Shadow sits down as well, sighing.

   "Y'know, you've been a great brother to him. He's really lucky to have you."   

He raises an eyebrow upon hearing Claus' and Richard's recollection of the Pigmasks' lives post-Porky.

   "That's...wow. And I haven't forgotten that the Pigmasks weren't exactly the meanest soldiers in the first place. They were still the villagers they were at heart, and still had their own personalities and ideals, however misguided their affiliation was."   

He grins as Hinawa hugs Claus, and nods.

   "I second that, buddy. It's a great thing that you're forgiving like that. It's a true sign of a good leader."   

He then looks back to Richard, listening, and glances to the other Pigmasks, smiling.

   "Ah, yeah, I see that...yeah, I second that hope. Not just that, but I'm sure of it."   

He salutes Richard, grinning.

   "Thanks for serving Claus so loyally and not being too judgy when I dropped by. We need all the friends we can get around here, and I think he's doing rather well with you and your fellow troops by his side. He and I have a pretty deep history, to say the least, so it makes me happy to see he's in good hands."   

He then looks a little sad, giving a wistful smile to Claus and Hinawa as they start to disembark.

   "Aw, bye, guys! I'll be around to catch up another time, okay? I'll tell the Sentry everything, I promise!"   

He blinks, and tilts his head.

   "Ah, so you caught that. Yeah, I was just trying to reach at least some mutual understanding with him, but it's going to take more than one day, much less the day he was defeated. I can just say this:"   

He looks to Ken Tahn, smiling sympathetically.

   "No matter how hopeless it looks, there's always a way forward. Evil never really triumphs, and there's people out there who are as good and understanding as I am, even if you have to look for them. Please take my lessons to note, even if it takes a while."   

He nods to Pseudo.

   "I think that settles that."   

He salutes.

   "I appreciate your help, sir. And I'd be willing to help again, myself, should you require anything."   

"T-thank you. We'll do our best to keep serving Master Claus as best we can.", Richard says. The Pigmasks then also bid Shadow farewell as they leave.

Tahn still doesn't respond to Shadow, but he does seem to shift uncomfortably as he listens to him, which at least means he isn't just completely ignoring what Shadow says, even if he might not believe him right now.

"That's appreciated. And know that you're always welcome in my base. Anyhow, until later."

He and Tahn are then warped away as well.

When he's alone, Shadow sighs, dusting himself off and straightening his hat.

   "What a day...but a day well spent."   

He smiles wistfully, and takes off, disappearing through a portal.

New Los Angeles — Industrial District

Near Repenta Diner, a strange figure is present. More accurately, it is a dark-skinned elf, currently adorning a purple-coloured cloak concealing most of his form.

Edited by SymeSynth on Dec 28th 2018 at 1:35:16 AM

New Los Angeles - Vague Somewhere

A drifting blue light can be seen flying through the area, as though it were something lightweight being blown by the wind. In fact, it would probably be easily written off as something blown by the wind, if it weren't for the fact that there currently isn't a wind.

The elf, looking a bit impatient, just taps his foot with a sigh, looking around the area, and his brilliant blue eyes flicking over to the diner, then back to the rest of the cityscape, his face scrunching up in mild annoyance (slowly increasing as he is forced to wait for even longer).

"What's taking them so long...?"

Fortunately, before he can grumble to himself any further, he notices the strange blue light, already feeling his eyebrows rise in confusion at the sight, especially given the way it is flying around, with no known light source, and with a strange lightness unlike anything he has previously seen before.

Well, at least within this place. And given his rather recent arrival, he is in no position to go and start judging the things that should and should not be possible in this world. Until he's had more time to settle down, at least, which would take a few days or weeks while he acclimates. And he needs to study the environment. Right now, the light in the distance presents a perfect opportunity.

So, investigating it is. With an almost casual stride, he begins to approach the strange luminescence, clasping his arms behind him with a rather casual swing, and gradually getting nearer...

