Ch 6: When Black and White Mix

With the illusions of Vanitas' Nihilum Vitro broken, the true battle between the Seventh Spirits of Light and Darkness begins. Grey has chosen his path, no matter the obstacles before him.

            Staring at the broken mirror, Grey thought back to Vanitas’ battle with Pestilence, and in realization he said, “You never really had any kind of ‘Instant Adaptation’ at all, did you?! You just hid yourself with illusions and channeled your power into a double!” Rising from the black throne, as the broken mirror floated over to hover beside him, Vanitas replied, “Yes and no. I did hide myself with illusions, but what I created was not just a mere double. It was a dream, a construct created from this mirror, capable of possessing any powers I can conceive as actually existing in reality. Normally it’s indistinguishable from a living being, but of course with your sixth sense you were able to see the EDE its body is made of, as well as its link to Nihilum Vitro.” Taking a seat on the ground to rest, Grey heaved a sigh and said, “I don’t think I would’ve made it without that hint. That’s one crazy Grand Anima Weapon…” Placing a hand on the frame of Nihilum Vitro, Vanitas said, “Oh, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Nihilum Vitro is a weapon of a higher class than a Grand Anima Weapon. Have you ever realized how your friends sometimes know you better than you know yourself? Grand Anima Weapons can be reforged into Anima Entia, the Soul Entities, by drawing out the image of yourself from the heart of another through the Links, using it to expand on the existing powers of your heart and soul.” Watching Vanitas channel EDE into his broken Nihilum Vitro, Grey was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he nervously said, “They can huh?” The broken mirror quickly briefly glowing with power, Vanitas’ dark aura flared around him as he said, “Nihilum Vitro, the Nothing Glass, is one such weapon, and seeing as it has been broken since long before you ever met me, this battle is not over just yet…”

            At these words, Grey jumped to his feet and readied himself as he said, “We’re still going?! Can’t I get a break here?!” Raising the hand up that had possessed a silver rune circle on the back of his dream double’s hand, Vanitas showed a glowing black rune circle upon the back of his own hand as he said, “Until you break me, I shall not relent. I am the Seventh Spirit of Darkness, and only when Light and Darkness clash shall this world see our true potential! Will you take Origin’s place and rule? Or will I take your power and become complete?” Then lowering his hand, Vanitas leaped up into the air as he said, “The real battle begins now!” Coming down on Grey with his foot, as Grey crossed his swords above his head in defense, Vanitas pushed off his blades and leaped over him. Having been looking up at Vanitas, as Grey was about to turn to go after him, he realized Nihilum Vitro had silently floated up to hover before him. Landing behind Grey, Vanitas held his hands out and said, “Dopplepower.” With Grey reflected upon the mirror’s broken surface, Nihilum Vitro suddenly emitted a flash of light, and twin masses of EDE began to form around each of Vanitas’ outstretched hands.

            Flinching momentarily from the flash of light, Grey swung a sword at the mirror to try and destroy it, yet its task already done, Nihilum Vitro simply floated away. Then he turned as Vanitas struck out, copies of his own swords now held in his grasp. Struggling to block and deflect Vanitas’ blades, Grey stared at the black rune circle upon Vanitas’ hand, thinking, “Just what did he do now to get my weapons? For that matter, what’s with the seal all of the sudden? I’m really not sure I prefer the look of this one over the silver, even if I do usually wear black…” Knocking one of Grey’s blades from his hands with a powerful upwards strike while he was lost in thought, Vanitas hit him with a thrust kick to the gut, enhancing it with a powerful blast of darkness that sent him flying. As Grey went sailing across the sanctuary to crash hard into one of the walls, Vanitas held his blades before him and chanted, “Gemina Indelebilis Verus Ventus.” Picking himself up off the ground, Grey winced in pain for a moment and then looked up at Vanitas to see his blades empowered with wind and True EDE. Channeling EDE into his newly enchanted swords, Vanitas swung a blade and fired a wave of shining silver wind at Grey as he said, “Did you think I only took your swords?”

