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WillDeRegio Since: Jan, 2015
#1101: Mar 25th 2017 at 10:53:20 AM

[Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle (Main Keep 1st Floor ~ Hallway)] (Megumi, Adam, Nick, Jackson, Gliosem, Gwenafer, Magdalene)

Megumi rolled to a stop, laying still on the ground, away from the conflict. I must regain... control... the maid thought, flinching as her being was wracked with excruciating pain.

When Gwenafer's flashbang went off, the control Magdalene was exerting on Megumi waned slightly. The maid continued to lay there, attempting to formulate a plan to neutralize the enraged girl, all the while piecing together the tattered strands that constituted her flayed aura.

At Magdalene's beckoning, Megumi winced before obediently rising to her feet. Scanning the room, she pointed out where Adam had scurried off to to her new master. The maid then took her place at Magdalene's side.

edited 26th Mar '17 2:38:52 PM by WillDeRegio

ladytanuki Friendly Neighborhood Lich from SF, CA, US Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
#1102: Mar 26th 2017 at 2:21:09 AM

Field of Souls (Ferisen, Tagui, Ruka)

When Ferisen looked at Ruka when she mentioned not being fond of out-of-body experiences, she noticed something a bit odd about her. Sure, her aura looked perfectly normal, but upon close inspection of her body itself, it seemed... immaterial somehow. So was Ruka a ghost all along?

Then she looked at Tagui, who clearly seemed strained. In particular, she saw that the aura around his head looked frazzled, indicating great mental strain... but also quite bright, perhaps indicating increased awareness. Suddenly she felt sorry for bringing this other psychic here - especially when a notion came to her that perhaps he didn't know that cardinal rule of dream paths. It was kind of an obscure fact even among the people of Orenya, known mainly to those who lucid-dream or astral project often - like herself.

But as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Tagui beat her to it... wait, what did he mean they were dead? Did he just mean Ruka, referring to the fact that she was a ghost? Looking around, she tried to see if Ruka had merely gotten separated from her body. There was a body, right by the latria... but it was her own.

Gasping in surprise, Ferisen ran back over to her body... but about halfway there, she became disoriented, suddenly running in a completely different direction. Then she spread her wings and glided back over to her body, setting up a psychokinetic "tether" to make sure she was headed toward her body. But she ended up teleporting right next to Tagui's barrier. She sighed. "Of course... once one's soul is separated in here, it is difficult for it to return to one's body. This is why it is a good idea to have a consecrated object as a tether... ah!"

Her latria. Of course! Closing her eyes for a bit, she attuned herself to the presence of the crystal-piped instrument, as well as the lingering aura around her body, which was starting to fade. "Sao tei-bi latria, tali ti bobo kami-ya!"note 

Suddenly she felt as if something was pulling her backward. An instant later, she was back at her body... but when she felt something crystalline against her still-ghostly shoulder, she realized that said shoulder was seemingly glued to her latria, and the lower part of her body was already inside of it. Oh no... of course! I can't believe I forgot that souls are magnetically attracted to crystals in here... and since I did get the crystals for my latria from here originally...

Ferisen knew she had to approach this calmly, and fortunately, her body was right next to the latria. Phasing right across the instrument, she grasped her own body's hands and pulled... but instead of pulling herself towards her body, she ended up pulling her body towards her latria. While she was moving, the ethereal unsounds from the instrument rang out all across the mists, "heard" by Ruka and Tagui both.

A bit more worried now, Ferisen realized that only the head and arms of her spectral form were outside her latria now, though still grasping tightly onto her real hands. Focusing, she tried to phase further into her body... to no avail. Realizing what was happening, she called out to Ruka and Tagui. "Ruka! Tagui! If your soul is separated from your body, do not under any circumstances go near a crystal! People have had their souls sealed inside those things! ...And I think it's happening to me, since my latria is made of the same crystals I found in here long ago! I will try to open another path..."

This time she wrapped her arms tightly around her body, finding that she phased into it somewhat, but not enough to make it move. Once she got her bearings, she focused once more on the path she had conjured before. It has to work again. "Ri nendriyaki - sao okona laiti-ya!"

She tthrust one of her arms forward, and once again the latria unsounded, causing waves to ripple outward across the mists. Before them, a light appeared, materializing into a doorway, across which images similar to those in the mists appeared, but more vivid. "The only way out of here is through another path!" she called out to Ruka and Tagui. "Or would you rather make the perilous track to that beacon?"

With the force of her own mind, she pulled the cart containing her latria towards the two - though at the same time, she could feel her spectral form retreating further into it, prompting her to cling as tightly to her body as she possibly could. But though she was holding it, she couldn't quite feel it, only being able to see its fading aura. Changing her approach, she moved her spectral head inside her real one, trying to activate her own brain. Though she wasn't sure or not if she did, she found herself making her body rise to its feet, perhaps telekinetically. However, she was off-balance, and her body instead ended up sitting on the edge of the cart, as the continued to move on its own, her body's feet occasionally twitching. As it did, she committed herself to follow Ruka and Tagui wherever they decided to go, and to keep an awareness of her body so that it hopefully would not die.

Eldritch Factory - Cerebral Dungeon (Midnight Stitcher, Ayako, Durnem)

Durnem was confused when the Midnight Stitcher insisted that he wasn't sad, that he didn't know why he was crying. Was he really out of tune with his emotions like that? Clearly he was lying about his eyes not being black, as they clearly were... and once again, there was a thought about whether he was still on their side. She closed her eyes and shook her head. No, of course he's on our side. Why would he not be? The Oradamin have a practice, that we need proof before we doubt. Sometimes intuition can lead the mind astray. I have seen nothing in this man's aura to confirm otherwise, nor in his actions. Again, why am I even thinking this?

She looked down at the brain she was standing on. "Midnight Stitcher, I think this place may be influencing our thoughts. If we stay here too long, we might very well lose our minds. Do you know of any way out of here other than the way we came? I think leaving this place might make you feel better - even if you might not be in touch with your feelings."

She offered to take him by the hand... until she heard whimpering nearby. Ayako was muttering something about a Yuki, but there was no one else there. And then the next thing, she was backing away from something, and then her torch went out, and then she started to cry.

With a quick tap of her staff on the brainy floor, a light appeared in the crystal ball at its tip, illuminating the area once more. She looked to Ayako, then back to Stitcher, then Ayako, then Stitcher... and, remembering her doubting thoughts that seemed utterly unlike her, decided to stay with Stitcher... though she kept her gaze on the magical girl. "Ayako, we need to get out of here. Let's stay close, before one of us hallucinates again." One of us... hopefully not me.

Holding Watimari close, she slipped into a meditative state, the same state she defaulted to whenever she cast a spell. She focused on her own mind, trying to discern the thoughts that were in it, searching for the presence of some invading other. She couldn't quite detect anything yet, but decided to keep her third eye open as she looked back to the Midnight Stitcher, offering her hand once again. "Let's go," she reminded him, as she moved the light on her staff around and searched for an exit. So far she found none.

edited 26th Mar '17 2:43:24 AM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
Masterofchaos maria!!! by pyon!!! creator of mwdh! from In The Void Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
maria!!! by pyon!!! creator of mwdh!
#1103: Mar 26th 2017 at 1:11:00 PM

[Snow Castle (1st Floor)]

To Nick's irritation, the vines seemed intent on keeping him and Jackson prisoner. That is, until it started to slam the both of them to the ground...and suddenly, he felt the vines loosen their grip.

