[PRIVATE] The Tower Wasteland

Beneath his mask, the being named labeled as 'the Anomaly' by most breathed a sigh of contentment. He surveyed the barren wasteland that was The Tower's domain, reminded of his birthplace. Perhaps this was his birthplace?

The eons that had passed made his memory foggy, and he could not recall.

But, the atmosphere of this place made it slightly ironic that his quest should bring him here. The stench of death and battle and good and evil lay dormant just beneath the surface, and this was how he knew his Brother had been here.

Removing his thin, black-leather glove revealed what could only be described as a bundle of floating nerves in the shape of a hand, and he waved it through the air, tasting all that had been.

Again, under his mask, what functioned as his 'mouth' released a sigh. The names came to him one by one, as he tasted their history and their actions here in the shadow of The Tower. He searched through their thoughts and memories, seeking out the one he desired to call upon, the being he caleld Brother. Praetorious, Balance, Taz, Dallas, Shelby, Legion, Jack Empty, a host of others...aha!

The name he sought fluttered into his name like an old, familiar feather of joy.

Edo Edi Essum!

Now, it was time for the ritual to begin. He replaced his glove again, and tugged one of the knives from his belt in a dramatic fashion, thrusting it downward into the ground, burying it up to the hilt in dirt.

The Anomaly focused on the dagger he had planted, summoning all his intentions, his past deeds and his requirment for the company of the Devourer now, as he prepared in earnest to meet Edo Edi Essum's Shade.

He only hoped the being would have time now to answer and heed his call.

Taz attacked again, and Edo Edi Essum moved, tiredly, from the strike. The battle had lasted for eight thousand years so far, and neither had killed the other. Essum was annoyed- Taz was far more powerful than the current Balance, and as such was able to just barely avoid the Devourer. Eventually, of course, Edo Edi Essum knew he would be victorious, for he was nothing, and that which is nothing cannot be destroyed. It was simply an inconvenience, one that Dallas would be punished dearly for when the time came.

However, the Eternal Void now felt a tug upon him, and knew that he was being called. As he moved again from Dallas' predecessor, a part of the Devourer left him, traveling across time and space and worlds. It flew, and the Consumer for a moment felt free of his prison, his incomprehensible consciousness in two places at once.

--

The sun that the Tower framed began to change color, turning a sickly white, one that spoke of decay, of horror, of all things dead and putrid. The sky turned red, the hue looking as if one were watching a horrific conflagration through blood-smeared glass. The clouds seemed to become infected, turning a dull yet somehow malevolent grey.

The ground shook, dust flying through the air, making a small whirlwind around the knife that was embedded in the ground. Like some kind of hideous reverse tornado, a substance that looked like some foul mixture of smoke and shadow descended into the storm of dust, seeming to impregnate it with horror and damnation. A sensation that did not fall upon any real sense resonated throughout the wasteland, one akin to having one's emotions violently ripped away.

The dust dissipated violently, blowing out in all directions with impossible speed and force. And yet, far more horrifying was the thing at its epicenter. Long, shadowy, skeletal arms attached to a legless torso, far too long to be anything human. The face changed constantly, a hideous amalgam of all the damned souls in existence. The mouth opened, jaws feet apart as a roar escaped the being's mouth. The sound did not quite fall on the ears or the mind, but somewhere in between, somewhere that would make a person want to rip out all their sensory organs one by one, just to make the sound cease. The freakish, wicked claws of the thing's hands flexed, and the sound grew louder, louder than thunder, than a supernova, louder than the sound the universe made when it came into being. The sound died away after a few moments, the air crackling with such evil and despair that one could taste it.

Edo Edi Essum had arrived.

The Anomaly watched in astonishment as the beast rose, and configured itself, and let loose a thunderous sound of terrible origin. Truly, Edo Edi Essum was everything horrific he had imagined the creature would be. It filled him with ecstacy to know he was in the Devourer's company, if only a shade of that glory.

All around, the environment twisted and shifted into a horrific display of violent colors and demonic shadows. It was as if the very fabric of the universe, of reality itself, had been torn asunder by this being's mere prescence here. What power he must have had in his full form! These thoughts and more filled the Anomaly's head, as his plastic mask's mouth upturned at the corners, in a disturbing grin.

"edo edi essum..."

