You stood in the ruined bunkroom of the frozen base. You presumed you'd feel harried, annoyed, and a little ragged but since you lost Lexaeus' form, emotions had been... dulled. Like staring into a flash of a camera then only seen spots afterwards... fleeting.
Regardless, you had power in yourself, waiting to be set to form. Turned from nothing... to something.
You funnelled the power into the form of the Alchemist. It was new and would need a boost to catch up.
Exp: 52 21
Alchemist is now level 2!
Gained:
Molo-off: Throw a container that explodes with a weak fire blast. Does d5 fire damage to all foes in same range and space. Cooldown. 1 turn.
Potion: Conjure a potion from pure energy. Use on oneself or an ally at close-range to heal 5 HP. cost 4 NP.
You experienced the tingle of growth flowing through you and nodded to yourself.
Now... do you stay in this hell zone or get out? The world seemed pretty... focused here. Would something be important here? You decided to stay and your from shifted to Sorcerer. Your floppy hat sat just right before your silver cloak fell down your form, giving you a more ragged look.
You could cast cure and waste more energy, but you focused and one of those medkits from Taris appeared. You opened it and there was a lot of... items and things that confused you. You closed the lid and Voided its Warranty. Your new term for Nobody-fying things.
It turned into a simple silver case with your symbol on it. When you open it, it vanished in a swirl of silver light and your body healed.
HP: 14/14
Then you were off, diving deep into this facility. You wished you could say you had a bad feeling but...
That would be lying.
Instead, you silently decided you had a negative scientific prediction based on past evidence.
-
This place was pretty big. The real upside was that all the zombie people utterly ignored you. They acted like you were a stool or a piece of the wall. One even walked right into you then shambled the other way in confusion.
If they ate people... you were like a plastic bag in nutritional value for them.
"First there were zombies in the city, now they're here in this place. I wonder if this is a trend with this world?" you mused aloud.
There was other creatures... more moths but now they utterly avoided you regardless of how closely you wandered.
The few odd massive spiders utterly fled at the sight of you and you had no idea why. You took out the Demothic Amber and it gleaned with dark intent, causing a nearby moth to fly into a wall in panic.
How odd.
You hesitated then put the amber to the side of your head.
Faintly... you thought you heard vibes of-
ANGRY MOTH NOISES
-something but it was too faint to make out. Now, that you were in the Sorcerer's class, you saw how the thing would be the perfect adornment for a staff. How interesting. However, there was a dangling connection that perhaps someone far more talented could sew into some... conjuring item. Allowing the form inside to manifest into a new power and ally.
You had no idea where such a powerful creature could be.
Heading forward, your adventurers took you to a strange place. You stepped in from the strange frozen arctic base and through a set of double doors...
Into a... mansion? You were just randomly guessing on where to go... how lucky you ended up in the deepest part of this place.
"And I thought Castle Oblivion had odd interior decorating," you said and someone walked along the upper floor, a white-gloved hand trailing over the bannister.
Then the woman let loose a cackle that had her holding a hand to her chest as she looked down at you.
"The most interesting of guests I'm having today. First, a little murderer and her sad puppy... now a strange little doll. I know that Wesker is snooping about. Tell me, little doll. Are you Wesker's toy?" the woman asked, her blond hair and black dress only serving to highlight the ruby encased in a choker around her neck.
"Wesker... ah, that odd man I once heard. No, I am not a toy of his. I am simply nobody of importance, though you may address me as Eraqus if you'd prefer," you bowed, the class you were in demanding some decorum. The woman seemed to think about that.
"And why is nobody of importance in my facility then? Nay... in my very home?" she insisted and you thought you felt the slightest shake of the ground below you.
"Following the Will of the World in search of places of interest, for lack of better terms. If my continued presence is troublesome... I suppose I could be persuaded to leave. I've no business with you, ultimately. I was looking for a specific plant for a personal project, do you happen to be in possession of more of those odd herbs...perhaps we could bargain?" you began and this amused the woman greatly.
She let loose another one of those cackles.
"My... how poignant. I am Alexia Ashford. Eraqus... was it?" she said and took a step down towards you.
"How odd... ever since I awoke, I've had a particular urge towards other living things. A hum just under my skin. Those of the inferior T-virus and the Progenitor... and this recent report my brother compiled of this foul G-virus, are outsiders," Alexia said this, a disgusted scowl crossing her face as something in her neck thickened like a snake for a moment before it shrank.