Finally! he thought. Not wanting to stick around, Nick wiggled around and began to slide out, ignoring his bleeding arm for the time being. Then he raced to Jackson, took off one his gloves, grabbed him, and pulled him out.

They raced to Adam, who was still trying his best to avoid the now hand-like vines. He looked at his friends fearfully.

"She won't stop." he said, "She's gonna kill us at this rate! How can we calm her down?"

Jackson looked up at Maggie, then stood in the middle of the battle, much to both Nick and Adam's horror.

"What the hell are doing?!" Nick yelled, "Get the hell back here!"

Jackson ignored him. Instead, he took a deep breath, then cupped his hands around his mouth.

"We're sorry!" he shouted, "We're sorry we bullied you! We'll let you play with the gems! We promise we won't call you a monster or point weapons at you again! Please! We sincerely don't want to fight you!"

He knew that this did not have a high chance of working, but at this rate, everyone was fighting over something relatively minor, and no doubt, they were all worn out and exhausted. He shut his eyes tightly and waited for whatever Maggie was gonna do.

gay
ladytanuki Friendly Neighborhood Lich from SF, CA, US Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
#1104: Mar 26th 2017 at 1:48:46 PM

Eldritch Factory - Heart Forge (Noire, Ashleigh, Emriel)

Emriel was utterly surprised at the confusion and worry suddenly flaring up in Noire's aura - though that meant she was a little less surprised at Noire readying her sword, as if about to slice her in half with it. Still, she automatically crouched into a stance that would allow her to easily move away if any trouble arose.

"Whoa whoa whoa," she said to Noire, holding her hands by her shoulders like someone under arrest. "That was just a legend, you know. I don't know anything about no shadow war or who started it. But so what if we did? That was ages ago, so it ain't like hurting me - if you even can - would do you any good." And indeed she lowered herself closer to the meaty floor, ready to dodge any attack Noire dared throw at her.

Ashleigh, meanwhile, took out her Scanner. "Wait, I'm confused. You said that the Servants of Humanity prevented Earthlings from understanding magic. And now you're saying that they did know about magic. I know I certainly did. Regardless, there's no point lashing out over this." She gave Noire a stern look - though she had to wonder if it was the Servants of Humanity who started the war in the first place, in which case Noire's people would have been justified in opposing them.

Snow Castle - Hallway (Megumi, Gwenafer, Nick, Jackson, Adam, Gliosem, Magdalene)

While Gliosem was struggling with the pain in her foot, she thought about sliding her foot off the needle that nailed it down, but when she moved her foot up it, that proved even more painful. For now, she was rooted to the spot.

And then things went from bad to worse, as at the same time that Magdalene formed a hand of sorts out of some of her vines, other vines continued to lash out at everything in sight. One of them slammed right into Gliosem's back. The winged musician heard a snap as her instrument broke, sending some of the glass beads on its strings scattering across the floor, while the vine simultaneously knocked the wind out of her.

Moments later, a second vine whacked her on her upper back, right at the spot where her wings sprouted. The thin cape she wore was poor protection, and in fact the thorns of the vine got caught on it, ripping it right off her neck and flailing it around. Meanwhile, Gliosem was left collapsed on the floor, with several puncture wounds all over her body from where the thorns on the vines had hit, lightly bleeding tears in her wings, and a pool of blood forming around her foot.

No... I cannot die, not here... After all, she knew that since she had drugged herself to end up in the dream, if she died in it, rather than waking up, she would be wandering about the dreamscape as a spirit, possibly aimlessly, for who knew how long. And so, gathering every bit of willpower she had, she struggled to push herself up, while managing to slide her foot off the other end of the needle.

Wearily setting aside her broken instrument, she pushed her still-trembling body into a sitting position, gazing at the still-furious yellow flower queen. Though her aura was still blindingly bright, in Gliosem's dazed state she managed to see something else in her aura. Some hint of damage, that whatever had provoked this fight may have been nothing new to her. Which she could understand, as if she had the responsibility of holding onto all those souls, while being too young to understand the implications of it...

Another vine lashed out towards her, but this time she managed to deflect it with an invisible psychic shield of her own (and like Maggie's, it became faintly visible in places where the vine made contact). While looking at Magdalene, she remembered a time when Amiluet was very young, when she was working in the garden with her mother and grew upset when she accidentally stepped on a thorn. As she had been quite gifted with the psychokinetic manipulation of plants at this point, in her rage she managed to uproot all the plants in the garden. Her mother got understandably angry with her for that, and Gliosem remembered approaching her, and the method she used to calm her down...

She knew she at least had to try the same approach now. So, despite the immense pain she was in, she straightened up and focused. "Nave ishta, kusa simlo-ya..."note 

The spell mitigated her trembling for the time being, and with newfound ability to turn away from the pain, she began to sing.

Nothing makes sense, but everything is beautiful
Nothing has shape, but everything is colorful
Here, time is but a lie
Images pass by my all-seeing eye

Purest emotions fill my mind as wisdom comes
Purest of visions gives me faith in everyone
I don't know how to hate
In this peaceful state to which I relate

This is the deepest knowing of my inner soul
This is the key to all existence as a whole
I don't fear, I accept
Understanding the virtue of respect

During the song, she set up another shield around herself so that the vines would not touch her, the song itself giving her the strength to do so. Even when she spread her torn and bleeding wings out, the pain did not bother her. At the same time, she focused her mind on Maggie, trying to form a connection with her aura. If it worked, Magdalene might feel a calming sensation enveloping her.

((Author's note: There is more to the song, but Gliosem won't be able to finish it until my next post due to real-time time constraints. And also, I actually recorded a version of this song, which can be found here - though Gliosem would likely sing it in a higher key than I did.))

edited 26th Mar '17 3:26:50 PM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#1105: Mar 26th 2017 at 7:54:06 PM

[Marble Corridor -> ??? (Seilaan, Mazra)]

Mazra watched as Seilaan made her way onto the windowsil, a way of seating herself that seemed a little at odds with most of her.

That answers that?

She decided that it did and shut off her field-sword, clipping the hilt back onto her waistcoat. She checked again - it was still Imperial black and white - then looked back over at Seilaan on the window, wondering for the first time what exactly was out on those snowfields. Assuming the dream even stayed stable long enough to check.

"It's not that I don't care about anything," she told the other girl. "Or even just that I don't express it obviously. It's like I said - more like I said before - I just can't really get invested in an argument where neither of us really knows anything about the other except what we've said. For all you know, everything I've said was just to mess with your head, and the same way on this end."

She did wonder, though - was that just an excuse? She didn't think it was, but it certainly could sound that way - it wouldn't be hard at all to imagine someone using it as an excuse in a story. "Oh, I'm not really apathetic and careless, I just don't know enough," said the scoundrel.

Frowning comically, she added out loud "I just said 'said' a lot."

She looked away from Seilaan and noticed for the first time that the corridor farther down - though not where they were, yet - had changed its appearance. The dull gray carpet had changed into a brighter white with thin orange and blue striping interweaving along its edges, and the windows had become much larger, letting in a greater amount of light. There were also several golden bars running along the ceiling, with red shell-like objects attached to the centermost one. The corridor itself seemed subtly larger, although when she tried to look for an obvious point where it widened she couldn't find one - the edges seemed to blur.