            Clenching his teeth in irritation, Grey dove aside and rolled to one knee, dodging the wave of silver wind. Calling his lost blade to his hand with telekinesis as the wave struck the wall and erupted in a silver windstorm filled with True EDE blades, Grey rose and charged back at Vanitas, who merely smiled faintly and began to unleash more waves of silver wind at him. Making his way to Vanitas while strafing side to side avoiding the waves of silver wind, Grey charged his blades with EDE and chanted, “Cesso, Tripudio, Quinque Gladius Veritas Uicisti Hostes Hostium!” Leaping up into the air to come at Vanitas from above, Grey powerfully deflected with his charged blades as Vanitas fired one last wave of silver wind up at him and came down on him with his blades. Raising both blades to block, Vanitas shoved Grey’s blades away, but landing firmly on the ground, Grey quickly rushed back into range and struck out again. Again and again they clashed, Grey swinging with power and skill, Vanitas defending and countering with masterful efficiency.

            They were evenly matched, but Vanitas secretly willed his Nihilum Vitro into the air above them, its damaged surface facing down at Grey. As he and Grey locked blades with each other, Grey looked at Vanitas in confusion as he suddenly chanted, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Nox.” Grey could not fathom what he was trying to do when he was unable to aim his blades to use the spell he was chanting, but then he noticed Nihilum Vitro in the air, a black rune circle formed upon it’s damaged surface. Grey quickly broke away from Vanitas and leaped back as arrows of darkness rained down at the both of them, only to watch in disbelief as Vanitas raised his sword at him and redirected the arrows straight after him, using telekinesis to command them. Raising up his swords before him, Grey activated his EDE Dissipation just in time, dispelling the arrows of darkness as they came close. More silver wind swirling around his blade as he pointed it at Grey, Vanitas called out, “That level of EDE interference will only affect EDE existing in the physical components around us. Things like True EDE, Corrupted EDE, or even Psychic and spirit energy, all of them can be used to counter the so-called ultimate EDE interference. And of course, anything that feeds off of them shall also gain immunity…” As Grey looked at him strangely Vanitas merely smirked and chanted, “Enoch Aeterna Flamma Consumeret Invocavi Te Ab Omni Malo!” A mighty stream of flames fired out from his sword, and as it needed oxygen to fuel itself just like all fire, it consumed the oxygen within the swirling silver wind that erupted around Vanitas’ blade as it formed, and the fire stream shot out at Grey now as a stream of silver flames.

            Unsure why he hadn’t just used Additio, Grey quickly raised a sword before him and chanted, “Rutilus Astrum Contego!” A shield of light shaped like a six pointed star formed from the tip of his blade, but as it appeared to block the stream of silver flames, Vanitas used telekinesis and began to steer the flames around the edges of it. Seeing this, Grey jumped back from the star shield and quickly added to his chant, shouting, “Additio Aqua!” Hearing this, Vanitas quickly called out, “Additio Nox!” The star shield briefly gaining a blue rune circle, it exploded suddenly in a torrential blast of pressurized water, but rather than extinguishing the silver flames, the water was quickly drawn into a dark mist that had shrouded Vanitas’ attack, the EDE it was formed from being used to strengthen it into a massive whirlpool of silver flames. Gritting his teeth as whirlpool of silver flames twisted through the air after him, Grey activated his Accelerate and barely escaped the raging storm of combined elements, speeding off as he cried out, “Iacio!” Shooting through the air as they formed around him, five swords of True EDE raced out at Vanitas, who continued to direct his whirlpool of silver flames with telekinesis as he said, “Accelerate.”