Her eyes focused on you and something behind them seemed to be glowing.
"You don't even set off a single hair on my neck. It's like you are but air with a voice, a painting of oddities. Unimportant... something of no importance. As you said..." Alexia mused.
"I may be quite..." her face did something odd that you had no real words for other than 'morph' for a second, "irate at my current guests, but I am a woman of science. I will rise from this frozen land and crush Wesker... Spencer... and any other fool of the masses. You may be allowed to entertain me once everyone else is but paste for my insects. There are many herbs of which you speak... but," she was nearly in front of you and the air around her was warm and the woman herself had a scent of fresh earth and something ripe.
"I in return want to see what makes you tick... a stealth component to my perfect form would be an addition quite useful. I don't want to kill everybody," she bent down, smiling in a way that promised she would strangle puppies if it had the merit to her.
"Hell is other people. That means the wrong people or..." she stroked your chin," or no people at all," she admitted.
"You remind of Alfred. Dressing up in the most horrid of outfits. My heart stirs for my brother... but he was murdered and even the T-Veronica Virus cannot bring back the dead. No imperfect image of Alfred would be allowed to survive. I will not bear it," she warned and the strength she held your chin with was enough to crush you if she so desired.
Then she released you.
"Go... little Eraqus. Another brother approaches and the shadowy hand of Umbrella. Wesker," she said, dismissive as if you were already a bore to her now.
"I'll be along shortly," she promised with another cackle.
"I'm starting to realize this place really isn't somewhere I should linger..." you said as you walked on. The mansion did hold a few more herbs and after a moment, you heard Alexia and a familiar man arguing about 'a virus and worthy'.
You could stay and watch the fireworks... or get out while the going was good.
X3 green herbs gained.
Now it was time to go... you could hear insects gathering and something burning. You opened a portal to Taris and jumped thought, the portal oddly stable.
-
Taris was tense. Real tense.
You walked out of a tiny alley in your 'Jawa' form. The natural disguise of these planets. It was a bummer you didn't have a natural disguise on the zombie world because you were 'known' there by Wesker and Cindy before you got the power to hide.
"Kupo... over here," you heard someone call. You turned to see a Moogle in a dark cloak floating there in a blue field. Every person walking past ignoring the sight. You approached the Moogle and it floated down towards you.
"Hey... we've been setting up your account. Every Heart has a Moogle account. Yours took longer since we had to find it and register it. All Nobodies and Somebodies share an account. If money is missing, please take it up with your Somebody/Heartless, Kupo," the Moogle reported.
"You know where my heart is?" you asked, impressed.
"Yes," the Moogle agreed. You waited...
"Can you tell me where it is?" you finally asked.
"No. As per the Pact of international marketing and rights to sell to the worlds. We Moogles keep a monopoly over the business by not upsetting the natural order. This includes..." the Moogle took a deep breath.
"Time travelling, slipping out to the other side, diving into the final world, fragmentation of one heart into many, creating new timelines, revealing the location of things lost, actively engaging in any fight, selling ultima weapons before at least 75% of the story is done, revealing secret bosses," the Moogle stopped to take another breath.
You listened with rapt attention.
"Intentionally selling in any other currency than Munny, upsetting a world's economy for personal gain, tampering with world exit points to Gummi Ships, allow natives to buy or sell from us without making sure they are travellers, ensuring we refill any treasure chests over a period of months in any world we operate on, making sure not to develop technology until the worlds heal accordingly-" the Moogle was now slightly hunkered over, but still ready to keep listing.
"Don't... Forget to breathe, friend," you said and the Moogle sagged.
"Kupo... so many rules, but worth it. Here, you can have this for listening. Not many do," the Moogle said brightly, handing you a weird... stone tablet thing with nodes and lines connecting them.
You stared at it.
"It's a Garment Grid, they've become very popular amongst the class-changers of the worlds. They can be a bit finicky, so you have to be sure you wanna use them before you get into a fight," The Moogle promised.
"How does it work?" you asked, utterly distracted.
Tutorial, Y/N?
Garment Grids are collectable grids that you 'slot' a limited number of classes onto and can get bonuses for simply having them in the grid and additional bonuses for swapping between classes in battle.
The Grid you just obtained is 'Moogle's Mod'. A beginner's GG.
It has 4 slots for classes and the following bonuses:
Equipped: Always gain +1 Munny after every foe is defeated. This means non-heartless and nobodies now drop Munny.