"Hang on." She walked a little farther in that direction. "This is starting to look an awful lot like a hall in the estate where I grew up. I wonder if I did that?"

It probably wouldn't let her change the conversation, but maybe?

Corvidae It's a bird. from Somewhere Else Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
It's a bird.
#1106: Mar 27th 2017 at 6:55:51 AM

Snow Castle - Hallway (Gwenafer, Megumi, Magdalene, Nick, Adam, Jackson, Gliosem)

Gwenafer's eyes darted across the corridor. The flash grains seemed to have been effective, at least for the time being, as the boys had managed to pull themselves free from the vines. Gliosem looked badly wounded, but was protected behind her own magic. Why the Depths was she singing of all things, though? Some new kind of spell maybe?

Gwenafer unhooked her hammer from her belt, and ran over to the boys, getting ready to fight off any more vines coming their way. Damn it, should have brought a blade instead. She shook her head at Jackson's attempt to apologize to the enraged mage girl, but at this point she'd take any chance to end the fight she could get.

And why was Megumi just standing there next to Magdalene like that, as if awaiting instructions? There was no way the little witch knew how to...

"Oh, shit..."

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Kkutwar The Prince of Foolish Relevations from A Place Beneath both Good & Evil Since: Feb, 2013 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
#1107: Mar 27th 2017 at 5:09:35 PM

The Graveyard

Half & Caleb alone hearing a dark kind of chuckling, the Anti-Soul Behemoth's words practically dance. "   You really don't know? The thing you call Defiance was never supposed to have a mind, and thus is using it purely for the sake of his human. Do you blame a guard dog for doing its job? Really, just give him what he wants, obvious he'll leave you all alone if you do.   "

The so-called Golden Being, however, from what little could be made out was not amused by Sentinel's guardian. Thus the Golden Being lingered there, thinking things over for all anyone can tell. 'Eyes' flickering over Friedrich and then Moreena, the Golden Being is hardly reassured by the doll's bleak questions or the goddess' demand he give in.

Yet suspicion rolled onto the Golden Being's expression as the strange new man spoke to him, and then... Rage at the notion that thing ultimately wants to destroy the soul of his precious host. But... Looking over all these things here, capable of so casually ignoring the berserk raining of the Gifted power inside the one called Patches...

Finally, he speaks with no hope, bitterness and just... Defeat. "Even if I say no, you'll just force it on us. Even if I try forcing away the souls, you would just destroy him to spite me. All I am to you things is a monster, a parasite, something to remove as if I'm his enemy... If any of you truly knew souls, then you could of just created blank material to give us. Therefore, what you're going to do..."

Looking over to the Sentinel and her guardian, the Golden Being glares with disgust. "Is something asinine, like forcing me to be a patch for his shattered soul. Maybe something even more foolish, like raw memory rather than any real spiritual matter. Regardless, you're going to try denying me any right to be, let alone help him."

The Golden Being laying down next to Armory Knight, curling up and closing its 'eyes', the Golden Being speaks without any real care anymore: The clear image of a being that has completely and utterly given up.

"This thinking thing is overrated, I liked it better six hours ago before we were fused... Do whatever you want, just don't let that disgusting thing eat my host's soul... As for you Sinistrina, I'm sorry we couldn't get that chance to help you. It was nice of you to try helping us, truly help us unlike what this fool is going to do..."

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
VioletN the cutest lizard from somewhere in the between Since: Jan, 2017
the cutest lizard
#1108: Mar 27th 2017 at 5:39:15 PM

[Farm (Min, Varris, Vince, Tsadro)]

Min chuckled in spite of herself and turned away from the goat pen, taking a few steps forward and then stopping, staring off vaguely into the fog. After a moment, she said, “If the system isn’t working it needs to be fixed. If it can’t be fixed it needs to be destroyed and replaced.” She paused and then smirked slightly, glancing over her shoulder at Vince. “A lot easier to break things, I think.”

Varris returned Vince’s gaze, staring him down for a few seconds before saying, “Y’know, it’s kinda not cool to stare at people like that. I’m a person too. You could talk to me, if you really want to so badly.”

Just trying to get things moving again.

She turned her eyes to see the ship's fins - they are rising upward to the ring again...
KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#1109: Mar 27th 2017 at 5:59:46 PM

[The Graveyard]

To the spirit, the Dark Priest merely closed his eyes briefly. "Futility," he finally said. "A struggle without meaning, clambering for an illusion of control in a universe cruel and arbitrary. Its very creation was the greatest of sins, the original sin. Better no fruit than the toxic fruits of this tainted reality."

To Sinistrina, the Dark Priest nodded and said, "you almost understand. And yet I fear you do not. I cannot liberate any soul that is still weighed down by regret." He gave a sad sigh. "It is not enough to say one accepts my offer. They must let go of all worldly things to be unmade. And yet you come closer than any other here, and I respect that." He spoke, as a blessing: "may you find peace as you can in this world, and may we meet again."

It was then the Dark Priest turned to the Golden Being. And the Golden Being would know with absolute certainty that the Dark Priest, the End of All Things, the Lord of Suicides, who once walked with the name Saint Nemol, who had ended the agony of entire Hells and Heavens alike, who brought silence to whole universes for whom existence had no further meaning, whose true nature was infinite and timeless, whose Purpose was so pure and absolute that no law ever conceived and no power ever contemplated in all the Omniverse could slow it, could permanently and finally end even a Gift. Saint Nemol offered, without the need for such pittances as words. The Golden Being could accept, and in that moment, that would be the end of it all. Or reject, and attempt to find meaning as the Spirit had suggested.

Gabriel, for his part, finally managed to stand. He'd heard most of the Dark Priest's ramblings as he cleared his mind, and had his own thoughts for the man. But he wasn't quite ready to say them yet. His head was still ringing too badly, if nothing else.

As said, Saint Nemol's Purpose is his Power. The mechanics are totally irrelevant; the only thing that matters here is that Saint Nemol is offering the Golden Being a chance to completely die rather than face whatever he expects is coming, and has, through whatever means, the ability to make it so. But he can only do so with the Golden Being's permission.

edited 27th Mar '17 6:07:10 PM by KillerClowns

WillDeRegio Since: Jan, 2015
#1110: Mar 28th 2017 at 9:12:53 PM

[Field of Souls] (Ruka, Tagui, Ferisen)

Ruka had begun heading ever-so-closer when Tagui warned her to stay back. Flinching away from the barrier, she looked up at him, "I'm not dead. I'm a half-ghost," she clarified, "on my mom's side. Don't ask. I don't understand, my dad doesn't understand it, my mom definitely does't understand it, and all the scientists at AEGIS are still trying to figure me out. But I'm very much alive."

She looked down at the rock that she failed to kick. "Okay, so right now I'm not in my body, don't really know where it is, so I'm kind of a full ghost. Can't use any of my non ghostly abilities, but I can walk through walls and possess stu..." She trailed off as she watched Ferisen attempt reunite with her body... and promptly begin being absorbed by her own instrument.

Ruka felt herself being drawn towards the latria as well. Consigned to focusing on not being sucked in with Ferisen, she attempted to help the sumiri with her body, an exercise in futility. When she brushed up against Ferisen, she noticed that she could, however, touch the other woman's soul.

