My expression softened just a bit as I turned my gaze from the mysterious creatures to the rest of the group.
“They are not ghosts. Or spirits, for that matter. If my theory is right...then they are not even real in the first place. They are just imaginary creations gaining their beings through the beliefs of people. That’s what anchors them to this world...and if they gain enough power that way, they can probably properly manifest.”
As I speak, I quickly walk down the stairs, catching up to the others.
“They are likely still not there, though. That’s why their presence is faltering. Still...they can be affected. They have a mind, even if sort of...primitive, and they react to emotions, so they can probably feel, to some degree. Which means that pain through physical means probably affects them too, though whether or not they can be destroyed...I’m not sure. If it’s like how I explained it to be, then it’s likely that they can just keep coming back while people keep believing in them. For that matter, you guys should not believe that they are real for a moment.”
Glancing towards the wall, I reach out with my hand to tap it once. Allene didn’t mention how many of them were there, but somehow, just three felt to be too few…
A moment later, I tap on the wall again. And as the waves return, my suspicion is indeed confirmed.
“There are at least seven more of them, coming towards here, far as I can tell,” I said as I turned back towards the other two, “We don’t have long before they arrive, so we should decide whether we want to retreat or fight. Though, at the very least, there’s something I want to try…”
Closing my eyes for a moment, I focused on my own mind, only so that I could give a little extra kick to my otherwise feeble physique. Thinking about it, it might have been a bit of a waste on me, and...judging by how rapidly my heart was beating now, it might have been just unnecessary fuel on an already roaring fire, but...whatever.
“Mind giving me that?”
My eyes resting on Sakura, I gestured towards one of the kunai she was holding. Once she handed it over, my attention turned back towards the monsters still struggling on the ground, and with a few steps, closed the distance to them, and crouched down next to one.
Eyes filled with hatred as I glared at it, my lips curled into a grin, mimicking it’s own twisted expression.
Perhaps all that adrenaline was a bit too much fuel for my anger.
My grip on the dagger tightened.
And with all my force, I stabbed it straight into the head of the creature.
A state-of-art piece of implant, a side project of various android related researches meant to properly imitate and replicate a human body. Normally, it was meant to serve as a whole hand replacement prosthetic, but in Hisa's case it was broken down and modified only to make up for the three fingers on her left hand that were damaged during her childhood accident. The implant is made up of a light and flexible alloy that is meant to serve as the bones, while rest of the fingers were reconstructed through an artificial cell growth technology. Other than looking perfectly natural. (with a few errors - for example, the tone of the skin is not affected by exposure to sunlight like normal skin is) it also retains all the functionalities of a biological finger. Hisa's model was further customized to compliment her abilities by making the fingertips extremely sensitive while also providing her a small array of functions that she can apply via touch.
The tool was a birthday gift that she received from Angelica sometime after they met and is something that - quite literally - became a part of her being. As she does not know what the model is originally called, and because she has an awful naming sense, if she has to, she just tends to refer to them as [Redacted].
The first function, something that she usually applies through her ring finger, is something akin to sensory amplification. When touching something, she can create and amplify a certain type of sensation, be that the feeling of cold or warmth, pain, or immense pleasure.
The second function is something akin to a sonar based on the enhanced sensitivity of the finger, capable of vaguely mapping out her surroundings and detecting living beings. In addition, because of its sensivity, the finger serves as the 'retrieval tool' when she uses her Retrocognition to extract the residual memory of biological objects.
When tapping her finger against a solid surface, it is possible to use it as something akin to a sonar. Each tap sends out a soundless, more or less undetectable wave from the spot to 40 meters in all directions, which is then reflected back to her after they hit something that is moving in that area.
The third function allows Hisa to 'cleanse' any status effect through an appropriate respones mechanism, while also initiating a small scale regeneration around the touched part. The target can be Hisa herself as well, as long as she can manage to touch any part of her body with her fingers.
Abilities
Category : Emotion Transference
Experiencing emotionally stimulating events, or just by rekindling certain memories from the past, Hisa is capable of embracing, and forcing the effects of that governing emotion upon the minds of those around her. While in theory the array of possible emotions is vast, many of them are either too trivial or ones that Hisa is not too fond of. Instead, she tries to focus on just a select few, the ones that she is most familiar with, and refine those as best as she can.
To be utilized properly, Hisa needs to be in a certain state of mind. While most of the time it is not particularly hard to achieve, certain situations can still make it more difficult, and without the governing emotion fueling her power, the effect may be lacking.
Anger
Rank : B
Element : Choleric
Anger has always been an emotion that Hisa had to repress, and keep deep down within her heart. Still, it's hardly something she is unaccustomed with. Through her life, many have caused her pain and grief, and most of the time she just had to swallow it down...But she also knows how good it feels to lash back at those people without caring about the consequences, to let her anger surface and run amok, if just for a moment. When used, Hisa draws power from the hatred accumulated within her heart, and projects it into the minds of those around her. While it has no visible effects, for those affected the atmosphere will start feeling much heavier and oppressive, almost as if Hisa's fury was weighting on them physically. Any target that is unable to resist is forced on their knees and and becomes unable to move. For long as Hisa is channelling her power, the mental terror will force most to instinctively focus on their own survival.
Create a sphere of 25 meters with the center point being Hisa. Any target Hisa designs within range is subjected to an INT Protection contest against a shattering score of 13. If they fail, they immediately become Prone and Restrained on the spot. The ability has a Duration of 4 Rounds.
Last edited by Cheetose; April 15th, 2021 at 02:28 PM.
Nikolai Labzin fell over once I jumped into the conversation. If he truly is what he says he is, then either I should be concerned that he’s incompetent or that he’s hiding his fangs really well.
Originally Posted by Nikolai Labzin
"Ah... Miss Vier, then? I'm sorry, you certainly took me by surprise. H-honestly, I'm a bit ashamed of myself, considering I'm supposed to be a professional here. I take it you're friends with lovely Sakura over here? Being cautious is all well and good, but still... for all you'd know, I could have been some sort of criminal myself! Sending this young lady here alone is just irresponsible! ... But, looking at your weaponry, I suppose you were protecting her in your own way - and I can't fault you for that."
I gave Nikolai Labzin a casual shrug and decided to skip his question about whether the doll or more correctly Hisa Momoi and I were friends.
“I left the decision to approach you up to her so if you have complaints tell her. I would’ve been content to just observe you since you weren’t doing anything seemingly malicious. However, like you said, I can protect her in my own way from up here so you’ll have to pardon me for not getting closer.”
Despite introducing myself into the conversation and keeping myself visible, I still made no effort to move closer to him. My only advantage over most magic users was the fact that I usually could outrange them in combat. The closer I was to them, the more dangerous they were in general. The only exception being when you were on top of them because most mages assumed you died before you could reach that zone. Their big and dangerous spells usually became a hinderous or self-damaging at close range and left them with typically inadequate basic spells.
Originally Posted by Nikolai Labzin
"In any case... a time machine, you say? Now there's certainly a rather fantastic concept… I have to admit, I'm not completely sure about the method of scrying - I'm just following orders, you see. Still, if you're providing witness testimony for Ms. Vandemeel's good behavior, I can certainly take that into account. Though, unfortunately, that hardly changes my orders. That being said… Do you have any proof of this supposed time machine, Miss Vier? I'm sorry if I sound sceptical, but those sorts of machines are... well, in all honesty, more from the pages of H. G. Wells than reality."
Despite my doubts about his capabilities, he did bring up something that is in line with his profession. Taking note of details and information freely, yet doubting them equally until there was evidence sufficient to approve or disapprove it. Maybe he is exactly what says he is. Less a combatant and more of an investigator.
“Currently, I only have someone’s word for the existence of a time machine created by Eureka labs. While I may have circumstantial and word of mouth information… I do, however, find it peculiar that both the Magic and Science sides of the Turnside are detecting a space-time fracture with seemingly different causes. One side says a time machine, you’re saying that it’s potentially from Anna’s magic. Regardless, something has already fractured the space-time continuum as a Dr. Satel has supposedly been aware for an untold amount of time loops and I can remember a different week. Is it the same for you Sakura? It seems to be the second week for most of us.”
I pause to let the doll respond to me and add her own thoughts to this before continuing.
“Of course, you shouldn’t discount the theory that we’re insane or were under the effect of something. A person’s thoughts, feelings, and even senses can be manipulated if someone knows what they’re doing. If we can do it to the regular populace, then someone can do it to me and others. But then again that's my impression of what an investigator should do. Keep an open mind until enough evidence appears.”
And I should know that best of all. How do I know I haven’t merely haven’t forgotten a loop? How do I know someone hasn’t permanently changed my memory? How do I know what is happening now isn’t merely someone manipulating my reality through sense manipulation? The answer is I don’t know. I can merely postulate on what I am given and what I can perceive. Which at the moment is Road’s End is in a time-space fracture and Muse has allowed me to retain my memories.
Why is he being so... obstinate? I already told him. There's no end to this loop. There's no end and no beginning. It's merely an endless repetition of a week removed from time and space, one that has trapped all those who remain within it. With our measly perspectives, with my own measly perspective, finding a way out is impossible. I did not repeat things for decades and decades, desperately searching for something - anything - in this unchanging world to give me purpose! To save me from a world where nothing I do matters! If it's a world where my kindness isn't rewarded and my cruelty isn't punished, then what good is a world like that!? At that point, isn't it better to just stop thinking and let yourself be carried by the flow, submerge yourself to the blissful ignorance and just kill your mind!?
--- I want to scream at him.
--- I want to vaporize him.
--- I want to glass him.
... But I don't.
I can't.
Because even if I did, the look in his eyes... that hopelessly naive, naively hopeful look is just like I used to have.
"......................"
I turn my head away and keep my mouth shut.
Not because I have no words to answer him with, but because the words I have right now would be... utterly cruel. With that hope burning in his heart, my answer would be the most cruel I could offer him. If I were to open my mouth, I could tell him...
... I tried.
Again and again, over and over, I tried.
I helped everyone. I tried healing everyone. I tried supporting, comforting, cheering everyone. I brought everyone together with the knowledge I accrued, and I made sure that everyone stayed alive till Sunday. I though that if I did, if I made sure that nobody died, then it would surely mean that my loop would come to an end...!
--- But it didn't.
I returned right back where I started.
That happy memory, that hopeful future, it all became dust. No matter how many times I tried, it all slipped through my fingers. And with it, my hope and my innocence. I wished so hard to return from where I had been so cruelly yanked away from, but... I can't. I couldn't. Because at the end of the day, this meaningless world is my prison. Just as it now is for them, now that they have become aware of its true nature.
... To lose hope is to lose the will to live. But what if you can't even die? If all the options given to you, even destroying yourself, just return you to the beginning?
Down that road lies madness.
And hence...
"Hey...."
I must be sure.
"... Are you real?"
My eyes feel like there's glass covering them. I sit on the countertop and watch at the boy who spoke such gallant words to me, full of bravado and the will to live - will to be free. I stare at him with the utter depths of my crushed spirit and my broken mind, the swirling colours in my eyes growing dull and grey. I let him see what the endless repetition of time does to a person, what a stagnant world where nothing matters does to a human, and I convey it all with my eyes. For all his courage, for all his motivation, he does not know... none of them do... just what an utter hell lies at the bottom of this week. What an utter nightmare it is. They won't know until they've lived through it like I have - a world where none of their actions matter.
Where nothing they do has any meaning.
"--- I cannot tell anymore. I lowkey cannot. Maybe this is just another bout of insanity my mind is taking me through, trying to make me feel as if things are gucchi. I cannot be sure. Maybe I am just sitting in the ruins of a diner that I scorched for no reason at all, being schizo and thinking that others are starting to retain their memories too," I speak out. "What if this is all just a delusion I built for myself, to protect my mind from cracking further? What then... what would giving into that delusion bring me? What good is a hope when there is none? You have no proof that you are real, delusion. None of you do. In fact... it would totes-magotes make more sense if none of this was real. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha... yes. And here I am, listening to my own delusion trying to convince me it is real. Big yikes."
This is hell. I can't even trust that anything I see is truly real. The strange things I've seen this week, the strange words I've heard, the strange events that have been going on... the ones that slowly awakened me from my mental torpor, I can't trust them. If I do and if they turn out to be just another delusion of mine, just a new fragment of my insanity, then... what? Shall I break again? Shall I shatter further?
--- I can't trust this. I can't trust this fleeting hope.
Not when there's no proof. Not when there's a chance that I'm still stuck in this hell, and just gnawing at my bars, thinking they're a delicious supper.
I...
Please tell me you're real.
Please tell me you're all real.
Please tell me that you've all attained consciousness that transcends this looping prison.
I want to believe that.
I want to believe that so much.
But...
--- I need proof.
"You wanted my answer, John Dove. I cannot give it to you. Not... not yet. Not when I cannot even trust that you are really there. If you want my answer, if you want my knowledge... if you are real, then... bring me proof of it," I speak out once more, putting everything on a flimsy piece of hope against this raging storm of doubt. "In this looping world, I have left seven pieces - seven pages from my journal. In the moment when I became desperate AF and needed an outlet, I sent them out to the sea, like messages in a bottle. Seven pieces of paper, displaced on the temporal axis. Only one of each exists within this looping world. Gather them, and bring them to me. If you do that... if you are able to do that, then..."
It's not much.
But... if they are able to do so. If they can find them all, pages that can only be collected by those who loop in this world with their mind intact... and if they can bring them to me, the real me, then...
--- Maybe there's hope.
Maybe there's something we can do.
Maybe these hundred years at the end of the road were not for nothing.
Please...
Succeed.
"Then... I shall consider helping you. And I will teach you what I know of this world. But for now, in my eyes..."
Anna Vandemeel & Vivianne Bianchi
Location: Owl's Nest Hotel - Library
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
Originally Posted by Vivienne
"... Hikari? Do you know... Sora Hikari?"
Orion chuckled lightly and closed one eye, shooting a teasing smirk towards the quiet girl.
"Hmm, maybe I do, maybe I don't? The name certainly sounds a dead ringer of my own..."
It was clear that he wasn't going to say much more regarding that, judging by the tone of his voice. In other words, he was the type that liked to keep his cards close to his chest - if that wasn't immediately clear from the get-go.
