Strap in readers, this is gonna be a longer one than normal XD
Brendon stepped forward towards the Maw.
The massive cave of the thickest venom filled fangs on LoFaM. Attempting to open it with any standard weapons or machines was a highway to nothing, because even if you had anything powerful enough to tunnel through it, the acid venom within would melt through it in seconds; as evident by the several piles of melted slag and the dents and scratches in the first fang in the way.
Brendon stretched out his limbs, taking a deep breath as he focused on his powers, focused on the power of doom, of the destruction of it. He routed the power through his body and into his palms, extending it beyond so it would form into the powerful ball known as a Death Bringing.
It started out the size of a marble, then began growing, passing golf ball sized and then passing baseball sized, up to basketball and bowling ball, and kept growing still until Brendon had to hold it above his head as it continued to grow; the light of it causing his shadow to stretch across the ground as the army of revived consorts watched him.
Brendon took another deep breath and sent the Death Bringing into the Maw. it seemed to move slower than it actually was, colliding with the Maw.
For a moment, it just seemed to linger there against the wall of fangs. Then it and the Maw seemed to erupt in a massive blast of light and sound, a mushroom cloud rose from the blast zone from the evaporated venom within the fangs.
The blast had destroyed more than half of the Maw in a single go, the consorts cheering Brendon on to clear the rest of the path.
He stepped closer, summoning two smaller Death Bringers, both about the size of an especially large bowling ball before being launched into the Maw. The two orbs collided and blasted the rest of the way through into the denizen's lair.
Brendon raised his axe, letting out a battle cry and kicking off the ground to lead the charge by flying overhead. He still wasn't very used to god tier flying abilities, but it was good for quick clearing of distance he supposed. He veered down into what remained of the Maw, flying through the upsettingly warm and moist cave entrance he had blasted open.
It grew more and more dark the farther down he flew until seeing a dull green light pulsing in the distance. He continued forward, leading his armor of former ghosts in to give them a rematch against the denizen. He flew out into a massive wide open underground tunnel, finding a platform battleground there waiting for him.
He handed on the center of it, looking around into the darkness around and below him as the consorts attempted to catch up.
"Show yourself!" Brendon called out into the darkness. There was a sensation of something stomach churningly vast moving around and below him, slimy scales sliding against each other. And then two large green points, presumably eyes but Brendon didn't want to assume, appeared in the darkness.
Welcome to my lair, Prince of Doom. The denizen spoke in a language that didn't exist, a nonsense hiss and chortle that for reasons best known to the gods above Brendon could understand, I am Morros, denizen of the Land of Fangs and Martyr. You have earned the right to face me.
"You really ruined this place," Brendon said, "You poisoned the land, reduced the consorts to sorrowful spirits. Why? What purpose does it serve?"
It serves no purpose, Morros replied, They were weak, and so they perished. I am strong, and so I live. And you are the Prince of Doom, bringer of death to those who bring death. Are you strong enough I wonder? Or will you take The Choice? If so you choose, we need not battle. My mountains of grist and experience can be yours for naught but a simple favor.
Brendon glared at this. What right did this monster have to an alternate route at this point? A lot in this world could be redeemed, but this beast reduced a planet to ruins, and put measures in place specifically to keep life miserable for all involved. It deserved what it was getting.
I can feel your hatred, young Prince, Morros said with a grotesque hiss to its voice, You wish me dead. You believe yourself strong enough to defeat me. Let's see you prove it.
Next to the first two points of light came another to. Then another two slightly below those. Then another a bit off to the left, more up and to the right.
Brendon swung his Spade Sparker to release its fire and get a look at his foe; seeing that Morros was not merely a serpent, but a hydra of dozens of heads, each sporting two glowing bright green eyes and far too many rows of powerful fangs; spikes lining its long slender serpentine form that stretched down into the blackness beneath where the many parts presumably became a single body.
The health bar of the creature could not be seen; the first boss without one.
"I don't have to prove it," Brendon said as he heard the army reaching the entrance, "Not alone anyway."
The army poured in, already beginning to take shots at the multi-headed beast with guns and bows and thrown weapons.
