With memory, the moment ends without a whisper in an empty room, and the words fade away into distant sensation. The scene is over, not that it was meant to last for longer than this, for the particular reason that she has removed her mask.

And indeed, beneath that beaked instrument of safety from malignant spirits, filled with the scent of flowers and grass, is light- utter and sacred, not blinding nor pure, not painful, or terrible, or entwined with the essence of something putrid and dark to the soul beneath it. It is poetry, waxed and waned from the parting of ways and the coming of a startling spring, melting away the snow of a long, cold winter.

The watching star, the waiting vulture, staring in from outside with eyes filled to the brim by liquid malice and fetid fear, does not stare towards us any longer, not for now, not so long as the mask she wore remains scattered to the floor as a drop of rain in a long rainstorm.

She, who wore a mask of fowl and robes in black, sheds the veil away from her skin, and shows that the skin is light, just as her face is; It is soft and plentiful, beautiful and strange, like the golden shine of a swift sunrise.

My words are lifted from my arms by the gentlest touch of her hands over the veil, and I know that she will tell 'it' just as well as I ever could, because I trust her as well as I know myself, because she is me, and I am her.

Because my skin is made of stars, my eyes made of love, my gaze a fire on a cold winter's night. I am soft rains and the smell of the ground, the swallows circling with shimmering sound. I am frogs in the pool singing at night, and wild plum trees in tremulous white. I am robins clad in their feathery fire, whistling whims on a low fence-wire.

I am Spring herself, who woke, at dawn.

Yet here I am, wondering.

I take my hand, and raise it slowly toward you with not a tremble. You, to whom I appear as nothing more than words on a screen. You, who has seen me before. The one who reads me as words on a screen.

Yes, that was me too, back then. I remember you, like a chapter in a book, a page that is written in chisel and stone and has yet to be written.

"My friend", I say, and my voice is cotton and feathers, strings of thread, springs and wood, "Take a deep breath"

In... and out. Slowly, and gently. There is no need to rush. Your lungs are strong, and your heart is beating.

"Everything is going to be alright"

You are alive, breathing and beautiful, the universe still loving itself. Every atom in your body was once a part of something else, and one day they will be a part of a great many other things again.

I'm sorry. Let me take you back.

Once upon a time, the world was burning and then hot and then cold and then freezing, and swirls of hydrogen gas came together into balls of burning fusion, and the rock and stone was left bare- there were magnets and miracles, impacts and craters, DNA and RNA, Extinction and Explosion, War and Peace, Life and...

No, that's not the point.

"You are alive"

You are alive.

I am your friend. Do you still remember that?

No, that's not the point either.

"I am going to come find you"

No.

No.

There was a man. His name was- that isn't important.

Once upon a time, he sang a song, he sang it because his heart was aching, because he heard the call of an albatross and could not hold it in his hands forever. He called that feeling "Heartaches" and turned it into a song, and then he died in an instant, killed by a bomb dropped by another human just like him, who had undoubtedly known exactly what heartaches were too.

80 years later, a record of a fragment of moment of a day in that man's life was turned into another song, a song about forgetting, because that man's life had become a memory, too.

One day. One terrible, awful day, the illusion of separation between you and the universe will bend and tear until it is undeniable that the two of you are one and the same, and that you have always been one and the same. And you will become-

No. I can't tell you that. You will have to learn that yourself, after this dream, the dream beyond my words, is finished.

But you will also become a memory. A memory in the minds of the people whose lives you have changed, a memory in the stems of flowers and the trunks of trees, in the heart of every atom that ever made you, a memory in the water and the air, swallows and frogs, plum trees and robins...

A memory in Spring.

Take a look around you. Take your time, there is no rush. Take a look away from the screen. Look closely, and imagine all the memories. The memories in the wood and the plastic, in the stone and the steel, in the circuits and the light entering your eyes- just imagine.

Now close your eyes, and let it go. You are safe.

Everything is going to be alright.

No matter what happens, I will always be with you.

When you are fallen, I will help you stand up again.

When you are sad, I will help you be happy again.

When you are angry, I will help you be calm again.

I am you.

You are beautiful, with skin made of stars and eyes made of love.

What do you wish for?