At that point, however, the young man's attention was drawn to Anna and the hostility seeping from her words. Ramia, who was keeping a watch from behind the witch in red raised her eyebrow a little at the bout of anger in her friend's tone, and the way she seemed to be very eager to jump into a battle. Indeed, those words just made the atmosphere at the library crackle even further, to the point it was hard not to see the sparks of ambience prana in the air crackle like bismuth crystals. Orion, on the other hand, simply listened to what the dark-haired girl had to say without letting the threats affect his mood. He simply kept that same confident smile on his face through it all, calmly waiting for the girl to finish.
And once he did, he raised his hands once more, holding the knife in a relaxed manner that told he wasn't going to go for a strike any time soon. Still, the crimson hue it had was concerning to say the least.
"Now now... talking about tin cans and remorseless killers... that's kind of racist, isn't it? I mean, as pretty as you are, some stuff is just better left unsaid. What if I called you a half-blood? A words like that can certainly hurt, lady," Orion replied in an almost joking manner. "Well, water under the bridge. The situation's tense so I can understand that you'd be on the edge. That being said, you're being awfully demanding. First you bring this whole situation to a whole new level of awkward, and now you're gunning for a fight in the basement of a building full of normal people? Sheez... talk about a hothead. Though I suppose it's a bit cute."
He scratched the back of his head in a sheepish way with his unarmed hand, but continued to keep his knife up in the air where everyone could see it, really holding onto it with only his thumb.
"As for your questions, well, unfortunately there's a lot I can't answer. Mostly because it's not my place to share. Though I can tell you this..." For a moment, the smile on his face froze over, and he appeared a hint more serious. "... I'm no friend of those two psychopaths. If anything, I'm here to get back something they stole from a person close to me. That's all."
And then, just like that, the relaxed smile returned.
"... And while I'm at it, I help out a guy who was nice enough to help me out when I was in a bind myself. Can't fault a guy for that, right?"
Prushka
Location: Big Boy's Gas Station - Bar
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
Carrie blinked in surprise, as if someone had sucker-punched her. The awkward silence that followed Prushka's sudden change in seats, from the stool to Ahti's lap, lasted for a good five seconds during which Xandra and Billie looked like they were about to burst in laughter, Ahti stared at the girl sitting on him like he had been handed a bomb and Carrie Lakes... well, she stayed in that surprised stance for a moment.
But just for a moment. After all, just as quickly as it had appeared, that surprised look melted away, revealing a strange sort of grin beneath it. A one that almost felt like it had found a new sort of toy to play with, but also one ample with an odd sense of warmth.
It wasn't a smile a nasty person would have, strangely enough.
"Ooh, I see I see... Apologies. I didn't realize I was about to park my car in a space that was already taken," Carrie replied with an amused giggle, grasping Prushka's hand as they shook. "I'm Carrie Lakes. Nice to meet you, Prushka. And again, my bad. I was just having a bit of fun, but I certainly didn't want to step on the claim of another... snort... woman."
For some reason, Carrie seemed to be having even more fun than before. Billie just shook her head and rolled her eyes, while Xandra was content with smiling at the situation.
Ahti, on the other hand, let out an annoyed grunt - though he seemed glad that the danger was over. Like it had been the most natural thing to do, he used Prushka's head as an arm-rest and reached out for his beer once more.
"Girls, I swear..." The boy grumbled to himself.
Originally Posted by Prushka
"Xandra, what are you feeling? Whiskey? Moonshine? One of the local brews? Oh, and what about that?"
That made the bartender's eyebrows shoot towards her hairline.
"Excuse me what now? Miss, I don't think they're exactly the type of drinks I can sell to you - it's against the law, y'know. If Michael about it, he'd tan my hide, I swear..." Billie answered, putting her hands on her hips. "As I said, we might not have too much in terms of soft drinks, but that's the only thing I can---"
"Eh, isn't it alright, Billie?"
Carrie cut into the conversation with a raised eyebrow and a lazy wave of her hand.
"I mean, we're clearly in the company of grown women, they should be able to order what they want," the woman said with a mischievous smile. "And if it's my own special blend they're after, sure - I think I'm willing to part with a glass or two. In fact, could you make it four? Put it on my tab, and pour one for yourself if you want - I don't mind one bit."
After a long, stern stare from the bartender, Billie finally let out a sigh and relented, grabbing the square bottle from the top shelf. She began to pour it into four lowball glasses, scrunching up her nose at the liquid. It was black as tar and almost as thick, and for some reason there was a greenish sort of hue to it... one that didn't exactly seem safe.
"No thanks," the bartender answered as she did her job. "You know I can't stand mint..."
Xandra, who got her glass first, sniffed at the spirits appraisingly, before shooting a grin towards Prushka.
"Well well, look at you - got us free drinks and everything," she commented.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
Originally Posted by Liana
"...Who's that? One of the club members? A coworker?"
Hawthorn shrugged a bit as he lifted himself up from the armchair.
"Well, a like-minded individual, I suppose. She bunks here when she can," the man replied as he started to walk over to the staircase. "Just a moment..."
With that, Hawthorn walked to the top of the stairs, where he waited for the silver-haired woman who was ascending those same stairs right at that moment. He lifted his hand in a lazy sort of greeting, only to get a momentary glare as his response. That glare was followed by the woman letting out a tiny sigh, which seemed to relax her body. It was almost as if she had expected anyone to approach her to be an enemy, only to relax a little when she spotted the black-haired man. Once the one-eyed woman had reached the top of the stairs, she turned to face Hawthorn and folded her arms - like she was confronting him.
"Lazing about again, Thorne?" She asked with a husky, quiet voice. "Have you gotten anything useful done recently? Besides spying on the kids?"
Hawthorne let out a dry chuckle and shrugged again.
"Well, you know me. I work best in the night shift. In other words, it isn't my time to shine yet," he replied in a vague way. "And unlike you, I don't have to take the backroads and dark alleys since my face doesn't look like I went through twelve rounds with a shotgun."
The woman grunted, though she didn't exactly sound genuinely annoyed. Instead she reached out and poked the man in the ribs - quite hard, in fact.
"Yes, instead you take unnecessary risks. This is why you got shot here the other day," she said, repeating the poke and causing the man to yelp a little. "What have I told you about being too soft? That's not a way to get anywhere. Even now it's dark enough that you could easily go out without endangering yourself, and yet here you are, sitting here and getting drunk with..."
The woman peered at the Ferguson and Liana with her one good eye, while the agent greeted her with a simple nod.
"... Who are they, anyway? I know a fed when I see one, but who's the girl?" She asked, sounding suspicious.
Hawthorn made a vague gesture with his hand.
"Just some 'friends' I've made. This here's Special Agent Ferguson, while over here is Liana," Hawthorn introduced the duo, before nodding back towards the woman. "Guys, this is Fyrtio. Just... well, Fyrtio."
The silver-haired woman let out a questioning hum and gazed at the two, but didn't deign them with a greeting. Instead, her eye turned back towards the black-haired man with a slightly questioning look in it.
"So this is what you've been doing? Instead of using your time wisely, you're hanging out with a girl half your age?"
Hawthorn let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his neck.
Still, it was strange. While they were rather blunt, it also seemed they were being rather familiar with each other. Especially since Hawthorn wasn't the type to let just anyone touch him, even if just to admonish him or to play a joke...
Something hit Alexstrasza straight on the forehead - something which, as it turned out, was Travis's finger thanks to the boy flicking the blonde girl... and rather hard at that! Hard enough that it left a bright red mark on the otherwise pale forehead. Still, luckily enough, the boy had at least removed his knuckledusters before he had gone on to do that.
Now he just stood there, arms folded and with a stern stare leveled at Alexstrasza, while the remaining flames of her last spell still roared and sputtered around them.
"Do you really take me for that much of a moron? Even I can see that something goddamn weird is going on at this point - what with the exploding legs, blood whips and fire roaring out of your fingertrips. Stuff like this would only be explainable if it was a high-budget prank pulled by Industrial Lights & Magic, and I'm sorry but I don't see Mr. Spielberg anywhere," Travis retorted, sounding vaguely annoyed that the girl had even tried to pull wool over his eyes. "More than that, I saw how that two-bit goon looked at you - he was being completely serious, the jackass that he was. And so were you."
The eyes of the blue-haired boy narrowed.
"In fact, you were having fun weren't you?" He asked, accusingly. "Fun that you were able to let loose like this. So to try and claim this was all some bullshit prank pulled on us outta nowhere..."
Travis raised his fist, those knuckles of him looking quite dangerous at the moment.
"--- I swear I will noogie you till you cry if you try it. Even I'm not that much of a dumbass!"
And next to him stood Stephanie, arms folded and a similar stern look in her eyes. The girl had her stare locked straight at Alexstrasza and firmly, she shook her head, as if telling her not to even try it.
In the back of her mind, Alexstrasza could hear Potemkin's echoing laughter.
... From the looks of it, she was all alone in this mess.
"Any other earth-shaking revelations you got for me tonight, geezer? Or should we save it til I've come back to save the princess from the tower?"
Joshua snorted.
"Not that I remember, kid. Then again, what might be common knowledge to me might be mindblowing to you - who even knows? I've been stuck in this darn lighthouse for a good hundred years now. I've seen and heard a lot of things as the town grew prosperous and then died a slow death. All sorts of people, all sorts of fates, from the happy to the bloody. Of course, most of them are through hearsay - it's not like I could leave. But I know enough," the ghost explained with a wry expression. "Still, some of it might be useful to you. If you survive this hullabaloo, I guess we can sit down and shoot crap till our jaws fall of. But..."
At that moment, the pair of mismatched eyes gazed upwards, towards the top of the lighthouse. There, in the dimming light of the evening, Elaine could see a glimpse of a silver-haired youth draped in his usual green attire, sitting in the shadows and cradling his head. Even from this far away, it was easy enough to see that he was fighting back every step of the way, and only the fact that the ghost of Michael Lowgate was asleep right now was giving him some reprieve.
The troubles never ended...
"--- First things first. We've gotta get your boy fixed up and drive that ornery sonuvagun outta him," Joshua continued looking back at Elaine. "I'm not sure what you're planning, but I can tell you this. If you're headed out to get someone to help with your plans, I can try to hold him in this lighthouse for a while... though the way I'm now and the way he's now, I might only last for one night. Would be easier if we had something that could trap ghosts within this building for a day or two but... well, I'm not sure if such a convenient thing exists. Maybe one of those holy fellers, but haven't seen hair or hide of them since McLampets took over. Same with the Klallams."
Thinking about it, it might not have been a coincidence that the spiritual experts of the town had been driven away, especially with this lighthouse being what it was.
"Anyways... will you be okay out there?" Joshua questioned the girl. "Have you got an inkling what to do?"
She drove the straight-tipped blade deep into the nearest creature, it's twisting and writhing shadowy form suddenly convulsing as the weapon dug deeper. Immediately, Hisa was able to realize what both Sakura and Pyry had been talking about. These creatures... they hardly even felt like they were there. The body was fleeting, their existence was only half-recognized by the world, and thus, it didn't even feel like she was striking into the flesh of something. No, it was like her weapon had struck inside a thick gas or light water, slicing into it without any force even being really necessary.
In response for the attack, the strange creature let out a wordless scream, trying to bring it's head closer to use those all-too human teeth to bite into her. Luckily Hisa had taken the precautions and stood far enough away that it was a futile attempt.
Still, the attack with the Der Nagel had the expected effect - even when it hadn't been attack. To a fleeting existence that could barely even be called that, a relic with its own proper history and with considerable "weight" to its existence, parting away the twisting and morphing shadows of the Eye was all too easy. As the blade dug deeper, the shadowy outer shell naturally retreated away, like animal shying away from the burn of a fire. And as the outer shell cracked and diminished, Hisa could see what truly lay beneath this monstrous form of a facsimile human...
--- Nothing.
It was literally empty inside.
Wait, no... not completely empty.
It had simply taken Hisa a few moments to recognize the existence of something that seemed to float at the very center of this being, tiny strings of would-be light suspending it at the heart of the monster.
Taking a closer look, Hisa found that despite its hideous outer shell, the "heart" of this monster...
Was unnervingly beautiful.
Like a tear-drop shaped crystal.
No, not just a regular crystal.
That blue shine and the shimmering, iridescent gloss it had...
... It felt almost artificial, yet natural like the coloring of a butterfly's wings.
The sudden voice of Pyry pulled the girl back from her reverie as she had been staring at the crystal. Before she even knew it, the boy was standing right next to her, as if ready to defend her from any in-coming attack. The girl could see how the familiar-looking black armor started to ripple underneath the skin of the boy's arms, and his cat-like eyes were focused straight to the eastern corridor. Meanwhile Sakura had perched herself on top of the bannister, holding her remaining Der Nagels between her fingers and a Japanese shortsword in another. The girl looked ready to assault any of the creatures that came from down below, rushing up the stairs from the first floor.
Allene, who had been watching all that was going on with growing confusion and dread, suddenly found herself in a quick hug by Gradient - followed by a pat on the head as if to tell the girl that everything was going to be alright.
"Muu~!" Gradient let out an affirmative noise, throwing a thumbs up at Hisa.
"W-what... what is going on?" Allene, on the other hand, whispered. "You defeated the monsters just like that...? W-with but a single command? But, how, what... what are you people?"
Pyry let out a chuckle that didn't sound exactly most amused.
"Well, ain't there a long story? Believe me, there's not enough time to go through it all. Suffice to say, we're the good guys, and we're here to help - especially against monsters as obviously evil as these," he replied, cracking his knuckles. "Speaking of which, three o'clock - I see the two that were on this floor. They're coming in hot!"
The boy wasn't kidding.
The blackened, shadowy monsters, with the red petroglyphs swirling all over their bodies, were barreling down the corridor with frightening speeds. One of them was bulleting down the hallway floor, headed straight for Hisa who had squatted among its comraders to stab them. The other was coursing at the ceiling, occasionally bouncing from wall to wall. It was like watching two lightning strikes in forms of shadows crash through the building, led by a pair of gaping maws with all-too human teeth that hungered for the flesh of those who had dared to attack them. At the same time, Hisa could hear the noise of similar non-existent feet enter the staircase as the group from below rushed over each other trying to get up to the second floor.
Next to Hisa, she could hear the groan of world's rules being bent as Pyry prepared his considerable power, lifting up his fists and getting ready for a strike.
And in the darkness of the room, Sakura's blades gleamed hungrily, ready to strike down on anyone foolish enough to get too close.