He spoke in a voice which was like that of small children giggling, and lofty like a female, but yet deep and rumbling, like demonic males snarling at one another over the last scrap of food. It should have driven any normal mortal to utter insanity, off the edge and into that black abyss which the Anomaly knew so much about.

"i am pleased to make your acquaintance..."

It was time. The first Three Acts had already been fulfilled, and the Anomaly knew it was his will to speak with Edo Edi Essum, to ressurect him for the Final Act. Act Four.

He would speak normally, through telepathy from this point, to save himself the energy he would so desperately need when all was said and done. He awaited his guest's response, eager to converse with the Consumer himself.

The creature with the plastic mask that stood before the Devourer's apparition spoke with a voice that seemed almost paradoxical, many pitches and tones and moods all at once. Essum's protean face remained impassive, twisting from human form to a monstrous, maddening visage before becoming something even more horrifying, and then human once more.

The Eternal Void could only glean a title from the creature: The Anomaly. It would, for now, serve as a name for the being that had called him here. It respected him with supreme reverence, precisely as the Death of All should be. Edo Edi Essum was, for the moment, satisfied.

The creature began to speak with its mind, no longer using words, instead relying on speech closer to the Devourer's own methods.

I know your name, Anomaly, but not your purpose, nor your intentions, or your objectives.

The infinitesimal shadows cast by the rocks and stones of the wasteland lengthen as the Consumer spoke, clouds boiling in the red sky.

You will explain why you have summoned me here.

Marnin accelerated toward the Tower with incredible speed, slipping through the folds of space. The poles charged with the Voids were sucked as if magnetically toward the top of the Tower.

In the next moment, he emerged, space parting around his body, and he perched on the edge of the tower, one rod in either hand. He looked up at the sight before him.

There might as well be only one figure standing there. The dark figure before him was Edo Edi Essum. Simply being in his presence caused the first emotional expression to cross his face: a smile. The Devourer was here.

He did not die, he did not feel weak. There was no reason for this to happen. He was more akin to Essum's servants than he was to a human. He lived only for Edo Edi Essum.

His body straightened, and only one word escaped his lips. "Master."

It was preciesly this domineering command that permeated Edo Edi Essum's being which was why he was required for the final Act. The Anomaly knew now that he had made teh right decision in coming here, to The Tower, to summon this creature.

It is simple, Edo Edi Essum. The Fourth Act is soon to begin, and I require your ressurection to the current timeline for it's completion.

The bitter air under the Tower's shadow began to chill further as the Anomaly spoke with Edo Edi Essum. The sense of finality to this conversation weighed heavy upon the masked being's soul, if he could still be considered to have one. The Consumer, in all his powerful glory, had forgotten what time had taken from him.

Do you remember me, Edo Edi Essum? Do you remember how we once fought alongside each other, how you consumed and corrupeted, and I disrupted and assimilated?

Now the Anomaly's voice grew quiet and loud, angry and soothing at once, as he looked upon the being he had summoned into his prescence, regarding him with pride and still more respect than ever before.

I am that which you knew long ago, when the Objects were formed. I am the deepest, darkest nightmare of all the Seekers. The spirit of insanity which haunts them should they fail their Tests.

The Anomaly wanted, nay, h ehoped, that Edo Edi Essum was beginning to remember now. He wanted the Devourer to remember their past glories, their honor together.

I am the spirit of insanity. I am your brother, the breakdown, the corroder of minds.

If you know my name, Edo Edi Essum, speak it. For I am Non Compos Mentis your brother since time began.

"Master." Non Compos Mentis' head turned toward the sound; there should have been no one here, this meeting was meant forhe and his brother alone. He drew back slightly, and hissed at Marnin, in a voice which shoul dhave torn minds asunder.

"what is your business here?"

Marnin's head turned to the other figure here. The words vibrated in his mind, and his eyes widened quite a bit. His smile disappeared. This figure felt similar to his master, but it was different. Unfamiliar.

"My purpose is simple," he stated honestly. "My master must be freed from Balance's prison. That is all."

He hoped that would satisfy the figure. He didn't wish to start any conflicts, especially with something that seemed to regard his own master as a friend.

Memories came back to the Devourer after Non Compos Mentis had spoken. His isolation, his thousands of years locked in battle with Taz, had deprived him of knowledge. Non Compos Mentis. The Herald of Insanity. The Harbringer of Madness. His younger brother.