Edited by SymeSynth on Dec 28th 2018 at 1:50:46 AM

The flying light continues drifting with a wind that isn't there, up until it begins to sense that someone is drawing ever closer to itself. Even then, it only seems to pause before resuming the drifting... at least until the elf fellow gets quite close indeed. At that point it stops drifting entirely, now hovering in place in the air, still shining as bright as it usually appears to shine. Given that it has been approached by someone, it decides to communicate...

   <Someone is present. I'm aware of you.>   

The elf responds to the light speaking with a series of slow blinks, blue eyes shimmering slightly, although that may simply be due to the reflection of that strange mote of light.

"Huh," is the first word out of his mouth, his stare blank and his expression mostly unperturbed.

He is silent for a moment, but he soon lets out a sigh and raises a hand to wave, even though he isn't quite sure if the light would even see his action. Regardless, it's best to try and simply refrain if it yields no reaction, and so he follows it up with a greeting.

"Hey. I'm just an elf passing by. What are you?"

Edited by SymeSynth on Dec 28th 2018 at 2:17:43 AM

The blue light appears not to react too much to any of the physical movements made by the elf. It does briefly flicker when it hears the first remark the elf has to say about it, then it swirls slightly in the air, now "focusing" its attention onto the elf more completely.

   <I see. I am... That is complicated.>   

The light is silent for a moment. For a brief time, it looks like a humanoid shape can be seen inside the center of the light... That image flickers out, and the light continues.

   <I was a human. Now, I'm... more akin to an independent soul.>   

The elf tilts his head in response to that remark, noting how the soul doesn't really react to any physical actions, and eventually surmising that the light is incapable of seeing things in the traditional method.

"Separate from your body, I guess?" he asks once more, clasping his hands behind him and gazing at the soul with a shrug, and then starting to talk once again.

"Do you have a name? My name is Nyrrhos, by the way."

The soul flickers. It seems to hovering at about the height of someone's heart, one might note. And speaking via... well, some method, it certainly doesn't involve ear-based perception.

   <In a technical sense. A nonexistent body and an existent soul are as separate as one may be.>   

How cryptically phrased, yet not really cryptic at all. Then, when inquired about a name, the soul seems to flash and writhe internally, eventually responding once more...

   <I do not. But one may refer to me as the Wandering Soul, or Soul, or Blue Soul, or... whatever one feels like calling me. It's all the same to me.>   

"Soul it is, then."

Nyrrhos shrugs once more, reaching out with a finger to see if the soul is corporeal in some way, and gently trying to poke at the light, but he keeps up the conversation for the meantime.

Well, really, he keeps it up for the sake of asking more questions, since the soul might know a lot more than he does at the moment.

"Do you come from here, or elsewhere?"

When poked, the soul moves slightly. For the most part, it's intangible, but at least some part of it is physical enough to register in a touch sense. Best not to think too hard about the exact way that could be mechanically possible... The soul itself doesn't seem aware, only bothering to answer the next question asked to it.

   <That is... also complicated. This area is a Dimensional Nexus - many different worlds, so to speak, can connect to this one area. I personally come from... came from Earth, although I suspect not the same one as you if you came from an Earth, since I'd recognize you if you did.>   

Samsara get back on her feet and take a stance, while Doppio looks confused at Hit guessing that he's specifically using a stand. Nonetheless, he still punches with King Crimson's disembodied arms !

"I've been told about the dimensional nexus part," Nyrrhos finally manages to mutter, now resisting the urge to toy with the soul and squeeze it, given how it didn't react to his poking, and so he quickly places his hands behind him, lips twitching at the idea, but he pushes that temptation aside for the meantime.

"But... huh. You're from Earth, I see. What's it like there?"

He cocks an eyebrow, now awaiting an answer for his next question.

I wonder if they exist there, or not...

