"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."