While it could not be called joy, some sort of emotion flickered in the consumer. The clouds in the sky boiled more intensely, the bits of dirt and rock on the ground rising in the air, remaining suspended in the air. Just then, the Devourer heard a voice, one familiar to him.

"Master." His brother looked up, seeing the figure at the top of the tower. The man on the Tower seemed more or less unaffected by Edo Edi Essum's brother's voice.

The Devourer could sense unease and annoyance in Non Compos Mentis.

Do not be alarmed, said the Consumer to his brother. The one atop the Tower is Marnin. He is, for lack of a better term, my son.

Edo Edi Essum, seeing the almost joyous expression on Marnin's face, held out his skeletal hand, beckoning that he come down.

Son...

The term brought joy to Marnin... for lack of a better word. Edo Edi Essum extended his skeletal hand, all the signal he needed. He tucked the two poles in his hands into his pants and stepped down from the edge of the tower and toward his master.

He wondered, and he hoped. Was the Devourer free? Perhaps not yet, but this was certainly a large step towards that goal. He sensed that his master wasn't completely there. The other figure had managed to call forth only a part of him, but the rest was still locked away with the previous Balance.

Although he may only be speaking to a shade, it was a large stepping stone to complete Marnin's goal.

You have birthed a son?

Speaking in the language of his Siblings to Edo Edi Essum, Non Compos Mentis turned back to his brother, kneeling on the ground before him. It had been so long. Now, with a respective Nephew, Non Compos Mentis could see that there would be no end to the destruction they could rain upon this universe and the next.

If your son wishes to ressurect you from your prison as I do, then he shall be granted special gifts from me. Tools with which to save you,

As Edo Edi Essum beckoned Marnin forth, Non Compos Mentis began to remove his mask, so as to show the servant his true form. Beneath the plain white mask, lay a strange collection of nerve tissue and floating senses. It shimmered with the minds of those he had wrought insnaity upon.

"since you will be help in our mission to free my brother, I shall grant to you, certain special powes."

He waved his hand as Marnin drew nearer, a pleased look upon his swirling, insanity filled face. Now, the time had surely come for Edo Edi Essum's return, and the dramatic Final Act of their return to power. Father had created beings far beyond even His own imagining, and now, together with his older brother and their children, they would overthrow even Him.

Look, here, brother. I too have created children. They serve my purpose well, even now.

Another wave of his hand, and the leather glove flew off, revealing yet again a bundle of nerves which served as his body. Three images faded into view, of three of Non COmpos Mentis's children;

The Disruptor, hopping from body to body.

The Duty, annhilliating Non Compos mentis's enemies one by one.

And the Destiny, servingto kill himself for the greater good of their goals.

Your ressurection shall not be an easy task, Brother Edo Edi Essum. Tell me, is The Balance you now face tiring in his bstrife with you?

(OoC: FUCKING SHIT NCM's speech pattern takes forever to typoe out!)

Non Compos Mentis knelt before the Devourer, and a sort of familial understanding filled the Consumer of All at the sight of his younger brother, kneeling in reverence. Marnin appeared beside him, his joy palpable. A skeletal hand extended.

Thank you, my brother. And I thank you as well, Marnin. Upon my resurrection, we shall remake the world in our image, worthy of us.

The Consumer was filled with anticipation, a sort of readiness blossoming inside of the Devourer. The suspended dust particulates began to whirl in the air. Edo Edi Essum could feel himself fading, his projection of himself across time weakening. The dust drew closer to him, swirling around the skeletal form of the Devourer.

Alas, I feel myself fading, and I fear that this exchange must draw to a close, for now. Non Compos Mentis, my brother, I would ask that you teach Marnin well in my absence, and assist him where he may need it. I hope we meet again. The Devourer's form flickered. The sun began to return to its normal pigmentation, the sky becoming a sort of placid white once again. The dust picked up into a storm, encircling Edo Edi Essum's form. A sort of smoky shadow curved along the shaft of the whirlwind, ascending into the sky. The dust storm dissipated, settling across the vast wasteland. Only a whispered farewell was left in the wind.

