Trial of a Thousand Stairs

Forbidden Temple, entrance

Forbidden Temple, Antechamber

Forbidden Temple, Lost Corridor

Forbidden Temple, Trial of Ascension

Cautiously, the Jashinist moved on to the centre of the room. Here it was. The Trial of Ascension where the power over black raiton would be made hers. Maryssa had expected a pedestal of sorts. Holding a scroll with the secrets on how to get it, but instead there was just an empty space in front of stairs leading to what looked like a mirror. When she reached the middle, she looked up as if expecting lightning to strike her on the spot, but other than a solemn quietude there was nothing to be found at a first glance. Taking out the notes she had, she flipped through the pages in search of something. Anything. A note that would help her forward perhaps, a scribble of a thought that was caught yet forgotten. Nothing. Throwing the pages to the ground, she stomped in frustration and ran her hand through her short hair. Was this gods be damned all there was to it? An empty area? No. She remembered well the words of the hermit that had confirmed the existence of this temple, so there had to be something. Then she spotted it. In front of the mirror, a robed entity.

Bingo.

She'd address the presence, who in response moved closer. Walking down the stairs until it had the last step. Asking what was to come, the robed figure didn't reply, and the moment she decided in approaching the figure, black raiton shot out of the sky. Brutally striking her, she was forced down to her knees as she had not expected its power. Clothes cindered, fumes rose from her scorched body. Lucky for her she was no push-over, knowing well that such a hit would have killed just about every of her other allies. She had known though. She had known since she had beholden the power attracted by the black raiton rods. The black clouds, the black thunder, that black power that had made her heart race; a heart she had believed to be dead for so long. To think the person who had brought these rods to the countries now was of a mind to stop her from succeeding her greatest hero... Maryssa should her head. No, unlike many others who could not see the vision of unity Hastur wanted for the world, she knew she had to go on. For the sake of the world. For Jashin. For Hastur who had paved the road of possibilities. She'd have to become the next 'dark god'. And so she did.

Rising back to her feet, she'd defy the cloaked figure. Strengthening her resolve as she raised her chin. Her request was answered. A second bolt, possibly fiercer than the first sent her reeling again, the whole room blinded in darkness for just a fraction of a second. It trembled under the fury of the temple, reminding mortals such as herself exactly why this was a place not to be sullied by the meek and worthless. Maryssa, forced to kneel once more, felt its dark violence course through her body. Eradicating her raiton chakra as an impurity to impose itself within her system. Her body refused to respond, left to the mercy of a third strike that smote her flat on the ground. Divine punishment as it were, for her transgressions. She cried out in agony.

---

Thunder roared through the hallways. The ritual had begun, clarifying that Mizuki had been too late to stop them. Black raiton fell once again in the hands of the Jashinists; the legacy of the dark god not extinguished just yet. When she arrived within the inner section of the temple, those fears indeed took form as Maryssa rose to her feet, beads of perspiration still visible on her face. She looked in the direction where the figure had stood to find nothing at all, and then proceeded to face Mizuki. A wry smile crossed Maryssa's face as she lifted her hands in self-gratifying victory. "I hate it to break it to you but... before you stands the rightful heir to the dark god's promise." "You have my respect. It is no mean feat to pass the Trial of Ascension from what I heard. However, I must apologise for my necessity to stop you nonetheless. Hastur may be a god to you but he brought naught but suffering and distress to his own people." "Silence! You like so many others simply do not see the grand paradise he had in sight! All could have lived under his rule and find a place. Faith would not have mattered! For once, we too would be beholden a home. A home you and your treacherous morons just had to destroy, didn't you?" "No. You misunderstood our intentions. We did not come to stop faith. We came to stop the zealous onslaught on the world. The sacrifice of innocence who did not ask to be indoctrinated. The persistent terror on the weak. And the tyrannic conquering of civilisations where rightful punishment would not have had a place." "Oh spare me. You were the one who heralded his name. You were the one who invited us in! You knew well enough what this was about!" "Hastur promised protection and the restoration of Kumogakure's martial glory. He never spoke of this. He never spoke of death and destruction as far as the eyes could see." "You can not achieve unity without sacrifices. Had you not been so naive, you would have known." "You are right. I was naive. Blinded by the suffering and loss of my family. But having grown out of that, I understood that it was my duty to right the mistakes I have made. I brought this upon the world, so it goes without say that I should do what I can to remove this infection before I find punishment for my transgressions." "Infection?! You said too much... Let me show you the power I now hold. The key with which Hastur's dreams will be fulfilled..."

Black chakra filled Maryssa's hands before it violently lashed out at the hermit. Ducking just in time, she'd see the lance of energy crackle against the wall of the temple and bite a good chunk out of it. Despite raising her arms to shield herself against the flying debris that came loose from the collision, pieces scraped across her skin.