The first strike still came from Brendon though, two powerful shots from his Supper Shotty. It had been leveling up with his as he'd trained, and the kick of the gun along could crack through a brick wall. The shots hit one of the heads, causing all of them to hiss and begin releasing several deep purple clouds, no doubt some kind of magic toxin.
Brendon jumped up to levitate in the air, swinging his axe in a complete circle to send a ring of fire around his, causing the toxic mist to ignite in the air, burning the denizen's mouths. It hissed again as Brendon sent himself spiralling at the closest head, blade out to turn him into a living buzzsaw.
He cut through the neck, severing one of the many heads of Morros. Brendon mentally crossed his fingers and prayed that Morros didn't follow mythological hydra rules, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no extra heads came sprouting from the severed stump, which simply fell to the pit below.
Before he could let himself believe it would be an easy battle though, two heads came at him, one biting into his arm and the other crunching into him at the waist.
He grit his teeth, his Death Destroyer ability preventing him from feeling much pain at all or being mortally wounded. He fired the shotgun his bitten hand was holding, blasting the head off as the other head was hit by a rocket launcher one of the consorts was holding.
Its jaw grip loosened slightly, and Brendon brought his Spade Sparker down onto its skull, cutting deep into it and causing flames to ignite along its surface. The scream of pain allowed him to wriggle free and hover in the air as he saw the chaos around him.
It wouldn't be a quick fight he thought, but if he could manifest a few good Death Bringers, there's be few casualties if any.
Arvis led his army of consorts on Armok mercilessly, and though he didn't know it, his battle was one of the strangest.
Armok was not a normal denizen, his power dependant on the number of attackers. In a one on one battle, he was weaker than the starting mid-bosses, but against an army, he easily matched the other denizens in might.
And if that army was lead by a powerful Blood player acting as a general, he was even stronger. But that power.. It was all for show. He would lose, and he knew it.
There was no such thing as losing to Armok. Either you faced Armok alone and got a pitifully easy and satisfying battle that left you feeling insulted, or you rolled in with an army, having succeeded in your challenge and The Choice, and were rewarded with what seemed like a climactic and dramatic battle.
Not that Armok was throwing the match mind you. As the consorts surrounded him and Arvis flew at him with hook swords raised, he was fighting with all of his might. But he was destined to fail. Just as Arvis was now destined to win.
Hooks cut and tore through Armok's scales as the consorts attacked from below, blades and bombs hacking and blasting at the body of the beast.
Any time a consort grew panicked, his New Links power kept them going. When they took physical damage, his Transfusion power them from bleeding out. The battle was over the moment it started, Arvis not even knowing it.
He flew up as high into the air as he could without leaving his planets atmosphere, the consorts keeping the beast distracted from him as he began to fly down towards the denizen. Arvis actually broke the sound barrier on his way down before his hooks collided with Armok.
The impact carved the denizen in two. As the two pieces separated, they seemed to lose their organic structure, solidifying into stone instantly and collapsing in a heap of rubble rather than gore. Arvis stood triumphantly atop the the pile, raising one hook up into the air and letting out a cheer that the consorts carried and returned.
They charged into Armok's lair to claim their prize, Arvis already eager to tell Java about the epic battle.
Aspico was rather taken aback by the sight of Sophia.
Her denizen was no kind of monstrous beast that she had been expecting.
Far from it she was.. Beautiful.
Enormous mind you, if she were hollow she could be repurposed as an apartment complex, but at least from the waist up she was perhaps the most beautiful woman Aspico had ever seen in her life; which she did not say lightly.
What she was from the waist down, the olive blood wasn't certain, but as Sophia spoke to her, so charming and polite, slightly teasing but never mean or overly suggestive, Aspico found herself not minding what was below.
But the longer she spoke, the more something nagged at Aspico. She kept getting the urge to activate her soul sight, but she kept getting distracted by Sophia's words.
No, she realized, she needed to check. She managed to find a lull in the conversation-though it was one she had to force-and activated her soul sight. Immediately she realized what her senses had been trying to tell her.
First of all, the calming, pleasant aura that Sophia seemed to give off was just that; and aura, a magical glow that allowed her to seem charming without actually being it. She could say whatever it wanted and the aura would filter it for whoever was listening.