Class change 1: +1
Classe change 2: + .
Class change 3: + 5 HP
Class change 4: Doubles Munny gained in battle.
Before, these old grids would be set out in patterns, needing you to traverse a complicated grid, but Moogles have made that a past thing. Now you can switch between classes 1-4 to any other class.
Many grids not only increase stats temporary for their use but may also allow powerful abilities or status effects to be useable from simple attacks. Rare ones may even have special rewards for using all the classes. These are 'special' class changes to a super form, not unlike Titan of Earth.
However, the limitation of setting these to 'on' is that you can only use the classes set to the grid and not the others. Another downside is that you'd spend more time class switching in turns than you might normally for a slight buff. Another downside is that some grids may have 'debuffs' to counter powerful buffs.
Some grids will have a 'requirement' of classes meaning you might have to get creative. Can you find them all? Every ten garment grids found unlocked a reward from the Moogles!
Moogle's Mod:
Slots: 4
Requirements: None
Equipped: Always gain +1 Munny after every foe is defeated. This means non-heartless and nobodies now drop Munny.
Class change 1: +1
Classe change 2: + .
Class change 3: + 5 HP
Class change 4: Doubles Munny gained in battle.
The Moogle nodded then brought up your account which showed 39 Munny.
"Occasionally, your Heart...less will also collect things. Since they tend not to spend or really use anything. Things will be deposit into your heartbank. I can't tell you where the Heartless is or if it is a Heartless, but who knows? Maybe you'll guess from the items you see?" The Moogle said innocently.
The account didn't have much besides 3 lucid shards and 2 Blaze shards. It also seemed that about 2 sacks of sand and three bloody tapestries had been stores. Odd.
"I will be sure that whatever they collect does not go to waste," you announced.
You took the materials for the sake of it and turned to the other option the Moogle had.
A...store function.
"Every store is different in the worlds. Check us all out if you have the time, Kupo," the Moogle promised and you browsed.
Potion: 50 Munny
Ether: 100 Munny
1 melted blaster: Sharpshooter/Psychic. 250 Munny.
Sith Security Key: 20 Munny
You suppose you could try selling things for some cash... you suppose. In the end you just bought the key and stored it.
"If you wanna find us, just look. Now that you have an account, we're pretty visible," the Moogle explained then went back to his floating there oddly. You had the feeling the Moogle's only used physical forms to barter... then left the body to entertain themselves until another customer approached.
That was how it felt, anyway.
You returned to Zelka to show him your 'harvest'. He looked delighted and leaned in as he bundled some into a machine for samples.
"That woman you were talking to outside? Zila Galycon? She went to the undercity to get a sample of the Rakghoul serum that was in development. I'm excited to work on a stop-gap and," he gestured to the plants, "a potential cure forever," he beamed.
He fussed around his desk before he handed you a reward.
It was...
[]300 Munny. Score.
[x]Some nozzle sprayer for chemicals. You could void that. Alchemist/?
[]A stone table with a bottle engraved on it. A garment Grid of some kind.
The weapon was some form of a chemical sprayer and you pretended to carry it outside before making it vanish into your inventory and voiding.
You checked it out once you found a quiet place to fondle your nozzle.
It appeared over one arm, the twin nozzles sticking out over your noodle arm. The tubes flowed to a secure metal box on your upper back. The thing vibrated ever so slightly.
Dismay Spreader. Spray weapon. Alchemist/?: Does 2 damage to foes in tight space and rolling a 75 or higher on hitting roll causes a weak poison to occur. Takes two turns to recharge. This weapon cannot be guarded against since it is a mist. Still can be dodged.
Weak Poison inflicts 1 HP damage per turn and fades after 3 turns.
Not bad at all and this all journey for magical weeds taught you something...
15 Exp gained.
Crazy people grow good weed. You levelled Alchemist against, interested to see where the class would take you...
EXP: 365
Alchemist is level 3!
Gained:
General: 3 NP
Well Adapted: Gain +15 defence against blind, poison, and confusion. Alchemist only.
Your inner energy shot up and you felt the power of growth fill you with potential. That was... good.
More powerful was not something to be worshipped, but having it didn't hurt in this existence known as unlife. Now... what to do? You could go off and check up on some people or maybe see what was out there or... check out Taris more...
You decided you still had hot soup and a letter to deliver to this 'Link' kid and jumped into a portal... distracted.
