Event 27: Chained To The Deep

As fate would have it, the single Humanity left to Jinta and Seiko would leave them before they ever saw the Abyss itself. Surviving ambush after ambush, it eventually became impossible to avoid injury completely. Exhausted, down yet another elevator, Seiko hadn't been quick enough just once and had been struck with Dark magic full in the face. Jinta had been able to clear the area and kill of the Bloathead that had done it, but with a threatening enemy standing in the next hall, he'd retreated out into the sun, climbing the stairs and elevators to the original bonfire of the Oolacile Township. When Seiko finally reappeared, consuming their last Humanity, the two found that a shortcut had opened in the form of an elevator. Riding it down they found themselves in the exact area where Seiko had died. A few new Bloatheads had wandered into the area, which the pair dispatched quickly and carefully. What remained now was only the odd enemy in the next hall...

"It's definitely not a statue. I've seen it moving," said Jinta, standing at the entrance to the grand hall.

Seiko looked at the oddly shaped creature, looked at Jinta, shrugged, and walked right into the hall.

"So, no plan. I suppose that's a strategy in itself..." said Jinta, shaking his head and following after.

Seiko got about halfway through the large hall before the odd creature began to approach her. It wasn't fast, but it wasn't as slow as it appeared to be. There was junk of all kinds attached to whatever-it-was, with chains hanging from it and a long spike sticking out of its lopsided head. There didn't appear to be any face or eyes, and the only evidence that it was actually alive were the stubby legs it ran around on. As it approached Seiko, it stopped, spun, and let a rock attached to a chain swing around to strike her. Seiko ducked under the attack, slashing up with her katana. Chain mail and leather material parted, but the creature itself seemed unaffected. Jinta caught up next, jumping over the creature's next attack and landing behind it. He slashed with his rapier only to have the sword bounce off. The creature took notice and lowered its spike, charging at Jinta, forcing him to roll aside. The stone attached to a chain whipped around on the motion, hitting Jinta in the side as he rolled. Jinta hopped to his feet, bruised, but far from beaten. Seiko caught up to the creature and created another rent in the material wrapped around the creature.

"It's times like this I wish I still had my bastard sword," lamented Jinta, resigning himself to drawing the mottled enemy's attention so Seiko could finish filleting it. He struck with his falchion and rapier over and over, aiming as close to what appeared to be the head as possible. The strategy seemed to work and the creature waddled after him as he retreated, continuing to try and hit him with what stuck out of its hide and the chained rock. Seiko, meanwhile, kept slicing open its back deeper and deeper. Chain mail and leather finally gave way to something resembling flesh. Seiko put both hands on her black katana, stabbing right into the odd fleshy surface. The creature immediately cringed, arcing toward the point of pain, and fell over. Jinta raised his arms to block his visor from the resulting dust cloud, then looked at Seiko and the creature.

"That's it? I was expecting a lot more from something that looked that threatening..." said Jinta, putting a boot on the creature and shaking the odd thing. It remained unresponsive.

Seiko slashed her katana at the air, in case any blood remained on it, then tilted her head as if to ask if they should get going.

Jinta took one last look at their fallen foe, then sheathed his swords and walked around it to continue on.

The creature had been standing just above a set of stairs that led to an elevator platform. Once on the elevator, quite some time passed in waiting. To fill the silence, Jinta spoke up.

"I think I might go back to my old ways. This business of parrying and stabbing, always dancing about... It's really not my style. I'm not very good at it at all."

Seiko was surprised to hear it, since Jinta had always seemed a fearsome warrior even with his lightfooted style.

"I told you I started with this falchion but was given a claymore? It was a bastard sword, on my request, blessed like my weapons are now. When we get out of here, I think I'll pull out Oscar's Crest Shield and my old sword. I think I'll do much better that way. From your look I can tell you've underestimated me. To be honest, I think I did as well. Perhaps my lack of self respect and confidence led me to adopt a style I had no talent with... Either way, I'm over all that now. What a fool I've been... I feel this might be the final step to break away from all that... I'm sure you'll support me once you see the result. Of course, you might not believe me now, but to provoke thought, I'll ask you: haven't you noticed that it's my first instinct to block, not dodge? I wield blessed and magically protected swords that won't break unless struck by stronger magic, so blocking is still viable for me, but without proper surface or leverage it's never worked well... I think a shield will solve that problem..."

The elevator reached the bottom and Seiko pointed. A bonfire glowed, seeming to float in the darkness of the chamber ahead of them.
"Perfect!" said Jinta, stepping off the elevator and approaching the bonfire with care. Seiko followed, wondering if the darkness was because of the nearness of the Abyss or some other sinister cause. Either way, Jinta was working quickly. His falchion and rapier disappeared into the bonfire, to be replaced by a large straight sword and the painted shield of the knight who'd saved Jinta from the Asylum. Jinta tested his weight with his old style and new armor, practicing a few of his favorite moves to get reacquainted with them. The difference wasn't obvious to Seiko at first. He seemed just as proficient with this style as his dual-sword style. His bastard sword, blessed like his other weapons, streaked white through the darkened air.

"Sorry for the wait, but I think I've got it. It might take one or two engagements for me to get it all back, but for now my body seems to remember well enough."

Seiko tilted her head a bit, still considering the news. What about using a shield and large sword would do her dextrous partner so much good?

"We shouldn't stand around any longer. Sif is still down here somewhere," said Jinta, ready to move on.

Seiko huffed a sigh, deciding that his actions would speak better. The two stepped out of the chamber, and into the Chasm Of The Abyss...

Hugging the wall to avoid a long drop, it became more obvious by the minute that the lack of light was the Abyss' doing. It wasn't very strong yet, but it was disrupting the light in the area. Still thin, it didn't do much in the way of a drowning effect yet, but it made everything odorless in a way that nature normally didn't allow. The only thing that seemed to reach through the darkness were Jinta and Seiko's immediate surroundings and the glowing eyes of a crowd of Bloatheads. Jinta stopped, leaning over to Seiko.

"I can see a taller one in the back... It must be like the mages we've seen already. I'll go after him if you cover me from the smaller ones. Countering magic is my specialty, after all," said Jinta, his voice low but not a whisper.

Seiko nodded and Jinta raised the Crest Shield. The two began jogging forward, Jinta's chain mail clinking in the cave and his boots scraping over the rocks underfoot. The first two Bloatheads only took notice when they could see Jinta, either not hearing or not caring that enemies were approaching. As they turned to attack a black ball reached out of the surrounding blackness. Jinta deftly absorbed the blow with his shield, deflecting both the physical force and magic effects. He knew the mage would have to wait a second before firing again, so he bolted right between the two attacking Bloatheads. He encountered the next two instantly after, spinning low to avoid their attacks, smacking one with his shield and stabbing the other in the chest. He kicked the dead enemy off his greatsword and raised his shield in time to block the second Dark Bead from the mage. Jinta heard Seiko cutting down the other enemies, so he ran ahead without even looking back, slicing up and to his left, sheering the mage in half from hip to shoulder. Before he could even turn around Seiko was done with the other enemies, who'd all been focusing on Jinta.

"I've got a bad feeling... We should hurry and get looking," said Jinta. He noticed one of the mages pouches glowing and ripped it open. Prism Stones rested inside, just five. In the darkness, they may have been using them to test how far a drop was. Jinta took them, placing them in his own pouch attached to his belt.

"I'd like to say we should split up and look, but in this darkness we might not meet again safely. Our best bet is to move fast and be careful. I'll stay in front and keep my shield up. We've already wasted too much time."