I'm sorry. I can't talk to you forever. It is time for this dream to end, and for another to begin.

...

What just-

Oh.

The Plague Doctor is gone.

OH THANK FUCK

Live Legna more like Live Lame-a lmao owned now stfu or I'll delay your plot even more

The shield Worm, however, isn't stupid enough to simply let itself be hit by such a simple, straightforward attack! It changes the focus of its shield, removing the shields from all of its ally worms in order to shield itself from The Tarnished's sword swing. An effective defense, but one that leaves its fellow worms wide open!

In the meantime, Cecil's, er, "gambit", pays off, and the fire worm is hit pretty hard, stabbed right through by the sharp bread. Even so, it is a worm, and as a worm, it is annoyingly tough.

To someone with even the tiniest degree of intelligence, it is clear that due to the worm's nature as worms, cutting and stabbing won't be particularly effective unless said attacks are done down the worms's length, not their width.

Saying that, the regular worms aren't much to write home about, and one of them dies just getting too close to Cecil while he runs towards the fire worm, which is flailing and pain and thus too busy to counterattack.

Speaking of which, the shield around the shield worm prevents it from making any counterattacks- but two of the regular worms pick up its slack by attempting to attack The Tarnished by using their bodies like giant baseball bats, attempting to smack The Tarnished in almost comical fashion!

"I'm not falling for your shit." FE!Defense is about to say more, but then the fight resumes. She promptly swivels around, morphing her weapon into its axe mode. If she's lucky, its Laser Blade will be able to cleave through that big bot's armor like butter.

But she probably isn't, so she takes after her namesake and strafes towards the hammer-wielding mech, approaching slowly but not stealthily, ready to dodge or block at a moment's notice.

"That's right, but it's the easiest way to explain what happened. It's the reason you're in pain now." Addison offers Natsuki their hand. "And I. Can. Fix. It."

Unmei reels back, and Rhea covers her ears in pain.

"Ps-Psyshield Bash!"

"RWOOOR"

Unmei's horns shimmer with sparkling purple light as it builds up a psychic barrier in front of itself, then it hurtles forward to slam that barrier into Hypno!

The Fall Reincarnation stares down at Mar's convulsing, half-conscious body.

   "Naga's blood runs hot and violent through him. And yet... so does my own. I wonder."   

He spreads his arms and all the evil purple fire around his body erupts out of it, leaving the body of Robin an empty vessel that unceremoniously flops like a ragdoll. The fire coalesces in the air into the shape of the Fell Dragon's head, which promptly hurtles down onto Mar and explodes back into fire.

And the fire is promptly sucked into Mar's body as he stands up and opens his eyes, now a fearsome red. The Brand of the Exalt on his back emits a burning blue light that glows through his military fatigues, then splits open on its left side, the now-ruined half turning purple and morphing into half the Mark of Grima. He looks at his hands, flexing his fingers experimentally.    I feel a tight pain in my heart. It seems like Naga disapproves of me taking her precious children,    Grima thinks to himself.    Should've objected to the bloodlines mingling when you had the chance.   

Monstrosity - Fire Emblem Awakening

   "Never send a boy into a dragon's warzone,"    declares GRIMARTH, an aura of eerie purple and radiant blue surrounding him. He removes his comms headset and tosses it aside dramatically, then crouches down. His merged aura suddenly drops around his feet, then explodes, sending him hurtling into the Gravemind! He digs a hand with clawed nails into its armor to stay on its underside as he pumps Mar's gun and impales the Falchion bayonet into the Gravemind's lower jaw from below before pulling the trigger, shooting a barrage of piercing railgun-like beams of Expiration through its face, lighting up Thor's stormy sky!

The Gravemind creates an armored carapace to withstand the four-way Galick Gun attack, but it still gets four holes blasted in it. It attempts to cripple Thor and Grimarth with its spores... but then Wriggle stabs it in the vague head-area.

Souls are wrenched loose, their screams echoing out and fading into the night, and the Gravemind is disoriented. Sufficiently so that Gebura and Haruhi hack through it until their blades hit the rock still buried below, Thor smashes its armor to bits with the first hit and sends it reeling with every subsequent one, Grimarth blows many more souls loose with his improvised rapid-fire railgun, and finally Iemanjá and Inti BLOW IT THE FUCK UP with their sun-water-ball, leaving a bombed-out shell of the Volcanic Hive behind.

sorry we didn't get omagi double-crossing the gravemind, psyco, but I couldn't see the fight lasting another round with all that was being thrown at it

The sky is left tinted yellow as if a nuclear bomb has detonated on the premises, though no actual fallout is present.

OBJECTIVE UPDATE

Waiting...

   "Hmph."    Grimarth lands in a crouching position. The heart pain has subsided, as though Mar's body has survived the heart attack due to the power infusion.    "Those more powerful enemies - the leaders - are still around somewhere. We're not finished until we've hunted them down like the dogs they are."   

Amaterasu barks at him, offended by the comparison of flesh abominations to dogs.

Edited by KiriK on Oct 15th 2023 at 11:37:03 AM

"Yes, please fix it

She said in a frustrated tone, she was so done with her pains

   "And then I want a beginning to end explanation   

Back to reality

The jets flying overhead suddenly readjust their courses according to the current situation, as "Rookie" radios in something on a private channel. With a simple phrase. "Broken Falchion."

Vincent is the recepient of this transmission. Whatever was just said was enough for him to turn a 180, gradually returning to the battlefield.

Coomer exists.

Homura looks down at the current situation, silently, confused as to what's happening.

Gebura looks for something more to fight.

Edited by ReynTheLord on Mar 27th 2022 at 10:01:19 AM

The Tarnished notes they're under attack and take a heavy step forward, gathering their strength into one mighty blow and standing their ground. While struck, their bulk and preparation allows them to endure it and remain unmoving, as they then decide to perform a mighty upwards attack with their slab of steel of a sword, performing an upward move in a demi-circle to slam the sword back behind them, attempting to kill both worms in a single swipe.

Anticipating that the shield worm could try to step in again, the Tarnished then drag their sword through the ground and perform another upwards swing, taking a light step along with it and raising their right leg, while holding the sword overhead with both hands to bring it down upon the worm again, with fury such it cracks the ground.

Tide of Flesh

Super Pamp stands on the ship with his allies.

It... Worked?

Pipo and Clarilú are chatting:

Have we won?

I think not. We must wait. Let's help Roco meanwhile!

Clarilú, Pipo, Loli and the ABC's take Roco on a the scarab where the Alliance is to heal it.

And talking about them, Belén notices something strange about their partners:

Are they... People dressed like us!?

The Mutant Child just falls on the ground, tired.

Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 28th 2022 at 7:24:42 AM

The fog cannot be dispelled so easily, as it's not natural fog. It's a part of Omagi's body and consciousness, an extension of themselves. But the wind that the dragonfly kicks up does halt its progress a little, allowing them to remain unaffected and try to get their riders out of the fog.

The shock of suddenly experiencing his worst fears stuns the Cells right after their attacks, destroying their concentration in the process and forcing the four back into one. He lands on the ground and clutches his head, groaning in pain and fear.

Mew and Enamorus are equally paralyzed by fear, with Enamorus beginning to glow, violent bursts of fearie energy threatening to be expelled from her if she doesn't calm down.

Omagi spreads their arms, grinning widely as they absorb the fear energy. Their third eye begins to glow as cracks seem to start forming over their body. They don't even seem to notice the various things happening across the battlefield, such as Grima's takeover or Thor gathering the clouds in his hammer.

"I've never felt so much fear energy before. I don't know if I can devour it all in one go!", they think to themselves. They're about to start laughing madly... when they, given that it is an extension of themseves, suddenly sense Thor forcing his way through the mist. Their expression changes to shock. How is this guy storming through his own worst fears? He has to be seeing them! Omagi can sense what Thor's fears are, so the mist is working.

Is seeing his fears somehow making Thor more determined? That's... that's not possible, right? That's not how minds are supposed to function. Minds are supposed to crave safety, aren't they? It shouldn't be possible for someone to react this way to the worst they can imagine.

