The Dream said:
The image would go black. That is where the dream would end. The Steward's eyes opened wide. The Steward would rise out of his bed and turn on a light. Ever since merging with the Ebon Blade, dreams were becoming more and more present. The Steward had changed somewhat physically. His body was less thin, and starting to gain some muscle. Slightly though. In addition to that his dark eyes had changed. One eye had changed. Instead of a golden iris and golden pupil, they had both changed to silver. Ever since Tama had returned with the Chains of Union, Sousuke had been plagued with images and concepts from his ancestor Shiro. Shiro had battled Merchant Lord Quan and the Meteor Hammer, which the Chains of Union had been part of.
Tama had been deeply disturbed, and his report gave birth to a concept. A great power was within the Chains of Union. A dangerous power. One that could very well be worth investing in, but given the history of the item in question, the Steward had to wonder about it. Sousuke let out a deep breath. He stared at himself in the mirror. Maybe if he had the power of the chains, then he could be as powerful as Kuro. Then he would have had the power to defeat such a threat easily. Maybe he would have been more powerful to go out and do things such as search for Okibi and Number Seven without exhausting himself or having fallen to sickness.
The chains of Union were locked up in Keystone, but perhaps it was time to release the full potential of them. Perhaps then Sousuke would find the power necessary to ... well whatever he deemed.
***
Thirty minutes. He had thirty minutes on the surface before exposure would begin. Sousuke these chains. They're not going to give you what you want. I know this.</I><i></i> The Shade spoke. The Steward ignored the words of the Shade. He merely began to focus and attempt to tap into the power of the chains. Reforging them would be easily done, but first they had to be tapped. Once tapped he could then melt them down and reforge them into a new power source. At first the chains seemed to be weaker than what Sousuke had thought. These things drove Tama's mind around the bend? Impossible. Sousuke channeled plasma chakra from his palms into the chains trying to tap into them. The chains began to crack, wait. Why would the crack? Plasma chakra did not...
SHIRO.<i></i> A voice screamed. It was the voice in his dreams. No. This was merely the beginning effects of exposure wasn't it? No. Exposure didn't happen until... SHIRO. WE MEET AGAIN.<i></i>
Sousuke called out. "I'm not Shiro."<i></i> The Steward was already in his Mark I armour. Something spectral was coming out of the chains. The form was demonic and something from an age passed. "What devilry are you?"<i></i> The Steward inquired as he drew the ebon blade.
<I>SHIRO SHE WAS MINE. YOU LIVED LONG ENOUGH. SHE IS IN MY WEB, AND YOU HAD TIME TO TAKE THE KINGDOM FOR YOURSELF. The form took spectral shape. It had the lower body of a horse, and the upper body of something of a spider. The face though was human. YOU HAD TIME TO TAKE THE KINGDOM, YOUR HONOUR STOOD IN THE WAY. IT IS MY TIME ONCE MORE TO TAKE THE KINGDOM. Merchant Lord Quan? Impossible. He was long dead. Shiro slew him but perhaps his essence remained in the Chains? Entirely possible.
Time was of the essence. Sousuke had twelve minutes to act. The Steward opened fire with plasma blasts from his hands. Each blast went through the form of the ghostly demon. Sousuke then gripped the ebon blade and rammed it into the ground sending a fiery storm at his foe. The flames licked and crackled at the form which cried out. No noticeable damage. His foe charged him, and while Sousuke veered left, the spider limbs went after the Steward at untraceable speeds. The spiderlimbs became tendrils and drilled through the Steward's armour. There was no puncture mark but the Steward was stabbed by these spectral tendrils.
Time was still ticking. The Steward and the spectral image of Lord Quan battled. This form was different from the one in Sousuke's dream but the voice matched. The two traded blows again and again. The Steward's attacks were less effective than he had hoped. Time was passing quickly and the Steward was weakening. Battle was started to speed up the process of exposure. The Steward took to fits of coughing but tried to hold it down.
Soon enough the Steward was forced to upgrade to the Mark II armour. His defensive capabilities were fuirther increased but his movements were sluggish as his wounds were taking effect. He rolled, slide past, and took further motions to avoid his foe's blows. Sousuke. You are now on borrowed time. Exposure is starting to take effect. The Mark II... The Shade warned Sousuke. The Steward sheathed the Ebon Blade. It was time to take a risk. He was going to call upon the jutsu he used to seal the Djinn, the Judgment Gate. The Steward formed one more set of hand seals and slammed his metallic hands on the ground. A great gate appeared behind the Steward, and when the doors opened, lava poured forth and stopped inched before the Steward. The lava shifted into a Sword which the Steward attempted to grab before he was impaled upon by two spider limbs. The Steward twitched and electrified his grip. He pulled himself out from the impalement and grabbed the lava great blade. He then with both hands swung the blade at the chest of the spectral demon making a great slash. Sousuke heard screams as the sword which was now imbedded revert back to molten lava and begin to seal the fiend. The Steward unsheathed the ebon blade once more and gripped the blade tightly before performing a single strength slash through the molten form. Once having done that the Steward turned his back upon the foe, and detonated it with a fire jutsu.
Thirty-seven minutes, you're in no way walking home from this. We're going to see Shiori. The Shade spoke as Sousuke took the elevator down. The promise of power from the Chains of Union was treacherous. The Steward cursed himself. He needed power to match Kuro, to help him face his foes in the future, but this was not it. Still though, Sousuke was slowly becoming superior. It was merely taking time, a luxury he didn't have always.
Chains of Union? No. They were the Chains of Doom.