            Moving as a blur of speed, Vanitas flew into the air as the swords of True EDE chased him down, and taking aim after him as he fled, Grey outran the silver flames as he began to fire volleys of True EDE spheres at Vanitas as well. Raising one of his blades as he continued to evade, Vanitas said, “Djinn’s Vanguard.” Two clones of himself formed from wind, appearing as the advanced enchantment upon his blades shone, they both sped off in different directions as though to distract Grey. Yet Grey guided his assault after the true Vanitas, and as the attacks continued to pursue him, Vanitas called Nihilum Vitro into their path and chanted, “Septimo Spiritus Glacies.” A blue rune circle forming on its mirrored surface, a pulse of freezing power erupted from Nihilum Vitro and froze the swords and spheres in ice, and as the attacks shattered and ice fragments fell like snow, Vanitas added, “Additio Ventus.” The ice fragments transforming into blades of wind, they rained down at Grey as he struggled to stay one step ahead of the whirlpool of silver flames. Slowing down and aiming a sword right at the oncoming wind blades, Grey chanted, “Pluvia Eversio, Vultus Verus!” Firing out of the blade as silver runes ran across it, silver arrows of True EDE countered the blades of wind, meeting them and exploding brilliantly.

            The whirlpool of silver flames catching up now that he had slowed, Grey dove to the side at the last moment as the whirlpool almost washed over him, feeling the heat of the silver flames grazing him. Rolling to his feet as the whirlpool twisted through the air and started coming around at him, Grey looked at it briefly, making sure he was right about the fact that the dark mist that stopped his attack before had disappeared after absorbing his water, and then he quickly chanted, “Gemina Indelebilis Verus Terra!” His blades becoming empowered with the energies of True and nature based EDE, as the whirlpool came racing back at him, Grey leaped away and shouted, “Landslide!” A rain of rocks appearing from nowhere as he willed them to fall from the sky, they smothered the whirlpool of silver flames, covering its entirety in a pile of rubble. As he stood there catching his breath briefly, Grey suddenly sensed them coming and ducked as the two wind clones flew at him from either side using gusts of wind to move at high speed. The two wind clones locked swords with each other as their attacks missed, and Grey quickly stabbed them both through the gut from where he crouched between them, blowing holes in their stomachs with twin blasts of True EDE and sonic power.

            The wind clones quickly dispersing, Grey then activated his Flux restriction ability just in time. Having chanted the incantation under the cover of a cone of silence spell, a mighty beam of lightning shot down at him from the tip of Vanitas’ outstretched blade, the silver vortex barely formed enough to absorb it by the time it arrived. The lightning absorbed, Grey quickly flew into the air after Vanitas, chanting, “Gemina Indelebilis Verus Aqua!” His swords gaining a different advanced enchantment once again, they were empowered with True EDE and water. Swinging his sword at Grey as he flew towards him, Vanitas unleashed a wave of silver wind, but charging into it, Grey shouted, “Whirlpool Thrust!” Aiming his blade at the oncoming wave, Grey shot forth in a spinning storm of water and cut straight through it, breaking through and spinning onward at Vanitas as he unleashed the lightning he had absorbed to electrify the water of his attack. Quickly calling Nihilum Vitro before himself once more, Vanitas chanted, “Velo Eternus Nox.” A wall of black hexagons forming just in time, the dark energy barrier blocked Grey’s electrified Whirlpool Thrust, and backing off and flashing a grin, Grey said, “Not bad, but you won’t beat me at my own game!” Raising a blade up, Vanitas smiled faintly and said, “I have far more up my sleeve, and you’d best too if you hope to beat me… Doppleglass…” Suddenly beginning to blur, Nihilum Vitro seemed to be going out of focus, and for a moment Grey wondered if he was suffering from double vision as two images of the broken mirror split out from the original. Quickly becoming solid, the additional mirrors soon proved themselves quite real, all three beginning to orbit around Vanitas as they shone with power.