The atmosphere was like a lit fuse and the powderkeg was only few millimeters away.
Crackling sparks, lights of burning spirits, echoed in the black-veiled manor now that the sun had descended.
And in the middle of it all stood a scarred girl, dressed in the veil of a Odic Particles, dancing fragments of an internal world made real, and her mental authority that had boomed like the Word of a Monarch.
A fraction of a second until explosion.
--- The time for decision was now.
"--- What'll it be, 'leader'?"
Pyry asked with a confident smirk.
"Fight or retreat back to the safe-zone?"
Initiative Check!
Sakura Tsukioka: 5 VS Pyry Leijonamieli: 5 VS Hisa Momoi: 3 VS The Eyes: 3 Coinflip! Sakura Tsukioka wins! Coinflip!
Hisa Momoi wins!
BATTLE START! Round 1, Turn 1: Sakura Tsukioka
Round 1, Turn 1: Sakura Tsukioka (Holding their Turn)
Round 1, Turn 2: Pyry Leijonamieli (Holding their Turn)
Round 1, Turn 3: Hisa Momoi<--
Round 1, Turn 4: The Eyes
Last edited by Verg Avesta; April 15th, 2021 at 05:17 PM.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
I am not the jealous type.
They are words that seem to ring true if one were to regard her behavior over the week... Annoyingly positive or not, kind of pushy or not, certainly the dark-haired young woman was someone that always maintained at least a bit of her cool, her self-styled maturity, the behavior of a person who would certainly like to get along with everyone around them if they could, but...
I am not the jealous type.
The repeated words in her head, sounding over and over like a mantra or an incantation, are accompanied by a sudden blank expression, one she doesn't even realize she's making, not really, as she watches the woman interact with Thorne, or rather...
The real chummy way they were acting with each other.
For some reason it kind of bothered her.
I am not the jealous type. I am not the jealous type. I am not the jealous type. I am not the jealous type.
It continues.
Certainly, she knows that it wouldn't be cool of her to be jealous; she can't just growl at any female friends he might have, that would just be unreasonable, completely unreasonable and super childish, and she was a paragon of reasonable, talking to people was her specialty-! Of course, this person seemed like they'd been on the losing end of a few too many fights, but that was okay, that was fine, totally fine, she was sure they could all be friends all the same-!
She hypes herself up to do the correct thing.
---It's certainly a struggle.
Burying her negativity was her normal way, but jealousy? When had she ever had cause to be jealous? Would she even know what jealousy felt like when it hit her?
She came into an area, made friends for awhile, and then left when her job was done, never got close enough to feel jealous, but this...
This felt different-
No.
This was fine.
Totally fine.
She wasn't the jealous type at all-!
---Under different circumstances, she might have even swallowed her own
nonsense
words,
but-
The woman jabs him.
She jabs him hard, not just once, but twice, and he lets her, and then the woman throws shade on her for being young, as if that automatically meant she wasn't useful and-
Who the hell does this bitch think she is...?
-something... Ugly... Slips out from amongst the other thoughts.
Really it crashes through the mantra like a runaway train, shattering her own attempts to maintain her usual self, and leading to a sudden surge of that oh-so-difficult to acknowledge feeling, one that visibly shakes her smile for a moment, no, almost destroys it outright as all effort goes into not falling straight into a disapproving frown because of the ugly thing she must suppress, thus...
"Liana Skye. Pinefall Student. Nice to meet you."
...It's uncharacteristically cold for her.
While she usually greets people with a smile and warm feelings, the tone she's taken now is polite but emotionless, no, not emotionless...
Strained.
It's strained politeness, a certain sort of fire lurking just beneath it.
She herself might not even notice it.
"You shouldn't jab someone in bullet wounds, you know? Even if they're the type that heals pretty easily, it's still very impolite."
Talking about this sort of thing right in front of an FBI Agent? You stupid, lady?
Bitter thoughts have replaced quite a few of her warm ones.
Still...
"Tch..."
Somewhat aware that she's being unfair, and huffing to herself at the realization, a wave of something like shame mixing with the other feeling, well...
"You got any whiskey left Scottie?"
Maybe alcohol would bury it easier.
This wasn't like herself at all...!
Last edited by Airen; April 16th, 2021 at 04:58 AM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Alexstrasza Lockhart Location: Road's End - Back Alley
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
I flinched, covering my forehead with a sulky look as I rubbed the skin where Travis had flicked me, glaring at him mulishly. It was a good plan, right?! It wasn't like I was lying, I was just... I was just... Fiddling with the truth a little! That's totally different from lying, it's just a skillful form of deceit!
"Do you really take me for that much of a moron? Even I can see that something goddamn weird is going on at this point - what with the exploding legs, blood whips and fire roaring out of your fingertrips. Stuff like this would only be explainable if it was a high-budget prank pulled by Industrial Lights & Magic, and I'm sorry but I don't see Mr. Spielberg anywhere. More than that, I saw how that two-bit goon looked at you - he was being completely serious, the jackass that he was. And so were you."
"N-n-"
"In fact, you were having fun weren't you? Fun that you were able to let loose like this. So to try and claim this was all some bullshit prank pulled on us outta nowhere..."
I deflated a little. It's not my fault! It was fun! Do you know how little I've been able to do magic since I've arrived at Road's End, Travis?! Seriously, it's few and far between that I'm allowed to cast anything these days, and I used to cast magic as regularly as the sun rose and as frequently as it set! My entire life revolved around it, so isn't it fine that I'm a little happy when I get to do the thing I love the most!?
"--- I swear I will noogie you till you cry if you try it. Even I'm not that much of a dumbass!"
"Ack! No! The last time that happened I was seven! You can't just threaten me with such a vile thing like it's... like it's totally normal!" I covered my head in fear, as I took a step back, only to realize that there was a wall behind me. No escape!? W-was he planning this in advance?! "It's definitely a practical joke! Or a... Or a... Um... Um..."
Potemkiiiiiin! You can't just laugh in my shadow and watch everything go to hell! It's not fair! Please! Just a little bit of help would be nice, okay?! I-If you come out, I promise I'll do anything you want! Even if it's something really weird, like having dinner and actually eating it!
"Fine! It's magic, okay?! I'm a mage! I do magic, by speaking dead languages, alright!? It's totally normal where I'm from! Actually, it's really not that normal, and in fact I'm considered a little bit of a prodigy, but it's normal for me!"
I glared at Travis, cowering against the wall. The Turnside wasn't kind. It was a cruel and wicked thing, that didn't give a damn who introduced who to what, but the easiest way to escape those kind of chains was to drag people deeper in. But it's a hell of wickedness and cruelty, where men live and die by their own abilities. To bring someone so ordinary into it... I...
"Aaaaaaaargh!" I stomped my foot on the ground and shook my head, before looking up at Travis with a glare and crossing my arms as I bit my lip. I flicked a fingernail off my teeth, gnawing at it a bit as I tapped it against my lips. How do I get out of this? What do I do? "It's all that idiot's fault anyways! This damnable world's going to blame me, but he's the one who attacked right?! It's not my fault! It's his!"
I pulled out my grimoire, flicking through the pages as I scanned it, pretending like I was reading. The words swirled across the page, glittering with a shiny script as they formed arrays and forms that I recognized only vaguely; my focus was always coated in Red.
"It's too complicated to explain! It's too ridiculous to be believed! It's just... It's just... Magic, alright? The sorcery of the world, the scenery of my soul! I didn't want you involved, but..."
Seven godsdamned choirs.
I closed my book, and looked at Travis with annoyed eyes.
"There's a world that exists underneath the one you know. Technically, I suppose it'd be underneath even your underworld. That's where I'm from. Science? Technology? Why would I give a damn about any of it, or know about any of it? I was raised in a world where we lit lights with flames from our hands, and walked under lanterns crafted from starlight."
I stamped my foot on the ground, crossing my arms and gnashing my teeth. This damnable reality. This too different place... It's really nice.
But...
But...!
"This world... This world flipped in reverse...! It's just too confusing for me! All of you are so strange! Why is it that I'm the bizarre one, when I'm moving as I've been taught?! What makes me so strange, huh!? It's all of you who are weird! With your emotions that you don't hold to your chests, telling each other secrets, and growing closer because of them... It's not normal! It's totally not normal to be like that! Where's the dagger hidden behind your back!? Where's the knife you're planning to slip between my ribs?! I totally get that! Lane... He makes sense! Even if he's mad, even if he's cruel, I understand it! It's the rest of you... All the students at this school...! All the teachers I've been meeting...! All the people in this place...!"
It's frustrating. It's been so frustrating I want to scream. I don't understand any of it. It's too different from what I'm used to, too disconnected from my reality, that I can't bear it.
"S-so what if I had a little fun! I like it! I like the blood, the danger, the terror! Even if it hurts, even if its scary... It's... It's really, really fun to fight with someone with both of us putting our lives on the line!"
I glared at Travis, before looking away, biting my lip.
"Is... is that really so wrong...?"
in the end we will make thoughtcrime impossible, for there shall be no words to express it
#THELEGENDNEVERDIES
[01:05.15] <@Spinach> I can flash gang signs faster than Sasuke can perform ninjutsu and I rap like Medea's High Speed Divine Words.
Prushka
Location: Big Boy's Gas Station - Bar
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
"Car? Claim? Does that make you a parking lot...?"
I look up at the man as he sips on his beer, questioning. Does he get it? This metaphor might be getting a bit too tangled up. As expected, adult doublespeak is on another level. I should be on the lookout; Ms. Carrie has a gentle smile, but there's definitely a scary lady behind it.
"Then, um, I'll be the ticket booth - wah!"
An elbow settles atop my head and pushes the helmet down over my eyes as the surly cat boy returns to his beer now that the threat has been kept at bay.
"Gah! Ahti! Is this how you repay a favour!? Next time I'll leave the booth wide open!"
I reach up, trying to swat his hand away, but... my arms. They're too short. And I can't see anything while he can.
Originally Posted by Billie
"Excuse me what now? Miss, I don't think they're exactly the type of drinks I can sell to you - it's against the law, y'know. If Michael about it, he'd tan my hide, I swear... As I said, we might not have too much in terms of soft drinks, but that's the only thing I can---"
Originally Posted by Carrie
"Eh, isn't it alright, Billie? I mean, we're clearly in the company of grown women, they should be able to order what they want. And if it's my own special blend they're after, sure - I think I'm willing to part with a glass or two. In fact, could you make it four? Put it on my tab, and pour one for yourself if you want - I don't mind one bit."
Originally Posted by Xandra
"Well well, look at you - got us free drinks and everything."
Thus, by the time I manage to push my helmet back up and see the countertop... it's occupied.
"Eh? I did? This is...? You mean...?"
I stare down at the small glass full of thick black liquid placed before me. It doesn't seem real. Even though the sharp alcohol-and-mint-and-salt smell crawling up my nose begs to differ.
A drink? A real drink? At a real bar? For real?
"Carrie... I'll never forget this."
I give her a thumbs up and a nod of understanding. Maybe I misjudged you. Letting one of my longstanding dreams come true like this, you're definitely an amazing woman.
"D-don't worry, Billie," I reassure the boisterous bartender as I lift up one of the glasses, feeling its weight on my fingers and strong scent wafting through the air. "Might not look like it, but I'm actually sixtee... er, I was actually sixteen five years ago! You wouldn't be the first to assume I was a kid. Runs in the family even; half of us shoot for the moon, other half are a bit slow to grow. Got a brother who was about the same height." Even if he did end up growing while we were apart. Snow, you traitor! I want to cheer for you, but also, how dare you leave me alone like that! "S-so you won't get in trouble or anything. As long as you don't crack any short jokes."
The strong smell of the alcohol draws in my train of thought. Its too powerful to ignore now. Too alluring.
"Anyway, enough yapping! Let's give this a try..."
I glance at Xandra and nod. Let's go!
Gulp.
I bring the glass up to my lips, stare into the inky black liquid, take a small sip, and...
"..."
It's completely different from the vodka. That was just gross from start to finish. But this... this...
It's... so... sweet... like cough syrup... but also... so salty... drawing all the moisture out of my mouth... and the mint... like mouthwash...
Why...? It's like... the back and front of my tongue... are tasting different things at once...
I have to swallow... I can't... but I have to...
Gulp.
Clonk.
The glass settles down on the counter again, with barely a dent made in its contents. I stare at it with renewed respect and a hint of fear. It stares back as if daring me to tango again.
I will, drink. We'll face off once more. After I gather my strength. But until then...
"...Ahti. Be careful. It might be too much for you."
If he has a cat's tongue, it could kill him outright.
Since when had his eyes drifted to the window, drawn to the pale light of the softly glowing moon shining through the glass? Why had he allowed his attention to wander away from her when she spoke? How was it that he felt it not a breach of etiquette to let his gaze wander to the sight of the crescent moon?
Yet despite those questions passing through his conscious, he felt the answer as naturally as his heart pumped blood through his veins. That to look upon the moon was no different than to look upon Lenore.
Still, he pondered; why was the moon out so early?
Colt’s amber eyes returned to the royal vampire. Looking at her, wasn’t it obvious? After all, she glowed with that same enchanting light, mysterious, peaceful and dangerous.
“So it wants me, us, to fear and hate it. If we believe it, if we seriously begin to think that it’s behind all of this, it will… anchor,” he thought about the terminology chosen by Lenore, giving slight pause as he considered the implications. “To this world. Because it’s trapped in that one, the one I see it in. The one in my dreams.”
The misty forest clearing, the tiny sanctuary for Muse. A dream that he visited, made up of his own thoughts. Weaved together in part by his memories. Or perhaps it would be more accurately called a prison for Dot F. Loonwaters. The peaceful meadow surrounded by perilous, nightmarish forest that was like the eye of the storm.
“If that’s the case, I fell for it.” With the realization, or rather having understood the theory, he breathed out in an admittance of momentary defeat. “But that also means there’s a way I can thwart it, isn’t there?”
He peered past the moonlight, into the eyes of red.
“If I can prove it wrong, if I can show that it’s not the cause of all this, can’t I turn that plan against it? But that… it wouldn’t be enough, would it?” He knew this allegory. Unlike the world of the Turnside where he did not belong, this was something he could understand, even if it was applied to a world far beyond him. “If you’re just shadows on the wall, it doesn’t matter. The fire just has to waver a bit and whatever I can prove would change into something else.”