In addition to that, there was a shocking amount of soul energy circulated not just within Sophia, but outside of her, like an armor, or a combat avatar.
Said avatar Aspico didn't see quick enough to avoid being struck with it, being thrown across the stone chamber by the impact. She crashed into the wall, drawing her rapier and glaring, face flushed with embarrassment.
It's troubling for a Hero of Heart to have feelings turned against them, Sophia said casually, And troubling still to get the best of a Seer.
Aspico stood, ignoring the throbbing pain the powerful first impact had left in her leg. "You need not be troubled any longer." She said with a glare.
She had been considering attempting to resolve this peacefully when she entered this cave, but no. This conniver needed to be put in her place.
Furlok popped her knuckles, then moved down and placed her hands on the ground.
She focused, knowing she needed to get this right the first time. She began to steal from the market. Its size and distance. Given that it took up about half the fucking planet, this made it by far and away the largest thing Furlok had even considered stealing from. It shrunk down as she grew larger and larger, becoming a titan over them.
The consorts within the market panicked at the sight, as from their perspective she was just growing, but they'd realize what she'd done for them later.
She had to stop for a moment once she had reached roughly the size of a fucking mountain range stacked on its side. She turned to the crash sight of Echidna, a trip that would have taken days on foot or hours in the air taking her about a step and a half at this size.
She reached down and grabbed the massive chunk of rock containing the denizen, placing her foot at the edge of the market as she held the denizen meteor in one hand and held it up above her head.
She could already feel the shifting of Echidna being disturbed by the movement. If Echidna woke fully and started attacking while she was off guard, then even at this titanic julton size Furlok would no doubt be killed.
She used her foot to continue stealing ize, shrinking the market further as she grew even taller. She pushed passed the clouds and soon her hand was poking out of the atmosphere.
She had to get up on her tiptoes, but managed to place Echidna back on her native space object and even pushed said object a bit higher up in orbit to prevent it breaking apart again.
She managed to do it before Echidna got her narc on thankfully, leaving Furlok with only the question of how to fight her now. When she looked at her items though, she realized she wouldn't have to.
The amount of grist that had been given to her… it was insane, it was several times more than she'd have had if she diligently hunted all the underlings on her planet to extinction.
As she looked up at the orbiting rock that held Echidna, she realized that this was her thank you, a sort of bypassing of the battle.
Well, that was how she interpreted it anyway. In truth, the Thief of Space had unknowingly accepted and completed The Choice without even knowing it as well.
Dustine had eventually managed to flush out the denizen's palace by way of having as many moats as possible moved out of the way, letting the mucky water flow through LoMaW and pour into all the hidden nooks and crannies, forcing the temple up out of the depths where it was hidden.
He immediately made a powerful charge towards the palace letting his rage energy flow around and through him and his weapon. As he passed through the doorway, learning the name of the denizen, Lyssa, from the carvings on the temple, he whispered a prayer to the mirthfuls for safety, power, and fucking wickedness.
By the time he entered the steel trap that was Lyssa's lair, he was glowing so intensely purple that he could hear the ground beneath him steaming and it was melted away by the energy circulating through him.
He'd told himself he wouldn't let himself go this deep into his Fortitude rage state, as he worried he would grow a bit addicted to it if he did, but he figured he would allow himself one more, wicked mother fucking murder rampage so he could bring this entire fucking temple down on top of Lyssa before he could get out a word in edgewise.
Patior looked up at Metus, the denizen of Mind, with confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean we don't need to fight?"
The Choice was accepted, a logical mind rendered emotional, confessions made, the true seen, Metis said in the denizen's otherworldly language, There is no need for us to battle. Take the grist horde, and prepare for the grander battles to come, Mage of Mind.
Patior was speechless at this. Surely he'd not done anything that great. All he'd done was realize the mistakes he had made in the past and endeavored to fix them.
Granted it had been a long painful practice to figure this out and a tense, heart pounding experience begging for forgiveness, but here the game was telling him that that was all he'd needed to do in the first place.
He kept his sniper rifle's bayonet point up just in case this proved to be a trap, not it seemed that Metus had been dead serious, and within moments Patior had gathered more grist than any of their planets could have produced.
