that would not shut. Tears flooded their red and tortured expanse, begging for mercy.

A sound seemed to emanate from the sky, the clouds parted, and the ground started to shake. The tree's seemed to scream in agony as their roots were disturbed and the area seemed to be in a world of its own, seperate from the rest of the planet, for how could such a small area withstand such tremors? Cracks started to break out of the ground, and trees were torn from their roots, and fell, adding to the symphony of chaos the forest had become. A piercing whistle flooded the air in the forests own bubble of space. If one listened carefully, which would most certainly be harmful to one's hearing, they might have been able to make out words, but it was short lived, as the whistle died down almost as soon as it had erupted.

Then everything stopped, all of the chaos of the last few seconds seemed to have dissapeared, leaving the area of woodland torn asunder. Then, almost out of the blue, a spark seemed to form, and then expanded with explosive force. A golden light was cast throughout the entire forest, the centre of the light blindingly bright. The light faded, revealing trees that had been thrown metres, the area looked as if a bomb had gone off. And stood in the centre of it all, was a man.

The man appeared to be in his thirties, he had stubble on his face, implying he had not shaved in some time. His hair was a dark brown, and was messy. The man wore formal wear, a white shirt, blue tie, black slacks, a suit jacket, but it was what else he wore that did not seem to fit. He wore black shoes, one could call them formal, and draped over his suit jacket, was a tan denim great coat. The man's ocean blue eyes looked on the scene in front of him. The woman coiled in chains, and the strange figure that was revealed with the lack of tree's. The man tilted his head to the right, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"It would appear i chose a perfect time to enter this world."

The laughing voice gradually muted, dissolving in the air. At the same time a woman silently walked from behind the partly destroyed trees. She elegantly moved and her stance was proud, apparently not bothered by the rather tumultuous appearance of a person who seemed strangely enough out of place with his clothes. In fact, the female did not even take the smallest glance at the man, haughtily closing the distance between herself and the tortured other who laid helplessly on the ground. To others, her dress nearly looked like it was made of a different sort of substance than the things one would find on Earth. It was fluent like water or ink, yet light as the air, and of a colour that was not unlike the dark shadows that always became clearer, always darker as she got near them. The woman halted right before the chained one on the ground. A smile curled up the corners of her lips. “You did not answer my question”, the voice sounded awfully recognizable, this time a lot more intimidating than the mocking and perhaps slightly mad laughter that filled the air before. She bent down, her long curls falling over her shoulder, partly covering her unusually beautiful face. It was a strange sort of beauty; although she had clearly been gifted with quite a delicate and attractive figure, a certain kind of sadness lingered behind. What was hidden less was the underlying danger. Something about her was not right. Most people did not notice that until she decided to confront them with it, others managed to sense it. The longer one focused on that particular smile, the more that person received chills as the smile began to show what it truly meant. A pale hand reached out, nearly tenderly brushing some strands of hair out of the face of the young woman. It would have been tenderly, if her own eyes did not stare so incredibly callously at the much weaker being.

Blasts of heated wind, fragments of what had been an ancient forest, boulders which had long lain silent in the ground, and a shrieking noise assaulted and battered the helpless woman where she lay. Immobilized as she was, she could could not so much as lift an arm to protect her unguarded face. Yet, she did not scream in pain which she undoubtedly felt at her skin being beaten and broken under the explosive forces released in the descent of some celestial power. Her chains anchored her to the quaking earth which began to split under her, et not so much that she she be but shifted, and her chains would not allow her to fall. Through all, however, she never once even batted an eye, not through the dust flying, the myriad splinters, pebbles, or remnants of plant life. Her glassy eyes only for a moment glimpsed the newcomer before being riveted once more to the elegant and deadly form of a woman dressed in the clothes of night itself. She came closer, and as she did, a longing seemed to be present in the womans eyes, welled up with tears, red from crying and the absence of sleep.

When the words finally came form that ethereal being, that tormenting figure of a woman, they were not the words wished for. It could be seen in the tiny sparkle of hope being quenched. As the hope died, so did the fury of the chains. They fell slack around her, unwinding themselves. Their grip was loosened as they spread out around her in a sort of pool made of metal links. Slowly, she coiled up, like a snake, until she levitated up into the air, with her heavy iron bonds hanging down to the ground. Her eyes were shut tight. Hot tears streamed out from under the closed lids to stain her face. "I waited for you," her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper, "And you never came." The chains on the ground began to slowly flow up into what first amounted to a pillar but began to take what appeared to be a more distinguishable form, that of a man. It was as if it intended to speak when an arrow suddenly sprouted from where the animated metal's head would be... The effect was to dispel the humanness of the chains which fell all to the ground.