Being free to voice his thoughts, Colt found himself describing, thus realizing, just how trapped he was. The soft breath of the girl sleeping beside him was the only accompaniment to his words, the vampire beholding him watching and listening while clutching an inexhaustible glass of cognac.
“So we’re being kept prisoner in Plato’s Cave and it’s doubling as Schrödinger's box. We’re like Plato’s Cat inside of Schrödinger's Cave. And Lu-,” Colt caught himself halfway into using the older name he had attached to the being before him. “Lenore, you’re outside of the cave. Yet right now, to me, you’re here, able to talk to and see me. Is that because the you I see now is just a shadow on the wall? But then if I’m just a what-if inside Schrödinger's Cave, what am I, as you see me?”
He stopped to mull over it again. Lenore’s words.
“In a truly literal cat box such as this, anything may be possible.”
“I’m almost completely winging it,” I confessed, “Absolutely nothing from here on out is guaranteed, and there’s a non-zero chance that the person I’m asking to help me won’t, or that the information won’t be good enough.”
“Currently we’re going with the ‘get blackmail on the dumb ghost and then bullying him out before slamming him a couple dozen times into solid rock’ plan’. That last plan is probably going to show up anyway, to be clear. I’m in need of a vent and one has volunteered.”
“You shouldn’t have to worry much beyond tonight, one way or another.”
“I’m getting rid of him tonight, one way or another. I’m not going to let him suffer a moment longer than I have to.”
I snorted, “Just have to make sure I’m not going to get myself killed. I’ll be back, for better or worse. It’s my responsibility, and I’m no shirker.”
Just gotta jump through these hoops, talk to Subaru, make sure she won’t shoot me, talk to one of the Catholics, make sure ‘they’ won’t kill me (or him), then slap some kit together with a hope and a prayer and come get my ghostbuster on.
There wasn’t even anything to stab the dagger into. As it dug deeper and deeper, the ‘flesh’, or the form of the creature just pulled away from it, almost as if it feared the relic’s existence, and the hole that was slowly forming seemed to reveal a hollow inside...almost as if the being was nothing more than a shadowy shell…
Except for one small, teardrop shaped object, suspended in the midst of this emptiness by what seemed to be tiny strings of light.
Quite unexpected.
Could it have been the anchor that kept the creatures here? But why would they need an anchor like this in the first place…
Not to mention, the way it looked like…
Pyry’s sudden voice distracted my thoughts from the crystal as my gaze rose up to them, and then the approaching creatures he warned us about.
“Ah…”
Even my anger was momentarily subdued by the weirdly fascinating, but nonetheless unnerving revelation.
“Don’t worry Allene, we’ll explain once this is over.”
My voice was quiet and calm, as neither of the conflicting puzzlement and rage could take its place in my tone.
My eyes turned back towards the creature beneath me. Its shadowy form seemed to regrow slowly, trying to close up the crack made in its shell, and veil its crystal organ in darkness again.
But I wouldn’t let that. I drove my hand into the hole in its form, and grasped the shimmering object, yanking it out of its ‘body’. Surely, if this was their anchor, then…
As the connection was cut, the monster’s form seemed to dissipate within moments, turning into nothingness. It seemed that with the crystal detached, it really could not remain in existence.
Still...a photonic crystal?
They weren’t that unheard of, especially its forms that occured in nature, but creating them artificially is still a fairly recent, and not exactly perfected technology…
A mirror, perhaps? To manipulate light?
I glanced at the others - I was sure that they saw what just happened as well.
“You know what to aim for now.”
Quickly, I stood up, and pulled out my own dagger as well, holding one in each hand now. Fighting like this was not my forte - but I did not want to exhaust all my reserves unless it was necessary. Best was to keep it for defense, for the others that were still approaching, and as a last resort, if something else would still happen. I didn’t want to end up being powerless, not like last time…
“But be careful, we still don’t entirely know what they can do. And try not to make too much noise, or damage the environment. What we’re doing is already quite rude.”
The plan was clear - even if I would have preferred if it was a decision that we agreed on together. I was no leader. I wanted to hear their input too. Still, I guess this case there was too little time for discussions.
With swift steps, I launched myself towards one of the approaching monsters, hoping to be able to get a hold of its anchor as well. With it resisting, it certainly wasn’t going to be as easy, but...I could only hope that I wasn’t rushing into something that was more than what I could handle.
A short, very light parrying dagger with a decorated handle and a slightly oversized blade made out of a dark, matte steel. While seemingly special, it's still just a simple dagger - nevertheless, it's still a treasured item that Hisa takes good care of.
Artificial Fingers [Future Tech] + [Partly Fake]
Rank : A
A state-of-art piece of implant, a side project of various android related researches meant to properly imitate and replicate a human body. Normally, it was meant to serve as a whole hand replacement prosthetic, but in Hisa's case it was broken down and modified only to make up for the three fingers on her left hand that were damaged during her childhood accident. The implant is made up of a light and flexible alloy that is meant to serve as the bones, while rest of the fingers were reconstructed through an artificial cell growth technology. Other than looking perfectly natural. (with a few errors - for example, the tone of the skin is not affected by exposure to sunlight like normal skin is) it also retains all the functionalities of a biological finger. Hisa's model was further customized to compliment her abilities by making the fingertips extremely sensitive while also providing her a small array of functions that she can apply via touch.
The tool was a birthday gift that she received from Angelica sometime after they met and is something that - quite literally - became a part of her being. As she does not know what the model is originally called, and because she has an awful naming sense, if she has to, she just tends to refer to them as [Redacted].
The first function, something that she usually applies through her ring finger, is something akin to sensory amplification. When touching something, she can create and amplify a certain type of sensation, be that the feeling of cold or warmth, pain, or immense pleasure.
The second function is something akin to a sonar based on the enhanced sensitivity of the finger, capable of vaguely mapping out her surroundings and detecting living beings. In addition, because of its sensivity, the finger serves as the 'retrieval tool' when she uses her Retrocognition to extract the residual memory of biological objects.
When tapping her finger against a solid surface, it is possible to use it as something akin to a sonar. Each tap sends out a soundless, more or less undetectable wave from the spot to 40 meters in all directions, which is then reflected back to her after they hit something that is moving in that area.
The third function allows Hisa to 'cleanse' any status effect through an appropriate respones mechanism, while also initiating a small scale regeneration around the touched part. The target can be Hisa herself as well, as long as she can manage to touch any part of her body with her fingers.
Abilities
Category : Emotion Transference
Experiencing emotionally stimulating events, or just by rekindling certain memories from the past, Hisa is capable of embracing, and forcing the effects of that governing emotion upon the minds of those around her. While in theory the array of possible emotions is vast, many of them are either too trivial or ones that Hisa is not too fond of. Instead, she tries to focus on just a select few, the ones that she is most familiar with, and refine those as best as she can.
To be utilized properly, Hisa needs to be in a certain state of mind. While most of the time it is not particularly hard to achieve, certain situations can still make it more difficult, and without the governing emotion fueling her power, the effect may be lacking.
Anger
Rank : B
Element : Choleric
Anger has always been an emotion that Hisa had to repress, and keep deep down within her heart. Still, it's hardly something she is unaccustomed with. Through her life, many have caused her pain and grief, and most of the time she just had to swallow it down...But she also knows how good it feels to lash back at those people without caring about the consequences, to let her anger surface and run amok, if just for a moment. When used, Hisa draws power from the hatred accumulated within her heart, and projects it into the minds of those around her. While it has no visible effects, for those affected the atmosphere will start feeling much heavier and oppressive, almost as if Hisa's fury was weighting on them physically. Any target that is unable to resist is forced on their knees and and becomes unable to move. For long as Hisa is channelling her power, the mental terror will force most to instinctively focus on their own survival.
Create a sphere of 25 meters with the center point being Hisa. Any target Hisa designs within range is subjected to an INT Protection contest against a shattering score of 13. If they fail, they immediately become Prone and Restrained on the spot. The ability has a Duration of 4 Rounds.
“T-t-time machine?!” the doll said as it held its head with its little arms, clearly in disbelief, “A portable, working, actually, assuredly, undoubtedly working machine? We’ve heard of many experiments, but they are experiments for a reason…”
Indeed, especially from a scientific approach, the concept of a time machine was far from the simplest thing. In reality, it wasn’t like some cheap sci-fi novel where some teenagers with above average imagination could accidentally create one while messing around with their parents’ DIY kit in the garage or backyard. They required a tremendous amount of theoretical knowledge to even get started with planning the experimental equipment that likely costs a fortune by itself and is still far from being any sort of guarantee that it would work in any way in the first place…
So perhaps the doll’s reaction was somewhat understandable.
Still, it calmed down fast enough - though only for its mood to swing towards another extreme. Crossing its arms in front of its chest, the doll pouted slightly, though, perhaps this reaction was understandable as well, considering the situation they’ve been in.
“We don’t know. Even if a time machine exists, it can’t be responsible for what’s happening here, that just sounds even more outrageous. And if someone is powerful enough to beat us in our speciality without us even realizing anything, and create an effect as ginormous as this, then it’s a moot point. We’re not insane, but we can still only perceive what we can perceive. So we’re screwed.”
Elise struggled against the growing pain in the back of her head. The demon wasn't wrong. The Holy Church would take no chances in dealing with something like that. Even a creature as wretched as herself, harbouring a Named Demon in the back of her mind, would be enough to justify deploying a Legion or two to ensure her execution and erase the town to ensure that no trace of the demon's influence remained in this world.
Even in an emergency, they wouldn't have sent such a small group unless they were absolutely sure of their success, would they? They'd have had a trump card of some sort. Someone or something to give us the edge they'd needed.
She remained in that terrible silence as she struggled to find someone who'd been amongst them who matched the demon's description until the demon answered its own question.
Originally Posted by LBJ
"--- No. None of those who were with you was like that, were they?"
Elise screamed as there was a sudden searing pain in her right eye. It brought with it a vision, or a memory. She was having tea, somewhere, with a white haired woman. It was in Montreal, she was sure. A cafe? The basilica with the archbishop. Was that Notre Dame Basilica? After an agonizing moment, the vision was gone, although the pain still lingered, somehow still distinct against the rising pain of the ever growing migraine in the back of her head.
"That-that was Sister Marie and-and Archbishop-" stammered Elise.
Sister Marie, the leader of Silent Mill. The Executioner. The one who arranged for Lucille and Sakura to be here at Pinefall, thought Elise, Archbishop… Archbishop- Uhg, which archbishop was that? Maybe the Archbishop of Montreal, but-? Maybe? Is he helping me, or am I helping him?
"I've-I've had tea with Sister Marie before, but not-she never- I'm not someone who Sister Marie should be delegating matters to, or who should be getting personal favours from archbishops!"
Was it supposed to be me that night? Did I not do my job? Did that terrible night happen because of me? thought Elise, feeling like she'd betrayed her promise to Lucille before she even made it.
Originally Posted by LBJ
"... The thing that was summoned that night was not me. Even you should realize that by now, Girl. Me and that creature have as little to do with each other as you and the shaman girl who's now watching over you."
"I've-I've suspected that much," managed Elise as she grit her teeth against the pain and looked up at the vast eyes of the demon looking down at here, "Still, if that demon wasn't you, and that Elise-Marie Pelltier wasn't me, then where are they now, and what are we doing here?"
“How ironic,” he utters. Not to Ultra, though. He is just carelessly voicing his thoughts. A warm ache fills John’s chest as he comes to realize this…person’s, reality.
“When you worship the Sun, your world is bright. When you become the Sun, your world is night.”
What is he supposed to feel, when the one person other than Her that he can see with all her colors, also happens to be the grayest person in this caged world? He is not allowed to lament his situation, when a person so defeated exists in this world.
Nevertheless, John notices the itchy feeling of irritation again sprouting in his chest at the sight of the back Ultra presents to him. He finds it bothersome how easier it becomes to descend into this feeling the more he experiences it.
“You may be devoid of hope, but you sure remain full of yourself.”
Fortunately, his irritation is mild, smothered by a whole bunch of other emotions Ultravania has awakened from the depths of his soul…well, not quite. These are all emotions brought forth by his classmates throughout these two loops: gratitude, compassion, melancholy, pity, awe…and others. Ultra just happens to be the lucky (?) one who reaps the benefits of John Dove’s character growth.
“Let me make this clear, Ultra: me and my classmates, we don’t need your help. We don’t need your acknowledgement, and we definitely don’t need your ‘test’. We are going to end these loops, with or without you.”
Well, in the first place, it is not as if he can force her to give him any information or do anything for him.
After those merciless words, John’s expression relaxes, easing down into a faint smile.
“But I’m still doing it. I’ll find those journal pages, and present them to you.”
Easier said than done, of course. The first step is asking each and every single one of his classmates—for all he knows, they might have already found at least some of them in their individual investigations—good Lord, what if Pyry and Momoi have them? ‘Hey, be a good sport and let me have that paper so I can un-crazy your murderer, please?’ Now that is going to be one fun conversation.
“Not because we need this, but because you need it.”
Boldly, unrepentantly, he rests his hands on her small shoulders.
“Hope.”
Humans need hope. Humans need something to long for. Something that makes them look forward to tomorrow. It may be as simple as a personal cause, or unhealthy like an attachment to an uncaring nosferat, but it has to be something that pushes them forward, something that keeps them from becoming still and stale.
“So that you can recover your true self. So that you can face them all properly: the ones you protected, the ones you loved, the ones you hurt, and the ones you killed.”
There would be no point in breaking this cage if it means releasing a deranged monster into the world. Whether she can still be healed, or whether she must be put down, is still too early to decide.
“In the meantime, please hold on to that pride, and to this moment. Hold on to the belief that there is at least one person in this world that keeps you in his mind, and is trying to help you. Hold on to the belief that there are people who remember you and the doom you inflicted upon them. Hold on to the belief that some ten or twelve members of Pinefall’s First Class have become aware of this prison of time, and are doing their darnedest to break out of it.”
As usual, this encounter leaves even more unanswered questions. For example, why did Muse only contact them after so many loops?
“I guess it is difficult, but please refrain from intervention on Sunday. We already have plenty of things out to kill us, particularly the ones among our classmates to succumb to whatever it is that is causing their madness.”