Lurabo had already known Cetus' name and indeed her image before entering her castle.
She'd not expecting to have so much confidence coming in against her denizen, but between ehr three weapons, her telekinesis, her new luck powers, her excitement over her potential ashen prospects after this and the calming words from her kind-of sort-of moirale, she was on a confidence high and she intended to ride it straight to victory.
When Cetus started speaking, she made a genuine effort to listen, as she figured that any info from such a powerful being would have to be important. But Cetus just droned on and on and on about seemingly nothing, talking in circles and repeating each point three times over before she was satisfied with it.
A pre-emptive strike was both necessary and deserved at this point. Lurabo took out her weaponized playing card deck.
She squeezed the top and bottom of the deck together to fire off each card in the Slicer Suite deck into the air like a magician fucking up a card trick.
But as the cards fluttered through the air, Lurabo's telekinesis gripped the cards, pinning them in place and then changing their movement, pointing their bladed edges at Cetus before a flick of her wrist send all fifty-two cards flying at her like a controlled swarm.
Cetus was caught off guard, still in the midsts of her speech as she was attacked by the cards, each card leaving a cut as they went passed. Lurabo began to move her hands, directing the cards to keep them swarming around Cetus, spinning and slashing and cutting.
She steered them all up to the roof of he ceiling above Cetus, and then brought her hand down to bring the entire deck down. The cards dug themselves into Cetus' flesh, remaining stuck inside.
Glaring at Lurabo, Cetus' eyes released a powerful sun-shaped bolt that she blocked and directe away from herself with her Arcane, the magical staff glowing with power. Cetus fired a beam from her eyes that the Arcane's magic blast countered.
The two blasts seemed to be evenly matched, until Lurabo added her own telekinesis to the mix, her blast beginning to push Cetus' back towards her face until the denizen was being blasted.
Lurabo swung the Arcane several times, sending multiple bolts of magic into the denizen's body, but could see that the serpent was charging up a more powerful attack, one that the cane would be unable to block. She switched to her tarot cards and drew, taking out the Wheel of Fortune.
The probability tampering effects of the card caused the ceiling of the denizen's lair to fall in on Cetus, landing on her and causing her powerful attack to backfire on herself. Lurabo drew again, getting the Tower.
The card identified Cetus herself as the targeted structure to be ground down, and several small explosions triggered across her body to prevent her attacking. Seeing the Light denizen was still up somehow, Lurabo decided to take a risk.
She activated her luck powers, letting it flow around and through her before drawing not one, not two, but three tarot cards at once.
Ten of Wands, Two of Cups, and the Knight of Swords.
Pain and failure mixed with defeat and and victory, all held together by cooperation and friendship to direct the raw magical power at Cetus, blasting her like a bolt from the gods.
Cetus let out a shriek that was cut off abruptly as she was reduced to stone and began to crumble, leaving the path to the grist horde open.
Lurabo smiled, collected her playing cards and giddily reaping the spoils.
Mutosi had found Abraxas name in her studies in the camel consort cathedrals.
It shocked her to know the denizen of her land had had its name just.. there, right in a book she would have been able to read within minutes of reaching her land if she'd just been willing to actually read the books she'd found rather than just deciding the consorts were wrong and starting to lock their minds in her grip.
She still couldn't believe how misguided she'd been back then. She didn't know why she hadn't changed her mind-literally-sooner. With her research done, she headed out on her own to where she was sure the denizen would be. She found the old run down temple guarded by a swarm of angels.
She'd read about them to in the consort's books.
All Hope player lands had angels, and they were often unfriendly. They shrieked down at Mutosi and flew down to attack her.
She lifted her broom, using her Hope Bend power to change the hope power within them, converting it from energy into ice crystals and causing all of them to freeze over, becoming instant frozen sculptures.
She headed inside, meeting no resistance that took more than a single strike to defeat. And then she found the final room, containing the several stories high green and white serpent within; Abraxas, the denizen of hope.
"I'm here to do battle." She declared, but to her surprised, Abraxas did not attack her. Rather, the denizen slithered out of her way, leaving the path to the massive grist horde open to her. "You.. don't want to fight?" She asked.