Seiko just nodded each time she agreed with a statement, then watched as Jinta just started jogging onward before catching up. Together they wandered over thin passages, hugged walls, and encountered masses of living Humanity. On the bright side, killing them split them into smaller and smaller pieces until they simply became Humanity to be used and carried, but touching them while alive burned skin, completely bypassing armor and clothing. Still, they were solid enough that weapons could damage them, and they weren't very durable. The pair found several dead bodies, one carrying a journal about fusing Dark magic and Pyromancy which Seiko slid into a pocket to study further later. However, they didn't have any luck finding a trace of Sif... Until an odd spirit that resembled a cat from the Darkroot Garden ran passed them, stopping to wait for them to follow, then running away again. As they watched, the ethereal feline ran straight through a wall. Jinta and Seiko looked at each other, remembering the many illusionary walls they'd encountered before. Jinta poked his bastard sword into the wall, confirming that it wasn't solid at that point, and the two carefully entered. Around a corner in the cramped tunnel and suddenly their target lay before them.

Sif lay passively on the stone, surrounded with a seal on the ground and rings of light floating between him and the huge masses of living Humanity that had pushed him to such a spot. Sif wasn't nearly the size Seiko remembered, but then this was the past and Sif may not have grown so large yet. Acting quickly, Seiko and Jinta cut down the living Humanity creatures, further increasing their once-empty collection. As soon as all threats were gone, the seal around Sif seemed to dissolve away, as if it were barely hanging on moments before. Sif stood and howled, obviously enraged and delighted to be free. He took up his sword, laying at his feet, then approached Seiko first, smelling Artorias' blood in her. Seiko knelt to be face to face with the direwolf, looking him in the eye.

"Your partner... My father is dead, Sif..." said Seiko, her face shrouded by her hood.

Sif obviously understood, his head sinking. But Sif was quick to redirect his emotions, every bit the warrior Artorias had been. He knew the truth. He knew who'd driven Artorias to his limit. And Sif, as Artorias' faithful companion, wasn't about to let that go unpunished. He walked passed Jinta and Seiko, looking back as if wanting them to follow, then, without a second glance, ran into the tunnel and out of sight.

"Hurry!" said Seiko, popping up and chasing after him. Jinta followed quickly.

The two ran out of the illusionary wall to see Sif waiting at a particular path, only to have him disappear again. They had their guide, and followed him quickly. They rounded a corner to see Sif slice a Bloathead mage to ribbons before boldly jumping down to another floor. He could probably see better than Jinta or Seiko in the dark. The pair, now in a rush, followed. Jinta hit and bent his knees, while Seiko had the freedom to roll and keep running. Sif ran down what looked like a fallen pillar, his growls echoing in the cave. Whatever they were after, it was close now. Seiko and Jinta ran down the pillar after Sif, losing sight of the swift canine. There was really only one path to follow, so Jinta and Seiko continued running, no longer getting any hints from Sif. Finally, Sif was in sight, standing just outside a wall of mist...

"Seiko, what are we doing here? What did Sif just lead us to...? Whatever this is probably beat Artorias, and we saw what happened to him. Is following him really a good idea?"

"Mother said stop the Abyss. Sif's avenging Father. I'm staying."

Jinta laughed, a sound like someone facing a worthy foe at long last.

"Then so am I. There's three of us. This thing wants a fight, it's gonna get one. And, hey," said Jinta, not a hint of false confidence in his voice. Seiko looked up at him. He whipped off her hood, then his own helmet, kissing her again.

"No dying this time, got it?" said Jinta, his deep brown eyes sinking into Seiko's too-blue eyes. Seiko stared back a moment, suddenly kissed him, snatching his helmet and slamming it back on his head.

"Back at you," she said, pulling her hair out of her coat to hang freely. It itched anyway.

Seiko and Jinta walked into the mist at the same time as Sif, all three pushing through and ending up on a cliff. Sif howled and leapt into the Abyss with no hesitation. Jinta and Seiko looked at each other, down into the curtain of darkness, and jumped after him...

Event 28: Fear Across Time coming soon...