Something went wrong. So wrong, the Dark Corridor snapped in half, piercing through... something. A veil or some barrier of barriers. The dark tunnel had issues keeping it open, but you were sucked through regardless.
Your form struggled to stay together as your existence was already an enigma in your 'universe' but in this more scattered and disjoined one, it was even less liked. But you had grown strong and held yourself together with the bonds you made.
You entered through the darkness and exited through the darkness, it was just that the darkness here was less cohesive and likely to form into murderous Heartless.
You landed on the nearby world, a touch of melancholy surrounding it. You emerged in a port town with a blue sky overhead. The cry of seagulls was loud as the buildings, so round and wavy, rose.
Some display monitors overhead showed some intense low-gravity game as a man spectated the game.
"The Besaid Aurochs are getting crushed Al Bhed Psychics! What a slaughter!" the man cheered as men in yellow were being kicked aside or outplayed easily.
Confused, you reached for your portals but to your surprise... a heavy mist of what felt like... dreams clouded the way home.
"Luca has never seen such a game. Is their captain, Wakka, trying to lose on purpose?" the commentator added.
How hard did you fly out of your 'universe' and into this one to have Dark Corridors act drunk and passed out? You listen to the World and tried to figure things out.
There was a veil of sleep and... end between your Universe and this. Both sides were awake but did not touch each other, but strong imprints did seem to be flowing into your Universe.
Like reflections upon each other. You wouldn't be surprised to find some elements from back home popping up here like Moogles or something. You pondered what was keeping you here, but it felt hazy. Some strong power of Dream was afflicting this awake world and it was causing... the heart to bleed.
It felt everywhere, but very strongly to the north if you had to guess. A whole load of dream, power, and pain.
Lots of pain.
Well... only one way to get anything done.
To simply move.
Now... where to? Towards the dismayed young girl in a floral maiden uniform? Towards the sounds of beasts... or to that weird smell. It smelled... final.
The girl was led away by her friends, some guys in gas masks and she wasn't fighting them so you decided you had to know what that smell was.
You focused on a disguise first of all. No need to alarm people... You appeared as a small form completely covered head to toe in protective garb. A zipped hood and goggles were your face.
In sorcerer mode, you had your usual additions. You followed your non-nose up a few flights of stairs and away from the port proper. The smell was getting stronger, the scent like a captured moment in time.
Pain, anguish, betrayal... alcohol. A firework went off after ten minutes, but you were so close to the smell you couldn't stop.
At the top of Luca, sitting against a stone wall, watching the people below with disinterest was a man in a crimson coat. His existence fascinated you.
He was a heart... wearing his soul as a physical body. It was frightfully open to who he was, but the man was stalwart, delaying his end with sheer willpower.
His greying temple was slicked back and a massive scar ran over one eye behind his sunglasses. He took a swig of a bottle that was as part of his body as his hands were.
"What?" the man asked, voice lower than the tectonic plates.
"You're not alive. I'm not either. My name's Eraqus. You're a rather interesting individual, aren't you? A peculiar case of willpower proving it's might. Still, I'd expect something so incredible to smell a bit better," you admitted and the point of a massive blade was pointed in your direction.
"What are you? Speak," he warned.
Oh, it seemed his own condition gave him some insight as well. You wondered what you appeared to him as?
"A traveller that got hit a major bump in the road, for a lack of better terms, just taking in my surroundings. Just a Nobody of importance. A body without its soul, its heart. A wanderer that took a wrong turn, unable to leave while a dream blocks the path," you answered and the man snorted in annoyance.
"Cryptic speeches do you no favours. You look like a child, but you have no..." he stopped then really looked at you.
"Hollow," he said and pulled his sword back.
"The dream... it does more than block your path. It will find you as undreamable and the curator of those exhausted dreams will come," he warned.
You might need more info...
"Curator?" you asked and the man just gave you a long look.
"If you don't know then you don't need to know. Your tale isn't the story here. There is only one story that matters now," the man said grimly and turned on his heel to walk down the path as a new match of this 'water-ball' began. The Aurochs vs some Goers.
"And what story might that be?" you asked, keeping up with him. He didn't answer for a few seconds.
"The one of a boy who hated his father... maybe enough to save the world," he said finally a goal was scored, sending the arena into an excited fever.
"Ah. One of those. Given the way such stories go, I suppose the story's end would resolve the dream?" you asked and the man grunted.