There is no need, Abraxas said, The Choice has been fulfilled, Mutosi rended from the world, replaced with a newer, stronger Witch of Hope to live in her place.
Mutosi wasn't sure what Abraxas meant by that. How could Mutosi be gone when she was standing right there? She decided not to think about it and focus on gathering the grist. She'd probably have the record for getting passed the denizen she supposed.
Risura had found the name of the denizen before the entrance to their lair; Nyx.
Supposedly she was a rather calm and passive denizen, one who hadn't so much brought monsters and danger to the land she was on so much as she'd simply allowed another to do so.
Nyarlathotep was the one responsible for the madness of the consorts, for the twisted beings that stalked the long grass outside the towns, the voices and laugher and screams that filled the air.
Nyx brought the underlings sure, but unlike on the other planets, Nyx's underlings weren't attacking the consorts or the towns; Nyarlathotep's influence had been entirely responsible for their state. It was a raw deal they'd gotten.
Risura didn't like the idea of leaving them as they were, nor of beating to death a being who's only crime was being unaware or unprepared for the otherworldly invaders, but that was how this game was played it seemed.
The jade blood checked all of his gear before heading into Nyx's palace; checking again at the urging from his lusus, who seemed to grow more anxious the closer to the palace he got.
His had his fully upgraded god tier outfit, alchemized with a stealth cloak and with his healing garments so it would provide a healing factor and boosted stealth. He had bandages around his fists to keep him from damaging his hands too much.
His highly alchemized flashlight that not only produced light but allowed the user to shape it into other things, and of course, his old religious book. He chuckled as he looked over it.
He'd read it again recently, realizing for the first time how similar it was to Dustine's mirthful messiah beliefs.
It was, in fact, a mythology that had been specifically based on the mirthful beliefs of the purple bloods, combining it with angels and with a smidgen of science to fill in the gaps.
The end result was a custom made religious that Risura still couldn't help but pray to even though by all rational thoughts, it should have been disproven by the knowledge that it was nothing but an amalgam of other faiths.
He shook his head, knowing he was stalling. He took a deep breath, gave a nod to his lusus, and took off into the palace. The walls were long and carved from the same purple material that Derse seemed to be sculpted out of.
Risura hurried through the halls and down flights of stairs, his jade blood glow letting him see just enough to prevent himself getting lost or running into anything without creating enough to alert anyone to his presence. He reached the throne room, gritting his teeth as he embraced and activated his Bard of Void power, Forget Me Not, to pass through the door without opening it; silent, invisible, and intangible.
The room he entered was truly dark. No light of any kind save for the dull glow Risura's skin let off. And then, the purple eyes of the denizen looking down at him. Her long, serpentine body was coiled around a massive pillar, her bizarrely human head looking down at him.
I know you are here, Bard of Void, Nyx said, speaking in a language that Risura someone understood despite being nonexistent, It is quite the accomplishment to have made it this far.
"I'm a tough one to keep down." He said, not letting any of his nervousness into his voice.
You bare no ill will towards me, Nyx said, her long body shifting along the pillar as her top began to move slowly down towards the floor where Risura stood, You need the treasures I keep. You wish not to fight.
"Perhaps not," Risura said, putting his fists up incase she tried for a sneak attack, "But I understand that sometimes that's just how it goes."
But what if it does not have to? Nyx questions, If you wish not to fight, there is another way to pass me. The Choice, a challenge of high stakes, can suffice for a battle between us.
"The Choice.. What is this choice?" Risura questioned skeptically.
Your choice is simple. You may remain here and fight me, and be certain to succeed. Or you may fight another, one much stronger, much eviller. If the latter, you risk your failure. If the former, you risk leaving a being of such malice alive, leaving it to potentially rise to power, to follow you and your friends into your new world and do to them as it did you to.
"Nyarlathotep..." Risura said, his jade blood beginning to run cold as the name passed through his lips, "You want me to fight the horror-terror."
I want for nothing, Nyx clarified, But it is an alternative. If it is a battle with me you wish, I will accept. But if, for the sake of your friends, and your lovers both red and black, you may face the Thing in the Yellow Mask.
