Chapter CLXXXVI: Precipita the Holy ~Rainstorm

(Note: This takes place in unison with the revival of Markior chapters)

Rainy blinked open his eyes, using his left hand to shield them from the glaring white light. After his eyes had adjusted, though he still had to squint, he could now see. It appeared that he was standing on the steps of a magnificent palace. The steps were made of marble and were inlaid with golden strips which came together to form cloud shapes. When Rainy turned around to see where he was, he realized that the palace was actually floating on top of a cloud, and very high up it seemed, for Rainy could not see anything below him but white. He had still wondered how he had come here when he had finally remembered the professor. Unconsciously, his hand strayed to the spot on his chest where the blade had entered him. He did not know at the moment whether he was alive or dead or at some stage in between the two, but in any case, he decided that it would be unwise to just stand around. Instead he headed up the palace steps and looked up at the splendor of the triple-towered castle.

The castle seemed to be made of pure white marble, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that the substance was not exactly marble, nor brick, nor tile. It was something Rainy had never seen before.

Finally he reached the gates after the long climb up the stairs. The gates were made of a metal not unlike silver, though not completely like it, seeming to shine brilliantly in the light and yet somehow translucent. Rainy still looked in wonder at the palace he saw before him, not even noticing that the gates had opened by themselves. He then found himself in an inner courtyard which was left open at the top. Warm light poured into the main area of the courtyard where various benches and such were lined about.

"Where am I?" Rainy wondered to himself as he continued to walk. Suddenly he started at a voice speaking to him, for he had not exactly been expecting an answer.

"You now are standing in the main courtyard of the palace of your Goddess, Precipita."

"Who are you?" he asked timidly.

"I am a servant of the noble Goddess, and my name is Nimba."

"May I see you? I feel rather strange talking to the thin air."

Out of the air, the most beautiful female Yoshi appeared. Her hair fell in sky blue locks down past her shoulders and almost to her knees. She stood in front of him in a long flowing white robe, which touched the floor and lightly skirted the surface of the not quite marble. She had the deepest brown eyes this particular blue Yoshi had ever seen, and they seemed to see deep into him, through him, and into his soul. She had light feathery wings the color of coral which gently fluttered behind her.

"I...I..." Rainy stammered, unable to find words to say to this angel-like creature.

"You are here for the test; am I correct in this statement?" she said with a smile.

"Y-Yes!" he managed to blurt out rather loudly. Rainy cringed a bit as he listened to his harsh voice echo off of the walls of the fair palace.

"Well then, follow me this way," she said in her soft voice, and away they went.

He followed her through corridor after corridor looking in wonder just at the splendour of the palace. Though the walls were plain, they shown with such beauty that Rainy was at a loss for words.

Finally they entered a larger room where there was just a single thing, an altar.

"Please lie down on the altar, and have no fear in your heart, for Precipita will sense it. You will now be screened thoroughly and your soul will be turned inside-out, backwards and all around in an attempt to find your true intents. Though this sounds like it may be painful, rest assured. You may experience some mental anguish, but you will feel no lasting pain nor will your mind."

Rainy slowly stepped to the altar, which was not unlike the altar on which he was lying not too long ago.

"Now close your eyes, and we will begin. You will be put into a state of what you might call sleep, and then you will feel something wash over you, a faint feeling. This is when you know it has officially begun."

Rainy lay down on the altar, once again hearing arcane words in his ear before everything went black once more.

Rainy began to have visions, as though he watching his entire life flash before his eyes, yet he only saw pieces. He saw times before he went to the academy, past occurrences at the academy and times when all of his friends still yet lived. In his half sleep, he quivered and broke into a cold sweat, shivering and scared. He heard the Goddess speaking. She was talking to herself while she examined him, looking deeper into his past. Now visions of the war and the evil wizard flew past, as vivid as if when he lived through them. Rainy screamed aloud as memories of his now long gone friends flashed before his eyes. He saw bits and pieces of the torture sessions, and he himself sitting alone in a cell waiting. He began to cry in his unconscious yet conscious state, and he rolled, almost off of the altar completely had Nimba not been there to hold him up.

Hours later, he still lay on the altar, still being screened, still terrified by the visions. And then suddenly all at once, it stopped and his vision went black again. Then he heard a voice, a soothing voice that seemed to carry on the wind and meld into it at the same time.

"You have done well, my child, and it seems you are indeed well in your journeys. Not only have you been deemed worthy of seraph-hood, but I will also send you away with a gift of your choosing."

Rainy opened his eyes and blinked again, now awake and well. He felt very weary though, and he stood for a moment, not yet believing if what he heard was actually what he heard.

"Goddess, have you....spoken to me?"

"Indeed, and you have proven yourself worthy through your soul."