Taking a step back, she too in what Ferisen had said, "I'm not particularly fond of soul and sealed being in the same sentence. I've had a few run-ins with a few... don't mind my wine metaphors, uncorked souls myself. The longer they ferment, the stronger their anger grows, and the more potent they become." At this point, she gazed downcast at the ground, having triggered partially repressed memories of her mother, before remembering what she had said earlier.

"I know you've just met me, and this is asking a lot from you, but I might be able to help you out of there... if you don't mind me borrowing your body for a bit," Ruka asked, gesturing towards the twitchy body.

edited 28th Mar '17 9:21:01 PM by WillDeRegio

SnowyFoxes Drummer Boy from Club Room Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: I know
Drummer Boy
#1111: Mar 29th 2017 at 12:47:55 AM

[Blizzard —> Cemetery]

Just ahead of the adults, Abadal had stopped and was perched on a wooden fence no taller than Friedrich's waist, still clutching the snowball he had made.

"That's... admirable," Friedrich said as he opened the gate. "Gotta admit, for someone who's spent half their life flirting with state execution, I've got a pretty long way to go before I make peace with the idea of crossing over. Don't get me wrong, the Elder is scary too. Wasn't a big fan of it when I first realized that it had latched on to me. But it helps my magic, which helps a lot of people, so I did my best to make peace with it."

Neat rows of gravestones of varying shapes and sizes stretched as far as the eye could see. Here, the snow fell gently, but if one were to turn around, they would see the blizzard raging outside the fence. Abadal jumped off the fence and landed lightly on top of a rectangular gravestone. He continued hopping along as the adults walked.

"I don't remember it being so big the last time I was here," Friedrich said as casually as if the only change had been a few dandelions springing up between the gravestones. "Finding Heinrich's grave shouldn't be a problem anyway. I've been there often enough. Regrettably. The holy books say you're supposed to visit the dead once every season, but I come every month. Sometimes more." He wondered if this would sound stupid to Iveya; he didn't know what the customs were where she came from. Hell, maybe she'd be appalled by how infrequently he paid his respects. "I just sit on the ground and tell him and Elise how their kids are doing. More for my benefit than anything else. If they can hear me, they're probably watching over the family anyway."


[Ritter Clinic (parlor)]

"Didn't mention them? Are you sure, now?" Heinrich furrowed his brow at the other man, with one hand nervously running through his hair. "Friedrich wouldn't—he wouldn't—oh! There aren't any pictures on the mantelpiece. What happened to all his pictures? There should be a few pictures of Eva and Philip, and Mother, and my wedding photograph, a few of his Himmelburg friends... strange how I didn't notice they were missing until now! Have you seen them, Henry? It might seem like a small thing, but I can't help but feel like something's wrong."

The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Novis from To the Moon's song. Since: Mar, 2011 Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
#1112: Mar 29th 2017 at 1:29:19 AM

Graveyard

Half Caleb ignored the Anti-Soul Behemoth's laughter, but noted what it said and watched the Golden Being. He did so unemotionally, until the Golden Being said he regretted thinking, and put that together with Anti-Soul's comment about never being meant to have a mind. Caleb's mind came to the surface of the composite being and said, out loud, "You may have been a mistake, but now you're here and deserve to exist as much as everyone else."

He moved closer to the scene, noting the Dark Preist who he didn't recognize from any time before. Addressing the spirit with Sentinel, Caleb said "wait a minute, I don't know what you plan to do, but I also have a proposal to make to him and it should be his choice."

Half's thoughts rang through him, though Caleb didn't quite know where voice and Half's began and ended. I see what you plan to do. Why should I let you?

You have souls to spare.

And you think you can just trade them?

You're not wrong, but you stole them in the first place. Any way I don't just intend to leave them.

That may be a point, but remember anything that happens will be by my decicion. And Half's voice went quite, bringing Caleb back to the present.

He turned the the Golden Being, "I may be able to lend what you need; but I won't lie, there's a catch."

You say I am loved, when I don’t feel a thing. You say I am strong, when I think I am weak. You say I am held, when I am falling short.
Corvidae It's a bird. from Somewhere Else Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
It's a bird.
#1113: Mar 29th 2017 at 8:22:26 AM

Graveyard (Moreena; Gabriel, Nemol; Sinistrina, Friedrich; Sentinel, Spirit; Patches, Golden Being, Armory Knight; Caleb/Half)

Moreena gave the Dark Priest a skeptical look.

"You sound cheerful," she said. "But no, I am not the jailer you take me for." There was a clear hint of disgust in her voice towards that word. "I protect the dead, and lead the worthy ones to the Domains of my kin, but I won't force them to stay."

She glanced between the Priest and the Spirit, contemplating what they had said. "I suppose that either of you could be right." She shook her head, black hair swaying gently through the air. "Eternal change and growth, or willing oblivion by your hand... I doubt I will know what the final fate of the dead will be until I choose to follow them. But until then..." The goddess gestured towards the swirling souls with a determined look on her face, hoping to make her intentions clear. "...I have a job to do."

"But your words are true indeed. There are some things that simply cannot be atoned for - in which case the only option is to let it go."

Moreena turned her attention back to the necromancer, her black eyes widening for a brief, almost unnoticeable moment.

"I don't believe that," she said, perhaps more for her own sake than Sinistrina's, and let her gaze wander across the broken landscape, finally settling on the chaos at the center of the crater. "And impossible or not, being willing to try has to count for something, hasn't it?"

Meanwhile, the Golden Being had finally agreed to the Spirit's offer. Despite all that happened, Moreena couldn't help but feel... - maybe not outright sympathy, but at least something - when she heard what it had to say.

"They won't kill you," she told it, before turning to face the Spirit and the still lifeless body of the Sentinel. "...Right?"

Before Moreena got an answer however, Caleb - who suddenly looked noticeably different from before - stepped forward to give the Golden Being an offer of his own. Moreena immediately felt uneasy, and threw a quick glance back towards Sinistrina, but decided to wait until the man had explained himself.

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
Mrship21 Mr ship from Oregon. Since: Jan, 2014 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Mr ship
#1114: Mar 29th 2017 at 6:46:50 PM

[Clinic-Parlor/Henry]

Henry quickly breathed a sigh of relief when Heinrich got distracted by the missing photos. However that got him to realize something.

"Hey Heinrich." He started carefully thinking about what he was about to say. "What exactly is the last thing you remember doing before you came here?"

[Twilight Ball/Lauren]

As the column of earth rose up Lauren quickly used the momentum to jump backwards doing a backflip to land on her feet. She let off a few more shots taking out someone with each one. Then she quickly ran over to June who was offering some of her magic to Amuiluet.

"I think I know where we can go. While I was wondering around I ran into my home city when I was a kid. Perhaps if I concentrate enough we can get to there at my current time of 1989. Henry and I have weapons stashed away in a warehouse by the bay."

KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#1115: Mar 30th 2017 at 8:23:57 PM

[Cemetery]

Iveya took another look at the Elder. Then considered her own powers. It helps my magic, which helps a lot of people, so I did my best to make peace with it. "I know..." she stopped, and corrected herself, "I think I know the feeling." She recalled her own first experiences with her power. It was... surprisingly hard on her sanity. The hunger, the stress, the nightmares. Normal, she'd heard. The very reason the Magocracy took so few who applied. Still a painful sacrifice to make for her people. But then, why did doubts keep creeping up?