            Watching the mirrors circle around Vanitas in the air, Grey used his aura to hover level with him, keeping a safe distance as he thought to himself, “What’s he gonna do with more mirrors? This is gonna suck if he starts firing spells from each of them…” Watching Grey from behind his orbiting mirrors, Vanitas suddenly let his swords evaporate as he said, “Dopplewalk…” One of the mirrors circling Vanitas momentarily obscured Grey’s view of him as it made its way along its orbit around him, and as it moved out of the way a moment later, it revealed that Vanitas had disappeared. Going on high alert immediately, Grey looked around for Vanitas cautiously, yet he was nowhere to be found. Then as the mirrors stopped circling around where Vanitas had been and lined up next to each other facing Grey, Vanitas’ voice called out, “Where are you looking Grey? I’ve been right here the whole time…” In the reflection of the middle mirror, Vanitas’ figure appeared before Grey’s eyes, and his voice called out through the mirrored glass, “I’ll assure you this time I’ve used no illusions. I now reside within my Nihilum Vitro, and I can pass from mirror to mirror at will.”

            Moving with great speed, the middle mirror flew at Grey and stopped just before him, and caught off guard, Grey didn’t manage to react as the Vanitas within the mirror launched a punch at him. Coming out of the mirror as though passing through a veil of water, Vanitas’ fist connected with Grey’s face, and a blast of darkness added to the strike knocked Grey away. As Grey struggled to right himself in the air, another mirror moved behind him and Vanitas appeared upon it, striking him in the spine with a crushing kick from within the mirror. Just as quickly as the others, the third mirror came up in front of Grey at that instant and Vanitas appeared on it as well, slamming his knee into Grey’s jaw with a rising knee kick while he was still reeling from the strike from behind. Falling out of the air to crash onto the floor of the sanctuary, as Grey slowly struggled up and clutched his bleeding lip, he found the mirrors circling around him, and Vanitas’ voice said, “As you can see, I can pass back through the mirror whenever I choose, although I unfortunately cannot bring weapons stolen from my opponents along with me. I’m afraid you’ll have to destroy the mirror while I’m in it if you want to force me out.”

            Spying Vanitas’ reflection in one of the mirrors, Grey lunged at it and swung a sword, and although Vanitas’ image vanished from it, the mirror was easily destroyed by Grey’s strike. Turning to the two remaining mirrors, as Vanitas appeared in one, he raised a blade at it and fired a sphere of True EDE. Sailing at the broken mirror, the sphere struck just as Vanitas vanished, destroying the mirror in a silver blast. Facing the last remaining mirror as Vanitas appeared upon it, Grey smirked and said, “You might want to hide behind something a little harder to break.” Not showing the faintest bit of concern, Vanitas replied, “Did you forget Grey? Nihilum Vitro was already broken, yet it still persists. Similarly, if you destroy one of the mirrors during Doppleglass when I’m not there, it only becomes stronger.” Hearing the crackling of the reforming glass, Grey turned back to see the frames of the destroyed mirrors restore themselves to their original forms as the fragments of mirrored glass put themselves back together into cracked mirrored surfaces once more, and watched in further disbelief as they blurred like before, each broken mirror creating two new copies. Now surrounded by seven of Vanitas’ Nihilum Vitro, Grey laughed nervously and said, “I might have just kicked my own a*s…”

            Swooping in on Grey, Vanitas gave him no time to rest. Taking blow after blow, Grey struggled to learn his movements and discern some pattern, slowly showing progress finally as Vanitas willed a mirror to charge him from the front and launched a punch from within. Dodging the punch, Grey quickly moved to strike, but stopped and ducked as another mirror came from the left and Vanitas’ tried to connect his fist with his head. Both mirrors backing off, another one came at Grey from behind, and he quickly whirled about to block with his forearm as Vanitas thrust his foot out of the mirror to deliver a powerful kick. Quickly Vanitas pulled his outstretched limb back into the mirror and vanished, and watching warily as the mirrors backed off and circled around him, waiting for him to show any openings, Grey tried to shake off the pain from his pummelling and called out, “Don’t suppose we could talk for a bit? I got a few questions about something…” Answering from the mirrors, Vanitas’ voice said, “Oh? You’re not thinking of stalling for time are you?” Not sure why he was thinking about it now of all times, Grey nevertheless felt compelled to ask as he said, “All that stuff you said about Alastor, that someone orchestrated everything leading him to become the way he is now… Was that just a lie, or was it true?”