Risura's fists clenched tighter at these words. He hadn't ever planned on fighting the beast, but then… he'd never considered that it would be capable of following him out of this world, of hurting his friends, of hurting Dustine and Mutosi…
Risura held still for several moments, perhaps entire minutes, trying to force himself to begin a battle with Nyx, trying to make himself throw a punch, or run away, or do anything other than what he of course ended up doing.
"I will battle Nyarlathotep." He said, his voice betraying his fear.
Any normal being would be unable to kill it, even if of greater power, Nyx said, But as you walk as a god, you will be at least capable of victory; so long as you battle it within the Void. Nyx eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened, so to did a door of pure blackness in front of Risura, hardly taller or wider than his own body. His body was, unsurprisingly, frozen for several moments as he stared at the door, but not as long as he'd have liked it to be, and soon his found himself moving towards the door.
Best of luck, Bard of Void. Were the last words Risura heard from Nyx before stepping through the door and into the Void. the entrance was gone the instant he passed through it, leaving Risura stranded in an infinity of empty. It wasn't darkness or shadow, it wasn't blackness.
It was nothing. Pure and entire nothing. Risura suspected that if he were not a god tier, specifically a Void player god tier, he would likely be dead simply from being present in this realm.
But it wasn't the infinity of nil that made Risura feel sick to his stomach.
No, that was coming from the impossibly massive entity he could feel. In front of him, around him, above him; its size couldn't be properly comprehended, and its shape was likely a hypothetical at best.
Risura couldn't see it in the midst of the oblivion that was the Void, and quite frankly he thanked the fake deities within his book for this. Just hearing it had driven him into possessed madness last time, and while his new strength could likely protect him from this, seeing it would likely be too much.
Almost funnily, the words it spoke it were closer to language than Nyx's, and could still be understood; though Risura suspected this was only because it chose it to be so.
"Ah, my puppet has returned to its master. Shall we continue where we left off before?"
Risura gave no verbal responses, simply activating his powers immediately. Forget Me Not shrouded him, though Nyarlathotep would still be able to find him with some searching. It was hard to deceive one who's entire existence was deception.
Risura expected his Rip attack to be less powerful here considering he was already in the Void and couldn't exactly cast anything away to it; but far from it. While used within the Void, the Rip attack was actually much, much stronger.
The Void moved around it, becoming a weapon just as Mutosi did with hope and Dustine with rage. As he lashed out with his fists, projectiles of Void were fired at the formless form of his target. Laughter was what followed as Nyarlathotep simply braced through the attack. It could have left the being half dead or done no damage at all for all Risura knew, Nyarlathotep was not one to show their land.
"You wish to play do you?" Risura was grabbed. With what, he didn't know, and for his own sanity he couldn't even venture a guess. But he was grabbed nonetheless, yanked up and slammed into something; possibly the body of Nyarlathotep. He felt himself being constricted, crushed as easily as he himself might ruin a sand castle, only still in one piece so Nyarlathotep could speak.
"I have faced dozens of beings young Bard, I have many great enemies I am yet to slay. I am in no way about to be brought to my knees by an ant who's convinced himself he is a god."
It was those words that saved Risura's life. It hadn't been entirely Nyarlathotep's own power that had let it possess Risura. Risura had been all but asking for it. Laughing in the Dark; Risura's strongest power as Bard of Void.
It allowed him to voluntarily induce possession of himself by other beings as a sort of do or die lat resort. He'd accidentally activated it while within the cave, and Nyarlathotep had capitalized on it.
But now that he knew.. Now that he could do something about what was happening, maybe… just maybe he would be able to control himself.
He closed his eyes, hoping it looked to Nyarlathotep like he was accepting his fate as he invited other horror-terrors, invited those who Nyarlathotep wished to hide from to one day slay, those it feared, into his body and mind.
His vision became a swirling mass of flesh and angles that shattered his perceptions of logic as his ears were filled with screams and words never meant to be thought let alone spoken alone, all mixing together and overlaying as his body became a vessel, host for powerful beings.
Too late Nyarlathotep realized his mistake as Risura's jade blooded glow grew to the brightest of a massive star, swirling colors and illusions emanating from it. His body remained in tact, but appeared to be held together by stubborn will alone as the power within threatened to rend its host.
