[i] Desmond's eyes widened as he spat out the flesh and promptly turned to the side, throwing up whatever food he'd had in his stomach into the grass. He gasped for air, turning to Lucien.[/i] "I'm..like you now. I have another being inside of me.." [i] He uttered, staring at the revolver pointed at him. Something told him if something had went wrong, Lucien wouldn't have hesitated to shoot him..not one bit.[/i]

"A piece of their divided God," Lucien said with a grim chuckle. "That is what the Abbatial believed in - that all Infected abominations were divided parts of their God. You'll need to feed, Desmond. I shall teach you to feed without tasting the flesh of your victims." Lucien stands up and walks behind Desmond, picking up the furry body of something he hadn't realized was there. It was a wolf, injured and crippled. Its front paws were burnt clean off whilst its eyes were boiled from the inside out. It whimpered and practically begged for death. "Concentrate on your body. Will it to shift into anything - an arm into claw or a mass of fanged tendrils, mouths to open within your palms to feast upon your meal, anything of the sort. Now feed, boy."

[i] Desmond looked down at the wolf and felt..hungry. No..he wasn't hungry, the thing inside him was. The Black Ram..it had been called. They were one and the same now though. It's hunger, was his hunger. He outstretched an arm, willing his hand to do what Lucien had instructed. With a grotesque transformation, from his elbow down became a mass of thick tendrils, with tiny mouths on each that gnashed with hungry teeth. They leapt at the wolf, ripping it apart in a matter of seconds and and tearing it to pieces, absorbing into Desmond's body. The worst part..it felt [b]great.[/b] Like he'd been starving and he'd just feasted. Wounds and burns on his body began to heal and knit themselves back together, all to the shocked expression of Desmond.[/i] "Jesus..."

"Yes, that's it. Do you feel the wolf within you now? They say you assimilate its genetic code, able to use it once more through your inoculation. But either you use your own flesh as material or find sustenance beforehand," Lucien continues. He gestures to a pile of various animal parts, with Eve's dismembered limbs included. They seemed to be an ample amount that was roughly equatable to the wolf's mass. "Mutated stem cell regeneration virus. In layman's terms, the virus allows for you to have control over your mutated stem cells. This allows for such things as creating living thralls of your bodies - proxies, as the Iconoclast calls them. Create the wolf in your image."

"Like those sparrows." [i] Desmond muttered, holding out both arms. In a grotesque show of tendrils and blackish, purple flowing energy, a wolf took form on the ground. But not just any wolf, no. It was equal in size to the one he'd absorbed, except for the murderous looking spikes running down its flanks and legs. That, and the fact it had two heads. Both snarling and frothing at the mouth, with one too many rows of sharpened teeth. The oddest thing though, was the fact the entire thing didn't look like it was made of flesh. No, it was made, or rather covered, in a glossy black oily substance.[/i] "The Ka'kari.."

"Interesting shape. They say a proxy reflects their creator - and judging how your relic adapted to it... I believe that such a statement is the most true when it comes to your ability, Desmond." Just as he says this, a sparrow lands atop Lucien's shoulder smelling of brimstone, with tendons still hanging from beneath its black feathers. "Considering the Infected I inoculated you with was quite powerful, it is most probable that your powers have extended into your proxy," he states as the sparrow flows a faint bioluminescent blue.

"It isn't a power." [i] He says bluntly. Focusing for a moment, his arm shifts into a mass of mouth covered tendrils once again, absorbing the wolf into his body and fully healing the cuts and burns on him. There was still the issue of the Red Ka'karifer... That damn thing was supposed to have created Mount Veseril.. so why did Revenant have it? To Desmond's knowledge, up until today, the only remaining Ka'kari were the black, brown, and silver. Now there was the Red to worry about..[/i]

"I use it as a broad term. You look to be worried, boy. What was it about that man with the fire? The one who made a comment about your... Ka'kari, is it? Yes." Lucien was beginning to put the strings together in his own mind. The comments the man made about having two of those relics, the way they were matched against each other as well as Desmond's strange blade. Speaking of which... Lucien tossed Iures towards him, remembering that he wouldn't need it if he didn't have to mercy-kill Desmond.