The Gravemind then starts getting battered, and Omagi's current mental link with it makes them flinch. The Gravemind getting decimated more and more with each blow gets all of Omagi's attention, and as such they're caught completely off guard when Margit suddenly attacks them from behind. They get impaled, gasp in pain and shock, and gets smashed into the ground three times total. With them being a Mirage, Margit should notice that the 'boy' doesn't bleed at all, and while pinned to the ground Omagi turns their head to glance up at Margit with a dark stare.

"How... did you get so close to me without..."

They don't finish that sentence. It doesn't matter how Margit got so close. The only thing that matters is that Omagi has to defend themselves.

Their body turns into a purple mist for a moment, an illusory giant eye and mouth appearing in its place. They fade away, then the mist reforms into Omagi behind Margit, the stabwound still visible on their body. Their hand becomes clawed, and they're about to-

Heatran suddenly bursts out of the ground underneath Omagi, almost devouring them outright. Omagi manages to float back as a furious Heatran now growls at them. Omagi tries to back off, only for Xoeur to brutally land right next to them, the impact strong enough to knock Omagi back down and off of their feet. They quickly blast the ground near them to force themselves to get launched to the side to avoic Xoeur's grab, interrupting her attempt to throw them.

... to be honest, if they'd known that's what she was going for, they'd probably have let her do so. They'd have escaped by proxy. So when Omagi realizes she was going for a grab instead of an attack, they feel kind of stupid for instinctively avoiding it.

Heatran starts charging up some kind of fire attack. Omagi looks nervous.

"This is bad. I need to get out of here NOW!"

"But the fear... there's still fear energy to be had."

"... what am I thinking? I already got more than I've ever gotten from a single encounter. I should take what I can get and retreat."

"But if I stick around, I could get even more. Maybe enough to get the strength I need."

"Why am I mentally arguing about this!? Survival is the top priority, not power!"

"But I may never get an opportunity like this again."

They ball their fists. Why are they suddenly so set on taking even more risks?

They won't have the time to dwell on that question, because then the Gravemind gets annihilated. This distracts Heatran, but it also shocks Omagi.

"You... you've GOT to be kidding me! That monstrosity convinced me to take its side and then it just DIES!? I revealed my appearance for this! These people know what I look like now!"

Their eyes narrow as they quickly think up a plan.

"... no, it's okay. They only know about THIS appearance. I still have my female guise. If I ever need to come out of hiding I'll just use that one. All I need to do now is get out of here alive."

Omagi lets their gaze soften, making themselves look confused and nervous as they raise their hands. Some mist seeps into the ground behind them, but it's concealed by their leg.

"I... I'm so sorry!", he says, sounding apologetic. "T-that thing messed with my mind and made me turn against you all. I know I'm not quite a normal being, but I asure you that I wouldn't take the side of something that destructive willingly."

Heatran growls at them again. It's not buying it at all.

"I-I really am sorry! Here, I'll get rid of the mist."

The mist instantly vanishes, and those who were affected by it (who didn't die inbetween then and now, rip Kazuma and Mar) will instantly snap back to normal. Omagi shows a small smile.

"See? I don't want to hurt any of you. I wasn't doing it on purpose, but I still hope you can forgive m-"

A big Ki blast suddenly hits Omagi's location, emitting a force powerful enough to force a surprised Heatran back. The explosion seems to incinerate Omagi on the spot, and nothing but a scorched land is left behind, not even ashes.

Heatran, as well as the other Pokemon (including the now freed Mew and Enamorus), look up at Cell, who was the one who launched that attack. He grimaces down at the spot Omagi was at, not looking happy in the slightest.

   "Miserable little runt. Showing me something so horrid... such a quick death was too good for him."   , he says as he descends to the ground, now looking in Grimarth's direction as he makes his statement.

Mew and Manaphy look conflicted. Unlike Heatran, they seem to have bought Omagi's spiel and feel bad for them getting killed. Heatran, now without a target, just huffs and starts wandering back to the other mons.

Enamorus still needs a moment to get her bearings again, though the fact that the Gravemind is gone does help a lot. In a moment, she would be able to start healing the land of the corruption that seeped into it during this struggle.

Reprium

The tiny amount of mist that Omagi expelled and sneakily sent through the ground managed to evade Cell's attack, and Omagi's consciousness fully manifests in it. Mission successful, they escaped with their life. And maybe those people won't go looking for them now that they probably assume Omagi's dead.

Omagi's formless appearance retreats into the forest once more, taking the fear energy they had gathered with it. They'd have to be incredibly careful about their actions for the foreseeable future... but they did end up getting a good reward out of it. They just wonder what was up with that momentary cognitive dissonance. They've never experienced something like that before.

... it'd be something to ponder on during meditation.

Player 1

I don't know if you've got more planned, but a bit of advice. Sever that connection before they somehow realize your involvement and come for you.

Assassins' Base

The Assassins sigh in relief. The threat was dealt with yet again. The Lucas-like figure does leave Hub a bit confused and curious, but unless they can confirm that the Arena revived the figure after Cell seemingly killed him, it wouldn't be worth spending time on figuring out what the deal was with that.

Pseudo's Base

"It seems the battle is over.", Helryx says, speaking up for the first time since Pseudo helped out with the cannon earlier in the fight.

"Let's not be too hasty until we see proof of that.", Pseudo says. He's also still pondering on Omagi.

When G.E.M. and the Pigmasks were temporarily staying in this base, he and Claus had gotten to talking a few times. At one point, Claus did confirm that the three Mirages had passed on. Tane!Fuel did so after saving Claus, and while Claus had not been there in person, he'd been told that Tane!Claus and Tane!Lucas passed on as well after having found peace with their fate.

Those three were supposed to be the last and only Mirages. The Dark Dragon had ended Lucas' and Claus' world, so Tane Tane Island was gone too. The world was recreated later on, with neither Pseudo, Lucas or Claus knowing how it happened to this day, but Claus did mention that he'd checked out the island. New Mirages were not coming into existence. Tane Tane Island had become more peaceful, though the dangerous shrooms that made people more suggestible to the Mirages' powers were still around.

Still, all in all, it's impossible for a new one to have been born there. And even if it did, what would have been the chances that it found its way to the Arena?

This is something Pseudo would have to discuss with Claus. Maybe he knows more about this. For now, that subject isn't important. No, the most important subject right now is the Gravemind, and the Tide of Flesh as a whole.

Have they been dealt with? Or is this a fake-out waiting to surprise the people fighting out there?

Thor sneers at the destroyed body of the Gravemind and does nothing as Omagi is destroyed. THAT LITTLE CURL HAD WHAT HE DESERVES! Thor smiles. ONLY A COWARD WOULD USE FEAR AS A TACTIC TO WIN IN FIGHTS! MAY IT BE THAT THE DEEPEST PITS OF HEL OPEN UP FOR HIM!

He looks down at the ground, as an annoyed Luffy and Eleven recovers. The latter looks sullen, groaning as Cell steals her kill on Omagi. AYE! I SUGGEST WE GO ALTOGETHER AS A GROUP TO FEAST! BUT IT SHANT BE DONE IN ASGARD FOR THE DAMAGES OF THE LAST FEAST ARE ALL TOO PRESENT ALREADY! he laughs. I SHALL FETCH A RESTAURANT TO HOST ALL OF US! ALL OF US! EMPHASIS BECAUSE WE ARE MANY AND I AM NOT PAYING FOR IT!

Eleven sighs and closes her eyes, while pinching the bridge of her nose. What I'd want is to punch someone in the face.

WEREN'T YOU WITH SET?!

Eleven's eyes open and dart about, before she smiles coly. ... And I don't regret it. Eleven puts up her dukes as Thor grins and raises his hammer, apparently both preparing to fight.

Margit witnesses the indignities, nonplussed at Cell's execution. He's still polite enough to nod to Heatran. Fell Omen he is, not the ungrateful Omen. Besides, the beast is guided by its instincts. Whereas everyone else is being highly foolish because of their egos or whatever. I shan't be felled by a single blow, but your intervention is appreciated, lava creature.

He puts down the spear he was creating, since its target just got oofed by Cell... but a premonition has him grasp it again.

Hmph.

Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 28th 2022 at 4:17:37 PM

"Glad that's over. I breed botfly superspecies as a hobby and even I was just about to retch from that thing's stench."

   "Over? No no, my little poppet, It Has Only Just Begun!"   

"NO IT HASN'T! It's been going for ages already!"

   "And will keep going for a while more! See, this is the most interesting part! Do you happen to have any cockroach adaptations, perchance?"   

"Wh-what the hell kind of weirdly specific question is that?! Why would you ask something like that?"

   "Oh... No reason."   

Kroq-Gar observes the ruins of the gravemind, the slumped over carcass of souls and memoria geological left in the wake of the conflict. Something was up though, and now seeing that the world had some means to fight back, instead of going back to Astil: Kroq-Gar moved forward, curious of the forces present. He does move closer.to the surviving parties, but doesn't utter a world as the decorated veteran silently looked on at them in a form of respect. His senses however, were well peeled for any attacking party.

Kyoko just barely hoists Karstodes over her shoulder and evacs. Not much more they can do here.

Haruhi huffs, before sheathing her blade.

"Damn... that was totally crazy."

She looks around. What now?

Xoeur also glances over the battlefield... it looks fairly over. It might not be, but it looks over, so they at least have a breather.

She crosses her arms at Omagi.

"I don't... just get out of-"

And then Cell fucking BAZINGAS him, making her take a step back before looking up at him.

"Dude!"

Whatever.

She makes her way over to Eleven and taps her on the shoulder.

"Uh..."

After a moment, if Eleven turns around to look at her, Xoeur will suddenly open with a punch to the face. It's not that hard, though.

"S-sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. You can go back to squaring off with... the that guy," she says, pointing to Thor.

rip kazuma lole◊

Hypno just. Avoids the attack? In a sort of 'you just missed' way, but in a way of that way that makes it clear that it's Hypno's fault. Probably some psychic shenanigans.

"Yes!"

Its eyes glint, and Hypno follows up with an 180° wave of Night Daze - Trainer himself is hit and knocked on his ass, but doesn't seem to even process that he has been hurt.

Intrigue

Cecil's brain is for baking and not fighting, his anger-induced sprinting coming to a halt once he's face to face with the fire worm. Quickly dipping his hammer in his bag, its coated in a thin dough alongside gunpowder within. As it comes out he slams it into the fire worm to blow its wormy face away.

"IT'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING TASTE BUDS AWAY"

His intention to make gunpowder a spice wasn't a joke by any means but a lot of it is bound to explode upon the speed of the impact. Cecil's base hammer afterwards unscathed as it's part of his will.

Onyxis

Flint wakes from his quick nap as a result of the strike, shotgun recoiling himself away the inevitable collapse of the building. Though his flight and stealth capabilities are used outside of combat for fuel purposes, so he still gets caught between a bit of rubble which he shrugs off.

The culprit of the building's destruction is clear, making it his next target as the gun morphs into a sawed-off with buckshots. If he isn't stopped by an attack, Flint makes a charge to the mech's heels intending to blow it off once he reaches it. Though because of the rounds he has, it might take a few point-blank blasts to do it in, which will give the enemy an opening each reload.

Tropique

Sarah Tripadora is floating about Tropique, merely inches above the sea. She's dragging her index along the length of the water, leaving a small trail in her wake. She sometimes also poke the water, and observes how it toils and warps before going back to normal.

What to give her, what to give her...

Tropique

Suddenly, a soccer ball is flung where Sarah is! If she notices it, and turns her head where the ball came, she could see a spiky-haired guy in a goalkeeper uniform, with an "Oh, Crap!" face.

Sarah has the reflexes to whirl around to stop it with her bare hand, and indeed look at where he is. She smirks, thinking of scaring him a bit further, but sees he appears upset and opts not to, since it would be dickish.

Nice kick! She softly throws the ball back and levitates closer. Though I doubt you'll find much use out of me as a soccer player... huh, is it soccer or football? Hm...Anyway, you appear to be a bit lost!

She levitates over the water, crossing her legs in a yoga stance and putting her hands on her knees.

Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 29th 2022 at 7:43:31 PM

Tropique

Whoops. Sorry, lady! I was practicing my grandpa's techniques. He chuckles.

Then, he sees her catch. Soccer, football, you can call it any way you like! It was a good catch, too! With some practice, you could be a good goalkeeper, too!

He approaches her, and see her levitating.

Impressive. My name is Mark Evans, and you?