And, just as Friedrich had suspected, a visit only once a season seemed... odd. Her expression was at first confused. Every Xayusa household, after all, kept a small ancestral shrine. Why trudge out all the way to a graveyard, when the spirits were always present? Rather than comment, though, she thought about it again. Then it suddenly made sense; a small pilgrimage, a seasonal day of devotion expressly to the ancestors... the confusion on her face disappeared as silently as it came as she made sense of the rite through her own lens. If they can hear me, they're probably watching over the family anyway. At these words, Iveya said nothing, but her bowed head and brief, blessing gesture clearly indicated agreement. A truth Iveya felt deeply... even if sometimes she'd rather the inscrutable ancestors do more than watch.

CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit Since: May, 2009
#1116: Apr 1st 2017 at 10:20:19 AM

[farm]

...Which is precisely what he was doing. Responding to a topic Varris brought up just moments before... right? God, he'd better not be losing his mind.

Vince blinked. "I am." He turned back to his goats. "Not suggesting in the least that the world should never be changed. I suppose his people-" he motioned behind him "-would still have fewer rights than cattle if I hadn't... played a role in changing the world somehow."

As he went silent for a moment, with a small frown and quiet sigh, the farm seemed to warm slightly, the fog throughout just his farm inching a bit closer to gold, from the morning sun. The rest just outside the pasture fence remained a solid, stark gray, like an early 3D video game with a low render distance.

"But what of the ones who choose to go do the impossible? The world would have you believe that's all they are- not a person, but someone whose entire life revolves around whatever they became known for. I have the questionable luxury of knowing how to quickly start my life over, but... depending on what you want to do, maybe you won't need to do that."

Tsadro continued watching, between scratching Lise's ears and checking his nails. They went after Acquati for doing his usual, but somehow failed to miss that he himself had been standing there doing just that the whole time.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
Yomegami Since: Jan, 2011
#1117: Apr 2nd 2017 at 3:05:36 PM

Snow Castle (Magdalene, Megumi, Gliosem, Gwenafer, Nick, Adam, Jackson)

A few moments of flailing around later, Magdalene herself glew yellow briefly and her attention turned back to the three boys, who had since escaped. Her eyes narrowed, and the vines reared back as they prepared to try to ensnare all three of them again....

Then Jackson apologized for their transgression. The vines, and Magdalene herself, relaxed for a moment or two. A few moments later, however, the vines reared up again. Then Gliosem's song started to get through to her. As it went on, Magdalene visibly relaxed, and the vines stopped moving altogether.

Whatever was going to happen afterwards, however, was stopped by the simple fact that she suddenly vanished. Her grip on Megumi's soul released, and without their master the vines shriveled up and vanished into nothing.


King Messor's Garden

Magdalene awoke with a start. She pushed herself to a sitting position to find she was still in the royal garden, right where she'd dozed off in the first place.

"That was a weird dream...." she mumbled to herself. Then she shook her head, stood up, and stretched, before walking off to find something else to do.

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Masterofchaos maria!!! by pyon!!! creator of mwdh! from In The Void Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
maria!!! by pyon!!! creator of mwdh!
#1118: Apr 2nd 2017 at 3:38:36 PM

[Snow Castle (1st Floor)]

And just like that, the whole mess was over.

The three boys just blinked for several minutes, unsure what the hell just happened now.

"...Well..." Nick said, "That was...something."

"Something?" Jackson said, turning around, "Dude, we almost died! Jesus Christ..." He looked around, "Well, she probably woke up now; i-it's probably for the best. Let's just go see if everyone else is alright."

"Right." Nick then held Adam's shoulder, "You ok? You were kicking ass right there."

"U-Um..." Adam said, looking down with his whole face red, "I-I'm fine. Uh, are you ok? Your arm's cut and you got slammed by vines!"

"It'll take more than that to get me down." Nick smirked, "Not to worry, buddy. As long as you and the others are alive, that means more than my safety."

Adam looked away. "There you go again, sounding sappy."

Nick then let go of Adam, quickly rubbed his head, then walked over to the others. Adam went straight to Gliosem, seeing that she took the most brunt of the attack. and Nick went to Megumi.

"Are you ok, Ms.?" Adam asked, bending down to Glioslem, "I can try to patch you up as best I can."

Nick nodded at Megumi. "Thanks for your help. You did get my arm, but honestly, it could've been worse. You and everyone else pratically saved our asses."

edited 22nd Apr '17 11:44:56 PM by Masterofchaos

gay
ladytanuki Friendly Neighborhood Lich from SF, CA, US Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
#1119: Apr 2nd 2017 at 6:01:45 PM

Twilight Ball (Amiluet, June, Lauren)

Once again, Amiluet found herself captivated by June's magic. First those spears, then an icy explosion, then a dragon made out of flame, then stone pillars, and a wind blast that lifted her higher into the air? Is she an avatar of the gods or something?note  Regardless, Amiluet used the momentum to turn around, using psychokinesis to assist in the process... and, with a wave of her hand, deflect a flying plate heading for her as well.

Once everyone was safely out of the hall, June said something rather peculiar to her regarding magic. "Pick an element? Uhhhh... plant?" Just after she said that, she turned back to the elfin mages and twirled around, the momentum lifting up the upper folds of her dress. Out of nowhere, a flurry of light pink petalsnote  surrounded her, flying at the mages and surrounding them as well, providing a distraction as they left.

Then Lauren suggested a place from her memory - an apt choice for someone in a dream. "Anywhere that's not on Orenya will do, as long as it's not in a war! I can help you open a path. June, can you make sure nobody attacks us while I prepare it?" She looked back at the surprisingly powerful human mage, confident that, going by what she saw, that she would be able to hold them off. That and Amiluet was optimistic and carefree in general.

And so, gliding over to a spot near a patch of shrubs, she held out her arms before her. "Pa okona drimariya-na, kuna-ya!"note 

The shrubs rustled, and then uprooted and began to move until they were in a circle. A disc of light spread within this circle, which Amiluet now was holding her plump peach-toned hands over. Still gazing into the portal, she spoke to Lauren. "Gaze into this disc and concentrate on this place, and I am confident we will go there."

Graveyard (Moreena, Patches/Golden Being/Armory Knight, Gabe/Dark Priest, Sentinel/Spirit, Sinistrina/Friedrich, Caleb/Half) note 

As Sinistrina's mind lay in limbo, the ambivalence over her decision to end her existence merging slowly into one, another vision came to her mind, along with what was seemingly a poem of sorts. There was a tower, once upright, then inverted. There was an emptiness, once comforting, then jarring to her very soul. There was a void, once considered, then dropped in favor of a world of color.

The last one grabbed Sinistrina's attention, and for a brief moment, all those colors faded to gray and became outlined by a picture frame. In that instant she was reminded of the creation of her own phylactery. How, while trapped and slowly dying within the Deathly Glade, she created the images in the pictures on the walls of Misery Manor as a sort of memento for the life a part of her knew she was soon to leave. And how when she did leave, she drifted across those pictures, not even realizing at the time that her soul was sealing itself inside of them. And how in the end, in lieu of leaving, a curiosity of re-animating her own corpse grabbed her, keeping her existence preserved.
Of course... even then, I strove to find a way to press on despite the futility of the nature of my magic, didn't I? Ironic, then, how doing so only made my magic more powerful...

