Convergence at Castle Mazoku [C]

When the story came to it's edge, Helix's crestfallen horror in Nai had turned into volatile depression. Xylo lashed out, calling out Nai and naming him a parasite upon Helix's consciousness.

Xylo closed his eyes, and for a moment, a swell of emotion took over the two dragon castes, before words eventually broke through the veil, echoing outwards over the three intertwined minds.

"Xylo, I—" Helix gasped softly, but before he could finish, the mental plane around them twisted into a new scene. A dark cave of the mazoku. Helix struggled to understand the glimpse of a vision, but Nai was far more interpretive.

Helix struggled, trying to find something—anything to say. But between Nai's lamentation and Xylo's frustration, he was overwhelmed by their combined emotion. Unlike his brother, he didn't even attempt to hold back a tear.

"I cannot express the extent of my regret," Nai spoke aloud, his head lowering ever so slightly, "I am so sorry for what I did to you, and to your father." Nai's hands quivered and folded together. It took a lot to move the mountain of a namekian. "And to you, Helix." Nai knew there was nothing he could say that could overshadow his actions.

Helix shut his eyes.

Helix chuckled at his brother's assessment of the situation, unable to suppress the grin forming under his tears. "Sure—" he shifted in his sitting position, letting out a half chuckle half sniffle. "Oh porunga," Helix finished, now laughing louder as he wiped away his tears, caught up in the emotion of the moment.

"Kizuki—" Helix feigned a groan and then turned back to Xylo with a grin, "What a saiyan! I wonder where he's gone off to now?" He smiled at his brother, "I had him over for tea the other day you know. Such a strange man. But so principled too— There's something to respect about a man with principles. How about Kizuki for a king of the saiyans?" Helix half joked half rambled, now caught up in his suddenly jovial mood.

Nai couldn't help but wear a smile too: it was a beautiful thing, seeing two brothers of separate castes get along like that.

"No— I'm still myself. Nai is separate, sometimes he gives me advice, things like that. He's never brought me down inside myself like this though, it is quite the strange experience…"

"Apologies for that as well," Nai spoke in a much lower tone than either of the brothers with a tentative smile, "I figured we had to have a family meeting." Nai breathed in a heavy breath and then added something offhandedly. "And speaking of family, I've got a few namekians I'd love for you to meet."

With those words, Nai's eyes burst into a bright white light, and suddenly his body began to rapidly vibrate left and right, as streaks of green shot out of his sides. No— Those were no streaks of color, they were rapidly multiplying namekians!

Soon, hundreds of namekians sat cross legged side by side, forming a massive circle around the two brothers. Each one wore unique namekian garbs indicative of their own time period and caste. "This is the network of ancient namekian knowledge that every guru has access too. This is the reason why the guru is so deeply respected, and his knowledge is esteemed so highly."

The circle of namekians seemed to go on forever, and was still expanding by the minute. All shapes and sizes of namekians sat in peaceful serenity, their spirits called upon effortlessly by Nai's trigger. Helix's eyes widened in awe as he leapt to his feet, looking out across the sea of wise namekian masters. "Oh father porunga above—" The relatively young dragon caste was clearly overwhelmed by the sight.

"There are rituals that most gurus go through to gain access to the spiritual network—" Nai said with a tone of firmness, "But since you've got me inside of you, you get to take the shortcut!" The fat elder laughed with a jolly boom.

Suddenly though, Xylo turned to Helix. "Oh—" the prophet scratched his head, "No, I think we're done here— Grandmaster Nai?" He turned to Nai. "We can continue this conversation shortly, correct?"

The elder nodded, and Helix turned back to Xylo. "Yes, I believe everything is in order." He paced over to his brother and held out a hand to help him to his feet. "Let's go then!"

Helix helped his brother to his feet with a smile and then turned to Nai and the surrounding Namekians, humbled by their stoic glares of wisdom. "I'll return in a little bit," Helix assured Nai with a salute. Although the terror of Nai's crime was not completely forgiven, something of a bond had been forged in the rough waters of the earlier minutes. "—And, thank you for your honesty."

The large elder guru managed a quivering smile, and he nodded silently to his disciple. With that, Helix turned to his brother and put his hand on his forehead.

"Three, two—" Suddenly, the white world around them surged and bubbled into the black walls of the Mazoku castle, the illusion popping in just a moment. "One."

Helix's real world body sat, relaxed. But for some reason, his eyes and his forehead still seemed to be glowing white. He felt the heavy weight of generations of namekian knowledge: knowledge not just in history, but in magic, and in combat. It seemed as if this knowledge channeled its way through his energy, magnifying it to incredible extents. He was essentially a lightning rod for the strength of namekians of the past.

"Does something feel different to you?" Helix looked over at Xylo, and then reached up to scratch his brow. Suddenly, he noticed the white reflection of his glowing eyes on his hand. "Oh—" The guru sure wished there was a mirror around here somewhere.