"The demon's light shines for the darkest daughter of night," quoth a man's voice from within the broken and wasted forest. A vague form stepped out into view, another arrow drawn across his bow. His brown tunic showed out from underneath a green cloak and hood, but non of his features was remotely visible. His voice was deep and resonated musically across the distance. "You wish to know why she is here," It was quite obviously not a question in his voice, "She is here because she could not die. She cannot die." He did not lower the bow, but then, it was not pointed at either the newcomer from the sky, nor the misty woman and her sadistic claws. "Were you yourselves mortal, her power would have long since dragged you down to the grave by her vengeful spirit's power," his voice grew dark tones as this forest had once grown dark shadows in the middle of day. And those words were met with a slowly rising wail of agony. The woman was emitting the grievous noise, as if her soul had been broken by what he had said.

She merely stared at the man, obviously unimpressed, considering the rather neutral look on her face as a contemplating silence surrounded her, green eyes narrowing a little. The woman took a few steps closer to him, warily watching his moves. “And who are you, stranger”, she grimly asked. “You who so arrogantly speak of me as if you even have the slightest idea about who, or better, WHAT I am?” Anger visibly began to seep into her otherwise more or less composed façade. The air suddenly became very tense, as she slowly got closer to him, not unlike a predator stalking its pray. She threateningly closed the distance; her eyes seemed to peer beyond mere flesh and bone. The curly haired woman halted for a moment as she heard the wailing again, glancing indifferently at the grieving woman. And somehow, the image that briefly met her eyes caused her to turn around, gazing intensely at the other female. A cruel smile distorted her features, “Well, well… You claim to have waited for me?” She threw her head back as she laughed, long curled beautiful hair falling behind her back with that movement. “I’m afraid, darling, that even if I -did- know you…” Her voice trailed off, she licked her lips as the smile only widened.

"The gods ceased to frighten me long ago," the man spoke, never once lowering his bow, fully drawn from the mark of that woman bound in chains. His words mirrored a look that had taken up residence in his eyes some time ago. It was part sadness, and several parts anger, but more than anything it was fear, fear of the creature whom he held at the end of his bow, so to speak. There was something about the way he said it, and that gleam which could be seen if one followed the shaft of the arrow down to his eye. It seemed to ratify his words. That no god could make him fear them, not since he had met this... thing. "When their powers failed. When monsters like this could come to be," he continued the thought, despite the long pause he had taken, "In defiance she stands against God and against man. No power can fell the errant beast which upon its own soul the foul creature feasts." it did sound like he was quoting something. Perhaps he was a poet in his spare time. After all, poetical hunters are not unheard of, assuming of course that he was a hunter. Then again, maybe he had a full time job pointing a knocked arrow at a woman encircled in chains, a woman who just wouldn't die.

"You didn't come to close my eyes," her whisper was so low, so like a child, shocked at finding their parent hadn't come to bandage their wound, "I was ready to go, but no one came." Then a look of pure and utter horror filled her eyes, which shot open at that very moment, "And now I can't leave." A strange effect occurred in that moment, like her pupils expanded across her eyes until they glistened black, only to fade down to a glassy gray color. Her face, which before had betrayed nothing but pain now displayed a new emotion, one that she somehow didn't seem to be aware of, anger. The cold fury bled across her features, taking over her posture, and even spreading down the chains, driving them in to ridged straight lines that extended outwards from her body, accepting of course those which remained to keep her bound. He voice, when it came, was like the shriek of a banshee, "You left me!" The arrow caught in her breast, right where the heart should be. A small trickle of blood made its way down from the bolt. But she did not either react in pain or in anger to the molestation. She was focused still on the elegant lady of shadows. So too were the chains. All at once, they extended as they would, More appearing from the ground, from the sky, from nowhere at all, they appeared and formed a web about the woman. "Know my pain!" Her cry was agony to hear, the cry of a soul in eternal torment.

The smile slowly faltered as the woman was taken by surprise and quickly looked around her at the chains surrounding her everywhere, the scene reminding her of another event in the past that she did not wish to remember in the least. For the firs time, those green eyes showed an emotion, different from the indifference and cruel feelings they had constantly expressed before. A concerned frown appeared on her pale face. Muscles tensed, her senses screaming at her that this was something she could not easily withstand. A last glance was cast at the battered young woman who had without a warning completely changed from a scared and hurt female to a vicious and unmerciful being. Though who was truly relentless here, one would ask himself. Akhlys took a deep breath staying still like a statue before suddenly running forward as fast as she could at an incredible speed, eyes widening in fear since her shadows did not come to change her form, like she had silently demanded. She frantically glanced behind her again, deciding to simply run forwards, knowing fully that there was nearly no chance to get past those chains running.