"It is time for Spira to have new dreams. Jeopardize this and I will destroy you. Death itself cannot keep me," he warned suddenly.
"Given that letting such a thing happen will probably let me return home, I don't believe me trying to stop it will be of any concern. Besides, stories are best when they have a happy ending, aren't they..? Or so I'm told. I don't wish to jeopardize anything, so... May I help you, instead? I'm a bit... Stuck here, for the next while." you admitted and the man looked down at you.
"Do you even have a sphere grid?" he asked, sounding like he regretted his choice already.
You have a grid that has spheres...
The man threw you something looked like an orange sphere with interlocked lines and tons of nods. It shifted in your hands when he looked away to become a garment grid.
Garment Grid: Sphere-Ra. The Journey is long.
Has 3 slots.
Equipped: +2 exp on top of anything gained.
Change 1: reduce incoming elemental damage by 3
Change 2: reduce incoming physical damage by 3
Change 3: Increases dodge by 1
Requirements: Warrior. Sorcerer.
A journey begins with a single notion. Don't get hit.
You decided to use this one and set Warrior, Sorcerer, and Sharpshooter.
Something strange happened when you did so...
3-slot combo learned: The Usual Suspects: Set Warrior, Sorcer, and Sharpshooter into a 3 slot GG. While using that GG. Gain +1 to all rolls but damage.
Synergy would be something you watched for it seemed...
"Interesting," the man said then nodded once.
"My name is Auron and you will let me do all the talking. We'll be joining a summoner's pilgrimage. Lady Yuna's... you can join with me or be left behind," he murmured.
"I have a tendency to come and go as needed, but I don't think I'll be able to do that here all that well. I think I shall keep you company, Auron," you said then thought about something, "At the very least, I'll have something to work on if I stay near." you added.
Before Auron could speak, someone cleared his throat from the stairs you both just descended from. You turned as a voice so... alluring and yet dripping with a hint of aloofness that spoke of nihilism given form.
No care... no affection... nothing tying that voice to the earth he stood on.
"Sir Auron, my men reported seeing you here… It gladdens my heart to so you alive," a man... or something akin to a human being said. Shockingly angled hair did nothing to distract you from the smile that was a motion of habit... rather than emotion itself.
His flowing robes of deep blue revealed a slightly odd body of thick veins.
His hands were long and cruel looking. You would say his appearance could be comical but his stare... no his entire being radiated something quite unassuming.
"And what business is my health to a busy... maester. Shouldn't you be preparing another speech for the masses?" Auron asked, bluntly and so rudely you wanted to clap your hands at the sight of drama.
The man kept looking at you, looking uncertain for moments before he answered.
"You are a symbol, sir Auron, of a successful pilgrimage, your failure to return to celebrate... it harmed Spira. Guardians of High Summoners are entitled to very peaceful calms of rest," he answered and you were getting flashbacks to Alexia, standing on stairs... rambling.
"Maester Seymour. I do not desire rest nor celebration. Braska's death is not a celebration. It was a pointless loss," Auron said so darkly that you were surprised he didn't hiss or catch on fire.
"Spira disagrees... and the spiral of pain goes on and on," Seymour smiled, nodding. There was something wrong with this man. The longer you peered at his Heart, the more it oozed darkness, but unlike your universe, it would not form a Heartless. It was... just pooling into greater pain and hate.
It would poison the soul and body...
Strange.
"We're leaving," Auron told you and almost dragged you off, leaving Seymour standing at the top of the stairs.
He was still smiling.
"Sir Auron?" he called again, voice lilting. You both looked up at him.
"I'm afraid you should be careful... the matches are cancelled," he explained just as the arena below erupted into screams of fear and panic. You turned to see monsters breaking out of doors, into the massive water sphere, flying overhead, snatching people up.
Pure chaos.
And Maester Seymour was smiling down at it all with the benevolence of a wicked god.
"That much darkness, in one person... Is that what true evil looks like..?" you asked and Auron grunted.
"No, just someone pretending they matter, like a child wanting their mother's attention by making a mess," Auron said and the smile was wiped from Seymour's face with such speed that the cold monster within was revealed.
It was without hate or love. It was empty of anything but pain.
Then Seymour walked off, turning his attention to a lone overlooking platform.
"If you can, take the fliers... we must aid the people," Auron warned and took off... walking... calmly.
"Can do!" you agreed... hip-thrusting forward... calmly.