A certain amount of sadness ran through Non Compos Mentis's mind as his older brother faded away. He had wished to converse with him longer, to glean more information. He bowed respectuflly to the dissipating appirition, to bid Edo Edi Essum farewell. Though not much information had been discerned from the encounter, Non Compos Mentis had gained one very important thing from it.

An apprentice. Marnin, son of Edo Edi Essum.

The Insane One turned toward his new servant, observing the reverence and loyalty to his brother in Marnin's eyes. This man, the strange being with pin eyes, would serve him well. No longer did he treat Marnin with hostility, instead he now acted as though he were addressing a loyal child.

"you. you must be trained and given the proper tools with which to free our other, edo edi essum. here. i will give them to you."

Turning towards his prodigal Nephew, the Madness peered deep into Marnin's eyes and soul. Though Non COmpos Mentis's fleshy mass of nerves and sensory organs lacked a nose, eyes, or ears to speak of, as he spoke, empty space opened up where a mouth should be, revealing a dark abyss of the most vile kind.

Waving his hands and outstretching them towards his pink-eyed apprentice, the Madness summoned his belt of knives to surround him in mid-air, and then fly towards Marnin.

They stopped, hovering mere feet away from Marnin, surrounding him on all sides. Now, as to not damage his Apprentice Marnin's mind further, he spoke in the Language, teaching it insantly to the other man.

Accept my blades. The Daggers of Insanity, each you will come to kno wmy name. They will become one with your being, and give you abilities untold. I wil lcraft you, teach you to be worthy of my brother's prescence. You will sit by his side in our new world, as hi sright hand, his savior. If only you will accept the teachings, my Blades.

Marnin's eyes were wider than ever. He looked a little crestfallen that Edo Edi Essum should dissipate so quickly, but he was eager to help however he could.

"I accept your teachings, and the Blades. I will do whatever is within my power."

He carefully reached out to touch them. He felt the power within them, just as he felt the power within Non Compos Mentis.

Brother? He had never heard of such a thing, but he hadn't nearly been alive as either Edo or Mentis. It excited him to know that an ally nearly as strong, or as strong as the Devourer would be working to free him. And since the Devourer trusted him for the task, so would Marnin.

Once more, a smile crept across his face.

"It will be an unspeakable pleasure to serve you." He bowed in respect.

Non Compos Mentis also would have smiled, then, if a being such as himself could have smiled. Marnin was already proving to be the best of Apprentice's.

The Corroder of Minds turned toward Edo Edi Essum's son, watching as the pink-eyed man brushed his fingers against the Daggers of Insanity. He knew that Marnin must be feeling that flow of madness and power, circulating through his veins already. But this was a mere taste, for as soon as Marnin let his touch go, the knowledge would also leave him.

Non Compos Mentis put the plain white mask back upon his face, and with grave urgency to his actions, waved a single, ungloved hand in Marnin's directiom.

Instantly, all of the Daggers hovering around the younger being's body impaled him, the ten blades slicing into his skin up to their hilts. Still further they buried themselves into Marnin's flesh, until nothing remained of them but gaping puncture wounds upon the pink-eyed man's torso, arms, legs, and neck. The Madness was pleased.

The ten Daggers of Insanity lifted Marnin into the air, holding him in place as they set to work fusing their essence with his mind, body, and soul. As the pink-eyed one's transformation began, Non Compos Mentis, Destroyer of Reason, wandered in circles around his new Apprentice. What a fine day this was for the Siblings.

"embrace the feeling, my student..."

(OoC: I'll leave the details of Marnins transforamtion to you, Dama, since i don't want to chaneg your character in anyway you don't approve of. )

The daggers blasted into Marnin's body, and he gasped lightly at the sudden pain that wracked his body, but it quickly dissipated. Power was rushing into his body! He had never felt this much power aside from flowing from the body of Edo Edi Essum himself. He felt it curl up his spine, through his limbs, into his mind.

He saw Madness. It filled the back of his eyes and drowned his brain with its essence. His eyes widened, and the white scleras of his eyes began to fill with a murky black color. His entire body was rigid as a board as the Madness became one with him, and for the first time that he had ever known, his reason was lost in a sea of uncertainty. His mind was blank, and his soul quivered.