"Goddess, may I ask to see you before I leave?" Rainy asked, now more confident.

"My child, it has been eons since any have gazed upon my form, and it shall be eons still I'm afraid before any more are allowed to."

Rainy was rather dissapointed, but then asked another question.

"What exactly did you mean by "gift", Goddess?"

"Exactly the meaning of the word. Most of the blessed choose weapons to aid them in their holy quest."

Rainy thought for a moment. This was perfect! He had just lost his scimitars. Though now he wanted to have something a little different. He pondered over the different types he had learned of at the academy.

He went through a list in his head and finally arrived at what he wanted.

"Goddess I have reached my decision," he said confidently.

"And what is it that you desire?"

"Recently I lost my twin scimitars, which I had loved dearly and were given to me by my master, but I feel it is time for a change. Therefore I am requesting that you grant me a magical spear, though if I may, I want to modify to my own liking."

"Magical in what sense? And what would you have me do to it?" said the Goddess, with a tone in her voice as though she had already read his mind.

"Well for one, I don't want anyone but myself to be able to use it. I had a problem a very long time ago with that where an enemy had used my own scimitar against me. Secondly, I ask that you make the weapon quick, though two handed, for a spear is known throughout the land as a slow weapon. Also I want it to be double-bladed so I can swing with a blade at each end. And lastly I want it to be made of the same material as your gates, as they seem to glint in the sunlight, but also be very strong."

"It shall be done. Let me also say that you are correct in your assumption of my gate material. It is made of Arlington stone. A stone that shines like silver, is transparent, and yet strong as steel. Now I must ask that you lie down once more and close your eyes, this will feel rather odd. I am now going to reanimate you. You will spout brand new wings, sky blue as my servant Nimba's are. Do not fret, for the use of your new weapon and your wings shall come naturally to you, and you will not have any problems, save for a few mental ones that may still hinder you such as not believing you can actually fly." This she said with a slight chuckle, though for what reason Rainy could not ascertain.

"And now for the commencement."

There was a gentle breeze that blew, and Rainy's cloak began to sway in it. He felt refreshed and alive, and then suddenly invigorated. He looked up into the ceiling of the chapel. He was surrounded by a dark blue light and lost all sense of where he was and who he was until he heard the gentle voice, this time for the last time.

"From here into infinity, Rainstorm Yoshi will now be known as Rainstorm Seraph!"

And with that, Rainy was dropped into what seemed like a hole in the floor of the chapel and sent on a ride back home.

The whole academy shook and then the entire area began to shake. Then there was a bright flash of light from the heavens as if Precipita herself was to descend upon the soft soil of Nimbus. The professor covered his eyes and fell to the ground in surprise, not expecting the flash to happen at that moment. When the light had cleared and night sunk once again into the eyes of the professor he gazed upon the form lying on the altar. It was a form that resembled very closely the one that he had not too long ago sent to the heavens to be judged though there was a slight difference. For one, this particular Yoshi was clutching in his hand a shimmering double-headed spear that seemed to be real and yet not at the same time. This Yoshi also seemed to be lying on top of something, for he was raised slightly above the altar.

Then the Yoshi opened his eyes very slowly and stepped off of the altar, seeming much taller and much more important than he had previous. He smiled down at the professor and without a word hugged him close.

"Thank you, professor, you have helped me to complete an act that I will truly never forget, and yet right now I have no time to dally for the guards of the academy will be upon this area soon. I cannot properly thank you, though you should know that I am eternally grateful to you. "

The professor beamed brightly and said goodbye to his best student one last time before he disappeared in another flash of bright light.

"Where in the nine hells is this guy already?" asked the impatient D'Nel.

His question was soon answered when he was surrounded by a white light and suddenly standing in front of the same Yoshi he had just requested.

"What took you so damned long?" D'Nel asked.

Rainy had decided that it was now time to show D'Nel what he had actually been doing, so he slit tiny holes in the back of his cloak and out popped his sky blue wings, fluttering softly back and forth in the night. At this point he raised his double-bladed spear his above his head and said a prayer to Precipita.

D'Nel's jaw dropped open and he was left at a loss for words. Finally he found the strength to speak again.

"Wh-what happened to you?"

"I have been reborn, now and forever more to be known not as Rainstorm Yoshi, but Rainstorm Seraph!"

D'Nel had no words, but instead just opened the dimensional doorway again to his room. They appeared back in D'Nel's room where he promptly put the doorknob back in its place and exited. Rainy followed him out of the room to find a strange...figure (for that's all he could think of calling it for now) standing on the Spectrum. Then all eyes in the immediate area fell on him, most with wonder, some with awe, some with fear, and some just plain confused.

"I have returned."