In his vision of the future, the FBI people spoke of a Dot F. Loonwaters who existed in the real, physical world. If physical manifestation is what she is aiming for, could it be that she is taking advantage of whatever is truly happening in here to achieve that? Is she the author of this madness, or simply an opportunist using it to achieve her own desire? In case of the latter, then is she working with the true culprit, or is she acting on her own? And where does the Disembodied Man fit in all this?
“Also, you should know that our loop started on Wednesday morning. If I understood you correctly, your uninterrupted cycle of time transitions into an earlier point on this week. So, please do not falter if we fail in this loop and then we act in unchanging ways on the next iteration of Tuesday.”
There is a strong possibility that they will meet their deaths on Sunday yet again. What matters is that it does not end. The ceaseless repetition has dragged Ultra into hopelessness and madness. If they do not want to walk down the same path, they have to flip their mindsets: the fact that it never ends means that they will always have another chance. This is the optimistic idea the pessimist John Dove came up with.
“Even if it is a grey, colorless stage, it is real. We are both standing on it, you and I. Even if it seemed that your actions all this time achieved nothing, even if you are the only one who remembers whatever it is that happened in all those loops, the fact remains that they led to this moment, and to this meeting. I believe that. The rest is up to you.”
Reminding himself of his position, John finally pulls away. He has not forgotten he currently exists at the mercy of this person. On the other hand, the fact they can have a mostly reasonable conversation is promising in and of itself.
“Now, here’s when I would do the gentlemanly thing and pick up that cloak for you, but I do not know if that would be safe, so you will have to excuse me.”
John does not know how the flow of time works in this mysterious space; not that he really minds sticking around for as long as Ultra deems it. Going back to the grayscale world probably will not be a pleasant experience.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
"Hmm? Well, there's still some left, I suppose..."
There was a vaguely amused smile on the agent's face.
"Though I'm not sure if this is the right moment for a glass or two," he continued. "Drinking for one's enjoyment is all well and good, but using it as a distraction or a scapegoat never ends well. I can say that from experience."
Still, the bottle sat there on the table, almost invitingly. And sure enough, there were few more glasses ready there, at the edge of the table, along with a plastic bucket of ice. In other words, it was like the whole table had been set for Liana to drink and forget her current, confusion emotions about the odd situation that she found herself in, one that had started with the appearance of a completely unknown woman.
--- Woman who, at some point, had also moved next to the table, and now leaned over Liana to look at the bottle.
"Hmm. Laphroaig? Not a bad choice at all. People so young rarely have a palate as deep as that - that's a bit of a surprise," Fyrtio spoke with that monotone, husky voice of hers, as if she hadn't even realized Liana had been quite curt with her. "Would you mind if I poured myself a glass as well? It's been a while since I sat down and enjoyed a glass with someone who appreciates the finer things in life... yet shows a modicum of self-respect regarding them."
The last words were accompanied by a glance towards Hawthorn, who had followed the others back to the sitting area, and was looking at Liana with a slightly confused expression.
That being said, there was a more immediate problem here.
This woman...
... She actually hadn't realized that Liana's view of her was quite dim, had she?
"As for your worry, disperse with them. It wasn't anything serious, and he's the type to heal fast. Though, since you're hanging out with him, you probably have realized that he's the type to not take care of himself because of that, right?" Fyrtio continued, letting the spirits fill her glass. "Well, maybe one good thing about someone young and energetic taking pity on him is that he'll no longer pull his usual stunts. Though... ah."
Suddenly, Fyrtio's one good eye snapped towards Ferguson, as if she realized he was there for the first time.
"That is..." the woman said with a stiff tone, her stern mask growing a hint sheepish. "... This must have sounded odd."
Scottie simply chuckled and made an exaggerated shrug, a look of feigned innocence on his face.
"Why, I have no idea what you mean, my dear," he replied. "In all honesty, I believe I became deaf for twenty seconds or so just now - whatever was said then completely passed by me."
Even the one-eyed woman cracked a hint of a smile at the agent's antics, clearly appreciating his tact. Hawthorn snickered a bit and walked over back to his chair, sitting down on it.
"Anyways, me and her go back a little bit. Well, she might be as awkward as she looks, but don't let it bother you," the man spoke with a wry smirk. "She means well... at least I think so."
Fyrtio, in response, nodded and sat down as well.
"Yes. Suffice to say, we went through a rather harrowing experience a long time ago. We've known each other ever since."
That, in turn, piqued Hawthorn's attention.
"Oh, speaking of which - did Mrs. Tinsel contact you? I hear she was supposed to..."
Fyrtio simply shook her head, causing Hawthorn to sigh in annoyance.
Alexstrasza Lockhart Location: Road's End - Back Alley
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
"Hmh? No, I don't think it's that weird? I mean... there's adrenaline junkies of all kinds. Who cares how you get your kicks?"
Travis's response was surprisingly to-the-point and laid-back. The boy had spoken it with folded arms and a slightly surprised expression on his face, like he hadn't expected for Alexstrasza to actually get stuck on that point out of all the strange things that had been going on here - and the thug-like youth's response to it all. If anything, he didn't seem to care one bit that the girl had fought with such a wide, beaming grin on her face.
Though that surprised look didn't last for long. Instead, Travis stopped closer and readied his fast, about to bring down the thunder...!
"What I'm mad about is the fact that you think you can make a moron outta me after you show me something like that!" Travis continued to growl. "I mean, how dumb do you think take me for! Especially since... since..."
Wait.
What was that glimmer in his eyes?
"... What was fucking coolest shit I've ever seen!"
What?
"I mean, what kinda guy wouldn't love this shit? First you were like, swash and made some creepy blood whips come outta your body, and then the guy was like, bam! And he got all blurry and fast! Then you countered with... what were those, some sorta physical shadows? Actually, that breaks so many physical laws that I think I'll have a small nervous breakdown about it later..." Travis suddenly switched gear, sounding like a kid in a candy store. "A-ny-ways! Then he dodged and hit you with that lightbeam cheapshot, but then you went fwoooosh and had a fucking dragon's breath coming outta your fingertips! Like, duuuuude! That's wicked as all hell!"
The fist that had been promising noogies relaxed itself, and instead simply rapped Alexstrasza softly on the top of her head, with the blue-haired boy still showing that excited smile.
"Don't you dare keep that sorta cool shit all to yourself. I gotta know more now that I've seen it," the boy continued... and then looked around the two, and the destroyed alleyway. "Though, uh... we better make ourselves scarce. This place is gonna be crawling cops in a minute, rural town or no - and I don't wanna be the one to watch them try to wrangle you into a cop car while you bawl your battle-hungry eyes out."
Stephanie snorted loudly in the background.
Prushka
Location: Big Boy's Gas Station - Bar
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
Originally Posted by Prushka
"...Ahti. Be careful. It might be too much for you."
The boy lifted his eyebrow.
"Just what sorta crap is it supposed to..." He murmured as he lifted the glass.
And then... he took a sip. Prushka watched as the tall youth downed a good portion of his glass, as if he didn't believe what the girl had told her. Then, oddly silent, he set the glass back onto the countertop. A shiver passed through his body, vibrating Prushka in turn, and for a moment, and odd sort of mad glint shimmered in his eyes. Prushka could even see a hint of drool appear to the corner of Ahti's mouth. The white-haired boy looked almost transfixed. It was very, very different reaction to that of Xandra, who hacked and coughed and put the glass back on the table with a look of betrayl plastered all over her face.
But Ahti simply...
"------ Why the hell does this place have salmiakki-spirits?"
Asked that simple question.
Billie let out a bellowing laugh, and even Carrie joined in - though in a much more subdued way. She had seemingly especially enjoyed Prushka's reaction, the look in her eyes bringing to mind a cat who was having way too much fun toying with a kitten they had come across.
"Oh, that? I got it from a friend in Alaska, who in turn got it from Russia! Carrie here was whining about not getting her special drink, so I went ahead and got the ingredients - all out of her pockets, mind you," the bartender answered with a grin. "It's mostly crème de menthe, Fernet-Branca, salmiakki-liquor those guys made themselves and few extra ingredients to melt in the bottle. Has a bit of a salty-sweet kick to it, huh? I can't stand it, but Carrie here laps it up like nobody's business."
That made Ahti look at the woman questioningly.
"And here I thought all foreigners hated salty liquorice - what gives?"
The older woman made a vague, mysterious gesture with her hand as she leaned with her elbow to the countertop.
"Well... I learned to like it thanks to a girl I knew back in university. She, in turn, developed a taste for it because of her mentor back in France, who was a local occult researcher and journalist. That woman - apparently - had been introduced to the stuff by some ragtag group of kids hitchhiking through the Old World, back when she was a teenager as well. World is a weird place like that," Carrie explained. "If you ever end up at Vesoul for some reason, try looking her up. I hear Arielle Brassens still does the best salmiakki-vodka outside of Scandinavia."
Ahti blinked at this strange, unexpected tale - a story that sounded like it was of another time and another place. Or rather, that perhaps it was the echoes of some older tale that once had been told, and now they only saw and heard the faint ripples it had once sent towards the shores of their own little island.
"Huh... I see," the boy replied, and downed the rest of his drink.
Then, with still hungry eyes and licking his lips, he turned his attention to the glass Prushka had left unattended.
A pair of steel to meet the shadows, two pieces of history so different to cut down the darkness.
Flying on the wings of the coursing adrenaline within her body, Hisa stepped forward with unusual tempo for her, brandishing both the borrowed Der Nagel - a kunai of unusual length and shape - along with her usual parrying dagger. Her target - the first one of The Eyes that bulleted down the hallway like a pair of nightmares sped up by the television screen humans called their world. In a storm of static, the beast let out a soundless howl and bounced forward, twisting and turning in the air like it was made of only violent thoughts and bending light.
And to opposite it - a scarred girl with fire in her eyes, standing against the darkness with her two comrades by her side.
As the beast descended from its hurling jump with its maw wide open, Hisa pushed forward with her feet and ducked low, punching upward with the Der nagel in a grip that imitated Sakura's - caught between her middle finger and index finger, acting more like a punching dagger than a throwing weapon. That same flight that had been the creature's attempt to pounce on its target proved to be a fatal mistake as the holy weapon buried itself deep into the half-real skull, dispersing the shadowy body with a pin-point strike.
The swirling red and black of the head exploded in a mist of darkness, shadows that tried to regroup themselves while the monster trashed on the floor, attempting to regain its footing. But it was too late. The moment it got back to its feet, the girl was already on the move. The parrying dagger slammed onto its side, and though Hisa could feel that the strike was barely there, she knew she had made some damage.
Thus the growing tempo of the batlte pushed her further.
Heartbeat accelerated to a frantic, frenzied rhythm.
Thoughts became meaningless in the whirlwind clash of pure instincts.
"------!"
Letting out a shout of her own, the girl followed up her second attack with another thrust from the Der Nagel, driving the beast backwards and piercing right through the crystal that was holding it together. It was like a bullet let loose from her hand, a strike straight and true that became a descending zephyr, a lightning strike that coarsed through the air and slammed from zero to one in a furious acceleration of muscles and fighting spirit...!
That pin-point piercing strike straight to the crystal that acted as the brains of the creature, performed like a punch meant to drive the enemy through the wall, shattered the core of the enemy.
Another voiceless, soundless scream, howled out with a primal mouth and fury of a defeated demon.
But with the tear-drop shaped crystal now destroyed, its form could no longer keep itself together, and the creature, pinned to the wall by Hisa's last attack, shattered like broken gases of some vicious nightmare that was not meant for this world.
It had been all over in an instant.
Even the girl was surprised by how fast it had ended. The creature's, as hard as they were to damage, were fragile existences at best. Just one heart-pounding moment of supersonic violence, and the enemy had already disappeared.
But, just as her thoughts returned from that thought, and just as her instincts kicked into high gear again---!
Another enemy, reaching for her head.
"------!"
Gritting her teeth together, Hisa avoided the first attack and watched as the claws dug through the air, seeing the air warble around them in a strange dance of both light and dark. But her eyes didn't have too long to think of the strange sensation as at that moment, her muscles took over and she swung the parrying dagger upwards, slamming the reaching hand away from her and making it collide with the wall where it buried itself deep.
Another chance, another opportunity.
Spinning around down low, Hisa delivered a whirlwind uppercut with the Der Nagel, driving it through where the opponent's jaw should have been. The blade pierced right through the creature, damaging both the crystal and the shadowy flames of the body, emerging from the other side where the red eye should have been.
Then, to finish it off, Hisa slashes across the creature's face with her other dagger, hoping to beast dead in its tracks and make it drop to the ground with that three-form combo of puncturing strikes and wide-arced slashes.
But...!
"................"
The voiceless groaning, the soundless screaming, it just got harsher and louder.
The wounded monster retaliated, hoping to destroy the one who had caused her so much pain, and...!
"Yeah, I don't think so."
In the heat of the moment, a massive armored hand - veiled in armor of the Nationbreaker - stopped the advance of the second shadow.
Pyry Leijonamieli, who had been staying behind when Hisa advanced, had finally stepped into the fray as he saw his opportunity come. The advance of the second beast was stopped by a towering wall that allowed no further attacks, and pressed in before the creature could even properly react. One massive foot came down with a booming force, planting the boy's body firmly to the ground. Then the left arm, which had blocked the incoming attack with casual ease, pulled back and the armor covering it shifted.
It was the armor built into his very physical make-up, one made up of the fragments of a World Pillar from Eons Past. A primitive sort of armanent better fit for a world that no longer existed, bearing with it some sort of prehistoric atmosphere that resonated with the primal brain of all who laid eyes upon it.
And now, another massive black arm, the the right arm that was covered in such armor, pulled backwards and gathered strength. Mana transformed into prana and released as a steam that smelled of ozone from the vents at the elbow, and the golden-maned warrior relished in the moment of power with a fiersome grin.
"------ Even non-existence will fall before my strikes."
Then, like an accelerating fighter jet, the right arm lunged forward in a massive punch...!
The Eye, which had been jumping against the attack in pure desperation, never stood a chance.
The sheer force of that singular attack was enough to shatter the very half-real body of the monster and cause the crystal inside it to be destroyed into mere sand of reflective light. In the rain of shards left behind by the dying creature's heart, the Eye was sent crashing back through the corridor like it had been shot out of a gun. The voiceless cry had been too slow to even leave its lips before the feeble form dispersed completely, becoming nothing but mists of yesterday before the monster even hit the back wall.