Outward, his body didn't seem to change that much. Horns formed around his head, curled and pointed forward, but somehow didn't seem entirely corporal. Depending on the angle, they drifted in and out of sight from invisible, to smokily transparent, to obsidian black. His fingernails extended into black claws of the same semi-corporal fashion.

Most of the change was taking place inside his body. If you were to rip him open, you would find that everything inside was black. His lungs, heart, guts. You could see a glimpse of it when he opened his mouth; black teeth and tongue. The Madness was collecting inside his body and turning him black from the inside out.

It felt familiar. He grinned slightly as his mind began to refocus. It felt like Master. Not exactly like Master, but similar. It felt good. It felt like chaos. Marnin believed wholeheartedly in chaos. It was why he loved serving Edo Edi Essum. And now, the Chaos was within him as well.

His stiff body relaxed, and his head hung a little bit. He looked down at himself, especially at the claws on his hands. He curiously raked one across his hand, and it went completely through and out the back of his hand effortlessly. He did not even feel any resistance.

He looked up and smiled at Non Compos Mentis. This smile--for as long as it would last--was the most genuine. His eyes glistened with savage joy.

As Non Compos Mentis inspected his new pupil's transformation from every angle and no angle at once, he came to know a sort of tether between their minds. Marnin's thoughts became his own, and his own became Marnin's. Never would the two beings known as Non Compos Mentis and Marnin go a day without sharing the same desires and the same ideals.

The black claws and horns, etheral and shimmering as they were, struck the Corroder of Minds as very beautiful. To a mortal, they appeared paradoxical, existing at the same time as they did not.

When the transformation was complete, and Non Compos Mentis's student dropped to the ground with a soft 'thud,' it pleased the Destructor of Logic. Now he had an entity who could serve him well, one worthy of going amongst the likes of the Devourer and the Madness himself. But scarcely their equal.

It occured to Non Compos Mentis that this being would need a new name, a title fit for something so disorderly, so flowing, so...Chaotic.

"abyssi marnin"

That would be his student's new being. It was fitting that he should be the representative of all things Chaos, that which was disorder and misconduct. Abyssi Marnin, the Chaos of the World. The Corroder of Minds needn't have spoke the name, for their minds were linked, and Abyssi Marnin was aware of his new name instantly. Still, the need to converse presented itself now.

Abyssi Marnin. You are the Herald of your Father, Edo Edi Essum's return. Upon his ressurection you shall be besie the throne, our eternal Guardian of all time, bringing Chaos and Disorder in your wake. You have accepted this duty upon accepting my blades. Now, our task begins.

Non Compos Mentis turned, tearing a portal in the air, which resonated with the same blackness that filled Abyssi Marnin's soul. It was a portal in space and time, made of Madness and damned souls.

Now it was time to pick a destination, and the Madness turned again toward his disciple.

Our journey will require we visit many places. Follow, as our next location is within the realm of Mankind.

I will follow.

Marnin-- no, Abyssi Marnin--had trouble keeping the smile off his face once again. The words instantly sprung into Non Compos Mentis' mind just as easily as Marnin thought them. It felt strange, but not unwanted. It was fitting.

He looked down to admire his own body once again before stepping forward. It was one step closer to Edo Edi Essum's resurrection. A restoration to the natural order of things. The only way things in the world made sense: in complete chaos. Nothing in the world was complete without oblivion.

Non Compos Mentis, too, admired the body his new student possessed. It was exceptionally fit for the RIght Hand of Essum.

We must now gather the other children. They are needed in the ressurection. The first will be the future Left Hand of Essum.

The Corroder of Minds let out a hideous cackle from nowhere, which reverberated in on itself as he stepped through the portal, and shot through space and time along with his apprentice, in the most dark way possible; through minds. For their travel, a thousand souls lost their eternal sanity to the growing consciousness of Non Compos Mentis.

Inevitably, the trip had to end.

NonCompos Mentis and Abyssi Marnin reappeared on a hilltop, which lay open in the middle of a seemingly endless field. The field was a beautiful patch of Kansas soil.

An abomination was born here. I would have you know that the most insidious plots are often conceived where it is most quiet.

The pause he took, which was longer than time itself and yet shorter than a fraction of a millisecond, echoed with the screams of the damned.

Here is where the ressurection will be. We must gather the Left Hand, and return here to build the tempele of Essum. Only then can my brother be brought into our time and destroy the universe anew.