It seems that Nyrrhos's latest question has had an adverse effect on the soul, as the glow it's constantly shining with appears to diminish slightly for a few seconds. More accurately, the glow turns black, but that's kind of hard to represent in a way that isn't a decrease in the amount of light present. Perhaps it does not like to remember...

   <At the moment? I imagine it's still a near-completely lifeless wreck of a planet that doesn't have the decency to obey proper gravity anymore, after what happened to it.>   

...Oh. That's a rather blunt phrasing.

...Nevermind. Nyrrhos doesn't seem too shocked or horrified, simply responding with a rather flat "huh", and he proceeds to adjust the cloak he is wearing, peering at the soul as its glow shifts to a blacker hue.

"That sounds bad," he finally remarks after a moment, before trailing off. Then, after a moment, he shakes his head, now looking around, and deciding not to press the matter further.

"I'm from Earth, myself. Well, from another universe, with magic and deities."

   <Bad is barely the half of it. Earth was not the only world to fall.>   

That appears to be all the soul wants to mention for now, as it appears to turn completely black for an extended time period, gradually fading back in to a healthier blue hue. There's a pause, then once it has fully restored itself, it resumes speaking on the new subject, evidently quite glad to no longer have to deal with its own memories.

   <I see, in a metaphorical sense. Magic and deities... Interesting.>   

"Indeed. Almost every deity from every pantheon exists... in one form or another. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of them, myself."

Nyrrhos chuckles almost casually, a smile gracing his features, and the elf inspecting the soul once more. Then, after a moment, he lets out a sigh, remembering the reason he is here in the first place.

"I've been waiting for some of them since forever, actually. Buggers still haven't shown themselves yet..."

A pause. The soul proceeds to drift around in a small circle, now doing idle motions to keep itself from falling inactive. It also manages to keep up conversation at the same time, thankfully, although it doesn't have a lot to say right at the moment. No word on what it might be thinking, though...

   <I see. Who are you waiting for, specifically?>   

"Leikinn, otherwise known as Loki, from Norse lore."

Nyrrhos stretches his arms as he waits, lifting them above his head and letting out a breath, before peering at the idly-moving soul once again.

"He's the reason I'm here in the first place. Important business and all that."

   <I see.>   

The soul drifts higher up to head height, the light coming off of it stretching out further but appearing dimmer, then it resumes the normal hovering height and brightness. There's a pause...

   <And you are content with waiting for him to come to you, instead of actively seeking him out? It is a possibility that he arrived here long before you, and will be expecting you to come to him. Nobody would ever solve business in a timely manner if both sides always waited until they were engaged upon in order to conduct their business.>   

"...Well, he said that we're meeting up here," Nyrrhos replies, now pointing to the Repenta Diner nearby, and turning back to face the Wandering Soul once more, now making a rather blunt shrugging gesture.

"So I can't really go and look for him elsewhere, can I?"

There's a very long pause from the soul as it just "stares" at the diner, then at Nyrrhos. A bit more of a pause, then a flicker from the soul that has the vague feeling of irritation to it... It proceeds to ask Nyrrhos one question in the bluntest tone it can muster.

   <Have you considered searching inside there?>   

Silence.

A very long, drawn-out silence from the elf. Then, a slow blink.

"Oh... right."

With that, Nyrrhos is rather quick to react, quickly zipping towards the doors of the diner and opening it.

And, inside the diner, there is a certain table, piled with heaps and heaps of food, with wrappers scattered everywhere.

Seated in fromt of said table is a certain redheaded man, currently munching on a chicken leg, although his eating is interrupted once he realises that other people are present, his gaze shifting about in a rather nervous way as he takes the time to swallow the food in his mouth.

Then, now feeling awkward, he speaks up.

"...Hi, Nyarly."

The dark-skinned elf bristles at the name, but makes no other comment.

"You are a big eater, aren't you?"

Edited by SymeSynth on Dec 28th 2018 at 4:28:15 AM