Risura forced himself to keep conscious; just lucid enough to enjoy the sweet, sweet revenge.
Jeff had spent so long talking to Hephaestus that he'd forgotten the seventy foot high fire serpent was his denizen, and enemy he was meant to battle.
He wasn't sure why exactly they weren't fighting, nor what had started the conversation, but they'd gone from discussing mythos to history, to social science to romantic quadrants, to their current topic of warfare.
Speaking of, you may wish to set yourself a reminder. Hephaestus said, You seem not to remember that you already came here. I told the future you that you'd already completed The Choice while forming your multi-species consort to preserve their genetic data. You already have the grist, and even received a more powerful bat from my armory.
"I did? Woah.. I really do need to set a reminder for that." Jeff said, caught off guard by this. He definitely couldn't think of any reason why he would have needed to come back in time and take care of it later.
Unless.. Unless it had been a version of him from an alternate timeline, a doomed version coming to his aid to prevent him forgetting or fighting or otherwise doing something stupid.
He didn't like to think it would have been that likely for him to do so, but he supposed it had been *him* who'd felt it necessary.
Valtina was caught off guard when Hemera, the denizen of Life, refused to fight her.
There is no point in us fighting. Hemera said calmly.
"What do you mean?" Valtina questioned, "You're my denizen. You're supposed to fight me, or at least give me some kind of challenge right?"
This is normally the task of the denizen, yes, Hemera confirmed, And indeed there are no doubt timelines were you take The Choice or battle me bloodily, be it successful or not, But here, now, there is no point.
"And why is that exactly?" Valtina questioned, frustrated and fearful that she'd somehow done something to break her session.
Because if we battle, you will die, Hemera said matter-of-factly, You are not weak Sylph of Life, not close to it in fact. But you haven't got it in you to bring harm to someone you feel may be innocent. Not after the ordeal with the Prince and Mage. And you know by now that I'm no more at fault for the troubles of this land than you heroes are for the meteors that rained down on the planet you hail from. If we fight, you will hesitate. I will not, and you will die. You session will fail because of your death. It would be senseless.
Valtina wanted to argue, but she knew full well that this was indeed likely to be the case. "Alright.. Well, why not the Choice or whatever you called it?"
There are no choices for you to make, Hemera said with a shake of her head, You have healed the entire planet, healed the heart of your moirale and restored the lives of countless. You have faced your mortality and the mortality of others. You understand and work with life as a spellcaster works with magic. There are no choices to make.
"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Valtina questioned, growing more and more pissed off by the idea that she'd fucked over her session by being too good at it.
There was a long silence as Hemera thought, and then her large body lowered down to be closer to head on with Valtina, Stay with me for tea, Hemera said, It's so rare that I have company.
Java knew full well she could fly without a plane, but she was a pilot dammit and she wouldn't be caught dead arriving at the palace of her land's denizen without a proper plane to escort her there.
Plus a plane would bring her there faster after all, she could only fly so fast and she was fairly certain the plane that she'd borrowed from the consorts (franlly they were all but begging her to take the thing away from them after so long trapped within it) moved faster.
Granted, there was the thought that if she took a little breath she'd probably be able to fly even faster, but she hushed that thought.
She wasn't in any rush to get to her denizen, and she didn't want to disappoint Pilotsprite; and not just because she was hoping her beautiful sprite girl would be willing to give her a little reward that she could share with Arvis to celebrate when they both beat their denizens.
She had already made a few choice comments to that effect. Pilotsprite sat behind Java as she flew the plane towards the denizen, Typheus, dwelling.
She complimented her on her skill, unable to help the praise what with being composed of a program designed to teach such things.
She wanted to return the praise, knowing that if it weren't for Pilotsprite's comfort, both verbal and.. Well.. 'physical,' she wouldn't have made it this far.
But here she was, flying to a boss that would terrify most with a smile on her face. She brought them down for a smooth landing that left them right up at Typheus' front door. Java jumped out of the plane, Pilotsprite floating out after her and reaching the door.
She bounced on her feet and reeled back, striking the door with her brass knuckle braced fist. The impact forced the door open violently.
She floated through with Pilotsprite, her feet just barely grazing the floor as she reached the much larger, thicker stone door that led to the denizen.
For this she asked for Pilotsprite's help, and together they opened the door and found the large domed arena. Java stretched out her limbs as she lifted her fists, her brass knuckles gleaming in the dull light.
When she reached the center of the room, the door shut by itself, sliding closed as the massive, green serpentine figure of Typheus descended from above. Java felt a twinge of worry, knowing that Pilotsprite wouldn't be able to help her fight this time. At least she'd be there for support, and that alone kept Java from being too afraid.
Rogue of Breath… you have come to challenge me?
Java nodded, floating up to be eye level with her foe, "I'm ready to bring you down."
We may fight if you wish, and you may succeed, Typheus said, But even victory over me may leave you with failure.
"What are you on about?" Java questioned, eyes narrowed at the giant serpent, unsure how she was able to understand what was being said despite the unfamiliar, impossible language.
As I am sure you know, we denizens are not the final challenge of this world. There is another, a king who reigns over Derse, who seeks to reign over Skaia; even if it means destroying it in the process. You may claim victory over me. But can you twelve truly claim victory over a king who may bring the sky itself down on top of you?
"What are you getting at?" Java questioned.
There is a way to take the grist I hide, a way that requires no combat, and will bring you all the Breath you need to even the odds in the final battle. It is your choice to make. You need only drain the breath completely from the one who first showed you how to fly.
Java was silent for a moment, trying to sort through what the denizen had said. When the words' meanings came to her, her eyes widened in shock and she gasped.
"No, no, no, no, no!" She said, sounding more than just surprised, but offended, "I'm not hurting Pilot, how fucking dare you!"
It is merely a choice, one of many. Heroes of Breath of known to love having many options. I believed you would not mind knowing. Especially considering that without her Breath, your chances of surviving the final encounter are not nearly as high.
"Java," Pilotsprite said softly, Java turning to her. She opened her mouth to let her know she didn't have to worry, to tell her that she wasn't going to listen to this denizen and his lies.
But Pilotsprite placed a finger to her mouth, a sad, but determined look in her eyes. Java felt her stomach churn at the realization that Pilotsprite wasn't worried that Java would go for it, she was worried that she wouldn't.
"Pilot.. No." She said, all the power gone from her words.
"Java.. I can remember every flying session you took me on back in that simulation tutor machine of yours," Pilotsprite said, "I was just a program then, no thoughts of my own. But looking back and remembering it.. I watched you grow, watched you change and become a powerful, smart, skilled young women. I'm proud, as proud as any teacher could be. But.."
Pilotsprite tried and failed not to get choked up as she spoke, knowing that it would only make it harder to convince Java if she did but still unable to keep it in, "But you don't need a teacher anymore.."
She continued, "In addition to being your teacher, I'm also your sprite. More than that I'm your friend, and.. Maybe more than that. And from all of that, I want to be able to help you. But there's only one way I can help you now.. And now that you've got Arvis.. You don't need me for 'that' either. You don't need my anymore Java, not for anything. Expect this."
Pilotsprite took Java's hands and held them against her own, tears welling up in both of their eyes, "Please.. I'm begging you.. Let me help one last time."
Java wanted to argue, wanted to scream and shout and find a way around this problem.. But she couldn't. Before she could try, or sob for that matter, she felt Pilotsprite's lips press against her own. Java let herself relish the kiss for a few sweet moments before she began to inhale, draining the sprite of her breath.
Possibly because she was a pilot, she had a shocking amount of breath inside her, more than all of the enemies on her land combined. She'd never have been able to take this much all at once, and if she tried to gather it patiently from all the lands, she'd probably burst while traveling.
Still did still nearly burst though, from the look in Pilotsprite's eyes as the light within them faded, the adventurous spirit within her dying.
Sorry if you felt like some of these were a bit short or underwhelming, but I think it was worth noting that in Homestuck we only see about 4 denizen encounters, only one of which contained an actual fight, and one of which was literally just Nyx telling Roxy 'oi mate go find John.' And nothing else at all XD
