[i] Lance blinked once..lucky for him eye seals didn't take much effort to release. His left eye swirled in a pooling mass of Purples and blacks, shadowy energy falling from his eye and down his cheek. A vortex erupted in the air, a swirling mass that swallowed flame and bullets alike. There was another part to that seal, but Lance didn't feel it necessary. Not after what was happening to Lucien's body. From the lower half of his torso, markings had begun to crawl over his skin. Almost like the markings were alive, they flowed across his body unnaturally.. Kanji, one symbol. The same one painted onto Lance's hilt. He pointed the blade at Lucien, his voice reduced to a raspy growl, like stone on stone. [/i] "This, is the Muramasa. My [i]Youtou.[/i] A blade that has taken so many lives, it is only sated by more blood. The Kanji on your skin is a death curse, one that is older than both you and me, and most other beings. A curse that gets stronger after each life it has taken, and is triggered once it has wounded a person. Once activated..it can't be broken." [i] The way Lance fought, the almost visible weight of the countless deaths on his shoulders..it wasn't hard to guess how strong that curse was. What Lance didn't tell him was the flip side of the coin, but that wasn't necessary right now. Nor did he feel like talking any more than he had to.[/i] "We can end this right now Lucien. One ending, we both walk out of here alive. The second, neither of us does." [i] Even though Lance liked to think he had Lucien caught, there was no doubt in his mind Lucien could kill him if he chose, even if it meant dying.[/i] "I'll even buy you a drink for your troubles." [i] Lance says with a half-hearted grin.[/i]