            Sounding somewhat displeased, Vanitas replied, “What does it matter? Even if what I said before were true, it would include the things I said about there being no chance of reasoning with him. Regardless of truth or fiction, the ultimate result is the outcome of his own choices, influenced or not. What do you intend to do if it were true anyways? Did Eazel beg you against your better judgement to bring him back from the darkness?” Seen through in an instant, Grey desperately said, “He’s right though! It’s just who I am! If there’s some hope, some slight chance, even if…” Hesitating only briefly, Grey determinedly finished, “Even if I can’t forgive him, I can’t give up on someone who might still deserve a second chance! Letting go of the past and it’s prejudices, putting an end to anger and hate, living without fear or regret… If I can’t look for hope where there may be none, I’ll never be able to fulfill my ideals!” His mirrors coming to a halt, Vanitas appeared in a mirror in front of Grey and said, “Doppleganger.” The other mirror’s surfaces glowing with power, as EDE emanated from them into the air, the energy took the form of six additional Vanitas clones that all quickly retreated into their respective mirrors. A Vanitas in every mirror now, all of them said, “Then you may as well hand your power over to me and be done with it. With or without a heart, the hollow known as Alastor Bastille will never relinquish his twisted ideal… and I will not serve someone who intends to squander his life trying to change that.”

            Looking around at the seven images of Vanitas in the mirrors surrounding him, Grey could see this discussion was going nowhere, and simply said, “I’m guessing hitting a clone will be the same as a miss, huh?” All of Vanitas’ reflections promptly replied in unison, “Correct.” Circling around Grey again, some moving clockwise while others moved counterclockwise, the mirrors of Nihilum Vitro awaited Vanitas’ command, and they did not wait long. Grey quickly dodged as a mirror came at him from the right and the Vanitas within swung a fist at him, only to dodge again as another mirror came after him with a kick from its occupant. Then as those mirrors backed off, Grey saw a Vanitas in the mirror in front of him extend a hand out of the mirror and face its palm at him, channeling EDE into it and unleashing a storm of dark energy spheres at him. Raising his swords before him, Grey countered with his EDE Dissipation, dispelling the dark spheres, but was suddenly struck as a Vanitas from the mirror that came up behind him clobbered him in the back of the head. Staggering forward, Grey could not manage to evade as a mirror came from both sides and a pair of reflections double teamed him, striking him with fierce punches and kicks.

            The assault finally ended as another mirror came in from the front and knocked Grey flat on his back with a powerful thrust kick. Groaning in pain as he laid there a moment, Grey sat up to watch the mirrors circling around him again, and Vanitas called out to him, “What’s wrong? Isn’t it about time you come up with one of your clever plans to defeat my Nihilum Vitro?” Rising to his feet once more, Grey momentarily glared at the images of Vanitas surrounding him, but then he flashed a smirk and absorbed both his swords into his arms as he replied, “Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it!” Moving in again, the mirrors assailed Grey one after another, and dodging and ducking their strikes, Grey watched carefully. Blocking another punch with his forearm and then turning to deflect another that came from behind with his hand, Grey thought, “Focus, he’s here somewhere…” Another mirror swooped in and the Vanitas within thrust his knee out in a powerful knee kick, and barely dodging and then blocking a punch from another mirror, Grey thought to himself, “It’s one crazy ability, and against anyone else it might be the perfect defense. But as long as I pay attention, I can defeat it!”