He stood up and looked at himself in the polished reflection of the war table, nearly jumping with surprise at his new form. "It seems as if our time inside my mental plane has triggered something," Helix pondered, and then paused, "Or perhaps it was Nai's activation of the namekian spirit network. Either way, it seems as if I am in some sort of altered state in the physical world as well."

Just thinking about it, the guru was suddenly flooded with knowledge and memories of past namekian scholars, explaining every in and out of his current form. It was called the Spirit State, and he was able to access any of the memories, knowledge or techniques of his ancestors through it. "Y-Yes, it is definately linked to the spirit network then," Helix said outloud, updating his brother on the sudden rush of wisdom which he unknowingly tapped.

The prophet looked over at his brother, flexing his magic and causing the stone below his feet to burst into flowers. This new ascension held so much strength... Oh Porunga, he probably shouldn't go turning Xylo's floors into flowers! "S-Sorry about that!"

Helix couldn't help but grin at his brother's comment. For a moment, his mind lingered back to the early days, and their first official meeting— on the line to the afterlife. Xylo was a behemoth of a powerhouse, even back then. And Helix… He had been rather pathetic, in terms of his ability to defend those he loved.

Although the guru still believed that strength didn't matter, and that it was the passion in one's heart that was truly influential… It felt good to hear his brother affirm that he was now on the playing field, and that he could hold his own to protect namek if it ever came down to it. That is, if Xylo didn't get them both killed first.

A casual thought the life link between the two namekians triggered a massive catalyst of knowledge, drawing forth past experiences of the namekians lying within him. A namekian named Mantle had managed to unlink himself with his darker half by using the dragon balls, while another named Loot traveled to the demon realm and performed a dark ritual. The dragon balls— Helix would have to look in to that. In times like these, the Namekian underdog could use any advantage he could get. And speaking of advantages…

Helix turned to Xylo. Certainly, there was no doubt about it anymore— Some new knowledge in him made a previous idea of Helix's suddenly far more real. By using the life link between them, combined with the ancient guru ability to unlock potential…

Helix could unlock Xylo's potential: Then, he could use that to could magnify their life link, reverberating it as if he was strumming a guitar. And using the vibrations of the life link, he could trigger a reaction in Xylo's spiritual side, causing his magical potential and ki alike to "tune" and thus expand exponentially. It was incredible how all of the events suddenly lined up like this— Almost as if Porunga had fated it to be so…

Suddenly, a soldier burst through the door, bearing frantic news about Xylo's war. Helix frowned.

The question wasn't wether or not Helix could perform such a feat… The question was wether or not he should. The prophet bit his lower lip. He trusted his brother, that was certain. And the meeting in his mind had warmed his heart to the Mazoku's stubborn ways. But still— Such power… Was practically unfathomable.

Helix took a moment to consult the mathematician, Elder Sleug val Sloon, to triangulate just how much power he could unlock in his brother. The results were staggering. Helix became anxious at the thought: that kind of power was the sort of thing that won wars.

But it was also the sort of thing that made Emperors undefeatable, and their reigns eternal. Helix sucked in air anxiously as his brother stood to leave. He had to decide quickly: what mattered more to him, his brother's well being and ambitions, and by extension, his own life… Or preserving a namek of which Xylo was not the primary ruler.

"Brother, wait," Helix spoke softly, standing up and placing a hand on his shoulder. Helix's eyes and forehead markings faded back to their regular state: it seemed that when the prophet was not actively using his power, he appeared normal, yet his ki remained at the exponentially higher benchmark.

"There is a—" Helix had to think of a way to phrase this delicately, "There may be a way to turn the tides for you." He clenched his teeth, and looked gravely at his brother. "But it is no laughing matter—" He stuttered gravely, trying to impress some sense of responsibility on his brother, "It requires an attitude of utmost solemnity."

Helix's determined eyes widened with shock at Xylo's suggestion, and he almost laughed out loud. In fact, the suggestion took him so off guard that he nearly tripped as he walked alongside his brother, stumbling and waving his arms to keep from falling over for a phew seconds before regaining his balance.

"Oh Porunga no!" Helix was sweating now, and very awkward about the whole situation. "What an absurd suggestion..."

But his countenance turned grave once again as he got serious. "I can perform an ancient dragon caste ritual upon you— And unlock your potential. And it seems that—" Helix paused, trying to figure out how to phrase this, "It seems that the time for this is just right to resonate a deeper spiritual power within you."

The guru looked closely at Xylo, trying to impress the magnitude of the situation. "This is no small amount of strength, brother."

Helix was slightly taken aback by Xylo's sudden waves of warmth towards him. It seemed that to the mazoku, the offer was a significant gesture. The prophet felt a bit warm too, when his brother's hand landed on his shoulder firmly and assuringly.