"He has a Ka'kari, like mine." [i] Desmond caught Iures, but it vanished once within Desmond's grasp. Strange..[/i] "The Ka'kari are sentient magical artifacts that choose a host, giving that extraordinary abilities depending on the Ka'kari. My Ka'kari, the Black, was the original one. A man by the name of Ezra The Mad decided to replicate its abilities, but ended up with six, inferior Ka'kari." "The Red, Green, Blue, Silver, Brown, and White. Some of those are lost or destroyed, courtesy of my former master. The Red was supposed to be at the heart of a volcano.." "Until now. Ka'karifers, those who wield Ka'kari, are extremely rare and dangerous. And that man, Revenant, wielded his with ridiculous skill."

"Well judging by the resources they have, I wouldn't be too surprised at the acquisition of such items. With that kind of gear, I would believe anything is possible with their tech." Lucien paused and holstered his gun before speaking once more. "Sentient magical artifacts? Ah, I see. I recall a voice other than yours speaking within my mind earlier. If the Ka'kari are mostly hidden within volatile locations, may I inquire as to why they haven't collected more?"

[i] Desmond shook his head and shrugged.[/i] "I don't know. Only two of those, the Silver and the Brown are still up for grabs. Where they are, is anybodies guess. The Blue was destroyed and created the Tlixini Maelstrom back home. The Green was destroyed and covered an entire country in forest land." [i] Desmond says, smiling as if he was remembering something.[/i] "The White is lost in Ezra's Wood..which is a place no one dares venture. As for why they can't find the Silver and Brown, i don't know. When the Ka'kari are lost..they are lost. Most people spend their lives searching for them. My master spent 20 years searching for one, and never found it."

"And your Ka'kari has the power to corrode - or something similar, correct? It seemed to eat all of the flames that man threw your way. Your ability with it is malleable as well, since I have seen you weave it around yourself like armour. I suggest you train more with the Black Ram, Desmond. Learn it, extend it through your body. I don't suggest trying to comprehend it, however. Such things have driven men mad. How do I deal with it? I don't doubt myself of the demon within me. And I use that term broadly - I do not believe in God, nor His angels or demons. I only believe in monsters and men, as well as the monsters hiding within men." Lucien looks at Desmond carefully before glancing at his own blade. "I can forge you a... Weapon of sorts, if you so desire. They call them Youtou; weapons with strains of Infected living within them. I created Talidikkit a long time ago, and it contains a separately-bred strain of my own Inoculation that has developed almost into its own being. But I warn you. The path you walk now is one of a monster."

"I've walked the path of a monster ever since I took Durzo's offer, Lucien." [i] Desmond said, glancing at him sideways.[/i] "I'm already in deep, might as well take whatever plunges there are left. So yeah. Forge me a Youtou. God knows I've got enough demons already, one more won't hurt."

"Be wary, boy. Your indifference may be the end of you. Would you like me to modify that blade of yours into a Youtou or have me create a new one? And if I were to forge a new one, anything specific design-wise?" While Lucien disapproved of Desmond's disposition, he knew it was necessary to give him a Youtou not only for convenience, but to grant him further control over the Black Ram; a medium of sorts to wield it. But with the Youtou came a danger. The danger of creating a new demon.

"No. Retribution stays how it is." [i] He says, sounding almost defensive. And he was, it was the only thing Durzo had left him. [/i] "A curved blade. No longer than a katana, but specifics doesn't entirely matter." [i] It really didn't. He was trained with every weapon under the sun. [/i]

Lucien bites his tongue within his mouth. No regard for fine weaponry - kids these days. "So be it then. I must extract part of your spinal fluid for the Youtou. Show be the back of your neck, please." He brings out a heavier-looking syringe and gives it a tiny knock before looking back at Desmond.