Pyry, calmly, blew some air on the smoldering knuckles of his black-armored fist, causing the steam to be cut in half.
"Come back when you're more than just meaningless fury."
With those cold words as its only farewell, Pyry turned on his heels and rushed past Hisa towards the staircase. There, the cavalcade of five more beasts was already climbing over each other to get at the combatants, to get to the killing fields which had been prepared. The first beast managed to get all the way to the top step right next to the landing when the roaring, armored lion crashed down upon it, animalistic look of pure wild hunting instinct gleaming in his eyes, and the golden mane standing up like a mantle of monarchy, shining with golden light.
Again, the battering-ram like arms crashed down on their enemies, pummeling down onto the first unworthy fool who had stepped up to the king on the battlefield.
First massive strike lifted the creature up in the air, disintegrating half of its lower body.
The second straight was driven straight through it, crushing and shattering the crystal and making the monster explode into black mists that floated harmlessly into the surroundings.
Just a single gut-punch and a straight left.
But when performed by the Nationbreaker...
... They became weapons of mass destruction.
But as if that wasn't enough, at that very moment...!
--- Death itself descended from the ceiling.
There was no other way to describe.
Blacker than the existence of the enemies below her, veiled deeper into the shadows than those opponents ever could hope to be, Sakura Tsukioka descended from above in a whirlwind melee of Der Nagel and a shortsword that sang like nightingale, becoming nothing but a whistling, glinting storm of strikes that descended into the thick of the opponents. The first two opponents, ones still reeling from how Pyry had dispersed the one who got ahead of them, didn't even have time to think.
Der Nagel was driven through the back of one's head while the wakizashi cleanly bisected the crystal of the other in half.
It was utter precision to the point of being sublimely beautiful, art of death that could only come from years upon years of training.
Each slash a waxing moon, each strike a waning moon - it was like watching the rippling dance of the lunar guardian on the surface of a tranquil lake.
"...... Hmh."
Sakura's face, just for a moment, flashed an approving smile towards Hisa and the way she had handled the weapon Sakura had borrowed her. Then, in that split-second instant, she was already on the move again, ducking underneath an outstretched arm and slashing the extended limb with her Arc-Relic in a showcase of more nimbleness closing to supernatural dance of the fay.
Sakura, moving low and quick, spun around two of the opponents, rolling downwards through the cavalvade of enemies.
Using that kinetic energy to her advantage, she threw her shortsword in an arc upwards, caught her with her toes (when had she taken off her shoes?) and drove it through yet another crystal of an nearby opponent, shoving them to the ground where they began to dissipate.
Then, relentlessly, she rushed forward towards the earlier enemy that still lived, using both the Der Nagel and the wakizashi to deliver two more strikes - those these were not enough to fell the beast.
------------ All this in span of just few seconds. Truly this battlefield - from the scarred girl and her twin blades, to the golden monarch and his fist, to the assassin of the holy order... it was an utter work of art.
One Allene and Gradient could only watch in awe.
... But unfortunately, even the enemy had managed to regroup themselves.
For one beast still lived.
And it hungered for revenge.
The beast that Sakura had failed to finish struck.
It lunged forward, claws and human-like teeth screaming voicelessly for vengeance, and rushed straight towards the girl who had subdued its brethren with but a single command of her immense mental presence.
It rushed up the stairs, those finger-like claws reaching out for the queen within the odic particles, trying to tear into her with all of its might...
--- Yet only found the black armor and implacable body of the golden lion to block its path.
"---- Gghhhk!"
Pyry's face twisted in unexpected pain as he took the hits meant for Hisa, his eyes widening at the strange, black-burning scars that each of the attacks had left.
"W-what... dual-elemental... but how...!?" The boy grunted, trying to keep up his focus despite the shocking revelation.
But, even though it had managed to claw four strikes across the boy's body and rake his skin, those wounds were already healing.
--- And it had left itself wide open.
"Hisa! Finish it!"
Sakura's words rang out like an executioner's chime, for the monstosity had placed itself well-within the reach of the adrenaline-filled girl with pure fire in her eyes.
And the weapons in her hands practically screamed for more.
[Hands of Twisted Light]
The claws of The Eyes are another unique part of the existence of these creatures. In a manner that is exceedingly rare even in the world of Turnside, they do not cause damage merely by rending their opponents' flesh. Instead, they scorch their enemies and rip them apart with a mixture of two polar opposite elements and their violent conflagration that happens upon impact. The unarmed melee attacks of The Eyes thus count as both Light and Darkness elemental damage against the opponent's PHYS defense. In addition, these creatures are counted as wielding two Light melee weapons.
[Existence: Malignant Rumor]
The existence of The Eyes can hardly be called real - for they seem to be nothing more than a half-being that straddles the line between imaginary and a fact. Thus, one could liken them to vicious rumours or lies spread through the subconscious of those who come in contact with their origin... though, for some reason, they also seem to require a base of some sort that is the photonic crystal that acts as their
brain
core
. The truth of this creatures is vague at best, and furthe research into them is needed to shed light to their actual nature...
Still, this existence makes them rather hard to kill. All physical damage dealt against The Eyes is halved, unless done with a weapon of sufficient numen, like an Arc-Relic. However, as their existence hangs on their core - that is, the photonic crystal - a well-aimed strike is enough to shatter it and bring an end to them. Thus, upon suffering a Critical Hit the Eyes are immediately destroyed.
New Ability Witnessed!
Pyry Leijonamieli
STR: A
END: A
AGI: A
WIL: ?
INT: ?
EGO: ?
HP: 80/85
DOD: 5 ACC: 5 Movement: 15
Perks:
[Monstrous Strength] Cost: 30 AP Restrictions: Human Origin cannot take this Perk.
Your raw physical strength is something to behold and something that marks you as unique when it comes to how much damage you can deal with a simple swing of your fist or a sweeping kick. Often this is a sign of just how far your body is removed from the normality of the world and laws of reality, and how much of your strength is thanks to your connection to the Turnside. The reasons may be varied, but the effect is always the same. When you take this Perk, you gain +2 unaided physical damage for every Rank of STR you have after Rank F. This damage increase only applies when you are using Unarmed fighting.
New Ability Witnessed!
Sakura Tsukioka
STR: D
END: ?
AGI: A
WIL: ?
INT: ?
EGO: ?
HP: ??/??
DOD: 5 ACC: 5 Movement: 15
Perks:
[Assassination Expert] Cost: 25 AP
Unlike many others, you do not solely rely on overwhelming power or flashy abilities. Instead, you are adept at skulking in the night, moving in the shadows and striking when your target the least expects it. When you take this Perk, whenever you strike while Stealthed and the target has not noticed you, your first melee or ranged weapon is an automatic critical hit if it hits. In addition, if you are dual-wielding Light Weapons, your second strike from the dual-wielding mechanism is also counted as a critical hit.
[Know When To Strike] Cost: 30 AP
It is not just about attacking your opponent, it is about attacking where it hurts the most. Strike in a weakened area of the opponent can be much more devastating than simply attempting to hurt them in any means possible. Thus, you try to make each of your attacks as deadly as possible. When you take this Perk, you gain +10% of critical hit chance for each point your Accuracy Score is higher than the target's Dodge Score.
Equipment:
Wakizashi
Type: Light Damage Type: Classical Weapon Damage Bonus: +3 Cost: 5 AP
It is not just about attacking your opponent, it is about attacking where it hurts the most. Strike in a weakened area of the opponent can be much more devastating than simply attempting to hurt them in any means possible. Thus, you try to make each of your attacks as deadly as possible. When you take this Perk, you gain +10% of critical hit chance for each point your Accuracy Score is higher than the target's Dodge Score.
Der Nagel Type/Rank: Light/D Cost: 40 AP Charges: 4 Weapon Damage Bonus: +3 Unique Traits: Thrown
A mass-produced version of the nails that were used to pin the Christ to the True Cross. Though not the original ones, they have the same composition, to the atomic level, as their ancestors. This means that they have some of the same powers, but as their legend is diluted, so is the numen stored within them. When activated, make a melee-attack (or a thrown-weapon attack) against the target. Upon hit, the target must succeed WIL Protection against Mental Shattering with the Mental Shatter Score of 4. If the target fails, one of their physical attributes (STR/END/AGI) is brought down by 1 Rank (Roll 1d3 to see which, in that order). In addition, magical healing or regeneration (usually originating from a Mage or a Mystic) of Rank D or lower does not work on the target. Effects of Rank C or higher have the amount they heal halved (Rounded Up). This effect lasts for 4 Rounds and cannot stack.
Last edited by Verg Avesta; April 16th, 2021 at 05:56 PM.
Alexstrasza Lockkhart Location: Road's End - Back Alley
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
"Hmh? No, I don't think it's that weird? I mean... there's adrenaline junkies of all kinds. Who cares how you get your kicks?"
What? I blinked as I looked at Travis, my eyes going wide as my mouth fell open. What?
But he stepped forward, and even as I raised my hands to push him away--!!
"What I'm mad about is the fact that you think you can make a moron outta me after you show me something like that! I mean, how dumb do you think take me for! Especially since... since..."
His eyes shined with an emotion I couldn't identify.
"... What was fucking coolest shit I've ever seen!"
...
Potemkin, I don't understand anything at all anymore.
"I mean, what kinda guy wouldn't love this shit? First you were like, swash and made some creepy blood whips come outta your body, and then the guy was like, bam! And he got all blurry and fast! Then you countered with... what were those, some sorta physical shadows? Actually, that breaks so many physical laws that I think I'll have a small nervous breakdown about it later... A-ny-ways! Then he dodged and hit you with that lightbeam cheapshot, but then you went fwoooosh and had a fucking dragon's breath coming outta your fingertips! Like, duuuuude! That's wicked as all hell!"
He tapped me on the head and I stared at him, more confused then I'd ever felt in my life.
"Don't you dare keep that sorta cool shit all to yourself. I gotta know more now that I've seen it. Though, uh... we better make ourselves scarce. This place is gonna be crawling cops in a minute, rural town or no - and I don't wanna be the one to watch them try to wrangle you into a cop car while you bawl your battle-hungry eyes out."
"P-police?! Oh no..." I flicked my fingernail off my teeth, biting my lip. "I certainly don't want to involve the authorities in any of this... They'd never get it!"
I frowned, staring at the corpse that Lane Griffith had left behind.
"But we should at least take the body! Maybe there's some sort of clue on it? Or some way to extract information on what happened? After all, even if Lane Griffith is a madman, I doubt he'd just be running around slaughtering civilians for no particular reason."
Turning to the tiny morsel, I sent her a look and waggled a finger in her face.
"And do not think I have forgotten you either, tiny morsel! For a person who cannot speak a word of this language, you certainly seem to have a keen understanding of the going-ons around your person! Now quick! I'll grab the arms! You grab the legs! Actually, maybe it'd be better if I just used magic for this, but I don't have any spells that would make the body move, merely its shadow! Potemkin, I demand your assistance in corpse theft at once!"
I jabbed the annoying shadow inside of my shadow as I rushed to pick up the body, a small smile covering my face as I bent to peer at it. It seemed that Potemkin was... right, in a way. Even if I'm a little bit mad myself, this world betwixt, that isn't trapped underneath a hundred thousand lies...
It's not that bad.
in the end we will make thoughtcrime impossible, for there shall be no words to express it
#THELEGENDNEVERDIES
[01:05.15] <@Spinach> I can flash gang signs faster than Sasuke can perform ninjutsu and I rap like Medea's High Speed Divine Words.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
Originally Posted by Scottie
"Hmm? Well, there's still some left, I suppose..."
There was a vaguely amused smile on the agent's face.
"Though I'm not sure if this is the right moment for a glass or two," he continued. "Drinking for one's enjoyment is all well and good, but using it as a distraction or a scapegoat never ends well. I can say that from experience."
---As always, the agent is the voice of reason.
Spotting the intent behind her actions before she even performs them, the amused call-out is one that she simply has to accept for what it is...
Namely.
Sense.
"Okay... Okay... I know, gotcha FBI Sensei. I'll just take one."
---She was really being undercut here, and in such a way as to make it impossible for her to deny it, and as if to combo onto that, another attack on her flailing emotions, there's...
Originally Posted by Fyrtio
"Hmm. Laphroaig? Not a bad choice at all. People so young rarely have a palate as deep as that - that's a bit of a surprise," Fyrtio spoke with that monotone, husky voice of hers, as if she hadn't even realized Liana had been quite curt with her. "Would you mind if I poured myself a glass as well? It's been a while since I sat down and enjoyed a glass with someone who appreciates the finer things in life... yet shows a modicum of self-respect regarding them."
"...Sure. I don't mind."
---There's no real backlash.
What had she expected? For the woman to bite back at the obvious cold in her voice? Would that have made her feel better? Justify the stance she had decided to take for emotions that had come across as so confusing she had simply been overpowered by them?
Had she expected something like that?
Probably.
But nothing comes.
Her bizarre mental fit is disregarded by the person she had clearly wanted to affect the most, person who instead simply asks to sit alongside her, enjoying a glass with someone who could respect it...
In other words.
This person seems to want to be her friend.
"..."
---It cuts the legs right out from underneath the ugly thing, drowning it in a newfound wave of what she can definitely identify as shame, blistering shame for behavior that is unfitting for her, behavior that could have ruined a night for a completely stupid reason, behavior that would have launched her right back down the path of the Test of Courage, this time as the instigator, and...
Would she have even enjoyed it?
Being mad for silly reasons? Making an enemy? Ruining other people's fun?
No.
She would have felt awful.
Just like she does right now.
The only one that had been acting weird about this was her, so...
Originally Posted by Fyrtio
"As for your worry, disperse with them. It wasn't anything serious, and he's the type to heal fast. Though, since you're hanging out with him, you probably have realized that he's the type to not take care of himself because of that, right?" Fyrtio continued, letting the spirits fill her glass. "Well, maybe one good thing about someone young and energetic taking pity on him is that he'll no longer pull his usual stunts. Though... ah."
"Yeah I... Uh... Try to keep him out of trouble..."
---The invisible fire goes out, drowned in the waters of shame as it was, but...
God I'm so petty... What's wrong with me... I'm supposed to be better than this...
...Only Scottie -who has just shown a remarkable tolerance for not hearing things- really seems to have caught what was actually going on in her head...