The guru nodded silently, and gestured for Xylo to come back over to the war table. He knew his brother had to leave quickly, but maybe this gift would provide him with the strength he needed to succeed in battle and the strength he needed to find goodness in his heart when it mattered.

"Sit down," the dragon caste instructed gently, pulling out a chair for his brother and standing in front of it.

If the Mazoku took a seat, Helix's now faded forehead glow would roar back to life, shining like a spotlight for a moment. As the massive wall of light faded away, a connection of white light would linger between their foreheads.

It was the magiki manifestation of their life link. If it was to be torn right now, they both would die. There was no way to break it without ripping both of their souls from their mortal bodies. "Now then," the prophet spoke in a whisper, as if simply speaking too loudly could break the cord, "I don't have time for in depth explanations at the moment, but I'm certain you can infer everything that's necessary."

The room grew dark around them, darker and darker until their thin life link was the only illuminating presence in the suddenly blackened castle.

Carefully, Helix reached out and placed his finger just above the string. With every breath that he inhaled and xylo exhaled, the string vibrated ever so slightly: it moved with their life force. The faster it moved, the more their life forces resonated. Gently, the prophet wrapped the tips of his fingers around the thread.

He hesitated for a moment, and then breathed in and out heavily, steadying the quivering string. "Remain as still as possible—" Helix instructed quietly, almost speaking to himself more than his brother. His index finger crept closer and closer, and then lightly plucked the string.

A warm note rang out through the castle, specially attuned to the namekian eardrum, a tone of ultimate satisfaction. The sound reverberated, half physical half telepathically, echoing down the halls of the castle and likely reverberating quietly a few miles across the quiet planes.

The string was now wobbling rapidly, quivering in satisfying sinusoidal vibration. A short white aura surrounded both of the brothers individually. They teetered on the edge of the realm of the living. The resonance had been set: now, even if Helix did nothing to unlock his brother's potential, the Mazoku would still be able to tap into an incredibly powerful duality through his own diligent training.

But what Helix was about to do next would trigger it, immediately.

Helix couldn't help but feel the effects of the vibrations on his own body as well. "Do you feel that too?" he whispered, palms sweating with tension and excitement. This was as much a benefit for Xylo as it was for Helix: the prophet would likely never again get a chance to feel such powerful resonance with his other half.

Slowly lifting his palm, Helix maneuvered his hand over to his brother's finned forehead., placing down his hand so that his antennae lay just outside of his fingers, and his fin divided his hand between the middle and ring finger. His brother's fin seemed to be vibrating from the physical shaking power of the note, which was still echoing back and forth from the walls.

The string lingered on, snugly positioned between Helix's fingers, connecting back to the prophet's own forehead. "This is an ancient ritual, passed down from guru to guru in dragon caste history." The prophet smiled sheepishly in spite of himself. "It is possible that you will be the first Mazoku to ever experience such an activation."

His fingers gripped his brother's head ever so slightly tighter, and then relaxed, resting easily on his forehead. "You have to open your mind to me—" Helix warned his brother, on the very edge of breaking the stone barrier between him and his potential, "Allow me to feel your true potential, so I can find it, and unleash it."

Helix delved into his brother's mind, feeling a cold water trickling up through his body, starting at his feet and slowly moving up to engulf him entirely. Within seconds, the prophet was floating in his Xylo's mind.

As their breathing steadied, the string between Helix's fingers faded away, their life link going back into dormancy. But the harmonic note still resonated through the room, and showed no signs of stopping as it caused ripples in the spiritual water around him.

His hand's grip loosened on his brother's forehead, and he breathed in deeply. All of Xylo's life water seemed to be slowly flowing towards one place. All of the currents lead to a single root.

He had to swim deeper. The closer and more intimate he became with his brother's spirit, the chillier and more refreshing the water became. Finally, Helix felt the source of the waves, a large stone wall with a small pinprick of a hole in it. In spite of the tiny opening, the pressure was immense: water sprayed out of the opening like a jet, swirling out into the whirlpool that was his brother's power.

If he could open up this canal, the water flow would increase exponentially.

And so Helix placed his palm on the wall, just beside the small opening. He positioned his mind, feeling the resonance of the harmonics still bouncing throughout the room, and whispered an incantation. "Ravna poporando garindolo."

Cracks shot from his fingers through the stone wall, fanning outwards in a massive semicirle. And then, the final blow. "Piccolo."

The stone of the wall would erupt outwards in a mighty blast, fueled by the immense pressure of the water behind it. The tiny stream of potential that had generated such a massive whirlpool now opened up into a healthy flow, pouring out like a roaring river. The pressure of the water blasted Helix back spiritually, washing him suddenly back to the physical plane.

In the real world, Xylo would suddenly be surrounded by a short yet immense white aura. Helix's hand would nearly levitate off of his forehead from the sudden jolt of power.

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