The image faded and gave way to two: two dolls specifically, standing side by side. One of them was Friedrich, and the other, a girl in a pink bonnet and a poofy spring-green dress. It was the latter who spoke.
"You created us. That's a noble end, isn't it?"

That only made the sense of dread return to her. "I created you out of fragments of existing souls, just as I was about to do to Armory Knight here."

"Who cares?" asked Friedrich. "Those souls have already relinquished their memories to the afterlife. They have already ended their existence, possibly by a hand similar to that priest's, only one that somehow left the rest of the soul behind. I have no memory of whatever soul I was created from, if any distinct one."

"Though what happens if you add ether to someone who already has an intact soul?" asked the girl. "Do they gain new memories? Do they become unstable like that albino girl did? You never absorbed any extra ether into your own soul, did you?"

A faint smile appeared on Sinistrina's face, even in "reality"note . No, no I didn't. Even I knew that tearing apart or molding together souls like that would have had disastrous results... though with a defiant existence like Armory Knight's, I would have thought he'd be an exception. Even with the pictures on the manor walls, my soul remained intact because they were all attached to a hub of sorts. Dolls' souls are artifically pieced together, but I specifically instructed Lucina to make sure they have a single consciousness, and specifically enchanted that mirror to do so. Anything more would make them unstable, and anything less...

That last thought snapped her back to the quasi-reality of the dream world. What if Armory Knight... But she was interrupted by what the Dark Priest was saying. That she had come close to an end of existence... though what could she have possibly not understood? Did I not say that I was ready to let go of that regret? Regardless, she nodded in acknowledgement at his blessing, though something else came to mind when he mentioned peace. How she had found it within the Deathly Glade immediately after she died, as the realm itself was a safe space where she could practice her magic without consequence.

Then it was the goddess's turn - and it became clear to Sinistrina that Moreena had never actually worked with souls before - just acted as a shepherd of sorts for them. Upon her mention of trying though, Sinistrina tapped her staff on the ground, and spoke with an uncharacteristic sharpness. "I have tried. All my existence I have tried. Trying is what led to all these guilty regrets in the first place!" She shook her head and spoke more calmly. "Especially in my case, instead of try, the better options are to do, or to not do. And now that my magic is all I have, the latter is not an option. Likewise," and here she looked intently at Moreena, "might you be worrying a bit too much about what happens to those souls? Unless you either have a superior who will punish you if any of those souls become lost, or have had something tragic happen to a soul you knew, I do not see why you would have a reason to care."

Letting Moreena stew in that, she turned back to her undead butler, quickly pouring herself another glass of blood and draining it in one swift motion. After doing so again, she gazed over at Armory Knight. By that point, both Caleb and the Dark Priest had their attention focused on him - perhaps to make more offers? Caleb did - in fact, he says that his came with a catch.

After finishing off the bottle and handing it and the glass back to the butler, Sinistrina stepped forward and took a glance at Caleb and Half. "I think it is quite clear that the Golden Being does not want anything that would come with a catch. He has made enough sacrifices on his host's behalf. Souls are delicate things, and it appears those two's were broken in some way and then bonded." She looked over at Armory Knight's wretched form. "Then it is no wonder that his soul was so unstable."

An idea came to her. If Armory Knight's existence was so defiant that the Golden Being thought adding ether to him would restore his soul, then what if he could not properly die from such a procedure either? And so, stepping a short distance away from Caleb and Half and towards the just-now-awakening Sentinel (who again she felt that tinge of sympathy for - it was clear by now that damaging those souls was an unfortunate reaction to the Golden Being damaging hers, which in turn was a desperate act arising from the unfortunate state of the soul he was connected to), she spoke to the Golden Being, who was apologizing for not being able to help her out.

"Perhaps I was a fool for wishing to return to my mortal self - I doubt things would have changed much. I did not want to seem like I had made a grab for power when I died, like many an evil sorcerer from myth, but it something I am content with at the very least. Likewise, though you may not have obtained the ether you need, perhaps you can be content with having what is left of your knight's soul restored - and that I can do."

Then she spoke to the Sentinel and her spirit. "If you can do anything to help him focus his memories, that would be crucial to preserving his sense of self, since he currently seems incapable of bringing such thoughts to mind."

And though she hoped that the Sentinel would be able to do such, and though a lingering thought that she might kill Armory Knight tugged at the back of her mind, she knew that this was possibly his only hope, and thus relinquished those worries. While planting her staff firmly on the ground, she moved her hand forward, where her especially-black shadow extended along the ground towards Armory Knight's broken body. Once there, the spindly shadowy arms reached up, grasping for whatever fragments remained of his soul.

And then at last the hands congregated and formed into a tight shell , pulling the ethereal fragments inward and focusing on a part of Armory Knight's body that held the most promising vibrations of selfnote . Black mists flooded his body, pulling any remaining traces into that part. And there Sinistrina held it, waiting for the Sentinel to place her own enchantment. "Thank you, by the way," she spoke to her.

edited 2nd Apr '17 6:23:47 PM by ladytanuki

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
WillDeRegio Since: Jan, 2015
#1120: Apr 3rd 2017 at 1:21:21 AM

[Yukijou-minato ~ Snow Castle (Main Keep 1st Floor ~ Hallway)] (Megumi, Adam, Nick, Jackson, Gliosem, Gwenafer, Magdalene)

Now within striking distance, Megumi moved to wrap an arm around Magdalene's neck... only, the girl was gone with out a trace. The maid stumbled slightly, swiftly regaining her balance. She swept her gaze around the room, and while the damage was still there, all the vines were gone.

Megumi glanced down at the ruined left sleeve of her shirt, blood now staining the area where she had driven one of her needles completely through her arm to maintain her focus. It hurt immensely, but not as much as what Magdalene had done to her.

Speaking of which, with the owner gone, the soul that had been force into the maid, which she had started sealing away by attaching an ofuda to her chest, should have left as well. But, it, or a phantom of it, or something, was still inside her, struggling to take control of her. Applying more ofuda for good measure and adjusting her uniform to tuck them out of the way, Megumi made a reminder to see an onmyōji after this.

The boy who she had attempted to free, and subsequently injured, Nick, came up to her, thanking her for her help. Megumi shook her head, "No, don't thank me. It was more likely Jackson who would have calmed that girl's rage, apologizing like that. Besides, I wasn't able to free you, and instead hurt you," she said.

The maid tore off a section of her uniform to apply a tourniquet to her arm to slow the bleeding from her self-inflicted wounds, before heading over towards one side of the hall, "I shall fetch some bandages for those who need it," Megumi said to the others.

As the maid ducked into a side room, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. Barring the boys, Gliosem, and Gwenafer, there were no one else nearby. No maids, no soldiers, no other staff had been attracted by the fighting. Megumi thought this very strange as she located a first aid kit.


[Twilight Ball] (June, Lauren, Amiluet)

June grinned at her adoring little audience of one before unleashing a field of icy caltrops behind them to slow down any pursuing enemies. When they were in moderate safety, June, taking Amiluet's suggestion, began weaving power into a small ball of light, before producing a hair pin with an emerald and gold flower on it. Gleefully bouncing over to the sumiri's side, she stuck the the pin into the other woman's hair.