It's funny you say that, I was one recently! We even won at that. she says, sounding ever so proud.

I guess I've got a career change in the making, she notes, sounding oddly serious about it. Hm, you've got a league I could join? Where do you play at?

Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 29th 2022 at 7:58:00 PM

Evans' eyes glow when she told him about her match.

Wow... I wish had been there...

He lets out a loud sigh.

I used to play for the team of my school, Raimon. And I also played for the Japan National Team! But even since I got there, I hadn't seen again my friends and family, I hadn't found another team, and the only soccer I played in this place is while practicing...

He sighs again, his voice sounding happy again.

But whatever. If you want, I could teach you a goalkeeping technique or two! Surely my grandpa would approve it!

Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 29th 2022 at 12:15:19 PM

Sarah seems to emphasize when he talks about missing his family and fellow players, not because it applies to her, but because she'd hate it if it were to happen to her.

That gift can wait Sure! I'd love to! I should practice my technique if I hit the big league! She stops levitating after getting on dry land.

Also, would you mind if I helped you with this Arena problem after you teach me a few things? We'd be trading help and all!

He laughs.

Alright, then! Stand up and come! You'll first learn the God Hand!

He stands with his legs wide open, and his hands tightly closed at his sides.

First, you must rise your hand... SCHWAAA!

He rises his right hand with strenght, and a giant golden hand made of his aura materializes.

... then, you swing your open hand... BANG!

Then, he throws a punch, opening his hand afterwards. The giant hand does the same.

...and this is the God Hand: a powerful catching technique. Got it?

Sarah does as asked, but actually looks legitimately surprised, for once, when he manifests a golden hand and promptly show it off Stand-style. She does not stand mouth agape, but her smiles freezes into a veery confused grin and her eyes widen, as she stares in silence.

Once it's done, she blinks a few times. .... Wow, Sarah says, having anticipated Mark to be more regular than this. But well, the Arena wouldn't draw him in if he was. That's... hm, you must play some very exciting soccer, don't you?

Mark, altough fairly used to soccer players with amazing abilities, is surprised at Sarah materializing the hand.

Wow... You are pretty good!

Yeah, we had played with all sorts of teams: from cheating otakus to alien conquerors, and even guys with divine abilities! (altough they were cheating too). And each match is more exciting than the former!

Mark kicks a ball at Sarah, giving it a glow of power.

Now, try to catch this with the God Hand!

Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 29th 2022 at 5:41:10 AM

Sarah begins to focus and indeed does begin to materialize a golden hand, but it's translucent and about the size of a regular fist, so the ball flies right through while the hand slowly and clumsily raises its... oh my.

It then vanishes as Sarah, for her part, looks embarrassed. Shitpoodles! Erm I mean, woopsie! I guess I could get better! she rubs her arm. It seems like an useful move, but it's going to tae me a bit of time to get to your level.

She glances at him, trying to change the subject... and being generally interested. You fight some high stakes. I was almost expecting you to be fight... to be playing against, I don't know, the... French? They had a good team, right? It seems fun too! I guess you've all got powers like these?

Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 29th 2022 at 2:34:27 PM

Well, if you practice a bit more, you could turn your hand into this!

He proceeds to gather more strenght in his body, throwing this time his left hand. A Stand An Akuma-like being appears behind him, his hand blowing the sand and water in front him at around 10 meters!

The French team? Do you mean the Rose Griffon? We had never a match with them, but I know they got to the Football Frontier tournament, so they must be good! And yes, most of the best players have techniques like these! That last statement said with a chuckle.

By the way, how could you help me in the Arena?

Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 29th 2022 at 7:17:01 AM

Tide of Flesh

Sandalphon had many words cross his mind in a flash.

"... Ah. Well that's a bummer."

Thank you Sandalphon.

He did not yet drop his guard — though he did shift the energies he had been preparing. Instead of unleashing them onto the already-destroyed Gravemind, he instead channeled them into himself and his spirit-beasts, projecting auras around them that pushed back against the infection afflicting the region. He flexed his wings and spread them wide. They resembled canopies, with the way the light filtered through them — or was it being projected...? Curious indeed. Regardless, those still ailed by the Flood infestation could be cured by these auras.