[i] Desmond appreciated fine weaponry..as long as it had a sharp edge. Weapons weren't supposed to be pretty..there were no poets in the bitter business. Desmond would bludgeon someone to death just as well as open their throats with a sword.[/i] [i]He turned around, offering the back of his neck to Lucien's massive syringe. [/i]

As Lucien stabs the heavy tip in, Desmond feels his skin literally crawl with uncomfortableness. It was as if the beast within him could sense both the syringe and Lucien himself. It was somewhat painful having the cauterizing needle stab into his flesh and into his spinal cord. Lucien quickly drew the fluid from the marrow and withdrew the needle as to not agitate the Ram any further.

[i] Desmond hisses as he withdraws quickly from the needle..as a question came to his mind.[/i] "Lucien, why is it that you don't have this being inside of you? Right alongside yours?"

Lucien looks down grimly for a moment before responding, eyes still not meeting Desmond's. "Because that beast was once contained within the half-living corpse of my brother. Let me tell you the story, Desmond. Once I was wronged by my brother and my former home, sold to people who tortured me and tested every limit of mine. I escaped and trained with a group called the Tribals - hunters who sought to destroy every last Infected. I learned their skill under the guise of joining their cause. And for a while I wanted to - but hatred always brought me back to my original goal. One night I tracked down one of the strongest Infected abominations, a worshipped being dubbed the "angel" of the people. So I devoured it and took its power for my own. Then I... I came back to my home. I slaughtered the entire settlement. Devoured every man, woman and child there was. Until I came to my brother's home. I cut down his wife with ease. I.... still remember her surprise as my blade flicked across her throat. So easy, how human skin tears... We fought. It ended with me standing over him amidst the flames of his home. I soon heard a cry as I prepared to end my brother's life - his infant child. And that is when I felt the weight of my vengeance and realized what I had done out of rage. So I made a blood promise to my dying brother. I would take his son and teach him all there is - then I would let him decide my fate. Decades after I came across something. The Abbatial, a church that worships the Infected, had created a new type of weapon. A vessel of sorts for Infected, where they would knit and fuse flesh to create a host for an abomination. I found a record of a recent experiment of theirs where they converted someone into this kind of body, this Godvessel of sorts, from the outside in. They hardened his flesh but kept the man inside of it just barely alive. They found that man in Auburn Steppes, nary a breath of life in him. They found my brother and turned him into a monster. Funny how hatred and vengeance have a tendency to breed our own demons. Because the Abbatial sent this new assassin of theirs after me whilst I was travelling with Alister, who did not know his father had been turned into a monstrosity. So I did what I should have done. I ended his suffering, but I could not bring myself to devour him. Not after hurting him so much already. Now the beast that had consumed him resides in you."

[i] Desmond trace a hand over his heart, where he'd felt that child being put into his cut open chest. The monster inside of him had devoured Lucien's brother..[/i] "I suppose I owe you some answers too. The Black Ka'kari has several applications, its known as The Devourer, like you observed, it can absorb attacks. But.." [i] He pauses, holding out a palm. Through his skin seeps an oily black substance, thick almost like tar, but much smoother. It formed into an [url=https://imgur.com/a/Pk2Oz]orb[/url], one that pulsed with magical energy and was inscribed all around with runic designs.[/i] "It also makes me immortal. Immortal to time, but I can still die. The cost of being brought back from the dead, is the life of a loved one." [i]Now it made sense. Why he hadn't wanted to die, and why he'd said he'd come back and kill him. If Lucien had let him die, he would've killed a loved one.[/i]

"I have great respect for you then. To carry on the weight of a monster in order to save a life you hold dear... I wish I had that selflessness in my younger years." Lucien looks back up at Desmond as he puts the syringe within the folds of his coat. "I'll be seeing you soon. I heard this dead 'Phoenix' of the Dojo had a weapons shop hidden in the local cafe. Strange how similar this man and I... I don't trouble myself too much with it though. I may investigate, see if I can find other weapons there."