All about they were, crowding in ever closer, a forest to replace the forest which had been, a prison made up of iron links each connected, until impenetrable they stood all about. A web, an inextricable maze that was ever growing, ever changing as chains shot forth from the very air itself to surround and entrap. And always visible was that malignant force, no longer a woman, but one of the great furies of legend, or so her fearsome countenance would have implied. Like the spider at the center of her trap she hung suspended in the air, a hungry expression distorting her face. "Can you feel it," her whispers echoed all around, through the cold metal of her own cage, "I know you can. It's in every footstep you take. Remember, Akhlys, remember..." A name she had not heard, should not have known, could not have known. And then, through the chains, flickers of another realm, another place and time. There could be caught, glimpses of stone, of iron, of fire, and worst of all was the sound, nothing... nothingness which swallowed the screams and cries of torment. It was horrifying. But then, through it all, through the awful smells and sights, through the chains, he came walking. Delicately he picked his way through the web. Just who he was could not be certain. A tall pale man, a short stubby bearded fellow, a stocky gentleman, no, it was the hunter. He was singing a strange little song, it had the same haunting cadence as did those odd quotations he would suddenly spout, but it was just so indistinct that only the melody could be heard. It traveled along the chains, seemed to soothe their wrath, and they would simply part to let him walk through. So he kept walking, picking his way carefully, avoiding certain points, doubling back when he had to. He passed by the elegant woman of shadows at one point, and as he did, he offered to her two coins, but then kept moving. He would keep weaving his way through until he reached the form hanging at the center of the whole mass. She didn't even glance at him, so focused on the maiden of darkness was she. Not even when he pried the arrow from her chest. He cleaned the bolt, and then went so far as to tear off a piece of his own cloak to make for the wretched creature a bandage. As he finished, he wiped the blood from his hands, and removed from beneath his garments a pipe. Putting it to his lips, he sat before her and he played.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she began to calm, the rage leaving her face, her eyes fading first to black and then back into color. Her ferocious whispers stopped, and the phantom images vanished one by one, but the chains remained, enclosing the three figures although they had thinned to the point where it was more loose, providing more room for motion. He came to a pause in the music, and she rested there, listening for it to begin again. "Do not anger her now. If you do, she will crush us both," he said softly, almost in song, "But treat her gently and the chains will fall away."

The being from the sky had stood silently, watching the events unfold before his eyes. His head was still tilted in curiosity, and when he moved his lips, the sound that was produced did not seem fitting to the face that birthed it.
"State your identities quickly, i wish to know with whom i am currently standing, and whether or not you need purifying." The man's voice held no emotion, it was a single tone that never wobbled into any other frequency of sound, but there was a hint of a second voice amidst the words, a faint whistling sound. He looked at the one named Akhlys, and a spark of recognition appeared in his grey eyes.
"I've seen you before..." was all he said, and his expression gave nothing away.

The woman stood there so unmovingly that one could have started to believe that she literally was frozen on the spot as the horrifying images slowly began to vanish. Her face was completely expressionless, hiding any emotions she could have been feeling on the inside. If it was possible for her at all to feel anything other than sheer anger, amusement and sadism. A click was made in her head as the stranger, who had suddenly appeared earlier out of the sky with much ado, addressed her directly. That was a mistake. Immediately she turned to him, her figure losing that rigidness, regaining its normal smoothness and elegance as she gazed intensely at the strange man. Out of nowhere, a coldhearted grin appeared as she slowly nodded once, acknowledging his statement, before tearing away her gaze from where she knew he was standing –unable to see him because of the chains surrounding her-, then focusing on the other two. The smile broadened as she saw the female becoming even calmer. She ignored the hunter and his words as the images and words faintly echoed in her mind again. Immediately, something changed. Within a mere second, her beautiful face darkened and she inaudibly growled, her whole stance becoming beyond merely threatening. Things happened incredibly fast from that moment. She launched forward without a warning, faint shadows being pulled to her. They nearly behaved like a strange sort of wave, pushing her faster forwards as they increased in intensity and wild movements around her, all of them eventually aiming at the same target, hungrily trying to get past Akhlys to reach the other female first. The female quite literally shove the hunter aside, for he hindered her path. She closed her eyes then, taking a deep breath before the impact. An incredibly pale, nearly claw-like hand then struck down the female, clenching itself around her throat, and pushed her on the ground with an unexpected amount of strength, her sharp nails embedding themselves deep in her skin as the enraged woman quickly lifted up her other arm, the shadows swirling around her arm. She halted for an instance, glancing down at the female with a vindictive look, her eyes showing nothing but intense abhorrence. As if an invisible cue had been given, the shadows abruptly moved literally into her arm and hand, blood trickling down her delicate arm as they pierced her skin with the violent movements. A dark hue appeared to have come over her hand once the shadows were inside, the wounds in her arm slowly closing already. She flexed her fingers, almost lovingly looking at them before the woman began to chuckle, gazing down into the other’s eyes as, after a few seconds passed, she harshly thrust down her hand, right inside the chest of the female, ripping through skin, flesh and bone. Blood gushed out of the body, and the blackness from her hand slightly began to change while she ruthlessly clawed further in the already tortured body; it got a slight green tint as it rapidly spread inside the wound and entered her veins, slowly burning her on the inside, for it became a substance not unlike acid. The woman did not cease the violence in the least, grinning wickedly as she used more force on the young woman’s throat, slowly choking her while the acid did what it was meant to do.