It's a blessing of sorts, that the other woman's innocence had so cleanly knocked the now-obviously-jealous wind out of her twisted sails... It's a good sort of mental slap, one that reveals the absurdity of the sudden plunge her behavior had taken, (it's not like she owned him after all) and with it...
"Oh, speaking of which - did Mrs. Tinsel contact you? I hear she was supposed to..."
"Who's Mrs. Tinsel?"
She tries to rejoin the conversation as a reasonable person again, putting the weird flash of emotion behind her, because she had clearly gotten away with having her fit and not being called out on it, but...
...No.
She has to do it right.
"No wait, before you answer... Can I do my introduction again, Fyrtio? I feel like I was being a bit... Standoffish... Before... Sorry... Don't know what was wrong with me..."
This person is a little awkward.
She can't hate that, it's basically impossible.
So she'll own up to whatever the hell that last little fit of hers was...
Clear as the sky, after all...
Wasn't that who she was?
Or at least... Who she wanted to be?
So she had to make it right.
It wouldn't feel right otherwise.
"The name's Liana Skye. My friends call me Skye, although Lia is fine too. So please call me one of those, unless you think you have something cuter or cooler! And can I call you Fio? I could use a reasonable drinking buddy too, really~"
She smiles.
---There's still some shame burning at the back of her thoughts, self-judgement was one of her harshest points after all, and she was someone that prided herself on being friends with everyone, so this lapse was one she'd be beating herself with for awhile, but...
This felt much more like herself.
"Oh, and there's cookies, if you want a few."
That part especially.
Last edited by Airen; April 17th, 2021 at 05:37 AM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Prushka
Location: Big Boy's Gas Station - Bar
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
Originally Posted by Ahti
"... You gonna finish that, Imp?"
"Wha - yes I am gonna finish it! It's d-d-delicious!"
Like hell am I letting go of my first taste of real bar booze in a real bar! Even though I'm not nearly recovered for the ordeal, I force my arms to pick up the cup and take another, longer gulp of the liquid.
It goes down worse than before. I nearly end up coughing, a barely suppressed shudder shaking my body as the salt sucks away all the moisture from the inside of my mouth, leaving only a sickly emptiness that is quickly covered in melted, burning gunk. It's so gross! Those two like this stuff? Aren't adult drinks supposed to be cool and taste good? This is just rancid! But I can't let Carrie's gift go to waste. Spitting it out would be super duper wrong.
"Guh..."
I swallow it down with great difficulty. It leaves my mouth feeling like a bloody field in the aftermath of a battle, the nasty taste sticking to the back of my throat. Am I really gonna drink this whole thing? When I can barely stand it? How did Ahti finish this? How did he enjoy it? He even seems less annoyed than usual. Almost at peace. Maybe it really reminded him of home. The good bits of home, not the bad ones.
"...um. I changed my mind. You can have some of my glass. S-since you like it so much. Just don't overdo it, okay? It's still alcohol. Let me know if your kidneys start hurting."
Right, I'm just being generous, that's all. It's not like I'm pushing it into his hands with a relieved sigh or anything. Better to have someone who likes it take a drink.
"Hey, Billie, could I, uh, get a glass of water?" Need to wash this out before it kills me. Actually, Xandra doesn't seem to be in a much better condition. "Make that two glasses. And that friend of yours from Alaska, he wouldn't happen to be a gruff older guy, about yay high, likes Lucky Strikes? Another fan of eye patches?"
Strange ales aside, that was some story. All sorts of coincidences, forming an international web, leading to one woman developing a taste for a certain kind of cocktail. With so many strange things lining up, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out everyone knows everyone somehow. It is a pretty sparsely populated state.
"Actually, lot of повязка на глаз in this town..." I murmur under my breath, more to myself than anything, as I stare at the bottles lining the shelf, wondering if they all taste as strange as the drink I just lost to.
Last edited by Bloble; April 17th, 2021 at 12:21 AM.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. Stepping out from behind Pyry, I gathered my momentum, and slashed through the shadowy form of the last monster with Sakura’s dagger. Just like the others, with its core broken, it dissipated, leaving nothing behind to even imply that it existed in the first place.
Guess I was worried for nothing.
Even if I jumped in like this, he was here, so he wouldn’t let me get hurt.
Relaxing my posture, I put my own dagger back into its sheath, and then turned back towards Pyry with a warm smile on my face.
“Thanks.”
My eyes eventually fell lower, onto his arm, and the darkened claw marks on it that the creature inflicted moments ago. It already seemed to be healing thanks to his regenerative capabilities, but...if I could ease his pain even faster, then why would I not do it, especially if it was from the hits that were meant for me?
I reached out with my hand to caress his arm alongside the scars, all the while creating a soothing, healing sensation with my finger.
“Sakura, mind taking care of the last two?” I addressed the other girl without looking away, “I think my control will be fading soon. Don’t want to let them get back to their senses.”
Not that it would have been a problem for her either way. She seemed to be really getting into this.
“And then, err…”
My gaze inadvertently wandered towards Allene, who was still being held tightly by Gradient.
For just a moment, a tiny hint of confusion could be seen in the vermillion eyes of the vampire... but as soon as it had appearead, it was gone. Instead, a strange sort of expression rose to her face, one of nostalgia and fond remembrance. Almost as if the ageless being had been gazing back into some other time, a time of youth so long ago, to a more simple time when even she had been... what? What could have a being like her had been?
And why did it feel like the answer was "far more human"?
"Ka ka ka ka ka... I see. So 'tis a fact that the power that helped us back then is still around. Ah, then needless be my worry. The World has already began to act, and mayhaps it has chosen to act through you and others like you. Just a simple nudge there, a suggestion there... right? 'Tis not more needed. Nay, sometimes being subtle is far more effective than a violent response," Lenore spoke, more to herself than to Colt. "Well, be that as it may, that is not quite true. For you see, moppet, wherever the moon's presence lingers, so do I - whether it be this time or else. In that sense, I am but a Constant of this World. Unfortunately, 'tis also my curse, for when the moon is the strongest, so is mine... nature as a phenomena. My whims become that of a storm, of a hurricane, and 'tis not my place to say who is to be spared and who is not. 'Tis a violent impulse to be sure... the darker face of mine existence. A colder one. Not the one that gazes upon this earth, but the one who gazes out into the unknown of the stars."
It was an answer that seemed to carry a heavy burden with it - and a warning of sorts. For a creature like Lenore to warn of a side of herself that wasn't this jovial or cordial... then that other side must have been violent and arrogant indeed. The side that warmth of the sun never touched, and who did not reflect it back to earth. Instead, it gazed at the distant stars and the void of space, and was as cold as the freezing vacuum itself.
A meeting with Lenore like that would not be as peaceful as this one.
"But - to return to your earlier question, 'tis the truth you talk of... right?" Lenore's eyes snapped back to Colt. "Expose the truth, reveal what lies hidden in the darkness that the monster claims as its own, and dispel the anchor it creates. That is... not a bad plan. A creature of malignant information, of rumours and lies. For make no mistake. The cave itself is this whole world, this hidden side of reality. And within that cave and its allegory lies this cat box... this week that you are trapped in. The dance of the shadows on the wall is still the reality we see, and if you were to prove 'twas not the monster you speak of but reasons unconnected who cast that shadow, well... what monster is there to fear of, right?"
A faint, proud smile - one with a bit of excitement in it as if she was looking forward to what's to come - now adorned Lenore's face.
"When the cat box opens, what do we find? A tale of a monster that caused a tragedy? Or something else? Were it to be the former, then surely that monster was real... and the world accepts it as such," the vampire concluded. "Therefore, you must not let that be the truth they find. 'Twere naught but a rumour, and when the light of day shines out into this separated week, that rumour is dispelled as a whole."
But then, her expression grew serious.
"But beware. This cat box... I feel as if there is more to it than meets the eye. For I have this feeling that the monster has simply... adopted it as its birthplace, but 'twas not it who created it. Mayhaps you are in a crossroads of many a plan, many players seeking for something certain, and 'tis the collision of these desires that causes what you now experience."
Joshua smiled quietly, it was not the happiest smile.
"I'd ask Moroni to watch over you, but if you're going to be working with the Catholics, I suppose that might cause some... complications," the ghost said with a wry smile. "Not to mention a ghost offering a prayer just sounds like asking for trouble. So, instead, I'll just tell you what I think you already know, kid - don't do anything stupid and don't take unnecessary risks. Right now you're the possibility your tin boy has of getting free, so don't rush into it. As cold as it might be for me to say it..."
The ghost stood up from where had been sitting and folded his arms across his chest.
"--- There's always another chance while you're alive."
With that, he hopped down from the ruined pieces of furniture he had been using as a seat and started walking over to the staircase. After reaching the foot of it, he turned back towards the blonde girl, and those mismatched eyes of green and red shone within the darkness of the lighthouse.
"I'll keep him company and make sure the spirit doesn't get to him too soon," Joshua spoke. "You get what you need, and gather your friends. We might be winging it, but that don't mean being prepared is a bad thing."
He nodded slightly grimly and looked above, where the hatch to the top of the lighthouse could be seen.
"And if things come to worst... well, like I said. I have a few tricks of my own."
Outside, the evening was slowly transforming into night.
Nikolai frowned a little, hand on his chin, musing over this new revelation of a possible time machine being the cause of all these problems. As the doll named Sakura started fretting over the realization of what that might imply, and how convoluted it made everything that had already been revealed, he offered her a sympathetic smile, as if to try to calm her down. However, then the fair man levelled another gaze at Vier.
And, strangely enough, smiled.
"... In all honesty, I'd like to avoid thinking that the people whom I've just met, who seem rather down-to-earth and with enough common sense, to be insane. And yes, while it might be a failure for my part as an investigator, I'd like to avoid such theories altogether. In this line of work, it's easy enough to believe the worst about people and disregard their circumstances and what brought them to this point. So, in order to protect my own worth as a human being, I refuse to do so. Sure enough, you may call me naive, and I don't have a rebuttal to that - but I'd rather be naive than to immediately assume the worst," Nikolai answered, keeping his back straight as if to reject Vier's last words. "The howdunnit and whodunnit may be important, yes, but whydunnit has always been looked down upon by the Turnside - and I aim to change that. I-In my own small way, at least..."
Letting out a sheepish laugh, the young man scratched the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed by his outburst. It was a rather naive thing to say - child-like even - but at the same time, he certainly stood by what he had said. In other words, despite his looks he had the gumption to try to back-up such a world-view, no matter if people made fun of him for it.
"But I have to agree with lovely Miss Sakura over here. A time machine, at least in the novels I've read, is usually meant to send a person or two back in time - not cause a space-time anomaly that can be detected via scrying of the Viewing Pool. In other words, it being the root cause of all this sounds unlikely... or if if is, then we have a whole another problem in our hands," Nikolai continued. "That being said, who is this Dr. Satel you speak of? And what about this contact from whom you gained this information? In all honesty, I'd like to hear more... and yes, I should arrange a talk with Ms. Vandemeel as well. Though that might be a problem..."
For some reason, the young man let out quite the sigh, as if already dreading what's to come.
"After all, she is not exactly fond of me and my countrymen, for understandable reasons..."
"That is the question, no...? What happened? Where are they now? What does that make us? How did we become lesser after that night...?"
The demon, the reflection, practically yanked Elise back to her feet, not caring about the pounding headache hammering at her brain. The glass was now gone, and the brunette found herself staring straight into her own face... a face twisted by rage, by fury, and by blame. Yes, the demon, it... blamed her. She could see it in those eyes. Her eyes, but of different colour. That emotion was unmistakable, as if now that it had become accustomed to what it truly meant to be human, this thing, this violent impulse within her... it had finally managed to find the right expression to convey just what it felt.
"Whatever happened that night, it left us, behind. The person that you were before, the one veiled in vague memories that you've already lost, is lost as well. The monster of that night wasn't Gaap - it was a nameless demon, a personification of violence, pure emotion given form, a thought anchored into a haphazard body by desperate people... but it was just that. Just destruction. Then what happened...?" The demon hissed, face practically touching that of Elise. "Just what caused you to become lesser, for you to fade away, for you to become this Schoolgirl C that you hide behind!? And what does that make me, the seething part that hides within you, clawing to own this soul with desperation I don't understand...!?"
The headache grew worse. Distorted memories, static over a past that could not be reclaimed, a terrible noise that drowned out all other sounds... except for one. Except for a rumbling laughter, that of a deep voice, deep as the deep dark abyss that it represented, and the image of a man veiled in black and purple, standing above her. A man with terrible, dead, cold eyes and a smile that did not fit someone like him. All those rushed past Elise's mind, like a flashflood tearing apart her mind, and then... and then...!
--- Then.
Suddenly.
The demon stopped.
It's eyes widened with surprise... and for a moment, a terrible sense of serenity washed over its face.
"... Hey. Girl. Why do you think I look like this? Do you really think I choose this form out of mockery of you?"
What was that smile?
What was that smile?
Why did it laugh like that?
Why did its form suddenly loom so large over Elise, gazing down at her with eyes cast in shadows?
"Just how long
am I
are you
going to run away? Isn't it time already...?"
The darkness drew her in.
"--- Gaze into the void that is you, Elise-Marie Pelltier... and remember... your true self. A Girl Who Sold the World."
For a horrible, horrible moment, Elise felt like she was standing at the precipe of something she could not come back from... but at that very moment, the grip of the demon came loose. Elise fell back, but instead of her back hitting the road, she simply kept falling. Falling and falling, deeper into the darkness, leaving the sight of herself, her blonde and blue-eyed self, standing there at the edge of what had been a mental world. The demon gazed back at her with an unknown expression - perhaps even it did not know perfectly what it wanted. It was just as lost as she was...
... But knew that if nothing happened, then they would be too weak for what was to come.
"But now... awaken."
A resonant command, a telepathic roar, shook the empty black void.
"Awaken."
It announced again.
"For there are things going on in the physical world...!"
And with that... Elise's eyes snapped open.
Eyes that were gazing up at the grey skies, full of rain, the treetops around the school. For she was laying on her back in the wet ground, her whole body shaking with slight cold. How long had she been like that? How long had she been collapsed on the ground? And what...
No, who...
Who was that person standing above her, gazing down at her with a smile?