"How do you like this, huh?!"
"Raw power without the discipline to direct it is a waste of potential.", she retorted while running up the walls to circle around her opponent; the three pillars of the Raiu Dojo well imprinted within her mind as they had been repeated over and over again in the course of years. Her father had always said that a man with all power but no mastery could still lose from a rival with less power but with mastery. Quality above quantity, simply said. While there was no doubt the female Jashinist was not to be trifled with, it looked very much like she made the same mistake many of her fellow dead allies did - they relied too much on their god; or rather, they relied too much on external power rather than internal mastery.

Bolt after bolt of black raiton crashed into the stone walls near her, tearing chunks of old stone from the mountain in which the temple was built. Desecrating a temple that should never have been found. Drunk on power and blinded by hatred, it looked like nothing was to be spared in the desperate attempt to restore a dream they had shattered by their own brazen actions. But it was hard to feel pity for a fallen empire when they flung death bolts at you like they were handing out candies. Feeling a need to take off some pressure, Mizuki formed hand seals of herself and fired back. The bright light of her Laser Circus opposing the inky darkness of Kaminari, the beam split into a multitude of tiny spears that forced Maryssa to cease her onslaught and move from her position in turn. Burning the ground where she had stood, the storm beams had not succeeded at hitting their target.

Pushing herself off of the wall towards the new position of Maryssa, Mizuki rested her hand on Seiun, ready to swiftly slash through the woman as soon as she was within striking distance. Her offence was met with a strong defence, raiton chakra fired at the hermit in a straight line. Drawing her katana prematurely, Seiun would eat the raiton chakra in defence of Mizuki, proving exactly why it was named the 'Immortal Blade' by coming out of the clash unscathed. With her iaijutsu denied, Mizuki landed next to Maryssa instead, following up instantly with a vertical slash which the Jashinist avoided by jumping backwards to create distance between the two.

"Why don't you die already?"
"May I remind you that I'm not unfamiliar with black raiton?"
"The rods are nothing compared to the real thing."
"I beg to differ."

The hermit could know. The power called forward by the black raiton rods were nothing the sort she had ever met. Not then, not ever after had she faced a technique or power that rivalled it in the slightest. Even Takao's 'Rasenshuriken' technique she was forced to deal with in the Siege of Inabayama was but a breeze in the wind compared to the unfathomable energy the rods had revealed. While the question of how Hastur had ever been able to get his hands on such rods would remain forever unanswered, the fact remained that Mizuki's perceptions about power were different from many others in life - one boasted myth no one would ever be capable of breaking about Hastur was that, indeed, he might well have been one of the most powerful men by far to have walked the Sagaverse to this day.

No time left to to bicker, Maryssa recreated a signature technique often associated with the black thunder - the Black Panther Technique. Crackling with pure malice, these panthers didn't hesitate to rush towards Mizuki, carving a path within the temple grounds where they set their chakra feet. Their movement speed was terrifying for a B-rank to say the least. With little time to fend of the chakra beasts, Mizuki called upon an old technique to defend herself. Not one that would suffice to break the incoming panthers but one that would suffice to weaken them. The rest would be up to the hermit, the notorious 'Lightning Demon of Iwagakure' as the bandits of the Infinity Gang had come to know her. Releasing raw raiton chakra all around her, Starlight Extinction clashed with the black thunder panthers. Stripped of most impact power, they nonetheless struck the hermit as they shrugged off her own counter-technique.

"Got you.", Maryssa grinned, believing she had found a way to deal with the hermit. Early victory was soon stripped as the hermit rose to her feet with barely a scratch, leaving the Jashinist blinking in disbelieve. Dusting off herself and Doku Kyo, the hermit's trusted cloak, her blue-green eyes bore into that of the Jashinist with the spark of willpower only few had seen from the young woman. "This is not possible..."
"Allow me to enlighten you as to why this is no miracle. I am the daughter of a Kaminari and a Raiu. Either by blood or by experience, of all elements, raiton is the least favourable choice you could have made. As I came to tell you, I'm not unfamiliar with black raiton. It is, for all its legendary power, still raiton."

As if she had been knocked down from a pedestal, Maryssa seemed to sober up at those words. She eyed the hands that had fired off the lightning of legends and allowed the words of the hermit to sink in. A soft nod showed her understanding, and new resolve flickered with the Jashinist's eyes.

"I should have known Hastur didn't take just anyone to spread his name. Allow me to correct my mistake; I won't be underestimating you any longer, Herald."
"Hastur is dead. I'm no longer his Herald."
"You can tell that himself once I'm done with you."

When the words were spoken, lightning tendrils coursed around her body as if to recharge the woman. Then, stretching her hands upwards, she allowed the lightning to carve out the rocks above Mizuki, forcing an avalanche of rocks on top of the woman. Jumping away to the best of her abilities, the rocks were simply too big and too many to fully dodge the collapse. Seeing her self trapped, she'd summon a clone of herself under the cover of a forming dust cloud, push it out of harm's way and allow the rocks to bury the original. Allowing her clone to keep up appearances, Mizuki kneeled under the cover of the rocks and meditated to allow herself a moment of repose. It would be up to her clone now to handle things for a while.

Spoiler:

Clonezuki, 115/135 - POOF!:

Mizuki, 265/420, 125/140:

255/420, 105/140: