“My chosen son.” A soft, silky voice echoed in the blackness of Kallo's mind, caressing the edges of his consciousness, instilling him with warmth and comfort. “You've found the other chosen I sent you for, yes?” The blackness that had enveloped Kallo eased into a soft, golden light, as a woman's figure formed in his mind's eye, clad in shining silver armor and flowing silks. “I fear that the two of you are the only chance this world has of surviving. Nearly all of those chosen by the gods have either fallen, or been corrupted by the darkness that hounds us all.”<br/><br/>To hear his goddess' voice again after months of silence brought a sense of peace to Kallo's soul, the fear that she had been found by the darkness falling away. “Aye, I have found her... and have convinced her to aid me, as you told me I must.” As he spoke, his thoughts turned to the deal he had made with Levani, to cleanse her forest home of the taint before they set off after the true source of all that plagued their world. “Though we cannot leave her forest yet. I have given my word to help her. I know time is short... but she needs me here as much as I need her to find the dark god and put an end to the suffering.” As much as he feared his goddess' ire over his choice, he couldn't stomach the thought of leaving Levani to fight this battle alone, or to leave her home, her very heart and soul, to be consumed by the black while they were away. “You must understand me, my lady... please.”<br/><br/>Silence echoed in his mind as the silver clad woman's eyes narrowed dangerously, clearly at odds with his choice and his insistence. “I must? Do you forget who it is you speak with mortal? Have you forgotten that I saved your very soul from the maw of the dark god? Do not make the mistake of thinking you have a choice in any of this anymore.” As suddenly as the anger appeared in her tone, it shifted to warmth and fondness, a smirk curling the edges of her full lips. “I'll forgive you this time, my warrior. You bear a weight that would crush most men, and you do so with no complaint or hesitation. I will allow you your desires for now, though I warn you of your affections for the one you travel with. She is not what she appears to be.” Though her smile was warm and affectionate, the hardness in her cerulean eyes pierced into his soul, his very core. “Do not forget that you belong to me... and I do not like to share.”<br/><br/>Before Kallo could begin to speak, her form became ethereal, the soft light fading from his mind as blackness encapsulated him again, leaving him cold and alone, fearful of the consequences due to his chosen path.<br/><br/><br/><br/><i>'I don't think I'll be the only one sore tomorrow, sul'ima.'</i><br/><br/>The familiar voice pierced the hazy shroud that embraced Kallo, his consciousness slowly coming back to him, along with the pain in his battered body. Slowly opening his pale blue eyes, his gaze focused on his companions face, tracing the lines of her features as she appeared to stare at something in the distance. Though it cause him great pain, Kallo gingerly lifted his hand and placed it to her cheek, softly caressing her smooth skin. “It is good to see you safe lass. Are you injured?” Laying there, with his head on her lap, staring up at her beautiful face, the thought of his sudden kiss crossed his mind, causing a smirk to twist the corners of his lips. "Sorry if I worried you lass, I wasn't as quick as I needed to be today." Letting his hand fall from her face, he pushed himself upright, groaning softly with the effort. Scanning around his unfamiliar surroundings, he couldn't help but wonder where she had taken him and how long he had been unconscious for."Where are we?"<br/><br/>As he sat up, he began to gently check his body, moving each of his limbs and feeling along his ribs to make sure nothing was broken. Though he felt as though he should be dead, as any normal man would have been, he was grateful that nothing seemed out of place or broken, but he needed to see the extent of his injuries. Glancing over his shoulder to Levani, he offered her a slight smirk. “I think I'm going to need a little help with my armor lass, if you wouldn't mind.” Waiting for her to decided if she would lend him a hand or not, he began unbuckling the straps of his armor that he could reach, though his strained and bruised body made it difficult and painful to reach some of the straps the held his chest and back plate together, as the straps were buckled near his shoulder blades.<br/><br/>Having shed his plated gauntlets and pulled his armored boots from his feet, Kallo unbuckled the two straps he could reach that held the steel plates to his chest and back and patiently waited for the help he had requested from Levani, eager to shed his bloodied armor and clothes and clean the stench of corruption from his body. "I noticed that you seemed... distracted before we fought that enormous beast. There was... fear... in your eyes that I haven't seen before." The look he had seen in her eyes mirrored what he knew he felt when he watched his brother's soul get ripped from his body and devoured by the black god, though he couldn't imagine why she would feel that way about such a creature. "Lass, what did that creature mean to you? Why did it affect you in such a way?"<br/><br/>A sudden thought caused him to stop in his movements, his pale eyes scanning around his immediate vicinity, searching for his sword.<i>'Broken... that damn monster broke my blade...' </i>Shaking his head slowly, a hand lifted to brush gingerly through his hair, his teeth grinding as he tried to keep his anger from flaring up. That sword had been his brother's, the last bit of his family that he carried with him, that helped to protect him and the one instrument he wanted to use to cut down the dark lord when he found him. “Where are the pieces of my blade?” Though he did not intend to sound harsh and cold, his tone was that of cold steel, his pale eyes hard as the ice they took their color from.