"Oh? Good morning, sleepyhead. Wahaha, did I wake you up? Sorry~"
Considering what I am, the way he acts... I should be furious, but I just can't be. No, this sort of crude familiarity is almost... refreshing. It reminds me of HIM. Perhaps there is something there, something that makes them far too similar to each other than either would care to admit. That yearning to know what cannot be known, and the frankness and self-destructive lack of understanding when it actually comes time to deal with what they have wrought... it is so similar it makes me laugh.
I can only hope that, if they end up being real, the others will face with me similar frankness. With similar lack of pretenses.
I want them to throw their fury, their pity, or whatever else they're feeling right at my face... for if they've gained sentience, then that's the least I can do for them. Accept their feelings, no matter what they are. They deserve that. For the friendships and sufferings I've forced upon them... for being the only one alive in a catbox and falling into the delusion of thinking that it excuses anything. I still stand by what I did. I could not have survived with the shreds of my sanity if I did not strive for something.
But this feeble hope, this fledgling hope that this possible figment of my imagination now dangles in front of me...
--- Why not?
--- Let's believe, one last time.
--- And if nothing happens...
--- I can just kill my mind for good.
"You really are extra, are you not? Well... I lowkey like that about people. Their bravado can be refreshing in a world where a colour can suck the life out of a farmland, leaving behind a blasted heath, or where light can become the anchor of time... truly, both akin to what was born in that hellfire reaching for the skies, so many years ago. Julius may have stolen my words, but that does not make them any less so. You'd do well not to reach into that unless needed to, for you'll find yourself agonized AF by what you find," I respond to him, not turning back to look at him. "A man should not strive for the world of gods and deities - lest he becomes a philosopher, a Prometheus of their own making. And that is a fate I highkey wish not for anyone. Reaching out into that world is a far cry what the Seven did, or what HE has attempted. You'll totes-magotes cease to be yourself when you do."
I raise my hand, and the Seven Veils appears in a flurry around my arm, starting to drape me once more into the containment field that I need. As the world grows dim in my eyes, I let out another laugh - the parting words to the fool that might be my delusion, or perhaps someone who has - without any good reason - offered hope to a monster like me.
--- Ahh...
It would have been so much easier if he had just hated me.
"Kosmos Noetos - Eidos On Hypothesis."
I speak out that accursed term.
"Know what you tangle with, and what monsters you try to heal. Sometimes it's better to leave the lit ramblings of a Wicked Man to die on their own. I was the last one remaining, see? With my destruction, everything would have ended then and there - but you dangled hope like a piece of meat in front of a starving dog. Big oof," I say with a wicked smile, glancing back at the disappearing from of John Dove. "Thus, reap your rewards and take responsibility for whatever happens in the future, you figment of my imagination... if we even have a future. Whatever happens will be on your ass... especially if you continue with such cringey tirades. Not that I don't lowkey like them. But that's a me problem."
With that, I raise my other hand. I gaze at the warped, abandoned second around us - a period of time that should have already stopped existing. Then, with a hint of a smile, I turn away from John Dove for the last time - for now.
"... GG."
And I snap my fingers.
Thus the world returns to what it was, and John Dove...
... Find himself exiting the bathroom of that diner once more.
Alexstrasza Lockkhart Location: Road's End - Back Alley
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
"Yeaaaah, no. I mean, remember? Thin noodle arms? I've got no flab on them, like you."
A familiar voice finally rang out in the real world, causing Travis to let out a yelp. The reason was clear, too. After all, Potemkin's head had just appeared from Alexstrasza's shadow, like it was just a big pool of water that the monochrome girl was swimming in. In fact, she was now lounging at the edge of it, as if it had been her personal jacuzzi - all the while smarmily smiling at the blonde girl, like she knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Still, I'm sure you and Mr. Too-Cool-For-School over there can do it," Potemkin continued with a grin, batting her eyelashes at Travis. "I mean, he already rushed through fire and flames to punch a guy who was after your Kinder Egg Surprise - I'm sure moving a body's not a problem at this point~"
Travis frowned rather magnificently at the familiar, causing her to cackle loudly and dive back into her hiding place. With the new-found annoyance gone, the boy turned back towards Alexstrasza.
"... You know, looking back at it, I figured it had to be something like this. Ain't no way that girl is normal," he replied while walking over to the corpse and gently moving Stephanie to the side while she was trying to lift it up from the legs. "I mean, like I said - ain't nobody that black-and-white. Like, Christ... don't they teach you how to lie better in that magic school or whatever you go to? Wait... don't tell me you go to Miss Cackle's? That'd be way too loopy, even for me... then again, it would explain why you're..."
Travis snorted with an amused, warm grin.
"You, I suppose."
With that, he grabbed a hold of the legs, waiting for Alexstrasza to do the same to the arms.
"Now, let's get this body... somewhere, I guess. Know any good abandoned places nearby? We can't rightly run around with a corpse in tow, this ain't Weekend At Bernie's - locals are gonna get suspicious... well, they would if they were out and about this evening. Guess we gotta thank the rain," he continued. "Also, uh, just so you know... I didn't slug that guy because I was defending your honor or anything."
Travis snorted and rolled his eyes, as if finding that idea ridiculous.
"... He just kinda pissed me off, that's all."
Though for some reason, he wasn't looking her in the eyes when he spoke that.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
"Fio...?"
Fyrtio frowned as she mulled over the name, gloved hand rubbing her chin.
"But... isn't that a dog's name?" she asked, looking a bit perplexed at that. "Even I'd feel a bit weirded out being called that, I admit. Though if you really want to, I guess I won't mind Liana... uh, Skye... Lia...? Hmm..."
Looking befuddled, the older woman folded her arms and furrowed her brow as she thought over the names that had been presented to her, like she was having a hard time picking one. Though speaking of picking, her hands almost instinctively went towards cookies and picked up one... and another... and then another... and another one yet again. It didn't look like she even realized it, but Fyrtio was starting to stuff her face with the things, looking like an overly serious chipmunk contemplating something very serious.
Ferguson chuckled at the scene, and made a gesture with his hand as it to calm the woman down.
"Now now... no need to think about it so hard. She's simply a woman of many names... isn't that right, Miss Skye?" The agent asked with a wink to Liana, emphasizing the name he had used. "Just go with what feels right to you."
Fyrtio, taking this to heart apparently, nodded - and slipped another cookie in her mouth.
"Mm. Then Liana Skye it shall be."
--- She was a rather formal person, wasn't she?
"Well, anyways..." Hawthorn stepped into the conversation, looking a bit amused. "Mrs. Tinsel is a... uh... what would you call her? An old friend, maybe? A bit of a benefactor? Well, something like that. She's been helping us on the side when she can with... stuff. Well, sending money and stuff like that. Though, from what I understand, she's been a bit less accommodating to you recently, right Fyrtio?"
The one-eyed woman nodded, taking a sip of her whiskey.
"Yes. For some reason she has kept her purse-strings tight after my last weap--- equipment order," the woman said, catching herself at the last second, though managing to make Ferguson's eyebrows shoot towards his hairline. "Oh, speaking of which, Hawthorn..."
The single functional eye looked at the man.
"Mind if I use your bed tonight? I would like to avoid sleeping outside now that it's raining."
Both Ferguson and Hawthorn nearly choked on their drinks.
Prushka
Location: Big Boy's Gas Station - Bar
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994 (FRI)
Weather: Rain
"Hmh? Oh, no, they're a dock worker at Anchorage. And I think they gave up smoking a few years back..."
Billie's answer came with a little grin as she prepared to frothing mugs of hearty water and slammed them in front of Prushka and Xandra. Looking rather relieved, the silver-haired girl went immediately to wash her mouth of the terrible taste of the drink, looking like heaven and relief had arrived at the same time. Once she had emptied half of the mug with a single gulp, the girl set it back to the table, let out a satisfied sigh and then looked at Prushka with a wry smirk.
"You know... remind me not to drink stuff you offer anymore, cutie pie," she snarked. "This isn't a good sign of things to come."
With that, she slid the glass in front of her (still mostly full of the terrible liquid) over to Ahti. The tall boy looked rather pleased, and Prushka could hear his tail happily swishing back and forth within his cape. No, more than that... oh boy, he was beginning to purr again. Not noticeably, but if he got any happier than this, there might be lot of questioning stares from the direction of Billie and Carrie.
"Oh, a triple-serving? Well, don't mind if I do~" Ahti said with a wide grin, reaching out for Prushka's glass first. "Been a damn while since I've gotten any salmiakki, so even this awful mint doesn't really bother~"
Wait, it was the mint that bothered him in the drink!?
"Oh, and, uh... thanks, Imp."
Sounding a little awkward, the boy robotically patted Prushka on the head to thank her. He didn't exactly know what he was doing and the gesture was more aking to mashing the girl downwards a couple of times, but at least the spirit was there. And, apparently, it was rare enough gesture from Ahti that it caused Xandra's eyes shoot as wide as plates, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Was the boy being friendly with Prushka really that big of a deal?
"Well, bottoms up!"
As if to escape the awkward moment, Ahti practically downed Prushka's glass in one go.
Allene, eyes still wide from shock, did a double-take now that she was suddenly being addressed.
"O-oh, um, y-yes... I'm... I'm okay... I-I'm not hurt in the least," the girl stammered a response, trying to gather her bearings once more. "I'm just... w-well, I'm just in shock. Gosh, I didn't know that it was possible to even fight against these creatures, much less defeat them in such spectacular fashion. I'm just... golly, I suppose I'm just beyond words at the moment. D-do forgive me."
Gradient, sensing that the blue-haired girl was still having trouble coming to terms with what had just transpired, let out another happy "Muu~!" and patted Allene on the head once more. Strangely enough, the gesture did seem to calm the other girl down - much like the fact that she was given some safety in the arms of the strange girl. This had probably made sure that she hadn't just collapsed on her knees out of sheer shock.
For someone who wasn't capable of much in terms of talking, Gradient was very good at easing the distress of others, wasn't she?
".....!"
Meanwhile, behind her, Hisa could Sakura grunt as she brought down her Der Nagel to end the existence of the last two remaining Eyes. They let out those soundless cries of theirs and then faded into nothing, the glass-sand-like remnants of their cores dispersing into the air. Once that deed had been done, the older girl wiped some sweat from her forehead, almost like she had just finished a normal routine clearing, and sheathed her weaponry. Then she turned back towards Hisa and extended her hand to take back the weapon she had loaned to her.
"I have to admit, Hisa... you'd make a pretty good legionnaire. The way you handled that Der Nagel wasn't too shabby," Sakura said with a hint of a smile. "If you want, I could introduce you to some of my contacts... though, ugh, I suppose we'd have to approach the Anglicans. The bigwigs back at Rome wouldn't be too pleased if I brought an esper with me, that bunch of fogeys..."
Pyry chuckled at that. The armor covering the boy's arms had faded away, and the wounds had all but disappeared. The pain was long gone, though, thanks to Hisa's touch just moments ago.
"Well, it's their loss. They don't know what kind of asset they're losing," he joked, putting his hand on Hisa's head and gently rustled her hair. "Especially in the healing deparment. You wouldn't associate ESP usually with that, but Hisa's leagues above your basic student at the Campus of White. Hell, I bet she'd give those lecturers a run for their money."
Having said that, he lowered his head and gently nudged it against Hisa's, in an almost animal-like way of showing affection - though fitting for someone like him. As he did it, he also murmured a quiet "Thanks" about what the girl had did. While he might have been used to pain, it wasn't as if he was fond of it.
"U-umm, gosh... while I do think we should move back inside for further conversation... a-and perhaps some more tea, there's something I just must know," Allene spoke up, finally having gathered some strength to herself. "Just... just who are you people? O-or, if you forgive my rude phrasing, 'what' are you? The things you talk about certainly sound... strange. And the way you fought these monsters is out of this world as well."
Sakura, looking a bit amused glanced back at Hisa.
[More tea? Really?] She asked through their mental link, sounding like she was chuckling.
Allene, with Gradient's help, started moving back towards the third floor study, while gesturing the others to follow.
"Oh and, another question..."
The girl's eyes now focused on the other three, aside from Hisa.
Liana Skye
Location: Spade Queen Country Club
Phase: Evening Phase
Date: 09.09.1994
Weather: Rain
"The dog name is more like Fido isn't it? Fio just sounds cute~"
---It all goes pretty well in the end-!
"And yeah Sensei, I am a woman with many names..."
Admitting to her own bizarre behavior, putting herself out there to be judged if she must be judged, the sight of the other woman stuffing herself full of cookies like an excited squirrel is certainly an endearing one...
Cute even.
Yes, pretty cute!
It's the awkward sort of cute, one that comes with watching a far-too serious person grapple with something mundane, as well as that of someone enjoying your cooking, yes...
It's an endearing sort of sight.
Enough that she thinks she really can just push the fit behind her and pretend like it didn't happen, cheerfully sipping at the whiskey in her glass, but...
Originally Posted by Fio
Mind if I use your bed tonight? I would like to avoid sleeping outside now that it's raining."
...Eh?
...Where two men choke on their drinks, a violet-eyed girl instead falls forward like she had just been shot out of the blue, only her built in reflex keeping her from actually slamming her head into the table like a puppet whose strings had just been brutally and mercilessly cut-!
"..."
At first she says nothing.
Falling over suddenly, muscles bizarrely losing strength, the young woman rests her head on the table as something resurges from the depths of the mental sea, but...
---This time she's more ready for it.
She doesn't shoot to anger no, just confusion, bizarre confusion and disbelief as she slowly pushes herself back into a more normal position, a somewhat shaky smile on her face.
Was this real?
Why was the world mocking her like this?
Why was Scottie the only non-dense person here?
...Questions she can't answer.
Regardless...
"Uh... Fio... That uh... Doesn't seem very appropriate..."
Her voice remains kind... If still a bit shaky.
It's not Fio's fault after all, right?
She was just a bit of a baka, a cute baka, awkward, apparently homeless baka...
"I mean... That isn't a thing you guys normally do... Right?"
She's not sure she actually wants the answer.
"If you need a place to crash, my room at the school is pretty empty... We'd just have to sneak you in... Or maybe I could talk Aunt Dorothy into letting us crash on a couch..."
...Wait, what was she saying?
Was this the alcohol talking?
Offering that like literally any alternative to the girl's own plan was preferable...? When did she start caring so much?!
...Well, a roommate is fine.
Can't take the offer back now!
"How expensive are the rooms here anyways?"
Last edited by Airen; April 19th, 2021 at 05:28 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
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Originally Posted by Nikolai Labzin