"There! You can use that to tap into some of my magic, and use it enhance your own abilities, or to unleash some serious flower power! Like... this!" June placed a hand on the ground, and an unlucky soldier some distance away got sent flying by a tree root that punched its way out of the ground beneath his feet.

The enigmatic woman nodded in agreement. "Right, I can certainly hold them off," said June before whistling, "Cuu~!"

The air beside June rippled for a moment, before a large, dark green hound stepped out of the blurry air, growling slightly at the woman who had summoned it. Its shoulders were level with June's chest, with a build similar to a German Sheppard, and a mane of braided fur. Human-level intelligence could be gleaned from staring into its piercing blue eyes.

The hound bowed its head towards June, before taking off and rapidly closing the distance between it and a mage that it's master had indicated. Leaping, it took the mage down to the ground with ease, before going in for the kill.

Turning away from the one-sided, snarling struggle, June conjured up a fire ball in the palm of her hand. "Tonight on Hell's Kitchen: Mage Flambé!" she said with a grin, before unleashing a barrage of flames towards her foes.

edited 3rd Apr '17 12:29:05 PM by WillDeRegio

Mrship21 Mr ship from Oregon. Since: Jan, 2014 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Mr ship
#1121: Apr 3rd 2017 at 5:53:38 AM

[Twilight Ball>San Francisco-Safon Warehouse~1989/Lauren]

Lauren watched as June provided cover for her and Amiluet. This was able to allow Amiluet to summon a form of portal. Listening to Amiluet's instructions she began to concentrate really hard. "Come on. San Francisco Bay Warehouse November 16, 1989." She whispered to herself before a blinding flash engulfed them all.

When the light dissipated she found herself in her and Henry's warehouse and from the looks of it right after they left their dimension.

The warehouse was large and open with the sunlight coming in through the windows. In the center of the building were various 1980s computers scattered about in the middle with many cords connected to them all, and all of them were scorched from an explosion. In the center of the scattered ring of computers was a large machine that looked like it was the source of the explotion with it being heavily scorched and warped outwards.

In one of the corners of the building was a quickly put together living area with torn expensive looking furniture including couches, a tv, small dining area, dressers and a king sized bed. Over by the main door was a rusted green 1973 Volkswagen Beetle with a green Jimmy Carter bumper sticker and a newer black 1987 Jeep Wrangler with a Bush Quayle 88 bumper sticker. Finally in another corner of the warehouse was what looked to be an office of sorts that was heavily locked up.

After getting her bearings Lauren walked over to a large breakers against one of the walls and flipped it on turning all the lights on in the warehouse. "Sorry for the place being a mess. We had a nice penthouse but the earthquake last month destroyed it."

edited 3rd Apr '17 5:54:27 AM by Mrship21

EternaMemoria To dream is my right from Somewhere far away Since: Mar, 2016 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
To dream is my right
#1122: Apr 3rd 2017 at 9:33:29 AM

Graveyard.

So, that was how the battle came to an ending? With healing instead of death? What a fascinating event to dream of, and soon they would dream deeper, as they and their heir were bound between death and life and one had to fall so the other would rise.

"My heir is almost ready. Animatum, may you give her a drink to remind her of life?", they asked to the witch's butler, with a small hint of direct influence to its simple mind, and saw it move towards Sentinel's torn form with its bottle of blood and pour some on her head almost like it was watering a plant. Just as soon as the first drops sunk into her, sending ripples through her form, the regeneration began. Flesh did not grow into place, skin did not spread over her form. Instead, dark liquid formed over her body, rising and flowing until it covered her whole body, and then sinking back, revealing a fully healed woman, who was strangely enough wrapped by what seemed like a thin dark mantle of sorts, although upon closer inspection it would be clear it was membranaceus in nature, instead of being made of any sort of textile.

While it happened the spirit faded from view on both places they once were, and from existence itself if one was capable of seeing such things, yet didn't look closely enough to see hints of a greater being still piercing through. And one of those last fingers of existence, they touched Patches and whispered in her mind "Your Knight needs you... remind him of who he was..." before returning to the limbo somewhere between Sentinel's mind and that lonely tower overlooking the void.

...

Silently, Niru... no, Sentinel broke the seal upon her eyelids and moved her head to free it from the mantle, being greet by the visage of a reanimated corpse and dark, stormy sky.

"Mercy!", she whispered in a somewhat undignified way while she held her shroud tighter, expecting the land to open and swallow her where she lay. Instead, nothing happened. Now calmer, she slowly stood up and looked around with her golden eyes, confused by the place she stood, trying to pierce back the fragmented memories of what happened. Hapless drifters, a terrible beast and two spirits watching.

And there was the beast, the Knight, falling apart. And its watcher, who twice tried to destroy her and only failed due to not caring enough to go all the way. It was mercy, in a way. "So much has changed.", she said, seeing both beings felled, the guide by despair and the beast by something else, though what she did not know for sure. With slow, tired steps she approached them despite the danger, feeling nor pride nor fear as she looked at them, only what could only be described as regret. Not of her actions, but of theirs and of how far it all went. If things had not stopped, it all would have been much worse. But now it could end in another way, a better way. Or at least that is what the beyond told her.

"This whole thing sucked. I hope no one has to go through this shit again.", she said to no one in particular while asking herself what she was doing there in first place. Why did everyone seem so willing to help that abomination that only caused destruction while they tried to subdue it without causing harm? Wouldn't thr universe be safer with one less potential monster in it? Even if they pacified it and its guardian, what kept them from becoming violent again once triggered?

But then, the way the patchwork girl spoke about Armory Knight made her consider that maybe he deserved a chance, even if his current guide did not. "I... I can try to help, even if I am unsure if I should.", she said to the Golden Being, the Fulminant Mind that burned through her before, before moving closer and kneeling next to Armory Knight and moving one of her hands outside of her mantle to touch him. "A spiritual linchpin? That could be useful just don't bind it too tightly, at least until the transformation is over. That is, if we are allowed to start.", she said nervously to Sinistra, before turning to the Golden Being.

"I know we aren't on good terms, but if Armory Knight was... healthy, things could have been peaceful, right? If... if you want me to try to help you, think of how he used to be back then. Try something intense, but peaceful. I can change his body easily, and give his spirit the flexibility, the potential for change, even recreate the parts that were damaged... but my power needs something to guide it, hints of how to fill the holes in the puzzle. You and Patches must tell him who he was, so I can fix those parts of his spirit."

After inhaling deeply, she added almost whispering "But there is a catch: he would be treated, not fully cured. Any active strain on his soul could reopen some cracks."

Of course, she left out that said blessing had some parts that could be revoked by her, and that she would be able to do so with a mere phrase if Armory Knight broke any law while in her Empire. But then that was hardly relevant if they never met again. And the soul linchpin could make said nullification harder, depending on how it worked. What mattered was that she wouldn't be hurt by then again if it worked.

Field of Souls

Before Tagui could even present the idea of dragging the witch's body closer to her mind, as insipid a task as that may have been, Ferisen started moving wildly, struggling to reach her body until she thought of using an object as an anchor.

"Couldn't you use your own body for tha...", he firced himself to say, but it seemed the sheer effort of making his body and mind cooperate made him too slow for Ferisen, who apparently teleported herself... to inside her latria.

"Why is you instrument made of soul-sucking crystals in the first place!?", Tagui shouted and stumbled towards the edge of his circle "Maybe if I broke... no, too risky. We need to buy time.", he said to himself in haste and knelt to pick up one of his shield-coins, tossing it towards the latria, but not at the latria, and willing it to counteract at least a little to soul-dragging currents of the place. As he did it however they invaded his circle in full force, for a moment making a golden afterimage divide itself from his body and then join it again as he rose up to cross the mists. During that brief moment it would be possible to see that his soul was distinct, bright and most of all whole in shape, unlike his incomplete body.

As he moved towards Ferisen and Ruka, he heard the former cast another spell, accompained by the eery soul-notes of her latria, and another portal manifest. Seeing its not-shape and staring through the not tunnel, his mind was filled with dread of what horroes there would be this time. Yet he was too mesmerized to look away, not until he saw what waited for him, until he could see the burning eyes stripping away his self while snakes slithered below and waves of heat melted through his skin. Only then he closed his eyes. Only then he knew that there was only one way out.

"No,", he said and then looked at Ferisen with new determination, "you know how it ended last time.". Then he added "That place I saw through the mists before seems familiar. Maybe Ruka can borrow your body and we pull you with the latria until we can find someone who can fix this."

edited 3rd Apr '17 10:40:54 AM by EternaMemoria

"The dried flowers are so beautiful, and it applies to all things living and dead."
KillerClowns Since: Jan, 2001
#1123: Apr 4th 2017 at 4:28:31 PM

[Snow Castle]

When the group finally returned to where she had been, they would find Alice — and her equipment — had vanished without a trace.

Re-balancing — toying with maybe sending someone new somewhere in the near future, but want to be sure I've got the time to do it.

Corvidae It's a bird. from Somewhere Else Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
It's a bird.
#1124: Apr 8th 2017 at 8:45:34 AM

Snow Castle - Hallway (Gwenafer, Gliosem, Megumi, Rin, Nick, Adam, Jackson)

Gwenafer stared at the spot where Magdalene had stood just a second ago. Where had the girl gone? She glanced over at Gliosem. She can't be strong enough to... No. The girl probably left on her own, using some unknown spell of hers. Or maybe she just woke up? That's usually what happened when dreams got to exciting, right?

Gwenafer shook her head, and moved over to Gliosem and Adam. "She gave you one Depth of a beating, didn't she?" she told the injured sumiri, before helping Adam pull her to her feet. "Can you stand?"

Watching Megumi run off to fetch bandages, Gwenafer glanced over at the scorched part of the floor where the flash grain vial had hit, and the cracks from Magdalene's vines, before looking back towards the other end of the corridor. Had no one else heard anything?

"I guess I should tell the admiral her castle's a bit fucked," she said, and started walking back towards the tea room.

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.
ladytanuki Friendly Neighborhood Lich from SF, CA, US Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
#1125: Apr 8th 2017 at 2:55:48 PM

Field of Souls (Ferisen, Tagui, Ruka)

Ruka's suggestion about borrowing her body motivated her to cling even more tightly to it. She managed to make her physical head shake in tandem with her spectral one. "If I let go of my body now, my soul will be trapped in my latria for good." Just as she said that, she felt her connection to her latria slipping a bit, as she realized that Tagui had tossed one of his coins nearby. To him she said, "I tried using my body as a tether, and that did not work. My latria was my only other option. Th-this planet is surrounded by the magisphere, which enhances the energies surrounding a soul - and the creation of a latria involves infusing part of it into the crystals, which is most easily done here - though here they are attracted to souls as well." She spoke rather quickly, thinking of whatever answer she could come up with without thinking too much on it.

And then Tagui refused the path, which Ferisen suspected, but that made her worry more, as she knew she would not be able to hold onto her body long enough to make it to that other place. But at least dispelling the path made it a bit more bearable. When she did, she saw another crystal out in the distance... and had an idea. "Actually, I may be able to keep my soul out of my latria for a while after all. Try what you can with my body..." For she knew at this point that she had no other choice.

So she focused a bit on that crystal in the distance, pulling herself towards it - but not too much, as she drifted out of her body once more. After she got to a steady state where she was reaching out to the crystal but closer to her latria, suspended between the two, she nodded to Ruka, giving her the go-ahead to borrow her body.

Twilight Ball -> Warehouse (Amiluet, June, Lauren)

Once June placed the pin in her hair (she thought it went well with her circlet), she felt a surge of energy rushing throughout her aura, accompanied by a burning of sorts right in the middle of her forehead. She recalled a similar sensation from her childhood when her mother helped her awaken her magic in the first place, whereupon she discovered that she could manipulate plants to some small extent.

After a brief moment of concentration, she opened her eyes and spread her arms out. A gigantic flower with a sweet pea-like aroma and more light pink petals grew out of the ground below her and enveloped her, spinning around for a while before vanishign away into a flurry of smaller petals that disappeared when they hit the ground. Amiluet looked around herself in awe, as she saw that the many flowers on her outfit had come to life, and she felt the presence of live leaves sprouting out of her circlet along with the small flowers - though when she took said circlet off, they died once more... and came back to life when she put it back on. She gave June a cheery grin. "Thanks!"

And with that she dove into the portal after Lauren. Apparently they had emerged into some sort of warehouse/living space/office, where her gaze fixated on the machines piled up in the center. "Looks like there was an explosion here as well," she told Lauren after she mentioned the explosion at the penthouse. "What are all these machines anyway? They appear to use electricity, but I have not seen any devices like these before... Or those." She gestured over to the two automobiles, then looked up at the lights. "But I have seen those. Isn't it a waste to have them on when there's already sunlight? That's why on the sunlit side of Orenya we only use them during an eclipse or a really dark storm, or in caves."

After asking, she glanced around the compact stone floor and frowned. She felt the sudden urge to plant flowers everywhere, but this did not seem like the ideal place to do so.

Snow Castle - Hallway (Rin, Megumi, Nick, Adam, Jackson, Gwenafer, Gliosem)

Gliosem continued her song for a while, glad that its calming gracenote  appeared to be slowing down her attacks.

I transcend nothing
Nothing too surpasses me
All things are equal
We are all in unity
It's not wise to compare anything that's there
All is meant to share

Things seem to happen in the world...
Her voice trailed off, as suddenly she could no longer detect the presence of Magdalene's aura. Indeed, when she looked, she had vanished. Apparently, calming her down seemed to have woken her up as well. As soon as she realized this, she felt the sharp throbbing pain in her foot, the sharp searing pain in her wings, and the sharp prickling pain in the wounds on her back, as she realized that her enchantment had vanished along with the vines. At this she winced and curled up a bit, trying her hardest to keep her wings still as moving them even an inch caused the pain to flare up more strongly.

Fortunately both Adam and Gwenafer had come to her aid, the former even offering to patch her up. Wiping a couple of stray tears out of her eyes, she looked up at the two, still trembling. "Obviously not!" she cried, now feeling a bit light-headed and her hands beginning to go numb. "A-at least I got her to calm down... Anything will help, but having a healer around will help even more-aah!" She had inadvertently moved a wing, and the resulting twinge of pain caused her to double over once more. Below her she could feel the bottom of her dress becoming wet with her own blood, as her foot was still bleeding profusely - though the bleeding in her wings and back had slowed somewhat. "B-be very c-careful with my wings though..." she managed to say amidst her whimpering.

Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.

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