            Coming from the front and the back, two mirrors closed in and each of their reflections swung their fists, but blocking the one from the front with one arm, Grey used his other arm to grab hold of the arm of the Vanitas from the mirror that had come from behind. As the Vanitas showed a look of mild surprise, Grey grinned and said, “Gotcha!” Struggling to withdraw his arm, the Vanitas said, “Yes, you have me. But is this the real me?” The other mirrors all closing in around them, as the reflections within extended their arms and charged up dark energy attacks, the Vanitas in Grey’s grasp added, “You’d best be sure…” His grin widening, Grey quickly replied, “Your arm looks pretty real to me!” Drawing back his other arm, Grey powered it up with Void Charge and fired a punch straight through the mirror, and Vanitas seemed to appear from nowhere behind the mirror as it shattered, taking the punch that went clean through his Nihilum Vitro and flying across the sanctuary to crash into the wall.

            As Grey slowly walked over to him slumped against the wall, Vanitas looked up at him and weakly said, “Being caught while within a mirror makes me greatly susceptible to damage… It seems it was a mistake to use Doppleganger, your knowledge of the doubles’ bodies was my downfall…” Crossing his arms with a somewhat irritated look on his face, Grey replied, “Don’t bother, we both know it wasn’t a mistake. You never wanted to win in the first place. The hint that helped me beat your first clone and the final ability you used, they were both openings you created on purpose to help me win.” Displeased to be found out so easily, Vanitas placed a hand on his chest where Grey’s Void Charged punch had struck him and muttered, “I wasn’t really trying to lose you know. In no way did I hold back, but it appears something possessed me to act strangely and create those very openings you spoke of. That aside… even if I have lost, as shameful as it may be I cannot keep my word and give you my power unless you swear to me that you will give up on Alastor.” Both staring each other down in silence, after a tense moment Grey suddenly said, “Then I’ll take it by force…” Reaching down and grabbing Vanitas by the collar, Grey hoisted him up. Vanitas did not resist. He merely closed his eyes and waited for the end. Raising a hand up and channeling EDE into it, Grey prepared to use an energy attack.

            Suddenly opening his eyes as he heard the sound of shattering glass, Vanitas saw Grey with his hand aimed at a point behind him and slightly to the side. Turning his head, he saw from the corner of his eye that Grey had shot out one of the tall windows of the sanctuary, and he started to ask, “What are you…?” Dragging Vanitas along with him, Grey quickly made his way to the window and leaped out of it into the space beyond. Falling through swirling colors together with Grey, Vanitas looked over at him in surprise and said, “How did you know? The space beyond my sanctuary, how did you know that the key to combining our two powers and summoning the Seventh Spirits would be to expose yourself to the energies within it?” Crossing his arms smugly as he fell endlessly, Grey replied, “‘Return to nothing’ right? When I unsealed the All Heart, your power outside started to react to the fact that the element of Light was nearby. Plus, you had me jump out those damn windows every time we went digging through Alastor’s heart, so I thought to myself that there had to be some reason. You absorbed Alastor’s heart when the Nameless One was put inside me in order to keep him from noticing it, right? This space, this sanctuary, it’s all a part of you, isn’t it? The sanctuary just exists so that even if you were to lose to someone bearing the Light, you wouldn’t have to keep your end of the deal if you didn’t want to.”

            Unable to believe it, as Vanitas saw he was defeated, he sighed in surrender and said, “You’re still going to try and save him, aren’t you?” Stubbornly, Grey replied, “There’s still a chance, Eazel was sure of it! At the very least, I’m going to make my decision once I’m sure I fully understand him. I’m still not sure I like the idea of trying to save him, but even if it’s a tall order to pull off, I’m not the kind of person who gives up just because the odds are against me!” Then Grey uncrossed his arms with a smirk and extended his hand to Vanitas as he added, “You got it? Your Lord isn’t giving up just yet!” Shaking his head, with a reluctant smile Vanitas took hold of Grey’s hand, and as colors swirled around them, he replied, “To think even a mortal such as you could get the best of me like this. I’m truly looking forward to your rule, Infinite One…”